Chapter 46

“What are you thanking me for? You’re the one who’ll be working hard from now on. Still, you’ll have a lot more breathing room than you did for your debut. That’s why we’re starting early.”

Gowon took in the mature, self-assured figure of the man in a suit.

Lately, aside from practice, meals, and sleep, Gowon spent nearly every hour of the day searching for Young Ace videos. Concert footage, entertainment-show appearances, music videos....

Perhaps that was why he could now see the leader of Young Ace in the man he had previously regarded only as the division head.

Kwon Taeyoung was someone who would still shine even if he stepped onto a stage that very moment. Compared to footage from more than ten years ago, he had only grown more mature and composed. His appearance had barely changed.

“Is there a concept you want for your next song?”

He had debuted at exactly Gowon’s age—twenty.

With fourteen-year-old Baek Hanje as the youngest member under his care.

The solidity Gowon sensed in him now must have been built by years of experience.

The same was true of his bond with Baek Hanje. Even Baek Hanje, who seemed like an extraordinary adult to Gowon, sometimes acted like a child around him, comfortably leaning on him for support.

A sudden stab of envy came over him.

“Director... Rather than a concept I want, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Could I receive another song from Hanzel?”

“Ah.”

His deep voice resonated heavily.

“You two live together. I heard you’ve gotten pretty close. Why haven’t you asked him directly?”

“Well....”

“Then again, if you asked him yourself, he’d probably twist your words around endlessly.”

“.......”

Anyone could predict Baek Hanje dragging the conversation in circles, keeping Gowon in suspense over whether he would do it or not.

Kwon Taeyoung immediately called someone.

—Hey, Taeyoung. What is it?

“Hanje.”

—Yeah.

The docile way Baek Hanje answered sounded incredibly unfamiliar to Gowon. As Gowon stared at Kwon Taeyoung in fascination, the man raised the corners of his mouth and said,

“I just discussed Gowon’s new song with him. He says he wants to work with a new producer this time instead of you.”

When did I ever say that?!

Gowon jumped in alarm, but Kwon Taeyoung raised a finger to his lips, signaling for him to stay quiet.

“So even when you notice him starting work with someone else, don’t get upset or start tormenting Gowon for no reason.”

—.......

An angry huffing sound came through the speaker, followed by an outraged yell.

—That ungrateful bastard! Let’s see how well he does without me! Wow, unbelievable! Who? Who the hell are you assigning to him instead of me?

“Who knows... His debut results were good, so I’m sure plenty of people would want to work with Gowon.”

—He did well last time, so he needs even better results this time. Who could do that? Who?

“And you can?”

—Obviously. Who do you think I am?

“Hmm.”

—Taeyoung. Are you seriously handing his production over to someone else? Damn it, who is it?

Kwon Taeyoung smirked.

“I lied. I only just called Gowon in. Before I asked what he wanted for his next song, I called to check whether you had time.”

—Don’t even think about handing Gowon over to anyone else! I have plenty of time!

“All right. I’ll hear Gowon’s opinion too.”

—...Tell me what he says!

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t that violate artist confidentiality? We’ll see.”

Baek Hanje erupted in indignation again, but Kwon Taeyoung ignored him and abruptly ended the call.

“He says he’ll handle the production.”

“...Thank you.”

So that’s what it takes to lead Young Ace.

Kwon Taeyoung could soar above even a rampaging Baek Hanje. Gowon himself was somewhere around earthworm level, underground.

***

Team Leader Shin Namwon

Hanje.

Café?

Yeah.

Third floor?

Team Leader Shin Namwon

Hmm.

No. I want one of those Java Chip drinks with the chips ground up extra coarse.

He meant the spacious franchise café across the street, not the café inside the company building. From the moment I received the message and rose from my seat, I had a strange feeling about it.

“I’m telling you in advance because I thought you might feel hurt.”

Team Leader Shin had apparently been growing his hair since winter. Now long enough to be tied up in a topknot, it looked completely out of place as he stirred a chocolate drink that suited him just as poorly.

“I can’t work on Gowon’s next project with you.”

“Why?”

“The timing’s awkward. If I have to choose and focus, it makes sense to go all in on Edelweiss.”

Team Leader Shin had been with Edelweiss for just as many years as he had been with Young Ace, so it wasn’t as though his reasoning made no sense.

But anyone else might say that. This wasn’t something Team Leader Shin would say.

