Peninsula's first chance encounter during my stay in Dali

Zhou Haoming got up early to go for a morning run and familiarize himself with the surrounding facilities of the community.

After getting home and quickly washing up, he boiled two eggs. He looked out the window at the Han River.

Looking at the numerous articles on the Chinese internet criticizing IVE for plagiarism, Zhou Haoming understood that this was a test from Kim Bum-soo. He just couldn't understand why such an awful song would have to plagiarize our country's culture. He really didn't understand if the higher-ups at Starship had been kicked in the head by a donkey.

Seeing her recent grades decline, An Youzhen also felt sad and tried to drown her sorrows in alcohol. Zhou Haoming wanted to do the same.

This forced them to conduct emergency public relations, announcing that they would be using Chinese elements, meaning they had to choose between the Chinese market and the South Korean domestic market. Currently, the Chinese market clearly has higher purchasing power.

"Hey, Secretary Liu, bring your documents and come with me to a meeting at Starship Corporation in a bit. Yes, mainly IIVE documents."

After giving his instructions, Zhou Haoming peeled the eggshells and ate his breakfast.

"I'm up. I have to go to the beauty salon to get my makeup done and then go to record a show. I'm so tired!" Liu Zhimin texted.

"Should I call your company and cancel your schedule for today so you can have a good rest?"

"Hey, don't try to be special. This is our group schedule. What would it be like if I were left out? I don't want to end up trending on social media for no reason."

"Hey, hurry up and get something to eat on the way. I need to get ready for a meeting on the starship. I have some things to take care of, so I won't be able to reply to your messages later," Zhou Haoming instructed.

"Okay, okay, you're so long-winded."

Looking at Liu Zhimin's message, Zhou Haoming smiled indulgently. His girlfriend was just so stubborn; he'd know that the day he pried her out of her lap.

Driving to Starship Company, Zhou Haoming immediately led Attorney Liu to the conference room, where the head of IVE and other IVE members were already present.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhou Haoming didn't mince words and directly pointed out that Ahn Yu-jin had mentioned in her song promotion introductions these past few days that the background of the music video for "Heya" was inspired by Chinese culture.

The department head immediately panicked upon hearing this, "Minister Zhou, the concept for this song's music video is based on our own Korean culture. If you say things like this, we'll easily lose our Korean market!"

Zhou Haoming glanced at him. "If your music video had Korean elements in the background, I could ignore what I said, but this is clearly plagiarism of Chinese culture. Do you think everyone is blind?!"

"Ahn Yoo-jin, did you hear clearly the company's requirements for this song?" Zhou Haoming asked.

"Ah, yes, I understand, Minister-nim," Ahn Yu-jin replied, still reeling from the argument. Qiu-tian squeezed her hand, bringing her back to her senses.

Also, don't overdo it with your performance this time. I think you tried too hard in terms of facial expressions and other aspects of your first stage, which actually made it less effective.

The company will arrange for you to appear on Running Man later. You need to perform well and try to save the local market.

Also, from now on, all IVE schedules must be approved by me first before they can proceed. I really don't understand why you chose this song as your comeback title track!

Zhou Haoming continued to deliver his speech.

"Alright, do you have any more questions? If not, the meeting is adjourned."

A group of people walked out of the meeting room looking dejected, but Ahn Yoo-jin, as the group's leader, was left behind.

  

"You need to be fully focused and energetic during this period. Don't look gloomy all the time," Zhou Haoming instructed An Youzhen.

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Minister Min. I won't make the same mistake again! I'll go practice my dance now!" Ahn Yoo-jin was afraid that Zhou Hao-ming would bring up that incident, so she quickly made up an excuse and ran back to the dance studio.

Back in the dance studio, Ahn Yoo-jin saw her teammates sitting together, chattering away. As she approached, she overheard Liz praising Zhou Haoming, saying, "Min, the team leader, is so handsome! I haven't seen the team leader and the others get their comeuppance in ages. Humph, this song is exactly as the team leader said—not good and suspected of plagiarism!"

"Liz! Stop talking, everyone hurry up and practice dancing! Only by doing a good job on stage can we minimize the negative impact of this song!" After saying that, Ahn Yu-jin led the way to the mirror.

But in her mind, she was recalling what Liz had said earlier, as well as Zhou Haoming's caring words and instructions when he left her alone.

After concluding his meeting at Starship, Zhou Haoming rushed back to Kakao to prepare for the filming of Dark Glory Season 2. After two consecutive video conferences, it was already 3 PM.

His stomach rumbled as if protesting why he had been hungry for so long. After finishing his meal in the cafeteria, Zhou Haoming finally had some free time after a busy day, assuming that Liu Zhimin hadn't replied to his message yet and was probably recording a program.

"Ugh, didn't we agree that I was going to relax and do nothing for the rest of my life? How come I'm busy again? I'm so fed up!" Zhou Haoming wailed, covering his face.

Seeing that Starship Entertainment only had one flagship artist, IU, while other entertainment companies had more than one, Zhou Haoming felt desperate and helpless. Fortunately, his subsidiary also had another national-level artist, IU. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult for Zhou Haoming to reverse Kakao's entertainment landscape with just IU.

By the way! IU's drama "After the Bitterness Comes the Sweetness" is a phenomenal hit. It will premiere on September 21st and will soon enter the promotional period.

Zhou Haoming immediately took out his phone and instructed his publicity team to fully cooperate with the promotion of his drama. Although this was not a drama he had filmed during his tenure, at least he had a ready-made opportunity to promote it.

The only major drama that hasn't been confirmed yet is Yoona's "Tyrant's Chef." Let me think, what other dramas are there? Zhou Haoming fell into deep thought.

How do you translate "love"?! Go Yoon-jung! A brilliant idea struck me – this was another phenomenal hit drama, where the male and female leads instantly became stars. I need to get the rights to these dramas to Kakao!

Zhou Haoming plans to take control of all these future hit dramas one by one!

Time flew by and it was time to leave work. Zhou Haoming noticed that Liu Zhimin hadn't replied to his message yet, so he prepared to drive home and pick up the housewarming gift that Yoona had given him.

When he arrived at the pickup location, he discovered that the gift was actually a photo of her and himself at the amusement park. "Good heavens! Are you trying to kill me?" Zhou Haoming thought, just as he was about to throw it away.

Then Yoona called.

"Haoming, did you like Noona's housewarming gift? I'm warning you, if Noona comes to your house in a couple of days and I don't see it there, you're dead!" Lin Yoona threatened fiercely.

"Noona, aren't you deliberately making things difficult for me? How dare you post photos of me with other women when I already have a girlfriend!"

"Am I not your nuna?" Yoona asked, feeling wronged.

"Fine, fine, I got it. Go film your movie, I'll take it home, okay?" Zhou Haoming had no choice but to compromise.

Anyway, I'll just put it in a corner when I get back, and take it out again when Yoona comes over. I'll just treat it as a consumable item.

Zhou Haoming thought to himself. Little did he know how much trouble this decision would bring him in the future.