I Spent a Night with a Top Star Actress Chapter 43 - The Lead.

Star Watch! Live broadcast, 10 minutes to air.

Posts flooded Twenty’s fan club, Together.

-Whoa my heart’s racing;;;

-They did well, right? TTTTTTT?

-Worried about our maknae’s mouth. If she snaps like usual, she’s gonna get hate comments;

L Autumn-jwa’ll cover for her just fine

L Agreed, Ga-eul’ll probably keep her in line

-Still, it’s an observation show so I feel a bit easier about it lol

L Heard Star Watch!’s PD is famous for devil’s editing though?

L Crazy, for real?

-This variety show needs to turn out well for more offers to come in

-Breaking) No. 2 on the real-time charts!

L Whoa! That’s insane

L Guess going on the show really shot it up

-Saw the preview, Nova looked like the center of it?

-10 minutes to air!!!

-Let’s gooo!!

Star Watch! went live, right in the middle of fans’ worry and unease.

After the roughly ninety-minute broadcast ended, Twenty’s fan cafe Together caught fire all over again.

-Wait what?

-???

-Ga-eul did the whole broadcast while sick?

-Whoa;;; no wonder she didn’t look too good

-If the manager hadn’t caught her, that could’ve turned into a real accident;

-Watching the rerun late and it’s breaking my heart…

-How’s the Autumn-jwa reaction on other forums?

L No no, don’t worry, she seemed better than expected

L Reaction looked good though?

-The manager really pulled through…

-Seriously, if it wasn’t for Chief Kwon, that would’ve been a broadcast accident;

Fan attention converged on Twenty’s leader, Park Ga-eul, who’d come down sick during the Star Watch! shoot.

Public attention naturally followed, converging on Park Ga-eul too.

In a slightly different sense than the fans’, though.

-[Today’s Ranking!] A Legendary Scene Born on Star Watch! Twenty’s Manager, Whose Split-Second Reflexes Stopped a Dizzying Accident, Blows Up on Social Media!

The moment a sick idol member nearly fell down the stairs, a manager quick-witted enough to stop the accident cold.

This one perfect frame spread fast across every forum and social media platform.

-[Title: So damn jealous of the manager who stopped a broadcast accident TT]

[Body: Glad nothing bad happened, but why am I so jealous. I’m confident I’d throw myself in to save a girl like that too if she fell TT]

[Category: Humor] [Upvotes: 731] [Downvotes: 21]

As public attention piled up, click-farming rehash articles naturally started piling on.

-[STAR] Heart-Stopping Close Call, Viewers Applaud ‘Twenty’ Manager’s Cool-Headed Save!

Before long, attention had shifted from girl group Twenty itself onto one perfectly-timed clip born from the Star Watch! broadcast.

And then the article that capped off that whole wave of attention went up.

-[HOT Issue] The Birth of a Star Manager!? Baekhak Management Team 5’s Chief Kwon Chan, Blowing Up on Social Media and Forums…!

The birth of a star manager.

It was the moment the two syllables of the name Kwon Chan first burned themselves into the public’s mind.

---

Twenty’s Star Watch! got a hotter reaction than I’d expected.

-[This Week’s Issue] Rookie Idols “Twenty” Show Off Their Charm on Star Watch! and Prove Themselves the Idol Group of the Moment!

But…

That heat, contrary to what I’d expected, went pouring off in a completely different direction.

-[HOT] The Birth of a Star Manager!? Baekhak Management Team 5’s Chief Kwon Chan, Blowing Up on Social Media and Forums…!

“?”

Public attention had landed on me, not on Twenty.

More precisely, the clip of me catching Ga-eul as she nearly fell from being sick was the one pulling in all the attention.

-Whoa;; if she’d actually fallen there, that could’ve been really bad

-Look at that manager’s reflexes, damn

-But am I the only one who’s jealous here?

-Even I’d throw myself in to save her if a girl that pretty was about to fall lol

-That manager hit the jackpot, seriously hit the jackpot

…I couldn’t hide my confusion.

It’s a perfectly-timed clip, sure.

But is this clip… really worth this much attention?

“Is this for real??”

It didn’t make sense to me by any normal standard.

But contrary to what I thought, more and more attention kept pouring onto this clip.

-[Missed Calls: 41]

Maybe because of that.

My phone was on fire.

Starting with friends I hadn’t talked to in ages, acquaintances I’d only ever grabbed a meal with once, contacts I’d built up over my whole career in the industry.

Thanks to one clip that had suddenly gone viral, messages came pouring in from every direction.

Is this what it feels like when the world changes overnight?

It wasn’t so much a good feeling as one that choked the breath out of me.

Even so, it was time to head to work.

