get-shopping Chapter 116: Enter (4)
Chapter 116: Enter (4)
The amount that had been lying dormant in Kang Rojun’s bank account was tens of millions of won. Rojun suddenly shot up from his bed without realizing it himself. Wondering if he had seen it correctly, he checked the money again.‘One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten- ten million.’
It was definitely tens of millions of won. To be exact, it was slightly over 20 million won.
'More than ten million won appearing in my bank account.'
Until now, the most he had ever touched was in the one-million-won range. But now, just like that, twenty million won had been deposited.
And more than that.
'Th- this is the money from my early activities being settled now, right??'
This was just the beginning. The current tens of millions of won included only the initial and mid-stage earnings from Kang Rojun’s appearance on 'Produce That 100!' as well as his work as a writer, lyricist, and actor. The latter half and copyright fees that would be deposited every time his works were sold in the future were separate.
Especially, the royalties would last a lifetime.
‘Wow- this is crazy.’
Of course, early on, whether it was as an idol, actor, writer, or lyricist, Kang Rojun had been virtually unknown. In most sectors of the entertainment industry, it is extremely difficult for unknowns or rookies to even earn 500,000 won, let alone ten million.
In fact, even just debuting is something to be grateful for.
However, Rojun had not done just one thing, he had been working on multiple things at once, and thanks to attention from people other than PD Woo Han-suk or PD Jung Soo-ryeong, he had earned over 20 million won from the start. In truth, the money Kang Rojun was starting to earn from this point forward, after the success of 'Produce That 100!' and ‘Rental Lover’, when his recognition skyrocketed, was the real deal.
Because his market value was properly established now.
Though he had not yet made a breakthrough in the idol realm, as a writer, actor, and lyricist, he had hit a home run. Particularly on the writer side, it was quite noticeable. When there are no results, a writer is judged only by their potential, but once results are available, it becomes possible to negotiate.
The viewership rating for the first episode of ‘Rental Lover’ was a whopping 21%.
Moreover, the original writer was Kang Rojun himself.
Clearly, there would be tremendous synergy, and Rojun was well aware of it.
‘If I work hard at both my main and side jobs, my market value will keep going up.’
He couldn’t help but smile. The money was nice, but what excited him even more was the future that lay ahead.
‘Damn, at this rate, I might even get to handle money in the hundreds of millions?? No, billions?? Really??!’
Billions. The thought of handling money he couldn’t even have imagined before was no longer just a dream, and any trace of sleepiness completely vanished from Kang Rojun.
“Huh?? Rojun, where are you going?”
“Just to the break room for a bit.”
Kang Rojun chose to work overtime.
‘This is fun, seriously.’
Later.
A day passed, and Thursday dawned. Kang Rojun had fallen asleep at dawn, and he only managed to get four hours of sleep, but he was full of energy. He immediately got started on his daily mission.
After eating breakfast, Rojun headed to the large practice room.
Inside the practice room, Si-hoo, Kang Min, and Do-kyung were already waiting.
“Rojun hyung is here.”
“Hyung, did you go running again?? Awesome.”
“Since Rojun’s here, let’s get started right away.”
Officially, all of the evaluation stages for 'Produce That 100!' had ended. Nevertheless, the reason the final four winners were gathered in the practice room was simple. There had been a special order from PD Woo Han-suk. For the final episode of 'Produce That 100!' airing next Friday the 20th. Because of the performances they would be showing in the final episode, which would even be broadcast live.
Once everything ended, Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang Min, and Do-kyung would present a few performances to the viewers.
'Produce', 'Survival 100', even 'Bold'.
Originally group songs, but in a four-person version.
A sort of final farewell from 'Produce That 100!' to the viewers.
Since the final winners were capable of of composing, writing lyrics, performing rap parts, and choreographing dances, it wasn’t a difficult mission.
Soon, Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang Min, and Do-kyung dived into practice.
Then around lunchtime on Thursday, a familiar group arrived at Gimpo Airport.
“This is the first time we’ve come to Korea back-to-back like this.”
“This time, unlike last time, the topic is heavier.”
They spoke in Japanese. At the head of the group was a foreigner with curly yellow hair. He was Executive Director Tom Cavill, and the group was Netflix Japan. The reason they had returned to Korea was simple.
Because of the script 'Like a Kaleidoscope' that Kang Rojun had submitted.
Soon, Executive Director Tom Cavill made an announcement to his staff.
