By the time morning broke, Manager Kim led Hyunseung straight to the office of the internal director.
“Let’s go in.”
After speaking, Manager Kim knocked carefully on the tightly closed door.
Knock, knock.
As he waited, Hyunseung glanced at the nameplate hanging on the door:
– Internal Director Choi Geun-sik
They waited for a moment until a deep voice called from beyond the door.
“Come in.”
Manager Kim slowly began to open the door.
“Director.”
As the door gradually swung open, the interior of the executive’s office came into view.
“Manager Kim, what brings you all the way here?”
Choi Geun-sik, who was serving as an internal board director, greeted Manager Kim with genuine warmth. While the two exchanged friendly words and a handshake, Hyunseung stood a few steps behind, quietly sizing up Director Choi from head to toe.
Director Choi Geun-sik.
He had gentle eyes and laugh lines deeply etched into his face, giving him a warm impression. However, his neatly pomaded hair, immaculate shirt without a single wrinkle, thin silver-framed glasses, and even his upright posture hinted that he was not a man to be trifled with.
How should I put it?
Unlike Executive Director Park, he radiated a certain “soft on the outside, strong on the inside” vibe.
“Please, have a seat,” Director Choi said, gesturing toward the reception sofa in the center of his office. He then turned to Hyunseung.
“By the way, who’s this?”
Hyunseung gave a polite bow.
“It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Min Hyunseung.”
Director Choi smiled broadly.
“Ah, so you’re that composer I’ve heard so much about?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve heard plenty of rumors. Word is you’re quite talented.”
He motioned them again toward the sofa.
“Go on, have a seat.”
Once everyone was seated, Director Choi turned to Manager Kim.
“So, what’s the reason you brought this young man along?”
“Well, actually…”
Before Manager Kim could fully explain, Director Choi cut in.
“It’s obvious you need help. Am I right?”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Manager Kim nodded.
“Yes, Manager. We need your assistance.”
Inside LS Entertainment, the only person Manager Kim could truly rely on—whom he called his “rock”—was Director Choi. Not only had Choi been his mentor, he was also a senior colleague who’d risen to the executive level, sometimes acting like a parent figure. In fact, Choi’s direct support had played a major part in establishing Manager Kim’s current position within the company.
“Help, is it…?”
Director Choi stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“All right. Let’s hear it. I’m quite curious what sort of predicament has forced you to come to me for help.”
Manager Kim took a deep breath, then began to speak carefully.
“Actually, it’s about Executive Director Park.”
Director Choi’s eyes narrowed.
“Executive Director Park?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
Manager Kim proceeded to explain the situation from start to finish. As he told the whole story, Director Choi occasionally uttered short exclamations—“Huh,” “Ha,” “Wow”—while listening. Then, after organizing his thoughts, he asked:
“So, in short, Executive Director Park secretly prepared KOK’s comeback album in Japan?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And to secure the final performance slot for KOK on the music show, he pushed forward the debut of your own group? In other words, he’s moving up your group’s debut just to accommodate KOK?”
Director Choi took a cigarette pack from his shirt pocket, tilting his head thoughtfully.
“Knowing Executive Director Park, nothing is surprising… But something doesn’t add up. Why push KOK’s schedule forward so aggressively unless he wants to sabotage Team Two? If not outright sabotage, there’s no reason to cram their schedule.”
Director Choi had been at odds with Executive Director Park for years, ever since before either of them held executive titles. He’d seen Park’s underhanded tactics firsthand. Still, it was rare—even for Park—to deliberately hinder colleagues within the same company. It was one thing to use cunning or cowardly methods to maximize his own achievements, but interfering so blatantly with others’ activities was unusual.
“It’s probably because of Hyunseung,” Manager Kim said.
Director Choi paused mid-drag on his cigarette, letting the smoke drift out between his lips.
“Really? He’s doing all this for one new composer?”
He glanced at Hyunseung with a bemused expression.
“Did you do something to wrong Executive Director Park?”
“No, not really,” Hyunseung replied.
“I mean, you wouldn’t have much reason to cross paths with him…”
Manager Kim interjected cautiously.
“Actually, Executive Director Park recently reached out to Hyunseung, asking if they could meet outside the company—perhaps just for coffee. I think he had his eye on him. But as you know, Hyunseung isn’t interested in anything unrelated to his work, so—”
“Ah,” Director Choi murmured, piecing things together. “So you turned him down.”
Though Hyunseung was just a rookie composer, he was the one who’d brought a washed-up singer to a second heyday. True, it remained to be seen how consistent his success might be, but this was enough to draw attention from an ambitious executive. If Park approached him and got rejected, given Park’s black-or-white mentality, he likely branded Hyunseung as part of “Director Choi’s faction” and decided he was an enemy.
