Chapter 30 - She Had a Reverse Charm
“Team Leader Jeong, is DP Entertainment using room 405?”
“Ah, well, I heard it was empty, so...”
At Seo Dong-cheol's questioning, Jeong Do-woon answered falteringly.
“I didn't know you had left it empty on purpose, PD-nim. I'll have Da-yeon vacate the room right now...”
“No, it's fine.”
Seo Dong-cheol shook his head.
“She's using it as a performer's waiting room, so it can't be helped. I was just going to use it for a personal matter, so I can just yield.”
“Ah, well...”
Sweat trickled from Jeong Do-woon's forehead.
Right now, Seo Dong-cheol is speaking as if it's no big deal, but there's no knowing what his true feelings are.
“But weren't the guest idols supposed to share a waiting room? Why did DP Entertainment get a separate one?”
“Th-That's because she said the waiting room was too small...”
“Too small?”
Seo Dong-cheol peeked his head toward the waiting room.
“It doesn't seem that small.”
“W-Well...”
“Then again, DP Entertainment does bring a lot of staff with them. Can't be helped.”
“……”
On the surface, it sounded like he was saying he could understand it all... but Seo Dong-cheol's gaze was cold.
“Anyway, I get it. I'll get going now so I don't disturb you, so prepare well for the recording. Ow, my wrist...”
“Ah, PD-nim…”
Just as Seo Dong-cheol was about to leave, shaking his wrist.
A voice calling for Seo Dong-cheol was heard.
“PD-nim.”
“Hm?”
Kim So-yeong, who had been watching silently from the waiting room, was coming forward.
“Couldn't you do it here?”
“What?”
“What you're doing with Manager-nim. I think it would be fine to just do it here. Wouldn't that give you more time too?”
Seo Dong-cheol made a surprised expression at Kim So-yeong's consideration.
“No, this is a space prepared for the performers to rest comfortably and wait, so it would be uncomfortable if I went in.”
“I don't mind if someone is next to me, so it's okay. Just come on in.”
It was an attitude that contrasted with Da-yeon, who had demanded a solo waiting room because she was bothered by other people being there.
“Ah, I shouldn't be like this...”
Seo Dong-cheol looked at Baek Hyeon-woo with a smile as if to say she was admirable.
“Hyeon-woo-ssi, why are the Haram Entertainment kids so nice?”
“I'm often surprised myself.”
“Then I'll impose on you a bit. I won't forget and will be sure to repay the favor.”
In a harmonious atmosphere, Seo Dong-cheol went inside the waiting room.
“……”
Leaving Jeong Do-woon, who was staring with a soulless expression, behind, the waiting room door closed.
***
“It seems you've put too much strain on your flexor carpi ulnaris muscle while playing golf. I think we'll need to do a deep tendon massage.”
“Yeah, just take care of it for me.”
He held the wrist of Seo Dong-cheol, who was sitting in the waiting room chair, and performed a palpation.
He found the tender point on the pisiform bone of the wrist and massaged it by rubbing vertically.
“Hyeon-woo-ssi, by any chance, is there any food that's good for the wrist?”
“Well. I saw in a paper a while ago that Vitamin B6 intake is good, but...”
“B6? Do I have to eat a lot of supplements for that?”
“However, I understand that if you take too much, neuropathy can appear. I just recommend you avoid doing things that stimulate the wrist.”
“There are unavoidable parts when you're living a social/professional life.”
Then Seo Dong-cheol said, lowering his voice.
“By the way.”
“Yes, PD-nim.”
“I hear Choux-pop and Newstarz are both participating in the Night-Bomb Festival?”
“……”
Baek Hyeon-woo stopped the hands that were giving the massage.
Kim So-yeong, who was sitting quietly next to them, also inadvertently turned her head and looked.
“You've already heard the news. I only found out yesterday myself.”
“Team Leader Jeong is probably planning to use Newstarz as a sacrificial lamb to boost Choux-pop even more.”
He didn't show any sign in front of Jeong Do-woon earlier... but Seo Dong-cheol had figured everything out.
“Hyeon-woo-ssi.”
“Yes, PD-nim.”
“If Newstarz gets thoroughly beaten by Choux-pop at Night-Bomb... you know what will happen, right?”
“……”
“If Newstarz is not impressive at all, I might not be able to keep my promise.”
Seo Dong-cheol is scheduled to have Newstarz participate in his division's new competition program.
He's even thinking of bringing in Choux-pop to create a competitive narrative.
However, depending on the results of the Night-Bomb Festival, he could cancel everything.
“A crappy girl group that's no match for Choux-pop at all... there's no fun in putting something like that on broadcast. Isn't that right?”
“You are correct.”
Baek Hyeon-woo answered while holding Seo Dong-cheol's wrist.
“Still, please do not worry, PD-nim.”
Crack.
While adjusting the wrist joint, Baek Hyeon-woo said in a clear voice.
“Newstarz will defeat Choux-pop.”
“You're saying that while twisting my wrist, so it's somehow scary?”
