How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 226 Is Kim Ji-won keeping watch?

According to the law of conservation of matter.

The higher the price of goods, the lower the price of people.

Wang Yao had a deep understanding of this from his time in Goryeo.

An entertainment company with the quality of AS female model group would cost at least $500 million to acquire in China, but in Korea it only cost less than a third of that.

The price is very high.

However, for Pledis Entertainment and the AS girl group, Wang Yao's extravagant spending was indeed a bit too ostentatious.

From CEO Han Sung-joo to the AS members, everyone felt that this new CEO from China must have ulterior motives. Their group could barely reach the second tier in the current idol market, far less valuable than a debut spot in 'Produce 101', not to mention the million-dollar investment.

However, when Han Chengzhu announced that Wang Yao had named Lim Nana and Park Ga-hee, everyone immediately understood and their eyes instinctively fell on Lim Nana's wide-eyed, bewildered face.

Nana's delicate face, even without makeup, showed expressions that changed almost three times in a second.

First, there was the shock of having to adjust the development path just as the team was getting on track; then came the surprise of being chosen as a debut spot in 'Genesis 101'; and finally, the fear of being 'handpicked' by Wang Yao.

Wang Yao's handsome face flashed through her mind subconsciously, making her feel extremely complicated.

She knew that if she wanted to pursue a career as a professional artist, she would always face this kind of problem, but she really didn't expect this day to come so soon.

Unlike her teammates who started as trainees in junior high school, Nana is a "latecomer". She was influenced by her outstanding appearance from a young age and took the art route. She was active in school stage plays during junior high and high school. Originally, she hoped to go to university and become an actress and take a traditional route.

However, due to poor academic performance and the excessive time spent on various art training and performances, he could only debut through model competitions. In the end, he was eliminated before reaching the finals because he had no connections. He was then discovered and signed by Han Chengzhu to become an idol trainee. After less than a year of training, he debuted directly.

During her trainee period, she naturally had to become familiar with various rules within the industry. She felt there was a problem, but under the influence of a closed environment for a long time, her understanding was gradually eroded.

Especially after her debut, she encountered a lukewarm reception and faced various pressing challenges and intense competition, which further damaged her original self-confidence.

If being an idol is this difficult, imagine how tough it is for a professional artist.

However, Nana's ambition did not collapse because of the setback. Instead, it was transformed into the motivation to "work twice as hard" to move forward. She transformed herself into a "Queen of Curves" and gradually became the visual center of the group from the beginning to the dance center.

Six months after their debut, AS did indeed experience a turning point, winning the Best Newcomer Group Award at the Song Festival and receiving investment from a TV station for a reality show. Their popularity and album sales both saw a new boost, but this career improvement left her somewhat confused.

Just like when she initially resisted the team's decision to debut with a sexy style, she felt it was a shortcut. But it turns out that the CEO's decision was correct; indeed, only a sexy style could quickly carve out a path in such a competitive idol industry.

Her bottom line also changed from initially resisting shortcuts to accepting them.

After all, someone who has suffered a major blow to their confidence is unwilling to give up any opportunity.

But this shortcut seems a little different.

Nana subconsciously glanced at her teammates and, upon discovering that their eyes held not sympathy or pity but envy, wavered once again.

"Jiaxi, you and Nana get ready. You two are going to meet Chairman Wang tonight to hear his plans. The rest of you come with me to the meeting." Han Chengzhu noticed Lin Zhenna's unusual behavior and gave Park Jiaxi a wink.

After the other teammates left, only Park Ga-hee and Nana, who was still in a daze, remained in the rest room.

As a 30-year-old idol, Park Ga-hee has witnessed the development of almost the entire Korean girl group. She was once the professional backup dancer for Boa, the current top idol in Korea, and was considered the first Korean group to debut in the United States. They even achieved the second place on the Billboard dance chart that year. Later, the group disbanded because they refused to accept similar unspoken rules.

In terms of seniority, it's no exaggeration to say they're living fossils of girl groups.

Even at the age of 30, she still chose to re-debut with AS because of her love for professional artists and dance. After ten years of ups and downs, she still greeted Girls' Generation, who were trainees at the time, on stage.

No one is more qualified to speak about the choices Nana faces right now than she is.

"Well, you can actually choose to refuse," Park Ga-hee said softly, looking at Nana's increasingly unfocused eyes.

