Chapter 326
Chapter 326
When I pitched the deal to the General Manager—"Establish an independent label upon winning a Daesang"—I included a set of demanding criteria for the award ceremony.
I did it to make the goal seem unattainable within the timeframe, lowering the company’s guard so they would sign.
—An "Annual Award Ceremony" refers to an event hosted by a digital music or physical album platform that reflects over 70% of the year's market sales figures.
Now, let’s look at the Daesang we just won.
We received it at a ceremony hosted by a major music platform that reflects sales figures at a rate of 75%.
‘Flawless.’
It was an indisputable fulfillment of the conditions.
And there was someone who spoke up about it even before I could.
"We... we can finally be independent now!"
The moment the manager disappeared from the practice room today, Bae Se-jin shouted as if he had been waiting for this exact second.
"In-independence...?"
"Are you moving out, hyung? Is that what you mean by independence?"
Naturally, the response he got was basically 'What kind of nonsense is that?' and Bae Se-jin’s face flushed red, but he stood his ground.
"No, not that... Don't you remember? Park Moon-dae brought the contract. He said if we won a Daesang, they’d let us set up a label!"
Perfect timing. Since someone else took the lead, it was much easier for me to bring it up. I nodded at the members who were now looking at me.
"That’s right. I requested that our dedicated team be spun off into an independent label under the parent company."
"Oohhh."
"I had forgotten, having experienced so many things in the meantime..."
Most of them nodded, showing positive reactions.
A significant amount of time had passed since that damn car accident, so their feelings toward the company had softened quite a bit, but that didn't mean the company's ruined reputation was going to recover.
"Yeah. Se-jin brought up a good point. We should talk to the company."
"Ahem, right. So, let's talk to the manager as soon as he gets back."
However, not everyone agreed.
Keun Se-jin glanced between the practice room mirror and Bae Se-jin a few times before speaking up in his usual easygoing manner.
"Ah~ that really is great news, but how about we talk about it after the awards season is over? We have so much to prepare for right now..."
"What are you talking about? We have to bring it up while we can so they can't say anything else later...!"
"..."
Keun Se-jin’s lips twitched for a moment, but he quickly resumed his smooth tone.
"Hyung-nim, think about it. Won't we probably win a few more Daesangs this year?"
Well, he wasn't wrong.
"There are a lot of ceremonies early next year. If we wrap everything up after winning a few more and then bring it up, I don't think the company will be able to say a word. It’ll be a guaranteed move~"
"Ohh~"
Keun Se-jin gave a thumbs-up to Cha Yu-jin’s exclamation and finished his thought.
"So, for now, I’d like us to focus a bit more on preparing for the ceremonies. After all, the stage is what matters most~ Of course, that’s just my opinion."
"..."
Whatever that touched in him, Bae Se-jin remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"...It’s not like I’m saying I’ll neglect the stage preparations. I’m going to work hard."
"That’s not what I meant either... No, that’s not the point."
They were trying so hard to be polite to each other despite being a bad match. I cut the conversation there.
"Let's not waste energy arguing over whether we say it a bit earlier or later."
The answer was the same either way, wasn't it? I crossed my arms.
"No matter what happens, we're definitely setting up that label and getting out."
"..."
"R-right."
"Of course, we have to."
What? Why are they looking at me like that?
"Hmm... Then shall we put it to a vote?"
As Ryu Cheong-woo suggested when he stepped in to settle the situation, the minor conflict was neatly resolved with a vote.
The result was neck and neck.
"It's 4 to 3."
The ones who voted to speak up immediately were Bae Se-jin, Seon A-hyun, and Ryu Cheong-woo.
And... the winner was decided by the final vote added to that side.
"Moon-dae, you're on this side too, right?"
"Yes."
It was me.
"...!"
Ryu Cheong-woo immediately made the declaration.
"The majority wants to speak up right away. Then shall we proceed in that direction?"
"Se-jin hyung, you look cool! The vote is weird—"
"Hey, Yu-jin, what's with you! You have to accept the results gracefully!"