He was the quintessential workaholic. If the schedules of two projects assigned to him overlapped, he was the kind of person who wouldn’t be satisfied unless he tore himself in half and participated in both without missing a thing.

Even during the overnight shoot for Gowon’s <Unlimited(∞)> music video, he had never left the set. He simply worked on his laptop whenever he found a spare moment.

For someone like that to say this even after witnessing Gowon’s star power with his own eyes meant—

“Are you changing jobs?”

“...You’re fucking quick on the uptake.”

“Wow, where offered you how much? I’m not trying to keep you here. I’m genuinely curious. Tell me just once.”

“No one recruited me. I’m leaving because K-Dom keeps making my life miserable.”

He let out a deep sigh.

“If I work with Gowon, Executive Director Choi gives me endless shit. But if I abandon him, I feel guilty before you and Taeyoung even say anything. It’s fucking exhausting. And I can’t keep watching bright, sparkling kids leave one after another or develop depression.”

He had spent so many years at K-Dom that countless singers had passed through his hands. Unlike me, who only worked whenever I felt like writing music, he had continually been assigned to project after project as part of his fate as an office worker.

“...All right, I understand that much. Have you decided where you’re going?”

“Paris.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going on vacation. A vacation. Don’t look for me.”

“Wow. Make sure you leave with a generous severance package. I never knew you had that kind of romantic streak.”

“You need some romance in you to survive in this industry.”

He was right about that.

“This is the kind of thing you’re supposed to tell me over a drink. Why did you call me to a café?”

“Because I’d have to leave work early to drink, but having a meeting and tea with singer Baek Hanje during business hours counts as paid work.”

“...That’s a good tip. I’ll tell whoever replaces you.”

“Wait until they’ve suffered here for °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° ten years or so.”

Team Leader Shin chuckled, then his face turned serious.

“Watch out for Executive Director Choi Dongjin. He’s gotten vicious enough that even the people around him are saying he’s acting strange lately. The Division Four people are probably more on edge because of him too.”

“No, seriously. What the hell is that old man’s problem?”

“He packed the company with his own people through some Open University network or whatever, but Taeyoung rose too quickly, so now he’s nervous. And Division Four doesn’t have any artists with enough seniority to stand up to Executive Director Choi.”

Normally, Executive Director Choi should have been the one with a firm grip on K-Dom’s management structure. He had been discussed as the next CEO for years.

But Kwon Taeyoung had moved beyond simply fooling around with his old friends in Division Five. He had begun raising a rookie, building influence, and establishing his position as an executive. Even if he was only at the starting point, the recognition carried by the leader of Young Ace could never be ignored, either inside or outside the company. Executive Director Choi must have started feeling threatened.

“And now Division Five’s rookie has been crowned prince.”

“Prince?”

What the hell was that skin-crawling expression?

“You mean Gowon? No. Come on. He’s not a prince.”

There was nothing regal about him. He just went around with his sharp eyes permanently raised in irritation.

“Hm? Hanje, you don’t know? The hottest person in the company, as judged through the keenest eyes of non-fans.”

“The keenest... what?”

“The entertainment-stock group chat.”

“......?”

“Over there, whoever earns the company money instantly becomes His Majesty the King, a prince, or a princess.”

He moved his phone and opened a group chat.

K-Dom Shareholders Group Chat

The announcement read:

K-Dom Shareholders Group Chat

BADMOUTH PRINCE GOWON AND BE EXECUTED

“Did you... accidentally join a fan group chat?”

As if to betray my words, a new message appeared.

K-Dom Shareholders Group Chat

BADMOUTH PRINCE GOWON AND BE EXECUTED

Sentimental Puppy

Our dear Prince Gowon~^^* I hope you had another wonderful day today, ate lots of delicious food, and worked hard at practice~^^* 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Shall we all cheer for His Highness together?

Sentimental Puppy

Go

Sleepy Cat

Won

Cool Peach

Go

Startled Lion

Wno

(Startled Lion has been removed from the group.)

Sentimental Puppy

How dare you misspell His Highness’s sacred name?

Cool Peach

Execution.

“Holy shit, what is this?”

“K-Dom’s stock price had been falling while Young Ace was taking a break. But after Gowon debuted, it turned slightly upward.”

“They’re this excited over that tiny change?”

“People who bought at the peak consider even the smallest movement on a chart extremely important, you brat.”

“......?”

“If you don’t understand, that’s a good thing. Don’t ever try to learn.”