Recently, Baek Ye-rin had been living a very busy life.
It was all thanks to an astonishing proposal made by a composer during RT Entertainment’s regular meeting held at the end of last year.
Thus, Baek Ye-rin ended up recording an absurd number of twenty-five tracks.
Moreover, she had to juggle her studies alongside the hectic schedule arranged by RT Entertainment, making each day a whirlwind of activity for her.
Despite this, the entire process went astonishingly smoothly, almost to a terrifying degree.
“You really are a genius, a genius. If I tell people that you’ve only been seriously studying singing for a few months, they’ll be absolutely stunned.”
This was said not only when she was receiving vocal training to learn the basics.
“Your facial expressions are just too perfect. This music video shoot has gone so smoothly, something that’s a first. It truly reflects that a genius singer stands out from the start.”
This was also the case when she went to film music videos and take photographs.
And people took the smooth flow of events as something natural, simply because Baek Ye-rin, a young girl, was a genius.
Because of this unchanging truth, she found herself constantly surrounded by praise.
This trend only intensified after her official debut.
“Ye-rin! Your singing was just amazing. I’ve put it on my playlist and am listening to it every day.”
“Me too! Hey, could you maybe sign this for me?”
“Hey, I’ve been your fan since the festival stage, so I should go first!”
At school, she was the center of conversations, and even a quick glance at the news or articles revealed that they were all about her.
Even when she visited RT Entertainment’s headquarters after school, something had arrived addressed to her.
“What is all this?”
“It’s all gifts from your fans. I didn’t think there’d be this much even before an official fandom has been formed…”
Baek Ye-rin carefully checked each item, lost in deep thought.
Among these, there were many letters filled with messages of encouragement.
“You sing so well,” “You’re so pretty,” “We want to see you sing live soon,” and more.
Every time she read such encouraging words, Baek Ye-rin had the same thought.
She concluded she must be a very lucky person.
Therefore, with all the praise, attention, and love she was receiving, what she had to do was clear.
She had to work hard.
She had to give something back, somehow, to all those who supported her…
Still, Baek Ye-rin didn’t realize at this moment.
That something was slowly taking root in a corner of her heart.
Music shows aren’t just places where artists simply stand; they’re opportunities that managers literally sweat for, running around tirelessly to secure them for their artists.
Every Monday morning at around 10 a.m., the coffee shop in front of Korea’s representative broadcasting company, KBB, is bustling.
This is because managers from both large domestic agencies and small so-called “non-name” agencies gather here.
And the sole reason they meet is to see the PD of the longest-running music program, KBB’s “Music Save.”
To be fair, the PD is always late, excusing himself with the busyness of morning meetings and meetings with various producers.
As a result, managers typically spend 3 to 4 hours waiting.
After all, Korea is a country where hierarchy matters. Even if you arrive early, senior managers still get to meet the PD first.
And yet, even after waiting so long, the meeting typically lasts only about 5 minutes, even for large agencies.
It’s as if the broadcasting company is the supreme power. Even artists already confirmed to appear will visit “out of courtesy.”
Unfortunately, that’s just how the system works.
Unless special circumstances apply, new artists wouldn’t have any other way to promote themselves on TV without music shows.
It’s no wonder that people joke that music shows are like matchmakers between the audience and new artists.
But today, two unusual things happened at the KBB coffee shop.
One was that the PD of “Music Save” wasn’t late. In fact, he arrived 10 minutes early.
The second thing was…
“Excuse me, who is Baek Ye-rin’s manager?”
Upon entering the coffee shop, the PD loudly called out for someone.
Not just anyone, but the manager of a newly debuted artist.
In response to the PD’s call, a woman dressed in office attire quietly raised her hand from the corner of the coffee shop.
“That would be me. Baek Ye-rin’s manager.”
“Hmm… I recognized a familiar face, but I didn’t expect it to be you.”
The woman’s name is Lee Ha-ri.
She’s a veteran manager with quite a reputation in the industry for having managed the currently most popular girl group in Korea, Crystal.
“I heard that you were planning to take a break after your contract ended.”
“Yes, it was time to slow down. But I couldn’t refuse President Hyun’s offer.”
“Haha. If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to resist either. You’re managing an artist who’s surprising the world. And it seems President Kang is really pushing Baek Ye-rin by assigning you to her management.”
“Thank you for the compliment. Plus, the offer was quite reasonable for me as well. A noisy 4-person girl group full of E tendencies was more than enough. Managing a cute and well-behaved middle schooler is much more convenient.”
