#107

Judging from their reactions, it was clear that something had definitely happened. But then, why weren’t they telling me about it? Whether it’s on-site or at the company, if there’s a problem, they should obviously be reporting it to me. With that thought, I raised one eyebrow in dissatisfaction, and Manager Ahn Siwon’s face turned pale.

He looked completely at a loss, fidgeting anxiously like he had no idea what to do. I quietly watched him for a moment, then turned my gaze toward Nam Yisol. Apparently, he had overheard our conversation and was now quietly hiding himself behind the sofa.

If Ahn Siwon couldn’t speak up, then I could just ask someone else who knew the truth.

“Yisol-ssi.”

“Yes!”

At my calm call, Nam Yisol shot up from behind the sofa. Seeing him emerge from a spot he hadn’t noticed at all, Ahn Siwon’s face twisted with betrayal.

Nam Yisol averted his eyes at the expression, which looked like someone who had just been stabbed in the back by a trusted ally. He couldn’t meet my gaze, nor Manager Ahn Siwon’s—he just let his eyes wander aimlessly in the air.

“Yisol-ssi. What happened at the shoot today?”

My voice had grown noticeably firmer, and Nam Yisol’s shoulders flinched at the sound. He looked desperately at Ahn Siwon, as if pleading with his eyes.

What do I do?

I don’t know either.

It was clear they were having that sort of silent exchange. What on earth happened to make them react this way? I couldn’t stop my face from forming a more and more displeased expression as I looked between Ahn Siwon and Nam Yisol.

“……Alright. I’ll tell you.”

After a long silence, the two of them seemed to have come to some sort of agreement, and Manager Ahn Siwon opened his mouth.

“The truth is…… we’re having a bit of a problem with the director.”

“A problem? What kind of problem?”

“Well……”

Manager Ahn Siwon began to explain in a calm voice what had happened at the filming site.

“The director’s kind of…… harassing the kids, I guess……?”

……Huh? What? The content was so different from the calmness of his tone that I couldn’t help but look baffled. Noticing my reaction, Ahn Siwon quickly tried to clarify.

“No, I know it sounds really weird to say it like that. But seriously, I can’t think of any other way to put it.”

“Uh…… okay. I understand. So could you explain in a bit more detail?”

At his flustered excuse, I nodded and asked for a more thorough explanation. Ahn Siwon glanced at me nervously, then finally began to fully explain the situation.

“You know the director who was supposed to shoot Tartarus’ music video this time? He’s famous for being super skilled, right?”

“That’s right.”

I wasn’t the one who had chosen the director, but I did know who had been shortlisted, their major works, and the level of their skills. I’d seen the reports submitted to the executive office along with the attached footage. At my calm response, Ahn Siwon briefly closed his mouth and took a breath.

“……But you see, that director is known for more than just his skills.”

“What do you mean?”

“His temper.”

“……”

“He’s notoriously bad-tempered.”

……That was something I had no idea about. I blinked in a daze, a surprised expression spreading across my face at Manager Ahn Siwon’s words.

“I don’t recall receiving any reports like that.”

“Everyone knows, but they just keep quiet because he’s so talented. Honestly, music video shoots are short—maybe a day, or a few days at most. So people just grit their teeth and endure it, thinking the end result will be worth it. They consider it like…… emotional training or something.”

Wait, they actually think of it as emotional training because his personality is that terrible? I stared at Manager Ahn Siwon, who was still gauging my reaction, with stunned eyes.

“……So, this bad temper of his…… Ahem, anyway, are you saying that this director is harassing my artists? During the shoot?”

“Yes.”

“Can I ask in what way he’s harassing them?”

“The usual ways, really. If he doesn’t like a take, he makes them reshoot it. Again and again and again and again. And then he says it’s still not good enough and scolds them, pretending he’s just concerned, saying they’re not skilled enough, that the album’s going to fail at this rate…… Thanks to him, a shoot that should’ve been over days ago has dragged on for three days now.”

