Chapter 168
Chapter 168
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Call
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The dance competition show Seul-bi had filmed six weeks ago was now airing its third week.
The survival battle between numerous idols known for their dancing and famous choreography teams captivated many viewers.
In particular, the main dancers from groups that had been a hot topic at their debut but had since disbanded or become inactive due to various circumstances were visibly putting their lives on the line for the competition.
-Yes. Ash Track's mesmerizing voguing dance has concluded. As expected of a choreographer, the dazzling and precise hand movements were exquisite.
“Hmm… I think the idol will win this time.”
Yi-na commented while watching TV, and Seul-bi gave a bitter smile.
-Judges, please press the button once you've finished scoring.
A dozen or so judges pressed their buttons simultaneously, and the result was a victory for the choreographer.
“Huh? No, why? Anyone could see Sundy unni did better.”
-Would you like to give the representative critique?
-Sundy's hip-hop dance was also very cool. Her girls' hip-hop, with its many movements emphasizing femininity, was particularly charming, but Ash Track's voguing dance, which incorporates facial expressions, is a much higher difficulty level...
“Wow… That's ridiculous.”
Yi-na grumbled in frustration, but the other Answer members watching with her also looked extremely uncomfortable.
“Wow, even if it's scripted, isn't this too much? They barely gave Sundy unni any screen time, and she was clearly the better dancer, but they're subtly pushing for the choreographer?”
“She's a sacrificial lamb for the buzz, that's what.”
“Sundy unni is laughing out of disbelief. This is seriously ridiculous.”
The Answer members couldn't hide their displeasure, reminded of 'Best Idol,' which had been filmed with the results predetermined from the start.
“…You won, right, unni?”
“……”
Yi-na asked Seul-bi, but Seul-bi had a dazed, blank expression.
“Unni.”
“Huh?”
“What's wrong? What are you thinking about? I asked if you won.”
“Ah… yeah.”
Only after Yi-na nudged her did Seul-bi snap back to reality.
“Is this a contest of which agency is more powerful? It's absurd, really. I bet that unni wouldn't have come on the show if she knew she'd just be used like this.”
“I know. Not all idols are worse dancers than professionals. They're subtly putting them down. The live comment board must be going crazy.”
-Are you kidding? Sundy's dance was much more difficult.
-That's right. Not to diss voguing, but besides Ash Track's long limbs making the moves look bigger, it wasn't that great.
-All the former idols lost. Sundy should have won, at least.
-The judges must be blind.
-You can't blame the judges for this. The production team must have pushed for it.
-What era are we living in? Why are they still doing this?
After checking the live reactions on the broadcast company's app, the Answer members took comfort in seeing that public opinion was on their side.
However, in the subsequent battle between Seul-bi and a choreographer, the choreographer who performed locking was defeated by Seul-bi's overpowering house dance, which was half a tempo faster and more powerful than anyone else's.
-Kyaa, as expected, Seul-bi is the top idol dancer.
-If the choreographer had won this one too, I was ready to terrorize the broadcast station.
-At least they have some conscience. Seul-bi is a really good dancer.
-Their new song is a hit, so she must be busy, but she's still appearing on this show.
-The production team probably cast her before she got busy.
“It's nothing but praise for Seul-bi unni. I feel so proud.”
Seul-bi grinned at Yi-na's words.
“Yi-na, you're saying such nice things lately. Want a kiss?”
“Ugh… Ack! Get away!”
As Seul-bi approached with a suggestive look, Yi-na fled with a disgusted expression.
“That unni is getting weirder and weirder.”
Ro-si, who had been chuckling, picked up her phone.
“Hello? Yoo-ah unni.”
-It's a huge hit!
“Yeah, I saw your Stage On performance. It came out great. You sang well too.”
-The reaction is amazing, seriously. The lyrics you wrote for me, Ro-si, were a total success.
“That's because you expressed the lyrics so well, unni.”
At Lee Yoo-ah's excited reaction, Ro-si's face also brightened up.
