IJLMT 23

Chapter 23 ….

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  “Wow… I feel like I’m watching a drama in my head right now. Since NovaGirls’ fans are also really interested in Manager Yoo Hyun-jae, would you mind coming up and saying a few words?”

Cheers soon erupted.
Yoo Hyun-jae! Yoo Hyun-jae!

What the heck? He’s a manager, not an idol.

Why on earth was the hospital cafeteria playing something like this? Sora’s face twisted as she ladled soup into her bowl. She’d been on an internet-detox campaign lately. She hated the feeling that no matter what she clicked, it always somehow led back to Yoo Hyun-jae.

And now she couldn’t even enjoy her lunch in peace?

“Isn’t Mr. Yoo Hyun-jae just amazing? His looks, sure, but the more I see him, the more it seems like his character is on another level. I knew it from the moment he stood up to those thugs—just listen to how he talks. Look at that.”

It was Park, a new nurse who had coincidentally come down to the cafeteria with her. On the screen, Yoo Hyun-jae was stepping onto the stage. In a sharp suit and neatly styled hair, he looked striking.

• “Ms. Davin gave me far too much credit. I didn’t really do anything extraordinary.”

• “But as I understand it, Mr. Yoo, you gave up your entire career to dedicate yourself to NovaGirls. We see their potential now, but at the time, wasn’t that an incredibly brave decision?”

• “Not really. If I had gambled on stocks in a company that was about to go bankrupt, believing they’d skyrocket, and actually hit the jackpot, that would be gutsy and impressive. But believing that obviously talented, gifted, and outstanding young women would succeed—what’s so courageous about that? I don’t think it took much bravery.”

• “Hmm, maybe I’m gullible, but now that you put it that way, it makes sense. How could anyone fail to recognize such clearly charming girls?”

• “Exactly. That’s why I worry. What if headlines pop up like, ‘Manager Yoo shamelessly steals credit for NovaGirls’ success’?”

• “Hahaha! No way.”

Park the nurse kept chattering, completely oblivious.

“There’s no way that wasn’t courageous! He tossed aside his career and went all in. And even now, he downplays it just to make his idols shine. Think about it—‘They were bound to succeed anyway.’ How would that sound from the idol’s perspective? If it were me, I’d be so, so grateful…”

“Park-nurse… hey, Park-nurse?”

“Ugh, why don’t I ever meet men like him? My boyfriend has this disease where if he doesn’t brag, he’ll die. Even when he gives me a blanket at the movies, he goes, ‘No other boyfriend would do this for you, right?’—drives me insane! Makes me want to throw the blanket back at him. But if it were someone like Mr. Yoo—”

“Park-nurse!”

Nurse Kim, one of Sora’s colleagues, jabbed Park’s side and then quickly raised a finger to her lips, hushing her. Sora thought:

If you were going to stop her, you should’ve done it sooner. You just wanted to see how I’d react, didn’t you?

Obvious. Everyone was having a field day—nurses, admin staff—whenever they got a chance, they talked about her.

• What if Yoo Hyun-jae had kept dating his ex? Wouldn’t that have been so infuriating?

• But seriously, what’s going to happen to the ex now? She got exposed for using Purume as a stepping-stone because of Lim Yoo-joo and became a national villainess.

• What do you mean what’s going to happen? It’s her own karma. That’s why you should always live kindly.

• Who will Yoo Hyun-jae marry, I wonder? An idol? An actress? Rich, successful men always seem to marry announcers…

And then, behind her back, they’d whisper to the newbies, “Actually, you know… Manager Yoo was Sora’s ex. But don’t tell anyone!”

Not going to react. I won’t give you the satisfaction.

“Today’s rice is a bit firm. Is this al dente?”

Sora made a show of talking about the food while chewing. But as she chewed, old memories came flooding back—back when she was preparing for the national nursing exam.

• What if I fail? It’ll be so humiliating.

She’d lived in constant irritation because of that fear. Her conversations with Hyun-jae back then went like this:

• If you fail, you can just retake it.

• Easy for you to say! What if I keep failing?

• Then I’ll take care of you.

