<Episode 95>
After getting off work and heading home, A-Pen said they had something to tell me, so I went out to the meeting place… only for fireworks to explode right in front of me.
On the wall hung a banner that read: [Congratulations on Joo Youngjun’s Escape Party].
“…What is all this?”
“It’s a party we prepared.”
“A party?”
“Yes. We also wanted to thank you, so we prepared it.”
I wiped my face dry and looked at A-Pen.
‘I get that they’re happy, but is this really the time for this? They should be busy setting up the company right now.’
“Oh. We have a gift too.”
A-Pen brought over a small box.
“Please accept it.”
It seemed they prepared it out of both gratitude and guilt toward me, since they had gained no financial benefit while I helped them.
“Thank you.”
Since they had put in the effort, it didn’t feel right to refuse, so I accepted it.
“Open it.”
I hadn’t planned to open it now, but at A-Pen’s urging, I opened the box. Inside were a luxury brand necktie and a tie pin.
“Do you like it?”
It wasn’t a design that would provoke strong likes or dislikes, so it seemed like something I could wear occasionally.
“Thank you. But this must’ve been expensive.”
“We have a lot of money.”
For a moment, A-Pen’s settlement ratio came to mind.
“We’ve done a lot of dramas and individual ads. Even though the settlement ratio was small, the total earnings were high, so it’s not like we didn’t make money.”
It really hit me again that A-Pen was a top-tier idol group.
‘But why would the game system assign a group like this to my rival agency?’
That question resurfaced.
‘Was it based on being an exploitative agency?’
Since it was a game, I couldn’t know the exact criteria.
“Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”
“Yes.”
“Ah. Have you decided on a new group name?”
At my question, A-Pen smiled and nodded.
“Continuum. The fans came up with it.”
Continuum.
A word that means something that continues without interruption.
It was a name that suited them very well right now.
“And the fandom name?”
“Narin. It’s a pure Korean word that means ‘a person sent from the sky.’ Our original fandom name was Neris, so we looked for something with a similar sound because we didn’t want it to feel too different.”
Unlike the last time I saw them, A-Pen’s faces looked incredibly bright.
“That’s good. So how did CEO Joo Youngjun react?”
“He went absolutely berserk. Shouting things like, ‘Do you think you can actually pull this off?!’ and making a huge scene.”
Yoonjae mimicked CEO Joo Youngjun with impressive acting.
Watching that, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
“Hahaha!”
It had been a long time since I laughed so hard I had to clutch my stomach. I was on the verge of tearing up from laughing.
‘I should’ve seen that in person.’
It was a shame I didn’t witness it firsthand, but it still felt incredibly satisfying.
“CEO, I think you should become an actor.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Taehwi nodded vigorously.
“I do hear that sometimes, but I have no intention of becoming an actor. I don’t like standing in front of a camera… I prefer to live quietly.”
It might have been said casually, but acting truly wasn’t a profession that suited me. Honestly, even just being recognized while walking down the street like now was already overwhelming.
“By the way, what happened with the video call fan signing event?”
“We decided to go through with that. Not for CEO Joo Youngjun, but for the fans. We couldn’t avoid it.”
After briefly checking social media, the fans’ reactions looked like they were ready to kill CEO Joo Youngjun at any moment.
“What about the season’s greetings?”
“We already finished filming that, so they’ll probably produce it. Rather than refunding, they’d rather just ship it. They’re even still selling our goods.”
“…What?”
That last statement didn’t make sense, so I couldn’t process it for a moment.
‘So even after A-Pen left the agency, they’re still selling A-Pen’s merchandise? Wow. That’s something else.’
“They’ll probably keep doing that until everything sells out. That’s the kind of person he is. We don’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble, so we’re leaving it alone. We’ve already explained this part to the fans too. Oh, please have some food. We prepared it.”
A-Pen pulled me to the table and seated me. On the table were various dishes that looked like something straight out of a restaurant.
“When you say you prepared it… Do you mean you cooked it yourselves?”
“Taehwi once played a chef in a role before. He learned cooking back then and found it interesting, so he even started attending classes. He has a certification too.”
