star of the peninsula

The major outbreak of the epidemic finally came in late February, and the number of confirmed cases per day gradually approached the 200,000 mark, which made Chen Chen feel relieved.

"I was worried because there was no outbreak. Now that there is a result, I am glad. I can just wait and get through this difficult period."

Chen Chen himself was not much affected. He was not a person who liked to go out, and just going back and forth to the company was enough for him to stay active.

At most, Soy Sauce Bottle and Stupid Hat Company will be added. One goes there to drink tea, and the other also goes there to drink tea.

Because today is the day when NMIXX releases their first album, Chen Chen flipped over the brand on the soy sauce bottle today.

"NMIXX's debut showcase will be postponed."

Park Jin-young sat on the sofa with a bitter face, feeling that the tea had no taste at all.

"Relax, if the event goes on as planned and many people get infected, that's the end of it!" Chen Chen helped him describe a more miserable possibility, "If you debut and then quit, even a small-time employee can't handle it."

Originally, the debut was postponed because one of the members was unfortunately infected, but under the influence of C headquarters, Soy Sauce Bottle did a good job in epidemic prevention, so this time the members were not infected and the showcase was postponed simply because the situation outside was bad.

"If you take into account all the bad situations, then a late debut showcase may not necessarily be a bad thing." Park Jin-young didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Actually, I also know that holding a showcase under this situation may not be worth the loss, but when I think about the fact that NMIXX didn't do the first thing well, I feel uncomfortable. It always feels unlucky."

"It's not auspicious or unlucky. In today's society, it's a bit disrespectful to still do that." Chen Chen said to himself, "Do a good job of market research, present excellent works and artists to the market, and the market will naturally give you the feedback you deserve."

"Alright, alright, how could I not know this?" Park Jin-young sighed helplessly, "It's just that the feedback from the market is sometimes even more magical than the results given by praying to the gods. It gives me a headache every time I see it."

"Hey," Park Jin-young asked, "What will the music performance of the song be like after it is released?"

"I don't know. Don't ask me about this!" Chen Chen hurriedly dodged this hot potato. "I haven't even heard of it. How can I give you the answer to such a question!"

"If you haven't heard it, you can listen to it now. Wait for me to find it for you!"

Park Jin Young seemed a little excited and was about to get up to get something.

"No, don't!" Chen Chen stretched out his hand and pulled him back. "There's no need to go through my side beforehand for something that will have a result soon. Whether I say good or bad will only make me, Chen, sink deeper into the quagmire and not bring any benefit!"

"It seems so."

Park Jin-young was stunned for a moment, then returned to his original seat and sat back down.

"LIGHTSUM's comeback will collide with Bigbang's. Have you made any preparations?" Park Jin-young talked about another topic. "Bigbang is already a very difficult opponent. With the buff of this comeback, even C headquarters will find it difficult, right?"

"Fortunately, I don't feel anything." Chen Chen smacked his lips, "Maybe it's because I'm not in charge of the idol section this year."

"Are you really irresponsible?" Park Jin-young frowned suddenly, "The rumors from the beginning of the year turned out to be true?!"

"How could the news I personally released be false?" Chen Chen joked, "The authenticity of this rumor is only slightly lower than if I personally announced it. Brother Zhenying doesn't believe it?"

"Because I am the same as you, I am both the boss of the company and an important producer, so I have been reluctant to believe it." Park Jin-young sighed: "In my opinion, you have absolutely no reason to leave temporarily, I can't think of it even if I rack my brains!"

"But in my opinion, I have very good reasons to leave." Chen Chen said with a smile: "It doesn't really matter whether my idol department has me or not. My existence can only provide psychological comfort, right?"

"Or rather," Chen Chen paused and said, "Actually, I'm also very curious, in your eyes, what kind of help can I provide to our idols in Headquarter C?"

"I really need to think about this." Park Jin-young leaned back on the sofa and laughed, "I usually just feel that the C headquarters idol department with Chen Chen in charge is invincible, but I really haven't thought about what you, Chen Chen, have provided to everyone in this invincibility."

"Then brother Zhenying, think about it carefully. I'm waiting to hear it."

Chen Chen also laughed. He felt a little comfortable after hearing these words.

"It seems like it's really nothing." The more Park Jin-young thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. "As long as you're here, we can't lose. But if Integrate moves in, we can't lose either. It doesn't matter whether you're here or not!"

"Your role is to raise the upper limit of each idol group. The people who protect the lower limit have now become a strong enough C headquarters. It is no longer just you, Chen Chen, who is responsible for it."

