The ghost of his power lingered in the air, a tantalizing scent only the vampire could smell.
Director Yoon was distracted. His focus, once a laser beam aimed at Mina, was now fractured. He kept glancing at Yoo-jin, then around the room, as if trying to pinpoint the source of a sound only he could hear. The hunt for Mina's potential had been derailed by the hunt for a far greater prize.
This was Yoo-jin's chance.
"That's it," Yoo-jin announced, his voice sharp and decisive, cutting through the director's daze. "We're done for the day. Her voice is getting tired."
He didn't wait for permission. He gave Mina a firm nod through the glass, a clear signal that the performance was over.
Yoon blinked, snapping back to the present. He looked at the clock. They had only been recording for an hour. "We're not done. I need more."
"You have five perfect takes," Yoo-jin countered, his voice unyielding. He was no longer the cautious producer. He was the protector. "Any more and you'll be getting diminishing returns. My artist needs to rest. We'll be back on Friday."
He was dictating the terms now. He was setting the schedule.
A complex series of emotions played across the director's face: frustration, thwarted hunger, and a new, grudging respect. Yoo-jin wasn't just a manager; he was a gatekeeper. And he was guarding something Yoon desperately wanted.
"Friday," the director finally bit out, the word a concession. "Don't be late."
Yoo-jin guided Mina out of the studio, feeling the director's obsessive gaze on his back. He had won the battle. He had protected Mina and taken control of the sessions.
But as they walked out into the bright, indifferent sunlight, he knew he had only escalated the war. He had painted a giant, glowing target on himself.
Back at the office, an uneasy peace had settled.
Hana and Ji-ho were deep in the creative zone, their shared workspace littered with empty coffee cups and scribbled sheets of music. They were crafting the centerpiece of her album, a powerful, cinematic ballad. The sound of it, a complex tapestry of ambition and vulnerability, bled faintly through the studio door.
Mina, exhausted but not broken, was curled up on the lounge sofa with Eun-bi. They were quietly going over lyrical ideas for her own album, the one Yoo-jin was secretly slow-walking.
He watched his strange, fractured family. Two distinct camps, orbiting the same sun. It was a fragile, dangerous ecosystem, and he was the zookeeper, desperately trying to keep the lions from eating the gazelles.
His burner phone vibrated. A message from Ghost.
Nice move in the studio. Jamming his radar and feeding him a ghost signal? Ballsy. You learn fast.
Followed by another message.
But you've got a new problem. Your little misdirection play with Director Park? It worked too well.
Yoo-jin frowned. What do you mean?
Park is 100% convinced Hana's album is the next big thing. He's been bragging to the board. He just pulled the lead marketer from Starforce's main boy group and reassigned her to 'Coronation'. Full time.
Yoo-jin felt a pit form in his stomach. This was an unexpected complication. He had wanted Park to take ownership, not to actually be competent about it.
The office door swung open, and the problem walked in.
A woman in her early thirties, dressed in a razor-sharp power suit, strode into the room as if she owned it. Her eyes were sharp, her smile sharper. She exuded an aura of relentless, cheerful competence.
Yoo-jin recognized her immediately. Seo-yeon. Starforce's A-Rank marketing genius. The woman who had made their mediocre flagship boy group, Blue Canyon, a household name through sheer strategic brilliance.
"Han Yoo-jin!" she said, her voice bright and loud. "I'm Kim Seo-yeon. Director Park has just made me the new head of marketing for the 'Coronation' project. It's a pleasure to finally be working with you!"
She was a shark, and she was smiling at him.
He had to use his skill. He needed to know what he was dealing with.
[Name: Kim Seo-yeon]
[Occupation: Marketing Director]
[Potential: A-Rank]
[Title: The Narrative Weaver]
[Unique Skill: Hype Engine (Lv. 8) - Possesses an intuitive grasp of public opinion and media trends. Can create and amplify viral narratives with stunning efficiency.]
She was a female version of himself, but on the marketing side. A master manipulator of stories. And Director Park had just sicced her on his project. On Hana's project.
Seo-yeon's eyes swept the room, taking in the two distinct camps. "So! Exciting times! Director Park has given me a massive budget and full creative control on the promotional side. I've already drafted a preliminary three-month rollout plan."
