Episode 33
<VTM Variety Department>
"PD! We just got a message!!"
The assistant director burst into the conference room, shouting excitedly.
Producer Park Hwanwoong, who was seated at the table checking his phone, was startled and shouted back.
"Jeez! You scared me! What kind of message are you screaming about?"
Frustrated by Park PD’s reaction, the assistant director slapped his chest and shouted back.
"Where else would it be from?! It's from Ain Entertainment, the very place you've been dying to hear from! They just reached out and asked to meet!"
"What?! Seriously?!"
Park PD jumped to his feet in surprise and approached the assistant director.
Startled by his sudden reaction, the assistant director took a step back and quickly replied.
"Yes. It’s from Team 1 in Ain Entertainment’s singer division. They’re in charge of B-One. Director Kim Cheolhwan tried contacting you, but he couldn’t get through. He asked if you could give him a call back. They said they tried calling earlier. Didn’t you get the call?"
Park PD, now flustered, scrambled to grab his phone off the table. As he tapped the screen to check, he shouted out.
"Ah crap!! The station director suddenly called a meeting earlier, so I put my phone on airplane mode… and I forgot to switch it back!!"
Hearing this, the assistant director looked completely dumbfounded.
"Wait, you’re the one always telling us to never be without our phones… and now you had yours on airplane mode?"
Park PD scratched his head in frustration.
"The station director said that during the last meeting, CP Kim kept stepping out to take urgent calls, which disrupted everything. So he made a rule that from now on, all phones have to be on airplane mode during meetings! Ugh! Nothing ever goes right because of that guy!"
The assistant director sighed deeply.
The current head of the variety department was someone with no talent and a lot of ego.
He’d climbed the ranks by kissing up to the right people, but those under him were constantly stressed because of his incompetence.
While CP Kim was a strong contender to become the next head of the variety department, the director had clung to the president’s side to snag the position for himself.
Despite being utterly incapable, he was known for constantly nitpicking and undermining CP Kim, who was competent and respected by the staff. And now, to top it off, he was making broadcast staff put their phones on airplane mode?
The thought of it made the assistant director feel overwhelmed with frustration.
"PD-nim… Isn’t our variety department seriously going down the drain at this rate?"
"Haah… I don’t even know anymore. Even if you’ve got connections, how could the higher-ups put such an incompetent guy in charge? Just thinking about it makes me want to jump out of bed in the middle of the night."
Park PD shouted, clearly irritated by just the thought, in response to the assistant director’s complaint.
"Ugh… anyway, let’s focus. Please call Director Kim Cheolhwan at Ain Entertainment."
"Oh, right! That’s what really matters now, not the director."
Realizing what was truly important, Park PD snapped back to his senses, turned off airplane mode, and started scrolling through his contacts.
Having found Director Kim Cheolhwan’s number, Park PD quickly hit the call button.
"Hello, this is Director Kim Cheolhwan."
"Ah! Hello, Director. This is Park PD Hwanwoong from VTM’s Variety Department. I missed your call earlier because I was in a meeting. My apologies."
"Oh, no worries. I understand how busy people at broadcasting stations can get."
"Haha, thank you for saying that. Since you reached out to me directly, may I assume that you’re open to our casting proposal for B-One?"
"Yes, we’re considering it positively. But I think it’d be better if we discussed the details in person."
"Yes, absolutely! We’ll adjust to your schedule. When would be a good time for you?"
"How about lunch tomorrow? I can meet you in Mapo at 12."
"Great! Will the B-One members be coming as well?"
"No, not yet. Let’s discuss everything first. If we agree on the appearance, then we can bring the members in afterward."
"Haha, sounds good."
"Alright, I’ll reserve a restaurant and send you the location by text."
"Perfect. I’ll see you at noon tomorrow then!"
After ending the call with Director Kim, Park PD threw his arms up in the air and cheered.
"Yes!!"
Seeing this, the assistant director shook his head and shared the appointment details with the staff in their group chat.
As Park PD danced joyfully to himself, he suddenly snapped out of it.
"Ah! Let the team know that we’ve secured a meeting with Ain Entertainment and check if the writers have finalized the proposal."
"Already done. I updated the group chat, and Writer Yoo said she already emailed you the proposal."
"OK! As expected of our Kitae, always efficient."
Ignoring the compliment, the assistant director walked out of the meeting room.
While things were buzzing in Mapo, Sejin was enjoying a peaceful afternoon at home.
After running around the terrace for a while with Bbokdol, he came back inside, exhausted. The housekeeper handed him a drink.
"Sejin, it’s hot today. Drink this before you go back to playing."
"Okay. Thank you!"
Sejin gulped down the cold drink in one go, then slumped onto the sofa, zoning out for a moment.
"Hmm…"
Then the memory of yesterday’s visit to the agency surfaced, and a worried look came over his face.
'That trainee I saw yesterday… what’s his deal? He had a snake too… Could he be someone who’ll bring harm to me or my uncles?'
Sejin had been startled when he ran into the trainee in front of the elevator.
The snake that Sejin hadn’t seen since the incident with Director Hwang at the hospital had appeared again.
He had wanted to tell Hajin right away, but there had been too many people around. Then he’d forgotten, distracted by his uncles’ contract renewals.
Only now did the memory come back to him.
'He totally looked like an idol… really handsome, with kind puppy-dog eyes. If he debuts, I bet he’ll be really popular… But then what’s wrong with him? Jeez.'
Sejin sighed to himself as he mulled it over, but he was stuck, after all, he was currently in the body of a child.
Even if he wanted to investigate something, there wasn’t much he could do on his own. That made it all the more frustrating.
Until he grew up, he would have to rely on the help of adults.
