star of the peninsula

"Brother Chen, you are here."

Lin Nanyiyi soon arrived at the office.

"Oh, have you developed your own network in Division I?" Chen Chen joked, "I've only been here for a while and you got the news and came here."

“Brother Chen, the staff are all in groups, and the news of your coming here cannot be concealed at all.”

Lin Nan shook his phone.

"Ha, that's true." Chen Chen thought of the past, "I just don't know how many group chats there are that you're not in."

Lin Nanyiyi is also a leader, and he has become the indispensable person in those “group chats when the leader is not present”.

"So what are you doing here?" Chen Chen asked, "Do you have work to report to me?"

"No." Lin Nan sweat dropped when he heard this. "I just knew that Brother Chen came to Branch I, so I came to see him."

"Is that so~" Chen Chen stretched out his tone, "That's great, let's report on our work."

Chen Chen pulled a stool and sat down, letting Lin Nanyi stand opposite him.

"Did you encounter any problems when purchasing necessities?" Chen Chen asked.

"No problem." Lin Nan stood at attention and replied, "Business is not easy to do in this situation. All merchants are interested in taking part in such a large business, so the spending process this time is quite pleasant."

"Oh, okay, check the accounts."

Chen Chen felt a little nervous, so he just said a few words and ended it.

It was very embarrassing. After all, Lin Nanyiyi was too close to him, and Chen Chen simply couldn't adopt a businesslike attitude. Just those two sentences gave him goose bumps all over his body.

"How is the communication with Lee Sunkyu?"

Chen Chen asked another question.

"Very good!" Lin Nanyi's answer was exactly what Chen Chen expected. "Although this Sunny senior looks lazy, she is very decisive when doing things. She handles all problems in an orderly manner."

"It's just that." Lin Nanyi glanced at Chen Chen awkwardly, "She doesn't seem to have an official status in Division I. We don't know how to address her."

"Hiss~" Chen Chen took a breath of cold air on the spot, "Didn't Shirley make any arrangements?"

"Representative Cui said that she doesn't have the authority to parachute in an acting president from outside." Lin Nanyi replied.

"I see."

Chen Chen pursed his lips speechlessly.

Shirley did this on purpose, she knew that Chen Chen had a good relationship with Lee Soon-kyu so she wanted to take this opportunity to make Chen Chen lose some villains to satisfy her own bad taste, otherwise with her ability she wouldn't have left such a big loophole.

"So the current situation is." Chen Chen briefly sorted it out, "Hola, the temporary minister, has the highest position, but the one in charge is the person without status, right?"

Lin Nan nodded.

It’s bad. Chen Chen felt that his wallet was in trouble. He would definitely not be able to escape being ripped off by a meal!
"Anan, you can leave now if you're fine." Chen Chen covered his forehead and waved his hand. "After you leave, go see if the acting president is in the office. If he is, let me know."

"Okay, Brother Chen."

Lin Nanyi nodded respectfully and turned to leave.

"So Sunny-senpai is working for you for free without any official title?"

As soon as Lin Nanyi left, Pei Zhuxuan's mouth started talking.

"You're not working for free. I pay you very well!" Chen Chen pushed her curious face aside unhappily. "And what do you mean by that? What do you mean by no status? What is status? Is it something you must have for work?!"

"It's very troublesome without a formal position. Not everyone may listen to you when you speak." Bae Joo-hyun said deliberately.

"Why do people listen to you when you talk?" Chen Chen glanced at her, "Why? Tell me why!"

"Maybe it's because I'm good-looking?" Pei Zhuxuan said in a nonsensical way, "Anyway, you should quickly find an identity for Sunny. I'm so disappointed for her!"

"If you knew what your Sunkyu senior really looks like, you would be disappointed for my wallet." Chen Chen felt his phone vibrate and glanced at it. "Well, she happens to be here today, so I'll go and be disappointed."

……

It would be difficult to bring Bae Joo-hyun along when meeting Lee Sun-kyu. Irene, the junior, would probably not be able to relax in front of Sunny, the senior, so Chen Chen would not torture his lovely girlfriend.

"The appointment will be given tomorrow. You have worked hard during this period."