Seo Dong-cheol smiled.
“Yeah, I just said it out of concern. You'll handle it well on your own, I'm sure.”
“Still, thank you for the advice. You're not by any chance giving this kind of advice to Team Leader Jeong's side too, are you?”
“Sigh, if I did that, what would I do if Hyeon-woo-ssi twisted my wrist in the opposite direction. I won't betray you, Hyeon-woo-ssi.”
“Thank you.”
As the treatment came to a close, Seo Dong-cheol immediately got up from his seat.
“Then, good luck with the recording. DP Entertainment will probably try to start a battle of nerves, so handle it well.”
“Yes, please get going safely.”
As Seo Dong-cheol left the waiting room, Kim So-yeong, who had been watching quietly, carefully opened her mouth.
“You're really close with Seo PD-nim.”
“Since I'm looking after his wrist so frequently like this, he's just returning the favor.”
“I heard a lot of talk that he's a difficult person to get close to personally... you're really amazing.”
Kim So-yeong said with a smile.
“I think you're pretty cool, Manager-nim.”
At that moment, Kim So-yeong suddenly gave a fake cough.
And she said again, slightly avoiding his gaze.
“No, I mean, Hyeon-woo oppa.”
“Oppa?”
As Baek Hyeon-woo looked at her, Kim So-yeong gave a small smile.
“Calling you Manager-nim all the time seems a bit stiff.”
“……”
“Hehe, it's a bit embarrassing for some reason.”
Originally, Kim So-yeong was the one who first brought up that he should speak comfortably.
But now, Kim So-yeong herself feels embarrassed just from changing his title.
It was a sight that felt friendly... the complete opposite of the confident and strong-looking atmosphere she has on stage or during photoshoots.
“So-yeong-ah, you were worrying earlier about how to do an entertaining talk like Kanade, right?”
“Yes?”
“You can't be like Kanade anyway. Because Kanade doesn't deliberately make things up to be funny, she just reveals herself as she is, and that's what's fun.”
Kanade is gaining popularity as a variety-dol by expressing her own emotions just as they are.
Even if Kim So-yeong tries to imitate Kanade, it will just be awkward.
“As I said before, you just have to reveal yourself as you are.”
“Myself as I am...?”
“Yes, let's go with that strategy today.”
Baek Hyeon-woo nodded.
“That will be the most charming.”
“There you go again with those words...”
Kim So-yeong coughed awkwardly, her face turning red.
And she asked while looking at Baek Hyeon-woo.
“Then, what specifically should I do?”
***
The 'Idol Weekly' recording began.
In the studio, the MCs greeted Kim So-yeong and Da-yeon, and starting with talk about their group's recent activities, they continued with various topics.
Observing the scene, Baek Hyeon-woo was lost in thought.
‘Black D's Da-yeon has a similar image to Kim So-yeong.’
Both Kim So-yeong and Da-yeon are the tallest in their groups.
Being called the one in charge of the girl crush concept because of their confident and strong-looking impression is also the same.
Seeing them side-by-side like this, he definitely felt that their images overlapped.
‘Though Da-yeon's side is much more popular. And Black D itself is a more popular group than Newstarz.’
The managers of DP Entertainment, including Team Leader Jeong Do-woon, were also watching Da-yeon.
From what he vaguely heard earlier, it seemed she had to move to the next site immediately after today's recording was over.
‘Kim So-yeong as an individual is probably not even on their radar.’
Jeong Do-woon is plotting to raise Choux-pop's status by crushing Newstarz, but he probably isn't conscious of each and every member of Newstarz.
He probably just thinks of them as nothing more than B-list idols who were cut off by Joo Ga-hee in the past.
Even when they met in front of the waiting room earlier, his gaze showed that he had no particular interest in Kim So-yeong.
‘However, if you let your guard down too much, you're in for a big surprise.’
Thinking that, Baek Hyeon-woo looked again at Kim So-yeong, who was in the middle of her talk.
As it happened, she was in the middle of talking about recent events.
“I saw the members making sandwiches for a snack in the morning and tried to help, but I couldn't slice the tomatoes properly, so Na-eun sliced them all over again.”
As Kim So-yeong brought up the sandwich story from the other day, the MCs made surprised expressions.
“Wow, I thought So-yeong-ssi would be good at everything, but you have an unexpected weakness. Aren't you actually a klutz in real life?”
“I can't cook at all. I'm not only bad at making sandwiches, but toast too.”
“No, toast isn't cooking! How can you fail at that!”
At the sight of Kim So-yeong deliberately revealing her unskilled side, Da-yeon, in the seat next to her, slightly widened her eyes.
It was a gaze that said she couldn't understand why she would confess such a thing herself.
‘Yes, for an arrogant person like Da-yeon, this would be an incomprehensible act.’
He recalled the sight of Da-yeon abusing her power on her manager earlier.
It would be one thing if she were strategically image-making, but honestly revealing her own shortcomings would be an impossible thing for someone like Da-yeon.
