Grant Foster.
The chief executive of Warner Records, one of the world’s three major record companies and a core label of Warner Music Group, was currently in Korea on a business trip.
Because of a K-pop artist with whom they would be forming a new partnership.
With K-pop achieving rapid growth in the global market, led by NND and Coral Blue, the world’s three major record companies had also been building partnerships with many Korean artists, and Warner Records had likewise signed such partnerships several times before.
“If we’d made them come to us, just seeing the company building would’ve taken the wind out of their sails, and we could’ve led the contract in our favor. Did we really have to make time to come all the way to Korea like this?”
But this was truly the first time Grant himself had come to Korea first.
“Well, we’ll know once we see.”
“One day you suddenly tell me to book tickets to Korea… Just what did you discuss with the directors this time? Grant, please stop acting like a musician when you’re a businessman.”
Hugo, the lawyer and secretary accompanying Grant for the signing, sighed at Grant, who ignored his grumbling and looked up at the TopEast building, which was only about five or six stories tall.
“Hah… In any case, they’re not that large in scale, so we should probably be able to steer the contract easily in our favor.”
To begin with, this had to be the first time his boss Grant had come to Korea first. In the partnerships they had formed with Korean singers up to now, the other party had always been the one to make the first proposal.
“I’ve said this the whole way here, but the singers we’re meeting today are rookies. You understand, right?”
But this case was different.
“For rookies, that member called Dohee is already an ambassador for Cartier and Chanel.”
Grant and several producers at Warner Records had been the ones to take notice first.
“…What I’m saying is! No matter how much the working-level staff praised the album, they’re musicians, and you’re a businessman. Anyway!”
“Yes, I know at least that I graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in business and economics more than forty years ago.”
Then why on earth was someone like that acting like a musician! Hugo felt as if he were about to burst.
Of course, the Debonair performances he had looked up out of curiosity on the flight over were certainly appealing, even to Hugo, who was a legal professional.
Like most K-pop artists drawing attention in the American market, they put on outstanding performances, and their appearances were dazzling as well.
In particular, the member called Uah was definitely Hugo’s type.
Even if that was a stereotype he held toward Asians, putting everything else aside, she was exceedingly attractive when her monolid eyes curved into crescents.
Actually, all that aside, despite not having double eyelids, her large, deep eyes were simply extremely beautiful.
‘She dances well, too…’
“And the songs are really good. Don’t you think?”
“The melody definitely makes you hum it right away…”
The secretary shut his mouth after answering reflexively, but his boss Grant was already grinning playfully.
He had definitely been creepily peeking from somewhere at what Hugo had been looking up on the way here.
“Anyway, Grant, please. The contract is going exactly as we decided. Understood?”
“Well, I may be a business major, but what I’ve learned over forty years is that the record industry isn’t a business made up of simple number games, haha.”
Hugo wanted to report this man to the company shareholders on the spot, but for now, he decided to hold himself back.
“Thank you for coming all the way to Korea. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Grant. I’m Jeong Sohyeon, a director at TopEast.”
Because people who seemed to be TopEast employees were coming out to greet them.
“Ah, you know me. Nice to meet you.”
“Of course I do. You’re very famous.”
“Haha, is that so? I suppose I became famous beyond my abilities because I show my face here and there so often. Ah, and this is my secretary.”
Grant introduced him casually as his secretary, despite having been told that he needed to maintain a dignified image.
“I’m Hugo, legal counsel for Warner Records.”
Repeating to himself that he should endure it, Hugo handed over his business card, then followed without complaint while carefully examining the interior of the building.
‘From what I confirmed, Debonair isn’t the only artist under TopEast, but they have only this many employees. They don’t have any overseas base either, so we can lower the contract terms a little more.’
They arrived at the conference room. Several working-level staff who appeared to be TopEast’s legal team were seated inside, and among them, the oldest-looking man with graying hair stood up and welcomed them warmly.
“Well, hello! I’m Kim Widong, the president of TopEast. You must have had a hard time coming all the way to Korea.”
“Please don’t feel too burdened.”
But Grant, Hugo’s boss, answered with an implicit coldness that made the other party’s warm welcome awkward.
“I already had a scheduled visit to Warner Music Korea, our Korean branch, so I merely came in person for efficiency’s sake.”
When it came to meetings between businesspeople, never losing a businesslike attitude and seizing the upper hand was also a habit ingrained in Grant after more than forty years as an executive.
“More importantly, the building I looked around on the way in is very beautiful. Its cozy atmosphere is quite comfortable. As expected, the source of creativity must come from leisure, wouldn’t you say?”
Hugo knew it as well. Even if his boss Grant usually pretended to be an eccentric person, as a businessman, he was thoroughly cold when it came to work.
It was laughable that he was acting like that after barging over here on his own feet out of interest in Debonair. But it didn’t matter. All they had to do was successfully finish the contract.
