Chapter 42 - May I Go and Come Back?

‘He's going to greet PD Yoo Seon-hee?’

Park Yeong-ho looked at Baek Hyeon-woo.

‘Isn't this kid scared?’

The authority of the 'Music World' PD is immense.

That's why everyone tries hard to get on Yoo Seon-hee's good side.

This is no exception even for popular singers from large agencies.

Because if they can't get Yoo Seon-hee's cooperation, they'll face all sorts of difficulties with their comeback stage and other things.

When popular singers make a comeback, they do a large-scale set pre-recording on these music broadcasts, and if you add up the set installation fees and other costs, it requires a budget of over tens of millions of won.

When carrying out such a large project, it becomes difficult if the PD doesn't cooperate well.

Besides that, there are many situations where they need to get the PD's cooperation, so even the large agencies are always careful not to get on Yoo Seon-hee's bad side.

All of these stories had also been taught to Baek Hyeon-woo.

But Baek Hyeon-woo had suddenly brought up that he was going to greet Yoo Seon-hee.

“Assistant Manager Baek, you're not by any chance thinking of holding onto the PD-nim and asking for a favor, are you?”

Park Yeong-ho asked cautiously.

“Like asking the PD-nim to let us do a set pre-recording...”

“Of course not.”

Baek Hyeon-woo immediately shook his head.

“Other people are also just giving a light greeting right now, so I can't be the only one holding onto the PD-nim and making such a request.”

“Ah, that's right.”

Then again, he's not a person who lacks that much common sense.

Park Yeong-ho nodded.

“Yeah, then go and say hello. Just don't take too long.”

“Yes, understood.”

Baek Hyeon-woo, having received Park Yeong-ho's permission, made his move.

He strode through the people and approached Yoo Seon-hee.

“Hello, PD-nim.”

Baek Hyeon-woo, who had approached Yoo Seon-hee, greeted her with an impeccably polite attitude and held out his business card.

“I am Baek Hyeon-woo, the manager in charge of Newstarz at Haram Entertainment.”

Yoo Seon-hee nodded her head and accepted his greeting.

However, she didn't reply, nor did she try to take the business card.

Maintaining a cold expression, she just tried to pass by.

However, at that moment, Baek Hyeon-woo said abruptly.

“You must not wear high-heeled shoes for your shoulders and back to feel lighter.”

“……?”

At Baek Hyeon-woo's sudden words, the people around checked Yoo Seon-hee's feet.

And they all made puzzled expressions.

Because right now, Yoo Seon-hee was wearing low-heeled flat shoes.

Why was he talking about high-heeled shoes so out of the blue?

“……”

However, Yoo Seon-hee showed a different reaction from the people around her.

She had stopped walking and was staring intently at Baek Hyeon-woo.

And, after giving a small nod, she accepted Baek Hyeon-woo's business card.

“What's with that kid?”

“Why is the PD-nim taking a manager's business card...”

People were bewildered at Yoo Seon-hee's unprecedented action.

Because until now, Yoo Seon-hee had never accepted things like a mere manager's business card.

Today as well, a few agencies' rookie managers had greeted Yoo Seon-hee, but the only one whose business card she accepted was Baek Hyeon-woo just now.

Leaving the flustered people behind, Yoo Seon-hee left for another place without saying anything more.

“A-Assistant Manager Baek!”

Park Yeong-ho urgently approached Baek Hyeon-woo and pulled on his arm.

“What did you just do?”

“As I said before, I just gave a short greeting.”

“No, but...”

Avoiding the curiosity-filled gazes of the other people, Park Yeong-ho took Baek Hyeon-woo and moved to another location.

“What's with the talk about high-heeled shoes? The PD-nim was just wearing flat shoes?”

“Because it seemed like she usually wears those kinds of shoes.”

“How would you know that, Assistant Manager Baek?”

“I know just by looking.”

Park Yeong-ho was at a loss for words and stared at Baek Hyeon-woo.

“As expected, Hyeon-woo-ssi, you really have a superpower...”

“It's not like that.”

Baek Hyeon-woo shook his head with a composed expression.

“There was just something I could tell even by looking with my eyes.”

