Chapter 4
What? Why is he coming this way?
Is he really offended just because one road manager didn’t greet him? No matter what, how could someone who’s a company CEO act so emotionally over something this trivial? A celebrity who’s even treated like the nation’s singer?
So his inner self really wasn’t the generous personality I once felt when things were good between us.
It had all been an act.
Judging by the fact that he killed me, his character was obvious.
Anyway, I had to come up with a plan.
I couldn’t tear that bastard apart, and I couldn’t get out of the van to greet him as a road manager either.
A perfect dilemma. And he was getting closer and closer.
No choice. Even if I have to quit the company…
I couldn’t bow my head to a murderer.
As for making a living?
I’d just do construction work or something.
Looking at this body, it’s strong and still young.
Just then—
“Hello, Director!”
Cheerful female voices called out in unison from afar.
Oh Junseong turned his head toward them.
It was Luminous, coming down after finishing their makeup.
An unexpected rescue.
Normally, the makeup team would contact us once they finished, but for some reason the girls had come down without any notice this time. Either way, it worked out well.
The murderer stood near them, putting on a completely fake expression as he spoke with them.
Watching Luminous respond brightly, he was probably giving the usual empty compliments.
Then, leaving behind Luminous and Team Leader Kim as they bowed together, he walked inside the entrance.
Thank goodness it passed like that.
Of course, I could already expect Team Leader Kim’s scolding—no, something worse than that.
But at least I avoided bowing to the murderer who killed me.
And I also avoided ruining my new life right from the start by refusing to bow.
Reunion—the narrow bridge where I might run into the man who killed me at any time.
The reality that my new life had been placed in such a ridiculous situation hit me vividly.
“Ha…”
A deep sigh escaped me.
Just one day after possessing this body, I’d already met the man who killed me.
Well… thinking about it, it was something I’d have to face eventually.
As long as I worked at Reunion.
Still—not today.
Emotionally, I couldn’t accept it.
It seemed like I’d need some serious determination going forward.
A tingling spasm ran through my fingertips like an electric shock.
It would probably take some time before it calmed down.
Only then did it truly feel like I had completed the initiation ceremony of my new life.
After the murderer went inside, Team Leader Kim Junho, who had been talking with Luminous, walked toward the van.
Alright. I’ll take whatever tantrum you throw.
I had expected it anyway, so I was mentally prepared.
Honestly, there wasn’t much to prepare for.
What’s a little scolding?
I’m Road Manager Yoon Junghoo right now.
When Team Leader Kim approached the car, he gestured for me to roll down the window.
As soon as I did, he stepped closer and began pouring it out.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you? Is greeting someone that hard? Acting all arrogant—ah, seriously, I don’t get it. Huh?”
Compared to the sudden reunion with my murderer, Team Leader Kim’s raised voice didn’t bother me at all.
A fair trade.
“I was a bit startled. I ask for your understanding, Team Leader.”
“Startled? You ask for understanding? What’s with your tone today… I—seriously, unbelievable.”
He looked like he wanted to keep scolding me, but since the Luminous members were approaching, he suppressed his anger with a baffled sigh.
Then came instructions about today’s schedule.
“Drive properly today! Don’t cause trouble on the way and make the girls edgy before their event! Control the site properly! And don’t just sit in the car—keep moving around! Got it?”
“Yes. I’ll handle everything well.”
After venting, Team Leader Kim headed toward the entrance.
The Luminous members, who had been chatting with people near the entrance, started walking toward the van.
Once they got in, we’d depart immediately.
To load them in, I jumped out and opened the back door of the van, standing by it.
Like I thought earlier—this part was hard to get used to.
What is this, kindergarten? Do I really have to do this?
Well, if I’m told to do it, I’ll do it.
Though I’m not sure how long I can keep doing this with my personality.
Serin arrived first but strangely stepped aside so the other members could get in first.
The members climbed in without even glancing at me.
After they were seated, Serin held out a bag.
“This is yours, Manager.”
Just like she often did, she had packed my lunch from the company cafeteria.
As I awkwardly accepted the bag—
“There’s coffee too! Hehe.”
Serin smiled brightly and handed me a coffee.
“Ah, thank you.”
Kindness. Consideration.
Serin—the idol with good character.
Pass.
Pass? Who am I to pass someone…
My lips were starting to curl upward.
Stop that.
Maybe because I’d just gone through a proper initiation, I was adapting too quickly.
“Instead of worrying about someone else’s coffee, focus on your own work. You know you have vocal training today, right?”
Of course, Mujin in the back seat couldn’t just watch this quietly and shot a cold remark.
Ignoring her, Serin climbed into the van.
Mujin added another comment.
“Why is it scheduled two or three times a week… sigh. Forget it. What’s the point of saying anything?”
“I’m sorry, unnie.”
Seeing Serin apologize weakly made something surge up inside me.
It wasn’t fair to say the packed training schedule was Serin’s fault.
It was because they were preparing for an upcoming single album.
And honestly, the other members weren’t in a position to criticize anyone’s singing either.
Even from Yoon Junghoo’s vague memories as a non-expert, none of them were particularly good singers.
In truth, about 70% of Luminous’s popularity came from Serin’s visuals.
Looking at the sales of the previous album’s four versions—each packaged with a different member’s photo and poster—Serin’s version had overwhelmingly taken first place.
Were they jealous and lashing out more harshly because of that?
Why are you apologizing…
So frustrating.
Now it was time to depart for Gangneung.
