Chapter 45: Golden Road and Park Eun-Bin (1)
After finishing their back-to-back performances, Cherry Blossom exited the stage with their cheeks flushed with a rosy hue reminiscent of cherry blossoms in full bloom. At first, I thought it was due to the cold, but it turned out they were excited about the fan chants.
"Oppa, did you see our fans? They kept calling our name until the end of the second stage!"
"Yeah, I saw. It was so touching."
Cherry Blossom’s morale peaked, thanks to the enthusiastic support from the high school girls who had taken photos with them earlier.
"That was amazing! Have we ever had a day like this?"
"No, we haven't!"
"I’m so happy..."
The girls chatted non-stop, bubbling over with joy.
Then, Woo Yeon-Hee glanced at me and spoke up. "It's all thanks to our Daddy-Long-Legs."
‘Daddy-Long-Legs?’
Yang Eun-Bi nodded in agreement. "Yes! With Yoon-Ho oppa here, everything seems to be going well! Even Sae-Ri didn’t make a single mistake throughout both the rehearsal and live performance."
‘Wait. What does my being here have to do with that?’
Sae-Ri instantly reacted to Yang Eun-Bi’s words. "Hey, that's not it! I genuinely put in a lot of effort today to avoid making any mistakes!"
Eun-Ah added her two cents in a soft, yet impactful way. "But Sae-Ri...you always work hard..."
Sae-Ri turned and glared sharply at Eun-ah. "Ugh! Even you, unnie?"
Woo Yeon-Hee calmed Sae-Ri down. "Sae-Ri, you did work hard, and Yoon-Ho oppa being here helped too. So don't frown or you'll ruin your pretty face."
‘But really, what does that have to do with me?’
Sae-Ri begrudgingly made a smile and ran into Woo Yeon-Hee’s arms. "Mom~ Tell the unnies to stop teasing me!"
"Alright. You guys, stop teasing Sae-Ri."
"Okay~."
Yang Eun-Bi and Eun-Ah nodded at Woo Yeon-Hee’s reprimand.
Cherry Blossom celebrated their successful stage performance with laughter and smiles. However, I urged them to head to the waiting room because I was concerned they might catch a cold in their thin outfits.
"Let's go to the waiting room, it's too cold out here."
"Okay~!"
As we were about to make our way back to the waiting room, a commotion erupted in the corridor.
Murmur.
"What do you mean we don't have a slot? We literally risked our lives getting here through the snowstorm!"
Pink Diamonds’ talent agent, Park Bong-Soo, was confronting Cha Tae-Hee furiously. Pink Diamonds’ members, led by Gu Min-Ji, were continuously bowing their heads in apology behind him.
But Cha Tae-Hee’s expression was ice cold. “Well, if you have so many complaints, just go speak with Mr. Choi. I'm too busy right now to have this conversation."
As Cha Tae-Hee tried to walk away, Park Bong-Soo grabbed her arm roughly. "Wait! It seems like there might be other teams who fail to turn up today as well. We can fill those slots!"
Cha Tae-Hee turned her head with narrowed eyes. "What the fuck. Let go of me, will you?"
When Cha Tae-Hee’s harsh and firm voice echoed throughout the waiting room corridor, Park Bong-Soo froze in place.
"I-I mean, it's just that...Please don’t get me wrong, Ms. Cha. I’m..."
Cha Tae-Hee jerked her arm free. "Let go of me now, you asshole!"
Park Bong-Soo's grip was so tight that it left a red mark on Cha Tae-Hee’s wrist.
"I've been trying to keep my temper in check lately, but you’re not helping at all. Are you a thug or what?"
Cha Tae Hee's scolding left Park Bong-Soo stumbling over his words. "N-no. Not at all."
It was surprising to hear such a commanding voice come from her slender frame. Cherry Blossom and Han Myung-Ho instinctively hid behind me, intimidated by the scene. Staff and other artists passing by looked at them curiously, but Cha Tae-Hee didn’t seem to care.
"I asked you several times where you were, didn’t I? And what did you tell me? 'Almost there,' right? Didn’t I fucking ask more than once?"
"Y-yes, you did ask several times."
"I told you to hurry because I had already scheduled your performance. And look, what time is it now? It’s 6:10 PM, isn’t it? You said you'd be here by 5:25 PM."
