Swift and decisive.
Before it could be nailed down that The Dawn’s comeback would be delayed, I decided to handle it quickly.
“Deputy Manager Jang said that? Huhu, well this is...”
The first move was to make good use of the hint that Deputy Manager Jang had slipped me.
I booked a famous Chinese restaurant in Gangnam and brought along Sung Jiwon to meet with Deputy Manager Kim. At first he looked troubled, but sure enough, as soon as he confirmed the rumor that his daughter was a fan of The Dawn, he opened up and started spilling.
“Haha, I’m embarrassed. Please thank your daughter for me. Thanks to her, we’ve gained a lot of strength.”
Beaming and nodding, Sung Jiwon habitually refilled Kim’s glass the moment it emptied, prompting toast after toast. Before long, Deputy Manager Kim was completely drunk.
“Hic, so, Executive Director Jeong, he’s... hic, trying to delay The Dawn’s comeback. I don’t know why, but... hic, from the start he never liked the Daepaseong acquisition... hic.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Shh, shh, this is a secret. You can’t tell anyone!”
“Of course! Absolutely a secret!”
“There’s... hic, an Executive Director Han too, fighting with Executive Director Jeong over the affiliate VP seat, you know? That kind of person. Oh, who is he? Hic, he’s terrifying... strict... I was wrong...”
“Ah, I see. It’s okay, it’s okay!”
“...Hic, but he’s good at his job! And... his wife, tsk, was a fan of Min Jiheon. But... hic, she was too scared of her husband to even ask for an autograph poster...”
“Oh dear, that’s a shame. Don’t cry, Deputy Manager Kim. There, there! Shall we have another drink?”
“...Sung Jiwon, hic, are you the devil?”
I smacked my forehead watching him mumble and spill everything like a broken answering machine.
‘Fuck, of course the stomach was rotten.’
The stories of the actual consumers—the fans—were ignored, while corporate politics inside the company stalled idol activities.
If fans found out, they’d flip the whole table over.
“So this is what it was.”
After stuffing his hands with a signed album covered with The Dawn members’ signatures and loading him into a taxi, I returned to the restaurant. Jiwon was drinking down gaoliang and gave me a fresh smile.
“Hoyun, if you need help again, just say the word.”
“That was more than enough. Thanks.”
“Wanna have a few more with just us?”
“No.”
I pushed Jiwon’s back as he smacked his lips regretfully and hurried back to the dorm.
“Eh? Why am I the one calling Executive Director Han’s wife?”
“This is all part of managing The Dawn, isn’t it? You said you briefly handled Min Jiheon’s schedule before, right? Use this chance to build some connections.”
“...Oh? I guess that’s true?”
And then, time to catch the bigger fish with the bait Kim had dropped.
The next afternoon, I appeared at WH Entertainment’s management team office and pitched it to the manager.
“I’m close with Min Jiheon, right? I’ll guide you on what to say, you just have to deliver it. Simple, right?”
Smiling gently, I softened my tone. The manager looked wary, but eventually dragged me into a meeting room, set his phone to speaker, and dialed Executive Director Han’s wife.
I snatched his laptop and typed rapidly in Notepad.
[Oh my, oh my, thank you so much. How did you know I wanted that?]
“Haha, we’re all part of Daepaseong, aren’t we? Our Hoyun is so close to Min Jiheon...”
〔Give it a Kim Deputy Manager accent〕
“Ack, I mean—it came up while dining with Deputy Manager Kim. If we’d known you were a fan, we would’ve prepared it earlier.”
[It’s nothing, really. But thank you. These days my husband’s so stressed from work that even little things feel dangerous.]
“...Excuse me?”
At the baited tug from the big fish, I poked the manager in the thigh.
He looked at me, stunned, clearly thinking this was just autograph delivery and connection building.
‘This is the real part.’
I tapped the laptop screen and he reluctantly opened his mouth again.
“Ah, I don’t mean to pry, but is this about Executive Director Jeong...?”
[Oh my, so you already know?]
“Haha, my group The Dawn’s comeback got delayed, and it’s been troubling me as well.”
While he spoke, I hammered away at the keyboard.
〔Executive Director Han vs Executive Director Jeong over WH VP seat.
Power balance was even until this year, but Jeong grew stronger.
Now Jeong is pushing to delay The Dawn’s comeback.
Guess: Jeong and Daepaseong’s CEO are from the same hometown, but they hate each other.
Possibility: comeback delayed due to spite against Daepaseong CEO.
