My ability allowed me to perform more detailed appraisals as my relationship with the target deepened.
Once I decided to take charge of Ebony, I was able to uncover details I hadn't known before—including a shocking truth.
Ebony's downfall… was the head director's doing?
I mapped out the company's political dynamics in my head.
In the past, I used to stress out quite a bit over these internal corporate power struggles. Not anymore.
Team 1 used to belong to CEO Lee's faction, which made them a prime target for the Kim faction.
Of course, it didn't seem like Head Director Soohyuk Kim had intended to completely destroy Ebony from the start.
He had likely meant to rattle Team 1 with a minor setback, but Mina's bullying scandal overlapped with it, causing the group to utterly crash and burn.
Whether it's the Kim faction or the Lee faction, whatever tricks they play against each other is none of my business. As long as my tenants keep paying their rent on time, I couldn't care less.
Even so, I felt the need to deliver a warning, just this once.
So, I paid a visit to the head director's office.
"…What brings you here?"
Head Director Kim didn't even bother hiding his hostility anymore.
"I came to give you a warning."
"What?"
Whoops. Maybe I phrased that a bit too bluntly.
In corporate life, there was supposed to be such a thing as cushion words.
Well, whatever. Not my problem.
"I said I came to warn you. Don't even think about pulling any dirty tricks on me or my artists going forward."
"Dirty… tricks?! H-have you lost your mind?!"
"Well, if it's not a dirty trick, what else am I supposed to call it?"
Ah.
I'd told myself that whatever schemes he pulled behind the scenes were none of my business, but I guess that wasn't entirely true.
Thinking about it now, it actually made me angry.
There's a limit to corporate politics. How could you ruin people's lives just to grab a little more power in the company?
It wasn't like I possessed some burning passion for justice, but there had to be a line someone shouldn't cross as a human being.
"I don't care how CEO Lee's faction and the Kim faction tear each other apart. But, at the very least, don't do things that make innocent employees and artists cry tears of blood. Because if you do, tears of blood might just pour from your own eyes instead, head director."
"Ha! Have you truly lost your mind?"
Instead of answering, I pulled out my phone and played an audio file on speaker.
Head Director Kim's own voice rang out clearly.
-"Did you properly clean up that mess Byungki Jang made?"
Byungki Jang was one of Team 2's top stars. He was always causing trouble behind the scenes, and every single time, Soohyuk had pulled strings to cover for him. And that recording wasn't the only piece of dirty laundry I had.
Working at Star Entertainment, there were plenty of times I had unintentionally overheard or witnessed things I'd rather not have.
Of course, I always pretended to have no eyes or ears—but my recorder wasn't so forgiving. Over my three years at Star Entertainment, I had quietly recorded and saved every scrap of dirt I happened to come across.
"You bastard!"
Soohyuk's face flushed red as he gnashed his teeth, but he couldn't quite bring himself to lunge at me.
It was a sight that made it very clear who held the upper hand.
"...Are you really trying to start an all-out war with me?"
"No? I don't particularly want to go that far."
"???"
I detested the sight of him, but a fight to the death wasn't really what I was after either. After all, the only reason I still bothered showing up at Star Entertainment was to coast along and collect a paycheck for doing as little as possible.
But.
"If you keep trying to play dirty tricks, then the story changes."
"!!!"
Sometimes, being pissed off beats being lazy.
And, well, I did have a bit of a nasty temper myself.
"Don't even think about messing with me again. Because if you do, there's no telling what I'll do."
* * *
…Did I overdo it?
The thought crossed my mind a little belatedly, but the damage was already done.
Well, whatever. If worst comes to worst, I can just change jobs.
In any case, thanks to my firm stance, it didn't seem like the head director would try to sabotage anything for the time being.
"Welcome back, manager! Sir, yes, sir!!!"
Minho Kang was even more dramatic than usual. Even the support staff pulled in from other teams looked at me with something close to awe.
"We heard you went head-to-head with Head Director Soohyuk Kim!"
"We're completely on your side, manager!"