“More importantly, when will we be able to see the Debonair members?”
At Grant’s question, TopEast’s president glanced at the female director beside him who had guided them.
“They’re still in the middle of their promotions, but they’ll be here soon.”
As if his interest had quickly waned, Grant looked this way.
“Ah, is that so?”
It meant, more or less, to hurry up and proceed with the contract.
Hugo was also thinking of finishing the contract quickly and going sightseeing in Korea afterward, so he decided to live up to that expectation.
“Yes, then, we will begin by once again specifying the basic terms that were preliminarily coordinated in the contract we exchanged in writing.”
Naturally, the conversation that followed was not entirely smooth.
“The profit-sharing ratio seems to have been set somewhat low. Since TopEast is providing the artist, and they already possess a considerable fandom…”
“Warner Records will invest enormous resources into marketing, distribution, and promotion in the North American market, as well as Japan and Europe…”
It was such a large contract that there were more than one or two matters for both sides to coordinate.
“TopEast is already a company whose artists have experience with North American tours. Pastel Love and Xten filled arena halls—”
“Well, the point of this contract is that it aims beyond simple touring, toward the long-term success of the group Debonair in the North American market—”
But the side holding the initiative in the negotiations was them, Warner Records.
“Then, if the first-year revenue target is achieved, how about adding a condition to adjust the ratio after that?”
Naturally, the process of leading things toward the terms they had already planned out was bound to be easy.
“We will also add a plan to pay TopEast additional benefits if the sales target is exceeded.”
Treat them far more generously than rookies, but under harsher terms than artists of the same scale.
They had not yet received signatures on the contract, but the flow could not have been better.
“It seems this is something we’ll need to review once more…”
The man called the other side’s president was narrowing his eyes with an impression rather like a gang member—yes, like a yakuza—but in the end, Hugo thought it was only a matter of time before the seal was stamped.
“Oh, oh!”
And at that moment, the yakuza’s eyes changed in an instant.
[Our girls are here!]
TopEast’s president had become a grandfather with extremely kind eyes, as if he were looking at his granddaughters.
[Hello, president~]
[Oh, boss, lemme pay my respects!!]
[Please, Chiyo…]
Those eyes were directed at the Debonair members now entering the conference room, and although Hugo was inwardly quite flustered by the change in those gentle eyes, he followed his gaze for the time being.
‘…..!’
And he wore an expression as if he had suffered a heart attack.
[Hahaha, Chiyo must have seen something again, huh!? Well, what’s wrong with calling me boss! Anyway, girls, say hello. This is someone from Warner Records… Wait, where’s Dohee?]
The member called Uah was truly even closer to his ideal type than she had appeared on stage.
[Dohee spilled a whole bunch of strawberry latte on the way here, so she said it was sticky and that she’d be right over after wiping it off.]
He knew that people generally looked more beautiful in person than on screen, but Asian or not, she was beautiful enough to break straight through his standards of beauty.
[She’s still a baby, so she’s clumsy.]
Moreover, she also seemed to be the tallest among the members.
At a glance, she was 5 feet 8 inches—by the international standard, roughly 171 or 172 centimeters.
Even that matched his ideal type.
“Hello. Thank you for coming to Korea.”
Perhaps because of that, though being weak to beautiful women might have been an unavoidable male instinct, Hugo ended up receiving Uah’s greeting with a dazed expression and becoming cautious in his attitude.
For some reason, Hugo felt burdened by meeting her eyes, so he naturally turned his gaze to the face of his boss seated on his right.
“Haha, it’s a pleasure to meet you like this.”
Even at a moment like this, Grant truly did not budge at all and merely maintained his usual smile-filled expression.
“Wow, but all of you are truly incredible beauties!”
In any case, this was why he still served as this man’s secretary.
Because as an executive, there were many points he wanted to learn from him, many points worth learning.
‘Right. The contract was about to be concluded anyway, so what does it matter?’
“Yes, everyone, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Hugo, legal counsel for Warner Records.”
With just a glance at his boss, Hugo regained his composure and was quickly able to ready himself again to finalize the contract as a cool-headed legal professional.
“Grant and I have a busy schedule today, so we would like to proceed quickly with coordinating the previous terms. May we resume the negotiations?”
But TopEast’s president raised his palm and smiled benevolently.
“Just a moment.”
TopEast’s executives and the members alike were glancing toward the door again and again.
Everyone seemed to be waiting.
Drawn in by that atmosphere, both he and his boss Grant kept sneaking glances toward the doorway.
And at last, the door opened.
The member who entered while offering a polite greeting was—
[Sorry I’m late~]
—a woman so breathtakingly beautiful that it felt oppressive, regardless of anyone’s personal aesthetic standards for what constituted an ideal type.
But Hugo maintained his composure and looked at Grant.
‘Right, as long as I’m with this man, the contract will be…’
“Wow! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you!”
Uh.