Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 128

I managed to acquire such a promising blue-chip prospect at a bargain price, and now that things have turned out this way, I decided to go all in and make a real splash.

“To do that, I need to grow YC Film.”

Now that things have come to this, I had no intention of settling for just the domestic market.

For the sake of YC Revolution, I planned to build YC Film into a behemoth.

Fortunately, YC Revolution, which had been a money-guzzling operation, was now properly monetizing through advertising. Of course, it was still far from turning a profit, but the mere fact that it had become profitable meant that we had significantly more financial leeway.

In addition to that, I had quite a few personal assets I could tap into.

Even excluding Bitcoin, my investments in real estate, stocks, and other assets were performing exceptionally well.

The volatile assets alone were worth over 3 trillion won.

If I were to leverage the real estate and other illiquid assets as collateral, I could handle more than three times that amount.

“If things really get tight, I could sell some of my YC America shares.”

What I’m saying is that when it comes to investment, money is not an issue.

However, the problem is that this industry is not one where you can succeed just by having a lot of money.

In fact, it’s a field where massive investments often become a burden, causing companies to falter.

‘Conversely, it’s also a place where you can make a huge amount of money with a small budget.’

That’s why investors put money into movies.

With a bit of foresight, it’s a field where you can make money more reliably than playing the stock market.

Moreover, these days, you can make money through OTT [Over-the-Top] services and other platforms, even without a theatrical release, which has significantly reduced the risk.

In that sense, content like *Squid Game* is more important than capital.

However, for someone with no prior experience in this field to jump in and try to make such a big splash is like carrying firewood into a fire.

But if I didn’t have something to rely on, I wouldn’t have even considered this in the first place.

“It’s not something I can do unless it’s now.”

It’s already the third quarter of 2016.

That means I have less than two years before the benefits of the future I gained through that guy in my memories disappear.

“…I’m going to have to suffer for a while.”

I shook my head, inwardly swallowing the sigh that was about to escape my lips.

That’s because meticulously digging through that guy’s memories is something I really don’t want to do.

Having a memory imprinted means that you can recall the event as if it happened yesterday, or even just a moment ago.

You might wonder what the problem is with that, but the truly terrible thing is that if you start delving into the details of that memory, you end up sharing not only the sensations but also the emotions that I felt at the time.

Of course, because I’m aware that it’s a memory, the intensity of the shared emotions is diluted, but memories aren’t something you can examine in real-time, are they?

That means that as time passes quickly, the emotions become layered.

What would it be like when I was addicted to drugs?

That’s an understatement to say it’s terrible. For this reason, my immersion in this period often breaks down instinctively in order to survive.

“Hmm. I have no choice.”

In the end, I let out an involuntary groan and began to rummage through his memories.

For nearly two weeks, I recalled promising works not only in Korea and the United States but also around the world, and I was able to come up with quite a few.

However, among these, less than one in ten were works in which intervention was possible, like *Squid Game*.

Is it fortunate that half of them are domestic works?

Even these works, compared to their potential to succeed globally, are currently treated similarly to *Squid Game*, making it possible to secure contracts on favorable terms.

“But the biggest achievement will be signing contracts with promising directors like Director Woo.”

It wasn’t just directors.

In the process of rummaging through these memories, I was also in the process of signing contracts with actors who had achieved great success.

‘The problem is that half of them have agencies.’

That’s something that can be resolved by coordinating with their respective agencies.

The problem is the overseas directors and works.

Especially in the case of the United States, the concept of entertainment agencies itself is illegal, so I had to be content with simply signing investment contracts for the works.

In addition to this, I poured as much investment as possible into works where intervention was difficult but investment was possible, like *Squid Game*, and secured favorable terms for YC Revolution’s OTT service as a condition.

“And I need to sign contracts with webtoon and web novel works…”

Among them, webtoons have been gaining attention for several years.

The webtoon format has many similarities to the storyboards that directors draw to plan shots before filming a movie.

Therefore, webtoons are often adapted into movies or dramas when they become popular.

