Chapter 59
The mood instantly turned icy.
The kind of vibe people call taking things way too far.
You know, when people say someone crossed the line.
But if you’re going to cross it, you might as well go all the way.
“If two hundred million isn’t enough, you can give us three hundred million.”
At my words, the Budget Team and Park Joo-yong, who’d been shrinking beside them, let out hollow laughs.
‘Has he lost his mind?’
That was probably what they were thinking.
If CEO Cheon Tae-o hadn’t been here, someone would’ve said that out loud ages ago.
“Do you think two hundred million won grows on trees?”
In the end, someone from the Budget Team spoke up first, unable to hold back any longer.
They seemed especially on edge, probably because they’d seen the CEO explode earlier today.
“I know it doesn’t grow on trees. If it were a kid’s name, though, that’d be pretty horrifying in its own way. And three hundred million. Three hundred million.”
“……?”
I adorably held up my index finger. My middle finger. My ring finger.
The Budget Team looked like they were loving this to death.
“Do you think this is AM or Live? Even they have a hard time getting a budget like that!”
The Budget Team put their hands on their hips, pointed at me, and shouted.
But I remained completely unruffled.
“Wouldn’t the CEO sitting beside you be offended if you put it that way? Our company is a good place, too.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“I’m making a reasonable request. We have the songs. The choreography. And after seeing our girls, don’t you think it’s at least somewhat understandable?”
Their overwhelming presence had come through even on the screen.
Our girls, whose average grade was higher than SS, would at the very least earn back the investment, in my opinion.
But surely it wouldn’t end there.
Lately, I may have been living like an ordinary person.
But I was absolutely not an ordinary person.
‘Right?’
[Of course. No matter what happens, your master has me, a god-tier AI, by his side.]
That was right.
There was nothing to fear.
The road ahead might be a little rough.
Unexpected incidents or accidents might catch me off guard.
But the outcome wouldn’t change either way.
That was why I could push ahead so confidently.
“I’m saying this because they’re worth investing in. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t be standing here making such a bold request.”
“That’s not for you to decide on your own! You’re just a team leader!”
That was when Cheon Tae-o stepped in.
“Now, now. Let’s calm down.”
After getting the furious Budget Team to sit back down,
Cheon Tae-o rested his chin on his clasped hands and asked me,
“Team Leader Kim.”
“Yes.”
“Let me ask you just one thing. Are you truly confident?”
His voice and expression were so gentle.
Even if there was a bit of pretense in them,
perhaps I had more of CEO Cheon Tae-o’s trust and affection than I’d thought?
‘He didn’t ask if I could take responsibility this time.’
That meant the CEO was implicitly saying he’d share the responsibility.
“Yes. I’m confident.”
If the team I was putting together now couldn’t succeed?
Then I’d have to start by checking the temperature of the Han River.
“I see. Understood.”
CEO Cheon Tae-o nodded.
“I’d like to give you three hundred million, but I’ll set the budget at two hundred million.”
“C-CEO!”
“If that isn’t enough, I’ll even cover the rest out of my own pocket.”
It wasn’t just the Budget Team that nearly fell over in shock.
Even Park Joo-yong, who’d been sitting there expecting me to get scolded, couldn’t hide his bewilderment as his chair clattered.
“It’ll be coming out of my own pocket, so that should be all right, shouldn’t it, Budget Team Leader?”
“Well, I… I’ll see what I can do to free up as much of the budget as possible.”
“All right. Please contact me right away if it isn’t enough.”
“Yes, sir.”
Though it wasn’t visible while the CEO was looking,
I could already see the Budget Team Leader’s anguish as he turned his head slightly.
The look of someone wondering where to find the money and what to cut to free it up.
That wasn’t my problem.
“You know, Team Leader Kim…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that your group, Always, is our company’s hope. I mean that.”
I already knew that.
But hearing it from that man suddenly felt like someone had set a boulder on each of my shoulders.
“I’ll make them a success.”
