LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Yunhwan walked in with confident strides and snatched the documents from the table.
“Why are you doing this without my consent, Team Leader?”
“This was all agreed upon with your parents.”
“Team Leader!”
From the conversation, it seemed this matter hadn’t been fully settled with Yunhwan.
The team leader sighed as if there was no other choice and looked at me.
“I’m not doing this recklessly. Please, sit down and listen. Yunhwan, you too.”
It had turned into a confrontation.
The team leader remained calm, Yunhwan looked upset, and I glared at the team leader. The President was flustered in the middle.
“If you have something to say, please go ahead.”
“First, let me explain this. It’s about the contract terms.”
The reason for the contract termination was essentially summarized as follows:
The solo activities schedule was pushed forward without proper agreement on personal activities at the time of the contract.
Despite longer individual activities, the renewal focused solely on the group.
Hearing this, it was clearly my mistake, so I had no defense. If this was Yunhwan’s opinion, that is.
“Why are you leading this, Team Leader?”
“Hm. This isn’t something to say in front of everyone.”
The team leader pulled something out from the inner pocket of his jacket and placed it on the table.
A familiar envelope. It was the second resignation letter I’d seen since joining this company.
“I plan to move to Newrain and take Yunhwan with me. This has also been accepted by Newrain.”
Had he thought and prepared up to this point without my knowledge?
His confident demeanor made my temples throb.
“Since it’s a subsidiary label, it won’t significantly damage the company’s image.”
From the company’s perspective, maybe, but it was a thought that didn’t consider Monochrome at all.
Moreover, he was speaking only to the President, ignoring me entirely.
“Uh-huh.”
“President.”
The President, caught between the team leader and me, showed an indecisive attitude, unable to take a clear stand.
I called the President in a firm voice.
“Since this concerns Monochrome, please allow me to discuss it with the involved party.”
Fortunately, the President couldn’t treat me harshly, given my position as the representative’s daughter, and responded submissively.
Since I wasn’t making an unreasonable demand, I could leverage my position.
We agreed to discuss this again after thoroughly negotiating with the concerned party.
As I was leaving the President’s office with Yunhwan.
The team leader, with a relaxed expression, patted Yunhwan’s shoulder and returned to the management team.
As if he expected Yunhwan to realize his words were right upon further reflection.
To have a one-on-one discussion, we went down to an empty meeting room.
Yunhwan, holding the document taken from the team leader tightly enough to crumple it, was silent.
“Did you talk to the members?”
Yunhwan shook his head.
Given that he came to the President’s office to retrieve the documents, he probably hadn’t expected this outcome either.
“What’s your opinion?”
“…Honestly, I’m not sure yet.”
He might not have known the details, but he hadn’t expected the team leader to notify him so abruptly.
It was unlikely that the discussions completely excluded him.
The team leader said it was agreed upon with his parents, and Yunhwan was at home when the rumors started spreading.
Come to think of it, it was too public for the team leader, Newrain, and Yunhwan’s parents to have discussed this secretly.
‘…They couldn’t have planned the rumors as well, could they?’
I hoped not, but I couldn’t dismiss the possibility.
Regardless of the reality, it was a situation where spilled water couldn’t be gathered. The public opinion had grown too strong in favor of the withdrawal option.
Whether he left or stayed, there would definitely be noise.
With him feeling confused, it was difficult to persuade or give an opinion on which way to go.
Yunhwan was also a significant victim of Newma, which I had managed.
As complex emotions crossed and silence flowed between us, the meeting room door opened.
With expressions hard to describe, the members of Monochrome entered.
What they saw was me sitting seriously and Yunhwan holding a document envelope.
It was a situation that matched the rumors.
Yunhwan and the members met eyes but couldn’t easily speak first.
The first to break the silence was Jun-hae.
“How could you do this alone? You should have talked to us first…!”
“Jun-hae.”
