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Chapter 313: Music Show Stage (2)

"What ways!"

"I can\'t tell you."

"You\'ve got to be kidding me!"

"I\'ll keep my mouth shut. But in return, I need you to do me a favor."

Jang Byung-Hoon couldn\'t contain his anger and snapped at me. "Hah, you\'ve got some guts! You\'re trying to make a deal with me even in a situation like this?"

"Mr. Jang, I believe there\'s no better gift for your transfer than me keeping this information under wraps. Don\'t you agree?"

Jang Byung-Hoon\'s expression shifted as he stared at me. His ongoing negotiations for the TVM transfer could be ruined if this information was leaked.

I continued, "I\'m not an unreasonable person. If you grant my request, I\'ll get you an additional gift you won\'t be disappointed with."

"Trying to bribe and coax me, huh? Do I look like a pushover to you?" Jang Byung-Hoon retorted.

"Mr. Jang, would I be doing this if I wasn\'t desperate?"

Jang Byung-Hoon looked me straight in the eyes. "It seems like something is going on."

After a brief moment of thought, Jang Byung-Hoon asked, "Is that gift you\'re talking about a promise to have Yoo-Jin appear on a show at the station I\'m transferring to?"

"With you moving, I should at least show that much sincerity. Shouldn\'t I?"

At that moment, the anger on Jang Byung-Hoon\'s face eased a little. Yoo-Jin, the hottest actress these days, rarely appeared on variety shows. So her appearance alone would generate a lot of buzz.

Then, Jang Byung-Hoon turned to Eun Ji-Yoo and asked, "And what about your companion here? Can she keep her mouth shut?"

Eun Ji-Yoo nodded firmly and kept her lips tightly sealed.

Jang Byung-Hoon laughed dumbfoundedly in disbelief. "They say there are no secrets in this world and they were right. Alright, tell me what you want."

"I apologize for my urgency and the rudeness."

"Forget that. Just get to the point."

"I want Kang Ha-Na\'s music show debut stage next week to be restored to the original schedule."

Jang Byung-Hoon tilted his head in confusion. "Kang Ha-Na? The MeTube singer with a million subscribers? Why? Was she supposed to be on our music show next week?"

"She was scheduled to, but it got suddenly canceled."

After I explained the current situation, Jang Byung-Hoon scratched his head in frustration. "That Music Center\'s CP Bang... That guy\'s a complete jerk and he won\'t listen to me..."

At that moment, I brought up Bang Sang-Oh\'s situation. "By the way, I heard a rumor that Mr. Bang is also moving to KNET."

Jang Byung-Hoon\'s eyes gleamed instantly. After all, Jang Byung-Hoon and Bang Sang-Oh were known for constantly clashing, almost like sworn enemies.

"Is that information certain?" Jang Byung-Hoon asked.

"Yes."

As I nodded, a meaningful smile spread across Jang Byung-Hoon\'s face. "That bastard. He must\'ve taken bribes to get in KNET\'s good graces."

"..."

The moment I silently agreed, Jang Byung-Hoon answered decisively. "Alright. You don\'t care about the order, do you?"

"No. But I\'d appreciate it if you could give us two stages."

"Not one, but two?"

"We\'ve planned a special performance to compete against Eve One."

After a brief moment of deliberation, Jang Byung-Hoon nodded. "Alright, let\'s do that."

"Can I get confirmation by today?"

"Today? Hah. Just hang around nearby and wait for the PD!"

"Yes, Mr. Jang."

After saying goodbye to Jang Byung-Hoon, I left the office with Eun Ji-Yoo.

***

Less than 20 minutes into our wait in the MBS parking lot, Ju Han-Soo, the director of Music Center, called me.

-Team Lead Jung. Ahem

, it wasn\'t really my intention... you see...

Ju Han-Soo explained that it wasn\'t his decision but rather orders from Bang Sang-Oh.

"So can Ha-Na appear next week?"

-Yes. But she\'ll be first or second to perform—are you okay with that?

The first slot on a music show was typically reserved for complete rookies. It was the least desirable because they had to arrive the earliest and wait the longest.

However, I agreed immediately. If we could secure her appearance, there were ways to change the order later.

"Thank you, Mr. Ju."

-Alright then, see you next week.

As soon as Ju Han-Soo hurriedly ended the call, Do Ran-Hee cheered beside me. "Yay! Mr. Jung, are you going to contact KBC and SBC now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean why not? We\'ve been bowing our heads until now, so it\'s time for them to come to us. Don\'t you think so?"

I was confident that SBC and KBC would call me once the news that we secured Ha-Na\'s appearance at MBS spread.

The broadcasting stations tried to play power games with us. However, it was now my turn.

We immediately returned to the office to prepare Kang Ha-Na\'s music upload.

The songs we planned to upload tonight were Kang Ha-Na\'s \'New Beginning\' and \'Soulfire\', the duet with Kim Jong-Hoon.

We felt that just \'New Beginning\', which was already known, wouldn\'t be enough to compete against Eve One\'s new song.