Unlike the manga format of the past, the webtoon format, which resembles storyboards, provides some answers, so movies and dramas are produced when they become somewhat popular.

However, web novels have been lukewarm.

There was a hit high-teen romance in the early 2000s, but many works that followed it failed.

However, unlike then, web novels are now serialized for a fee, and as the market grows with the talk of making money, more works are being attempted.

In particular, among the works commonly referred to as modern fantasy, there are more than a few that would be a hit if they were made.

“One of them is *The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate Family,* which will be serialized starting early next year!”

*The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate Family* was a work that gained tremendous attention from the first episode due to its sensational content of possession and regression, as well as the actors’ passionate performances.

However, in the process of adapting the massive novel into a drama, a terrible authorial approach was taken, resulting in a bizarre ending that made it a huge target of criticism.

If it weren’t for those bizarre events that unfolded in the final episode, it would have undoubtedly received tremendous acclaim overseas, if not as much as *Squid Game*.

“Fortunately, I didn’t watch it… but even the articles that came out made me feel the frustration.”

In any case, even this much will be of great help in establishing YC Film.

-Trot Goddess Kang Ah-young’s ‘Memories’ Sweeps All Music Sites and Broadcast Media!-

-There May Be Those Who Haven’t Heard It Once, But No One Has Heard ‘Memories’ Only Once! Korea Falls into ‘Memories’!-

-It Worked in Japan Too! An Unusual Interest Arises in Kang Ah-young’s ‘Memories’!-

-Concert Tour Tickets Sell Out Simultaneously Upon Release! A Sell-Out in Less Than a Minute!-

-Trot Goddess Kang Ah-young’s Concert Tour Tickets Sell Out in 42 Seconds! People Are Already Willing to Pay 10 Times the Price to Buy Them!-

As expected, Kang Ah-young’s latest album was a huge success.

Even though she’s called a trot goddess, there are many one-hit wonders in the music industry, so some were skeptical.

However, as her first album was a huge hit, to the point where Kang Ah-young’s concerts had to be promoted as ‘Memories’ concerts, all those doubts disappeared.

The proof is the concert ticket sell-out in just 42 seconds.

Considering that the genre is trot [a genre of Korean pop music] and there were over 300,000 tickets, this was truly an incredible feat.

“Well, it’s understandable.”

After ‘Dancer,’ Kang Ah-young’s acting skills continued to improve, which was directly related to her expressiveness.

Her expressiveness, which had become more intense through ‘Memories,’ finally found stability.

“Was that what they called the ‘Memories’ Challenge that was created?”

It was a challenge that started trending not only on YC Revolution but also on YouTube and other platforms.

It started when YouTubers created ‘try not to cry’ content and became popular, usually involving trying not to cry during the highlight scenes of the ‘Memories’ music video.

However, as it evolved, scenes editing related photos of the person involved with the song playing, or videos related to famous families collaborating, became even more intense challenges.

It was to the point where it was called the ultimate ‘try not to cry’ content, and recently, it’s said that events can’t proceed without this song at *hwee-soo-yeon* (60th birthday celebration) or *pal-soon* (80th birthday celebration).

With such tremendous interest, the concert was just around the corner, which also meant that I would be meeting my mother after a long time.

“Oh my! Goodness! I’m enjoying such luxury thanks to Da-sook!”

“Oh my, it’s true. These are the tickets that you can’t get even with money!”

“That stingy husband of mine has been sulking for days because I said I was going to see this alone.”

“Hahaha! You too? Me too.”

“Sigh. You’re still better off. My husband, as well as my siblings and even my cousins, are all making a fuss!”

“Well, when I looked it up, I heard that these tickets are being traded for over 1 million won online.”

“Hey! 1 million won is old news! Look at this. This. The most recent transaction was a whopping 6 million won. 6 million won!”

“Oh my! Crazy! So we’re going to see a 6 million won performance?”

“Did you see the merchandise that Young-chan gave us? It’s so pretty. I heard that you turn it on and wave it at the concert.”

“…”

I was meeting my mother after a long time, but I couldn’t just be happy.