“At tomorrow’s meeting with ‘Culture Drawer', we must secure this work.”
The meeting with 'Culture Drawer' was scheduled for tomorrow.
Same day, afternoon.
In the practice room, Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang Min, and Do-kyung sat in a circle, looking over stacks of papers. On the covers of these stacks were the names of various entertainment agencies. In other words, these papers were organized summaries of the self-promotions the entertainment agencies had presented the previous day. There were ten of them.
The boys were discussing with considerable depth.
“Judging from the PR, EY Entertainment seems to be the best.”
“Wasn't GN Entertainment decent too?”
“Yeah, but I read an article yesterday saying GN Entertainment is scaling back their idol division.”
“Really??”
“Either way, wouldn’t it be best to choose from the Big Three, GN, EY, and Big Star?”
“I think so too. For idols, you can’t ignore things like agency size, influence, and experience.”
“True, and KRO or Harmony didn’t really give off a trustworthy vibe.”
Si-hoo, Kang Min, and Do-kyung did most of the talking, while Kang Rojun was more of an observer.
‘I did some searching too, but the range of knowledge is totally different.’
This would be the nest they’d settle into for the next few years. Contract conditions and such would be dealt with in a later, more advanced stage, for now, choosing the agency was the urgent task. At that moment, baby-permed Si-hoo let out a small laugh.
“I can’t believe we’re choosing from these kinds of agencies……”
Kang Min and Do-kyung agreed wholeheartedly.
“Seriously. Normally, even getting in as a trainee here would require tons of auditions.”
“Now it’s the agencies auditioning for us, and we’re the ones choosing, it’s kind of surreal.”
As the conversation seemed to be veering off track again, Kang Rojun stepped in.
“Isn’t it too early to choose just one now? We still need to see the viewer vote results anyway.”
“Right.”
“Then let’s just rank our top five. From sixth place onward, let’s just not think about them. Too many options only make it harder to decide.”
“Good idea!”
Thirty minutes later, the first-round rankings for the agencies were set. The eldest, Si-hoo, handled the summary.
“First place: EY Entertainment. Second place: Big Star Entertainment. Third place: GN Entertainment. Fourth: Harmony. Fifth: KRO Entertainment. That’s the list.”
“Of course, the Big Three take first, second, and third.”
“Honestly, the other agencies are big too, but when it comes to idols, they just can’t beat these three.”
“These are dream agencies for countless idol hopefuls. I was one of them. And now we’re entering them with a free pass.”
“EY, Big Star, and GN definitely have some amazing idols.”
“EY Entertainment’s ‘Bambidi’ seems to be prepping for a U.S. concert now.”
“Will they make it?”
“I don’t know, but just getting on the Billboard chart was already huge.”
“Was it 40th? First girl group to do it, right? It’s insane. A Korean girl group ranking on the Billboard chart.”
Though EY, Big Star, and GN, known as the Big Three of the idol market, were ranked in the top three, the evaluation for GN was rather lukewarm.
“GN Entertainment’s overall vibe is off. Their recently launched boy group and girl group both flopped.”
"Honestly, I feel the same way. You can't ignore trends- GN Entertainment is still in 3rd place because it's part of the Big 3, but it feels like other entertainment companies will overtake it soon."
“I prefer EY and Big Star. GN is just so-so……”
Compared to GN Entertainment, EY and Big Star Entertainment received much higher praise, especially EY, which was a hot topic. Rojun, listening to the conversation, crossed his arms.
‘They’re leaning hard toward EY Entertainment. Like, about 70%, maybe? EY was the one with the longest PR session, right? The briefing was definitely solid.’
He, too, began leaning toward EY Entertainment.
Honestly, among the Big Three agencies, their scale and everything else were all impressive, what mattered from here on would be the finer details.
‘If things continue like this, it’ll probably go to EY Entertainment.’
Meanwhile, in the office of a major media outlet in Seoul.
The office was buzzing with noise from countless reporters. The sounds of ringing phones and clacking keyboards filled the space. At that moment, a tousle-haired man entered the office. He was a reporter as well, and after passing by his messy desk, he knocked on the door to the chief editor’s office.
-Knock knock.
Inside, a man with graying hair was on the phone. He gestured for a moment, signaling the visitor to wait, and as soon as he put down the phone, the chief editor spoke briefly to the tousle-haired reporter.
“What is it.”
The tousle-haired reporter gave a sly grin.
“Chief, I’ve got an exclusive scoop.”
