Chapter 87. You Reap What You Sow
The trainees froze as though they'd seen ghosts when they spotted Billy Aaron and Emil Lipa inside the recording studio.
Maybe they'd brought an entire dressing room with them when they came to Korea, because even though they were only here to record, they were dressed just as extravagantly as if they were standing onstage.
Americans really were Americans.
Their outfits showed quite a bit of skin too.
Song Eun-bin and Choi Sarang stared blankly for a while at the deep neckline of Emil Lipa's top, which plunged almost to her solar plexus.
I quietly pulled a pair of sunglasses from my pocket and handed them over.
The song we'd chosen was called 〈Priceless〉.
Billy said she'd worried the songs she'd already written might not suit the girls, so she'd listened to several popular Korean idol songs and quickly composed a new one.
When I first heard that, I had plenty of concerns.
No matter how world-class a singer and composer she was, suddenly jumping into an unfamiliar genre and rushing the work should've produced something rough.
But she wasn't a global superstar for nothing.
The song was unfamiliar in exactly the amount fans would want.
And somehow, it matched Univ's existing stage concept extremely well.
In other words, it had the makings of a hit.
Before meeting Billy and Emil and receiving the song, I'd obviously planned to make it a three-member track.
If we needed more visual impact, we could always hire backup dancers.
If we wanted to keep performing the song after debut, then having the vocals remain entirely with the three members was naturally better.
Of course, the other agencies were going insane trying to make one final desperate impact.
Some were bringing in orchestras.
Others were preparing fireworks and all kinds of elaborate stage effects.
But if they did that, wouldn't the production itself become the star instead of the trainees?
I'd already decided I would never do that.
And I'd still take first place.
But Billy and Emil changed the situation.
I'd already felt that simply advertising, This song was produced by Billy Aaron, wouldn't be enough.
The voting started immediately after the performance ended.
So if we wanted the audience to realize whose song it was, we'd have to awkwardly announce, This song was given to us by Billy Aaron! the moment the stage finished.
But if Billy and Emil actually participated in the performance as featured artists, we wouldn't need that kind of embarrassing explanation.
And the buzz would be enormous.
Still, I wasn't going to sell my soul completely to Billy Aaron and Emil Lipa's fame.
The ones who needed the spotlight weren't the stage directors.
Not the invited guests either.
It had to be the trainees.
Billy and Emil would sing the opening line, shocking everyone once.
Then they would sing the final line too, revealing themselves completely and delivering a second, even stronger shock.
Aside from those opening and closing lines, every other part would belong to the members.
"So we'll use a recording for the first line, then only come out in person for the final line?"
"Yes. If too much attention goes to the two of you, it'll be harder for the trainees to get high scores."
"That's exactly what I wanted. The song is already finished anyway, so all we need to do is make the event itself work."
Billy turned toward the Univ members as though it didn't bother her at all.
The members still couldn't seem to believe they were getting a feature from Billy Aaron and Emil Lipa.
Go ahead and pinch each other's cheeks or something.
"You're the first man who's ever treated me like this, Mr. Do Jun-hyeok. In Korean, you'd call this getting the cold-shoulder treatment, right?"
"Huh? Didn't Maralak already give you the cold shoulder last time?"
"You're the first man. Gender matters."
Just from the way she talked, Emil Lipa didn't seem like a particularly practical person either.
Kind of like Dae-hun.
"I finally got you into the chairman's seat, and now you're planning to never go to the company at all?"
Park Jong-moon asked while staring disapprovingly at Park Gwang-cheol, who was slicing various fruits and placing them on the table.
"I told you from the beginning I wasn't interested in entertainment. Filial piety is more important to me than management, Father."
"Still, you brat. If you've taken the position, then do your job. What kind of chairman stays away from the company for this long?"
"I'm doing everything I need to do, so don't worry."
Even before the incident with Gwang-ho, Park Jong-moon had repeatedly offered the chairmanship to his second son, Park Gwang-cheol.
But talent and ability aside, Park Gwang-cheol didn't have the cold temperament of a ruthless businessman.
He had better instincts than almost anyone and was excellent with numbers, but Park Jong-moon had spoiled him too much since childhood.
He didn't need to be as domineering as Park Gwang-ho.
But he still needed at least some ability to bend people to his will.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... I don't care anymore! I've already stepped away. Stop cutting fruit you're not even going to finish and turn on the TV!"
Park Gwang-cheol checked the time and obediently turned on the television.
Perfect timing.
The live broadcast of 〈Rebooting〉 was beginning.
The long-awaited fourth competition was about to air.
Park Jong-moon already knew from Gwang-cheol that Billy Aaron had agreed to give Do Jun-hyeok a song.
The public didn't know yet.
It was a weapon meant to be revealed on the upcoming stage.
"Billy and those people are at an age when they should be working nonstop. What are they doing wasting time coming all the way out to some remote corner like this...?"
"They're living however they want. And didn't you just say you've stepped away? Stop nagging and enjoy the show."
"Good grief. Prison must really be good for people. It turned you into a proper human being in no time. So should I expect the same from Gwang-ho now? I must be the only father in the world who's sent both of his two sons to prison."
Park Jong-moon cracked the joke, then wore a bitter expression.
No matter how disappointing his son had been, he was still his own flesh and blood.
Park Jong-moon checked Gwang-ho's prison-account balance four or five times a day and made sure it always stayed exactly at three million won.
He let out a deep sigh.
"Haaah... That Do Jun-hyeok fellow. I don't know who his parents are, but they raised that kid well. I'm jealous."
"Right. He's a good person."
"Sure. But listen to me. There's one thing you realize when you get as old as I am. No matter how good a person is, the only real affection in this world is family affection. If some total stranger dies, people won't even shed a tear. Do you think Do Jun-hyeok helped you that much because he felt some deep affection for you? Be grateful to him, absolutely. But don't trust too much."
Here came another lecture.
Park Gwang-cheol quietly nodded.
Of course he already knew.
No matter how strong Do Jun-hyeok's sense of justice was, there was no way he'd worked that hard for complete strangers like Park Gwang-cheol and Jo Jin-a while expecting absolutely nothing in return.
He had helped because he'd believed there was something to gain.
In fact, from what Park Gwang-cheol had seen, Do Jun-hyeok was such an exceptional planner that he seemed capable of shaping not just Blue Moon, but practically any game board he wanted.
"I'm staying around him because I want to learn. I may be lacking, but I won't get stabbed in the back, so don't worry."
"You understand people so well, yet Gwang-ho still stabbed you in the back?"
"...You just said family affection is the only real affection in the world. If I can't trust family, what am I supposed to trust?"
At that moment, Blue Moon's stage began.
After a quiet intro, a short English vocal line from Billy Aaron played.
The audience immediately began murmuring.
Then a heavy drumbeat dropped.
Three members started the choreography together with two backup dancers wearing masks marked with dollar signs.
