Seo Ji-an’s IruggleJi-an sat curled up on her couch, the dim glow of the city lights casting long shadows across her apartment. A cup of untouched tea rested in her hands, its warmth fading—just like the dreams she once held so close.

  " I really go back?"

  The thought g her, relentless. She had spent years running—from the stage, from the betrayal, from the voice that had once been her everything. And now, standing oher side of it all, she didn’t know if she had the strength to return.

  Her phone buzzed oable. She ig, knowing it was likely her manager. Instead, she let herself sink bato the memories she had fought so hard to suppress.

  The whispers. The accusations. The eople turheir backs when she hem most.

  Her fingers ched around the ceramic cup as the sharp sting of humiliation resurfaced. The moment she had lost her voi stage, uhe blinding lights—was burned into her mind. The silehat followed had been deafening.

  A…

  She could still remember the thrill of perf. The way the music had ed around her, lifting her beyond the chaos of reality. The way her fans had screamed her h unwaveriion. The way she had felt truly alive.

  A knock at the door made her flinch. A sed ter, a familiar voice called out.

  “Ji-an, it’s me.”

  She hesitated before finally pushing herself off the couch. When she opehe door, her manager, Kang Ha-neul, stood there, arms crossed, an expression of both and exasperation on her face.

  “You’ve been ign my calls.”

  Ji-an sighed, stepping aside to let her in. “I wasn’t in the mood to talk.”

  Ha-neul walked in, sing the cluttered apartment. “Not in the mood or too scared to face the truth?”

  Ji-an’s jaw tightened. “I told you, I’m doh that life.”

  Ha-neul didn’t flinch. Instead, she sat on the couch, crossing one leg over the other. “Then why do you still listen to your old recs?”

  Ji-an stiffened.

  Ha-neul gestured toward Ji-an’s ptop, still open on the coffee table. The musi aused, a familiar track frozen on the s. Ji-an’s heart ched at the sight of her own voice waves staring back at her.

  “Don’t lie to me, Ji-an,” Ha-neul said softly. “You still want this.”

  Ji-an shook her head, looking away. “Wanting something and being able to have it are two different things.”

  Ha-neul exhaled, leaning forward. “Who told you that? The people who abandoned you? The ones who didn’t believe in you? Or is it just your owalking?”

  Ji-an swallowed hard. “I… I don’t know if I do it again. What if I fail?”

  Ha-neul’s gaze softened. “Then fail. A back up. But don’t spend the rest of your life w what if.”

  Sileretched between them. Ji-an looked down at her hands, the same hands that once held microphones, signed autographs, pyed piao the night.

  Ha-neul stood up. “I won’t push you. But I need you to ask yourself this—if you walk away now, will you ever five yourself?”

  Ji-an didn’t answer.

  And Ha-neul didn’t wait for one. She simply patted Ji-an’s shoulder and made her way to the door.

  “Think about it,” she said before leaving.

  As the door clicked shut, Ji-a out a shaky breath.

  "If I walk away now… will I ever five myself?"

  Joon-ho’s Patiend IMFG’s upJoon-ho leaned ba his leather chair, fingers drumming rhythmically against the polished surface of his desk. The city skyliretched beyond his office window, but his focus remained on the swirling chaos of reports and dots in front of him.

  Pressuring Seo Ji-an would only push her further away. He khat much. Instead, he o create the perfect stage for her debut—one where she couldn’t find any excuse to refuse.

  That meant ohing.

  ing up the mess that was IMFG.

  Joon-ho exhaled, flipping through the test report on internal corruption. His agency had the resources, the es, and the right now, it was rotting from the inside. If he wanted Ji-an to stand on the biggest stage possible, he o make sure IMFG was worthy of her.

  “Sir,” a voiterrupted his thoughts. Yoo Seul-bi, his sharp-witted secretary, stepped into the office. “You asked for updates oernal audit.”

  “Give me the short version.”

  Seul-bi pced a thick folder on his desk. “As expected, several board members have been siphoning mohrough fake tracts. We’ve traced at least three cases of embezzlement.”

  Joon-ho’s expression darkened. “Names?”

  Seul-bi flipped to a marked page. “Director Kim Hae-sung and CFO Jung Woo-bin have been diverting pany funds into ghost projects. But there’s another issue—Director in-seok.”

  Joon-ho’s fingers stilled. “Choi? The Marketing Head? What did he do?”

  Seul-bi hesitated for a moment. “He’s not involved in the embezzlement, but he’s been selling IMFG’s brand to the highest bidder.”

  Joon-ho’s jaw tightened. “Expin.”

  “He’s been approving marketing deals with subpar brands just because they ger kickbacks,” she tinued. “Instead of positioning IMFG as a premium agency, he’s cheapening our image by signing random endorsement deals. Some of our A-list models are already pining.”