Gyeongsang-do is a place where the dialect is so strong that people often joke around in bars, and the police have been called because people thought they were fighting.

And there were as many as 10 *ajummas* [middle-aged women] from Gyeongsang-do in front of me.

Even the most extroverted person would have their energy drained by the incredible energy that these unfamiliar people were emitting.

My mother, who was one of them, seemed quite happy to be able to assert herself in front of her friends, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Do you remember? This one is Fatty Ajumma. This one is Super Ajumma. This ajumma is Yogurt Ajumma… Don’t you remember? They all bought you a lot of snacks when you were little.”

“How can I remember that…”

I was dumbfounded by my mother, who was talking about when I was 3 or 4 years old and couldn’t even speak properly, but when I thought about it, the voices were familiar.

They were the voices I had heard over the phone from my mother, who would sometimes cry or laugh.

Realizing that they were the people who had unknowingly helped me during those terrible times when my father passed away, the house was foreclosed, and the debt increased, I decided to show a little more service spirit as a way of repaying them.

“Oh my, I’m nervous. Is it okay to visit like this?”

“I know, right? It’s enough that we enjoyed ourselves so much in such good seats that we were crying our eyes out.”

“You girls, shut up! When else can we meet if not now?”

“Are we going to cause trouble for Da-sook’s son? That’s what I’m worried about.”

“You guys. Don’t you call him CEO? The president of our Kang Ah-young’s agency! That means this! This!”

The *ajumma* who my mother introduced as Fatty Ajumma raised her thumb and waved it wildly, and the other *ajummas* burst into laughter, agreeing with her.

I was having my energy drained in real-time by the *ajummas* who were showing such a tremendous fuss, but I regained my strength when I saw my mother laughing among them.

The place where I arrived with the mother squad was Kang Ah-young’s waiting room.

The girl, who was buried in the bouquets she had received from various places after the successful completion of her first concert, hurriedly got up from her seat and greeted us as soon as we entered.

“Hello. I’m rookie singer Kang Ah-young.”

“Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!”

“She’s a goddess. A goddess!”

“How can she be so pretty?”

Among her friends who were making a fuss like girls, I took my mother, who was repeating exclamations with them, to the girl and introduced her.

“This is my mother. She’s a fan of yours, Ah-young.”

“Oh… oh? You’re the CEO’s mother? Ah, hello. I’m Kang Ah-young.”

When I introduced my mother to Ah-young, the girl looked flustered, just like when we first met.

‘Ah! Come to think of it, I only said I was going to bring acquaintances.’

From her expression, I realized that I hadn’t told her that my mother was among them, so I ended up giving her an unexpected event.

Fortunately, both my mother and her friends liked Ah-young’s appearance even more.

It wasn’t hard to understand their feelings, as they had actually seen the pure side of Ah-young that had become a hot topic.

My mother and her friends, who had signed autographs, taken photos, and shaken hands with Ah-young, ended the fan meeting with one last group photo.

The event, which I thought had ended like that, became noisy in an unexpected direction.

This was because the children or grandchildren of my mother’s friends uploaded the last group photo to social media to show off.

-Oh my gosh! It’s real! Wow~ I’m so jealous. They’re the friends of that YC’s mother.-

-Come to think of it, YC is the ultimate *umchina* [mother’s friend’s son] that I’ve only heard about!-

└lol 인정. 엄친아 끝판왕 맞음. (lol I agree. He’s the ultimate *umchina*, I agree.)

└엄친아…… 나도 만나고 싶다. (*Umchina*… I want to meet him too.)

└너무 부럽다. 강아영 씨도 강아영 씨지만 YC와 함께 사진을 찍다니! (I’m so jealous. Kang Ah-young is great, but to take a picture with YC!)

-Realizing that YC is just a friend’s son to these people makes him feel very approachable.-

└Come to think of it, Kang Ah-young must have felt more like a star to these people than YC.

Fortunately, the uploaded group photo had the faces of everyone except me and Ah-young covered, so no particularly difficult things happened.