Chapter 178: Debut Time
S.M. Entertainment.
Jiang Shu, familiar with the place, entered the small, dilapidated building through the back entrance of the parking lot.
Without the prior paving of SJ and EXO, S.M.'s Kwangya new building was still a distant dream.
"Chairman Jiang."
"Good morning, Chairman Jiang."
"Chairman Jiang!"
While others might not know that Jiang Shu had become a member of the S.M. board, the S.M. staff were well aware.
In a hierarchical society like Korea, if you didn't recognize a new director in the company, you could easily be targeted and given a hard time.
Therefore, after the announcement, S.M. staff specifically took the time to learn about this new director.
Fortunately, Jiang Shu was somewhat of a celebrity, so recognizing him wasn't difficult; the main thing was to pay attention to the address.
Chairman Jiang was the title used outside, but when he appeared in the company, he was Director Jiang.
He arrived at the floor where the board meeting was held, and S.M. administrative staff were waiting by the elevator. As soon as the elevator doors opened, they quickly bowed.
"Good day, Director Jiang."
"Where is the meeting room?"
"Please follow me." A staff member guided Jiang Shu to the meeting room where the board meeting was located.
Upon entering, Jiang Shu saw a room full of people.
He quickly scanned the room and recognized only a few individuals.
And these people were also sizing up Jiang Shu.
They had long heard the illustrious name of the DM Entertainment Chairman.
The sudden emergence of IVE in late May last year also coincided with the rise of DM Entertainment. In just over a year, a company that was almost on the verge of disbanding somehow managed to join the ranks of mid-to-large entertainment companies. Even the Three Greats had long considered it a competitor of the same level; given enough time, becoming one of the Three Greats was a foregone conclusion for DM Entertainment.
And now, with the national popularity of "Produce48" being so high, three of the groups involved are connected to DM Entertainment. Anyone looking at the current girl group market would have to admit that DM Entertainment leads all other companies significantly in the girl group sector.
The most crucial factor in this was the person himself, DM Entertainment's Chairman Jiang Shu.
A young man, only twenty-five years old, roughly the same age as their children.
"Good morning, fellow directors." Jiang Shu greeted them with a smile.
"Good morning, Director Jiang."
The S.M. directors did not neglect Jiang Shu; after he greeted them, they all stood up and returned his greeting.
Even if DM Entertainment had lost IVE, ITZY had broken through.
Having debuted only once and had one comeback in public, ITZY managed to stabilize its popularity at the threshold of a second-tier group. This steadily rising popularity was truly somewhat alarming.
Given time, there was no guarantee she wouldn't become a second IVE.
Furthermore, other DM Entertainment girl groups, like the soon-to-debut IZONE, a super-large twelve-member girl group, were also highly anticipated regarding what kind of achievements they would make.
As a leader in the K-pop girl group industry, Jiang Shu was no longer the struggling nobody who would have been treated arrogantly by YG.
Building a good relationship with Jiang Shu was the way to get a slice of the girl group market pie going forward.
A valuable person is indeed that convenient.
After exchanging greetings, Jiang Shu looked at the seats with nameplates and found his name at the very back.
He sat down at the very end of the square table with a chuckle.
Although he stirred up trouble, he indeed had the least say in the S.M. board.
Once Jiang Shu was seated, only the directors around him came forward to chat with him; the others discussed their own matters.
Soon after, everyone had arrived, and the meeting officially began.
Li Xiuman was absent, and the meeting was chaired by the company's CEO, Kim Young-min.
Kim Young-min glanced at Jiang Shu, who was fiddling with his phone at the end of the table, and spoke.
"Before discussing aespa's debut time, the Chairman and I discussed the issue of operational rights ownership."
"Currently, there are two groups collaborating with DM Entertainment. Red Velvet is under Director Min, and for aespa, the Chairman and I discussed and exchanged opinions, ultimately deciding to put it to a board vote."
Exchanging opinions meant there were significant disagreements and no consensus was reached.
Many people looked towards Jiang Shu at the end, as the main person involved was also present.
However, most people just glanced at him and then agreed to vote to decide the ownership of aespa's operational rights.
Soon, the voting results were out.
Jiang Shu abstained, as did four others. Of the remaining votes, Li Xiuman received more, meaning aespa's operational rights would be managed by Li Xiuman.
Kim Young-min didn't say much about this, but the atmosphere around him dropped a few degrees.
Jiang Shu, who was observing, couldn't help but chuckle at this scene.
It seemed Li Xiuman had freed up his hands and was preparing to make a move against Kim Young-min.
It was unclear how long Kim Young-min could hold out.
Li Xiuman, that old man, was very capable at managing groups and also a master at playing dirty. Kim Young-min was also an old fox, but compared to Li Xiuman, he still lacked a bit of experience.
This vote alone offered a glimpse: Li Xiuman's control over the company was gradually strengthening.
So...
What about Min Xizhen?
Jiang Shu looked at Min Xizhen, who had been silent to Kim Young-min's left. What was this madwoman plotting now?
She dared to scheme against Fang Shihe not only because she was capable and bold, but more so because Fang Shihe himself was not strong enough.
Trying to use the same method to scheme against Li Xiuman was unrealistic.
Min Xizhen should have known this, otherwise she wouldn't have left S.M. so peacefully.
Perhaps after witnessing too many peak showdowns between Li Xiuman and Kim Young-min, she left S.M. for Hybe and found Fang Shihe to be like a rookie compared to those two, and thus began her grand plan of usurpation.
What the heck?
Don't tell me?
It actually seems logical?
Jiang Shu let his mind wander here; anyway, he was just there to make up the numbers for this board meeting, and it didn't concern him.
"Director Jiang."
Jiang Shu, who had been distracted, heard a voice and snapped back to reality, realizing Kim Young-min and a group of people were looking at him.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Shu wasn't embarrassed by being stared at and asked curiously.
"Director Jin just said that IZONE's debut time is August. Can NMIXX's debut time be confirmed? It's best if the three groups are staggered." Min Xizhen's voice followed.
Among the three groups born from "Produce48," only IZONE had a confirmed debut time; the other two had yet to make any moves.
"NMIXX will not debut this year." Jiang Shu didn't say much, but he revealed a lot of information.
NMIXX not debuting this year meant that JYP was messing around with something. How much of that popularity would be left after a half-year delay?
"Then let's set it for October," Kim Young-min said after some thought.
"Agreed."
"Seconded."
"Agreed."
The directors all expressed their opinions.
"Abstain." Jiang Shu propped his chin, still abstaining.
At this, everyone was accustomed to it.
Jiang Shu appeared as an S.M. director, but his identity as DM Entertainment's Chairman could not be ignored.
"Then the meeting concludes here." Kim Young-min announced the end.
Jiang Shu was about to leave when Min Xizhen called out to him.