star of the peninsula

After the Blue Dragon comes the MMA, a large-scale award ceremony where only a limited number of spectators are allowed to enter.

Then comes MAMA, an awards ceremony that feels a little more popular.

"KakaoM still lacks courage. Look at M-net, they confirmed the offline venue long ago and want the audience to come!"

Chen Chen was bored, so he ran from SMART to Soy Sauce Bottle to chat with Park Jin Young.

It's not just a chat, there are still some things to discuss.

"Is your C headquarters worse than M-net again? Didn't your concert also allow all the audience to enter?" Park Jin Young pretended to be dissatisfied, "Such a big thing but you didn't include us in the fun? Sure enough, our relationship has become less friendly since we left the soy sauce bottle."

"You talk as if you would come if I called you." Chen Chen complained: "Do you think I'm stupid?!"

"How do you know the result without being called?" Park Jin Young said nonsense in all seriousness, "You can try calling next time, who knows."

"No need for next time, it's not too late to call now." Chen Chen snorted coldly and asked condescendingly: "Will Soy Sauce Bottle participate in the joint concert?"

"I'm afraid I have to decline your kindness." Park Jin-young replied seriously and modestly, "There is only one month left before the concert. It is impossible to make temporary adjustments to the soy sauce bottle now. I'm sorry that we can't attend. I hope you can have a great concert."

"..."

You could say he was a mean guy, but he handled it pretty well; but judging by his behavior of picking trouble and then running away, Park Jin Young did act mean on purpose.

"I knew it would be like this." Chen Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip speechlessly, then asked, "Did MAMA invite you to perform?"

"Oh?" Park Jin-young's eyes lit up when he heard this question, "President Chen also received it?!"

“I was kidnapped by MAMA.”

Chen Chen's words were shocking.

"Kidnapped?! What happened?" Park Jin-young looked him up and down, "Is there anything missing?! How was he rescued?!"

"It's not kidnapping in the physical sense, it's about human relations." Chen Chen sneered, "Do you know what they said to me?"

"They told me that they had replaced Lee Hyori, the original host, and cancelled the program Lee Hyori was working on, just to welcome me."

"As soon as they open their mouths, they are forcibly kidnapping. I didn't ask them to do this, so why are they doing everything in the name of doing good for me?"

"But no matter what, I've been kidnapped by human relations and have no choice but to go." Chen Chen couldn't help but sigh, "It's just a big guy like M-net. If it's a smaller thing, you can see whether I will pay attention to them or not."

"Even a smaller guy wouldn't dare to kill Lee Hyori's hosting and performance." Park Jin Young laughed, "I heard she even brought a new song."

"Bring it if you want, it's up to you if you want to, it's none of my business." Chen Chen felt resentful, "It makes me have to think about what program to prepare, it's so annoying!"

"Just put together a medley of your amazing works. People will be excited just to see you on the stage, not to mention watching you sing and dance." Park Jin-young was very thoughtful. "Also, this is a good opportunity to bring in newcomers. You can let your new girl group dance with you and give them another chance to show their faces internationally."

"I'm a bit annoyed that a guy like me who has completely degenerated into a studio singer is asked to sing live again." Chen Chen frowned slightly, "Lip-synching for a better live experience? This is a bit shameless."

A better live experience can only be brought by real singing. Even if your singing is not as perfect as the recording, the atmosphere on site will make everyone 200% engaged and enjoy it, which is completely different from watching a video.

"Leave it to someone else." Park Jin-young is a veteran, and he came up with a very suitable solution immediately. "Leave the difficult part to someone else, and you stand still to sing the easier part of the chorus, and then dance in the gaps in between. The performance will be just as good, and you can avoid all the things you wanted to avoid."

"You can still do favors, right?" Chen Chen couldn't help but laugh. "With my status in the martial arts world, whoever I choose to perform with me is just playing with him. They all have to be grateful to me!"

"It may sound shameless, but it is the most truthful thing in the world." Park Jin-young actively hinted, "I wonder who President Chen wants to be the first contestant. When this thought came to your mind, did anyone appear?"

"It's definitely not appropriate for you to bring Jinyoung, I have to bring someone with a similar reputation." Chen Chen smiled bitterly and shook his head, "MAMA specifically asked me to come here, so there must be a little bit of other meaning."

