Chapter 168

Chapter 168

There was some brief commotion, but the meeting I requested was arranged immediately. They tried to ask several times why I wanted to meet the office manager in particular, but I managed to get around that by simply saying I had something urgent to discuss—which surprised me a little.

I guess they really do make a lot of money off of TeSTAR. We were a valuable resource, and I could tell they were trying to soothe me as best as they could. I realized very quickly I didn’t need to come up with an excuse at all.

It also occurred to me that the Management Office was probably a bit nervous. Our group hadn’t really been all that assertive except when it came to albums or planning promotions, and I wasn’t even the leader of the group. They were probably busy trying to figure out what had prompted my unexpected request.

But not for long, though.

“I’ll come in tomorrow, then.”

“Oh... right!”

I’d arranged for the meeting to happen the very next day. They couldn’t have refused me even if they wanted to, since the only day in the week I had no schedule during the day was tomorrow. I shrugged as I hung up.

Hmm... I wonder what they’re thinking right now? Not that it mattered, of course, but I was curious. I arrived for my meeting at ten in the morning the very next day, and it took no more than five minutes for me to find out exactly what was going through their heads.

“Uh... Moondae, is there something about the group that you’re unhappy with? Given how talented you are, we completely understand your frustration. The thing is, it’s best that the group continue at the current pace for at least one more year.”

After greeting me and probing at how I was feeling about the group, they got straight into the main topic.

Aha. Reading between the lines, I knew exactly what they were thinking.

They think I want to go solo. It was the most obvious conclusion they could have arrived at. I had come first place on the audition show, my recent solo appearances on variety shows had been received well, and I’d gotten therapy for anxiety during the last promotional cycle.

I guess it’s not surprising that they think I’m here to discuss solo activities. Another realization hit me.

This man doesn’t have a lot of experience with this kind of conversation. If I was really here with complaints about our group activities because I wanted to go solo, he’d chosen the wrong approach. He’d effectively told me that the current state of things would continue for another year before I’d even said anything. If I were a celebrity with an ego that was well-inflated, this was the last thing I would have accepted.

He should have waited for me to say my piece and listened like he actually cared. Someone who’d worked their way up to the position of office manager at an entertainment agency was supposed to be extremely skilled at this sort of thing, but he clearly wasn’t.

So he’s a nepotism hire, for sure. Experienced personnel had been scouted for more professional roles, such as A&R, producing, or marketing. Whoever had been responsible for hiring had apparently believed management was a little more lax a position. A few people had been given posts here as favors no doubt. Even management roles required expertise, however.

However, this does make my task a lot easier.

I stared at the young manager, then nodded gravely. “Stability is good.”

“I know, right?”

“But I’m worried something bad might happen at this rate.”

“What?”

I shrugged and dropped the bomb. “There’s someone in your employ who’s also on another agency’s payroll. Is that okay?”

The man seemed to be at a momentary loss. Managing an incredulous smile, he said, “Oh, Moondae, that’s not allowed here! I guess someone from our agency might still have their old profile up if they only recently joined us.”

He seemed dismissive, apparently thinking this young idol guy had made a mistake. The more he thought about this, the better.

I nodded at him. “Really? I must have been mistaken, then. I just got the impression that our schedules kept mysteriously coinciding with Golden Age’s.”

“What?” he asked, shocked.

“I heard him on the phone, talking about Golden Age and mentioning that I was going to be on The Past Calls.”

“Wh-who did you hear?”

“Let’s see... Who was it again? Give me a second.” I pretended to look through my contacts, then said, “Oh, right. Mr. Oh Seohyeong from the Management Team?”

It was the same guy who’d told me not to be so sensitive after I’d called to complain that Lee Sejin and Bae Sejin had been put on the same team when I’d expressly asked for that very thing not to happen. As for whether I actually heard the phone call I’d just mentioned...

