Episode 33. Bad Karma (1)
Kang Dae-oh had previously discussed with Do Sang-ho, who runs an F&B business, about simultaneously launching a related promotion if Yolatdae were to win this year’s program award.
On top of that, Kang Dae-oh had also won the New Artist Award.
Naturally, expectations for this promotion were high.
“CEO!”
Manager Yang Ha-young came to Kang Dae-oh’s office and showed him something.
“I’m thinking of setting up standees for each store with this photo. What do you think?”
“……What?”
Kang Dae-oh looked at Manager Yang Ha-young with a bewildered expression.
It was because of the content of the photo she brought.
It was a photo of Kang Dae-oh when he won the New Artist Award at the BLT Entertainment Awards.
“You’re going to make that into a standee?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Why on earth?”
“Why, of course. You’re the model for this promotion, CEO.”
“……Me?”
“You were the star of the awards ceremony. Who else but you, CEO, would be our main model for the promotion?”
“No……”
There was so much he wanted to say.
The problem was that there were so many, he was deliberating over where to even begin.
However, Manager Yang Ha-young seemed to have no intention of backing down and began to assert her arguments vigorously.
“These days, among restaurant businesses, there’s a growing trend of putting the CEO or the signature chef upfront for marketing. It could even be considered a trend. We have you, CEO, and I think it’s absurd not to utilize that. It’s a waste of resources!”
As Manager Yang Ha-young argued so strongly with full enthusiasm, Kang Dae-oh instinctively recoiled.
“Well…… it’s not that I’m absolutely against Manager Yang’s idea. What I mean is…… it’s just a bit much, you know.”
What expression was hidden in the omitted words?
Manager Yang Ha-young also fully caught on.
“It’s okay, CEO. Embarrassment is only for a moment.”
“How long is the promotion period?”
“Three weeks.”
“Isn’t that a bit too long to dismiss as ‘a moment’?”
“Oh, come on. If you just close your eyes and bear it, it’ll be over in no time.”
“Haaah……”
Working with Manager Yang Ha-young, Kang Dae-oh knew one thing for sure about her, if nothing else.
She was incredibly stubborn.
If there was a project she was confident about, thinking ‘This will work!’, she would push it through no matter what.
In business, such a personality is often helpful.
Of course, there were bad cases, but as mentioned, Manager Yang was the type to only be stubborn about projects that seemed promising, so from Kang Dae-oh’s perspective, there was no real reason to stop her.
And in fact, everything Manager Yang said was correct.
Kang Dae-oh couldn’t ruin the promotion just because of his personal feeling of embarrassment.
Kang Dae-oh, letting out a deep sigh he couldn’t count, finally decided to steel himself.
“Alright. Go ahead with it.”
“Thank you, CEO! We won’t use this photo as is; we’ll process it to make you look as cool as possible before using it.”
“Just don’t overdo it.”
“Of course!”
Watching Manager Yang Ha-young’s excited back, Kang Dae-oh let out a short laugh.
“Seriously, she’s impossible.”
Following Manager Yang Ha-young, Executive Director Yoo In-seok came to Kang Dae-oh’s office.
Executive Director Yoo In-seok quickly scanned the interior of the office and asked.
“Have you not finished unpacking yet?”
“Ah, no. Whenever I try to, this and that keeps popping up, so it gets delayed.”
It had almost been a month since they moved the office to the new building.
However, Executive Director Yoo In-seok seemed quite bothered by the sight of the still unpacked boxes.
Being a person with a neat personality, such things would naturally catch his eye.
“If you need, should I help you organize it with the staff?”
“No, it’s fine. I can’t pass my work onto the staff. I pay them to work, so asking them to do something like this would be a bit much.”
Executive Director Yoo In-seok nodded briefly, as if he had expected Kang Dae-oh to answer that way.
“Then you’ll finish organizing today, won’t you? Since we’ve moved offices, I was just about to contact important buyers and ask them to visit.”
He couldn’t show the CEO’s office in a mess at that moment.
So Executive Director Yoo In-seok implicitly pressured him to finish it today.
Kang Dae-oh nodded vigorously, as if to say ‘don’t worry’.
“Yes, of course. Today, I will definitely……”
Before he could finish his sentence.
Suddenly, Kang Dae-oh’s smartphone vibrated intensely.
“Hello? Oh, my eldest daughter. Why? ……Ah, really? Alright. Dad will go. Yeah. See you later.”
After finishing the call, Kang Dae-oh gave an awkward smile.
At that sight, Executive Director Yoo In-seok also gave a wry smile and said:
“You absolutely have to do it tomorrow, right?”
“I will.”
Because his daughter called, he couldn’t not go.
Thanks to that, Kang Dae-oh successfully secured a one-day grace period.
It goes without saying, but Kang Yera already had several company-affiliated personnel, such as managers and stylists, accompanying her and moving with her.
When going to the company or a filming set, or when work was over and she was going home, her manager would always drive her.
However, there was one exception.
When the program Kang Yera was appearing on happened to be close to where Kang Dae-oh was.
At that time, Kang Yera would call him first, just like before.
Asking if she could ride in dad’s car and go home together since her work was over.