She’d laughed bitterly inside. With your money? What, are we going to live in a basement forever?

But looking back now, those words had eased her heart. They had given her tremendous courage.

Because wasn’t it true? Her parents would scold her: What if you don’t pass this time? How will you live? Her friends constantly measured her worth against theirs.

Failing the exam meant she wasn’t okay at home, wasn’t okay among friends. But with Hyun-jae, she was okay. He accepted her whether she passed or failed.

“Senior, are you feeling unwell?”

“…No.”

Damn, did I let it show?

Hyun-jae’s words echoed again.

• Believing that obviously talented, gifted, and outstanding friends would succeed—what’s so courageous about that?

Yes. He always said things like that. That she was fine the way she was, had always been fine, and always would be.

Why had she dated a broke guy like him for seven years? Truth was, it was because of that it’s okay feeling. She realized it too late. Instead, she had thought she was doing him a favor by dating him.

Now, Sora wasn’t okay. The whole world felt hostile. At home, her family berated her for dumping him so coldly. At work, friends and colleagues secretly snickered behind her back.

Why was life so miserable now, when it hadn’t been for the past seven years?

Could it be… I can’t be okay on my own?

If Hyun-jae were here, he would have told her she was still okay…

When she returned from lunch, one of the admin staff was blasting a NovaGirls song obnoxiously loud.

• I’ve never seen the world with my own eyes.

The lyrics kept circling in her head as she worked.

The day after the concert-slash-showcase for their new song Ugly Syndrome, the world was in chaos.

[ NovaGirls “Ugly Syndrome” Official MV ]

• Views: 8.8 million

• Likes: 840,000

Am I dreaming?

The concert had ended at 9:30 p.m. last night. Now it was 7:10 a.m. Not even twelve hours later, the video had 8.8 million views?

The record for most views in the first 24 hours of a K-pop release was Cobra by NobelBeatz, which hit 21 million.

At this rate—8.8 million in 10 hours—could they actually challenge that record?

Could this even reach 100 million views?

Consumers could indulge in such daydreams. For the producers, it was another story.

When Hyun-jae opened the office door, chaos reigned. He had rushed in early, but Team Leader Jo Min-soo had arrived even earlier. Or maybe he hadn’t gone home at all.

The moment he saw Hyun-jae, Jo’s eyes lit up as he rushed over.

“You’re here, you crazy bastard!”

Despite the words, his face was glowing, like a six-year-old who’d just seen a giant transforming robot.

“Sir?”

“Remember what I told you in the car on 3rd Army Base day? That if this was intentional, you’re completely insane, a real villain? Well, I was wrong. You are a villain! I wasn’t even sure when you booked Seojeong Gymnasium for 4,000 seats, but now look at this explosion!”

“Everything just lined up by chance.”

“You have too many ‘chances,’ you know that? Hasn’t the CEO called you yet? He’s been screaming about how we finally have a girl group on par with NobelBeatz and how we need to go all in.”

“He did call. But he wasn’t screaming.”

When Hyun-jae had gotten home, the CEO had called, raving about the hit, praising his eye for talent, rambling about how the ‘Tyrannosaurus’ needed to go wild again—and then apologized. “Manager Yoo, are you exhausted? I’m sorry. Your condition is the most important thing in the company right now.”

“Anyway, you’ve got a mountain of decisions to make. PR wants to know—can we push the narrative of ‘Manager Yoo Hyun-jae, the man who believed in the raw gem that is NovaGirls’? Use it as a marketing point?”

“Would that help the company?”

“Of course! People want to see NovaGirls’ rise as a drama. It’ll also improve the company’s image. Like, ‘JM Entertainment truly believes in its artists.’”

“…All right.”

It all felt embarrassing. Like he’d kicked a ball randomly and it just happened to land in the net, and now everyone hailed him as a soccer god.

But since it was good for the company, he couldn’t exactly refuse. The onion bracelet on his wrist was giving off a pleasant scent, too.

“Okay, I’ll tell PR. But from now on, you’ll have to make the calls. Every schedule request for NovaGirls—what to accept, what to turn down—it’s all up to you.”

