Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: The Prophet of JD Enter
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On a Monday morning, the quietest day for schedules, a meeting was held in the planning office, led by the CEO.
“Alright, for now, Team Leader Choi will handle Sung-hoon's schedule, and Team Leader Lee will focus solely on Yoo-ah. We have interviews for new applicants this week, so let's be flexible, even if it's a bit tough.”
This decision was made because Team Leader Lee, who had been managing both Lee Yoo-ah and Sung-hoon, had become swamped as Yoo-ah's schedule filled up.
Flexibility sounds easy, but for the person who actually has to constantly adapt to different work environments, it was incredibly stressful.
“How about you, PD Min-jun?”
CEO Park Jae-yong asked with a faint smile. At some point, he started calling me 'PD' instead of 'Assistant Manager' or 'Team Leader,' a title that felt more respectful, and none of the senior staff seemed to mind. Even though Department Head Ji had been the only one worthy of the title 'Producer' until now.
“Have you seen the Smile Ice Cream commercial? It first aired last week.”
“If you have it, let's watch.”
The monitor began to play the Smile Ice Cream commercial Answer had filmed.
It was a well-made ad, depicting the Answer members on a warm spring picnic, looking cheerful yet innocent against a backdrop of green meadows and a clear blue sky.
“Wow. That's not the vibe you see from idols these days. That pure look.”
The guy who loves that pure look so much made their debut song so sultry? The thought made me chuckle to myself.
On screen, it looked like a perfect spring day with fresh, brilliant sunshine, but I remembered the actual shoot being so chilly and cold that the members' arms and legs turned blue.
The commercial ended, and a sense of pride was visible on everyone's faces. At another company, inter-team rivalry might have created a tense atmosphere, but since we had been on the verge of collapse until recently, the mood was quite familial.
“Exactly one week after the ad launched, Smile's stagnant stock price skyrocketed by 40% in just five trading days.”
“Whoa. Really?”
All the attendees nodded, their eyes filled with amazement.
“There's been no official announcement, but a sudden stock surge like this is likely due to inside information, wouldn't you say?”
“Meaning, we can assume their sales have exploded, right?”
The CEO said, putting on a cute, pompous air.
“Yes. Because of that, I'm anticipating they'll contact us again to renew the contract…”
“Pfft!”
As I was speaking, the Director suddenly burst out laughing before composing herself.
“…What is it, Director Lee? What's going on?”
The CEO asked as all eyes turned to the Director.
“Ah… actually, Smile contacted us this morning.”
“Huh? For real?”
Everyone's gaze shifted back to me.
Talk about timing.
“Smile Ice Cream requested a meeting.”
“Wow… It must be for a contract renewal, then?”
“It seems likely, doesn't it?”
The attendees shook their heads in disbelief.
“Haha… The prophet of JD Enter.”
At the CEO's words, Department Head Ji gave a thumbs-up.
“How did you predict something like that?”
“Unlike a typical contract, we accepted payment in stock with a lock-up period.”
“Right. We took stock instead of cash, didn't we? But what does a lock-up period have to do with a contract renewal… Ah!”
CEO Park Jae-yong exclaimed, having finally realized. From their expressions, it seemed only the CEO, the Director, and Department Head Ji had some grasp of what I was talking about.
“Your guess is probably right, sir. The explosive rise in stock price after Answer became their models isn't just because of a surge in sales; it's also because we accepted a stock transfer agreement instead of cash. What model would accept stock instead of money from a company with no vision?”
“…I'm still not quite following. Can you explain in more detail?”
Team Leader Choi said with a curious look.
“Smile Ice Cream had been in a long-term decline with no real growth momentum. But when a popular girl group accepts their modeling fee in stock instead of cash—stock that can't even be sold immediately due to a lock-up period—it gives people hope, and they start buying up more shares.”
“Okay. I get that part.”
“The lock-up period still has nearly a year left, but what if Latte Ice Cream or Sungjin Ice Cream hears about this and offers us a contract with much better terms?”
“…”
A few people still looked like they didn't understand.
“If we sign with a competitor, their stock price will plummet, regardless of the remaining lock-up period. It would be a foregone conclusion that we'd sell our shares as soon as the conditions are met.”
“Ah… so because the stock rose due to Answer, the market could price in a future event even if it hasn't happened yet. Is that it?”
“Yes. As you know, a higher corporate value makes it easier to attract investment or consider new ventures. From Smile's perspective, they feel they need to secure an extension with us before another company makes an offer.”
Only then did everyone nod as if they finally understood.
“This is why we have to cherish our PD Min-jun. Director Lee and PD Min-jun handled the Smile deal from the beginning, so you two handle the negotiations this time as well.”
The Director jotted down a quick note with a faint smile.
“You have more, right PD Min-jun? Go on.”
I resumed my report, which had been interrupted by the ice cream commercial.
“You may have already seen it, but Answer has made it onto the top 100 power rankings created by advertising agencies.”
“Ooh!”
Excited gasps erupted from the people in the meeting.
100th place might sound low, but the number of celebrities accumulated over decades—including male and female singers, actors, and sports stars—was surprisingly large. Even being ranked 100th meant significantly higher fees for commercials and events.
“Our official Tube channel subscribers have also increased to 950,000. We're expecting to hit one million sometime next month.”
“Wow. That's really fast.”
It was fast growth compared to a typical group, but my goal was to reach 50 million subscribers in the next two years. That was a number impossible to achieve with domestic popularity alone. We needed to gain fans overseas to have any chance.
