Chapter 70: The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails

TRV was in an uproar as soon as the news broke.

Park Hee-taek, the CEO of TRV, was anxiously waiting for a call from the TF team while making rounds of calls to journalists he knew.

The situation was different now compared to five months ago. Back then, Jeong Hae-won was left with only a negative image, but now, various aspects were being added to his persona.

Despite his flaws, he was a sharp producer in his early twenties.

If it became known that Jeong Hae-won's contract had ended, there would be ample reason for other agencies to contact him.

Moreover, the idea that a group creates more synergy than an individual was not entirely true these days. In terms of music charts, male idols sometimes performed better as solo artists than as part of a group.

Jeong Hae-won had high personal popularity and boundless potential as a songwriter. Although his negative image still partially overshadowed him, a fresh start seemed only a matter of time given the current atmosphere.

Just from the reactions to today's news, it was clear that the mood had shifted even more than TRV had anticipated.

As soon as the news about Jeong Hae-won's six-month contract broke, the company was flooded with calls and emails from fans.

The atmosphere suggested that the fandom would not remain quiet if the company did not respond quickly. Especially after The Rising, the influx of new fans had come to view Jeong Hae-won's abilities as the most crucial element of First Light.

"Why Terminal Entertainment of all places?"

Terminal Entertainment was a company that had more than half its shares even before VMC started swallowing up agencies to grow. It was also the agency that had sent the most trainees to Kuk Sun-ah and The Thirty.

As the news broke, Park Hee-taek kept trying to contact people, and a close journalist finally replied with a short message.

[The head of TYT Music Content, Kim Joo-cheol, wants to sign Jeong Hae-won with Terminal Entertainment.]

If Jeong Hae-won, who was hostile to VMC, were to join a VMC subsidiary... the current negative atmosphere around Kuk Sun-ah would certainly be reversed.

At that moment, a direct call came from Jeong Hae-won to Park Hee-taek, who immediately answered.

"Hey, Cheol-ah."

- ...What's going on?

"What's going on? That's what I want to know."

-What can I do about it?

"You can do a lot. The company can do everything else, but the contract is your business, and you should know about it. How can we know?"

-Is that so.

Jeong Hae-won thought for a moment before speaking.

"Didn't the company release the news?"

Park Hee-taek swallowed the words, 'We wouldn't do something to raise your value even if we were crazy...' and probed Jeong Hae-won.

"Do you really know nothing? Haven't you received any contact?"

-I don't.

It was impossible to tell if he was pretending to be innocent or was genuinely innocent.

In the entertainment industry, the saying 'trust no one' applies not only to artists looking at their agencies but also to agencies looking at their artists.

The company wanted to finalize the contract as soon as possible, but showing too much eagerness would not be beneficial, so they were waiting. However, this sudden news was like a bolt from the blue.

Jeong Hae-won was not a seasoned adult who could skillfully raise his own value. He preferred to stay in the studio and had a very limited network.

"Let's sign the contract before things get any louder."

-Really?

Jeong Hae-won's voice sounded pleased. Park Hee-taek asked,

"Are you at your residence? Come to the company first."

-Yes, I'll be there soon.

"Alright, see you soon."

After hanging up, he immediately called the management team. This was the most tense situation since Park Hee-taek had secured his position through connections.

* * *

"What company doesn't know anything? They're not helping at all."

I grumbled after hanging up the phone.

I couldn't tell if they were really clueless or just pretending to be.

Anyway, the company's attitude towards the contract was so lackluster that I was secretly worried, but now that they seemed eager to sign, I wondered if the news might actually be good for me. My mental state was already fragile, and this just added to it.

Money isn't that important to me as long as I can perform on stage.

The only condition I presented to the company was to align my contract period with the other members.

It seemed to be a very burdensome condition for the company. First Light had a unique debut situation, so the contract period itself was short. With over a year of activity, the remaining contract period was even shorter. The company, unlike six months ago, seemed to want to secure a longer contract period with me.

I hope the contract I want is on the table when I go there today.

I thought to myself and carefully opened the door to check outside.

It's unfair that I have to read their moods like this. It's not that I didn't want to say anything; I just thought it wouldn't be good for the team's atmosphere, so I discussed it with the company.

But if I say something now, I might really get a punch, so I plan to just apologize.

When I went to the living room, fortunately, only An Ju-won was there.

"Where are the others?"

"Practice room."

"Ah, they're diligent."

At that moment, my phone rang. It was my mother.

"Mom."

-It's not about the news. People from an entertainment company came to the store.

"…What?"

-They talk really well. I can't think straight at all.

