Chapter 211
Chapter 211
The smartphone advertisement wasn't exactly a joint modeling gig with the junior idols. If it had been, I would have known about it long ago.
There were simply a few cuts where we filmed together.
"Alright... come in together here, and show us what you're holding!"
"Yes, sir."
"Ah, please make sure to hold the tablet with one hand—lightly!"
"Got it!"
The junior idols were advertising a tablet from the same brand line, and it seemed they wanted to add a few shots of both groups appearing together to boost the promotional effect.
And since we were ahead in terms of both seniority and recognition, it ended up with Mirinae waiting around on TeSTAR’s filming day to join in.
Still, not telling us until the day of the shoot is crossing the line.
I wasn't sure if our first manager had forgotten because he was so shocked by Ryu Cheong-woo cutting ties with him, or if the company had intentionally suppressed the information.
Though my gut feeling leaned toward the latter.
I guess the General Manager got the hint after I shot down his opinions a few times lately.
He probably anticipated the possibility of the artists requesting revisions because they didn't want to be linked together. And if we had known in advance, we definitely would have.
It would have just caused unnecessary talk.
The 'Magical Boy' controversy had already scraped past us once. In an extreme case, things could have ended up like this:
From comparisons to dating rumors—it was all just a massive, unnecessary headache.
Fortunately, the company seemed mindful of this, as there were surprisingly few shots where we were suspiciously grouped together. Instead, the layout emphasized 'Cosmic,' a premium electronic line featuring artists from T1 Stars.
"My identity, shining like a star."
"The choice of the stars, Cosmic!"
But even this was subtly irritating.
It’s not like they even raised us, so what great commonality or vision are they bullshitting about?
They probably concluded internally that they needed brand value beyond just being an 'Idol Inc.' subsidiary, especially since they wanted to start developing other rookies soon. They might even be grumbling that the existing groups are too headstrong for rookies just because they blew up on a hit audition program before joining.
They might even be aiming for a separate IPO.
Whichever it was, the idea likely came from the current General Manager’s head. And once I thought that far, I saw an angle I could use.
Let’s start by gathering some cases.
The opportunity came just as my filming was wrapping up.
"Great work today!"
After today's individual cuts, the short joint filming with Mirinae was coming to an end. I approached one of the members who was looking at the monitor after finishing her shoot.
I immediately received a ninety-degree bow.
"Oh, Sunbaenim! Thank you so much for the shoot today!"
"No, thank you as well."
It was the junior who had placed second in the last season of Idol Inc.
"Was the filming alright for you?"
"Yes! Ah, uh, Sunbaenim, you were truly amazing! As expected of the idol elected to first place with the support of the entire nation..."
"Let's stop there."
"Yes, sir."
The junior’s expression turned solemn, as if she also realized that was a bit much.
"How have things been lately?"
"Pardon?"
"With the company."
"Um..."
Seeing as she didn't immediately blurt out a corporate-friendly response like "Oh, I'm so grateful!", she seemed to have caught the nuance. Lowering her voice with a somewhat grim expression, she spoke.
"It’s the same as always...!"
"..."
That carried a lot of meaning.
"Has the next album been confirmed to have self-produced tracks?"
"...Well, they did suggest going with a double title track."
"Hmm."
Since TeSTAR had been doing that since debut, they must be pushing it as a formula for success.
"They said they want one of them to be in English."
"...!"
The junior continued with the face of a disillusioned office worker.
"Still... we think they'll let at least one of them be our song, so we're all trying to be satisfied with that..."
"..."
Man. I expected as much, but it seemed they were having their own share of hardships.
"How is the care?"
"Care? Oh, it's good! The hair and makeup shops and the stylists do a great job..."
She missed the point. I brought the topic back.
"One of the managers who used to be with us moved over to your side, didn't he?"
"...! That's right...! Oh, we're really grateful and feel so sorry about that..."
"No, there's no need for that. I'm just asking because I'm curious about that kind of care."
I brought the junior back to reality, whose face practically screamed, 'Is this workplace harassment?!'
"Like whether the management office briefs you well on schedules, or if they check on the members' health... things like that."
"Ah, um."
The junior fell into thought. I couldn't tell if she was reminiscing or choosing her words, but her next sentence sounded quite sincere.
"I'm not sure. They seem so busy and overwhelmed... I think it's because our group has so many members. They look like they're struggling, so I just feel sorry for them."
As I thought. Things weren't running properly over there either.
Was it nine members?
Since that's 1.5 times the size of TeSTAR, they definitely should have more managers, but from what I saw, they were still running with only two.
The production team also seems to be wavering, listening to the General Manager one moment and the artists the next.
Because the General Manager is trying to keep a tighter grip on them, the Management Department Chief's influence seems weaker.
Hmm... at this rate, I can make something work.
"I see. You must be going through a lot. Hang in there."
"Oh, no! We're having fun and working hard. Thank you for worrying about us!"
"Right."
I was about to end the conversation there, but then I spoke again as if I had just remembered something.
"Ah, by the way."
"...?"
