Chapter 456
Chapter 456
“Min-ha!”
“…O-Oh, Ha-rin.”
Park Min-ha of Mirinae had been living in a daze lately, as if her soul had checked out.
With the company in total chaos and the group’s schedule left in limbo, the members were spending more time at the dorm, each trying to shake off their anxiety by immersing themselves in hobbies or practice.
But Park Min-ha was acting particularly strange.
Is she under too much stress?
Once again, the weight of leadership pressed down on her… Mirinae’s Sung Ha-rin crossed her arms, looking grave.
That was when Park Min-ha suddenly spoke up.
“Ha-rin, if… if we could go to another company, would you go?”
“…?!”
“A-Actually, never mind. Just pretend you didn’t hear that.”
If there were anyone in the world who could just "pretend they didn’t hear that," they wouldn't be an idol!
Another company? Another company?
Did she get some kind of signal?
Sung Ha-rin knew the company was a mess. However, escaping an entertainment agency before the contract expired was next to impossible.
But if something realistic were to happen in the midst of this chaos… could it be?!
“Are we going to TeSTAR Label?!”
“Shh, shh!”
Park Min-ha looked horrified.
She frantically looked left and right as if someone might be listening, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
“Is it true?”
“No, no, it’s not that!”
But after some hesitating, she added, “…But I think there might be a possibility.”
What?!
Park Min-ha was never the type of member to make empty boasts. If she was saying this, she must have heard something.
At that moment, a suspicion Sung Ha-rin had forgotten struck her. Those two had been having particularly meaningful conversations lately.
“……”
Could Min-ha’s source be…
“Wait… did Park Moon-dae Sunbaenim tell you?”
“…?!”
Park Min-ha froze.
Seeing her reaction, which looked like a direct hit, the suspicion Sung Ha-rin had buried began to creep back up.
Are the two of them dating…
“Ha-rin, you don’t think there are rumors going around that we’re close, do you? Like among company staff, or other idols, or—heaven forbid—the fans? Is that terrifying situation actually happening…?”
...Never mind.
“N-No! I just deduced it myself!”
“Phew.”
Park Min-ha let out a long sigh.
She slumped into a chair with an expression that looked like she had been burnt to a crisp.
“Your deduction is right…”
“…I see.”
It seemed so.
However, Ha-rin decided never to entertain that last suspicion again.
Right, there’s no way someone as dedicated to being an idol as Min-ha would be that obvious about it!
That meant she was communicating with Park Moon-dae strictly for business.
“Then what on earth is going on?”
“……He told me to just wait a little longer.”
Park Min-ha was staring at her smartphone with a melancholic expression.
“…?”
Sung Ha-rin was left with a giant question mark over the incomprehensible situation, but Park Min-ha didn't offer any more answers.
A few days later, a cautious contact came from the company.
Incredibly, they were offering to let the group own their group name directly, rather than the company!
“Why would they do this?”
“They’re probably trying to flip the mood. You know, image-making?”
“Aha.”
The members discussed it, but regardless of the reason, being able to buy their group name was a very attractive offer! It meant they could keep their name even if they changed companies!
This is huge.
Ha-rin covered her mouth in excitement, but reality soon set in.
…But we don’t have enough in our settlements to just casually buy this.
Wait a minute.
Are they using this as an excuse to… act generous while putting us in debt, then clawing it back from our future settlements to bleed us dry?
If they didn't plan on keeping the group long-term and just wanted a quick cash-out, they wouldn't care about the group's trademark anyway!
They’re doing this because they have no intention of supporting Mirinae for the long haul!
However, the company asked for a surprisingly reasonable price.
“…?”
Of course, it was still in the hundreds of millions of won, but it wasn't some insane amount like tens of billions.
“I really think we should buy it! Yes!”
“If Min-ha says so, I’m in!”
With Park Min-ha’s active leadership and Yul-gi’s bright approval, the members readily pooled their money to buy the trademark under their joint names.
“What about the other groups?”
“It sounds like they’re all buying theirs too.”
It made sense. Unless it was the rookies from the survival show Be My Girls, which was on the verge of sinking due to controversy, no one would miss this chance.
