Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Contract First, Beatdown Later

I had no way of knowing how to contact Kim Yunja directly, so I called her agency, Saram Ent.

When I said I had a proposal regarding Kim Yunja's concert scheduled for September, I was told that the person in charge of planning the performance was Jang Taek.

Apparently, not many people knew he had returned to Korea because he'd come back quietly without making a fuss about it.

Well, there were only two months left until the concert.

There was a good chance he had already contacted Kim Yunja and started preparing everything.

"I heard you're from an idol agency. You said you were interested in our concert?"

The moment I was told I could visit, I headed straight to Saram Entertainment.

I was immediately shown into a quiet office inside the building.

Sitting there was Jang Taek, a man I'd only ever seen in photographs.

Just looking at the traditional hemp clothes he was wearing despite it being far too early in the season for them, I could already imagine how much he'd promoted Korean culture while working in Japan.

"The girls I manage are fans of Kim Yunja. Ah, here..."

First, I handed him my business card.

"So I was looking into Kim Yunja's concert and heard about the performance scheduled for Gocheok Dome. That's why I contacted you. Most performances there are idol concerts, so it caught my attention."

"She likes trying new things."

Kim Yunja was technically a trot singer, but every time she released a new song, she managed to attract attention from people of all ages.

Her main audience was people in their fifties and sixties, but when it came to generating buzz, she was exceptional.

Even now, the song most commonly mentioned as Kim Yunja's signature track was her latest release, 〈I Love Party〉, which was also the title of the upcoming concert.

It mixed traditional trot emotions with EDM in just the right way.

Once you heard it, the melody would stay stuck in your head for days.

"But I never imagined the concert would be planned by the famous Jang Taek himself..."

"There's a connection between us. I've known Yunja since she was young."

Jang Taek briefly explained what kind of relationship he had with Kim Yunja.

Apparently, they had frequently shared stages back when Kim Yunja was still unknown in Japan.

As far as I knew, Jang Taek had already been a respected artist by the time he'd entered the Japanese market.

Meanwhile, during Kim Yunja's early days in Japan, she had mostly been known only among Koreans.

In other words, Jang Taek had helped raise Kim Yunja's profile in Japan.

If that was true, then Kim Yunja had become the so-called Empress of East Asia partly thanks to him.

Was it something like a friendship formed between two people stranded on a deserted island?

It made sense.

If I met another Korean artist while working far from home, I'd probably want to share a drink with them too.

"So, what exactly did you want to propose regarding the concert? Are you asking for a guest appearance?"

If possible, I would've loved to suggest something like a joint concert.

But if I got too greedy, I'd only end up tearing myself apart.

Blue Moon had released a grand total of three single albums.

They weren't anywhere near the level where they could hold a joint concert with Kim Yunja.

Besides, if I suggested something that ambitious, Jang Taek might feel pressured and reject the whole idea.

I needed to slip Blue Moon onto the stage naturally.

Like mixing medicine into animal feed so no one noticed.

"Yes, a guest appearance. Maybe as a special singer during the concert, or featuring on a song... Honestly, even appearing as special backup dancers would be fine. You know those moments when someone suddenly appears onstage and the audience starts cheering and clapping? I thought Kim Yunja might enjoy doing something unexpected like that."

I'd already explained my grand plan to the department head, mostly so I could at least get the groundwork laid.

Gocheok was a venue that was easy for younger idol fans to access.

If Kim Yunja was holding a concert there, adding even a small idol element could attract younger audiences.

That would help increase her recognition among younger generations as well.

Wouldn't that be a good thing?

"Hmm... What you're saying makes sense. But what does Team Leader Do Junhyeok gain from this?"

"I told you our girls are fans of Kim Yunja, didn't I? That's all."

I said it casually, as though I were simply doing them a favor.

But to be completely honest, the side that had nothing to gain was Kim Yunja's.

If I were offering a famous girl group like Evilis, that would be one thing.

But Blue Moon had less public recognition than the mayor of some small provincial town.

"What did you say the group was called again?"

I'd hoped he wouldn't ask.

That had obviously been too much to hope for.

"Blue Moon."

Blue Moon.

Blue Moon.

Jang Taek repeated the name to himself for a moment, then opened the internet and searched for something.

It was probably his first time hearing about them.

He looked through their profile on a portal site, then let out a short sigh like an old monk lost in deep thought.

"When does their contract expire?"

I already knew he was a master of his field.

Still, he was even sharper than I'd expected.

