Pen and Paper Translations

Several days had passed since Lee Hyoeun’s anti-malicious-comments challenge was uploaded.

[An anti-malicious-comment challenge with yourself! ‘to me’—let’s all do it together!]

Views 2.35 million

Likes 85,431

Comments 51,305

Thanks to more celebrities than expected taking the lead and joining in, saying the purpose was good, the challenge spread quickly like a seasonal wildfire.

This was how netizens reacted to the video by Lee Hyoeun that first started the challenge.

─ Public opinion isn’t favorable right now, but even so, the courage she showed is really cool.

Or:

─ It’s an eyesore how she keeps pretending to be nice to the very end.

Isn’t “getting cursed no matter what you do” what the job of a celebrity is?

Well, yes.

However, Lee Hyoeun didn’t bend easily.

HE @hohoeun mar.1

Please stop indiscriminate malicious comments and speculative reporting!

Even if she’d be cursed as an attention seeker.

HE @hohoeun mar. 5

Celebrities are also family and friends by your side. Please don’t make personal attacks that would destroy human dignity!

She did not stop.

If her meddling could have even the slightest positive effect, she intended to keep going, again and again.

Brr, brr, brr—!

Lee Hyoeun curtly ended the call that had started ringing again.

[ Caller ID withheld ]

It was surely Chae Yoojin.

Even after being blocked, she would make new accounts and contact her to a vicious degree, but Hyoeun remained steadfastly unresponsive.

Tok, todododok—!

Staring down at the screen after the call ended, Lee Hyoeun then posted one more message.

HE @hohoeun now

From now on, I will respond firmly to anyone who spreads malicious comments or rumors.

It was addressed to malicious commenters…

And also to my friend.

To Chae Yoojin.

(T/N: Yoojin was never your friend, sis.)

---

These days, Im Sungwoon was slowly realizing that cracks were beginning to form in his life, little by little.

Right. It started after the day he met Executive Director Park.

Back then, he’d thought Park was just acting tough. From what he’d seen and heard a few times, the man had a strong desire for power and was quick with calculations.

He also didn’t like how Park subtly looked down on him just because he’d been in this field longer and was older.

So then this time, he’d wanted to toy with him a bit, and he figured it would be perfect to make him submit with money.

Right. He’d thought that even if Park acted like that for now, within a few days Park would contact him again.

But up to now, days later, no contact had come.

“I’ll make sure you experience the bottom thoroughly, so sit tight and wait.”

Only the words Park had said swirled around his ears like an unstable vortex.

‘Am I on my way to the bottom right now?’

This thought began to creep in…

From the moment the flood of casting requests and sponsorships suddenly cut off.

Before he knew it, all the company’s celebrities who’d been fixed MCs on shows had stepped down, and a brand they’d been an exclusive model for notified them of a model change.

And that wasn’t all. For artists about to make a comeback, the order of their music show stage slots was gradually pushed earlier and earlier.

In the case of rookies, the appearance itself fell through entirely.

As that happened, from the idol group that could be called Q& Entertainment’s flagship artists to top-star actors, many requested termination of exclusive contracts.

Where they moved to was none other than LS Entertainment.

‘That bastard…’

It must have been a setup Executive Director Park had put in motion to tighten the noose around his neck.

Damn it.

Even if they’d scraped together all the penalties from contract terminations, having no projected sales right away…

That also meant they would soon be in the red.

‘So that’s why he told me to at least keep my money?’

However, he couldn’t just be swept away and vanish because of a scheme whipped up by some mere executive director.

‘I’m the head of a company. I’m fundamentally different from some executive director nobody.’

Im started frantically calling people in broadcasting.

He drove the staff hard, telling them to cast the kids who seemed most likely to sell, or bring in kids who were selling well at other agencies.

In the end, one by one, employees couldn’t hold out and submitted resignations.

And as if word were spreading in the industry, not a single artist wanted to come to Q& Entertainment.

In that way, Q& Entertainment was gradually becoming isolated in the field.

‘This can’t be happening.’