…Even though it was annoying how the company played the media, acting as if they had graciously gifted the rights when they had actually sold them, the atmosphere was good.
Public reaction was positive too, with people saying, ‘They’re moving in a completely different direction from T1, who treats artists as disposables.’ It was bittersweet, but a good thing in the long run.
We still have years left until contract renewal.
TeSTAR’s contract had been five years, but after that Aju-sa season became a massive hit, the standard was locked at seven years.
Alright. We’ll make the next album a hit! Even if we end up joining TeSTAR Label, that’s fine too!
Sung Ha-rin decided to think as positively as possible!
…Until this article broke.
[Will TeSTAR’s Contract Renewal Fall Through? Where is the K-POP Stars’ Next Nest?]
“……”
TeSTAR wasn't renewing.
W-Wait.
TeSTAR Label is about to be disbanded?!
They’re escaping!
They were running away by themselves!
Then what was all that stuff Park Min-ha said? Sung Ha-rin whipped her head around from the WeTube screen to look at Park Min-ha so hard her neck almost snapped, but…
“Min-ha-ya?”
“Hehehe… haha.”
Park Min-ha was laughing hollowly while staring at the WeTube screen.
She didn't look surprised.
She just had the aura of someone who had made an irreversible decision. Like someone who had just put a massive, expensive purchase on a 24-month installment plan.
“…??”
Park Min-ha let Jung Yul-gi poke her as she reflected on her past choices.
This… I picked the right rope to hold onto, right??
Since he had never been wrong before, she had to believe she wouldn't be abandoned this time either.
Please!
Limp as an inflatable tube man at a grand opening, Park Min-ha picked up her smartphone.
*
Vrrr.
[Mirinae Park Min-ha: Sunbaenim, I heard you aren't renewing your contract... Congratulations on moving to a new place.]
Right. It was about time the articles started appearing.
I cleared the notifications flooding in from all over and replied to that message.
[Thank you.]
Of course, she didn't send that just to congratulate me.
She’s testing the waters.
I added the next part.
[You don’t need to worry.]
The reply came back within seconds.
[Mirinae Park Min-ha: Yes...]
[Mirinae Park Min-ha: Of course. You even invited me to the group chat, so I trust you, Sunbaenim.]
Look at her.
She’s implying that she can leak the group chat if things go south, so I shouldn't backstab her.
She’s gotten sharper.
I chuckled, sent an "Understood," and turned off my phone.
I wasn't the only one watching the messages.
“Wow, the messages are coming in like crazy.”
“Yeah, tell me about it…”
The members were being bombarded with messages about the article from all sides.
I reflected on the news I had heard yesterday.
The General Manager quit.
Without missing a beat, that guy had bolted.
On top of that, the news of TeSTAR not renewing was now public.
Of course, the company didn't release that article.
We tipped them off.
We didn't do it directly, of course; we leaked it through "insiders" as if it were a mistake.
In the end, the company was hit with these massive abandonments one after another in a short period, at a timing they never could have predicted.
At this very moment, when the company was at its most unstable.
“Shall we proceed with the next step of the plan~?”
Indeed.
I turned to look at the person in charge.
The one in this group who held the most trustworthy and stable image.
“Hyung, I’m counting on you.”
“I should be the one saying that, Hyung.”
Ryu Cheong-woo, who was already prepared, smiled and left the dorm.
His destination was the company conference room.
However, it wasn't the T1 Stars conference room, but the one for their subsidiary, TeSTAR Label.
*
Phew…
Kwon Hee-seung—the idol still referred to by Park Moon-dae as "Gold 2"—was scrolling through the past history of a group chat.
It was the "Great Company Escape" group chat created by Park Moon-dae.
I thought I’d have to bring up the Wish Coupon for him to help us.
Company issues like this were incredibly difficult. So, Kwon Hee-seung had been prepared to use the Wish Coupon he received back when they were dragged into that bizarre virtual world and suffered.
But before it even came to that, Park Moon-dae had reached out first.
There was one condition, though.
[No matter what happens, stay still.]
That was it.
So, even as the board members were arrested, the trademarks were sold, the General Manager left, and TeSTAR walked away, Kwon Hee-seung remained steadfastly still in the middle of the chaos.
He must be drawing a big picture.
