Chapter 60 - She Wants to Have a Talk

“What we intended to evaluate in this mission was precisely teamwork.”

A judge with a strict impression gave his evaluation in front of the nervous idols.

“Your singing and dancing were not bad. You could say they were the best among all the teams today. However, your completeness as a team was lacking.”

“Just because you've been together for a long time doesn't mean you'll have a telepathic teamwork... that's what I thought. I received the impression that your hearts are not connected.”

“Weren't you too stuck in a rut? I feel like it's time to rethink the mindset of the group as a whole.”

Every time the judges gave their comments one by one, the idols' expressions stiffened.

“N.A.N, I will give you 7 points out of 10.”

“Still, the performance itself was good. I will evaluate it as 8 points.”

“As for me…”

They should have left the other groups in the dust with their overwhelming skill.

Even in episode 2 of 'The Idol', N.A.N could not take 1st place.

……

“Sons of bitches!”

After putting the N.A.N members in the van, Director Kim Do-gyun spat out a curse.

“Teamwork, my ass. How the hell do they judge that? Anyway, I'm telling you, the judges are the problem every time!”

“……”

The members were listening to the fuming Kim Do-gyun with stiff expressions.

The road managers were also keeping their mouths shut, afraid they would get caught in the crossfire.

“Is PD Seo Dong-cheol doing this on purpose to screw us over? Is this a concept where he fucks us up and makes us a laughingstock? That damn bastard!”

As Kim Do-gyun's rage continued endlessly, the leader, Wi-hyeon, who could listen no longer, opened her mouth.

“Director, we were still 2nd place. We didn't fall to the lower ranks, and our rank is higher than last time...”

“With your skills, you should have gotten 1st place!”

N.A.N is by no means an unskilled group.

They possessed skills that were clearly different from girl groups that were just a collection of kids with pretty faces.

They had received systematic training in both singing and dancing from skilled artists at home and abroad.

If they could properly display those skills, they should have been able to overwhelm Newstarz and Choux-pop.

“You guys, did you really work hard this time? You didn't do it half-heartedly again, did you?”

“We worked hard.”

“I worked hard too.”

“Me too...”

In the middle of that, Ryu-hwa muttered, glaring at the very back seat of the van.

“Though someone didn't even practice properly and slacked off.”

“What?”

Kim Do-gyun's gaze turned to the back.

The one sitting there was the main vocalist, Ha-ryeong.

“She said she was going to the restroom, but then she didn't come back for over 10 minutes. What on earth was she doing, and where.”

“Ha-ryeong-ah, is that really true?”

As Kim Do-gyun pressed her, Ha-ryeong slowly opened her mouth.

“My foot hurt, so I received some treatment.”

“What? You received treatment?”

“There was a place that was set up like an infirmary.”

Ryu-hwa frowned at Ha-ryeong's answer.

“Hey, stop faking it. You looked perfectly fine when you were dancing earlier.”

“Yeah, that's how it looked to me too.”

Following Ryu-hwa, Wi-hyeon also joined in.

“Were you really in pain?”

“I got better after receiving treatment.”

“If it was something that could get better right away just by receiving treatment, wasn't it not that painful to begin with?”

As Wi-hyeon pointed that out, the other members also nodded and sent accusing gazes.

“If you don't want to believe me, then don't.”

“What did you say?”

“I said, if you don't want to believe me, then don't.”

As Ha-ryeong snapped back like that, everyone's gazes became even nastier.

“Hey, we're telling you to explain properly. What are we supposed to do if you come out like that?”

“You're not going to believe me no matter what I say anyway, are you?”

“Wow, this is really...”

Ryu-hwa stood up from her seat and threatened as if she would lunge at her.

However, Ha-ryeong didn't even bat an eye.

“Hey, hey, stop it.”

Kim Do-gyun, who had just been watching quietly, cut in as if he thought this couldn't go on any longer.

“Don't fight over this kind of crap. Just let it go.”

Ignoring the dissatisfied expressions of the members, Kim Do-gyun turned his gaze to Ha-ryeong.

