Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 24 Negotiation and Persuasion

As I returned to reality, I was greeted by a cold atmosphere.

“That crazy bastard ran off again after talking about himself.”

Yi-jun glared at the back of Seong-won, who had closed the door and left his seat.

“Don’t we have to talk more?”

Seon-woo was restless and fidgety.

“What can we do if he says he can’t talk?”

“It’s also hard to change the song… I had a tough conversation with the team leader. They keep pushing for a reggae style that doesn’t suit the season.”

Kyunghwa sighed and ruffled his hair. His slightly curly brown hair was disheveled.

I couldn’t just leave him hanging after I had raised his sense of responsibility with this matter.

I got up from my seat.

“Wait a minute. I’ll go talk to Seong-won and come back.”

Then Seon-woo looked at me with a pitiful eye.

“Will Seong-won hyung open the door?”

If he doesn’t? I’ll have to call a locksmith and break in.

The best way to deal with that guy was to fight fire with fire and go hard on him. Whether he was stuck in his narrow room like a turtle shell or not.

I had to show him that I wouldn’t give in to his stubbornness.

“Just stay here, all three of you. I’ll try to talk to him.”

I calmed my mind and stood in front of the room that Seong-won used alone. I tried to turn the handle, but of course it was locked.

“Seong-won. Let’s talk for a moment.”

“…”

There was no answer from behind the door. I knocked on the door again with the back of my hand.

Is he crying?

No, he wouldn’t. He must have grown up in six years.

“Don’t ignore me. If you don’t answer, I’ll break in and enter.”

Then I heard a faint rustle of the blanket moving inside.

“Do you want to make a scene in front of everyone and embarrass yourself? Do you think I can’t do it?”

From what I had experienced so far, the thing he hated the most was showing his embarrassing side to others.

He was usually arrogant and cocky, living on his own pride. So it was understandable.

He wouldn’t want me to make a fuss or break in and barge in.

“You said you wouldn’t sing that song earlier.”

That’s when I got an answer from behind the door.

“So let’s talk about it. Don’t just say no.”

“I have nothing to say.”

What are you going to do if I do? Sigh. Then I had no choice but to use my trump card.

“You’re bothered by that song because you prepared it for ‘Teenager Singer Star’, right?”

When I whispered through the gap in the door, I heard a startled sound from inside as if he had lit a fire.

“Did the planning team leader tell you that too?”

He seemed to be willing to talk a little bit now. I lightly clicked my tongue and answered.

“No. The others don’t know. So if you don’t want to be found out, open the door.”

Creak-.

The hinge, which had not been properly maintained, rotated with an unpleasant noise. Seong-won glared at me through the narrow gap that opened the door.

“Come in.”

It was time for negotiation and persuasion.

As soon as I stepped into the room, Seong-won slammed the door shut.

There was a strangely damp smell in the room.

It wasn’t unpleasant. There was a faint smell of aqua lingering in the air.

“How did you know?”

Seong-won grabbed my collar right away. As my back hit the wall, a tingling pain spread from my lower back.

‘I didn’t want to find out that my back wasn’t normal like this.’

I clenched my teeth and endured the pain as I answered.

“I know more than that. I know things that you don’t want to tell the other guys.”

It was a bluff. I could dig up anything with the system, but I wasn’t hot-headed enough to waste resources on a kid like this.

“You wanted to be a singer, right? Not an idol.”

Seong-won flinched instead of answering.

He wasn’t a kid.

I couldn’t put up with a grown-up throwing a tantrum.

“You’re on the same boat until this comeback, no matter what the outcome is. Do you think you can do well as a solo after ruining the last group activity?”

My words seemed to ignite a fire in him, and Seong-won twisted my collar again.

Even though I was not inferior in physique.

His hands gripped my collar fiercely, and my feet left the ground.

“So what, are you trying to blackmail me?”

Look at his eyes.

He thinks he can intimidate me with his expression.

But if I was scared here, I wouldn’t have even said that I would break the door. I answered without any hesitation.

“If you follow this activity without any complaints, I’ll get you on ‘Star Discovery’.”

“What?”

His eyes widened at the unexpected word, and his hands loosened.

Thanks to that, I could land on the ground again.

‘Star Discovery’ was a program where unknown singers competed only with their skills, without any rank or badge.

The winner would not only get a prize, but also be invited to various competitions or music programs hosted by the channel.

It was a program that aired only as a special during holidays, so it was famous for its fierce competition.

‘This would be a pretty tempting bait.’

They had already done three seasons, so maybe they were preparing for the fourth one.

Who wouldn’t want to go to a place where popularity and profitability were guaranteed?

‘Well… it’s uncertain if I can actually get it, but if Cheon Soo Group participates as a sponsor, it wouldn’t be hard to squeeze in one person.’