Fortunately, I hadn't come here without preparing an answer.

"It's technically until the end of August, but we'll probably renew their contracts."

"'Probably' is a little troublesome."

"We will renew them. Absolutely."

Blue Moon might have been an unknown idol group, but there weren't many idol agencies desperately hoping to collaborate with a trot singer anyway.

Considering the age range of Kim Yunja's concert audience, even if an idol group became known to them, it wasn't as though those people would suddenly join the fandom.

For some strange reason, that photograph had been sent to me.

And Blue Moon was at a point where we had to try absolutely anything.

That was why I'd thrown out the bait.

At this rate, Blue Moon was going to fail.

Normal attempts wouldn't be enough to change that trajectory.

"The girl group doesn't seem particularly famous. I don't know what you're thinking, Do Junhyeok, but from my perspective, this is an uncertain arrangement."

"Is that so?"

"There's no particular reason I need to use Blue Moon. But if you're fine with them appearing as simple backup dancers, there isn't much reason not to use them either. Still, entering into a legal relationship with people whose contract renewal is uncertain would be troublesome. Let's discuss this again after their contracts have been renewed."

The concert was scheduled for September 20.

If I came back after Blue Moon's contract expired on August 31, we'd barely have any preparation time left.

"Their contracts will be renewed on September 1. Wouldn't that be too late?"

"It's only a backup dancer stage anyway. It should be fine."

Jang Taek watched my expression, then smiled.

"Even if some famous idols come asking for the spot, I'll wait until September 1. We can sign the contract then."

"Understood."

Other competing idols were a problem.

But if Blue Moon's contract renewal fell apart, this opportunity would disappear anyway.

Still, considering what Blue Moon could gain if this worked out, it was an opportunity I absolutely had to secure.

Just getting Jang Taek's promise was already more than enough to be grateful for.

Ironically, once I'd secured such a good opportunity, I became even more sensitive about everything.

I now had an even greater reason to convince Osu.

If we lost this potentially huge opportunity just twenty days before the concert, I might actually die from frustration.

And I couldn't carelessly brag about it to Osu either.

There was always the possibility that he'd simply hand the opportunity over to Solis.

I had to do something.

Anything.

But even now, the only confirmed schedule Blue Moon had was the Namwon Lee Mongryong Festival.

What kind of meaningful result could we possibly achieve from some regional festival?

Before I knew it, the Lee Mongryong Festival was only a week away.

The event was called 〈Lee Mongryong's Night Market Journey〉.

It wasn't even a major festival that attracted huge numbers of tourists, yet the members were incredibly excited about it.

Apparently, they had no idea how much I was stressing out.

Then, suddenly, an ominous thought crossed my mind.

Blue Moon's bizarre stage outfits.

And the ridicule they received every time they wore them.

The stylist.

I needed to see the stylist.

The stylist was always nowhere to be found, so I hadn't really paid attention until now.

I immediately headed into the wardrobe room to inspect Blue Moon's costumes.

Four suspicious outfits were hanging from otherwise empty clothing racks.

The members' names were written on the tags attached to the hangers.

They were definitely Blue Moon's outfits.

People's careers were hanging by a thread here.

Was someone seriously joking around?

I picked one of the outfits up and turned it around.

There was no need to examine it closely.

The outfit consisted of pants that looked like yellow furry bags and a tight top covered in sequins.

With the weather this hot, anyone wearing something like this would end up looking miserable.

Not that the outfit itself didn't already look like garbage.

I calmly pulled out my phone and called the stylist.

"Hello?"

"This is Do Junhyeok. I recently joined as Team Two's leader. I have something I'd like to discuss, so could you come to the wardrobe room for a moment?"

The stylist hung up without even answering.

A short while later, she entered the wardrobe room.

What could she possibly have been so busy doing that she'd been hiding somewhere until now?

"What is it?"

She was already getting on my nerves from the first sentence.

Fine.

That actually made things easier.

"Where were you?"

"Working outside."

That was all she said.

In other words, she'd probably just been fooling around somewhere.

"Then what's this outfit?"

The stylist looked at the clothes I held out and gave another short answer.

"It's what they're wearing at the Namwon festival."

"They're really going to wear this? You're serious?"

"Yes. So?"

It seemed the stylist had absolutely no intention of contributing anything to Blue Moon's team.

The group was probably going to disappear soon anyway, so she had no motivation to work hard.

Fine.

But that didn't mean she could sabotage people who actually were working hard.

