When I Opened My Eyes I Was a Superstar - Chapter 101

# 101

Blue Sky (1)

Dowook was speechless.

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung also had a stern expression. His expression was quite different from his usual smiley expression.

It was not easy to understand what the intention was.

Dowook did not intentionally hide his embarrassment. Because I thought it was more natural. Dowook asked after blinking a few more times.

“Why do you think that?”

Do-wook’s question was answered by team leader Lee Dae-hyung.

“For some reason, I keep thinking that way. It seems like Mr. Do-wook is drawing a line towards me…”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung added, his expression softening.

“haha. I’m embarrassed to say this even though we haven’t been working together for very long. “I think I may have been a little foolish.”

Just then, a flight attendant passed by and asked if I wanted any more drinks.

Feeling like his throat was burning, Dowook ordered warm black tea. Team leader Lee Dae-hyung asked for wine with the intention of having a light drink to freshen his mouth.

After ordering, Do-wook looked towards Dae-hyung Lee and waved his hand.

“no. “I’m actually sorry if I made you think that way.”

“I wanted to become friends with Mr. Dowook too quickly… so I may have been impatient.”

“Don’t worry about that. I really want to get along well with this team leader. “We understand how important marketing is.”

“I would be grateful if you thought so. I don’t know how many times I thought ‘of course’ during my business trip to New York. “I really thought he was the most outstanding entertainer I’ve ever seen.”

Do-wook had no choice but to smile awkwardly, not knowing what to do in response to Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung’s subsequent praise.

It was true that even though I received compliments every time, I always felt embarrassed.

Even if the praise showered toward Do-wook was all based on facts and not just personal feelings, it was still embarrassing for him to hear it.

“I’m serious. “I think I have all the qualities I need to have… That’s why I keep wanting to get closer to Mr. Do-wook.”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung finished speaking and laughed, Haha.

It may have been because we only worked together for a short period of time, but if you look at it that way, I had met Han Jeong-ah, who was the stylist to New York, for the first time a few days ago.

Clearly, Do-wook was wary of team leader Dae-hyung Lee from the beginning, so Team Leader Dae-hyung Lee may have felt that the way Do-wook treated other employees was different from the way Do-wook treated himself.

‘Even though you said you would actively become friends since coming to New York, it seems that the boundaries that have not been resolved have become apparent.’

Along with that thought, Do-wook also thought that Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung was a sharp person even if he had a friendly smile.

“But why did you think I would feel uncomfortable because the team leader came from Ara Entertainment?”

When Do-wook asked, team leader Dae-hyung Lee seemed to think for a moment and answered.

“Actually, KK and Man to Man were called rivals. In particular, there were a lot of articles comparing Do-wook and Seo-jun… so I thought that people at Ara Enter would be uncomfortable.”

This seemed to be something I had to worry about when moving from Ara Entertainment to Hit Entertainment.

Dowook nodded.

However, as KK has recently grown rapidly, a rivalry has emerged, and there is still a big difference in scale between Ara Enter and Hit Enter.

In the entertainment industry, it was almost an unwritten rule not to change jobs among the three major entertainment companies.

In particular, among the three major agencies, it was an even stricter unwritten rule not to change jobs between Ara and Cheongwol, which had been rivals for a long time.

No one has ever said ‘no’, but since it is a small industry, such things have been observed as much as possible.

However, being scouted and moving from a large agency to a mid-sized agency was more difficult than I thought.

In order to transfer the know-how of large agencies, mid-size agencies made efforts to recruit the highest-ranking middle managers among the working staff.

However, large entertainment companies have something called ‘name value’, so in order to properly scout them, they had to pay much higher compensation.

Since Ara and Hit Entertainment were not in a position where they could be called rivals, Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung’s change of job corresponded to a change of job due to a promotion and salary increase to a mid-level position at a large agency.

However, even though they were not rivals at the company level, the fact that the group he was in charge of was a rival group seemed to make Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung feel uneasy.

That was the reason why Do-wook was wary of team leader Dae-hyung Lee.

Do-wook thought that since Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung had spoken out like this anyway, he had to be honest to some extent for the sake of his future work.

Even if you don’t have to reveal your true feelings, you have to show your cards to some extent so that the other person can also reveal themselves.

“It would be a lie to say there was nothing at all.”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung widened his eyes as if he was a little surprised, but then quickly agreed.

“As expected… I see.”

“I’m worried about people saying we’re rivals…”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung said in response to Do-wook’s words.

“I think it’s a little surprising. “I didn’t think Do-wook would think like that.”

“I guess I can’t help it because I’m human too.”

“haha. “Rather, I’m glad I discovered Mr. Do-wook’s human side.”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung, who was laughing a little, erased his smile and said.

“Then I guess I’m even more fortunate.”

When Do-wook looked at him as if asking what he was saying, Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung laughed. It was a very empty laugh, different from the usual carefree laugh.

“This is something I also told Manager Joanie… Actually, I came here because I wanted to make KK do better.”

It felt like an obvious answer for an interview, so Do-wook just looked at team leader Dae-hyung Lee.

“It is true that I felt that Hit Entertainment had a vision, but the real reason was there. It’s still doing better than Man to Man, but I wanted to make it even better in the future. “K.K.”

It wasn’t just an ambition to raise KK well. These were words with some substance.