If Cheon Soo Group was difficult, at least Cheon Soo Hotel would help me completely.

If I thought about the usual program casting process, the ‘Star Discovery’ casting would be around early September.

The broadcast was anyway ALL live, so how I would do and come back was… up to me.

I saw Seong-won’s eyes waver at the unexpected offer.

“Think about it. Do you want to live and be forgotten as a nobody after throwing a tantrum and saying you can’t do it here? Or do you want to grab the last chance?”

Ugh, Seong-won felt the sting of my words.

“You want to keep singing, don’t you?”

His hand trembled at the sentence that nailed him.

“Then you should listen to what I say.”

Seong-won avoided my gaze and clenched his teeth.

The first principle of negotiation.

Make the other party clearly recognize the conditions and positions of me and the other party.

Second. Make a clear proposal that implies a penalty if the other party refuses.

And finally…

“Let’s go. We have a lot to do. We have to succeed this time. Everyone knows you’re the kind of person who can do it.”

Ugh, I felt nauseous inside, but I was an adult.

It was nothing to pat the head of a brat who only knew how to say things I didn’t want to hear.

‘Reward and punish the other party’s reaction thoroughly.’

Seong-won had given up his stubbornness, so it was time to feed him a carrot.

I maintained a forced smile and dragged Seong-won to the living room.

The members’ expressions were priceless.

“Seong-won hyung, are you okay?”

Seon-woo hesitated and fidgeted in front of Seong-won. I blocked Seon-woo with one hand and sat Seong-won on the sofa.

“First of all, we don’t have time, so I’ll quickly summarize the things we discussed at the meeting.”

“Uh, uh-huh…”

Yi-jun was also nervous, but I didn’t give him time to turn on the local broadcast.

“We have to do the editing and writing ourselves. The team leader seemed to be very upset because we rejected the song he pushed.”

“What? Where is that? Why do they take a commission if they don’t do anything for us?”

Of course, I thought the same.

“That’s what happened. I think they probably prepared it as a summer song for Floss, but they wanted to recycle it for us after it was overturned.”

“It doesn’t even match the season if it’s summer.”

“Yeah. That’s why we refused. We said we would try our best to prepare ourselves so that we wouldn’t spend extra money on persuasion.”

Kyunghwa didn’t miss the timing and summarized the point well. I looked at Yi-jun without breaking the flow and said,

“So, can I ask you to do the arrangement?”

“Me?”

Why did he look so surprised when he said he could write his own songs?

“I’ve never worked on a commercial song before…”

“Try it this time. It would be good publicity that the members participated in producing. It’s the last time.”

I added a cheat key remark at the end, and Yi-jun nodded slowly.

“Okay. I’ll try it.”

Phew, I took a breath inside and continued.

“Let’s try to solve the lyrics among ourselves for now. I think we should only leave the final review and polishing to the experts. Think of it as a window to say what we want to say to the fans and write it.”

They all looked convinced when I quoted the interview of a producer idol that I saw while browsing the data.

“The last…”

Seon-woo muttered softly, but I didn’t think he needed any consolation.

“Then what about the concept and choreography?”

I quickly pulled Kyunghwa in and answered.

“Kyunghwa and I will do the detailed concept and planning. I’ll find an expert for the choreography.”

If there was money, there was nothing that couldn’t be done.

Oh. There was something that couldn’t be done. Getting popular. I corrected myself silently and checked the members’ expressions.

“If you all understand, I’ll send you the files, so organize the images or lyrics that come to mind. Kyunghwa, let’s start the meeting again with me.”

“Yeah, do you want to go to the dining table? It would be better to use a laptop and take notes there.”

“Okay. I’ll send the sound file to the chat room first and move it over there.”

The roles that each of us had to do were divided, and it felt like I could see the way.

Seong-won still seemed unhappy, but…

I’ll have to talk to him again later. I succeeded in getting his cooperation for now.

“What should I do?”

Seong-won went back to his room.

Yi-jun said he would try it lightly and went into the room with the computer.

Seon-woo, who was left alone in the living room, looked at me awkwardly and didn’t know what to do.

“You listen to the sound and organize the keywords or lyrics that you think would suit it.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Seon-woo nodded his head desperately.

I had given them homework, so I had to work hard to set the direction as soon as possible.

“Let’s start.”

Kyunghwa had already set up his laptop on the dining table, and I felt my head clearing up.

“You. You’re really reliable today.”

Kyunghwa looked at the laptop and me alternately and smiled lightly.

Of course. How much experience did I have as a businessman, rolling and winning.

“Don’t make a cheap sound and focus. We have to get the results quickly so that the company can see that they’re going to show something this time.”

I didn’t know, but another sharp sentence popped out, but it didn’t matter.

[Time left until the test ends (contract expires): 161 days]

The real journey to survive as an idol had just begun.