Finally, the 1,000-pyeong greenhouse was completed.
Before autumn fully set in, all the blueberry seedlings were planted inside. This time, the fruit-bearing period was even faster. Unlike the open field, which took a week, five days were enough for the greenhouse. I personally compared the tastes of the two.
The result:
‘The pros and cons of each are clear.’
The sugar content was definitely better in the open-field blueberries. They had the natural taste created by the earth’s energy, wind, direct sunlight, and rain. However, their size and shape were irregular.
‘On the other hand, what about the greenhouse blueberries?’
They were perfect in appearance. Their size, color, and luster were uniform, as if measured with a ruler. There were no traces of insect damage, and not a single scratch on the skin. It was as if they were appealing to me, saying, ‘I’m a premium product that has been properly cared for!’
‘They say food that looks good tastes good too.’
Since the temperature and moisture were kept constant with heating, cooling, and irrigation, their shelf life was also much longer. And there was someone else who had made a nest in this cozy place.
“Pweeee…”
It was none other than the otter couple. No, they were a married couple now. The female otter was currently groaning in pain inside the wooden plank house I had built for them.
“Is the otter hurting…?”
Seol-yi’s face immediately crumpled into a pout.
“No. The otter is okay.”
By now, the creatures were no longer wary of humans. Instead, if I reached out a hand, they would whimper and rub their cheeks against it.
‘It means the birth is imminent, right?’
Since I already knew the reason for the otter’s behavior, it was better to leave them to rest quietly for now.
“Seol-yi. We should go now, shouldn’t we?”
“Seol-yi will kiss it to make it better.”
A smile touched my lips without me realizing it.
“If Seol-yi stays here, the otters will hurt even more.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. So let’s come back later with Uncle. You have to watch the Revive brothers’ performance too.”
“!”
Seol-yi immediately turned her head, her eyes sparkling. She had grown very fond of them, often looking for the five brothers several times a day.
“Are the uncles here?”
“We can watch them even if they aren’t here. Shall we go see?”
“Yes!”
I took Seol-yi’s hand and headed toward the guest house.
“Prosecutor!”
Inside the open door, Min Ha-ru spotted me and waved her hand frantically.
“It’s starting now!”
— Hello! We are the five-member rookie idol group, Revive!
The members’ first music show stage began.
“Please, let them do well.”
I was soon sucked into the stage on the TV.
***
*Boom!*
The stage lights all turned on at once.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
In an instant, ear-piercing screams poured out.
‘I can do this.’
Jae-jun took a deep breath on stage. Surprisingly, he wasn’t trembling much, even in this situation where thousands of eyes were focused solely on them.
‘No, I must do this.’
It was truly a tremendous improvement. Normally, his mind would have gone blank immediately. His heart would have been pounding so hard it would have been difficult to even breathe. As he quietly closed his eyes, scenes naturally came to mind.
‘The scent of nature.’
The heavy weight of the soil, the sweat, and the tip of the shovel. The faces of the members laughing in the midst of it. His father, who silently taught him how to use his body. Even the tiny otter couple.
‘I’ve done well so far. Everyone worked so hard to help me. I acted like an idiot at times… but in the end, I didn’t stop because of fear.’
I can do this, Han Jae-jun. As if hypnotizing himself, he made a vow internally at the same time.
*Thump!*
The bass rang out. The stage shook. The giant screen opened, and a video began to play slowly.
A blue sky. Sunlight spreading over a field of soil. A dragonfly fluttering its wings in a corner. The appearance of a rural village unfolded as the opening of the stage.
“Wake up, like the morning breeze—”
It was Jae-jun’s part. His voice filled the stage. The audience raised their heads in unison. In the first line, they felt something tugging at their heartstrings. A power that pierced through the air and dug into their chests.
“Tread the soil and run again, proof that I am alive!”
Following him, Liu burst into a rap. The fast and rough flow swept through like a fierce sea breeze.
