I brought down Bok Seon-Ill, Bok Ah-Yung, Oh Seo-Hyun, and also President Kang Gam-Chan, PR Chief Sung Min-Suk, and Director Kang Ji-Yung to the basement level 2 of Hoop Entertainment.

As soon as we stepped off the elevator, Bok Seon-Ill, his right hand bandaged, couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"So what are we doing down here, Chief Jung?"

"Ah, you know HanaTube, right?"

"Yeah, I've heard of it."

"The live broadcast starts at 7 p.m. That's in thirty minutes. If the two of you reveal your relationship there, it'll grab the public's attention."

Kang Ha-Na had grown into a major streamer with two million subscribers on MeTube. Every night at 10, she hosted a one-hour live stream. With a sharp wit and strong presence, Kang Ha-Na took viewer song requests, both Korean and foreign, and chatted with her audience. Her popularity was so high that her real-time viewers topped seventy thousand.

But today, she had to appear on the celebratory stage for Project I.O.A in Incheon's Yeongjongdo tomorrow, so the broadcast had been moved up to 7 p.m. I planned to use that stream to reveal the truth about Bok Seon-Ill and Bok Ah-Yung's relationship and create a buzz.

Bok Seon-Ill tilted his head. "You really think an internet show has that much influence?"

Since he never used online communities or streaming platforms, Bok Seon-Ill didn't understand their reach.

Thankfully, Bok Ah-Yung jumped in, her voice excited. "Dad! Ha-Na unnie's live streams are insane! She gets over seventy thousand real-time viewers, and the replays go past half a million views!"

Bok Seon-Ill looked at Bok Ah-Yung and asked again. "Really?"

"I'm serious!"

Oh Seo-Hyun nodded beside her. "She's right, honey. I'm a fan too."

With both Bok Ah-Yung and Oh Seo-Hyun chiming in, Bok Seon-Ill gave a dazed nod. "If you two say so, then okay."

I gave Bok Seon-Ill a reassuring smile. "You can count on me." At the same time, I turned to Bok Ah-Yung. "Ah-Yung, you can still play guitar, right?"

Flinch.

Bok Ah-Yung glanced at Bok Seon-Ill. He had always opposed her becoming a singer and never bought her a guitar. But before the regression, after the truth came out, she became a singer and showed off her vocal skills and guitar technique, which she had secretly practiced at a friend's house.

When she sang Bok Seon-Ill's hit song 'The Hundredth Ballad,' she played it with the same guitar style he used. So I knew she could still play. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"You're debuting as a singer now. You've already signed with our company, so why worry about what your dad thinks?"

With a 'to hell with it' expression, Bok Ah-Yung shut her eyes tight and answered, "Yes! I can play."

"Good. Then get ready to sing 'The Hundredth Ballad' with your dad and play guitar."

"Okay."

At that moment, Bok Seon-Ill turned to Bok Ah-Yung, baffled. "You know how to play guitar?"

Bok Ah-Yung peeked one eye open and looked toward Oh Seo-Hyun.

Oh Seo-Hyun smiled and answered in her stead. "Just so you know, I'm the one who bought her the guitar."

"What?"

"She's obviously as talented as you, so I got her a good one. Also gave her one of yours from the guitar room."

Bok Seon-Ill froze. He looked at his wife with a confused expression. "One?"

Just then, Oh Seo-Hyun stuck out her tongue and replied, "Maybe I gave her two?"

"You... are you really my wife?"

Oh Seo-Hyun grinned. "I gave them to her because I'm your wife. I know how much you love music, so I wanted your daughter to feel that same joy."

Her gentle tone left Bok Seon-Ill speechless. In that gap, Bok Ah-Yung had already dashed over to Studio 4 and was now pressed up against the recording booth window, shouting.

"Wow, it's Ha-Na unnie!"

Having just signed her contract with the company, Bok Ah-Yung was starry-eyed like a kid meeting a real celebrity.

Bok Seon-Ill let out a small sigh. "Ah-Yung, calm down. You're about to debut as a singer too, so don't make a fuss just because you saw a celebrity."

"Tch. Fine!"

"Good. Then let's see what you've got in rehearsal."

"Okay!"

Bok Seon-Ill found himself smiling unconsciously at the thought that his daughter, like him, could play guitar.

A moment later, we all entered the studio together.