Keun Se-jin laughed and held up both hands.
"Understood. If that's the team's opinion, then so be it~ Instead, everyone has to practice as hard as usual, okay?"
"You don't even have to ask!"
"Of course."
And so, practice resumed in a warm atmosphere.
However, a short while later.
While I was heading to the restroom during a break, Keun Se-jin followed me and caught me in a headlock.
"Moon-dae, Moon-dae, this is a betrayal...! We should handle things one by one. What is this? Have you already talked to the company or something?"
Accepting the results gracefully, my foot. This guy was acting like he didn't care, but he was actually pissed.
I barely managed to break free and spoke.
"It's not like that."
"Then what?"
I muttered while massaging the back of my neck.
"I just want to rip the label away from these bastards as soon as possible..."
"..."
I mean, even putting the mission aside, the way the company management was acting was annoying.
Crossing the line once or twice is one thing, but doing it every single time was practically a talent.
Keun Se-jin sighed.
"Fine, I guess you would feel that way, Moon-dae..."
Why? Ah, he’s giving me a pass because I was the one most seriously injured in the car accident.
‘Thinking about it the other way, it means he can't understand the other person who brought it up.’
Meaning Bae Se-jin.
I’d felt the tension between them thinning for a while now, but during high-stress periods like the year-end awards or promotion cycles where emotions and stamina are drained, their tolerance for each other hits rock bottom.
Because they’d been a team for so long, the implicit hierarchy had crumbled, so Keun Se-jin wasn't in a position of power over him like before. But that equality brought its own set of new noises.
‘Hmm.’
Instead of trying to defend Bae Se-jin directly and ruining the mood, I pivoted slightly.
"I'll make sure there are no issues with the stage preparations, so don't worry."
"I know... but that's just one more thing to worry about."
Keun Se-jin sighed as he walked.
"Overall, everyone is in too much of a hurry. An independent label isn't a joke, and the company won't let us go easily... Why give them time to prepare by telling them early? Sigh."
True, he was right. We couldn't just trust the contract; it was better to have the environment fully prepared.
I admitted it honestly.
"Actually, rationally speaking, you're right."
"Hey, you should have said that earlier!"
Then the vote might have changed, and I couldn't let that happen, you punk.
Still, I understood how he felt, so I offered my reasoning instead.
"The problem is that the company probably had that same 'rational' thought."
"..."
Keun Se-jin went silent for a moment, then spoke with a face that looked like he’d been hit over the head.
"They already know."
"Exactly."
There was no way the company would forget about their biggest cash cow potentially pulling out.
The moment we won that Daesang, they must have started meetings about it.
"So I figured it would be better to speak up early to establish our justification."
"...Phew."
Keun Se-jin gave a bitter smile.
"This is going to be a tedious drag."
And just as he predicted, things began to unfold.
On the way back after practice, we relayed the "label establishment" request through the manager. The reply came late the next day.
"They said that since it's the year-end and New Year season, there are a lot of internal decisions being made, so it'll be hard to schedule a meeting right away."
Bullshit. I snorted.
‘They’re starting their tricks already.’
Step one: Buying time.
They were playing games to delay the fulfillment of the promise as much as possible. In the meantime, they were probably meeting with lawyers.
They were likely drafting an offer like, 'If you finish your current contract, we'll give you a label during the renewal.'
‘Because I didn't specify a timeframe for fulfillment in the contract.’
I left it out because the moment I tried to include it, they would have made things incredibly difficult.
I could pressure them by bringing up the principle of good faith, but since the label would still be under T1 anyway, I had to be tactful with the pressure.
‘I shouldn't look so aggressive that it seems like I want to leave T1 entirely.’
I had to maintain the vibe that this was purely about wanting to reach our full potential as artists.
"Hmm..."
I paced the practice room hallway, briefly organizing my thoughts. I planned to head back in before the break ended.
It was then.
Click.
"Hey."
The person who walked out of the practice room called out to me. It was Bae Se-jin.
‘What now?’
He closed the door, looked around, walked over to me, and whispered.
"...Thanks."
"...?"
