49. Tuning (2)
"Can you explain in detail what you mean?"
This is like a bolt from the blue. It was sudden, but I calmly asked the reason. As I waited for the answer, my dizzy mind began to clear up.
'He clearly said, 'We might not be able to release the next album.' That means if we do it well, we might be able to release an album.'
What on earth is going on? CEO Son Dong-young sighed deeply over the phone.
[CEO Pyo wants to meet Yoo Young in person.]
"Huh?"
I almost let out a sigh of relief for a moment. I thought something big had happened, but it wasn't a big deal.
However, CEO Son Dong-young seemed to think otherwise and spoke seriously.
[I don't think he meant it in a good way.]
I could quickly understand what he meant.
Lime Entertainment currently has three labels. One label that handles the training and management of actors, one label that manages solo singers and hip-hop rappers, and us.
In other words, Intro is the first idol group that Lime Entertainment has not directly handled.
Since we are trying to catch up with the direct rookie I.X, they must have been upset, or now that Planet is making a comeback, public opinion must have stabilized. They must be trying to reduce support.
'We've recently done something that caught their eye.'
There's no way Pyo Seung-soo would have viewed that incident favorably. I thought about Pyo Seung-soo's tendencies and personality that I remembered up until then and sorted out the situation.
"What's the date?"
[I only know that it's tomorrow dinner time. I'll let you know through Manager Ji Young-heon when it's confirmed.]
Tomorrow's schedule was set from morning to afternoon. It was a selection that seemed to know that.
I turned my gaze and glanced at the members who were looking at me with puzzled faces.
"Am I going alone?"
[Young-ssi was the only one who was called...... If you want to meet with the members, I'll arrange it in advance.]
"No. It's okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
I politely declined and hung up.
The members who had been staring at me opened their mouths. It seemed like they wanted to know what the call was about and why the serious expression.
"I'll move separately tomorrow afternoon."
"What's going on?"
Hwang Bo-kyun gave me a suspicious look. I thought about what to say and confessed it before the guys could misunderstand.
"I've decided to meet with Lime's CEO, Pyo Seung-soo, for a moment and talk."
"Uh...... Huh? It's not a bad thing, is it? You're meeting alone?"
"Yes, don't worry about it."
Only then did the members nod in relief. I stood next to them and changed the subject while telling them some news they would welcome.
"And Team Leader Lee Ki-ho is coming to be our manager."
"Huh?! Really?"
The person who welcomed Team Leader Lee Ki-ho the most was Seol Yi-soo. He seemed to have become close to him as he talked to him often.
In the meantime, I looked at Baek Han-gyul, who seemed to be the only one who was nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah. Team Leader Lee Ki-ho is a good person, but he's a little scary."
Team Leader Lee Ki-ho is scary?
After thinking about it carefully, I remembered what Baek Han-gyul had said about Team Leader Lee Ki-ho, saying he 'talks and nags a lot'. What did he say....... Did he say he found out the most when he was sneaking snacks?
'Isn't that reaping what you sow?'
I narrowed my eyes and then shook my head. That wasn't the end of the news I had to tell.
"And you heard about the cheering stick, right?"
"The thing we're designing?"
"Yes. We're going to do a live tomorrow night, so you have to familiarize yourself with our production rules and guide before then."
"Okay."
Hwang Bo-kyun nodded and clapped his hands to sort out the situation.
After they finished packing up the stuff that was placed in every corner of the practice room, Lee A-ram suddenly asked.
"But about the cheering stick design. What if none of what we made is good?"
I could see the members slyly listening. I smiled at that.
"Well. I trust our members."
***
After finishing my morning schedule, I headed to the label's office and straightened my collar in front of the door. I knocked on the door twice and opened it, and saw CEO Son Dong-young wearing his outerwear. CEO Son Dong-young found me and said, taking his cell phone with him.
"Let's go now."
"Yes."
"Where is Ji Young-heon ssi?"
"He is waiting in the practice room with the members."
Since CEO Son Dong-young and I had decided to meet Pyo Seung-soo alone, I left manager Ji Young-heon next to the members.
CEO Son Dong-young nodded and guided me to the parking lot.
As I got in the car and fastened my seatbelt, CEO Son Dong-young checked his wristwatch.
"We'll have plenty of time."
The car then moved forward smoothly. It seemed like it had been a long time since I saw CEO Son Dong-young driving.
He kept glancing at me, perhaps worried. Then, he let out a sigh that I couldn't tell whether it was relief or worry at my indifferent appearance.
"Mr. Yoo Young, is this your first time meeting CEO Pyo?"
"......Yes."
Although he was someone I had seen enough to be sick of, Yoo Young answered quietly because it was his first time.
'I really don't want to go see him.'
Of course, apart from being familiar, I didn't really like CEO Pyo Seung-soo, so I felt a sense of resistance.
While moving, CEO Son Dong-young kept telling me things to be careful of when meeting him. To summarize, he said that I should behave politely. I shouldn't talk back. It was a caution to our CEO who was the same old fart.
"Welcome."
The place we arrived was a Korean restaurant that was run by a members-only system. The rooms were separated, so it was a good place to talk, and it was also a restaurant that Pyo Seung-soo often visited.
As I followed the clerk's instructions and sat quietly in the reserved room, the food started to come out one by one.
'I guess they decided on the food menu when they made the reservation.'
I sat quietly without touching the food and waited for Pyo Seung-soo.
It was 30 minutes later that Pyo Seung-soo arrived. I was annoyed by the unequal preemption, but I bowed and greeted him anyway.
"Hello."
