It was two days ago that I found out that the director was changing.

Again?

Thats what I said! But I thought hed fulfill his term this year.

According to the rumors, there were several talks between the payment bot and the higher-ups as the industry spy case entered T1s head office.

And whatever agreement they had, the payment bot retired and left for an affiliate, and a new director was appointed in his place.

The director said hes not from T1 this time. Some famous professional CEO is coming!

I look forward to it.

I wasnt expecting anything, but well, I couldnt do anything about it, so I nodded to the company staff.

By the way, this was a concert-related meeting.

Then the direction of Moondae-ssis solo song will be set like this.

Yes. Thank you.

This meant that I didnt expect to hear the unexpected talk of the trip to the US at the reality show meeting two days later.

America?

I like it! Lets go to America!

Ah, Eugene, wait a minute. America is good~ But will our schedule and the cost be fine? We almost dont come near America at all on our tour.

As soon as he heard the remark, For this reality show, youre going to America, Keun Sejin smoothly brought up the realistic issue.

His point is accurate.

When we said that we got a certain amount of response from the US, what we meant was that we had a reputation worthy of the first-tier group in Korea only among KPOP fanatics.

The interest we received from the game talk show helped us gain some popularity in the subculture, but only at a small level.

This meant that the size of the tour was not as we had expected, and of course, the concert in the US only matched that range.

Oh, they said that they plan the flights according to the South American tour schedule. About the cost, of course, Tnet will invest this much on Testar~

Oh~

Im grateful, but what if theres a situation where we cant recover the production cost

A few naive guys were embarrassed by the staffs flattery.

Its strange.

They suddenly brought up America. The cost-performance ratio didnt fit.

I purposely asked straightforwardly, in order to see the staffs reaction.

But why America? Did Tnet suggest it first?

Ah, um Its what the director suggested

The new director?

Yes.

It had only been two days since I heard that the director changed, when did he make that proposal?

What reason did he tell you when he talked about it?

Well, first of all, I didnt hear it directly from him Well, since he chose it with the simultaneous global release in mind, he said that he chose a background that is familiar to the world.

He created holes to escape and gave a vague answer. It seemed he had something on his mind.

Lets dig a little more.

Before I could open my mouth, Ryu Chungwoo continued with the next question.

Simultaneous global release?

Yes. We are discussing releasing this reality show directly on WeTube outside of Korea!

Cha Eugene stepped in.

A lot of Americans are going to watch it?

! Uh, yes. We talked about it, but

Looking at the agitated staff, it was clear that Cha Eugene had accidentally stumbled upon the right answer.

Theyre aiming for the English speakers.

Trying this reality show was not a bad thing, but the problem was that the directors preference was visible here.

Rather than selecting content to appease domestic fans during the overseas tour and preventing them from leaving, he was thinking of increasing overseas viewers.

Not a country where KPOP was already familiar, but the US that apparently watches KPOP.

Lets put it off for now.

It would be better to check whether they would be cautious when we showed our reluctance.

I looked around the members and opened my mouth.

Can we discuss it among ourselves first and then talk about it at the next meeting?

Right~ I think that would be better!

Keun Sejin fired a support shot, but the responding staffs speech got longer.

Ah, of course! However, Testars opinions naturally will be considered but the final decision is made by the program producers after taking various realistic requirements into account Im really sorry about that, but I ask for your understanding.

This meant that even if we didnt want to go to America at the next meeting, they would send us away.

F*ck.

It must have already been half-decided because of the strong push from the inside. Still, because of the industry spy case, they showed signs of being cautious.

Then Ill see you next week.

Thank you~

After that, we left the meeting room while talking about the content we wanted to do in the reality show.

What do you think? About America.

Lets go! Go to my home. There are a lot of delicious restaurants! Mom miss hyungs!

Ah~ thats nice.

I-I wish I could say hello.

Cha Eugene fiercely supported it, and other members seemed to think it was only natural.

It cant be helped.

He had fewer chances to meet his family compared to other members, so if there was a way to meet them, he would want to use it.

He must be homesick.

If we would go anyway, it would be better to go to Cha Eugenes house in regard to the content.

It would be better to set the mood before that.

From what I noticed earlier, maybe there would be some gestures in the company before the next meeting.

And sure enough, the next morning at the company practice room, we received a new schedule from the manager.

Guys, the director said he wanted to see you.

Ah, the director.

Now?

About an hour later? They said it wont take long!

Bae Sejins face was gloomy when he asked.

It was understandable.

The break time is gone.

We were in the middle of a busy schedule, so we were barely able to make use of our time and enjoy a break in the practice room.

I understand

Um, yes!

The responses were not very enthusiastic.

Still, an hour later, Testar headed to the directors office for the first time in a long time.

Seeing that even Seon Ahyeon, who had recently switched to French embroidery or something, glanced at the pile of cloth with regretful eyes, it was clear that the general manager had made his first impression.

Wed rather spend the meeting time doing anything else.

He only managed to buy our slight animosity while trying to establish his position in a hurry.