"I—I said thanks for agreeing with my opinion!!"
Ah, yesterday.
Bae Se-jin exhaled to calm his excitement, then continued quite seriously.
"Actually, I thought it wouldn't work. I figured... some people might think I lack tact or don't understand the situation..."
I see.
Whether it was the lawsuit against the company or other times, Bae Se-jin had experienced his opinions being rejected by the team far too often.
"No. Our thoughts just happened to align. I should be the one thanking you for speaking up first."
"...Right."
Only then did Bae Se-jin’s face relax. He looked inwardly proud.
‘But was this really something worth taking time out to say...?’
For someone so stubborn, sensitive, and blunt, he really was weak to people supporting him.
Despite being upright, he was exactly the type of person who would be easy for a con artist to fleece.
"......Hmm."
Wait.
"W-what?!"
No, looking at him like that reminded me of something.
‘...I think I did something similar when I was in Ryu Gun-woo’s body.’
Back when we met in front of the restroom sinks.
—I enjoyed your performance earlier. I think your expressions are always great.
I had encouraged Bae Se-jin when he wasn't being recognized.
‘Surely he’s not so weak to recognition or praise that he remembers what I said back then.’
I briefly suspected him, remembering how he was the type to look up "Bae Se-jin's Stage Evolution" videos on WeTube, but I quickly dismissed the thought.
‘No way.’
No matter how much hate he got, he was a guy with enough fans to make it into TeSTAR. There must have been countless incidents like that.
Let's get back to the topic.
"I just realized that seeing how the company is acting, they really don't want to give us the label."
"Exactly... I was right, wasn't I? These guys are doing this on purpose! Should, should we be more aggressive...?"
"Wait a second."
I stopped him.
"There's no need to be aggressive with them. We just... have to move first."
"...?"
Actually, a method had just occurred to me. I hadn't left the timeframe out of the contract for nothing.
‘It’s been ages since our power dynamic with the company was broken.’
As I thought earlier, we shouldn't increase the tension with T1 while creating the label.
But what about 'T1 Stars'? The subsidiary that was hastily thrown together just to take TeSTAR, and whose revenue would drop by more than half if we became independent?
‘They’re pushovers if we have a justification.’
I smiled and spoke.
"Hyung, I have an idea."
A few days later, at ToneA, the awards ceremony hosted by T1.
In front of a very elegant fountain set, dressed in modern-style suits, we finished our performance and, as expected, won an award.
Artist of the Year.
"Congratulations, TeSTAR!"
Amidst flower petals and cheers, the members—now somewhat used to this since it was their second time—climbed onto the podium with bright smiles.
‘Honestly, it would be a lie to say we didn't know we'd get this.’
"Thank you. It is a great honor to receive such a big award in front of K-pop listeners from all over the world as ToneA is being broadcast live in 32 countries, and more than anything, I want to return this joy and gratitude to Loviewers..."
I listened as Kim Rae-bin spat out his acceptance speech without even pausing for breath, followed by the other members who hadn't had a chance to speak before.
And at the very end, when the prompter started flashing messages to hurry up.
Just when everyone thought the speeches were wrapping up.
"Thank you~"
"Thank you!"
I grabbed the microphone with a bright face, acting as if I had just remembered something.
And I went for it.
"To celebrate our Daesang, we're launching our own label!"
Sorry, but you guys forgot to put a confidentiality clause in the supplemental contract.
‘What are you going to do about it?’
The contract conditions were met, we’d already informed the company, and we could just say we mentioned it because we were overwhelmed with emotion.
"Whoo!!"
"We look forward to your support~"
The members, not sensing any awkwardness in the statement at all, laughed joyfully and added their own comments. They were doing great.
‘Good.’
Furthermore, this preemptive strike had an effect beyond just a public announcement. It was at a level the company could never retract.
‘I’m already looking forward to the reaction.’
"Thank you once again to the company staff who support us with both heart and soul. We will continue to show you even better things. Thank you!"
I smiled and put down the microphone.
And starting that evening, articles began to pour out at a terrifying pace.