The message on his phone glowed with a venomous light.
I know what you did.
Yoo-jin's blood turned to ice. It wasn't a question. It was a verdict. He didn't have to guess who sent it. The rage and betrayal he'd seen in Hana's eyes were now condensed into five simple, devastating words.
The celebratory chatter of his team faded into a dull roar in his ears. Mina was looking at him, her joyful expression faltering as she saw the color drain from his face. "Producer-nim? Is something wrong?"
He forced a smile, a brittle, unconvincing thing. "No. Just a message from Director Park. Paperwork."
[Lie Detected.]
The system's notification was a mocking little whisper in his mind. He shoved his phone into his pocket, the screen burning against his leg. He had to get away, to think.
"Take the van back to the company," he ordered, his voice sharper than he intended. "I need to... stay here and finalize some details with the director's staff. I'll take a taxi."
Before they could argue, he turned and walked away, the lie giving him the space he desperately needed. He found an empty corridor, the silence a welcome relief. He leaned against the cold wall, his mind racing.
Hana knew. She might not know why he did it—the blackmail, TK group, Ji-ho's mother—but she knew he had deliberately torpedoed her song. He hadn't just out-produced her. He had cheated.
To a proud, A-Rank prodigy like Lee Hana, that was an unforgivable sin. She wouldn't just be angry. She would want revenge.
And she was Chairman Moon's daughter. She had the resources and the ruthlessness to burn his entire world to the ground. The scandal-proof producer was about to face the biggest scandal of his life, and it was one of his own making.
He closed his eyes, overwhelmed. Reward: Second Unique Skill is now UNLOCKED.
He had forgotten. In the chaos of the last hour, he had completely forgotten about his prize. A new power. Maybe, just maybe, it was the weapon he needed to survive what was coming.
He focused inward, calling up his status screen.
[Name: Han Yoo-jin]
[Occupation: Producer]
[Potential: SSS-Rank]
[Title: The Midas Hand]
[Unique Skill 1: Star-Maker's Gaze (Lv. 2)]
[Unique Skill 2: Fated Stage (Lv. 1) - UNLOCKED]
Fated Stage. The name sent a shiver down his spine. He focused on the skill, and a description box expanded.
[Fated Stage (Lv. 1): Allows the user to create a pocket dimension, a 'stage,' where a simulated event can be played out. The user can set conditions, introduce variables, and observe the most probable outcomes of a future event. Cost: Drains a significant amount of mental energy per simulation. Current Slots: 1/1]
Yoo-jin's eyes widened. It was a simulation chamber. A crystal ball. A power that let him see the future. Not the future, but the most likely future.
He could test his strategies before he deployed them. He could run a thousand virtual battles before ever stepping on the real battlefield. This was a game-changer. This was the SSS-Rank power he had been missing.
He needed to test it. Now.
He focused on the skill, on the image of Lee Hana. He needed to know what she was going to do next.
[Activate Fated Stage? Y/N]
He thought Yes.
The world dissolved. The sterile white corridor vanished, replaced by an infinite, dark void. He wasn't standing on anything, just floating in a silent, starless space. In front of him, a stage of pure light materialized.
[Set the conditions for the simulation.] a system voice echoed in the void.
"The event is 'Lee Hana's Retaliation'," Yoo-jin spoke, his own voice sounding strange and distant. "The variable is me. How do I survive?"
[Processing... Running simulation 'Confrontation'.]
The stage flickered to life. He saw himself walking into the Starforce office. Hana was there, waiting for him. The rest of the team was gone.
The simulated Hana looked at him, her eyes burning with cold fury. "You cheated," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "You made me look like a fool. You're going to pay for that."
The simulated Yoo-jin tried to explain, to apologize. But she wasn't listening. She pulled out her phone, played a recording. It was his voice, from one of their sessions, deliberately giving her bad advice about her high note. It was undeniable proof.
"I'm sending this to every reporter in Seoul," the simulation of Hana sneered. "By tomorrow, your career will be a smoking crater. And my father will make sure you never work in this city again."
The stage dissolved. The simulation was over.
[Outcome: 98% Probability of Career Annihilation.]
Yoo-jin was back in the corridor, gasping for air, a cold sweat covering his body. The simulation had lasted only seconds, but it left him feeling as if he'd run a marathon. The mental drain was immense.
But the result was clear. Confronting her was suicide. Apologizing was suicide. He couldn't talk his way out of this.
He needed another path. He activated the skill again, the headache intensifying.
[Running simulation 'Evasion'.]
The stage reformed. This time, he saw himself avoiding Hana for days. He blocked her number. He made excuses. The result was even worse. She didn't leak a recording. She went straight to Director Park, feeding his hunger for revenge. A full-scale internal investigation was launched. TK Group, seeing him as a liability, pulled their support. Ji-ho's contract was terminated.
[Outcome: 100% Probability of Total Team Disbandment and Financial Ruin.]
He couldn't run. He couldn't fight. What was left?
He was missing something. Hana wasn't just angry. She was humiliated. She was a queen who had been dethroned by a trick. What did a queen want more than revenge?
Reclaiming her throne.
A new, insane, terrifying idea began to form in his mind. A gamble so reckless it made staking his life on Mina's debut seem like a safe bet.
He activated the 'Fated Stage' one last time, his vision blurring at the edges from the strain.
"New simulation," he gritted out, his head pounding. "The event is 'The Producer's Gambit'."
The stage of light appeared. He saw himself walking not into the office, but to the practice room where he knew Hana would be, channeling her rage into dance. He walked in.
The simulated Hana stopped, turning to him with a look of pure hatred. Before she could speak, the simulated Yoo-jin threw a USB drive at her feet.
"What is this?" she demanded.
"It's my resignation," his simulation said. "And it's a proposal. You're right. I cheated. I sabotaged you. I did it because I was ordered to."
He saw his simulation lay it all bare. TK Group's command. The threat against Ji-ho. Everything. He didn't ask for forgiveness. He offered a deal.
"You want revenge? Fine," the simulated Yoo-jin said, his voice cold and steady. "Destroying me is easy. It's beneath you. A real queen takes back what was stolen from her. The OST title track is gone. But your solo debut album is still on the table."
He took a step closer. "Let me produce it. Let me use every dirty trick, every manipulation, every bit of my power to make your album the single greatest debut of the year. Let me make you so successful that Mina's OST win looks like a footnote. Let's use my sin to build your throne."
The simulated Hana stared at him, her expression a whirlwind of fury, disbelief, and a dawning, predatory cunning.
The simulation ended.
Yoo-jin collapsed against the wall, his nose suddenly bleeding from the intense mental strain. He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, his eyes fixed on the system window floating in his blurry vision.
[Outcome: 55% Probability of Success. 45% Probability of Utter Annihilation.]
It wasn't a guarantee. It was barely better than a coin toss. But it was the only path that didn't lead to certain doom.
He had to turn his greatest enemy into his most important project. He had to offer the queen not his head on a platter, but the keys to the entire kingdom.
He pushed himself off the wall, his legs unsteady. He knew where he had to go. He started walking towards the practice rooms, his heart pounding a frantic, terrifying rhythm against his ribs. The devil's masterpiece had come back to devour him, and his only hope for survival was to offer it a feast.