Han’s wife’s opinion: very possible.〕
We both sighed at once.
So The Dawn’s activities were stalled not for external reasons, but because of some internal grudge match.
Pathetic.
[Oh dear, I didn’t ramble too long, did I?]
“Not at all! That was very helpful. We were worried about the delay.”
[You’re working so hard, and still took care to send me Jiheon’s autograph...]
“It was nothing, ma’am. Thank you so much for today. Goodbye—ah!”
The manager tried to end the call, but I jabbed his thigh again. He twitched, then read the last line I typed.
“D-don’t worry too much. I believe we can be of help to Executive Director Han.”
[Oh? Thank you.]
Click.
The manager stared at his phone, then rubbed his face with both hands.
“...Hoyun, what is going on? Wasn’t this just about passing along Jiheon’s autograph and networking? What was all that talk? And that last cryptic line?”
“Unavoidable things.”
“Haa... But if it’s as you said, this is a total mess. What do we even...?”
“Manager, we don’t need to do anything.”
I cut him off firmly.
“All we did was prepare a gift and have a chat.”
“...Ugh.”
Still unsettled, he clutched his head as I shooed him out of the meeting room and organized my thoughts.
‘So all that’s left is to bury Executive Director Jeong....’
Now the question: do I spend points to use the item shop, or lean on the paparazzo again?
After a moment, I pulled out my phone, typed in the memorized contact, and sent a message.
[See if there’s anything worth digging on this guy.]
Just as I stood to head to dance practice, a reply came.
[Kim Jaeyeon: What’s the price?]
I wasn’t wasting points on this.
So I plucked something suitable from my old list and sent it off, then sat back to wait.
***
The Dawn’s manager was having yet another turbulent day.
The group had just landed a collaboration with a famous domestic beauty brand, and a commemorative fansign at the flagship store was scheduled.
“Sunghyun hyung, big trouble!! I was tap-dancing with Ichae and he broke his ankle—”
“Broke it?!”
“Almost! But he used the judo breakfall I taught him and he’s fine!”
“You wanna die?”
The waiting room was noisy and warm as always. Seo Hoyun, first done with makeup, was slouched on the sofa.
Then a call came from an unknown number. Slipping into the hall, the manager answered.
“Hello?”
[Hello, Manager Kim. This is Executive Director Han Ji-hyuk.]
His eyes widened.
“Y-yes? Executive Director Han?”
[Sorry for the sudden call. Are you free to talk?]
“Yes, yes!”
[I heard from my wife that you’ve been quite worried about the group you’re handling.]
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
Han got straight to the point.
[—But you needn’t worry too much. Daepaseong isn’t WH’s concern anyway. Things will return to normal soon.]
You definitely have the power.
Polite words, but bristling with sharp thorns. The manager blinked blankly, overwhelmed.
[Also, thank you. Thanks to you, things are going smoothly.]
“...Sorry?”
[Though I do wonder—how did you find out? That’s not something a mere manager could uncover.]
“...Excuse me?”
The manager had no idea what he meant. Han’s tone grew sharper.
[Don’t tell me you want me to say it out loud? Executive Director Jeong’s embezzlement.]
But the manager really was hearing this for the first time.
“...I’m terribly sorry, but... what do you mean?”
After a pause, Han burst into laughter.
[Haha, not only competent but knows how to play dumb.]
“...No, I really—”
[My wife said you told her you believed in me, that I’d be of help. Didn’t you?]
But now his voice carried irritation.
[Well, fine. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice. But I don’t live with debts. I’ll make sure your group benefits from this. Consider it settled. I’ll be watching.]
And he hung up.
The manager stared at the phone in disbelief.
‘What the hell just happened?’
The back of his head prickled, but he had no idea where to even begin.
Better to just deal with the immediate schedule in front of him. He turned back toward The Dawn’s event—
“Whose call was that?”
Arms crossed, I locked eyes with the ghost-like bastard staring at me.
“Uwaaah!”
“Was that really worth screaming over?”
Clutching my pounding chest, I took a deep breath. Seo Hoyun tilted his head and stepped closer.
“Who called you?”
“N-no one, it was nothing...”
“Executive Director Han?”
“Wh-what?!”
How the hell did he know?
“He thanked me... ah! Looks like the comeback will go ahead as planned!”
“Wow, really?”
With a gentle curve of his lips, Seo Hoyun patted my shoulder.
“That’s great news. You’ve worked hard, Manager.”