Park Juchan said that in a proud tone, even though he wasn’t the one who got the certification.
“Then I’ll enjoy the meal.”
As I picked up some meat and ate it, Taehwi looked at me with expectant eyes.
“How is it?”
“It’s good.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Ah, would you like some beer? It’s a party after all.”
“Is it okay for me to even be part of this party?”
At my question, Haeseong tilted his head.
“Of course. If not you, then who? If it weren’t for you, we would’ve been persuaded by CEO Joo Youngjun and renewed our contracts. Do you know what kind of terms he offered? Acting like he was doing us a favor, he said a 3:7 settlement split. Three for us, seven for the company. And not a single special clause that actually treated us well! Even though we’ve been here for 10 years and know all about other idols’ contract ratios and clauses!”
He then started pouring out his words rapidly.
“So, will you have beer?”
“No. I drove here.”
“Oh? Don’t you have a driver?”
Park Juchan asked with a surprised expression.
“No. I have a secretary, but not a driver. We’re not at that scale yet, and I’m not sure if I even need one just for commuting.”
“CEO Joo Youngjun always had one, so we thought everyone did.”
“He has a strong sense of vanity, so that’s probably why.”
“That makes sense. Then would you like some sparkling water instead?”
“Yes, please.”
Park Juchan poured sparkling water into something like a wine glass.
It seemed to be for the mood.
From the outside, it looked like sparkling wine.
“That’s a shame. If not for that banner, we could’ve enjoyed this with the fans.”
I joked, pointing at the banner with my finger.
“For now, we decided to communicate through photos and posts rather than live broadcasts. We need to deliver comeback news to the fans as soon as possible.”
And just like that, I ended up enjoying the party with them.
***
After arriving at work in the morning, the first thing I did was check my emails.
‘I ended up staying later than expected. Still, it wasn’t bad. I got to hear in detail how Joo Youngjun is falling apart.’
There were several unread emails.
‘This is from Producer Yoo?’
It seemed Producer Yoo had revised the proposal and sent it again.
‘I should read it again.’
I began carefully reading through the proposal.
It had been extensively revised based on what I previously told him. They even added a setting where, before leaving for the U.S., he learns cooking from a famous star chef.
‘Yes. It has to be at least this level for viewers to watch it without feeling uncomfortable.’
Moreover, instead of the entire Spade Joker group, only Cain and Sora were offered appearances.
The other members were asked to appear as guests when available.
This was better.
As I had told Producer Yoo, if the cast consisted only of Spade Joker members, it could come across as just an extension of a reality show centered around them.
‘It’d be good to have those two appear as requested. It’ll also showcase Cain’s English skills.’
Cain was from Canada.
So naturally, he would welcome a project where he could show off his English.
‘It’ll also be a good chance to show Cain’s intellectual side that hasn’t been seen before.’
Before I knew it, I had reached the final part of the proposal.
[Also, even if only briefly, we would like the CEO to visit the restaurant as a surprise guest. We understand you may be busy, but we can adjust the schedule so you depart Friday evening and return Monday morning.]
A schedule where I leave for the U.S. on Friday evening and return Monday morning.
Even with a direct flight, it would take 11 hours, so it wasn’t something easy to do.
Of course, if done on that schedule, it wouldn’t interfere with company work.
I checked exactly where in the U.S. the filming would take place.
[Filming Location: Florida]
Coincidentally, it was the state where John Raid Lombardi’s family currently lived.
Even within the same state, distances could vary greatly, but it would still be much closer than flying from Korea to the U.S.
‘Did they know that?’
That couldn’t be the case.
Originally, John Raid Lombardi lived in Massachusetts.
His family had only moved to Florida a few years ago, so it wasn’t widely known yet.
‘They probably just picked it while choosing a resort location.’
With good weather and blue seas, it seemed like the footage would turn out well.
[Hello, Producer Yoo. I’ve checked the email you sent.
The proposal has been significantly revised.]
‘A weekend trip should be manageable. For the success of the program, too.’
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