star of the peninsula

On December 11, the MAMA awards ceremony was held as scheduled in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

While everyone was happy about this long-awaited offline event, Chen Chen just felt it was noisy.

There were so many people coming to MAMA from C headquarters and they were very important, so the organizer simply arranged a super luxurious large room for them to use at will, saving the trouble of dividing it up.

Integrate is lively to begin with, and nine people can make quite a lot of noise. Now there's Li Yongzhi, who's also quite good at talking and is familiar with them, on the scene, so the amount of noise has more than doubled.

Fortunately, LIGHTSUM can be considered a quiet team under the leadership of captain Cho Yoo-ri. However, Chen Chen always feels that their true natures have not been exposed yet. There are no truly quiet people in C headquarters.

"Oppa, KakaoM Director Lee Hoon-hee is here to visit."

Zhou Xinyu whispered a message into Chen Chen's ear.

Chen Chen couldn't help but tilt his head. It was surprising that the little assistant who was brought to feel the stage atmosphere could actually play the role of an assistant.

"Did he say anything was wrong?" Chen Chen asked.

"No, I just said I wanted to meet Oppa." Zhou Xinyu pointed carefully at the door, "He's outside the door right now, and I don't want to keep him waiting for too long."

"Okay, I'll go see him."

Chen Chen stood up, and just as he was about to lift his foot, he remembered something and sat down again.

Hooking his finger to signal Zhou Xinyu to get closer again, Chen Chen asked, "You called him the minister, did he announce his position?"

"He said he was the director of KakaoM's strategic investment department."

Zhou Xinyu didn't understand why Chen Chen asked this. While answering, she kept staring at the boss's handsome face, trying to see something from it.

"The upgrade is fast enough." Chen Chen stood up again after getting the answer, "But it's quite surprising that KakaoM also has a strategic investment department."

"Uh, OK, I think I understand a little bit."

……

"Good morning, Minister Li. Are you planning to treat me to lunch by showing up here at this time?"

After walking a few steps outside, Chen Chen casually glanced and found Li Xunxi standing aside.

"That would be great if you're willing!" Li Xunxi was overjoyed, "I know there's a delicious restaurant nearby. If you make a reservation now."

"No, I was just joking." Chen Chen straightened his clothes. "I have to perform on stage this afternoon. No matter how delicious the food is, I can't eat more than a few bites. It's such a waste."

"Let's find a place to have a cup of tea." Chen Chen proposed the idea of ​​having tea. "Does Minister Li have any recommendations?"

"Yes, President Chen!" Li Xunxi took a step forward, "I will lead the way for you."

"Ha, thank you." Chen Chen followed, also saying politely, "I remember when we met a few months ago, you were still the deputy minister. Now you are the minister. Congratulations."

"It's all thanks to you." Li Xunxi said politely: "After completing the operation of the bubble with C headquarters last time, I received a certain amount of appreciation. It just so happens that the Strategic Investment Department is a newly established department, so this good thing was taken by me who just made a contribution."

"KakaoM's upgrades aren't that fast." Li Xunxi seemed to have guessed what Chen Chen was thinking, and continued, "Normally, it takes many years of experience to be promoted to department director, but this just happens to be a newly established department."

"It's a skill to be able to pick up bargains." Chen Chen said with a smile: "You can reach a bubble agreement with C headquarters at this juncture when KakaoM confirms the establishment of the Strategic Investment Department, then this position should be yours, it's destiny."

"Haha, someone said that to me before, but it sounds especially nice coming from you." Li Xunxi laughed, "But I don't really believe it. Newcomers with unstable foundations need to be cautious in everything they do, otherwise they won't be able to get up again after they stumble."

"Minister Li has already achieved half of his goal by having such an understanding." Chen Chen's eyes flickered, and he asked tentatively: "So coming to me today is actually Minister Li's personal behavior?"

"Ha, about this." Li Xunxi paused, a hint of embarrassment on his face, "Let's sit down and talk. It's not good to talk about it on the way."

It seems that Chen Chen guessed his thoughts. This meeting was what Li Xunxi wanted to do after taking the position of Director of the Strategic Investment Department.

With this guess, Chen Chen felt much more relaxed. Facing a director who needed a favor from him was completely different from facing a giant like KakaoM.

After ordering drinks and sitting down, Li Xunxi straightened his clothes to relieve his tension.