"It's been a while, CEO Pyo."
"Yes, it's been a while. Please sit down."
After taking off his suit jacket and leaving it with the clerk, Pyo Seung-soo sat across from me and CEO Son Dong-young.
Pyo Seung-soo looked me up and down and picked up his glass. His commanding tone was still the same.
"Just drink it."
"Yes."
Without showing feelings, we picked up the glass accordingly. Pyo Seung-soo and CEO Son Dong-young took a sip of the alcohol in their glasses, and since I was a minor, I drank the tea that had been prepared separately before the meal.
After the tasting, I slowly ate the porridge in the middle, and I felt Pyo Seung-soo's gaze.
'Pyo Seung-soo considered even these detailed orders important.'
Whether he wanted to do the test or not he didn't want to be interrupted by the serving, there were all course dishes on the table that needed to come in order, so he carefully chose and ate them.
He lifted his head slightly while eating the appetizers, Tangpyeongchae and tuna salad.
"Not bad."
I heard Pyo Seung-soo's short evaluation.
The main dishes and entree that followed were also moderately important to the extent that they were not out of manners.
Conversation was possible around the time of dessert, and the tea that came with dessert was Sanyakcha (山藥茶) made with canned maple roots from the second month of the lunar calendar. It tasted sweet, perhaps because it was mixed with milk.
A quiet room. Since CEO Son Dong-young was pouring CEO Pyo Seung-soo's glass, I was the first to gently speak.
"I heard you called."
I thought CEO Son Dong-young's hand was shaking slightly. Was it a mistake?
Pyo Seung-soo kept his mouth shut, stared at me intently, and nodded.
"Yeah. I called you because I was curious about the rookie CEO Son praises. Why, are you uncomfortable?"
"No way."
I shook my head because he suddenly spoke informally. I shouldn't show my displeasure here.
Pyo Seung-soo, who had taken a sip of his drink, exclaimed, "Keu!" However, the following words contained content that Son Dong-young could claim.
"Really? Then can you postpone the next album?"
I looked at him quietly and he met my gaze. I wondered if he was joking.
No matter how vertical the label is, a subsidiary is a completely separate and independent entity legally. This means that the parent company cannot make unilateral demands like this.
Of course, Lime Entertainment provided capital support and investment, so they can interfere, but isn't what they are doing now a unilateral threat?
'This jerk is serious.'
But it wasn't said out of anger. Judging from his expression, it was 100% sincere. When I didn't answer, Pyo Seung-soo continued.
"We helped you a lot this time, didn't we? You even took people with you."
"That's..."
Was the person who we took, Team Leader Lee Ki-ho? CEO Son Dong-young, who almost reflexively refuted, closed his mouth. It seemed like he knew that even if he came forward, it wouldn't be of much help.
"You're capable and I'm looking forward to your future, but I'm not sure if I can trust the label completely and leave it to you......."
He said it indirectly, but I could see his true intentions. So this is about picking on the way the dorm incident was handled last time. It means, why didn't you just quietly bury it but do whatever you wanted?
'By the way, I guess you don't know if I have the investment value to tolerate such selfish behavior.'
I could feel his discomfort on my skin. Anyway, the investment capital for the album comes from Lime Entertainment. In other words, it comes from CEO Pyo Seung-soo's wallet. The reason he called me here is a kind of sign that he doesn't like me. It's like a declaration of war that he's going to put pressure on me directly.
'Yes. He's a gentleman who thinks it's easier to deal with a producer who guarantees a certain level of success if you give him money than a young kid who's hard to control, even though he has a high chance.'
As expected, Pyo Seung-soo raised one corner of his mouth and made a new suggestion.
"Change the general producer, or postpone the album. If you don't like either, then whatever, do some entertaining. You're good-looking, so there's a demand..."
"CEO Pyo."
CEO Son Dong-young called him with his characteristically dry smile.
No matter how much the label is in the position of receiving investment, he was reminding me that I was under CEO Son Dong-young.
I held back a sigh as I watched this mess.
'Anyway, he can't break this bad habits.'
He still gave me a lot of difficult choices and pressured me to do whatever he wanted.
I've gotten a lot of backlash for that in the past, too. After we succeeded with our own power and acquired shares of Lime Entertainment, things got better.
Even CEO Son Dong-young must have been anxious because he knew that person's personality.
That's it.
After listening to the nonsense for a while, I said firmly.
"I think it's hard to change the general producer now. We've already decided on 'self-producing' the group points and promotions."
"Then we can just postpone the album."
"If we postpone the album, how long will it take?"
"At least 10 months, or maybe a year?"
....I was so shocked that I almost lost my words.
It seems that the last album concept attracted the core Lime fandom, and the label's actions were not very satisfactory.
I calmed my mind and focused on understanding the situation.
'We've debuted, but if there's no news for a year, it's obvious that we'll be forgotten.'
Even without that, these days, there are lots of new idols. So how can people remember those who don't even show their faces?
It's standard to make a comeback every 5~6 months, 10 months is too late and a long hiatus.
Plus, the system's position-holding period has passed. It's just poison to us.
CEO Son Dong-young's expression hardens subtly.
"CEO Pyo. No matter what, one year is too much."
"So?"
However, the stubborn Pyo Seung-soo couldn't be communicated with.
Son Dongyoung also didn't show it, but he looked quite embarrassed.
'...wasn't angry, but embarrassed.'
I observed everything here without fail and organized the information I had.
I summarized everything I knew about Pyo Seungsoo's personality, characteristics, past, new situational knowledge, and information.
'Let's turn the tables.'
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