A Taste of Their Own Medicine

Shortly after their major debut.

"Manager Hayasaka!"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"The Deputy General Managers and the General Manager are calling for you! Hurry! Go right now!"

"They're calling for me? Why?"

"I don't know. They look absolutely furious. Did you do something wrong?"

"Something wrong? Me? No, nothing. But you said the Deputy General Managers? Even Deputy General Manager Ishikawa?"

"I don't know! Just hurry up and go!"

The female employee, having rushed into the A&R Team 1 office, spoke breathlessly. Manager Hayasaka, utterly bewildered, began gathering his documents. As far as he could tell, the only project that could possibly warrant a summons was Group Sound's recent album release.

If I want that promotion, I need to show them how thorough I am...

Of course, pulling off one successful project wouldn't guarantee an immediate promotion, but compared to the other managers who merely repeated safe, routine tasks without any real achievements, his score would undoubtedly skyrocket. Clinging to this dream-like hope, Hayasaka headed to meet his superiors, documents in hand.

But that dream was shattered in an instant.

"Hayasaka, what on earth were you thinking?"

The moment he stepped into the meeting room, Deputy General Manager Watanabe's voice whipped through the air. Hayasaka froze, his hand hovering over the table where he was about to set his documents. Watanabe was known for his sharp tongue, but this was completely out of character.

"...Excuse me?"

"I asked what you were thinking."

"Pardon?"

"Is 'pardon' the only word you know?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't understand. Did I make a mistake?"

"My, what a comedian we have here," Deputy General Manager Ishikawa sneered, letting out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a snicker.

Watanabe dragged both hands down his face in sheer frustration. Hayasaka could only blink, completely lost.

"I don't know if you're playing dumb after causing a disaster, or if you're genuinely clueless, Manager Hayasaka."

"Yes, General Manager."

"Didn't you place the order for Group Sound's CDs the other day? How many copies did you order?"

Was there an issue with the CD order? Hayasaka racked his brain. The album design was perfect, the specifications were fully met, and the quantity was exactly what had been decided in the meeting...

"I ordered fifty thousand copies, sir."

"Fifty thousand? Are you mocking us?"

"What? No, sir! I ordered exactly fifty thousand copies, just as I was instructed..."

"What rubbish! Hayasaka, you ordered a hundred and fifty thousand copies! What do you mean, fifty thousand?!" Watanabe roared from the side.

For a second, Hayasaka couldn't process the number. A hundred and fifty thousand? He had clearly ordered fifty thousand. Where did this hundred and fifty thousand come from? He had written the number down with absolute precision.

"I... I ordered exactly fifty thousand copies, sir. I never ordered a hundred and fifty thousand."

"Didn't you call Deputy General Manager Ishihara at Sanko Station on the evening of the order, telling him you made a mistake on the form and correcting the order to a hundred and fifty thousand?"

"What?! No, never! I went straight home after work that day, General Manager!" Hayasaka protested with all his might. He had done no such thing.

As the General Manager frowned, Watanabe spoke up.

"Deputy General Manager Ishihara from Sanko Station called me. He said the pressing was already underway and wanted to know which distributor we wanted to use for the additional stock. When I asked him what additional stock he was talking about, he said you called him that evening, claimed you filled out the order form incorrectly, and requested a correction to a hundred and fifty thousand copies. The pressing is already done. And you're telling me you have absolutely no knowledge of this?"

"Yes...! Yes, sir! I was exhausted that day, so I just went straight home, had a can of beer, and went to sleep, Deputy General Manager... I don't have anyone to vouch for me, but..."

Seeing Hayasaka's desperate, aggrieved reaction, Watanabe fell into deep thought. His distress seemed far too genuine to be an act. And thinking logically, there was no reason for Hayasaka—who was already guaranteed a successful project—to suddenly triple the order to 150,000 copies without a single word of Hou-Ren-So, the fundamental rule of Japanese business.

"Ah! Of course! The CCTV! We have CCTV in the office. If we check the footage, it'll prove I wasn't even here—"

"Stop trying to shift the blame onto others, Hayasaka. What are you implying by bringing up the CCTV?" Ishikawa cut in.

"Pardon?"

"If you didn't do it, then someone else did? To sabotage you? Are you seriously accusing your own colleagues now?"

Unlike Watanabe, Ishikawa had realized the truth of the situation the moment he heard the details. It was glaringly obvious that one of the managers who despised Hayasaka had set him up.

How incredibly sloppy... I'll cover it up for now since it gives us leverage over him, but honestly. Judging by the sheer lack of finesse, this has Manager Shinomiya's signature all over it.

"N-no, that's not what I meant... But I really didn't—"

"Really didn't what? If it wasn't you, are you saying Deputy General Manager Ishihara at Sanko Station just made up a story out of thin air? Or did some random passerby sneak in and play a prank on your phone? You don't actually believe that, do you? Which means you're accusing your coworkers."

At Ishikawa's sneering remarks, the other two also realized what had actually transpired. It was only natural; they were seasoned experts when it came to internal factional warfare.

"We still need to investigate what happened. We have to find the root cause to prevent this from happening again," the General Manager said, his voice calm, contrasting with Watanabe's fiery anger. "But enough of that. What's done is done. Stop bickering and start thinking about how we're going to handle this inventory. We have to report this to the Executive Director."

