Conditions for Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader

After sending the Zero One members and the lower-level employees back to their respective places, only a few people remained in the conference room: the CEO, the head of the A&R department, a choreographer, and a producer.

These were the key players who had been with DD Entertainment since it was a very small company.

CEO Kwon Daedo scratched his forehead and let out a low hum.

“Hmm… It’s definitely different from usual.”

“It is. But it’s not a bad thing, is it?”

“Not at all. It’s much better. Director Nam, you know. This is the first time I’ve seen Gyeo Yeong-in talk that much without cameras around.”

“I’m sure you’re not the only one who thinks so, sir.”

Director Nam Ki-hyuk, who had given the presentation, quietly agreed, and choreographer Hwang Nabi quickly chimed in.

“That’s right! I was so surprised I almost fainted when Young-in said he wanted to try making their own music. Isn’t it the first time he’s ever directly expressed his opinion?”

“You have no idea how shocked I was when Manager Do came and said Gyeo Yeong-in wasn’t answering his phone.”

Kwon Daedo recalled the flustered face of Zero One’s manager, who had been showing his phone screen in a panic. Missing a call wasn’t usually a big deal.

But if it was Gyeo Yeong-in, it was a different story.

“It’s not a big deal, but hearing it did surprise me.”

“Our Double D’s Kant woke up 30 minutes late. Of course, it’s shocking. Since his debut, unless he stayed up all night practicing, he’s always woken up at 4 AM and clocked in at 4:20 AM. Right?”

“It was as if a revolution had taken place inside him.”

Kwon Daedo muttered to himself, twirling his pen.

Nam Ki-hyuk gave Kwon Daedo a pointed look at his restless behavior.

“Manager Do was worried he had collapsed and was about to call an ambulance.”

“If I hadn’t given him the task, he would’ve run straight to the dorm the moment he saw the missed call.”

“Really? Young-in always showed up to the practice room on time, even when he was sick.”

In response to Kwon Daedo’s joke, choreographer Hwang Nabi asked, not taking it as a simple joke since she had seen Gyeo Yeong-in since his trainee days.

“Young-in has always been diligent.”

Hwang Nabi still vividly remembered the eyes of the young Gyeo Yeong-in who had come with Kang Bada.

Back then, his expression looked so unmotivated that she thought he would give up in no time.

“Phew~ don’t mention it. At least he has the looks, talent, and skills. What would we have done if he had worked so hard and only had diligence without anything else?”

It was a harsh truth. In the entertainment industry, where people rise and fall overnight, having talent is an incredible blessing.

Though Gyeo Yeong-in’s talent was built on countless failures.

“And what else? That kid… usually…”

Kwon Daedo groaned, trying to find the right word.

To others, Gyeo Yeong-in seemed like someone who just did what he was told without complaints, an obedient image.

But those who had been close to Gyeo Yeong-in for a long time knew that wasn’t all there was to him.

Gyeo Yeong-in was someone whose actions always had a subtle sense of incongruity.

It didn’t mean he was being insincere or bad.

It wasn’t obvious enough to be considered contrived, but you could say he sometimes seemed like an empty shell.

Nam Ki-hyuk, listening to Kwon Daedo, casually remarked,

“He does seem strangely lifeless.”

“Exactly! He lacks vigor.”

“But he doesn’t seem completely unmotivated.”

“You never know. Even if you ask him, he always says he’s fine. He always looks strangely withered.”

“That’s true, but…”

Choreographer Hwang Nabi joined the conversation with a concerned tone.

“Was it the right decision to make Young-in the leader?”

“It’s too late now.”

Kwon Daedo leaned back in his chair, speaking indifferently.

“And purely based on ability, Gyeo Yeong-in is the best. He’s a genius.”

Kwon Dae-do recalled the day he first met Gyeo Young-in together with Kang Ba-da, who was now the team leader.

He looked mature for his age, and his skills were even more impressive.

Singing, dancing.

His innate sense was exceptional, not just using the songs and dances given to him but instinctively listening, moving, and creating.

Initially, they had debated which direction to push him in.

He did everything perfectly, so they were amazed.

It made Kwon Daedo think about the unfairness of the world, but as an artist of his company, it was a blessing.

‘It was a good decision to increase Kang Bada’s team leader incentive.’

“Finding someone talented in various fields is hard.”

“I know. Who has seen Young-in sing and dance up close more than me? But being a leader isn’t just about those skills. That’s why I’m worried.”

Hwang Nabi didn’t think Gyeo Yeong-in couldn’t fulfill the leader role. He just didn’t seem to want it.

“In terms of leadership and social skills, Cheon Sa-yoon is much better.”

A leader needs to take care of the members and constantly communicate with the company, acting as a bridge between the members and the company.

Considering these aspects, Nam Ki-hyuk thought Cheon Sa-yoon was more suitable for the leader role.

If Kwon Daedo hadn’t pushed for it, Cheon Sa-yoon might have become the leader of Zero One.

“Don’t you think so too, Director? Young-in has been indifferent to his surroundings since he was young…”

Nam Ki-hyuk preferred Cheon Sa-yoon for the company communication aspect but didn’t bother to correct Hwang Nabi’s misunderstanding.

It wasn’t wrong and somewhat resonated with him.

“Anyway, it’s still a mystery how he became friends with Jae-ho and brought Sebin along…”

“Gyeo Yeong-in has a knack for gathering people.”

Kwon Daedo agreed with Hwang Nabi’s lighthearted remarks.

Not all of them were recruited this way, but a few were.

He didn’t know the details, but he figured they must have discussed something among themselves.

