Peninsula Platinum Era

Chapter 212 Will You Come With Me?

"The spin-off of Team N is a done deal, and Representative Su needs to prepare early. However, I will push forward the progress of Team S at the board meeting. If the timing is right, it should be able to become the company's first girl group."

Chen Shijun's words were similar to the information that Representative Su had received, but given the current situation, it would be impossible not to feel resentful.

Fatty Fang was eager to please everyone, but people are the most complex creatures. Alongside self-interest, there's also the sense of accomplishment they crave.

Representative Su was highly involved in this N-group project, even preparing the debut song. He recruited the trainees one by one through Source Music, and some of them were finally confirmed only after repeated negotiations with the parents.

In Su Chengzhen's opinion, Min Hee-jin's role as visual planner and producer was simply taking credit for herself. Even without Min Hee-jin, wouldn't she have been able to create a top-tier girl group on her own at Source Music?

Moreover, GFRIEND was built from scratch. Compared to Min Hee-jin, he has truly proven his abilities and has achieved remarkable success in the entire K-pop scene.

However, Min Hee-jin had a different idea. She believed that GFRIEND's success was largely due to luck, and their potential was not necessarily very high. The name "little girlfriend" was already enough to charm men.

Min Hee-jin looked down on Su Cheng-jin's achievements, which was the biggest problem. The two well-known figures from SM Entertainment were slowly pushing forward their plans while looking down on each other.

"Even so, I'm still very sad. It feels like my child has been taken away by someone else."

Looking at Su Chengzhen's pained expression, Chen Shijun sneered inwardly. He had helped Su Chengzhen build GFRIEND from a small five-person company into a well-known name in the industry, and now Su Chengzhen was telling him he had feelings for a project that hadn't even taken shape yet. It was just ridiculous.

It's not hard to understand why Bang Si-hyuk is still clinging to the N team plan at this point. On one hand, there's no rush for Bang Si-hyuk to establish a new label, and he can use the N team as a way to engage in more back-and-forth with Min Hee-jin and Bang Si-hyuk.

This would demonstrate the extent of his sacrifice and allow him to seek further concessions from Big Hit. Bang Si-hyuk, being the type who wants to appease both sides, would allow him to take advantage of Min Hee-jin.

"There's nothing we can do about it, Representative Su. You know that if this drags on, it'll be hard to get any results in the short term. You know we still have the S team project to push forward, and GFRIEND... we also need an explanation."

Chen Shih-Chun's statement was that if they really weren't going to keep him, they should at least give him a dignified ending, such as a tour or a final album, so that he could squeeze out one last bit of profit and at least have a proper conclusion.

"What explanation do you need? If you want to renew the contract, then renew it. If you don't want to renew it, there's no need to waste any more effort."

Representative Su, however, said there was no need to waste time on these issues. Although the two short-term returns in the second half of last year were partly due to a lack of resources, the results were still unsatisfactory.

In this situation, there's no need to redeploy resources and go back to the old ways. Just give a heads-up and disband. Do we really need any ceremony?

This is actually a common problem for small companies. They often don't pay much attention to these sentimental issues, even if they sign with Big Hit. The concept of seeing things through to the end simply doesn't exist for them.

"Is Director Chen trying to persuade me to abandon this project sooner and focus my energy on Team S?"

It's obvious to anyone with eyes to see his personal motives, so Chen Shijun didn't try to hide them. After all, within Source Music, he was relatively closer to Su Chengzhen.

This can be seen from his consistent attitude, so Representative Su was not embarrassed or annoyed. After all, the closer the group's directors are to Source Music, the wider their channels for obtaining resources from Big Hit.

"Of course, I have put a lot of effort into Team S. I will ask the council to use resources to help Team S debut first. I will also try my best to advocate for Representative Su's ideas."

Chen Shijun smiled gently. At least on relevant matters, their directions were aligned, and Su Chengzhen was easier to communicate with than Min Xizhen. As for the grudge between Su Chengzhen and Min Xizhen, Chen Shijun didn't want to say much. In his opinion, it wasn't a big deal. Su Chengzhen was actually much more ruthless than he appeared.

The team of contributors who grew alongside the company couldn't even get a decent ending. They were probably the kind of people who didn't care much about gratitude, and also the kind who could easily let go of grudges.

Such people only care about profit. Chen Shijun felt he was more humane than them; indeed, morality is relative. It can only be said that Fang Shihe is truly something else. With such a formidable force under his command, plus the infamous Park Ji-won, he's capable of writing a epic tale titled "When Stars Shine."

"In this way, Representative Su has more room to maneuver, since as long as Team N is with Source Music, they will continue to invest resources."

Faced with Chen Shijun's words, Representative Su smiled, leaned back, and held the back of his head with his hands, seemingly considering the pros and cons.

Chen Shijun didn't say anything more, as some things require giving the other party space to consider. And amidst all the attention, Big Hit's IPO was entering its final countdown.

Prior to this, Eastone Equity, a fund backed by Bang Si-hyuk, acquired an 11.4% stake from early investors AlpenRoute and LB Investment for 1300 billion won, further consolidating his control over the company.

But all of this came at great legal risk. These early investors had repeatedly pressed the company about the IPO plan at meetings, but the company’s stance remained consistent: the company was not valuable enough to go public.

Fang Pangzi had personally confirmed this viewpoint on multiple occasions in group chats and meetings, and at that time, the IPO audit was already underway.

The scheme of inducing the other party to sell their shares when they felt there was no hope of going public, and then having their shares bought up by a trusted fund, so that they could make a fortune once the IPO was completed, is quite clumsy.

But this greedy fat man's methods didn't stop there. He also signed profit-sharing agreements with these trusted funds to use for his own risk-free arbitrage.

Chen Shijun sometimes wondered how such a brilliant achievement could be made through a single combination. He thought that if one step was smooth, the next step would be effortless. But could things really continue to go smoothly like this?

This IPO has attracted much attention, but Chen Shijun senses some danger. He wonders if the Financial Supervisory Commission will hold him accountable later. Perhaps while he is deeply involved in the company's operations, he also needs to protect himself to some extent.

He started buying property in Hawaii through an intermediary a few years ago. The principle of having three burrows is something everyone must keep in mind. There have been too many precedents that have taught people not to put all their eggs in one basket.

"What is Shijun looking at? Didn't he say he was going to Europe? Why is he interested in Hawaii now? Are there talent shows in Hawaii?"

Eun-chae, the older sister, was a little puzzled. She was helping the man put together a suit for the day of the launch. After all, she studied fashion design at a prestigious university, and she knew all the rules about dressing.

Meanwhile, because Yuan Ying was unable to leave, Chen Shijun specifically instructed her on the timing of her trip to Europe, and also planned to take a short vacation abroad to handle some matters.

"That's not the case. You know I love sunshine and beaches, so I just bought a villa for vacations."

Chen Shijun remained calm and composed, as if this was a trick all wealthy men used, and there was no need to explain the specifics to these women. He simply made a small joke.

"But if the time ever comes for us to run away, will Noona choose to come with me?"

(End of this chapter)