Chapter 108

Chapter 108. Effort and Choi Sarang Never Betray You

I was a little dumbfounded by the German Shepherd that suddenly appeared.

Apparently, it loved people.

While I sat on the sofa, it kept licking my face so much that my skin was practically swollen.

"Your dog is... very affectionate."

"Hahaha... Sorry about that. We've taken him out for walks often since he was young, and he likes people so much that it became a habit. Even now, a single lap around the neighborhood can take over an hour."

Music director Shin Yo-han lifted the Shepherd effortlessly.

"Then you don't really need a muzzle, do you?"

"Goodness, don't say something so dangerous. No matter how gentle he is, people still get nervous. Look over there. We always put a muzzle on him when we go outside."

Shin Woo-ram pointed toward the shoe cabinet.

A muzzle was hanging there.

It was exactly the same one from the future video.

"What's the dog's name?"

"Denver."

"Hoo..."

I covered my face and sighed.

This was it.

His own dog had attacked someone.

Even if the music could be prepared in advance, props and production design were things that needed attention throughout the entire shoot.

Of course his mental state would collapse after something like that.

All right.

At least I understood the problem now.

Shin Yo-han left for his own studio because he had urgent work.

That gave me a chance to speak with Shin Woo-ram alone.

I began asking him about Denver in detail.

I'd originally come just in case there was still some unresolved budget problem.

Good thing I did.

The real problem had been the dog.

If I solved the dog problem too, that should take care of everything.

"Raising a large dog must be difficult, right? Food costs, strength, training..."

"Of course. But I still love it. My original dream was to walk three hyperactive pit bulls at once, but then I liked this guy's eyes. I thought I'd reduce it to one dog and pour all my affection into him. So I don't spare any money either. I even hired the best trainer I could find."

A top trainer.

Was hunting instinct something even that couldn't erase?

"Is the trainer really good?"

"Yes. You know Trainer Ma Cheol-seong, right? He's on television a lot."

"Ma Cheol-seong?"

Ma Cheol-seong.

Among dog trainers with public recognition, he was practically the only household name.

People said he understood dogs well enough to practically hold conversations with them.

No one could criticize his actual ability.

Hiring a celebrity-level trainer like that.

As expected of Korea's top Hollywood production designer.

Wait.

This wasn't the time to be impressed.

Then what the hell had gone wrong?

If the trainer was someone that skilled, there wasn't much more I could add.

It wasn't like I could pull out all the teeth of a perfectly healthy dog.

After thinking for a while, I asked,

"Do you have anything scheduled for December 24?"

"What? December 24?"

It was an unusual question, but because I asked seriously, Shin Woo-ram checked his schedule.

"Ah... Of all days, it's that one. I have a special seminar for undergraduates that afternoon. I also teach, you see. And... since the next day is Christmas, I have a feeling not many students will show up anyway... Still, I'll have a party too, so I'll probably go shopping early in the morning. That day's pretty busy."

Shopping in the morning.

Since he was busy, maybe he planned to walk Denver at the same time as the grocery trip?

Then at least I had a minimum countermeasure.

I could come here that day and take Denver for a walk myself or do something similar.

Public opinion was noisy, but the debut group was fully prepared.

We had even settled on the team name Heenari.

It reminded people of an old rock band, but everyone agreed because the literal meaning, half-dried firewood, fit the concept surprisingly well.

The drier firewood became, the stronger it burned.

That was the kind of charm we wanted.

I also called No Ji-hye, the gambler of the century, to keep her under control.

She answered.

"The thing I sent you arrived safely?"

"The thing you sent...? You mean this 2003 SW3? Yes, I got it. Thanks to you, I got a proper dose of nostalgia."

"That car cost me two million won. I even test-drove it to make sure it runs, so be grateful."

"I get that, but why did you send me a road manager? I don't have any schedules besides 〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉. What did this poor man do to deserve this?"

Because I was worried you'd drive drunk, obviously.

"I'm telling you to behave yourself. Mr. Jo Yang-hoon there is actually a hitman disguised as a road manager. There's a knife hidden in the glove compartment, so don't get stabbed trying to sneak off and gamble. Just behave and go where he tells you."

"You've watched too many American crime movies. He looks so skinny and dried out he probably can't even turn the steering wheel properly. Anyway, I won't gamble, so stop calling me. You're annoying."

So picky.

Still, if the road manager followed her around all year, I probably didn't have much to worry about.

The moment I ended the call, my eyes met Choi Sarang's in front of the copier.

She was standing there awkwardly with a stack of printouts, her slightly red eyes widened.

She was staring at me.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing... There was a rumor that you're basically a psychopath toward people outside your company. I guess it's true. ...I'll bury my bones at Universe."

Did she seriously believe the thing about the knife-wielding hitman?

Dae-hun, who'd been listening, burst into laughter and joined in.

"That's right. Betray the organization and the only thing waiting for you is death. Choi Sarang, you'd better be careful too."

"Pfft... Understood."

Choi Sarang hurried out of the office like a kidnapping victim escaping captivity.

"Hey. I know you're joking, but why say something like that? What if she actually believes it?"

"Come on, no way. And at times like this, we've got to laugh about something."

He had a point.

The media was currently full of articles cursing Universe.

[Universe Accused of 'Debut Fraud'! Lawyers Say No Legal Liability, Netizens Erupt]

[Shin Aram, Alleged Victim of Debut Fraud, Asked About Reentering Competition Show: "I'll Show You the Spirit of Never Giving Up"]

I hadn't said anything in the reporter messenger room.

