A luxury sedan speeding down the road.
In the back seat of that sedan sat CEO Ha Seo-hwan, dressed in a white shirt with his tie slightly loosened, his body visibly well-built at a glance, legs crossed.
“......”
He looked down at his phone with a blank expression. In contrast, his thumb tapping on the phone screen was busy. He was browsing through various search engines, scanning articles about ‘Jae-chan’ of ‘Neos’. No matter where he looked, the headlines were flooded with Jae-chan’s drug party scandal.
'The evidence is clear, and he's done for.'
With certainty about Jae-chan’s future, CEO Ha Seo-hwan slowly lowered his phone. His expression was calm and composed. He had been slightly surprised at first, but only montarily, now he was largely indifferent.
A star becoming a criminal overnight? CEO Ha Seo-hwan had seen plenty of such cases.
‘Neos... yeah, with a group at that level, it’s about the ti they start thinking they’re untouchable.’
Idols typically share profits. That ans responsibilities are shared as well.
Of course, this incident wasn’t entirely ‘Neos’ fault. It was just that mber ‘Jae-chan’ did sothing insane. However, the lax environnt that enabled it was the fault of ‘Neos’, and by extension, Big Star Entertainnt’s negligence.
‘Big Star will definitely take a big hit from this one.’
When idols are unknown rookies, they’re full of energy, humble, and extrely polite, greeting everyone constantly.
But the mont they ride on popularity, so begin to change.
They forget the passion of their rookie days, discard their sense of value and desperation, neglect their fans’ love, and their grand goals start to fade, motivation gets lost.
‘That’s where the foolishness starts.’
That’s why idols need a ‘leader’, and why companies must constantly keep tabs on the group. Just then, CEO Ha Seo-hwan recalled Rojun’s face.
‘...The most prominent, the most noticeable leader is out front working day and night. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung are using the gap they feel with the leader as fuel to run harder. This kind of atmosphere and environnt is crucial.’
‘Vanguard’ needed even more careful handling. Idol groups with this much impact from debut were extrely rare, and the likelihood of mistakes made under the influence of the mont was high. Assuming ‘Vanguard’ would never end up like ‘Neos’ was a dangerous guess.
‘Still, as long as Rojun is holding the center, it should be okay to just keep an eye on them for now.’
Of course, he would need to monitor them closely without making it obvious.
CEO Ha Seo-hwan continued to assess the situation coldly.
When a scandal of this magnitude breaks out, the entertainnt industry freezes and becos sensitive. All existing idols watch their words, and the various entertainnt companies stay cautious to avoid any collateral damage. But CEO Ha Seo-hwan saw this as an opportunity.
‘Crisis is like a trap disguised as opportunity.’
When disappointnt is high, showing impact creates satisfaction several tis stronger.
It was a sha that because of Jae-chan, Vanguard’s articles were buried, but having a big rival idol group like ‘Neos’ disappear wasn’t such a bad situation.
-Swish.
CEO Ha Seo-hwan’s gaze returned to the article about ‘Jae-chan’ on his phone.
“By the way.”
He had been in the entertainnt industry for decades, and was also the head of GN Entertainnt, one of the leading companies in the country. From his perspective, the timing of this incident was just too perfect. The mont ‘Neos’ was under fire for plagiarism, Jae-chan’s drug scandal broke as if it had been waiting for it. Unless soone had been plotting this from before, the coincidence was too spot on.
“A setup. As if... soone used ‘Reporter Park TV’ as a hired blade.”
No matter how he looked at it, the timing was too precise.
anwhile, at a music show site.
While ‘Vanguard’ was passionately performing their encore stage for their fourth music show win, one of the dozens of staff mbers around the cara pointed with their chin toward a secluded spot beside the stage and asked,
“Who’s that? I thought no one was over there, scared .”
The first cara assistant replied with an “Ah-” and answered.
“That’s Vanguard’s main manager, Manager Kim Ki-baek.”
“What? That’s the main manager??”
“Yup. Believe it or not, there’s no one in this industry who doesn’t know him. I even saw him chatting with our cara director earlier.”
That sa Manager Kim Ki-baek had just sent a reply to ‘Reporter Park’.
[Yeah, it was good.]
Then, with a deflated feeling, he stretched his neck left and right. It was an oddly peculiar sight. The ssage he had sent as a reply was akin to a bombshell, yet his presence was faint.
Manager Kim Ki-baek. To soone who doesn’t know him, he wouldn’t leave much of an impression.
But a closer look reveals many surprises.
