Chapter 155 : A Kind of Vengeful Battle
Chapter 155: A Kind of Vengeful Battle
A secluded corner of a quiet café.
There sat Director Im Geonwoo from Daebak Sound.
And sitting across from him, listening to his words, was not Kim Minsoo, but...
“I’ll be blunt. Whether it’s salary or work environment, I can offer you better terms.”
It was Team Leader Jo Jihoon of A&R Team 2 from KIM Entertainment.
Im Geonwoo had the intention of going into the tiger’s den to catch the tiger.
But charging in to catch the tiger right away felt a bit premature.
With Busan Goblin and Seo Dongyoon—Stay’s closest aides—having joined KIM Entertainment, it was a bit tricky to try and reel in Stay at this timing.
Therefore—
“A few of them are already this close to stamping the contract.”
On one side, he was scheduling a meeting with CEO Kim, and on the other, luring in the foxes nearby.
That’s right. This was a kind of vengeful battle.
Recruitment offers were common in this industry, and if it meant getting insider info from KIM Entertainment, it wasn’t a losing bargain.
“Hm…”
But contrary to his expectations, Jo Jihoon didn’t react easily.
Im Geonwoo leaned in slightly.
“With your abilities, Team Leader, I don’t see why you’d want to stay buried in a place like that.”
“…”
“If you’re interested, I’ll prepare a position for you right away. The offer won’t disappoint. Just something light—like the internal flow or new release plans. You get what I mean, right?”
Jo Jihoon, who had been listening silently, frowned and interrupted.
“Hold on.”
“Oh, are we finally getting somewhere?”
“Are you seriously asking me to act as a spy?”
“Oho, that’s a bit harsh in word choice.”
Im Geonwoo leaned back in his chair leisurely.
He was well-versed in dealing with righteous types like this.
He smirked, took a sip of water, and continued.
“Team Leader, you know how this industry works. People may act all loyal now, but in the end, it’s all about the conditions, right?”
Jo Jihoon rested his chin in his hand without a word.
His expression was blank, his gaze hollow.
Now’s the time—Im Geonwoo revealed his true colors.
“Stay? He’s nothing. Just hype, hype.”
“…?”
At the mention of Stay, Jo Jihoon immediately lifted his head.
“Three tracks in a row, and he still hasn’t signed? That says it all. Even if you stick with KIM Entertainment, without Stay, you all know how it ends. Back to being a small-time agency.”
He raised his thumb to point behind him with a smug smile—it was not a pleasant sight.
Jo Jihoon picked up his coffee.
It was true that Stay hadn’t signed an exclusive contract with KIM Entertainment.
But so what?
There were plenty of freelance composers.
Why would that shake KIM Entertainment?
Hearing all this made him feel rather irritated.
Though he didn’t say anything, the corner of his lips twitched momentarily.
Im Geonwoo took that as “he bit the bait.”
“KIM Entertainment, Track Race—without Stay, it’s all worthless. You know that better than anyone. And Busan Goblin’s been getting big-headed, running around saying he wants to be a singer lately...”
Regardless of whether he got a response or not,
Im Geonwoo continued unwavering.
“Stay won’t stick with CEO Kim Minsoo for long. So now’s the time to make your move. Our offer is really decent.”
Swiik.
Im Geonwoo gently put his glass down and watched Jo Jihoon carefully.
The KIM Entertainment staff all appealed to him.
People who could hide their true thoughts this well were rare.
After a short pause, Jo Jihoon answered.
“Sure. Leave your business card. I’ll think about it.”
One hour later, in the KIM Entertainment CEO’s office.
Kim Minsoo burst into laughter that shook the entire office.
“Hahahahaha. Director Im, you really are something else.”
He was laughing to the point of tears.
He’d asked to meet politely, pretending to be refined.
But behind the scenes, he was running schemes like this?
From the recorder, the pitiful conversation between Im Geonwoo and Jo Jihoon from earlier played back.
—“Without Stay, it’s all worthless…”
—“Stay won’t last long with CEO Kim Minsoo…”
Kim Minsoo wiped at the corner of his eye with his index finger and asked,
“Was the offer good?”
“Hard to say.”