"But you are still an artist of SM Entertainment after all. Wouldn't this appointment cause SM Entertainment to react in some way?"

After Chen Chen entered the room, he created a businesslike atmosphere without waiting for Lee Soon-kyu to speak, hoping to save himself.

"Boss Chen, please stop saying such unprofessional things. It makes people feel guilty. You don't look like the sole owner of a company as big as C headquarters."

Lee Sun-kyu glanced at him and slowed down the process of processing the documents in her hands by a little, but did not stop.

"This isn't his first time starting a company, right?" Chen Chen said stiffly, "I have seen Rain being a soy sauce bottle artist while being the boss of his own company, but I always felt that this kind of relationship was weird, as if he was unfaithful to both sides."

"Is this the reason why you asked me to come over to help but didn't give me an identity?" Lee Sun-kyu slapped her pen, "You are quite evil, Boss Chen. No wonder you can make C headquarters so big!"

"Alright, alright. It was indeed my fault at work. Tell me how you want me to compensate you." Chen Chen raised his hands in surrender. "As long as it's not excessive, I will be satisfied."

"Let's upgrade the bathroom." Lee Sunkyu actually said something very serious, "The people who do the design and furnishing are all men, and they didn't consider the needs of some female trainees."

"Uh, okay." Although Chen Chen was surprised, he quickly continued, "You can communicate with Lin Nanyi, he is responsible for this content."

"Well, I don't have anything to do." Lee Sunkyu picked up the pen and began to review the documents again. "If you don't have anything to do, please leave. I'm busy."

"..." Shocked, Chen Chen was shocked. Was this still the famous lazy dog ​​Li Sanlang? He, Chen, believed that she was a super intelligent and capable urban beauty!

"Is there anything worth noting about Division I, based on your work experience during this period?"

Chen Chen touched his nose and asked a question awkwardly.

"We are just constantly accepting trainee applications." Lee Sunkyu pursed her lips, "But if you really want to say what is different from other entertainment companies, then I Division does have it."

"What place?" Chen Chen asked curiously, "Good or bad?"

"Half good, half bad." Lee Sunkyu smoothed the hair beside her ear and said, "The information received by the I branch shows that there are many trainees from other entertainment companies who have registered here."

"These trainees are definitely better than others, but it is precisely because they are better than others that you will most likely accept all of them if you keep half of them, which will offend others and affect your own development."

"So I said it's both a good thing and a bad thing." Li Shungyu threw the question to Chen Chen, "How do you want to deal with it?"

"For those who have practice experience, we will raise the standard for them." Chen Chen didn't even think about it. "We will follow the highest standard we set, and make it three times stricter."

"I see." Lee Sun-kyu nodded, "Actually, I think so too. Special people should be treated specially."

"..."

Chen Chen was speechless again.

She is so proactive and has even thought of a solution. Could it be that she likes her current job?
Chen Chen couldn't help but think so.

"Any news from Shine Grocery Store?"

Chen Chen finally asked something else because he was afraid that asking about Division I would make Lee Sun-kyu rebellious.

"What news do you want?" Lee Sunkyu instantly put on a playful expression, "Are you waiting for your girlfriend?"

"Ha, it's definitely them." Having his thoughts exposed, Chen Chen said with a stiff upper lip: "It's been a month since we disbanded. If there's any resentment in your heart, it's time to take action."

"If you want to take action, you have to find Shine Grocery Store? Can't they have other tricks?" Lee Sunkyu asked back: "I remember that Shine Grocery Store should be the last resort, for those who want to do it but can't."

"OK, stop talking. I was wrong." Chen Chen raised his hands in surrender again. "I coveted the popularity of my girlfriends. I thought that if I could attract them now, I would definitely get a lot of attention."

"You can also attack Source Music which is about to release a new group, right?" Lee Sunkyu helped him fill in the missing part.

"This is not important. Source Music is already in a mess. There is no need to add insult to injury." Chen Chen chuckled. "Isn't he already unable to handle this matter now?"

