Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty: S.E.S +神话

On the sunny and unusually clear day of November 10th, the last vestiges of summer had completely faded, and the cool north wind urged people to wear more clothes.

In the cafeteria of Cheong潭 Elementary School, the two-story dining hall was already packed with students, even more bustling than a market. Lee Yunjae, who rarely ate in the cafeteria, should have been sound asleep at this time, but in recent days, he seemed to have changed this habit.

At this moment, in an inconspicuous corner of the cafeteria, Lee Yunjae was enjoying his meal. Across from him sat a young girl with braids, who occasionally looked up at Lee Yunjae with a squinting smile before continuing to eat. This girl was none other than Seo Joo-hyun.

Seo Joo-hyun, three years younger than Lee Yunjae, was a first-grader at Cheong潭 Elementary School. Her family had moved to Cheong潭-dong due to her parents' work, and she had transferred to Cheong潭 Elementary School.

As for why Lee Yunjae was eating at the same table as Seo Joo-hyun and sharing the same lunch box, the story was a long one.

Since the day Lee Yunjae accepted Seo Joo-hyun's gratitude and opened the yellow-wrapped lunch box, he found it filled with deliciously cooked Korean beef and ribs, seemingly a thank-you from Seo Joo-hyun's mother.

Feeling that he couldn't finish it all by himself, Lee Yunjae shared the lunch with Seo Joo-hyun that day. Lee Yunjae had few friends at school, and Seo Joo-hyun was new, so they quickly became acquainted. From then on, Seo Joo-hyun would bring extra food and eat lunch with Lee Yunjae, gradually forming a habit. Lee Yunjae also started to eat on time, and Seo Joo-hyun began to hear about the "legends" surrounding Lee Yunjae, becoming curious about this senior who was often late and slept in class.

Thus, Lee Yunjae and his junior, Seo Joo-hyun, became friends, though their friendship had a bit of a "drinking and eating" flavor, as they mostly only ate together during lunch, with Seo Joo-hyun contributing her homemade lunch.

...

Days passed, and the departure of BoA, the transfer of Yoo Seung-ho, and the other three trainees to other agencies did not significantly impact the trainees. The situation quickly settled down, as if nothing had happened. Lee Yunjae, like the other trainees, resumed his training, aiming for a good performance in the monthly exam at the end of November.

On November 15th, the debut documentary of S.E.S. officially began airing on SBS, instantly capturing the attention of countless people. Before this, there had never been a female idol group. Early groups like Seo Taiji and Boys and current mainstream groups like Sechs Kies and HOT were all male groups. The sudden appearance of a new female group attracted a lot of attention, standing out like a red flower among green leaves.

The Japanese sweetness of Yoo Soo-young, the American romanticism of Lee Jin, and the Korean delicacy of Choi Sung-hee—three girls, three flavors—quickly attracted a loyal fan base, which gradually grew into a large community.

S.E.S. pioneered the era of female idol groups in the Korean music industry. Being the first to try, they reaped the initial benefits. Since the debut documentary aired, the entire country was abuzz with talk of S.E.S. The benefits were not limited to S.E.S. but also extended to SBS. The daily 6 PM broadcast of the S.E.S. debut documentary attracted a large number of loyal viewers, causing the ratings to soar, leaving the SBS staff monitoring the ratings in awe.

By this point, S.M. Entertainment had debuted two idol groups: HOT and the semi-debut S.E.S. Why "semi-debut"? Because they had not yet performed on the major music shows of the three major TV stations or entered the music charts, meaning they had not officially appeared on various TV stations or in front of the public, remaining in a semi-debut state.

On November 25th, a particularly special day, Lee Yunjae made his first appearance before the national audience. The segment where he inadvertently "stole the show" was not edited out but even had subtitles. When Lee Yunjae, carrying a teddy bear, appeared on screen, he instantly caught everyone's attention, making them exclaim, "What a cute little boy!"

Although Lee Yunjae was young, he already had the classic look of a cute boy, reminiscent of the protagonist "Kintaro" from "Iron Man 28." His bangs covered his eyebrows, half-obscuring his eyes, and his chubby face, combined with the super-cute teddy bear, quickly won the hearts of the audience. Despite his brief appearance of only a few minutes, many felt it was too short.