"We are loyal to you, sir!!!"
Word… traveled fast at Star Entertainment.
News of my clash with Soohyuk had apparently already spread through the whole building.
No, but for real—how does a rumor make it downstairs before I do? Sure, I took my sweet time because I wasn't exactly thrilled about getting back to work, but this is just ridiculous.
"It's not like that, so let's just get to work."
"Yes, boss! Let's tear down the corporate politics and make Star Entertainment an honest company once and for all!"
…I had no idea what grand misunderstanding they'd worked themselves into.
So, I decided to just focus on the task at hand, and reviewed Ebony's current status.
Their potential is outstanding, but their situation is still an absolute disaster.
First of all, our budget was pathetic—Star Entertainment had only allocated 100 million won for Ebony's comeback.
What an absurdly small number.
Even a typical B-tier idol group dropping a "budget album" easily burned through several hundred million won, sometimes topping a billion.
For A-tier groups, the price tag started in the billions. A group that really knew how to burn cash could easily blow past ten billion won.
Still, I couldn't really complain about the number.
They're a failed group, after all. Objectively speaking, the odds of a successful comeback are close to zero.
That said, funding it out of my own pocket again felt a little wrong.
Honestly, a few hundred million won wasn't a huge burden for me, but I couldn't exactly bankroll every single artist I managed, could I?
Let's try to make it work with the current budget for now.
The first step toward any comeback was choosing the right song.
When I walked into the A&R team's office, Director Song greeted me with a bright, beaming smile.
"Manager Lim, you're here? I already heard the news. Word is you're planning to work your Midas Touch on Ebony this time? I always felt so bad for those girls, so I'll help however I can!"
"Are there any good tracks? Our budget's pretty thin."
"Who do you take me for? I used every connection I've got. Take a listen."
[Midnight Filter]
Composer: Minhyuk Jang (B)
Rank: C
[Black Cherry]
Composer: Prism (C+)
Rank: C+
[Candy Riot]
Composer: BPM (B-)
Rank: C+
Every single one of them was trash!
For a second, I wondered if Director Song had been put up to it by the head director, deliberately handing me garbage to sabotage Ebony—but looking at his face, that didn't seem to be it.
"What do you think? They're not top-tier composers, but they're talented in their own right. I personally think the tracks turned out really well."
The sparkle in his eyes told me he genuinely believed these songs were great.
Director Song isn't a bad person… his taste is just seriously awful.
I decided to appraise him.
[Myunghoon Song]
Type: A&R Director
Rank: C+
Potential: B-
[Special Note: Good personality. Holds a favorable impression of you.]
In a world full of people who were terrible at both their jobs and their personalities, having at least one of those covered meant he could be considered a decent director in his own right.
"I'll think it over a bit more for now."
Looks like I'll have to pave the way myself again, just like I did for Sena. Don't tell me I have to work overtime for this one too? I hate overtime!
I headed over to the training center. The facility for idols and trainees was in a separate building nearby.
"Hello, manager!!!"
"Our super-cute Lim-bony, please show us some love!!!"
"…You don't have to do that for me. And 'Lim-bony' is a genuinely terrible name."
"We just want to be doted on by our manager! Lim-bony represents our hearts!!! Hehe~"
It was honestly heartwarming, watching them laugh and mess around together—the kind of sight that made me finally understand why uncle fans fall so hard for idols.
But right then—
[An outstanding composer candidate has been found! Would you like to appraise?]
Huh…?
A quiet glow of 'Appraise' skill was blooming from the shy-looking member tucked in the corner.
Come to think of it, Harin did mention she was studying composition on her own.
I recalled catching a few snippets of her work once before, and they hadn't sounded bad at all—though they had just been rough sketches, so it had been hard to judge properly at the time.
[Harin]
Type: Idol (Studying composition)
Composing Rank: B
Composing Potential: A ⇨ S (with proper guidance)
"!!!"
Her potential was A-rank, but it could climb all the way to S with proper guidance!
That wasn't all.