They carried on their conversation as if they’d done so many times before.
It was natural, akin to the proverb about a three-year-old temple dog reciting poetry.
“So, what order number would you prefer? Let’s get straight to the point since we’re both busy. Besides, after this meeting, I plan to immediately meet with the producers of the music shows airing this weekend anyway.”
For this reason, the PD of “Music Save” cut straight to the chase.
Lee Ha-ri answered with a slightly surprised expression.
“For a newly debuted artist, is it really okay?”
“Of course, a regular newcomer would’ve been pushed to a later slot. But Baek Ye-rin isn’t a regular newcomer, correct?”
Currently, Baek Ye-rin was the person creating the most buzz in Korea, going beyond just the music market.
And this being Baek Ye-rin’s first official TV appearance?
It was a structure that was guaranteed to boost ratings.
With the advent of the internet, TV viewership among teens and twenties had declined, and music shows were no longer reaching the heights they once did.
Thus, it was essential from the PD’s perspective to ensure Baek Ye-rin’s appearance.
With any amount of special treatment necessary…
The PD, upon reflection, believed it was reasonable to offer a choice in “order.”
Music shows usually follow the convention of placing rookies first and seniors later. Sometimes, if the agency is powerful, rookies can close the show.
Ultimately, it’s up to the broadcasting station to determine the order.
But the PD for “Music Save” handed over that choice entirely to Baek Ye-rin’s manager.
“It’s because I have no intention of starting any kind of power struggle. If we refuse and announce that Baek Ye-rin won’t be appearing on ‘Music Save’ and choose another music show instead, it would leave us in an impossible situation.”
“I understand what you mean. But you’re misunderstanding something. I am here precisely to start such a power struggle.”
“Excuse me?”
Lee Ha-ri’s confident declaration left the PD of “Music Save” with no choice but to appear perplexed.
Lee Ha-ri had been recently reflecting that transferring to RT Entertainment was one of the best moves she’d ever made.
The reason? None other than Ryu Won.
Thanks to Kang Beom-jun formally introducing Baek Ye-rin and Ryu Won, the frequency of their regular meetings had increased.
They even postponed a meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. just for them.
Anyway, Ryu Won’s authority within these meetings was very strong.
Perhaps it was due to his undeniable talent and the impact of that famous speech on “the day.”
The regular meeting from a week ago was about Baek Ye-rin’s music show appearance.
During that meeting, Ryu Won scrunched his face and said,
“Come on, what decade are we in that we’re promoting through music shows? Haven’t ratings for the national anthem surpassed music shows recently?”
“Still, it’s good to make an appearance at least once. You know how powerful the promotion effect of a music show can be.”
“True, I admit that. Representing Director Kang, how about we just appear once? Let’s go ask the PDs what they can offer us in return if Ye-rin works so hard to appear on their show.”
Saying this, Ryu Won turned his gaze toward Lee Ha-ri, who was attending the meeting.
“Manager Lee, I believe you understand what I mean?”
Recalling those words, Lee Ha-ri smiled wryly.
She envied Ryu Won, a young boy.
Lee Ha-ri had once been the manager of a rookie girl group.
She’d faced many painful encounters with the PDs, who acted as if they were in the position of power, and there were many instances she felt were unfair.
Nevertheless, she endured.
After all, that was the typical system of music shows.
Thinking like that, she had no choice but to let things slide.
But Ryu Won wasn’t someone who followed such norms.
His statements were so clear, even from the listener’s perspective.
That’s why Lee Ha-ri enthusiastically aligned herself with Ryu Won’s way of thinking and gradually voiced her words to the PD of “Music Save” sitting right in front of her.
Or more accurately, she delivered the same message to all the PDs who handled music shows on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
“Our artist is a newly debuted rookie and still a middle schooler. There wouldn’t be much issue according to industry norms, but Baek Ye-rin is truly special for us.”
“What… exactly are you trying to say?”
“Considering our artist’s health and fatigue, we plan to limit our music show appearances to just once this week.”
“Excuse me?!?”
“Of course, the station that best takes our artist’s convenience into account will naturally become our top priority.”
Simply put, this is what she was saying.
It doesn’t really matter to us whether we appear on a music show or not.
What about you?
We plan to only appear on one music show this week. Isn’t that a problem?
Of course, it’s definitely a problem.
Thus, what they had to do was clear.
“Uh… we will do our utmost for Baek Ye-rin!”
They just had to win—absolutely.
To ensure that Baek Ye-rin’s music show debut wasn’t taken by another station.