“Ha-ryeong-ah, let's have a talk later.”

“Yes, let's.”

Ha-ryeong nodded.

And she added in a calm voice.

“I also had something to say to you, Director.”

Members with no trust in each other.

A director-level manager who tries to just gloss over a problem without properly resolving it.

Ha-ryeong was sick and tired of everything.

……

DP Entertainment Headquarters.

As Team Leader Jeong Do-woon plodded into the office, Director Seong Soo-ho was conversing with other employees.

“Team Leader Jeong, you're here?”

“D-Director? Have you returned to the country?”

“Yeah, I arrived a while ago.”

Seong Soo-ho looked to be in a good mood.

It seemed the results of his overseas business trip had been good.

“Where have you been today? Choux-pop? Black D?”

“Ah… I've come from 'The Idol' recording. It was the episode 2 filming today.”

“You've already filmed episode 2?”

Because he had been so busy overseas, Seong Soo-ho hadn't been able to keep track of all the idols' schedules.

“Yeah, so how were the results today?”

“Well…”

Jeong Do-woon swallowed his saliva and then spoke cautiously.

“We lost to N.A.N by a small margin.”

“Really?”

Today, Choux-pop received a slightly lower score than N.A.N.

It was because they were rebuked by the judges for not properly understanding the mission song.

It was a better score than the junior groups who even lacked basic skills, but it was still a disappointing result.

“If you lost by a small margin, you did well. Continue to maintain 2nd place and solidify the 'two-top' narrative with N.A.N.”

“Ah, about that...”

Just as Jeong Do-woon was trailing off in front of the misunderstanding Seong Soo-ho.

Suddenly, a voice was heard.

“Uncle, we're not 2nd place.”

Seong Hae-won, the leader of Choux-pop, who had appeared before he knew it, said with a bitter expression.

“We were 3rd place today.”

“What? 3rd place?”

Seong Soo-ho's eyes widened.

“What happened? You said it was a small margin with N.A.N?”

“That's right. But N.A.N was 2nd place.”

“N.A.N is 2nd place? Then who's 1st place?”

If N.A.N is 2nd and Choux-pop is 3rd, then the group that could have taken 1st is...

“Newstarz.”

“What?”

“I said Newstarz got 1st place.”

Seong Hae-won said with a shrug.

“In the episode 1 viewer vote too, Newstarz was 1st place. We were 2nd, and N.A.N was 3rd.”

“……!”

Seong Soo-ho's mouth fell open at the result that was different from what he had expected.

“Team Leader Jeong, what is the meaning of this? This is different from what you told me.”

“I-I told you the truth that we got 2nd place.”

Jeong Do-woon had said on the phone with Seong Soo-ho that Choux-pop had gotten 2nd place.

He just didn't say that Newstarz had beaten Choux-pop and N.A.N to get 1st place.

“And you call that telling me?”

“Gag...!”

Seong Soo-ho grabbed Jeong Do-woon by the collar with his large hand.

“Hey, wasn't the reason you appeared on 'The Idol' to get revenge on Newstarz? But you're telling me you were continuously getting your asses kicked?”

“I-I'm sorr...”

Jeong Do-woon was choking and couldn't even answer properly.

However, Seong Soo-ho paid it no mind and put more strength into his hand.

“This just won't do. I'll have to replace the team leader.”

“D-Director...!”

Jeong Do-woon, who had favored Choux-pop, his eyes widened, but Seong Soo-ho had already made up his mind.

As expected, he needs a capable guy like Baek Hyeon-woo.

Thinking that, Seong Soo-ho threw Jeong Do-woon aside.

……

“You all did so well. Eat to your heart's content!”

“Thank you, CEO-nim!”

An expensive Hanwoo specialty restaurant.

As CEO Baek Yeon-ah raised her voice there, all the Newstarz members cheered.

“1st place in episode 2, following episode 1... if this gets broadcast, it'll become a huge topic.”

“Yes, it's a result beyond what we expected.”

Team Leader Park Yeong-ho also said with a broad smile.