* * *
-I'm calling back because you mentioned, Min-jun, that I should let you know if I ever needed to sort out my shares.
“Did things not work out as planned?”
-This is costing more than I expected. I need about another billion won. My business principle is to never take out loans and only operate with money I can afford.
President Gu, once the largest shareholder of JD Enter, made excuses as if embarrassed by the situation.
The truth was, he had no choice but to come to me, as no one else would buy his remaining shares at three times the price. I had already secured enough shares, and it wouldn't be a crisis even if Gyeon Sang-jin acquired all of President Gu's remaining stake.
The ball was in my court. Should I try to make a deal?
If I liquidated my remaining savings and minor investments and pulled as much as possible for an advance payment, I could probably come up with that amount. In the worst-case scenario, even if I had to ask around for help, I wouldn't fail to secure the funds.
“He has already invested to his satisfaction, so I don't think he'll buy them again at that price. It seems he's already invested the money he had prepared elsewhere.”
-Haha, well...
“I'm a little interested myself. Would you be willing to sell them to me? For a bit cheaper.”
-Oh? You, Min-jun?
“Private equity fund transactions are restricted because they're related to company management, but for this amount, a private transaction is much easier.”
-...Is that so?
“Yes. You can transfer them directly through an unlisted stock app without going through the company.”
I had hidden my JD Enter shares under the name of an investment association to keep them from Gyeon Sang-jin, but a stake worth around a billion won was an amount he would just scoff at. After all, Gyeon Sang-jin knew I had already made nearly two billion won using SJ Enter's unlisted stock.
Whether it was heaven's help or CEO Park Jae-yong's loose lips, a ridiculous rumor had even started circulating that Director Lee Joo-won was JD Enter's largest shareholder.
President Gu, who was favorable toward me, readily lowered the transfer price by 30%, almost too easily. Perhaps he was that desperate for money. Or maybe he just underestimated me.
-But there's one condition. You have to send the money by next week.
I got the feeling from his words that if he found the money from another source first, he would completely back out of our deal. It was only natural; no matter how favorably he viewed me, a businessman wouldn't rely solely on me.
If that happened, I would lose the opportunity to grow my wealth even further.
Lee Yoo-ah, Answer, Sung-hoon hyung who was now well-rested, and the many other musicians I planned to recruit would become huge sources of income in the future.
I decided to go big.
“Alright. Then I'll send the down payment first.”
-Huh? What down payment?
While on the phone with President Gu, I liquidated all my odd-lot stocks, opened my banking app, and sent most of my balance to his account.
-Whoa? What's this?
“I've sent 70 million for now. I'll send another 270 million in three days. As for the promised 3,500 shares, I'll receive them next week along with the remaining balance.”
-Hahaha.
President Gu let out a hollow laugh, as if in disbelief. Putting down a down payment of this size would make the verbal agreement President Gu had talked about legally binding. He wouldn't be able to entertain any other ideas, as breaking the contract would require him to pay a penalty of at least double the amount.
-Th-This guy is really bold... Was this money to buy a house or something?
“I have an urgent schedule-related call coming in, so I'll call you back later.”
-O-Okay.
I ended the call after finalizing the unexpected contract with President Gu. I was in a great mood, having been able to acquire an additional 5% stake at a significantly discounted price.
“Hello?”
-This is writer Lee Ha-na from 'Let's Live Together'.
“Hello, writer-nim.”
It was the show from PD Gi Young-jun, for which I had adjusted the schedule because of Seol-ah and her younger brother, Ye-jun.
-I'm calling because the production sponsorship discussion for next Thursday is finalized. There are no changes to your schedule, right?
The writer's voice sounded extremely tired. She was undoubtedly swamped with preparing the setting and script due to the hastily added filming schedule.
*I'm sorry. But you get paid per episode too, writer-nim.*
I suppressed my apologetic feelings and began to speak.
“Of course. There are no issues with the schedule. How will it proceed, if I may ask?”
-Our recording will be reality-style, minimizing the script as much as possible. The sponsorship will be a semi-direct contract with Answer. You'll be shooting 15-second and 30-second commercial videos with a warm spring theme, and there will also be a few cuts for a magazine photoshoot on site.
