Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 126:

“Did you forget because it’s been so long since Ise came home?”

Cheon Jisu asked, trying to keep a graceful expression. At times like this, the best strategy was to act innocent and clueless, and make the other person look stupid.

“What are you talking about? Sit down quickly. The food must have gotten cold since you came late.”

I pretended not to know what he was talking about and quickly ended the conversation, then scooped up some salad and chewed it.

“Yeah, you must have been busy getting here, so sit down and eat first.”

With the help of Chairman Cheon, the siblings couldn’t keep their disgusted faces and pulled out the chair next to me and sat down.

Cheon Osu, who sat diagonally across from me, attacked me instead of his sister.

“You didn’t even show your face and you were so busy with your activities lately, but you had time today?”

His tone was very sweet, but it was obvious what he meant. You didn’t care about the family situation and you came crawling in shamelessly? As usual, I acted like I didn’t understand what he meant.

“Yes! We have another program to shoot, so we’re going to be busier from now on. I wanted to see your father and mother’s faces and say hello before that, but luckily your father called me first.”

What are you going to do if your father told you to come? I calmly took a piece of braised mackerel and stabbed it with a fork, and a shadow crossed the siblings’ faces.

“Do you think celebrities only do company work even if they’re busy?”

He meant not to wrinkle his forehead in front of the cocoon. But unexpectedly, it was not Vice-Chairman An, but Chairman Cheon who defended me.

“The entertainment industry is so irregular, so it can happen. And you’re number one on the charts these days, and you’re number one on the show, right? President Hong emphasized that it was a great achievement.”

They must have tried hard to play their cards, but it was useless. I quickly took the opportunity before the topic changed.

“Oh, by the way, there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

As soon as I, who had been eating like a pure-minded person, spoke to Chairman Cheon first, everyone’s eyes in the restaurant turned to me.

“I have a favor to ask you about my agency. President Hong has been good to me so far, but I want to try management more seriously from now on.”

“Management?”

Chairman Cheon put down his spoon and wiped his mouth with a napkin, as if to hear me out.

“Yes, actually, this time we wrote the lyrics, decided the concept, and produced it ourselves for the first time. I was very anxious about the results, and the company was also a bit worried, but the results were better than I expected.”

As I started to lay the groundwork, Cheon Osu tried to interrupt me as if to say what I was talking about.

“You’ve been wasting your time all this time and now you’re getting some attention and your heart is fluttering, huh?”

But this time, Mrs. An Jung-hee kindly cut him off.

“Hey, you’re talking to the chairman right now.”

Vice-Chairman An, who was not a mere Vice-Chairman, caught the anxiety of the Cheon siblings and intervened before they could.

“Yeah, keep talking.”

Then Chairman Cheon gave me permission, and I boldly revealed my purpose of visiting today.

“Maybe I was more suited for planning than talent as an idol. Of course, I know you might not trust me easily because I’ve shown you a lot of unreliable sides, but I hope you’ll give me one more chance.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Cheon Jisu jumped in.

“Huh, you’re really showing your true colors, kid. You’ve been hiding your face and staying put. You came here to ask for money, didn’t you?”

I didn’t care whether he saw through me or not. The person I had to persuade was Chairman Cheon, not the Cheon siblings.

“Hmm…”

Chairman Cheon sighed deeply, as if he was troubled by something.

“Do you have a specific plan?”

As soon as Chairman Cheon’s rather positive answer ended, Cheon Osu stood up from his seat.

“Father!”

“Hey, don’t raise your voice at the head of the table.”

The atmosphere was tense, as if the Cheon siblings were about to flip the table and rush at each other. I calmly opened my mouth in the midst of it.

“Ha…”

I used the excuse of having a shooting schedule the next day to escape from the mansion and go down to the parking lot. It was almost 11 p.m.

It was much later than I expected. The members were probably not sleeping at this time.

But I was worried that they hadn’t contacted me for a long time. As soon as I squeeze myself into the driver’s seat, I checked my phone right away.

[One] When are you coming? 10:21 p.m.

This was a message from Seong-won.

[YJ] (picture) 9:13 p.m.

This was a picture from Yi-jun. What did he send again? I checked it hastily, wondering if he had an accident.

‘Ha…’

Contrary to my worry, it was a cute picture that made my heart melt. Aeongi was diligently poking at the plump belly of Pposili.

Pposili looked like a male, at least in shape. Was this okay?

It was a bit funny and absurd, but anyway, I was glad that Aeongi looked happy.

I turned off the message from Yi-jun and looked for other contacts. There were also one each from Kyunghwa and Seon-woo.

[SUN] Hyung, when are you coming? Pposil is waiting for you. 10:54 p.m.

[Kyunghwa] Are you late? Are you going to sleep over? 10:38 p.m.

