star of the peninsula

"You called me out just to force a kiss on me?"

Bae Joo-hyun took two steps back, blinking her big eyes.

"You're very cooperative when I say something casual, aren't you?" Chen Chen pulled his girlfriend into his arms again and walked slowly forward with her. "I don't have any special purpose in asking you out. I just want to take a walk outdoors to change my mood."

"Have you changed it now?" asked Bae Joo-hyun.

"Changed. From being confused and unmotivated to now wanting to ask what's going on inside Shamrock." Chen Chen chuckled, "The actions of the soy sauce bottle must have had a great impact on the operation of aespa. Come and tell me some inside information, baby."

"There's no news, at least I don't have any." It's not that Pei Zhuxuan didn't want to tell Chen Chen, it's that she really didn't know.

"I don't expect you to have any information. I just asked a question casually." Chen Chen looked up at the moon in the sky. "If I really want to get the news, I will naturally use my information channels in Shamao."

"Do you have any information channels in SMART?" Bae Joo-hyun asked curiously.

"Not long after I entered the production studio, the news spread out. C headquarters must have someone else's spies." Chen Chen smacked his lips, "Tsk, since C headquarters can have someone else's spies, why can't other entertainment companies have our C headquarters' spies?"

"Besides, everyone can see the development of C headquarters. It's not surprising that people from other entertainment companies who plan to join me in the future are now secretly communicating with me, right?"

"In the entertainment industry, news is the least valuable." Chen Chen gave a brief introduction, "What is valuable are the various details and progress bars."

"..."

"Okay, let's not talk about this." Chen Chen looked at his girlfriend who seemed to be thinking about something but couldn't figure it out, so he decided not to talk about this topic. "Are you guys pretty free at the end of this year?"

"I can't go to MMA and MAMA if I don't win an award, and now I can't make a comeback either. Basically, the only activity left is Gayo Daejeon." Bae Joo Hyun shrugged cutely, "I haven't had such a leisurely life for a long time."

"Don't say that!" Chen Chen quickly stopped her, "When people say they have free time, they often have to work. It's very dangerous!"

"What kind of job is this?" Bae Joo Hyun made a rare joke, "Will the company call us in for a meeting tomorrow and suddenly prepare for a comeback?"

"That's really unlikely. S.A.T. doesn't have any resources to give you guys right now. The best resources are all with aespa." Chen Chen pointed out S.A.T.'s dilemma. "But if I don't give you guys resources, I'll be scolded again. After all, you're S.A.T.'s flagship girl group."

"Let the company do whatever it wants." Bae Joo Hyun didn't think too much about it. "A new group should give the new members more benefits, otherwise it will be too difficult to gain a foothold in this industry."

"When do you think we will return?" Bae Joo-hyun asked.

"After the family concert?" Chen Chen casually threw out a time point, "If there is nothing else special, this time is the most suitable."

"You already have news about the family concert?" Pei Zhuxuan was surprised: "Even I don't know!"

"Yes, I already have it here." Chen Chen raised his eyebrows proudly, "This kind of thing that is bound to happen can be calculated as long as there is a rough range. It will definitely be done at the beginning of next year, and you will be returned after it is completed."

"After the comeback, it will be almost time for your members' solos."

"There's no other meaning, and there's no direct connection. It's simply that the deadline has come and the time has come."

"Next year will be the seventh year. If there is no default rule, it is time for you to negotiate the contract."

"SMART has always done this, following a formula and doing things based on time." Chen Chen briefly exposed SMART's unethical way of operating, "The first solo was given, and the second solo may be around the time of contract renewal, so it is there as a bargaining chip for renewal."

"You've done so much research on our company." Pei Zhuxuan pretended to be angry and scolded: "Have you been staring at us?!"

"Yes, you are right. I have always been paying attention to SM Entertainment." Chen Chen replied, "In the beginning, I took it as a role model and wanted to build an entertainment company like it."

"and after?"

Pei Zhuxuan asked.

"Later, I just felt that SMART was disgusting. It was all packaging and calculation from head to toe." Chen Chen didn't know how to express himself at this time, so he just kept a straight face. "The most sincere people in the whole company are the artists, and the people who are most sincere about the works are the employees in the production studio and recording studio. The others are mostly jokes."