That was about all I could say.
‘With two hundred million, we could even shoot overseas, couldn’t we?’
“Go ahead with the music video shoot once the budget comes through. When are you thinking of debuting? Perhaps what we should be discussing here is the perfect time for Always’s debut.”
“We’re thinking around December 1. I looked into it, and a lot of girl groups who debuted around then went on to dominate the following year.”
If we debuted in December, we’d probably only get to show our faces at a lot of award ceremonies.
We wouldn’t win any major awards,
but that might actually make it easier for rookies to debut and take first place on music shows.
It was as if the heavyweight seniors stepped back a little.
At first, making a strong impression on people was the most important thing.
The problem was, I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.
“It looks like there’ll be some serious competition. Is that a coincidence, or did you plan it?”
“Pardon?”
For once, I was taken aback, too.
Because for a moment, I couldn’t grasp what Cheon Tae-o was getting at at all.
A coincidence? Planned?
Seeing my reaction, Cheon Tae-o gave a small nod.
“Ah. You didn’t know. I suppose that makes sense. I heard AM is debuting a new girl group in December, too.”
“Yes……”
I tilted my head, wondering what that had to do with me, when
“It seems one of them went to the same high school as Always’s youngest.”
“……”
“For the record, she even called me. She’s quite an interesting friend.”
There was a hint of anticipation on Cheon Tae-o’s face.
Ironically, this time I thought I could live up to it.
‘Jo Yu-na. So she’s debuting as an idol after all.’
I thought she wouldn’t.
Why on earth was she doing it?
It wasn’t like she was short on money.
Her family was loaded, too.
‘Was she bored?’
Whatever the reason, there was now one more reason for Always to debut successfully.
‘Ah, anyway, how am I supposed to help Hee-ju get revenge?’
I’d vaguely promised her something to get her on board,
but she’d only be happy if I gave her revenge worthy of that promise.
‘I mean, I can’t just be satisfied with kicking her out of the entertainment industry because she bullied someone at school, can I?’
It wasn’t like her family was dirt poor and she’d have nothing to live on otherwise.
And it wasn’t like she’d dreamed of becoming an idol since she was little and couldn’t bear to do anything else.
‘Damn, getting revenge on a chaebol is hard.’
While I was muttering to myself,
“Then that concludes today’s meeting. I’ll be counting on you, Team Leader Kim.”
“Yes. I’ll show you what we can do.”
“And Team Leader Park.”
Park Joo-yong, who wanted to get out of there more than anyone, replied with difficulty, his face half-dead.
“Yes, CEO.”
“Do better.”
“Yes, sir.”
Click. Click—.
After Cheon Tae-o left, delivering a warning dressed up as encouragement,
“Well, I’ll be off, too. The girls miss me.”
“……”
I didn’t forget to offer a few words of encouragement on my way out.
I brushed some imaginary dust off Park Joo-yong’s shoulder and said,
“Looks like it’s time for you to retire.”
“What…?”
“These days, even young people don’t take things to such a ridiculous level.”
“You little punk!”
Thud—.
There was no question about it.
I casually caught the fist I’d expected him to swing,
and even had the presence of mind to smile at him.
“All right, I really have to go. Hang in there! Fighting!”
I dashed toward the elevator, even jumping to click my dress shoes together like they were clapping.
Now that was how you really got under someone’s skin.
“Girls! We got a two-hundred-million-won budget for the music video!”
Start thinking about where overseas you want to go.
Ding—.
[Basement Level 1.]
And so I got in my car and headed back to the studio to meet the girls, who’d been waiting for me like their eyes were about to pop out.
-♪♬♪♬
My phone rang.
I thought it might be one of our girls again, so I picked up right away, but
-Team Leader Kim. This is Cheon Tae-o.
It was the CEO.
Shit.
I nearly floored the accelerator by mistake and ended my life right there.
“Ah. Yes, CEO.”
He wasn’t going to say two hundred million was too much after all and cut it in half, was he?
