Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 40

13. YC Sama

“Where to? YC Entertainment?”

“Yes. It sounded like a prank call, but when I checked the number, it really was a call from Korea.”

“The contact information, where is the contact information?”

“Here…”

-Thump!-

Ichiro, the president of Red Sun Entertainment, swiftly grabbed the phone number and examined it. There were two phone numbers: the personal mobile phone number of the person who contacted him, and the number used by the entertainment company.

Ichiro focused on the entertainment company’s number.

He hurriedly turned on his smartphone, searched for YC Entertainment on Gugol [a common misspelling of Google in some regions, used intentionally here for character voice], and opened the website that appeared.

And his shoulders began to tremble.

It was because he confirmed that his hunch was correct.

“It really is Black Tiger…”

The entertainment company’s number provided was indeed the phone number for YC Entertainment, where Black Tiger is *shozoku* [所属, Japanese for ‘affiliated’].

He carefully smoothed his remaining hair and calmed his excitement.

Once he calmed down, the first question that came to mind was, why would Black Tiger contact him?

Currently, Black Tiger’s status in Japan was higher than that of most K-pop idols.

This was entirely due to the influence of Black Tiger’s vocalist, known as YC Sama.

YC Sama, who appeared in music videos and on YouTube, possessed an aura that Japan had never seen before.

‘A being that can only be described as truly violent!’

Ichiro did not think his thoughts were exaggerated.

In fact, he himself had been forcibly drawn in by that irresistible, violent charm.

Non-mainstream genre of rock, an average age of 45, a small agency that hasn’t been around for long, etc.

Black Tiger was a team with many unstable factors.

However, the fact that there are signs of a Black Tiger or YC Sama syndrome in Japan is because the charm shown by YC Sama is so absurd.

Indeed, even Ichiro, a middle-aged official in the entertainment industry, was captivated, so the current phenomenon should be seen as natural.

Such a tremendous entity had reached out to him.

Ichiro considered the fact that YC Entertainment was a small agency that hadn’t been around for several months, but he quickly dismissed it.

He knew that such a disadvantage was meaningless since YC Sama was essentially the president.

If YC Sama were to seek help to join him in his Japanese debut, Japan’s giant corporations would compete to rush in.

That’s how absurd Black Tiger, or rather YC Sama, was, at least to the Japanese.

So Ichiro thought that there was another reason why YC Sama reached out to a small entertainment company like his.

And soon he found the answer.

“They might be thinking of making Red Sun Entertainment a Japanese branch of YC Entertainment…”

Having found the answer, Ichiro trembled again.

It wasn’t because he was angry that they had pulled such a trick.

Rather, the reason he was trembling was the thrill of joy he felt when he realized that an opportunity had finally come to him.

Even when he was forced to take over Red Sun Entertainment, which his father had run, he was confident.

He believed that with the connections he had built up over 10 years at a large entertainment company and his recognized skills, he could grow Red Sun Entertainment as much as he wanted.

But it didn’t take long for him to realize that it was arrogance.

He cast those who showed the qualities of a star through his innate eye and experience. And thanks to his connections, he was able to raise them to a position where they could become stars.

The problem started here.

Once they got there, large entertainment companies saw their potential and reached out.

And of course, they took their hands without hesitation. Because they know that’s the easiest way to succeed.

Ichiro, betrayed, was angry and sad, but he got back on his feet.

And he discovered a new star and raised him again. But this time, another large entertainment company reached out and took him away.

Everyone who left his side became a star that anyone would know if they heard their name.

Through two failures, Ichiro realized.

“It’s difficult to raise a star that exceeds my capabilities.”

Ichiro finally decided to accept this unreasonable reality.

From this point on, Ichiro changed his mind and began to find and nurture those who had low star quality but were sufficient to do their part. As an actor, he was at best a supporting actor, and as a singer, he was only able to send them to local events.

As a result, he didn’t make a lot of money, but it was enough to run a small entertainment company like Red Sun.

‘Once… just once, an opportunity will come.’

Ichiro valued and built up his connections in order to seize the opportunity that would come someday.

But as that time approached 10 years, he had already given up half of it.

But then, an unexpected opportunity suddenly came.

“I’m going to seize this opportunity. Definitely!”

Once he made up his mind, he immediately took action.