It was bad enough that she felt no shame over this.

Now she was even acting like Solis about it.

"This outfit won't work. Send it back to the sponsor and get something else."

"What? Why? The schedule is right around the corner."

"Even if the event were tomorrow, this outfit wouldn't work. Replace it."

The stylist let out a heavy sigh and hung the outfit back where it had been.

Yellow pants.

Green pants.

Red pants.

What a disaster.

"How am I supposed to replace everything now?"

"They're going to be humiliated if they wear this. What do you mean you can't replace it?"

"What humiliation? Who's even going to look at them? There won't even be cameras there. A few old people will watch them and that's it. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

I'd already realized what kind of attitude she had when she'd made that excuse about outside work.

"Aren't we sending them to that event because people are supposed to watch them? They may be unknown, but they've practiced dancing, practiced singing, and given everything they've got. Shouldn't we at least put them in something pretty?"

After I pushed the issue for a little longer, the stylist immediately raised her voice.

"What am I supposed to do when nobody wants to sponsor them? Do you think it's just my opinion that nobody watches them? The sponsors are saying nobody's going to watch them! The sponsors! It's not like I can spend my own money and buy outfits for them!"

Wasn't securing sponsorships somehow part of a stylist's job?

Of course, with Blue Moon being treated like a flop group, I understood that it wouldn't be easy.

Still, that wasn't something she should proudly use as an excuse.

At least now I understood the situation.

There was no reason to continue the conversation.

I started taking pictures of each outfit with my phone.

"The company that sent these is Malcolm, right?"

"Yes."

I still had the representative's number saved.

He worked in sales, so he probably hadn't changed it.

After sending him the photos, I immediately called.

"Yes, this is Malcolm Korea—"

"This is Do Junhyeok. I just sent you a message. Check that first."

The representative checked the message, then answered with a sigh.

"Yes. I've seen it."

"Nobody's wearing these clothes. Come pick them up immediately and send something else."

At this point, I was practically picking a fight.

Calling these clothes "sponsored outfits" when I'd be embarrassed to wear them alone inside my own bedroom?

"Manager Do. It's not like we're forcing you to wear them. Those are simply the products we're sponsoring. If you don't think they match your concept, you can use something else, can't you?"

"You're not reading that from some script, are you? You said the exact same thing when I was managing Victory. Even now, you haven't changed a single word."

Victory had been an idol group that exploded in popularity during their second year.

Back then, even getting performance opportunities or television appearances had been difficult.

Whenever we finally managed to secure one, there were plenty of times when we had no proper stage outfits.

Even then, Malcolm had sent us ridiculous things like cheap leather pants and called them sponsorships.

When I'd asked them for something else, they'd given me the exact same answer.

We're not forcing you to wear them.

The exact same bullshit I was hearing right now.

"Back then, you'd pressure us whenever we didn't wear your clothes. Compared to that, I guess you've become quite reasonable now."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm not Victory's manager anymore, but I'm still a member of their fan café. How do you think people would react if I made a post explaining that Malcolm bullied Victory with sponsorship power when they were unknown, then only started bringing decent clothes after they became popular?"

There wasn't a single exaggeration in what I'd said.

Normally, Malcolm stayed quiet.

But whenever we managed to find decent costumes ourselves and appeared on a good broadcast, they'd immediately call and threaten to end our sponsorship if we didn't wear their clothes.

The fans already knew that Victory's clothing quality had improved after we stopped working with Malcolm.

If I opened my mouth about what had really happened...

They'd have a very unpleasant time.

"Don't think about Blue Moon's concept. Just send us something decent. By the end of today."

There was a pause.

"...Understood."

If someone tried to throw their weight around using power, sometimes the only way to teach them a lesson was to show them more power.

I'd thought I'd finally gotten all my frustration with Malcolm out of my system once Victory became successful.

But now...

Getting revenge on them while managing a flop group instead felt strangely refreshing.

"What did they say? They're sending clothes?"

The stylist, who had looked annoyed and uninterested the entire time, suddenly asked with genuine curiosity.

"Yes. Throw this garbage away. Actually, don't. Make sure they take it back. They're the kind of people who might bring it somewhere else and pull the same nonsense again."

Then I looked directly at her.

"And you..."

"Yes?"

"...Never mind."

Not yet.

I didn't have enough justification.

And I didn't have enough authority.

Once I got rid of the problem of Blue Moon's contract renewal...

I was going to start with the styling team and rebuild everything from the ground up.