"The evidence is all over their faces. The school is not the kind of place that would be afraid of an entertainment company. Hybe couldn't handle it anyway." Lee Sunkyu had some leisure time, "Actually, I don't understand why Hybe is still thinking about bailing out someone even after things have come to this point. How valuable is that member?!"

"Maybe the preparations made later were for the six-member group LE SSERAFIM. If the group suddenly becomes five or the debut is postponed, it will cause too much damage to the company, so they are trying to be tough and see if a miracle can happen to save it." Chen Chen guessed: "When the loss caused by Jin Jialan to Hybe exceeds the loss of her leaving the group, Hybe may turn against it immediately."

"Hybe can't be that stupid, right?" Lee Sun-kyu was a little incredulous. "What about the company's image? It's going to be a problem! Even if you don't care about the company's image, you should still pay attention to the company's stock price. It's only been listed for a short time!"

"The company's image and stock price are not important. They are not something that will be affected by such a small undebuted member." Chen Chen shook his head. "Hybe is still BTS's company after all. As long as this big tree is not in trouble, the company will not have any problems."

"It's easy to understand what you said." Li Shungyu stared at Chen Chen for a while and asked, "Is it bad for an entertainment company to rely too much on a certain group?"

"Of course it's not good. A healthy state is to develop in all directions and make progress together." Chen Chen gave the answer, "If you rely entirely on a certain group, do you think the company will listen to the boss or the group in the end?"

"Indeed." Lee Sun-kyu nodded and said, "Even if nothing else matters, the power struggle is always important. It is important to make it clear who has the final say in this company."

"What happens when conflict is inevitable?" Lee Sun-kyu asked.

"It's hard to develop to the point where it's inevitable." Chen Chen took a breath and shook his head slowly. "After all, the company has the contract as a weapon, as well as the advantage of years of hard work. There may even be some black material that can be called a self-destruct button. A complete confrontation will never happen."

"But if it's really like what you said, what if..." Chen Chen continued, "What if it's really like that, the company will most likely cut off its mainstay and survive."

“When people who have always been in high positions find that their positions are threatened by those who are lower than them, they would rather fall and both sides suffer losses than give up their positions peacefully and continue to make money together.”

“This is a question of human nature, and it cannot be calculated using simple figures such as profit.”

"But you are actually someone who is interested in this kind of thing?" Chen Chen turned the topic to Li Shungyu, "Today you actually asked about the company's operations."

"It's just my curiosity after the change of environment." Lee Sunkyu said the truth, "My experience in Division I these days has made me realize a lot of things at the company level, so when I look at you now, I think you are very amazing."

"Before I realized how many tricks and strategies you used on your way to success, I just thought you were a very smart person. Now that I have the basics, I think you are as dazzling as the sun."

"You're amazing, Chen Chen." Lee Soon-kyu praised sincerely, "You've been able to grow the C headquarters so big in such a short time. Even with a big boss behind you, it's a super difficult task. You've done such a good job!"

"Alright, alright, just say it in your heart. It's hard for people to accept it if you really say it out loud." Chen Chen smacked his lips in disgust. "You can't change. If even a lazy nerd like you starts praising me, I'll have to doubt whether the world really revolves around me."

"Get lost! I'm already panting after praising you." Lee Sunkyu rolled her eyes at him, "Hurry up and get my appointment done, and then increase my salary! With this level of labor intensity, I feel like I'm losing out by only getting paid as little as you do!"

……

"How did you become so close to Sunny-senpai?"

On the way home, Bae Joo-hyun couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"I forgot. Maybe it was because of our initial interactions that I felt she was a good person, and then we became friends." Chen Chen answered casually.

"Just because she's just a friend, can you be assured of handing over the I branch to her?" Bae Joo-hyun didn't quite understand.

"Friends are very precious, because you can no longer make friends after becoming a big boss." Chen Chen explained to her seriously, "People of the same level who are qualified to be friends are not individuals in your eyes, but a collection of interests. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand, just like it's hard for chaebols to find true love." Bae Joo-hyun made an analogy.

"Uh, almost, almost." Chen Chen wanted to laugh, but for some reason he felt that it was quite appropriate. "They are all things that require a certain amount of miracles to exist."

...(End of chapter)