As a kind of last-ditch flailing, he went to find an entertainment reporter notorious by name, determined to spread everything.

“I’ll give you information on HS, so in return, if you know any dirt on LS Entertainment, blow it up with it. Someone like you should have at least a card you’ve kept up your sleeve, right?”

He proposed a deal that was hard to refuse, but the reply that came back was…

“Am I crazy? If I go after a tough company like LS Entertainment, someone like me would disappear without a trace.”

“Don’t worry about that. If LS Entertainment sues you, I’ll even set up the legal team for you. How about it? Doesn’t that make it not a losing deal?”

“Hm…. It’s certainly an enticing offer, but there’s one fact you don’t know, sir.”

“Me? What is it?”

“I’m already the reporter in charge of HS. If you want to propose a deal, you’ll need to bring a different prey.”

Only a firm refusal.

‘Gae Jinsung, that bastard….’

Wait. Why hadn’t the most notoriously reckless entertainment reporter, famous for crashing headlong, released such a bombshell piece of information, even with it in hand?

Could it be?

Had he touched someone he really shouldn’t have?

At this point, wasn’t he actually on his way to the bottom like this?

This terrifying thought rapidly began to take over his mind.

Right. It felt like he’d become a gaunt, withered tree with arms and legs chopped off, unable to do anything.

The beginning of all this was that woman Chae Yoojin’s loose tongue.

Her ability was unwatchable, but because she was the daughter of an old friend, he’d taken her on as a trainee.

Of course, since she had a decent face, he’d planned to shove her into an idol group as a “visual” member and sell that…

But he ended up played.

Brrrrrrrrrr—!

Im immediately called Chae Yoojin.

A “click,” and the call connected.

Before the words “Hello?” even properly came through the receiver, Im raised his voice with veins bulging and shouted,

“Do you have any idea what kind of state the company’s in because of you?”

He hadn’t asked because he wanted an answer.

“You, with no ability, playing around saying you’re going to be a singer. Why did you make this mess?”

He simply wanted to berate her.

“You’re finished in this field too, you know that? It’s over!”

When the worst possible outcome hits, shifting the blame to someone else would make him feel at least a little better.

Bang!

Unable to contain his rage, he hurled his phone at the floor; it shattered with a thunderous crack.

At that moment, the question Park had thrown at him in a threatening tone came to mind.

“Are you sure about this?”

He’d written it off as simple bluff.

“One piece of advice: keep a good hold of your money.”

He’d snorted, thinking it was just a beast puffing itself up to look fierce.

It wasn’t.

Like a lion, the king of the jungle, with its mane bristling, Park had charged at him ready to rip everything of his to pieces.

The result was devastating.

In the end, Q& Entertainment, which he’d been pulling along with massive capital, began to develop irreparable cracks.

“Shit…”

It didn’t even take a month before it shattered into pieces.

---

Because he’d been harried for nearly a month with Sarah Stewart’s arrangement work, Hyunseung’s fatigue had piled up.

Now that the work had finally finished, he had to go work out again.

“Ha…”

Like cotton soaked with water, his body sank down heavy and limp, and he forced himself to get up.

Executive Director Park had said:

Don’t work out like it’s a habit. Work out like someone who’s addicted.

‘Right. I have to go….’

He’d thought Park might exercise less once his children returned to Korea, but as always, Park would come out at the crack of dawn to work out.

Of course, Hyunseung also had to work out every day like someone addicted, and thanks to that, his body was getting better day by day.

In truth, maybe he really was slowly getting addicted?

“I’m really tired today….”

Even as he said it, Hyunseung was already naturally grabbing his straps and heading to the gym.

Trudge, trudge.

Passing through a dark hallway, he arrived at the company gym; for some reason today, there were no signs of anyone.

Normally, B=by the time he arrived, there would always be a harsh “huff huff” of breathing and a “bang!” of iron, but today it was strangely quiet.

As Hyunseung looked over the gym, where only soft music played, he saw the back of Executive Director Park, sitting on a bench in a corner, looking down at his phone.

Stealthily.

He tiptoed toward him to startle him.