Even though it was his first appearance to the public, lasting only a few minutes, Lee Yunjae left a deep impression. All loyal viewers of the debut documentary remembered the cute boy who appeared in the S.E.S. debut documentary.

On November 27th, after the final episode of the debut documentary aired, the next day, S.E.S. posters appeared in many prominent places, such as bus stops, department stores, and most notably, a massive four-story poster at the entrance of S.M. Entertainment.

With S.M. Entertainment's aggressive promotional campaign, almost half of South Korea knew that a female group called S.E.S. would debut on SBS's "Popular Song" that day.

Some people eagerly awaited the chance to see S.E.S. perform on TV, while others, initially uninterested, gradually became curious due to the intense promotional efforts.

At 4:10 PM, many people tuned in to SBS, and "Popular Song" aired as scheduled.

S.E.S.'s performance did not disappoint. As soon as they took the stage, they instantly captured the attention of countless viewers, and their excellent performance earned thunderous applause.

On the same day, at 6 PM, fans who had been indifferent or观望ing began to visit music stores, and the first wave of S.E.S. album buyers paid and purchased the albums. The sales quickly escalated, and the music stores ran out of stock, hanging "Sold Out" signs.

This sales surge was seen in music stores and album vendors across South Korea, with S.E.S. albums selling out almost immediately.

In just six hours, S.E.S. earned S.M. Entertainment its first pot of gold. By midnight, the sales of S.E.S.'s new album reached nearly 100,000 copies in just six hours.

This was a staggering number, especially considering the entertainment industry was at its peak. However, for a new group, selling 100,000 albums within 24 hours was rare.

Seo Taiji and Boys' first album sold 1.7 million copies, an almost unbreakable record. HOT's first album sold 950,000 copies, the second peak after Seo Taiji and Boys, given the six-year gap between the two groups. HOT could be seen as a continuation of Seo Taiji and Boys, formed in the year of Seo Taiji and Boys' disbandment. If S.E.S. continued its current sales trend, it had the potential to surpass these predecessors.

However, after the initial sales surge, the second day saw a slight dip, with sales dropping to 50,000 copies. Nevertheless, selling 150,000 copies in just two days was impressive. Although it fell short of the predecessors, this number satisfied Lee Soo-man, who believed that surpassing 500,000 was not a problem.

500,000 was a milestone for a new female group, a record that future groups would find hard to surpass. Lee Soo-man believed this number would increase, eventually reaching 650,000, and this was just within South Korea.

As time passed, S.E.S.'s final album sales stabilized at around 650,000, matching Lee Soo-man's initial predictions. This number satisfied Lee Soo-man and earned the three members of S.E.S. their first pot of gold.

With the S.E.S. craze, 1997 drew to a close, and 1998 arrived, a new year.

However, this year was destined to deal a heavy blow to the Korean music industry.

...

Lee Yunjae spent his second Spring Festival at the Park family's home. As usual, he brought a poster and album signed by each member of S.E.S. and inscribed with personal messages, which thrilled Park Soo-yeon. She exclaimed that having a brother who was a trainee at S.M. Entertainment was convenient, and she was almost becoming the president of the school's fan club because she always got the latest news about S.M. Entertainment's stars. She was now eagerly looking forward to the group called "Myth" that Lee Yunjae had mentioned.

On February 14th, Lee Yunjae received a birthday card, undoubtedly from Park Soo-yeon. She maintained her "frugal" style, giving him a birthday card and a birthday wish.

Meanwhile, S.M. Entertainment officially announced the debut of a new, uniquely styled male group, distinct from HOT, and began promoting it.

This time, Lee Soo-man, armed with the first profits from S.E.S., invested heavily in the promotion of Myth. The promotional campaign was even more extensive than S.E.S.'s, clearly showing his preference for male groups, which was understandable given the male-dominated market.

From March, large posters featuring six handsome boys, with styles surpassing HOT and Sechs Kies, appeared in many high-traffic areas like department stores, bus stops, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, and Seodaemun. The "Myth" name on the posters left a deep impression on many.

By March 10th, after ten days of intense promotion, Myth had captured the hearts of many young girls. Clearly, in this era, male groups still dominated.

