Chapter 82: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

“Haha. Yeah, thanks. Let’s grab a drink next time, alright? See you. I’m heading in~.”

Father laughed heartily and hung up the phone.

“Dad, who was that? You seemed really happy to hear from them.”

“Ah, an old friend from my neighborhood. He used to work abroad, but he’s moved to Korea this time. He got a recruitment offer from a financial company, I guess. I know he used to work at a foreign securities firm.”

“Oh~ So, Dad’s friends are all very capable.”

“Huh, I don’t think this friend called to catch up with me, though?”

It was a conversation between adults.

When high school friends become adults and start working, their contact naturally fades away. Only those who find stable employment keep in touch, while those who don’t manage to do so often cut off communication on their own.

It’s the same even when you become an adult.

Due to male pride, even if a friend is in a difficult situation, they won’t easily reach out, no matter how close they were.

Even if they do, more than half of the time, it’s because they have some other intention.

“The world gets tougher, and such things happen more often. That’s why wise people say that having 1-2 really close friends means you’ve succeeded in life.”

“Is that so... But Dad, you have me, and my brother, and Mom, right?”

“Haha. Yeah, I don’t need anything else. As long as you guys are there, that’s enough.”

No matter what, Father always believed that family was the most important.

I feel the same way.

In the end, what remains is family, isn’t it?

“By the way, Dad, what have you been looking at this whole time?”

Yuna blinked while eating her yogurt.

Father smiled broadly, perhaps finding her cute, and answered.

“Hmm, let’s say it’s the future of our company. It’s perfect timing. Do you want to take a look?”

Father handed me a document.

It was a kind of plan that showed what JY Entertainment was currently planning.

“Hmm, from a new girl group to a new boy group. Quite diverse.”

“Yeah. We’ve produced several teams so far, but none of them have really succeeded.”

I scanned the document and said,

“Then the company must be in the red, right?”

“Hmm? Haha. Just a little. Thanks to you and Yuna’s hard work, we haven’t suffered any major setbacks. You two are practically leading this company.”

Father was smiling, but I wasn’t.

“I know Father has accumulated quite a fortune, but...”

I don’t know how much exactly.

And the current state of the company isn’t looking good.

If we keep churning out girl groups and boy groups like a factory, it will only lead to financial losses.

“Are you really going to do it this way?”

“Eh? Is it... not good?”

“I helped you debut a girl group before, remember?”

“Yeah, you did.”

“What happened to that group? The first album did well, but the second album didn’t, right? What about the solo artists?”

“W-well, from the second album...”

Father’s voice was getting softer.

“Maybe it’s a bit presumptuous, but I think it’s better to revitalize what we already have rather than introduce something new, Dad.”

“Sigh. I always welcome my son’s advice. So, you think this plan is bad for the company?”

“Yes.”

“But is it really easy to revitalize the existing artists?”

Of course, it’s not easy.

But it’s not impossible either.

Often, when an idol’s life changes dramatically, it’s because one song suddenly becomes a hit after a series of failures.

“I’ll help you.”

“Eh? Yoonseong, you?”

“I will too! I’ll help, Dad!”

“Haha. No, I know you’re busy...”

“It’s fine. It’s not that difficult.”

I need to carefully examine what buried them at the bottom.

A company that relies solely on Yuna and me won’t last long.

How can a company that focuses on just one singer have a bright future?

Moreover, if Yuna wants to quit her entertainment career but can’t because of this company, the same thing that happened in my previous life will repeat itself.

‘If Father’s company does well, it’s good for us too.’

Not only do I want to help Father’s company grow, but I also want to earn a lot of money.

That way, if anything happens, I’ll be prepared.

“Father, the person you talked to earlier.”

“The person I talked to? Ah! Joon-yong? Why?”

“Isn’t he working for a major financial institution in Korea?”

“Yeah, that’s right. He worked at a big place abroad too. I heard he’s a department head.”

A department head is a high-ranking position.

Depending on the company, it might even be considered an executive position.

“Can I meet him once?”

“Eh? You?”

“Yes.”

To learn about financial management, it would be best to meet someone who has succeeded in that field and receive intensive tutoring through Aura.

But wait a moment.

What stocks were rising around this time?

I should have studied economics in my previous life if I had known this would happen.

* * *

“3, 2, 1. Start!”

