This work suffers from being tied to a real entertainment agency, IMO. The actual models and entertainers have to be portrayed non-controversially, so it offloaded much of the K-drama shenanigans to the main characters, especially the blackmailing male lead.
AKB49, a work with similar real world ties, danced around this issue much more successfully by having much of its main story being driven by a fictional cast from the "new generation."