"Oh, because of Justin Bieber, right?" Park Jin Young nodded, probably understanding a little.

Although there is a high probability that others will not come, if they do come, the only singer in South Korea who can compete with them may be Chen Chen, so it will never be a wrong idea to prepare in advance.

"Do you think that person will come?" Park Jin Young asked.

"The chances of the US president coming here are higher than his." Chen Chen curled his lips. "The news flying all over South Korea is South Korea's business. It won't affect other people."

"Then it has nothing to do with you again." Park Jin Young simply laid it out, "Take me with you when you perform. It's been a while since we've been on stage together, right?!"

"If the two of us come together, it will be too much of a face for MAMA. Actually, you know MAMA doesn't have that much face?" Chen Chen still shook his head, "I've thought about it, let C's artist Lee Young-ji come, so that everyone can know that Young-ji is actually a good singer."

"You're right. It would be a bit too much of an honor for MAMA if we two perform together." Park Jin Young walked down the stairs slowly. "The organizers have already designed a lot of things for me. It's not appropriate to design you to be here too."

"It's a bit of a pity that C's new girl group can't compete for this year's best newcomer." Park Jin Young added regretfully.

"It's too short a time since they debuted. There's nothing we can do about it. The same goes for the new girl group Hybe." Chen Chen didn't think it was a big deal. "Aespa will have no problem getting it. They're really good."

"ITZY is a bit weird." Chen Chen shook his head. "Given the relationship between Soy Sauce Bottle and MAMA and ITZY's outstanding performance this year, they should have won a more important award."

"No matter how good their relationship is, they can't openly do something shady to us." Park Jin-young didn't have much to say. "If our direct opponent is Integrate, then we lose."

"Oh, now that we've come to this point, let's go check out the new girl group Soy Sauce Bottle." Park Jin Young muttered, "If you guys all make a debut, I'll make one too. I'll debut in late February next year."

"Okay, let's go and take a look."

Chen Chen knew that the group was NMIXX, but he also knew that it was a weakened version because Lily was taken to Integrate.

Although everyone in NMIXX can sing, Lily's vocal is still somewhat ahead.

……

One, two, three, four, five, six. Chen Chen came up and counted the number of people first.

But when he counted to six, he suddenly felt dazed, and couldn't understand why the number of people could remain the same after one person was taken away. "Oh, the one who quit the group is still here." Chen Chen muttered softly, "But this time there may not be any characters who quit the group."

The one who left the group is Choi Yun-jin, stage name JINNI. She can sing and dance, and was a trainee who had practiced in Soy Sauce Bottle for seven years. She had connections with both Tuwas and ITZY.

Just looking at these information, she feels a bit like the red-haired Sejeong, with similar abilities and experiences.

Recalling the difficulties the Red Haired Group faced at the beginning of their debut and looking through the information to find the scene where NMIXX hit a low point right after their debut, Choi Yoon-jin seems to be more like Kang Seul-gi.

There is no need to say who did a better job between the two, as anyone with a brain and the ability to think can see it.

However, according to Chen Chen's guess, there will be no JINNI withdrawal incident in NMIXX this time.

Chen Chen was not making random guesses; he was making his guesses based on reasons and evidence.

According to Chen Chen, JINNI most likely left the group because she felt her future was hopeless.

In the original timeline, ITZY was already in a miserable state when NMIXX debuted. The miserable state of ITZY plus NMIXX, which was miserable when it debuted, really gives people a feeling of despair.

The two groups debuted not far apart in time, and they might have been in direct competition for many resources. But under such circumstances, both groups were falling. In fact, it was not just these two groups that were falling. There were also problems with Soy Sauce Bottle's operation of Rabbit Gas, which led to instability for Rabbit Gas.

Such an environment is like the sky falling down for an ambitious idol who has persisted in training for seven years. Quitting the group and running away in order to make a comeback is not a very bad choice.

Of course, Chen Chen will not comment on the things Choi Yun-jin did after she left the group, since she will not leave the group now anyway.

ITZY made timely changes and are now moving higher and higher, having become a qualified senior girl group; TUWASS is still as powerful as ever and is doing a good job as the head of the group.

