Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 58

18. Tokashi

“You shouldn’t trust China too much.”

“The company’s stake is too low. We need to increase it.”

“If we debut them as they are now, it’s clear that big problems will arise.”

He actively opposed it at every meeting, but each time, the president and directors ridiculed him, saying his instincts were failing him.

And then they passed the responsibility on to him.

“You’re the team leader now, Tokashi.”

“Ptooey! Who would do something like that?”

“Damn, that temper… Haa~.”

Former Planning Team Leader Lee Ji-woo, exhaling a long stream of cigarette smoke, looked back at Mania Entertainment with eyes full of emotion.

Among those emotions, there was no anger.

Mostly just pity and regret.

He was also a founding member of Mania Entertainment and held a significant amount of stock, though not a majority share.

Fortunately, he had already sold his shares at the peak before the stock plummeted.

The moment the feared problem arose, he had anticipated it from then on—that they would pin the blame for this issue on him.

That’s why he boldly liquidated his shares, and thanks to that, he was able to maintain a calm demeanor even when being kicked out.

“What are you going to do when you leave?”

“What’s there to worry about? There are plenty of places calling. MS [likely referring to a major entertainment agency] has been talking to me for a while now.”

“Even at best, aren’t you just going as a team leader?”

“Man, do you think there’s anyone easy to deal with over there? Well~. Maybe not someone like you, though.”

“…”

Tokashi simply gritted his teeth at his superior’s words, the one who had recognized his talent, brought him in, and nurtured him. As if knowing Tokashi’s feelings, Lee Ji-woo lightly patted him on the shoulder, ending their farewell.

“I’ll contact you when I get settled. Let’s have some soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] with pork belly then.”

“…Damn it!”

Unable to offer a final greeting to his departing superior, Tokashi just let out an annoyed curse and silently gazed at the sky.

‘Why is it so damn clear today of all days?’

It was a good day without the usual irritating yellow dust [seasonal dust storms from the Gobi Desert], but for some reason, the sky felt suffocating to him today.

After Chief Lee Ji-woo left, it wasn’t long before Tokashi rose to the position of chief.

But nothing had changed.

Mania Entertainment had undergone massive restructuring to deal with the previous incident.

As a result, the planning department had also been cut in half, reduced to a level no different from when he was a team leader.

No, the reality was that it was even worse than before.

To add insult to injury, his salary had also been reduced despite the promotion to chief, so it was essentially a demotion rather than a promotion.

‘Damn it! I need to look for a new job.’

But Tokashi couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He knew that if he were just going to go to some small entertainment company, it would be better to stay at Mania Entertainment.

He needed to go to a mid-sized entertainment company or higher, but the problem was that entertainment companies of that size had already completed their reorganization in line with the Korean Wave [Hallyu] trend several years ago.

Even MS, the large agency where his former superior had gone, was rumored to have expanded its company size too much.

Nevertheless, the fact that Chief Lee Ji-woo, who had left half a year ago, had settled in as a team leader showed just how great his abilities were.

In this situation, he had to stick with Mania Entertainment, no matter how dirty and petty it was.

At least if he stayed, he would still get a salary.

“Ugh! If I didn’t have a second child, I would have quit a long time ago.”

The past him, who had shown boldness with just his pride, was gone.

Now, there was only a father trying to protect his family.

After being scolded with ridiculous fault-finding again today, Tokashi couldn’t bring himself to go home, so he went into a convenience store and bought a can of beer.

“Kaa~.”

He exclaimed at the coolness that dispelled the heat and the stimulation that tingled his throat. It felt like this frustration was somewhat flying away.

-Grrr-

Just as he was about to take another sip, someone sat down on the convenience store bench across from him.

“It’s a very hot day, Mr. Tokashi.”

“…Who are you?”

Surprised that someone recognized him out of nowhere on the convenience store bench, Tokashi looked at his face, but he couldn’t recognize him.

Not because he didn’t know him, but because the other person was covering his face with a mask.

As if knowing Tokashi’s question, the other person revealed his face hidden behind the mask.

“!!!!”

Tokashi was so surprised by the revealed face that he almost swore.

It was a natural reaction for him, as he had met an unexpected figure in such an unexpected place.

The other person, seemingly impressed by his appearance of awkwardly holding a can of beer and frozen with astonished eyes, carefully opened his mouth.

“…Um?”

“Hi! No… Yes!”

“If you don’t mind, I would like to talk to Mr. Tokashi. Would that be alright?”

“Yes… Yes.”

“Thank you.”

As if possessed, Tokashi put down the beer he was drinking and followed the man, and when he came to his senses, he was sitting face to face with him in a cafe.

‘Is this real?’

That’s how surprised Tokashi was about the current situation.

Well, how could he not be?

The person sitting across from him was YC, who had caused a syndrome [a widespread cultural phenomenon] in Japan and Korea.

From the perspective of someone in this industry, YC was like a meteor shower that had fallen from the sky.

YC’s sudden appearance, like a meteor shower that had fallen without warning, had an enormous impact, shaking up the entire entertainment industry.

Even the top-tier male idols, whose core fans were known to be solid, had postponed their comebacks when he was active.