[Composing Aptitude: Top Liner (S-rank)]
Top liner.
The type of composer who writes the very core of a song: the main melody and the chorus.
And there was one more enticing detail.
[Composing Compatibility with Ebony: S+]
Her compatibility was at the near-highest possible rank.
It made sense—it was her own group, after all.
From experience, composing skill matters, but compatibility with the musicians matters just as much.
B-rank composer with perfect synergy could easily outshine an S-rank composer with none.
In that regard, Harin had a massive edge. Her raw skill wasn't refined yet, but her potential was outstanding and her compatibility was flawless.
And there was one more advantage that no outside composer could ever offer.
"Actually, I've got some bad news. I stopped by the A&R team, and every song they gave me is trash."
The members' faces dropped, but I kept going.
"I actually think that's good news."
"Good news…?"
"For this album, Harin—how about you write it yourself?"
"?!"
Every head snapped toward Harin, whose face immediately went pale.
For the record, Harin was introverted and timid by nature.
"M-me? Write it? My composing skills aren't anywhere near that level yet…"
"I thought your music was really good, Harin."
Sure, they'd been rough sketches, far from polished. But even so, they beat every single track Myunghoon had played for me.
Above all—
"We're overwhelming everyone with pure talent this time. There's no better way to prove Ebony's real skill than a song written by one of your own."
That was the one thing no outside composer could ever match—a perfect story to showcase Ebony's genuine skill.
Even so, Harin still looked incredibly unsure.
Given how timid she was, she clearly didn't have the confidence to pull it off.
"I know it's a lot of pressure. But don't worry too much. I'll help you through every step of it."
"You will, manager…?"
"Of course. I'll make sure you can do your best, Harin."
She had real potential, but she still had a long way to go, and I'd need to support her in more ways than one.
Harin went quiet for a long moment before finally speaking.
"I'll… trust you and give it a try, manager."
[Harin]
[For the first time in her idol career, she has met someone (Chanwoo Lim) who truly trusts and supports her!]
[Moved by your sincerity, she resolves to find her courage!!!]
[Her trust and reliance on you deepen further!]
…Isn't she getting moved a little too easily?
But then again, as a member of a failed group, she'd probably only ever received constant criticism and cold shoulders.
It wasn't that surprising that a little encouragement went such a long way.
Out of nowhere, Harin added a condition.
"In exchange… I have a condition."
"A condition?"
"C-could you… be more casual toward us from now on…?"
"…"
Uh…
Every member of Ebony turned toward me with wide, pleading eyes.
I had no choice but to nod.
"Okay, okay. Let's do our best from now on."
"Yay!!! We are Lim-bony!"
"Lim-bony, fighting!!!"
…I still had no idea who came up with that terrible name. Still, watching them jump around in excitement was undeniably cute.
* * *
Cute is cute, but leaving exactly on time is non-negotiable.
Handing the work over to Harin meant I didn't have to burn overtime hunting for a song!
Sure, I'd still need to line up a track maker, an arranger, and a producer to support her, but that was something I could handle during normal business hours.
I also need to figure out how to bring in a new member for Ebony.
I thought about it for a while, but nothing came to mind.
Who would willingly join a failed idol group, anyway? Let's head home and clear my head first. I'll think it over again when I get to the office tomorrow.
"Two coffees to go, please."
Stopping by the department store's VIP lounge after work had become part of my routine lately.
They offered two free coffees a day; I would drink one at home while watching the Han River view, and save the other in my tumbler to bring to the office the next morning.
Heh. This is exactly what the privileges of the rich feel like.
But right then, a young woman's voice drifted over from beside me.
"Two coffees to go, please."
I turned without much thought—and froze.
[Hye-na Lee]
Type: Aspiring Idol (Fourth-Generation Conglomerate Heiress)
Potential: A ⇨ S (with a compatible group)
An eccentric—a fourth-generation conglomerate heiress and student at an ultra-elite university who, for some reason, was desperate to become an idol—was walking off with her free coffee, right next to me.
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