Chapter 108: Comeback Stage (2)
The dressing room wasn't very spacious and many staff and talent agents would always be passing through. I recalled seeing a talent agent flinching at Sae-Ri’s scream before entering the dressing room. It seemed like that guy had run off to bring the staff over.
‘Get a hold of yourself, Jung Yoon-Ho.’
I calmed my wildly beating heart and set my priorities.
First of all, first aid was needed for Lee Ju-Yung. I wrapped a handkerchief around Lee Ju-Yung's hand to stop the bleeding. Then I quickly pulled out my phone.
Just as I was about to record the scene for evidence, Ma Dong-Pal grabbed my wrist.
"What are you doing right now?"
Despite Ma Dong-Pal's low and threatening voice, I responded without any hesitation. "Do you think I'm going to let this go after what happened? Let go of my wrist."
Ma Dong-Pal seemed to think I would call the police and his expression turned fierce.
"Put your phone away while I'm still asking nicely."
But I firmly responded without blinking my eyes, "Can’t you see our talent agent is bleeding? You said you’re asking nicely, but it seems like the boundary has already been crossed."
I showed a much firmer demeanor than usual because Lee Ju-Yung was injured. If I backed down now, Petite More might cause harm to Cherry Blossom again.
Meanwhile, the banging on the dressing room door intensified.
Choi In-Seok was shouting at the top of his lungs for the door to be opened. "Open the door! I said open it right now! Hey, get the key! Hurry!"
"No-nothing's wrong. Everything is fine, so you can just let us be, sir!"
Sung Ji-Hyuk, who was blocking the door, struggled to keep it closed.
"This voice is...you’re Team Lead Sung, aren’t you? Just open the door before the PD comes, okay?"
Sung Ji-Hyuk's face turned pale at the mention of the PD.
Seeing I wasn't backing down, Ma Dong-Pal sighed and said, "Sigh. Alright. Let's just stop here. It's not good for either of us if the PD comes in."
‘He's joking, right? The one in a tight spot is him, not us.’
"That's what you think."
"What?"
Ma Dong-Pal was fuming with anger and soon started to lose his composure. If the PD arrived, it would be clear to everyone that Petite More caused the incident, not Cherry Blossom.
That's when the voice of Ju Han-Soo, the PD of MBS Show! Music Center, came from outside the door.
Thud, thud, thud!
"I'm Ju Han-Soo! Are you going to open this door or not?"
The PD had arrived sooner than expected. The situation was turning more in my favor.
Ma Dong-Pal, now flustered, tried to calm the situation in a haste manner.
"Hey, Assistant Manager Jung. I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but it looks like our kids caused some trouble. Sorry about this."
But I didn't readily accept his apology because it simply wasn’t enough.
At that moment, Park Eun-Bin shouted from behind and her sharp voice echoed throughout the dressing room.
"Ugh, what trouble did we cause!?"
Ma Dong-Pal turned his head sharply and exclaimed, "Park Eun-Bin! You better keep your mouth shut!"
Ma Dong-Pal's expression was so fierce that the hysterical Park Eun-Bin immediately shut up. Park Eun-Bin glared at me as if she wanted to tear me apart, but I calmly met her gaze.
Now, we held the advantage.
"Mr. Ma. Tell her to take off the hairpin first. We have no intention of changing even a bit of Cherry Blossom's concept props."
"Fine, fine. Got it."
Seeing no way out, Ma Dong-Pal yelled at Park Eun-Bin, "Park Eun-Bin. Take off the hairpin for now."
"What!? Why should I take it off? They should be the ones taking off theirs, not me!"
"I'll get you something better, so just take it off!"
Park Eun-Bin trembled with anger. Taking off a hairpin was a trivial matter, but she hesitated since it was a matter of pride at this point.
Seeing this, Ma Dong-Pal strode over to Park Eun-Bin and pulled out her hairpin roughly.
Swoosh!
"Ouch!"
Some of Park Eun-Bin's hair got yanked out with the forcefully removed hairpin.
"Mr. Ma! Are you really doing this to me because of those trifles?"
‘Did she just call Cherry Blossom trifles?’
Even though Petite More would soon crumble once their music chart manipulation was exposed, I saw no reason to hold back after hearing this,
"From now on, our kids won't be greeting Petite More's dressing room whether they're sunbae or not. Don't even think about blaming us later."