They could have just sent a group chat. I didn’t understand why they sent them separately and secretly. I smiled unconsciously and replied to them in order.

[Me] I’m leaving now. 11:12 p.m.

[Me] Cutebne. 11:12 p.m.

[Me] I just left. I’ll be there soon. 11:13 p.m.

[Me] No, I’m on my way. 11:13 p.m.

I didn’t care about the typo in the middle and pressed the send button.

I had to persuade Chairman Cheon and watch out for the Cheon siblings. I had a delicious meal, but I had to fight a nerve war, and my digestion was all done.

‘But it was really good.’

I thought lunch would be lighter than this. I was looking forward to what they would prepare for breakfast.

‘I think it would be nice to sleep over for a day if I think about that.’

The Cheon siblings could make a fuss, but they were still office workers. They wouldn’t be able to do anything after they went to work in the morning.

But I had to choose to go to the dorm because I had the first rehearsal for the first stage next week.

‘Anyway, I achieved my goal.’

I licked my tongue lightly, recalling the icy finish of the meal.

‘I want to form a team with my own people. I’m not asking you to set up a company right away. It’s just that I feel like the limited resources of the agency are allocated to the group that gets more attention than us in the agency.’

Chairman Cheon nodded and asked.

‘Are you talking about Floss? Capital is always like that. It’s natural that resources are concentrated where they can recover their investment with high efficiency.’

The Cheon siblings snickered as if they were watching me.

“Yes, I know. That’s why I want to gather my people separately. Anyway, our group IP is all under Mr. Hong, so it would be hard to be independent from the start.”

“Then?”

Chairman Cheon flicked his hand holding a glass of water, as if to tell me to go on.

“I wanted to try running a team as a solo label.”

“Label?”

“Yes. You can think of it as a subsidiary concept. Basically, we are still affiliated with WePlanet, but we set up a separate corporation to handle our work only.”

Chairman Cheon nodded his head as if he understood.

“Good, I like your idea. But how much investment money have you guys wasted so far, and you want me to add more?”

Ugh… I guess he won’t let it go easily. I tried to keep a smiling expression and answered.

“That’s why I want to separate the solo label. Unlike WePlanet, the dividends from the investment made by our label will go 100% to Cheon Soo Group. Of course, we have to pay the IP usage fee separately.”

Right now, even if we make a profit, it goes to WePlanet’s funds first, so it was a very difficult process for Cheon Soo Group to recover the investment money they had poured in.

The chairman smiled with satisfaction, as if he didn’t expect me to think this far and propose it.

“Okay, give it a try.”

Of course, the Cheon siblings didn’t just sit and watch.

“Father! You can’t just approve it so easily!”

This was Cheon Jisu,

“And I know you love him because he’s the youngest, but this is too much.”

This was Cheon Osu.

“To be honest, I didn’t want to play this card.”

To shut their mouths, I had no choice but to pull out the card I had prepared in advance.

“Speaking of which, didn’t you, sister, have a -300% profit rate every year after you became the president and reorganized the mobile business division?”

It was only because the other divisions were doing well that they covered it. If not, Cheon Soo Electronics would have been struggling with losses without any hope.

“And you, brother, didn’t you have several dismissal proposals in the board meeting after you became an executive due to your lack of qualifications? … If you think that you shouldn’t give any more chances to someone who has failed, then I think you should look at yourself first.”

They both barely secured their positions, but that was only because Chairman Cheon was backing them up.

Without Chairman Cheon, they wouldn’t have been able to climb up to those parachutes, and they dared to open their mouths about failures that were dessert-level compared to the money they wasted.

“What? Are you done talking?”

Both of their faces turned red and angry, and they got up from their seats as if they were going to flip over the plates that the managers had prepared deliciously.

“Stop it! I didn’t make this place for you guys to fight.”

Chairman Cheon slammed the table and raised his voice.

So the conclusion was to hold it for now. He said he would review it again if I brought a concrete plan.

It was a bonus that he said he would talk to Mr. Hong once.

“We have to negotiate for a renewal soon, so please make a decision as soon as possible.”

To do that, I had to deliver a detailed business plan to Chairman Cheon by tomorrow.

“This is… I can’t ask Kyunghwa or the other guys.”

It was an area that I had to solve with my own strength.

“Let’s make it overnight.”

I didn’t feel too bad thinking that I was competing for the business contract.

I felt a surge of motivation as I saw this as an opportunity to prove myself.

I went home and shared the gist of what happened today with the kids, prepared the business proposal, and set the alarm for tomorrow’s rehearsal. I had to get up on time.

As I sorted out the things I had to do in my head, I felt refreshed.

A while later, I arrived at the lodging and opened the front door with a not-so-bad mood considering what I had been through.

“I’m home.”

I wondered if Pposili would greet me as I entered the house.

“What is this…?”

An unimaginable scene awaited me.