From A Producer To A Global Superstar-Chapter 323: Old Rival

Michael’s office was quiet.

Not the normal quiet of "nothing happening," but the quiet of a man who owned too much power for noise to be necessary.

He stood by the glass wall, looking down at New York like it belonged to him. His suit was clean, his tie straight, his face calm. But the calm was thin. The kind that only held when nothing touched your pride.

A knock came.

"Come in," Michael said without turning.

Clara stepped in with a tablet and a slim folder. She moved carefully, like she had learned his moods over time.

"Sir," she said. "The Korea file you asked for. Updated."

Michael finally turned. He walked back to his desk, sat, and took the tablet without rushing.

"Korea?" he repeated, like it was a foreign word he didn’t want in his mouth.

Clara nodded. "Yes, sir. But it’s not just Korea anymore."

Michael’s eyes flicked up. "Explain."

Clara tapped the screen and opened the report. Numbers. Headlines. Screenshots. Clips.

And then the name.

Dayo.

Michael’s fingers paused on the tablet.

Not because the name was new.

Because it wasn’t supposed to be here.

Dayo was supposed to be a problem that stayed in music and had gone quiet for a long while. Why was he appearing here?

A headache that could be managed with pressure and time.

But this... this was different.

Michael scrolled again.

"Korean film," he read out loud, slowly. "Train to Busan."

He looked up. "Dayo is behind it?"

Clara nodded. "He’s one of the core names attached to it, the director and investor. And as you can see, the reception is not normal."

Michael leaned back.

For a moment, he didn’t speak. He just stared like the report was insulting him.

Then he chuckled once, dry.

"You’re telling me... he went to Korea... made a movie... and it’s now making noise in my country and every other place."

Clara stayed quiet.

She didn’t interrupt when Michael got like this. It was safer to let his mind finish its own conversation because she knew that Michael’s temper seemed to flare anytime Dayo was mentioned, although it been a while since it happen but not that long for her to forget.

Michael’s eyes went back to the tablet. He scrolled through the headlines, the comments, and the clips circulating.

It wasn’t just news.

It was that same energy.

That same takeover effect.

The kind that made people forget other topics.

The kind that made a product bigger than the product.

Michael’s jaw tightened slightly.

And his mind pulled him back to a night he had not forgotten.

Inside his limo after the Global Stage Finals. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Dayo is sitting across from him with that calm, disrespectful courage.

And Michael asked him a question he had never asked anyone before.

How.

How did your album do that?

How did you dominate the entire internet?

And Dayo, smiling like it was a joke, said he didn’t know.

Saying it was luck.

Saying it just happened.

Michael’s eyes narrowed.

He looked up at Clara.

"Where is this trending?" he asked.

Clara answered quickly. " everywhere sir. Multiple U.S. clusters, sir. It started as niche foreign film buzz, but it’s crossing over. The clips, the reactions, the comments. People are treating it like an event. And this is only what is happening with U.S sir."

Michael gave a quiet laugh.

"That boy," he said. "He’s doing it again."

Clara hesitated. "Sir?"

Michael looked back down at the report.

He didn’t answer immediately. He only scrolled until he saw something that annoyed him more than the headlines.

A comment.

One of the American accounts said something like: "How is a Korean film moving like this in the US?"

Michael stared at it for a long moment.

Then he dropped the tablet on the desk like he was done playing.

He stood up and walked back to the window again.

"This isn’t normal," he said.

Clara stayed behind him, hands folded.

Michael spoke without turning. "The album was not normal. And now the movie is not normal."

Clara chose her words carefully. "He could be lucky. Timing. Momentum. His fanbase—"

Michael cut her off. "No."

His voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.

"There is luck," he continued, "and there is a repeated pattern."

He turned to face her. Now, he could remember he believed it was luck, but now the same thing was happening with the same energy; this could hardly be called luck.

"And when a pattern repeats across different industries, different countries, different markets... it stops being luck."

Clara nodded slowly.

Michael’s phone buzzed on the desk.

Once.

Twice.

The screen lit up with a name that made Clara’s posture tighten.

Jennifer.

