Chapter 113. A Greenbelt Around Our Original Intentions
I could finally breathe a little easier.
The people at the animal protection association hadn't realized that Ma Cheol-seong's program had been delayed either.
Making sure Ma Cheol-seong was completely finished was important, but waiting another two months after his removal was already all but guaranteed would be no different from standing by and doing nothing.
After persuading them of that, I managed to get the story released immediately.
For a moment, I considered using the Do Jun-hyeok reporter messenger room, which was basically a community for entertainment journalists.
I decided against it.
If I did that, it would look like I'd meticulously planned everything from the very beginning.
Na Young-hwan contacted me and asked me to fill the empty slot left by 〈A Dog Like This Exists〉 first.
Just like Jung Tae-jin had said, they could've simply moved the next program forward by two months.
Apparently, my prediction about the 〈Trainee School〉 disaster no longer sounded like a zero-percent possibility.
Of course, that was exactly why I'd hurried the animal-abuse exposé.
I told Seo Hoe-dong that the broadcast slot had been confirmed.
He said he'd immediately start preparing to wrap things up on his side.
Only after hearing that decision from him did I finally feel relieved.
The last few days had felt like years.
Today, we had the Citizens Bank commercial shoot we'd signed for earlier.
With the documentary situation neatly settled, I could finally go into the shoot without anything weighing on my mind.
"Unni, doesn't your skirt look a little weird? You didn't pull it up too high, right? Why is it so tight?"
"Right? It feels weird too. Maybe because it's for filming."
"If it's for filming, it should look prettier."
Youngchae, who was already dressed, examined Serin's suit.
These days, just because it was a bank commercial didn't mean everyone had to wear suits.
But if Citizens Bank was getting something out of this, shouldn't we get something too?
Namely, an image of trust.
And nothing gave off trustworthy career-woman energy quite like a suit.
When I suggested bright-colored suits, Citizens Bank marketer Kang Han-na had agreed that it was safe and appropriate.
"How does everyone tie this? CEO, I can't do it."
Anna, wearing a beige suit with her hair tied back, held out a yellow necktie with a blank expression.
Her jacket was still unbuttoned.
But the dress shirt hugged her waist closely, making her look like a cool modern-day knight commander.
She was wearing long trousers, and somehow the bit of ankle showing between the hem and her shoes drew even more attention.
The top two buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing the slender muscles of her neck.
That was the neck she'd used to shout, "Fu**ing idol."
And now I had to hide that neck behind a tie.
Sad.
But I had to accept it.
Yellow was Citizens Bank's signature color.
I buttoned Anna's shirt, lifted her collar, and began tying the necktie.
While I worked, Anna turned her head toward Youngchae and Serin.
The two of them were still discussing the size of Serin's skirt.
"Wow... Seriously, how different can people's bodies even be? It's the same outfit, but on Youngchae unni it looks like completely different clothes."
Anna sounded genuinely impressed.
That wasn't fair.
Anna looked amazing in suits too.
I'd been startled the moment she'd handed me the tie.
After finishing the knot, I looked toward Youngchae.
...
It really did look like completely different clothes.
"...Oh, this is a tulip skirt. I was wondering what was wrong with it... Look at the back. It's split here."
"Yeah. That's why I wore it this way. It's not like the slit would be in front."
"And having the zipper on the front of pants makes sense...? Go fix it and come back."
Had I focused too much of our fashion-related schedules on Youngchae?
Even I knew what a tulip skirt was.
It was called that because the overlapping shape opened like a tulip, wasn't it?
While Serin returned to the dressing room, I walked over to Youngchae.
"Oh~ Youngchae! That looks really good on you. Should we ask them to give it to you?"
"Haha... Is there anyone who doesn't look good in a suit?"
Fair point.
Still, even with something ordinary like a suit, the impression changed completely depending on the person wearing it.
Just look at Youngchae.
Perfectly fitted trousers.
A thin yellow knit top.
A vest.
And crescent-moon earrings hanging at exactly the angle the corners of her lips pointed when she smiled naturally.
No wonder Anna had felt a moment of existential despair.
"Didn't you bring a necklace too? You're not wearing it?"
"What? Ah. I brought it because I thought we'd be wearing black suits, but the colors turned out brighter than expected. If it's black, the more accessories you wear, the better."
Black suit?
Hearing Youngchae say that, I mentally put a black filter over her outfit.
Hair dyed with a faint reddish tint.