Having made up his mind to talk to Hajin, Sejin got down from the sofa and headed toward Hajin’s room.
He pushed the slightly open door the rest of the way and quietly closed it behind him.
"Uncle!"
Hajin, who was sitting on the bed reading a book, welcomed his nephew warmly.
"Oh? Hey Sejin! Finished playing with Bbokdol already?"
"Yeah."
Sejin climbed onto Hajin’s bed and plopped down in front of him.
Hajin pulled out a pack of wet wipes from the table and began gently wiping the sweat off Sejin’s forehead.
Sejin leaned into the coolness for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Uncle… I have something to tell you."
"Something to tell me? What is it?"
"I saw a snake again."
At Sejin’s words, Hajin froze mid-wipe.
"What? Again? Uh… where? I mean, when did you see it?"
"Yesterday. At the company."
"The company? You mean the agency where uncles work?"
"Yup!"
"Who was it?"
"Remember that guy I met in front of the elevator yesterday? That hyung had it."
Realizing what Sejin was talking about, Hajin quickly tried to recall the memory from yesterday.
It hit him, he remembered asking Director Cheolhwan who that person was.
"You mean the guy we met in front of the elevator before going to the CEO’s office? The one with brown hair and good looks?"
"Yeah! That’s him!"
Sejin nodded vigorously.
"Ah…"
Hajin was stunned into silence at his nephew’s confirmation.
After a brief pause, he asked carefully.
"So that black cloud was around him this time too? Did it make you feel bad again? You weren’t scared, were you?"
"No, I wasn’t scared. But I did feel really bad. I think that hyung might be a bad person."
"You must’ve been really shaken. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. But Uncle…"
"Yeah?"
"If that hyung is a bad person… what should we do?"
"Ah..."
When Hajin didn’t immediately respond out of shock, Sejin quickly added.
"Uncle Seongjun… can we ask him for help again?"
Hajin thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Wow, Sejin, that’s really smart of you. How did you come up with that? You’re right. We should ask Seongjun Uncle for help."
"Now!"
"You mean, call him now?"
"Yup!"
"Alright, I’ll give him a call."
As Hajin took out his phone to call Seongjun, Sejin watched him with satisfaction.
'Yeah… Regular people like us can’t exactly do background checks on others easily. And if word got out that Hajin Uncle was snooping, that’d be a huge problem… This is definitely something for Seongjun Uncle to handle. I should thank him properly later.'
While Sejin was deep in those thoughts, the call connected.
"Hey, Hyung. How have you been?"
"Oh, it’s you! I’ve been doing well. Things were a little hectic lately with that last matter, but… What’s up?"
"Sorry to call you out of the blue, but I have a favor to ask."
"Come on, what’s with the apologies between us? What do you need?"
"Well… Sejin saw another black cloud."
"Again? Who is it this time?"
"We went to the agency yesterday, and while we were there, we ran into a male trainee. Sejin said he saw the black cloud around him."
"A trainee? Isn’t he just a kid?"
"Yes. I don’t know his exact age, but he looked like a high schooler."
"Hmm. What kind of trouble could a kid that age possibly be involved in?"
"I don’t know either. He’s a new trainee, we just saw him for the first time yesterday. It’s too unsettling to just ignore, but I’m not in a position to look into it myself. I mean, I’d even consider hiring a private investigator, but being a celebrity makes that tricky. Would you mind looking into it for me? I’ll cover all the costs."
Hajin asked Seongjun for help in an apologetic voice.
"Oh, come on. You don’t have to say it like that. I’ve got a few guys who do this kind of work, they’ll dig up everything in a few days, so don’t worry. You’ll see just how amazing your big brother is. Hahaha!"
Seongjun readily accepted the request.
"Thank you."
"No problem. I’ll take care of this one, so you don’t have to worry about it, Hajin. Like you said, it wouldn’t be good if people started gossiping about a celebrity doing background checks. By the way, how’s Sejin doing?"
"Haha, he’s eating well, sleeping well, and staying healthy. Hold on a sec, he’s right here. I’ll put him on."
Hajin handed the phone to Sejin.
"Sejin, it’s Uncle Seongjun. He said he’ll look into the trainee with the black cloud for us. Make sure to thank him properly, okay?"
Sejin eagerly took the phone and greeted him.
"Uncle!! Hello!!"
"Wow, Sejin, your voice got even louder! You’re doing well, right?"
"Yes!"
"That’s good. I’ve been super busy lately, thanks to the bad man you told me about last time. I need to come visit you soon… When I’m done with work, I’ll take you out for something yummy, okay?"
"Okay! Thank you, Uncle!"
"So you saw the black cloud again? Were you scared?"
"Nope! I’m okay. I’ve got my uncles, so I’m not scared."
"That’s my brave Sejin. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that guy. All you need to do is be your happy self, okay?"
"Yes, Uncle. Thank you! I’ll pay you back someday!"
"What? Hahaha! Alright, you can repay me when you’re all grown up. It’s been a while since I laughed this much, thanks to you. Haha! Now, could you pass the phone back to Uncle Hajin?"
"Okay!"
Sejin handed the phone back to Hajin, who quickly brought it to his ear.
"Yes, it’s me, Hyung."
"Hey Hajin. I’ll handle the trainee situation and get back to you in a few days. Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy your time with Sejin. I’ve got a meeting coming up, so I’ll have to hang up now."
"Okay. Sorry to bother you when you’re busy. Make sure to eat well and take care of yourself."
"Will do. I’ll be in touch."
After ending the call with Seongjun, Hajin sat in quiet thought.
Sejin, sensing the mood, quietly waited while sitting on the bed.
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