star of the peninsula

On the 17th, "Squid Game" was launched on Netflix.

Chen Chen paused all the work at hand and devoted 100% of his energy to observing Netflix.

Even though Chen Chen knew a lot about "Squid Game", he was still curious about the global popularity of this TV series, because he could never understand why it was so popular.

The Chen Chen of the “past” couldn’t understand it, and even now, as someone who holds a high position in the entertainment industry and even created “Squid Game” himself, he still can’t understand it. It can’t be explained by logic.

"I want to take a good look at you and see whether you are an industrial monster created by the efforts of all parties, or a pig that happened to catch the Internet boom."

On the 18th, C headquarters stopped entertainment work for one day, and Chen Chen continued to observe "Squid Game".

On the 19th, C's new girl group LIGHTSUM released the band silhouette work "As It Was" before their debut.

It became an instant hit as soon as it was released, as if attracting the attention of the whole world. Everyone wanted to see what kind of singer was behind this song.

I was disappointed when I saw it was a girl group that hadn’t debuted yet, but when I saw the producer was Chen Chen, I didn’t have anything to say.

"Chen Chen, we're old acquaintances. He's a super talented producer. Isn't it normal for his works to get good scores on the Billboard? My brother?"

It's very normal, too normal. Everything abnormal becomes normal when I see the name Chen Chen.

Just because foreign friends accept it quickly doesn’t mean the Korean entertainment industry will accept it quickly. Well, it may also be that they are not willing to accept it. Anyway, the reactions in the Korean entertainment industry are all kinds of weird. Whether it is colleagues or fans, it is a little difficult to accept it.

"Why are they unwilling to accept it? LIGHTSUM didn't eat their rice."

Chen Chen asked indignantly, holding the water cup.

"If you don't want to accept it, then you don't want to accept it. Just study your information carefully." Shirley came closer with a smile. "After more than a week and almost half a month of research, Squid Game has topped more than a hundred countries and regions around the world. Did you gain anything?"

"Nothing. I have confirmed that it is the pig on the vent." Chen Chen shook his head slightly. "It's a waste of time and effort! But we are the only one who killed the pig and ate its meat. Every time I think of this, I can't help but laugh."

"This is all thanks to President Chen Chen's excellent vision. Ordinary people can't recognize such an excellent script." Shirley flattered him at the right time.

"Come on, just looking at the production team, you can tell that the work is not bad." Chen Chen changed the subject, "Hey, did you buy the Netflix stock I asked you to buy before?"

"I bought it. I bought a lot." Shirley suddenly became serious and said, "If you sell it now, the profit will be about ten points. Do you want to sell it?"

"Let's sell it. It's not a good idea to keep so much money in the stock market. The operation of C headquarters also requires a lot of money." Chen Chen nodded calmly, "especially when we have to start spending money on MODHAUS again."

"Okay, I'll start the operation when the market opens tomorrow." After Shirley said this, she couldn't hold back her smile at all. "You really can hold it back. You made 10% net profit in less than a month and your expression didn't change at all!"

"Wasn't it normal to buy Netflix shares when you knew it would rise sharply? Normal operations lead to normal results, so there's nothing to be surprised about." Chen Chen couldn't hold back as he spoke, his smile gradually became more arrogant, "You can keep the shares you bought personally, and Netflix's stock will continue to rise. It's not the end yet."

"Who else did you tell besides me?"

Shirley is more concerned about this.

"I've told everyone I'm on good terms with. After all, I can't not tell them about this easy and comfortable way to make money, otherwise I'd be leaving them out of the game." Chen Chen spread his hands. "But I don't know how much money they can put in the stock market. How much they can earn depends on how deep their private money is, and how much they trust me."

"A good relationship?" Shirley thought for a moment and said, "Then they are people from various entertainment companies and TV stations?"

Chen Chen hummed and nodded.

"Everyone has had a hard time recently, and I guess they can't put much money into the stock market." Shirley did a simple calculation, "At present, it seems that we are the only ones who have made a big profit, while everyone else has made a small profit."

