Little Pink Starfish

“What?”

Choi Daeho looked dumbfounded at the words of his right-hand man, Team Leader Park.

It was because of the news that Team Leader Park brought.

“Why is Sedalbaekil clinging to us?”

“It seems to be one of two things. Either they’re bringing up Ryan Entertainment’s name as an excuse because the terrestrial broadcasters are pressuring them, or they’re really seeking revenge.”

“Does this even count as revenge?”

“It depends on the nature of revenge. One might consider annoying you to this extent as revenge, don’t you think?”

At Team Leader Park’s words, Choi Daeho frowned faintly.

Team Leader Park was competent, and his word choices were precise to match that, but sometimes that precision rubbed him the wrong way.

But he couldn’t deny that Han Sion was annoying him.

Not just this time.

The more successful Sedalbaekil became, the more they annoyed him.

Though they clashed with Take Scene, in truth, Take Scene’s portion of Ryan Entertainment’s total sales was small.

It shouldn’t have been small originally, but it had become so.

However, Ryan Entertainment had many more important artists than Take Scene, and there were also those who clashed directly with Sedalbaekil earlier this year.

Of course, the result wasn’t really a clash.

You can’t call it a collision just because a passing truck ran over some grass.

But Mix Way, who would start promoting next week, was a bit different.

Industry insiders were calling Mix Way ‘Sedalbaekil’s rival.’

Even though Ryan Entertainment wasn’t behind any media play.

Strictly speaking, it was more like the mountain was so high that climbers naturally drew attention.

Since the mountain named Sedalbaekil was too high, people were curious who might conquer it.

Meanwhile, Mix Way’s fandom was gathering strength, ready to support their promotions.

Ryan Entertainment’s marketing direction aligned with this.

Clearly, Sedalbaekil would achieve more impressive records than Mix Way.

They would rank higher on digital charts, and sell more physical albums.

But they couldn’t dominate in every area.

In certain aspects, Mix Way would take the lead, and Ryan Entertainment’s PR team would focus on that.

Using phrases like ‘beat Sedalbaekil in XXX’ and so on.

The best scenario would be Mix Way taking first place on a music show.

Music shows don’t calculate scores based solely on physical album sales.

Depending on how well Mix Way’s album sold, and its digital performance, it wasn’t impossible.

Especially when Sedalbaekil’s broadcast activity scores were low.

But…

‘Does this mean competing through music shows will be difficult?’

Han Sion threw a wild card.

Choosing between Sedalbaekil and Ryan Entertainment.

Of course, it would be Ryan Entertainment.

No matter how great Sedalbaekil’s musical achievements were, it wouldn’t change that.

But what mattered now wasn’t the situation itself.

It was the reason.

Why was Sedalbaekil clinging to Ryan Entertainment?

“Blocking my goals with meager talent and luck-based success.”

“How many album sales do you think I lost because of you? The patience that might snap any moment?”

“So just wait quietly. When the time comes, I’ll crush you myself.”

Could it be that he meant those words sincerely back then?

At the time, Choi Daeho had been flustered by Han Sion’s fierce momentum.

Han Sion was clearly looking down on Choi Daeho with intimidating pressure.

But thinking back, it was laughable.

No matter how successful Sedalbaekil became, no matter how many albums they sold, what did it matter to Ryan Entertainment’s business?

Even if they made tons of money, they couldn’t bring down a major agency.

Unless they earned billions and invested it all into Ryan Entertainment’s downfall.

“Team Leader Park.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think? How should we respond?”

“I think we should respond firmly. Also, we should strongly protest to M-Show. I believe this is the reason why M-Show’s schedule isn’t coming out either.”

“M-Show? Well, they went all-in on Sedalbaekil. That’s laughable too.”

“It’s mostly political. The mainstream leadership at M-Show is barely hanging on.”

“It’s always the revolutionaries who make reckless moves.”

After hearing Team Leader Park’s opinion, CEO Choi Daeho fell into thought.

Sedalbaekil was clinging to Ryan Entertainment’s pant leg.

The reason might be for show or for revenge.

Or perhaps a mix of both.

Then what did Sedalbaekil hate most right now?

What was the situation they most wished to avoid?

“Hm…”

CEO Choi Daeho pondered deeply.

Then a good idea came to him.

“Team Leader Park. If you think about it, Sedalbaekil grew by feeding off of Take Scene’s buzz.”

“Yes. That’s correct. The Color Show teasers, the MV teasers, all targeted Take Scene.”

Though he answered that way, Team Leader Park’s true thoughts differed.

Sedalbaekil would’ve succeeded even without clinging to Take Scene.

Their targeting of Take Scene was more an act of revenge than efficiency.

However, when it came to Han Sion, Choi Daeho’s judgment always became clouded.

Revolutionaries take reckless moves because they’re nervous.

And in Team Leader Park’s eyes, Choi Daeho was nervous.

But sometimes, a salaried man must simply nod.

