Chapter 215

Im sorry about this, Mr . KangYoon .

Professor Choi ChanYang apologized to Kangyoon but KangYoon waved his hand saying that it was okay .

Its okay, but there are a lot of students here .

KangYoon scratched his cheeks awkwardly while looking at the lecture room that was filled to the brim with students .

HeeYoon was watching KangYoon with interest as she wanted to know how he would solve this problem .

Lets get this out of the way first .

KangYoon turned around to the students .

Is there an empty lecture hall nearby? I think I can proceed with the cla.s.s like this .

When he said that, one student voiced out .

Its a few minutes walk, but room 302 of my department is currently empty . It can hold more than 100 people .

Really?

When KangYoon turned around to Professor Choi ChanYang, he asked which department he was in . After that, he gave a call and received permission to use it .

Having gained permission, KangYoon spoke to the students .

Well, then . Lets go to room 302 of the building next door .

Everyone left the lecture room like a tide before KangYoon and HeeYoon got their stuff ready .

Professor Choi ChanYang couldnt hide his sorry feelings and spoke again .

Im sorry . It looks like I was too complacent . I should have considered the fact that your reputation is completely different from before

Can I live up to their expectations? Im rather worried .

Seeing KangYoon act worried, HeeYoon put his hand on her brothers shoulders .

Youre still going to do well, arent you?

Yeah, I will .

Ah? Hey, youre messing my hair .

KangYoon rubbed HeeYoons head before heading to the building next to his current one .

When the three people entered, the students were all in their seats and were waiting for him .

KangYoon wrote his name on the whiteboard and bowed towards the students .

h.e.l.lo, everyone . Some of you may have seen me before, but Im guessing this is our first meeting for most of you . Im Lee KangYoon .

Ooooooooh!

When the lecture started, the students started applauding .

Muse was a composer that entered the ranks of hit-song makers within 3 years of appearance .

He made a forgotten star popular again and had succeeded with rookies as well .

Above all

He was known as the Midass hand that never failed in the entertainment industry .

As the majority of the students here had half a foot into the music entertainment industry, they were pa.s.sionate about getting to know KangYoon .

Maybe this is why the musicians crave for a stage .

KangYoon had this rather sudden thought due to the immense eruption of cheers .

However, he saw the eyes of a female student who was pa.s.sionately staring at him in the front seats and started his lecture .

What is your name?

My name is Jang YeonJoo .

The female student went stiff for a moment before replying with a crisp voice . This made all the other students focus on her .

KangYoon had a look at the register and noticed that she entered the applied music department as a vocalist and asked .

What do you think entertainment is?

Entertainment? Uhm Havingfun?

While some people giggled, KangYoon nodded and continued to speak .

Youre right . Having fun . Entertainment is about having fun . Then, what do you think is the ideal environment that musicians look for in entertainment companies?

A company that uhmdoes fun things?

The laughter became even louder .

However, KangYoon smiled and agreed with her answer .

Yes . They do fun things . To be precise, they provide an environment for people to do fun things .

Ahhh .

When the other students cheered, student Jang YeonJoo shrugged .

While the mood was getting heated up, KangYoon asked his final question .

Then what do you think an entertainment company looks for in their artists?

An artistuhh that can do fun things?

Youre right . Youre rather smart . Everyone, give her a round of applause .

The majority of you sitting here must be related to the entertainment industry in one way or the other . Employment, founding, and many other forms must exist . For that, you have gotten through the fierce compet.i.tion to come to college, and youre now facing the future . What I am about to tell you today are the standards that entertainment companies use to evaluate people, as well as those entertainment companies in general . I hope I can be of help .

KangYoons declaration made the students eyes light up with pa.s.sion .

***

A government facility in Sejong-city, belonging to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism(MCST) .

In the bureau of the busy facility was one person who was having a headache due to a decision about a party in the near future .

World, huh . Do I send it or not?

Senior Chief Jung ChaSoo had circled the words World Entertainment personnel, wondering about something .

He knew that World Entertainment was a rising star in the music entertainment industry during the past 3 years, but it was a hard decision whether to invite them or not since it was rather young as a company .

Junior Chief Min YoungChan, who was next to him, said that it was okay to invite them .

