Bo Jaesang screamed like a girl, looking at the email he'd just received:
Hi Jaesang,
We're happy to add you to our team as a group manager! Please come up to the company at 3 P.M. tomorrow to meet the group you'll be incharge of.
All the best,
Team Leader Changmin
His mother ran into his room, eyes wide with concern, "Jae? What are you screaming for?"
Bo Jaesang stood from his desk and embraced his mother in a tight yet sudden hug.
"I got it, mom, I got the job!" He exclaimed into her neck, emotion pooling to his eyes.
His mother's expression softened at the reveal, her dirty apron staining Jaesang's stained pyjama shirt. "Congratulations, Jae, I knew you'd get it." She spoke softly. "Mom's so proud of you, you know? Bring Hyun-ssi back home to visit." She joked.
Bo Jaesang nodded, "I will, I will, I will." He cried hyper tears, excitement bursting at his seams.
Bo Jaesang just about broke into a ball of tears then and there. He would get to work with his closest friend again, with ASCEND, with Ryeo Hyun. He clenched his fists, tempted to wide the tickling tears itching at his eyes.
He'd never thought he'd be able to work with Ryeo Hyun again. With Reggie or Jung Hyun-Ok, Mi Yong, Joon-woo, and even Baek Du-Ho. As soon as he saw the drastic difference in screen time and popularity he had compared to his friends he knew he'd never succeed with them, yet here he was, doing it in a different way.
–+–
@Kpopnews
ASCEND's JOON, poor grades and an even poorer attitude? Read here…
135k likes 12.4k quotes 17.5k reposts
@thatarmygirl replying to @Kpopnews
this ur idol? 💀💀💀💀
@peaceloveandplants replying to @Kpopnews
LOL this is so embarrassing for flights
@miyongsleft_ball replying to @Kpopnews
People are mad at this? Name me three idols with historically good grades.
ASCEND's name was commonly trended on a lower scale during scandals and comebacks, as their name existed more of an object floating across the industry with inconsistent interest. It was no different this time around.
Joon-woo (15.6k Weets)
#joonwooapologize (2k Weets)
ASCEND (4.7k Weets)
@woobinsfavguitar
It's not about the grades, it's about how he acts so smart and serious when he himself isn't smart ☠️
30k likes 8.5k quotes 10k reposts
@roonwoo_news replying to @woobinsfavguitar
Girl… no one looks up to idols for their grades 😂😂😂
@heather_the_kay replying to @woobinsfavguitar
LITERALLY, how do people not get this
@netizenn4hyuk
I've never been really into the new generation of kpop, but are y'all really hating on an 18 year old for poor grades he had in middle school? ☠️☠️☠️
8.7k likes 1.3k quotes 2.4k reposts
CEO Park furrowed unsure brows.
All the minor soloists and actors they housed were less of a controversy due to a lack of traction. This was a scandal he wasn't trained to deal with. Could it be called a grade scandal? Did it even require an apology? Even on Witter people seemed split, but netizens were partly outraged about being "lied" to or something of the sorts.
Who was this writer even? Joy Lozada? At a dinner he had had with some more major higher ups, he had been semi-warned of the dirty legacy of the Filipino. He sighed into his pen-calloused hands. He just had to hire a new manager, and now this?
He had to think fast. For ASCEND's image, for Joon-woo's image.
Picking up the intercom phone, he called through the speaker, "Park Joon-woo, please come to room 119."
–+–
Joon-woo sighed onto an office chair, face to face with the CEO alone. He was alone with a CEO and his skin crawled. He was in practice clothes still due to being called out of practice for this, with his sweat still drying on his skin.
He knew why.
Before their phones were taken just an hour before, he had gotten a good gist of the situation. He had to ask fast, due to their temporary manager's demands, leaving the rest of ASCEND close to clueless.
He figured they could learn the details after they were over.
Passing through the curiosity of his concerned bandmates, he exited the practice room exchanging a short yet typical glance with Emily. As if she knew.
He shook it off, Carre trailing behind him at an oddly caring speed.
"Carre." Joon-woo began, "Is something going on… behind the scenes?" He asked in passing.
Carre's tail fluffed in a visible panic.
"You mean…?"
"With Kite, Carre, where is he?" Joon-woo insisted, "I'm not dumb. He's missing and you've been weird, and now this stupid scandal."