The moment I got to headquarters, I went straight up to the rooftop smoking area and lit a cigarette.

Coworkers nearby called out greetings.

“Oh? Chief Kwon! Caught you on TV yesterday!”

“Man… the article’s basically made you out to be Superman.”

“Reaction’s been on fire, huh? At this rate you’re really gonna become a ‘star manager’ like the headline says.”

…Dammit!

An embarrassment I couldn’t put into words washed over me.

‘Right. It’s not like my life’s actually changed just because one clip went viral.’

To the public, I’m just the manager who saved an idol member from falling.

The real problem was my social face.

Every single person I’d run into on my way up from the headquarters lobby to the rooftop smoking area had called me “star manager”!

I fanned my burning-hot face with my hand and muttered.

“Haa… this is genuinely embarrassing enough to drive me insane.”

What’s a “star manager” even supposed to be…

A star manager.

Who, seriously?

Whichever reporter uploaded an article with a clickbait headline this ridiculous?

Should I even call in to complain?

At the same time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were going wrong.

‘This clip’s scattered the attention that should’ve been going to Twenty.’

Creeping, crawling.

An unidentifiable unease crept up the back of my neck.

I ground out my cigarette and, out of habit, started checking Twenty’s articles.

Sure enough, the one perfectly-timed shot of me and Ga-eul was still pulling in more attention than Twenty itself.

Then one comment caught my eye.

-Look at that idol’s face right before she almost fell, looks like she’s falling for her manager lol

“!”

A shock like getting hit in the back of the head with a hammer swept through my whole body!

“… People are reading this clip that way?”

So I looked at it again…

Without knowing the full context, it was easy enough to see how someone would read it that way.

Ga-eul’s face, flushed red from being sick, was enough to spark some suggestive imagination.

In that instant, the fine hairs on my arm stood on end.

‘Right.’

So this was the identity of the unease I’d been feeling.

I’d been baffled why people were so into this clip, but now I thought I understood why.

Feeling my expression harden, I muttered.

‘It’s just a comment for now, but if an entertainment reporter sinks their teeth into this bait…’

A simple happening could turn into a real incident.

Realizing this wasn’t the time to just stand around, I moved right away.

I called Lee Ye-ji-ssi, who should be out running schedules with Twenty right about now.

“Ye-ji-ssi, are you with the girls?”

-Yes, yes! We’ve got a stage today, so we’re on the move right now!

“How are they doing?”

-No problems at all, everyone’s full of energy!

A faint sigh escaped me without my meaning to.

“We’re getting a lot of attention right now for various reasons, so tell them not to go looking at reactions on forums or social media.”

-Yes, yes, got it!

“Then keep up the good work, Ye-ji-ssi.”

-Okay. But, Chief…

“?”

-Heh heh… I saw the comments after yesterday’s broadcast ended, and people are calling you Superman, Chief? Star Mana…

She was going on about something pointless, so I cut the call clean off.

Just then, as if it had been waiting for its cue, a call came in from an unknown number.

It was an entertainment reporter I’d only ever traded business cards with, whose name I couldn’t even remember.

I sent back a canned message saying I couldn’t take calls right now, and frowned.

‘How do I handle this?’

If I’d handled it on day one, maybe, but trying to clean this up now felt too late.

It was too late to ask for the article to be taken down, given how much attention the clip had already pulled in.

A rising sense of crisis ran up my spine, and my head started spinning fast.

How could I clean this whole thing up?

It was right when a deep furrow had carved itself between my brows, my chest tight with a suffocating feeling.

Out of nowhere, Twenty’s chart ranking crossed my mind.

“…”

My eyes shot up, and I checked the music chart rankings right away.

-[No. 2: “Youth Journey”] [Artist: Twenty]

-[No. 4: “Attention”] [Artist: Twenty]

The sense of crisis running down my spine turned into a small thrill.

“No. 2.”

The attention had flowed off in a pretty odd direction, sure…

but Twenty’s “Youth Journey” had climbed the charts.

‘No matter which direction it came from, it’s proof the public’s eyes are on Twenty.’

In that instant, my head, which had been overrun with adrenaline, cooled fast.

“…”

My reason slowly came back.

And within it, I started running the numbers in my head.

‘There’s no putting this whole thing to rest anyway.’

This clip had already spread across every social media platform and forum.

Which meant it was too late to clean it up now.

‘So what if, instead of cleaning it up, I made the thing bigger?’

If I could just turn the public’s attention toward Twenty in the middle of all that…

wouldn’t that be the best promotion I could ask for?

In that instant, the tangled mess of a situation blew wide open, and I started to get a feel for what I needed to do.

“… Yeah.”

You bury one story with another story.

And right now, I had exactly the card to bury this one.