Shimmering earrings and necklace.
What else?
Anyway, if she'd also worn bright red lipstick...
Get a grip.
This was a business shoot.
Not a Blue Moon fan meeting.
"CEO. Um, before Serin unni comes back, can I talk to you about something?"
"Huh? What is it?"
Youngchae glanced at Anna and Aran, then hurried over.
Looking at her proportions, you'd think she was 180 centimeters tall.
But standing close, she didn't even reach my chin.
I stepped back slightly because it was hard to look down at her from that close.
Youngchae immediately moved closer again.
"Someone might hear. Come closer."
"Fine."
Youngchae took out her phone and scrolled through her PeopleStar messages.
There were countless love calls stacked up.
She stopped at one and showed it to me.
A brand called DIONEL was making a request.
Dionel.
If you grabbed anyone on the street and asked them to name one expensive fashion brand, nine out of ten people would probably say Dionel.
A brand on that level was offering Youngchae a modeling contract.
"Hey! Why are you only telling me this now...!"
"Shh! I said it's a secret! If I tell them, they'll all tell me to go. But look at this part."
The sender wasn't some PR employee.
It was Dionel's head designer in France.
He had shared their entire 2025 schedule, including global fashion weeks, festivals, and advertising campaigns, while offering Youngchae a full year as one of their models.
Only then did I understand why she was trying to keep it secret.
If she accepted this, she could become an international star and make enough money for generations.
But she'd have to stop Blue Moon activities for a year.
"I've been ignoring it for weeks, but I figured they might've contacted you too by now. I'm telling you first because I'm worried you'll spread it to the members like last time. You can't tell them about this."
What the hell was she talking about?
"Youngchae. This is a massive opportunity. If you do this, you could become a global superstar. You're going to turn it down just because you'd miss one year of Blue Moon activities?"
"Just?"
Youngchae's gaze immediately turned cold.
"Blue Moon activities are the most precious thing to me. Maybe it's because I still haven't gotten over living every day worried about whether we'd even get to renew our contracts."
When I said just, I meant the one year.
Not Blue Moon...
"All right, let's start filming!"
"Unni! What are you still doing in there? Stop making your own clothes and come out! We're going to shoot!"
Youngchae shouted toward the dressing room, then gestured at me to keep quiet.
"Uuugh... No. I feel like everything's going to show every time I walk."
"Then that's a good thing. If you're not coming, I'm going first!"
When I said just, I meant one year.
Not Blue Moon.
The more I repeated that to myself, the more one uncomfortable fact became obvious.
In the end, I really had treated one year of Blue Moon like it wasn't that important.
Why had I said that?
If Serin became president, would I somehow convince myself it was a good thing for Blue Moon?
If Anna got punch-drunk in a UFC title fight, would I congratulate her because it gave Blue Moon amazing publicity?
Lately, maybe I'd gotten too drunk on the miracle story of reviving a failed idol group and started misunderstanding something.
Youngchae had said it.
Blue Moon activities were the most precious thing to her.
They were to me too.
So I held a weekly meeting for the first time in a while to reaffirm what we actually wanted.
Just me and the members.
No other employees.
Youngchae had looked anxious from the moment I called everyone into the meeting room.
Once she sat down, she started openly sending me looks warning me to keep my mouth shut.
"What's going on, CEO?"
Serin asked with sparkling eyes.
"Well. I have some good news."
"Gasp! Should I go buy a cake?"
Aran asked.
I pulled out the cake I'd already placed under the table and set it down.
"You all know Dionel, right? The fashion brand. Their head designer offered Youngchae a one-year modeling contract. Let's congratulate her."
"D-Dionel? The Dionel that's so expensive they only have it at Geundae Department Store...?"
While the other members sat there stunned, Youngchae groaned and clutched her head.
"Wow! CEO, seriously! I told you it was a secret! A secret! You really have such an entertaining personality!"
"Right?"
But my exposé wasn't finished.
"And this isn't official yet, but Serin will probably be invited to the Academy Awards for 〈The Stranger〉. You know that even just getting invited can make overseas studios line up for a lead actress, right? It's not guaranteed, but you'll probably win something too."
"Gasp! How do you know that? Did Director Choi Gyu-sik tell you?"
Director Choi didn't know yet either.
But certain was certain.
"And Anna has gotten dozens of love calls from Billy Aaron, ZullatKami, Kash Jane, Emil Lipa, MC Mace, and other rappers who've conquered the Billboard charts. If you go to America, you'll become a world-class rapper. You'll probably be so busy you won't come back to Korea for ten years."
