Reboot the heyday

"Don't overthink it, I have good news."

Duck King laughed, "We've finally got f(x)'s contract. SM Entertainment is currently engaged in a fierce internal power struggle and is even considering abandoning the group. However, we only secured the contract for the group as a whole. If we're going to work out individually, we'll still be subject to SM's influence."

Wang Taika frowned: "What does SM Entertainment mean by this? If you're going to give it, give it all. Why are you doing it in such a piecemeal way, and only giving half at that? The whole group is mine now, but my individual activities are going to be affected."

Duck King said, "You're really not suited for this industry. Can't you even see this? SM Entertainment gave up on the group f(x), but they didn't give up on the five members."

Wang Taika frowned: "Is there a difference?"

“You’re considering things from a perspective of feelings and emotions, but the company only looks at profits,” Duck King explained. “After f(x) debuted, they were indeed very popular, and their current fame is not bad. But as time went on, the individual fame of the members gradually surpassed that of the group, which became the key factor in the shift of the team’s focus.”

Duck King counted on his fingers for Wang Taika: "This Song, uh, leader, I didn't mention her name. As the leader, she worked hard on variety shows in the early stages of the debut to increase the team's popularity. Later, through a fake, not real, just playing around, a, um, it seems like she was dating but actually wasn't, um, a show, she increased the team's popularity in China and South Korea. But she can still develop her career after returning to Korea and can focus on film and television and variety shows."

"Take Krystal for example. She gained immense popularity through dramas like 'The Heirs,' and her success as an actress has made her personal influence far exceed that of the group. The same goes for Snowball. Her personal style and success in her acting career mean she doesn't need to rely on the group at all."

"The remaining two, while not as popular, have unique styles and strong abilities," Duck King said. "From the fans' perspective, it's great. But from the company's perspective, this thing is impacting revenue! If each individual can earn far more revenue than the group as a whole, why bother with the group? For the sake of maximizing the company's overall interests, resources will definitely be allocated to individuals, not the group as a whole."

Wang Taika understood immediately.

He initially thought SM Entertainment was blind, but in reality, Wang Taika had misunderstood something. Apart from XB Entertainment, other entertainment companies are required to submit annual reports regularly to show their profits. Money is the only measure of everything, nothing more.

If a group has five members, and three or more of them can individually generate huge profits, even higher than the group as a whole, then what is the point of the group returning to its former glory?

Unlike Girls' Generation, where individual activities are strong, they can't outshine the group. The only ones to blame are that one person, Jiongjing, and Xueqiu—they're just too popular.

The things that happen in this world are truly absurd.

So SM Entertainment outsourced group activities to XB Entertainment. After all, group activities could also help individual members gain fans, so they handed over the most troublesome tasks to XB Entertainment.

But for Wang Taika, it didn't matter, since he wasn't after profits anyway. Functions, those are functions! Being the boss of a function—just thinking about it is incredibly satisfying!

Duck King looked at Wang Taika and grinned: "Oh, right, there are a few artists who don't have company contracts recently. I think we can sign them. They're all actors. See if there's anyone you like."

Wang Taika glanced at the list and noticed a long string of names. He asked, "Which company went bankrupt?"

"YG Entertainment has stopped its actor management business; these are all actors," said Duck King. "YG Entertainment was already on a downward spiral, last time..."

The Duck King lowered his voice: "You sent that lunatic factory manager to burn down YG Entertainment, which only made YG Entertainment crumble. They recently decided to stop their actor management business and focus on their idol business, which is basically because they can't keep going. Now YG Entertainment doesn't even have many idol groups left."

"I lost out." Wang Taika was a little upset.

Because Yoo In-na was previously an actress under YG Entertainment, Wang Tai-ka went to great lengths to bring her over. If he had waited, she herself would have been homeless.

The Duck King said, "There are quite a few people here, like Kim Hee-ae, Cha Seung-won, Lee Sung-kyung, Jang Ki-yong, Lee Soo-hyuk, Kyung Soo-jin, Yoo Seung-ho, Han Seung-yeon, Joo Woo-jae, Jin Kyung, Park So-yi, and so on. But I recommend signing Lee Sung-kyung." Wang Tai-ka asked, "Why?"

"Damn it, when you were at the company, you invited her to audition for the lead role in a TV series, and she turned it down," the gigolo said, stirring up trouble. "Aren't you going to get revenge?"

Look at how vengeful the Duck King is!

Wang Taika gasped, thought for a moment, and felt there was no need for deliberate revenge, but if he could just slap someone, he really couldn't refuse.

Well, Wang Taika is just that kind of scumbag after all.

"Sign her up, just don't let her find out." Wang Taika smiled.

Honestly, the feeling of secretly plotting to harm someone is so exhilarating. Wang Taika sometimes genuinely enjoys this feeling.

Logically, good people should be rewarded, and bad people should suffer. But fate just doesn't seem to care.

Originally, the logistics company under Keystone Industries was still being targeted by Hanjin Group, and no way to break the deadlock had been found. But unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn for the better.

Wang Taika's logistics company ultimately aims to follow a direct-operation model of "platform, warehousing, and express delivery," similar to JD.com in China. Currently, it's only being targeted in the warehousing and express delivery sectors, but has found a breakthrough in the platform sector.

Because this platform connects with domestic channels, many of the products are domestic goods. Among them are tonic wines that are already ubiquitous in China.

Unexpectedly, South Korea turned out to be a huge untapped market.

Koreans are already obsessed with dietary supplements, believing that anything they eat can nourish their bodies, even corn on the cob is boiled into soup. Thanks to these people, the Viagra content in the Han River has skyrocketed.

However, Korean alcohol is mainly sake, with little variety.

This has allowed domestic tonic wine brands to find their comfort zone. Various so-called ancient formulas, along with ingredients like ginseng, deer antler, and goji berries, claim to strengthen the body, relieve fatigue, and replenish what's been lost. This has precisely hit South Korea's weak spot.

Originally, these tonic wines were produced in small quantities, just to test the waters through niche channels, supplying some Chinese-owned shops and restaurants. But then they exploded in popularity! They exploded out of nowhere!

Orders poured in like snowflakes—not retail, but wholesale! Many local restaurants, supermarkets, health product stores, even some high-end salons, and private clubs that cater specifically to the wealthy all wanted the goods.

These Koreans, even the middle-aged and elderly who chant "body and nature are inseparable," are remarkably receptive to the philosophy behind this liquor. They already believe in the shared origins of medicine and food, and in the benefits of herbal tonics. This liquor just happens to be right in their element!

It even feels a bit absurd; I never expected such an unexpected breakthrough. Hanjin Group can suppress Wang Taika's legitimate logistics channels, but when faced with a specific product that suddenly becomes popular and has strong market demand, their comprehensive blockade is ineffective.

Because market demand is real and profits are tempting, there will always be people willing to take risks or find alternative solutions for the sake of profit.

What kind of absolute loyalty is this? It's all utter nonsense in the face of self-interest! (End of Chapter)