star of the peninsula

The first half of September was a quiet and peaceful time for C headquarters, so stable that it seemed like an entertainment company.

Well, at least Chen Chen thought so.

They didn't do anything ostentatious. They carefully helped Integrate return, patiently prepared for LIGHTSUM's debut, and invested money in promoting their own film and television works. C Headquarters is an extremely honest company, just like other South Korean entertainment companies.

Matters related to the trainees in Division I are of course still ongoing, but after the initial excitement has passed, no one is paying attention to it anymore.

There are so many interesting things and so many good-looking faces in the South Korean entertainment industry. Why should we stare at a group of immature trainees? Not everyone has a fetish for ugliness.

As for the MODHAUS that suddenly appeared, no one cared about it anymore after everyone figured out its relationship with C headquarters.

When a company grows to a certain size, it will inevitably begin to extend its tentacles in other directions. This is something it has to do because the company needs to progress.

……

"Is this the result after you told them what I said?"

Chen Chen frowned, quite dissatisfied with the string of numbers in his hand.

“It’s the highest price ever.”

"It's not the first time that the brand has held an event in our area. The prices they offer are not hidden on purpose. You can find them out if you want to."

"We really are already the highest. Except for the current Integrate, no South Korean artist has ever been able to get this number."

Jin Shidai knew what Chen Chen was dissatisfied with, but he had to say that he had tried his best.

"And you yourself understand the situation, don't you?"

Jinshidai added a small complaint, which also showed his attitude.

"Ah~"

Chen Chen didn't say much, just sighed deeply.

Of course he knew that the price that South Korean artists received for brand endorsements was much lower than that of artists from other regions, but Chen still wanted to try to see if he could raise Integrate's numbers.

He didn't let Golden Times tell others for nothing that Integrate's next return was Chen Chen's big move to target the international market; he had a purpose.

However, the reality seems somewhat cruel. Even though Integrate is already considered the top idol group in South Korea, and even with the top support of Chen PD, the price of commercial orders cannot be raised.

We can't blame anyone else. We can only blame South Korea for being too small and not having enough consumption potential.

Regions that are unable to purchase goods in large quantities will not be able to gain favor from merchants. This is why the products endorsed by South Korean artists have always looked prosperous but are actually a pile of worthless junk.

A good value for money choice, this is the embarrassing image of South Korean spokespersons in the eyes of international brands.

"Do you think we should wait a little longer or agree to the brand deal now?"

Chen Chen casually threw out a difficult question.

"The sooner this happens, the better." There is no second option for Golden Era. "Making money comes second. We have many ways to gain fans, but the bonus brought by the brand is unique."

"I understand." Chen Chen made a quick decision. "Stop all contact for now. We'll restart after Integrate completes all returns in the last week of this month. By the way, let's ask if there's anyone who wants to bet directly on our new group."

"it is good."

Jin Shidai nodded slightly. He knew that Chen Chen was waiting for the last layer of bonus to be in place.

The new group LIGHTSUM will debut on October 10th. Various trailers have been released for a while, and it’s time for something more substantial.

Let me introduce it again, "As It Was", a super-god-level music work that has been on the top of the world's highest music chart, Billboard, for fifteen weeks, and it will now be released as a warm-up work for LIGHTSUM.

……

"haven't seen you for a long time."

When Chen Chen pushed open the door and returned home, he saw Bae Joo-hyun sitting in the living room with her feet up watching TV and he felt as if he was in another world.

"How come it's been so long? Weren't we together just two days ago?"

Bae Joo-hyun just thought it was ridiculous, and her beautiful eyebrows immediately frowned like a child.

"It seems so." Chen Chen scratched his head, "But that's not important. I miss you anyway."

"Okay, okay, you must have been frustrated at work again." Bae Joo Hyun stood up and walked over to him. She tiptoed to hook her boyfriend's neck and gently pulled him into her arms. "Let me hug you, and then put things aside for the time being and think about it tomorrow, how about that?"

"It hasn't reached that point yet." Chen Chen broke free from her arms and put his arm around his girlfriend's soft waist. "It's just that my life has been too dull these days, and I'm a little tired. And I haven't gotten the results I wanted, so I feel a little annoyed."

