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Chapter – 10
Inside the broadcasting station waiting room.
There, the PD and writer of Tomorrow’s Best were sitting together with my daughter, Songi.
“Ah, you must be CEO Jung Hwieon, correct?”
The PD stood up first and greeted me.
Then the writer immediately spoke up.
“Jung Songi personally came to the station and expressed her desire to appear on the program. So… considering the recent buzz surrounding her, we’d really like to have her on the show.”
Songi didn’t look toward me.
It was as if her whole body was rejecting conversation.
Rather than sulking, she seemed overwhelmed by both guilt and fear.
“I’m sorry, but Songi’s appearance on the show is something that hasn’t been discussed with me yet. First, Songi and I need to talk it over ourselves. After that, I’ll contact you again.”
The PD nodded.
He looked disappointed.
“We can adjust the schedule as much as necessary, so please consider it seriously.”
“Yes, we will. Songi.”
When I finally called her name, the child slowly turned around.
“We should go now.”
“…Okay.”
She reluctantly stood up.
Judging by the tears welling in her eyes, she already knew she had done something wrong.
We were on the way back home in the car.
Instead of sitting in the passenger seat like usual, Songi chose the back seat and stared silently out the window without saying a word.
“Songi… how could you go to the broadcasting station alone without discussing it with Dad first? I was really worried.”
“……”
“Next time, you have to tell me before you go anywhere, okay?”
“You weren’t going to listen anyway.”
I tried to comfort her, but the inside of the car was suffocatingly heavy.
As if the roads themselves understood the atmosphere, traffic was completely jammed too.
“First of all… what’s important right now is that Songi continues attending school properly. You’re only eleven years old. Broadcasting can happen anytime in the future. Dad will help you with all of that.”
I wanted to explain things carefully so her young heart wouldn’t get hurt.
From Songi’s perspective, of course she wanted to see her mother somehow.
I only hoped my own emotions wouldn’t wound her.
But…
‘…Bae Jina doesn’t want to face her own daughter.’
That was the only thing I worried about.
If it were only up to me, I would let Songi go as much as she wanted.
But Bae Jina—my ex-wife—didn’t want that.
Songi would definitely get hurt.
Especially after seeing her mother’s reaction.
‘If she does something reckless, it’ll become a disaster. For now, calming Songi comes first.’
Your mother doesn’t love you?
Your mother still doesn’t want you becoming an entertainer?
We just need more time?
How was I supposed to explain any of that?
How could I possibly…
“Dad, you know….”
At that moment,
Songi spoke first.
“Yes, Songi.”
“To be honest, I really hate Mom.”
“…What?”
But then…
Songi said something unexpected.
“That’s why I wanted to show her that Dad and I are doing just fine.”
“…”
“Daaad, is that wrong?”
Was that it?
Maybe Songi didn’t actually want to see her mother.
Maybe she simply wanted to release the resentment she held toward the mother who abandoned her.
“Songi, but… your mom doesn’t want you acknowledging her on broadcast.”
“…Yeah, I know.”
“…Huh?”
“I know too.”
She had said it while fully prepared to get hurt.
But she already knew?
“Dad, I’m not a little kid.”
“…”
“I know Mom is hiding me.”
It felt like a thunderbolt crashing down on me.
“That’s why I can do even better. I want to sing in front of Mom.”
“…Songi.”
“So just trust me this one time.”
Songi looked desperate somehow.
If anything, she was trying to persuade me instead.
“If we do that… will it really make you feel better?”
“Mm… after this, I’ll listen to everything you say, Dad.”
My heart felt unbearably heavy.
But strangely enough, my 고민 didn’t last very long.
[You can come to the station by tomorrow morning.]
After a brief phone call with the writer, the call ended.
The decision to appear on the show had been made a week ago.
Once I personally contacted the writer and expressed our intention to participate, the schedule was set.
And that schedule was tomorrow morning.
“Hey, are you seriously doing this?”
Second-floor office of Ssong Entertainment.
I was having lunch with Hyung Seongho, who had agreed to help with producing for the time being.
“Your wife appears on that program, doesn’t she?”
“…Ex-wife, hyungnim.”
“Same difference.”
Hyung Seongho didn’t care whether black bean sauce was smeared around his mouth or not.
“Bae Jina’s popularity is rising these days. Imagine if news of her affair breaks out. You think she’ll stay still? No… maybe CEO Choi Mago will come at you swinging an axe.”
“I think you’re the one who needs to watch your mouth first, hyung….”
I wasn’t worried about Songi.
She was such a smart and dependable child.
But Hyung Seongho was so blunt and straightforward that you never knew where he might explode.
That made me even more uneasy.
“Kid, I’m not that thoughtless of a guy….”
“Don’t worry, hyung. Bae Jina’s someone who has to protect her reputation too, so she won’t do anything extreme.”
I forced myself to rationalize it that way.
Honestly speaking,
There was no telling how long they could keep their secret hidden.
Problems pile up, and eventually they explode.
And when that happened, Bae Jina and CEO Choi Mago would bear the consequences entirely themselves.
