Chapter 89 - Please Fill In

* * *

Perhaps it was because the performance had come so far out of nowhere. Or perhaps the music they'd just heard had been too shocking. Even long after the song ended, the customers, staff, and bluebird in the restaurant could only blink in a daze.

"What do you think, partner?"

There were only two exceptions: Eugene, who grinned after finishing the song, and Limon, who set down the guitar and rubbed his temples as though his head hurt.

"... Don't you think that was a bit too reckless to spring on me?"

"But you pulled it off, didn't you?"

"More than half of that was luck."

"Either way, you've solved your problem, right?"

Limon fell silent. He watched Eugene's beaming face with a troubled look, then sighed.

"Yeah. Thanks to you, I think I've realized something, at least."

"Okay! So you owe me one now? You'll pay me back by performing with me whenever I want?"

"Not quite."

"Huh?"

Limon pointed to the empty plates on the table, his tone flat despite Eugene's delighted smile. "Before we start arguing over who owes whom, shouldn't you pay for this meal first?"

"Huh? I thought you were treating me, partner."

"I never said it was free." Limon gave a little snort. He could buy a friend a meal without being a sucker. Eugene had indeed helped him find a lead on catching the killers, but he had no intention of letting Eugene sponge off him.

["Wow. That's petty."]

'Want me to put your meal on the books too and charge you compound interest?'

["... Friends should absolutely keep money matters straight! It's different when a boss buys a subordinate a meal. Of course it is."]

Perhaps Eugene hadn't expected everything they'd eaten with such enthusiasm to become a debt. They glanced at the mountain of empty plates on the table and smiled brightly.

"Partner, I'm being chased over my debts right now, so it's hard for me to get any money together. So..."

Limon smiled just as brightly. "You'll pay me back when you can afford it?"

"How did you know???"

"Because that's what people say when they're planning to borrow money and never repay it."

"Partner, it makes me sad that you don't trust me."

"Not as sad as I am for buying a meal for a friend who can't pay me back."

That was when their war of words began. Eugene made no secret of the plan to put Limon in their debt and turn him into an on-demand performer. Limon shamelessly insisted that they settle the meal bill first, since that was a separate matter. As the two filled the restaurant with noise for an entirely different reason than before, Yu Na-gyeong covered her face with her wings.

["Why am I the one who's embarrassed?"]

While the two were still arguing, an unexpected voice cut in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but could I have a moment of your time?"

"We're busy. Piss off."

"I'm talking to my partner."

Limon and Eugene dismissed him outright. But the man who had spoken didn't seem offended in the slightest. Wearing a smile worth 120 points out of a possible 100, as though he'd found a savior in hell, he added, "If you can spare me some time, I'll pay for your meal."

"Okay! Sit here!"

As though they hadn't just brushed him off, Eugene made room for him with a radiant smile.

'... Goddamn it.'

Unlike Eugene, Limon had just lost the useful leverage of the meal bill. His expression soured, and he eyed the man with displeasure. "Who are you? Doesn't look like you came over to complain about the noise."

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself, have I?"

Though someone who looked plainly younger than him had addressed him so rudely, the man didn't bat an eye. Instead, as if grateful for the reminder, he held out two business cards. The moment they read them, Limon's and Eugene's expressions changed in opposite ways once again. The man smiled and introduced himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kim Seung-jun, and I'm a producer at KTB."

* * *

"Where did you say you worked? KTV?"

"... B, not V. KTB."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I don't watch much cable."

"It's understandable that you haven't heard of us. I hate to admit it, but our channel really isn't very popular."

Kim Seung-jun smiled bitterly.

These days, some cable channels drew ratings to rival terrestrial broadcasters, but those were the successful ones. Others averaged fewer viewers than a broadcast of the national anthem, and unfortunately, KTB was one of them. Perpetual losses. Too little funding and too few staff. Outdated equipment and poor name recognition. It was a wonder the channel hadn't gone under long ago; one might say it was already rolling around in its grave.

"So what was it you were putting together at that dying station? Music..."

"[Music Challenge]. It's a show where singers and musicians take on difficult challenges, and those who succeed receive rewards."

"What is this, a game quest? Do a job, get a reward?"

"The show's sponsor is actually a game company. If it does well, they plan to make a mobile game with the same name."

"... Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourselves?"

"As I said, our station is in a difficult position."