"Life is too dull." Pei Zhuxuan was speechless and couldn't help rolling her eyes. "How is your life dull? Integrate has suppressed all idol groups outside. How can this be considered dull?!"

"Girls are girls, and I am me." Chen Chen took Pei Zhuxuan's arm and sat down on the sofa. "I have been living too normally these days. I have to find something abnormal to do."

"Then why don't you go to Alin's canteen and be a cook for two days, or go to the I branch for two days, and you will be so tired that you won't have the energy to think about anything else." Bae Joo-hyun complained: "You avoid all the unusual things and then say that your life is ordinary. It's a bit shameless."

"Come to think of it, why did you suddenly come up with a MODHAUS? To arrest the workers?"

Bae Joo-hyun suddenly thought of this and asked about it.

She is not like those people outside who don’t understand Chen Chen and are just making blind guesses. Bae Joo-hyun knows how cautious Chen Chen is in his investments.

"Well, the main purpose is to spend money to find a worker for the I Division." Chen Chen nodded and said, "In the future, the I Division's many trainees will at least have a guaranteed place to go."

Those who are good enough will be kept for our own use, and those who are not so good will be sent to MODHAUS to see if there is a chance to debut with tripleS. This applies to both male and female trainees.

Although tripleS was originally a girl group, it would not be difficult for Zheng Bingji to create a boy group in the same way.

"What's the secondary purpose?" Bae Joo-hyun asked.

"It can't be said to be a secondary purpose, it should be said to be a beautiful hope." Chen Chen said with a smile: "Have you noticed what MODHAUS's official information says they do?"

"I saw it, but I didn't quite understand it. It seems to be something very advanced in the industry." Bae Joo-hyun tilted her head, waiting for Chen Chen's next words.

"Yes, it's very advanced and has great potential." Chen Chen pulled out the president next door to prove the weight of his point of view, "The potential is so great that Brother Zhenying is willing to sell his shares in the soy sauce bottle to try to do it." "Is it the president Park who buys the shares of the soy sauce bottle as soon as he has money?" Bae Zhuxuan smacked her lips, "Tsk, it must be super amazing to make President Park sell his shares."

“To be honest, I don’t know everything.” Chen Chen directly admitted his shortcomings, “For example, I don’t understand NFT 100% this time.”

"But since everyone is doing it, I have to do it too. Even if we don't lead the trend, we can at least make sure we don't miss out on it."

"Since I don't understand these things, I will spend money to find someone who does and give him enough freedom." Chen Chen puffed out his chest proudly, "I'm not the classic old stubborn type who likes amateurs to give advice to professionals, and I'm not worried that Zheng Bingji will kick me out after he succeeds, so the best choice is our current model."

"In fact, generally speaking, he is still working for me. After all, there are not many forces stronger than me in the Korean entertainment industry today." Chen Chen added.

"I don't understand."

Bae Joo-hyun shook her head blankly, with nothing but cuteness in her clear eyes.

"It's okay if you don't understand. Actually, I didn't explain it very clearly either." Chen Chen held up his girlfriend's cheek and kissed her hard. "Let's talk about something simple and easy to understand. What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"It's so hot, how about making cold noodles?" Bae Joo Hyun used the ingredients on hand, "It just so happens that I see there are some ice cubes in our refrigerator, so using them can free up some space."

"What are you going to put in there after you free it up?"

Chen Chen had no objection, he was just curious about what would happen next.

"I'll ask you to make some fried yogurt and put it in there so I can eat it when I want." Pei Zhuxuan didn't bother to be polite with him and gave him orders directly, "While I'm cooking, go to the utility room and clean up your machines. Find the fried yogurt machine and we'll prepare to act later."

"Ah, the utility room." Chen Chen couldn't help but want to laugh when he thought about what was inside the utility room. "There are so many machines and equipment in there."

"Yes, there are a lot of them. Every time I go to get something, I want to clean it up and throw it away, but I can't bear to do so." Bae Joo Hyun sighed, "It must have been expensive when you bought it. It feels a bit of a loss to sell it second-hand after using it for a few times. It's better to just leave it there. If you leave it there, you can still think about it and think that you may be able to take it out and use it someday."

"This problem is easy to solve." Chen Chen seemed to be controlled by something, and he began to recite words with his mouth opening and closing, "You can find (advertising space for rent), and pay in person, blah blah blah~"

"?"

