Chapter 423
Chapter 423
Kim Rae-bin spoke with a tense expression.
“To summarize, if our live performance is broadcast, demand is expected to increase due to the promotional effect, and the company is planning a sort of encore tour—additional concerts—to match that. Is that correct?”
“Yeah.”
“But all of this is a calculated path, a… conspiracy to somehow make us accept more touring without backlash?”
“Something like that.”
It wasn't quite a conspiracy, just a tactic to humor us, but close enough.
At that, Kim Rae-bin’s expression turned hollow, as if he had just realized his company was actually a global drug smuggling ring.
Anyway, he understood, so that was enough.
“Won't the fans get suspicious? If they keep holding off on our album like this.”
“Even if the fans are suspicious, the general public won't really know, so public opinion won't rally behind us.”
In fact, I thought it was highly likely that even fans who enjoyed content casually wouldn't think that far.
Looking at TeSTAR alone, it made no sense from a market economy perspective not to release an album. People would probably just assume it was being delayed because we were filling it with self-produced songs.
“It’s not like we’ve been active for many years, and it’s not like our last album did poorly.”
“…I see. Technically, we’ve only barely finished four years.”
Objectively speaking, TeSTAR was at the beginning of its prime, having just won a Grand Prize and established itself as a definitive top-tier idol group.
Keun Se-jin gave a bitter smile.
“Even so, since it’s a five-year contract instead of seven, I guess it can’t be helped~”
Right.
The problem was that atypical five-year contract, and…
‘The fact that the agency is linked to a broadcasting station that can endlessly churn out fairly reputable rookie groups through survival programs.’
We had created a label to prevent them from poaching our planning staff, but now everyone was sighing because the agency wasn't scheduling any activities for us.
“Still, touring blindly like this is a bit much.”
“I like performing! But losing is not okay. We should boycott the tour now.”
“Isn't a boycott a bit strange coming from the ones performing? It is still our company, after all.”
“Could we… just say we won't do it because we don't want to…?”
Protesting by refusing to tour, huh?
I rubbed my chin, imagining a future where that became a reality.
[Famous Boy Group… “Refuses Concerts,” Riot in Meeting Room]
- Who is it?
- Give me the initials.
- Context suggests it’s TST, is this rumor reliable?
- It’s just a rumor, but if it’s true, that’s legendary;
“They’ll probably use the media to drag us through the mud to lower our market value, thinking we have no intention of renewing because we’re being uncooperative.”
“…….”
Bae Se-jin’s expression turned strange, as if a bad memory had flashed through his mind.
“You know the drill.”
Yeah. I’d scraped some info after seeing the case of your shitty former agency back when we first debuted. Those guys were particularly extreme, but it’s rare to find a place that doesn't do it at all.
Anyway, we decided not to reject the live broadcast of the concert on public television and instead wait for the right moment.
“Keep preparing for the album.”
“Okay.”
And as expected, at some point, the broadcast was changed from a full TeSTAR concert to one where part of the setlist was distributed to guests.
“These bastards, seriously….”
“Moon-dae is a real psychic~”
Furthermore, they used the phrasing ‘Appearance of junior labelmates on the sub-stage,’ cleverly arranging it so it wasn't explicitly called a company-wide concert like last time.
The title remained a TeSTAR performance.
‘They want to milk TeSTAR’s buzz for all it’s worth.’
I wouldn't be human if I weren't annoyed, but it was awkward to refuse.
Since the broadcasting station, the agency, and investors all had a stake in the concert, if we made it a copyright issue, we’d only end up looking like we were throwing a tantrum for no gain.
‘I have to aim for a single, decisive blow.’
Until then, I should keep a low profile and act as if I didn't quite see the whole picture of how things were turning out.
“Let’s practice.”
“Of course. Alright, everyone, let’s sync our foot angles again.”
And while we were refining the stage for the broadcast… a call I hadn't exactly been expecting came through a company contact.
From a junior.
But it wasn't Spacer.
—Hello, Sunbaenim!