At the same time as finding a plane ticket to Korea, he packed everything that could appeal to him.

It was the manager who greeted Ichiro.

Youngchan was moving to carry out his schedule, so the manager greeted him.

The manager’s face, who faced Ichiro, was filled with admiration.

“I didn’t expect you to come to make a counter-proposal.”

But what he admired was not only that.

It was because of the data that Ichiro brought to seize the opportunity. The level of his connections, which he had meticulously prepared, was something that even he, who had been rolling around in this industry for a long time, couldn’t help but admire.

‘There was a reason why the president specifically chose Red Sun Entertainment.’

The manager, who was once again impressed by Youngchan’s corporate acumen, couldn’t help but worry about the conditions that Ichiro presented.

The conditions that Ichiro presented were not *kkadaropda* [까다롭다, Korean for ‘demanding’ or ‘difficult’].

Rather, it was too generous for the current YC Entertainment.

In exchange for giving up 51% of Red Sun Entertainment’s shares, he wanted two things.

The first was that he wanted to be the chief manager when Black Tiger or Park Youngchan officially released an album in Japan.

This meant that he wanted to do all activities in Japan entirely through him, which was giving YC Entertainment more authority than they had thought.

But that didn’t mean it was a loss.

When he looked at the accounting books and connection books he had given, it would be more beneficial for YC Entertainment to do so.

‘Maybe he’s trying to increase his influence in Japan through this opportunity.’

Even though Red Sun Entertainment would become a branch of YC Entertainment, it didn’t mean that it couldn’t operate independently in Japan.

Above all, if Ichiro’s influence as the head of Red Sun Entertainment grew, it would be a great benefit to YC Entertainment, which had made it a branch.

If that’s the case for the first condition, the second is that he wants YC Sama to nurture those he has discovered.

There were some guesses, but the manager asked for a detailed explanation of this, and Ichiro organized his thoughts and spoke.

“Now and in the future, K-pop will continue to increase its influence in Japan. It’s a natural thing. Now that professionals who have honed their skills have appeared in front of amateurs who used to put on performances at the level of school talent shows, there is no reason to turn their heads back. That means that the Japanese entertainment industry, which has been lazy and easily making money, must also follow this trend. I want to be ahead of the curve in welcoming this new wave.”

It was a typical Japanese way of speaking indirectly, but the manager could understand what Ichiro was saying.

“You want to form a K-pop idol group with Japanese members.”

“That’s right.”

As YC Entertainment owns 51% of the shares, the success of the idol group that Ichiro nurtures will soon bring great benefits to YC Entertainment.

It will not only secure capital but also firmly establish its influence in Japan.

However, there were two reasons why it was difficult to accept easily.

When Youngchan hired the manager, he had told him what he wanted to achieve.

He had talked about the success of G1 Band and Black Tiger, as well as plans to bring in and produce several girl groups, so it was difficult to accept Ichiro’s conditions easily.

If that’s the first reason, the second is whether the K-pop-style Japanese idol group that Ichiro will create can have an impact overseas.

The fact that all the members are Japanese idols, not just a mix, means that they will certainly not be not recognized in Korea.

It was clear that they would be seen as part of J-pop.

A K-pop without Koreans is like kimchi stew without kimchi.

So it was clear that they would be popular in Japan, but it would be difficult to go global.

‘But if you think about the Japanese market, that alone would be a group with tremendous profitability.’

Therefore, the manager accepted Ichiro’s proposal positively.

“First of all, I think it’s okay. But I don’t know what the president will think.”

“Thank you for listening to my story.”

Ichiro showed great disappointment at the manager’s words. The manager was briefly puzzled by his appearance, but soon burst into laughter.

“Hahaha. You speak Korean so well that I forgot you were Japanese for a moment.”

“??”

“It’s not a Japanese gesture of rejection. It is literally what it is. At least I think positively, and I think the president will probably think so too. Even if it doesn’t go according to plan, don’t be disappointed. This is an agency led by someone who is so capable, so we will set conditions accordingly.”

“Ah! Thank you.”

Only then did Ichiro’s face brighten.

While chatting over dinner, the manager was able to learn more about Ichiro.

That Ichiro is a third-generation Korean-Japanese, and that Red Sun is a more solid agency than what he saw in the financial statements.