Of course, I didn’t hear anything. One would have to be very stupid to have a phone call like that where they could be overheard by the group they were managing. But he was a strong suspect, that much was certain.

He’s the only likely one. The other employees didn’t have any reason to do anything like this. As I said before, they were scouted professionals. They would have no trouble finding themselves better jobs further down the line without needing to become corporate spies.

There was no draw there since there was no need for them to want things that were out of their reach. But that was not the case with the Management Team. T1 had underestimated the level of expertise required from a management office in the entertainment industry and had chosen to fill the office with nepotism hires and cheap employees with ambiguous resumes.

There was even a stupid rookie who had only been hired to fill the headcount. In a word, this department was the clumsiest in this entire agency. They probably all had lots of complaints, and odds were, they weren’t particularly attached to their work.

That makes it more likely for them to be susceptible to bribery. The next step was simple enough.

I just have to find the overlap. Golden Age’s agency wouldn’t have chosen to approach a random person they didn’t even know. Instead, they would have preferred someone they’d worked with in the past.

That was why I’d taken a look at the history of Golden Age’s agency, Traveler. People who were this skilled had probably made a splash in some other large agency beforehand. I was right. The kind of information I was looking for was all over social media.

- Apparently, the boss of Traveler used to work at Wonder Hall and went independent with Iljun and a few others. No wonder the trainees felt a lot like those from Wonder Hall T_T

Wonder Hall was a famous agency known for their large boy idol groups.

Hmm. Seems simple enough. It was all over after that. I just had to find someone at our agency who also happened to have worked at Wonder Hall with the founder of Traveler and his former employees.

Apparently, our agency copied the structure of T1’s company intranet. I was grateful that they’d inadvertently given such broad access privileges to their idol group. In any case, a quick search through employee records confirmed that only one person in the Management Office matched the description I was looking for.

[June 01, 2019 - January 04, 2021. | Wonder Hall ENT | On-site support and document work]

It was Oh Seohyeong from the Management Team. If he was indeed the rat, everything fit perfectly.

It also makes sense how careless he is. His heart wasn’t in it. That was why there had been trouble with every project the man took on.

“I guess Mr. Oh thought it would be efficient to share a good variety show opportunity, but I think it would be best if he were to focus on his own work.”

It was important that this didn’t look like I was an idol trying to lord over the agency. I wasn’t going to give them the chance to dismiss the matter as an overreaction on my part. The manager needed to harbor his own suspicions and come to understand the gravity of the situation himself. I was just an innocent bystander bringing an issue to him.

“Come to think of it, there’s been a whole lot of overlap with Golden Age in our schedule lately. Maybe the agency is trying to cut costs by collaborating or something?”

“Your schedules have been overlapping a lot?”

“Yes, that’s what I noticed. We’re featured together often in articles and posts on the internet, too... I was wondering if you were doing it on purpose to be more efficient. I was a little disappointed honestly.”

I’d already said this much, and if he didn’t realize the gravity of the situation at this point, he must have a head made of solid rock. Thankfully, the man went red, then paled before returning to his normal complexion. A grim realization, followed by anger, had just washed over him.

“All right... Hmm... right. I’ll speak with him. I completely understand where you’re coming from.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I didn’t expect him to suddenly shed his incompetence and get things in order, though.

I’ll have to wait and see.

“Moondae, this could cause problems later down the line, so I’d rather you didn’t mention it to anyone else until it’s resolved.”

I had a feeling you’d say that. The bastard was scared his reputation would suffer. This didn’t surprise me. He would be faced with truckloads of vengeful fans demanding his resignation the moment this leaked.

I nodded meekly. “Of course.”

This was also a lie.

“Good choice.”

He saw me off right then and there, apparently incapable of considering that I might have further reason for requesting a meeting with him.

He’s fully out of it. Worrying my lip, I headed down to one of the recording rooms, which I’d reserved using the excuse that I’d get some work done while I was there.

The A&R employee who’d been asked to adjust the audio equipment in preparation for my recording session had just finished chatting with the second manager, who’d arrived early.

