Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 51

16. Good Night

However, I stated a simple yet clear reason.

“Actually, I’m a fan of Good Night.”

“Yes? Uh… Yes?”

Their reactions were so genuine that I felt like teasing them, but I held back and continued.

“You may or may not know, but before considering a career as a singer, I worked in a factory for quite a while.”

“I… I know the story.”

I smiled at him, who was looking at me with slightly trembling eyes, and continued.

“Good Night was one of those who gave me strength back then.”

“!!!”

Jang Dae-hoon seemed surprised and incredibly pleased that my sincerity had reached him.

He was glancing at his phone as if he wanted to tell Good Night this happy news.

I liked his earnest appearance so much that I spoke even more honestly.

“I really mean it. I even bought all the albums. Although I was too busy to go to fan meetings.”

“Ahahaha.”

He finally burst out laughing at my words. And as the laughter subsided, Jang Dae-hoon began to tear up.

After shaking his body for a moment, he wiped his reddened eyes and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I showed you an unsightly side.”

“No.”

I immediately denied that he had shown an unsightly side. Although the result [of their idol career] wasn’t good, I felt that he had done his best just by looking at him now.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

He tried to clear his throat, which was about to be submerged in overwhelming emotion, and said with a bright smile on his face, unlike his red, bloodshot eyes.

“I guess there really is a God. I’ve been so lost these past three weeks…”

Then, in a calm voice, he told me about the events of the past three weeks.

It was the story of Good Night’s disbandment after much deliberation, and how he was looking for a company to accept them as first-tier trainees.

Of course, as long as the tag of ‘failed idol’ was attached, the task was not going to be easy.

“It’s fortunate for me.”

If they had gone to another agency, it would not have been easy to bring them over. Since they were trainees, they had some freedom in terms of contracts, but there were industry customs, so negative stories could have been exchanged, potentially damaging their reputation.

That would have been like pouring ashes on the start of their new beginning.

Jang Dae-hoon seemed as relieved as I was.

“I also think it’s really fortunate. Thank you so much. Thank you for liking our kids… Thank you for believing in them.”

He said this as if he didn’t care about the contract at all.

I shook my head at his attitude, as if he didn’t care as long as I took Good Night right away.

“I’ll say it again, I’m going to acquire J Entertainment. YC Entertainment is expanding, and we are looking for talent, so I hope Mr. Jang Dae-hoon will join us.”

President Jang Dae-hoon looked pleased but also troubled by my words of recognition, and he spoke with some difficulty.

“I’m grateful that you see me that way, but that’s difficult. Actually, J Entertainment has a lot of debt.”

I liked him even more at his honesty. I shook my head and continued.

“Don’t you think I know that? Considering that, it’s still a great deal for me.”

“…Even though there’s 200 million won [approximately $150,000 USD] in debt?”

“Oh… It’s not as much as I thought?”

It was surprising.

It wasn’t just empty words; the debt was really less than I thought.

Even though it was operated at a low cost, it was still a debut for idols. Considering that they even released two mini-albums, a debt of 200 million won was ridiculously small.

If he only incurred that much debt even in this situation, he was a very sincere person.

I thought there would be at least 500 million won [approximately $375,000 USD] in debt, so this was a pleasant surprise.

‘I really shouldn’t miss him.’

Talent isn’t just about singing or dancing in this industry.

Just being sincere and trustworthy was a great talent.

“I was originally going to give you time to think about it, but I can’t. I want to sign a contract right away in case something happens.”

“???”

I pushed him, who was flustered, and he went ‘uh-oh?’ and ended up signing the contract.

I gave him the biggest smile as I watched him panic as if he didn’t understand that he had signed it in a daze.

‘Now Good Night is mine.’

I thought to myself, comparing it to a meme that would be popular in a few years, and looked forward to meeting Good Night as soon as possible.

++++++++++++

“President. Think again? Are you sure you’re not dreaming?”

“Crazy. Crazy. We’re really in front of YC Entertainment!”

“Who am I? Where am I?”

“….”

Jang Dae-hoon couldn’t easily open his mouth to Good Night’s anxious reaction.

When the huge YC Entertainment building, which had just been newly built, appeared before his eyes, he was also swept up in an unknown anxiety.

The identity of this anxiety he was feeling was none other than the situation that was flowing so differently from his life.

Even though he stood out among the first-tier trainees of a large entertainment company, he repeatedly failed to debut.

Eventually, he didn’t achieve his dream even at the mid-sized entertainment company he had found as his last resort, and he ended up walking the path of a manager.

After that, he couldn’t stand the company’s unfairness and ran out after 5 years, but even after that, his twisted misfortune was not resolved.

That was his life.

But just yesterday, something more magical than magic happened to him.

The bad luck that had been weighing him down disappeared in an instant.

‘Was it really not a dream?’

After Young-chan returned, he read the contract dozens of times, but the situation was still so unfamiliar to him that he thought so.

Perhaps he would still be denying it if 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD] had not been deposited into his account as the acquisition cost for J Entertainment.

However, he couldn’t help but waver again at Good Night, who were anxious like baby birds who had lost their mother.

“Yeah, let’s go back now…”

He was thinking of running away as if he were running away, but his intention was stopped by someone else.