When he went to Japan with Kang Rojun, he spoke Japanese quite well. In other words, he was fairly fluent in foreign languages. Despite exuding a listless air, not only was he on top of everything about ‘Vanguard’, but he also had full command over Kang Rojun’s complex and tangled side job schedules.
Strangely enough, there’s nothing he can’t do.
At that mont, Manager Kim Ki-baek received a call. The caller was ‘Reporter Park’, the one he had replied to earlier. Seeing the caller ID, Kim Ki-baek let out a soft laugh, stepped out from the site into the hallway, and put the phone to his ear.
“What.”
From the other end, ‘Reporter Park’ asked with a chuckle in his tone.
“How the hell did a guy who looks like he wouldn’t lift a finger end up collecting such a huge scoop?”
Manager Kim Ki-baek replied briefly.
“Trade secret.”
“Co on, give just a hint?”
Letting out a small sigh, Kim Ki-baek continued.
“Well, rumors about that guy have been circulating for a while anyway.”
“Jae-chan? Yeah, there’ve been stories about him liking to party.”
“Right. Which ans he’s often hanging with a certain crowd.”
“But-”
“There’s always soone in a group wearing a mask, simring with envy and jealousy. So in this jungle, you have to discern between soone close and soone pretending to be close. Because they can be your enemy too.”
“I agree. That’s basically gospel in the entertainnt world. That’s why it’s best not to do dumb stuff. Because it always gets out eventually. And when you trace the source, it’s surprisingly often an insider... Ah, so you targeted the rotten part of the group?”
“Hmm- interpret it however you want.”
“Ha ha, got it, understood. Don’t you have anything else? I feel like you would.”
“You gotta keep at least a bullet or two loaded if you want to survive in this jungle.”
‘Reporter Park’ answered in agreent.
“Please use us again, valued custor.”
While Kim Ki-baek was finishing the call, Vanguard’s encore stage ended. As he wrapped up the brief call, Kim Ki-baek and ‘Vanguard’ returned to the waiting room.
Inside the waiting room, the dozen or so staff mbers fired off confetti for Kang Rojun and the mbers.
“Congratulations, guys!!”
“This is insane! Four music show wins right after debut!!”
“Another record, another record!”
Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung had bright smiles on their faces as they enjoyed the celebration.
“Thank you!”
This week’s music shows, which started with ‘Music Beat’, were all about ‘Vanguard’ no matter what anyone said. Since debut, ‘Vanguard’ had been stacking up one ‘first’ after another. Before they knew it, they’d already collected four trophies. Today, Vanguard’s commorative photo was taken with each mber holding one of the four trophies.
After the photo shoot, Si-hoo began grinning.
“Ah- this feels great, really great.”
Kang-min, with a wide smile, ca over to Si-hoo.
“Right? Total dopamine blast. We already have four music show trophies!”
The youngest, Do-kyung, did a little butt dance in front of the older mbers with an indifferent expression.
“This is how I feel right now.”
He glanced at Kang Rojun, signaling him to join. With a look that said, "You think I’d do such a lowbrow dance?", Rojun scoffed.
“If you’re gonna do it, shake it properly.”
And then, with lightning-fast attitude shift, Rojun shook his hips several tis more intensely than Do-kyung. As a result, all the ‘Vanguard’ mbers ended up doing the sa dance. The styling team and other staff burst out laughing.
“Hey hey, what are you guys? So kind of African tribe? What’s that dance!”
“Not bad, huh? Add it to the choreo for the next album.”
“Hahaha, look at how hyped they are.”
Regardless of the comnts, Kang Rojun kept shaking his hips in a trance, and as ‘Vanguard’ half-lost themselves in the mont, it was the YouTube shooting team that wore the deepest smiles.
“There’s the thumbnail, kids’ butts.”
While ‘Neos’ and the entertainnt industry overall were cast in a gloomy light, the montum of Team ‘Vanguard’ was shooting sky-high, and after wrapping up this week’s music show schedule with a final greeting to the PD, ‘Vanguard’ barely managed to get into their van.
The van departed imdiately.
Though the mbers had reached peak exhaustion from the intense schedule of consecutive days, perhaps due to exploding dopamine or adrenaline, they were full of energy. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung imdiately began browsing through fan comnts on Vanguard’s Instagram.
[@Van_guard official]
[Post 75]
[6.587 million followers]
[Following 2]
Before anyone realized, the follower count had surpassed six million, and recently, many foreign-language comnts, including Japanese, had started appearing on Vanguard’s Instagram. The one translating Japanese or English was leader Kang Rojun.
“Hyung. This one’s Japanese, right? It says everyone is so handso?”
“No. I think it says Do-kyung is the ugliest.”
“Really?”
“No, fake.”