She clapped her hands together. "Phase one is what I'm calling 'The Uncrowned Queen'. We'll leak strategic 'insider' information about how Hana was the real star of the showcase, a genius whose artistry was too complex for a simple competition. We'll build a cult following of fans who feel they're in on a secret."
She was brilliant. And she was a disaster.
Her strategy was designed to elevate Hana by implicitly tearing Mina down. It would shatter the fragile peace of the team and turn their internal rivalry into a public bloodsport. It was the exact opposite of his own delicate balancing act.
"That's a very aggressive strategy, Seo-yeon-ssi," Yoo-jin said, his voice carefully neutral.
"Aggressive wins," she countered with a winning smile. "And my job is to make Lee Hana the biggest solo artist of the year. I plan to do my job very, very well."
She was a bulldog. A force of nature that Director Park had unwittingly unleashed on his carefully constructed fortress of lies.
Hana emerged from the studio, drawn by the noise. She and Seo-yeon looked at each other, two queens from different courts sizing each other up.
"Lee Hana-ssi," Seo-yeon said, her smile widening. "I'm your new secret weapon. Together, we are going to make you an icon."
Hana, who valued competence above all else, gave a slow, approving nod. "I look forward to it."
Yoo-jin was losing control. His plan to have Director Park neglect Hana's project had backfired spectacularly. Now, it had the company's best marketer, a massive budget, and full institutional support.
His carefully balanced scales were about to tip catastrophically.
Later that night, the office was finally empty. Yoo-jin sat at his desk, staring at the wall. The problem was clear. Seo-yeon's marketing plan would create a supernova. Hana's debut would be so massive, so all-consuming, that Mina's would be completely overshadowed, regardless of the OST's success.
It violated his deal with TK Group, who wanted Mina to be the flagship star. It violated his own conscience, which demanded he protect the girl he'd bet his life on.
But fighting Seo-yeon openly was impossible. She had Park's backing. Blocking her would expose his own game to Hana.
He was checkmated.
He closed his eyes, activating 'Fated Stage'. The mental drain was a familiar headache now. The dark, void-like space materialized around him.
[Set the conditions for the simulation.]
"The event is 'Hana's Debut Marketing'," he said. "The variable is Kim Seo-yeon's proposed plan. Show me the outcome."
The stage of light flickered to life. He saw news headlines. THE UNCROWNED QUEEN: LEE HANA'S DEBUT SHATTERS RECORDS. He saw online forums, Mina's fans fighting bitterly with Hana's new, rabid fanbase. He saw a simulated TV interview where Mina was asked if she felt her own success was being "eclipsed" by her teammate. He saw her face crumble.
The stage dissolved.
[Outcome: 95% Probability of Hana's overwhelming success. 88% Probability of Mina's career momentum being permanently stalled. 70% Probability of irreparable team fracture.]
He couldn't let it happen. He had to change the narrative. But how?
He thought about Seo-yeon's skill. 'Hype Engine'. She created stories. He couldn't fight her story head-on. So he had to give her a better one. A bigger one.
A new, terrifyingly audacious plan began to form. It was a lie of such epic proportions that it would make everything else he'd done look like a childish prank.
He activated the simulation again, his head pounding. "New simulation. 'The Double-Edged Sword'."
The stage reformed. He saw himself walking into Seo-yeon's new office.
"Your plan is good," the simulated Yoo-jin said. "But it's too small. You're trying to make Hana a star. I'm proposing we make them a dynasty."
The simulated Seo-yeon looked intrigued.
"Don't market them as rivals," his simulation continued, his voice low and magnetic. "Market them as two sides of the same coin. The Sun and the Moon. The Light and the Shadow. Don't sell one album. Sell a shared universe."
He laid it all out. A dual debut. Two albums, released on the same day, with interconnected concepts, music videos that told a single story from two different perspectives. He was proposing to take the rivalry that was tearing his team apart and turn it into the single greatest marketing hook of the year.
The simulation ended. He was back in his office, gasping, the room spinning violently. The strain was immense. But he had to see the result.
[Outcome: ???]
The system couldn't calculate it. The variables were too complex, the potential outcomes too vast. It was a complete unknown. A leap of faith into the abyss.
He had just found his new strategy. It was a plan that would either make his team legendary or tear them apart in a spectacular, public explosion.
And he had to sell it to two rival queens, a cynical marketing genius, and his own fractured, unsuspecting team.