A Gift (1)
(WST) K-Pop Star Jiyu Holds Online Concert
The two-day online concert held through Aniverse drew a total of 737,000 viewers from 163 countries around the world.
The concert could be permanently stored in each account, and Nightlight and Block Valley users were able to receive fan club merchandise items.
Jiyu earned roughly $35 million from ticket sales alone, and merchandise revenue also rose sharply during the performance period.
What drew even more attention to this concert was the fact that it was the first ever concert to use Surreal Screen.
Lee Dong-ho, head of the Continue Capital Korea branch, said in an interview, “Online concerts, unlike offline concerts, had always been limited by the difficulty of holding the same format over and over. But when you use Surreal Screen, you can present performances with a different and fresh concept every time. If online concerts used to amount to nothing more than showing a performance on video, Surreal Screen has now made it possible to create a fantastic stage space. In the future, this will make a major contribution to online concerts becoming a new performance culture.”
Aniverse said, “Surreal Screen will become the standard for all online concerts going forward. There are already performances by many artists scheduled.”
Online concerts by K-pop idols such as Mukids and Lunatins were already in preparation, and overseas artists were reportedly showing strong interest as well.
Fantastic and astonishing concert!
The evolution of K-pop performance. Just how far can it go?
Surreal Screen opens a new horizon for K-pop!
Jiyu’s online concert on Aniverse was a massive hit, and praise poured in from all over the world. Thanks to the concert, Aniverse’s subscriber count and Jiyu’s fan club membership had surged explosively.
And Jiyu had taken home the title of the world’s first online concert to use Surreal Screen.
Well, being the first of anything was a good thing.
Lee Dong-ho wore a proud expression.
“That’s my junior Jiyu, all right.”
...Come on, how many times had we even seen each other at school?
Edward nodded beside him.
“It was the best performance I’ve seen in a long time. Not a single second was dull.”
Judging by their faces, they seemed more than satisfied.
I’d watched it too, and it really had been good.
“I’m looking forward to Lunatins’ performance next.”
“Right. They’re planning to debut a new song during this concert, too.”
“...Huh?”
The next performance was Mukids, so why were they skipping over them?
Mukids was the most popular K-pop idol group in the world. At this rate, they’d easily clear a million viewers.
And yet neither of them seemed to care at all.
Just a girl group!
Edward had now completely adapted to life in Korea.
His Korean had improved so much that he’d even been offered a spot on a TV program where foreigners came on to talk about Korean culture.
He’d turned it down because he was busy.
Thanks to him coming over, the Korea branch had been built on solid ground. At this point, things in Korea were more or less wrapped up.
Just then, I got a call from Chairman Yoo Jaeho.
Yoo Jaeho: “How did it go?”
Han Miru: “It was a success.”
Yoo Jaeho: “That was faster than I expected.”
Yoo Jaeho: “I pulled a few strings.”
Han Miru: “I’ll be sure to pass that along.”
After work, I met Trish and had dinner with her.
The menu was sushi omakase.
“How did the interviews go?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
Trish had interviewed Mukids, Lunatins, and Jiyu one after another.
“Jiyu speaks English really well, so I didn’t even need an interpreter.”
That was one of Jiyu’s biggest strengths.
She could not only speak English but also write lyrics in it, which made breaking into the American market much easier. That was how she’d been able to appear in director Oliver Page’s film, too.
“She’s incredible, especially for someone so young.”
At that, I let out a small laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You’re not that much older than her, you know. So, are you done with all your reporting?”
“Yes.”
Continue Capital Korea, MFW, SW Games, K-pop idols, and the rest.
Some of it had already gone to print, but there were still plenty of stories I hadn’t written yet. For a while, she’d be busy turning all the material she’d collected into articles.
Trish slipped a piece of sushi into her mouth and said, “Thinking about going back alone makes me feel depressed. It’s hard to get sushi this good in New York.”
Technically, you could get it. It was just absurdly expensive.
She’d come to Korea purely for work. Since this was only a temporary assignment, once the job was done, she had to go back.
I told her, “Come with me.”
“Yes? Together?”
“I’ve got some business in New York.”
“What kind of business?”
“First, I need to stop by your place.”
Trish blinked in surprise.
“What? Why? Why would you come to our house all of a sudden...?”
“For an O'Connor Burger.”
“Ah, a burger...”
You could get it in Korea now, too, but the original always had the original’s flavor. If I went to New York, stopping by there was practically mandatory.
“You’re not seriously going all the way there just to eat a hamburger, are you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then what is it for?”
As expected of a reporter, she was always curious.
I told her the reason.
“I’m thinking of buying a house.”
I’d started looking into New York real estate and then stopped.
For something like this, it was better to call in an expert, wasn’t it?
I phoned the best expert in the field, and the person on the other end answered in a cheerful voice.
“It’s been a while. Are you doing well in Korea?”
“Yes, very well. Chairman, you should come visit sometime. I’ll book your accommodations for you.”
That made Chairman Taylor burst into laughter.
“Ha! You’re going to book a hotel room for the chairman of a hotel group? If I ever go, I’ll let you know. What’s this about today?”
I got straight to the point.
