Chapter 185: Those who stab you in the back (4)
TL: emptycube / ED: Isleidir
Let’s wait until then.
Lee Songha made the sweetest smile when she heard my words.
I buried the seed which I shared with Lee Songha. So that, if an environment where it could grow without being stomped on or withered, it would sprout.
Then I turned around and finally stepped forward.
*
“Shouldn’t you take some herbal tonic?”
Something touched my shoulder. Having fallen asleep against the whiteboard, I jolted awake. It was the chief of Blackout. His gaze alternated between the packed schedule on the whiteboard and my face before he clicked his tongue.
“It looks like you’ve been infected with Hyunjo’s dark circles? The Team 3 Leader knows a lot about medicinal herbs and tonics. You ask him to get you some. Like carp or loach juice or something.”
“I’m fine.”
“Why? Do you have a weak stomach? You look like the type who can eat snake raw.”
“I’m more delicate than I look. Rather than the herbal tonic, please introduce me to a hardy, good-working road manager if you know one. Ours are exhausted. We don’t even have the time to recruit and train a new one.”
I looked at the schedule while rolling my stiff shoulders. What caught my eye the most was Pretty Girls. They properly started their activities with IBC’s music broadcast, and now their schedule was packed with autograph signing events, press interviews, guest appearances on radio and TV shows, and events.
Both the Pretty Girls goldfish and Chief Lee Taeshin were getting used to their day starting and ending early in the morning. They were so happy that they should be able to work for a good while.
Neptune had it worse. They had a schedule in Sangamdong early in the morning, an event in Busan at noon, and a performance in China at night. Not only did they have a busy schedule, but they also had to prepare for their official album. They were gradually becoming more and more haggard.
There was nothing more to say about Lee Songha, who had her advertisement schedule on top of all that.
The ones with the most free time around me were Nam Joyoon, who was thinking about his next project, and Kim Hyunsup. Although it wasn’t the best for a celebrity to be too free, if Nam Joyoon had a busy schedule as well, our team would be running around with IVs.
“I do know an experienced road manager who doesn’t have any work right now.”
The Blackout chief said quietly.
“She’s a good, hard worker. She’s even pretty.”
“Who is she? Can you give me her conta-“
“But she can’t drive.”
Damn it.
The Blackout chief grinned when he saw my expression.
“That was a joke. I do have one, but only if you’re going to assign them to Lee Songha.”
So he had a condition.
When I told Kim Hyunjo and the Team 3 Leader that I was looking for a manager to handle on-site schedules for Lee Songha, the news shook the entire company. There were so many fish aiming for the bait that I felt like I was an aquarist.
Amongst the fish, there were road managers who had just managed to get promoted to chiefs as well as chiefs who had more experience than me. In fact, there were a few from the Team 2 who slowly approached the bait.
“Please give me their contact information. I’ll think about it.”
“Here, let me know if you also need their resume.”
The Blackout chief handed me their business card like he had been waiting for the opportunity. I barely managed to squeeze it into my bulging business card case. Although I wasn’t fully handing her over to someone else, I felt uneasy at the thought of leaving Lee Songha under someone else’s care.
The chief left, and I looked back at the whiteboard. There were a few hours left before the official business I would have to handle this evening. Me having leisure time was as rare as grass in a drought. But it wasn’t like I could just roll on the bed because I did.
I had some unofficial business from now on.
Son Chaeyoung had the VIP room of her hair shop all to herself. I was about to go in, but I stopped. A different person was reflected in the mirror. No, it definitely was Son Chaeyoung. However, her crescent eyes and the light smile on her face, she was completely different from the Son Chaeyoung I knew.
Was she someone who could make that expression when she wasn’t acting?
Just as I thought this, Son Chaeyoung’s expression distorted.
“What is it?”
She instantly returned to the Son Chaeyoung I knew. It was so quick that I almost thought I was seeing things due to sleep deprivation. I brushed aside the strong image in my mind and entered the room. I sat down on the sofa under Son Chaeyoung’s sharp glare.
“Where is Chief Lee Janghyun?”
“He went to look for ripe persimmons. Why?”
He was still looking for that?
I laughed at the ridiculousness. Son Chaeyoung’s eyes burned with rage.
“Don’t try to start a fight. I’m watching what I say.”
“When have I tried to start a fight? But why are you watching what you say?”
Now that I thought about it, it did seem like her words were more awkward.
More like a kindergarten teacher’s, no, I couldn’t compare them to her.
“Why do you think? The public service announcement campaign is about talking properly and kindly.”
I went into a coughing fit.
Son Chaeyoung shooting a polite speech public service announcement. Could anything be more comedic?
“What? I learned Korean in school!”
“Did I say anything?”
“Don’t piss me off and leave! Your face itself provokes me!”
She snapped at me before turning her gaze.
I stared at her. I had met with Son Chaeyoung a few times during this time. The official reason was to suggest next projects for her, but it was honestly to change the future where she retires. Because I kept feeling the ‘intention’ behind the future vision I kept seeing.