Chapter 3 - That Person is Dangerous
“Ma'am, it seems we should be heading out soon.”
“Ah, look at . I completely forgot.”
At the words of the well-built man who opened the CEO's office door and entered, Baek Yeon-ah made an expression as if saying 'oops'.
“Hyeon-woo-ya, this is our Team Leader Park Yeong-ho. From now on, just do as Team Leader Park tells you.”
After Baek Yeon-ah's introduction, Baek Hyeon-woo exchanged greetings with Team Leader Park Yeong-ho.
Park Yeong-ho was a veteran manager who had been working in sync with Baek Yeon-ah since before Haram Entertainnt was established.
“Hyeon-woo-ssi, you're good at driving, right?”
“Yes, I was a military driver.”
“That's a relief. Since my hand is like this right now.”
Park Yeong-ho had a cast on his right hand.
Even for a veteran manager who can do the work of several people by himself, having a cast on his right hand would create a major disruption in performing his duties.
Specifically, he wouldn't be able to drive, which is the most important part of a manager's job.
That was why Baek Yeon-ah had requested help from her nephew, Baek Hyeon-woo, who was a forr military driver.
“We have a performance to get to today, and we need to load so luggage before picking up the girls. I was hoping you could help, Hyeon-woo-ssi.”
“Understood.”
Baek Hyeon-woo followed Park Yeong-ho out of the CEO's office.
After they finished moving all sorts of luggage to the underground parking lot, Park Yeong-ho suggested they catch their breath for a mont and offered Baek Hyeon-woo a drink.
“Hyeon-woo-ssi, I'm asking just in case.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Are you going to work here for a long ti?”
At that question, Baek Hyeon-woo was lost in thought for a mont.
Originally, the reason Baek Hyeon-woo ca here was to help his aunt, who was in a difficult situation due to internal company problems.
He happened to be unemployed at the mont, and he ca here thinking of it as a short-term part-ti job.
Therefore, he had never once thought about working here for a long ti.
However...
“Well. I'm not sure.”
An ambiguous answer ca from Baek Hyeon-woo's lips.
Park Yeong-ho nodded and threw another question.
“Are you by any chance a girl group enthusiast?”
“Not really.”
“Then quit. Being a manager is an incredibly tough job.”
It was unexpected.
To say sothing like that when he'd heard they were short-staffed.
“Is it that tough? I did hear it's so hard you can't even eat properly.”
“It's harder ntally than it is physically.”
Park Yeong-ho opened his drink can using only his left hand.
“I'm hesitant to say this because it might make sound like a condescending old man... but young people these days, they can't stand it if they receive even the slightest bit of unfair treatnt, can they?”
After taking a sip of his drink, Park Yeong-ho spoke with a bitter expression.
“But the things a manager experiences are nothing but unfair, from start to finish. If a girl who hasn't even graduated high school tells you to go run and buy her coffee from the convenience store, you have to do it imdiately. Nowadays, even in a regular office, you'd be accused of power abuse for telling a rookie to fetch coffee, but a manager has to endure all of that.”
“Well… that's because it's the manager's job.”
“Well, that's true. But let's say. You go running under the scorching sun to deliver that coffee, but just for that day, she's in a bad mood, so she throws a fit, yelling 'Why are you so late!' and throws the coffee. Think about it. How many people could possibly endure that?”
“……”
It certainly seed like it would make one feel skeptical about the job itself.
However...
“Team Leader.”
Baek Hyeon-woo carefully opened his mouth.
“I originally worked as a physical therapist at a neighborhood orthopedic clinic.”
“Yes? A physical therapist?”
Park Yeong-ho made a surprised expression.
“I heard from the CEO that you were just unemployed... Ah, I'm sorry.”
“I am unemployed right now. It's because I'm taking a break.”
Saying that, Baek Hyeon-woo gave a small smile.
“At the orthopedic clinic where I worked, over 80% of the patients were over 65 years old. It was a neighborhood with a large elderly population.”
Because there is a discount on the co-paynt for those over 65, if you only receive physical therapy at an orthopedic clinic, the dical fee cos out to less than 2,000 won.
That's why a significant number of elderly patients visit the orthopedic clinic's physical therapy room every day as if they're punching a clock.
“Do you know what the most important job is for the physical therapists and nurse's aides who work at a hospital like that?”
“Uh… since elderly people's bodies are frail, is it about treating them well according to their needs?”
“No.”
Baek Hyeon-woo shook his head.
“It's catering to the whims of the elderly.”
“……”
“Whose power abuse do you think is worse, that of elderly people or that of young girls?”
In front of the silent Park Yeong-ho, Baek Hyeon-woo smiled.
“So far, I've never had a patient throw coffee at , but I have had several patients who threw the hot packs they were using for their compress.”
“……”
He had also experienced many things he couldn't speak of here.
However, Baek Hyeon-woo had overco it with a composed expression every ti.
This was because he considered it his job to skillfully coax such people into receiving proper treatnt.
“So you don't have to worry. Even if the Newstarz mbers throw coffee at , I can grit my teeth and endure it.”
