Chapter 849: Answer (2)

“Phew......”

“Huff, huff......”

We fidgeted with our fingers, catching our breath together.

Inside the car heading toward the new headquarters, the air was thick with excitement.

Biju placed a hand over his chest.

“I’m so nervous. Hyung. A new headquarters......”

“Me too.”

As we bounced in our seats, unable to contain our excitement, Min Gi hyung, who was sitting in the passenger seat, asked,

“You guys haven’t been to the new building yet?”

“No. Have you?”

“I stopped by the TF team office a few times, just briefly. And what it’s like there is......”

“Waaaaaaah!”

We clapped our hands over our ears, shouting, “We can’t hear you!” The five of us together.

He stared at us, dumbfounded.

“You’ll see it in ten minutes anyway.”

“But we want to keep this excitement. It’s different when you unwrap a present knowing what’s inside versus not knowing.”

“Well... that’s true.”

“We deliberately avoided hearing anything about the new building.”

Every time the TNT members started saying things like, “So your new headquarters is apparently—”

“Ahhh! Can’t hear you! Can’t hear you!”

“Are you in elementary school?”

We had blocked spoilers from everywhere, so we wanted to preserve this feeling to the very end.

What would the new headquarters be like?

Like people who had never seen an elephant debating what an elephant might look like, we continued speculating.

“I think there’s going to be a game room. And if I want, I could watch movies there too......”

“Maybe there’s a greenhouse where you can grow plants like a botanical garden?”

“And a barbecue restaurant in the cafeteria.”

We were spreading our wings of imagination, filling the new headquarters with our personal wishes.

Normally Min Gi hyung would have laughed or teased us for saying nonsense, but today he sat quietly.

“What’s wrong, hyung?”

“That’s pretty sharp......”

“Huh?”

Just as I was about to ask what he meant by sharp—

The car turned onto Cheongdam Boulevard, and a building came into view.

A large, clean-looking structure.

The building of TJ Entertainment, where I had devoted nearly six years of my life.

“That’s TJ Entertainment.”

Ri Hyuk pointed.

“Then the one right across from it is......”

We turned our heads toward the building directly opposite TJ Entertainment.

And in that instant, our mouths fell open.

An eight-story building, slightly taller than TJ Entertainment.

The issue wasn’t the height.

It was the width.

“Wow.”

Jiho’s eyes widened.

“If TJ Entertainment is like Ri Hyuk hyung, then our building is like Junghyun hyung. No, it’s bigger than Junghyun hyung......”

“It looks like a wrestler.”

“It seriously looks massive....”

Because it was wider than TJ Entertainment’s building, it looked heavy and imposing.

Clean. Futuristic.

With a golden lemon logo and a sign that read [Lemon Entertainment] in Korean.

“Wooooow.......”

As we gaped in awe, Min Gi hyung grinned from the passenger seat.

“It’s huge, right?”

“Yes....”

“You can be proud. It’s a building you raised.”

We burst into happy laughter together.

This felt good.

Yeah.

This was the taste of success.

The new headquarters lobby.

As soon as we stepped into the luxurious space—so elegant it felt like it needed a chandelier—we gasped.

“Wow.”

“Look over there. There’s even an information desk.”

A male employee in a neat suit sat at the desk.

My head buzzed.

“An information desk...!”

“Wh-what do you call this? Culture Land?”

It was culture shock.

While we were exchanging shy eye contact with the employee, hearty middle-aged laughter rang out.

“You’re here.”

“CEO!”

We ran toward him as he beamed at us.

“CEO! The building is incredible!”

“Already?”

“Yes! Th-this lobby......!”

“It’s too early to be surprised.”

Park Gyuho stepped forward, saying he would give us a tour.

Director Jo Gyuhwan, the division head, and Seokhwan hyung followed behind him with cheerful smiles.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Seokhwan hyung smile this happily.

“The facilities are really that good, hyung?”

“You can look forward to it. Even the bidet water pressure—”

“I don’t need to know that.”

Following the CEO, we started exploring from the first floor.

The building was divided into two wings from the lobby.

“First, this is the café.”

“Wooow!”

A famous coffee franchise had taken up residence on the first floor. It looked large enough to seat at least fifty people.

Under the branch name, it read [Lemon Entertainment Branch], which felt surreal, so I took a photo.