Michael stared at it as the phone had insulted him.

He didn’t pick the first ring.

He let it ring a little longer, like delaying would change the reality.

Then he picked.

"Yes," he said.

The voice on the other side didn’t greet him with softness.

"You are seeing it," Jennifer said.

Michael’s eyes stayed on the city outside his window. "I’m seeing something."

"Do not play with words," she replied. "You are seeing exactly what we told you would happen."

Michael didn’t respond.

Jennifer continued, calm and sharp.

"The first time, you said it was luck. You said it was a fluke. You said the internet is unpredictable."

Michael’s jaw tightened.

"And now," Jennifer added, "he is doing the same thing again. In another country. With another product. With another market that shouldn’t be accepting it this fast."

Michael breathed out once through his nose.

"Yes," he said. "I’m aware."

Jennifer’s tone stayed flat.

"Good. Because now you will stop watching and start working."

Michael’s eyes flicked.

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

Jennifer answered like she had been waiting for him to ask.

"You will find out what he is using."

Michael didn’t move.

Jennifer went on.

"Whatever algorithm, whatever method, whatever advantage... it doesn’t matter what you call it. We want it."

Michael let out a small laugh.

Not because it was funny, but because it was irritating.

"You’re acting as if he’ll just hand it over."

Jennifer’s voice didn’t change.

"That is your job. You are the one with the access. You are the one in the industry. You are the one with the reputation and the leverage we have built you for cases like this."

Michael’s fingers tightened slightly around the phone.

Jennifer’s next words landed more heavily.

"And do not forget who built your foundation. We didn’t give you everything so you could start failing at the exact moment we need results."

Michael’s eyes hardened.

He didn’t like being reminded that he didn’t like being owned or ordered.

But he knew what she was saying was true.

Jennifer didn’t stop.

"We warned you years ago. We told you to secure him early."

Michael’s voice dropped. "He refused."

"Then make him accept," Jennifer replied immediately. "Or break him until he has no choice."

Silence stretched.

Michael’s pride burned quietly.

Jennifer softened nothing.

"If you cannot handle this, we will find someone who can. But you and I both know what happens when we replace people."

Michael’s throat moved once.

He hated this part.

He hated the calm threat that didn’t sound like a threat.

He forced his voice to stay steady.

"Understood."

Jennifer ended the call without saying goodbye.

The line went dead.

Michael stood still with the phone in his hand for a moment.

Clara watched him carefully.

She didn’t speak first.

She waited until he put the phone down.

Michael’s face looked calm again, but this time the calm was colder.

The earlier irritation was gone.

Now it was focused.

He turned back to his desk, sat, and picked up the tablet again.

He scrolled the report one more time like he was memorizing it.

Then he looked at Clara.

"Pull up everything we have on Dayo," he said.

Clara blinked. "Everything?"

"Yes," Michael replied. "Not the public nonsense. Not fan pages. I want his patterns. His movements. His connections. Who moves around him? Who benefits. Who does he talks to in Korea and here in the United state his circle and schedule."

Clara nodded quickly. "Alright, sir."

Michael tapped his fingers once on the desk.

He spoke slowly, like he was talking to himself more than her.

"The first time, I tried to sign him."

He paused.

"He said no."

He looked up.

"Now he’s forcing my world to look at him again."

Clara swallowed lightly. "What’s the plan, sir?"

Michael stared at the tablet, then looked away.

"We don’t rush," he said. "This isn’t Korea. This is the United States."

He leaned back.

"And here, we don’t just fight talent."

His eyes sharpened.

"We fight visibility."

Clara nodded.

Michael’s voice stayed calm, but the meaning was heavy.

"If he wants to dominate my market again, then I want to see what happens when the market turns its back on him."

He stood up again and walked toward the window.

Below, the city moved like nothing was wrong.

Michael’s reflection appeared faintly in the glass.

A man with power.

A man with control.

A man who didn’t like losing.

He spoke quietly.

"Dayo thinks he can keep calling it luck."

He smiled a little.

"Fine."

His smile disappeared.

"Let’s see how long luck survives when I start touching the right wires."