“Ah, no, none of our girls have a personality bad enough to throw coffee. Please don't misunderstand.”
Park Yeong-ho hurriedly clarified.
“What I said earlier was just an example. Newstarz, they're all good kids.”
“That's a relief.”
As Baek Hyeon-woo nodded, Park Yeong-ho scratched his head.
“I understand that your ntal fortitude is strong, Hyeon-woo-ssi. It seems taking care of the girls' needs won't be a problem.”
“If it's necessary for their activities, then I have to do it.”
“I don't know if you'll be in this line of work for long, Hyeon-woo-ssi, but I'll trust you. I look forward to working with you.”
Saying that, Park Yeong-ho threw his empty drink can into the trash.
“Alright, then let's get going. Among the four mbers of Newstarz, Seo Na-eun is upstairs right now, so we just have to tell her to co down, and we need to pick up the other three.”
“Once we've picked them all up, are we heading straight to the venue?”
“No. We're going to stop by the shop on the way.”
“The shop?”
“The hair and makeup shop.”
When Park Yeong-ho took out his smartphone and made a call, Seo Na-eun ca down to the parking lot right away.
However, upon seeing Seo Na-eun's appearance, Baek Hyeon-woo imdiately bit his lip.
Seo Na-eun's Body Condition, which had been at 35% when he t her in the elevator earlier... had already dropped to 30%.
* * *
Newstarz is a four-mber girl group consisting of Seo Na-eun, Kim So-yeong, Kanade, and Laura.
Baek Hyeon-woo doesn't know much about girl groups, but according to Song Won-shik, they are a group that has been active as a model example without a single minor scandal so far.
However...
‘Are they not on good terms with each other?’
Holding the steering wheel of the van, Baek Hyeon-woo observed the atmosphere in the backseat through the rearview mirror.
The four of them, having finished their makeup, were sitting there, but the atmosphere was very cold.
None of them were exchanging even a single word of idle chat; they were all just staring at their phones.
‘Moreover...’
The one creating the coldest atmosphere was the leader, Seo Na-eun.
She was sitting with her legs crossed, fiddling with her phone with an expressionless face.
‘At a glance, it might just seem like she's in a bad mood, but it's probably because of her leg pain and headache.’
Baek Hyeon-woo used the ti waiting at a red light to sneak a glance behind him.
And he checked Seo Na-eun's status window once more.
—------
[Seo Na-eun]
Vocal: B-
Dance: A-
Visual: B-
Potential: A
Body Condition: 30%
ntal Condition: 40%
– Pain and motor impairnt are occurring due to problems with the fibularis longus and brevis muscles in the lower leg.
– Headaches are occurring due to problems with the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles in the head and neck.
– Body Condition is severely lowered.
– ntal Condition is severely lowered.
– A negative correction is being applied to Vocal, Dance, and Visual.
—-------
‘She shouldn't be allowed to go on stage in that kind of physical condition.’
If he could have his way, he wanted to treat her right now.
Since she's a young person, the effects of the treatnt would appear faster than with an elderly patient.
However, Baek Hyeon-woo couldn't just offer to treat Seo Na-eun right now.
‘It's too sudden...’
A male manager she's seeing for the first ti today offers to give her treatnt and asks to massage her legs and the nape of her neck?
He would be treated like a pervert who approached a female idol with ulterior motives.
Even if he revealed he was a forr physical therapist, there was a high chance it wouldn't make much of a difference.
‘Even at the hospital, when giving manual therapy to a young female patient, you had to be especially careful so that it wouldn't be perceived as sexual harassnt. This isn't even a hospital, so it's more dangerous.’
Cases of patients receiving treatnt at dical institutions feeling uncomfortable and protesting or reporting it to the police are on the rise.
For that reason, people working in the field of treatnt must always be careful to avoid such misunderstandings.
‘Should I talk to my aunt or Team Leader Park and try to get her treated? No, then would it be treated as harassnt using my professional position and be even more dangerous?’
Moreover, there's no way to prove that it was a situation that absolutely required treatnt.
And it's not like he could explain that it said so on the status window.
‘I can't do anything that would cause damage to my aunt's company.’
The nephew of an entertainnt agency's CEO harassed a female idol under the pretext of giving treatnt?
If news like that broke, truly terrible things would happen.
‘What should I do...’
While Baek Hyeon-woo was wrestling with such worries, the van arrived at the venue.
However, even entering the parking lot wasn't easy because of the fans swarming the area.
“Team Leader Park, is it always like this?”
“No, it's because today is the day She's On's Yuri is making her coback.”
She's On.
They are a popular group that ranks within the top three among dostic girl groups.
Among them, Yuri was the most popular mber.
“She injured her ankle two months ago, so she's been resting.”
“She injured her ankle?”
“I thought it was just a slight sprain, but it seems she was injured more severely than I thought.”
Park Yeong-ho said while looking at the crowd of Yuri's fans outside the window.
“By the way, Hyeon-woo-ssi, if it took two whole months for her ankle to recover, does that an the ligant was completely torn?”
