Chapter 113: Still Believing
Bae Joo-hyun stood nervously by the window in the corner of the meeting room, not daring to look up at Jiang Shu. The heavy sense of guilt made her unable to meet his gaze.
“Did someone bully you?” Jiang Shu asked with a frown, looking at Bae Joo-hyun, who was hanging her head.
The nervous Bae Joo-hyun froze, then instinctively raised her head.
There was no questioning as she had imagined; only confusion and… heartache? in his eyes.
No!
She hadn't shown her emotions, so why did the President notice that her mood was off?
Seeing that Bae Joo-hyun didn't speak, Jiang Shu assumed she was intimidated by S.M. Entertainment, so he spoke again.
“Although DM Entertainment is not as good as S.M. Entertainment, I’m not a pushover. If anyone dares to bully my people, I will make them pay the price.”
“Speak up boldly.”
Damn it, Pei Linlin was the first generation divine beauty he had launched. If anyone dared to bully his own divine beauty, even if it was that old man Li Xiuman, he would make that old guy understand what tax evasion was!
“No.” Hearing “my people,” Bae Joo-hyun’s heart trembled, and she shook her head repeatedly.
“No one bullied me. It’s just that I’ve been… in a bad mood recently.”
Listening to Bae Joo-hyun’s explanation, Jiang Shu frowned.
In a bad mood?
The black-red issue?
Jiang Shu then raised his eyebrows.
“You saw the comments online, didn’t you?”
Bae Joo-hyun softly hummed in affirmation.
Jiang Shu’s mouth twitched. So it was his fault, and he had even questioned Min Xizhen for being harsh on Bae Joo-hyun…
Damn, I’m the bad guy after all.
In this era, the black-red formula was not yet widely known to the public. Even within the industry, there was only a vague concept of it, and no one knew how to operate it specifically, let alone Bae Joo-hyun, the person involved.
Jiang Shu had planned everything, but he had overlooked the psychological feelings of Bae Joo-hyun, the person involved.
This was a living person. She wasn’t a card in a game. She had her own emotions, not to mention that in Jiang Shu’s impression, Bae Joo-hyun seemed to be a very sensitive person?
Thinking of this, Jiang Shu looked at Bae Joo-hyun, who was still looking down, and pursed his lips.
Should he tell her honestly, or…?
Forget it, he wasn’t very good at lying either.
With that thought, Jiang Shu spoke.
“Bae Joo-hyun, actually…”
As Bae Joo-hyun listened to Jiang Shu’s explanation, her eyes gradually widened. She slowly raised her head, looking at Jiang Shu with an expression of disbelief.
“Your age is an unchangeable hard flaw, so to make you popular, I needed a more extreme plan. Conventional marketing strategies are difficult to work for you.”
“I considered all aspects, but I overlooked your own feelings. For that, I apologize.” Jiang Shu slightly bowed his head to Bae Joo-hyun, expressing his apology.
Little did he know that as Bae Joo-hyun watched Jiang Shu bow his head and apologize to her, the slight anger she had felt because of the black-red strategy instantly dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented sense of panic.
The President is apologizing to me?
He’s apologizing to a money-making tool?
Bae Joo-hyun was stunned; her brain had crashed at that moment.
Even though she hadn't officially entered the K-pop industry yet, having been in society for a few years, Bae Joo-hyun clearly understood how difficult it was for those in power to admit their mistakes.
It was easier to kill them than to make them admit their mistakes.
But Jiang Shu not only admitted his own mistakes but also personally apologized to her, an idol who wasn't even considered a “person.”
This…
And after a brief moment of dissatisfaction, Bae Joo-hyun also realized that what Jiang Shu said was not wrong.
Her age was a hard flaw, and to make her popular, she had to go to extremes. Extreme meant high risk. Even if she didn't understand marketing, she could figure out the answer just by thinking with an ordinary person's mindset.
Jiang Shu could have given up on her and cultivated other trainees, but he didn't do that.
“President, can I really succeed?” Bae Joo-hyun couldn't help but ask Jiang Shu.
“Yes!” Jiang Shu said very decisively.
This resolute tone, with more confidence than she had herself, made Bae Joo-hyun feel bewildered.
“President, why do you believe so strongly that I can become popular?”
Why do all these girls like to ask this question?
Jiang Shu complained inwardly, but still gave the answer immediately.
“Belief doesn’t require a reason. The moment I first saw you, I firmly believed you could become popular.”
A lie.
Bae Joo-hyun knew in her heart that Jiang Shu was lying. There was no reason; she just felt he was lying.
Why was that?
Bae Joo-hyun didn't know, but Min-ah had told her not to look at what a person said, but at what they did.
Jiang Shu’s actions, however, aligned with what he had just said. He truly seemed to firmly believe that she could debut and become popular.
This feeling of being firmly trusted by someone…
Bae Joo-hyun gave a bitter smile.
They had only met a few times, so why was this man so captivating?
A sentence she had once read suddenly came to mind.
“Those who care about you will notice your abnormalities at the first moment.”
With so many people in the meeting room, he still noticed her emotional distress. Has he been paying attention to me all along?
As Bae Joo-hyun thought this, the look in her eyes as she gazed at Jiang Shu also changed slightly.
“Hmm?” Jiang Shu looked at Bae Joo-hyun in confusion, but Bae Joo-hyun had already lowered her head.
“Since it was a misunderstanding, let’s go back first.” Jiang Shu glanced at Choi Ji-yeon, who had come out of the meeting room door to look for them, and said.
“Yes.” Bae Joo-hyun nodded in response.
The two returned to the meeting room, one after the other.
Min Xizhen gave Jiang Shu a look.
【Did you finish asking?】
【Sorry.】 Jiang Shu gave an apologetic look.
【It’s fine.】 Min Xizhen shook her head.
Jiang Shu then sat down opposite Min Xizhen. The short ends of the long conference table were empty, while the long sides were occupied by people from DM Entertainment and S.M. Entertainment. Jiang Shu and Min Xizhen sat in the middle, directly facing each other.
Bae Joo-hyun was at the end of the DM Entertainment side, along with Kang Seul-gi and Sun Shengwan.
Kim Ye-rim and Park Soo-young were on the opposite side, also indicating the origins of the Red Velvet members.
“Regarding Red Velvet’s debut…”
The meeting began, but Bae Joo-hyun’s thoughts were still lingering on what had just happened. She turned her head to the left, looking past the others, and gazed at Jiang Shu’s profile as he leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.
Sun Shengwan, who was beside her, poked Bae Joo-hyun.
Bae Joo-hyun snapped back to reality and turned to look at Sun Shengwan.
“Ouni, don’t be so obvious. Many people are watching.” Sun Shengwan slid her phone under the table and showed it to Bae Joo-hyun.
Seeing that line of text, Bae Joo-hyun froze, and then her face flushed.
Sun Shengwan pursed her lips and secretly smiled, but she quietly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
Although she didn’t know what the President had said to Ouni, judging by Ouni’s state, it seemed like she had fully recovered.
Could it be the legendary magic of love?
Sun Shengwan secretly glanced at Jiang Shu, pondering this.
Yesterday's update was added.