“You should’ve asked. Who knows? Maybe he’d offer ten billion won a year.”
“…Ten billion? Then I’ll go join Daebak Sound. Goodbye.”
“Hey, wait for me. If it’s ten billion, I’m going too.”
Though he joked,
Kim Minsoo’s expression was sharper than usual.
He tapped the recorder on his desk.
“What should we do with these clowns running around, pulling shady tricks?”
“You’ve got your specialty, CEO.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Smother them with money.”
“Hmm?”
“The Daebak Sound guys—if you offer just 50 million won more in annual salary, their eyes will bulge and they’ll all jump ship.”
“Not really interested.”
Kim Minsoo looked down at Im Geonwoo’s business card and the recorder on the desk.
Poaching staff? Okay, acceptable.
Humiliating KIM Entertainment? Okay, fine with that too.
It adds tension—he actually liked that.
But one thing—
“Dragging Stay into this little political circus, that I won’t tolerate.”
He couldn’t stand the idea of Taeyoon being pulled into petty politics.
Kim Minsoo picked up the business card lightly.
Then, flipping it between his fingers, he continued.
“Might get a bit noisy.”
Jo Jihoon looked up.
“Are you going to meet Director Im personally?”
“No, I was going to, but…”
The card made an arc in the air and fell to the floor.
“Thinking about it, there’s no reason for me to meet some low-tier director, right? Maybe it’s time I paid Old Man Park a visit. Hmm~”
Hearing Kim Minsoo hum, Jo Jihoon shivered and subtly brushed the goosebumps off his arm.
Then Kim Minsoo raised an index finger.
“Don’t tell Taeyoon. I don’t want him worrying over this nonsense.”
“Yes, sir.”
Smiling brightly, Kim Minsoo winked and added,
“Politics like this—it’s for us seasoned adults to handle, don’t you think?”
I didn’t write a single bar of music today.
Instead, I organized and listened to some CDs I’d been putting off.
That’s what’s great about the backstage room. No one complains, no matter how loud you blast music.
“Mmm.”
I was just stepping out of the studio.
Wearing my headset, wandering the lobby.
Suddenly, I sensed someone running up in a hurry from behind.
“Hey, Taeyoon. Perfect timing.”
No need to see the face.
That familiar voice—it was Kim Minsoo.
“Yes?”
I turned around and flinched in surprise.
What’s with his outfit?
He looked more like a peacock.
The effort he put in today felt awkward.
It seemed like he’d even gone to a salon to get his hair done.
Was he attending an ex-girlfriend’s wedding? But it was too late for that… Or maybe another appointment?
With those kinds of thoughts swirling, I asked Kim Minsoo,
“Are you going on a blind date?”
“No. This is battle gear.”
“Looks expensive.”
“Not bad, huh?”
I stroked my chin with a look of disbelief.
His watch sparkled more than usual.
The pocket square in his jacket was flashy.
His hair was slicked back in a 2:8 part with pomade… it was hard to look at. Greasy.
“…Yeah, well.”
“Seriously, you can't lie to save your life. Anyway, sit down.”
Dragged by Kim Minsoo’s hand, I flopped down on the sofa.
As soon as he sat, he asked me point-blank,
“Has anyone been bothering you lately?”
“Excuse me?”
“Saying weird things, offering you lots of money to follow them, waiting in front of your house…”
Huh? This sounded just like… Kim Minsoo?
“That’s literally you, CEO.”
“Don’t joke.”
“…Not really. There’s no one like that.”
“That’s a relief. You’re really okay, right?”
I searched my memory for a moment.
Ah, something did come to mind.
I briefly told Kim Minsoo about meeting CEO Park Taekeun.
“…It wasn’t anything serious.”
“That old man? Came to you? Really? What’d he say? Did he threaten you?”
What the—he looked ready to storm out and grab the guy by the collar.
I waved my hands, trying to calm him down.
“No, no. We just talked about music.”
“Him? I doubt it.”
“Seriously. We talked about a project, and I kind of wanted to do it. But in the end, I didn’t.”
“What? If you wanted to, you should’ve done it. Working with Stay at Daebak Sound? That guy’s losing it…”
CEO Kim Minsoo was seriously acting strange today.
