Genius Manager Who Hears Voices - Chapter 66



Only Noblemtl

Episode 66

A few days before Hee-sung went to meet Yoo Jae-wook, Hee-sung visited the GEM building and had a meeting with Joo Sung-wook.

Joo Sung-wook’s reaction to the story that Yoo Jae-wook was staying in the countryside was as expected.

“Jae-wook is in Jeonnam right now? He’s training there… …?”

“Yes. The promised period was one month, but it ends in a few days, so I plan to go down again.”

“No, why did you have to go all the way there to train… … And did Jae-wook accept that so easily? Was he the one who gave up everything here too?”

Hee-sung explained in detail Yoo Jae-wook’s current psychological state.

When she said she was going to quit the entertainment industry, she wasn’t sincere, and in fact, she wanted that life more than anyone else.

But I was about to let everything go because I felt like there was no more hope and I felt sorry for the company.

Joo Sung-wook let out a long sigh as if he had expected Hee-sung’s story to some extent.

“I expected that to be the case because of his personality. He’s a kind-hearted person by nature, and he’s extremely reluctant to hurt others. He may seem blunt on the outside and speak like that, but he’s actually a kind-hearted person. That’s why we’ve been trying not to let him go… … .”

“Yes, I felt like Jae-wook Yoo was that kind of person, even if only for a moment. By the way, I heard that your contract will expire soon. What do you plan to do about it at the company?”

“Our position has not changed. We have been together for nearly 20 years, so of course we should go together… … Do you know that I have been in charge of Jae-wook since the Road days? Everyone has left now, but I want to protect Jae-wook until the end. Not only me, but the CEO as well.”

That’s a whopping 20 years. Even if they are relatives of the CEO, it’s not common for a singer to stay in the same company for 20 years.

Moreover, the group had disbanded and all the members had left.

As Joo Seung-ik said, the expression ‘family’ was now more appropriate.

“But since Jae-wook was about to give up everything, I couldn’t help but worry about what would be best for him. Because I know better than anyone what it means to Jae-wook that he can no longer hold the mic.”

“Then everything will be decided in a few days, depending on how Yoo Jae-wook’s condition and will change. The decision on whether to renew the contract will be made based on that. Is that right?”

“… … Yes, of course that’s true. But even if his condition improves, I can’t be sure that Jae-wook will continue to come with us. It all depends on Jae-wook’s mind.”

“Well, I’ll talk about that part carefully. In my opinion, there’s no place better than GEM Entertainment for Yoo Jae-wook right now.”

Joo Seung-ik widened his eyes and asked in response to Hee-sung’s story.

“Would you please do so? Still, Jae-wook seems to be persuaded by Jeong Hee-seong’s words. And he’s staying there obediently… … I’d like to ask you a favor, Jeong Hee-seong. I’m sure the CEO is quite worried about this.”

“But I have one condition, Chief. If Mr. Yoo Jae-wook signs the contract renewal documents.”

“Conditions? Oh, if it’s a favor, then of course I should do it! In that regard, we will compensate you sufficiently on a company level so that you won’t be disappointed.”

Hee-sung shook his head at Joo Seung-ik, who misunderstood his intentions.

“That’s not it. I’m talking about when Yoo Jae-wook will return. He will continue to train after returning to Seoul, and if his condition improves significantly, we will have to decide when to return.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“I want that comeback stage to be a competition, Chief.”

“A contest? If it’s a contest, what kind of… … . Are you talking about a singing competition between singers?”

Heeseong nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. No, actually, that’s not exactly true… … If there is such a program, I have no doubt that it will be the best stage for Yoo Jae-wook to make a comeback. He will refresh his fallen image, and the story of him overcoming his illness through his own will will evoke considerable sympathy from the public.”

“But Jae-wook’s condition is not good enough to compete… … .”

“So, I’m saying that I’ll only set that condition if I renew the contract. Renewing the contract means that Yoo Jae-wook will continue his will as a singer, and in other words, it means that he saw that much hope. Through this rural experience.”

“Rural… … . Oh, yes. That may be true. But why is this a condition for Mr. Jeong Hee-seong? What is in it for Mr. Jeong Hee-seong?”

Heeseong smiled slightly at Joo Seungik’s question.

“Well, I guess it’s a kind of self-satisfaction? It’ll be an opportunity to check whether my intuition is right or not. Even though it was a short-lived relationship, helping Jae-wook Yoo’s comeback will definitely be a benefit to my career. For a freelancer like me, that’s more important than money.”

“Hmm, that’s definitely true.”

“Of course, I am sure that this will be a major turning point for Yoo Jae-wook’s career. Regardless of the outcome, the process itself will definitely lead to great growth.”

In fact, this feeling did not come from uncertainty, but was something that had to be right.

Because I had already heard through the voice last time that Yoo Jae-wook would advance to the ‘finals’.

Even if he doesn’t win or not, just getting to that point will change Yoo Jae-wook’s life 180 degrees.