The most important thing is that Soy Sauce Bottle was greatly influenced by C headquarters, and he used fewer stupid tricks, creating a very good environment for everyone.

No matter who jumps out of the soy sauce bottle, it will probably be difficult to find an environment of the same level or even better.

While Chen Chen was in a daze, the six girls from NMIXX had already finished greeting each other.

"Hello." Chen Chen nodded at them and smiled gently. "When I saw you before, you weren't even preparing for your debut, but now you are the girls who are about to debut."

"Trainees grow very fast. Once you get used to the monotonous training life day after day, time will become your best friend for growth." Park Jin-young said with emotion, "Of course, time flies for everyone. President Chen has actually been working hard in the business world for several years, right?"

"Yes." Chen Chen looked at the girls. "The youngest of you was born in 2006 and is only fifteen years old now, but I hope that you plan your idol career to be when you are thirty."

"Some people may think that these ten years are long, but once you become an idol, you will find that it is not long at all."

"Under a stable state, it returns twice a year, sometimes only once, and under an unstable state, it may not return once in one or two years. If we calculate it by the number of returns, it is just the same number of returns as the number of years."

"Is it enough? Do you think the dozen or so chances gained from a dozen years of life are enough?"

"Do you have the confidence to push yourself to the limit of what you can touch in these dozen opportunities? Do you have the confidence to strive a few times to surpass your own limits in these opportunities?"

"In fact, just reaching your limit is difficult enough, and exceeding it is even more difficult. This is the experience that people who have experienced it give you."

"So I don't care what kind of lessons Jinyoung wants me to teach you when he asks me to come and see you. I will first teach you to treasure your time and treasure your opportunities."

"The path of an artist is like this, and so is life." Chen Chen clapped his hands and ended his speech, "You have just stepped onto a new stage in your life. Please stabilize your mentality as soon as possible and do your best."

"Papa papa ~"

Led by Park Jin-young, the entire practice room was filled with applause.

"My original intention was not to ask you to say anything to them, but to let the girls see what the top-level characters in the industry look like." Park Jin-young took advantage and acted cute, "I didn't expect PD Chen to say such heartfelt words. We girls really got a bargain."

"Okay, I'll leave after this. There's nothing more to say." Chen Chen joked, "He may be our competitor in the future. It's not good to say too much."

"Hahahaha~"

For a moment, the practice room was filled with a happy atmosphere.

"..."

After chatting for a while and saying some insignificant nonsense, the two left the NMIXX practice room.

"The ability is good, but there are still some areas that need to be improved." Chen Chen sincerely pointed out a few things he saw, "Also, whether the girl group can succeed or not depends on the company's operation. You have to keep a close eye on it and don't go crazy."

In fact, Chen Chen didn't need to say this, because the soy sauce bottle was very different from the soy sauce bottle on the original timeline.

Having experienced ITZY's decline and recovery, Jiangyouping has made significant changes in his preferences for girl group operation strategies. In addition, C Headquarters is now actually influencing every South Korean entertainment company, so it is difficult for NMIXX to repeat the same mistakes.

"I know." Park Jin-young nodded and said seriously, "Anyway, I'm very grateful for your reminder."

"There's no need to thank me. The main reason is that I feel it's much easier to deal with Soy Sauce Bottle than Hybe, KakaoM, and SMART!" Chen Chen said half sincerely and half jokingly, "I like simple entertainment companies like Soy Sauce Bottle. I wish all of South Korea were Soy Sauce Bottles."

Compared with the other entertainment companies mentioned above, Jiangyouping is a clear stream that focuses on the career of idol singers. When it has money to expand, it tries overseas markets instead of doing anything fancy.

"I have something to tell you." Park Jin-young's expression suddenly became serious. "Soy Sauce Bottle has decided to try in the United States, try to expand the market, and try something different."

"It seems that the different thing behind is the reason that supports you to continue to make this decision." Chen Chen stopped trying to persuade him, but was simply curious. "Can you tell me about it?"

"It's not that I don't want to tell you." Park Jin-young said apologetically, "My thoughts are still scattered and haven't been completely settled yet. I will definitely tell you when I am settled."

"It's okay." Chen Chen waved his hand generously, "I'm not interested in the US market."

...(End of chapter)