The system's triple question marks felt like a judgment.
It was a sign that he was no longer playing on a predictable board. He was stepping into chaos, betting everything on a strategy so audacious that not even his clairvoyant skill could map the consequences.
He didn't sleep. He spent the entire night pacing his small office, fueled by cheap coffee and sheer, terrifying adrenaline. He wasn't just drafting a marketing plan; he was writing a new mythology for his team. He fleshed out the 'Sun and Moon' concept, outlining lyrical themes, visual motifs, and a narrative arc that would span two full albums.
By morning, he had a ten-page document that was either the most brilliant idea of his career or a suicide note.
He called the meeting for 10 AM. Not with the whole team. That would be a disaster. He summoned only the key players, the ones whose approval mattered.
The three women filed into the main conference room, a space usually reserved for executives.
Kim Seo-yeon, the marketing genius, arrived first, radiating cheerful, competent energy. She placed her tablet on the table, ready for a fight.
Lee Hana, the uncrowned queen, came next. She moved with a silent, regal grace, her expression a mask of cold neutrality. She sat opposite Seo-yeon, an equal power.
Mina was the last to arrive. She looked small and uncertain in this room of predators, clutching a notebook to her chest like a shield. She chose a seat at the far end of the table, as far from the center of power as possible.
Yoo-jin stood at the head of the table. He looked at the three of them: the storyteller, the queen, and the muse. His entire future depended on convincing these three warring goddesses to call a truce.
"Thank you for coming," he began, his voice calm and steady, betraying none of the chaos raging in his mind. "I've reviewed the preliminary marketing plan for 'Coronation'. It's excellent."
Seo-yeon preened slightly. Hana remained impassive.
"But it has a fatal flaw," Yoo-jin continued, his words dropping into the silent room like stones. "It's built on a foundation of conflict. It positions Hana as the 'real' star and Mina as the 'other'. It will sell albums, yes. But it will tear this team apart in the process. And a fractured team cannot sustain long-term success."
Seo-yeon's smile tightened. "A little friendly competition is healthy, Producer Han. It builds hype."
"This won't be friendly," Yoo-jin countered, his gaze unwavering. "It will be a public war, and the media will be the only winner. We'll be a flash in the pan. A one-hit wonder of a story. I'm not interested in that."
He looked at Hana. "You don't want to beat Mina. You want to dominate the industry. Eclipsing a teammate is a small, petty victory. It's beneath you."
He then turned his gaze to Mina. "And you don't want to succeed at Hana's expense. You want to prove your own worth, on your own terms."
He had them. He had spoken to their core motivations. Now, for the pitch.
"So I am proposing we scrap the current plan," he announced. "And replace it with something bigger. Something no one in this industry has ever attempted before."
He clicked a button on his laptop, and the projector flared to life. On the screen, two simple, elegant logos appeared. One was a stylized, golden sun. The other, a silver crescent moon.
"'Sol & Luna'," he said, the name of the project hanging in the air. "A dual debut. Two full solo albums, released on the same day. One by Hana, one by Mina."
A stunned silence filled the room. Seo-yeon stared at the screen, her marketer's brain visibly whirring, processing the sheer, insane scale of the idea. Mina looked completely overwhelmed.
Hana was the first to speak, her voice dangerously soft. "You want us to share the spotlight? After everything?"
"I don't want you to share it," Yoo-jin corrected. "I want you to own it. Together. Think about the narrative. Not 'Hana versus Mina'. But 'Hana and Mina'. The two faces of a new generation of artists. One represents the blazing, confident power of the sun. The other, the quiet, emotional mystery of the moon."
He clicked to the next slide. It was a complex web of interconnected concepts.
"The albums will be thematically linked," he explained, his voice gaining passion, selling the vision. "Hana's title track will be an anthem of ambition and power. Mina's will be a ballad of introspection and dreams. The music videos will be shot by the same director, telling two sides of the same story. A fan will have to watch both to understand the whole picture."
He was proposing to turn their albums into a puzzle box, a shared universe. He was gamifying their debut.
"We create a fandom that isn't divided," he continued, his pace quickening. "We create a fandom that is compelled to support both artists to get the complete experience. We don't sell one album or the other. We sell the story of Sol & Luna."
Seo-yeon was leaning forward now, her earlier hostility completely gone, replaced by a look of ravenous, intellectual hunger. She wasn't just a marketer; she was a storyteller. And he had just handed her an epic.