It was Park Min-ha from Mirinae, the idol who had placed 2nd in Aju-sa.
The stated purpose was ‘inquiries regarding the sub-stage,’ but once I picked up the phone, she started talking about something else.
—Um….
“Yes.”
—Sunbaenim, uh, I have something important to tell—no, first, I’m sorry for taking up your time. May I take a moment of your time? ……?! Wait, no.
“Yes.”
Why was she so flustered again?
“I don’t think you’re taking up my time, so please, feel free to get to the point.”
—…! Yes, well, the thing is….
Min-ha got straight to the point.
—Is there… any way for other groups in the company to move to your label as well?
“…!”
She said ‘other groups,’ but there was really only one group this junior would be asking about.
Her own.
“Are you talking about Mirinae?”
—…Well, yes. Including us. Since we’re fundamentally in the same company, I was wondering if there was a way to change our affiliation, even if the profit ratios and such stay the same….
As I thought.
‘But you should be asking the label CEO that, why are you asking me?’
I felt a bit uneasy, wondering if the impact of announcing our move to the label at the awards ceremony had been too strong, but I gave her a common-sense answer for now.
“You could just include it as a condition during contract renewal. But doesn't Mirinae still have over a year or two left on their contract?”
—Ah. Um.
Her voice dropped slightly, and she hesitated.
‘Hmm.’
Could it be?
I intentionally asked her point-blank.
“Is there another problem right now?”
—The truth is….
She took a deep breath.
—It looks like… our album is going to be delayed a lot.
“…….”
—Many of the staff members in charge of us recently left due to a personnel reorganization.
Of course.
“Did they quit, or did they move to another team?”
—……Yes.
I pretty much got the picture. But their case was slightly different from ours.
—You know the group that’s debuting from this agency soon? The ones who debuted through the Be My Girls program.
“Ah.”
The junior was referring to Tnet’s new survival program that had recently ended. That broadcasting station just couldn't give up the taste of idol survivals.
It didn't have the same impact or buzz as Aju-sa, but it did well enough overseas and secured a basic fanbase.
And from what I’d seen on the internet….
[The survival program where the final debut lineup is the ultimate 'hope' version]
I’d seen posts saying the number of people interested had increased significantly as soon as the debut list was released.
A rookie group with a clean image, no trashy reputation like Aju-sa, and a secured fanbase? They were probably excited to pour resources into them.
And where would they have taken those resources from?
They would have stripped them from the people working on existing lines.
—The people we used to work with went over there… and now our album production has come to a halt.
So, for them, it wasn't even a matter of the contract renewal period.
When a glamorous new business item appeared, they were stripping away even the existing planning personnel to attach them there.
Since they weren't even separated into a label, it was hard for the artists to defend themselves. They were company personnel to begin with.
In that case.
‘They probably mentioned an additional tour to them as well.’
Mirinae was definitely among the guests being put into our concert.
They’d probably book a tour for them too, talking about promotional effects, to buy time and money until they could hire new planning staff. Since they were a group with a decent overseas fanbase.
Even if they’d already booked it, they wouldn't tell them in advance.
There aren't many idols who would welcome the fact that they’d be doing nothing but touring all year with open arms.
Anyway, the Aju-sa 2nd place winner continued quite calmly.
—I thought that if it’s an independent label, you’d have separate staff, so things might be different for you… I wanted to ask what it was like.
It was an honest answer, without any vague laughing it off. It seemed she was taking the situation quite seriously.
‘She probably guessed that we’re in a similar boat.’
Still, even if their situations were similar, one would usually be reluctant to say such things to a senior from another group.
‘I’ll give her credit for the guts.’
But right now, there was no way for them to move their affiliation. Even if I knew, I wouldn't say.
“Even if it’s independent, it’s ultimately a subsidiary, so it’s not much different. And as for moving now… honestly, I’m not an employee with that kind of authority, so I wouldn't know.”
—…Ah, yes! I’m sorry. I brought it up so suddenly!
But before that, a pretty good idea occurred to me.
After hearing this case, one thing became certain.
