Chapter 69

There were always people lingering outside K-Dom headquarters in hopes of catching even a brief glimpse of the celebrity they liked. But if it was a face seen far too often, that meant they had crossed the line from fan to obsessive stalker.

“Oh, Hanje. They decided that person was probably an obsessive stalker after all, right?”

“Who?”

“You know, the stalker who went to Gowon’s family home and claimed to be his mother or whatever.”

“Ah....”

Gowon really did have a rough life. No matter how hard I tried to pave a road to glory for him, things never went smoothly. An ordinary obsessive stalker would already be enough to drive anyone insane, but what the hell was an obsessive stalker impersonating his mother?

“How’s Gowon doing?”

“He doesn’t seem particularly bothered.”

“He does seem mentally strong when it comes to that kind of thing, but he might be hiding it, so keep a close eye on him.”

Hiding it.

Come to think of it, lately that guy... did seem as though he was hiding something.

He would stare blankly at his phone, then hurriedly conceal it whenever I approached....

At those times, even the quest window’s Current Status was completely blacked out, making it impossible to read.

So he thinks he’s all grown up now.

The thought irritated me enough that the alcohol went down even more easily.

Team Leader Shin’s farewell drinking party grew loud and lively when several members of Young Ace and Edelweiss, the old guard of K-Dom, joined us.

“I’m here—”

“Oh! Management!”

“Boo! Management, get out!”

“Grab K-Dom’s lackey and tear him apart!”

“...I could smell the alcohol from the hallway, you bastards.”

That was roughly the atmosphere when Kwon Taeyoung arrived after getting off work late.

***

Gowon truly wanted to see Young Ace perform.

More precisely, he wanted to see Baek Hanje shining within the group. Just as every Spade did.

For that to happen, Young Ace’s member Yunjin, who had vanished into Africa, needed to return so the group could become whole again.

...And that senior artist had appeared in Gowon’s notifications extremely often ever since they followed each other on social media.

Yooonjiiin

(Photo of a gift voucher)

The senior artist, who had endlessly sent random photos without explanation, one day sent him a fairly expensive gift voucher set containing both chicken and pizza.

Hello, Yunjin.

It’s all right!

Please eat it when you return to Korea.

Yooonjiiin

(Baby emoji)(Microphone emoji)(Guitar emoji)

(Holding-hands emoji)

A baby and... singing...? A guitar...?

When Gowon said nothing because he did not understand, Yunjin sent another message.

Yooonjiiin

12345 “6” (Microphone emoji)(Piano emoji)

The sixth member, a vocalist... and if the piano meant the MIDI keyboard in front of the studio monitor.

Do you mean Baek Hanje?

Yooonjiiin

:)

Should I pass the gift voucher on to him?

Yooonjiiin

:(

(Baby emoji)(Chicken emoji)(Pizza emoji)(Baby emoji)

(Two men holding hands emoji)

Ah, do you mean that we should eat it together?

Please correct me if I have misunderstood.

Yooonjiiin

(Thumbs-up emoji)

(South Korean flag emoji)(Union Jack emoji)(X emoji)

It seemed to mean he could not type in either Korean or English.

Was Africa simply like that? Gowon had no way of knowing....

Then Yunjin probably had not heard this news either.

Gowon sent him the lineup poster for the Han River Jazz Festival that had been released recently.

Hanje will be performing at the jazz festival.

He is the Saturday headliner.

Could you come watch?

Yooonjiiin

(Crying emoji) ×10

A crying reaction?

Even though Yunjin could communicate only through emojis, his intentions were fairly clear.

Had he simply not wanted to come, he would have used an emoji that expressed refusal more clearly.

But right now, the screen was filled only with all manner of sad and despairing emojis.

Does that mean you would like to come, but your circumstances make it completely impossible?

Yooonjiiin

(Circle emoji)

(Crying emoji)

(Baby emoji)(Heart emoji)(Heart emoji)

That... baby emoji still felt strange, but it seemed to refer to Baek Hanje, the youngest member of Young Ace.

He calls me a baby all the time, but he’s the one who gets treated like an actual child....

Judging from the hearts lined up beside the baby and the continued miserable emojis, Yunjin clearly had affection for Baek Hanje.

But it seemed he absolutely could not come....