*Swish!*
At the same time, Je-a stepped forward. His disciplined dance lines seemed to catch a glimpse of the movement of splitting the ground with a shovel. Those solid and powerful movements filled the stage.
“Follow the light—We are alive!”
As the atmosphere ripened, the song continued toward the chorus. On the LED screen, a giant blueberry flower bloomed. Blue and purple lights alternated, coloring the entire stage.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
At one point, a burst of cheering exploded from the audience. Some people even jumped up and down in their seats. Lights from cell phones billowed like waves.
“Ah…”
Soon, Jae-jun’s eyes grew hot and wet. Why? At this moment, just as they were finishing their successful debut stage. Why were tears coming out at this timing, when he should be the happiest?
— You’re the one holding us back. You’re the only one who needs to leave.
Now, that curse-like hallucination had faded away.
“You’re so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The only thing filling his ears now was the cheering of the fans.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
…And even the breathing of the members who had suffered together all this time.
“Come alive again—We are Revive!”
The final line of the song burst out.
*Pop, pop, pop!*
All the lights turned on as if they were exploding. White light covered the stage.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
Intense heat. Overwhelming cheers. Only then did Jae-jun realize. He was no longer afraid of the stage. He was not a shackle holding the members back.
‘…Revive.’
It was quite literally a perfect revival.
***
After all the performances were over.
G-Net MC Ha Do-young immediately took the microphone and approached one side.
“Yes, today’s stage was truly wonderful! In particular, let’s meet the rookie idol group Revive, who received a great response from the audience!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!”
A dolphin-like scream erupted from the audience at once.
“Could you start with self-introductions?”
The five of them bowed their waists at the same time.
“Hello! We are the five-member rookie idol group, Revive!”
“I understand today is your debut stage. Could you share your thoughts?”
The microphone was immediately passed to the leader, Jae-jun.
“First of all, I think I should say this. The person who helped us be in this position…”
Before he could even finish his sentence, MC Ha Do-young had a faint smile on his lips.
‘Just like rookies.’
The next comment was obvious.
I love you, Mom and Dad.
If they were the types to care about social life, it would be ‘Thank you, CEO.’
There would be some rookies who looked for the staff suffering for their image making first.
Others would look for God, Buddha, or other religious faiths…
“We want to thank Brother Seo-jun.”
“?”
For a moment, MC Ha Do-young’s thought process stopped.
“He is our lifelong benefactor!”
“Revive’s precious person, our savior!”
“I love you, Brother! I know you’ll find it gross for a man to say this, but I still love you!”
“…God. Vaccine.”
MC Ha Do-young was momentarily speechless. It seemed like some very unusual guys had made their debut.
***
Bang Ki-chul’s mouth felt bitter. He was chain-smoking, even though he had quit nicotine long ago. And soon, he made a decision.
“Young-jun.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“Go down to the countryside.”
Team Leader Bae Young-jun flinched.
“Are you talking about Goseong by any chance?”
He had already seen the Revive members’ stage too.
“You said the kids moved their dorms and you can’t check their current location, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But CEO Sin’s location is confirmed, isn’t it?”
Team Leader Bae Young-jun finally understood what the other man was trying to say.
“Go visit Manager Cha, who is in custody, while you’re at it. Meet her and try to persuade her.”
“…”
“I practically raised the Revive kids myself. If they have any sense of professional ethics, shouldn’t they leave them alone? She’s a weak-hearted girl anyway, so try appealing to her emotions.”
‘…If that’s what you think, you should do it yourself, CEO.’
Of course, those inner thoughts never left his mouth.
“Yes, I understand.”
In the company, he always had to be a ‘yes man.’
***
That day, we shared a small celebratory toast.
“To the debut of the Revive members, cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Sin Hye-seo and Min Ha-ru went without saying, and even my mother and father joined the gathering.
“Those boys, they were quite good.”