“Not necessarily. Even if the ligant isn't severely ruptured, recovery can take ti for various reasons.”
Suddenly, looking at Seo Na-eun through the rearview mirror, he saw that she had lifted her head from her phone and was looking in their direction.
It seed she couldn't help but listen now that the topic of ankles had co up.
“Ah, we should be able to go in now. Just go straight ahead.”
“Yes, understood.”
Baek Hyeon-woo drove the van into the parking lot.
Now, they would go inside and wait, and then the rehearsal would begin.
* * *
Newstarz finished their rehearsal without any major issues.
Baek Hyeon-woo watched Seo Na-eun carefully, but he didn't have a deep knowledge of girl group dances, so it was difficult to judge the level of her current performance.
However, the expression on Seo Na-eun's face as she ca down from the stage was much darker than when she was in the van.
Even her ntal Condition had slightly lowered.
‘Is it because her ankle hurts? Or is it because she's not satisfied with her own performance?’
As he was thinking that, Park Yeong-ho called Baek Hyeon-woo.
“Hyeon-woo-ssi, She's On's rehearsal is about to start, let's go watch.”
“Is that okay?”
“The other girls decided to go watch too.”
Looking in the direction Park Yeong-ho was pointing, he could see the back of Seo Na-eun walking alone.
“We have a lot of ti until the main performance anyway, so we might as well pass the ti by watching.”
“I see. Understood.”
Baek Hyeon-woo followed Park Yeong-ho.
When he peeked out towards the audience seats, She's On's rehearsal had already begun.
‘They're definitely more skilled than Newstarz.’
Comparing it to Newstarz's dancing from earlier, She's On was a cut above.
It seed that a group that ranked in the top three in the country was on another level.
‘The grades on their status windows are also higher than the Newstarz mbers'...'
Baek Hyeon-woo checked the status windows of the She's On mbers one by one.
She's On was also a four-mber group, and the one with the most outstanding ability was Yuri, who had returned today.
—-------
[Yuri]
Vocal: A
Dance: S
Visual: S
Potential: A
Body Condition: 80%
ntal Condition: 85%
—-------
Seo Na-eun's Vocal, Dance, and Visual were B-, A-, and B-, but Yuri's were A, S, and S.
Even her condition was good.
Had she been managing her condition perfectly all this ti?
However, Baek Hyeon-woo imdiately doubted his eyes.
This was because a sentence he had never seen before was following.
– Pain is occurring due to a problem with the anterior talofibular ligant in the lower leg. The risk of injury is 95%.
Baek Hyeon-woo's expression beca serious.
Realizing that, Park Yeong-ho looked at Baek Hyeon-woo.
“Hyeon-woo-ssi, what's wrong?”
“That person is in danger.”
“What are you talking about?”
In front of Park Yeong-ho, who was looking at him with a bewildered expression, Baek Hyeon-woo said in a stern voice.
“Her injured ankle hasn't healed completely. Her ankle's anterior talofibular ligant is probably still in tatters.”
The anterior talofibular ligant is a ligant that exists between the ankle bones.
When you sprain your ankle, this anterior talofibular ligant gets stretched, and this causes minor tears to form inside the ligant.
When you injure a ligant like this, you have to get as much rest as possible and leave it alone for it to heal quickly.
Because applying stimulation to the ankle can slow down the ligant's recovery and could even worsen it, both running and dancing are forbidden.
“She must have practiced unreasonably because she wanted to make a coback quickly. But because of that, her ligant's recovery was likely delayed even more. She must have gone on stage today while enduring the pain as well.”
Right now, Yuri is showing off a perfect dance with a smile on her face.
However, that is only possible because Yuri is overcoming the pain with her strong willpower.
As if saying she can't delay her coback any longer, she is performing a fierce dance with a perfect appearance, as if she's not in pain at all.
However, as an idol, that is no different from a suicidal act.
“If she keeps moving that fiercely in her current state, she will get injured again. This ti, the ligant could really snap.”
“No, Hyeon-woo-ssi, what kind of curse are you spouting...”
Worried that soone else might have heard, Park Yeong-ho looked around.
The accident happened right at that mont.
“Ah…!”
Thud!
Yuri, who had been dancing energetically, fell sideways.
Just before that, Baek Hyeon-woo saw it clearly.
Yuri's right ankle twisting inwards, causing an inversion sprain of the ankle.
If there hadn't been the sound of music, he would have heard the sound of the ligant snapping.
“Yuri-ya! Are you okay?!”
“Can't you get up at all?!”
“Ambulance! Call an ambulance!”
“No, it'll be faster to take her to the hospital ourselves! Take her to the parking lot!”
The rehearsal was halted, and a huge commotion broke out.
Amidst the nurous panicking people, only Baek Hyeon-woo maintained a calm deanor.
“H-Hyeon-woo-ssi, do you have so kind of supernatural power?”
Park Yeong-ho looked at Baek Hyeon-woo, bewildered.
Seo Na-eun, who had been watching silently from nearby, was also... staring at Baek Hyeon-woo with an expression of disbelief.
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