"Oh~ That makes sense~" Pei Zhuxuan deliberately prolonged the tone, "But from your tone, you will have new opinions later, right? About the present?"

"Yeah." Chen Chen nodded. "Now I understand SMART. This circle has to play by SMART's rules."

Use good works to build the foundation, turn the artists into commodities to polish the brand, and then bear all the dark sides yourself.

I used to think that SMART went too far and did too many bad things. It even seemed to enjoy doing bad things, which was not like a decent big company.

This shocked Chen Chen a little, because few people would really put their conspiracies and tricks out in the open.

Now Chen Chen understood that in the entertainment industry where any stain would be infinitely magnified, if one wanted to bloom a beautiful, flawless lotus on the surface, one had to swallow all the filth in the stomach.

In this regard, Waiji did a very poor job, but this may be related to the fact that Waiji's roots have never been upright. From the beginning to the future that Chen Chen saw, he had to doubt whether Waiji was a real entertainment company, and suspected that there were some dark things using Waiji's shell to do bad things.

And Hybe, it also does poorly in this regard.

Hybe's roots are not bad, it is a serious business company. Its problem is that it did not do enough bad things. If it did more bad things and dealt with the things that needed to be dealt with privately with thunderous means, there would be no farce later.

"What are you going to do?" Pei Zhuxuan nudged Chen Chen with her elbow. "Since you think SMART is doing the right thing, will you continue to study?"

"No, the specific situation of each company is different. It's not good to learn blindly." Chen Chen smiled and shook his head. "Besides, it doesn't mean I have to learn it just because it's right. There is no such reason in the world."

"What do you mean?"

Bae Joo-hyun didn't understand a little bit.

"What I mean is, I know it's right, but I won't learn to do it that way." Chen Chen explained: "Rather than maximizing benefits, I want to choose the decision that I want to make before I am absolutely mature."

"It's short for willful, right?" Pei Zhuxuan naturally understood what he said and even gave some advice, "That's good. You have the capital to be willful. You don't have to choose the right path. You can choose another path to enjoy the scenery."

"But having said that, you've done all the bad things you should have done." Bae Joo Hyun teased, "I think it's just that the sentimental side of your head took over late at night, and you just complained casually!"

"Hahahaha, it's not impossible!" Chen Chen laughed and let go of his girlfriend. "It's getting late, let's go home and have some rest. Everyone will be very busy tomorrow."

…The matter of contacting Jay Park and the band Hyukoh was naturally handed over to the assistant Jiyeon.

Although Park Jae-Bum is a well-known boss of aomg, a small thing like aomg should not pretend in front of C headquarters. It is absolutely unacceptable to put on airs.

In addition, the entire circle now knows that Zhiyan is temporarily taking over as Chen Chen’s assistant, so the specifications are actually sufficient.

About Ji-yeon's job as an assistant
Everyone was quite shocked at the beginning that Jiyeon, a member of the Crown Group, would actually work as an assistant and not even a full-time employee but a part-time worker.

But after hearing the remuneration offered by Chen Chen, everyone could only feel envy.

Guaranteed remuneration for two TV series, how can I not be envious?! You should know how many artists in South Korea can never get scripts for two TV series in their lifetime, 70% or more, no less!

If C headquarters didn’t plan to hire another artist assistant, the artists who came to sign up for the interview would have to break down the door of C headquarters!

After Jiyeon contacted both parties, President Chen met with the artists from both sides at C headquarters in the evening and explained the situation.

Uh. Why do you bring someone here with all the fanfare just to have them sing a demo?
When Chen Chen went to talk, he realized that what he did seemed a little unkind, but he couldn't back down at this time, so he could only bite the bullet and do it.

However, Park Jae-Bum and Oh Hyuk's reactions were somewhat beyond Chen Chen's expectations. They agreed very readily and did not even mention the idea of ​​bargaining or adding any additional conditions.

"This is the work you wrote for a famous overseas game company. It is our honor to help sing the demo."

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The reason is this. Anyway, Chen Chen can't tell whether they are sincere or not.

The next afternoon after the meeting, Chen Chen received the dry sound from Park Jae-Bum, which was very efficient.