I entered the directors office, suspecting that someone who wasnt good at their job was in there again.

And I was a little surprised by an unexpected sight.

Ah, Testar. Im sorry I called you out of the blue. Sit down first.

The director was waiting with refreshments set up.

It wasnt at a trivial level that matched the occasion. From chicken to waffles, all kinds of snacks were brought out as if it was some kind of event.

It was like an academy briefing session to attract children, but at least he expressed his intention clearly enough.

He was saying I set up this position with you guys.

I called you while you were taking a break, right? You must be busy these days, I feel bad so I prepared some snacks, haha!

Oh my, of course, its fine, director!

T-Thank you.

Shall we talk while eating?

And the director first picked up a chicken.

Seeing that he just put it down after it roughly touched his mouth, I guessed he didnt want to eat it, and he seemed to know that it was inconvenient for other people to eat comfortably if he didnt eat first.

Oh.

Still, I felt like hed been close with the staff. He was also much younger than the former director.

.

The director chatted for a while and after waiting for the kids to eat, he started talking about work.

The first reason I prepared this was to have a meeting where we can see each others faces and greet each other. Please take good care of me in the future.

Ah, please take care of us!

We exchanged light handshakes.

And the second reason is I think youve already heard about it. Its related to the reality show in the US.

The director clasped his hands with a serious face.

I am drawing a roadmap to target the US market not only for this period but also from a longer-term perspective.

Yes?

Ah, damn it.

I checked all your albums and activities before I came here.

The director talked about Testars activities and explained his analysis with a serious look.

And its clear that America likes it. Underdog, social message, pride and individuality in ones roots. What do you think, Eugene-nim? Am I right?

Oh, youre right!

Yes. And Testar is a team with styles that meets all three. So Im sure it will work out in a bigger market as well.

Oh!

It was nonsense.

First of all, those three conditions were an excessive leap of logic, and Cha Eugene was excited because he just ate delicious food, so when the person who bought the food asked his opinion, he just agreed.

And more importantly, if all three conditions were met, groups who didnt get beaten down by America would be as many as the stars in the sky.

I had a false hope.

The problem was, this bastard was confident in analyzing the data in his own way. And he seemed to have a lot of confidence in his abilities.

Ryu Chungwoo managed to open his mouth.

Well, thank you for your kind words, but rather than targeting any particular country or class The team has been working to focus on making good albums.

Of course! You just have to keep making good music. I was saying that the company would work harder on how to promote and manage that good music.

He had a way with words.

Honestly, I think weve lacked support from T1 Stars so far. Rather than sharing my vision with everyone, I was in a hurry to chase after it.

The directors eyes were serious.

For example, the size of this concert tour in Japan. I heard that <Idol Inc.> was well-received from the first episode aired in Japan, so we should have quickly increased the size of the tour, set up additional schedules, and analyzed Japans needs, but we didnt do anything like that.

Oh, this was pretty new.

Id been busy lately, so I hadnt gotten a chance to find out more about the responses in other countries, but now that I thought about it, as he said, it was something that the agency should have looked into earlier.

Still, its better to not do anything now than pointlessly do something in a strange direction.

For example, if he had been there instead of the payment bot, we would have been on a Japanese music show out of the blue.

However, the director was deeply immersed in his analysis, and he was so enthusiastic that he was almost spitting out.

So whats the result? <Idol Inc.> was a big hit in Japan, and while Testars stock prices continued to rise, the agency put the activities in Japan on hold.

Um, is that so?

Is the upward trend that strong in Japan?

At the remarks of the flustered Ryu Chungwoo and the curious Kim Raebin, the director took out his pad, excited to boast his knowledge.

And with a smart gesture, he flicked the screen.

Have you seen this?

It was a slide of a PPT made with an up-to-date template.

And the content It was about a Japanese auction product screenshot. There was nothing special about it other than the price range.

However, Seon Ahyeons face was clearly visible on the product.

It was a photo card that was given out in a lottery at the beginning of the year as an event for public interest campaigns by some broadcasting company.

It was probably taken behind the scene at the request of the broadcasting staff right after the stage where the ear-in fell off and Seon Ahyeon covered it up with a somersault.

That situation was oddly unique

In addition, considering that it was Seon Ahyeons photo, it was as good as ever, and I remembered that the original photo data was finally uploaded to the broadcasting stations SNS after a barrage of requests.

Still, it seemed that the first few cards released in the event were quite premium, but I didnt know that it would go all the way to Japan and form such a price range.

This is almost 500,000 won in Korean currency. Its strong proof that the demand for Testar is increasing significantly in Japan. In particular, they gave good responses to Seon Ahyeon-nim.

Y-Yes

Seon Ahyeons face turned red. The director exclaimed enthusiastically.

So now is the time to be more aggressive in targeting overseas markets. Since we invaded Japan so easily, I am sure that we will be able to achieve enough results in the United States if we work hard and break through good routes.

.

Now I got it.

I guess Now that I heard it, its true came back with an A grade to deal with this guy.

This proved my theory again.

I held back a sigh and opened my mouth.