Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 357



Only Noblemtl

Episode 357

Seongpil’s car arrived in front of Baekseolha’s house.

The sun had set and the streets were dark.

The car door opened, and Baek Soo-hyun stepped out timidly, his feet filled with anxiety. For a while, his feet simply stepped on the darkness, dimly illuminated only by streetlights.

“Go quickly.”

Baek Seol-ha pushed Baek Su-hyeon, who seemed like he would stay in the car forever, with all her might.

After forcing himself to get off, he slowly approached the main gate of his parents’ house. But then he realized that he couldn’t do it, so he immediately turned back.

“Sister, is this right? Even if you just give me the ticket and come back, I’m running away and then coming back… … .”

It was a runaway that lasted several long months.

Actually, even though she ran away from home, her father knew about Baek Soo-hyun’s appearance. That’s because her father agreed to her appearance on Project For You.

The problem was on the mother’s side.

“Next year is the college entrance exam, but I wasted a few months… … and came out without saying a word to my mom… … .”

Baek Soo-hyun also knew very well that he was a rather unfilial son.

‘If there hadn’t been a fuss when I came out, I would have been less embarrassed.’

When 19-year-old Baek Su-hyeon ran away from home to participate in Project For You, he told his mother about his dream using all sorts of strange logic.

No, that’s hardly even logical.

Because they were similar to the commonly used term, art disease.

Rather than going to college and getting a job like normal people do, it’s better to die young doing what you want to do… things like that…

“If my sister and I go in together, the situation will get worse… … .”

“What is your goal?”

Baek Seol-ha asked that out of the blue. When Baek Su-hyeon hesitated to answer, she asked again.

“What is your goal? Is the CSAT important to achieve your goal?”

Only then did Baek Soo-hyun open his eyes.

“How many months of school are important? Is it worth wasting them to your parents?”

“… … .”

“Let me ask you again, what is your goal?”

Why did Baek Soo-hyun run away from home and endure the grueling filming of a TV show for several months?

“Idol… … .”

In order to become an idol, I wanted to be like my older sister. That couldn’t even be called a goal.

It was a dream.

Just thinking about it makes your heart burn, makes you have to run for dozens of minutes to calm down, and makes you absentmindedly think about yourself for having achieved it.

That was the kind of dream it was.

“okay.”

Baek Seol-ha smiled and patted Baek Su-hyeon’s shoulder hard.

Baek Soo-hyun thought as he rubbed the area where his older sister had hit him.

‘It’s different from the old days.’

Even to Baek Su-hyeon, who was a child at the time, Snow White was still a child.

He was not a child in the sense of being selfish or lacking in reasoning.

Snow White was young.

After I started learning to sing, I didn’t get angry as much and even my assertiveness became weaker.

So, mother always said this to Baek Soo-hyun.

‘You have to protect your sister.’

Baek Soo-hyun said, “Sister, you’re a child. Children need to be protected,” and even though he had a nose of three inches long, he wanted to do something for Baek Seol-ha.

After the group she first debuted with failed, Baek Seol-ha became much weaker than him.

But now that I look at it, Snow White has completely changed.

“What’s wrong, Seol-ha? Are you trying to show off in front of your little brother?”

“Po, I’m not trying to show off… … .”

When Sungpil teased her, Baek Seol-ha instantly reverted to her old self. With a faint smile and an attitude that seemed to be watching the other person’s reaction.

It seemed like he was right to want to show off in front of his younger brother.

“Soohyun.”

Seongpil said.

“It’s right for you and Seol-ha to go together. Seol-ha isn’t just giving you a ticket and leaving. She came today to get her dream and her job recognized.”

“… …Like me.”

“Yes, just like you.”

Baek Soo-hyun wants to become a trainee.

And Baek Seol-ha became a trainee and an idol. In both of those processes, she did not receive her mother’s approval.

So I want to receive it now.

“It feels like adding fuel to the fire, but I’ll figure it out somehow.”

“Director, please think about this seriously… … If things don’t go well today, I have nowhere to go… … .”

“Then what were you originally planning to do?”

“Me? I, um, if they pick me as a trainee at any agency, I can eat and sleep at the company… … .”

“Are you dreaming of some kind of American dream?”