Wait, this guy’s serious? I furrowed my brows in irritation at the absurdity of what I was hearing. No one in this industry had the right to criticize Tartarus’ skills. Because doing so was absolute nonsense.

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that……”

Tartarus was undeniably one of the top idol groups, and they had skills to match their reputation. On top of that, they never slacked off. And now this guy’s saying they’re lacking? That their skills are a mess?

Even someone like me, who wasn’t an expert, could see how absurd that was. The urge to meet this director in person and check if his eyes were working properly started creeping up.

“So, you’ve all been just putting up with it until now?”

“Yes……”

I barely managed to calm my rising anger and asked in a composed voice. Ahn Siwon nodded, his face visibly deflated. As I looked at him, a question formed in my mind.

“If something like that was happening, why didn’t you tell me?”

From what I’d heard, it sounded like they were just planning to endure it no matter what that man did—but I couldn’t for the life of me understand why they’d even think that was okay.

Why? Just because he’s that talented? But if working with him is so difficult, wouldn’t it be better to just replace him? With Tartarus’ reputation and my financial resources, I could bring in not just domestic, but internationally renowned directors. In other words, there were plenty of people capable of shooting the music video besides him.

“If you’d just told me earlier, it’s something I could’ve easily resolved. It’s not like he’s the only one who can shoot the video. If he keeps acting like that, replacing the director is definitely an option worth considering.”

At my firm words, Ahn Siwon lowered his head with a dark expression.

“I’m sorry. It was entirely my mistake. As their manager, it was something I should’ve reported right away……”

I shook my head at the apology that came from Manager Ahn Siwon’s mouth. I wasn’t saying all this because I wanted an apology from him. What I wanted to express was that there was no need to endure something difficult when there was a clear way to resolve it. I opened my mouth to convey that feeling, but before I could speak, Nam Yisol, who had been standing silently, stepped forward and shouted.

“No! It’s not Manager hyung’s fault! It was us! We were the ones who asked him not to tell you, sir. We said we’d just endure it and go through with the shoot.”

At Nam Yisol’s sudden words, my eyes widened in surprise as I looked at him. Tartarus had decided on their own to endure it? Upon hearing that, the first thought that came to mind was, inevitably, why?

“Why on earth……?”

“We wanted to show him. That you’re not the kind of person he thinks you are.”

Wait, what? What does that even mean? It sounded like a lot had been left out. As I tilted my head with a confused expression, trying to grasp what Nam Yisol meant, Manager Ahn Siwon offered an explanation.

“From the very first day, the director spouted some nonsense to the kids.”

“What kind of nonsense?”

“Well…… he said things like, you don’t know anything about the industry and just barged in here relying on money. That you’re some young punk playing president, trying your hand at this and that but not confident in anything, and that this industry looked the easiest to dabble in. He also said that if anything goes wrong, you’ll probably just try to fix it with money…… Stuff like that.”

As Ahn Siwon listed the things the director had said, he cautiously watched me, worried I might take offense. But to his surprise, his concern didn’t quite match my actual reaction. I didn’t feel particularly hurt by the director’s words.

There are always people who run their mouths without actually knowing anything about the other person. Paying attention to every one of them was no good for one’s mental health. Besides, some of what the director said wasn’t completely wrong. Of course, that didn’t mean he had any right to say such things publicly.

While I was lost in thought, Nam Yisol hesitantly opened his mouth again.

“Maybe it was presumptuous of us, but after hearing all that, we really wanted to prove him wrong. We hated the idea of you ever hearing stuff like that. So……”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence, trailing off in the end. But I had a good idea of what Nam Yisol had wanted to say but couldn’t.

“Manager hyung didn’t do anything wrong. He was just respecting what we wanted.”

“No. I knew it was wrong, and I still went along with it. I should’ve drawn the line and stopped it from the start.”

Watching Nam Yisol and Manager Ahn Siwon insist it was their own fault, as if competing with each other to take the blame, I let out a deep sigh.

“All right, all right. I get it. So both of you, calm down. I’m not looking to blame anyone or scold anyone. I’m not even mad.”