Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 114

“No. Rather than this… why don’t you just—”

 

“No. Since the Director asked to see me, then of course I should meet him. He’s not exactly someone you get to see often.”

 

“Lee Unha, you really… get your head straight. Why are you suddenly doing this? You don’t want to debut? Are you actually trying to get yourself kicked out?”

 

‘Not want to debut…? And kicked out? As if The World could even afford to cut me at this point. Their entire company is moving with Fantasia as its centerpiece.’

 

“……”

 

‘If anything actually happens, I’ll eat my hat. Seriously.’

 

The worst-case scenario would be stepping down from the leader position. You couldn’t even call that the worst outcome. Even if Lee Unha wasn’t the leader, <Fantasia> had plenty of assets who could perform the leader role. For example, Joo Wooyoung, or Joo Wooyoung, or… yeah, Joo Wooyoung.

 

They wouldn’t be able to step into the options of removing me from the show entirely or dragging me out of the debut group. The recording was already finished, and above all, Lee Unha’s standing was on a completely different level now.

 

I knew my own worth. I could tell just by looking at my follower count. I could tell from the amount of attention the Lee Unha brand alone generated. Lee Unha was’t everything in <Fantasia>, but no one could disagree that I was its center.

 

Unless I completely fail after debuting, right now, as an unreleased premium product receiving peak expectations, was a time when I could afford to stand my ground.

 

“No, tell me. Why the f*ck are you doing this? Huh?!”

 

“It’s exactly as I told you.”

 

“Just be honest with me, okay? I’ll call them back—”

 

“No. I’m not changing my mind.”

 

Meanwhile, I could clearly see Hong Dukwang becoming more and more anxious. In the practice room, he had momentarily lost his temper and made calls everywhere, but now that the matter had unexpectedly reached the Director, was he afraid his incompetence would be proven?

 

His restless behavior became increasingly obvious. Even inside the elevator, I saw him squeezing his eyes shut. 

 

And then, as soon as the elevator door opened with a ding as if it had been waiting….

 

The office with the sign [Management Headquarters] and the face of the Management Team Leader, whom I’d seen a few times, came into view. The man with an average build and glasses quietly patted my shoulder, unlike Hong Dukwang.

 

“Unha.”

 

“Hello, Team Leader.”

 

“Yeah. Thanks for coming all the way up.”

 

Meanwhile, Hong Dukwang disappeared into another room with a guy who looked like a high-ranking official. Faintly, I could hear Hong Dukwang getting chewed out, mixed together with the Management Team Leader’s voice trying to calm things down.

 

‘This place is a total mess.’

 

I had seen places where the Planning Division was trash, and places where the Management Team was trash, but a place where the Management Headquarters was a disaster was a new one for me.

 

‘Wait, is this really normal office behavior? Is yelling and swearing like that just part of company culture? Are all companies like this? Or is it just The World?’

 

They weren’t even using polite speech. A mysterious man was pouring a flood of profanities at Hong Dukwang. I wondered if the intention was to pressure Lee Unha, but I realized he was being sincere, judging by the sheer creativity of the insults flying through the air.

 

It was an indicator showing just how much the organizational structure had failed to take root.

 

‘No organizational structure means the workplace culture’s a mess too. Seriously.’

 

Of course, I knew they had their reasons. The World had already gone through the Crown incident, and every project had almost been canceled once. When they restarted everything, they hastily pulled in people from all over to rebuild the organization, so that was probably the reason.

 

They eventually managed to put up a front, but it wasn’t without side effects.

 

‘When you’re stitching an organization back together like that, there’s no way the right people end up in the right positions.’

 

Without a system, the internal affairs wouldn’t be organized, and an authoritarian atmosphere was almost inevitable. It was obvious. Everything was so transparent I could practically see through it.

 

It wasn’t just the Management Headquarters; the other departments were the same. The Planning Division was working hard, but I didn’t know what on earth they were doing. As for Business and Management, I just had no idea. The Performance Business Division was busy preparing for the showcase, so they were an exception, and the Marketing Division bastards were just busy passing their work off to us….

 

I didn’t know why this tiny company had so many ‘Directors’, or even what they did, but I wondered how much salary they were eating up. Just imagining a portion of the investment money ending up as salaries to fatten these people’s wallets made my blood boil.

 

‘The Team Leader seems like a decent person, at least.’

 

“It must’ve been hard on you, right? But… Unha. Just hang in there a little longer…”

 

‘He’s just nice. Being nice doesn’t mean being good at your job.’

 

“Since there isn’t much time left. Let’s work hard together. Okay?”

 

He looked far from being competent. Of course, the biggest problem would be the person… at the very top of this organization.

 

‘Wait, in the first place, is it even right for the Management Department to be managing all of us?’