The music upload was scheduled for midnight.

Kang Ha-Na, who usually did live broadcasts until past 11 p.m., ended early tonight and was waiting in the meeting room.

"But where\'s Jong-Hoon?" I asked.

"Oh, it\'s because of his jinx."

Kim Jong-Hoon, who was a guest on Kang Ha-Na\'s live broadcast today, was currently waiting in the basement recording studio for the music chart results. He believed that if he saw the music chart results himself, he would jinx himself and the song wouldn\'t rank any higher.

"Alright, we\'ll go get him once the results are up."

A little later as the clock struck midnight, Eun Ji-Yoo exclaimed, "It\'s uploaded!"

Cherry Blossom\'s \'Hurry Up!\' previously entered the Melang chart at 15th place. We all waited anxiously to see how this release would rank.

Moments later when the chart rankings appeared on the large LCD screen in the meeting room, Do Ran-Hee shouted loud enough to shake the room.

"Mr. Jung! This is amazing! Look at that!"

When Kang Ha-Na\'s song rankings appeared, everyone began to laugh in disbelief.

"This is crazy...!"

[Melang Chart]

Third Place Kang Ha-Na \'New Beginning\' (New Entry)

Fifth Place Kang Ha-Na & Kim Jong-Hoon \'Soulfire\' (New Entry)

......

"\'New Beginning\' debuted in third place!"

"\'Soulfire\' is fifth! This is huge!"

"So what happens now? Are we fighting for first place among ourselves?"

"Who knows? We\'ll find out tomorrow when Eve One\'s song is uploaded."

Thanks to the publicity efforts via Kang Ha-Na\'s MeTube live, \'New Beginning\' debuted at third place immediately.

Moreover, the duet \'Soulfire\' by Kang Ha-Na and Kim Jong-Hoon also entered fifth place.

The influence of Kang Ha-Na, who achieved a million subscribers and a Gold Play Button, was clearly showing.

Kang Ha-Na blinked at the chart results. "Y-Yoon-Ho oppa. Is this for real?"

"Yep. You\'re in third and fifth places."

Kang Ha-Na\'s face lit up with a dreamy and ecstatic expression.

At that moment, Do Ran-Hee hugged Kang Ha-Na tightly. "Ha-Na! Congratulations!"

"T-Thank you, Ran-Hee."

The two friends hugged each other tightly and celebrated the moment.

Shortly after, the chart rankings were updated again.

[Melang Chart]

First Place: Kang Ha-Na New Beginning (+2)

Second Place: Kang Ha-Na & Kim Jong-Hoon Soulfire (+3)

......

"M-Mr. Jung. Could there be some kind of mistake?"

Just ten minutes after entering the charts, Kang Ha-Na\'s song had already climbed to first place.

Still in disbelief, Kim Mi-Hye from the promotion division pulled up the comments on the songs on the LCD screen.

(Comments)

-OMG. Why does \'New Beginning\' sound so much better? Did her singing style change?

-I\'m addicted! Can someone make an hour-long version of this song?

-A duet with Kim Jong-Hoon! Ha-Na is really hitting the big leagues now!

-Listening to \'Soulfire\' at this hour is giving me chills.

-Kim Jong-Hoon\'s singing style seems to have changed a lot too. I never liked his voice before, but this time, it\'s really good.

The songs were great, but the comments pouring in were all focused on praising the improved singing styles.

Our team members kept giving thumbs up to Seo Yeon-Woo, our vocal trainer, who scratched his head shyly.

Amidst the lively atmosphere, the meeting room door opened halfway and Kim Jong-Hoon peeked in. "Yoon-Ho, how did it go?"

Although he initially wanted to avoid jinxing the results, his curiosity got the better of him.

I smiled. "Come in and see for yourself."

"No, I told you I would jinx it. Just tell me if it\'s good or bad."

Kang Ha-Na rushed over and grabbed Kim Jong-Hoon\'s arm. "There\'s no higher rank left to climb! Come in and see for yourself."

Having no higher rank to climb meant first place.

Kim Jong-Hoon stepped into the meeting room and glanced at the large LCD screen to confirm the ranking.

"Yes! We\'re first on the duet song chart!" Kim Jong-Hoon shouted with his powerful voice which filled the room.

Then he walked over to Seo Yeon-Woo with an excited expression. After all, he had been receiving vocal training from Seo Yeon-Woo every day. "Mr. Yeon-Woo, my reputation has completely changed thanks to you. How can I repay you?"

Seo Yeon-Woo waved his hand dismissively. "No, no. It\'s all because you did so well, Jong-Hoon hyung-nim. I didn\'t do much."

"There you go again. Well, I\'ll prepare a gift myself, then."

Kim Jong-Hoon shook Seo Yeon-Woo\'s hand energetically, promising a surprise.

Still elated, Kim Jong-Hoon turned to me this time. "Yoon-Ho, so we just need to prepare for the MBS stage?"

"No, we need to prepare for SBC and KBC as well."

"But why? Didn\'t they reject us?"