Ma Dong-Pal turned around and nodded. "...Let's do that. We're not pleased to see you either."
Park Eun-Bin glared at me and cursed under her breath.
‘You fucking asshole.’
At that moment, I glared back at Park Eun-Bin with a smile. A provocation deserved a provocation, after all.
"Oh, by the way, I checked before coming here and Cherry Blossom’s new song has climbed to third place on the Melang charts. Don't you think today's broadcast will be interesting? People seem to be more interested in our fresh Cherry Blossom than in stagnant Miss Eun-Bin..."
Park Eun-Bin's face turned as red as a boiling kettle and she screamed, "Eeeek! Why, you little...!"
When Park Eun-Bin pointed at me with an informal speech, Woo Yeon-Hee who had been quietly watching until now suddenly stepped in.
"Don't speak rudely to our talent agent, Park Eun-Bin!"
"What? Did you just call me by my full name? Who taught you to speak to a sunbae like that..."
But Yang Eun-Bi cut Park Eun-Bin off before she could finish.
"Did you just say sunbae? What kind of sunbae throws a vase at their hoobae? And you know Ms. Lee getting hurt could be a lawsuit, right?"
‘Yes. Bringing up potential lawsuit threats right from the start is classic Yang Eun-Bi.’
At that moment, the thudding dressing room door finally burst open.
Bang!
Ju Han-Soo, the PD of MBS Show! Music Center, barged in with an angry voice. "Do you think this is your private room? Why the hell did you block the door!?"
As soon as he entered, he quickly assessed the situation and urgently called out to Choi In-Seok, "In-Seok, disperse the people outside."
"I’m sorry?"
"Just tell them it’s not a big deal and disperse them! Do you want the reporters to catch wind of this?"
Ju Han-Soo's veteran instincts of seven years of experience kicked in.
Choi In-Seok quickly went outside and dispersed the crowd. "Chop chop! Move along, move along. What are you all peeking at, huh? Nothing to see here. Everyone, go back to your own business!"
Ju Han-Soo locked the door again and approached Lee Ju-Yung and asked, "Are you okay, Ms. Ju-Yung? Are you badly hurt?"
"No, sir. It's just a small scratch."
Ju Han-Soo sighed in relief and then glared at Petite More before asking, "Who did this?"
Feeling the chill from Ju Han-Soo's cold demeanor, Ma Dong-Pal quickly intervened.
"Just a moment, Ju Han-Soo. Can we talk privately?"
"Let go of me."
Ju Han-Soo shook off Ma Dong-Pal's hand. He then glared at the flustered Ma Dong-Pal and continued.
"Didn't you hear me? Who started this mess!?"
Petite More trembled in fear. It seemed that they hadn't expected the usually friendly music show PD to suddenly change his attitude.
Sung Ji-Hyuk tried to step in to take the blame. "It was me, Mr. Ju."
However, Ju Han-Soo simply scoffed. "Do I look like a fool to you, Team Lead Sung?"
"N-no, sir. It's not that..."
That's when Sae-Ri shouted, "It was Eun-Bin sunbae!"
Sae-Ri's timely tattling made Park Eun-Bin glower at her with snake-like eyes.
At that moment, Sae-Ri quickly hid behind Yang Eun-Bi.
‘Haha, that kid. Such a bluffer.’
"Park Eun-Bin, was it really you?"
Park Eun-Bin glared fiercely and retorted, "Yes, it was me. I did it! I broke the vase because I was annoyed, but the fragments splashed onto Assistant Manager Lee—that’s all that happened. There's no need to kick up a fuss over this.”
Ju Han-Soo’s jaw dropped in disbelief and replied, "Ms. Lee is bleeding, and you’re saying ‘that’s all that happened?’ Is this a small matter to you, Eun-Bin?"
Ju Han-Soo’s breath grew uneven as he got angry.
That’s when Ma Dong-Pal quickly stepped in front of Park Eun-Bin, saying, "Ju Han-Soo, that's not it. The girls are just agitated right now, so please be patient. I've already scolded them enough."
Ma Dong-Pal tried to soothe Ju Han-Soo and reprimanded Park Eun-Bin, "Park Eun-Bin! Just keep your mouth shut! Where do you get off talking nonsense without knowing your place?"