"Sister." Nana woke up as if from a dream, her eyes slightly red.

“You still have many opportunities at your age. You're beautiful, hardworking, and talented. You don't necessarily have to compromise so early.” Park Ga-hee patted her head, her smile gentle.
"However, as someone who's been through it all, from a rational and realistic perspective, as a senior and team leader, I still want to tell you that if you choose another path, I know you've always wanted to be an actor..."
But as you've probably seen, the idol industry is this tough, let alone acting. Korea produces around 300 films and dramas a year, but it has tens of thousands of actors, with new faces debuting every year.

Opportunities are limited, and you should know very well that even model talent shows are subject to insider manipulation, let alone these more lucrative projects. For kids from ordinary families like ours, to gain a foothold through hard work and talent, we need not only ability but also a lot of luck.

"Luck?" Nana looked at Park Ga-hee with some confusion.

“Look at Kim Ji-won, she’s quite lucky,” Park Ga-hee said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Nana recalled the marketing account of "Good Luck Sister" Kim Ji-won that she had been seeing frequently recently. It said that after she went to China to participate in the World Expo as a volunteer, she was accidentally photographed by the media and was selected by the local program team to participate in the variety show "Fairy Dress". She gained a lot of popularity in China and received numerous endorsements.

Kim Ji-won's stories are definitely the most widely circulated inspirational tales in Korea, woven into a beautiful fairy tale that attracts countless young people who aspire to and look forward to the entertainment industry.

But my luck doesn't seem to be that good.

"If I refuse, what impact will it have on the company and the team?" Nana took a deep breath and asked somewhat timidly.

If it were just about her personally, perhaps she wouldn't be so conflicted.

But after more than a year of working together day and night, sharing joys and sorrows, she had developed an invisible bond with the rest of the team, and she did not want to affect the team's development because of herself.

"I can't really explain it," Park Ga-hee said with a wry smile, shaking her head.

Who can fathom the thoughts of important figures?
If Chairman Wang really came for Nana, it could indeed have a significant impact on their team.

But why was I singled out?

Does he still like older women?
Park Ga-hee suddenly realized a problem, but when she thought of Wang Yao's face, she had another idea.

At worst, I'll eat double for Nana. After all, I've been single for so many years, and it's rare to have such a legitimate and fair opportunity to have sex.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Park Ga-hee touched Nana's face, her lips unconsciously curving upwards.

It's okay, I can eat two portions!

After leaving Pledis Entertainment, Wang Yao met with Hong Seung-seung, the president of CUBE Entertainment, the company behind 4Minute.

CUBE Entertainment is actually a new company that spun out from JYP. Its founder, Hong Seung-seung, was originally a co-founder of JYP. In 08, he left due to differences in vision with Park Jin-young and went solo.

They also took away Kim HyunA, who was quite controversial in WG at the time. However, in the early stages, the two companies were still sister companies, and JYP's ballad boy group 2AM was still managed by Hong Seung-seung.

However, in 09, Hong Sung-seung launched his own boy group BEAST, squeezing out JYP's market share in boy groups, and the relationship between the two sides reached a freezing point. As Kim Hyun-ah and 4Min gained a foothold in the girl group field, Park Jin-young officially parted ways with Hong Sung-seung, and the two sides went from being brother companies to competitors.

This year, CUBE Entertainment's boy and girl groups have both achieved great success, and they are even preparing to follow JYP's lead in developing overseas markets. They are currently in talks with Sony about a joint venture, but they are still considered a small to medium-sized company.

Wang Yao and Hong Sheng met without much small talk, because this company was a JYP alternative, but not as valuable as JYP. The only promising talent they valued was Kim Hyun-ah. Even if they couldn't reach an agreement, Wang Yao could simply pay the termination fee to poach her.

CUBE Entertainment rose to become one of the top entertainment companies by breaking through with 3rd and 4th generation girl groups and the explosion of boy groups. The current landscape of Goryeo has long been messed up by Wang Yao, and it is still uncertain in what form 3rd and 4th generation girl groups will appear.

Wang Yao directly offered 49% of the shares for $50 and specifically named Kim HyunA as a debut spot on "Produce 101".