Paradise doesn’t appear just because you get off the boat.

Seongpil put his right arm around Baek Suhyun’s shoulder to encourage him. Then he placed his left hand on Baek Seolha’s shoulder.

“let’s go.”

“… … Director.”

“why?”

“Why is Su-hyeon putting his arm around my shoulder, but I’m only putting my hand on it?”

“I guess this is my own manners.”

“Were we supposed to care about that?!”

Seongpil smiled cheerfully and put his arm around Baek Seol-ha’s shoulder. Then he led the two forward.

The two’s home, towards the door.

“Let me tell you the plan again.”

As soon as he reached the front door, Seongpil let go of his arm around her and rang the doorbell.

“Because I’m an outsider, you won’t be able to say anything easily if I’m there. After all, I’m also an executive at the company my daughter depends on.”

A voice came over the intercom asking, “Who is it?”

Baek Soo-hyun answered, “It’s me.”

“In short… … At least, there won’t be any direct criticism like what Seol-ha heard in the past… … I don’t think there will be any.”

There was silence on the intercom.

There was a thud, and the sound stopped.

“Su-hyeon, I don’t know what’s going on so I can’t tell you anything.”

“Me too. I don’t know either.”

The door opened.

Baek Seol-ha and Baek Su-hyeon’s mother showed up. She thought it was Baek Su-hyeon she was waiting for. But she was surprised to see Baek Seol-ha and Seong-pil there too.

Seongpil bowed his back sharply.

“Hello, mother. I am Park Sung-pil, the director of Garo Enter, who is in charge of your daughter. Today, none other than… … .”

“mom.”

Baek Seol-ha came in, cutting off Seong-pil’s words.

Seongpil didn’t bother to get involved.

Snow White’s plans had become irrelevant. You could tell just by looking at her trembling hands searching through her bosom.

“Me, me… … .”

Baek Seol-ha found the ticket envelope that she had barely kept in her arms.

Her trembling hands picked up the neatly folded envelope and she stepped forward like a butterfly swaying in a typhoon.

“This is, for me, a ticket to the Girls’ League concert. Come see it. With your dad, with your younger siblings, together… … .”

Snow White swallowed a lot of saliva here and there.

I started hyperventilating due to the tension.

Anyone who knew Baek Seol-ha could tell that this was nonsense.

Snow White’s breathing control is at the level of a yoga practitioner.

They say that they consciously breathe only up to 80% of their capacity, enjoy dairy products except milk to increase the amount and viscosity of mucous secretions, breathe only through their nose to avoid drying out their vocal cords, and do not even scream because it hurts their throat.

Hyperventilation came to her.

“Oh, Mom… … .”

Baekseolha’s gaze lingered on her mother’s hand. She did not have the courage to go any further.

“I sang at the school festival when I was in elementary school. I sang and it felt so good. It was the best feeling I’ve ever had. It was just, just good. I remember everything, like the sound of people talking and the air and the color of the sky. I like… … singing.”

These days, rather than singing because I like it, it feels like the song itself has become my life.

“So I’m happy now, and yeah. Yeah, I’m happy. I’m doing well. Ugh, I know Mom doesn’t like it, but… … .”

Snow White raised her gaze so naturally. The reason she couldn’t see her mother’s face was because she didn’t want to see her mother’s angry expression.

But now I feel like it doesn’t matter anymore.

Before she knew it, Baekseolha’s breathing had calmed down.

“I’m going to continue.”

Baek Seol-ha looked straight at her mother and smiled without pretense.

It wasn’t to please my mother or gain her vague favor.

“Come see it when you have time… … .”

Baek Seol-ha stopped talking. Her mother’s expression was different from what she had expected.

It wasn’t an angry or sad expression.

It was an expression that Baek Seol-ha couldn’t read. It was too complicated to contain a single emotion, so she couldn’t read her thoughts at all.

Mother accepted the envelope that Baek Seol-ha handed her.

“ha.”

A sigh and an ambiguous smile like a mother’s expression.

“The eldest daughter and eldest son both leave home to become idols.”

It sounded like nagging, but it was full of affection. Like the loving nagging of a parent.

The mother looked at Seongpil and paid her respects.