When Jun-hae raised his voice, Woohyung stepped in to stop him.
Blocked by Woohyung, Jun-hae closed his mouth with a slightly aggrieved expression, and Yunhwan hung his head.
“Everyone, sit down. Let’s talk for a bit.”
I intervened, thinking they might end up just being cautious or fighting for who knows how long.
I sat diagonally from Yunhwan, and the members sat across from him.
It looked like a 4:1 confrontation. Yunhwan, sitting alone, seemed like a sinner.
“Newrain wants to take Yunhwan.”
I began to explain the situation. The members’ eyes widened, not having heard about Newrain.
“Yunhwan’s parents requested the contract termination, and honestly, the company has no grounds to stop it.”
If Yunhwan himself had come forward, we might have already been processing the withdrawal.
It was because Yunhwan was still hesitating that we had time to sort things out.
“And Yunhwan… hasn’t made a decision yet.”
“…Sorry.”
Yunhwan apologized to the members, as if to prove there was nothing wrong with my words.
He wasn’t apologizing for deciding to leave, but for dragging them into this situation.
My job was to bring Monochrome to the top, but it was difficult to hold on to Yunhwan when I understood his position so well.
‘Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn’t have endured this company and would have left already.’
I had eventually given in and left my previous company as if escaping.
The fact that the five members had stuck together until the renewal was a miracle.
“Then… what about Monochrome?”
This time, Han-yi asked me.
Even though the situation wasn’t caused by discord among the members, there had been cases where groups completely fell apart due to such differences in opinion.
“As long as you all don’t want it, Monochrome will continue. I guarantee that.”
I held the decision-making power, and I didn’t want it, and most importantly, the members wouldn’t want it either.
“This issue has become too big already. The company can’t wait too long. Yunhwan, think it over carefully, and we’ll talk again. And you all… think about it too. I can at least hear your opinions.”
The final decision would be Yunhwan’s, but the other members needed time to think as well.
Whether to let him go or persuade him to stay.
That’s how I dismissed the members.
***
Perhaps realizing there wasn’t much time, Woohyung asked to talk with Yunhwan the very next day.
“What about the other members?”
“I decided to speak on their behalf. I thought it would be better than all of us seeing him at once…”
It would indeed be burdensome to face them 4:1 as they did yesterday.
His eyes were dark from lack of sleep. The same was true for Yunhwan.
The same meeting room. Woohyung and Yunhwan sat facing each other, and I sat beside them, acting as a mediator.
“Did the members discuss this properly?”
“Yes.”
“If there’s even one differing opinion, make sure to let me know.”
I told Woohyung, who came as the representative of the members.
He looked straight into my eyes, expressing there was no falsehood, and said,
“All four have the same opinion.”
Then he turned his gaze to Yunhwan.
“Yunhwan.”
Yunhwan also lifted his head to meet Woohyung’s eyes.
“I know that even though you had a hard time, you couldn’t tell us everything. That’s why we also felt sorry. In this situation, if we only think about the group…”
Being part of a group could be helpful, but it also had many constraints.
This was especially true for Yunhwan, whose boundaries between being a member of Monochrome and a solo artist had blurred.
“Is that the path to your happiness?”
“……”
Woohyung and the other members seemed to have been thinking about this for a long time, worrying they might be holding him back.
“If you think it’s better for you than staying here.”
Woohyung slowly and calmly conveyed his and the members’ opinion.
“We respect your choice.”
Yunhwan couldn’t hold back any longer and covered his eyes with his hand, his shoulders trembling slightly, while Woohyung watched him calmly.
‘…In the end, they’re even willing to accept one of us leaving.’
What kind of feelings did they have while having such a conversation?
I looked at Woohyung’s face. He must also feel indescribably bitter.
“We’ve worked as four members before, you know?”
Woohyung said lightly, trying to ease the heavy atmosphere.
He wanted to reassure Yunhwan that the group could still continue even with four members, so he shouldn’t feel too guilty.
