I tried to use the ability a couple more times to test it out, but again, I couldn’t hear any voices.
I purposely excluded people like Choi Jeokhyeon, who never talked to anyone but a limited group of people, or Seo Yuseong, who was a quiet person to begin with, and used it on people like Lee Chise, who was always around others, or Kang Hyukwoo, who didn’t know how to shut up.
‘Ah, my head.’
No, are you crazy? What am I supposed to do if you take away even that only ability I have?
I haven’t even heard Seo Yuseong’s voice yet.
‘That rascal, even if he’s not a talker, isn’t he being too quiet?’
Now, I was even starting to get annoyed by Seo Yuseong’s indifference.
I already knew he was someone who didn’t talk much, but I’d never heard his voice whenever I used my ability. Even when the Prism members gathered, Seo Yuseong’s voice was nowhere to be heard.
“Hyung, Yuseong doesn’t answer me!”
“What are you talking about? He answers me just fine.”
“That’s because you’re his brother!”
When Lee Chise whined to me like that, I just ignored him, but it seemed like what he said was true.
‘Haaa … it’s not like I can print out my original face and stick it on my face, seriously….’
I knew that the Prism’s members finding out my identity would be helpful to me, but I couldn’t rashly act because I didn’t know how it would be for the Prism members. It was really frustrating.
First of all, I doubted whether the Prism members would even believe this absurd possession. And even if, by some incredibly slim chance, they accepted my current existence, I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if I said,
‘Oh, I’m back, but I don’t know when I’ll disappear. The original owner of this body might come back as soon as tomorrow.
’ On the other hand, I couldn’t just lie and say, ‘
We can be together forever
’. After all, it’s more evil to give something and then take it away than to never give it at all.
‘Jay would probably go berserk if he found out I might disappear someday.’
For some reason, I felt an unusually strong urge to tell Jay the truth, so I revealed my identity, but looking back now, I think I might regret it a little.
‘Was it because Jay was crying at that time?’
While I was lost in my thoughts, I heard Do Yuda call out to me through the window.
“Hyung, let’s eat!”
***
After finishing a hearty feast with the members, thanks to the Hanwoo beef set sent to us, which was strangely more plentiful than the ones sent to Prism back then, I turned to the manager and spoke up.
“Manager-nim, can we talk for a moment? It’s about today’s filming.”
At that, the manager flinched in surprise, and the other members, pretending not to notice, buried their heads and started shoving dessert into their mouths. Woo Kangwon looked at the manager with a pitying look and called out to me soothingly.
“Seungbeom-ah…..”
“It’ll only be a moment.”
Finally, the time had come to have a conversation away from the members. If they thought I could just let it slide, they were greatly mistaken. I was determined to confirm things about today’s matter for sure.
At my firm words, the manager nodded and stood up, following me. I closed the door as soon as we entered the room, took a seat, and opened my mouth.
“I believe you know why I’ve asked to speak to you, Manager-nim.”
“…Yes.”
“Didn’t you say it would proceed with a less intense level than usual?”
As a
rookie
, I didn’t want to become one of those tyrant celebrities who dictated where to put the persimmons and the pears
1
when my company arranged my schedule. That’s why I usually tried to turn a blind eye, but since things had turned out like this, shouldn’t I address this issue directly then?
“The reason I didn’t say anything about this appearance was because of that, but it turned out to be different from what you mentioned. If anything, it was excessive, not less at all.”
“As for that … the production team said they didn’t expect Park Seungwoo-ssi to act that way … As for the other panelists, they were actually much softer than usual, just like I mentioned. I’m sure the production team provided proper instructions.”
In short, the company and the production team had agreed to adjust the intensity to an appropriate level, but Park Seungwoo, who couldn’t go against the instructions of RH Entertainment, took an unexpected and excessive action.
“In that case, shouldn’t they have at least stopped him halfway through?”