***

‘This set pre-recording also ended well.’

After entrusting the remaining work to Team Leader Jeong Do-woon, Director Seong Soo-ho came out into the hallway.

The reason Seong Soo-ho personally visited HBS today was because of Choux-pop's set pre-recording.

Because they had invested a lot in this set pre-recording, Seong Soo-ho had to take care of it himself.

“Ah, PD-nim, hello.”

Seong Soo-ho, who met PD Yoo Seon-hee in the hallway, bowed his head politely.

No matter that he was Seong Soo-ho, he had no choice but to be humble in front of the 'Music World' PD.

Because the authority of a music show PD is that immense.

“Thanks to your cooperation today, we were able to finish the set pre-recording well. Thank you.”

“It's your request, Director Seong, so of course I have to cooperate as much as possible. And...”

Suddenly, Yoo Seon-hee trailed off her sentence.

“Director Seong.”

“Yes, PD-nim.”

Is there some kind of problem?

Seong Soo-ho waited for Yoo Seon-hee's words.

“I'm asking because you're well-connected, Director Seong... do you by any chance know someone named Baek Hyeon-woo?”

“Pardon?”

“He seems to be a manager who newly joined Haram Entertainment.”

Hearing the unexpected name, Seong Soo-ho's eyes widened.

Why on earth would Baek Hyeon-woo's name come out of Yoo Seon-hee's mouth?

“We are somewhat acquainted, but...”

“He's not a strange type of person, is he?”

“A strange type of person, you mean...”

“You know, like shamanism.”

Shamanism?

He had suspected that he might have a superpower, but he had never heard a story like that.

“I heard he was originally a person in the medical field.”

“The medical field?”

“Yes, that he came to the entertainment industry after working at a hospital...”

“……”

Yoo Seon-hee was lost in thought with her mouth shut.

What on earth is she thinking?

“PD-nim, did Baek Hyeon-woo...”

“No, it's nothing. Keep up the good work.”

Seong Soo-ho, unable to hold back any longer, tried to ask a question, but Yoo Seon-hee shook her head and immediately left.

Seong Soo-ho stared blankly at Yoo Seon-hee's retreating back.

“What was that?”

Could it be that Baek Hyeon-woo won over even Yoo Seon-hee, just like he did with Seo Dong-cheol and Tae Jong-soo?

How on earth?

“Ah, wait, then...”

It seemed Yoo Seon-hee had met Baek Hyeon-woo just a moment ago.

Therefore, it was highly likely that Baek Hyeon-woo was still nearby.

Seong Soo-ho moved urgently.

“Hey, were the Haram Entertainment managers here?”

“Haram Entertainment?”

When he grabbed a passing manager from another company and asked, an answer came back immediately.

“Do you by any chance mean the person named Baek Hyeon-woo? PD Yoo-nim took his business card earlier.”

“What? The PD-nim took his business card?”

For Yoo Seon-hee to take a road manager's business card, this is an exceptional case.

As expected, Baek Hyeon-woo is no ordinary guy.

I must get him.

“Then do you know where Baek Hyeon-woo went?”

“He was just heading toward the main building with the idols a moment ago. It seemed like their work for today was all done.”

“……!”

Today, Newstarz is not appearing on 'Music World'.

So that means he went to the main building's parking lot.

Seong Soo-ho urgently ran toward the main building.

“Hah, hah, hah…”

He went down to the main building's basement and looked around the area where the performers park.

However, no matter how much he searched, Baek Hyeon-woo was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed he had already left.

“Hah… son of a bitch.”

Seong Soo-ho spat out a curse and leaned his back against a parking lot pillar.

If he could have his way, he wanted to call Baek Hyeon-woo right now and hit him, but since he didn't know his contact information, there was no way.

“You only give a business card to PD Yoo, but not to me? You mannerless bastard...”

Continuously swearing, Seong Soo-ho wiped the sweat flowing from his forehead.

***

The next day.

Baek Hyeon-woo, who had come to work even on Saturday and was writing up the schedule, received a call from Director Choi Tae-hyung.

“Assistant Manager Baek, come to the meeting room for a moment.”

