novelraw Chapter 247: Innovation (1)
Chapter 247: Innovation (1)
For the past week, the Spark members’ daily routine had been:
Choi Jeho, Park Joowoo, and I commuted to the rented practice room in Jeong Seongbin’s mother’s car (His mother even adjusted her commute time to help us. I was truly grateful.). Choi Jeho and Park Joowoo handed me lyric sheets, then tossed me onto the sofa and practiced by themselves. The student group returned to the rented practice room for group practice. I was still lying on the sofa, only practicing vocals.“Is there even a point to this group practice?”
“You should be grateful we bring you at all, hyung,”
Kang Kiyeon, the main person behind securing the rented practice room, chided me. It was apparently the place where he first learned to dance before joining UA, and he had contacted the director, who was about to move to the countryside and close down the studio, to ask if they could borrow it for a few weeks. It seemed Kang Kiyeon had kept in touch with the director regularly.
Thanks to this connection, the director, saying it was a building they were going to vacate anyway, let us use it comfortably free of charge.
Thanks to that, we, a group of wanderers who had left our agency, ended up using a practice room larger than the one at UA. I felt tears well up.
These guys even dragged me along to this amazing space. They said it’d be dangerous if I collapsed alone somewhere. If they were going to do this, they should have gotten me a vocal practice room, too.
Jeong Seongbin wiped his sweat and smiled. In fact, that guy was the culprit behind this whole situation. What a tenacious fellow.
Still, having time to just lie down and think wasn’t all bad.
I returned the negative emotion recognition rate, which I had lowered to view the memory data, back to normal, and also pondered about the abnormal condition of my heart that the guys were so worried about.Back when I first realized that memory synchronization was linked to cardiac arrest, I didn’t have the bandwidth to think much about it, but looking back now, there were some questions.
Dangerous activities for people with weak hearts—such as riding amusement park rides, being startled, or consuming foods that could affect the pulse—also affect me.
However, I had never felt a strain on my heart from strenuous choreography or exercise.
That was strange, wasn’t it? Exercise was good for health, but it depended on the type of exercise; for someone who was barely able to crawl across the floor, rehabilitation therapy should be prioritized over exercise.
It was just a guess, but it seemed the heart-related restrictions didn’t activate when it came to physical activities necessary for me to become an idol. Just how badly did this system want to turn me into an idol?
So, on the first day I came to this practice room, I spent my time memorizing the ‘Precautions for Heart Disease Patients’ handout that the hospital had printed out, so I could achieve my KPIs without dying.
Because I wasted a whole day, my future self would have some trouble memorizing the choreography, but my future self would manage somehow.
Hang in there, Kim Iwol. This is better than collapsing again.
And I also thought about why the system didn’t display a warning this time, unlike with the Yoo Hansoo incident…
I suspected it was because drinking caffeine wasn’t directly linked to death, and even if I were in a crisis, there was no applicable ‘4 major insurances’ to use. I already used up the 4 major insurances when I got hit on the head with a hammer.
Taking it a step further, it seemed the system recommended viewing the memory data as a warning because it could no longer guarantee my life. Like, ‘You died like this, so take care of yourself,’ right? In fact, I’d started to be mindful of my heart now.
‘Still, I don’t know what the first memory data was trying to tell me.’
Grumbling, I was writing a draft of a proposal to send to the dedicated team when my phone vibrated.
One of the things Spark had proposed to UA in their negotiation was to allow the use of personal mobile phones so that they could be contacted quickly anytime, anywhere.
UA seemed to have judged this part as necessary as well, as they had returned all six mobile phones to Choi Jeho and Jeong Seongbin on the same day.
The owner of this vibrating phone was Jeong Seongbin.
Our diligent leader rarely let practice be interrupted by something like a phone call.
That meant the caller was likely from the company…
“Yes, I understand. Thank you.”
…Considering the grace period the company gave, the company’s situation, and Spark’s comeback schedule—
“The company said they’ll accept all our demands!”
“Wooow!”
Yeah, it had to turn out this way.
* * *
After many twists and turns, Spark finally re-entered UA. Manager Chanyoung, who came to pick us up at the dorm, was speechless upon seeing my haggard appearance. I had even put on ‘Natural Vitality, Nature Pink’. Too bad.
“Are we going to run into that person if we go?”
Choi Jeho asked. His straightforwardness was heavy.
“That won’t happen, don’t worry.”
The manager declared confidently. It didn’t seem like he was lying.
“He was officially fired the day before yesterday, and all his company access rights have been revoked. We’ve also retrieved all the car keys.”
“…Is a restraining order out of the question?”
Park Joowoo, sitting in the passenger seat, asked. The manager let out a small sigh.
“I asked the legal team, and they said it would be difficult. From our perspective, Mr. Unseop has been problematic for a long time, but to get a restraining order, there needs to be a record of continuous threats or something similar.”
It seemed the company had looked into various things besides what we had requested. As long as the damages were properly processed as promised, I didn’t care much.
Another condition we’d put forward was that both UA and I would file separate damage claims against Hong Unseop. We intended to make him pay dearly for all his messed-up actions.
Just as the car pulled into the parking garage, the manager called out to me.
“Iwol.”
“Yes.”
“The CEO would like to meet you for a bit… When would be good for you?”
I was the one summoned, but the Spark members flinched.
“Just him?”
Choi Jeho pointedly asked. The members stared intently at the manager.
“It’s absolutely not because of anything bad! The CEO just has a few things he wants to ask.”
“Still, sending hyung alone is a bit… and there’s Iwol hyung’s condition too.”
Jeong Seongbin cautiously expressed his refusal.
“Cheonghyeon, do you happen to have a mirror?”
