Must Win
Baek Yerin had been living an incredibly hectic life lately.
It all started with an outrageous proposal from a certain composer during RT Entertainment’s regular meeting at the end of last year.
Thanks to that, Baek Yerin ended up recording a ridiculous total of twenty-five songs.
On top of that, she had to juggle the schedule RT Entertainment had drawn up for her along with her studies, so every single day felt like a whirlwind.
Yet the entire process went so smoothly it was almost frightening.
“She’s a real genius. A total genius. If people found out you only started learning how to sing properly a few months ago, they’d faint from shock.”
That was what they said during her vocal training when she was building her fundamentals.
“Your facial expressions are flawless too. This is the smoothest music video shoot I’ve ever had. As expected, a genius singer is different from the very beginning.”
The same thing happened when she went for the music video and photo shoots.
And people treated the smooth flow of work as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It was simply because the girl named Baek Yerin was a genius.
Because of that unchanging truth, she lived her life practically drenched in praise.
The tendency grew even stronger after her official debut.
“Yerin! Your song is seriously so good. I’ve had it on my playlist and I listen to it every day.”
“Me too, me too! By the way… could you give me an autograph?”
“Hey, I was a fan since the school festival performance, so I should be first!”
At school, everyone was buzzing about her. Even if she just glanced at the news or articles, it was all about her.
After school ended and she visited RT Entertainment’s headquarters, something had arrived for her.
“What is all this?”
“They’re all gifts from fans addressed to you. I didn’t expect this much when your fandom hasn’t even properly formed yet…”
Baek Yerin examined the contents of the gifts one by one, falling deep into thought.
Many of them contained letters filled with words of encouragement.
That she sang so well, that she was so pretty, that they wanted to see her perform live soon, and so on.
Every time Baek Yerin read those supportive messages, the same thought crossed her mind.
She really must be someone blessed with incredible luck.
So, surrounded by all this praise, attention, and love, there was only one thing she had to do.
She had to work hard and do it well.
If only to repay their hearts in some way…
However, at that moment, Baek Yerin didn’t realize it.
That something was slowly taking root in a corner of her heart.
Music broadcasts aren’t places you simply show up after releasing an album. They are opportunities that artists’ managers have to run around until their feet blister just to secure.
Around ten o’clock every Monday morning, the coffee shop in front of Korea’s major broadcaster KBB is packed.
That’s because managers from the country’s biggest entertainment companies all the way down to tiny agencies commonly called “who-the-heck-are-these-guys” all gather there.
And there is only one reason they gather.
To pay their respects to the PD of KBB’s Music Save, the longest-running music program in existence.
For reference, the PD always arrives late to the café, using the excuse that he’s busy with morning meetings and meeting various producers.
As a result, the managers’ waiting time usually lasts three to four hours.
And Korea being Korea, there’s also the matter of seniority. Even if you arrive early, senior managers get to meet the PD first.
Even after waiting that long, the actual meeting time is only about five minutes. Not even the major agencies are exempt.
There are even cases where an appearance is already confirmed, but they still come “out of courtesy,” as if the broadcasting station holds all the power.
It’s unfortunate, but that’s simply how the structure works.
Unless there are special circumstances, rookies have almost no other way to promote themselves on TV if they can’t get on music broadcasts.
It’s no wonder people joke that music broadcasts are the ones arranging blind dates between audience members and rookie singers.
But today, two unusual things happened at the coffee shop in front of KBB.
The first was that the PD of Music Save was not late. In fact, he arrived about ten minutes early.
And the second was…
“Excuse me, which one of you is Baek Yerin’s manager?”
The PD who had entered the coffee shop was calling out in a loud voice, looking for someone.
Not just anyone, but the manager of a rookie singer who had only just debuted.
At the PD’s call, a woman in office attire who had been sitting quietly in the corner slowly raised her hand.
“That would be me. I’m Baek Yerin’s manager.”
“Oh… I thought the face would look familiar, but I didn’t expect it to be you.”
The woman’s name was Lee Ha-ri.
A veteran manager with quite a few years under her belt, she was fairly well-known in the industry.
It was only natural. After all, she had previously managed Crystal, the current top girl group in Korea.
“I heard you wanted to take a break after your contract ended…”
“Yes. I had been running nonstop for so long. But I couldn’t turn down CEO Kang’s offer.”
“Haha. Managing a rookie singer who’s taking the world by storm? Even I wouldn’t have been able to refuse. And if he went as far as to assign Manager Lee to her, it seems CEO Kang is really pushing Baek Yerin hard.”
“You flatter me. It was also a reasonable offer for me personally. A cute and well-behaved middle school girl is far easier to manage than a noisy four-member girl group full of E personalities.”