“I heard employees get about a thirty percent discount. Not sure of the exact number......”

“Wooooow.”

“And over here is the goods shop.”

If the café was on the left, the goods shop was on the right.

With our music playing inside, it felt like a record store inside a bookstore.

Junghyun said, “It feels like we came to buy albums at Hottracks.”

“It really does.”

Seeing our merchandise displayed alongside Scarlet’s felt surreal.

And it wasn’t just us.

Street Boys’ recently released album was prominently displayed too.

“CEO! There’s Street Boys’ album too.”

“We arranged it so subsidiary label goods can be purchased together. DNS Media has officially come under us as a label.”

“Wow. We should show it to them when they come.”

Street Boys were scheduled to attend the headquarters opening party tonight.

After finishing the first floor, we passed a giant digital display introducing Lemon Entertainment’s artists and stopped at the security gates.

Seokhwan hyung handed us access cards.

“There’s a separate artist entrance. Since fans might gather in the future, you can enter from the underground parking lot. From there, you can go straight to the practice rooms.”

“That’s insane...!”

“Take your cards.”

Beep.

I never thought the sound of scanning an access card could feel this satisfying.

Boxes were still laid out on the floors since the move was ongoing, but even the elevators looked impressive.

Three basement levels and eight floors above ground.

Starting from the underground parking, the tour continued upward.

“On Basement Level 1, there’s a gym and showers. Junghyun won’t need to use his home gym anymore.”

“I love this, CEO.”

“And here is the employee nap room......”

Jiho looked around in amazement.

“Wow. It’s bigger than my dad’s company, I think? I should tease him.”

We laughed as the youngest sent photos of the building to his father.

Next was the second floor.

“This is the recording studio and producing team office space.”

“Wooooow.”

“It’s even bigger upstairs? We might actually get lost.”

It was wide enough to feel disorienting.

The producing team hadn’t fully moved in yet, so we couldn’t see everything inside.

And the recording studio was truly—

“Huuhuhuhuhuh.”

“Wooju hyung is crying.”

“Huuhuhuh!”

Tears welled up as I stared at the main recording studio.

The equipment was incredible.

Exactly what I had seen in major American recording studios.

“This is insane.”

“You once said that studio in the US was amazing, so I paid attention to that detail.”

“CEO!”

“I did well, right?”

He scratched his bald head with a grin.

I smiled brightly and gave him a thumbs up.

The second floor was filled with recording rooms and workspaces, as well as trainee areas.

We glanced at lockers labeled with names like “Jinho” and “Boksoo” before moving on.

Music was coming from a practice room—trainees were already rehearsing.

“They’re practicing today too.”

“As expected of our juniors.”

Smiling fondly, we moved up again.

From the third floor upward were mostly office spaces.

“Hello!”

“Guuuys!”

We danced around with the PR team staff, who were delighted about the new building.

We visited the TF team office and management office, greeted the rookie development team and others.

Then—

“Waaaaaaah!”

The moment we entered the office labeled [Legal Team], thunderous cheers erupted.

They were all newly hired, unfamiliar faces.

But their expressions felt strangely familiar.

Director Jo Gyuhwan whispered,

“We set Souffle as a preferred qualification when hiring the legal team.”

“......!”

“They’re your fans.”

“Souffle?” I asked.

The lawyer Souffles nodded eagerly.

We promised to stop by with coffee sometimes and even took commemorative photos together.

As we left, we heard murmurs of “This is insane” and “I’m going to cry.”

Biju said,

“It’s so surreal. Seeing Souffle at our company......”

“Seriously.”

We do have departments where being a fan is preferred—especially in in-house content production, where passion matters.

But the legal team?

The youngest asked what I was wondering.

“Why is being Souffle a preferred condition for the legal team?”

“They handle lawsuits against malicious commenters.”

“Ohhh.”

“They’re fiercely taking down haters. Since they’ll be providing legal support related to you, we made Souffle a preferred qualification. Once we listed it that way, we got a huge number of applicants.”

“In a different way, that’s turning your passion into your career.”

We laughed and moved on.

The top floor, the eighth.

“Wow.”

Ri Hyuk looked impressed.

“There’s even anti-eavesdropping film. Laser interception prevention.”

“It’s an important space, after all. Ha ha.”