At my question, Lee Cheonghyeon rummaged through his bag and took out a hand mirror. It was a yellow hand mirror with a giant ribbon that he had received from a fan at ‘ISD’.
My face in the mirror was utterly pale. It even seemed closer to the appearance right after I had passed away, as seen in the memory data.
Judging that it wouldn’t be easy for them to be aggressive seeing this face, I returned the hand mirror to Lee Cheonghyeon.
“I’m fine. Can I go up right away today?”
“Hyung.”
Kang Kiyeon grabbed my forearm from the seat next to me.
“Kiyeon.”
“What.”
“Isn’t sitting through a conversation more survivable than going to dance practice right now?”
Kang Kiyeon couldn’t refute my words. Instead, despite the manager being present, he showed his fierce side by saying. ‘You brought your phone, right? Turn on voice recording before you go’.
* * *
As expected, the CEO couldn’t hide his shock upon seeing my face. Ms. Min Jukyung, who was with him, was the same.
“Are you really sure you don’t need to be hospitalized?”
“Yes. The hospital said there wasn’t much they could do either.”
Ms. Min Jukyung, who was about to ask if I needed something to drink, hesitated. Since I collapsed after drinking something I shouldn’t have at the company, it wouldn’t be easy to offer anything carelessly.
“If it’s alright, may I have a glass of water?”
“Of course.”
Only after getting permission and receiving a glass of lukewarm water did the CEO begin to speak.
He asked if my body was okay, and suggested that perhaps I should halt activities this time if necessary. Since my heart would be fine when doing idol activities anyway, I firmly declined.
Next came apologies and expressions of having no excuse.
If he had tried to brush it off with a single apology like Jang Junhoo, we would have seriously considered moving agencies like Jeong Seongbin had planned.
Even if it was just acting, it was not easy for someone to bow their head to someone they consider far beneath them. Nevertheless, the CEO was sincere.
“Especially to you, really…”
I had indeed gone through a lot of turmoil at this company. In terms of the severity of injury, it might have been worse than at the Hanpyeong Industry.
But why didn’t UA feel as hateful as the Hanpyeong Industry?
Was it solely because there was someone apologizing? Or because my tenure here had been shorter?
While I was pondering, the CEO told me something unexpected. That when Spark requested to terminate their exclusive contract, the company had seriously discussed it.
“…Were you planning to let us terminate?”
“If you wanted to.”
I hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.
How many years had UA invested in Spark? Were they really going to let go of a business item just as it started making money?
“Then, you accepting our demands,”
“Because it would take a long time for you to find a new company.”
This was the reason I had opposed Jeong Seongbin’s opinion. Now the CEO was also saying he had held onto Spark for the same reason.
“I know how you must feel. That’s why, if you really wanted to leave, we were prepared to support your decision. But as an adult, I felt responsible for helping guide your careers in a more realistic direction.”
“Why…”
“Because what we want is for you to succeed.”
It was shocking. I never thought I would hear such words from someone else.
“The negotiation proposal, it was you who wrote it, right, Iwol?”
“The draft was written by Seongbin and the members. I only added some comments.”
Even though it was true, the CEO didn’t seem to believe it much. He would be surprised if he knew how proficient Jeong Seongbin had become with office formats.
Seeing that he agreed to accept all those numerous demands in the negotiation proposal, it seemed his desire for Spark to succeed was also genuine.
“You guys are talented. None of you seems your age.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. You said you wanted to go into business administration, were you serious about that?”
I had mentioned once on ‘Drinkers’ that I wanted to major in business administration. I didn’t know he would have watched it. It turned out to be very helpful in this moment.
“Yes, I was.”
“Right. Otherwise, kids your age wouldn’t be this knowledgeable about the ways of the world.”
The CEO let out a dry laugh. It seemed he had completely interpreted me as ‘a youth who wanted to go to business administration so badly that he studied related subjects on his own and nurtured his dream, but couldn’t go to college and became an idol instead.’
“While you guys were away, the company received some management consulting. None of them really impressed us, though.”
Everyone had been really busy in a short amount of time. But that consulting probably wasn’t very helpful.
Business consulting mostly involved optimizing performance metrics and HR indicators. That kind of help wouldn’t do much for a company like UA, which didn’t operate based on sales forecasts. Nor was it an HR problem that could be solved by methods like organizational restructuring.
“But that experience made me think.”
“About what…?”
“The negotiation proposal.”
The CEO brought up the problematic document.
“If you can articulate what you want this specifically, I wondered if you already have an ideal company in your head.”
I thought it was fortunate enough that he wasn’t taking offense. I never imagined the conversation would flow like this.
“So rather than trying to accommodate individual requests one by one, I want to restructure the company based on your vision of what a company should be.”
The CEO looked me straight in the eye.
“Iwol, what kind of company would you like UA to be?”
It was a direct hit.
He was asking a rookie idol for something enormous. If I hadn’t had experience working as an HR manager, I would have been sobbing internally.
‘It’s not that I don’t have a personally ideal company in mind.’
To speak honestly about this, certain conditions were necessary.
First, the other party has to be ready to hear anything.
Second, they can’t hold grudges for what I say.
Third, they won’t brush me off with sarcasm like ‘if you’ve got so much time to think, go do my job’.
From what I’d seen of the CEO, he seemed to meet all those conditions. Though he might see me as an even weirder idol after this conversation.
I fiddled with the paper cup, trying to predict whether opening my mouth here would be beneficial or detrimental to Spark. And I decided.
“Before I answer that, could I possibly have a private meeting with you, CEO?”
If nothing else, I had to back up the leader who took bold steps for the sake of the team.
Ms. Min Jukyung, having received permission with a nod, excused herself. Only the CEO and I remained in the CEO’s office.