“Yes, it’s true that I had sent an email.”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung replied to Do Wook’s question.
After returning from Japan, Do Wook had a meeting with Fan Marketing Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung and Album Production Team Leader Shim Joon the very next day.
Team Leader Shim Joon was tired of being trapped in the office these days, so the three of them went to a café near the office.
Do Wook was luckily able to avoid the eyes of the fans who were in front of the office building, since it was only Do Wook while the other members stayed at the dorm and he had blended in with the employees when leaving.
The café was a small shop behind the office with only two tables, so there was no room for the fans even if they came.
Team Leader Shim Joon smiled cheerfully at what Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung said and patted his shoulder.
“Order whatever you’d like. It’s my treat.”
Do Wook, who was standing behind him, muttered quietly,
“It’s the company card…”
Team Leader Shim Joon moaned at what Do Wook said.
“Pretend not to know! I’m a poor salaryman!”
Do Wook chuckled and took out his card from his wallet.
“Are you trying to show off that you’re making good money?!”
“Of course.”
Team Leader Shim Joon impishly glared at Do Wook and bragged that he was going to get the most expensive drink from the café. Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung thanked him for the drink and ordered a warm latte.
Do Wook knew how hard both team leaders were working for KK. Of course that was their job, but as a former fellow agency employee, Do Wook knew that they worked harder than they were paid for and that they treated KK like it was their own business.
For a singer to be successful, the staff around them is also a very important factor. It’s a job where you can’t succeed on your own.
A drink worth a few thousand won* seemed too cheap to express his gratitude, but he wanted to at least do something to show his gratitude.
(TL Note: just a few USD)
The Album Production Team Leader Shim Joon had now delegated all the album projects for singers other than KK to his team members.
KK had now taken over all of HIT Entertainment.
Of course, Milky Way and Monster, HIT Entertainment’s existing singers, were doing spirited activities in their own way. However, since they had been around for a while, they were now focusing on individual activities rather than group activities.
It was out of Team Leader Shim Joon’s hands now, but the team members he had raised were doing just as stellar as him at their jobs. Thanks to that, Milky Way’s vocalist was able to do an OST*, and Kwon Ji Hyung’s solo album was doing well.
(TL Note: Original Soundtrack, for a movie/show)
In Kwon Ji Hyung’s case, he wasn’t at Do Wook’s level, but like Do Wook, he worked closely with Brave Only Child and was involved in composing songs. He was just as involved in making his solo album. His group could be considered past their prime, but it seemed like his heyday as a solo artist would be here soon.
Now that his focus was solely on KK’s album, Team Leader Shim Joon had some spare time.
Thanks to that, he was able to prepare for KK’s next album a little more seriously.
At the same time, he had the same concerns as Do Wook. Even Team Leader Shim Joon thought it was time for KK to aim for the overseas market, not the domestic one.
They had made it to the top in a blink of an eye. Coming down is usually just as quick.
However, all you need to do is aim for the next mountain. Without a next mountain, the way down is literally ‘downhill’.
The Album Production Team was severely concerned about KK’s next album. Team Leader Shim Joon’s thoughts and concerns coincidentally reached Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung’s ears.
There was a New Year’s company lunch for team leaders.
As a policy, HIT Entertainment encouraged a company lunch rather than a company dinner.
The entertainment industry is already known for working day and night. In particular, the closer one works with a celebrity, the more blurred the boundaries of work hours are.
Therefore, the company decided against having company dinners and causing employees to leave even later.
Of course, no one could compare to a manager in terms of work hours, who stays right next to the celebrity they manage, but the Album Production Team was a close second.
Music production is a business, but it’s art at the same time; you never know when or how you will come across a song project.
Singer, producer, engineer, etc. If a single person among them decided that the recording would be done at night, night time becomes the Album Production Teams’ work hours.
There were also many people who sent the lyrics or composition they worked on at any hour of the day, asking for confirmation.
It was the same for the Fan Marketing Team.
It was common for employees who maintained and looked after the fan club to go to the music broadcast or recording venue regardless of whether it was a weekday or a weekend, and wait around and argue with fans.
Internal marketing staff were also getting contacted day and night. Also, there were many brand-new teasers or music that were released at midnight so they often had to wait until then.
As the number of social media and content to manage increased, they also posted updates on weekends.
Both teams were struggling, and at the same time, there was a lot they had to collaborate on.
There were many cases where they decided on the album concept together, and the marketing direction changed depending on who was involved in the album production and which songs were included.
That was why Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung sat next to Team Leader Shim Joon as soon as he arrived at the Team Leader company lunch.
HIT Entertainment’s focus was on KK.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung thought that he needed to be especially close with Team Leader Shim Joon, who was in charge of KK’s album.
They were already acquainted from talking about work, and Team Leader Shim Joon wasn’t a uptight person, so Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung was able to easily talk to him about a lot of things.
Also, since they were both team leaders with no difference in rank, he had earned points with Team Leader Shim Joon by doing generous and polite things, such as laying out the utensils for him first.
Anyway, speaking with Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung face to face, Team Leader Shim Joon shared his concerns about the next KK album.
When the global market was mentioned, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung replied that it would be good to find a plan for marketing too.
“The road is not completely blocked like it used to be, and now there is an amazing method called the Internet…It’s Do wook’s and my firm belief that whatever you do, if the song is good it’ll work out.”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung nodded his head to what Team Leader Shim Joon said.
