Damn Idol, Episode 196
“Then does that mean you won’t be able to appear on cable channel music shows either?”
Although he had used the words “cable channel,” what the CP of MBN really wanted to point out was M-Show.
It was simple logic.
The terrestrial broadcasters had sent their regards to Sae Dalbaek-il.
Even we think your album will do well, so don’t share that glory with only M-Show.
A type of tsundere.
One that included a cute boycott.
But Sae Dalbaek-il’s attitude toward this was, “Ah, we’re busy, so I don’t think we can do music shows.”
Why would Sae Dalbaek-il show such an attitude?
They couldn’t tear each other’s hair out with the terrestrial broadcasters, but nor did they want to give up a share of the album’s success.
In other words, Sae Dalbaek-il had chosen to postpone the relationship.
For now, with the excuse that they were too busy to appear on music shows.
Sae Dalbaek-il would likely only return to the negotiating table after the success of their second album.
It was a common business strategy.
Dragging out time until a moment favorable to the awkward situation arose.
That was why the highest-ranking division chief at SBI Entertainment and the leader of Sae Dalbaek-il, Han Sion, had come together.
They had come to add, “Listen, don’t get us wrong, it’s really because we’re busy.”
But from the CP’s standpoint, if the situation ended like this, he would only be labeled incompetent.
That was why he had asked the question.
Whether missing that music show schedule applied to M-Show as well.
Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon, receiving the CP’s question, calmly opened his mouth.
“That’s not the case. Honestly, schedule-wise we should cut them from that too, but…… As you know, we had quite a lot of commercials, didn’t we?”
They couldn’t help it because of TV commercials.
You know it too.
M-Show gave us a strong push.
“We’ll carve out time we don’t have to appear on M-Show, but it’ll probably be limited to once or twice.”
They would appear on M-Show just enough to save face—and they were really busy.
Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon’s bluff had to be a lie.
Although he said that, he would probably pack all four weeks of domestic activities with appearances.
At this point, the CP’s brow furrowed.
He understood Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon’s intentions, and he understood that from their position, it was something that obviously had to be said.
But…….
Wasn’t this too devoid of alternatives?
In business, the most futile thing was saying, “I have my circumstances.”
Circumstances didn’t matter.
What mattered was a situation where both sides were satisfied.
In the end, from the CP’s position, there was no choice but to say what needed to be said.
“No matter how low the ratings of terrestrial music shows are…… Don’t you think there are fans who want to see Sae Dalbaek-il on music shows? Please reconsider.”
A tone of earnest request.
But it was only the nuance; the content was a clear threat.
At this, Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon’s expression turned troubled.
He bit his lip, unable to open his mouth.
At that expression, the CP was rather flustered.
“What the hell. Is this really the end?”
He had thought the real negotiation would begin here.
But absurd as it was, SBI Entertainment seemed to have no next plan.
Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon wasn’t a famous figure in the industry, but he wasn’t someone ignorant of the rules either.
Why would someone who knew better than anyone that this was not a conversation to end here act like this?
It was Han Sion who resolved the CP’s doubt.
At first, he wore a calm expression, but the longer the conversation between Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon and the CP went on, the more his face filled with discontent.
And then he dropped a bombshell.
“No, Division Chief.”
“G-go ahead, Sion. What you’re saying is…….”
“No. I have to say something, don’t I?”
“That’s not something to bring up here right now.”
“We can remove the schedule if we want. We just have to sleep less. The reason we can’t appear on music shows isn’t that, is it?”
Bewilderment was etched on the CP’s face.
“What the hell kind of bullshit is that?”
With this, it was proven that the long-winded story Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon had told was a complete lie.
And through Han Sion’s mouth, at that.
“That’s strange? I thought Han Sion was pretty smart.”
It was something said by broadcasting industry people who had worked with Han Sion.
The broadcasting industry was full of highly educated people.
For them to evaluate an idol—especially one who was a high school graduate or hadn’t even graduated high school—as smart was rare.
If the descriptors were polite, hardworking, or giving it their all, that would be one thing.
But the CP understood the situation through what followed.
“We have to show him. Choe Daeho.”
At Han Sion’s age, there were moments when emotion preceded reason, and this was one of them.
That Sae Dalbaek-il had been pressured by CEO Choe Daeho and Ryan Entertainment was a fact known even to the broadcast station’s FD.
And everyone knew that Sae Dalbaek-il had overcome it.
But overcoming and revenge were different.
Overcoming was enduring; revenge was paying back.
Han Sion wanted to take revenge on Choe Daeho.
But it was a bit strange.
As far as the CP knew, Take Scene had no domestic promotions planned.
Because of their history with Sae Dalbaek-il, they had arranged their activities around overseas schedules where they wouldn’t get caught up in conflict.
Even if they stayed in Korea, Sae Dalbaek-il was doing phenomenally well, so they would only be compared to and ridiculed.
So they had started activities in Japan, though public opinion largely saw it as a last resort.
It felt less like they had gone properly prepared and more like they had charged in headfirst.
But what could they show Choe Daeho?
At that moment, Han Sion shot a glance at the CP and opened his mouth.
“Choe Daeho—or rather, CEO Choe Daeho—said this. He said no matter how hard you work on your music, what’s the value in doing it outside the company system? He said it’s all scraps.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Before Sae Dalbaek-il appeared.
“So we’re going to show him.”
“Do you mean Mix Way?”
It was a fourth-year boy group under Ryan Entertainment whose promotions overlapped with Sae Dalbaek-il’s.
The group itself lacked some weight, but the members were very popular.
Because their individual activities were so successful that solo work took priority over team activities.
So the buzz around Mix Way’s full-group return after a long time was considerable.
