| Episode 52. Working with Human (Calamity) Resources (2)
+
[SYSTEM] A work order has arrived from the “person in charge.”
▶ Assistant Manager Kim, you can win a project like this much, can’t you? I trust you, Assistant Manager Kim, so I won’t be checking in, all right?
[SYSTEM] “New work” has been assigned.
▷ Protect the concept
▷ Reward: Experience Points (20)
+
Even the system was supporting me.
Just how trash was Yu Hansu’s idea?
As someone who never let offered experience points slip away, my resolve to protect my proposal only grew firmer.
‘Have you lost your mind, Assistant Manager Kim? Why would you carelessly say you want to get rid of the year-end party? If we’re just going to do whatever young people want, why even come to work?’
‘Assistant Manager Kim, you’re great in every other way, but your problem is that you have no warmth. If you cut everything down like a knife every time you think it’s unrealistic, do you think other people will feel like offering ideas?’
‘Assistant Manager Kim, you try doing that. You like using shortcuts, don’t you? No?’
In the past, talking back to a superior had never ended well for me.
But now, I had nowhere to retreat. Even if I had to face him with the spirit of dying or fainting on the spot, I had to stand my ground.
‘Then… where should I start working from?’
For the first time in a long while since graduating high school, it was time to use my head.
* * *
Yu Hansu’s new proposal did not pass easily.
Of course it didn’t. It lacked evidence, and it wasn’t fresh.
On top of that, the company must have had a certain level of performance they expected from Yu Hansu, so it would have been difficult for a proposal that fell far short of that to pass.
However, telling Yu Hansu, who had apparently spent over ten years as a producer, to go and supplement a proposal drafted by a trainee was more than enough to wound his pride.
Perhaps because of that, Yu Hansu changed course and began picking apart my proposal instead.
“Iwol, don’t you think the argument regarding the references here is too weak? Could you share the supporting materials with me?”
“Why does this part connect like this? Write it out in more detail. Make it so I can understand it just by reading.”
…And so on.
I was already busy to death with practice, and being summoned three times a day was beyond annoying.
If this had been back in my Hanpyeong Industries days, I would have at least edited the sheet nicely and handed it over, since it was work I was getting paid for.
But Yu Hansu himself was so stubborn about how, “You’re still inexperienced, so you may have drawn the wrong conclusion. I’ll look at the raw data and give feedback,” that I handed over the 3,800-row web spreadsheet as is. Go ahead and calculate the statistics until your eyes bleed.
However, there was a limit to shaking Yu Hansu off for a while through petty methods.
I needed a trump card that would let me protect my small and precious concept no matter what nonsense Yu Hansu spouted.
Thanks to that, I ended up living like a degenerate, monitoring the comments on that damn Jang Junhu music video until five in the morning while organizing the rise and fall of every youth-concept idol group in history.
“Hyung, aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I’ll sleep later.”
“The sun’s coming up right now, though…?”
Is the sun coming up the problem? Spark is on the verge of rising in this industry the moment we debut.
I never imagined I’d end up praying this desperately for Spark’s fortune. Life is so fleeting.
Sometimes, Choe Jeho would speak to me with a serious expression.
“Your dark circles are no joke.”
“Got it. I’ll look up a clinic that’s good at under-eye fat repositioning.”
“Wouldn’t it be enough to just get some sleep?”
Even if I slept, it was obvious I’d only have nightmares about Yu Hansu sending me an email going, “Could you summarize the lyrical themes of last month’s Top 100 digital chart songs and send them to me?” So why bother?
At times like this, I became grateful for the fact that I didn’t need much sleep. I could maintain my life even while sleeping less than other people.
Though it was a bit of a waste that I’d poured that precious ability entirely into Hanpyeong Industries.
‘…Still, should I manage my dark circles?’
Without realizing it, the hand I had been typing with moved under my eyes.
Since I had no reason to see my own dark circles directly, I hadn’t been aware of them, but lately, I’d been hearing extremely often that they had gotten worse.
It hadn’t even been long since I got a double scolding from Jeong Seongbin and I Cheonghyeon over this.