“Won't So-yeong-ssi's fans be a bit shocked by this?”
“Yeah, she had an image of being good at everything.”
In fact, Kim So-yeong also had that kind of image until now.
However, Baek Hyeon-woo had proposed to Kim So-yeong that she should also actively reveal her shortcomings.
Because he thought that doing so would make her feel more approachable to more people.
“I had thought that So-yeong-ssi was a bit of a scary person.”
“Yeah, So-yeong-ssi had a reverse charm.”
A reverse charm.
This was Baek Hyeon-woo's aim.
He had added a friendly image to Kim So-yeong, who until now had only put forward a cool image, by bestowing her with a reverse charm.
“In my private life, I'm not that sharp. I worry a lot on my own...”
“Sigh, you were completely strong on the outside and soft on the inside.”
“Strong on the outside, soft on the inside… Yes, that's right.”
At this very moment, Kim So-yeong was showing her weak side in front of everyone.
She was in the middle of breaking the image she had maintained until now.
However, Baek Hyeon-woo was certain.
That by showing her weak side like that right now... she could amplify the charm of when she shows her cool and confident side on stage.
‘Because there have to be ups and downs for it to be more charming.’
This was a reflection of the advice Seo Dong-cheol had given him.
It was a strategy to emphasize her cool side on stage even more by showing her weak side off stage.
However, even if it was a strategy, it wasn't about creating a fake image different from her real self.
Because it was about revealing Kim So-yeong's 'strong on the outside, soft on the inside' personality just as it is.
The charm created by revealing her natural true self would become a charm unique to Kim So-yeong that no one else could imitate.
“Da-yeon-ssi, how are you?”
“Yes, well, I...”
The MCs tried to create screen time for Da-yeon by throwing her a question as well.
But anyone could tell.
All the interesting scenes worth using for the broadcast were being focused on Kim So-yeong.
“What the hell is this...”
Jeong Do-woon, who was nearby, got annoyed, muttering to himself.
It was an atmosphere as if he would stop the filming right away and say something.
The talk segment of Idol Weekly's Part 1 was, by anyone's standards, Kim So-yeong's complete victory.
“So-yeong-ah, you did really well. The viewers' reaction will definitely be good too.”
“Really?”
When he praised her after finishing the Part 1 recording, Kim So-yeong's face turned red as she rejoiced.
If they had captured even this on screen, it would have been a real explosion of reverse charm... he felt it was a bit of a shame.
However... a problem broke out as they moved on to the game showdown part of Part 2.
“Basketball free throws?”
Hearing the game event, Jeong Do-woon protested to the production staff.
“We're actually throwing a basketball? We were supposed to do the bottle cap game, why did it change?”
“Well, an event manipulation controversy broke out on the internet today...”
“What are you going to do if she gets hurt throwing a basketball...!”
Originally, the game for 'Idol Weekly' was decided and notified in advance.
However, today they canceled what they had notified them of in advance and really decided the event randomly.
“Team Leader Jeong, let's not be like this. If you keep doing this, it's difficult for us too.”
“No, but still...”
“Da-yeon and So-yeong are both tall and slender, aren't they? If we have them do basketball free throws, the picture will probably come out well, so please cooperate.”
“……”
In the end, PD Kim Jun-hyeok, a member of the Seo Dong-cheol Division, stepped up and calmed Jeong Do-woon down.
“So-yeong's side is okay with it, right?”
“Yes, I think it will be fine. However...”
“However?”
“I think you'll have to let us at least practice. That's the only way we can prevent injuries.”
“Um… let's do that.”
At Baek Hyeon-woo's suggestion, practice time was given.
Since there was only one basketball hoop, Da-yeon's side got to practice first, and in the meantime, Baek Hyeon-woo had Kim So-yeong do warm-up exercises.
“So-yeong-ah, have you played basketball before?”
“Not at all since middle school...”
“This won't be easy...”
Da-yeon's form was quite plausible.
When she threw the ball, it went into the hoop with a fairly high probability.
The distance to the hoop was closer than in a real basketball game, so it seemed to go in well.
“It's our turn. Let's do it now.”
“Yes.”
Kim So-yeong, who had finished her warm-ups, stood in position holding the basketball.
After taking a deep breath for a moment, she threw the ball.
“……!”
Clang!
The ball hit the rim of the hoop and bounced away.
It was such a terrible shot that Da-yeon, who was watching from the side, chuckled.
“I-It's really not easy.”
“……”
“Hyeon-woo oppa?”
As Baek Hyeon-woo didn't answer, Kim So-yeong turned her head and looked at him.
However, Baek Hyeon-woo was just standing there blankly.
‘What's wrong?’
A moment ago, Baek Hyeon-woo had watched Kim So-yeong throw a free throw.
But he saw something strange with his eyes.
‘This appears too?’
Was this also judged to be a part of idol activities?
Even in the image of Kim So-yeong shooting a free throw, a translucent shadow appeared, overlapping with her.
It meant that he should correct her to a perfect motion and crush her competitor.