It’s not hard to understand.

EX, who had to give up all their rankings to him within a day of his debut, was a team that belonged to the top of the top-tier idols.

His influence was so destructive even at the time of his debut, when it was at its weakest, so coming back during the syndrome phenomenon was no different from suicide.

Was it just them?

The carol song ‘Snow Lady’ that he released earlier consistently held the number one spot, beating out all the strong overseas carols.

In addition, the G1 band, which rose to stardom in ‘Legends of Rock,’ was already steadily increasing its recognition in Japan.

They say they will be on the major stage soon, so he, who knows how much money that market makes, can hardly believe it.

In addition, Lee Na-eun, who recently finished her activities, put the finishing touch on it.

Among solo singers, the difficulty level for female solo singers was incredibly high.

It’s easy to form even a core fan base for male solo singers, but for female solo singers, the difficulty level is terrible, from forming a core fan base to gaining recognition.

Of course, if they succeed to some extent, the company has the advantage of raking in money and recognition.

That’s why female solo singers, who are even called tombs [due to the high failure rate], continue to appear.

Lee Na-eun, who had appeared in such a market after a long time, succeeded as a female solo singer.

With this alone, YC Entertainment had completely established itself as a mid-sized entertainment company.

If he were to seek investors, there would surely be more than one or two who would bring him money without hesitation.

YC, who is writing legends from the beginning like this, is in front of him.

‘Gulp~. They say he’s incredibly handsome in person!’

It wasn’t just the pressure that came from his name value.

Tokashi was feeling a sense of intimidation from YC, as if he were facing a nobleman who wielded absolute power in an ancient country.

He wasn’t threatening, but just facing him silently made Tokashi’s whole body ache with tension as the silence grew longer.

However, this was not something that YC, that is, Youngchan, had intended.

He had been hiding his aura since before he met Tokashi.

Even so, the reason why Tokashi was feeling that way was partly because it was still difficult to completely hide the updated aura, but more than that, it was because Tokashi’s senses were sensitive.

Well, he was the one who was able to grasp the concepts of the stellar idols of YC Entertainment in that world.

-Slurp!-

Youngchan, who had been served warm tea and took a sip, finally started talking.

“To put it bluntly, I came to see you because I wanted to bring Mr. Tokashi to our YC Entertainment.”

“…Me!”

It would be a lie to say that he didn’t expect it, but Tokashi couldn’t hide his surprise when he really said that.

Youngchan smiled at such Tokashi and soon continued.

“As you know, YC Entertainment is only in its first year of establishment, so there are still many things lacking. The important planning side is especially lacking. That’s why we are looking for people with outstanding skills in this field.”

-Gulp-

Tokashi had to swallow his saliva again at Youngchan’s words.

It was a new realization of how absurd YC Entertainment was. To have solidified its position as a mid-sized entertainment company in just one year.

Just looking at this point, it was a crazy growth that was unbelievable.

‘No. If you only look at the profits from the last quarter, it’s no less than the top 3 agencies.’

If you think about that, it was safe to say that it was one of the top mid-sized entertainment companies.

The present reality is bright, and the future is certain.

Without anything else, just having Black Tiger, to which YC belongs, release one album every year would make it possible to grow more than twice as much as it is now.

‘I have to accept this no matter what…’

However, as someone who had been rolling around in this field for 6 years, he carefully asked, despite YC’s aura, rather than accepting it right away.

“Why me? With YC’s current name value, you could bring people from large entertainment companies.”

Youngchan smiled as if he was really amused by Tokashi’s question.

“Ummm.”

Tokashi flinched and trembled as he groaned at the smile he faced.

He was surprised to see Youngchan’s aura, which had been revealed with a smile because his question was enjoyable.

Youngchan looked at him for a while and then said without hiding his thoughts.

“Because I thought you would be the best in this field.”

“Yes?”

“At least I don’t think there is anyone in Korea who can catch up with you when it comes to planning concepts right now.”

“!!!”

Youngchan boldly told the inside story that he might lose in the negotiation.

He might lose in the short term, but he thought it was right to bring out his potential.

Originally, Tokashi was a planner who was highly regarded on the world stage.

It was said that the success of Red Nine and TMA, which swept the world, would have been difficult without him.

The only reason why he hadn’t been able to fully demonstrate his skills was one thing.

It was because the harsh entertainment life in Korea had trampled on his high self-esteem.

‘In other words, he created a top-tier idol even though he was trampled on to that extent.’

The first-tier idol, which was the cash cow of Mania Entertainment, was actually an idol that was strange to have risen.

The members’ skills were only mediocre at best, and their songs and dances were also mediocre. Nevertheless, the reason why they became first-tier idols was entirely thanks to the well-packaged planning concept.

Was that all?

Although they ended up failing due to an accident, the idol that Mania Entertainment had created this time also had a high possibility of establishing themselves as a first-tier idol.

This was also largely thanks to the planning concept.

They turned the composition of the members, which was difficult to see as K-pop idols, into an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

They even evoked a nationalistic image that made people shout for patriotism.

Tokashi was at the center of this planning concept.

That’s why Youngchan was determined to get him and came to see him in person.

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