They continued their conversation with the ease of old acquaintances.
Just as the saying goes, even a dog from a temple can recite poetry after three years. For them, this was simply natural.
“Alright then, which slot do you want? We’re both busy people, so let’s get straight to the point. You’re going to meet the PDs of the weekend music shows right after this meeting anyway, aren’t you?”
In that sense, the PD of Music Save asked directly.
Lee Ha-ri looked slightly surprised as she answered.
“She’s a rookie who just debuted. Are you really okay with this?”
“Of course, if she were an ordinary rookie, she would have been pushed to a later slot. But Baek Yerin isn’t an ordinary rookie, is she?”
The person generating the most buzz in Korea right now, beyond just the music industry, was none other than Baek Yerin.
And her first official broadcast appearance?
This was guaranteed to drive up the ratings.
With the development of the internet, TV viewership among teenagers and people in their twenties had dropped, and music broadcasts no longer had the same power they once did.
That was why, from the PD’s perspective, he had to secure Baek Yerin’s appearance no matter what.
Even if it meant giving her enormous special treatment…
In the PD’s mind, adjusting the “order” was a reasonable concession.
Normally, music broadcasts followed the custom of arranging appearances from rookies to senior artists. Of course, powerful places like the big three entertainment agencies could have their rookies close the show.
In the end, the broadcasting station decided the order as it pleased.
But the PD of Music Save handed that entire decision over to Baek Yerin’s manager.
“It’s because I have zero intention of getting into a power struggle. If you declare that she won’t appear on Music Save and then have her appear on another music show instead, we’d be left with no answer.”
“I understand what you’re saying. But there’s one thing you’re misunderstanding. I did come here to engage in a power struggle.”
“Pardon?”
At Lee Ha-ri’s bold declaration, the PD of Music Save couldn’t help but look flustered.
Lately, Lee Ha-ri had been thinking that transferring to RT Entertainment was one of the best decisions she had ever made.
The reason was none other than Ryu Won’s existence.
Kang Beom-jun had formally introduced Baek Yerin and Ryu Won, and they had begun attending the regular meetings more frequently.
They had even moved the regular meeting time, originally set for ten in the morning, to four in the afternoon just for them.
In any case, Ryu Won’s voice carried tremendous weight there.
It was probably due to his undeniably outstanding talent and the influence of that speech he gave “that day.”
And the topic of last week’s regular meeting had been Baek Yerin’s music broadcast appearance.
There, Ryu Won had scrunched up his face and said this:
“No, what era are we living in that we still need to go on music broadcasts to promote? These days, the national anthem has higher ratings than most of them anyway.”
“Still, it’s good to show her face at least once. You know how effective music broadcasts are for promotion, don’t you?”
“I’ll admit that much. Hmm… CEO, then why don’t we just appear once?”
“What…?”
“Let’s go ask the PDs. If Yerin goes through all that trouble to appear on a music broadcast and brings massive ratings, what exactly can you do for us?”
The moment he said that, Ryu Won looked over at Lee Ha-ri, who was attending the meeting.
“Manager Lee, I’m sure you understand what I mean, right?”
Recalling those words, Lee Ha-ri gave a bitter smile.
She was truly envious of the boy named Ryu Won.
Lee Ha-ri had once been the manager of a rookie girl group herself.
She had endured many heartbreaking moments and felt countless injustices while dealing with PDs from broadcasting stations that always held the upper hand.
Yet she had gritted her teeth and endured it all.
Because that was simply how the music broadcast system worked.
She had no choice but to accept it and move on.
But Ryu Won was a boy who refused to accept such common sense.
And he expressed it so clearly that even the listener could feel it.
That was why Lee Ha-ri had wholeheartedly agreed with Ryu Won’s idea. She slowly opened her mouth toward the PD of Music Save sitting in front of her.
No.
To be precise, she had delivered the exact same message to all the PDs in charge of the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday music broadcasts.
“Our artist has only just debuted, and she’s still a middle school student. That alone wouldn’t normally be an issue in this industry… but the singer named Baek Yerin is truly special to us.”
“So… what exactly are you trying to say?”
“Considering the artist’s health and fatigue levels, we plan to have her appear on only one music broadcast this week.”
“Ehhhhh?!”
“I suppose the place that takes the best care of our artist’s convenience will naturally be our top priority.”
In simple terms, this was what she meant:
It doesn’t really matter to us whether we appear on music broadcasts or not.
But what about you?
If Baek Yerin only appears on one other show instead of yours, are you really okay with that?
Of course they couldn’t be okay with it.
So what they had to do was clear.
“W-we will do everything for Baek Yerin…!”
They had to win no matter what…
In order to prevent anyone else from stealing Baek Yerin’s first music broadcast appearance.