Chapter 79 – The Tale of the Duke of Zhou

“Brother!”

You must be busy at this time.
For some reason, I got a call from Miso at work.

“Uh. Why are you smiling?”
“That, my boss wants to meet with my brother.”
“Uh?”

If Miso is the boss, is the agency boss?
Why is the agency president me?
Because of that then?

“No way, did you tell me?”

My voice naturally diminished.

“No? The boss apologized for the last time and has something else to ask of you.”
“Last time?”
『You know when my brother collapsed.』
“Ah. That’s fine.”

At that time, the boss shouting at Miso had an effect on my collapse, but it would be difficult to say that it was the president’s fault.
Rather, isn’t it right for me to apologize for causing a commotion?

“Looks like you have something else to ask of me. I heard it was a business request.”
“That’s even weirder. The boss has something to talk about business with me.”
“Brother, you don’t have to worry. Our boss is a good person even if he looks like a bandit. Really.”

Hmm.
It’s okay to say a smile like this, right?
Should I catch it?
I can’t believe it because I don’t know who the boss is, but I believe in smiles.
If it was a story that would damage me, the smile wouldn’t have contacted me.

“Okay. When and where can I go?”

* * *

CEO Choi Dae-seung of D.S. Entertainment.
He is a tycoon that everyone in the entertainment industry knows.

She is also a former singer and started an agency, but as a singer, her ability to produce idols is more recognized than her ability.
In addition to Spring, which Miso belongs to, there are many prominent idol groups as singers.
He is a talented person who has grown the company named after himself into one of the top 3 agencies in Korea.

What on earth would a person like this have to say about business with an ordinary person like me?
As the sooner the better, I immediately made an appointment that afternoon.
I was nervous and arrived 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled time, but CEO Choi Dae-seung was already waiting for me.

“Hello. It’s Jinseonhu.”

The venue is the executive floor lounge of a famous hotel. EFL for short.
At most, I thought I would be called out to somewhere in my agency, but I made reservations for places like this.
What are you really talking about?

“Hello. D.S is the biggest win.”

A man twice my age bows down to say hello.
I was embarrassed too, so I bowed my head.

“I’m sorry about what happened last time. I started getting angry at Miso without even recognizing her properly.”
“No, it’s only natural to scold an idol when they deviate. Rather, I was relieved to see that he took good care of our smile.”

It’s me, but it’s good that these things come out like this.
Since when did I speak so well?

“Sit down first. Do you drink?”
“No. I can drink water.”

You’re a strangely polite person.
It’s natural when you do this kind of work, but it’s very awkward for me who don’t have social experience.

“To be honest, Jin Seon-hoo, don’t you want to join our agency?”
“Me?”

I thought it would be a story related to Miso, but it was a recruitment offer.
Me? Why?

“I don’t think I can work as an idol.”

I can neither sing nor dance. How about a piano? That’s not enough to become a pro.
I’m old and I don’t know how to do anything.
What kind of idol am I?

“Our company also fosters Internet broadcasters such as YouTube, even if they are not idols.”
“Ah.”

Is it an internet broadcast?
If it’s something like that, you can do it without pianist-level skills, but isn’t that what a comprehensive ability is required for?
I don’t think I can do well.

“Well, rather than doing something, there is something like profit distribution when collaborating with spring members like this. Rather than continuously asking for free, if we have a contract that pays a certain amount, it’s easier to ask for it.”

Hmm. Is it like that?
If it’s me, I don’t care if it’s helpful to Miso, even for free. In the first place, it is not the ability to pay and play.

However, there is a charm that comes with financial income.
Because I can’t live forever receiving pocket money from my mom or sister.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it well, but wouldn’t it be a really rare opportunity to get an offer from such a large agency?

“… I’m sorry, but it’s hard for me to tell you. May I discuss it with your mother and give you an answer?”
“Mother. Are you actress Im Im-hye?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… Your mother will probably be against it.”

I think so too.
In fact, there was also a place where I brought up the story of my mother in order to refuse.

Obviously this is a big opportunity for me.
But it was so strange.
A big agency like this is trying to recruit me on purpose.
Amateurs like me.
What do you guys really want?
Smile? Mom? Sister?
If you don’t tell me the truth, I can’t accept it either.

“Hmm…”

CEO Choi Dae-seung tapped the table while thinking deeply about something.
And, having made up his mind, he opened his mouth.

“Mr.
“? No.”
“I guess so. It’s an old story that comes down to our hometown countryside.”
“Yes?”

What is it, all of a sudden?

“A story about a man with the surname Zhu plucking a feather from a Duke and attaching it to himself and being cursed by the Duke.”
“Yes?”

Suddenly, CEO Choi Dae-seung started talking about the old days.
Pluck feathers? Duke’s Curse?
Maybe I’m making a very stupid face right now.