What’s going on with him? He was even rolling up his sleeves like he was about to fight.
Surely this wasn’t all just to show off his watch?
“No, no. That client? Advertiser? Anyway, their vision was really different from mine.”
The moment I started talking about music, he began to calm down.
Kim Minsoo finally sat properly on the sofa and started listening intently.
“How was it different?”
“Um… they wanted a luxurious vibe, but I thought something more friendly suited it better. Then…”
“A crack?”
Kim Minsoo mimed clenching and unclenching his fist.
“Yes.”
“I see. That makes it hard. That can happen.”
“It’s not like I could argue with what the company wanted. It wasn’t just a simple jingle—it was a major project for a big company.”
Times like this, I really regretted not having corporate experience.
Whenever I saw commercials or heard jingles, there were moments I couldn’t understand.
Like, “Was this really the best they could do?”
Apparently, I wasn’t alone.
Netizens seemed to agree with me.
“Tacky,” “The model doesn’t match,” “Totally missed the mark”…
But no matter how much you talked about it online, it didn’t matter.
I mean, who were we to criticize the masterminds behind major corporate marketing?
When I shared this, Kim Minsoo laughed and nodded.
“That? All decided by the big shots up there.”
He poked at the ceiling with his index finger.
“So you just have to follow along?”
“Yup. Once a higher-up insists on something, there’s no stopping it. You ever see those big corporations suddenly ditch some weird marketing campaign? Know why that happens?”
“Because the performance wasn’t good?”
“Nope.”
Kim Minsoo answered firmly.
“The person who ordered that campaign is gone. Fired, or moved somewhere else.”
“Ohh?”
Sometimes when Kim Minsoo talked like this…
He really did seem like a third-generation chaebol.
Just as I was wrapping things up with that thought, he asked,
“So, what was that project?”
I figured it wasn’t really a secret, so I answered.
I’d heard they’d pitched it to almost every major publisher and agency.
“An Almond Young brand image ad.”
“…Oh, Almond Young?”
What the—why did his face go all sentimental at the mention of Almond Young?
Did he have some memory with an ex there or something?
Kim Minsoo muttered, “Almond Young, huh… hmm…” then asked me with a serious expression,
“Did you really want to do that project?”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask why?”
“Because it’s a brand I visit often and feel close to. If a song I made helped the company thrive, I’d feel proud. Like, the products selling better, more customers… even launching stores overseas.”
I didn’t know the technical terms.
I just explained by feel.
Kim Minsoo nodded and muttered,
“Maybe I should go home this weekend.”
“…Sorry?”
“Feels like I can make this happen for you, Taeyoon. Ugh, I’m so busy.”
…Why was he winking? And what was with that grin?
He left behind a bunch of cryptic lines and…
Zoom—he was gone, just like that.
That afternoon, Daebak Sound CEO’s office.
From the big speakers, <Velvet Trigger> was playing.
Park Taekeun was singing along to Blackhole’s part.
The more he listened, the more impressive it sounded.
The way they built that kind of flow using R&B.
His face looked calm, but inside, it was a storm.
Just imagining how much fun Kim Minsoo must’ve had working with Stay made his blood boil.
He adjusted his fedora and took a deep breath.
“Hooah, hooah…”
It didn’t have to happen now. It could take a while.
There would be plenty of ways to persuade him.
He forced a smile.
Thankfully, he was pretty good at controlling his expression.
Before the evening meeting with that entertainment company’s guys, he was rehearsing a little.
Then—
Knock knock.
“Who is i—”
Before he could even finish answering, someone burst in and started talking in rapid-fire like a rap.
“Wow, hearing our kids’ song here almost brings me to tears. If only you’d spent that time managing your staff. Don’t you think?”
From head to toe—
It was Kim Minsoo, dressed even more outrageously than him.
Park Taekeun froze, not even removing his fedora.
Kim Minsoo leisurely looked around the office, then approached the speaker.
He turned up the volume just a little and said,
“A Stay track? You can’t listen to that this quietly. If you’re name-dropping Stay to outsiders, you must reeeally loooove him.”
“…?”
At Kim Minsoo’s brazen behavior—
Park Taekeun’s face slowly hardened into ice.