The 20th floor was where dreams were officially pronounced dead.
The elevator doors opened onto a silent, pristine hallway. The air was different up here—thin, cold, and sterile. The floors were polished black marble that reflected their anxious faces like a distorted funhouse mirror.
Yoo-jin walked with a purpose he didn't feel, his cheap suit feeling thin and inadequate. Beside him, Choi Mina seemed to shrink with every step, her hands clenched into small, white-knuckled fists. He glanced at the stat screen hovering above her head.
[Anxiety: 98%]
It was a dangerously high number. He was leading her to the slaughterhouse.
But then he remembered the wave of comments online. The thousands of people championing her. That was his weapon. That was his only weapon. He couldn't show a single crack in his armor. He had to be her shield.
The secretary at the end of the hall didn't even look up from her monitor. She just gestured toward a pair of massive oak doors. "He's waiting."
She ushered them into Director Park's office. The room was big enough to fit Yoo-jin's entire apartment inside it ten times over. One entire wall was a floor-to-ceiling window with a panoramic view of Seoul sprawling beneath them like a conquered city.
Director Park was sitting behind a desk the size of a small car, his face a thundercloud.
But they weren't alone.
On a plush leather couch to the side sat Lee Hana, looking perfectly composed. Beside her was her manager, a senior employee who looked at Yoo-jin with open contempt. They looked like victors waiting for the losers to be sentenced.
Director Park didn't waste time on greetings. He stabbed a thick finger in Yoo-jin's direction, his voice a low growl.
"Explain this. Now."
He spun his monitor around. It was open to a financial news site. A bright red arrow pointed downwards next to the Starforce Entertainment stock symbol.
"Our company's name is trending for all the wrong reasons. Our stock is down 3% since the market opened this morning. The board is calling me every five minutes. So you are going to explain to me why I shouldn't fire you and sue you for every penny you're worth."
Yoo-jin's mind went into overdrive. He ignored Hana's smug expression. He ignored her manager. He focused only on Director Park and activated his ability.
[Name: Park Jin-cheol]
[Potential: B-Rank (Executive)]
[Primary Concern: Stock Price Fluctuation (Critical)]
[Secondary Concern: Maintaining board member confidence.]
[Emotion: Controlled Fury (Reputation Damage)]
The system confirmed his suspicion. Park didn't care that Hana had bullied Mina. He didn't care about the morality of the situation at all.
He cared about the money.
Yoo-jin now had his target.
Instead of apologizing, Yoo-jin walked forward with a calm confidence that stunned the room into silence. He placed his own tablet on the corner of Park's massive desk. He didn't show him the video. He showed him the analytics.
"Director, you're right," Yoo-jin began, his voice even. "There has been a PR crisis. But you're only looking at the problem. You're not seeing the opportunity."
He tapped the screen, pulling up a graph showing real-time social media engagement. "The video has over two million views in less than three hours. It's been shared over fifty thousand times. #FindTheMaskedSinger is the number one trend in Korea right now."
Park's angry expression faltered, replaced by a flicker of confusion. He leaned forward, squinting at the numbers.
Yoo-jin pressed his advantage, his voice sharp and clear. "The comments, sir. Read the comments. They aren't about the company's failure. They aren't even really about the bullying. They are about one thing, and one thing only."
He paused, letting the silence hang in the air, before gesturing to the quiet, trembling girl behind him.
"They are about her voice."
Hana started to protest. "Director, he's twisting things! They attacked me online…"
"Silence," Park snapped without even looking at her. His eyes were glued to the screen, to the endless scroll of comments praising Mina's voice, demanding to know who she was.
Yoo-jin went in for the kill. "We haven't had this much organic public interest in a single trainee since the company's debut ten years ago. This isn't a scandal, sir. With all due respect, this is the most effective, cheapest marketing campaign in the history of Starforce Entertainment. And it cost us absolutely nothing."
Director Park leaned back in his massive leather chair. The fury on his face was gone, replaced by a slow, predatory smile. He was a shark that had just scented blood in the water. He saw it now. He saw the angle.
"Fine," Park said, his voice smooth and dangerous. "You want to talk opportunity? Let's talk opportunity."
He looked from Yoo-jin to Mina, his eyes gleaming with a new, cruel kind of excitement.
"Your original bet is canceled," he declared. "A private monthly evaluation is completely irrelevant now. The public is already watching."
He steepled his fingers, enjoying the sudden shift in power. "In two weeks, Starforce is co-sponsoring the 'Seoul Music Showcase'. It's a live broadcast. Millions of people will be watching."
He let that sink in.
"I'm giving our company's official performance slot to her." He pointed a thick, decisive finger straight at Mina.
Mina's face drained of all color. She looked like she was about to faint. A national, live broadcast. It was her worst nightmare made real.
Park leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "She will perform one song. Live. On national television. If she captivates the nation, if our company name is trending for the right reasons by the end of the night, you both have a future here. A very bright one."
He paused, letting the offer dangle in the air before delivering the killing blow.
"But if she freezes… if she fails on that stage… you're both out. And you, Han Yoo-jin, will be held personally responsible for the breach of contract with the broadcast station. It will be a debt you will never recover from."
He turned his cold, calculating gaze back to Yoo-jin, a final, unspoken threat hanging between them.
"The whole nation will be your judge. Do we have a deal?"