The power of marketing, however, also definitely existed. Just as some songs don’t become a hit no matter how good they are, there are also songs that are just ok but do better than expected.
“I guess you’ll need an opportunity.”
This time, Team Leader Shim Joon nodded his head to what Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung said.
It was daytime, but since this was a ‘company outing’, people were talking about having at least one beer before going back. In the noisy atmosphere, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung thought deeply.
Team Leader Shim Joon was the type to be passionate about his work because it was the task given to him and he enjoyed making a good album. On the other hand, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung was more interested in the fame that comes with it rather than the job of marketing itself.
However, regardless of the goal, they both worked very hard.
Even Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung thought KK had limitless possibilities. In a time where a good platform like the internet was available, they were a group that had enough musical talent to target a global market.
Team leader Lee Dae Hyung considered KK’s potential as his own.
That was also the reason why he moved to HIT Entertainment. It was an opportunity to actively pursue possibilities.
‘It’s also a good opportunity to make a name for ourselves,’ he thought.
However, Even Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung couldn’t ascertain it. They could only try for now.
“I thought that some kind of opportunity will open if the American Entertainment world becomes interested in KK. Which, in turn, would serve as a bridge to advance into overseas markets outside of Asia. The promotional effect would be huge. That’s why I sent the email.”
Each of their drinks were placed in front of them.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung was explaining to Do Wook in detail how LIL ended up contacting them, so their drinks remained untouched.
Team leader Shim Joon, who was also hearing the details for the first time today, had a twinkle in his eye.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung hadn’t had a specific plan either. He simply hoped for the management to get an interest in KK.
Since he didn’t know it would lead to a collaboration right away, Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung was also a little surprised.
“What email did you send?”
Do Wook’s eyes glistened with pure curiosity. Lee Dae Hyung smiled warmly as he replied.
“It was a business email regarding KK. You could call it a sales email…haha.”
The laughter had a little bit of awkwardness. It wasn’t a particularly special email.
“I introduced the group called KK, and attached some links to KK music videos in the order of the highest views on MyTube and asked them to please give it a listen. That was it. Give it a listen and contact us if interested, we’re always considering ways to enter the American market. It didn’t say anything special…”
Actually, rather than the collaboration, it was an email hoping to get help, just as Nakamoto had helped them enter the Japanese market.
“But it got through to them.”
“It’s KK’s music that got through.”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung quickly replied to Team Leader Shim Joon. His answer was enough to warm the hearts of Team Leader Shim Joon and Do Wook.
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung said it was not a big deal, but in Do Wook’s opinion, he had accomplished something big. Do Wook was also a PR employee when he was Kim Bo Myung, but he felt he wouldn’t have thought to personally send an email to get their name known.
Even if he had the idea, it was hard to actually put it into action. He had thought it wouldn’t work and had given up.
“Did you send an email to LIL’s management company?”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung answered Do Wook’s question.
“That’s right. Actually, I sent it to other famous management companies too. To about five other places…although LIL is the only one who contacted me back.”
“What do you mean ‘Only LIL’! LIL would lament if he heard you say that!”
Team Leader Shim Joon rebuked him. Do Wook also shook his head.
Aside from entering the global market, Do Wook’s heart was full just by the fact that he would be working with LIL, a top vocalist and artist. He had nothing but gratitude towards Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung for creating the opportunity to work with LIL.
“I only discussed sending the emails with the Director…I didn’t want Team Leader Shim or you to be disappointed.”
“You didn’t need to worry about that!”
“Yes, it’s ok.”
Do Wook understood Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung’s intentions 100%. Do Wook also hadn’t been able to tell the members the news, just in case.
“I’ve talked to LIL’s people more…there’s no problem at all with the contract including profit distribution. Department Head Jo Anna has also confirmed it. The only thing is that they said that in the case we’re not able to deliver the quality they want, they won’t be able to include it in the album. Even in that case, they’ll reimburse the cost of the production of the work done so far.”
“Oh…”
Team Leader Shim Joon said, stroking his chin a little anxiously.
“Do we have no choice if we want to accommodate a global star…?”
“I guess I’ll just have to do well.”
Do Wook was worried, but at the same time thought it would be a good challenge. Team leader Lee Dae Hyung continued while nodding his head,
“He said he would like to receive the song within a month. It’s going to be tight…will it be ok?”
Do Wook replied, his fists clenched,
“I can do it.”
“Haha, so full of energy! Good, good. What song do you want? Have you discussed that far?”
Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung shook his head at Team Leader Shim Joon’s question.
“I thought we should have an in-person discussion, starting with that subject first…”
“Yes! Sounds good.”
The two team leaders, who could feel Do Wook’s passion in his response, smiled.
In particular, Team Leader Shim knew how much Do Wook was struggling with KK’s next album, so he hoped Do Wook would learn a lot of helpful things from working with LIL before the album came out.
***
As the contract proceeded without any problems, Do Wook also informed the KK members.
As expected, the members were overjoyed.
Of course, there were some members who couldn’t be happy for a while because they didn’t believe it at all.
However, there was an event a few days later that made it impossible to not believe the LIL and KK collaboration.
The members stood in front of the conference room laptop, nervous. Do Wook was also nervous. He was so flustered that he hadn’t expected the situation that was to come.
—
Next chapter: The members are excited about the LIL collab news