  Joon-ho scoffed. “So he’s not stealing money, but he’s selling our reputation.”

  “Exactly.”

  Joon-ho let out a slow, trolled breath. He couldn’t afford two problems at once—corruption in the finances and a Marketing Head dragging the pany’s prestige through the mud.

  “What about the talent roster?” he asked.

  Seul-bi turo ane. “A lot of non-perf artists. Some haven’t booked a major campaign in over six months, and a few were brought in purely through es.”

  Joon-ho leaned back, rubbing his temple. “Dead weight.”

  IMFG had bee a dumping ground for talentless models and so-called celebrities—some brought in through shady es, others just pretty faces plucked straight from nightclubs to eain sleazy executives. He had no patience for it.

  “We’re cutting all non-perf artists. If they haven’t booked a det gig in six months and have no potential, they’re out,” he ordered.

  Seul-bi smirked. “That’ll piss off some board members.”

  “Let them whine,” Joon-ho said dismissively. “Tell them this pyboy CEO just wants to py.”

  Seul-bi stifled a ugh. “And the useless team members?”

  “Fire them.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Even if they have es?”

  “Especially if they have es,” he replied. “I don’t need leeches. Only people who actually do their damn job.”

  Seul-bi nodded, already making a mental list.

  Joon-ho turo the phase of his pn. “Get Park Yeon-jin ioo. I want both of you to rebuild my core team—the best talent managers, PR specialists, and industry professionals. Even if we have to steal them from encies.”

  A slow, satisfied smirk spread across Seul-bi’s lips. “I love when you go full ruthless mode.”

  Joon-ho shot her an unimpressed look. “Just do your job.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As she walked out, Joon-ho gnced back at the city skyline, his mind already on the move.

  By the time he was done, IMFG would be unreizable.

  And when Ji-an saw the empire he rebuilt…

  She’d have no reason to say no.

  The Board’s BackshThe boardroom was thick with tension. Joon-ho sat at the head of the long, polished table, fingers interced, expression unreadable. Across from him, Director Kim Hae-sung, CFO Jung Woo-bin, and Director in-seok gred at him, backed by a few other board members who had grown far too fortable in their positions.

  “We o talk about your reckless decisions,” Kim Hae-sung began, his voice sharp. “You think you just walk in here and start firing people as you please?”

  “I don’t think, Director Kim,” Kang Joon-ho said smoothly. “I know.”

  Jung Woo-bin scoffed. “This pany doesn’t belong to you alone, CEO Kang. You’re making irrational decisions—cutting valuable team members, firing talent that we’ve cultivated for years—”

  “Valuable?” Joon-ho leaned forward, his cold gaze log onto the CFO. “You mean the freeloaders who haven’t booked a single campaign in six months? The ‘talent’ who were only signed because they shared a bed with some director?”

  A murmur rippled through the room, but Jung Woo-bin didn’t back down. “We’ve built IMFG with our es, our hard work. You ’t just—”

  “I and I will,” Joon-ho cut in. “Unless you’d rather I expose where the pany’s money has been going.”

  Silence.

  Jung Woo-bin’s face paled slightly. Kim Hae-sung cleared his throat. “Look, Joon-ho—”

  “CEO Kang.”

  Kim Hae-sung’s jaw tightened. “Fine. CEO Kang. We uand you want to restructure, but some of the people you’ve dismissed—”

  “They’re dead weight.”

  “They’re our people,” Jung Woo-bin snapped.

  Joon-ho smirked. “Oh, I know. They were your people. The ones funneling money into fake projects. The ones using IMFG as their personal pyground. Shall I name more?”

  Kim Hae-sung’s fist ched, but it was in-seok who finally spoke up.

  “This is ridiculous,” uttered, shaking his head. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  Joon-ho turo him, expression unreadable. “Haven’t you?”

  in-seok scoffed. “I’ve done my job. I brought in brand deals. I didn’t toupany money like those two.” He shot a gre at Jung Woo-bin and Kim Hae-sung. “I helped increase IMFG’s exposure.”

  Yoo Seul-bi, who had been quietly flipping through dots at Joon-ho’s side, suddenly chuckled. “Is that what you call it, Director Choi?” She gnced up, smirking. “Because acc to several models, what you actually did was sell IMFG’s prestige to the highest bidder—and I quote, ‘eain PDs in exge for shady sponsorships.’”

  A beat of silence.

  in-seok’s face turned red. “T-That’s a baseless accusation! Who said that?!”

  Joon-ho slid a file across the table. “I have testimonies. Direct from the models you used to eain those producers. Some of them were underaged at the time, by the way.”

  The room went still.

  Min-seok’s hands ched into fists. “This is a setup.”