Carre looked ashamedly towards the ground, the siamese's eyes never reaching Joon-woo. Joon-woo scoffed, slight anger bubbling up in his bones when he faced the CEO office's door.
"I'll kill you with my own hands if you don't spill." He said, before walking into the office and shutting Carre out.
Immediately he was met with a less cold air than he expected. Joon-woo as Ha-rin was terrified of the CEO of Cheer's company. He never really showed his face to the group unless he thought the group, or Ha-rin had done something wrong. He existed only as a punisher in Ha-rin's memory, and Joon-woo caught himself now, reflecting on ASCEND's CEO like the usual cruel one.
He recalled as Ha-rin, dreading the angry phone call that awaited after a stupid small scandal got Cheer in hot water. A too revealing outfit, too white skin, too dark skin, some poor styling choice. Everything, not their faults fell on them eventually.
But maybe CEO Park was different.
Maybe, as Joon-woo placed his eyes just below the CEO's eyes, he was different. He winced as the tension was cut by the first words of the CEO.
"Joon-woo, when did you first begin to train at Sunrise Entertainment?" He asked, "We plan to make a statement in your defense."
Joon-woo paused.
In his defense?
He accidently locked eyes with the CEO for a moment, just a moment before feeling a warmth grow at his cheeks.
He wasn't sure about his time at Sunrise entertainment. He knew he was a trainee for only a year and a half, yet he appeared to be trainee-tired in middle school? He had dropped out of middle school, somehow, yet he became a trainee only in the middle of what someone that age would consider highschool?
He gulped, digging through his head and cursing Carre & Kite for being so uninformative.
"In my defense?" He stalled, clenching his fists.
The CEO tilted his head with a confused expression, "As your company, having your back is always the first choice in these situations."
Joon-woo nodded, "Oh. Okay, thank you."
"I personally figured that the report card was fake, but I'd like to hear it from you." The CEO continued.
Joon-woo thought back to the dream he had experienced a few nights prior.
It was probably real, the report card. So he nodded, he said, "Yes, CEO-nim, it's a real report card."
CEO Park's expression didn't change. He wasn't happy nor mad. He seemed… a little confused? The territories of company life that he knew was Ha-rin always seemed to be different, in the sense that this life was better. Had he really done something wrong in his first life?
"You say you were a trainee at Sunrise for one and a half years, that would make you half way through highschool when you became one. Yet you lack an education passed a middle school, even then you dropped out a few months before graduation for 'family reasons'." The CEO read Joon-woo's painful yet plain history like a book.
Joon-woo confirmed with a shy nod.
"So what were you doing in that period between becoming a trainee and the early era of dropping out of middle school?" The CEO asked, "What caused you to fail out?"
Joon-woo wanted to scream curses at the gods who forced him here. He wished he had the memories of this body. Wasn't he so foolish to never ask for them before?
"I lost my parents around that time." He lied.
According to Kite, Joon-woo lost his parents well early into his life, not late middle school. But what else could he say? He felt slightly suffocated for a moment, the air solidifying around him like ice.
CEO Park remained silent for a moment, and Joon-woo felt urged to continue.
"My grades tanked, and my school… wasn't known for anything but fights and staff scandals so when I missed so many days they just gave me the option to leave school or get transferred." Joon-woo made up a backstory with a convincingly still face. He knew the middle school this body had attended wasn't known for anything. It was an exceedingly average school, but in a scrunch like this he needed to act fast.
"I see." CEO Park hummed, tapping his desk, "And no one urged you to continue school elsewhere?"
Joon-woo nodded another lie. He was lucky being a longtime idol graced some acting skills.
CEO Park's breathing slowed a bit, "Okay. So how does this sound?" He cleared his throat and recited words from his mind. "To whom it may concern, this is Easy Entertainment. In regards to the recent issues surrounding our artist JOON, we plan to take legal action against any persons who have contributed to the hateful…" He looked at Joon-woo as if looking for a suggestion.
"Defamation?" Joon-woo added with a slight unknowing in his voice.
His career with ASCEND was showing all new sides of the industry to him. He felt slightly powerless with that thought. Like all the expectations he was familiar with, all the knowledge of the industry he had was falling useless under this light.
CEO Park smiled.
"Good choice."