Chapter 330: The Road Down the Mountain
On August 4th, IZONE made a powerful comeback with their third mini-album, “Party,” joining the summer girl group battle that Red Velvet had been dominating.
This was the first comeback for the top-tier group since they ascended to the throne, and the reaction was, of course, extraordinary.
Both “red flavor” and “Party,” these two summer-limited songs, attracted countless listeners upon their release.
Originally, Red Velvet would have found it difficult to be compared with IZONE, but the incredibly high quality of “red flavor” meant that even with IZONE’s comeback, “red flavor” still reigned supreme.
However, with the momentum of “Party,” combined with IZONE’s inherent popularity and the quality of the song itself, surpassing “red flavor” was only a matter of time.
The real question was how long Red Velvet could hold out.
Subsequently, (G)I-DLE also made their comeback on August 12th, bringing their first mini-album, “HANN,” which marked the beginning of their ‘Spark Trilogy’ and added more fuel to the ongoing summer girl group battle.
Although “HANN” didn’t quite fit the theme of the summer battle, the song’s solid quality allowed it to carve out its own path.
Following closely on August 20th, Jiang Shu once again helmed aespa’s second mini-album, with the title track “Dreams Come True” joining the summer battle.
By this point, including aespa, three albums produced by Jiang Shu had made their comebacks, even leading to scenes of them competing on the same stage.
After half a year of silence, Jiang Shu reappeared, delivering three albums at once, adding another brilliant chapter to his already impressive resume.
The internet, which is quick to praise in good times and criticize in bad, naturally once again showered Jiang Shu with adulation.
His impeccable track record, never having failed to date, was truly something to boast about, and DM Entertainment, founded by Jiang Shu, also received a flood of praise.
This scene continued until October.
On October 7th, ITZY made their comeback with their sixth mini-album, “Fantasy.”
It was expected to be another strong advance for ITZY, but their comeback results delivered a resounding slap to everyone’s faces.
…
DM Entertainment, President’s Office.
At the desk, President Li Duohui and Art Director Kim Hye-soo sat in chairs, while the Head of Entertainment, the Head of Planning, and ITZY’s manager stood behind them.
An eerie silence filled the office, broken only by the sound of Jiang Shu turning pages.
“I understand the situation,” Jiang Shu stopped flipping pages, looking up at the group.
Aside from Li Duohui, the other four instinctively lowered their heads.
ITZY’s Waterloo comeback made them extremely uneasy.
This was the first time Jiang Shu and Jeon Soyeon, master and disciple, had not participated in ITZY’s production, and they had messed up big time.
ITZY, who was competing with IZONE last year, saw IZONE remain invincible this year, while their former rival, ITZY, saw their numbers plummet directly to a first-tier level.
First-tier is already a level countless groups aspire to, but this was ITZY, a super girl group capable of going head-to-head with IZONE?
How long had it been?
Among recent comeback girl groups, except for NMIXX and the rookie group (G)I-DLE, every single one of them had surpassed ITZY, including Red Velvet, a universally recognized first-tier group.
When the comeback data was delivered to every executive in the data statistics room, those present felt as if the sky had fallen when they received the data.
As expected, the next day, which was now, Jiang Shu immediately summoned all of them.
After listening to each person’s data report, they anxiously awaited Jiang Shu’s “judgment.”
“ITZY’s situation is within my expectations,” Jiang Shu put down the documents in his hand and said calmly.
Everyone was stunned by his words, and even the usually composed Li Duohui showed a surprised expression.
“Don’t worry about ITZY’s comeback results; this group was always meant to be like this in my vision,” Jiang Shu waved his hand and said.
“It’s quite surprising that they reached such a height, and it’s already very good that they managed to hold on until now before declining.”
“Chairman, do you mean… give up on ITZY?” Li Duohui asked, somewhat uncertainly, interpreting Jiang Shu’s words.
“We at DM will not give up on any group, but the allocation of resources must also change according to their performance.”
Everyone present was sharp; they all understood the subtext of Jiang Shu’s words.
If ITZY wanted to stay in the company, the company would keep them, but they would no longer receive as many resources as before.
They wouldn’t be shelved; if they were diligent, they would still have schedules, but they wouldn’t receive the same treatment as in the past.
“But wouldn’t such a sudden reduction in ITZY’s treatment have a negative impact on other groups?” Kim Hye-soo asked, puzzled.
“It’s fine,” Jiang Shu waved his hand.
“They are currently at first-tier popularity, so a slight reduction in schedule resources won’t be noticed by too many people.
Just gradually decrease it.”
Like boiling a frog slowly, by the time people reacted, their image would be fixed, and no major problems would arise.
“Understood.”
The group discussed ITZY’s matters for a while longer, then concluded the impromptu meeting.
They had all expected to be thoroughly scolded by Jiang Shu and were very anxious when they arrived, but to their surprise, Jiang Shu not only didn’t scold them but also provided solutions.
This made everyone breathe a sigh of relief after leaving Jiang Shu’s office.
“President Li, Director Kim Hye-soo…”
A nervous voice came over, and Li Duohui and the others, who had just exited the office, looked over.
The girl’s dark hair had white highlights, paired with a white casual suit, making her look very fresh.
“It’s Hae Won,” Li Duohui tilted her head slightly, recognizing the girl in front of her.
The others merely glanced at Wu Haiyuan and lost interest, not even bothering to return her greeting.
ITZY’s setback had put them in a bad mood; even though the Chairman hadn’t reprimanded them much, it didn’t mean their mood would significantly improve.
Li Duohui, however, felt nothing much; as the person who most frequently interacted with Jiang Shu, she had been scolded countless times and had grown accustomed to it.
“Are you here to see the Chairman?” Li Duohui asked, looking at Wu Haiyuan.
Wu Haiyuan, known as “Two-Product-One,” had a vast collection of memes, and Li Duohui even had many of Wu Haiyuan’s memes on her phone, which made her have a rather good impression of Wu Haiyuan.
“Yes,” Wu Haiyuan replied, “The Chairman wants to see me about something.”
Li Duohui didn’t feel anything unusual; Jiang Shu frequently called artists over for discussions.
There was no other chairman in the entire industry who called their own artists so often.
However, Li Duohui also understood Jiang Shu’s intentions.
“Then go in quickly,” Li Duohui waved her hand and said.
“Yes!”
Wu Haiyuan bowed to Li Duohui and the others who had ignored her, then knocked on the door and entered the office.
Watching the office door close again, Li Duohui glanced at Kim Hye-soo and the others, then walked away.