The highly anticipated debut documentary of Myth finally aired at 6 PM on the 10th, and the six charming boys instantly attracted countless young girls, looking even better in person than in the posters.

The little boy who had appeared in the S.E.S. debut documentary reappeared in Myth's debut documentary, making Lee Yunjae a minor sensation. This was not surprising, given his close relationship with Myth. They often spent time together, and Lee Yunjae learned advanced dance moves from them. Living in the same dorm and being filmed by the same director, his appearance was inevitable. This might also have been a way for Lee Soo-man to promote Lee Yunjae for free.

In the Myth debut documentary, the group taught Lee Yunjae advanced dance moves, and his practice session caused a significant stir. Girls found him incredibly cute and searched for information about him, but only found trivial details. Lee Soo-man deliberately kept his information confidential, so the public knew nothing, especially with the limited internet access at the time.

Although the public did not know Lee Yunjae's real information, his face was deeply etched in the hearts of Myth and S.E.S. fans, who speculated that he was a close junior to Myth and S.E.S. and might debut in the future.

Time passed, and the highly anticipated Myth finally debuted on March 24th.

Again on SBS's "Popular Song," Myth officially debuted. This was S.M. Entertainment's third group and second male group. Unlike HOT, Myth was more versatile, excelling in both rap and dance, making them more well-rounded than HOT, which focused more on singing.

From the start, fans were amazed by their dance skills. Neither Seo Taiji and Boys nor HOT could match Myth's dance prowess. Members like Moon Hee-joon, Lee Min-woo, Park Jung-woo, and Shin Hye-sung were dance experts, having won many dance competitions. After S.M. Entertainment's training, their skills were exceptional. Their unique rap style also captivated many young people.

However, it seemed that fate was against them. Just before and after their debut, South Korea experienced a major flood and the global Asian financial crisis, which severely impacted the country. Many people lost their jobs and faced unemployment.

With basic needs like food and housing becoming issues, few people had the time or money to pay attention to Myth or buy their albums.

Under these circumstances, Myth's first album sold only 60,000 copies, a shocking number that caused a significant shock to S.M. Entertainment.

Other agencies, seeing S.M. Entertainment's misfortune, laughed. The success of S.E.S.'s album had already made them envious, and now Lee Soo-man was launching a second male group after HOT, causing them anxiety. Seeing the strength of the six members of Myth in the debut documentary made agencies like YG, DSP, and Tae Hong nervous. However, when Myth's first album sold only 60,000 copies, the agency presidents, who had been worried to the point of losing their appetite, were overjoyed.

Myth's misfortune and S.M. Entertainment's misfortune made their lives better, with improved appetites and spirits.

Under immense external pressure, Lee Soo-man, along with Yoo Young-jin and Kim Sung-soo, held several meetings to analyze the failure. While it seemed that the flood and financial crisis were significant factors, Lee Soo-man saw it differently. Even with these unavoidable disasters, Myth's album should have sold more than 100,000 copies, not just 60,000, which was worse than a third-rate artist. Despite being top-tier artists, their album sales were subpar, indicating a severe mistake in the company's decision-making.

After several detailed discussions, they identified the root cause—HOT.

Yes, HOT!

Although Myth's style was different from HOT, the album's production, led by the renowned producer Yoo Young-jin, who had worked with HOT, resulted in songs that were too similar to HOT. The most popular song, "ChunilYuhon," was no exception. This similarity led to the failure of Myth's first album.

This highlighted the importance of having a unique style. Blindly imitating others would never gain recognition, as one would always live in the shadow of the original, unable to surpass them.

Although the first album failed, it did not mean Myth lacked talent. It was just a matter of bad luck and a style too similar to HOT. Their skills were even superior to HOT, and Lee Soo-man did not give up on them. Instead, he pushed them harder and sought top-notch producers to create a unique style for Myth, aiming to make them a true, one-of-a-kind group, free from any resemblance to HOT.

In less than half a year, S.M. Entertainment debuted two exceptional groups, showcasing their star-making ability. Although Myth temporarily failed, many fans still looked forward to their new album, hoping for a surprise.

S.M. Entertainment's star-making ability was evident, attracting many aspiring stars to the company...

(PS: The plot is speeding up... the protagonist can't always be a supporting character...)