I found out the division head was being replaced two days ago.
“Again?”
“I know, right! I thought this one would at least make it to the end of the year.”
According to rumors circulating here and there, once the industrial espionage case made it all the way up to T1 headquarters, there had apparently been a lot of discussion between the approval-bot and upper management.
And whatever agreement they reached, the approval-bot resigned and left for a subsidiary, while a new division head was appointed in that position.
“I heard the new division head isn’t someone coming over from T1 this time. Apparently some famous professional CEO is coming!”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
I wasn’t looking forward to it at all, but there was no reason I couldn’t play along, so I nodded at the company employee.
For reference, this was a meeting about the concert.
“Then we’ll put Mr. Moondae’s solo-stage direction down as finalized this way.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
In other words, at this point I had no idea that two days later, during the reality-show meeting, I would suddenly hear an entirely unexpected proposal about going to America.
“America?”
“I like it! Let’s go to America!”
“Ah, Eugene, hold on. America sounds great~ But what about the costs and our schedule? We barely have any U.S. stops on the tour.”
The moment we heard, ‘This reality show is going to America,’ Big Sejin immediately brought up the practical issues in a gentle tone.
Exactly right.
When we said we had gained some response in America, all that really meant was that among K-pop enthusiasts, we had barely reached a level of recognition fitting for a top-tier group in Korea.
The attention we received from appearing on that gaming talk show had also given us some recognition in subculture circles, but it was still minor.
In other words, it wasn’t enough to make anyone expect a large-scale tour.
Naturally, our U.S. concerts existed mostly to round out the schedule.
“Ah, they said they’ll coordinate the flights carefully with the South American tour dates. As for the cost, well, Tnet said, ‘Of course it’s TeSTAR. We’d invest at least this much~’”
“Ooh~”
“We are grateful, but I wonder if there is any possibility of a situation where the production costs cannot be recouped….”
A few of the more naïve guys looked embarrassed by the employee’s flattery.
This is strange.
Going all the way to America out of nowhere was far too inefficient for the cost.
I deliberately asked bluntly to see how the employee would react.
“But is there a particular reason it has to be America? Was it Tnet who suggested it first?”
“Ah, um… actually, the division head suggested it…….”
“…The new division head?”
“Yes.”
I’d only heard two days ago that the division head had changed, so the fact that this person had already pushed an idea like this felt ominous.
“Did they mention any particular reason while proposing it?”
“Um, I wasn’t personally there when it was discussed, so… well, apparently, while choosing with a simultaneous global release in mind, they wanted a setting that would feel familiar worldwide.”
An abstract answer with an escape route built into it.
Meaning there was something she felt uncomfortable about.
Should I dig a little deeper?
Before I could open my mouth, Ryu Chungwoo asked the next question first.
“A simultaneous global release?”
“Yes. For this reality show, we’re discussing releasing it immediately on WeTube in countries outside Korea!”
Cha Eugene cut in.
“Lots of Americans watch??”
“…! Ah, yes. That was mentioned, but…….”
Judging by the employee’s flustered reaction, Cha Eugene had accidentally hit the correct answer.
Don’t tell me they’re specifically targeting the English-speaking market.
Well, there was nothing particularly wrong with trying something like this for one reality show.
The problem was that it revealed the new division head’s tendencies.
Rather than producing content that would soothe domestic fans during an overseas tour and prevent them from leaving the fandom, they were thinking about expanding the overseas pie by any means possible.
And not even in a country where K-pop was already familiar, but in the ‘prestigious-looking’ United States.
Let’s cut this off for now.
It would be better to see whether they became cautious if the group made it clear we weren’t particularly enthusiastic.
I looked around at the members and spoke.
“Could we discuss it among ourselves first and give you our answer at the next meeting?”
“Yeah~ I think that would be best!”
Big Sejin backed me up, but the employee’s answer dragged out.
“Ah, of course! Naturally, TeSTAR’s opinions will be reflected a lot, but ultimately the production team has to make the final decision after considering various realistic requirements… I’m really sorry, but I hope you’ll understand that point.”