The manager was the first to address me. “There you are, Moondae! Did you have a good talk?”

“Yes, it was all right.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Uh... He asked me to keep it a secret.”

“Huh?”

I wouldn’t have been surprised if the employee fidgeting with the equipment nearby had suddenly grown elephant ears.

Of course, you’re curious. The second manager seemed to feel the same way, as he lowered his voice unnecessarily and asked, “What is it? Did he offer to let you go solo?”

“No, it wasn’t about that...”

“What was it, then?”

“Uh... You’re part of the Management Office, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you.”

“So what is it, then?”

I’d let slip that the issue was in regards to the Management Office, and the A&R Team staff member had no doubt heard it, too. I paused for a moment, then just shook my head.

“But I don’t know. He asked me to keep quiet until the matter was resolved.”

“Oh, you’re killing me, Moondae!”

“Sorry. I’m probably not supposed to tell you.”

“Oh, fine!”

I’d also implied that the issue was a big one. I could already picture what the A&R employee was going to say to everyone in his department after his job here was done.

There seems to be some kind of problem going down in the Management Office!

It would be a nice little diversion from his boring company life. As soon as the management department showed signs of trying to cover something up, people would start trying to sniff out what it was. The rumors would spread internally in no time at all.

I bet a thousand won that the director is going to hear about it within the week. And this was precisely what happened. Three days later, I heard that the furious director was gathering additional evidence.

***

“Moondae, did you hear?” Big Sejin asked.

“What?”

“Someone from the Management Team’s been selling our information to another agency! My god, isn’t that frightening?”

Big Sejin made a fuss as he sat down on the edge of the living room sofa. Though he was being his usual dramatic self, I had no doubt he was secretly happy the goddamned rat had been flushed out.

I grinned. “Yeah. Did they catch him?”

“Yeah. As it turns out... one of our members made the report.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah. Just saying.” Big Sejin grinned. “One more thing. You know, nothing important or related. I appreciate everything you do, Moondae!” He thumped me on the back and went into his room.

So he figured it out. It was nice of him not to ask for the details. On the other hand, there were certainly those who wanted to discuss every little detail.

“Wow! The mood at the agency... It’s sh*t!” the second manager said.

I was in the middle of a solo item on my schedule when he excitedly came over to me, asking if this was what I’d been about to tell him about before. He was clearly eager to unload the particulars of what was going on at the company.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“The director contacted the other agency personally! Oh, and Mr. Oh has already been called in!”

That wasn’t surprising. The director, who did nothing but approve documents, had probably wanted nothing more than to quietly move on from this role after his contract was over. He was understandably furious that such a messy bomb had gone off right under his nose.

And now that rumors were going around, there was only one way to set things right. Even the director, who’d worked at T1 prior, knew the answer to his problem—a public execution. Though only the people in the agency would be privy to it.

Now that he knew who was responsible, he was probably hounding Golden Age’s agency over whether he should publicly accuse the corporate spy or not. The result would likely be Traveler’s surrender, of course.

The moment they were caught, the game was up. Perhaps things would have been different if Golden Age had already become a top-tier idol group. Their agency was outclassed, and they had no chance against us in a press battle.

It was a face-off between an agency affiliated with a giant corporation that had the support of a broadcast station versus a mid-sized agency. And what was more, the latter had been the ones to make the mistake.

Now that we have proof, there’s no getting out of this for them. Golden Age’s agency might be smart and efficient, but if they wanted to keep their doors open, they would have to bare their belly and submit.

That should muzzle them for a while. If they were smart, they would give up on trying to link their group with TeSTAR in the press or trying to piggyback off of us to go viral. This meant that Golden Age would have to keep their mouths shut when people began to react online to the episode of The Past Calls that would be airing soon.

I can finally relax. I leaned back into the sofa. My preparations were complete. The weekend the show would be airing was just around the corner.