The Scandal-Proof Producer

The main conference room at Stellar Entertainment was a monument to corporate power. The table was a single, massive slab of polished obsidian, the chairs were supple Italian leather, and the view of Seoul was panoramic and commanding. It was a room designed to make visitors feel small. Han Yoo-jin, sitting beside a nervous Go Min-young, refused to be intimidated. This was his old hunting ground, and he knew where all the bodies were buried.

They were there for the first official production meeting for the Starlight Festival. On one side of the table sat the old guard of Stellar: Director Yoon Ji-seok, as impassive and unreadable as ever, and a handful of other executives whose faces were etched with a mixture of resentment and wary respect for Yoo-jin's return.

On the other side sat the new guard. And she was a force of nature.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Sofia Kang," Director Yoon said, his voice flat. "Sofia will be acting as the Executive Producer for the main stage of this year's festival."

Sofia Kang did not look like any producer Yoo-jin had ever encountered in the Korean industry. She was a Korean-American woman in her late thirties, dressed in sharp, minimalist designer wear that was more New York art gallery than Seoul boardroom. She radiated an aura of supreme, unshakeable confidence and a blunt, almost brutal, directness. She had been poached from a major US record label, a hotshot producer with a string of Grammy-nominated hits, hired by Stellar to inject a "global, cutting-edge" feel into their flagship event.

She nodded at Yoo-jin, her gaze sharp and analytical. "Han Yoo-jin. Aura Management. I've heard of you," she said, her Korean perfectly fluent but carrying the unmistakable, clipped cadence of American English. "The indie messiah. Very cute."

The condescension was subtle but unmistakable. From the outset, the friction between them was a palpable thing.

Sofia launched into her presentation, her slides filled with glossy graphics, market analytics, and terms like "cross-platform synergistic branding" and "maximizing demographic appeal." She spoke with a ruthless efficiency, outlining a vision for the festival that was slick, commercial, and completely soulless.

Then, she turned her attention to Yoo-jin's stage.

"Okay, the 'Indie & Rising Stars' stage," she said, clicking to a new slide. "Great for critical cred, good for the brand's image. But let's be real, it's a side-show. To make it matter to the broadcast sponsors, we need to integrate it with the main stage talent." She looked directly at Yoo-jin. "I'm thinking a rock-remix collaboration. Your screamer girl, Ahn Da-eun, doing a duet with Cha Eun-woo from our headliner group, Celestial. Imagine the headlines. The clash of styles. That's a viral moment waiting to happen. It'll be great for her."

Yoo-jin felt his jaw tighten. She spoke of Da-eun not as an artist, but as a spicy ingredient to be thrown into a bland corporate stew to make it more interesting.

"Thank you for the suggestion, Director Kang," Yoo-jin said, his voice polite but edged with ice. "However, as per my contract, Aura Management retains full and complete creative control over our stage. There will be no forced collaborations."

Sofia's smile didn't waver, but her eyes hardened. "Of course. 'Creative control.' I forgot how precious everyone is about that here."

Yoo-jin took the opportunity to get a read on this new, unexpected adversary. He focused his ability.

[Name: Sofia Kang (Kang So-hee)]

[Overall Potential (Music Production): S]

[Key Strengths: Master of Commercial Hooks, Global Trend Forecasting, Ruthless Efficiency, Contract Negotiation]

[Critical Weakness: Artistic Snobbery; Views genuine 'authenticity' as a naive, marketable brand, not a legitimate artistic state.]

[Current Thoughts: So this is the famous Han Yoo-jin. Stiff. Self-righteous. Thinks he's some kind of indie messiah protecting the sacred flame of art. His 'artistic integrity' is going to screw with my show's pacing and broadcast appeal. Cute, but a problem. I'll have to find a way to work around him, or if necessary, right through him. He'll fold when the pressure is on.]

He saw it instantly. Sofia Kang was a different kind of threat. She wasn't a corporate monster like Chairman Choi, bent on total destruction. She wasn't a serpent like Nam Gyu-ri, dealing in secrets and psychological warfare. She was a shark. A purely professional predator who saw his art, his artists, his entire philosophy, as a quaint but inefficient business model. The conflict with her wouldn't be a cold war fought in the shadows. It would be a hot, public battle of wills over the very soul of the festival.

Yoo-jin leaned back, a cold smile touching his own lips. "I'm glad we understand each other, Director Kang. Aura's stage will be a testament to what real, uncompromised art can achieve."

The meeting ended with a tense, brittle politeness. Yoo-jin knew a line had been drawn. He didn't have to wait long for the first shot to be fired.

The next day, an article appeared on a popular idol news site. The headline read: STELLAR'S STARLIGHT FESTIVAL FACES MAJOR SCHEDULING CONFLICT: RISING STAR AHN DA-EUN'S STAGE TO CLASH WITH HEADLINER CELESTIAL?

The article, citing an "anonymous festival insider," included a leaked production schedule draft. It showed, clear as day, that the ninety-minute set for the "Indie & Rising Stars" stage was scheduled to directly overlap with the final, headlining performance of Celestial, the biggest and most popular boy group in the country. The article was filled with quotes from supposed "industry experts" speculating that this would be a disaster for the smaller stage, forcing fans to choose and likely leading to Aura's segment being cut short for the sake of the live broadcast.

Yoo-jin stared at the article on his screen, a grim understanding dawning. It was a classic power play, perfectly executed. Sofia had leaked the draft herself. It was designed to put immense public and sponsor pressure on him, to frame him as an unreasonable newcomer causing problems for the festival's biggest stars. She was trying to force him to compromise, to give in and accept her "collaborations" in the name of a smoother show.

He was now fighting a war on two fronts. In the shadows, a cold war of secrets and espionage against Chairman Choi. And now, out in the open, a hot production battle against a rival producer who was just as ruthless, in her own way, as any of his other enemies. The Starlight Festival was no longer just an opportunity. It was a new battlefield. And he was surrounded.