"You're right. I took the opportunity to talk to you secretly because I need reliable performance to help me get the position of director of the strategic investment department." Li Xunxi came up and confessed, "It is well known that a project done with C headquarters will definitely become a successful investment. As long as I get on board with C headquarters, I can be considered a success."

"That makes sense." Chen Chen expressed his doubts. "It's just that it's fine to discuss this kind of thing through official channels. Why do you have to take advantage of the MAMA opportunity to do it secretly?"

"I'm unsure, I want to get some confidence from you before I go through the transparent process." Li Xunxi smiled innocently, "And if the project is 90% complete when I click the start button, then even if the higher-ups want to move me, they'll have to think twice."

"Because they think you and I have a good relationship, and keeping your relationship is good for the Strategic Investment Department, right?" Chen Chen took the drink from the waiter, "But do you think the chances of me helping you are high?"

"Fortunately, if I can get KakaoM to make concessions, there is still a chance." Li Xunxi replied: "You have helped me before. People who have helped me before are more likely to help me again than those who have never helped me. This is simple human nature."

"That's right." Chen Chen picked up the drink and took a sip. "Tell me what kind of plan you have prepared."

"I've prepared two plans." Li Xunxi took out a smaller one first. "Variety show copyright. C headquarters produces all kinds of variety shows at the best level, but judging from the results, apart from receiving some sponsorship, they basically just post them on YouTube and go with the flow."

"If we can give these copyrights to KakaoM, we can use Kakao's channels to help you do a lot of things."

"Of course, we can also gain a lot of benefits from it. Whether it is high-quality fan club users, or we take the opportunity to promote our own products, or insert advertisements of our partners. This is our own business."

"You can release it on YouTube, we only plan to acquire the South Korean copyright." Li Xunxi shrugged, "No matter what, we will make money, right?"

There is definitely some profit to be made, as Kakao has such a wide coverage in South Korea and so many users.

Even if YouTube has the same resources as Kakao, many South Koreans will still choose Kakao because it is more convenient.

Chen Chen had a deep understanding of this when he was in China. It is not difficult to bypass the firewall or find resources, but many people just stretch out their hands to ask others for money or obediently pay membership fees to watch member-only advertisements. These are all income.

"There are some to talk about." Chen Chen responded simply, "But I want to hear the next one."

"The second one is a riskier investment, so I don't have much hope for it." Li Xunxi proposed something new, "Short drama, have you heard of this industry?"

"I have heard about it, but I need to confirm that you are talking about those low-cost online short dramas that cannot be classified as online TV series." Chen Chen confirmed.

“Yes, that’s it,” Li Xunxi replied. “The commercialization of short dramas has been budding for some time. The epidemic has accelerated the growth of the short drama industry. Now it is qualified to appear in front of you and me as a slightly formal investment.”

"I share a similar view as you do. Short dramas will be a good form of entertainment in the future." Chen Chen nodded and said, "But this proposal doesn't mean much to C Headquarters. Our C Headquarters' TV series and movies are developing very well. There is no need to actively lower our standards."

"I think even KakaoM would not use KakaoM for investment, it must be a cover to cover it up." Chen Chen added. "That's why I put it second." Li Xunxi smiled bitterly: "There are risks and it's difficult to negotiate. I know all this myself."

"Then do you have a third plan?"

Chen Chen skipped the topic of the skit and asked.

"No more." Li Xunxi answered honestly, "If there are more, we will target other places in C headquarters, and you will definitely not agree."

"Then let me suggest one." Chen Chen narrowed his eyes, "I think KakaoM will be very, very interested."

Li Xunxi put down the drink and took a deep breath.

"You say."

"Do you know MODHAUS? Do you know anything about it?"

Chen Chen brought MODHAUS to the table. This was the best place for Chen Chen to talk.

According to the "historical" development trajectory, KakaoM and Kakao behind it were investing madly in Starship at this time, turning Starship into a very powerful large company.

Although the starship is gone now, the desire to spend money is still there, otherwise there would not be a strategic investment department.

In that case, just smash MODHAUS. This one will also be smashed. It doesn’t matter what.

Compared to Samsung, Chen Chen actually hopes that MODHAUS will be destroyed by Kakao. After all, Kakao has closer ties with the entertainment industry and can provide even better resources.