  “Then sue me,” Joon-ho challenged, his voice calm. “Go ahead. Let’s take this to court. Let’s put your name and all your little backdoor deals in the headlines. See how many brands still want to be associated with you.”

  Beads of sweat formed on Min-seok’s forehead.

  Kim Hae-sung, trying to shift the focus, growled, “You ’t just fire directors without a proper board decision!”

  Joon-ho smirked. “Then I won’t fire you.” He stood, adjusting his suit. “I’ll just release everything to the press.”

  Silence crashed down like a hammer.

  Jung Woo-bin’s face twisted. “You—”

  “You have two options, gentlemen,” Joon-ho tinued, his voice smooth but deadly. “Resign quietly, or let the world kly what you've been doing.”

  Kim Hae-sung opened his mouth, but before he could speak, one of the lesser board members, Director Oh, blurted out in frustration, “You even kicked out my girl!”

  The room turo him.

  Yoo Seul-bi raised an eyebrow. “Yirl?”

  Director Oh hesitated. “I mean… you fired one of my recruits.”

  Seul-bi smirked. “You mean your mistress?”

  Director Oh’s face burned with embarrassment. A few of the other board members shifted unfortably.

  Joon-ho exhaled, looking at the pathetic dispy in front of him.

  “I’m doh this versation,” he said, turning his ba them. “I expect ynations on my desk by m. If not…” He gnced over his shoulder. “Let’s see who survives the media storm.”

  With that, he walked out, leaving the boardroom in absolute chaos.

  The Turning Point: Ji-an Takes a Small StepJi-an sat curled up on the couch, staring at her phone s. Her fingers hovered over her manager’s tact, hesitating. She had spent days battling herself, repying old memories like a broken record—her betrayal, the moment she lost everything, the suffog lonelihat followed.

  But then there were other memories, too. The electric thrill of stepping onto the stage. The deafening cheers of fans calling her he dream she had once lived and loved.

  She ched her phoightly. What if…?

  Taking a deep breath, she tapped the call button. The line barely rang twice before Kang Ha-neul answered.

  "Ji-an?" Her voice was filled with surprise. It had been days since Ji-an st spoke to her.

  "Unnie…" Ji-aated. A lump formed ihroat. "Tell me about the offer. Joon-ho’s offer."

  Silence.

  Then, Ha-neul exhaled sharply, a mix of relief and something close to amusement. "Took you long enough."

  Ji-an’s grip on the phoightened. "I’m not saying yes. I just…" She swallowed. "I just o know."

  Ha-neul didn’t press her. She knew better than anyone hile Ji-an still was. "Alright. I’ll send you the details. But Ji-an… if you’re asking, it means you’re already sidering it."

  She squeezed her eyes shut. Was she?

  "Just… send it."

  Ha-neul chuckled softly. "Got it. And one more thing—Joon-ho is going to take this as a good sign."

  Ji-an sighed. "Of course, he will."

  Later that night, Ha-neul sighed as she pressed the phoo her ear. The call barely rang twice before Kang Joon-ho answered.

  "She called, didn’t she?" His voice was smug, like he had been expeg it.

  "Yeah, she did." Ha-neul leaned against her desk. "But don’t get ahead of yourself. She just asked for details, nothing more."

  Joon-ho chuckled. "That’s more than enough. She wouldn’t have asked if she wasn’t sidering it."

  Ha-neul rolled her eyes. "You sound way too fident about this."

  "Because I know her," he said smoothly. "Now, we o give her a push."

  Ha-neul frowned. "What kind of push?"

  "Book a suite at IMFG Hotel. Same pce her froup is holding their press ference."

  Ha-neul went rigid. "You’re kidding."

  "I’m not."

  "Joon-ho, you’re setting her up." Her voice sharpened. "She’s barely dippioes into this, and you want to throw her into the deep end?"

  "She won’t move forward if she keeps running away," he said, his voice calm but firm. "This is an opportunity. She face them on her own terms, see how much things have ged. If she ’t ha, she’s not ready for the industry again."

  Ha-neul hated to admit that he had a point. But that didn’t make it any less cruel.

  She sighed, rubbiemple. "You’re n, but that doesn’t mean I like it."

  "You don’t have to like it," Joon-ho said simply. "You just have to make the arras."

  She clicked her tongue. "You’re impossible, you know that?"

  Joon-ho smirked. "I’ve heard."

  A heavy silence huween them. Finally, Ha-neul exhaled. "Fine. I’ll do it. But if this backfires, you’re the one expining it to her."

  "Noted." Joon-ho’s voice carried amusement. "Let me know whehing’s set."

  Ha-neul ehe call with a frustrated sigh. She still didn’t like this pn, but deep down, she khat Joon-ho wasn’t doing this just to be cruel. He genuinely believed Ji-an his.

  She just hoped he was right.

  apmoneysense