“They said it was impossible to intervene on-site because we couldn’t let rumors spread that only certain celebrities were being given special treatment. It was something they secretly conveyed to the panelists, but Park Seungwoo-ssi disobeyed that order … Agent War was recently warned by the Korea Communications Commission, and I think they feel sorry for breaking the promises made with our agency, so I don’t think it will be edited in any weird way. That panelist lost the trust of the production team, so it will be difficult for him to appear on that program in the future.”
“And POX Entertainment has lost my trust.”
When I cut through the long excuses with short words, the busy mouth stopped moving. Then, his face turned grim, and he couldn’t even look me in the eye, looking exactly like a new employee being reprimanded by their superior. I didn’t feel at ease looking at that expression. He clearly looked like a beginner in the working society, and after all, the manager didn’t have the authority to make decisions about this matter.
‘.…I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to see the staff go through hell like this.’
“The CEO told us to just accept because we need to get the broadcast score … That program’s PD is a drinking buddy of the CEO, and the CEO is someone who values loyalty a lot, so no matter how much we try to talk to him, he doesn’t budge. I’m sorry. However, I was told they promised to proceed with a very light intensity.”
When it was decided that we would appear on the Agent War program, that was what the staff said while cautiously observing my reaction.
“Bald bastard…..”
I once overheard that kind of insult when I tried to enter the men’s restroom after passing by the women’s restroom at the company. It was probably because Han Seungbeom’s hearing was much better than others, so I caught it.
And when I came out of the restroom again, I ran into an employee holding a handkerchief and glasses, with her eyes red. It was the employee who had led the concept meeting. In our company, the only bald individuals were the CEO and the director, who were related by blood, yet the hardworking employee was cursing at them. This was something worth thinking about.
‘The A&R team and other employees are different from the executives…….’
From the moment that only one higher-up showed up and blatantly skipped the meeting, I did think it was a bit shitty.
It was definitely better to have the incompetent higher-ups out of the room, but it didn’t sit well with me that they left without even listening to the meeting or showing any interest.
“Haa…..”
There are companies that suck in every way, but there are no companies that are excellent in every way.
If one thing was fine, it meant there was definitely a problem with something else.
And no matter how much I thought about it, it seemed like this company was one where the A&R team took charge and dragged everything along.
I let out a sigh as I looked at the manager, who was clasping his hands together with an endlessly depressed expression, then asked.
“Is the CEO coming to work?”
“That’s…….”
“You mean he’s not. Is the CEO someone who listens well to the employees?”
“Umh….”
“In other words, he’s uncommunicative.”
“No-not to that extent.”
“How about contact?”
“…….”
‘He couldn’t even say that he’s treating them well.’
When an office worker behaved like that, I should’ve just taken it as a clear hint and understood the situation
‘F**k, is this some kind of office worker tragedy or what?’
It seemed like the CEO of this company wasn’t the type to constantly nitpick and interfere but rather the type who never showed up, only to suddenly appear when he wanted something, mess everything up, and then say things like, ‘
What, you can’t even do this for me? Was I asking for too much?
’ or ‘
Don’t bother me and just handle it yourselves
’.
‘He doesn’t listen, doesn’t come to work. What am I supposed to do with this?’
I wanted nothing more than to persuade them properly and have them say no, but if the person who caused the mess doesn’t even show up to work and hardly answers calls … I couldn’t easily figure out what to do. Should I go wait in front of his house?
‘If only the employees were terrible too, I’d just grab them all and give them hell, I don’t care even if if I die trying.’
I had been an idol for a long time but had never experienced corporate life, so I wasn’t sure, but I figured maybe everyone was quitting because it was an unsolvable problem.
However, that was just the employees’ perspective. From our standpoint, working alongside them, it was inevitable that we would become dissatisfied with the current situation. Adjusting schedules and dealing with the CEO were not our responsibilities. I suppressed the irritation that was slowly creeping up and calmly spoke to the manager.