At the word ‘scoop’, the graying chief furrowed his brow.
“What kind of scoop.”
“Heh heh.”
The reporter, grinning like a bit of a pervert, leaned closer to the chief and replied in a near-whisper.
“EY Entertainment’s tax evasion case.”
In an instant, the chief’s expression changed.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, it’s offshore tax evasion, so it’s a big one. I’ll compile it and report back to you soon.”
“How long will it take?”
“Won’t take long, two weeks at most. I’ve only gotten the source for now, so I need to do some digging.”
"EY Entertainment, huh-"
Being one of the Big Three in the country, the chief was also quite familiar with EY Entertainment.
“Didn't an article already come out a couple years ago hinting at tax evasion over there?”
“Yes. But whether EY Entertainment pulled some strings behind the scenes or what, it all quieted down quickly. That’s why this time I’m going to be fully prepared and hit hard.”
“If it’s a false report, we’ll have to deal with lawsuits and all that hassle, you know?”
“I know. Don’t worry. With the case from two years ago and this one tied in together, if we package it right when we drop it…”
The tousle-haired reporter’s perverted grin deepened.
“EY Entertainment will probably be shaken to its core.”
A few hours later, at night.
After finishing practice with the others, Kang Rojun showered and headed not to his room, but to the break room. Seeing him carrying a laptop and a guitar, it seemed like he was going to do another night shift.
‘Starting today, I’m making a song.’
It was something he had discussed with Si-hoo earlier. Kang Rojun would try composing a song on his own. Nothing too complicated, something simple.
‘Will it work? Who knows. I’ll just give it a shot.’
In the empty break room, Rojun set up his laptop and guitar.
And then.
“Hm-”
Right before diving into serious work, Kang Rojun suddenly got lost in thought.
‘The agency we- I’ll be joining.’
In truth, since the earlier conversation with Si-hoo, Kang Min, and Do-kyung, the agencies had been constantly on his mind. The usual worries and concerns anyone would have. Especially since this would be his main base for at least the next few years. He scratched his black hair roughly.
‘They’re all big companies, so maybe any of them would be fine? It’s not like thinking about it will give me an answer right now. As long as I keep running hard like now, it’ll be fine wherever I go.’
True to his personality, Kang Rojun seemed to brush it off neatly, but he was still young and had zero experience with this kind of thing. The thought didn’t disappear cleanly.
‘Whew- This is the kind of thing 'AI Automation' should analyze for me.’
Could it, though? 'AI Automation' was overpowered, sure, but could it really do something like this? Without much hope, Rojun picked up his phone. He tapped the 'AI Automation' section of the ‘AI Simulation’ app. It was more out of curiosity than anything else.
-[Through ‘AI Automation’ analysis, the desired outcome can be achieved. What would you like to achieve? (Only options related to the desired occupation: Idol)]
For the first time, Rojun typed in a request different from usual into the blank space. He listed ten entertainment agencies, including the Big Three, EY Entertainment, Big Star Entertainment, and GN Entertainment, and asked the system to score how well each company matched with him or with his fellow members. The longest request he’d written so far was now complete.
‘What am I even doing? Like this would actually work.’
He hit confirm and chuckled.
But then.
-[AI Analysis in progress... Analysis complete!]
'AI Automation', which was analyzing the request, showed a result that was completely unexpected.
-[To achieve the desired result, 150 coins are required.]
It needed 150 coins? That meant.
‘It works? It actually works??’
'AI Automation' could provide the answer Rojun was looking for. And it wasn’t cheap. 150 coins. But Rojun, now slightly serious, thought.
‘It’s 'AI Automation'. If it’s asking for 150 coins, it must be giving something worthwhile.’
Well, 150 coins wasn't small, but for the current Rojun, it was a level he could earn in a little over a week. More than that, Kang Rojun was more curious. As a result.
-Swish.
He pressed the confirm button.
-[Using 150 coins.]
-[Applying… Application complete!]
Once again, the phone screen showed a spinning circle. Interestingly, there was no stinging pain in his wrist at all. 'AI Automation' simply displayed a message on Rojun’s phone screen.
[EY Entertainment / 3 points]
[Big Star Entertainment / 28 points]
[GN Entertainment / 95 points]
[KRO Entertainment / 73 points]
[Harmony Entertainment / 69 points]
.
.
.
.
Kang Rojun, who was scanning through the listed items, slightly furrowed his brow.
‘EY Entertainment got 3 points?? Why is the score for them complete trash?’