Park Bong-Soo seemed to have lied continuously about their arrival time amidst the scheduling chaos.
Cha Tae-Hee sighed and tried to calm herself down upon realizing the attention she was drawing.
"Sigh. Alright, that's it for today. I’m too agitated to continue this conversation. We'll discuss this at the next face meeting, okay?"
But as we looked on, the Pink Diamonds members' eyes revealed complex emotions like anger, envy, and jealousy. They seemed to realize that Cherry Blossom had taken their spot on stage. However, instead of acknowledging their fault, they seemed to blame us.
Seemingly tired of continuing the conversation with Park Bong-Soo, Cha Tae-Hee decided to take her leave. However, as she turned around with a crumpled cue sheet in her hand, she was interrupted by a low, deep voice coming from the end of the corridor.
"What's going on here? What is up with all the commotion?"
It was Ma Dong-Pal, the managing director of TK Entertainment.
"Mr. Ma!"
Pink Diamonds and Park Bong-Soo's faces lit up at the sight of him, while Cha Tae-Hee's expression turned sour. Even she couldn't disregard the managing director of TK Entertainment.
Ma Dong-Pal quickly grasped the situation and apologized to Cha Tae-Hee.
"Sorry, Ms. Cha. There was an accident on the way here which prevented us from arriving any earlier. Please, try to calm down."
Typically assertive and dominant, Ma Dong-Pal seemed somewhat subdued today.
"But that's no excuse, Mr. Ma. Mr. Choi is furious right now. None of this would have happened if you had just been honest about being late. Why would you keep lying..." Cha Tae-Hee spoke, as she narrowed her eyes with irritation.
Then, Ma Dong-Pal did something unexpected that was completely out of character. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
Ma Dong-Pal bowed deeply even in front of the other talent agents and staff watching him.
"I told him to lie about the arrival time, Ms. Cha. I’m truly sorry. I shouldn’t have done that even though there was a bad snowstorm..."
Cha Tae-Hee accepted his apology but maintained a firm stance with a frown on her face. "I'll accept your apology, but Pink Diamonds won't be performing today."
Straightening up, Ma Dong-Pal looked regretful and answered. "Fair enough. I don’t plan to force you to carve out a slot for us when it was our fault. Oh, and Petite More will also skip the stage performance this time. See you next week."
At that moment, Cha Tae-Hee's expression twisted. "What? Mr. Ma. Why involve Petite More in this? Are you trying to mess with me right now?"
Cha Tae-Hee’s eyes flashed with frustration because she was well aware that 30% of the audience today were fans of Petite More.
But Ma Dong-Pal turned around to leave without saying a single word.
Then, Cha Tae-Hee exclaimed worriedly. "Wait! Where are you going? Mr. Ma, are you serious?"
Ma Dong-Pal's strategy had worked. After all, popularity mattered the most in the entertainment industry.
Ma Dong-Pal paused and tilted his head as if he was confused. "But why? Petite More is in the same boat. They arrived late and missed rehearsal as well, so it's only fair they don’t perform today too. By the way, has Golden Road from Hoop Entertainment arrived yet? Staff on site told me they hadn’t yet..."
‘Oh my goodness. He is trying to mess with our company as well?’
By mentioning Golden Road from our company which had yet to arrive, Ma Dong-Pal was muddying the waters further.
Cha Tae-Hee bit her lip as she realized she was trapped in Ma Dong-Pal’s ploy.
"Are you really going to be this petty, Mr. Ma?"
She scowled but Ma Dong-Pal just smiled. "Petty? I'm just trying to take responsibility. How can those who missed the rehearsal because they arrived late blame others? Come on, girls, let’s go. Let’s make sure not to be late next time."
"Yes, Mr. Ma."
As Ma Dong-Pal led Pink Diamonds away, Cha Tae-Hee grabbed his arm with a frown.
"Just a moment!"
"Hey, there’s no need to do this here. Why create such a fuss among busy people?"
Cha Tae-Hee whispered into her intercom, likely discussing a solution with Choi Eun-Hyuk.
After a while, Cha Tae-Hee let out a deep sigh. "Okay! Pink Diamonds! Get ready to go on stage after the current performances end! Mr. Choi has given the go-ahead."
Cha Tae-Hee's words made Ma Dong-Pal stop in his tracks and laugh heartily. "Really? Haha, how can I thank you? I'll apologize to Mr. Choi later as well. And Ms. Cha, we should have a drink sometime soon, don’t you think? I'd feel better if I could make it up to you with a drink."
