Ban Jeon immediately called Joo Sung.
“Ohhh, who could this be? Isn’t this President Jeon Banjeon, who’s spending the second half of his life as the manager of the hottest idol group?”
“You crazy bastard! You doing all right?”
“Doing all right, my ass!!! My job is basically getting cursed out by customers all day… Anyway, what’s up? Why’d you call?”
“Do friends need a reason to call each other?”
“I’m busy. What’s the point?”
“Figures. An insurance claims guy with killer instincts. How about we grab dinner on the earliest day you’re free? I’m buying, of course.”
“Now that’s my man! We’re talking steak, right?”
“You crazy bastard. Fine. Meet me at the butcher restaurant.”
“Alcohol’s always on the table once I’m off work. Tomorrow works for me too.”
“Really? Our guys’ schedule ends early tomorrow, so let’s meet for dinner. I’ll let you go.”
“Okay! Guess I’m skipping lunch tomorrow to save room. See you then.”
The next day, Ban Jeon met with the mean-spirited Simbo—no, President Simbo—and held a meeting.
“Broadcast stations, newspapers, YouTube, every site out there is still plastered with rumors about ‘Friends’ fighting. You did contact the reporters, right?”
“Well… Those videos of our guys get huge views, and the staff at the stations all know about it as an open secret. I don’t think we can keep blocking things this way anymore. So shouldn’t our first priority be cutting back on their schedules as much as possible and patching things up between them?”
“Jeon Banjeon! You’ve lost your mind.”
“With the handshaking event at the Gymnastics Arena coming up, if anything happens that day…”
“You crazy son of a—why are you cursing the event before it even happens? You know better than anyone how much money this company will make that day!”
“President Simbo. On top of that, there’s already a steady stream of news articles calling us a greedy agency because we’re charging a hundred thousand won for one handshaking event instead of a concert.”
“How much time is left on ‘Friends’’ contract?”
“Four years.”
“Honestly, do you think the ‘Friends’ kids will renew with us? I don’t even plan to renew with anyone but Mugunghwa. But as a small agency like ours, ‘Friends’ are gifts from heaven. I feel bad about it too—I’m only human—but shouldn’t we squeeze the maximum profit out of them so we can release the next My-Nas album?”
“President Simbo, it’s Nas, not My-Nas.”
“Ah, I call them My-Nas because they’re always a minus for the company. Come to think of it, what are those Nas—or My-Nas—kids doing these days?”
“They’re working hard, practicing in the studio all day.”
“The studio? Who told them to stay there all day? What about the electricity bill? And their meals?”
“They’re contracted artists now, not trainees, so the company covers their meals.”
“What? Jeon Banjeon, have you gone crazy? What’s so precious about them that we have to buy them food too? I won’t complain about the practice, but tell them to eat lunch at home and leave the studio before dinner!”
Since President Simbo clearly had no intention of listening any longer, Ban Jeon quickly said, “Yes, sir,” and changed the subject.
“President Simbo! By any chance, did you see the ‘Breakup’ channel on YouTube yesterday?”
“No. Why? Did those lunatics go after our guys again?”
“Yes, sir! They edited together another malicious video and uploaded it.”
“If that bastard running the channel ever falls into my hands, I’ll beat him half to death.”
“President Simbo, I actually have something I’d like to discuss regarding that.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“You know this well, but more and more people are spreading vicious rumors and slandering ‘Friends’ not only on YouTube but also on idol fan sites. It feels like they’re moving in an organized fashion, so I was wondering if we should take a deeper look into it.”
“Hm? How?”
“We could hire someone trustworthy who understands idols well but isn’t one of our employees. They could donate to the anti-fan sites and keep posting defamatory comments alongside them, allowing us to identify the people coordinating everything.”
President Simbo was silent for a long while after hearing Ban Jeon out, then spoke.
“If it isn’t an employee doing it, the slander could get even worse. And we need to keep making money for the next four years… But do you already have someone in mind?”
