It did not take long before she arrived at her floor.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, a quiet yet busy atmosphere greeted her.
Llana scanned the area, her gaze landing on rows of workstations neatly arranged across the wide office floor. Employees sat behind multiple monitors, reviewing music files, production schedules, and concept documents.
The soft tapping of keyboards and faint murmurs of discussion blended together in the background, accompanied by the subtle aroma of freshly brewed coffee lingering in the air. Every now and then, staff members carrying tablets and thick folders walked past one another with practiced familiarity, their attention fully focused on their tasks.
'Now then… where was Director Han Seo-jin's office?' Llana mused.
"Um, Annyeonghaseyo. Sorry for the interruption."
Llana quickly stopped a man who was about to walk past her, bowing politely in apology for disturbing him.
'Ugh… bowing is torture.'
Llana grimaced internally. Her entire body was still aching, and she wanted to minimize her movements as much as possible. For the first time, she found herself hating this Korean etiquette.
'Why did they have to bow so much anyway?'
"N-Ne, Annyeonghaseyo," the man answered, visibly caught off guard the moment he saw her face. A faint blush immediately spread across his cheeks.
Llana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. 'I'm a minor, sir.'
"May I ask where A&R Director Han Seo-jin-nim's office is?" she asked politely.
"U-um… just walk straight, then turn left at the corridor. Her office is at the very end," the man answered awkwardly, trying not to stare too much.
"Kamsahamnida."
Llana bowed once again before hastily leaving him behind. She quietly followed the directions he gave her, wincing with every step whenever no one was looking.
It did not take long before Llana finally reached the end of the corridor.
Her gaze eventually landed on the very last door.
A&R Director — Han Seo-Jin
Without hesitation, Llana knocked three times.
"Come in."
A woman's voice answered calmly from inside.
Llana carefully opened the door and stepped into the office.
The room was smaller than she had expected, probably around fifty square meters. There were no windows, causing the entire office to feel strangely enclosed despite the warm lighting.
One entire wall was lined with framed platinum records and albums from various female artists, even from different companies.
Llana could not help but raise a brow slightly at the sight.
'Interesting...It seemed Director Han Seo-jin had a particular preference for female artists.'
At the center of the room sat a woman in her forties dressed in a perfectly tailored office suit. Her dark hair was styled cleanly, her lips painted with bold red lipstick.
"Greetings, Director Han," Llana greeted politely as soon as she stepped further into the office.
Han Seo-jin looked up from the documents on her desk. Her sharp eyes lingered on Llana for a moment longer than necessary before she finally gave a small nod toward the chair in front of her.
"Take a seat."
"Thank you."
Llana carefully sat down across from her and waited for the woman to speak first.
"First of all, congratulations," Han Seo-jin said as she pulled out a neatly packaged album from beside her desk and handed it to Llana. "Here's one of the first copies of your album. Take a look."
Llana held the album gently, as if even the slightest rough movement might damage it.
This was her solo album.
She could hardly believe it.
Her face was printed on the cover. The sleek surface reflected faintly beneath the office lights, its design elegant yet striking enough to immediately draw attention.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came. For a moment, she could only stare at it, her expression caught somewhere between disbelief and amazement.
"Wow…" she muttered softly under her breath. The corners of her lips unconsciously lifted. Her fingers carefully traced the edge of the album.
Han Seo-jin quietly watched her reaction before speaking again.
"Open it," she encouraged with a faint smile studying Llana's face.
Llana hesitated for a second before carefully opening the album.
The moment she flipped the cover open, several neatly arranged contents immediately came into view.
A photobook. A CD. Lyric pages. Photocards. Concept photos. Credits.
And the official track list printed cleanly across one of the pages.
Love Wins All.
Go the Distance.
Lovely.
This Is Me.
Like That.
Try Everything.
"Very few rookies are allowed to participate this heavily in their own album production, much less produce every track themselves."
Han Seo-Jin spoke lightly.
"The company is planning to produce fifty thousand initial copies."
"…Fifty thousand?" Llana gaped slightly, 'That many?'
Han Seo-jin nodded calmly. "The company has high expectations for this album. Usually, rookie artists only receive an initial production of less than five thousand copies."
Her fingers lightly tapped the desk.
"But your situation is different."
She glanced toward the album still in Llana's hands.
"You already gained public recognition through the survival show and the performances you did there practically served as teasers for the songs already."
Han Seo-jin slowly stood and walked around the desk, stopping in front of Llana. Llana quietly followed her movements with her eyes.
"All of your songs are beautiful," Han Seo-jin said. "Honestly, it would be ideal if we could make a music video for each one."
Llana nodded, a faint, regretful smile appearing on her lips.
"But realistically, that would require too much time and budget," Han Seo-jin continued. "Initially, the management is planning to produce at least one music video for Love Wins All."
She paused briefly.
"The concept is a little too mature for your current age and image, so we won't approach it in a romantic way. Instead, we're planning to make it a story-type music video."
"Buuut…" she suddenly dragged out the word, making Llana unconsciously straighten slightly.
Han Seo-jin did not continue immediately. Instead, she pulled the chair opposite Llana closer before sitting down directly in front of her.
Too close.
Their knees were almost touching.
Llana's brows furrowed faintly.
"Park Jin-young-nim didn't approve it," Han Seo-jin said with deliberate disappointment, carefully observing Llana's reaction.
At the same moment, a translucent screen suddenly appeared within Llana's vision.
[NEGATIVE INTENT DETECTED]
[SOURCE: Han Seo-jin
[DETECTED INTENT: Predatory Desire]
[THREAT LEVEL: Yellow ]
"You're a very pretty young woman…" Han Seo-jin murmured softly.
She suddenly reached out and lightly touched Llana's face.
"Park Jin-young is blind for disagreeing."
Llana stiffened.