Hyukoh is a band after all, so they will perform at a later time in the evening.

Chen Chen was also happy that they were late. After all, this way he could take a few days off without any shame.

……

"Integrate is about to release that song "Good 4 U", do you have any instructions?"

Shirley suddenly asked this question while she was concentrating on her work, which made Chen Chen, who was playing with his mobile phone, feel guilty.

"Is it time to release "Good 4 U"?" Chen Chen felt dazed. "November is about to pass so quickly!"

"aespa debuted on the 17th, developed steadily for a week until the 24th, and then Soy Sauce Bottle intervened and fought between the two sides for three days, so it's the 27th now." Shirley calculated the time for Chen Chen directly according to his schedule, "It took you two more days to write the song and find people, and today it took another day to receive the dry music. If this isn't the 30th, then what is it?!"

"That's right!" Shirley squinted, "If there's no 31st in November, it will be over!"

"Time flies by so fast!" Chen Chen sighed once more, then nodded to Shirley as if to confirm the news. "I don't have much to say about 'Good 4 U'. Just release the song and promote it normally."

"Okay, I'll just send the message to President Kim." Sulli expressed her doubts after sending the message, "Isn't it too short to promote the song for only one week? This is an official English single."

"It's too busy at the end of the year, and the girls have a lot of shows to prepare." Chen Chen gave his reason, "Plus this year is another year of rampant epidemic, everyone is very tired, let's not waste more time on this unimportant English single."

"Humph, you seem to feel sorry for them." Sulli snorted, "Which entertainment company in South Korea pampers their idols like you do? Sooner or later, these girls will get into trouble if you do that!"

"I don't even have a legitimate endorsement, so how can I get into trouble?" Chen Chen paused here, then slowly exhaled, "Next year the girls must have endorsements. If you have time, you can help me choose one."

"What's there to be picky about?" Shirley said unimpressively, "The world has long divided all brands into different grades. We just need to try our best to pick the best ones."

"But why next year again?" Shirley vaguely grasped the key words, "I remember this is not the first time you mentioned next year's matter."

"Next year is the second year of Integrate's debut, which is already a very important year." Chen Chen said in a steady tone, "Plus, Big Hit's new girl group may debut and aespa, who has already debuted, is eyeing us covetously. We absolutely cannot relax."

"What a lie!" Shirley was too lazy to complain. "We've spent more time together than you and Irene have. How can you still think I can't tell the difference?"

"Hehe~" Chen Chen couldn't help but laugh twice, "Then tell me how much of what I just said is true and how much is false?"

"It's true that next year is very important to Integrate, but it's false that you're worried that other girl groups will catch up." Shirley said without hesitation: "You don't seem to be worried at all!"

Yes, Chen Chen was not worried at all. All his worries were simply directed at the uncertainty of the future.

If the uncertainties could be eliminated, Chen Chen didn't think anyone in South Korea could assemble a galaxy battleship more luxurious than Integrate.

"You really see through me." Chen Chen smiled and said firmly, "I plan to push Integrate to a very terrifying height next year, and then use this height to do something that breaks the limit or leaves a record."

"For example?"

Shirley tilted her head in confusion.

"For example." Chen Chen took two deep breaths and waited until his heartbeat slowed down before he dared to open his mouth. "For example, I want Integrate to cross the wall with the Chinese mainland and try to see if I can do something as an artist."

This was a bit scary, and Shirley didn't dare to answer it for a moment.

There is an invisible but substantial wall separating China and South Korea in the entertainment industry, and everyone is well aware of its density and quality.

"Can you do it?" Shirley asked.

"I'm not sure, but you all know that the wall is not completely sealed. There will be a small gap from time to time." Chen Chen replied.

"But." Shirley gestured anxiously with her hands, "We've never made such a big gap before, and if it's a small gap, our Integrate can't get through!"

"That depends on my face and Integrate's accumulation during this period." Chen Chen gritted his teeth as he spoke, "In the past year or so, Integrate's response to China's epidemic policy was faster than China's high-speed rail. After thoroughly understanding the policy, it immediately posted a video on a certain audio platform to guide Chinese fans to understand and implement it."

“I didn’t ask them to do this for nothing.”

"We have made contributions."

...(End of chapter)