“That’s true. They’re all diligent, making it rewarding to teach them!”

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean it translates to leadership.”

“Oh, what can we do now that he’s already the leader? Back out now? He’ll manage. Besides, they’re not difficult to handle. No more talk! End of discussion!”

Nam Ki-hyuk sighed at Kwon Daedo’s attitude.

It seemed Kwon Daedo had started to get tired of the conversation, cutting off any talk he found annoying, which was very much in character for him.

After all, this wasn’t the most pressing issue at the moment.

‘Since I can see Kang Bada’s attachment, I can’t just ignore it.’

Damn it… I was the only one who tried so hard to persuade them.

Whether intentional or not, Gyeo Yeong-in’s subtle change from before successfully turned Kwon Daedo’s decision around.

Director Nam Ki-hyuk shook the project proposal lightly to confirm.

“Yes. Then we’ll proceed as originally planned.”

“Yeah, that’s right. He said he wanted to try it himself for the first time. It’s not a difficult task, and they finally get to express their own stories through their music. Of course, we should listen to them. In the end, he did speak up. Honestly, I was worried no one would ever say such things until their contract ended. I kept wondering when they’d finally say they wanted to create their own music.”

“Great! Great! I don’t need to spoon-feed them anymore. Hahaha!”

Kwon Daedo laughed heartily, looking relieved.

“Why didn’t you just say what you wanted from the beginning?”

“That’s different! Is it the same when someone is forced to do something versus when they do it themselves?”

Kwon Daedo, pounding the table with his fist, passionately argued.

Director Nam Ki-hyuk knew what Kwon Daedo meant, so he didn’t add any more comments.

“Oh, Jae-ho, that’s a relief. You must have been a bit anxious, huh?”

Producer Baek Gun, from Double D Entertainment, commented playfully.

In fact, the reason the song came out first was that Baek Gun had accidentally discovered a song previously worked on by Pyo Jae-ho.

Seeing the potential in the incomplete song, Baek Gun persuaded Pyo Jae-ho to present it to the CEO and turn it into a final product.

“I was honestly quite anxious earlier. If it hadn’t ended like this, we would’ve pushed forward according to our plan. If the CEO’s exciting music had that kind of atmosphere, Jae-ho probably would’ve insisted on using his own music and not others.”

“Jae-ho is quite uncompromising when it comes to his music.”

“That’s right? Anyway, he’s pretty capable for his age. I noticed his potential early on and planned to train him as a producer, but I never thought he’d end up doing idol work.”

“The melody is something you can’t get tired of hearing, and he’s talented in arranging as well… Tsk, but so what?”

It was true that Kwon Daedo couldn’t let go of the world-building aspect, but more than that, Zero One lacked storytelling overall, so he had focused on the world-building to compensate.

Even Gyeo Yeong-in, who might not realize it, had never put forward his opinion before, and the other members generally didn’t care much either.

So if you suddenly ask these guys to put their stories into music, who would do it properly?

“Look at Pyo Jae-ho. Even when he makes songs, he never includes his own stories.”

Ah, this might be a good opportunity to develop their talents.

Nowadays, idols who don’t create their own songs are rare. Zero One finally had a chance to earn such a title.

Though the world-building was slightly, really slightly disappointing since it wasn’t completely unused and waiting forever had its limits, he was thinking of making some changes anyway.

“It might be fun to assign roles one by one. We haven’t written the lyrics yet, so maybe we should assign that task.”

Working together would also help build better relationships and trust.

Kwon Daedo hoped that Zero One wouldn’t just end up being a simple business transaction but would become a team that supported each other.

‘They must be discussing things among themselves by now, right? They might be getting a bit noisy.’

From Kwon Daedo’s perspective, Zero One was a group of generally quiet and reserved kids.

Since they weren’t particularly troublesome, they should be able to have productive discussions and help each other out.

If, at such a young age, they couldn’t even trust those around them in the harsh entertainment industry, who could they trust?

‘Oh dear. How did only such nice kids end up together? It’s all a blessing~’

Kwon Daedo thought he had a keen eye for talent and hummed a tune.

If Kwon Daedo had known the true nature of Zero One and what was happening outside right now, he would never have thought such things.

“Shut your damn mouth. You disgusting piece of shit.”

“Did you put a rag in your mouth? How do you think it feels for the rest of us to hear you cursing all the time?”

“With the way you’re acting, would a dirty mouth even matter?”

“Yes, I suppose it does. I’m glad my mouth is filthy.”

Cheon Sa-yoon said this with a deliberately soft expression, as if talking to himself.

Of course, he spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, and the content was far from gentle.

“Haha.”

It wasn’t just Cheon Sa-yoon causing problems. These bastards were all problems. They were all problems!

[ Article 23: A Kind Idol Leader Should Be Able to Mediate Conflicts Among Members ]

Mediation and all that were completely out the window. It was utter chaos.

Gyeo Yeong-in watched the fight like someone who had lost their mind.

Despite the flickering status window obstructing his view, his ears were perfectly intact, so he couldn’t avoid understanding the situation, even if he didn’t want to.

Cheon Sa-yoon’s provocation made Kyeon In-woo look like he was about to hit him immediately.

Meanwhile, Pyo Jae-ho remained silent, and Lim Se-bin showed clear disgust, pulling his chair away to distance himself from the two.

‘This is a company, you crazy bastards…’

Gyeo Yeong-in eventually couldn’t bear to see more and dropped his gaze to the table.

‘I can’t stop them. This system is messed up. What am I supposed to do with these assholes…’

To understand how the situation had deteriorated, we would have to go back at least 30 minutes.