Click.

Bang Seon-Woo and Kang Ha-Na, busy prepping for the broadcast, greeted us with bright smiles.

"Welcome, today's hot guests!"

***

With a short rehearsal, we finished testing Bok Ah-Yung's vocals and guitar. As I had expected, she was quite skilled. That meant I could move forward with my plan.

Moments later, the clock above the recording booth window showed 7:05 p.m. Kang Ha-Na had started the broadcast five minutes earlier. Now, finishing her intro, she waved toward us from outside the booth.

"I'm bringing out today's headline guests! Come on in!"

At that moment, the live chat exploded.

[Hana Tube Live Broadcast]

-Current Viewers: 73,329

(Live Chat)

-Headline guests?

-That wasn't on the schedule. Is this a surprise event?

-Isn't Ha-Na noona performing at Project I.O.A tomorrow?

-Then maybe it's winners like Seo Hee-Joo or Ling Ling?

-Nope. The hottest topic today is Bok Seon-Ill. Even his hidden daughter from that divorce rumor showed up!

Click.

The door opened, and Bok Seon-Ill and Bok Ah-Yung stepped inside. With his right hand still bandaged, Bok Seon-Ill took the chair to Kang Ha-Na's left. Bok Ah-Yung sat beside him.

The viewers who had guessed correctly lit up in the chat.

(Live Chat)

-Whoa, that guest lineup! That's what 2 million subscribers gets you.

-Is that Bok Seon-Ill and his daughter?

-They really look alike. Did he copy-paste her?

Reading the chat, Kang Ha-Na beamed and laughed.

"You think my guest-picking skills are top-notch? Come on, this is what I call the Hoop Entertainment Premium, right? Anyway, let's give them a round of applause!!"

Dancing her signature little shoulder shimmy, Kang Ha-Na cheered. The viewers teased her, saying she was already getting carried away again. As she kept hyping up the atmosphere with the audience, Kang Ha-Na turned to Bok Seon-Ill with her first question.

"Bok Seon-Ill sunbae-nim, would you be willing to talk candidly about what happened today?"

Bok Seon-Ill gave a nod and began to speak.

"As you all saw in the interview with my ex-wife, I had a child with her back when I was still unknown. That child is Ah-Yung, right here. All this time, she was registered under my parents' family registry and raised as my youngest sibling. I kept it a secret, worried she might be hurt if the truth came out. I sincerely apologize to my fans and the public for lying."

"Would you mind clarifying a bit more? I'm okay with it, but you know some viewers can be sensitive."

"Well, the law has changed now, but back then, unmarried fathers couldn't report the birth of a child."

"Really?"

"Yes. So..."

As Bok Seon-Ill calmly revealed how, in the past, single fathers had no legal way to file a birth certificate, the number of live viewers began to spike.

Seventy-six thousand... seventy-seven...

After just ten minutes of this interview, the count had shot up to eighty-nine thousand. At the same time, phones around the studio started vibrating wildly.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Kang Ji-Yung glanced at her phone and spoke. "Mr. Jung. We're getting calls from the major networks—news, entertainment, and even Human Story. They want to make this a special series. A five-part special, minimum."

Sung Min-Suk added urgently. "Every newsroom desk is going crazy. They're threatening to storm the building if we don't pick up. What do we do?"

My phone was blowing up too, but I drew the line firmly. We always had to negotiate at the peak.

"Take the calls after the broadcast. That's when the leverage will be highest."

Meanwhile, Kang Ha-Na had wrapped up the interview and was throwing Bok Seon-Ill his final mission.

"You know my show's a classy music broadcast, right? Every guest sings. No exceptions."

Bok Seon-Ill raised his bandaged right hand.

"Ah, I've hurt my hand, so I can't play guitar. What now?"

"Oh no. Sunbae-nim, your guitar skills are legendary... but I guess we'll have to settle for just your voice?"

"No, actually... Today, my younger sister—no, my daughter—will play guitar for me."

"You're going to sing while your daughter accompanies you?"

"Yes. I went through so much hardship in my early career that I was against my... daughter becoming a singer. But turns out, she was secretly practicing guitar all along. It's her first time, so it might be a little rough. But if the viewers are okay with it, we'd love to perform together."

"Wait, your daughter's training to be a singer too?"

