Chapter 85: The Retailers Who Were So Angry They Spat Blood

After Ma Jianglin published his music review of Lee Yunjae's album, the second and third music critics also released their insights on Lee Yunjae's new album. Without exception, they all praised it highly.

The intricate composition and lyrics were the main points of their high praise, and it was especially commendable that everything was personally created and composed by Lee Yunjae. Although Lee Yunjae's four songs were not as widely known as BIGBANG's "Lies," after all, the current music scene was dominated by dance tracks. However, many music critics affirmed Lee Yunjae's creative talent, comparing him to G-Dragon.

At YG Entertainment.

"What... They're exaggerating about Lee Yunjae too much. Can he really be compared to G-Dragon..." Kang Daesung indignantly spoke up for G-Dragon. BIGBANG had been active for a year and a half and finally reached the status of a top group, thanks to G-Dragon. One could say that without G-Dragon, there would be no BIGBANG today.

G-Dragon picked up the magazine and read it.

"Alright, his talent is undeniable. Can you create four hit songs on your own... Although 'Lies' made G-Dragon and our BIGBANG famous, it doesn't mean we can deny others' abilities. Arrogance will only harm yourself in the end!" Choi Seung-hyun's words were like a wake-up call, striking Kang Daesung's heart, but it was uncertain how much he would take to heart.

Dong Young-pae was browsing the official BIGBANG message board and said to G-Dragon with a smile, "G-Dragon, the VIPs are urging you to create another hit song to solidify your position in the music industry. It seems that due to Lee Yunjae, everyone is also worried about you!"

G-Dragon shook his head and put the magazine on the table with a bitter smile. "Do you think creating is that easy... To write a good song, even if you rack your brains for a month, you might not get any inspiration. It's something intangible but real, not something you can just say out loud!"

Lee Yunjae is indeed a talented person. This is evident from the fact that he created 'Spell' four years ago, when he hadn't even turned eighteen! A trainee who hadn't even turned eighteen could create 'Spell,' which is enough to show his talent. I can't even remember where I was or what I was doing four years ago, but I definitely didn't have Lee Yunjae's ability.

"Don't be discouraged. You should be happy to meet someone of equal talent. Who knows who will be the supporting act... We all believe in your talent!" Lee Seung-hyun patted G-Dragon's shoulder.

G-Dragon had a feeling after listening to Lee Yunjae's 'Elimination' that if Lee Yunjae debuted, he would be his strongest competitor. Now his prediction is gradually coming true. Rather than being nervous, G-Dragon is more excited, feeling a surge of passion. Only competition can ignite passion and inspire the creation of good works. Without competition, one would become increasingly lazy, and without passion, how could one create good works?

Therefore, G-Dragon is not worried at all. On the contrary, he hopes to see Lee Yunjae's excellent works and even learn from them to inspire his own creativity.

More and more music critics are publishing their reviews of Lee Yunjae's new album. Normally, a newcomer wouldn't receive such high attention, but due to the recent online smear campaign against Lee Yunjae and LOEN, the matter has become a hot topic online and even in real life. Even fans have been confused by the one-sided negative comments.

Fans who have listened to Lee Yunjae's songs are also puzzled. The four songs are all very enjoyable and don't sound as bad as the online comments suggest. This contradictory feeling has led to Lee Yunjae's album being largely ignored. However, the download count for the four songs on MelOn has exceeded three million.

Three million, a terrifying number, all within a few short days. It must be said that while the online smear campaign was intended to defame Lee Yunjae, it also served as a powerful promotion. Without these online smearers, Lee Yunjae's song downloads might have only reached 800,000. After all, he is not as famous as groups like TVXQ or SS501.

The online smearers are helpless and furious about this phenomenon. Their intention was to make Lee Yunjae's album unsellable and to make his songs unheard, leading to his disappearance from the entertainment industry. Now, although the album is still ignored, over three million people have heard his songs, and some fans, after watching the MV for 'Elimination,' are curious about the content of the other three MVs. This curiosity was not as strong before, but after the calls from critics like Ma Jianglin, fans' desire to find out more has grown stronger, and they can't wait to buy a copy to see.