After admiring the view from the eighth floor, we headed to the seventh.

An enormous cafeteria greeted us. It already smelled amazing.

“Whoa!”

“It already smells like meat.”

The interior felt like a hotel buffet.

And then—

“Whaaaaat!”

The CEO said calmly,

“It’s a barbecue restaurant.”

“!!!”

“It’s the one you always go to near the company.”

Our regular barbecue place had opened a second branch right next to the cafeteria.

We stared at the sign that read [Second Branch].

“At first, we considered installing a meat-grilling section inside the cafeteria, but it wasn’t simple. So we bought the restaurant instead.”

“CEO......”

“Hehehe.”

The thought of eating our beloved barbecue at the company made my eyes sting.

And next to it—

“There’s a convenience store!”

A well-known convenience store had opened as [Lemon Entertainment Branch].

I remembered going to the convenience store in the freezing winter when I was a trainee.

“Alright. Lastly, let’s go to the sixth floor.”

Thump thump.

The moment of truth.

[Sixth floor. Doors opening.]

As the doors opened, Cheongdam stretched out beyond the glass walls.

The sixth floor was exclusively for artists.

This entire vast floor was ours.

“There are plenty of practice rooms, so you and Scarlet can divide them well.”

“Yes.”

“And over there are private practice rooms.”

Even larger than the ones at SNH.

There were individual rooms with pianos.

A game room Jiho had wanted.

A lounge.

A private studio for me to work in.

“There’s even a cooking area.”

“You can prepare simple meals here.”

“We could live here.”

Every convenience imaginable was included.

“The garden Junghyun likes is on the rooftop. You’ll see it later.”

“Yes.”

“That’s it for the tour. Take your time.”

“Thank you.”

Park Gyuho shook his head.

“I should be the one thanking you. You worked so hard. Thank you.”

After he left, we walked to the window of our practice room.

“Hyungs. It’s really high.”

“It is.”

We were so used to practicing in Basement Level 1 that this bright space felt unfamiliar.

We pressed close together, looking at TJ Entertainment across the street.

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“It used to look so tall. But now... it doesn’t seem that tall.”

“Yeah.”

When we first visited TJ Entertainment as NewBlack for a school uniform ad meeting, it felt huge.

Now it looked like just another building.

It felt satisfying.

And yet.

Still not enough.

Higher.

Even higher.

“Anyway......”

We unpacked and smiled at each other.

“Should we start choreography practice?”

“Let’s do it.”

Our first task in the new headquarters was comeback practice.

In the afternoon, while the others explored the sixth floor, I went to the CEO’s office on the eighth.

A guest had arrived ahead of the evening party.

“Wow! The major shareholder is here!”

I smiled at the one greeting me with a carefree laugh.

“Just got here?”

“Not long ago.”

Hanbyeol sat casually like it was his own living room.

A neatly arranged contract lay on the table.

Today was the day Hanbyeol signed with Lemon Entertainment.

“I heard you two are close,” Park Gyuho said.

“Please speak comfortably, CEO. I’m an artist here now.”

“I’ll adjust gradually.”

The contract was handed over.

Director Jo sipped coffee.

“Wooju strongly recommended bringing in Hanbyeol. He said he’d do exceptionally well in domestic activities.”

Hanbyeol looked at me.

It wasn’t wrong.

At first, the CEO had been hesitant.

“If it’s China... hmm.”

“There’s political risk.”

“He’s American.”

“Hm?”

“Technically American.”

Born in the US. Lived in the US, China, and Korea.

Fluent in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Legally American.

The mood lightened.

“Shall we sign?”

After signing, Hanbyeol officially became part of Lemon Entertainment.

“I want to build a foundation in Korea. I spent seven years active without building anything here.”

“We’ll do our best.”

“When I chose an agency, I hesitated a lot. In the end, I came here.”

His eyes met mine.

“I want to trust one more time.”

“We won’t disappoint you,” Park Gyuho said.

After handshakes, we headed toward the rooftop for the evening party.

Ding.

[8th floor.]

The elevator doors opened.

And there stood CEO Han Youngjun and Taehyeon.

They were holding bouquets.

Hanbyeol’s face lit up.

“Oh!”

He waved brightly.

“Director, hi~”

Han Youngjun’s smile stiffened.

We had definitely recruited someone extraordinary.