“‘Youth Journey’s’ lyricist and composer, Park Ga-eul.”

I spun around and ran downstairs to the PR team.

---

I reached the PR team, gasping for breath.

True to being Baekhak’s busiest department, every desk in PR was already full.

Steadying my burning breath, I looked for Team Leader Seo.

“Chief Kwon.”

“!”

“What is it, what’s going on this early?”

I turned, startled, and there was Team Leader Seo, standing right behind me with a coffee in hand, staring blankly.

“What’s going on this early… ah!”

A mischievous smile rose onto Team Leader Seo’s face.

“Heh heh… come to think of it, I got the title wrong. It’s Star Manager Kwon, isn’t it?”

Dammit.

At this rate “star manager” is really going to become my nickname.

I swept back my bangs, soaked through with sweat from running over, and spoke.

“Team Leader Seo, got a minute?”

“A minute? Hmm… well, sure, I’ve got a minute. But why?”

“There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Yeah? Is this a just-between-us kind of thing?”

I thought it over for a moment, then answered.

“Any meeting room free?”

“Hang on a sec.”

Team Leader Seo checked the meeting room schedule written on the whiteboard, then waved me over.

“Meeting Room 2’s open, let’s go.”

I followed Team Leader Seo into Meeting Room 2.

Team Leader Seo sat down and tilted her head.

“What’s got you here sweating like that? Is this really about the article from today?”

At Team Leader Seo’s question, I fell into thought for a moment.

Half-organized keywords drifted around inside my head.

Calm and steady.

I gathered those keywords and shaped them into a sentence.

“Team Leader Seo.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you know Ga-eul wrote and composed ‘Youth Journey’?”

Team Leader Seo’s eyes widened slightly.

“‘Youth Journey’? Twenty’s ‘Youth Journey’??”

“Yeah. That ‘Youth Journey.'”

“… Oh. Right. That’s the one a Twenty member wrote and composed, wasn’t it?”

My eyes widened a little.

‘Right. There’s no way Team Leader Seo wouldn’t know this.’

So why hadn’t this been turned into an article?

An idol member who could write and compose was more than enough of a story to make headlines.

Just then, an unexpected name came out of Team Leader Seo’s mouth.

“That story? Division Head Park Yu-hyeon said to sit on it for a while, so we never ran it.”

“!”

“What’d they say… said it’d be a waste to break it now, or something like that? So I’ve had a rough time of it! The member’s name is right there in the writer-composer credit, so I kept getting fact-check calls, and I nearly died dodging them all, telling everyone it wasn’t true.”

My eyes shot up.

“Division Head Park Yu-hyeon really said that?”

“Yeah. So we’ve been sitting on it. Why? Did the Division Head say to break it now?”

“…”

My expression turned strange.

Meanwhile Team Leader Seo shot me a question.

“Hmm… judging by your face, this seems urgent?”

“… Sorry, Team Leader Seo, but could you get Division Head Park on the phone?”

“Huh? Right now?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty urgent. I’ll take responsibility for it.”

Team Leader Seo smiled, wide, and gave my shoulder a light tap.

“You owe me one now, Chief Kwon?”

Team Leader Seo dialed Division Head Park on the office landline.

Watching, my heart starting to pound, Division Head Park’s voice rang out through the meeting room.

-Team Leader Seo? What’s going on so early?

“Yes, hello, Division Head. It’s nothing much, just…”

Team Leader Seo explained the situation, then handed the phone over to me.

I took a short breath and picked up.

“Division Head. This is Chief Kwon from Team 5.”

-Yeah, Chief Kwon. You’ve got something to say about “Youth Journey”?

“Yes, Division Head. I heard you gave orders to keep it quiet that Ga-eul is ‘Youth Journey’s’ lyricist and composer. I’m calling to confirm that.”

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon fell silent for a moment before answering.

-Hm… that’s right.

“!”

-I figured if we broke it right after debut the buzz would be weak, so I’ve been sitting on it.

Division Head Park Yu-hyeon let out a low laugh.

-Because of someone, “Youth Journey” started sounding good even to my ears.

“…!!”

-Seeing as you called, I take it you think now’s the time to break it, Chief Kwon?

My throat bobbed hard!

“Yes, that’s right.”

-Handle it however you think best.

“!”

-I’ve handed Twenty’s scheduling to you, Chief Kwon, so make it count.

“!!”

At Division Head Park Yu-hyeon’s words, I clenched my fist tight.

“I’ll do my best, Division Head.”

-I’ll be looking forward to it.

After hanging up, I barely held the corner of my mouth back from going slack with a grin.

‘Division Head, I love you!’

Now that I had the whole picture, there was no reason left to hesitate.

I showed Team Leader Seo the comment I’d seen earlier right away and explained the situation.