"It's better than paying money. They all have to accept my favor." Chen Chen narrowed his eyes, "Let me think about where this favor will be used."

"Don't think about it yet." Shirley checked the time and reminded, "Let's go to the conference room and wait for Boss Hong. He will be here in five minutes."

Chen Chen stood up.

"OK, let's go."

……

Boss Hong must have come to headquarters C to discuss the matter of LIGHTSUM. For the time being, there is nothing else that can make him take it so seriously.

"What's up, Boss Hong? Are you here to thank me for the song "As It Was"?"

The first thing Chen Chen did when he saw Hong Shengcheng was to make a joke.

"Hahahaha, 'As It Was' really helped a lot!" Hong Seung-sung's round face was full of smiles. "Before this, who would have dared to imagine that a girl group that hasn't debuted yet would have built up its fan base overseas? This is a feat that has never happened in the Korean entertainment industry!"

"Those are not fans, they are just people attracted by the music. Don't miscalculate the camp." Chen Chen reminded seriously.

"I know, please rest assured." Hong Shengcheng sat down slowly, then took out a document from his bag, "This is Cube Entertainment's arrangement for LIGHTSUM in the first six months of their debut, please take a look."

"Hmm," Chen Chen thought for a moment and pushed the document away, "I prefer to speak directly through my mouth."

"During the pandemic, there is no such thing as a fixed plan. Everything may be disrupted by the sudden change in the epidemic situation." Chen Chen added: "So Boss Hong just needs to tell me what you have arranged for LIGHTSUM to do."

"That's right." Hong Shengcheng's face darkened and he smiled bitterly: "No matter how well you arrange it now, it will be useless if the epidemic doesn't give you face."

"Then let me briefly summarize the arrangements made by Cube Entertainment and some of my personal ideas." Hong Shengcheng threw the document aside and uttered a few words carefully, "In summary, we want to be an ordinary girl group."

"I seem to understand some of Boss Hong's ideas." Chen Chen looked at Shirley on the side, "What about you?"

"Almost." Sulli said briefly, "My understanding is that LIGHTSUM already has too many halos. If they choose to be a special girl group in terms of operation, it will not be beautiful. It is better to be an ordinary girl group so that everyone can accept it."

"Is that so?" Chen Chen asked Hong Shengcheng. "That's about right. Cube Entertainment plans to run it as a normal girl group in the early stages. It will be considered a success if it can stand firmly on the takeoff runway. Some of my personal considerations are far away. I came here mainly to discuss this with you." Hong Shengcheng's serious expression had not faded, and every word he said was full of weight. "Specifically, it's a consideration for two or three years later."

"The upper limit of LIGHTSUM is not as good as Integrate. Even if a miracle happens, it can only reach the same level at best. This is the conclusion that Cube Entertainment has come to after many days of research."

"Since I didn't have any idea about the height, I wanted to leave some traces in terms of length."

"What kind of idol group can last the longest? It seems that only ordinary people living ordinary lives can do it."

"Then I will."

"OK, stop!" Chen Chen interrupted him with a frown on his face, "I can't listen to it anymore."

"..."

Hong Shengcheng stared at Chen Chen blankly, not knowing where the problem lay.

"Boss Hong, you are too cruel when you are realistic, and too unrealistic when you are idealistic. This is my most sincere opinion of your idea and you." Chen Chen made a scathing comment, "Your idea is very irresponsible."

"Let me ask you a few questions." Chen Chen first held up a finger, "Can idol groups from C headquarters be ordinary just because they want to? Especially for the girl group that debuted after Integrate!"

"..."

Hong Shengcheng was speechless, because anyone with a little bit of common sense knew that was impossible.

"..."

“It turns out that the first step was wrong.”

"Then you really don't need to listen to the rest of the content."

After a long silence, Hong Shengcheng muttered to himself.

"Well, I actually understand your idea." Chen Chen consoled him, "Little flowers that are not pretty enough but strong enough are also very popular and will leave an indelible impression in people's hearts. Your idea is generally good except that it is too idealistic."