"I quit drinking a long time ago."
"Hmm, but I heard someone saw you in a bar in Gangnam the other day... Oops, my big mouth!"
When Cha Tae-Hee glared at him, Ma Dong-Pal mimicked zipping his lips shut.
"What are you girls all waiting for? Apologize to Ms. Cha right now!"
Pink Diamonds bowed in unison at Ma Dong-Pal's stern command.
"We're sorry, Ms. Cha."
It was Ma Dong-Pal’s win. He managed to save the situation for Pink Diamonds, demonstrating the influence of popularity in the entertainment industry. Cherry Blossom needed such popularity to avoid being pushed around by people like Kim Dong-Soo and Lee Gi-Cheol from our company.
"What are you looking at? The show is over! Everyone, disperse!"
The staff and other agency representatives quickly moved at Cha Tae-Hee’s irritated command.
Then, upon recognizing my face, Ma Dong-Pal approached me and extended his hand for a handshake. "Nice to see you again. Seems we're fated to meet, huh?"
Despite the friendly words, his gaze was piercing like a laser. However, I didn't shy away from his handshake. "It seems so."
‘Park Eun-Bin and Jung Yoo-Jin. Petite More and Cherry Blossom, huh...’
The actors and singers from TK Entertainment were currently more popular than those from Hoop Entertainment, but I intended to change that within a year.
I couldn’t tell whether it was due to the newfound confidence I had or the resolve I felt, but Ma Dong-Pal’s grip, though firm, didn’t feel as unbearable as before.
***
Click.
Only after returning to the waiting room could we finally relax. Regardless of the chaos outside, we had done our part.
Sae-Ri opened her mouth as soon as we came back to the waiting room. "Phew! I thought I was going to die from fright. I've never seen Ms. Cha yell like that!"
When Sae-Ri made a surprised expression, the rest of the girls also nodded.
“Me too.”
“That was scary.”
Then, Han Myung-Ho advised the girls to stay put until the situation had calmed down. "You saw what happened out there, right? Just stay in the waiting room until we leave for the accommodation. It's best to stay put in times like these."
"Okay!"
“And we will greet Mr. Choi later when Mr. Lee gets here. Take a good rest until then.”
While everyone rested, I let out a sigh and checked my planner. But one event still hadn't disappeared.
[Everyday V10]
[Date: January 12, 2020]
-06:40 PM (Report) Clash between Golden Road and Petite More during KBC Live Music Stage.
It was currently 6:20 PM.
As events that didn’t disappear from the planner would happen no matter what, I was sure that Golden Road and Petite More would definitely clash in 20 minutes before going on stage.
"What’s wrong, Yoon-Ho? Is there a problem with Yoo-Jin's schedule?" Han Myung-Ho asked, noticing my concern.
I shook my hand and lied without changing my expression. "No, I'm just worried about Mr. Lee coming in this terrible snowstorm."
"Oh, don't you worry. Mr. Lee is an excellent driver. He’s even better than an F1 driver. So let's rest for a bit. Ah, I feel so stiff."
As I nodded and took a moment to rest on the chair, Sae-Ri suddenly exclaimed while browsing her phone.
“Eun-Bi unnie! We are 10th on the live search rankings!”
"Really? Wow! You’re right! Wait, but the Hoengseong girls are 9th."
"Wow, we were beaten by the Hoengseong girls? We really need to work harder."
As Cherry Blossom buzzed with excitement, the door suddenly burst open.
Park Han-Cheol, the chief of Singer Division 1, entered. The hat he always wore to hide his balding head was half-off and covered with snow.
"Huff, huff. Busy day, huh? Where's Mr. Lee?"
"He hasn't arrived yet."
"Is that so? Then, let’s get some people together. One of our cars skidded off the road on the way, so we managed to get only one car here.”
“Huh? Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone’s fine and unharmed but the car is no good. Team Lead Cha Sang-Jin is still in the car with the stylists and makeup artists while I brought Golden Road and Deputy Eun Ji-Yu here. I'm worried this might affect the girls' performance on stage."
This accident didn't happen in my past life. However, fate seemed to be steering me toward a confrontation between Golden Road's Jang Eun-Yung and Petite More's Park Eun-Bin.
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