Chapter 29: Both Busy
“New girl group…”
If Chairman Jiang had been sitting in front of Li Xiuman or Kim Young-min, he definitely wouldn't have said that.
The sunk cost was too high.
Although Rainbow Girls had only debuted for a year, the initial preparatory work involved a great deal of human and material resources. With such high sunk costs, how could you just give up?
But unfortunately, Chairman Jiang was sitting in front of Min Xizhen.
This older sister didn't care about sunk costs. If she felt that a group was beyond saving, or that the concept was overused, or that there was no further development for the concept, she would abandon it without hesitation and bring in new people.
This situation was similar to Park Jin-young, except Park Jin-young still had his true love, TWICE, while Min Xizhen, for now…
They were all her toys.
Even her most successful work, NewJeans, was no exception.
After hearing Chairman Jiang's words, Min Xizhen thought seriously for a moment, then spoke.
“A new girl group is indeed feasible, but we at S.M. can do it ourselves. Why should we cooperate with you?”
Seeing that Min Xizhen actually had an idea, Chairman Jiang immediately relaxed, grinned, and pointed to his eyes.
“Because my vision is better than yours.”
Min Xizhen: “…”
Does this person always speak so idealistically?
Good vision… Uh… Indeed, a little.
“This reason doesn't convince me,” Min Xizhen said, shaking her head.
She didn't care about sunk costs, and abandoning Rainbow Girls was irrelevant to her, but launching a new girl group meant she would have to do it under pressure from Li Xiuman and Kim Young-min. She didn't particularly want to offend these two people, and Chairman Jiang's small reason couldn't convince her.
“Director Min, in my vision, there is a type of girl group that can assimilate various different styles of concepts, and any concept can be freely applied to this type of girl group.”
“This type of girl group, I call them, Concept Groups.”
The more Min Xizhen listened, the brighter her eyes became.
Concept Group?
Can concepts be applied freely to a group?
In the current K-pop era, where changing styles is as difficult as changing parents, the concept of a Concept Group was undoubtedly rebellious.
But some people just like to be rebellious.
“Can you give me a Concept Group?” Min Xizhen asked Chairman Jiang directly.
Chairman Jiang smiled slightly.
“If Director Min is willing.”
Bang!
Min Xizhen slapped the table, staring intently at Chairman Jiang.
“If the cooperation is for such a Concept Group, I can make the decision to cooperate with your DM Entertainment!”
“No problem.” Chairman Jiang smiled slightly.
He didn't understand a thing about Concept Groups.
But he didn't understand, yet he could copy!
As long as Min Xizhen didn't independently create a monster like NewJeans within S.M., it wouldn't matter even if such a group was released early and co-managed with S.M.
As for which of the many Concept Groups to use…
Chairman Jiang glanced at Min Xizhen, who was agitated by the Concept Group he had described. Wasn't it already there?
Knock knock knock.
“Come in,” Min Xizhen called towards the door.
Secretary Park, carrying two stacks of documents, pushed the door open and entered.
“Director Min, Chairman Jiang,” she greeted, bowing to them both.
“What are these?” Min Xizhen asked, looking at the documents in Secretary Park's arms.
“These are the trainee profiles Chairman Jiang requested. The Chairman is giving Chairman Jiang two A-grade and below trainees,” Secretary Park explained.
Hearing that the trainees were A-grade and below, Min Xizhen looked at Chairman Jiang with some confusion.
“Why do you want trainees with so little potential?”
“To expand the company's talent reserves,” Chairman Jiang said with a smile, finding a reason.
Although Min Xizhen was a bit confused, she didn't say anything more. Instead, she looked up at Secretary Park.
“Bring the A-grade trainee and hidden trainee profiles.”
Hidden trainees were S-grade trainees hidden by S.M. Each entertainment company had different names for S-grade trainees.
For example, S.M. called S-grade trainees hidden trainees.
“This…” Secretary Park hesitated, glancing at Chairman Jiang.
“It's not for him, I need them,” Min Xizhen waved her hand and said.
“Yes.” Secretary Park nodded, placed the documents she was holding on the coffee table in front of the two, bowed, and exited.
Chairman Jiang looked at the two stacks of documents. The shorter one was labeled with the letter B, and the much taller one was labeled with the letter C.
Judging by the documents, S.M. had many more trainees than YG.
Chairman Jiang didn't rush to flip through these two stacks of trainee profiles. Instead, he looked at Min Xizhen.
“Director Min wants the other trainee profiles because she wants to…?”
“Since we're cooperating, you should look at the profiles first. Maybe there are trainees you need,” Min Xizhen said.
“Director Min is still so thoughtful,” Chairman Jiang praised.
He hadn't even thought of that.
Before long, Secretary Park returned, carrying two folders, which were much thinner than the two stacks in front of Chairman Jiang.
After placing the documents, Secretary Park left.
“Here,” Min Xizhen handed the hidden trainee folder to Chairman Jiang.
“Thank you.” Chairman Jiang took the folder and began to flip through it.
The first page was a familiar face, a striking opening. As he flipped further, he recognized every page. Although most did not meet the standard for a high-level card, he knew every single trainee.
Should he say it was indeed worthy of being the Three Greats' trump card trainees?
Flipping another page, Chairman Jiang's movements paused.
He directly pulled out that profile sheet and handed it to Min Xizhen opposite him.
Min Xizhen reached out and took it.
“Park Soo-young, I remember this child. Her skill is good, and her vocal line is very distinctive.”
“I'm just doing an initial screening. You can just take a look for now,” Chairman Jiang said, setting a precedent to avoid his selection appearing too targeted.
He put down the hidden trainee folder and picked up the A-grade trainee folder to flip through.
Min Xizhen glanced at Chairman Jiang and then looked at Park Soo-young's profile.
Born in '96, she was already twenty-two years old, a bit old, but it wasn't a major problem; as long as she wasn't thirty, it was a minor issue.
However, how did this guy figure out that Park Soo-young was suitable for the Concept Group he described? Why couldn't she see it?
Moreover, Park Soo-young's vocal tone was too sweet, too unique, and didn't quite fit her expectation of members with no distinct characteristics, used to serve the concept.
Could a Concept Group, which changes freely, really use a distinctive trainee like this?
Although Min Xizhen had doubts, she didn't interrupt Chairman Jiang, planning to speak after he finished looking.
The A-grade trainee profiles were a bit more numerous than the hidden trainee profiles, and familiar faces appeared less frequently. Chairman Jiang flipped for a while, and at the very end, he found the profile he wanted.
He pulled out the profile sheet and handed it to Min Xizhen.
Min Xizhen reached out and took it, focusing her gaze on a round face that came into view.
“Kim Ye-rim.”
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