Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 50: Dystheism (2)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
I would have found it absurd enough to laugh if it had been a normal photo of me getting a ride. It wasn't New Year's Day, and I wasn't an idol caught in a secret relationship. I might have even joked that it looked like a paparazzi shot.
People's reactions were similar. The photo’s composition resembled a dating scandal exposé, so the number of 'likes' surpassed double digits, unlike on other reviews, but I couldn't laugh. I remembered what I had done that day.
I might have been photographed before getting into Polo's car, but that didn't matter. A photo like that would never be published. No sane media outlet would immortalize the moment someone was about to jump, not in a world that debates publishing photos of celebrities being carried away after an accident.
The hardest part was that I had no way to defend myself. The incident happened on the same day spArk was all over the papers for the stage lighting accident. My whereabouts were clear, but the time in between was inexplicable. How could I refute whatever people filled in the blanks with?
People could only guess two scenarios from the article and the photo. In one, I dodged a falling structure like a shaman, then abandoned my members at the dorm on the day of the accident to go brag about my heroic tale at a senior's house. In the other, feeling threatened by the accident, I made a calculated approach to use Hellas as a shield to secure our position. Neither choice was normal.
An official stated, "After Hellas's transfer, UA changed its name to UtopiA and expanded its business, creating a new entertainment division."
He added, "Circumstantial evidence suggests an attempt was made to recruit Yuur on the condition that he actively support his appointment as a director, being both a member and the company's flagship artist."
MYTH pushed the latter narrative hard. At the same time, they announced their intention to hold Hellas responsible, claiming this was a breach of their contract.
My position became awkward. It was only a matter of time before the 'Want a follow-up article' or 'Angry' reactions outnumbered the 'Likes'.
However, I had to wait quietly until Polo or the company made the first move. Turning on a livestream to explain everything from one to ten was also impossible. I couldn't, unable to overcome the immediate sense of injustice, tell the fans who would be the first to watch the stream that I had been planning to jump into the Han River.
Everything was a problem, but the most important thing was something else.
There's no way they wouldn't figure it out after seeing a photo like this.
The spArk guys would have learned the truth of that day.
Unlike others who didn't know the circumstances, spArk knew everything that happened before and after I met Polo and went to Yuur's house. How could a person who ran out leaving all his belongings, including his phone and wallet, possibly meet an industry senior who was leaving work after a radio show? Even the managers, the likely candidates to give me a ride, were all looking for me.
One might go from the dorm to the broadcasting station, but what reason was there to pass by the Han River with a senior leaving the station? And what reason was there to visit a great senior's house without any notice, something I had never done before in my life?
Judging by the guys' reactions when they greeted me at the dorm, it was clear they had heard something from the managers. The detailed explanation had just been omitted.
This photo would fill in the missing puzzle piece from back then. Where I went in the middle of the night, why I couldn't return to the dorm immediately, and why the managers took turns sleeping in the bed next to mine, standing watch.
Messages began appearing at the top of my screen. So many texts flooded in that the preview window wouldn't disappear. It seemed the article was starting to spread.
A commercial played on the radio. On the laptop screen, someone spoke to Park Joowoo, who had taken off his headset. Holding his phone at an angle so the screen wasn't visible to the camera, Park Joowoo's expression darkened for a brief moment before returning to normal.
…He saw it.
I felt upset. It was even more so because we had been living peacefully without worry for once, and our results and activities were going smoothly. All I could think was that I had thrown a wrench in the works when there were still so many articles to come out under spArk's name.
Among the numerous messages, there was still no text from the company. The group chat was also quiet. I didn't know if it was out of consideration for the members with schedules, but at least I didn't have to rush to pretend I was okay.
I wonder if Jeong Seongbin is still awake?
Only two people were in the dorm, and one was the leader. It was the greatest blessing when an incident like this occurred. I opened the door, intending to discuss it with him first, and heard Jeong Seongbin's voice on the phone.
"Yes. That's what I heard. Would it be better for us to stay quiet for the time being?"
"Yes, yes… Please handle it as quickly as possible. Public opinion isn't too negative right now, but rumors tend to grow so fast."
"I understand. Thank you. Get home safe!"
Jeong Seongbin hung up and let out a small sigh. Even just hearing the end of the conversation, I knew it was about the article that had just been released.
"Was that the company?"
"When did you come out?"
"Just now."
I pulled out a dining chair and sat across from Jeong Seongbin. He placed a mug of warm water before me without me even asking.
"Why's the company contacting you instead of me? What if the leader collapses after being burdened with handling all the members?"