Hong Sheng originally wanted to refuse. Although Wang Yao's valuation was reasonable, the amount offered by Soni was about the same. Soni was an international record company with advantages in resources and connections.

However, upon hearing that Wang Yao was also planning to invest in JYP and offer a spot in the 101 debut group, Hong Shengcheng became somewhat undecided.

Genesis 101 is also a top-tier resource, and it can directly leverage the resources of the two major conglomerates, SK and CJ, which is far more attractive than the LG conglomerate influenced by Sony.

Produce 101 is a limited-time group format, renewed every 4 years. These 4 years should be enough for Kim HyunA to become a top star and eventually become the second Lee Hyori to lead their entire company to new heights as a solo artist.

However, Hong Shengcheng's strategy has always been to learn from Park Jin-young's experience, so he plans to observe the situation further. Wang Yao doesn't insist either; after all, investing is about casting a wide net and catching as many fish as possible.

Afterwards, we met with several small agencies and finally selected a few small agencies with strong mid-level management training capabilities. We then absorbed and reorganized them into Tianhuo's subsidiaries to reserve mid-level management and training mentors for the future SNH48 girl group, a group that is designed to cultivate talent in China.

After a day of shopping at the market, I returned home to find guests there.

Kim Ji-won, acting like the hostess, was entertaining Jessica Jung, who was clearly a little uneasy.

"You're back~" Upon seeing Wang Yao return, Kim Ji-won immediately ran over to get him his slippers.

"Why are you here?" Wang Yao asked Jessica Jung.

"Um, Mr. Wang, I'm here to pay my debts." Jessica Jung felt a little embarrassed looking at Kim Ji-won's docile, kitten-like demeanor beside Wang Yao.

As expected of an actor, the speed at which he changes his expression is just too fast.

Just a moment ago she was acting like the empress interrogating the mistress, and now she's suddenly the president's darling wife, huh?

"Oh? There's news?" Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, sat down on the sofa, and pulled Kim Ji-won aside: "I've arranged a car for you, go out and try it out."

"Oh? Really?" Kim Ji-won was overjoyed. She pecked Wang Yao on the cheek, grabbed the keys, and ran out happily.

"Oh, by the way, we'll have some guests coming later. Have them wait outside for a bit," Wang Yao added. He had just received a call from Han Chengzhu, who said he was bringing Park Ga-hee and Lim Jin-na for a visit.

"Okay!" Kim Ji-won replied happily. Having spent so much time together, she naturally knew that Wang Yao didn't want her to hear his conversation with Jessica Jung.

"Mr. Wang really dotes on Miss Kim," Jessica Jung said with a somewhat complicated tone.

A mix of disdain and envy lingered within me.

She just saw that the car keys belonged to a Porsche.

"Let's get down to business." Wang Yao loosened his collar.

"Um, two pieces of news. One is from my teammate Kim Hyoyeon. She said that BB's Lee Seungri is a pimp for female juniors in the industry." Jessica Jung swallowed hard.

"Hmm? Is it that pimp?" Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Yes, it seems to be some high-level executives from big companies. Lee Seungri is specifically targeting some female juniors who aren't doing well, inviting them to bars or parties under the guise of that. But I don't have any evidence. How much is this information worth?" Jessica Jung asked eagerly.

“If you have evidence, I’ll give you a free meal. Photos, recordings, chat logs, anything will do. Wait a minute.” Wang Yao suddenly had a flash of inspiration, stroking his chin thoughtfully for a moment: “Do they use KT to contact us?”

"I'm not too sure about that," Jessica Jung shook her head.

She's an idol, not a secret agent; how could she possibly know all this?

“If I could get my hands on the chat history of the KT group, not only would I waive your bill, but I could also find a way to bring you back from your childhood, and your sister too.” Wang Yao smiled at Jessica Jung.

Jessica Jung shivered involuntarily; Wang Yao's gaze gave her goosebumps.

He licked his slightly dry lips. "Well, I'm not ready to leave the team yet, but I can give it a try."

"And the second piece of news?" Wang Yao nodded with a smile.

"It's about T-ara. Sunny was chatting and mentioned that a new member is joining their group, who is also from a wealthy family with connections. It seems like the two sides aren't getting along very well. Injung and the others are very resistant to the new member, and things are very tense with the company," Jessica Jung said.