“……?”

Recently, he hadn't had any particular conversations with Choi Tae-hyung.

This was because Choi Tae-hyung was concentrating on preparing the new girl group, and they had divided the work so that Park Yeong-ho and Baek Hyeon-woo would be in exclusive charge of the Newstarz side.

“What on earth have you been doing?”

As he stopped his work and followed Choi Tae-hyung into the meeting room, a fiery command fell upon him without any warning.

“I hear you said something strange to HBS's PD Yoo Seon-hee-nim?”

“……”

Baek Hyeon-woo was at a loss for words for a moment.

“Did you hear it from Team Leader Park?”

“A manager from another company gave me a tip.”

Then again, there's no way Park Yeong-ho would tattle to Choi Tae-hyung with a bad nuance.

“I was just giving my greetings.”

“Don't lie. I heard the atmosphere turned cold because of some talk about high-heeled shoes.”

Choi Tae-hyung said, tapping the meeting room table.

“Why on earth did you do something like that? Haven't you ever thought that all of Haram Entertainment could be put at a disadvantage?”

“I was mindful so that such a thing wouldn't happen.”

It seemed Choi Tae-hyung was worried about being at a disadvantage later when he debuts the new group.

“If by any chance such a thing happens, I will take responsibility and make up for it.”

“Responsibility? If something like that happens, it's not a matter of taking responsibility. You just have to leave the company.”

“……”

If I'm kicked out of Haram Entertainment, should I try going to DP Entertainment?

Suddenly, Baek Hyeon-woo had such a thought.

Yesterday, Director Seong Soo-ho also personally made a scouting offer, and it might not be bad.

However, he immediately shook his head and erased that thought from his mind.

Because it seemed that working under Seong Soo-ho would be even more stressful than working under Choi Tae-hyung.

“Just how did Team Leader Park train you... Assistant Manager Baek, are you listening to me?”

“I'm listening.”

“I just don't get it...”

Brrrr.

The cell phone in Baek Hyeon-woo's pants pocket vibrated.

“Director, I need to take this call for a moment.”

“Is it work-related?”

“No. It's a number I'm seeing for the first time.”

“What?”

A call that came from a number that wasn't saved.

However, Baek Hyeon-woo had a feeling whose call this was.

“Yes, this is Baek Hyeon-woo.”

In front of the dumbfounded Choi Tae-hyung, he talked on the phone for about 2 minutes.

The other person did most of the talking, and Baek Hyeon-woo just answered 'yes, yes'.

“Who was it?”

As he finished the call, Choi Tae-hyung asked with a dissatisfied expression.

“Who was it that you were just saying 'yes, yes' to like that...”

“It was PD Yoo Seon-hee-nim.”

“What?”

That's right.

The person Baek Hyeon-woo was on the phone with was PD Yoo Seon-hee, whom Choi Tae-hyung had been continuously mentioning until just a moment ago.

“PD Yoo-nim called you directly, Assistant Manager Baek? She's not the type to call a manager directly, is she?”

“She said she called after seeing my business card.”

“Y-You gave her a business card? You're saying PD Yoo-nim accepted Assistant Manager Baek's business card?”

Choi Tae-hyung continued to ask with a flustered expression.

“What did the PD-nim say...”

“She said she'd like to meet for a moment.”

“D-Did she summon you to the broadcasting station? If so, I should go with you...”

Choi Tae-hyung said he would go along too, but Baek Hyeon-woo shook his head.

“She said it was a private matter, so we decided to meet outside the broadcasting station. Therefore, I will go alone.”

“Wh-What? A private matter?”

The 'Music World' PD had called out a road manager from a small-medium agency for a private matter.

At the situation that was difficult to understand with common sense, Choi Tae-hyung stuttered.

“What on earth is it about?”

“That, even I don't know.”

Of course, Baek Hyeon-woo knew exactly what the matter was.

Because he had been expecting Yoo Seon-hee's side to contact him first like this, he had spoken briefly and only given her his business card.

“In any case... may I go and come back?”

“……”

At Baek Hyeon-woo's confirmation, Choi Tae-hyung made a speechless expression.