If they hadn’t been completely devoured by Sae Dalbaek-il, they probably would have hit even bigger.
Two of Mix Way’s members were male leads in dramas exceeding 8 percent viewership, after all.
“Yes. Mix Way.”
“If you want to show them, shouldn’t you just compete on music shows and take first place?”
“No. I want to go up against the company system.”
Han Sion said, his eyes gleaming.
“If no Ryan Entertainment singers appear during our promotion period, we’ll appear on music shows.”
“Ha, really. Mr. Han Sion, you know how absurd and unreasonable that demand is, right?”
“I know.”
“And?”
“I’m saying it precisely because I know. So that it reaches CEO Choe Daeho’s ears. This isn’t something to be discussed only here, is it?”
It was absurd.
No matter how well Sae Dalbaek-il was doing, there was no place that would boycott Ryan Entertainment for such a reason.
And it was equally ridiculous for Ryan Entertainment to move their schedule.
That would be an agency swallowing its pride.
Could this really come from the mouth of someone who knew the industry even a little…… “Wait.”
The CP paused.
The CP quietly looked at Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon, who wore a troubled expression, and Han Sion, who wore a cold expression.
Neither showed obvious signs of poor acting.
But that was an act.
“Let’s find middle ground. Please tell me honestly.”
“This is my honest feeling.”
“You mean it’s your honest feeling that you’ll appear if we boycott Ryan Entertainment? Then are you doing it on M-Show?”
“Yes. We are.”
“You are?”
“Yes. Because we promised we would.”
“……It’s not a lie that will be exposed right away, is it?”
“No. Please look into it.”
The CP let out a sigh.
They had already checked each other’s cards.
Sae Dalbaek-il was lying, and the broadcast station knew they were lying.
But it couldn’t be helped.
“Let’s derive a compromise again.”
There was nothing to do but end the meeting.
As Division Chief Seo Seunghyeon and Han Sion said their goodbyes and left the meeting room, the main PD of the music show rushed over in a hurry.
From the music show PD’s standpoint, he needed to know how the negotiation with Sae Dalbaek-il had turned out.
Because an enormous number of inquiries were coming from Sae Dalbaek-il’s fandom.
About whether the music show schedule was fixed, and why Sae Dalbaek-il’s name wasn’t in the advance notice.
“How did it go, sir?”
“They’re so fucking smart…….”
“Excuse me?”
The CP opened his mouth with a sigh.
“So basically, they’re asking us not to cast Ryan Entertainment artists when they’re promoting?”
“Yeah.”
“Are they crazy? How can they say something so arrogant and absurd with such confidence?”
“You think they don’t know? You think they said that without knowing?”
“Then you’re saying they knew exactly what they were saying?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“They’re changing the main agenda of the situation.”
Before this meeting, the tug-of-war between Sae Dalbaek-il and the broadcast station was about: their second full-length album was obviously going to succeed, but M-Show’s stake in it was too high.
The terrestrial broadcasters couldn’t end up promoting M-Show’s success, could they?
That was why the terrestrial broadcasters had proposed: give us a reason to write our names next to your glory.
By way of refusing music show appearances.
But Sae Dalbaek-il had reframed this as “revenge.”
Since they couldn’t coexist with Ryan Entertainment, they would refuse to appear on music shows unless Ryan Entertainment was boycotted.
“Uh…….”
“Don’t you get it? The subject of refusing music show appearances has changed.”
Before, it was the terrestrial broadcasters refusing Sae Dalbaek-il’s music show appearances. Now it had become Sae Dalbaek-il refusing the terrestrial broadcasters’ music shows.
“Does that even matter?”
“Let’s say Sae Dalbaek-il sells two million copies of their second album. But they don’t appear on terrestrial music shows. People go crazy with inquiries. Then we’d have to report to the executives, right?”
“We would.”
“Then what are you going to report?”
Originally, it would be reported that M-Show’s stake in the album was too high.
But Sae Dalbaek-il had taken a new position.
That they couldn’t coexist under the same sky as Ryan Entertainment.
“But they’re lying, aren’t they?”
“Do you have proof?”
“Well, the situation is……”
“Ah, so you go in front of the executives and say this? ‘We have no evidence whatsoever. It seems Sae Dalbaek-il is clinging to Ryan Entertainment to make the situation favorable for themselves.’ Like that?”
“Uh……”
“And doesn’t it occur to you that this could become the real situation? How do you think Ryan Entertainment will react when they hear this?”
“They’ll try to put Mix Way on music shows even if it kills them.”
“Then Sae Dalbaek-il?”
“They’ll refuse to appear even if it kills them.”
“Right. If the situation plays out, the lie becomes the truth.”
“……!”
“Sae Dalbaek-il will insist on that stance until the end, and they’ll never admit that they’re lying. Perhaps……”
The CP tossed out the thought that had been circling his mind.
“Even actually taking revenge on Ryan Entertainment might be part of the plan.”
The PD still didn’t seem to understand the situation one hundred percent, but the CP was a bit bewildered.
The boycott of Sae Dalbaek-il hadn’t originated with the CP.
It had come from above.
Because word had subtly come down asking whether they should push an album drenched in M-Show’s stake for free.
But if the situation developed like this, the responsibility would become the CP’s.
That the broadcast station couldn’t even resolve a single agency conflict, letting things come to this.
His mind snapped to attention.
If, in this situation, Sae Dalbaek-il appeared on SBN’s music show—the mainstream channel that the directors of Stage Number Zero had taken over?
MBN and KBN’s situation would become even more awkward.
“This might just be…….”
They might really have to choose between Sae Dalbaek-il and Ryan Entertainment.