‘In the end, the company’s head is turned by new projects that look promising.’
“…….”
Hmm, it was worth considering.
Should I lay some groundwork first?
—I should have organized my thoughts more before contacting you, but I showed a poor side of myself by making a mistake during our first greeting. I’ll be more careful in the future!
“It’s fine.”
Anyone would think I was her boss. I suppressed a sigh and began to lay the groundwork.
“And about the album.”
—…Yes.
“Now that I think about it, there might be a way to release it even without moving to the label.”
—……!
“Are you willing to cooperate? Though I can’t say it’s not dangerous at all.”
A brief silence followed on the other end of the line, then a question came.
—What kind of danger is it?
Essentially, she was saying she’d do it unless it was something truly extreme.
I let out a short laugh and spoke.
“The risk of the agency disappearing.”
“…?!”
*
“Then the TeSTAR side is settled, right?”
“Yep. We’ll proceed as is without any other special issues.”
The largest meeting room of T1 Stars.
The working-level staff attended the Monday morning general meeting and talked busily.
To be precise, it was a time to nod and give plausible answers every time the directors said something, hoping time would pass quickly.
“We have to aim for securing the time slot rather than the running time. Don't you think?”
“Yes, yes, of course….”
This week’s topic was the planning for ‘Agency Concert Version 2,’ disguised as the TeSTAR concert to be broadcast on public television.
And there was a brief mention of hiring before it vanished… anyway.
A PR department employee, who was faking alertness with bright eyes while actually dying of boredom from years of experience, suddenly had a thought.
‘Come to think of it, why are we doing this with public TV instead of Tnet?’
Usually, Tnet would have fought tooth and nail to snatch up these kinds of broadcasting rights as soon as they were mentioned.
The employee found it even more puzzling since no suitable answer came to mind, but soon brushed it off.
Whatever. As long as he got his paycheck, that was all that mattered.
“Good work, everyone~”
“Let’s all pay a bit more attention this week, please.”
After hearing the same things he heard every time and quietly leaving the meeting room without standing out, he finally started whispering with people of similar rank while walking down the hallway.
“So, is the Spacer side taking the lead now?”
“I guess so, right?”
Gossip about promotions and friction between departments and teams.
“There was a lot of talk about T1 pushing the label or whatever, but honestly, I’m starting to wonder what’ll happen….”
“Ah, but the people over at Orbit looked pretty good.”
“Right! Doesn't it honestly show when they say a workplace is just a workplace? Normally, it’s standard to say you’re dying of work~”
The employees’ mouths became busy as they recalled how the people from TeSTAR’s label, ‘Orbit,’ looked healthy and relaxed whenever they met them.
‘The planning is fun,’ ‘There’s a lot of autonomy,’ ‘I heard the artists have good personalities,’ and so on.
There were typical stories of a good workplace, but there were also malicious worries about whether they would become an isolated island and have their careers sink.
After all, the way the company was running now was complicated.
‘You never know who’s going to blow up and what’s going to fail.’
Wasn't it the same with pushing a new group instead of TeSTAR, who were currently at their peak?
Ah, the entertainment business!
Even after sitting down, they continued to exchange such stories via messenger.
This was said as the Management Department Chief passed by.
That guy, who had firmly established his position through matters related to TeSTAR’s dedicated team, still looked slick and healthy.
The employee thought absentmindedly.
Maybe TeSTAR was the same?
‘Well, yeah, they’ve made a lot of money… I heard the tour settlements are no joke.’
Maybe it was actually better to have a sparse comeback. They said that during tours, you could even go out and play on weekdays when there were no performances.
‘Whatever the case, their lives are definitely better than mine.’
So, he should just work as much as he was paid. Only as much as he was paid!
The employee re-checked and refined the press release materials for Spacer.
Without even dreaming that around that time, a director would suddenly receive an urgent verbal report and immediately call for an emergency meeting in a state of excitement.
And regardless of how all those uncertain factors flowed, the planning for the ‘TeSTAR Concert’ was successfully realized, and the broadcast date began to steadily approach.