“Even this? You won’t get involved at all?”

“I’ll just explain the pros and cons. But the final call is yours. You know the CEO ordered everyone to follow your word, no questions asked.”

Hyun-jae studied Jo Min-soo’s face. Wasn’t this the kind of thing that would usually irritate a team leader? Having decision-making authority stripped away? But Jo showed no resentment—if anything, he looked excited.

“By the way, Manager Yoo, you must really like that bracelet. Ever since Mina mentioned it, I can’t stop noticing—you wear it every day.”

“Haha… I’m just fond of little things like this.”

So, Jo had noticed the onion bracelet too.

“Anyway, I counted six new proposal emails that came in last night. Two for variety shows, one for collaboration, two for music licensing, and even a web drama role. Thoughts?”

Hyun-jae checked the emails and replied:

“Accept the music licensing, put everything else on hold.”

“All of them? Even Let’s Survive on a Desert Island? That show’s ranked 4th in ratings.”

“Yes.”

He nodded. The onion bracelet had given off a foul stench when he looked at the proposals—except for the music licensing ones, which had no scent at all.

Licensing carried no real downside and guaranteed revenue. But idols’ time was limited. With so many offers, they couldn’t just accept anything.

“Fair enough. I trust your judgment. I’ll forward the company account to you—just keep me updated with what you approve or decline.”

“Yes, sir.”

He stayed in the office until around two, then left to attend to the members’ schedules.

I can always check email outside the office anyway.

At JM Entertainment, there wasn’t a single department that wasn’t swamped. That’s what happened when a new star rose. Social media, the website, promotions, fan inquiries, merchandise production—everywhere was buzzing.

But the most frenzied of all was Management Team 3. With a massive team bonus basically guaranteed, you’d expect a festival atmosphere.

That was true—until the morning. Their office, which had felt like some cult chanting “Is Manager Yoo a rookie god?”, was slowly sinking into unease.

“Team leader. Mr. Jo.”

Assistant Manager Kim Seung-mok hurried over.

“Yeah?”

“Another email from Seolhwa. They said if the CF fee is the issue, they’re willing to negotiate. Their original offer was 800 million won, but they’re considering going up to 1 billion.”

“So? Manager Yoo must’ve seen it already, right?”

“Yes, but… he rejected it.”

“Then that’s that. Why worry?”

“I just wondered if it’s really okay. Seolhwa and Frisnir are the top two cosmetic brands in Korea. Especially Seolhwa—they have massive sales in China. If we sign with them, won’t it skyrocket NovaGirls’ recognition overseas…?”

“Sure. But Manager Yoo said no. What, you don’t trust him? Haven’t you seen the Ugly Syndrome view count?”

“No, no, I trust him. I just wanted to confirm…”

And this kept happening all afternoon.

In the morning, people were ecstatic.

“Producer Kim Jong-wook reached out. He wants them on Amazing Friday!”
“Dorby wants them for a CF too. Since the girls are so striking, we’re getting lots of offers from the fashion sector.”
“Unbelievable. Just two months ago, who’d have thought we’d be drowning in requests for them?”
“The real surprise is that anyone doubted it.”

But gradually, the mood turned sour. Hyun-jae wasn’t accepting anything. Variety show requests? On hold. CF offers? All rejected. And since he was out with the members, no one could even ask him his reasoning.

And then, rejecting Seolhwa—the number-one domestic brand? Every celebrity dreamed of being their model.

What’s his angle?

Jo Min-soo forced his face to stay neutral as his thoughts raced.

Hyun-jae never acts without reason. I have to assume his decisions are right. Rejecting Seolhwa only makes sense if—he believes an even bigger brand will come knocking. Or it has to be perfectly aligned with the image he’s planning. Hmm… what’s bigger than Seolhwa?

As he pondered—

“Um, team leader? Manager Yoo… he’s finally accepted a proposal.”

“Oh? Great! Was it from a luxury cosmetics brand abroad?”

“No. It’s… completely unexpected.”

Assistant Manager Kim Seung-mok looked stunned.

“Where from?”

Seung-mok swallowed hard before answering.