“I will tell you from the beginning. It’s a bit long.”

The protagonist of this story, a man with the surname Zhou, was a very ugly man.
Naturally, Mr. Zhu was hated by women.
Mr. Zhu prayed to the mountain spirit.
To be loved by a woman
The mountain god answered.
『If you pluck a Duke feather and put it on your body, you will be loved by women.』
Mr. Zhu was excited and caught the duke.
He plucked the feathers alive and attached them to his body.
The fur plucked Duke cursed Mr. Zhu.
『You and your offspring will be loved by all women』
That was the duke’s curse.

“…”

Why do I come all this way to hear about this?
Who am I? Where am I?

“So the boss says, I am a descendant of the Zhou man from that tale?”
“… In my hometown, a boy who dies young has been called ‘The Duke of Zhou’ since ancient times. Do you know why?”
“…”
“A man who is loved by all women, in the eyes of other men, is just an enemy that should not exist in the world. To be loved by all women means to be hated by all men. That’s why it’s called the ‘Duke’s Curse’, not the ‘Duke’s Blessing’.”
“…”
“The lions that lead the pack do not tolerate the presence of males who threaten their status. Even if it is their own baby, they will bite and kill it.”
“… Excuse me.”
“People aren’t like that. People are rational and protected by the law. However, it is a curse that makes you forget even that reason and law.”

Scary.
His words seemed to be pointing at me.
I’m afraid that my life can be explained with just one word: a curse.

Father who abused me.
My stepfather, who hated me to the point of trembling.
Stepmother who loved me
Smiles, sisters, women who have been nice to me.
And the men who sent me hostility.

I thought all of that could be explained in one word, curse.
I was scared to hear that the love my mother gave me was actually because of a curse.

“So, if there really is such a thing as the duke’s curse, how does it make you fall in love with a woman?”
“… Yes?”
“Excellent looks, smart brains, excellent athleticism. However, that alone cannot satisfy the condition of being loved by all women. Then there is something unscientific about it.”

Smart.
I knock on the table as if trying to catch my wandering concentration.

“Do you know who is the most popular member of Spring?”
“Oh, isn’t it Sae-ah? Leader Seah.”

Sae Ah is Spring’s eldest sister and is the center of the group.
Both by her looks and by her skills, Bonacea must be the most superior human being in the group.
But suddenly, why spring?

“It is a smile. Jin Seon-hoo’s younger brother, Jin Mi-so.”

A smile?
Was Mi-so more popular than Sae-ah?

“We also had doubts. Why Miso is the most popular in spring. Originally, Spring was going to form a group with the remaining three members without Miso.”

That was the first time I’d heard of it.

“She should have already dropped it originally, but strangely the smile didn’t fall. During her trainee days, her skills were inferior to the other members, and she didn’t work harder than the others either. She wasn’t even desperate.”

Ugh
I hear the curse of a smile, but there is nothing to refute.
It’s because I know best that Miso didn’t work harder than the other members of her group.

“Still, Miso made her debut. Unexpectedly, she changed a group of three to a group of four. Do you know why?”
“… I don’t know.”

In response to my answer, CEO Choi Dae-seung said haha! And smiled coolly.

“We don’t know! Why did you debut a smile! Why didn’t she drop it! To put it bluntly, she was like ‘somehow I didn’t want to drop it’!”

… What the hell is this guy trying to say?

“But what about her debut? Her smile is still lazy, she’s not eager, she’s just trying to get away, but she’s still the most popular! Why?”
“Yeah, isn’t it because she has a charm to herself?”
“That’s luck!”

CEO Choi Dae-seung snapped his fingers and said.

“Do you know what is the most important thing in the entertainment industry? That’s luck! No matter how good your skills are, no matter how pretty and handsome you are, if you’re not lucky, you won’t be popular. Conversely, if you have luck, you will float no matter how short you are.”

I frowned at the president’s words.
A smile is lacking, but all I hear is that she was lucky to float.
Doesn’t that mean she’s denying her own work?

“In that sense, Smile was born with heavenly luck. Luck here is not just the luck of picking up coins on the road. It is a huge energy that moves the universe.”

For some reason, I felt like I was talking to the drug dealer rather than the company representative.

“It was a question. Why is the energy of the universe supporting Jinmi-so and not Han Se-ah?”

Huh? Our Han Se-ah?

“Something that Han Se-ah doesn’t have and Jinmiso has. And Jin So-young and Im Im-hye also have it.”

CEO Max Seung pointed at me with his finger.

“This is you, Jin Seon-hoo.”

After a long talk, he sighed heavily.
Then, as if his throat was dry, he drank a gulp of water.

And I couldn’t even touch the glass.