“It makes sense,” Director Choi said, nodding in certainty.
“That’s exactly the kind of thing Park would do.”
At any rate, the key point was that Manager Kim, Min Hyunseung, and even Jung Arin—who was about to debut—all belonged to Team Two and were now in trouble thanks to Executive Director Park’s schemes. It was practically a declaration of war from Park against Choi. He had essentially provoked someone close to Choi by causing trouble for Manager Kim. That was something Director Choi could not overlook.
Min Hyunseung…
Director Choi shifted his gaze to Hyunseung, who was sitting idly on the sofa, looking bored as if he had only a passing interest in the situation.
He’s the one the CEO described as a potential “goose that lays golden eggs.”
No wonder Park had set his sights on him, too.
I wonder if he’s really that valuable…
To confirm whether or not Min Hyunseung could truly spin gold, time was needed. After all, if the bud is crushed too soon, you never get to see how brilliant the flower might have been.
“All right. Let’s tackle this step by step.”
Manager Kim swallowed anxiously.
“Is there a way?”
A brief silence fell.
“Tackling this head-on might be difficult…”
Director Choi trailed off before quietly revealing his plan.
“We’ll need to borrow someone’s authority from higher up.”
Manager Kim looked even more uneasy.
“Telling the CEO about this might be impossible. He loathes in-house power struggles. If he finds out we’re fighting among ourselves…”
He would almost certainly rebuke everyone involved instead of mediating—making the situation even more difficult.
“No, I meant even higher than that.”
“Higher than… the CEO?”
“Let’s at least try,” Director Choi said.
He pulled out his smartphone and placed a call.
“Hello, Teacher? This is Geun-sik. Yes, that’s right. It’s been a while…”
Manager Kim watched in a daze as Director Choi spoke with the utmost respect and politeness to whoever was on the other end of the line.
Teacher?
It was impossible to guess who he might be referring to as “Teacher.”
“Yes, then I’ll come by your place this evening…” Director Choi finished the call and let out a slow breath.
He looked over at Manager Kim and Hyunseung.
“Either of you have plans for tonight?”
“Uh, no, not really…”
“Cancel if you do. We’re going to dinner.”
With that, it was decided they would join Director Choi for an evening meeting with the mysterious “Teacher.”
That evening, a high-end German sedan cruised down the highway, carrying Director Choi, his driver, Manager Kim, and Hyunseung. From the front passenger seat, Manager Kim spoke up cautiously:
“Director, may I ask who we’re going to meet?”
Hyunseung, apparently curious as well, glanced back.
“Teacher? I think you might’ve heard rumors,” Director Choi replied, smiling.
Manager Kim’s confusion only deepened.
“To put it another way, he’s like a living fossil of the entertainment world,” Director Choi explained.
“A… fossil?”
“He’s practically the CEO’s father figure,” Director Choi continued. “Back in his day, he was a legend. He started out when color TVs first came to Korea. He was also the CEO’s mentor and the biggest contributor when LS Entertainment was founded.”
Manager Kim’s eyes went wide.
“You don’t mean…?”
“Yes, I’m talking about former Senior Managing Director Lee Du-seok. Though he only held the title of ‘managing director,’ he was essentially a co-founder. I’m sure you’ve at least heard a few of the stories about him, right?”
Manager Kim nodded.
“I’ve heard bits and pieces. I was told that he sold all his shares after helping found LS Entertainment and retired more than ten years ago…”
“That’s correct,” Director Choi said, then went on. “He’s been out of the industry for a decade, but there are still countless directors, producers, and PDs who’d jump at his slightest word. Even our own CEO consults him first when he’s stuck or overwhelmed.”
Director Choi gave Manager Kim a meaningful look.
“So, we have to make a good impression, got it?”
Manager Kim nodded, feeling the weight of the situation settle on his shoulders.
Lee Du-seok…
From the rumors alone, the man sounded formidable. He stood above even the CEO—so high that he was practically on another plane compared to Manager Kim. Feeling a surge of nerves, Manager Kim glanced toward Hyunseung.
And that kid…
Surely, even Hyunseung would be tense right now. After all, this was a do-or-die situation—seeking help from a legend of the entertainment world.
Manager Kim carefully peeked forward at the passenger seat…
Huh?
Hyunseung was simply fiddling with his smartphone, seemingly unbothered. For a moment, Manager Kim wondered if he was researching information about Lee Du-seok. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the search terms on Hyunseung’s phone.
Let’s see…
His eyes narrowed even further.
“Best spots for catching sailfish”…?
Even on the way to ask for help in a life-or-death situation, the guy was nonchalantly looking up fishing tips.
He’s an enigma…
The more he observed, the more unfathomable Min Hyunseung seemed.
Wow. This is a sailfish, y’all.
Leave a Reply to a.kCancel reply