"But in the artificially tended garden of C Headquarters, the less beautiful flowers will be removed because they take up the opportunity for the more beautiful flowers to take root and sprout." Hong Shengcheng's mind became clear after his thoughts were broken up. "This is related to the current environment and the special status of C Headquarters in the circle."

"And LIGHTSUM is actually already a very pretty young star. I think it is irresponsible to train them as less pretty young stars, and it will also delay the members' development."

"Too idealistic and irresponsible." Hong Shengcheng couldn't help scratching his hair. "How could I suddenly make such a mistake?"

"Maybe he was watching Integrate too closely." Shirley continued cheerfully, "It's hard not to pay attention to someone like that around you. He kept watching and watching, and after watching, he felt that the group he was in charge of could never win, and then he developed a mental disorder."

"Inner demon. Hahaha, it seems to be true!" Hong Seung-sung laughed, "Integrate is the inner demon of many people in the circle! And when this song "As It Was" comes out, LIGHTSUM may also become the inner demon. Everyone may be in a bad mood during this period."

"Oh, speaking of this." Chen Chen brought up the problem he had just encountered. "The attitude of the fan circle towards LIGHTSUM is also very subtle now. It seems that they are not very willing to accept them. Do you feel it?"

"Well, this is something that every new girl group will encounter before their debut." Hong Shengcheng smiled casually, "Fan circles that have their own favorite idol groups do have a certain resistance to accepting newcomers, because it will disrupt the environment that they are relatively familiar with."

"Especially for a group like LIGHTSUM, which will definitely change the environment drastically after coming in, it's normal for everyone to have a certain degree of rejection."

"It will be fine after debut. Fans are very adaptable and will accept it. They may even like it more easily because of their previous rejection." Hong Seung-sung also followed the trend, "How do you say it on the Internet? It's called 'really good'. Anyway, it's a simple thing, don't worry about it."

"Integrate didn't have this back then." Shirley thought of the past, "It seemed to be going smoothly at that time."

"Integrate had so many moves before their debut. Everyone was familiar with them, so of course they wouldn't reject them when they were about to debut. It's more like many people were looking forward to their debut at that time." Hong Shengcheng explained to the two, "Think about what the girl group market was like when Integrate debuted?"

"In the second half of 2019," Chen Chen looked away, his tone a little nostalgic, "After Rabbit Waste reached the top, the commercial flavor gradually overshadowed the star flavor, Red Hair's momentum was exhausted and began to slowly decline, and BLACKPINK ignored the South Korean market and focused on overseas markets."

“Some old groups have regained vitality, and some of the fourth generation have really exploded during the same period, but in the end, they just don’t get enough attention.”

“Although there are some excellent new groups emerging, the industry is still lacking a character who can really liven up the industry.”

"It seems that Integrate has become that person." Chen Chen nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, the result is pretty good."

"The result is good. The result of my trip today is also good." Hong Shengcheng patted his chest with lingering fear, "I was almost controlled by my inner demon. I'm really growing up in vain! Fortunately, the problem is only my personal idea, not the company's strategy, otherwise there will be big problems!"

"No, there won't be any problems." Chen Chen smiled and shook his head. "After LIGHTSUM debuted, many things will not be what you want. Reality will push us to make various choices."

"Just like the recent 'Squid Game'?" Hong Shengcheng couldn't help but sigh, "From the moment it took off, Internet users all over the world pushed it to the top, as if their users were inferior if they didn't get the top spot."

"A worldwide follow-up activity under the epidemic environment can be regarded as a tablet of ibuprofen to soothe the pain of reality." Chen Chen continued, "It's fate and time. Squid Game appeared at this time in this environment, so it should be the pig on the vent."

"So." Hong Shengcheng lowered his voice and asked in a mean way, "How much did you earn?"

"Not much. The bulk of the money still goes to Netflix. I'm just a vampire who is only responsible for taking a commission." Chen Chen shook his hand modestly.

“How much can you absorb?”

Chen Chen stretched out a finger.

"10%?" Hong Shengcheng felt a little sorry, but still comforted him: "That's a lot, don't be too greedy."

Chen Chen smiled and gave a completely different answer.

"Keep sucking."

...(End of chapter)