“When I was at Ara Entertainment, there were times when I hated KK, but it’s funny. haha. “I am childish like this.”

“… you hated it?”

“yes. It may seem like I’m bragging, but I’m also someone who is recognized as being quite capable. “It was thanks to him that I participated in the Man to Man project.”

Do-wook nodded and listened to Team Leader Dae-hyung Lee’s words.

“I don’t know about album production or other areas, but I don’t think my plan for Man to Man was a mess when it comes to marketing.”

Man to Man’s marketing method was almost similar to, but different from, the previously successful marketing method of Sabang Shin.

We took the good points from Sabang Shinhwa’s marketing and modified them slightly to suit the characteristics of the group called Man to Man. It was a form that maximized exposure but did not lose mystique.

Dowook also thought it was good marketing. Moreover, if things had gone as they were, Man to Man would have been in a higher position than KK.

It’s just that KK became very good, but it didn’t mean that Man-to-Man was bad.

“But they said it was my failure.”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung’s words were filled with bitterness. Dowook felt surprised and sad at the same time.

“Why on earth…”

“Well, I didn’t say it was just my failure. “Both the staff who produced Man to Man and the Man to Man members were under the same pressure.”

“Actually, that’s not enough to call it a failure… Man to Man is now with their second album, isn’t it a success? “There are still many other opportunities left.”

“The standards for failure and success are different for each person. It must have been a failure for Ara Entertainment. Especially to Director Seo…”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung, who had been talking, closed his mouth. This was because I felt that it was discussed in too much detail, even mentioning specific individuals.

“You’ve done well so far. “I felt skeptical as I watched the company push me hard just because I lost a little bit to KK.”

Do-wook shook his head inwardly as he listened to team leader Dae-hyung Lee’s words.

‘Director Seo Joong-won……. You’re losing someone yourself.’

Perhaps, Seo Joong-won, the head of the division, had the thought that his son Seo Kang-jun was one of the members and that he would naturally succeed by coming in first place as he had ambitiously planned it.

In the process of breaking his arrogance, today was the result of not thinking about doing better and only harassing those below him.

A talent like team leader Lee Dae-hyung came to Hit Entertainment.

“To be honest, I am not impressed at all when I meet the Man to Man members. On the contrary, I guess I didn’t want to meet him while I was planning and promoting it… There were members who exchanged a few official words and trusted me, who was much older than me, and spoke informally to me.”

Do-wook did not bother to ask whether the member who did that was Seo Kang-jun. Because it was obvious without even looking at it.

“While I was feeling skeptical, I contacted Manager Cho and was given much better terms. “The conditions were conditions, but at first I also wanted to see with my own eyes how good KK was.”

“I see.”

“The reason I decided to leave Ara was after seeing KK’s performance. It was completely different. The eyes of the Man to Man members. They looked like they were really enjoying the stage… I thought I could market it with all my sincerity.”

“Thank you for seeing it that way, team leader.”

“When I met him in person, I felt more connected to him. And in the last interview before leaving Ara, as expected, instead of telling me to do my best at poetry and not do things like that at work, he spat out abusive language. Let’s see if it goes well. “All the remaining affection was gone.”

Araro was in a state where he could never go back.

Do-wook could see that Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung had gone through several processes to come here. A lot of trouble would have followed.

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung was showing his true feelings.

This was because he had strengthened his confidence in Do-wook by watching him right next to him for a short time in New York.

Even though he seemed to be wary of himself, I could feel his unavoidable good nature.

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung had his own ambitions. My ambition was to become the best in the industry as a marketing planner.

In that sense, it has already been confirmed several times that Do-wook is a star worth risking his life and working hard for. I was confident that I would not have any regrets about turning my back on Ara and coming to Hit Entertainment.

To do that, Dowook’s trust was needed more than anything else.

And I felt like I had gained some level of trust through my honest confession.

In fact, Do-wook truly understood team leader Dae-hyung Lee. At one time, as an employee of an entertainment agency, I felt a human kinship.

Since the agency focuses on artists, sometimes the employees are not able to cover up the artists’ shortcomings and often have to embrace them instead.

“manager. Thank you for being honest.”

“You must be tired, but thank you for listening to my personal story. “It may be a company issue that is difficult for Do-wook to understand.”

“no. “I’m glad that I can do better in the future.”

Team leader Lee Dae-hyung and Do-wook looked at each other and smiled.

Do-wook had gained another reliable ally who knew the enemy’s insides well.

***

A few days after returning from New York, Do-wook gathered the remaining members in his dormitory into his studio.

“What?”

“What Happen~!”

Hyeong-seo Ahn and Won Kim entered Do-wook’s studio.

Dowook wanted to be the first to hear the title song of his soon-to-be-released 3rd album to the KK members.

This album was a very important album that would take KK to its peak.

“The song came out.”

“really? “Is the title song coming out?!”

“yes. I will have to listen to your opinions and make arrangements to find out…”

“I want to listen to it quickly! hurry!”

Hyeong-seo Ahn urged Do-wook. The members were also full of desire to make a comeback quickly.

I had already known the joy of being on stage to the fullest extent through concert tours and awards ceremony performances. I couldn’t wait to get on stage again.

Dowook smiled and played the song.

“uh?”

As they reached the chorus, Ahn Hyeong-seo frowned at a melody that seemed like he had heard it before.

“this…….”