* * *
“I never made such threats.”
“What? Don’t lie, you bastard! You harassed Myeongwoo with a recording… I even felt sorry for him. I shouldn’t have done that recording thing.”
“Did Yoo Myeongwoo say that? That I threatened the company and him? And that he was sorry but you had to leave?”
Dojae spoke to Sunghwan as if he had witnessed the events himself.
Sunghwan’s eyes wavered.
Dojae clicked his tongue internally.
It was obvious.
‘But Yoo Myeongwoo said he needed to reconsider.’
‘He cut ties completely because he thought it would harm his debut group. He had no evidence of harassing you anyway.’
‘Isn’t Yoo Myeongwoo terrifying? They used to be so close.’
This was what Louis had told him before.
Everyone knew.
Except this fool.
Dojae leaving NEW Entertainment would have certainly made Myeongwoo uneasy.
He hadn’t even debuted yet, and there was a potential scandal that he wanted to eliminate.
“The company said it first. Myeongwoo had no choice because you were harassing him…”
“Did you forget that Myeongwoo’s uncle is a director? The company’s decision is Myeongwoo’s decision.”
Dojae brought Sunghwan back to reality.
They had enjoyed power together until now, but in such a situation, he forgot that fact.
‘Yoo Myeongwoo, you really used me as an excuse to get rid of Sunghwan. You never expected Sunghwan to come looking for me.’
Thinking that someone like Yoo Myeongwoo was truly malicious, Dojae recalled ‘Kang Dojae.’
‘Could it be that Kang Dojae’s first bullying incident was…’
Initially, it wasn’t Sunghwan’s group that bullied Dojae.
At that time, Kang Dojae was insignificant but not so insignificant that he lacked presence, and he had decent dancing skills, so he wasn’t a burden during practice.
‘Kang Dojae’ thought he was bullied because he caught Sunghwan’s eye…
But Yoo Myeongwoo was there first.
During a dance class, Kang Dojae, paired with Yoo Myeongwoo, received a score one point higher than Myeongwoo.
Kang Dojae was thrilled to be evaluated at a similar level to ace Yoo Myeongwoo, but Myeongwoo was genuinely angry to be outdone by a person lower than him.
“You look happy to have beaten me.”
“Uh? What?”
“Nothing. Congratulations. It’s your first A-grade, right?”
“Uh? Yeah!”
The chilling look in Yoo Myeongwoo’s eyes as he looked down on ‘Kang Dojae’ was unforgettable.
‘It started from there.’
Dojae was sure.
“Sunghwan.”
“What.”
“Do you remember why you started bullying me in the first place?”
“Because you were just a piece of trash…! Myeongwoo also said you made him uncomfortable… What are you? Are you recording again? I didn’t bully anyone!”
It was as expected.
Feeling he might catch some of Sunghwan’s stupidity, Dojae stopped talking.
“Dojae!”
At that moment, someone called Dojae’s name.
It was Manager Kim Seokchul , who had been contacted before calling the ambulance.
Kim Seokchul seemed to have run over, but he looked Dojae over calmly.
After confirming Dojae was okay, he sighed in relief.
‘Just like Chamberlain Kim, even in this.’
Seeing a familiar face calmed Dojae’s angry heart a bit.
“What happened here?”
He joined late, but Dojae was the member he was least worried about.
Yet, suddenly, he was ambushed on the street and ended up in the emergency room.
Even someone as stoic as Manager Kim Seokchul couldn’t help but be surprised.
Dojae explained the situation as simply and calmly as possible.
Someone had tried to harm the artist he managed.
Even the usually stoic Kim Seokchul showed a flicker of anger.
“We’ll have to secure the CCTV footage for a potential lawsuit.”
Sunghwan’s expression hardened visibly at Kim Seokchul’s words.
“Are you really alright, Dojae? Maybe you should stay for a day and get checked.”
“Thank you for your concern. I’m really fine.”
“…Alright. Let’s wrap this up and head back.”
Since Sunghwan’s identity was clear, there was no need to get his contact information.
Manager Kim Seokchul turned his back to protect Dojae from Sunghwan.
Actually, Sunghwan couldn’t touch a hair on Dojae, and with his broken arm, he couldn’t protest.
Moreover, he might get sued.
Things had gone too far because of his drunken impulsiveness.
Sunghwan ruffled his hair with his uninjured left arm.
Dojae said to him one last time.
“Once again, I never contacted the company or Yoo Myeongwoo.”
“…….”
“I don’t even have Myeongwoo’s number.”
Despite having trained together for three years, ‘Kang Dojae’s’ phone didn’t have Yoo Myeongwoo’s contact.
After seeing the crumbling look of doubt and shock on Sunghwan’s face, Dojae left the hospital with Manager Kim Seokchul .
***
The next day.
Because of the surprising incident, the scheduled profile shoot was moved to two days later.
Instead, Dojae went to the company to discuss with Manager Kim Seokchul how to handle the situation.
“Hyung! What did you decide? They said the CCTV showed everything! Are you going to sue?”
“This time, let’s really punish those guys, Hyung!”
When he returned to the dorm, the younger members eagerly asked.
Having heard the whole story from Dojae the previous night, they were furious as if it were their own issue.
Dojae first apologized.
“I’m sorry for disrupting the team’s schedule. Everyone.”
“Hey, is that really the problem right now?”
Heungmin immediately waved his hand dismissively.
“We decided not to press charges.”