At any other station, it would have been an ordinary-sized production. For KTB, however, the show was a major investment that could determine the station's fate. Rumors were already circulating openly that another failure would mean a sale or merger.

"And the ace up our sleeve to make sure it succeeded was booking Claire."

"Claire... That girl I see on TV sometimes?"

"Yes. If Claire so much as appears and sings, at least ten million viewers will follow her."

She had at least ten million fans domestically alone, and a fandom easily numbering in the tens of millions worldwide. At the height of her popularity, Claire was also renowned as a count-class player. In the domestic entertainment industry, she was practically a guarantee of success.

"The game company only invested so much in the show because WIM, Claire's guild, assured us we'd booked her. But then..."

"That promise went up in smoke."

"... It was my mistake." Kim Seung-jun ground his teeth. "No matter what that bastard Chief Moon said, I should at least have gotten a signed contract!"

He should have caught on when Chief Moon kept using the contract as a pretext to meet and be wined and dined, only to pretend each time that he'd forgotten his seal. The bastard's reputation was so notorious that Seung-jun had assumed he was just trying to milk them for all the hospitality he could. That had been his mistake.

"Well, it's hardly news that a high-level player is an asshole."

"Claire herself is a decent person. The problem is that WIM and Chief Moon are thugs who pull this kind of power play all the time."

"Is that really so?"

"Pardon?"

"Guild or chief, what matters in the end is what she wants."

Limon didn't seem convinced. He continued coolly, "I don't know much about show business, but could her guild really change the schedule of a count-class player over level 80 without her consent?"

In this Iron Age, even a player just over level 60 was considered a high-level player, a business unto themselves. Count-class players over level 80 had income, influence, and power to rival a major corporation all on their own; each stood near the top of their field. For a guild to change such a player's contract at will, against their wishes? It was absurd.

"... WIM might be able to," Kim Seung-jun said hesitantly.

That was why Limon looked puzzled. "Even though they're not one of the ten great guilds?"

"A guild doesn't have to be one of the ten great guilds to wield that much influence."

"Hmm?" Limon stroked his chin.

Then he asked in his mind, 'Hey, Na-gyeong. Is WIM's guild master some Monarch's brother-in-law or something?'

["How would I know? The entertainment industry was handled by a completely different team."]

'You must have heard something, though.'

["I don't know. I've heard WIM does well in that industry, but as for any other rumors..."]

Limon and Yu Na-gyeong both tilted their heads. As former PAB agents, they knew the country's major guilds well. That made it hard to understand how WIM, even as the country's leading entertainment guild, could wield so much power when it was ultimately just a talent agency.

"So?"

A sulky voice brought the two of them back to the conversation. "Why are you telling us all this?"

Eugene had welcomed Seung-jun with a broad smile when he offered to pay for the meal. Whatever had changed, they now looked plainly displeased. Seung-jun answered without hesitation. "To be direct, I'd like to book the two of you."

"Hmm. In other words, Claire dropped out and you want us to fill the gap?"

"Essentially, yes."

It was, in a way, just the answer Limon had expected. After a moment of mixed feelings, he scratched his cheek. "I've got a lot of questions... but let me ask one first."

"What is it?"

"What's your angle?"

"Pardon?"

"You said Claire's a hugely famous singer, right? Isn't it strange to ask us to fill in for her?"

It was a blunt point, but an entirely reasonable one. Claire was a star with more than ten million fans. Even a well-known, first-rate musician would struggle to fill the gap she'd leave. Yet Seung-jun wanted to book Limon and Eugene—complete unknowns he'd only met today—as her replacements. Even Limon, who knew little about show business, couldn't help questioning it.

Kim Seung-jun's answer was simple. "Yes, it is strange."

"... Aren't you agreeing a little too readily?"

"Because it's true. If someone had asked me an hour ago whether I should use the two of you as replacements for Claire, I'd have asked if they were out of their mind."

A perfectly natural response—if it hadn't come from the very man making that supposedly insane proposal.

"So what's changed between an hour ago and now?"

"I've heard the two of you sing and play."

Limon had asked with equal parts disbelief and curiosity. Seung-jun answered without a moment's hesitation. "I'm still a greenhorn as a producer, but I can at least tell good music from ordinary music."

"And you're saying ours is good music?"

"No."

Seung-jun's denial was firm. Looking Limon and Eugene straight in the eye, he said with absolute seriousness, "It's music that's bound to be a hit."