When idols go to outside events, it isn’t just the on-site manager who accompanies them.
Today was no exception.
The security team, two support staff, one stylist, and one makeup artist were all going as well.
Security teams usually traveled in separate cars for any group.
But in Luminous’s case, the additional four staff members also rode in another vehicle.
The van being crowded was something Mujin especially hated.
Honestly, I could understand that.
I also disliked having too many people in the car when heading to broadcasts or events.
But in my case, I had to sing live on stage, so I needed to stay calm and focused.
These girls, on the other hand, would be lip-sync—
Stop.
This is my team.
Even if someone is unpleasant, I should respect them.
That’s professionalism.
* * *
After finishing the event, we returned to the Cheongdam-dong dorm at 4 PM.
My body might have been used to this work, but emotionally I wasn’t adapted to long hours of driving yet.
I felt dazed and exhausted.
We arrived at the venue at noon, waited thirty minutes, went on stage immediately, and left as soon as it ended.
Then straight back to Seoul.
In other words, about six hours of round-trip travel for a five-minute stage and a five-minute guerrilla autograph session.
Originally, there were at least two or three events a day.
But recently, the marketing department had suggested a premium strategy for Luminous.
They tripled the event appearance fee.
Since it hadn’t been long since that change, the number of events had naturally dropped.
However, if they maintained this level of popularity, the event numbers would soon recover—and when they did, the income would jump to several times what it was before.
It was common in management companies to adjust event fees this way based on an artist’s recognition and market value.
It was the same in my time, too.
Honestly, that worked in my favor.
Otherwise, I might have been driving across the country nonstop on my first day.
Looking at last month’s records, there were quite a few days with over 17 hours of driving.
Today’s event was… relatively uneventful.
Aside from Mujin randomly saying we should try a live stage someday, which made Serin blush and the atmosphere turn awkward…
Aside from the short autograph session where a young fan cried loudly after failing to get a signature, and when Serin tried to sign for her, the girl tried to hug her and security stopped her—then the mother came shouting about assault and child abuse and threatened to sue…
Aside from a rival male idol group’s fan club chanting “Get lost! Get lost!” at us several times…
Aside from that…
And that…
And that…
If you remove all that—
It was a peaceful event…???
Ah, whatever.
“I need you back at the company building by five, so please come out by 4:40.”
They already knew, but I reminded them of the next schedule as they got out.
Today’s vocal training.
“Yes.”
As usual, only Serin responded.
But her voice sounded weak.
Probably because she felt heavy about going to vocal training.
Now that I thought about it, I had never actually seen them train.
Well, judging by how Team Leader Kim told me to assist today…
Back in my day, once you became a singer, there wasn’t really anything like this.
People became singers because they were already good at singing.
Training was only occasional—like fixing a small flaw or experimenting with a new style.
Of course, that didn’t mean people didn’t work hard.
But singers who couldn’t sing suddenly becoming good through lessons?
That almost never happened.
Training removed small imperfections; it wasn’t about dissecting everything like classical vocal lessons.
People who needed that level of teaching usually never became singers in the first place.
Suddenly, a modern phrase from Yoon Junghoo’s memories popped into my head.
People nowadays called this kind of talk…
“Back in my day…”
I should be careful.
While thinking about all this, it was soon time to leave again.
The members appeared in simpler outfits.
Kindergarten boarding time.
The fact that such random thoughts crossed my mind meant I still hadn’t fully adapted.
Anyway, like a kindergarten teacher, I stood by the back door watching each member climb in before returning to the driver’s seat.
“Departing.”
We headed back to the Reunion company building for Luminous’s vocal training.
Glancing through the rearview mirror, Serin still looked gloomy.
She must have suffered a lot during these training sessions.
Seeing her dull expression made me want to say something as a senior singer.
But I couldn’t.
Right now, I was Road Manager Yoon Junghoo.
By the way… why don’t these girls talk to each other at all?
It had always been like that in my memories, but experiencing it emotionally now felt suffocating and uncomfortable.
We arrived just before 4:50 PM.
After dropping them off at the entrance and watching them hurry inside, I parked the car.
Then I entered the building with my tired body.
I had been here several times before, including during my job interview—but that was when I was the original Yoon Junghoo.
This was my first visit since the possession.
As expected of the largest entertainment company in the country, with a gap three times larger than the second-place company, the lobby itself was impressive.
A large coffee brand had a store inside.
Comfortable chairs and tables were placed throughout the lobby.
The ceiling soared up like four stories high.
This building clearly hadn’t been purchased later—it had been designed and built from the start specifically for Reunion.
The atmosphere of this perfectly constructed fortress, built over thirty years by the murderer, made my heart feel complicated.
On the 8th floor, I entered the training room.
It was quite spacious.
Two synthesizers and one grand piano stood on one side.
A woman sitting at the piano nodded slightly in greeting.
She was probably today’s accompanist.
The members sat together on one side of the room.
Still not saying a word to each other.
On another set of seats—more comfortable ones likely meant for observers—Team Leader Kim Junho was talking with another man who looked older.
He appeared well over fifty.
Probably someone with a high position in Reunion.
But strangely, his face seemed familiar…
Team Leader Kim noticed me and gestured with his hand.
When I approached, he introduced the man beside him.
“Say hello. It’s your first time meeting him, right? This is Director Choi Ilseon, head of the Music Production Division.”
Wait.
Who did you say?
Choi Ilseon?
No way…
Ilseon?