That wasn’t it, was it?
-This isn’t about the budget, so please relax. If it were, I would’ve brought it up in the conference room earlier.
This guy.
Could he read minds, too?
-It’s a very casual question.
“Yes. Understood.”
But just because you say it’s casual, does that mean it’ll feel casual to the person listening?
You bastard.
If someone picked up a rock lying in the street, called it candy, and told us to eat it, we’d have to, wouldn’t we?
-Do you happen to know any composers?
“Pardon?”
-Ah. This is rather embarrassing. For me to ask you something like this. In Composer Nampo-dong Nuclear Fist’s case, I can’t ignore my own responsibility, so I’m going to try to resolve it somehow. But I remembered that you have a very good eye for these things, Team Leader Kim.
It was true that Cheon Tae-o had been the one to bring in the composer Nampo-dong Nuclear Fist in the first place.
‘This guy really does have the makings of a leader.’
He could’ve just let the matter go.
But I had to respect him, regardless of anything else, for trying to take responsibility.
And he’d even called one of his subordinates personally to ask.
“The only composer I have any connection with right now is Composer Kim Gi-bok at STB. But I’ll do my best to look around whenever I have time.”
-I’d appreciate that. If it works out, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded.
“Ah, about that reward, CEO…”
Would I have made the same demand if it had been someone else?
One thing was certain.
Today, I was an unstoppable eight-ton truck.
“Could you get rid of Team Leader Park Joo-yong?”
He’s getting on my nerves.
* * *
After the meeting, I headed straight for the studio where the girls were waiting.
On the way,
[Trending 100-won bread/All the rage on social media these days/MeTube views guaranteed]
“What’s that now?”
I got out to check it out since I heard young people liked it.
I wondered if it was really bread that cost a hundred won, but
it was bread shaped like a 100-won coin.
‘What a scam.’
I muttered that to myself, but since I heard it was popular with young women, I smiled and bought some for the composer, too, then had it wrapped up.
After getting back in the car, I took a bite.
“I prefer pork gukbap.”
[Studio]
I walked into the studio with a bag of 100-won bread tucked under my arm.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Aaaaah!”
I could more or less tell what kind of chaos had broken out while I was gone.
The girls seemed especially on edge today,
maybe they weren’t in sync,
and I could see them yelling whenever even the slightest thing annoyed them.
Even Kim Gi-bok, of all people, seemed unable to handle them, letting out one heavy sigh after another.
“Let’s take a ten-minute break.”
That was when I appeared.
“You’ve been working hard, Composer.”
“Ah! T-Team Leader! Why are you only getting here now? I just learned today that you’re the real heart of Always, Team Leader. When you’re not here, the girls, I hate to say it, are just fucking—”
The girls who’d rushed out of the recording booth spotted me, shoved their hands over Kim Gi-bok’s face, and ran over to me.
“Team Leader! Please scold the girls! These little shits treat unnie like she’s nothing.”
“I pointed out what they were doing wrong!”
“Haa. Without you here, I just couldn’t get my energy up.”
“I was annoyed.”
Cheep, cheep—.
Cheep, cheep—.
Cheep, cheep—.
I’d thought they’d all grown into fully mature hens,
but while I wasn’t looking, they’d turned back into chicks.
“Girls. More importantly, I bought some bread that’s supposed to be all the rage.”
“Forget the bread! I can’t take this anymore, so let’s start stretching right now. Composer, I’m going to go stretch with Team Leader, so wait here.”
They didn’t even care about the expensive bread that cost four thousand won apiece, but they gobbled down my semen more eagerly than anyone.
Just wait. I’m never buying anything for these girls again.
“You’re amazing, Team Leader. Their energy and their condition are completely different now. Could I get that stretching, too?”
“No. I told you, it’s women-only stretching.”
“Could I at least watch?”
“That’s even more out of the question.”
Fortunately, that day we were able to finish recording much faster than before.