"We're family, Jin-woo. Isn't that a bit distant?"
"Am I?"
Lee Jin-woo swirled his wine glass casually. "Haven't seen you since I left home."
"I thought you wanted to be left alone."
Sipping her wine, her raised chin revealed a sleek, alluring collarbone.
He grinned innocently. "How'd I miss it? Boo-jin noona, you're the prettiest of us all."
"Thank you." Lee Boo-jin's refined smile treated his compliment as obvious fact.
"So, what's this about?"
"Zy Plus. Seems you're not giving up everything like they say."
"Trying to prove yourself to Father?"
To Lee Boo-jin, his actions were childish.
Like a stubborn kid leaving home to make it big, seeking Dad's approval.
"Just keeping busy. Can't do nothing after leaving."
"Really?"
She smiled noncommittally. "Any challenges? Maybe I can help."
"Why?" He didn't buy selfless kindness.
Even parents struggled to be fair.
Let alone an outsider.
"An investment." Lee Boo-jin was blunt.
"You're desperate to escape that family. I'm the opposite—fighting to stay."
"But alone, it's tough. Chaebol daughters are just valuable commodities."
"So?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.
"So, I need allies."
She smiled. "If I need your help someday, I hope you won't say no."
"As Lee Jin-woo, or the Daegun faction's heir?"
"Which do you think helps me more?"
"The former." His firm answer left her unsure how to react.
Could "Lee Jin-woo" really outweigh the Jeonju Lee Clan's Daegun faction heir?
She struggled to believe it.
A fledgling entertainment company and two pricey Itaewon mansions—did he think that was enough?
Naive or foolish?
She leaned toward naive. Kids raised in luxury often had unrealistic ideas.
"Let's see. When you need me, choose—Lee Jin-woo or Jeonju Lee."
She chuckled. "Really okay?"
"Of course."
His confident, rebellious nod exuded inexplicable assurance.
"Now, tell me how I can help."
SM Entertainment, Cheongdam-dong HQ.
A call from the JoongAng Ilbo's chairman surprised the Demon King. "Yes, Chairman Hong. Aigoo, no wonder magpies were chirping outside…"
"Trainees? Just trainees?"
"Lee Joo-bin… Han So-hee? Ye~ no need for you to call for such a small matter."
"A junior took a liking to them… Thank you, Chairman Lee, for making it happen."
"Next time, just say the word, ye~"
"A gala? Of course, I'd be honored to join the Pan Circle…"
Hanging up, Lee Soo-man spun his chair, expression odd.
The JoongAng Ilbo's chairman personally calling for two nobodies?
Lee Joo-bin, Han So-hee.
First time he'd heard their names.
He understood why it was done this way.
Once someone eyed a trainee, SM wouldn't let go without bleeding them dry.
His own rule—how could he not know?
Who could make Chairman Hong step in and invite him to the Pan Circle?
The Pan Circle wasn't some quirky club.
Led by Samsung's founder's descendants, it unified chaebols and major corporations—the "Pan-Samsung Family."
Their circle, the Pan Circle, was Korea's most elite social sphere.
Now, it wasn't just Samsung heirs.
It included in-laws, strategic partners, and deeply connected gatekeepers.
Attending was a rare chance for the Demon King.
He harbored a chaebol-sized ambition.
He wanted to build his family into a new entertainment chaebol.
That required more allies.
"Tell the artist director to come to my office." He pressed the intercom.
After a pause, he added, "Also, send me Lee Joo-bin and Han So-hee's files."
The boss meeting trainees? A first for SM, shaking the company like an earthquake.
Within 30 minutes, their names spread everywhere.
In the main practice room, Joo-bin, and in the candidate room, So-hee, were summoned to his office.
Eyeing their faces, Lee Soo-man mentally tweaked them.
Nose, a bit sharper. Drop 5 kilos—perfect.
Next, her face…
Keep that full look, open the eye corners slightly, position her as a "thousand-gold princess." She'd be a hit.
Wow~
Whose eye was so sharp to spot these gems?
"P-President." Facing the boss's boss's boss, the two rookies were nervous wrecks.
What went wrong? Why were they here?
Did they mess up?!
Slap!
Files hit the desk, and they flinched, eyes shut.
"You two have some guts, huh?!"
"Tiny trainees daring to jump ship? Who gave you the nerve to break your contracts? Who?!"
His furious roar battered them like a storm.
Dizzy, they had no clue what he was talking about.
"P-President, we… we're not jumping ship or breaking contracts."
Joo-bin's face was all confusion and grievance, feeling like a victim of fate.
Jump ship? Break contracts? What was this?!
So-hee, equally innocent, stayed calmer.
Her mind raced, a flicker of realization in her eyes.
"Not talking?"
Lee Soo-man loomed, his icy glare predatory.
"Then tell me who you've met lately."
(End of Chapter)