"I know." Li Xunxi nodded. "People outside the circle may not know, but people in the circle know with a little research that MODHAUS is almost a wholly-owned subsidiary of C headquarters. It is independent in name but in fact everything is controlled by C headquarters."

"As for business, they said they were going to create a new type of idol group, but since there are no concrete results, I can't be sure if it's true."

"It's just that it has a close relationship with Division I, the trainee training department of Headquarter C. It may be a place for Division I trainees to go in the future."

"That's all I know about MODHAUS." After Li Xunxi finished, a trace of doubt rose between his brows. "It seems that there is no place for KakaoM to intervene. What do you mean by this?"

"What if I say that MODHAUS's new idol group business will be implemented?" Chen Chen asked cheerfully, "Will KakaoM have a lot of room to participate in this?"

"Sigh~"

Li Xunxi took a deep breath and was unable to speak for a long time.

KakaoM forced its way into Bubble some time ago in order to create a decent idol group in the future to maintain its image in the circle. Now the plan proposed by Chen Chen is almost equivalent to directly allowing KakaoM to have one or even several new idol groups. In particular, these idol groups still use the high-quality trainees of C headquarters and can enjoy various advantages of C headquarters.

If this advantage is combined with KakaoM's own exaggerated growth, it is not impossible to create a leading group for the entire Korean entertainment industry.

"MODHAUS is the carrier, the members are provided by C headquarters, and the operation and various resources are jointly undertaken by C headquarters and KakaoM?" Li Xunxi exhaled slowly, "Is that so? This is the only way to allocate it!"

"If KakaoM wants to take care of everything after debut, that's fine. I, C headquarters, will just be the one collecting the money." Chen Chen took a step back and said, "Don't worry. There's still a lot of time. You can think about it slowly."

"We have to think about it slowly. You just hit the pain point of KakaoM. I'm afraid the whole company will be excited." Li Xunxi scratched his forehead, where beads of sweat appeared faintly. "This is no longer just my problem. I can't bear it alone."

"But the credit has been given, and my personal life has been fulfilled." Chen Chen said with a smile: "No matter how things develop in the future, it will not affect your position. You have secured your position as Minister."

"Thank you, Boss Chen." Li Xunxi stood up, bent down, and took the initiative to extend his hand, "You are my benefactor!"

"It's normal. You're welcome."

Chen Chen sat down and shook hands casually, and that was the end.

……

Back to the MAMA venue, there are two important rehearsals.

Chen Chen didn't want to go out. As soon as he went out, he would see a bunch of idols and singers standing respectfully against the wall. It was okay once or twice, but if it happened too often, Chen Chen himself would find it annoying.

But all these will be resolved after MAMA starts. Except for those who need to temporarily interrupt the performance and wait backstage, everyone basically sits in the artist area at the front. They are all well behaved and no one touches each other.

"Congratulations, Integrate has achieved great results."

While waiting backstage, Park Jin-young and Kwon Bo-ah congratulated Chen Chen.

"Brother Zhenying, Director Baoer, we are so familiar with each other, what's the point of talking about this?" Chen Chen sighed, "The most important thing is not to embarrass myself on stage later. The closer I get to the stage, the more worried I am about myself."

"Don't worry, it will be fine." Park Jin-young gave warm encouragement, "I know you, you are a person who enjoys the stage. When you really stand on the stage, everything will be different."

"..."

The fact was just as Park Jin-young said, even before reaching the stage, Chen Chen's heart was completely at peace just when he was standing on the elevator.

“Yeah~~~~”

After a sound long enough to kill one's breath, Chen Chen slowly rose under the gathered lights.

"I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road"

"I'm gonna ride till I can't no more"

"I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road"

"I'm gonna kio ride kio till I can't no more"

"I got the horses in the back"

Chen Chen's hoarse voice and a few words of a cappella, which only laid the foundation for the most basic instruments, attracted the attention of all the audience, and then Li Yongzhi flashed onto the stage from the corner and began her performance.

She sped up the slow rap part of "Old Town Road", and then switched directly to the breath-taking rap of "Enemy" at a special place. Li Yongzhi showed off her professional skills as a female rapper, and everyone in the audience was stunned.

Then, classic music of the western cowboys sounded, and Chen Chen's lazy singing voice, as if he was riding a skinny horse and strolling on the street, returned to the stage.

"Yeah.I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road"

...(End of chapter)