Debut or Die - Chapter 457

TeSTAR’s Escape from T1 Stars

And signed a contract with the new agency founded by the former label president!

The group name is preserved!

Naturally, the fans were delighted. It was the perfect ending to the contract renewal season, like a scenario chosen after predicting a thousand futures.

Even if T1 Stars was no longer a subsidiary of T1, it didn’t mean that their past misdeeds would vanish. It was a dream situation where the label staff could cut ties with that detestable agency while following them.

-Crazyyyy! TeSTAR’s new agency

-This feels like a movie story. How can this be real ㅠㅠㅠ

TeSTAR’s new agency was registered under the name ‘Stars Orbit,’ which was derived from the previous label.  However, most people just called it Orbit.

-Stars reminds me of T1 Stars, which annoys me—

-Ah, I love that it’s only changed for the better.

-I’m so relieved. If most of the original label staff are still there, the album quality shouldn’t drop, right?

The fandom was in a festive mood, but the problem was T1 Stars’ recent media play.

[The Genuine Heart of Independent T1 Stars: “Returning the Names to Artists”]

Independence from a large conglomerate and the transfer of trademarks to the artists. It made it seem like TeSTAR had poured cold water on the agency’s attempt to relaunch as a ‘good agency.’

-Returning kindness with enmity, lol.  Wow.

-They took the group name and ran as soon as it was given to them. Such opportunists.

-The existing agency staff must be bewildered.

-I heard from someone inside that this was the final blow, and the agency was on the verge of bankruptcy. People are resigning in droves, and at this rate, the activities of other groups will be suspended indefinitely…ㅠㅠ

Agitators worked hard to stir up people who only heard about the story through articles. They made relentless efforts to highlight how much damage TeSTAR had caused this agency. They even captured posts of despair from T1 Stars employees on anonymous office worker communities. And as the fans of Miry-nay and Spacer began reacting to this agitation out of anxiety and impatience, it almost turned into a mess. Until this news broke a little while later…

-TeSTAR Label bought T1 Stars.

-??????

It was an unexpected development.

-What do you mean?

└Literally… Orbit Entertainment bought T1 Stars, hahahaha. They swallowed them up.

└Crazy, hahaha.

└What is happening?

[“TeSTAR’s Agency” Stars Orbit Entertainment’s Bold First Move: Pursuing the Merger and Acquisition of T1 Stars]

As soon as the article came out, the online communities and social media were turned upside down. But no one knew how to react. It was surprising and funny, but no one knew what was going on.

-Why are they buying it?

-Is this a good thing? Should we celebrate?

-Where are the people who said TeSTAR ruined T1 Stars? They saved them, haha.

-Their loyalty is insane, lol.

-The agitators lost it. I couldn’t help but click. What’s with Orbit’s star quality? Lol.”

Anyway, the fans of Miry-nay and Spacer were finally relieved. TeSTAR’s fans were slightly confused about how this would benefit them, but they were more relieved and satisfied that the agitation had subsided.

It looked like a funny, happy ending. However, some people had questions.

Wait a minute. If the former staff and artists are the same as the old agency…

-?? So, what’s different from the original T1 Stars?

It was a critical question that got swept away by the shocking situation.

* * *

A new start. A new agency.

TeSTAR was now sitting in their new conference room, discussing matters. They decided not to use the T1 Stars building. They wanted to draw a line somewhere. However, since they absorbed the subsidiary that T1 abandoned, from their perspective, it was like the same people just swapped nameplates.

“Are we… still drawing a clear line with T1 like when we were T1 Stars?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. We’re still just a kite cut loose from T1.

It might look like nothing has changed, just spending money for no reason. But here’s what’s different. Now, we can handle things however we want. This is the difference. We hold the decision-making power now. This agency is unlisted, and we hold a significant share of the stock.

We don’t have to waste energy persuading higher-ups anymore.

“Wooooow!!”

Cha Eugene whistled.

A permanent farewell to the higher-ups who trolled them. Knowing this, everyone looked refreshed. Bae Sejin seemed almost moved to tears.