A question mark slowly appeared on Pei Zhuxuan's head, "What's wrong with you? Why can't I understand you?"

"I don't understand if you haven't played enough music on Tik Tok." Chen Chen changed the subject, "Let's not talk about that. What other machines are left in the utility room?"

"I won't mention the fried ice machine for making fried yogurt, which will be used soon." Pei Zhuxuan listed them one by one, "But those for making marshmallows, roasting sausages, cooking oden, and coating candied haws, these basically unnecessary things are all taking up space there."

"Oh, by the way." Pei Zhuxuan also remembered a heavy item, "You also got a popcorn machine, the kind that you crank."

"That's not right?" Chen Chen was puzzled. "When did our family get so many useless machines?"

"When you were doing a show and opened a store, you used some of the machines on the show, and some were piled up there before you had time to use them. Anyway, there were a lot of them." Pei Zhuxuan helped Chen Chen recall his memory, "For example, you have never used the one that makes popcorn. You didn't even buy it for the show. You saw a video and couldn't help but place an order."

"Okay, I'll go and clean it up."

Chen Chen's statement of cleaning up was a lie. In fact, he just felt itchy and wanted to touch the machines again.

……

The cold noodles made by Bae Joo-hyun for dinner were delicious, icy, sweet and sour.

The popcorn that Chen Chen excitedly made was also pretty good. The popcorn made from rice had a different flavor and texture than the ones commonly seen in movie theaters.

Both of them contributed to the dinner and they both enjoyed it very much.

"How do you make the ones we usually see in whole pieces? Why do you only make individual grains?"

Bae Joo-hyun ate two bites and stopped. She sat next to Chen Chen and picked the popcorn stuck on his face one by one.

"It's not difficult to make a mold." Chen Chen glanced at the machine in the corner, "I can try it out when I have time. Forget about today."

It was fun to stir it over the fire, but the sound of the valve opening and releasing the air was several times louder than Chen Chen had imagined, which was a bit scary. Chen Chen didn't want to try it a second time in the short term, especially since he did it over the gas hood this time.

"Okay, we're done!"

After finishing the last bite of noodles in Pei Zhuxuan's bowl, Chen Chen sat down on the sofa with a bulging belly.

"Put the bowl there first and I'll wash it later." Chen Chen said in a fake tone.

I'm so lazy that I don't want to move at all. Now the housework mode has switched to the super shameless mode where whoever can't stand it will do it.

"You sit down, I'll do it." Pei Zhuxuan was very considerate and cleaned up the dishes. "You can only rest for these two days. In two days, "Squid Game" will be broadcast. Will you be busy again?"

"We have finished all the work that needs to be done. The only thing left to do is probably the socializing work." Chen Chen replied: "Of course, if there are any areas that can be filled in the publicity, we will not miss it."

"We have prepared plans for any possible problems, but publicity is something that needs to be done based on the current situation."

To put it simply, it means to adapt to circumstances. However, if you rely entirely on adaptability to solve such a big problem, then you deserve not to be able to expand your business, you rookie!

"You didn't make a plan for failure?" Bae Joo Hyun joked, "You didn't think it through this time."

"Don't say that. You know exactly how much I've placed on Squid Game." Chen Chen gave her a dissatisfied look.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away." Bae Joo Hyun snuggled into her boyfriend's arms and arched back and forth, looking so adorable, "Please forgive me, for the delicious cold noodles I made today."

"So your cold face is a face for appearance, right?" Chen Chen patted her back. "Okay, sit down. Your clothes are all messed up. You'll be exposed soon."

"Squidward Floyd can't fail, and Netflix won't allow it to fail."

"If it really fails, I will just pretend that I have never participated in this work."

"Well, actually, it's not necessary." Chen Chen suddenly thought of something else, "I still have "Dark Glory" to use."

"What is "Dark Glory"? " Pei Zhuxuan heard the new term from Chen Chen and asked curiously.

"It's a very good TV drama script." Chen Chen looked Pei Zhuxuan up and down, and finally shook his head slightly, "It's a pity that it probably has nothing to do with you."

Now this girlfriend is too cute, which doesn’t fit in with the dark TV series.

...(End of chapter)