"Yes. She just signed with Hoop Entertainment. She's still a beginner, but she's receiving training now and says she wants to become a solo artist like me."

"Then we have to hear this. Okay? And I'm not accepting any objections. It's my show, remember?"

Kang Ha-Na waved her hands with a grin, and the viewers started laughing at how she was going off the rails again.

(Live Chat)

-Like she ever needed permission?

-Here we go again. Ha-Na's rampage begins. (Warning! Warning!)

-Let the host do whatever she wants.

-This place isn't a democracy. It's a Hana-tatorship.

Kang Ha-Na smirked with satisfaction.

"Exactly. There's no room for anything but Hana-ism on this channel. Anyway, enough talk. Let's jump right in. It's the hit song that brought Mr. Bok Seon-Ill back to fame. Let's listen to 'The Hundredth Ballad~'"

That was when Bok Ah-Yung lifted the guitar from behind her, placed it on her lap, and slung her arm over it. Her posture mirrored Bok Seon-Ill's exactly.

The chat started buzzing again.

Bok Ah-Yung rested her right hand over the strings and smiled. Bok Seon-Ill gave her a nod and leaned toward the standing mic in front of him.

"Sigh."

Taking a breath, Bok Seon-Ill slowly began to sing alone. At that same moment, Bok Ah-Yung's guitar accompaniment flowed in.

-Time that passed.

Memories that faded.

I knew there was no going back.

But even now, I wanted to say it.

That my love for you hasn't changed.

That my longing for you remains the same.

...

Bok Seon-Ill began singing with his signature rich, resonant voice. However, something was different this time.

'Huh? What's going on?'

He usually closed his eyes, letting the emotion build as he sang. But now, his eyes were wide open and fixed steadily on Bok Ah-Yung. And the same went for Bok Ah-Yung—she didn't look away for a second.

[Hana Tube Live Broadcast]

-Live Viewers: 92,982

(Live Chat)

-Wow, look at that emotion. Now I get why people go crazy for him.

-Perfect rainy-day car song.

-Her name is Bok Ah-Yung, right? That guitar skill's no joke.

-She plays exactly like her dad.

-The bloodline is real. Same face, same sound.

-Isn't this a love song meant for a partner? Then why... why does it fit this moment so well?

As the audience buzzed with excitement, it was time for the second verse. This was where Bok Ah-Yung would join in, both on guitar and vocals. Yet, just as she opened her mouth, Bok Seon-Ill gently lowered his mic.

And so, the second verse became hers alone.

-Time that passed.

Memories that faded.

I know there's no going back.

But even now, I want to say it.

That my love for you hasn't changed.

That my longing for you remains the same.

...

Startled by the unexpected solo, Bok Ah-Yung looked wide-eyed for a moment. Nevertheless, her pitch and playing didn't falter. She kept going. Bok Seon-Ill looked at her with eyes filled with more warmth than anyone else in the world.

This wasn't part of my publicity plan. And yet, with nothing but a father's heart, Bok Seon-Ill was making his daughter shine brighter than himself. It was as if he regretted all the years he hadn't acknowledged her as his daughter, and now, he was finally trying to open the path for her as a singer.

Maybe that sincerity reached the audience, because the chat box turned into a silent field of flickering candle emojis, just like a concert hall. And in that moment, Hana Tube hit a historic peak in viewership.

[Hana Tube Live Broadcast]

-Live Viewers: 112,394

Over 110,000 people were watching live.

The SALVA NOS campaign I had designed to launch father and daughter into the public eye was turning out to be a massive success.

***

The next morning, a general meeting was held at Hoop Entertainment for all team leads and above. A massive LCD screen beside Kang Gam-Chan displayed last night's headlines loud and clear.

[Bok Seon-Ill and Bok Ah-Yung: A soulful duet moves 110,000 viewers to tears.]

[Bok Seon-Ill's turbulent life story.]

[Triumph over tragedy: Bok Seon-Ill faces another prime.]

[Hana Tube breaks record: Over 110,000 live viewers.]

[Another jackpot for Hoop Entertainment: Bok Seon-Ill's daughter, Bok Ah-Yung, signs on.]

...

I sat down, seeing clearly that the shockwave from last night was far from over. Two empty chairs stood out in the meeting room—those of Managing Director Kim Jang-Bi and Division 4 Chief Yoon Dong-Gu.