When faced with his eldest daughter’s adorable request, as a father, he couldn’t refuse.
As always, Kang Dae-oh went straight down to the parking lot without refusing, telling her to wait for a moment.
He started the engine and entered the address Kang Yera had given him into the navigation system.
Thanks to his eldest daughter, Kang Dae-oh was on his way home early today, but…
‘I really should organize things as Executive Director Yoo said.’
This wasn’t just an office problem.
The car Kang Dae-oh had just gotten into was also subject to the same issue.
‘If my wife sees this, I’ll get an earful.’
He started the engine and headed to the site where Kang Yera was working.
Today was the day for a variety show schedule where singers gathered in one place for filming.
Since it was being held outdoors rather than indoors, the area around the site was packed with people who had gathered to see the celebrities.
Kang Dae-oh parked his car nearby and moved forward to get a closer look at his daughter.
“Excuse me. Just a moment.”
Suddenly, at a familiar voice heard from somewhere, some people turned their heads and looked at Kang Dae-oh.
“Oh? Aren’t you CEO Kang Dae-oh?”
“Wow, CEO!”
“Hello! How did you come here?”
People’s attention suddenly shifted towards Kang Dae-oh.
Thanks to him, the quiet set instantly became noisy.
Kang Dae-oh worried if he was inadvertently disrupting the filming because of himself.
“I came to see my eldest daughter. I apologize. I’ll pass through quickly.”
Kang Dae-oh safely arrived at the staff area, pushing through the crowd.
Then the production team warmly welcomed Kang Dae-oh.
“We actually heard from Yera that you, CEO, would be coming to pick her up soon. Oh, and congratulations on winning the New Artist Award!”
“Thank you. More than that, I apologize. The surroundings became noisy because of me……”
“No, not at all. The filming is already over anyway. We were just wrapping up, so you don’t need to worry.”
“That’s a relief then.”
As the PD said, all the cameras were off.
The performers who had finished filming, like Kang Yera, were also hurrying to prepare to leave with their managers and staff.
Kang Yera approached where Kang Dae-oh was, accompanied by Manager Hong Yoon-ah.
“Dad!”
“You worked hard filming, my daughter.”
Kang Dae-oh shared a brief hug with Kang Yera.
When Kang Yera was young, she used to fit right into one arm.
Now that she’s a middle school student, she’s a bit too big to hold with one arm.
Still, to Kang Dae-oh, she was his cute and lovely daughter, who was still small, precious, and needed to be protected.
“Yoon-ah-ssi, you also worked hard.”
“It’s my job to go to sets with Yera, so it’s not really hard work. And today, Yera did so well on the broadcast that she received a lot of praise from the PD earlier.”
“Is that so?”
There would be few things as pleasant as an entertainer under one’s charge being recognized by the PD and staff.
Hong Yoon-ah subtly glanced at the people around them, especially the performers who appeared with Kang Yera, and whispered softly.
“The PD said earlier that Yera was practically the main character. From what I heard, it seems they’ll edit it in a way that primarily highlights Yera.”
If other performers had heard this whisper, they wouldn’t have been pleased.
That’s why Hong Yoon-ah had no choice but to intentionally lower her voice just enough for Kang Dae-oh to hear.
Thanks to the active performances of the sisters Kang Yera and Kang Yebin, Irowool Entertainment’s stock price was rising day by day.
A tiny company had now risen to the position of a mid-sized enterprise. One could truly feel how powerful the sisters’ influence was.
“The CEO also seems to be in a very good mood because Yera has been doing so well lately. He said he’d invest a lot in her next album too.”
“Yera will like that.”
“Yes. She herself is full of motivation.”
Meeting an agency that fits well is a very important matter like this.
While this was happening, Kang Dae-oh suddenly became curious.
‘She said her previous agency was very bad. How bad could it have been, exactly?’
He had heard almost nothing from Kang Yera about her agency before the regression.
Although he was curious, it could potentially trigger his eldest daughter’s trauma, so Kang Dae-oh decided to keep this curiosity to himself.
Later. Much later, if he judged it to be okay, it seemed best to subtly ask Kang Yera then.
‘Or perhaps never ask at all.’
The past is important, but not as important as the present or future.
There’s no need to give Kang Yera, who needs to look forward and run, a reason to look back.
With that resolve, Kang Dae-oh took Kang Yera from Hong Yoon-ah.
“Then I’ll take Yera and head home first. Yoon-ah-ssi, you should also leave for the day right away.”
“Yes, abeonim. Please go ahead!”
Kang Yera also waved her hand and told Hong Yoon-ah to get home safely.
The broadcast had finished well.
It was just as she was about to comfortably head home with her dad.
“Yera. Just a moment.”
Someone spoke to Kang Yera.
The moment she saw a man who appeared to be in his early 40s, Kang Yera’s body froze.
The man handed his business card to Kang Yera and Kang Dae-oh and introduced himself thus:
“Hello. I am Ryu Hwang-jin, CEO of LBH.”
As soon as he heard ‘LBH’, Kang Dae-oh seemed to understand why his eldest daughter was reacting this way.
‘Isn’t that the agency Yera used to be with?’