Following the signal, music filled the classroom, and the dancers in school uniforms began to move energetically, dancing to the rhythm of the song.

PD Kang Gil-han checked the cameras installed in various places to ensure nothing was missed.

Not only fast camera work but also dynamic movements required the skills of the camera directors.

And PD Kang Gil-han’s role was crucial, controlling and coordinating everything like a conductor.

“Hold it. Cut! Let’s prepare again.”

“Okay~!”

Of course, I didn’t expect it to go perfectly the first time.

It’s better to give appropriate feedback to the actors and review the recorded footage.

This was a very standard approach, but what followed was PD Kang Gil-han’s unique method.

“Yoonseong, how was it?”

“Hmm, the camera work is definitely much better than before. However, I think the 3rd camera needs some adjustment. I noticed that the actors’ movements didn’t quite match just now.”

“Oh, really? I must have missed that.”

Jeong Yoonseong was just a young high school student, but PD Kang Gil-han couldn’t help but listen to him.

Through repeated practice and filming, he realized:

‘This kid is really multi-talented.’

It wasn’t just PD Kang Gil-han who felt this way.

The assistant PDs, camera directors, actors, and staff on the set all knew about Jeong Yoonseong’s abilities.

“Yuna, it would be better to dance more smoothly in this part.”

“Okay, I’ll try it your way, Oppa.”

Usually, feedback can be unpleasant, but here, everyone wanted to receive feedback from Jeong Yoonseong, and no one showed any displeasure.

They all knew that the success or failure of this drama depended not on the director or the actors, but on this one person, Jeong Yoonseong.

“Yoonseong is working really hard today.”

“Haha. The whole set gets heated up thanks to Yoonseong.”

A filming set can easily fall into a rut and morale can plummet.

But Jeong Yoonseong never gave them a chance to do so.

He constantly provided new challenges and fueled their passion.

And when they achieved something, he generously praised them.

“Sometimes I wonder who the director really is.”

PD Kang Gil-han smiled as he watched Jeong Yoonseong running around, talking to people.

He often found himself drawn into that young passion.

Thanks to this, he felt his stagnant filming skills improving.

One question remained:

“How does he know all these things?”

There were many things that even he, with over 10 years of experience, didn’t know, but Jeong Yoonseong did.

He seemed to know things that could only be learned through experience.

The more he observed, the more he found Jeong Yoonseong to be a remarkable person.

That’s why he couldn’t treat him casually.

That’s why he still showed respect to Jeong Yoonseong.

“Everything is ready, Director.”

“Ah, good.”

With such abilities, Jeong Yoonseong could easily command the set, but he showed nothing but respect.

PD Kang Gil-han smiled and resumed filming.

He felt very reassured knowing that Jeong Yoonseong would be there for the next project too.

* * *

Season 1 was a huge success.

The songs from the show consistently topped the charts, and the program was praised for opening a new genre of music shows.

“Did you see what KTS is doing? They’re completely copying our program.”

“It’s not just KTS. SVS is also launching a similar program.”

When one show becomes popular, similar mass-produced programs inevitably follow.

This is what they call following trends.

“What can we do? We can’t report them for plagiarism.”

“Yoonseong, you’re making it hard for us to say anything.”

“Yeah, Yoonseong and Yuna must be the most upset.”

“I’m really fine. In fact, this could be a good opportunity.”

“...A good opportunity?”

The production team looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“Yes, a good opportunity. If we show a more advanced version of our program, we can easily outshine any similar competition.”

“Wow, Yoonseong, how can you think so maturely despite being so much younger than us?”

“Is this what they call a paradigm shift?”

“So, what’s your idea for a more advanced version of the program?”

Their eyes were all on me.

Yuna, who was sitting next to me, perked up and leaned in.

“Didn’t we make a lot of money from Season 1?”

“Hmm. We did. We made a lot of money from advertising.”

“So, we have the funds for reinvestment, right?”

“...Do we?”

The responsible PD looked at me with unease.

“We haven’t done many domestic tours, have we? We already know our songs are popular in Korea from the program ratings and chart rankings.”

“Wait. Don’t tell me you...”

I smiled at the PD’s reaction and said,

“Let’s go abroad this time.”

I wanted to see how far Yuna’s voice and my music could reach, not just in Korea but also overseas.