 

“……”

 

‘Shouldn’t the Rookie Development Team handle everything before debut? No, giving them the benefit of the doubt, I can understand not having a Rookie Development Team, but why is the Management Department handling rookie development and even managing our practice schedule? Does it usually run this way?’

 

The question crossed my mind, but since Hong Dukwang belonged to the Management Division, that was probably why he’d called this department. After letting the Team Leader’s voice go in one ear and out the other, I opened my mouth again. 

 

Instead of ignoring the Team Leader, I was expressing my desire to speak directly with the Director.

 

“But Team Leader, when will I see the Director?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“The Director told me to come up, so I did… I’m worried I’m keeping him waiting too long.”

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

“Unha… Sigh….”

 

“I’m sorry. But if he asked me to come, then I should.”

 

“Right… Let’s, let’s go up… Sigh….”

 

“I’ll make sure you don’t take any heat, Team Leader.”

 

“No, that’s not what’s important… You… never mind. Let’s go up first, and we’ll talk afterward.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Then the Team Leader patted my shoulder again and led me inside. He looked as though he were walking into a tiger’s den. The door opened once more….

 

And I saw Director Oh Kijun, whose face I barely even remembered seeing before.

 

‘Thinking about it again.’

 

It was absurd. Why was a company with only one team, <Fantasia>, to manage even needed a ‘Management Headquarters’? What the hell the guy holding the title of ‘Director’ was even doing?

 

I wasn’t looking down on the management team itself. I knew exactly how important that department was and what its responsibilities were. Starting from the overall schedule management of an artist, it was the department that managed everything related to them, so it was effectively the flower of the entertainment industry.

 

But….

 

‘In this situation… was there really any reason to start with such a bloated structure, complete with a Director?’

 

I couldn’t help but feel doubt about the organizational structure itself.

 

‘Are they preparing to recruit other artists? Or… are they going to make a new group?’

 

Furthermore, this Oh Kijun guy didn’t even look like someone who had worked in the entertainment industry. I had no idea why someone who seemed to have come from an entirely different business was sitting in that position, but it looked like there had been confusion in the personnel selection process.

 

‘Seeing the greed dripping from his face, I guess he just pulled the right strings.’

 

The reason he called me all the way here could have some other meaning… or if not….

 

‘He could just be a lunatic.’

 

What I did was quite a big deal… but strictly speaking, it wasn’t a matter that needed the Director to step in. Ordinarily, it would’ve been handled by the road manager or, at most, the Team Leader. Which meant that the reason Oh Kijun had summoned me here had to be… some kind of….

 

“Team Leader Jung, you son of a b*tch!”

 

‘Oh, this bastard just called us here to take out his anger? He called to vent on Team Leader Jung, and then on me.’

 

“How the hell are you managing these kids?! Why am I hearing a trainee say he doesn’t want to practice?! Have you lost your mind?!”

 

“My apologies, Director.”

 

“How exactly are you doing your job?! Isn’t managing these kids your responsibility?! What’s the name of that road manager?! What the hell is he doing?!”

 

“I-I’m sorry….”

 

“And… you….”

 

“……”

 

“Do you think you’re already some top star?!!! You think you’ve already become a celebrity?! Do you think this is some place where you get to rest whenever you say you want to rest, or play whenever you want to play?!”

 

‘Wait, you’re saying the exact same thing Dukwang said. Sir. So that’s your stance?’

 

“Team Leader Jung!”

 

“Ye… yes.”

 

“Remove this little punk as leader immediately!”

 

‘I clearly said I didn’t want to be the leader.’

 

“How much time is left until the showcase!! Team Leader Jung, how long until the showcase?! Huh?! What the hell is the Performance Planning Team doing?! Huh?!”

 

‘See. This guy… I knew it. Look at him not even knowing when the showcase of the artist he manages is.’

 

“What are you doing!!! Didn’t you hear me tell you to fire this arrogant bastard from the leader position right now?!”

 

At Director Oh Kijun’s voice…. It was then that Team Leader Jeong answered. And only after hearing that voice…. did I finally realize how this company was running.

 

“Uh… Director Oh. Lee Unha being the leader is a matter decided directly by the Planning Headquarters… they said it’s an important part of the lore….”

 

“What? You’re still saying that?! Since when does Planning get to decide something like that?!”

 

“……”

 

“What does Planning have to do with it?! Why do they get to choose the leader however they want?! Who the hell do they think they are?!”

 

“……”

 

‘These bastards are…’

 

“……”

 

‘The Planning Headquarters and the Management Headquarters… they’re fighting, aren’t they?’

 

No… seriously… they’re fighting? They’re actually… beating down each other?

 

I thought I’d already experienced enough shocking things… But something even more unbelievable was unfolding right in front of me.

 

‘Wait, is this for real?’