Team Leader Seo, frowning as she looked at my phone, scrunched her face up hard.

“You’re right? I mean, it’s written right there that the kid’s face is red because she’s sick, how do people come up with fantasies like this?”

At Team Leader Seo’s voice, full of anger, the corner of my mouth rose.

“So let’s bury it.”

“Huh? With what?”

“With the story that Ga-eul wrote and composed ‘Youth Journey.'”

“!”

Team Leader Seo’s eyes went wide.

“Bury a story with a story?”

“Yeah. This clip’s gotten me a lot of attention, but Ga-eul-ssi’s been getting no small amount of attention too.”

“… Hm.”

“Let’s pour gasoline on that fire. A genius idol who can write and compose her own songs…”

The voice coming out of my mouth was hot.

Proof, probably, that I was worked up.

“Let’s use this title to flip the current story around and make a star out of her. What do you say, Team Leader Seo?”

Team Leader Seo stared blankly at me for a moment, then smiled, wide.

“Deal. I’ll get moving on it right away.”

The entertainment industry’s best PR team was moving.

---

The next day.

True to the promise Team Leader Seo and I had made the day before, PR started pumping out articles about Ga-eul.

-[Breaking!] Twenty’s Leader “Ga-eul” Was a Genius Idol Who Writes and Composes Her Own Songs!?

-[HOT ‘Issue’] Leader “Ga-eul,” Who Won Fans Over Pushing Through Injury on Star Watch!, Is Actually a Genius Composer!

-The Birth of a New Star? “Youth Journey,” Written and Composed by Twenty’s Leader Ga-eul, Skyrockets Up the Charts!

It wasn’t the flow I’d expected, but one way or another, Twenty had the public’s attention thanks to the music charts and the Star Watch! broadcast.

The fact that Twenty’s “Youth Journey” had actually been written and composed by leader Park Ga-eul was what shifted the public’s attention.

Baekhak’s PR team grew that attention step by careful step.

Nipping every seed of concern in the bud along the way.

-Twenty’s Leader “Ga-eul,” Who Has It All, Skill and Character Both. Her Injury-Defying Performance on Star Watch! Gets a Second Look, Late but Deserved…!

Baekhak’s PR articles rolled in like a wave and pushed the old story out.

That huge wave seemed to herald the birth of a brand-new star.

In the middle of it all, the clip of me and Ga-eul drifted out of the public eye, like it had never happened.

Baekhak’s PR team had succeeded in turning the public’s attention around.

The day after we’d stopped what could have turned into a real incident.

I checked the music chart rankings.

-[No. 1: “Youth Journey”]

The corner of my mouth rose.

“There it is.”

Twenty’s “Youth Journey” had finally hit No. 1 on the music charts.

---

The next morning.

For the first time in a while, I slept deep and worry-free, and woke up in the best shape I’d been in.

Maybe because of that.

My usual frantic commute felt unusually relaxed today, of all days.

I used that free time to actually eat breakfast for the first time in nearly a month, then took a cold shower.

I could feel summer giving way to fall, but the weather was still humid and sticky.

Feeling the last of my sleepiness burn off, I opened the closet.

“Hm…”

What should I wear, feeling this good?

For the first time in a while, I thought seriously about my fashion.

My hand pulled out a pair of black slacks and a neat short-sleeve shirt.

They were about the neatest summer clothes I owned.

Just as I got dressed to head out, coincidence or fate, I caught sight of my resignation letter, sitting in the open drawer.

Without meaning to, I gave the resignation letter a light tap with my finger.

“You really never know how things turn out.”

The guy who’d fought tooth and nail to quit, and now here he is, itching to get to work.

I let out a short laugh and turned around.

I got in the Mercedes the company gave me and headed to work.

Walking into the main building’s lobby, I felt countless eyes land on me.

In that moment, I thought.

It felt like I’d become the lead.

Honestly, given the nature of the job, a manager doesn’t often get this kind of spotlight.

Run around and land the schedules as hard as I might, in the end the celebrity walks off with all the glory.

But…

just for this moment, it felt like I’d become the lead.

Twenty had hit No. 1 on the charts, and all around me, eyes, attention, poured in.

All of it was so thrilling… and fun!

Holding back a grin that kept threatening to leak out, I threw open the door to the management department.

In that instant, Team Leader Ma Seok-du shouted.

“Chief Kwon! The CEO’s calling for you–!!!”

At that shout, the anticipation I’d been trying so hard to ignore burst wide open!

Steadying my hammering heart, I thought.

‘Just like I promised, it hit No. 1 on the charts.’

What kind of gift had CEO Baek Ji-won prepared for me?

To find out what this three-month-awaited gift actually was, I turned my steps toward the CEO’s office.