"Just wait. They\'ll be the ones calling us soon."

There was no way the three major broadcasting stations would sit idly after seeing these rankings. With two songs debuting at first and second places right upon release, they definitely wouldn\'t just watch and do nothing.

And there was one more thing.

"Ran-Hee, how\'s the fan page coming along?"

"I\'m about to launch it."

Kang Ha-Na\'s fan club \'ONE & Only\' was set to open for registration on an online platform. With just a few clicks, Do Ran-Hee set up the fan page on the portal site.

"Mr. Jung, it\'s done!"

Moments later, membership started skyrocketing as soon as a post about the fan cafe went up on Kang Ha-Na\'s Instargem.

"Five hundred, six hundred...Mr. Jung! The membership growth is insane!" Do Ran-Hee exclaimed excitedly.

The fan page membership count was increasing by a hundred every second.

Do Ran-Hee danced joyfully as she asked, "Mr. Jung, what about the commemorative gifts we promised to the fan club members?"

"What do you mean? We\'ll give them all, of course."

Among the general members who joined the fan page, those who deposited 10 thousand won would be upgraded to official fan club members.

The fan club gifts were premium goods of the highest quality.

Kim Jong-Hoon commented enviously, looking at me. "Ha-Na\'s fans are so lucky."

"Nope. Don\'t even think about it!" I warned him.

Kim Jong-Hoon bristled. "What did I even do?"

"You were about to say you wanted to join our company again."

Kim Jong-Hoon pouted. "You\'ve got some nerve, reading my mind like that..."

At this point, I could tell what he was about to say just by looking at his eyes.

However, with President Lee Seo-Joon of SJ Entertainment having sent me another message today warning that he wouldn\'t take it lightly if Kim Jong-Hoon left, I absolutely couldn\'t allow it.

At that moment, the call we had been waiting for finally came in.

"Oh, it\'s here."

[Caller ID: KBC PD Cha Tae-Hee]

"Everyone, quiet for a moment!"

The staff, who had been excitedly chatting, immediately fell silent.

It was time to negotiate with the broadcasting station.

When I answered the call, Cha Tae-Hee\'s urgent voice came through.

-Mr. Jung! C-could I see you right now?

It was currently 12:30 a.m. and most office workers were already soundly asleep by now.

"You\'re asking me to come to the broadcasting station at this late hour?" I asked.

-N-no! I\'m actually on my way to your company now.

I didn\'t answer right away. The tides had already turned in our favor, so holding out a bit longer would secure us the best conditions.

"Well, it\'s really late, so I\'m not sure it\'s possible to meet right now..."

Cha Tae-Hee\'s voice grew even more desperate.

-Mr. Jung, please! We know it\'s all our fault, so let\'s talk face-to-face! Our CP is coming with me too!

If Kim Yung-Gook was coming along at this hour, it meant the directive had come from at least the department head level.

I figured the broadcasting station must have been thrown into a frenzy upon seeing Ha-Na\'s song shoot to number one on the charts.

This was my chance to play hard to get.

"Well... I\'ve already promised MBS an exclusive appearance. I\'m sorry, but I don\'t think there\'s much to discuss even if you come."

At that moment, Kim Yung-Gook\'s voice erupted from the other end of the line.

-What? You\'re doing an exclusive debut at MBS?

"Yes. After getting turned down by you earlier, I went to MBS and begged, and finally secured a stage under the condition of exclusivity. So it\'d be difficult to backtrack now."

Kim Yung-Gook responded frantically.

-Nothing\'s impossible if the conditions are right! We\'ll be at your company in five minutes, so let\'s talk in your office! Please, let\'s just discuss this face-to-face, alright?

Before I could respond, Kim Yung-Gook abruptly ended the call as he was worried I might refuse again.

After hanging up, I turned to my team with a big grin. "KBC\'s PD and CP are coming in person."

The team\'s faces lit up instantly.

Then, I turned my attention to Do Ran-Hee, who hadn\'t slept for 24 hours straight. "Ran-Hee, is this good enough for you?"

When I asked if she was satisfied to see the PD and CP this flustered, Do Ran-Hee laughed and shook her head. "Hehehe, not yet. When they come, please take me with you. I want to see them apologize right in front of me. Hehe."

Do Ran-Hee\'s bloodshot eyes were slowly filling up with a hint of madness.

I immediately shifted my gaze to Eun Ji-Yoo. "Ms. Eun, come with me instead. I don\'t think I can take Ran-Hee—she might do something crazy."

"Should I?"

Do Ran-Hee grabbed my arm and exclaimed urgently. "Oh, come on Mr. Jung! Don\'t do this to me, please!"

"Alright, alright, just let go! You\'re stretching my clothes!"

"Yes, sir!"

In the end, I decided to take both Eun Ji-Yoo and Do Ran-Hee with me to Lee Dong-Min\'s office.

Since a CP was coming, at least one chief from our side had to be there.

I was determined to get the best conditions possible and make Kang Ha-Na\'s stage the best it could be.