So if Songi continued rising higher and higher…
Someday the tower they built so carefully might collapse.
“I still wonder if appearing on broadcast is really the right thing….”
Hyung Seongho slurped up his jajangmyeon noisily.
His actions and words didn’t match, but at the core, his worries weren’t different from mine.
“So… did Bae Jina say anything?”
“Of course she did. She completely lost it.”
“What’d she say?”
I paused my chopsticks for a moment and thought back.
“Well….”
“She’s always had a rough mouth. Even though she’s always smiling sweetly and pretending on TV.”
“…That’s true.”
She wasn’t originally that kind of person.
At least…
Back when she was still an unknown actress, she had been pure and full of dreams.
But then she suddenly became popular.
Maybe she caught celebrity syndrome.
Her irritability increased, and so did her greed.
Little by little, she changed.
And eventually, she even had an affair with CEO Choi Mago, the very man who fully supported her career.
“They say people get scary once they taste late success. Bae Jina really is something else.”
The people who disapproved of the two gradually left Mago Entertainment one by one.
Hyung Seongho was one of them.
“Was becoming famous really worth it… enough to abandon even her daughter?”
“That’s enough, hyung. It’s all in the past now.”
For a while, the media had been noisy because of Bae Jina’s divorce.
Fortunately, she hadn’t become a top star yet, so public interest died down quickly.
If it happened now, though, it would’ve been different.
The damage would’ve been severe.
“You should just go all out and expose everything.”
“…Expose what?”
“The songs you’re making lately are no joke.”
Hyung Seongho was never generous with compliments.
“If Songi climbs all the way to the top… Bae Jina probably won’t be able to do anything about it.”
“…That’s probably true.”
There were still countless songs I could give Songi in the future.
After all, I held hit songs capable of shaking the world over the next five years in my hands.
But I didn’t want to recklessly pour them out too quickly.
“I’m different from Bae Jina. Protecting Songi is more important than becoming famous.”
“Oh wow, Father of the Year over here. Isn’t that basically the same thing?”
“If we force too many schedules, Songi will eventually get exhausted too. Things will work out anyway, so there’s no need to rush.”
“You really are a good dad. Honestly, hearing that makes me reflect on myself too.”
Hyung Seongho had a three-year-old son.
He also deeply loved his child, but because he was always busy with work, it seemed he couldn’t spend much time playing with him.
“By the way, you haven’t forgotten my kindness, right?”
“Of course not. Thanks to you, hyung, I got a piano and studied composition.”
“And the one teaching you producing right now is me too—Hyun Seongho. Don’t forget it.”
Since I was running a one-man entertainment company, support from people around me was desperately important.
And in that sense, Hyung Seongho was undoubtedly the greatest help to me.
“Anyway, work hard. This time I’ll definitely watch Tomorrow’s Best live. Whenever Bae Jina appeared before, I used to change the channel.”
“…Yeah. I believe in Songi.”
Finally, the day of the recording arrived.
While rushing around preparing everything, I received a call from a number that wasn’t unfamiliar.
For a moment,
I thought it was my ex-wife’s deleted number.
But then I remembered.
It was CEO Choi Mago’s number.
“…Yes, CEO.”
[Oh, Jung Hwieon. I’m surprised you didn’t delete my number.]
I had deleted it long ago.
But how could I ever truly forget it?
“What is it?”
[Come on now, do I need a reason to call someone I know?]
His tone was unbelievably calm.
To the point it was absurd.
“…I’m sorry, but I have somewhere to be. I’ll hang up now.”
[Hey, Jung Hwieon.]
“……”
[I heard Songi debuted as a singer?]
The moment he mentioned my daughter’s name, my movements froze briefly.
[At least let me congratulate you.]
“……”
[After working as a manager for so long, you’ve built up quite the career. As a father, I’m sure you can support your daughter very well.]
“That’s not really something you need to concern yourself with, CEO.”
I already knew exactly why he called.
[Heard you started a one-man entertainment company?]
“…”
[Ssong Entertainment, huh. Judging by the name, it looks like you created it entirely for your daughter.]
He kept rambling without getting to the point.
I glanced at the clock.
It was almost time to leave.
“CEO, if you don’t have business to discuss, I’ll end the call now.”
[Today’s the recording for Tomorrow’s Best, right?]
“…”
He was still beside Bae Jina.
Did his wife know?
What about his children…?
No.
They probably knew nothing.
That was why he was trying to silence me.
So in the end, he was only human too.
Seeing how quickly fear drove him to call.
[What kind of confidence made you choose this path, CEO Jung Hwieon?]
“I understand what you’re trying to say, CEO. But acting like this will only worsen Jina’s situation.”
[…Are you threatening me right now?]
“There’s no special motive behind today’s appearance. We simply accepted a casting offer. More importantly, I have no reason to avoid Jina. Instead of draining each other with this kind of behavior, I’d rather we simply go our separate ways.”
Click!
My heartbeat still wouldn’t calm down.
It pounded loudly in my chest.
And just like that…
The recording for Tomorrow’s Best was beginning.