“Honestly, when I heard that N.A.N was coming on, I was extremely worried. Their status itself is different, and aren't they a group with amazing skills? I thought Newstarz would just become extras... haha, it turned out to be the opposite.”

“Yeah, both N.A.N and Choux-pop completely became extras to make our Newstarz shine.”

Currently, the main character of 'The Idol' was, no matter what anyone said, Newstarz.

At first, everyone had expected that N.A.N would take the lead and Newstarz and Choux-pop would fight for the 2nd place spot, but Newstarz was continuously maintaining 1st place.

“In the end, what Assistant Manager Baek said was right.”

Saying that, Park Yeong-ho put his arm around the shoulder of Baek Hyeon-woo, who was sitting next to him.

“Just as Assistant Manager Baek said, it was a good thing for us that the game got bigger. Haha, let's make a clean sweep of all the stakes!”

“Still, a clean sweep will be difficult.”

However, Baek Hyeon-woo revealed a cold-headed view.

“Both N.A.N and Choux-pop are groups with amazing skills. From now on, they will clench their teeth and work hard, so we must never be complacent.”

When comparing based on the status window, the average skill of N.A.N and Choux-pop is far ahead of Newstarz's.

The reason Newstarz got 1st place consecutively is merely thanks to a few factors falling into place.

There will surely be days when N.A.N or Choux-pop get a better score than Newstarz.

“Oh, do you think we could be overtaken by N.A.N or Choux-pop, Assistant Manager Baek?”

“I think it's entirely possible.”

Baek Hyeon-woo said in a calm voice.

“However, being overtaken isn't such a bad thing.”

“Why?”

“Because it will move people more if Newstarz becomes the final winner after a back-and-forth battle, rather than them just being in 1st place continuously until the end.”

“……!”

Just as PD Seo Dong-cheol said, people feel it's more fun when things go up and down.

Rather than Newstarz monopolizing 1st place from beginning to end, they will be able to get a better response by having a fierce battle with their competitors and achieving a comeback victory.

“Wow… the way you think is really amazing, Hyeon-woo. I respect you, hey.”

Baek Yeon-ah slapped Baek Hyeon-woo's shoulder with her palm.

Perhaps she was already drunk, as there was a lot of strength in her hand.

“Where did this good-luck charm roll in from, ugh, you're so lovely.”

“Aunt, that hurts.”

Smack, smack.

Just as Baek Hyeon-woo was trying to pull away from Baek Yeon-ah's hand, which kept hitting his shoulder.

Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated.

“Just a moment.”

A message had arrived from a number he didn't recognize.

As Baek Hyeon-woo was checking the message, Park Yeong-ho asked, holding his beer glass.

“Assistant Manager Baek, who is it? Your girlfriend?”

“No.”

Baek Hyeon-woo answered Park Yeong-ho's joke in a calm voice.

“It's Ha-ryeong-ssi from N.A.N.”

“What?”

Park Yeong-ho's eyes went round.

Baek Yeon-ah, who was drinking beer next to him, also flinched in surprise.

“Isn't that N.A.N's main vocalist? Why is she contacting you, Assistant Manager Baek?”

“Because I gave her my business card today.”

“You gave her your business card?”

Today, when he treated Ha-ryeong's Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome, Baek Hyeon-woo had handed her a business card.

Ha-ryeong had seen the number written on it and sent a message.

“She says she wants to meet and have a talk.”

“Sh-she wants to meet? Don't tell me, is she asking you out on a date?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why is she asking to meet you, Assistant Manager Baek? There's no reason to ask to meet, is there?”

Next to the flustered Park Yeong-ho, Baek Yeon-ah muttered while hiccupping.

“Don't tell me... is it because she wants to move her agency to Haram Entertainment?”

“C-CEO-nim, what kind of nonsense...”

“Well. I'm not sure.”

Baek Hyeon-woo lifted his beer glass with an impassive expression.

“As it happens, Ha-ryeong-ssi's contract period with UBX is ending soon.”

“……!”

In front of the two people who were holding their breath, Baek Hyeon-woo downed his beer.