Inspect?
The word didn't register with me at first.
[You can inspect the target!]
Ah, right. Like in games.
You don't hear it much in real life, but it pops up often in web novels and scripts.
Wait. That's not the point…
Without thinking, I answered 'Yes' in my head.
[Inspecting Hyunah Lim!]
[Hyunah Lim]
Type: Actress
Rank: D (Downgraded from B)
Potential: A (Currently debuffed—upgradeable to S)
…Huh?
I blinked.
S? As in, S-rank?
The absolute peak.
Right above A.
Wouldn’t an S-rank put her right on Ina's level? Being generous, Hyunah's acting was B-rank at best. And even that rode heavily on her looks.
For an actor, looks matter just as much as their craft.
And nobody could argue with Hyunah Lim's face. It was undeniably A-rank.
Sure, she ranked just below that crazy b—I mean, Ina Kim. But compared to the rest of the industry? They weren't even in the same league.
What rank would her face… Wait, what the hell am I doing? I'm seeing floating text for God's sake!
Then I froze.
Because there was something else in Hyunah's status window.
[Hyunah Lim]
[Condition: Critical. Severe depression.]
[Special Note: Depressive symptoms escalating. Suicide imminent.]
My stomach dropped.
What…?
I had no idea if I was hallucinating or if I'd genuinely "awakened" like some web novel protagonist. But it didn't matter.
I couldn't just scroll past that.
…To be fair, she does look like she might break at any second.
A heavy, suffocating darkness hung over her innocent face.
She didn't look like a talent sitting in an agency office.
She looked like a patient in a psychiatric ward who had already made up her mind about something.
Then it hit me.
I’d been spacing out for so long that the entire office was staring right back at me.
"Manager?"
"Ah, yes. I'm Chanwoo Lim! I look forward to working with you!"
Half-hearted nods.
Eyes already back to their screens.
Team 5 knew exactly what my transfer here meant. A new chief manager wasn't something to welcome.
So they didn't bother.
In fact, the only person who actually welcomed me wasn't even a team member. It was actress Hyunah Lim.
She managed a faint smile from beneath that heavy expression and actually came over to say hello.
"Manager Lim? It's been a while. We met before. Do you remember?"
"Ah yes. I remember."
"I'm with Team 5 now. I look forward to working with you."
"L-likewise!"
Did she really not know what it meant for a manager to get assigned here? No, of course she knew. She was just being considerate.
It was the one and only welcome I received upon joining the team.
Still… was what I saw with Inspect actually real?
There was nothing I could say.
It wasn't like I could just ask, 'Hey, I saw something weird that said you're going to kill yourself, is that true?'
The status window—or rather, Inspect—said the cause would be a sudden worsening of her depression.
Then what's the trigger?
As I pondered, a raspy voice called out to Hyunah.
It was chief manager Donghyuk Kim, the man who'd claimed Team 5 as his own territory.
One of its top kingpins.
"Actress Hyunah. I heard you failed all your recent auditions."
"…Yes."
Donghyuk clicked his tongue and lowered his voice.
Since it wasn't a full whisper, I caught bits of what he said.
"Have you thought about my proposal?"
"…About that—"
"You know opportunities like this don't come easy, right? Especially for someone at your level."
On the surface, it sounded like they were discussing a role.
But Hyunah's face didn't just darken, it went deathly pale.
What is going on? Wait, don't tell me…
A cold, sick feeling crawled through me as she bit down on her lip and lowered her head.
"…I should get going."
"Think about it."
"…I will."
Donghyuk clicked his tongue again.
"Tsk. Playing hard to get when you're gonna cave anyway. It's not like you have anything else going for you besides a pretty face."
The cold feeling only grew stronger, shifting from a vague sensation into a very specific suspicion.
And then, another shock hit me.
[Inspect Manager Donghyuk Kim?]
Oh… so it's not just for artists?
[Donghyuk Kim]
Type: Manager
Rank: F-
Potential: F-
If S meant off the charts, F meant you were a complete flop.
And F- meant he wasn't even qualified to hold the title of manager.
Considering this was Team 5, it wasn't exactly surprising that a piece of trash like him was a manager, but the real issue was elsewhere.
[Donghyuk Kim]
[Special Note: A distant relative of Star Entertainment's head director. Currently coercing multiple Team 5 artists into illegal sponsorship arrangements.]
I fucking knew it!
My hunch had been spot on.
Sure, I still had my doubts about whether this 'Inspect' thing was actually legit, but somehow, it didn't feel wrong.
The puzzle pieces clicked into place.
I could see exactly why Hyunah's depression was destined to spiral out of control.
She would eventually cave under the pressure, accept the sponsorship, and then… take her own life out of despair.
"What are you looking at?"
"Ah, nothing."
"Your desk is over there. Go sit down."
True to its reputation, there was zero handover or orientation in the graveyard.
From a quick glance, none of the other team members seemed to be doing any actual work either.
Then again, when every artist on your roster was either dead weight or locked away in a drawer to rot, there probably wasn't any work to do in the first place.
