Peninsula Platinum Era

Chapter 15 The Clever Little Bear

"Although there are some talented people inside, the vast majority are rubbish. If we want to execute that project, we still need to find more fresh blood from outside."

Ms. Min did not say anything about Chen Shijun's purpose for coming. Instead, she showed that she was dedicated to the company's girl group project and said that she had no selfish motives.

"Everything I do is to integrate resources, and I don't care what Source Music thinks of me."

Seeing her seemingly selfless and impartial demeanor, Chen Shijun smiled kindly, not taking the punctuation mark to heart.

Ms. Min noticed that the young man appeared refined and easy to deal with; he seemed like the kind of tech guy who worked in a "high-tech company" and was a complete novice in the entertainment industry.

"Of course we need to continue to find new talent. Representative Su has already made relevant plans. Everyone wants to do this project well, and Representative Su has made many sacrifices for this."

Chen Shijun mentioned GFRIEND, a group that had achieved great success in the past, and the middle-aged woman opposite him unconsciously frowned, clearly not being a fan of the group.

"This has nothing to do with me. He has all the decision-making power in GFRIEND, but I guess it's the right decision made by Representative Su."

Ms. Min stated that Big Hit needs to quickly launch a group that is suitable for the international market, as GFRIEND's positioning has been regarded as an outdated asset, although the group can still bring revenue to the company.

However, compared with its competitors TWICE, it lacks die-hard fans and faces difficulties in transforming its image. After the failure of its last comeback, it has gradually shown a clear decline.

Moreover, the group has been around for five years, and the biggest problem they face is contract renewal. If they renew, the members' share of the profits will naturally increase.

In comparison, new groups are more likely to emerge, and their shorter revenue sharing cycle would also attract Big Hit's global resources.

This aligns with Chen Shijun's vision of transforming the group's lifespan into the product's lifespan, but it seems there's still a long way to go. Although there's been talk of South Korea's idol industry being capitalized, many believe it's not quite thorough enough.

Therefore, the current practice of transferring resources to new projects while squeezing out the old team is precisely the direction of Fang Shihe's capital expansion and resource restructuring. He has no feelings for the acquired projects that are given away as gifts.

Although Su Chengzhen had the support of his good brother, Fatty Fang, his actual decision-making power inevitably became increasingly limited, and his expectations and ambitions for the new project were no less than those of Min Xizhen.

"Director Chen, think about this: when a project's commercial potential is determined to be lower than that of a new project, even if it can still be profitable, should it continue?"

Chen Shijun frowned at the question. He assumed that both Fang Shihe and Su Chengzhen had made the same judgment.

"Maximizing resource efficiency is a given."

Chen Shijun didn't know much about the situation, but this explanation seemed to make no problem. It wasn't that the product wasn't profitable, but rather that he lacked confidence in the product's prospects.

Min Hee-jin stated that she was not employed by Source Music and therefore had no responsibility to GFRIEND; the decision-making power remained with CEO Su.

The brief contact didn't yield much progress, but Chen Shijun also realized that with coordination, there was no possibility of a major outbreak in the short term. Min still had high expectations for Source Music's next talent recruitment.

Looking at the female idols getting out of the van, Chen Shijun couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Source Music started with only five employees, and a few years later, when GFRIEND debuted, their budget was stretched thin.

Su Chengzhen truly put his heart and soul into this group at times. The early MV shooting locations were simple, and the costumes were mostly inexpensive school uniform style. The success relied on the members undergoing high-intensity training, especially their almost demanding efforts in achieving perfect dance synchronization.

The turning point came in the rain during their debut year. They fell repeatedly in the downpour but kept getting up to finish the dance, a scene even reported by the British media outlet, the Daily Mail. With "Rough," the final chapter of their school trilogy, they swept first place on 15 music programs, setting a record for girl groups of their time, solidifying their brand and becoming a representative of a small-to-medium-sized company's comeback.

For capital, a tool is just a tool, even if that tool has accompanied the entrepreneur all the way to success.

Just like playing a game, it's common for players to develop an emotional attachment to the equipment they use over a long period of time. However, they will eventually replace the equipment that accompanied them in the early stages of their development without hesitation due to version updates.

Even in the early stages of building the team, in order to maintain the operation of the group and the company, Representative Su had to take out a loan for his house and even borrow money from his wife's family. However, those emotional factors would eventually be completely distorted under the alienation of capital.

……

"Hello, Director Chen, thank you so much for today."

When the two trainees came over to greet him, Chen Shijun smiled and nodded. Although he didn't remember what they looked like, one of them was tall and had a strong build.

She carried a large travel bag and looked quite delicate. Although she seemed to have some difficulty moving around, it didn't seem to affect her much with the help of another female trainee. I wish Xiao Yuan was as healthy and strong as her.

As for his younger sister, Chen Shijun didn't expect her to achieve much in the idol industry. Sacrificing her studies for this would be a loss, and he heard that she often didn't eat enough to maintain her figure. What if she didn't grow taller?

According to Min Hee-jin, this girl has been training at the company for two years and can be preliminarily identified as a member of the "N group". Although Min Hee-jin insulted her with very harsh words today, she gave Chen Shi-jun a very high evaluation.

"Like a little bear, he has a lot of energy and good mental strength. He's a promising talent."

Min Hee-jin believes this is a very important piece of her youthful aesthetic, a rare and valuable asset within Source Music. If this little bear could hear this assessment, I wonder if it would be secretly pleased.

"He looks very aloof, and he's even more handsome when you see him in person."

Watching the car speed away, the Vietnamese girl, Pham Nhu Xin, thought that this director really had the air of a senior executive, which made him stand out in an entertainment company where the leaders didn't act like leaders and the cadres didn't act like cadres.

It's not the kind of simple handsomeness that celebrities in the industry possess. His thin-rimmed glasses and clean-cut short hair are simple and uncomplicated features. At least, it's rare to find male idols in the industry with this kind of style, which exudes an elite and aloof feeling.

It perfectly matches the capable image of a business elite, conveying an aura of authority and composure. This intellectual aesthetic is rare and appealing; even little girls would take a second look.

"I wonder which official is higher, him or Ms. Min. He looks a bit too young; he must be a rich second-generation from somewhere."

The girl carrying the huge suitcase felt much better after applying ice to her ankle. Although she was scolded by Min Hee-jin today, she was happy at the thought of seeing her family when she got back.

She was naturally grateful to Chen Shijun for helping her out of the predicament, especially since he was so handsome. She felt that even though she was young, she had the right and taste to appreciate beauty.

“I checked, and he is Big Hit’s Chief Strategy Officer, as well as a board member and shareholder. He should be even more powerful than Ms. Min.”

After searching on my phone for a long time, I finally understood the concept of these positions. Since Big Hit's former Chief Strategy Officer held a pivotal position within the company, I naturally assumed that Chen Shijun was just as important.

"That's great. He looks very cultured, and he's a top student from Seoul National University?"

Looking at the Vietnamese girl's phone, Xiao Chi nodded as she read, but those two short glances left her with an elegant sense of loss of control, as if some darkness was hidden beneath the perfect and refined exterior?
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(End of this chapter)