Chapter 54: The Shock of Twenty-Seven
I closed the MV and opened the real-time comment section.
Ignoring the various clichéd comments from fans, I looked for evaluations from normal listeners.
I briefly scrolled through dozens of comments; most were positive, but some felt it wasn't good.
This was normal; a stream of nothing but positive reviews would surely be from bots.
Even “Sunny Day,” which topped Q Music's charts every year, didn't receive universally positive reviews when it was first released. Now, you'd be hard-pressed to find a single negative review among tens of thousands.
For an MV, a mix of good and bad is the most realistic evaluation. As long as the overall positive reviews outweigh the negative ones, it can be considered a success.
IVE's debut song MV was in just such a state, which somewhat reassured Jiang Shu.
It wasn't that he was counting on this to make money; it was just that bad reviews were never as comforting to see as good ones.
I closed the MV, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed Min Xizhen.
After a few seconds of ringing, the call was answered.
“Chairman Jiang,” Min Xizhen's voice came through.
“Director Min, I’m almost ready on my end. Only one main vocalist is still not in place. Let’s bring everyone together for a meeting first,” Jiang Shu said.
Sun Shengwan's whereabouts were still unknown, but some time had passed since he had given Min Xizhen the 'pie in the sky.' It was like work assigned by a leader: whether you finished it or not wasn't important; you had to report progress regularly so the leader knew you were working.
Min Xizhen wasn't Jiang Shu's leader, but he needed Min Xizhen for this collaboration, so he needed her to see his progress.
“Main vocalist?” Min Xizhen repeated, somewhat surprised, “Like LilyM?”
“Stronger than her.”
“Are you sure?” Min Xizhen's voice volume increased considerably.
Although she didn't emphasize the main vocalist position as much as Li Xiuman and Kim Young-min, as an S.M. Entertainment executive, she still had a certain sentiment towards main vocalists, especially lead vocalists.
Jiang Shu actually said he found a main vocalist even stronger than Lily?
You should know that Li Xiuman was heartbroken about Jiang Shu putting Lily in IVE as a hanger-on. Even she felt that Jiang Shu was a bit wasteful of talent.
It was quite absurd that such a main vocalist could be thrown in to be a hanger-on.
“I'm sure.”
Although he didn't know where Teacher Sun was now or what industry she was in, her connections destined her to become the top idol main vocalist in a very short time.
Provided he could find Sun Shengwan.
“What do you mean 'not in place'?”
“It'll take some time,” Jiang Shu said. He couldn't very well say that she was still nowhere to be found, could he?
“Alright, I'm free on the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth. Let's meet.”
“Then let's make it the twenty-fifth. Should we meet at our company or…?”
“I'll come to your place,” Min Xizhen said.
“Okay, also bring Park Soo-young and Kim Ye-rim, whom we mentioned last time. Let the trainees meet each other.”
“Mhm.”
Neither of them were fond of small talk, so they ended the call after agreeing on a time.
Jiang Shu put down his phone and stroked his chin.
He was looking forward to Min Xizhen's expression when she saw Bae Joo-hyun.
Hehe.
…
June 25th, morning.
DM Entertainment, Chairman's Office.
Bae Joo-hyun and Kang Seul-gi stared at each other, an awkward atmosphere lingering between them.
Bae Joo-hyun had been at the company for a little over a week, less than two weeks, and hadn't met many of the other DM Entertainment trainees.
Most trainees were still in school, and only Bae Joo-hyun was constantly in the practice room, so she had seen them all. But seeing them was one thing; she was the last to arrive, everyone else had their own friends, and she was also much older than the others. Bae Joo-hyun actually didn't have much interaction with the other trainees.
Another trainee similar to her was Lee Ji-eun, but the latter was about to debut and was very busy every day. Bae Joo-hyun didn't want to disturb her either, so they weren't very familiar.
She knew about Kang Seul-gi. She was originally a dancer from Art Director Yin Huilin's studio and was later selected by Jiang Shu to become a trainee.
Kang Seul-gi often practiced in the dance studio and didn't come to the practice room much, so Bae Joo-hyun wasn't familiar with her either.
Just now, Jiang Shu had called her to his office. Bae Joo-hyun rushed over without delay, only to find Jiang Shu busy with something, so she sat on the sofa and waited.
Soon, Kang Seul-gi arrived, and then it was the current situation between the two.
You look at me, I look at you.
Knock knock knock.
At this moment, the office door was knocked, then pushed open, and Choi Ji-yeon walked in.
“Chairman, Director Min has arrived.” As soon as Choi Ji-yeon finished speaking, Min Xizhen's figure appeared in sight.
Jiang Shu, who was sorting through the Red Velvet song library at his desk, looked up, saw Min Xizhen and Park Soo-young and Kim Ye-rim behind her, and stood up.
“Director Min.”
“Chairman Jiang.” Min Xizhen walked over, greeted Jiang Shu, then looked at Bae Joo-hyun and Kang Seul-gi. When she saw Bae Joo-hyun, Min Xizhen raised an eyebrow.
So beautiful?
Jiang Shu's girlfriend?
Min Xizhen didn't care about Jiang Shu's relationship with this woman and turned her gaze to Kang Seul-gi.
“Only one?” Min Xizhen said, looking at Kang Seul-gi with confusion.
“Aren't there two?”
Two… two?
Min Xizhen raised an eyebrow, turning her head to look at Bae Joo-hyun on the side.
“How old are you?”
Bae Joo-hyun lowered her head, feeling a little guilty.
“Twenty-seven…”
“How much???” Min Xizhen's voice volume suddenly rose, her face showing an expression of disbelief.
She had to admit, she was stunned when she heard Bae Joo-hyun state her age.
Min Xizhen prided herself on having seen many storms, but this kind of storm… she really hadn't seen before!
Her questioning gaze fixed on Bae Joo-hyun.
This look made Bae Joo-hyun uncomfortable all over. Her already anxious heart felt immense pressure, and her mood even began to sink.
“Director Min, calm down a bit.” Jiang Shu chuckled as he walked out from behind the desk, standing in front of Bae Joo-hyun, drawing Min Xizhen's gaze to himself and relieving the pressure on Bae Joo-hyun.
Bae Joo-hyun let out a slight sigh of relief, cautiously looking up at the back in front of her, her eyes somewhat complex.
“This is Bae Joo-hyun. This is Kang Seul-gi, born in '94, her stage name will be Seulgi. They are both members I've prepared for this group,” Jiang Shu said with a smile.
“This is Director Min Xizhen, the Visual Art Director of S.M. Entertainment.”
“Director Min!” Bae Joo-hyun and Kang Seul-gi quietly greeted Min Xizhen.
They couldn't help but be quiet; the overwhelming assertiveness emanating from Min Xizhen as she stood there made them feel almost breathless. If Jiang Shu hadn't been there, they wouldn't have been able to speak at all.
“Director Min, please calm down.” Jiang Shu waved his hand, interrupting what Min Xizhen was about to say, and looked at Kim Ye-rim and the other person behind her.
“Park Soo-young, Y. Kim Ye-rim, Ri. What do you think, Director Min?”
Min Xizhen stared at Jiang Shu, seeing his serious expression, and her mouth twitched.
“All of you, leave. I need to discuss something with Chairman Jiang!”