“That's all happening on the same day?”
-Of course. The contract will be sent over immediately, so please take a look.
“Thank you.”
-Okay, then we'll send over the cue sheet as soon as we've worked out the movements and composition in our meeting.
“Yes, thank you for your hard work. Goodbye.”
-Yes. You too.
Was it because I remained polite? The writer's tone, which had been slightly annoyed at first, turned favorable by the end of the call.
I didn't ask about the appearance fee because we had to do it whether they paid us one million won or ten million. It was Ye-jun and Answer's day off anyway, and any money we made was just a bonus. A little was good, and a lot was even better.
I checked the message that had come in during the call.
-Lee Yoo-ah: Did you happen to see my Stage On video?
-Me: Of course I did. The set and lighting matched the song really well. Though your live performance was the best part, of course, Yoo-ah.
-Lee Yoo-ah: The reaction is so much better than I expected, I'm so happy. It's all thanks to you, oppa.
-Me: I told you before, if you succeed, you might have to promote overseas for a while, so be prepared.
-Lee Yoo-ah: Aigoo. That's not going to happen, haha.
-Me: I'm telling you, it will.
I looked through the comments on Lee Yoo-ah's Stage On performance.
-Vocals-Perfect Lyrics-Perfect Visuals-Perfect. Korean people are very talented :)
-the lyrics, the voice, the visuals, you-ah herself, and everything is so perfect.
-Whenever foreigners are surprised by the talent of Koreans, my national pride soars!
-I'm in love with her voice.
-Koreans, raise your hand.
-heavenly voice.
-I played it automatically. I thought it was British pop, but it was a Korean singer. I'm surprised.
-Wow, I automatically thought it was pop, but it was a Korean person. It seems foreigners heard it that way too. Her pronunciation is great, and I'm totally drawn in. I became a fan of Yoo-ah's after just one song.
The reaction to Yoo-ah's solo stage was extremely positive for a rookie with no established fandom. It surpassed a million views in just two days, and the comment section was very lively.
At this rate, it wouldn't be strange to get a call from a promoter right now.
While texting with Lee Yoo-ah, I was also planning Answer's travel route for their regional events.
Land at Jeju Airport, take the organizer's car to the daytime event. Arrange for a rental car for the 9 PM event, then stay at a hotel. Travel to Busan early the next day. Get full makeup at a shop in Busan after arriving in the car Choi Yoo-jun drove, then head to the afternoon event. In the evening, a corporate event in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Then return.
Depending on how I planned the route and scheduled the events, I could squeeze in three events in two days, a schedule that might otherwise only allow for one.
It was clear that Answer's and my incentives for the next quarter would be huge.
*Answer will finally get to touch hundreds of millions of won. It'll be exhausting, but just hang in there a little longer.*
I booked the hotel in Jeju, the rental car, and the plane tickets for Answer. Meticulously, of course, checking to see if any celebrity discounts applied.
I was always careful with expenses, but now that it was my company, I was even more thorough.
Just then, the phone rang.
“Yes, JD Enter PR team.”
-…
“Ah… what? Yes! I'll connect you to the person in charge. Siljang-nim, Ji Siljang-nim! It's a call for you.”
“Who is it?”
“It's about Lee Yoo-ah.”
My 'Sixth Sense' trait sharpened my senses, and I focused on the PR team's phone call. In truth, even without the trait, I couldn't have ignored the shocked tone of their voice.
“Yes. This is Lee Yoo-ah's artist chief manager…”
-…
“Yes? Where did you say you were from?”
-…
“Really?”
Ji Siljang flinched in surprise and seemed to glance at me for a moment.
“I understand. We'll have a meeting first and then get back to you. Yes. We will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you for your hard work.”
I was looking at Ji Siljang, but he seemed to be deliberately avoiding my gaze.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Ji Siljang grabbed Team Leader Lee, who was busy working at his computer, and headed for the CEO's office.
*Has the time finally come?*