Hanje shines brightest onstage.

Gowon regretted that he had not discovered Young Ace sooner, and that he could see that side of Hanje only through videos.

Hadn’t Baek Hanje been responsible for producing Young Ace?

He had shone so brilliantly even while producing Gowon, whom he had known for barely half a year. Gowon wondered how happy Hanje must have been while shaping his own group.

He had begun contacting this senior artist because he wanted to repay Hanje, even in some small way, for showing him a life that felt like a miracle.

But persuading Yunjin did not seem easy.

...What could make coming back so difficult simply because he was in Africa?

Is there truly no way at all...?

I will obtain the ticket for you.

Ah, if searching for flights is difficult, shall I look them up and send them to you instead?

His first profit settlement would begin soon.

People around him had advised him, “Make sure you buy something meaningful with your first settlement payment.”

Gowon did not know how much a flight from Africa to Korea would cost... but if the money brought Yunjin before Baek Hanje, if it let him give Hanje a surprise like the bouquet Hanje had given him, then using his settlement payment that way seemed worthwhile.

But soon, a bowing emoji and an X emoji arrived together.

It meant, “Thank you, but no.”

He had expected it, but could not help feeling disappointed.

Please tell me if there is anything you need in order to return here.

I will help you with anything.

He typed that out of desperation.

For a while, there was no reply.

Yunjin often sent rapid replies only for the direct messages to stop abruptly at strange moments, so Gowon assumed the same thing had happened again.

Yooonjiiin

Junior artist.

You shouldn’t say things like that so carelessly.

What? 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

***

What kind of asshole said something like that just because he had a mouth?

Everyone was thinking it.

And so was I.

After successfully completing promotions for <DEEP>, Gowon received countless offers. Quite a few of them involved musical collaborations, meaning feature appearances or joint stages.

But Gowon was in the middle of establishing himself as a solo singer, so there was no reason for him to appear on a stage where he would have to share the spotlight.

That meant most of them would normally have been rejected.

The worst collaboration offer among them all.

And we can’t refuse it.

The Taejang Card Concert.

Once a year, it gathered promising performers, including idols, and organized a fairly ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) large-scale event.

Gowon had to perform there.

In a male-female duet.

The person who had made that shitty proposal was none other than the producer of <Music Building>, where Gowon had caused a spectacular incident in Singapore.

The producer, who had effectively banked a blank check from me, chose to write a different wish on it instead of using it on me as promised.

“So... to summarize.”

The daughter of a Taejang Card executive, who majored in dance, wishes to make a glamorous debut as an artist. Preferably through a collaboration stage with the hottest idol of the moment.In exchange for arranging the collaboration, the producer secured an investment from the executive to establish an independent studio after leaving the network.Since the producer is leaving anyway, there is no longer any need to collect the favor owed by <Music Building>.The producer therefore proposed that K-Dom—meaning Gowon—repay the debt this way.It made me want to summon Gowon, who had grabbed someone by the collar in Singapore, and smack him on the head about ten times.

Still, the producer was not someone who held grudges, so this would probably make them forget Gowon’s mistake from back then completely.

...Fine. Even if we generally avoided collaborations, an event like the Taejang Card Concert would at least give Gowon more stage experience.

I was scraping together positive points like grains of rice spilled across the floor, barely managing to ignore the negatives, when the other side chose the song for the cover stage.

That choice turned Division Five upside down.

All right, let’s watch the original performance.

A man and woman with decadent, smoky makeup appeared.

Fine. Up to this point, it matched Gowon’s existing image, so I could understand why they had singled him out among all those idols.

But then.

Are you fucking kidding me?

For the entire three minutes, they danced pressed tightly against each other in a provocative routine.

I already considered that an enormous problem, but the greatest ordeal was still ahead.

The choreography casts the man in a coercive role!

Gowon’s fan base was overwhelmingly made up of teenagers and people in their twenties who had watched <Debut Chart>.

A retro concept about a bad boy who treated women roughly?

It would blow up in popularity, blow up in public backlash, blow up Gowon’s image, blow up his fans’ blood pressure, and blow up the company’s customer-service team.

So I had been certain they would ask me for help.

Instead, Division Five flailed around for about a day... and then, strangely, went quiet.