Chapter 51

No matter what, they were artists under the same company. Even if they could not help each other, shouldn’t they at least avoid getting in each other’s way?

It was not as though Newton and Gowon were about to compete directly.

In the end, nothing would be resolved unless Executive Director Choi was dealt with.

I was trapped among people loudly venting their rising anger when Kwon Taeyoung suddenly called me, giving me an excuse to slip away.

Then, in front of the division head’s office, I ran into Gowon.

“Did Taeyoung call you too?”

“Yes.”

“What on earth does he want to talk about?”

From Kwon Taeyoung’s perspective, there could not be many matters he would need to discuss with both Gowon and me at the same time.

Once the three of us were seated together, however, we received news that was both somewhat surprising and infuriating.

“Someone secretly accessed the A&R team’s computer at night. We found a record showing that a file was opened when no one was there.”

“...What?”

“The only trace of intrusion is on the new song’s demo version. We’re currently identifying the person caught on CCTV.”

“It was someone inside the company, right? Was the file taken or leaked?”

“Judging solely from the movements on CCTV, there was no sign of them copying the audio or taking out any personal equipment. Either they sent an idiot, or something went wrong. They fumbled around and ran off. Still, we can’t rule anything out.”

“Division Head, they say they’ve managed to get a rough identification....”

“Let’s see it.”

But the employee setting a laptop on the table moved with noticeable hesitation.

The culprit on the screen looked clumsy from the moment he appeared in the hallway. Even though he had covered his entire body with a cap, mask, and hood, he kept tugging nervously at the hood. When he held the access key to the reader, he seemed even more startled than the door itself when it opened. Even then, he hesitated for so long that he only stuck his foot inside when the door was about to close.

Once inside, he looked around before approaching a computer near the middle of the room. The moment he shook the mouse with a trembling hand, light from the monitor illuminated his build and the shape of his eyes, which he had failed to conceal completely.

The employee paused the footage at that moment, captured the blurry image, enhanced it, and showed it to us.

“...Ah.”

Gowon let out a short sigh.

The culprit was Nam Jeongho of Newton.

Everything after that matched Kwon Taeyoung’s explanation. Jeongho listened blankly to the new song demo, then left as though fleeing. That was all.

For a while, none of us could speak.

Of all people, the culprit had turned out to be one of the company’s own artists.

“...Hmm. I don’t think it was leaked either.”

During the brief silence, I reached a firm conclusion.

It was not merely because of how the culprit behaved on CCTV.

It was because the quest window, which desperately wanted Gowon to succeed, remained calm.

The song had leaked? Something had gone wrong with the comeback? Worse, Gowon was in danger of losing Rookie of the Year?

This was the same quest window that had gone berserk simply because Gowon got into a fistfight with a friend. If anything had happened to the comeback song, it would have filled my entire vision with blood-red warning windows.

It was ironic that after constantly making my heart race with anxiety, it was now reassuring me in this manner....

The others, who had also seen how clumsy Nam Jeongho looked for someone who had come with deliberate intent, seemed to agree with me.

“...Director, I don’t know Jeongho especially well, but he is absolutely not the kind of person who would do something like this. He trained for a long time, so he should be timid too. Why on earth....”

Hearing that made me suspect that someone might have forced or coerced Nam Jeongho into that situation.

“Ha... fuck.”

A curse slipped from Kwon Taeyoung, who had been staring coldly at the screen with his fingers pressed to his mouth.

My shoulders jerked upward.

You see, Kwon Taeyoung and I had spent more than half our lives together in something like the relationship between the oldest and youngest of six brothers.

People often said I looked as though nothing in the world frightened me, but seeing the eldest furious was scary even when the anger was not directed at me.

Without realizing it, I leaned my waist backward.

“.......”

Rustle.

Then Gowon suddenly bent forward and blocked me with his body.

...Blocked me?

Baby Gowon did?

The sheer absurdity of the action wiped away my fear.

“Gowon.”

“...Yes!”

He was tense himself at the sound of an angry Kwon Taeyoung calling his name.

“I’m sorry this happened to you. I should have managed things better.”

“N-No. You said there was no risk of a leak....”

“Right. And I’ll make sure there isn’t one.”

Kwon Taeyoung pressed hard against his eyebrows as though trying to force the tension out of them.

I cautiously poked my head out over Gowon’s back.

Good grief.

Executive Director Choi must have sent Newton’s leader himself because he knew Kwon Taeyoung would react like this.

No matter how dirty the other side played, Kwon Taeyoung could not bring himself to drive “the kids” toward ruin. He knew how desperately young people working as idols fought to survive.

And that guy earlier... he was Newton’s leader, wasn’t he?

That would make Kwon Taeyoung’s feelings even more complicated.