They satisfy all the conditions for the invitation . The scale of their company, the number of artists in their possession, as well as others . What they lack are time and reputation . I think that its alright to invite them

Yeah, time is the most troublesome thing . The so-called 3 big entertainment companies are all at least 10 years old or older . Wont they say something if we invite a company that was only founded 3 years ago? The entire premise of this party is to listen to the n.o.ble opinions of those that have quite a large influence over the Korean culture .

But considering the things Worlds CEO, Lee KangYoon has achieved now

Thats why its even more troublesome . Lee KangYoon? Its not that I dont know about him . Ive read the report already . Were okay with him, but would the others be?

Just as Senior Chief Jung ChaSoo was sighing because he couldnt make a decision, a man with a balding head entered his office after knocking .

V, vice-minister!

The two men abruptly stood up from their seats .

Vice-minister Han YoungGwan gestured to them to sit down and spoke about his matter .

Ive read the report . Youre wondering about one person?

Yes, sir . Im worried that other people may

You have a lot of work to do so dont take any more time on this . Send it .

What?

When Vice-minister Han YoungGwan approved it with ease, Senior Chief Jung ChaSoo was rather dumbfounded .

We cant be inviting the same people over and over again . Lets invite some new people this time . Send them the invitation . Lets see how those other CEOs react . They always say that they have an open att.i.tude so lets see if its true or not .

Yes, sir .

Looks like this party will be a fun one .

Vice-minister Han YoungGwan signed the papers on the spot .

The two others smiled as well .

***

Back to the lecture .

You can make a comeback in life by becoming a star through enormous effort?

Such hopeful words didnt exit KangYoons mouth .

Everyone knows that the gate to this industry is a small one . Out of 1000 trainees, maybe around 100 people will have their debut . One out of those hundred may or may not become a star . If I told you you can become that one person, then Id only be giving you false hope . Everyone here has stepped into a cruel, merciless league .

KangYoons pragmatic words made the students halt their breath .

He was incredibly realistic and told them the cold hard truth .

It was also words that KangYoon could speak since he had once lost everything .

Here, everyone becomes desperate . Thats why there are a lot of traps as well . I will make you into a star, but I need X amount of money to do that . If you sleep with this guy fuu . These kinds of dirty behind-the-scenes exchanges are commonplace as well .

Everyone became silent .

They thought that KangYoon would be somewhat different .

They thought that KangYoon would try to give hope to the youths .

The students looked down in dejection .

At that moment .

However, you cant see it, but there is a path . Let me say that again . Its not that a path doesnt exist . Its that you cant see it . What you need to do is to find that path . I dont know if what Im about to tell you is the correct path, but I hope I can be of help .

The sudden twist made everyone raise their heads .

Having attracted attention, KangYoon spoke calmly .

Singers and composers have different strategies . Likewise, other fields have different strategies as well . Since the majority of you here are aspiring vocalists, Ill focus on this part . First, the way to become a singer, and among them, Ill focus on trainees .

Even the students that were absent-minded until now raised their pens up .

I believe you all know that there are traits that companies prefer . To put things simply, MG prefers trainees with a solid foundation and good looks, while Yerang looks for something rather unique, whether it be your voice or your dancing or your looks . YoonSeul is a little different . Their preferences differ according to the season, and ah, I guess telling you this might get me a scolding from President Choo .

Hahahaha .

The students laughed as they loosened up a little .

KangYoon also continued his speech in a lightened tone .

Your individual traits are the most important there, but their standards are rather abstract . This is the most difficult part . The standard of individual traits differs by year . Youll be better off solidifying your foundations . YoonSeul is the company with the strongest influence over their artists . If you strive towards entering it, then youll naturally be preparing for other companies as well .

At that moment, one student, a girl, raised her hand .

What does World look for then?

Hearing that, the other student all agreed and started asking .

I want to know as well .

World, world!

When the students erupted into chatter, KangYoon raised his hand to quieten them down and spoke calmly .

World? HmHow should I put this someone to my liking?

What? That cant be right .

Youre an evil boss .

Hahaha .

The rather abstract words made everyone complain, but KangYoon smiled as he continued .

Hahaha . This might sound a bit difficult, but the motif of my company is to let singers sing the song they want . My role is to judge whether that song will appeal to the public or not . To sum things up, I want people that can make other people enjoy themselves with their own color of music .

. .

Thats hard .

Thats the most difficult one!

The students complained, but they understood why World was able to succeed .