“I’m looking to buy a nice house in New York, and I thought you’d know a good one.”
Chairman Taylor sounded surprised.
“That’s unexpected. I didn’t think you were all that interested in real estate.”
“Me?”
“Aren’t you mainly a stock investor?”
“Come on, I’m Korean. Of course I like real estate.”
Among OECD countries, Korea has one of the highest proportions of household assets tied up in real estate.
“I see. A nice house, then... there are all sorts of standards for what makes a house nice. What exactly are you looking for?”
I narrowed that standard down to just one thing and said, “A expensive house is a good house.”
If I were going to buy a cheap one, I wouldn’t have called him.
Trish and I landed at the New York airport.
There was a time when flying to America had felt like a major decision, but now it felt more like going to the next neighborhood over for a quick visit.
We took a car straight from the airport and headed to O'Connor Pub.
It was still before opening hours.
Trish pushed the door open and shouted, “Dad! I’m here!”
Then a man with a huge red beard and a frame about two meters tall burst out from inside. His name was Carl O'Connor.
“Oh! Welcome!”
Carl spread his arms and pulled Trish into a tight hug.
“Miru came too.”
At her words, Carl looked up at me.
“So the O'Connor family’s benefactor came too! But why are you just standing there? Come in!”
I’d been practicing social distancing in case he tried to hug me, too.
“Dad, we’re hungry.”
“Just wait a moment. I’ll have it ready for you in no time.”
We sat across from each other at a table and ate O'Connor Burgers.
“Eating an O'Connor Burger really makes it feel like I’m in New York.”
No matter how delicious a food was, you could get tired of it if you ate it all the time. But O'Connor Burger was different. I could honestly see myself living on it instead of rice.
“So what kind of house are you looking to buy?”
“Well...”
New York was the financial center of the United States.
As money from all over the world poured in, the city was lined with luxury homes and penthouses so expensive they were hard to even imagine.
Even among them, though, one property in particular was drawing people’s attention.
It was Central Park Tower, completed earlier that year.
Built in the area known as Billionaires’ Row, this tower rose to 485 meters and stood as the tallest residential building in New York.
Constructed by Rose Organization, one of New York’s famous real estate conglomerates, the building sold units to the wealthy.
The cheapest home in it cost a staggering $30 million.
And the penthouse on the top floor was priced at a jaw-dropping $250 million.
That made it the most expensive penthouse in New York, even in a city full of ultra-luxury residences.
People were eager to see whether it would actually sell.
After all, no matter how rich you were, how many people could really afford property at that level?
As expected, while the other homes sold, the penthouse remained untouched.
And then... astonishingly, a buyer appeared.
I got out in front of the building.
Even among New York’s forest of skyscrapers, this one rose higher than the rest, as if it were trying to spear the sky.
Waiting for me at the entrance was a handsome blond young man.
He bowed politely.
“Hello. I’m Eric Rose, head of the investment team at Rose Organization.”
“I’m Han Miru. Nice to see you again.”
Eric Rose nodded.
“Yes. We met at the charity gala last year.”
The Rose family was one of New York’s most famous real estate dynasties, and the city was full of landmarks built and owned by Rose Organization.
This tower was one of them.
With a friendly smile, he said, “I was curious myself about who would end up owning this place, but I never expected the head of Continue Capital to take an interest. Chairman Taylor already told me about it. Would you like to see the home first?”
“Sure.”
We rode the elevator up.
It shot upward at a dizzying speed before stopping on the 130th floor.
Since the entire floor belonged to the residence, stepping out meant walking straight into the entrance.
The first thing that came into view was the New York skyline.
The living room was wrapped in glass walls, giving a sweeping view in every direction.
Not only was Central Park visible at a glance, but the Hudson River lay to the west and the East River to the east.
It would be hard to find a home with a better view in all of New York.
Spread across the 130th through 132nd floors, the residence covered a total of 1,700 square meters and had seven bedrooms alone.
Eric Rose said proudly, “As you can see, it’s finished with a top-tier interior that wouldn’t lose to any luxury hotel.”
The place was so huge that even a casual walkthrough took thirty minutes.
As the most expensive penthouse in a city already famous for expensive homes, it was as good as it got.
It was amazing that if you had enough money, you could just live in a place like this.
I nodded.
“It’s good. Let’s sign.”
The official price was $250 million, but Chairman Taylor had negotiated it down to $200 million.
Eric Rose’s face brightened.
“Understood. When are you planning to move in?”
I shook my head.
“Ah, I’m not going to live here myself.”
“Then are you planning to rent it out?”
Even if you only assumed a 4 percent rental return, that was $8 million a year. On a monthly basis, that came to $660,000.
Add to that management fees that would probably run into the tens of thousands, and how many people would really be willing to pay that much to live here?
Right from the start, the rental yield on ultra-high-end homes like this was terrible.
If the rental yield had been good, it would have sold long ago.
“No.”
Eric Rose looked puzzled.
“Then what?”
I smiled.
“I’m planning to give it away as a gift.”
“...Excuse me?”
He looked as though he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right.
Come to think of it, who on earth gives someone a $200 million house as a gift?