"The potential for viral marketing..." she whispered, her eyes wide with possibilities. "Teaser campaigns that hint at the shared narrative. Online forums trying to piece together the lore. It's... it's a content engine."
She had seen the vision. One down. Two to go.
He turned to Hana. This was the real test. He was asking a queen to accept a co-ruler.
"This plan doesn't diminish you, Hana," he said, his voice direct and honest. "It elevates you. You won't just be a solo artist. You'll be the co-founder of a dynasty. Your success will be amplified by Mina's, and hers by yours. You won't be climbing the ladder. You'll be building a new one."
He used his skill, just for a fraction of a second, to read her.
[Name: Lee Hana]
[Emotion: Skepticism, Intrigue, Calculated Ambition]
[Her 'Hype Engine' skill is registering the massive potential of the narrative.]
He had framed it in the only language she truly understood: power and legacy. She was a builder, not just a conqueror.
She was silent for a long, tense minute. "And the resources?" she finally asked, her voice cold and practical. "Does this mean they will be split 50/50?"
It was a test. A test of his loyalty to their secret deal.
"No," Yoo-jin said without hesitation, looking her directly in the eye. "Your album, 'Coronation', will be the sun—the bigger, more explosive, commercially driven release. It gets the bigger budget, the bigger marketing push. Mina's album, 'Nocturne', will be the moon—more artistic, more niche, a critical darling. It supports the narrative, but it doesn't compete for the same commercial space."
He had just reaffirmed her dominance within the new structure. He had kept his promise.
A slow, almost imperceptible nod from Hana. Two down.
Now, only Mina was left. She had been silent the entire time, her face pale. This grand, epic narrative... he had built it without ever consulting her. He had turned her into a character in his story.
He walked to the end of the table and knelt down, so he was at her eye level. The move was unexpected. It broke the corporate tension in the room, making it personal.
"Mina," he said, his voice soft, all traces of the ruthless producer gone. "I know this is a lot. And I know it feels like I'm taking your story and making it part of something else."
He looked at her, and for the first time, he let her see the exhaustion and the pressure he was under. "I am trying to build a fortress where you can be safe to create your art. A place where you don't have to fight anyone but yourself. This story... this is the wall of that fortress. It protects you from the industry, from the media, from the rivals who want to tear you down."
He used his skill. He needed to know what she was thinking, what she was feeling.
[Name: Choi Mina]
[Emotion: Overwhelmed, Afraid, a flicker of Hope]
[Hidden Motivation: She doesn't care about the strategy. She is trying to understand if you still believe in her.]
The system's feedback was a punch to the gut. While he was playing 4D chess, she was just a girl, looking at the person who saved her, terrified that he was about to abandon her for a grander scheme.
"This doesn't change anything that matters," he said, his voice a low, sincere promise. "I still believe your voice is the most precious thing in this company. I still believe you are an SSS-Rank talent. This plan is the only way I know how to make sure the whole world gets to see that, without them tearing you apart in the process."
He held her gaze. "But it only works if you agree. If you don't want this, we won't do it. The choice is yours."
He had given the final, most important vote to the quietest person in the room. He had given her back her power.
Mina looked from Yoo-jin's earnest face, to Hana's cold, waiting expression, to Seo-yeon's eager one. She took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Okay," she whispered, her voice barely audible but firm. "I'll do it."
A collective sigh of relief went through the room. The alliance was forged. The impossible had happened.
But as Yoo-jin stood up, he felt a sudden, sharp headache. It wasn't from the mental strain. It was a new, urgent notification from his system, flashing a violent, crimson red. It was a color he had never seen before.
[WARNING: Major Fate Intervention Detected!]
[The 'Sol & Luna' scenario has created a significant divergence from the predetermined path.]
[New Variable has entered the field: The Oracle.]
Before he could even process what 'The Oracle' meant, his personal phone rang. It was a number he didn't recognize, but it was from an international line. He instinctively answered it.
"Han Yoo-jin?" a woman's voice asked. It was a voice he knew, but had never heard over the phone. A voice that belonged to the peak of the industry.
It was Isabelle Moon, the SSS-Rank leader of Aurora.
"I don't know what game you're playing with my cousin, Hana," Isabelle's voice was as cold and perfect as a diamond. "But I just had the strangest vision. A vision of a sun and a moon, trying to eclipse my stars. I suggest you stop. Immediately."