Chapter 124: The Battle of divine beauty
Red Velvet’s debut stage garnered immense attention. The interplay of ‘Five Mao Blood Curd’ and ‘divine beauty’ created a peculiar chemical reaction between Red Velvet and Bae Joo-hyun.
At the same time, a term called “divine beauty” suddenly appeared online.
“divine beauty” had always been a domestic Chinese term. In Korea, there was no such thing as a K-pop divine beauty from beginning to end. Now, Jiang Shu had brought this term to K-pop, causing quite a stir.
Originally, Jiang Shu intended to market Bae Joo-hyun as a divine beauty, and DM Entertainment’s marketing department, with the help of online trolls, did just that. However, as the concept of divine beauty gradually became known to fans, then…
#DivineBeautyKarina#
#DivineBeautyWonyoung#
#WhoIsTheTrueDivineBeautyAmongIVE’sTwinStars#
#HowToEvaluateTheBelongingOfTheFirstGenerationDivineBeauty#
In the DM Entertainment chairman’s office, Jiang Shu silently looked at these trending topics.
He felt like he had been taught a lesson by something called popularity.
Despite the collective effort of online trolls and media to create the title of divine beauty for Bae Joo-hyun, it was snatched away by his own twin stars.
Is this reasonable?
Well, in the entertainment industry, it’s very reasonable.
Bae Joo-hyun was marketed as a divine beauty right after her debut. If there were no IVE, it wouldn’t matter. But with the invincible IVE in front, and IVE’s two centers known for their high visuals, what else was there to say?
They snatched it away and refined it in an instant!
And so, things evolved into the current situation.
Jiang Shu: “…”
This incident served as a lesson for him: any marketing must be based on popularity. Character marketing without popularity could potentially become someone else’s wedding dress.
Fortunately, this time it was IVE who reaped the benefits. If it had been another company, he would have nowhere to cry.
This truly was…
Knock knock knock.
“Come in.”
The office door opened, and Tian Xiaojuan entered, holding a stack of documents.
“Teacher.” Tian Xiaojuan approached the desk, bowed to Jiang Shu, and greeted him.
“Hmm.” Jiang Shu nodded, looking at Tian Xiaojuan with a puzzled expression.
Tian Xiaojuan stepped forward, placed the documents she was holding on the desk, and pushed them towards Jiang Shu.
“Teacher, this is the first version of the ITZY debut plan that we’ve organized. Please take a look.”
Ever since Tian Xiaojuan became the co-producer for ITZY’s debut, Jiang Shu had been a hands-off boss, leaving everything to Tian Xiaojuan and the other producers.
Though young and inexperienced, Tian Xiaojuan was like a sponge, rapidly absorbing knowledge and experience, and gradually growing.
Jiang Shu didn’t rush to read the plan. Instead, he reached out and pushed the stack of documents aside, then looked at Tian Xiaojuan.
“How have your discussions with the ITZY members been?”
“Following your instructions, I mainly communicated with Shin Ryujin. I already have a general idea for ITZY’s initial style. I should be able to present the first draft to you this month.”
“Alright.” Jiang Shu nodded. “Have you written any songs before?”
“Yes, I have. Would you like me to send them to you?” Tian Xiaojuan immediately said.
“No need.” Jiang Shu smiled. “A producer should not easily show their work to others.”
“Teacher is not an outsider.” Tian Xiaojuan’s words conveyed her complete trust in Jiang Shu.
They hadn’t known each other for long, but Jiang Shu had shown her great kindness. In Tian Xiaojuan’s view, there was nothing Jiang Shu could scheme from her, so she naturally trusted this teacher she had known for only a few days.
“You need to develop a habit. Problems often arise from those you consider your own, those who you think are fine,” Jiang Shu said, seemingly hinting at something.
But Tian Xiaojuan looked somewhat bewildered, not understanding the meaning behind Jiang Shu’s words.
“By the way, Jeon Soyeon, have you ever thought about becoming an idol?” Jiang Shu asked with a smile.
Tian Xiaojuan was already immune to Jiang Shu’s way of addressing her. She didn’t know why the teacher called her Tian Xiaojuan, but if he wanted to, she would let him.
“Become an idol? I don’t think I can.” Tian Xiaojuan shook her head. “My appearance isn’t good enough.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. You just need to tell me if you want to be an idol or not.”
Tian Xiaojuan lowered her head in silence for about ten seconds.
“Yes…”
Jiang Shu snapped his fingers.
“Starting today, when you have time, go take classes with the trainees.”
Tian Xiaojuan looked up, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at Jiang Shu.
“Teacher, are you telling me to be a trainee?”
“You are still the company’s producer, but if you want to be an idol, you also need to learn what trainees learn.” Jiang Shu said with a smile.
Tian Xiaojuan suddenly understood. She had thought Jiang Shu was going to strip her of her producer status.
“Yes…”
Tian Xiaojuan’s initial dream was to be an idol. It was only by chance that she became a producer. Since Jiang Shu was giving her this opportunity now, there was no reason for her to refuse.
“Teacher, please rest assured, I will not delay the ITZY debut plan!”
Jiang Shu smiled and nodded.
He wouldn’t let Jeon Soyeon go to (G)I-DLE until ITZY reached its peak. There was no Jeon Soyeon without (G)I-DLE.
No group had ever relied so heavily on one member, but (G)I-DLE did, and even Cube, the company, had to rely on one artist, which was quite absurd.
“Go back. I have something else to do later.” Jiang Shu dismissed her.
“Yes.” Tian Xiaojuan bowed to Jiang Shu, then exited the office.
After Tian Xiaojuan left, Jiang Shu picked up the desk phone.
“Are Xiao Liu and Xiao Yuan at the company?”
“No.”
“What about Bae Joo-hyun?”
“She’s not here either.”
Jiang Shu frowned. None of them were here.
“Then have Qu Fan come over.”
“Yes.”
A few minutes later, Qu Fan, the head of the marketing department, appeared in the office.
“Boss.”
“Do you know why I called you?” Jiang Shu asked, resting his chin on his hand, looking at Qu Fan.
Qu Fan gave an awkward smile.
“I know.”
“Sit down.” Jiang Shu gestured with his chin.
Qu Fan sat down nervously. The divine beauty project had exploded right at the start, and as the direct person in charge, Qu Fan could not escape responsibility.
“Tell me, what should we do next?”
“Go with the flow. Promote Karina and Yuan Ying as the core of the divine beauty project. For Irene, we’ll act as the situation dictates.”
“Go with the market?” Jiang Shu frowned and thought. The divine beauty matter had already developed to this point. Blaming someone was useless; it was better to first determine the solution.
“We have no other choice but to go with the market.” Qu Fan said awkwardly. “Irene’s popularity is too far behind the twin stars. The title of divine beauty won’t fall to her in a short time.”
Jiang Shu understood this point and, after some thought, agreed.
“Don’t let it happen again.”
Qu Fan immediately nodded.
“Alright, go get busy.”
Although Qu Fan made a mistake, Jiang Shu did not punish him. This matter was neither big nor small; whether to pursue it depended entirely on Jiang Shu’s mood.
For now, he would just hold it back, but if problems arose in the future, he could use this as an opportunity to make trouble.
He just hoped that day would never come.