No matter what I said, if it leaked, it would only become a headache.

"Hey. Who do you think is behind all this? Root's CEO Shin, right?"

"Does that even need to be said? Sigh. This is why I told you we should've just used Billy's song."

"Are we sure this is CEO Shin's doing?"

Dae-hun answered.

"There's no proof, but just look at how much media exposure those three Root trainees are getting. It's obvious. And their new competition show? They've really sharpened the knife."

"What do you mean, sharpened the knife?"

"You know the Odu-ri set in Ganghwa? Apparently they rented the place. They're basically planning to shoot a movie."

Ah...

So it was Shin Hyung-geol.

Pulling his trainees immediately after the Billy-song cancellation and turning it into a media attack was actually a very skilled move.

But of all things, he had picked up the narrow-mouthed-frog bomb.

Shin Hyung-geol must have helped sell out an entire country in his previous life or something.

Whatever the case, the man had terrible luck.

Then—

The door suddenly flew open.

"Hey, Do bro!"

For a second, I thought I was seeing things.

Straight mint-colored hair so bright it made my eyes hurt.

Billy Aaron.

"What the hell! You dyed your hair?"

"Ummmmm~ That's not important. I came all the way from America to Korea to give you advice. What was the debut group's name again? Heenari? I can really give them a song, so why are you remaking an old track? I heard the reaction isn't even good!"

He sounded angry, but if he were truly angry, he wouldn't have flown all the way to Korea.

"Billy, you don't really know Korean culture, but we have this thing called warding off bad luck. If you keep succeeding without interruption, eventually you'll crash hard, so sometimes you deliberately ruin something once in a while."

"E... eik mal? What's eik mark?"

"Yes. Warding off bad luck. Warding off bad luck."

Sorry.

I had no choice but to make something up.

I didn't have a proper explanation, and my English wasn't good enough anyway.

Then something outside the window started booming like thunder.

It was the kind of bass vibration you felt near a concert venue.

I wondered what it was and opened the window.

The sound got even louder.

"Hey, bro!"

An extremely expensive-looking convertible was pulling into the parking lot.

Two amplifiers in the back seats blasted aggressive hip-hop beats.

Revick sat in the driver's seat with one arm resting over the door, looking up at us with a grin.

"What the hell? Aren't you freezing in this weather?!"

"Fk, cold!"**

Dae-hun stared in amazement.

"Wow... Did he seriously drive here from the airport like that? He must've had a ridiculous number of photos taken..."

According to Revick, rappers hated tradition.

That was one of the reasons people around the world had once gone crazy for rap god Seminem.

He had become the most famous white rapper.

People had expected him to break what had traditionally been a Black-dominated hip-hop structure.

That was also one of the reasons Revick liked Anna.

It had been a long time since a genuinely skilled Asian rapper had appeared.

And she was a woman at that.

Even if he left her alone, she'd probably grow just fine.

But he kept paying attention because he wanted to put his spoon into her success.

That was why he'd flown to Korea specifically to match Anna's filming schedule.

Honestly, I had no idea why Billy had come along.

"Of course, I didn't come just because she stands out. Look at this, Mr. Do. These are all the emails MC Maralak sent me."

Revick showed me his inbox.

Starting from the day Anna received his beat, she'd sent him nearly one recording of her rap every day.

Revick would then reply with advice like changing her pronunciation a certain way or raising the tempo.

Anna was amazing for sending recordings every single day.

Revick was equally amazing for faithfully giving feedback every time.

Effort eventually paid off.

And that was why gifts like this came your way.

"Give this to the producer of 〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉 later. I know all of Maralak's songs by now. I rearranged the second half however I wanted. Keep it secret from Maralak too. I'll appear as a surprise."

Whoa.

Just imagining it made my fanboy blood boil.

Anna's shocked expression.

The audience erupting.

Everything.

Revick had apparently decided that West Coast hip-hop spirit meant wearing a sleeveless shirt and gold chain in the middle of winter.

So I went to Itaewon and bought an oversized hoodie just to wrap him up before he froze to death.

After Anna's performance, Revick would suddenly appear when no one expected anyone else.

Then he'd continue her rap over the same beat in English.

How shocked would everyone be?

I couldn't keep something this entertaining to myself.

I shut the whole office down and took all the employees to the filming site.

"〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉 Special Stage Part Two! Our first performance is..."

I deliberately waited until the filming was about to begin, then brought Revick and the USB into the planning room.

They should understand what I meant by that.

I casually walked away, leaving Revick there.

Behind me, I heard the staff inside begin to murmur.

"Did you deliver it properly?"

"Yeah. This episode's ratings are absolutely going to explode."

"Wow. That's insane. But why is that guy doing this much for her?"

No idea.

I'd hoped for a stage like this someday.

But I hadn't wanted to rush it.

I figured that if Anna built the relationship properly, they'd eventually perform together anyway.

Seeing Revick act like this now, though, made me wonder if he'd actually been waiting for someone to suggest it from the beginning.

"Next up, MC Maralak!"

Anna's stage began.

Now that I thought about it, the name wasn't great.

She should've chosen something cool like Kaiser.

Adding MC made it sound kind of old-fashioned.

"Even if you hit the jackpot, I Go. But I ain't open my cards, cause I got nothing to show to cowards already shaking. I'm like a hip-hop company. Used to Hater's happening. Why you still alive, what are you doing? Ah, you said idols don't scare you? Just wait..."

Then she'd pull pumpkin taffy out of her hand, deliver the final line, and finish.

That was when—

"Revick in the house~!"