No...?

If this is the case, it really looks like I'm in contact with other companies...

I said, feeling anxious,

"Just tell them to leave. I'm not going to any other company."

-But your dad wants to hear them out. It doesn't cost anything to listen, and it's good to know the contract conditions.

Given the current situation with the news, I really wanted to resolve things quickly.

The fans were just starting to accept me, and I didn't want to get involved in any more drama.

-They've studied you a lot. They seem like they'll take good care of you...

But it seemed that my parents were swayed by the idea of a company that would treat their son well. Honestly, when I joined the company, I knew it would be noisy, and they were not entirely pleased with it.

After thinking for a moment, I finally answered.

"First, I have no intention of going to another company. Ask the CEO. My only condition is to align my contract end date with yours."

An Ju-won still looked distrustful. His expression wasn't good, but he was the one who could pass for a decent face at the first meeting. The others were mostly likely to be rejected.

I said,

"I'll sign the contract right away, so relax, okay?"

While I was putting on my padded jacket, An Ju-won looked serious.

"What are you talking about? Did you originally plan to sign today?"

"No, but I need to clean up the news. The CEO wants to resolve it today."

"Hae-won."

An Ju-won stopped me and said,

"We are angry, and you shouldn't be pushed into signing a contract just because of that."

I nodded while zipping up my jacket.

"It's fine. I just need to check the duration and the signing bonus."

"Our company doesn't let its artists handle contracts well. It's an old company. They used to write ridiculous contracts 20 years ago."

An Ju-won, who started as a trainee at TRV, spoke, and I nodded in agreement. He continued,

"It's not a particularly bad company, but it's definitely not generous with contracts."

"So what's your point?"

"Don't be scared by this. Take your time to sign the contract. Now is the time to propose your own conditions. There's no reason to be pushed around."

Anger is anger, and a contract is a contract. An Ju-won was still on the phone with Hwang Saebek, and I heard Min Ji-ho's voice through the phone.

-Right! But I'm still angry!

-Hey, if you shout that you're angry, you'll just look angrier. But I really am angry.

I also heard Han Hyo-seok's voice.

Hearing the members chatting made me relax.

I asked An Ju-won,

"But the Hae-ttals are worried and want to resolve this quickly."

More honestly, what I was really worried about was that they might be happy to see me go. They might even tell me to leave.

Just as I was thinking this, An Ju-won said,

"We'll take turns posting on X-Bus to ease their worries."

"Ah, thanks."

We left the residence as we talked.

On the way to the company, my phone kept ringing. When I checked, I saw that my father had sent several messages to the family group chat. It was a neatly organized list of what the three entertainment company employees he met today had said.

An Ju-won, sitting next to me, asked,

"Can I see it too?"

"Sure, go ahead."

I nodded, and An Ju-won read the list and said,

"You must have inherited your organizational skills from your father."

Among the list, absurdly, my former agency was included, and the conditions they offered were poor.

[Appealing to old ties]

Father summarized it like that. There was no old tie left, and it was incredibly shameless.

Another agency offered slightly better conditions than TRV, and the last one was Terminal Entertainment.

Terminal Entertainment was offering things that no other agency could.

The signing bonus was impressive, and it included artist protection, guaranteed tours of a certain level, and continuous promotion by VMC.

An Ju-won, who was reading the messages with me, said in a surprised voice,

"Hey, even with exaggeration..."

"The conditions... are too good?"

While I was answering, An Ju-won quickly opened his phone and wrote in the group chat.

[An Ju: Request a meeting. Urgent!]

I chuckled when I saw the message on my phone.

"Hey, what's so urgent? I'm not going."

"How can you not go with those conditions?"

"Why would I go there? Terminal Entertainment is a VMC subsidiary. This is just a settlement offer."

"Oh..."

An Ju-won, who had been worried about the overly good conditions, immediately understood and calmed down when I mentioned 'settlement offer.' He then muttered,

"…But a settlement offer is still money, right?"

He was right, so I laughed a bit. Seeing this money made things clearer for me.

I want to be a member of First Light, and I want to stand on stage with these members as a team. No, I can't even imagine standing on stage without these guys. It seems psychologically and physically impossible.

Even if I can't perform on big stages and end up on smaller ones, I want to live with these seven people, fighting over trivial things, criticizing each other's music in the name of perfection, and interfering in each other's lifestyles. For as long as possible.

"I like it now."

I summarized my unnecessarily long explanation with a chuckle and continued,

"Money isn't the most important thing, but it's not bad to have. I'll use these conditions to my advantage when I re-sign with TRV."