Wang Yao frowned and sized up Jessica Jung: "So all your information comes from gossip? Not a single piece of information you investigated yourself? You're just trying to get information for free and then come to me to settle accounts, right?"

Jessica blushed upon hearing this and said in a coquettish voice, "Oh, why do you care where I got the information? Just tell me if it's useful or not."

"Without pictures, there's no proof. How am I supposed to calculate your payment?" Wang Yao scoffed.

Although these two pieces of news came from Jessica Jung's gossip, they are basically true. I won't talk about Seungri, but the one about T-ara should be the sensational troll incident that changed their fate.

"With your identity, a little inquiry should be enough to verify it, right?" Jessica Jung shrank her neck.

"Then what use are you? Why don't you just pay me back? I think your Maserati is pretty nice." Wang Yao smirked.

"No way, I haven't finished paying off my car loan yet!" Jessica Jung snapped.

Although she comes from a well-off family and has a decent income, it's far from the time for her to buy a luxury car of this level outright.

"Then hurry up and find out some reliable information to pay back my information loan first. It doesn't have to be limited to celebrities; information about your company's senior executives or trainees is fine. Of course, it has to be the kind that makes the news," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Mr. Wang, what do you need this kind of information for?" Jessica Jung asked, puzzled.

At first, she thought that Wang Yao might be trying to use this tactic to establish a relationship with her and then seduce her.

However, after realizing Wang Yao's strength at the banquet, she abandoned this absurd idea.

Even big stars like Fan Bingbing and Liu Yifei, who are well-known in Hollywood, are all vying for his attention, not to mention younger and prettier juniors like Kim Ji-won. How could she possibly stand a chance?

However, it is truly puzzling that someone of Wang Yao's status would be so interested in gossip from Goryeo.

Why are all the hobbies of you chaebols so obscure?
"Why are you so concerned? Be careful, or I'll publish a debt collection notice in the newspaper. Girls' Generation's Jessica has hundreds of millions in debt; it'll definitely be big news." Wang Yao sneered.

"Oh! Are you trying to ruin me?! Huh?" Jessica Jung jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, then tilted her head as if she had thought of something: "You didn't invest in some media, did you? You're going to use this news to create hype."

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised by the girl's sharp mind: "Are you the creditor, or am I the creditor?"

"Tsk, I hate rich people." Jessica puffed out her cheeks, picked up her newly bought LV bag, and prepared to leave.

"Your bag is nice. If you don't need it anymore, you can list it on the MLS (Mulan Street International) treasurer's page for recycling later," Wang Yao casually reminded him.

MLS's business in Korea has already begun to expand. The first step is to focus on the second-hand luxury goods transactions of the treasurer, and then to start promoting categories such as clothing and cosmetics after the group buying and e-commerce platforms are finalized.

"Aww," Jessica Jung responded.

As I stepped out of the villa, I immediately spotted the conspicuous, flashy red Porsche Panamera Turbo parked across the street.

This car is not commonly seen in Korea. The last time Jessica Jung rode in it was in Wang Yao's black one. After riding in it, she wanted to replace her Maserati, but it was too expensive and she couldn't bring herself to do it.

I never expected Wang Yao to give Kim Ji-won this car. I thought it was a small sports car like the 718 that's suitable for girls. I was overwhelmed with mixed feelings and envy.

Jessica Jung tried to pretend she hadn't seen anything and turned away, but the car door opened and Kim Ji-won got out, followed by two tall women.

"Huh? Jessica." Park Ga-hee greeted her with some surprise.

She spent the afternoon preparing Nana mentally and finally arranged for Wang Yao to visit. Just as she rang the doorbell, she unexpectedly bumped into Kim Ji-won, who was about to go out for a test drive.

Park Ga-hee even checked the house number, and it was indeed given by President Han. But how did Kim Ji-won come out from inside?

Moreover, judging from their attire, it's clearly loungewear.

Kim Ji-won realized that the two were probably guests invited by Wang Yao, and warmly pulled them into the car to wait outside for Wang Yao to finish talking with Jessica Jung.

I finally managed to sort out the relationship between Kim Ji-won and Wang Yao, but then Jessica Jung came along.

What is going on?
Is Kim Ji-won keeping watch?
"Jiaxi unnie? Long time no see." Jessica Jung was taken aback, but then greeted her warmly.

(End of this chapter)