That meant he was more capable than he thought.

But what surprised him the most was that he was a huge fan of Park Youngchan.

It seemed to be due to his experience in the band club in high school, and perhaps if it weren’t for this influence, he wouldn’t have come up with such a bold move.

“This guy is still the same. By the way, Satoshi, that old man, passed away?”

In the world of imprinted memories, even when Youngchan was making his debut in Japan, the Japanese were so territorial that it was impossible to describe.

Being one of the top stars in Korea was as light as dust in the face of that terrifying territoriality.

It was Red Sun who reached out to him at that time.

To be exact, it was Ichiro’s father, Satoshi, who reached out to him.

It wasn’t just because Korean blood was flowing through him. It was because he had come into contact with Youngchan’s music in Korea, which he naturally visited with his mother.

‘It’s chilling!’

Genius.

Satoshi immediately recognized that Youngchan had truly absurd talent.

Then, when he heard the news that he was looking for an entertainment company to help him make his debut in Japan, he immediately ran over.

“This is my son, Ichiro. He’s been rolling around in this industry for quite some time, so he’ll be very useful.”

“I’m Ichiro.”

Ichiro, who greeted Youngchan, looked somehow dissatisfied.

After all, he had to quit his well-paying job and become his manager due to Youngchan’s joining, so it would have been stranger if he didn’t have any complaints.

But Ichiro’s decision to follow his father Satoshi’s decision was the greatest luck in his life.

Ichiro brought Youngchan the Japanese version of the OST for Winter Sonata [a popular Korean drama], which was the first to become a big hit in Japan at the time.

And with just that one connection, Youngchan rose to the position of a star that Japanese people couldn’t help but know.

Snow Country (雪国) [Yukiguni, Japanese for ‘Snow Country’].

This one song that Youngchan made was a huge hit in Japan.

This song had elements that touched the hearts of the Japanese people, so there was no place in Japan where you couldn’t hear this song every winter.

Through this song, Youngchan was able to establish himself in Japan, and after that, he was able to establish himself perfectly in his next album in Japan.

Satoshi, who gave Youngchan the opportunity, served as the president of the Japanese branch of YC Entertainment for a long time. Even after handing over the presidency to Ichiro, he was still busy in the Japanese entertainment industry.

Youngchan felt confused when he learned that he had already passed away a long time ago.

‘I should go to his grave later.’

Although he was a different person, it was natural for Youngchan to feel that way because the memory of that relationship, which he had been indebted to, was so strong that he didn’t feel like a stranger.

After showing a moment of silence for him, Youngchan pondered over the conditions that Ichiro had brought.

‘If you only look at the conditions, they’re too generous. However, there are definitely limitations to K-pop Japanese idols. The only thing that’s worth trying is to increase the number of Korean-Japanese people.’

Even with that alone, if the star quality or music is *dokbojeok* [독보적, Korean for ‘unique’ or ‘unrivaled’], it will be popular not only in Korea but also around the world.

In fact, PY Entertainment, one of the large entertainment companies, had tried this.

The problem was that, as feared, its popularity was only stagnant in Japan.

However, it was definitely a huge hit, so from this point on, other Japanese entertainment companies began to create K-pop Japanese idols.

From that point of view, it was clear that this was a working project.

However, the problem is that it is difficult for Youngchan to make time for this.

If he wants to succeed with the girl groups he wants to help, he is actually regretting the time he is inevitably spending now.

This is because idols, especially girl groups, have a short lifespan.

“There’s a way.”

If age is a problem, he could bring in younger members to lower the average age.

Or he could redebut with members of a new girl group.

If not, it wouldn’t be bad to turn his attention overseas. It’s difficult, but if it’s possible, it would be possible to greatly increase the lifespan of a girl group, which is an average of 7 years.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Youngchan decided to accept Ichiro’s proposal.

However, he set a condition that they should talk about the second condition at least 3 years later.

He thought that things would be somewhat settled by then.

“I’m going to be really busy this year.”

Fortunately, the second Bitcoin settlement period is coming soon.

With huge capital coming in, including ‘Snow Lady’, if things go well, he may be able to earn more than the expected profit in the second settlement at the end of this year.

And if he has enough money, he can run several projects at once.

The songs and concepts have already been decided, so he can just fill in the lack of time with money.

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