For the initial 50,000 copies, Zenith Music Entertainment's sales strategy had been as follows:

First, sell 30,000 copies in the first week through domestic promotions. Although the music was excellent, Group Sound was still a Korean artist making their debut, so achieving massive immediate sales would be difficult. Conservatively, 30,000 was deemed the maximum realistic target.

Then, sell the remaining 10,000 copies through subsequent promotions and new fan acquisition.

If demand exceeded this, they would order a second pressing, at which point they would consult with Label Echo Sound to add special bonuses.

But wait, 30,000 plus 10,000 left 10,000 copies. What about those?

The remaining 10,000 copies were allocated to Label Echo Sound. Even though it was a Japanese release, Korean fans would undoubtedly want to purchase the physical album as well. This had been proposed by Label Echo Sound first, and Zenith had gladly accepted.

It was supposed to be a win-win for everyone. Group Sound, who had delivered a stellar album; Label Echo Sound, who looked forward to adding new songs to the band's live repertoire and raking in profits from a nationwide tour; and Zenith Music Entertainment, who expected to sell out their projected inventory.

If only those 50,000 copies hadn't miraculously multiplied into 150,000.

Now, Zenith Music had to make a choice. How were they going to deal with this massive surplus?

The solution they chose was simple: dump the stock.

"Suyun."

"Yes? What is it?"

"I just got a call from Zenith."

"Yes."

"They asked if we'd be interested in taking more of their albums."

"Pardon? What does that mean?"

"So, a hundred and fifty thousand copies were ordered."

"Yes, that is correct. Due to an administrative error on our part..."

Unlike their previous negotiations, the Zenith Music staff were now incredibly humble, practically bowing and scraping. Section Chief Jung smiled inwardly as she looked at them. The tables had turned completely from their album release negotiations.

"That is highly regrettable."

"Yes, indeed."

Even though the Zenith representatives had clearly traveled all this way for a reason, Section Chief Jung simply dropped that line and shut her mouth. Her cold silence threw the Zenith staff into a state of visible panic.

From then on, the conversation drifted into idle chatter. They discussed the production cost of 150,000 copies, how the Japanese ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠distribution system worked, and whether it was even possible to clear 150,000 copies at once.

"S-so, about that..."

"Yes?"

Ultimately, it was Zenith who broke first, forced to plead. It was only natural; Label Echo Sound bore absolutely no responsibility for this mess, and Zenith was the one begging for a favor. Section Chief Jung knew exactly where she stood, which was why she had patiently waited for them to lower their heads.

"Previously, Label Echo Sound agreed to take ten thousand copies, correct?"

"Yes, we did."

"Would it be possible for you to... perhaps increase that quantity a little?"

"You want us to take more than ten thousand?"

"Yes. We are currently struggling to manage this volume, and at this rate..."

"Surely you won't be operating at a loss, though? Am I wrong?"

"Ah, well, um... yes, that's true, but..."

Section Chief Jung took a slow sip of her coffee. The Zenith staff looked utterly miserable. Ah, so this is the sweet taste of having the upper hand.

Still, how on earth does fifty thousand turn into a hundred and fifty thousand?

She idly pondered the mystery while recalling her conversation with Suyun earlier.

"I've given you full authority, Section Chief Jung, so you can decide how to handle it. Just report back to me."

We might be worked to the bone here, but at least they recognize my worth. This company is actually worth working for.

"Um, do you think it might be possible?"

Uncomfortable with the returning silence, the Zenith employee spoke up again. Yu-yeong did some quick math. With Group Sound's current popularity, they could probably find a way to sell about 30,000 copies in Korea.

But in exchange, I'll have to squeeze some free promotions out of them. Radio appearances, for instance...

"I don't know..."

"Please, we beg of you."

"Well, I do have superiors to answer to. I'll have to discuss this with management first..."

Section Chief Jung decided to drag things out a bit, giving them a taste of their own medicine. She figured a little "mirror therapy" would help them realize just how frustrating their own business practices had been.

While Section Chief Jung intentionally dragged out the negotiations—eventually settling on 30,000 copies in exchange for free promotions leveraging Zenith's industry connections—advertisements for Group Sound's 1st Japanese studio album were steadily rolling out across the internet in both Korea and Japan. Unlike their previous EP and studio albums, this campaign relied entirely on traditional, straightforward marketing, completely devoid of viral manipulation.

People who were thoroughly exhausted by the endless barrage of obvious viral marketing—to the point of sighing, "Here comes another ad"—found Group Sound's approach incredibly refreshing.

Posts like [A band that does zero viral marketing and only runs a single album release ad.jpg] began circulating the internet. While some fans of other artists grew furious that community sentiment was shifting entirely toward Group Sound despite their own "faves" being active, others began preparing to spam posts calling them "completely overhyped lol" the moment their first-week sales figures dropped.

The entertainment industry was equally invested in Group Sound's first-week sales, albeit for different reasons. This was an unprecedented case: a band that had conquered the domestic market was now entering Japan, making a major debut, and releasing an album entirely on their own merits without any external backing.

The same curiosity gripped Japan. Though no one said it aloud, everyone's eyes were glued to Group Sound's album sales.

Amidst this intense scrutiny, the album finally went on sale.

And when the first-week sales figures of Group Sound's Japanese album were finally unveiled to the world...

"Eighty thousand copies?!"