"It's not like they asked me to do anything major, and isn't that what a leader is for? Besides, it would be a problem if they contacted you right after the article broke. There needs to be at least some filtering. Think about how they used to rush to confirm facts with you whenever something happened in the past."
Jeong Seongbin landed a heavy blow on UtopiA.
"And it's okay for the company to contact you directly? You can be a channel for communication, but there's no reason for you to be a filter for issues too."
"You don't have to worry. I was the one who made the call."
"You did?"
Did he not trust the agency's handling of the matter? As I worried, Jeong Seongbin mentioned an unexpected person.
"At first, I didn't know an article had come out, but Han Gawoon contacted me."
"Han Gawoon?"
Han Gawoon, the main vocalist of Parthe, was someone we had a particularly deep connection with within a senior group with whom we only had bad blood.
Since our years of experience were similar, Parthe and spArk saw each other often. No broadcast would go so far as to accommodate the awkward relationships between individual cast members, so the bad blood continued for a long time.
Amidst the frequent troubles, only Han Gawoon didn't give spArk a hard time. He was also quite responsible, so even when Parthe seemed determined to ruin themselves by shooting themselves in the foot, he always pulled his weight throughout the group's activities.
Parthe, which had centered its variety show appearances around their center, Song Minil, began to push the 'safe' member, Han Gawoon, onto other shows as Song Minil's power-tripping and tantrums worsened. They couldn't afford to lose the fans Song Minil brought in, so they used their influence to place him where they could, while putting Han Gawoon on channels that wouldn't accept Song Minil.
That's why they sent Han Gawoon to 'Let's Do It After Eating' too.
As the only diligent member in place of those with rotten personalities, he ended up on a show with Jeong Seongbin even after the fact that Parthe had bullied spArk became known. It was a good thing Han Gawoon's image wasn't bad. You have no idea how hostile the atmosphere was when the preview first came out.
Jeong Seongbin maintained a friendship of sorts with Han Gawoon thanks to 'Let's Do It After Eating'. I heard that while they didn't eat together or spend time privately, they did contact each other occasionally.
Still, Jeong Seongbin wasn't the type to fail to distinguish between friendship and work. He couldn't have been unaware of the danger in contacting an idol from MYTH, the very source of this incident and an opposing party.
It must have meant it was a call he needed to take. Trusting him, I waited, and Jeong Seongbin began to explain step by step.
"You know that the Parthe members' contracts are ending soon, right?"
"Yeah. Around this time next year, isn't it?"
"That's right. There's about a year left… but it seems a problem has broken out within the team."
"What kind of problem?"
"Apparently, a tampering attempt was discovered while they were demanding to terminate their contracts."
"What?"
Hellas was the one in the news for tampering, yet it was Parthe that was actually suspected of it. It was a shocking story. The information entering my head didn't process right away and just stuttered.
"If you're talking about who's at fault, doesn't Parthe have their share too? Did they position themselves as victims of the company's power abuse? I could see it if it were against another company, but if they try to leave MYTH, MYTH will never side with them…?"
Regardless of whether the act was right or wrong, if a signed artist caused trouble, the agency would usually step in to cover for them.
This was partly because they had a responsibility to manage the celebrity's image, but fundamentally, it was more to manage risk and reduce losses like a drop in value. This was why MYTH made deals with broadcasting stations and suppressed the innocent spArk even when Song Minil was running wild.
If Song Minil or Parthe were to leave the company, MYTH would have no reason to accommodate them anymore. Furthermore, if they tried to extort a penalty fee, they had a good chance of winning. It's a world where even innocent victims struggle to win against corporations. There was no way someone with a weakness could win.
There was no way Song Minil would have picked a fight without even this basic situational awareness. In response to my comment that I didn't know what he was aiming for by causing trouble, Jeong Seongbin carefully opened his mouth.
"About that… Hyung."
"What?"
"There are a lot of short-sighted people in the world."
"……"
"And a lot of people who aren't meticulous."
His words were incredibly cold. Only then did I start to recall, one by one, the cases of other idols I'd heard about during my days as a proxy fan. Since the old spArk never had legal dealings with UA, it wasn't my area of expertise, but I had seen quite a few articles about idols getting burned trying to leave their companies for all sorts of reasons, like wanting to start a business during their contract.
"This is what happens when the adults around them raise kids the wrong way."
My head throbbed. I could guess why MYTH released the article at such a ridiculous time.
"They coddled and raised them, and now that they look like they're about to cause trouble, they're threatening them, aren't they?"