Even though Park Moon-dae’s attitude could be a bit intense, Hee-seung knew. Moon-dae Hyung was definitely the type to have loyalty and affection!
…Though his heart almost stopped when he saw the news that TeSTAR was actually leaving without renewing.
It’s okay. He’s not cutting us off!
But the next piece of news almost made even the optimistic Hee-seung’s heart fail.
“Hey, crazy! I heard all the staff at that label resigned.”
“…!? What?”
“That TeSTAR Label, Orbit? I heard the employees there are quitting one after another!”
Oh my god.
And through the grapevine, Kwon Hee-seung soon learned it wasn't an exaggeration; almost the entire staff had indeed resigned.
Naturally, the parent company was in an uproar.
—This is no joke.
—Wait, is something else about to blow up…?
Slowly, those who could find other jobs began to leave the company like a relay race.
With nearly half the company’s workforce escaping—an unprecedented event—the company, which was already failing to function properly because most of the executives were gone, seemed to be completely paralyzed.
“……”
Kwon Hee-seung grew even more anxious, but he decided to keep trusting Park Moon-dae.
Since there was nothing a non-A-list celebrity could do anyway, it was better for his mental health to think positively!
He did send a KakaoTalk message, though.
[Hyung... the company staff are evaporating.]
[And where is TeSTAR going? ㅠ]
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Hyung?]
The reply came almost immediately.
[They aren't evaporating.]
[Wait just a little longer.]
“…?”
And that very evening, a flashy article appeared on the main page of the entertainment news.
[TeSTAR’s Extraordinary Loyalty... Not a New Nest, but the Agency of their "Label CEO"]
[TeSTAR Signs with New Agency... Turns Out to be the Resigned "CEO"]
“…!”
That was it.
TeSTAR didn't openly set up their own agency.
Nor did they go to an existing one.
Instead, they moved to a new agency established by their Label CEO after he resigned.
At that moment, Kwon Hee-seung realized.
…Wait, were all those label employees resigning because…?
Exactly.
While Park Moon-dae handled the General Manager, Ryu Cheong-woo had taken charge of winning over the label staff.
Amidst the company’s precarious outlook, the exploding scandals, and the anxiety that they too should "cut their losses"… he had triggered a sort of herd mentality.
—We really… think we’d consider renewing if we could keep working with the people here.
The Label CEO had gladly grabbed the lifeline.
And at the word that TeSTAR would follow, most of the label employees, after gauging the situation, jumped off the sinking ship together.
That was how it ended up like this.
They couldn't go independent as a label.
But they disappeared as if scattering, only to reorganize into a brand-new agency!
Amazing, so that’s why Hyung said they weren't evaporating.
Kwon Hee-seung was in awe, but he soon remembered his own situation.
Wait, but what happens to us?
Spacer.
Are we… are we being abandoned like this…?
[Hyung??]
[Hyung-nim ㅠㅠ??]
The reply came quickly again.
[Just a little more.]
No, exactly how much more?!
Kwon Hee-seung wanted to wail, and he sent a message saying exactly that.
After sending it, he worried for a moment if he sounded like he was getting angry, but Park Moon-dae didn't get mad.
He simply replied like this:
[Until the people there are even more anxious than you.]
*
“…Huh?”
And a short while later.
Incredible news arrived.
“The company… has been merged and acquired.”
“…??”
“TeSTAR’s new agency bought T1 Stars….”
What?!
Kwon Hee-seung almost dropped his phone at the manager’s words.
Then, he spotted a fresh KakaoTalk message from Park Moon-dae that had just arrived.
[I think your contract can be terminated now.]
[Should we pull the trigger?]
“……”
My god.
After heightening the sentiment that the company was doomed to the absolute limit.
After driving down its market value and future prospects as much as possible.
At the most favorable moment, at the lowest price.
TeSTAR’s new agency had swallowed T1 Stars whole.
“……”
So this was why he told me to stay still.
Kwon Hee-seung realized instinctively.
If he had shown any sign that he had a safety net or acted aggressively, it might have disrupted the atmosphere. That was why the order was to "stay still."
Wow.
Seriously… it was incredible.
It was a company escape beyond anything he could have imagined.