If I neglected my appearance even a little more, I was certain I’d receive twice as many stones thrown at me, telling me not to drag down Spark’s average looks and to get out. I wanted no part of that.
I rubbed both hands down my gaunt face.
I missed the cozy bed that would be mine nine years from now.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the disaster of getting pelted with double stones over my appearance did not occur.
Because before that, I was hit by Yu Hansu’s triple barrage of extra work.
Whenever it was time for individual practice, Yu Hansu summoned me with ghostlike precision and worked me to the bone. It was clear and simple harassment.
It was to the point where I felt relieved that I had handed my phone over to the company and couldn’t receive personal calls.
If I hadn’t gotten prior training from Department Head Nam, my weak mental state wouldn’t have been able to endure it.
Yu Hansu’s sarcasm had now reached the level of…
“The CEO really is too nice for his own good. Do you know how lucky you are to have met such a good agency? If you went anywhere else, you wouldn’t even be able to shove a sloppy document like this at them.”
…that.
Judging only by his way with words, he seemed to have reached a level similar to Department Head Nam.
There were parts of Yu Hansu’s words I agreed with to some extent.
To begin with, how many companies would take an interest in something like a trainee’s proposal?
But isn’t it not only me who’s benefiting from having a nice CEO?
Even someone like you is making a living under that very CEO right now.
Even so, I had to smile brightly and answer, “Yes, I think I was lucky too.”
Nothing good would come of an idol trainee getting on bad terms with a producer. It was a bitter reality.
“Producer, it’s almost time for group practice, so may I head back now?”
“What? It’s already that time?”
Yu Hansu checked the clock hanging on the office wall. Then he told me to wait a moment, made me stand there, and left his seat.
When Yu Hansu returned a little over ten minutes later, he had a thick stack of papers in his hand.
Yu Hansu held out the papers, still warm as if he had just printed them, and said,
“This is the draft of the proposal I mentioned when we all had a meal together last time.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Now, think of it as actually planning it out, and organize it with statistics and references, the way you wrote your proposal. If you polish it well, I’ll even bring it up in a meeting.”
“…Pardon?”
So, right now.
You’re telling me to clean up the proposal you wrote with your feet?
And you’re saying it as if you’re doing me a favor?
For the first time in a while, I felt my blood rush all the way to the back of my head.
This sheer absurdity… makes me feel alive.
“What are you doing, not going to practice? In this industry, you have to move quickly to survive, you know?”
Is there any industry where you survive by moving slowly, you bastard?
I beamed and shouted, “Then I’ll be going! Thank you for your hard work!” before leaving the office.
No sooner had I closed the office door than a hollow laugh burst out of me.
Since it might look unpleasant if a gloomy bastard was laughing alone in the hallway, I made sure to cover my face with the documents Yu Hansu had given me while I laughed.
“Ah… what should I do with this?”
There were many companies in the world. And in those companies, there were several trashy superiors each.
So there was no reason to be newly elated or depressed over one person like Yu Hansu.
“But I really hate people who try to steal credit.”
This time, Yu Hansu was in the wrong.
Of all the countless people in the world, why did he have to resemble someone like Department Head Nam?
* * *
If it goes well, it’s thanks to me. If it goes poorly, it’s your fault.
There was no better phrase to describe Yu Hansu than that.
To Yu Hansu, whenever a group project, a competition entered as a team, or a project went well, it was all thanks to him.
As soon as he graduated from a school known for directing, Yu Hansu immediately entered the field. It was a position connected to him by a senior from the same school.
It was not the sort of place where an outstanding talent like him belonged, but it was not a bad environment for getting his first taste of society.
When the peers who joined around the same time divided up the miscellaneous tasks among themselves, Yu Hansu did nothing.
He was a talent who had been recognized and brought in through a trustworthy person, while the others were not.
‘That’s why you should have buttoned the first button right from the start.’
Yu Hansu thought that as he looked at his peers.
In truth, he himself did not have the ability to work for long periods, but that did not matter.