Park Eun-Bin flinched and lowered her head at Ma Dong-Pal's reprimanding. Ma Dong-Pal was sweating profusely, looking flustered.
Ju Han-Soo would have normally tried to smooth things over without taking our side as if it were nothing. However given the unusual popularity of Cherry Blossom's new song, Ju Han-Soo was taking our side from the start.
Indeed, popularity equated to power and authority in this industry.
"This won’t do. Mr. Ma, please ask Director Cheon of your company to come in today. I'll have to report this matter directly to the CP and the executive director."
"T-that's..."
Ma Dong-Pal's face turned even paler as the name of Executive Director Cheon Yi-Sang, the second in command at TK Entertainment, was mentioned.
"Don't even think about covering this up. It's something we could even call the police for."
While Ju Han-Soo was coming on strong, it was clear he didn't intend to escalate the situation that far. If he wanted to involve the police, he would have done so already. He was just setting the stage to call in high-ranking officials from both companies to smooth things over.
However, there was a problem.
If a director from TK Entertainment came in, we would also need to call in Lee Gi-Cheol—and that was not what I wanted at all. After all, Lee Gi-Cheol was definitely not someone who would help me out in a situation like this.
This meant that this absurd situation had to end here in this place.
First, I approached Lee Ju-Yung. "Ms. Lee."
"Hm?"
"Do you want to press charges?"
"Me? No way. I don’t think we can press charges over this small matter anyway."
"Then may I handle it as I see fit?"
"Sure. You take care of it the way you want, Assistant Manager Jung."
With Lee Ju-Yung’s permission, I approached Ju Han-Soo who was still fuming. Seeing Petite More and Ma Dong-Pal in a panic was quite pleasant, but this couldn't go on forever.
"I apologize for causing a disturbance, Mr. Ju."
"Who are you? The new team lead?"
"No, sir. I am Assistant Manager Jung Yoon-Ho of Cherry Blossom."
"Assistant Manager?"
"Yes, sir. I'm in charge of Cherry Blossom when Mr. Han isn't here."
Ju Han-Soo's expression softened. "Hmm, I see. What is it? Do you have something to say?"
"Let's forget about this issue here."
"What?"
"If we cause any more trouble here, wouldn't it be a hassle for you and MBS as well? We don't want to inconvenience you over such a matter."
A glint appeared in Ju Han-Soo's eyes as if he was impressed. "Hmm. It would be appreciated, but someone did get injured..."
"It's just a small scratch. And Miss Eun-Bin said she didn't do it on purpose, right?"
I subtly gave Petite More an out as well. It was important to make a good impression by showing tolerance and magnanimity.
"Th-that's true, but still..."
"I’m not saying that I’ll just let this go easily. How about we settle it with Ms. Lee's medical expenses and a direct apology from Miss Park Eun-Bin? Then we can forget this ever happened."
Only then did a smile appear on Ju Han-Soo's face. He seemed relieved that an apology and covering for medical expenses would suffice to end this mess.
But at the same time, Park Eun-Bin's face twisted in anger. Paying for the medical expenses might have been the easy part for her, but bowing her head to apologize to a mere assistant manager was a tough pill to swallow.
Seeing Park Eun-Bin's reaction, Ju Han-Soo scolded her in a sharp voice. "You have to take responsibility for your own actions."
Ma Dong-Pal hurriedly urged Park Eun-Bin as well. "Eun-Bin, hurry up and just apologize."
Park Eun-Bin trembled as if she were the victim.
‘Well, what can you do? You’re the one who caused a mess, aren’t you?’
Park Eun-Bin reluctantly bowed deeply to Lee Ju-Yung, clearly hating every moment of it with an angry expression.
"I... I think I got too carried away and made a mistake. It wasn't intentional, so I hope you can forgive me, unnie."
Lee Ju-Yung simply stared at Park Eun-Bin for a moment, making her wait.
"I’ll accept your apology. But in the future, try to keep your temper in check. It's only because it ended like this that we're letting it go."
A satisfied smile spread across Lee Ju-Yung's face. After all, she had received an apology from the notorious Park Eun-Bin.
But there was still one more thing I had to get from Park Eun-Bin.
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