Over four days, nearly a thousand online smearers launched a full-scale 'bombing' campaign against Lee Yunjae on the internet, trying to attack him. However, they faced a Lee Yunjae who was completely unfazed and remained calm and composed. The result was that Lee Yunjae successfully weathered the four most difficult days, and the negative impact of the online smearers turned into the strongest promotion for him. On the real-time search chart of Straw Hat, Lee Yunjae's name has risen to fourth place, the second time he has entered the real-time search chart since the release of 'Elimination.' Last time he was tenth, but this time he is fourth, a rise of six places. Even TVXQ and BIGBANG are below him. The real-time search chart, which is updated daily, has seen Lee Yunjae hold his position for three days.

"Finally, things are looking up!"

Girls' Generation, TVXQ, BoA, Shinhwa, Super Junior, KARA, Park Soo-yeon, Lee Kye-ri, Jeon Bora... and other friends of Lee Yunjae all breathed a sigh of relief. These past few days, their nerves have been on edge, and they were always on their phones during breaks, checking forums, message boards, and the one-sided smear campaigns online to see if they had been reversed. It wasn't until today, with the release of various music magazines that gave high praise to Lee Yunjae's album, that the one-sided trend finally began to reverse.

These past few days felt like they were reliving Lee Yunjae's debut journey, but when they debuted, it was much smoother. Lee Yunjae's debut journey was absolutely unique and thrilling among artists. If LOEN had been slightly weaker and Lee Yunjae slightly more timid, he would have collapsed within three days and been put on hold by LOEN. Fortunately, LOEN was strong, and Lee Yunjae also held on for four days, breaking through the dark clouds and seeing the bright sun again.

After the reviews from various well-known music critics were published, fans no longer believed the online rumors and began to visit retail music stores to buy Lee Yunjae's album.

"Boss, give me a copy of Lee Yunjae's album!" A young man, holding his girlfriend's hand, walked into a retail store and asked for Lee Yunjae's album.

"Sorry... We don't have it!" The boss's face was not pleasant.

"What... We don't have it?! It can't be sold out... Do you have any posters?" The young man asked again, but the answer was still no.

Finally, the young man's girlfriend couldn't help but complain, "What's going on... If you don't have anything, why even open a music store... Honey, let's go to another store!"

"Okay, honey!"

With the customer-first mentality, the boss watched the young couple leave the store, but his smile immediately dropped, and his face turned a deep red. He inwardly cursed, "Are you blind... My shelves are full of albums. TVXQ, BoA, BIGBANG, Girls' Generation, Shinhwa, SS501, FTISLAND, what don't I have, and why do you want Lee Yunjae's album!!"

The boss was completely frustrated, and the young man's girlfriend's words were a deep wound to his fragile heart.

This kind of situation was happening in retail stores all over, with fans leaving with the complaint, "You don't have anything, why even open a store," leaving most retailers so angry they spat blood.

However, there were still some retailers who were smiling, those who hesitated and did not return the albums to LOEN, nor followed the majority of retailers, but instead stood as a small group of fence-sitters between LOEN and the retailers.

By 7 PM, the 40,000 unsold albums that were still out in the market were sold out, even the posters. Fans could not buy Lee Yunjae's album from any retail store, and even the posters were unavailable.

Thus, fans blamed the retailers, saying, "You do retail, but you don't stock enough inventory, do you even want to do business?" These complaints left the retailers so angry they spat blood and closed their stores to sulk. One customer came to buy Lee Yunjae's album, and another pair came for the same reason. Rather than face the frustration, they decided to close early.

The fans were extremely frustrated, unable to buy the album, which was a rare occurrence. At this moment, LOEN announced a message: "Fans who want to buy Lee Yunjae's official album, please go to the MelOn homepage. There is a direct link to the LOEN online store. The original price is 20,000 KRW, now only 19,500 KRW, and you get a free poster of Lee Yunjae. We will also randomly select 500 lucky fans to receive a personally signed poster and album by Lee Yunjae. Limited time offer, first come, first served!"

Upon hearing this news, the retailers all stumbled and fell to the ground, rolling their eyes and being sent to the hospital. They were so angry, driven to the brink by LOEN.

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End of Chapter 85