KangYoons awkward expression made HeeYoon giggle, while Professor Choi ChanYang smiled without a word .

After summarizing the companies, KangYoon talked about compositions, concerts as well as other things that were related to the industry . The students focused on his words as KangYoon talked about the majority of fields related to the music industry .

Like that, two hours flashed by without a single moment of rest .

And thats it from me today . Does anyone have any questions?

A girl with braided hair raised her hand .

Im Moon JinHee from the applied music department . Im preparing to become an idol singer trainee while studying . Am I perhaps too late?

How old are you?

Im 22 this year .

KangYoon heaved a short sigh .

It wont be easy . Oh, I dont mean that its difficult .

Let me put this simply . What youre saying means that you will have to compete with teens, and that means that you need to have something compet.i.tive about you, Miss JinHee . A female idol will have male fans . And to do that being young is actually quite advantageous . Or, you will have to have a weapon of your own .

A weapon of my own?

The dancing skills of Eddioss MinAh is an example .

Ugh

The student turned pale with fright .

JooAh and MinAhs dancing skills were ranked in the top 3 of all the female artists in Korea .

She appealed to KangYoon, asking if there were any other methods .

Seeing her expression, KangYoon replied calmly .

Ill be a bit blunt about this . Miss, youre quite a beauty . However, there are plenty more like you in this industry . Thats reality .

Th, then, Im no good after all?

She became teary-faced .

Even her teary face was rather pretty and it looked like she must have had a lot of guys fall for her . Her tears contained the words Cant I do something at World? in them .

KangYoon spoke calmly while ignoring her actions .

Ill be honest here . You are quite eye-catching .

Eyecatching?

Yes . Thats a big advantage you have . Some people have a hard time getting attention no matter what they do, but youre eye-catching even when you stay still . But right now thats all you have .

While everyone watched with bated breaths, KangYoon stood in front of her .

People are bound to have expectations for people who catch their eyes . The fans are no different . As long as you have something that can fulfill their expectations, you will have become a person that you want without you knowing it .

KangYoon took out a pen and wrote something down on her notebook which was on her desk .

Being coy wont get you anywhere in this field .

Having read KangYoons message, her face became beet-red .

Having returned to his podium, KangYoon declared with a calm tone .

That marks the end of todays lecture .

Waaaa!

KangYoon finished his lecture amidst the cheers of the students .

***

After that, Professor Choi ChanYang offered to treat KangYoon and HeeYoon to a meal and they headed to a nearby restaurant .

Professor Choi ChanYang went as far as to order some high-cla.s.s wine to thank KangYoon for handling more than a hundred students .

While the three of them were having a meal, Lee HyunJi, who was given a call beforehand, entered their room .

Director-unni .

Youre here .

KangYoon and HeeYoon greeted them while Professor Choi ChanYang waved his hand at her .

The four of them talked about todays matters .

Lee HyunJi listened to the advice that KangYoon gave to the students .

Im worried that they might spread it on social media as some secret sauce .

At most, itll be just some advice . Theres no guarantee that theyll pa.s.s with that alone .

Thats true . But the students are right on one thing . Worlds conditions are the hardest to satisfy . They have to do well in what they want, right?

Haha .

When even Lee HyunJi agreed with the students, KangYoon smiled awkwardly .

He felt like he was the university admissions officer of some prestigious university .

They talked for a while before Lee HyunJi took out an envelope from her bag and gave it to KangYoon .

Whats this?

An invitation .

An invitation?

When KangYoon opened it, he got an invitation that was wrapped in a rather luxurious-looking string .

We cordially invite you to the party hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for influential figures of the music entertainment industry .

Date:

(omitted)

Influential figures? Did the MCST hold such a thing?

When KangYoon wondered about the influential figure part, Lee HyunJi explained about the party .

As the Korean wave became bigger, the MCST started inviting the big names of the entertainment industry in order to solidify their relations.h.i.+p with the entertainment people . The presidents of big companies like MG and YoonSeul will all be attending . Being invited to this party means that we are accepted as a big company .

This, it looks like I cant miss it .

Yes . It means that were given acknowledgment . A total of three people are invited, two from management and one celebrity . Usually, the most popular celebrity .

Hm it will be somewhat wrong to bring JinSeo since she has just joined us who should I take

Thanks to the invitation, KangYoon started wondering about who to take to the party .