"I was wondering if you'd be interested in the establishment of a dedicated team."
This was the main point. The solution I had been thinking about ever since the manager incident.
"A dedicated team...?"
The junior looked stunned for a moment, then quickly snapped out of it and caught onto the suggestion.
"Ah, you mean a team dedicated solely to our group?"
"It's not confirmed... but I'm planning to push for it this time. If you need it, I'll pass along the cases of you juniors as well."
"...!"
"Of course, I won't say I heard it directly from you... I'll say I heard it from someone close to the company. What do you think?"
The junior swallowed hard, her eyes soon sparkling as she answered.
"We would be truly grateful."
A wise choice. Since she had already talked about their current situation, she probably realized that if I had intended to set a trap or scam her, I wouldn't have bothered asking for her consent.
"Well then, I'll try to bring it up together."
"Yes! Thank you!"
At that moment, a voice calling for her came from behind. It seemed the filming was completely finished.
"Min-ha! Hey, come here quick! This chocolate is insane, it's so good!"
"Okay, Unnie~ Ah, Sunbaenim, I'll be going now!"
"Yes. Get home safely."
The junior dashed off to her fellow member. The one waving a giant box of chocolates, likely a gift from a fan... was the one who took first place.
She’s... quite bright.
...Is that type usually the most popular?
Or is it just the 'audition effect'?
"Hyung!! Look at this! So cooool!"
"Yeah, looks great."
As I responded to Cha Yu-jin, who appeared out of nowhere thrusting a filming prop—a surfboard—at me, I almost fell into a strange sentiment about the peculiar dynamics of this industry.
But there was no time for that. There was a place I needed to contact during our afternoon transit.
Time to start the talk about the dedicated team.
For the record, I had already finished discussing this with the other guys. Specifically, the very week Ryu Cheong-woo recovered.
The interesting part was that Bae Se-jin unexpectedly agreed right away and pushed the opinion forward aggressively.
So, pushed by that momentum, we decided to proceed unanimously. And the method was this:
"Are, are you refining the email content?"
"Yeah. Do you have anything to add?"
"N-no! Since we all worked so hard on it together, I hope it gets delivered well...!"
"I hope so too."
We were going to send the message directly to T1 Culture, the direct parent company of this agency among T1's subsidiaries.
Since I had already set the Department Chief and the General Manager against each other, it would be difficult for anyone in the company to try and seize control of TeSTAR single-handedly. So, it was time to abandon the strategy of playing dumb and pretending we didn't know about the 'we don't know about rookie artists' stance.
The time has come where looking like we have a bad temper is more beneficial than looking easy.
It was better for the group itself to become a power and strike directly within the company. Since even this self-produced comeback was a hit, they were the ones who would be desperate now. Our global performance was also quite good... but let's talk about that later.
I got the contact info by talking the Department Chief into it.
That guy is mistakenly assuming TeSTAR is going to give him bait to take down the General Manager. Instead, I plan to strike at the company's chronic problems.
They can't supply proper manpower.
Because they keep hiring through nepotism, shifting people around, and bringing in inexperienced staff, the gears aren't meshing. The easiest way to write this... was to frame it as a serious problem with risk management.
Security issues, schedule communication issues...
I would connect everything from the recent data-selling attack Ryu Cheong-woo suffered, to the lack of schedule communication, and even my stalker injury incident during the vacation. And if I tied in the 'industrial spy schedule leak' incident that these people would already know about, I could make this claim:
It's because there's a lack of dedicated personnel!
I would write that because our company is a new subsidiary, it's in a situation where it can't easily make the big decision to operate an independent dedicated team on its own. And above all, I would emphasize that if someone gets hurt or becomes unable to promote because of this, it will lead to great controversy and loss...
Now that we've entered the top tier, this level of disruption is fine. It's not like we've acted strangely in the industry before, so at most, some unreliable rumors might circulate among insiders for a bit. Above all, we just have to be polite to the people we're dealing with. As long as we're polite and respectful to the person listening, does it really matter if they're unhappy with the agency or not?
The advance contact was made well, and there's nothing wrong with the format.
It wasn't a childish demand out of the blue; it looked well-made, like a clean business proposal. I took my hands off the keyboard.
"Done."
"Oh~"
"Now we just have to send it!"
"Send! Send!"
And so, the proposal for the 'Establishment of a Project Team Dedicated to the Artists' was sent directly to T1 Culture. If pressure from the parent company pushed in under the guise of 'brand value,' the General Manager wouldn't be able to desperately oppose it and would eventually have to say okay.
Of course, I don't think anyone will just do it willingly.
In fact, I'm fully expecting a response like, 'We understand how you feel, but it's impossible due to costs and principles.'
Then we just move on to the next step.
My mind was spinning fast. Somehow, it was a bit fun.
Bring it on.
However, the phone call that came around 7:30 PM took the situation in a rather unexpected direction.
"...An appearance on a survival show?"
The person on the other end of the line answered clearly.
"Hmm."
In only our third year?
It was a deal I had never even imagined.