“Yes. I have a friend who knows this industry well. I’m meeting him tonight, so I was planning to ask him.”
“Ohhh, that’s why you’re my right-hand man! I love that drive of yours.”
“President Simbo. We’d probably have to send donations to get close to them, so I think it’s going to cost some money…”
“What? What did you say? You’re springing a problem like that on me out of nowhere? Is there anything you do properly, you little punk?”
“It’ll be difficult to process the expense through the company anyway, so I was thinking I could fund it with my salary. In exchange, I was hoping you could pay the performance bonus we agreed on for ‘Friends’’ success as soon as possible.”
“Oh, really? That’s my right-hand man. Fine. It’s money I promised you anyway, so make it happen. Just don’t forget that I know nothing about this and that you’re doing it voluntarily!”
“Yes, sir. Understood, President Simbo!”
Watching President Simbo think only about how to escape alone if anything went wrong, Ban Jeon let out a hollow laugh and headed to the meeting place.
“Ohhh, Ban Jeon~ How long has it been?”
“Sorry. I’m always using being busy as an excuse.”
“Hey! Maybe the other guys don’t know what it’s like to be a popular idol manager, but I do. And today, you’re treating me to steak~ So keep being busy, and do this more often—treat, treat, treat!”
“Joo Sung, there’s something I need to tell you…”
“What? If you’re suddenly asking to split the check, I’ll kill you.”
“That’s not it…”
Ban Jeon told Joo Sung everything about the current situation.
After hearing him out, Joo Sung got worked up.
“What? You want me to investigate who Friends’ anti-fans are? I investigate insurance accidents for a living. I don’t even care about Friends.”
“I know. I know that better than anyone. But don’t you remember how you were obsessed with Sseureop from high school on? Whenever some rumor about them went up online, you’d check all the facts and post a rebuttal.”
“…Why are you bringing up my embarrassing past right now?”
“I used to tease you about it when we were kids, but ever since I started managing them, you have no idea how much it means to a singer when someone like you takes their side and defends them.”
“So what? How am I supposed to do that while I’m working?”
“Of course, I’m not asking you to let it interfere with your job. What if you helped out on weekends at first? I’ll pay you for your time, obviously.”
“What? That mean-spirited Simbo? The president you’re always trashing? He’s allowing this?”
Ban Jeon trusted Joo Sung completely, so he had told him plenty about President Simbo. To ease Joo Sung’s suspicions, he kept lying for thirty minutes straight.
“Still… Hmm… I’m worried whether I can actually do a good job. And if you get dragged into something weird, won’t that put you in a difficult position? I know better than anyone how hard you worked from the bottom to get where you are…”
Joo Sung had possessed an angelic personality from childhood all the way to the present.
This was something Ban Jeon had asked him to do, yet Joo Sung was worrying about Ban Jeon instead.
“It’s not a crime or anything. And you don’t even work for our company, so what could happen? The truth is, this situation has been weighing on me so heavily, and you’re the only person I could ask…”
“Aw, whatever! I don’t have a girlfriend right now, and it’s not like I have anything better to do on the weekends. I won’t take any money at first. Once I find something out, then you can pay me. And even though you say he approved it, I don’t trust your president.”
Maybe because he worked for an insurance company, Joo Sung was good at putting on an act—but he couldn’t fool Ban Jeon.
“Really? Really??? Thank you so much!! You’ve seriously been like this since we were kids…”
Maybe it was the alcohol, but something began to spill from Ban Jeon’s eyes.
He felt guilty for asking this of Joo Sung, sorry for the poor Friends members, and then… that rotten agency president too…
Seeing Ban Jeon’s face, Joo Sung was startled.
“Ugh, do I really have to watch you cry and ruin my appetite? In front of this steak? Just trust your big brother and keep raising your glass with me tonight.”
Ban Jeon’s tears dried up, and he continued enjoying a long-overdue, carefree drinking session with his best friend.