Chapter 139: The Hide-and-Seek Contest
Jiang Shu's intention was for voluntary participation, but the command was issued layer by layer to the grassroots, and what the employees heard was...
Everyone must participate. If anyone cannot participate, they must go through the leave application process.
As a result, out of 207 people in DM Entertainment, including trainees, 197 were present.
Originally, Jiang Shu had planned to record on Christmas Day, but IVE and Red Velvet both reported that their Christmas Day activities could not be postponed.
Therefore, the recording time was changed to the 23rd, giving post-production one day to prepare, and releasing the video on the 25th.
Overtime pay and bonuses remained unchanged; although it wasn't occupying a holiday, the money that should be given was given.
Since they were playing a game, why care about such a small amount of money?
December 25th, Christmas Day.
DM Entertainment Trainee Dorms.
Most employees were on holiday, and trainees were naturally no exception.
DM Entertainment, including trainees, had a total of 207 people, but only 197 participated in the game.
Among the ten who didn't participate, besides employees on sick leave and personal leave, there were also foreign trainees like Song Yuqi and Sakura who were still learning Korean and had language barriers.
They wanted to participate but couldn't because of the language barrier.
Song Yuqi, dressed in pajamas, sat on a chair, with an iPad propped up on a tray in front of her, and Cheng Xiao and Ning Yizhuo sitting beside her.
Behind the three, Sakura, also in pajamas, had an iPad in front of her, with Hitomi Honda and Kim Minjeong seated on either side of her.
The reason for this arrangement was that Sakura was watching Instagram, primarily in English, Japanese, and Korean, while Song Yuqi was watching Weibo, in Chinese and Korean.
The dialogue would definitely be in Korean, but the subtitles would change depending on the platform it was posted on.
“Do you want some?” Song Yuqi offered the bag of melon seeds in her hand to Cheng Xiao beside her.
Cheng Xiao reached out and grabbed a handful, then offered it to Ning Yizhuo.
Ning Yizhuo held up the mousse cake in her hand.
Seeing this, Song Yuqi placed the melon seeds next to the iPad.
She clicked to play the video.
The title “DM Entertainment Family Christmas Special” then appeared.
The scene shifted, and Jiang Shu's figure appeared in front of the camera; behind him, a group of DM Entertainment artists and staff stood together.
“This is the first-floor lobby, right?” Song Yuqi said while cracking melon seeds.
“Yes, it looks like it’s in front of the gym,” Cheng Xiao echoed from the side.
“Behind me are our 194 DM Entertainment staff members. We are about to start our Christmas hide-and-seek game, and we have 40 million korean won in prize money.”
Song Yuqi had the bullet comments on, and as the video officially began, a screen full of comments poured in like snowflakes.
“The ones responsible for catching people are not me, but those chosen by drawing lots…”
The camera shifted to the three people standing on the other side.
IVE member Zhang Yuanying, Red Velvet member Kim Ye-rim, and trainee Ahn Yujin.
And the bullet comments wrote “Gan Wen Cui” above the heads of the three.
“Pfft!” Song Yuqi couldn't hold back when she saw this scene, and Cheng Xiao and Ning Yizhuo on either side weren't much better, clearly having also noticed that outrageous red bullet comment.
“If the three catchers can catch eighty percent of our people, which is 155 people, within half an hour, then the three of them will take all of our game prize money.
But if they can't catch eighty percent of the people, then the prize money will be divided among all the hiders!”
“40 million, how much money does each person get?” Ning Yizhuo calculated in her head, counting on her fingers.
“Around a thousand korean won, I guess,” Cheng Xiao said, looking at the calculation result on her phone.
“Seems pretty good?”
“And there's overtime pay too,” Song Yuqi added from the side.
They didn't participate, but Kim Minjeong did.
Although their first impression wasn't great, as roommates, their relationship had improved slightly.
With the rules explained, the game officially began.
Ten minutes of hiding time, all five floors inside DM Entertainment, except for executive offices and restrooms, could be used for hiding.
The six watched with great interest, and many viewers were also watching online.
DM Entertainment, a company that loved to create spectacles, had once again produced a Christmas hide-and-seek game special, with artists, trainees, staff, and even the boss participating together.
In this video, the most attention-grabbing of the three catchers was not Zhang Yuanying or Kim Ye-rim, but trainee Ahn Yujin.
It was unbelievable that she alone caught sixty people, and coupled with her lively and active personality, Ahn Yujin's name was remembered by many viewers even before her debut.
Jiang Shu, this young boss, could always come up with refreshing programs.
This episode successfully achieved the highest record for Jiang Shu's videos so far, and its popularity was still rising.
Capitalizing on this popularity, DM Entertainment announced ITZY's debut date and some debut teasers.
On February 1, 2019, at 9 AM, ITZY's debut album music was officially released.
The members of ITZY also participated in the hide-and-seek contest, but their screen time wasn't much, and they didn't hide particularly well.
Leaving aside popularity, the best hider was Jiang Shu.
After all, he was the one who had the most fun.
In the vast DM Entertainment building, Jiang Shu managed to hide in a computer cabinet in the data statistics room for half an hour.
When the locations of those who weren't caught were revealed one by one at the end, the bullet comments exploded.
A dignified Chairman hiding so shamelessly further solidified Jiang Shu's down-to-earth image, and even the DM Entertainment trainee evaluations at the end of the year attracted considerable attention.
Chairman's Office.
Jiang Shu was happily watching his own video; such a high-view-count video was created by him, so did that make him a big internet celebrity?
Not bad, not bad.
Most employees were on holiday today, with only a few frontline staff serving artists not on holiday.
Originally, Jiang Shu had planned to go out and have fun, but he received a last-minute message, so he was waiting in his office for a guest to arrive.
Knock knock knock.
“Come in.”
He paused the video and looked up at the door.
The office door opened, and Li Xiuman's figure entered Jiang Shu's sight.
Jiang Shu smiled slightly, stood up from his desk, and extended his right hand towards Li Xiuman.
“Welcome to DM Entertainment, Chairman Li.”
Li Xiuman glanced at Jiang Shu's outstretched right hand, a smile also appearing on his face as he shook Jiang Shu's hand.
“Chairman Jiang, long time no see.”
“Chairman Li, please have a seat.”
“Mhm.”
The two sat on the sofa, Choi Ji-yeon came in to pour Li Xiuman a cup of tea, then exited the office.
Li Xiuman stared at the steaming tea for a few seconds in thought, then looked up at Jiang Shu.
“Chairman Jiang, please speak directly if you have something to say.”
“Then I'll get straight to the point,” Jiang Shu said, smiling as Li Xiuman spoke.
“I want Nænagae Yijili's trainee contract.”
Li Xiuman was not at all surprised by Jiang Shu's words, after all…
He was the one who set this up in the first place.