Unlike Yunhwan, who couldn’t control his emotions, Woohyung smiled even though he wasn’t making eye contact with him.
To me, it seemed like he was forcing a smile.
“And Jun-hae is sorry for getting angry.”
Only then did Yunhwan look up and make eye contact with Woohyung.
Tears continued to flow from his reddened eyes.
Those tears were a mixture of apology, sorrow, and all the emotions he had suppressed until now.
Why did Woohyung’s self-composed song come to mind in this situation?
The lyrics, which expressed fear of selfishly holding on, resonated deeply.
***
During the contract termination process, Yunhwan stayed at his parents’ house.
Since both the agency, Yunhwan, and the members agreed, everything proceeded smoothly.
Even though it was a choice for his own good, abandoning the members he had been through so much with was the hardest part.
But if someone stood at the crossroads of an uncertain future and a stable one, nine out of ten times, they would make the same choice.
Although Yunhwan had become part of Newrain, he was still with Monochrome’s manager for now.
He needed to pack his things left in the old dorm.
“……”
The path he had traveled countless times with the members, or sometimes alone.
The familiar scenery outside the car window felt strangely new, and Yunhwan couldn’t take his eyes off the window.
Standing in front of the dorm’s front door, complex emotions surged.
When he opened the door, he saw the dark interior with not a single light on.
“The others are either at their parents’ or the company.”
He had worried about how to react if he ran into a member, but seeing the empty dorm made his eyes well up with tears.
Even though it was quite late, they had avoided being there, thinking he might feel uncomfortable.
The manager started packing Yunhwan’s belongings from his room into boxes.
It was the room he had used alone or sometimes shared with the manager when he had morning schedules, so he could pack everything without distinguishing between their things.
Yunhwan began organizing his belongings from the living room or kitchen.
Every action felt heavy as he distinguished between his and the members’ things.
He noticed the empty water bottles collected in a corner of the kitchen for recycling.
The members had always frozen small water bottles for him to reduce morning swelling.
Yunhwan knew how much the members had cared for and accommodated him, who had initially been shy and slow to adapt.
“Yunhwan, have you finished packing?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then let’s go.”
Click.
With the sound of the switch, the room turned dark again, and the traces of one person disappeared from the shared space.
***
[Exclusive contract termination of Chae Yunhwan from Newma Entertainment, “Expecting to show a new side”]
[Former Monochrome member Chae Yunhwan joins Newrain]
[Artist Chae Yunhwan signs with Newrain… Now with Iris]
‘The news is already out on the internet.’
I lay on the living room sofa, scrolling through the portal’s entertainment news page on my phone.
As soon as the withdrawal process was completed, articles started appearing as if they had been waiting.
‘They really planned to poach him.’
Without immediate contact with a familiar reporter, such speed was impossible.
Imagining a bright future with flowers in my head, I was blindsided from an unexpected direction.
I understood that this was a better path for Yunhwan personally, which made it even more difficult.
In this situation, I had nothing to show for except my position within the company.
The main photo on Newma Entertainment’s homepage, which once featured Monochrome’s group photo, was now replaced with a picture of one of the agency’s actors.
‘Even after the new year, they kept Iris’s photo up, but they’re incredibly fast for this.’
I wondered if this was what fans felt when they criticized the agency.
It left a bitter taste. The photo was meant to show a new beginning.
‘Will the group be okay from now on…?’
I thought about the conversation between Woohyung and Yunhwan.
Woohyung had spoken as if they were okay, but…
Now that I think about it, there was one part of their conversation that stuck with me, which I had brushed off at the time due to the serious situation.
[We’ve worked as four members before, you know?]
As far as I knew, Monochrome had never been a four-member group.
Even searching for debut articles showed [5-member boy group ‘Monochrome’ debut].
‘Was there an incident in between?’
It felt like there was something else I couldn’t remember.