Chapter 58. Jihun

It was a common saying that the entertainment industry was a jungle. If you are weak, then you would eventually be eaten by a bigger animal. 

These animals not only refer to people, but also entertainment agencies.

There are more than 2000 agencies in just Korea and every year, 100 new agencies would open and 100 would close down. 

It was really hard to survive because of the competitive nature of the industry. Agencies that would survive more than 5 years would even be called as old agencies.

One such agency was SMH Entertainment. 

It was started 7 seven years ago and after some initial setbacks, it had gone on to become a famous agency with some hit singers and actors.

The main reason behind the success of SMH Entertainment was of course it's CEO, Jo Youngmin.

"So, which song did you like?"

CEO Jo looked at the handsome man in front of him and asked.

The handsome man has a delicate figure and there was a bit of makeup on his face, indicating that he has a show after this.

He was Jihun, one of the rising singers in the industry and someone CEO Jo has personally groomed.

"I think we should go with 'Get myself with you'. The song matches my style quite well and I have worked together with Linly for my first album too. I'm more familiar with her."

Jihun debuted last year and his first album was a success. Because of that, CEO Jo kept him in high regards and never said no to him, but today, he ceased his eyebrows.

"Personally, I like 'Yours' more."

Yours and Get myself with you.

They were the two songs CEO Jo has finalised for the upcoming album of Jihun. As it was his second album, there was more pressure as they needed to get better results than the first one.

"Is that so? But I like Linly's song more."

For record, Linly was a young music composer and Jihun had worked together with her for his debut album. 

"Well, I know that you two are familiar with each other, but why don't you give a listen to Yours again. The composer of it is someone special."

"Special?"

Jihun tilted his head hearing that word. 

"Yeah, the composer of this song is Midas. Have you heard of him?"

"I think I have."

He tried to remember where he had heard that name, but nothing came to his mind. CEO Jo noticed that and explained.

"Midas is one of the top topics in the music industry these days. He has released 7 songs since his debut and all of them have entered top 20."

Jihun's eyes widened hearing that.

That was an unprecedented track record. Only that was enough for him to guess that Midas was definitely not an ordinary composer. 

"He really seems special."

"Yeah, there is even a rumour that his songs would never fail. That's why his name is 'Midas'. Although it's a joke rumour."

CEO Jo said with a smile on his face.

He has already discussed the price with Kim Dongsu and he just needs Jihun to agree now. He really liked the song, so he hoped that Jihun would choose it for the title track. 

'If I selected Yours, then what would happen to the 'deal' with Linly?'

Jihun thought in his mind. 

His image was of a cute innocent guy in the media, but he was a crafty individual in heart with all sorts of fetishes.

For choosing Linly's song for the title track, he had made a deal with her.

"I still think we should go with Get myself with you."

In the end, Jihun decided that he shouldn't break the deal with Linly. It was not like her song was bad anyway. 

The only reason she was even willing to make a deal with him was because she was new in the industry and needed money.

"Well, that's a pity then."

CEO Jo couldn't help frown hearing that.

Although he thought it was a pity, he still didn't want to force it on Jihun. Despite his scary face, he was an understanding individual. 

'Well, it's not like all his songs would definitely be a hit and Linly's song isn't bad anyway. We just need to focus on marketing.'

CEO Jo shook his head and thought that.

He can't do anything when the singer doesn't like the song. He thought that they could still make the album a success without Midas's song. 

"Are you practising well? We are releasing the album a month before Christmas to avoid competition and I don't think any popular singer is releasing an album at that time, so you just need to do your best."

He looked at Jihun and asked.

"You don't have to worry about that. My fandom is growing everyday and they are really excited about my new album."

Jihun said with a smile on his face. It was a smile filled with confident and arrogance. 

"That's good, but..."

CEO Jo's expression suddenly changed when he thought about something that he had heard from Jihun's manager. 

"... I heard you are going to those types of clubs again."

"Ah, well..."

Jihun's smile crumbled hearing that. He tried to think of an excuse, but nothing came in his mind. He just cursed his manager.

"Just stop going there from now on. We were in big trouble last time. I don't want any scandal to happen just before the album release."

CEO Jo said as he thought about the scandal that happened five months ago.

Jihun was caught with a prostitute and a paparazzi has taken his photo. They have to pay a large amount of money, just to shut the mouth of that paparazzi.

He didn't even want to think about the money they spent on the PR after that.

"Don't worry, I won't make the same mistake again."

Jihun said as he scratched his head.

He also knows that he should stay low until his album releases. It would be pointless to give the media a chance to defame his image. 

"Now, go and do your work."

"Yeah, okay...

Jihun stood up from the chair and was about to leave the room when he suddenly stopped. A sudden thought emerged in his mind as he turned back.

"What happened?"

CEO Jo asked when he saw that Jihun was still there.

"It's not much, but someone I know would also release an album before Christmas."

"What? Is it a popular singer?"

A clash with a popular singer was something that CEO Jo wanted to avoid at all cost. This was also the reason why they were avoiding releasing an album on Christmas.

He panicked thinking that they wouldn't be able to avoid a clash with a popular singer, but Jihun just shook his head.

"No, it's not a popular singer. It's just a hyung I know from Hongdae. I don't think we need to worry about it as he's just making his debut and his agency is small too."

"Then, that's fine."

CEO Jo took a sigh of relief hearing that.

An unpopular singer making his debut? He didn't think that they needed to be wary of someone like that.

"I will go now."

Jihun also put the thought in the back of his mind.

'He's just an unknown singer anyway.'

He thought like that and scoffed Minyuk in his mind, but he didn't know that this unknown singer would harm him greatly in the future.