I studied him carefully. I had no proof, but all my years as a manager screamed the same thing: Han’s change of heart was because Seo Hoyun had done something.
“...Hoyun, did you do something?”
“I’m terribly sorry, but... what do you mean?”
Repeating the exact words he’d said to Executive Director Han, Hoyun walked back into the waiting room. In that moment, he overlapped perfectly with the Seo Hoyun who once argued over contract settlement ratios.
“Manager.”
“O-oh.”
Hoyun stopped at the door and suddenly asked,
“So what’s the CEO been up to these days?”
“...Mm, I heard he went down to the countryside, started running an orchard as a hobby.”
After Daepaseong was acquired by WH Entertainment, unlike the original negotiations, WH kept meddling and pressuring. Pushed into being little more than a figurehead, the CEO stopped showing his face, and recently he’d all but vanished.
Hoyun’s brows shot up.
“Losing his mind... actually farming an orchard.”
“‘Mang-mang-mang, like mangos...’” I muttered without realizing, and Hoyun clicked his tongue. I flinched, sure he’d go off on the CEO next, but all he let out was a weak sigh.
“Well, I hope the CEO enjoys a long, long life running his orchard.”
All words of blessing—except for the audible grinding of his teeth.
Hoyun steadied his breath and stepped into the waiting room.
“Seo Hoyun!”
Before he could take a step, Kim Sunghyun rushed up with a radiant face.
“Our comeback schedule’s staying the same! Team Leader Jung Seonui just called!”
“Really?”
“Yup~. Sunghyun was anxious the past few days, but now it’s settled.”
Sung Jiwon smiled warmly and patted Sunghyun’s back. Instinctively, I glanced at Hoyun.
He only wore a faint, unreadable smile, bending forward slightly to meet the leader’s eyes.
“Sunghyun. Kim Sunghyun.”
“H-huh, what?!”
“Don’t wear that gloomy face anymore...”
“...”
“You look better smiling.”
“...Is this guy insane?”
The touching moment shattered instantly as Sunghyun scowled.
After some more playful bickering, The Dawn members were guided into the flagship store for the fansign.
Meanwhile, my head was still spinning.
‘Seriously... Seo Hoyun? No way... but then how did...?’
No logic, no proof, yet the thought that he’d pulled the strings wouldn’t leave me.
At the event, Hoyun greeted fans with practiced innocence.
Midway through, while putting on a requested rabbit-ear headband, a fan threw him a sensitive question.
“Hoyun, um.”
“Yes?”
“Could I ask... when’s the comeback? Just in case...”
“Huh?”
Hoyun brushed the rabbit ears down, smiling awkwardly with feigned innocence.
“Hmm, I don’t really know things like that.”
Chills raced up my arms.
“Eyy, you totally know!”
“I really don’t... what should I do? Sorry. But we’ll come back as soon as possible.”
“Aah... okay...”
He smiled brightly, voice gentle—just like Sung Jiwon. I’d seen it countless times, but it never stopped being unsettling.
“Hoyun! Say ‘Seomin’ just once!!”
“Ah.”
The smile froze off his face.
“Seomin...”
“...”
“...Do I like you or something?”
“Bwahaha!”
And right then, I decided to keep silent from now on. Maybe it was safer not to dig deeper.
.
.
.
When the fansign ended, The Dawn followed me toward the van.
“What should ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) we eat back at the dorm?”
“Dajun said he’d cook.”
“I’ll starve today.”
Hoyun retrieved his phone from the road manager and powered it back on.
[Little shit]
[Little shit]
[Little shit]
[Little shit]
[Little shit]
Missed calls from his brother flooded the screen.
Even as the members walked ahead, Hoyun stood frozen, staring at it. A nameless dread clung to his back.
“Seo Hoyun?”
Sunghyun called, but Hoyun didn’t hear.
Then—
[Little shit]
Bzzzz— bzzzz—.
The phone vibrated in his hand. Calmly, Hoyun answered.
“What is it.”
[—Oh? Oh! Finally! Are you Hoyun’s brother’s hyung?]
“...Who are you?”
A stranger’s voice.
[I’m not a weirdo, I’m Seo Hojin’s college friend! That’s not the point! I’m at XX Hospital right now! Why didn’t you answer sooner!!]
“...Where did you say?”
[XX Hospital! Hyung, please come quick!]
The voice, trembling with tears, pounded against his skull like a hammer.
[Seo Hojin is in the emergency room right now.]