"..."
Anna, who'd been enjoying someone else's house fire only to find her own pipes had burst, lowered her head.
"Sorry, Aran. You don't really have anything special yet. I'll work harder."
"Hing."
I had wanted to fill all four spots with good news, which was why I'd brought up Serin's future film success early.
But after hearing this much, Youngchae should understand what I meant.
"If our goal was simply to succeed as celebrities, we've already done it. Honestly, even Aran could become more successful in variety if she transferred to Yoo Jun-seok's agency. If she went right now, they'd probably accept her. So why are we still promoting as Blue Moon?"
"Because we just want to keep being Blue Moon."
Anna answered quietly.
"Exactly. If you want individual success, you can leave the team. I won't charge any contract penalties. But let's stop pushing good opportunities onto each other. 'What are you doing here? Hurry up and go to Billboard. Go to France. Go to Cannes.' We don't have the right to hold each other back, but we don't have the right to push each other away either."
"Right."
"If someone gets a great opportunity, let's just applaud them. Don't hide it, then agonize over it alone while everyone else doesn't know. That's stressful too. Leave it to the person involved. And if we're leaving it to them, then decide right now. I'll keep creating opportunities for you anyway. So what do you want to do? Aran, do you want to go to Yoo Jun-seok's agency?"
Aran quietly shook her head.
I asked Anna, Serin, and Youngchae the same question.
Their answers were the same.
Now it was time to ask myself.
What if the members kept the Blue Moon name attached while each of them went around the world earning hundreds of millions?
If all of them were happy and Universe became rich too?
Would the old fanboy version of me have been satisfied with that kind of Blue Moon, one that was basically nothing but individual activities under the same name?
No.
I'd only thought about individual activities in the first place as a way to build enough basic public recognition.
Let's stop obsessing over constant expansion.
Time to declare a greenbelt around our original intentions.
Then Aran suddenly raised her hand.
"What is it, Aran?"
"Now that I think about it, I have an individual opportunity too! Why did you leave mine out?"
"What? What opportunity?"
Aran answered.
"The variety show where I'm supposed to be the main MC with PD Na Young-hwan. I don't want to do that either!"
"Everyone. My exclusive writer, who's exactly twenty years younger than me, just ordered me to go make coffee. I'm going to put the camera down for a moment and go do that!"
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That's what happens when you make promises you can't keep. Your body's the one that suffers
-A swimsuit in the middle of winter is killing meㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The Hawaiian shirt over it because he's trying to survive is legendaryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Hey, hey. Is the youngest employee really livestreaming at work?
-Being the youngest employee for a month is still way better than paying 800 billion won~.
Na Young-hwan fixed his phone in place and hurried out of the office.
The staff's laughter leaked into the livestream behind him.
...Sorry about this.
Aran didn't make that choice just because she got swept up in the mood.
Apparently, she'd been under a lot of stress while doing 〈Luna Noodles〉.
She was always smiling, so I'd figured she had worries of her own.
But I hadn't expected that.
Because the opportunities I brought her were always so good, she'd developed an obsession that no matter how hard she worked, she'd never be able to meet expectations.
She had probably exaggerated it a little to lighten the mood in the meeting room.
Still, it was Aran's choice.
What could I do?
So from now on, we decided to focus as much as possible on group activities.
Individual activities would only happen when they were necessary, or when a member desperately wanted to do one.
Otherwise, we'd avoid them.
The Do Jun-hyeok from my Pantheon days would've laughed so hard at that decision he'd choke.
But I knew better now.
I knew exactly how much ridicule the Do Jun-hyeok from those days had earned in the end.
Bzzzzt.
I was in the middle of sending out cancellation notices for the members' individual activities when Seo Hoe-dong called.
"Yes, PD Seo Hoe-dong. We probably need to start filming soon if we're going to make the broadcast schedule..."
"Mr. Do Jun-hyeok! It happened! It happened!"
"What did?"
Seo Hoe-dong sounded more excited than I'd ever heard him.
"I just... Haa, I'm out of breath. My resignation was just processed and I'm walking out with my things right now, and the breaking news hit!"
"What breaking news?"
"It's online right now. The narrow-mouthed frogs in Ganghwa! It's not just a habitat. It's a breeding ground! A breeding ground! Apparently once monsoon season comes around, the noise is enough to split your eardrums...!"