Soon, Manager Kim Ki-baek let out a long yawn and said to the mbers,
“No more schedules today-”
Suddenly, with a serious expression, Si-hoo threw a question mark at Manager Kim Ki-baek.
“Ma- Manager. But are we really okay like this?”
“Hmm? What do you an.”
“It’s just... I got caught up in the joy of the fourth win and forgot for a mont. But the ‘Neos’ sunbae-nims... When I saw the music show PDs and staff, they seed super cautious. The other sunbae-nims’ expressions were kind of strange too.”
"The atmosphere is strange, but is it okay for only us to be this excited? That kind of thing?"
“Since it’s such a huge scandal...”
At the eldest mber’s words, Kang Rojun looked at Si-hoo, and the younger mbers fell silent. After gauging the mood, Manager Kim Ki-baek slowly shrugged his shoulders.
“This is just my opinion, but... being timid and reading the room during a crisis? That’s second-rate. Hmm- have you heard the saying? Crisis is opportunity.”
"Ah, yes."
“So what if, in contrast to ‘Neos’, we steadily embrace our fans, put on amazing activities and performances with sincerity? How would that look?”
Kang Rojun answered for everyone.
“Like we’re adding the booster?”
“Well, that’s close enough. No need to overdo it, but also no need to read the room too much. Just keep being ‘Vanguard’ and look straight ahead.”
Si-hoo nodded fiercely.
“Yes, yes!”
Manager Kim Ki-baek gave a weak smile.
“I’ll be behind you picking up the crumbs you drop.”
He said it offhandedly, but Rojun felt sothing resonate subtly in his chest.
‘What the... I think I almost fell for him.’
Then Kim Ki-baek let out an “Ah-” and spoke again.
“We should stay alert by watching ‘Neos’, like a warning sign, ‘You do that, you end up like that'. Sothing like that.”
“......”
“Anyway, since it’s a rare early night off, make sure to get so proper sleep as soon as you get back to the dorm.”
Though he said “early", it was already close to 10 p.m. Still, considering they usually finished around midnight, it was early in comparison. Among the mbers, Kim Ki-baek looked only at Kang Rojun with a slightly regretful expression.
“Rojun, as I ntioned earlier.”
Casually, Kang Rojun cut in mid-sentence.
“Yes. I know CEO Heo is waiting.”
Right now at GN Entertainnt, CEO Heo Ki-tae of Culture Drawer was waiting. Naturally, it was to et with Kang Rojun, and the topic was the completed first part of 'Tale of the Strange Moon'. So while the mbers went back to the dorm, Kang Rojun headed quietly to GN Entertainnt.
Manager Kim Ki-baek was slightly worried, but thanks to the 'Vitality Booster' buff.
‘Shall I go hard all night?’
Rojun was full of energy.
A short while later.
Since it was nightti, there were almost no employees at GN Entertainnt, and Kang Rojun opened the door to a eting room. Inside sat CEO Heo Ki-tae, a bear-sized man.
“Oh! Writer-nim!”
He had been yawning but jumped up in surprise, showing a big smile to Rojun.
“You ca earlier than I thought!”
“Yes. I ca right after the music show.”
Kang Rojun bowed and sat across from CEO Heo Ki-tae. Still smiling brightly, Heo fixed his eyes on the bundle of papers Rojun had brought, giving a thumbs-up.
“I’ve been enjoying Vanguard’s activities! Hahaha, and congrats on the four music show wins too!”
Still so boisterous. Kang Rojun muttered to himself and gave a faint smile.
“It still doesn’t feel real. Thank you for your support.”
“Of course! You doing well is a great boost to Culture Drawer too!”
“Sorry that the only ti I had was at night.”
“Not at all! I told Manager Ki-baek too, Even if you asked at dawn, I would’ve co. Everyone knows how insanely busy ‘Vanguard’ is, so I fully understand."
Anyway, Kang Rojun moved to the main topic. He slid the bundle of papers across the table.
“Here, the synopsis and Part 1.”
Just then.
-Swish.
The eting room door, which had been closed, opened again. A middle-aged woman with a bob cut and glasses entered, her overall appearance was modest, but her eyes were sharp.
She lightly shook her hands with water on them, as if she had been to the bathroom.
“Writer Rojun.”
Slightly surprised, Kang Rojun stood up imdiately and greeted her.
“Writer Han Seo-ryeong-nim? Uh- hello.”
The woman was star writer Han Seo-ryeong, and to Kang Rojun, who looked slightly puzzled as if wondering ‘Why is she here at this hour?’, she gave a calm smile.
“I was curious, so I ditched my own script writing and ca over.”
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