-Thump!-

Someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder, and Jang Dae-hoon’s eyes widened as he hurriedly turned around.

A middle-aged man, who was about the same height as the tall Jang Dae-hoon, greeted them wearing a leather jacket.

“You came earlier than I thought. I heard about it from the CEO.”

Jang Dae-hoon greeted him with trembling eyes at his bright voice.

“Hello? I’m Jang Dae-hoon. It’s an honor to meet Moon Il-beom.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you would know my name. Usually, they only know Young-chan or that guy Kwak Do-hoon.”

In fact, in terms of recognition, bassist Moon Il-beom had the lowest recognition within Black Tiger.

Even so, Jang Dae-hoon recognized him because he also used to play the bass in the past.

“Ah! You guys, say hello quickly. This is Moon Il-beom, who plays the bass in Black Tiger.”

“Hello. I’m Ari from Good Night.”

“I’m Ji-heon. Nice to meet you.”

“I, I’m Yuna. Nice to meet you.”

Moon Il-beom nodded as if he liked their doll-like appearance, who automatically greeted him when he acknowledged them.

In the entertainment industry, as well as in society, greeting well is actually half the battle.

That’s because it was something that could positively imprint the first impression, so in the past, he made the children he occasionally helped with manager work get into the habit of doing this.

“I’m Moon Il-beom. Come on, let’s go in quickly. The CEO will come around in the afternoon because of work, so let’s take a look around the company until then.”

“Ah! Yes.”

Jang Dae-hoon answered that way, but he couldn’t help but swallow the saliva that had gathered without him knowing.

“Wow~.”

Jang Dae-hoon unknowingly exclaimed at the sight of the inside of YC Entertainment, which he had entered as if he was half-dragged by Moon Il-beom.

The office building that YC Entertainment had bought as its new headquarters this time was located in Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul], with a land area of 200 pyeong [approximately 7,100 square feet] and a total of 560 pyeong [approximately 20,000 square feet], a building with 2 basement floors and 6 above-ground floors.

Thanks to Jang Tae-sik, a big hand in real estate, they bought the building for a relatively low price of 23 billion won [approximately $17.25 million USD], and of course, 60% of this was borrowed from the bank at a low interest rate.

It is not easy to borrow close to 14 billion won [approximately $10.5 million USD], but the name value of Black Tiger, which caused a syndrome [a widespread cultural phenomenon], was more than enough to borrow more than that.

It was a newly built building built two years ago, so unlike old-fashioned buildings, the ratio of components such as pillars and walls was low, so it looked wider than the area and had the advantage of being easy to use.

Remodeling was still in progress, but the first floor had already been completed.

Next to the entrance on the first floor, there was a small convenience store and a cafe of a similar size.

Moon Il-beom took Jang Dae-hoon and Good Night to the cafe and said to the employee.

“Please give me a sweet iced caramel macchiato. What would you like to drink?”

“Uh… no, I’m okay. What do you guys want to eat?”

“Ah, no. We’re okay too.”

Moon Il-beom smiled heartily at their still nervous appearance and continued.

“Don’t do that, have one. Anyway, this cafe is provided free of charge to YC Entertainment officials, so it’s a loss if you don’t eat it. Ah, that unmanned convenience store is also all free, so you can take whatever you want.”

“Yes? Free?”

“….Really?”

“No way!”

“Oh….Then. We can take it too.”

Moon Il-beom laughed at Ji-heon, whose nickname was Giant Baby, who was still not done growing up, and nodded.

“Hahaha. Now you are also YC Entertainment people, so of course.”

“Oh my gosh! Then it’s like a dream!”

“Gulp~.”

“Oh my.”

Yuna seemed to sympathize with Ji-heon’s honest reaction, who was already aiming for the convenience store, and swallowed her saliva, and Ari, who was ashamed of her younger siblings, sighed without realizing it.

“Then, please give me an iced cafe mocha.”

Not knowing her heart, Jang Dae-hoon, who was already out of his mind at the fact that it was free, finished ordering to the cafe employee.

Since the manager did that, Ji-heon and Yuna, who had been aiming for it naturally, also hurriedly ordered.

“I want a green tea frappuccino, sweet.”

“I want a strawberry yogurt. Sister. Order quickly too.”

“…..Ah, an iced Americano, no, please give me an iced chocolate frappe.”

Moon Il-beom thought that Ari, who finally couldn’t resist her instincts and finished ordering, and Ji-heon and Yuna, who were honest with their feelings, were really interesting children.

‘At least I don’t have to worry about the character?’

Unlike the first generation [of idols], who wanted to remain idols while keeping their distance from fans, idols have been working hard to maintain friendly relationships with fans as generations have passed.

To do so, it was necessary to have a clear character. They also had to show honest sides, not acting, and in this respect, Good Night was a pass.

-Slurp!-

Ji-heon’s face disappeared as soon as the drink came out.

It seems that her mind has become comfortable after the sugar came in.

The appearance was no different for Ari and Yuna.

Jang Dae-hoon also seemed to have relieved some of his tension, although not as much as Good Night.

‘As expected, sweets are the best for stress.’

Moon Il-beom, who had taken care of them with the know-how he had gained from many years of experience, then helped them explore YC Entertainment by easing the atmosphere with light talk.