But in reverse, Hyunseung ended up being the one startled.

“Huh?”

No wonder.

On the phone screen in Park’s hand, a headline read, “Q& Entertainment facing first bankruptcy crisis…”

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“Start with stretching.”

Hyunseung stopped Park’s hand as he went to put his phone away and asked,

“But what was that article I just saw?”

“What about it?”

“Is it true? Not just a rumor sheet?”

“Probably.”

Then, clicking his tongue in disbelief, he muttered,

“Wow, Q& going bankrupt.”

“You know Q& too?”

“Know it? Back in the day….”

Without thinking, Hyunseung swallowed the words he’d started. For Hyunseung, “back in the day” meant his previous life.

Right.

When it came to Q& Entertainment, he knew them very well. Oh, not in this life but in the previous one.

They were an old client who would always pay a high price and take his songs, you could say?

‘Strange.’

Since they held a lot of capital, they drew in famous celebrities with huge signing fees.

And with those celebrities, they naturally earned huge sums again, creating a virtuous cycle.

Back when Hyunseung had been active in his late twenties, they’d risen to the ranks of a fairly major agency…

‘Why are they facing bankruptcy?’

Is it that, just as he’d suddenly turned back time, a fixed destiny could change as well?

While Hyunseung was lost in thought—

“Hm? ‘Back in the day’? Did you have contact with Q&?”

Park looked him up and down with a suspicious gaze and asked.

“No, I mean I saw it in articles back in the day.”

Flustered, Hyunseung changed tack and added,

“But aren’t they famous for having lots of capital? Saying they’re suddenly going bankrupt is a bit odd.”

At those words, Park let his words trail off vaguely, like someone with something to hide.

“Is that so…”

And then he recalled the past month.

“Director Choi, this isn’t some ordinary matter. He knew the guy’s name. We have to make the first move.”

He’d sought out his old friend and fated rival and put their heads together.

“CEO Jeon, if you want to keep the kid close for a long time, this is when you help.”

He’d gone to CEO Jeon Nam-il and persuaded him that Q& Entertainment had to be wiped out of the field.

“Teacher Lee Duseok, I’m shamelessly reaching out like this to ask for help….”

Lastly, he’d gone to Lee Duseok and begged to borrow the great power that could shake the entertainment industry.

Maybe the kid had lived his life better than he looked, or maybe he had a strange charm that drew people in, or maybe he was just lucky.

Everyone gladly accepted his request.

After that, things went too smoothly. As if it had been a scheduled operation, everything progressed without a hitch.

As a result, Q& Entertainment was slowly sinking beyond the horizon, unable to do anything.

It was something that could have been done without going this far, but if they hadn’t gone this far, perhaps the feared disaster would have happened, wouldn’t it?

The greatest stroke of luck was that the name “Min Hyunseung” didn’t appear in any article.

Of course, they’d warned the various media outlets in advance, but still, someone aiming for a scoop could have decided to blow it anyway….

It seemed, somehow, the heavens were helping the kid.

“Hey.”

“What?”

Looking at Hyunseung gazing quietly at him, Park thought,

“You must not know because you’re still a punk.”

Just as he’d had his own circumstances he couldn’t speak of, the kid probably had reasons he couldn’t say and wanted to avoid exposure.

If so, as an adult, what he could do was pretend not to know and quietly protect him.

“That’s how this field is.”

Then Park shifted his gaze to the glass wall and added,

“You can disappear in an instant, and you can rise in an instant.”

Hyunseung also turned his head, following his gaze.

Beyond the window, they could clearly see Seoul city with the sun just beginning to rise.

Meanwhile, cars packed the roads, and people were moving busily.

A scene exactly befitting the name “the city that never sleeps.”

“So you be careful too, always.”

What Park added at the end was…

“Weren’t you hoping I’d disappear?”

“You put that a bit harshly, don’t you?”

“Or not.”

“I’m going to kill you on bench today, so be ready.”

He meant it.

Ah.

Both the warning to be careful, and the words about killing him on bench.

“Please, anything but bench….”

He meant all of it.