Meaning that even if we said at the next meeting that we didn’t want to go to America, they were probably going to send us there anyway unless something major happened.
Fuck.
It seemed like someone internally had pushed this hard enough that it was already half-decided.
Still, thanks to the industrial espionage incident, they were obviously walking on eggshells around us.
“Then we’ll see you next week.”
“Thank you~”
After that, we talked casually for a while about things we wanted to do on the reality show, then left the conference room.
“So, what do you think? America.”
“Let’s go! I go home! Lots of delicious restaurants! My mom wants to see hyungs!”
“Ah, that part would be really nice~”
“I-I’d like it if we could greet her.”
Cha Eugene was obviously an enthusiastic supporter, and the other members seemed to understand.
Can’t be helped.
Compared to the rest of the members, he definitely had fewer chances to meet his family, so if an opportunity came up, naturally he’d want to use it.
He probably misses home too.
If we were going anyway, going to Cha Eugene’s house would probably be good content.
Though it’d be better to set the tone first.
Given how carefully the employee had been reading our reactions earlier, I figured the company would probably make some gesture before the next meeting.
And sure enough, the very next morning, our manager brought us a new schedule in the company practice room.
“Guys, the new division head said they want to meet you.”
“Ah, the division head?”
“…Now?”
“In about an hour? They said it won’t take long!”
Bae Sejin’s face turned gloomy as he asked.
Understandably so.
There goes our break.
We had been enjoying a brief rest in the practice room, using one of the very few free gaps in our packed schedule.
“Understood….”
“Um, yes!”
Nobody’s answer sounded especially enthusiastic.
Still, one hour later, TeSTAR headed to the division head’s office for the first time in a while.
Even Seon Ahyeon, who had recently switched hobbies and was now doing French embroidery or something, glanced regretfully at the pile of fabric.
That confirmed it.
The division head had already screwed up the first impression.
They should’ve used spare time during a scheduled meeting instead.
By forcing an extra appointment on short notice, all they had accomplished was creating a faint sense of resentment.
Suspecting that yet another person who was terrible at their job had arrived, I entered the division head’s office.
And I was slightly surprised by what I saw.
“Ah, TeSTAR. Sorry for calling you in so suddenly. Please sit down first.”
The division head was waiting with refreshments prepared.
And not some light assortment purely for appearances.
There was everything from chicken to waffles laid out in variety, almost like catering for an event.
It looked like the kind of academy information session where they tried to win kids over with food, but at least the message was clear enough.
I arranged this because I want us to get along.
“I did call you while you were resting, right? You must already be incredibly busy these days, so I felt bad and prepared a little something, haha!”
“Oh, of course it’s fine, Division Head!”
“Th-Thank you.”
“Why don’t we talk while you eat?”
Then the division head picked up a piece of chicken first.
Judging by the way they merely took a bite and put it back down, it didn’t seem like they actually wanted to eat it.
It looked more like they understood that the others would feel uncomfortable eating freely unless they picked something up first.
Oh.
At least this person seemed like someone who’d spent some time close to working-level staff.
They were also much younger than the previous division heads.
The division head chatted casually for a while and waited until the guys had eaten a bit before getting to business.
“The first reason I arranged this meeting is simply because I wanted us to see each other’s faces and properly introduce ourselves. I look forward to working with you.”
“Ah, we look forward to working with you too!”
They exchanged light handshakes.
“And the second reason is… I believe you’ve already heard about it. The location shoot in America for this reality show.”
The division head interlaced both hands with a serious expression.
“Not only for this project. I’m drawing up a roadmap for targeting the U.S. market from a longer-term perspective.”
“Excuse me……?”
Ah, damn it.
“Before taking this position, I reviewed every one of your albums and your activity history.”
With a serious face, the division head rattled off details about TeSTAR’s activities and launched into their own analysis.
“…And there are certain things America clearly likes. Underdogs, social messages, pride in one’s roots, and individuality. What do you think, Eugene? Am I right?”