"But currently there are no idol groups under C headquarters that need to be promoted."

"It would be meaningless to raise the level of LIGHTSUM again. Too much is as bad as too little."

"What they need to do is work hard to improve, digest the high ceiling that your song "As It Was" brought to them, and keep themselves in the forefront."

"And Integrate has already stood too high, so high that even a producer of your level, Chen Chen, can't force the girls to move up. Now they can only rely on their own progress and the accumulation of time to move forward slowly."

"Hiss~ Have you thought it through so clearly so early?" Park Jin-young took a breath of cold air, "You young man are really scary!"

"It's not scary, it's that I have the courage to let go." Chen Chen joked, "Don't you think this is something you can understand? It's just that after leaving the front line, you will immediately lose your influence as a producer. In the future, your words will not carry as much weight in some places. Everyone is reluctant to let go."

"Some people just can't figure it out, and some people haven't left yet because they can still shine." Park Jin-young's words were full of hints to himself, "Not everyone is a super producer like you. There are also honest, down-to-earth first-line producers who can do their best."

"Right, right." Chen Chen gave him face and continued, "My situation is indeed a little bit special. It's normal for someone like Black Eye to win."

"He is both a boss and a producer. He writes more songs for others than for himself. Maybe this is normal."

"Speaking of which, has STAYC's second mini album, Jinyoung, listened to it?" Chen Chen continued, "It's in the top ten on the daily chart, weekly chart, and top 100. The music performance of this comeback is very good!"

"I watched it." Park Jin-young replied: "Considering the size of High Up, STAYC's comeback this time is very good and the results are very impressive!"

"But their producer is Heiyan Bisheng, a very capable music producer, so it's not surprising that they have such achievements!"

"You and I both know the two brothers, Black Eyed Bi Sheng." Park Jin Young winked, "Whether it was in the past or now, they are qualified and capable of being producers who can open their own entertainment companies, just like you and I back then."

"What do you mean like you and me? Don't make it seem like we opened a company together!" Chen Chen reacted strongly, "To be honest, the two brothers Heiyan Bisheng and I are closer in time."

"That's just what I said." Park Jin-young asked casually, "Have you studied the girl group of Sinsadong Tiger?"

"No." Chen Chen shook his head. "I just know that this girl group seems to be working very hard, but it hasn't made much of a splash."

"Yes, it's a pity for Tiger Group. They have great resources when they cooperate with Universal." Park Jin-young talked about another group that was in sharp contrast. "By the way, do you think High Up Entertainment is a good company?"

"Hmm," Chen Chen thought for a moment and said, "When they bought back the shares from CJ and turned into an independent company, I was quite optimistic about it, but after it was taken away by Kakao, it's a bit hard to be optimistic. After all, Kakao's reputation is average, and I'm afraid that High Up will be affected." "You are totally prejudiced!" Park Jin-young defended Kakao Entertainment while holding back his laughter, "The bad things you said about the company going downhill after the acquisition were all done by KakaoM. Now Kakao Entertainment, which was formed by the merger of KakaoM and KakaoP, is a completely new company!"

"New shit, you don't know whether it's new or not, right?" Chen Chen glanced at him unhappily, "KakaoP people don't really care about the entertainment industry. This Kakao Entertainment is basically the same as KakaoM."

"They are different. I firmly believe that they are different." Park Jin-young said with a smile, "If they were the same, then we would have merged in vain. And we can't just ignore the fact that they have become so much stronger."

"Forget it, whatever. It's okay to say they are different, and the current Kakao Entertainment hasn't had the same problems as before, so it's okay if we don't count them together." Chen Chen smacked his lips, looked at the time and wanted to leave. "We had a very pleasant chat today, so I'll leave first, and we'll talk later."

The main reason is that it is time for NMIXX to release a song. If Chen Chen doesn't leave, we may have to witness Soy Sauce Bottle's Waterloo. NMIXX is a bit miserable, especially in the early stage.

Chen Chen even thought that their first day would not be very comfortable.

If the girls of NMIXX are not comfortable, then Park Jin Young will not be comfortable either. If you stay in Park Jin Young's president's office at this time, you will definitely have to listen to his lectures. It is better to run away as soon as possible.

"Okay, I'm going to get busy too, so please do as you please."

Park Jin-young was obviously stunned for a moment, but he didn't intend to keep him.

……

"It's a bit miserable, NMIXX."