Then Kang Gam-Chan looked over the room and spoke. "Chief Yoon chose not to face the disciplinary committee and submitted his resignation last night."

If the company's internal power struggles were exposed to the public, it could damage Kang Gam-Chan's reputation. So the previous night, he had accepted Yoon Dong-Gu's voluntary resignation and had Vice President Kim Gwan-Woo keep things quiet.

"What do you mean?"

The murmuring swelled. Baek Sung-Beom, the chief of Actor Division 5 under Gwanwoo Entertainment, asked in confusion.

"Chief Yoon resigned? Why? He didn't say a word to us..."

"He said he's going to study music in the States."

"What? That's just too sudden..."

"He left a message saying it was a change of heart and that he's sorry to everyone. Well, I'm not his keeper. If you're that curious, ask him yourself."

Yoon Dong-Gu had been a critical figure in GwanWoo Entertainment. He held the songwriting rights for most of Gwanwoo Entertainment's artists and was the producer who created the girl group Berry Six. So when someone that crucial resigned without even notifying his peers, the talent agents and team leads from Gwanwoo Entertainment looked shell-shocked.

"Oh, and he's giving up his company shares too. Just so everyone's aware."

Everyone turned to Kim Gwan-Woo, stunned, but he simply bowed his head in silence.

That's when So Ji-Min, the chief of Singer Division 3, asked nervously. "Then who's going to be in charge of Singer Division 4 now? Is Team Lead Choi Song-Min stepping up?"

Singer Division 4 had two team leads: Choi Song-Min for Team 1 and Ahn Gyu-Hee for Team 2.

Choi Song-Min, thirty-five, was a former idol. Though he hadn't been successful as a singer, he had a talent for choreography and was great at encouraging trainees, which led to him being scouted as a talent agent. He had the leadership and character to be a division chief, and he was competent enough that even I had no real objections to the idea of his promotion. In fact, I had a way to bring him to my side if needed.

However, Kang Gam-Chan shook his head at So Ji-Min's suggestion. "No."

"Then who?"

"For this one, I want to hear what others have to say first."

"Excuse me? Who are you thinking of?"

Instead of answering, Kang Gam-Chan picked up his phone. "Come on in."

As soon as he ended the call, the door swung open. Jeon Tae-Mi, who had been hospitalized due to domestic abuse, and Bok Seon-Ill, still wearing a cast and brace from yesterday, walked in.

Bok Seon-Ill raised his healthy left hand and smiled brightly. "Busy morning, huh?"

Kang Gam-Chan grinned back. "Yes. But how's the hand, Mr. Bok Seon-Ill?"

"The doctor said I've got fists of steel. Just a light fracture. I'll be good in no time."

"Hahaha. That's a relief. By the way, your daughter's guitar playing was amazing."

"Funny you mention it, because my family's already been offered a CF gig. Must be because our talent agent's such a pro."

"A CF already?"

Bok Seon-Ill shot me a cheeky grin. "Guess celebrities really do need the right talent agent to make their careers take off."

"Hahaha. Hearing that from you makes me proud as the company's rep."

"Absolutely."

Then, So Ji-Min asked cautiously, "Seon-Ill oppa. I mean, Mr. Bok Seon-Ill. We were just discussing who should take over Division 4 now that Chief Yoon's resigned..."

"Ah, I know. That's why I'm here."

Just then, Jeon Tae-Mi pulled out her phone. "One second. I'll connect a video call. There's someone else joining."

Jeon Tae-Mi dialed a video call, and soon the faces of Oh Ji-Seon and Sung Hee-Yeon, currently in Hawaii, appeared on the screen.

-I'm on.

-Same here.

Click.

With Oh Ji-Seon and Sung Hee-Yeon joining, the four key artists responsible for over 70% of Singer Division 4's revenue were now present.

Kang Gam-Chan looked at them. "I heard the four of you have a recommendation for the next division chief?"

Bok Seon-Ill nodded. "Yes. If possible, we'd like to work with someone who shares our values."

He looked at Jeon Tae-Mi. She nodded and then met the eyes of Oh Ji-Seon and Sung Hee-Yeon on screen. Then came a completely unexpected bombshell from all four of them.

"We'd like Mr. Jung to look after the members of Singer Division 4."

'Wait. Are they asking me to take over as chief of Singer Division 4?'