“Oh, yes!”
“Exactly. And TeSTAR is the kind of group that fulfills all three. That’s why I believe you can absolutely succeed in a larger market.”
“Oh…!”
Bullshit.
First of all, even those three conditions were an excessive leap, and Cha Eugene was simply in a good mood because he had eaten something tasty.
The person who bought it for him asked a question, so he agreed.
More importantly, there were probably as many artists as stars in the sky who fulfilled all three conditions and still failed to break into America.
They’ve started dreaming.
The problem was that this bastard had analyzed the data in their own way and developed actual confidence from it.
And they seemed to have a very high opinion of their own abilities.
Ryu Chungwoo finally managed to speak.
“Hmm. We appreciate the kind words, but rather than targeting any particular country or demographic… our team has always been built around focusing on continuing to release good albums.”
“Of course! You just need to keep making good music. What I mean is that the company will work harder to figure out how to properly promote and manage that good music.”
The words flowed like water.
“Frankly, I think T1 Stars has provided far too little support until now. Rather than sharing a vision with you, the company has been desperately trying to keep up.”
The division head’s eyes were serious.
“For instance, look at the scale of your Japan tour for this concert. I heard <Idol Inc.> got an incredible response in Japan starting from the very first episode. In that case, the company should have immediately increased the scale of the tour, added schedules, and analyzed Japanese demand. Instead, it did nothing.”
Oh.
At least that was fairly new information.
I’d been too busy lately to go digging through reactions from other countries, but now that I thought about it, the agency really should have looked into that a long time ago.
Still, doing nothing was probably better than trying something half-assed and going in some bizarre direction.
For example, if this guy had been here instead of the approval-bot, we might have been pointlessly making the rounds of Japanese music shows.
But the division head was so absorbed in their own analysis that they were practically spraying spit as they spoke passionately.
“So what happened as a result? <Idol Inc.> became a massive hit in Japan too, TeSTAR’s value kept soaring, and all that time, your own agency had its hands completely off Japanese promotions.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Is our upward trend really that clear in Japan?”
At Ryu Chungwoo’s reluctant response and Kim Raebin’s curious question, the division head, delighted at the chance to show off their knowledge, pulled out a tablet.
Then with a slick motion, they swiped across the screen.
“Have you seen this?”
A slide from a PowerPoint made in a suitably trendy recent template was displayed.
And its contents were… a screenshot of some Japanese auction listing.
There was nothing especially unusual about it except the absurdly high price.
However, Seon Ahyeon’s face was prominently visible on the listed item.
“Gasp.”
It was a photocard that had only been given away in extremely small quantities through a raffle event for some broadcasting station’s public-service campaign at the beginning of the year.
If I remembered right, it had been taken backstage at a broadcast-station staff member’s request right after that performance where Seon Ahyeon’s in-ear had fallen out and he had covered it with a somersault.
The circumstances around it were oddly distinctive.
On top of that, considering Seon Ahyeon had taken it himself, it had come out absurdly well.
There had been so many requests for it that the broadcasting station eventually posted the original photo data on their SNS.
Even so, I remembered the few physical copies from the original event carrying a decent premium.
I hadn’t expected them to travel all the way to Japan and reach this kind of price.
“This is currently around five hundred thousand won in Korean currency. It’s an extremely impactful piece of evidence that demand for TeSTAR in Japan is increasing dramatically. Especially Mr. Seon Ahyeon. The response to you is excellent.”
“Y-Yes….”
Seon Ahyeon’s face turned bright red.
The division head exclaimed passionately.
“That’s why this is the time to target overseas markets more aggressively and actively. Since you broke through Japan this easily, I’m certain that if we find the right route into America and sell out properly, we can produce more than enough results.”
“…….”
Now I understood.
Was ‘Now That You Mention It, You’re Right’ coming back as an A-grade Trait because I was supposed to use it on this guy?
There went my theory proving itself again.
I suppressed a sigh and opened my mouth.
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