“Hello, Director. I owe you a lot. If you haven’t had dinner yet, come and have a drink.”

“… … ?”

A question mark appeared above Baek Seol-ha and Baek Su-hyeon’s heads at the same time.

Because my mother’s attitude was completely different from the one she had been in the past few years.

* * *

“Hey, hey, you came back, hyung! I believed in you!”

The third brother celebrated Baek Soo-hyun’s return by doing push-ups for joy.

Her speech hasn’t changed at all compared to a few months ago. It was a situation where a ban on Rika’s live and iTube clips was needed.

With someone like that, I don’t know if he’ll be able to make friends at school.

“I’m tired.”

As Baek Soo-hyun lay down on the bed, his younger brother naturally took the desk chair and sat down.

“How old is this person, Director Park?”

“I don’t know.”

“Late 20s?”

“Hey, you’re over 30.”

“Shell.”

“Hey. Mom, why are you acting like that all of a sudden?”

“what?”

“No, I really thought the house would be in shambles when I came back.”

I was sincere.

Baek Su-hyeon has seen how Baek Seol-ha has been treated and lived.

When Baek Seol-ha, who had failed as an idol once, said she wanted to become a trainee again, even Baek Soo-hyun was dumbfounded. So how must her mother have felt?

Snow White was almost a traitor.

And Baek Soo-hyun was also destined to be like that… … .

“Oh, that?”

My brother seemed to know the reason.

“National Federation of Patriots Class.”

“……what?”

“I mean, the Girls’ League. In Japan… … Oh, hyung, you were in jail back then, right?”

“It’s not a prison, it’s a dormitory. No, what is the Nationalist League?”

My sister listed all the ridiculous feats the Girls’ League had achieved in Japan.

The first Korean idol to appear on a competition show and beat a top-tier Japanese singer.

They were anxious because they couldn’t get calls from various broadcasting stations in Japan, they went on some luxury fashion show, and they reached number one on the Oricon chart.

Baek Soo-hyun was listening and thought, ‘What kind of patriotic novel is this?’

“Wow, wow, wow, you were really famous, right? When Girls’ League returned to Korea, you appeared on a lot of Korean broadcasts, so even my mom knows.”

“Mom too? Mom doesn’t watch shows with idols.”

“You said it was so bad that you couldn’t help but look at it? So what?”

As they kept talking about it on television, the mother also felt the fame of her daughter’s group.

I don’t think we’ll end up like the old group that threw Baekseolha into the abyss. I guess that’s what made me feel relieved.

“For people my mother’s age, television is like God. They believe everything they see on television.”

“You believe everything you see on iTube.”

“Stop talking like that! iTube is a decentralized, anti-authoritarian, new generation platform! I won’t forgive you for putting it on the same level as TV!”

Well, that’s what it is… … .

“Then me? Why was I forgiven with a free pass?”

“I told you, for people your age, television is god.”

“……no way?”

My brother nodded.

“My mom’s friends found out because I kept appearing on TV. My sister is the same. If people around me promote me, I can do anything. They say, ‘My kid is really good.’”

Sonna (that kind of)… … .

“Is this a problem that can be solved so easily? Why on earth did my sister and I have to… … for so many years?”

“How can getting to #1 on the Oricon chart be so easy? Apologize to the Nationalist League!”

“You should stop watching iTube. Before I kill you. Your speech is really annoying.”

“Stop that kind of attitude!”

“I lost.”

Baek Soo-hyun played a prank with his younger brother for the first time in a long time.

His expression cleared up as if the dark clouds that had hung over his face until he got home were all a lie.

* * *

Snow White, sitting in the passenger seat, seemed to have lost her soul. This was despite the fact that she had finally received the recognition she had longed for from her mother.

As the traffic jam seemed to be getting longer, Seongpil turned to Baek Seolha.

“Was it like that today?”

“……yes?”

“I was wondering if I acted too stiffly when I met Seol-ha’s parents. Thinking back, I should have bought them a gift. I wasn’t being too sullen or rude when I was eating, was I?”

Life returned to Snow White’s eyes.

“What should I do? What if my mother and father don’t like me?”

Snow White smiled faintly.

“Is this suddenly a situational comedy?”