As you prepare for each stage and give it your all, you will come to realize what it means to be a true singer.

Heeseong asked Seungik Joo in a confident voice.

“So, could you please tell me if there is a place that is currently preparing such a program? I’m sure there is.”

***

A few days after Hee-sung returned to Seoul with Yoo Jae-wook, Joo Seung-ik made the dinner arrangement they had made last time.

It was a meeting with the members of Pierstar.

The members were on their way back from their schedules, so Heesung and Seungik Joo arrived first and were chatting at a Japanese restaurant.

“It was exactly as Mr. Jeong Hee-seong said. JNBC is preparing a Chuseok pilot. It hasn’t reached the casting stage yet.”

“A pilot? If you’re a pilot, isn’t it a one-time thing? It ends in one shot?”

“Yes, that’s usually the case, but this time they said they’re going in with regular programming in mind. In fact, many programs do that. Anyway, it’s true that viewership ratings are higher during the holidays, and it’s good to continue that momentum until the official launch.”

“Oh, yes.”

“But one thing that is surprising is that the scale of the program being prepared this time is not ordinary. The concept is also quite different from the existing competition stages.”

Heeseong asked, putting down his glass of water.

“Scale and concept?”

“First of all, the concept is that the contestants will compete as duets, not soloists. In other words, all 12 teams will have to find partners and prepare for the stage as a pair.”

“12 teams? So there are twenty-four people in total… … Is there really a structure where someone gets eliminated every week?”

“That’s what’s unique. Usually, the reason why singers are reluctant to appear in these competitions is because of the elimination system, but I heard that up until the semifinals, there is no elimination and it is based on a cumulative score system. After going through each round, only the final four teams get to perform on the live broadcast stage.”

“Oh, starting from the semi-finals.”

“Yes, but in fact, from here on out, it doesn’t really matter. The four teams that will go up on the live stage will eventually compete against Chinese singers. So from there on out, it’s basically a competition between Korea and China.”

“… … Yes? What’s that all of a sudden… … .”

Suddenly I’m going to be competing with Chinese singers.

I thought, what the heck is this nonsense?

Joo Seung-ik also laughed as if he had a similar reaction at first.

“At first, I thought, what the hell is this? I couldn’t understand why they were trying to pit us against singers from other countries who had done nothing after coming up so fiercely. I thought maybe they had received money from the Chinese side, but that wasn’t the case. They said that China also went through the same process as us to select four teams.”

“In China too? So you’re saying that they’ll hold a competition in that country and select four teams? Each team will be a duo of two people?”

Joo Seung-ik nodded his head obediently.

“Yes, that’s right. The scale is no joke, right? I asked the CP there how they came up with this program, and he said that was very interesting. He said that we first proposed it to the Chinese broadcasting station. And that was already two years ago.”

“Two years ago? That must have taken quite a while. Why did you make that suggestion? If it was a competition show, it would have been enough to fill it with only Korean singers.”

“Because of plagiarism. I wanted to nip it in the bud from the beginning. So that something like that wouldn’t even happen.”

“Plagiarism?”

Joo Seung-ik picked up the glass of water, moistened his throat once, and continued speaking.

“It’s already a well-known fact that China has been plagiarizing many of our programs. It seems like they have no intention of denying it either. Isn’t that why they’re getting even more angry? If they had just said sorry or something, it would have been less frustrating, but this is so shameless. That’s why they made a proposal. They said that if they were going to do this, they should just proceed with the same format. Then, at some point, they should really have a go at it.”

For a moment, my mouth couldn’t help but drop open.

It’s surprising that he even thought about it, and that he even said it out loud to a Chinese official.

I really wanted to see the face of that CP guy.

“And you’re saying that China accepted it? Even though they knew it was intended to prevent plagiarism?”

“Haha, yes. Isn’t it fun? I heard that they were really interested in the duet concept. You know, in our country, it’s hard to make a big hit with the romance genre, but in China, it’s the complete opposite? One good romance movie probably earns as much as dozens of Korean movies. In terms of revenue.”

“Dozens… … ? No way… … .”

“Haha, no way. It’s true. Besides, our country has the Korean Wave, right? The competition stages held in that country will probably be a romance show every week. And they’ll advertise that there will be a duet competition with our country’s singers at the end. Then, the viewer ratings and interest will go without saying.”

It is a country with a population of several billion people.

I couldn’t even imagine what the ripple effects would be if I made up my mind and paid attention in such a country.

There must be a reason why Chinese films are so concerned about earning foreign currency.

That’s probably because it earns enough revenue just from its domestic release.

Heeseong asked, still looking surprised at the completely unexpected development.

“So, will China also select 12 teams and start the competition? Just like our country?”

In response to Heeseong’s question, Seungik Joo brought up a story that made people’s mouths drop open even more.

“No. China is a country. They’re going to recruit more than ten times the number of people in our country. So it’s going to be at least two hundred and forty people.”