Cherry Blossom Today (3)
When Woo Yeon-Hee finished her brief story, I was absolutely stunned.
'I can't believe that the person who stomped on their confidence is from our own company.'
"So, Chief Park Han-Cheol from Division 1 told you guys to know your place just because you lacked popularity? No way! Why would he speak that way to the singers from Division 2 when he works in Division1?"
Yang Eun-Bi, who had been quietly listening to Woo Yeon-Hee's story, complained with a bitter expression.
"I mean, he's not entirely wrong. In the entertainment industry, you are considered worthless if you aren't popular. We didn't speak up as we didn't want to cause bad rumors about Hoop Entertainment and implicate Golden Road sunbae-nim."
At that moment, my earlier suspicions were confirmed—those who weren't part of the Suhyaejong line in Hoop Entertainment were being trampled on.
'Is Kang Ji-Yung unaware of this? Doesn't Kang Gam-Chan know about this situation, especially given his 30-year career in the industry?'
But I couldn't confront them directly because I had no idea what either of them were thinking.
However, I couldn't sit back and do nothing about it when I know about this now.
"You haven't told Mr. Han this, have you?"
Woo Yeon-Hee shook her head.
"I thought…if I told him, Mr. Han might go to Division 1 to confront Mr. Park immediately, considering his temper. You know how he is. Once he's enraged, there's no holding him back."
Sae-Ri sat next to Woo Yeon-Hee and added as she clenched her fist tightly.
"That's why we decided to wait till we become popular and then get back at him! But…"
I quickly picked up where Sae-Ri left off and continued.
"But you couldn't get back at him because you couldn't get popular?"
"Yes, that's it!"
Sae-Ri exclaimed with a bright expression and clapped her hands. Sae-Ri said she was angry and wanted to speak up, yet she had no choice but to hold back because of Woo Yeon-Hee and the others. She was concerned that she might come off as insolent as she was the youngest of the group, and this in turn would reflect badly on the entire group.
'Well done, Kim Sae-Ri.''
Once she started speaking, she poured out all the past grievances.
I felt a surge of anger building up within me. Talent agents and agencies were supposed to help these celebrities gain popularity or at least make money. Instead, they made such terrible comments that hurt the morale of the idols of their own company.
'Those…damn bastards.'
I felt my heart rate increasing rapidly, but I suppressed my emotions and stepped away from the door.
Then, I looked at the girls and opened my mouth.
"Thanks for letting me know. It gave me much more clarity on what to do. But you should have told us about it earlier. I'll discuss it with Mr. Han and make sure he doesn't lose his temper. It seems like he's been overeating because of stress…He's been really worried about you guys."
"Um…he recently lost about 10 kg…"
'Oh, well that was a slip of the tongue.'
"Ahem. Is that so? Just pretend you didn't hear what I said."
"Hehe, okay."
'I did wonder if he had slimmed down a bit before, and I now suppose he actually did.'
Woo Yeon-Hee tilted her head and said she felt comfortable confiding in me for some reason.
"Thank you. I mean it."
I felt a warm flutter in my heart.
Cherry Blossom cleared their throat awkwardly and smiled.
"We should be the ones thanking you. Thank you for listening. And we'll talk to Mr. Han about it ourselves. You're right, oppa. We should've told him earlier."
Woo Yeon-Hee tilted her head and said she felt comfortable confiding in me for some reason.
"Thank you. I mean it."
I felt a warm flutter in my heart.
Cherry Blossom cleared their throat awkwardly and smiled.
"We should be the ones thanking you. Thank you for listening. And we'll talk to Mr. Han about it ourselves. You're right, oppa. We should've told him earlier."
Woo Yeon-Hee seemed relieved.
"...Thank you…Yoon-Ho oppa."
This time, Sae-Ri thanked me sincerely without cracking any jokes.
"No problem. But make sure you contact me if it looks like Mr. Han is about to lose his temper, okay?"
All four members of Cherry Blossom nodded.
But perhaps it was the anger that had cleared my mind, a strategy to appeal to PD Choi Eun-Hyuk suddenly formed in my thoughts.
"Wait. Before we greet the sunbae idols in their waiting rooms, shall we warm up a bit?"
"Huh? What do you mean by warm up?"
"You know that song 'Bling Bling' by Petite More. Can you dance to that? Every idol is covering 'Bling Bling' these days, aren't they?"
Sae-Ri quickly raised her hand and nodded.
"Yes. I can totally dance to that song."
'Nice, Sae-Ri! I'm so proud of you. Though being able to dance to the most popular song by another group is not something to boast about when she always messes up her own choreography…'
But Woo Yeon-Hee tilted her head in wonder, unsure of my request for them to dance to Petite More's song.
At that moment, Yang Eun-Bi spoke up.
"Yoon-Ho oppa. You're planning to film it for our promotion, aren't you?"
'Wow. She's sharp….although it might not be the promotion she's thinking of.'
"Yes. I want to film a video of you all for some promotion."
Only then did Woo Yeon-Hee nod in agreement, prompting the other members to do so as well.
Woo Yeon-Hee was indeed the leader of the group.
"Alright. Just a moment."
"Okay."
I searched for the accompanying background music on MeTube and began to prepare to take a video.
While the other members waited for me to set up, Kim Sae-Ri sang and danced continuously, unable to contain her excitement.
"Sae-Ri. Stay still for just a moment."
"Bling Bling~."
Despite Woo Yeon-Hee's nagging, Sae-Ri kept singing 'Bling Bling' and moved her body. Eun-Ah also snapped her fingers to the beat, getting caught up in the mood.
"Alright. I've finished setting up. Let's take a video."
"Kim Sae-Ri. Stop dancing by yourself and come over here. We need to get the formation right for the video."
"Yes, Mom."
Sae-Ri stopped dancing and walked briskly to stand on the right of Woo Yeon-Hee, while Yang Eun-Bi took her place on the left.
"Eun-Ah. Come here."
The hesitant Eun-Ah also moved to her designated position.
This was the starting formation for 'Bling Bling'.
"Okay. We're all set. Shall we begin?"
"Let's go!"
I played the music accompaniment of 'Bling Bling' on my Galaxia Note 10 and started recording. Taking their positions, Cherry Blossom began to dance.
But as soon as the girls started dancing, my eyes widened.
'What is this? Did Sae-Ri just spin twice in front of my eyes?'
I couldn't believe that Sae-Ri, known for being clumsy, could dance this well. She even danced better to 'Bling Bling' than 'Pretty Pretty', a song from Cherry Blossom's second album. The way she bopped her head to the beat at the perfect timing was like watching art in motion.
And then came the highlight of the choreography where there were rapid hand and foot movements.
"Bling~Bling~ When I see you, my heart flutters~."
I was at a loss for words.
'Their dance is perfectly in sync.'
There was no better way to describe it.