“I trusted the employees when they said they would lower the broadcast intensity, and I went along with it out of respect for their position. However, since this situation has occurred, I cannot just leave it without taking any action. If the employees find it difficult to address it, I will have a conversation with the higher-ups myself. Please let them know that, should there be any instances in the future where I offer my opinion regarding the schedule, I’d appreciate their understanding.”
“Yes, I’ll pass it on.”
I didn’t want to interfere with the employees’ work beyond my authority, so I had been holding back. But now, it seemed like a legitimate reason to intervene in the company’s decisions had come up.
If I were a typical rookie idol, I probably would have had to endure this situation without saying a word. It seemed that debuting through a survival program, despite all the hardships, had some meaning after all.
‘I didn’t want to realize it in this way.’
“I understand that it was an unavoidable situation, but if this continues, the company could face criticism from our fans. I believe you’ll understand my point.”
“Of course. I understand.”
After confirming that the manager nodded vigorously, I slowly got up, opened the door, and noticed that Woo Kangwon, who had been doing the dishes, was lingering nearby. He seemed worried about the manager.
“I didn’t say much.”
“…Really?”
Why didn’t you believe me?
.
.
.
After completing preparations for our debut, such as the music video teaser release, album recording, and variety show filming, we were about to have our debut showcase, release our album, and release our music video. So, I decided to gather the members for a final pep talk.
“I called you all here because there are some important things I need to say before our debut.”
Standing in front of the members with my arms crossed and a fierce look in my eyes, the first thing I said was,
“If any of you start dating, I won’t let you off easy.”
“Yes.”
“Okay…..”
The members, who were scolded harshly even though they hadn’t done anything yet, immediately lost all color in their faces and nodded in resignation.
Satisfied with their reactions, I continued.
“Don’t trust people too easily. For members who don’t have a guardian who can help them, you should always go through me for contracts and such. Especially Zen, don’t do anything on your own.”
“I’m an adult.”
“Hahahaha.”
In the midst of the stern atmosphere, Do Yuda burst out laughing. As Zen grabbed Do Yuda’s head with his hand, I quickly moved on to the next topic.
“If minors get caught drinking or smoking, they will die.”
“Of course! What do you take us for!”
“I feel wronged.”
“Do you really think we’d do something like that?”
“No. I was just saying it as a formality.”
The two of them were too childish and silly, and the other one was too clear-headed, so I wasn’t really worried.
I thought about giving the adult members some experienced advice, like telling them to think carefully about smoking, as it could lead to related search terms and attract paparazzi. But I realized I wasn’t in a position to say anything, so I decided to just keep quiet.
“And the most important thing. Everyone, be careful so you don’t get hurt.”
“Come on, you’re the one who needs to be most careful, hyung.”
“What are you talking about? I’ll never get hurt.”
“Huuuh? Isn’t that something you’re not allowed to say?”
I turned my head to Lee Danbi, smiling faintly while the members burst into giggles.
“Lastly, Lee Danbi.”
“Yes.”
“
If you have something you want to say, say it on stage
. You know that, right?”
Lee Danbi responded with a bright smile, as if he had been waiting for my words.
“Of course, hyung.”
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Translator’s Corner:
to put the persimmons and the pears
is from the proverb
감 놔라 배 놔라
. An expression used to scold someone for meddling in things. Persimmons and pears are something that usually put on an ancestral rites’ table. So when you even order people where to place the pear and persimmon, that means
you’re being too bossy
. ↩︎
Today is full raining and I’m sad so I was just putting sad songs on repeat for hours and scrolled twitter on my bed … but twitter was full of talking about this guy who became Jang Wonyoung’s mc partner on the recent award show (JWY is my #2 pick on pd48 so I keep up with her activities) and omg … his smile is so radiant and heartwarming, now I’m tempted to watch Boys Planet … I was following PD101 S2 back then when it was ongoing from first reveal to the final episode and it gave me enough survival experience for life that I never watched any male idol survival anymore
Anyway, who’s ready to see Pantheion’s debut song