“…You all worked so hard. I… never thought this would be possible before, but I’m so glad it worked out… and I’m happy.”

“S-Sejin hyung…”

Ryu Chungwoo also smiled and nodded. “Really. It feels strange and awkward to say it’s our agency, but it’s nice.”

“Right? Let’s keep working hard for the next five, ten years, and more~”

“Yes, I feel more responsible! Looking forward to it!”

“Yeah!”

Since everything went smoothly as planned, the atmosphere was passionate. I nodded. It’s good to have a sense of ownership, to work hard, and cultivate the agency.

…Of course, even if T1 Stars’ value had dropped, the funds needed to acquire it in such a short period didn’t come entirely from us. Since we were cut off from T1, we needed to align with another side.

I recalled the message I received from that guy. To be precise, here is the reply I got when I reached out first.

<VTIC Shin Cheongryeo Sunbae-nim: You contacted me.>

<VTIC Shin Cheongryeo Sunbae-nim: I knew it.>

I knew it my foot.  Of course, I never intended to sign a contract with LeTi. But if we can get along with LeTi and make use of them, there’s no reason not to. So… we left everything else out and just made a financial deal.

<Sunbae-nim, wouldn’t it be easier to just take the investment profit without the trouble of setting up a label in your agency?>

In other words, LeTi provided significant funding for the establishment of this agency. Of course, they didn’t get more than half. We have to prevent them from holding a majority voting right. But now we were in the same line as LeTi.

It’ll be easier to use platforms that are friendly with LeTi, and it’ll be a bit harder to refuse LeTi’s requests in return.

This level of involvement is just right. Cheongryeo would see it as a benefit, knowing that he could monitor his competitor closely and intervene if necessary. Of course, he tried to load up on debt.

<VTIC Shin Cheongryeo Sunbae-nim: It feels like I was the one who helped you unilaterally this time.>

<VTIC Shin Cheongryeo Sunbae-nim: What do you think?>

I expected that.

<Yes. In return, I’ll give you some good information about another VTIC sunbaenim.>

<VTIC Shin Cheongryeo Sunbae-nim: Hmm?>

<Judan sunbae-nim is doing well in the military. He asked about you.>

There were no further KakaoTalk messages after that. It was because he called and burst into laughter.

Well, that’s settled.

It’s better to have jokes in the KakaoTalk record than to pretend he did me a one-sided favor while digging through the agency’s finances and schedule to profit.

I opened my smartphone and scrolled through the chat history with him. Messages from others that had just arrived appeared.

Hmm.

The other members of T1 Stars who had formed a group chat to discuss their escape. When I told them they could terminate their contracts now, I got these replies.

<Haha, what are you saying, hyung?>

<Aren’t we escaping together? Well, Spacer looks forward to working with you!>

<(Tearful emoji)>

This was Spacer’s Kwon Heeseung, aka Gold 2.

<If it’s okay with Sunbae-nim, we’d like to do our best here!>

<And since Stars Orbit is the new agency, let’s think of it as signing a new contract. (Salute emoji)>

This was Miry-nay’s Park Minha.

“…Hmm.” I crossed my arms.

Actually… I didn’t expect Miry-nay to stay.  Because of the controversy surrounding <Be My Girls>, they couldn’t work properly, so there wasn’t any girl group in this agency competing with them. And I knew they wouldn’t kick away this situation where the original staff, who were already a good fit, were still around. But Spacer… Are they going to be okay? I don’t plan to give way to their schedules if they overlap with TeSTAR’s.

As I looked at my smartphone, I briefly imagined the public opinion damage in that situation.

-TeSTAR is greedy as always. When will Spacer make a comeback? Is this why they bought T1 Star? Lol.

-Showing blatant favoritism for TeSTAR. The shareholders are doing whatever they want. Figures coming from <Idol Inc.> members. Sure, my poor babies with remaining contracts got dragged along~~

“…”

Maybe I should ensure that no one gets hurt.