“You’ve been keeping your mouth shut for 20 minutes. I should have said something.”

“… … Just.”

Snow White wiggled her hands on her knees.

“Oh, I didn’t know it would be this easy. No, honestly, I’m speechless… … .”

It was the same for Seongpil.

Basically, what does Seongpil think of Baek Seol-ha’s mother? In terms of image, she was similar to a devil.

Because Snow White cried every time she faced that devil.

Moreover, on the first day I entered the dorm, I had a gauze applied to my cheek. I guess I got slapped.

“I feel so stupid that I kept worrying about something that could be solved so easily… … .”

“Show me and prove.”

“yes?”

Seongpil smiled brightly.

“That’s what rappers say. Don’t just talk nonsense, show it and prove it. I think that’s the case.”

No matter how fluently and passionately a child expresses his or her dreams, parents cannot help but worry.

I don’t want to go down the thorny path that everyone else is going through.

It is a thorny path that cannot be persuaded with words. That is why the only way to prove it is to cross it.

I’m a guy who can do it.

“If you show me, I won’t have anything to say.”

Seongpil also remembered what Atlas CEO Jinman Cho had said.

When people tell you that your dream is impossible, they say, “Don’t do it.” Without even thinking about it for a minute, they just say, “Don’t do it.”

And then, when you achieve a dream that seemed impossible, people say ‘congratulations’, making the words ‘don’t do it’ seem meaningless.

Just as opposition is reflexive, celebration is also reflexive.

‘That’s why I told you not to listen to other people.’

Snow White did not have a strong will. So she was deeply hurt by the conflict with her mother.

But the wound will heal little by little.

“Yeah, right… … .”

Snow White still looked uneasy.

“Seolhaya.”

“yes?”

“Are you disappointed that the situation isn’t dramatic?”

“What is that… … uh… … um… … .”

Now that I think about it, that seems to be the case.

Snow White thought that after a heated argument with her mother, the conflict would be resolved.

No, I thought maybe he wouldn’t come to the concert.

No, no, I treated Baek Seol-ha coldly, but she might actually come to see the concert. And I was moved to tears while watching Baek Seol-ha’s performance…

‘That’s enough.’

Snow White felt like her delusions were getting worse these days.

I even thought about trying my hand at becoming a screenwriter later.

Baek Seol-ha nodded, believing that Seong-pil’s interpretation was correct.

“Yes, yes. Things worked out too easily… … .”

“It wasn’t easy to solve. It was incredibly difficult.”

“… … Is it difficult?”

“It took three years.”

Seongpil held out his hand.

Baek Seol-ha naturally took his hand. She thought back to before her debut.

I thought that one day, when Garo Enter and the Girls’ League ended badly and everyone dispersed, all the memories we had built up until that day would disappear.

I had such a trivial worry.

‘Director Park was like that too.’

So, Snow White held his hand to give him courage.

The hand Seongpil was holding now was warmer than before.

“It took three years of proof. It’s dramatic. Seol-ha, you really worked hard.”

I tried hard.

Anyone can say it. But when it comes out of Seongpil’s mouth, it carries a different weight, and Baekseol’s eyes fill with tears.

“Isn’t it too much for you to say that something you’ve achieved through hard work is easy or simple? And it’s also a bit disappointing. It seems like you think that you can only gain something if you go through hardship.”

Seongpil put more strength into the hand he was holding.

“No, Seol-ha. You don’t have to struggle to gain something. The world is much kinder and warmer to you. See you today, too, right?”

Snow White just nodded because her voice didn’t come out.

I got what I wanted so badly, reconciliation with my mother. But just now, I felt like I had nothing in my hands.

Not anymore.

With just a few words from Seongpil, Baekseol seemed to have gotten more than she wanted.

“And also.”

Seongpil changed his voice to a cheerful one because he wanted to see Baek Seol-ha smile instead of tears.

“Just look at me. Seol-ha, you didn’t do anything, but you suddenly appeared in front of me and helped me. Aren’t you almost a fairy at this point?”

“haha…….”

Baek Seol-ha looked at Seong-pil.

The corners of her eyes were furrowed, but not in sadness. The curl resembled a crescent moon rising in anticipation of the full moon.

“It’s not a fairy… … .”