“Father. You’re not planning to sing Revive’s songs in front of your friends next time, are you?”
“Why? Can’t I?”
“It’s not that you can’t, but you’ll have to rap too, so it’ll be hard for you.”
Min Ha-ru laughed and clapped her hands.
“I think it would be cool! Father rapping!”
“Hmm…”
Wait a minute. Why are you contemplating this, Father? You’re not really going to rap and embarrass yourself in front of the whole neighborhood, are you?
“Seo-jun.”
At that moment, my mother, who was taking rice wine out of the refrigerator, spoke unexpectedly.
“A guest is here.”
“What? Who at this hour?”
“He says he’s from some entertainment company…”
“!”
Min Ha-ru and Sin Hye-seo flinched at once.
“I’ll go out.”
I immediately stood up from my seat.
“Prosecutor. I’ll also…”
“No. Just leave it to me.”
After making Sin Hye-seo sit back down, I went outside the front gate.
“Hello.”
As soon as he saw me, the man waiting politely there folded his waist at a right angle. He was even holding some gifts in both hands. It was a markedly different attitude from before.
“I am Team Leader Bae Young-jun.”
“Yes, hello.”
As I accepted his greeting, the man’s face brightened slightly.
“Bang Ki-chul sent you, didn’t he?”
“…Yes. I have something to say to CEO Sin, so I have taken the liberty of visiting her.”
“I believe the contract negotiations are already in the final stages.”
“Including that matter, I would like to speak with CEO Sin directly.”
“If she had any intention of doing so, wouldn’t she have answered the incoming calls long ago?”
Team Leader Bae Young-jun narrowed his eyes.
“Go back.”
“…Even so, I don’t think you have the authority to block a meeting between people.”
Oh. He’s suddenly acting tough. Should I apply for a restraining order against this person too?
‘No. There’s a better way now.’
I smiled slightly and immediately spoke that method out loud.
“How much was Actress Sin Hye-seo’s market value?”
“…Pardon?”
“She is the CEO, but she is also a signed celebrity. That’s why I’m asking.”
“!”
Only then did Team Leader Bae Young-jun’s face turn pale as he understood the meaning of my words. At this point, let’s take another look at our share sale contract.
Section 1: The seller and the buyer shall not contact the affiliated celebrities (including all artists who maintain an exclusive contract as of the contract date) directly or indirectly through a third party for any reason from the date of the share transfer contract to the date of transaction closing.
Section 2: If contact is confirmed in violation of the preceding paragraph, and as a result, the affiliated celebrity terminates the exclusive contract or leaves the company during the contract period or within six months from the date of transaction closing, the violating party must directly compensate the contract party for ‘two times’ the penalty or damages arising from the termination of the celebrity’s contract.
“I believe it was clearly stated in the contract. Contact with affiliated celebrities is prohibited until the transaction is finalized.”
“…”
“What now? Are you still going to insist that I have no authority or make unreasonable demands?”
“…”
“Or will you just go back quietly?”
Bae Young-jun’s shoulders slumped.
“…I will go back.”
Then, he had no choice but to turn his body around. …Even so, he couldn’t afford to be arrested like Manager Cha by being stubborn here.
‘Ah. Do I have to sleep in this rural area today?’
Of course, going back up to Seoul like this was out of the question.
‘I should stay for a few days and rest before going up.’
That way, the CEO would throw less of a fit.
***
Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
“Seo Yi-re.”
The person called swallowed hard.
“Your disciplinary results just came out.”
“…”
“Congratulations. It’s a reprimand.”
“!”
Seo Yi-re’s face immediately brightened. It wasn’t a heavy disciplinary action, but the lowest level of light disciplinary action. Since there was still an appeal process, at this rate, she might even be able to have the record itself erased later.
“Seo Yi-re, you are quite capable.”
“…Thank you.”
Seo Yi-re clenched her fists tightly. Now it was time for a counterattack.
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