Chapter 123: The Beginning of divine beauty
“Chairman, Chairman!”
Jiang Shu, who was sound asleep, was woken by the shouts and slowly opened his eyes to see the Red Velvet manager standing before him.
“Is it time?” Jiang Shu rubbed his eyes and asked.
“Yes, the members have already gone for rehearsal,” the manager replied.
Just as Jiang Shu was about to say something, he looked down and saw the mink coat on him, which still carried a strong perfume scent.
This is…
Jiang Shu looked up at the manager.
“Irene was afraid you’d catch a cold, so she put her coat over you,” the manager explained, an act he would not take credit for.
Jiang Shu nodded slightly. In fact, he could pretty much guess without the manager saying anything.
“What’s the current ranking of 'Bad Boy'?” Jiang Shu sat up straight and asked.
“It’s at 57th place. According to the current momentum, the data statistics office estimates it can enter the top ten within two days.”
Jiang Shu nodded. After the debut stage, the digital music source would see another significant boost. In Jiang Shu’s opinion, entering the top ten within two days was already a very conservative estimate.
After all, the data statistics office didn’t know how fierce the combat power of the toxic solo stans would be after the divine beauty bond was activated.
Regardless of how annoying toxic solo stans are, their combat power is undeniable. At that time, the digital music source ranking would see a significant increase.
IVE’s digital music source ranking rose so quickly because the song itself was excellent, coupled with the top-tier influence of the dual centers. 'Bad Boy,' lacking the top-tier influence of dual centers, couldn't possibly replicate IVE’s digital music source increase speed.
However, 'Bad Boy' itself is of excellent quality, so reaching the top ten is only a matter of time. But the possibility of reaching the top two is extremely low, or rather, non-existent.
As for 'Love Dive,' just as he expected, in just one month, it had already entered the top five on the Melon overall chart. The speed was astonishing, and 'I AM'’s status as song of the year was no longer secure.
That’s also fine. After all, even 'Tomboy' was surpassed by 'Love Dive,' so 'I AM' indeed didn't quite measure up.
What if…
Red Velvet’s debut song was 'Psycho'?
Well, that would be a bit too luxurious.
Although he really wanted to see which song would win, this method would be a bit extravagant and unnecessary.
“This is Bae Joo-hyun’s stage outfit, right? Why wasn’t it taken away?” Jiang Shu asked, holding Bae Joo-hyun’s coat.
“Rehearsal doesn’t require stage outfits. I’ll give it to Irene after the rehearsal ends,” the manager replied.
Jiang Shu nodded upon hearing this and handed the clothes to the manager.
“Take it to her.”
“Yes!”
Jiang Shu came out of the waiting room and went to the restroom to wash his face.
“Chairman Jiang?”
A male voice came from behind. Jiang Shu turned around following the sound.
Upon seeing who it was, Jiang Shu also smiled.
“PD Park, what a coincidence?”
It was Music Bank’s head PD Park.
“Chairman Jiang went to Music Core and Inkigayo to accompany artists for their comebacks before. This time, it’s finally our Music Bank’s turn,” PD Park said with a smile.
Jiang Shu’s videos were now gradually gaining views, and the audience following this DM Entertainment Chairman was also increasing. Those two episodes from Music Core and Inkigayo even helped boost the playback views on those days.
Currently, Jiang Shu had a level of popularity comparable to a third-tier artist, and this popularity was slowly but steadily increasing.
This time, they finally caught him.
“By the way, Chairman Jiang, for this ending shot, do you need it to be given to a specific member, or can we have creative freedom?” PD Park asked.
“Give it to Irene.”
Today’s styling didn’t involve a bun; it was a cold and elegant mature woman style, which should be quite easy to capture on camera.
“Okay.” PD Park nodded. “The challenge video IVE and IU filmed last month is quite popular now. Chairman Jiang, would you like to try it?”
“I’ll pass.” Jiang Shu knew what he was trying to do.
Jiang Shu didn’t do challenge videos at Music Core and Inkigayo. If he did one at Music Bank, Music Bank would have a trending topic.
Don’t underestimate anyone with popularity; if you can leverage it, do so. That’s the golden rule of the entertainment industry.
“Alright.” PD Park was a bit disappointed by the refusal, but not overly regretful. Although he often appeared in public, Jiang Shu was still a Chairman after all.
Just like Park Jin-young, he was very easygoing and seemed approachable, but no one would truly treat him as a kind uncle.
“When does Red Velvet go on stage?”
“Ninth.”
Jiang Shu nodded upon hearing this.
“Okay, I’m heading back first.”
“Chairman Jiang, take care.”
Jiang Shu waved his hand and walked away.
PD Park looked at Jiang Shu’s retreating back and clicked his tongue.
“It’s a pity he’s not an artist.”
…
After Jiang Shu returned and sat on the sofa for a while, the live broadcast began. Today, he wasn’t in front of the stage like with IVE, with an audience watching. In the waiting room, he didn’t need to pretend to be seriously watching the stage.
He sat on the sofa, playing with his phone to pass the time, and soon it was Red Velvet’s debut stage.
But at this moment, the camera suddenly focused on the audience, and Jiang Shu noticed that the light sticks in the fans’ hands were surprisingly IVE’s? Besides that, there were a few IU ones, but surprisingly few for the actual group, Red Velvet.
The next moment, the camera switched, and Bae Joo-hyun’s fully made-up face appeared in the frame.
This director understands.
Jiang Shu smiled at the sight. Beautiful women should have close-up shots.
As Bae Joo-hyun appeared on camera, the audience on site also gave their cheers.
What surprised Jiang Shu was that, judging by the volume of the sound, in addition to the fans holding Red Velvet light sticks, IVE and IU fans also helped with the cheering. Otherwise, the sound wouldn’t have been so loud.
This made Jiang Shu a bit confused.
This isn’t right, is it?
Even if they were from the same company, shouldn’t the normal state between fans be mutual bickering?
Something’s not right!
There’s a problem!
However, Jiang Shu didn’t have time for that now. He took out his phone and looked at the Melon daily chart.
Red Velvet, at 57th place, continued to soar in ranking with Jiang Shu’s refresh.
Yes, soar.
After three refreshes, they had already entered the top forty, ranking 39th.
He glanced at the largest K-pop forum on the Korean internet, and the discussion volume about Bae Joo-hyun was also rapidly increasing.
This unscientific rate of increase gave him a sense of déjà vu.
IVE’s twin stars!
Even if it hadn't reached the terrifying popularity of Liu Zhimin and Zhang Yuanying at the time, Bae Joo-hyun’s popularity at this moment was no longer confined to the limits of a rookie.
Jiang Shu understood that the five-cent blood pudding and divine beauty bond had begun to exert their power.
Looking at Red Velvet on stage, Jiang Shu couldn't help but sigh again.
With the effect of the bond, he didn't have to worry too much about the popularity of the girl group he launched. This thing really defies logic.
There were side effects, but the popularity was real.
After looking at the data for a while, Jiang Shu exited and found Qu Fan’s chat box.
Shu: Execute the plan.
Let the first divine beauty in K-pop in this world begin with Red Velvet’s Irene.
Jiang Shu looked up at the TV, where the stage had already ended, and the final shot of the camera was on Bae Joo-hyun’s face.