“The evaluation is harsh.”

“Could it be the prince?”

The two were holding hands and looking at each other.

Seongpil hurriedly took his hand off her. This was because she was gently tickling his palm with her index finger.

“What, what are you doing… … .”

“I’m going to break it up because the director is creating a strange atmosphere.”

“You’re the one who created this weird atmosphere. Am I a prince? Then… … can you call me ‘Prince Charming’ from now on?”

“Yes, Prince Charming.”

They both laughed.

As time passed, Seongpil, who had just finished work, received a text message from Rika.

[Prince Charming!]

[Give me my glass slippers!]

“We’re in big trouble.”

If I go to work tomorrow, I’ll be laughed at and turned to dust.

The video of him confessing to Baek Seol-ha was already spread throughout the company… … .

Seongpil lay down on the bed with a smile.

The Girls’ League’s bromide poster attached to the ceiling caught my eye.

A bromide of the Girls’ League. While looking at the family photo, Seongpil fell into a pleasant sleep.

* * *

The next day, go to work.

Seongpil parked his car in the company parking lot. As soon as he did, Hong Gyuheon’s car smoothly entered the parking lot.

‘Oh, it’s the boss.’

I’m lucky today because I met Hong Gyu-heon before I even entered the office.

Seongpil and Hong Gyuheon tell their fortunes for the day based on the timing of their meeting.

If you meet Hong Gyu-heon before going to work, your fortune for the day will be the best. By the way, if you meet him for the first time during the regular meeting, your fortune for the day will be the worst.

Seongpil, a workaholic, was generally enjoying average luck.

“Hello, boss… … .”

The one who came out of the car was Kwon Ah-in from the accounting team. She took off her sunglasses, which were obviously expensive, and smiled at Seong-pil.

“Hello, Director Park!”

“… …Why is Kyung-ri in the president’s car?”

“My name isn’t Kyungri?!”

“Wow, you’re yelling at the director. How long do you think Director Han will protect Accounting? Huh? Any department that handles money?”

“I’ll go first.”

“So, why is the boss’s car… … .”

“Haven’t you heard? Since a few days ago… … .”

After hearing the story, Seongpil ran towards Han Gu-in in a flustered manner.

Seeing Seongpil expressing his shock by using all of his hands and feet, Hanguin guided him to the break room as if he had expected him to come.

“What should I say? First of all, you know that the CEO and Kwon Ah-in are exchanging houses for a month… … .”

“I asked you why!”

“… … Actually, I should have reported this first to Director Park, the investor in Garo Enter. That’s right, haa.”

Seongpil felt like ice was flowing through his veins.

It feels like jagged ice is gnawing at my skin.

It is very rare for a Korean to sigh. Does it mean that the situation is that serious?

“Oh, is that a bad thing?”

“It’s a good thing for Director Park, the investor.”

“yes?”

“Garo Enter has recovered its 30% stake from BG Investment.”

“Can I get my stake back? Oh, uh, is that okay?”

“There are various circumstances. It would have been impossible originally, but… … .”

Han Gu-in explained a vision that Sung Pil-ro could never have come up with, including rumors and flyers circulating in the entertainment industry, the actions of the financial world, and the upcoming general election.

To sum it all up, Han Gu-in said:

“We were able to recover all of our shares with just the principal amount invested.”

“Oh, that’s definitely a good thing for me.”

A 30% stake is a figure that would allow the company to arbitrarily exercise its right to appoint and dismiss board members if there was no absolute voting power holder like Hong Gyu-heon.

Activist investment firms actively intervene in management by purchasing 10%, sometimes even 20%, of the shares. Active intervention is possible with just 10%, but BG Investments had a whopping 30%.

With such a large stake flowing back into Hong Gyu-heon’s hands, Garo Enter has gained more power to withstand external pressure.

“But what does that have to do with you, boss… … .”

“The president took out a personal loan and got it back. 3 billion won.”

After hearing Han Gu-in’s explanation, Seong-pil’s face turned pale.

“That, that is, the boss… … .”

Hong Gyu-heon, 29 years old.

Current financial situation.

Loan principal of 3 billion.

Even if you stay home and just breathe, you can earn over 100 million won in annual interest.