“What? Why!”
Kim Kyuseong, usually quiet but fiery in these matters, asked, clearly agitated.
“Causing a fuss right before our debut, regardless of who’s at fault, would negatively impact the team.”
“There’s no need to worry about false accusations. You should focus on yourself first.”
Kijoon, already known for his sharp eyes, frowned even more fiercely and spoke firmly.
‘In the Imperial Family, the image of the Imperial Family always mattered more than myself. That was a given. Even now, image is just as important… but everyone is looking out for me first.’
Dojae smiled faintly and shook his head.
“I don’t want to waste time being questioned and all that.”
“But they deserve to be properly punished.”
“Maybe the fear of not knowing when they’ll be sued is scarier than actually being sued.”
Dojae replied to Heungmin’s remark.
With the power of the Sunghwan family, they could somehow smooth over this kind of incident even if a report was made.
It was unfortunate, but it was reality.
So this would be more distressing for Sunghwan than facing legal judgment.
The anxiety of not knowing if and when he would be sued, mistrusting and feeling betrayed by Yoo Myeongwoo…
With the recorded evidence of this incident, he wouldn’t dare think of stepping into the entertainment industry easily.
‘Just as Kang Dojae’s dreams were crushed, now it’s like his dreams are shattered.’
Dojae thought.
If despite all these risks he somehow managed to debut, that would be even better.
By then, the impact would be far greater.
Despite Dojae’s words, Woochul and Heungmin continued their playful banter.
“Should we sneak in and give them a good beating? Both Sunghwan and Yoo Myeongwoo?”
“How would that make us any different from Sunghwan?”
“Ah, don’t stop me! I’m the fist of justice.”
“Who’s stopping you? I’d go with you.”
It was Kijoon who interrupted their conversation.
“Son Heungmin. Do you want to act as recklessly as Woochul?”
“Hyung, I’m Lee Heungmin.”
“Exactly, hyung. How could you confuse a national hero with this hyung?”
“Anyway. This matter is settled for now… but be careful in the future.”
Kijoon wrapped up the conversation that was veering off track due to his own mistake.
Dojae nodded quickly.
Manager Kim Seokchul had also suggested it would be best if the road manager stayed at the dorms with them, just in case.
As the conversation concluded, Kim Kyuseong, who was sitting next to Dojae, murmured in a low but firm voice.
“The Origin. We’ll do much better than those guys… Dojae will.”
Kim Kyuseong’s eyes seemed to blaze with intensity…
And it wasn’t just Dojae who felt that way.
Everyone knew that there was no better revenge against Yoo Myeongwoo and his gang who bullied Dojae.
***
This incident clearly became a major motivation for the members who were worn out from the grueling preparation period.
Watching The Origin, who had just debuted and already topped the music show charts, made the members grit their teeth even more.
The Origin was receiving an incredible amount of push from broadcasters and various media outlets, almost unbelievably so for rookies.
It was a stark reminder of the power of the Big Three agencies.
Beyond Dojae’s personal issues, surpassing The Origin was also a goal at the company level for Kingdom Entertainment.
Debuting and achieving better results than the Big Three agencies was a crucial step in solidifying their position as an idol planning agency.
‘Properly establishing our footing as an idol agency starts from there.’
Team Leader Jung Heeyoung thought as she sat at her desk.
She had just finished a final check of the teaser video and site with her Planning Team 2 staff.
The large digital clock on her desk showed 6:55 PM.
‘Only five minutes left.’
Just five minutes until the teaser release for MOST.
Her heart was racing unusually fast.
Jung Heeyoung, who had planned over ten artist albums since joining Seonyul Entertainment and transferring here to become a team leader, had never felt this nervous before.
‘I thought I’d be more composed as I gained experience.’
This time, having been involved in the member selection and composition from the start, the sense of responsibility was heavier.
Moreover, the scale of this album, prepared with two title tracks, was enormous.
Jung Heeyoung herself had struggled with preparing the two songs simultaneously, but the members’ efforts were beyond words.
‘Yet, they all kept up well.’
The murderous rehearsal schedules, recording, and filming schedules just before debut.
The members had given their all to everything.
The internal evaluation of the results was pure satisfaction.
But what mattered was capturing the public’s attention.
Getting favorable reviews from them.
As Jung Heeyoung waited for the remaining five minutes, she rechecked the MOST-related articles and comments she had already reviewed several times.
The promotion of a new rookie idol from Kingdom Entertainment, riding on Big Boys’s success, had been systematically carried out since a month ago.
The interest was higher than when Big Boys first appeared, but it still didn’t match the attention a rookie group from the Big Three agencies received.
There were also concerns, rather than expectations, about the news of them coming out with two title tracks.
‘Still, it’s better to have concerns than indifference.’
“Jeonga, is the follow-up press release ready?”
“Yes, Team Leader! As soon as the teaser is released at 7, we’re ready to send out the reaction articles.”
“Good. Make sure to keep updating the articles continuously. Let them link to the showcase content as well.”
“Yes!”
Starting with today’s teaser release, the showcase stage, song release, and music video release were planned to follow sequentially.
‘Now, it truly begins.’
As Team Leader Jung Heeyoung finished her final check, the clock struck ‘7:00 PM ‘.
When she refreshed the official MOST homepage, the teaser video finally played.
* * *
*Summary page is only available for login users. Non-users can view the chapters on the chapter list.*
Nice story
Fighting!!