What if I fail? If it's 'Game Over' like the quest says, what will happen to me?
Honestly, I wasn't too worried. Even if I failed the quest, if I could bring Gyeon Sang-jin to a point of no return, that alone would give my life a meaning more important than anything else.
Even if I fail, as long as I tried my best, I won't have any regrets.
“…And?”
I must have been lost in thought for a while, as someone prompted me to continue.
“Ah, yes… Of course, events are our top priority, and for broadcast activities, we're focusing on highlighting aspects of their image that haven't been shown yet. Seol-ah is focusing on calm talk shows that don't exhaust her image outside of music, and we plan to reduce Seul-bi's appearances on dance shows.”
“What, why? The dance programs are doing really well these days, aren't they?”
“It's true that Seul-bi is a great dancer, but the return on investment for the time spent on dance programs isn't very good.”
“That's true. So what's the plan for her?”
“Seul-bi is a good eater, but her knowledge of food also far exceeds that of the average person. I'm considering mukbang or cooking shows, where she could produce much better results without having to spend a lot of time on input.”
“Still, mukbang is something that complete rookies or has-beens do…”
Team Leader Choi probably meant no harm, but I couldn't help but frown.
“Team Leader Choi. We're all in the business of raising these kids. Let's choose our words more carefully.”
At the Director's quiet remark, Team Leader Choi flinched.
“Ah, I'm sorry, Director.”
It was understandable. The Director was a former idol herself and still received a fair number of schedule offers. The term 'has-been' would naturally be more sensitive for her than for anyone.
“That's all well and good, but won't she gain weight?”
The Director, who was sensitive about weight management, expressed her concern.
“She seems to want to do it, and we're considering having her step down or take a break if she goes over her target weight.”
“That should work. If Seul-bi wants to keep doing the mukbangs she enjoys, she'll just have to work out harder.”
“Yes. That's what I'm hoping for.”
“How about Ro-si? Is her acting improving?”
The CEO asked again.
“She says she feels it's helping a lot.”
“It seems like they'll have a lot of events going forward. I wonder if it's really necessary.”
“Acting isn't something that improves overnight; it's a long-term plan. Besides, she only does it on days when Seol-ah and Seul-bi have their own individual schedules.”
“…Will acting really be profitable?”
It was true that actors had a narrower range of events they could do compared to singers.
But Ro-si's case was different. She could aim for so many commercials and high per-episode appearance fees that she wouldn't even need events.
Even now, I was focusing my attention on when that pre-regression drama, the one that was perfect for Ro-si, would be planned and when auditions would begin.
“It's not just about the money; it's about expanding our scale. If we want to become a comprehensive entertainment company someday, we need to create an environment where our artists can engage in a wide range of activities.”
“Right. We have to grow bigger. A long-term plan… that's all good, but what about Yi-na? She's kind of left hanging. It's a waste to let those great visuals go to waste, isn't it?”
“I'm thinking of having Yi-na try out for children's channels or modeling.”
“Hmm? Come to think of it, Yi-na does seem to have grown a bit lately.”
“Her existing outfits are getting short or tight, so we'll probably need to refit them.”
“Is that so? I can't quite picture the children's channel thing. But I trust you to handle it, PD Min-jun.”
The complete trust from the CEO and the Director. But unlike before, no one seemed to have any complaints about it.
It was technically a general meeting, but since Answer was our most prominent group at the moment, most of the discussion ended up being about them.
“Alright, meeting adjourned. Let's all do our best today. Director Lee and PD Min-jun, stay behind.”
Once everyone had left, the CEO turned to me and spoke.
“By the way, has 'that person' said anything?”
For a moment, I wondered what he meant, then I let out a silent, hollow laugh. He was clearly referring to the big shot from the investment association, our company's largest shareholder.
In that case, 'that person' the CEO was talking about was me.
The Director, realizing a moment later, gave a wry smile.
“Who is 'that person'?”
“Who else? The largest shareholder. Haven't they asked to convene a board meeting or a conference?”
To be precise, I wasn't the largest shareholder yet, but CEO Park Jae-yong seemed to think that the head of the investment association was Director Lee Joo-won.
Was he asking if it was okay for him to remain CEO?
“I conveyed my intention to sell the shares, but the legal representative is from the KOFIA, right? I don't think they'd report anything to me.”
“…Is that so? Should I just step down on my own?”
The CEO might have been smiling, but it seemed he'd been worrying a lot about this issue.
It was true that CEO Park Jae-yong was often ridiculed online, but as a CEO who started as a producer, he still held symbolic value. Unless Director Lee Sun was going to take his place, it was right for him to keep his position.
“Oppa, don't get ahead of yourself. At least my shares are on your side.”
“Tsk… I think I've been living too much in my own world. I need to work harder.”
He said that, but it wasn't as if the CEO had been slacking off. When he showed me his personal cloud and asked me to arrange a song, I could see clear evidence of his efforts to keep up with the latest trends. And, befitting his talent, he had plenty of results to show for it.
In fact, Answer's follow-up song, set to be released at the end of next month, was a Park Jae-yong composition. Though I was the one who arranged it to fit the current trends.
The CEO always put on a cheerful front, showing off that he wasn't dead yet, but I could feel that his self-esteem had unknowingly taken a big hit.
His recent weight gain seemed to be one of the reasons.
Should I give the CEO a makeover, too?