“Jeongho has had it rough in many ways.”

See?

“But he still has to pay the price for doing something he should never have done.”

Wait, what?

“And we might as well get a little revenge for Gowon while we’re at it.”

“Pardon...?”

A few days later, Division Five delivered a very light counterattack.

On the day Newton’s follow-up track teaser was released, three videos were uploaded in succession to Young Ace’s official account.

Fans rushed over in alarm, only to feel somewhat deflated. Still, they clicked the videos with a fair amount of excitement.

The uploads were remastered versions of Young Ace’s music videos.

The music videos Young Ace had filmed on tiny budgets early in their career now had picture quality so poor they were nearly impossible to watch.

For that reason, K-Dom periodically restored the footage, improved its quality, and reuploaded the music videos.

This was nothing more than another part of that project.

It just so happened that this time, the chosen release was their third single—the one that had marked the beginning of Young Ace’s rise to the top.

Still a masterpiece no matter how many times I hear it

Look how baby-faced Hanje is ㅜㅜ

English version plz

Not long after being uploaded, the three videos took the top three positions among trending music videos.

People outside the company found no meaningful connection in the fact that videos from artists under K-Dom Entertainment had been uploaded on the same day.

The people following Newton’s teaser and those welcoming remastered Young Ace videos were entirely different audiences.

What was wrong with uploading three old videos on the same day as a teaser? Some people even discovered Newton while searching for nostalgia from ten years ago.

But at the next executive meeting—

“Newton received a great deal of positive attention after releasing the teaser for its new song. They are accumulating achievements one by one.”

Kwon Taeyoung looked at Executive Director Choi, who was presenting, then turned back toward the screen as though he had seen an insect.

“Division Five currently has all its artists on break, so there was nothing particularly noteworthy.”

Then he pointed toward the screen.

“Though we did achieve first, second, and third place among trending music videos from that day through today.”

“.......”

Kwon Taeyoung, who had previously been reluctant to fight because he did not want artists to suffer, stood up directly against Executive Director Choi.

Once things reached that point, none of the working-level employees held back either.

“Young Ace? Three videos at exactly that time? Isn’t that too much?”

“What is? Even without Young Ace, you wouldn’t have made the Top 100 anyway. And what’s wrong with uploading some old songs?”

“The junior artists’ livestreams overlapped a little, so a senior group responds like this?”

“Right, you said it yourself! Who acted without professional ethics first? Our division head is still softhearted because he used to be a singer. He was going to release them on the music video’s release day, but he went easy on you and chose the teaser day instead!”

“That really means you’re trying to start a fight! Don’t you feel sorry for the artists?”

The atmosphere grew increasingly vicious, spiraling toward disaster.

Even the other divisions began sighing while watching the moods of both sides.

“There’s never a peaceful day here....”

“When has this industry ever been peaceful? Compared to the old days, they’re fighting elegantly.”

“That’s true. Though I never expected to spend ten full years watching fights inside the company.”

***

Newton’s youngest member, Jung Yusang, left the accommodations with a troubled mind and headed for the practice rooms.

He had not shown it during their schedule, but an awkward and uncomfortable tension still lingered among the members.

Even when he tried speaking to someone other than Nam Jeongho, the person he had directly clashed with, they stopped him with, “Yusang, let’s talk later.”

It was so uncomfortable he thought he might die, so he had simply fled to the practice rooms during his precious break.

But the light was on in a small practice room that was usually empty.

When he peeked through the window, he saw Gowon practicing inside.

The rhythm faintly audible through the soundproof wall gave him no clue what song it was. He did not recognize the dance Gowon was performing either.

Had he already received a new song?

Surely our promotional periods won’t overlap.

The fact that the thought made his heart drop for an instant wounded his pride.

Still, it was true that Nam Jeongho had grown increasingly sharp ever since Gowon began producing results.

Wait. Then wasn’t this entire situation ultimately that bastard’s fault?

“.......”

Without knocking, Jung Yusang flung open the practice-room door and walked in.

Gowon stopped practicing and turned around. Then he bowed his head.

“Hello, senior—”

“I want to use the practice room. Shouldn’t you give it up to someone who’s currently promoting?”

Gowon’s expression stiffened.

He unplugged the phone connected to the speakers, then strode toward Yusang. His already considerable height and broad build felt increasingly intimidating as he approached.

Yusang flinched, thinking Gowon might be angry enough to start a fight, but Gowon merely took a towel from the duffel bag beside the door and wiped away his sweat. Then he carelessly hung the damp towel over the handle and slung his bag over one shoulder.

“...What?”

“Go ahead. Use the practice room.”

His tone was neutral, but because Yusang knew he had been unreasonable, it sounded as though Gowon were mocking him.