But for an ordinary salaryman, this was paradise.
After all, what was my actual goal here?
To quietly work for five years according to my father’s will.
And there was no better environment for that than Team 5.
The only problem was what I just saw.
I can(not) pretend I didn't see that. Damn it!
Anything else and I'd let it slide. But someone's life was on the line here.
The problem was that Donghyuk Kim, the mastermind behind this mess, wasn't someone I could easily cross.
He had massive backing.
Head Director Soohyuk Kim.
To put it plainly, he was one of the top five power players at Star Entertainment, second only to the CEO and vice president.
...And he’s the bastard who reassigned me to Team 5.
A man at that level didn't just have power—he had the authority to make people disappear from this industry forever.
But, at the end of the day, isn't he just a tenant in my building?
Thinking about it that way, the high-and-mighty head director Kim suddenly didn't seem so intimidating.
Actually, he wasn't even a tenant.
Strictly speaking, he was just a lackey working for the tenant in my building.
A high-ranking lackey, sure.
But that still placed him miles beneath me—the landlord!
The worst they can do is fire me. Job-hunting counts toward the five years anyway.
My absent father hadn't left that will because he genuinely wanted me to be a corporate drone. The lawyer said so himself.
He didn't want sudden wealth going to my head and twisting me. He just wanted me to have the heart to live right.
Which was why he added a few extra conditions.
-Never commit a crime!
Apparently, he was sick and tired of watching his other children cycle in and out of prison.
He specifically stated that if I received a prison sentence for a crime, the inheritance tax funds would be completely voided.
If I just leave Donghyuk alone and Hyunah actually kills herself… knowing my luck, the whole team could be implicated.
Sure, as a newcomer, the odds of me personally getting implicated were low.
But I wasn't about to let stray sparks land on me.
And besides, even a head director was just another salaried commoner who probably didn't even have 10 billion won to his name.
I had absolutely nothing to fear.
Hm… But how am I supposed to stop this?
The answer hit me almost instantly.
I'm not exactly a regular commoner, so why should I walk on eggshells and do this the hard way? Let's just keep it simple and easy.
I looked back at Donghyuk.
[Donghyuk Kim]
[Special Note: Currently coercing multiple Team 5 artists into illegal sponsorship arrangements.]
At that moment, an unexpected message popped up.
[Would you like to perform a 'Special Inspect'?]
Special Inspect…?
[View the full details of the sponsorship coercion!]
My eyes went wide.
Detailed information flooded in—exactly who the sponsors were, which artists had been approached, and more.
Isn't this ability… a bit too overpowered?
If I ever planned to dedicate my life to the entertainment industry, this ability would be a god-like weapon.
Anyway, thanks to this, my job just got a whole lot easier.
"What are you looking at?"
"Chief Manager Kim. Do you have a second to chat?"
"Chat? Me? With you?"
Donghyuk looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
I stepped right up to him, gave his shoulder a couple of friendly pats, and whispered low enough that no one else could hear.
"Step outside, you fat pig."
* * *
Have I mentioned this?
I definitely don't have a good personality.
It's just that growing up in an orphanage taught me how to bite my tongue and put up with bullshit.
On the flip side, being an orphanage kid also taught me the exact opposite.
When it was time to bare my teeth, I didn't hesitate. My rule was simple: if you're going to stomp someone, make sure they can never get up again.
Bow all the way, or crush completely. That's how you survive an orphanage.
In other words, I was going to kill Donghyuk Kim today. Socially speaking. Obviously.
"You crazy bastard, what did you just say?"
"I said we should chat."
"Fuck you, not that! You just called me a pig!"
"Please calm down. Why would I ever say something like that to my senior? You must have misheard."
My polite response only seemed to infuriate him more.
And rightfully so.
Because while my tone was perfectly respectful, my face was plastered with an insufferable, mocking smirk.
"You little piece of shit!"
Donghyuk lunged and violently grabbed me by the collar.
Bingo!
I had already done the math on the CCTV angle in the stairwell. And not just because of my orphanage upbringing—in today's cutthroat corporate world, knowing where every camera is pointed is a basic survival skill.
Which made Donghyuk—who hadn't even clocked the camera tucked into the ceiling corner behind him—spectacularly, almost impressively, incompetent.
"What exactly did you propose to actress Hyunah Lim?"
Donghyuk's face stiffened.
"I wondered what this was about, and you picked a fight over that? Do you have any idea who's backing me? You got a death wish? Director Soohyuk Kim is my relative!"
He wasn't a total idiot, at least, since he growled while carefully avoiding any incriminating words like 'sponsorship'.
That was fine. It was exactly what I'd expected.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I simply asked out of concern because she didn't look well. After all, looking out for her is my job now."
He scoffed, but then his eyes glinted.
He had spotted the incredibly suspicious, pen-shaped voice recorder sticking out of my front shirt pocket.
Get the latest chapter and best reading experience at www.novatls.com
Comments