Chapter 365 Bae Joo-hyun’s Family
President’s Office.
Choi Ji-yeon pushed the door open and entered.
“President, the first class of the Artist Teacher Program has begun, with Sun Shengwan serving as the vocal teacher. Over seventy people are attending this class.”
Upon hearing the number seventy, Jiang Shu looked up in surprise.
“Seventy?”
“Yes.” Choi Ji-yeon nodded. “Aside from the trainees, solo singers about to debut, LESSERAFIM, and the new IVE members are all present.”
“Interesting.” Jiang Shu smiled. “If you look at it that way, they really are trainees.”
Having Sun Shengwan teach the first class was a well-thought-out decision. Sun Shengwan was a vocal teacher before her debut, so it was perfectly fitting to arrange for her to teach.
“Also, the Planning Department has come up with a proposal: LESSERAFIM will debut first, and IVE will be delayed until next year.” With that, Choi Ji-yeon placed the document in her hand on the desk and pushed it towards Jiang Shu.
He opened the document and began to browse.
“LESSERAFIM’s debut is tentatively set for November 10th, and IVE’s reorganization is scheduled for January 10th, 2023, using the former IVE’s second mini-album ‘After Like’.”
IVE’s disbandment was too sudden; their second mini-album, which was already prepared, didn’t even get a chance to be released before the group disbanded.
Now that IVE is being reorganized, it’s natural to continue using this song of IVE’s.
“Alright.” Jiang Shu nodded. Starting with ‘After Like’ would be perfect for highlighting Kim Autumn’s famous scene and weakening the original ‘twin stars + four hangers-on’ situation of IVE.
Of course, it wouldn’t weaken it much; with two center positions, the suppressive power was still too strong.
After browsing the document, Jiang Shu put it aside, then took out a document from a folder and handed it to Choi Ji-yeon.
Choi Ji-yeon took it with both hands, looking at the unlabeled folder, and then at Jiang Shu in confusion.
“These are some of my thoughts on the limited group. Take them to the Planning Department and have them refine them when they have time. There’s no rush this year, but before next year, I need them to present a complete plan for a limited group.”
A limited group was indeed less urgent compared to LESSERAFIM and IVE, but just because it wasn’t urgent didn’t mean it shouldn’t be worked on; it still needed to be slowly developed.
“Understood.” Choi Ji-yeon didn’t flip through the document. She could read it once she left, there was no need to eagerly flip through it in front of the President.
“Also, have Bae Joo-hyun come over. I have something to discuss with her.”
“Yes.”
After Choi Ji-yeon left the office, Jiang Shu picked up his phone again, looking at the message Kim Ye-rim had sent in the chat box, and fell into thought.
About half an hour later, there was a knock on the office door.
“Come in.”
Then the office door opened, and Bae Joo-hyun’s figure appeared.
Bae Joo-hyun’s outfit, consisting of a light yellow blouse and tapered jeans, gave this older idol the visual impression of a campus first love.
The soft goose yellow acted like a natural reflector on her, making her already translucent skin appear even more luminous.
And the high-waisted tapered jeans held a hidden secret; the wide-to-narrow cut perfectly concealed Bae Joo-hyun’s wide hips, and the nine-point length extended her leg proportion, allowing her to appear 170cm tall despite being under 160cm.
The shirt hem was casually tucked into the waistband, paired with white sneakers, making her look like a campus belle from university days—fresh yet not overly sweet, refined yet not pretentious. This simple yet pleasing style is also a representative of the Korean “first love” aesthetic.
Bae Joo-hyun’s fashion style was precisely like this: simple yet not lacking in beauty.
“This outfit is nice.” Jiang Shu was never stingy with his compliments.
“Thank you, President.” Bae Joo-hyun smiled slightly, accepting Jiang Shu’s praise gracefully.
“Have a seat.” Jiang Shu pointed to the chair in front of him. Bae Joo-hyun, who had originally intended to sit on the sofa, heard him and came to sit at the desk.
“The cafeteria is going to undergo a new round of counter expansion. I heard your parents are closing their restaurant back home? Come to the company cafeteria. I’ll have the cafeteria manager reserve a counter for them.” Jiang Shu went straight to the point.
His words, however, left Bae Joo-hyun stunned.
Because of her fame, her family’s locally well-known restaurant also became a popular spot for fans to visit. Since her parents were the restaurant’s employees, many fans would go to take photos with her parents and family. One or two was fine, but with dozens or hundreds of people daily, it was simply unbearable.
However, in the Korean environment, you couldn’t show a bad face to fans. So, Bae Joo-hyun’s parents, overwhelmed by the disturbance, could only reluctantly choose to close the restaurant.
Bae Joo-hyun knew about this, but she didn’t know why Jiang Shu also knew. She hadn’t told Jiang Shu about it.
“Don’t space out. Tell your parents.” Jiang Shu woke up the dazed Bae Joo-hyun, speaking in a commanding tone.
“President… how did you know about this?” Bae Joo-hyun hesitated for a moment, then still asked.
If Jiang Shu was paying attention to her, it wasn’t impossible. But to say he was paying attention to this extent, Bae Joo-hyun absolutely wouldn’t believe it.
“I have my own channels.”
If he was unwilling to say, then it meant someone else had told him.
In an instant, several figures flashed through Bae Joo-hyun’s mind, then settled on Kim Ye-rim.
Only a few people knew about this matter, and among those who knew and also knew Jiang Shu, it could only be her teammates.
None of her teammates were that familiar with the President, and the only person who would tell the President without being particularly familiar was Kim Ye-rim.
She guessed who revealed the news, but Bae Joo-hyun didn’t make a fuss.
Kim Ye-rim was also trying to help her; she appreciated the kindness.
“I’ll tell my parents.” After a brief hesitation, Bae Joo-hyun chose to agree.
Her parents were only in their fifties. With Bae Joo-hyun’s income, supporting her elderly parents to live a comfortable second half of their lives was completely fine, but the problem was that they couldn’t sit still.
Rather than having them find something else to do and start over at home, it would be better for them to come to Seoul and continue their old profession. And that way, she could also spend more time with her family.
It was a win-win situation.
“Very good.” Jiang Shu nodded with satisfaction. He was only afraid of those who were too concerned with saving face. Since he had spoken, it wasn’t just a polite gesture.
He didn’t even consider, in a society like Korea, which superior would be polite to a subordinate?
“Tell your parents about this as soon as possible. I’ll have Zhiyan send you the cafeteria manager’s number later. Once your parents agree, they can contact the manager directly.”
If this small matter hadn’t involved Bae Joo-hyun, it wouldn’t have reached Jiang Shu’s level at all; at most, it would have stopped at Li Duohui’s level.
Normally, the administrative director’s office could handle everything, with no need to escalate it to the highest level.
“Yes, I’ll call my parents now.”
With that, Bae Joo-hyun took out her phone right in front of Jiang Shu.