Sulli stared at the data of the new group's first day of debut again and again, and couldn't believe that this was Soy Sauce Bottle's new girl group.

"Why, you've never seen the top three get humiliated?" Chen Chen crossed his legs like a second-rate guy. "This world is very magical, anything can happen."

"It's still the top of the three. It's still the top of the three. After you joined SM Entertainment, SM Entertainment has surpassed it!" Sulli said unhappily, "Don't you know how important you are in the South Korean entertainment industry?!"

"Uh, aren't we mainly talking about NMIXX? Why do I feel like you want to scold me?"

Chen Chen was a little confused. Were his words so irritating?

"That's not the point. I want to know what exactly NMIXX is." Chen Chen changed the subject.

“80% of the level of a soy sauce bottle.”

Shirley gave an approximate figure.

The meaning is very clear. If Soy Sauce Bottle's normal performance would have resulted in a result of one, then NMIXX's debut would have resulted in a result of only 0.8, a huge setback.

For an entertainment company of Soy Sauce Bottle's level and such a large scale, a result of 0.8 appeared in the most important idol section. Chen Chen couldn't imagine how bad Park Jin Young's face would be now.

"Overall bad? Or are there any shortcomings?" Chen Chen asked.

Shirley gave the answer.

"The most terrible kind."

The idol industry is not afraid of shortcomings, as there are too many ways to make up for them. Also, when people watch idols, they only focus on the most dazzling parts, so the shortcomings will be obscured by the dazzling light most of the time.

But what Shirley described was the most terrifying kind, where almost every aspect went wrong.

When all the data are lower than expectations, it is no longer a question of strengths and weaknesses. It is that the market seems unwilling to accept you, and the sky is falling.

"From the music to the stage and the members themselves, the market's acceptance of these is a little bit poor." Sulli sighed, "It's not so much that the market's acceptance of what Soy Sauce Bottle showed through NMIXX is poor, but rather that Soy Sauce Bottle was a little slower than the market and was left behind."

"I don't think it's that serious. It's just that Soy Sauce Bottle didn't sing a good song." Chen Chen is not as pessimistic as Sulli. "This is a new group's debut. We can't use the standards of old groups' comebacks. The starting point of this group is zero. When it was rising from zero, it temporarily rested at 0.8. If Soy Sauce Bottle works hard later, it will still go up."

"That's right. After all, it's a new group debuting." Sulli felt a little relieved. "And the work given by Soy Sauce Bottle is indeed abstract."

She is a senior executive of C headquarters. Whenever an idol group from a major company debuts in the market, she can't help but put herself into that situation and think about countermeasures. So when she saw NMIXX having problems, she became extremely nervous and worried that the same would happen to any group under C headquarters in the future.

However, Sulli’s use of the word “abstract” is still quite good. The songs in NMIXX’s debut album are indeed a bit abstract.

It has become so abstract that even people who are not in the Kpop circle may have heard of that "world famous song", "OO".

I heard that after listening to it for a while, it will sound better and better, but it is still a bit difficult to meet this prerequisite of listening to it for a while.

"If you were a soy sauce bottle, what would you do to save NMIXX?"

Shirley threw the question to Chen Chen, wanting to hear his opinion.

"Be prepared for a protracted war." Chen Chen thought about it for a moment and sighed twice. "The problem with debut is a congenital deficiency. It will take a lot of time to do the right things to make up for it."

"If you think about it this way, it's not that difficult." Sulli stroked her hair. "For a company like Soy Sauce Bottle that has so much experience in operating idols, it's pretty easy to just not make mistakes."

"And the girls in NMIXX are all very hard-working girls." Chen Chen added: "Their efforts will also help."

"I hope so." Shirley changed the subject. "Let's not talk about other people's companies. How have you been communicating with Netflix these days? Have you maintained a good relationship?"

"How can I not succeed if I take action?" Chen Chen quickly softened after pretending, "In fact, both of us want to continue to maintain a good relationship. If I soften a little, the other party will respond with the same welcome."

"That's good." Shirley rubbed Chen Chen's shoulders with a smile, "That's good~"

In fact, Chen Chen did something important when he was chatting with Netflix. He reminded an actress not to drink and drive.

The other party happened to have a collaboration with Netflix recently, and when they were talking about it, some things inexplicably popped up in Chen Chen's mind, so he started talking about it.

Chen Chen didn't care what the final result would be. There were reasons for eating meat and reasons for getting beaten. Everything was caused by himself and he should be responsible for it.

...(End of chapter)