Instead, Yu Hansu had the shamelessness to steal ideas in the blink of an eye from his peers, from his juniors, and sometimes even from seniors being pushed to the margins of the broadcasting world.
This was absolutely not stealing material.
He was merely presenting, at the appropriate timing, ideas that he had processed into their best possible state!
Unfortunately, by the time one or two comments began to surface, all he had to do was produce work of his own.
If he found just one good outsourced worker, he could quickly raise the quality of his portfolio.
Submit someone else’s plan. Then, around the time talk seemed likely to arise, pay someone to make a new plan. Use that to get work. Collaborate again using someone else’s idea…
As this cycle continued for over ten years, Yu Hansu’s algorithm slowly began to twist.
And in the end, it had deteriorated this far.
‘I’m a capable person. Haven’t I been working nonstop for enough time that even rivers and mountains would change?’
Just like the ideas Yu Hansu stole, the rumors surrounding him also slowly began to rise to the surface.
Of course, Yu Hansu dismissed such things as nonsense. After all, he already had a well-maintained career.
However, even he had begun to feel a bit of burnout.
He had grown tired of the work of constantly proving himself.
So Yu Hansu made a choice.
A company that was new to the idol business and therefore not well-versed in entertainment planning.
A company that was not particularly rumored to have a high dismissal rate.
A company where an idol-related department had not yet been newly established, so he could expect to lead the new business himself.
He decided to take a new step at “UA.”
When he looked at the photos of the trainees said to belong to UA with that goal in mind, Yu Hansu felt inspiration surge within him.
How would he make these unpolished gems shine with his own ability?
It was a difficult task, but Yu Hansu had confidence.
While waiting for inspiration that would someday flash upon him, Yu Hansu sketched out ideas.
He even subtly incorporated the plan that had supposedly been conceived first, so that the agency would not be too shocked by his groundbreaking idea.
He also thought in advance of some words of encouragement to give the trainees who had never debuted before. Kids that age needed advice from someone currently in the field.
And so, after making every possible preparation and entering UA, the first thing handed to Yu Hansu was a proposal.
[Spark Mini Album Vol. 1 Concept Proposal]
It was bewildering. Had he not come here to plan the group called Spark from A to Z?
The CEO’s following words were even more absurd.
“From planning to organization to the presentation, our trainee handled it. I’d like Producer Hansu to work with this friend and help raise the album’s completeness. He hasn’t been a trainee for very long, so he has a lot to do besides planning.”
Yu Hansu thought he had been scammed in employment.
After returning home, he belatedly checked the offer letter, but there was no great difference between the contents of the letter and the CEO’s words.
It was because Yu Hansu had only checked the company’s name and the part about a new business division being created.
Feeling displeased from the very start, Yu Hansu read the first page of the proposal.
The content that could have been compressed into a single page was written in tedious detail afterward, so he did not read the rest.
After reading the paper, Yu Hansu’s impression was very simple.
‘Cliché.’
Youth, of all things. How many idol groups debuted with anything other than a youth concept?
The CEO’s words had also grated on his nerves.
Not “take this kid under your wing,” but “work with him.”
Was that supposed to mean he should help and be helped by some wet-behind-the-ears brat?
But soon, he decided to understand the CEO’s mistake with a generous heart.
Hadn’t they said this was their first time doing the idol business?
When people did not know something well, anyone could make mistakes.
If the CEO and that trainee named Kim Iwol were looking down on the idol market too much, Yu Hansu could simply make them feel the difference with his ability.
Yu Hansu requested a full meeting for a date two weeks after his joining.
While preparing for the meeting, he focused on ideation, and left the other necessary materials to Kim Iwol, receiving and checking them immediately, whether at night or at dawn.
He would show the difference between an industry professional through the proposal he made in two weeks and the proposal that trainee had spent a month making.
Thinking that, motivation welled up within him. Yu Hansu did his very best, as if he had returned to his undergraduate days.
And now.
“Uh, hold on. Producer Yu, are the numbers on that graph correct?”
In the middle of his presentation, which should have had no problems if everything had gone according to plan, the CEO cut him off and asked a question.