“Then how about we do the opposite this time?”

“You mean have Mix Way share buzz with Sedalbaekil?”

“Exactly.”

“The media manipulation process will be a bit messy. Mix Way’s fandom might dislike it. Especially since Mix Way’s album is solid this time.”

In Team Leader Park’s view, Sedalbaekil was not an opponent to handle through marketing.

Sedalbaekil’s market didn’t overlap with Mix Way.

More precisely, Sedalbaekil’s market was so massive you could just call it ‘the general public.’

So for Mix Way, promoting in the most straightforward way was best.

But Choi Daeho seemed fixated on his idea.

Not that his idea lacked basis or was entirely bad.

He was a successful businessman in the K-pop market and a smart man.

“There are plenty of K-pop fans who dislike Sedalbaekil. You know why?”

“Yes. Because they’re changing the colors of idol culture. And many fans of other groups mockingly compare their groups to Sedalbaekil.”

“Right. Who were those kids that came out with a band concept recently?”

“Blossom.”

“Right. They got hated for nothing. Their fandom came to dislike Sedalbaekil. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Choi Daeho spoke excitedly.

“If we put Mix Way and Sedalbaekil in the same ring, neutral fans or rival group fans will side with Mix Way.”

“Considering Mix Way’s recent rise in individual popularity, it seems quite possible.”

“Yes. The dramas were huge hits. Two of them even. Their baseline favorability is quite high.”

The picture Choi Daeho envisioned was simple.

As Mix Way started promotions, they would latch onto Sedalbaekil, making people view the two groups together.

Making people curious about who would perform better in which area.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a fair fight, and Mix Way would receive full support from Ryan Entertainment’s PR team.

All they needed was for Mix Way to win in one or two areas.

Then Ryan Entertainment would mobilize all available media to hype up Mix Way’s success.

Fans who preferred classic K-pop would side with Mix Way.

That would elevate Mix Way’s tier.

Mix Way’s strength was its successful individual members, while its weakness was their overwhelming focus on individual careers.

This was a golden opportunity to unify the team and fandom.

“What do you think?”

“It’s good. But my concern is that the risk is too high.”

“Risk?”

“If things go wrong, they may lose everything they could have gained through straightforward promotions.”

In Team Leader Park’s view, no group had ever come out well after getting entangled with Sedalbaekil.

But Choi Daeho openly frowned.

He was a middle-aged man with the stubborn pride of one who succeeded in his own way.

“Proceed.”

“…Understood.”

Team Leader Park could only nod.

After all, Choi Daeho was the one paying his salary.

“Today’s the final day for Sedalbaekil’s initial album sales count, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“If we combine their unit albums and 2nd album, isn’t it reachable?”

Team Leader Park immediately understood what he meant.

“We’ll schedule as many fan signings as possible to boost initial sales.”

Of course, they couldn’t surpass Sedalbaekil’s combined unit albums and 2nd album first-week sales.

They just needed to surpass the 2nd album alone.

Soon after, Team Leader Park confirmed Sedalbaekil’s regular 2nd album first-week sales: 680,000 copies.

Combined with the unit albums, it exceeded 1.2 million.

‘These crazy people.’

Team Leader Park, not being a regressor, didn’t know, but K-pop first-week sales numbers had been growing every year.

And 2018 was the breakthrough year when first-week sales surpassed one million for the first time.

To be precise, Sedalbaekil’s first-week sales were 680,000.

First-week sales weren’t Billboard remix counts, so they couldn’t officially combine unit albums.

Even though those unit albums were derived from the 2nd album.

But what was surprising was that Sedalbaekil’s first-week sales had nothing to do with fan signings.

No one bought 100, 150, or 200 copies to enter fan signing events.

Even T.T. Generation 2 and 3 didn’t bulk buy this time.

They had learned from previous fan signing events.

Sedalbaekil were people who delivered when they said they would.

So those 680,000 copies were truly purchased because people wanted to listen.

Some bought multiple copies, but even that was voluntary.

Buying five to open one, store one, and gift three.

And the demon that had thrown someone’s life into a closed timeline counted every copy.

Though that had nothing to do with Team Leader Park.

“Ah, Reporter Kim. Are you free this evening?”

His job was simply to tie Mix Way together with Sedalbaekil.

---

“Sion, did you see this article?”

Saemiro showed him an article on her smartphone.

It was about whether Mix Way’s first-week sales might surpass Sedalbaekil’s.

Of course, most of the comments were mocking, saying there’s no way, but technically, it wasn’t impossible.

Mix Way’s fan signing cutoff was reportedly around 150 copies, and they had scheduled an enormous number of signings.

Moreover, since Mix Way was being ridiculed for being tied to Sedalbaekil, their fandom was visibly rallying.

But…

“Idiots.”

Han Sion had expected a few possible moves from Choi Daeho, but he hadn’t expected him to choose the worst option.

He almost wanted to text him out of gratitude.