Now that it’s come to this, should I find a new positioning for Spacer… One that doesn’t overlap with TeSTAR.

I pressed my temples as I considered the unexpected situation of thinking about another group’s position.

“MoondaeMoondae, what’s wrong? Is something going on?”

“No, not really… The other groups want to stay.”

“…!”

“Didn’t they want to leave?”

I roughly explained the situation. Most of them nodded calmly. They agreed with the decision to save the other groups, since they didn’t feel comfortable letting the agency sink, even though it was already going down.

“Yeah. It’s good if we all go together.”

“Yes, and since the staff are still around… I would’ve felt the same.”

In summary, ‘Ah, so that’s how it is.’

However, Keun Sejin shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t seem too happy about it, but since we’d already acquired the agency, he didn’t want to create variables in the contracts with other groups.

He said this, though. “Well, we can just keep doing what we’ve always done~”

In other words, if they cross the line and covet our resources, they’ll be shut down.

Alright.

It’s settled.

I replied to Kwon Heeseung and Park Minha that they could stay. So, all the complicated stories about the agency and others were wrapped up.

“Well done, everyone!”

“Thank you for your hard work~”

After the stressful discussion ended, the members chuckled in a relaxed atmosphere. Then, finally, the original topic came up.

“So… Shall we hurry and prepare our new album?”

That’s right.

These people eager to get back into action only cared about making an album, even in a damned environment.

“That’s a fantastic idea!”

“We barely got to promote our last one! Let’s make this one quickly and get right to it!”

“…Wait, we’re moving into a new dorm too… Uh, whatever. Ahem, right! Let’s work hard!”

“Ooooh!”

Even Bae Sejin, who had tried to hit the brakes, joined in, and the conference room was in an uproar.

And me?

“I think we should start by picking out songs.”

“Yeah, Moondae~”

“I’ll contact the AR team!”

We managed to pull off ‘Magical Boy’ in a month from scratch, so why not this?

Why can’t we do it here too?

We’ll make it work.

Short on funds? If worse comes to worst, I’ll just pour in my remaining settlement. I can handle one or two albums.

…Of course, there are some concerns.  We’ll address those in time, so for now, let’s leave it.

Instead of adding unnecessary negativity, I smiled and looked around the conference room. That’s when it happened.

Ding-

A reply came in from the KakaoTalk message I sent earlier.

Kwon Heeseung.

<Of course, of course! Looking forward to working with you as part of the family, hyung!>

I more or less expected that from him. But the next message was a bit unexpected.

<Ahhh, I’m going to use my wish coupon now! Haha.>

<Hyung, please help grow our agency well! So that you can bring us along too! I trust you!>

<(Heart emoji)>

Well.  Even if he didn’t use the wish coupon, I’ve already invested so much that I’m not going to abandon this agency unless absolutely necessary. I chuckled and typed out “Got it” as a reply.

That’s when it happened.

[‘■■■ Fragment’ holder confirmed!]

[<Wish> registered]

…A status window popped up.

I stood up reflexively.

“Moondae?”

“…Get him right now!”

The pop-up continued.

[‘Item: ■■■ (ver. Beta)’ activated]

“…!”

No.

That f*cking system again.

My mind went blank. But even then, I instinctively connected what Kwon Heeseung had just said to the pop-up.

Wish coupon.

…The system grants wishes. If that’s the case…

Could it be Kwon Heeseung?

No. Damn it, it’s supposed to be my exclusive item. Why is it being used at will?

“Cancel!”

But even as I shouted, the pop-up had already changed its text. Immediately…

[Target searching…]

[Target: Stars Orbit Entertainment]

Huh?

[Agency Name: Stars Orbit]

Awareness: C+

Performance: (-)

Revenue: (-)

Artists Owned: TeSTAR (★★★★★), Miry-nay (★★★★), Spacer (★★★) ….

Overall Rating: D+

Above that, a pop-up appeared, swaying nonchalantly.

[‘Item: ■■■ (ver. Beta)’

Would you like to cancel the activation?]

“…”

What the hell?