I Became the CEO of an Idol Company in a Game Chapter 104

<Episode 104>

 

“Florence, are you all ready?”

“Yes.”

Florence had just finished getting their hair and makeup done due to a suddenly scheduled additional shoot.

“Unnie.”

Lim Hyeju called out to Yoo Jeongyeon.

It had only been a short time, but they had quickly grown close, and the sight of them together already felt very natural.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Why are we suddenly filming another teaser?”

At her question, Yoo Jeongyeon hesitated for a moment.

But soon, as if it were nothing, she spoke in a calm tone.

“Ah, that… It’s your debut, after all. I think the CEO has been planning a lot of different things lately. Even Spade Joker filmed that film-style music video last time, remember?”

“I see.”

Fortunately, the Florence members didn’t seem to suspect anything. Since Spade Joker had successfully tried something new with their last album… a film music video, there was no reason to doubt that the CEO might be experimenting with various ideas.

At that, Yoo Jeongyeon let out a quiet sigh of relief internally.

‘That’s a relief.’

Because the company had strictly ordered everyone to keep their mouths shut, she couldn’t say a single word.

When she was first told not to reveal this to Florence, she had been shocked.

She had thought that the people directly involved should be the ones to know.

But the company’s stance had been firm.

“If those kids find out right now, do you think they can handle it? The CEO believes the issue is too big for them to bear. So let’s keep it a secret for now. At least for the time being.”

She couldn’t deny that reasoning either.

The oldest member of Florence had just turned twenty. Not a minor, but not quite an adult either. And weren’t these kids who had spent all their time in the company, focusing solely on debut?

‘Yeah. After hearing something like that, it would be hard for them to stay strong….’

Yoo Jeongyeon pressed her lips tightly together.

“Raise that light a bit more over here!”

A staff member’s shout rang out.

Under the lights, Florence stood according to the prepared concept.

A large turntable, a beige modern-style sofa, and a background emphasizing a film-like texture.

This teaser had a completely different atmosphere from before.

Instead of flashy, it was rough.

Instead of refined, it carried a worn, nostalgic sentiment.

“Lighting test coming in.”

The director’s voice echoed.

The members nodded and took their positions.

Yoo Jeongyeon stood beside the monitor, carefully watching the screen.

Soft light fell over Florence’s face. They smiled brightly toward the camera.

That innocence weighed even heavier on Yoo Jeongyeon’s heart.

 

***

 

The next few days passed like a flash of lightning.

The video team completed the film-style teaser, and the edited version was more intense than expected.

Amid heavy noise effects, the members’ lips and fingertips brushed past the screen, and subtitles inserted in between clearly read:

“Company Release – Pre-Debut Film.”

They refined the release text, recommending the inclusion of the phrase “company-led pre-release.”

‘Somehow, we managed to finish it.’

Since there was no telling what Joo Youngjun might do again, they decided to release it one day earlier than originally planned.

Honestly, it would’ve been ideal if they had successfully traced the IP before that, but that didn’t seem likely.

‘Just how many countries did they route through to break in?’

Shaking off the thought, I played the debut teaser created using Florence’s guide version of the song.

The video began with a turntable.

In black-and-white footage, the Florence members placed an LP record onto it.

Their movements were elegant.

They sat on the sofa with bright smiles. Soon, along with a crackling noise, Florence’s debut guide track began to play.

The song wasn’t entirely clean, matching the mood and setting of the video.

[NA NA NA NA NA]

It felt as if Florence’s song was actually playing from an LP record.

In the video, they drank tea and chatted, as noble ladies from the medieval era gathered together listening to music.

In truth, this teaser didn’t have any special content. There wasn’t even a defined storyline.

They simply hadn’t had enough time to produce a fully developed narrative within a few days.

So the focus of this video was Florence’s visuals.

How beautiful they were.

To achieve that, every detail, makeup, outfit, and lighting had been carefully crafted.

‘All that effort really paid off.’

Florence’s beauty shone perfectly in the video.

‘If there’s one issue… It’s definitely that it’s quite long for a teaser.’

A teaser running about three minutes.

Honestly, something like this had no precedent in the idol industry.

A teaser was supposed to be just a preview, after all.

‘Still, since they’re rookies, maybe this strategy will actually work.’

Tap, tap.

I tapped the desk with my fingers.

I was anxious.

This had to work.

If not, it would be a serious problem.

At that moment, an idea came to mind.

‘Why did I forget about that until now?’

Even if I had thought there weren’t any useful items and hadn’t bothered to check again, in a situation like this, it should’ve come to mind.

‘I should’ve checked that first. You never know… there might be something that could turn this situation around.’

I immediately opened my phone and accessed the item shop.

Even a small bit of help was necessary right now.

Anything that could shift this atmosphere…

 

[Increases an idol’s stamina by 1.

Price: 100,000 won.]

 

[Collects celebrity rumors.

Randomly obtain five.

Price: 10,000,000 won.]

 

[Makes your celebrity appear the most dazzling.

Price: 5,000,000 won.]

 

[Temporarily calms fans’ anger.

Price: 20,000,000 won.]

 

[Change a PD’s mind: You can change a PD’s mind once as you wish.

Price: 30,000,000 won.]

 

[Read the other person’s mind: You can read someone’s thoughts for 10 minutes.

Price: 5,000,000 won.]

 

[Grant a special skill: You can give a special talent to a designated idol.

The assigned skill is random.

Don’t blame me if it’s something weird.

Price: 500,000 won.]

 

[Maintain a smile: You can keep smiling in any situation.

Price: 1,000,000 won.]

 

[Your personal clown: You can flip the mood with a ridiculous act.

Price: 50,000 won.]

 

As I scanned through the items, one caught my eye.

 

[Makes your celebrity appear the most dazzling.

Price: 5,000,000 won.]

 

‘Would this apply to videos too?’

If it could be used on videos, then applying it to Florence’s teaser would be ideal.

‘If I’m going to do this, I should confirm it properly.’

Even as I thought that, I hesitated a little.

The currency used in the item shop couldn’t be replenished.

Compared to what I had saved, 5 million won wasn’t a huge amount… but if I kept spending bit by bit like this, it would definitely run out quickly.

‘…Yeah. Five million? I’ll spend it. What am I saving it for anyway?’

In a situation like this, money wasn’t the issue.

‘If I can solve the problem with this currency, then it’s actually cheap.’

I decided to test whether it applied through a Spade Joker video and moved my finger. Then I pulled up a somewhat older Spade Joker video on the computer monitor.

Naturally, I chose a video that had no chance of trending again.

[Spade Joker’s Special Talent Showcase Compilation]

It was a variety show clip where the idols performed ridiculous personal talents.

Things like chugging water quickly and forced voice impressions.

Of course, it was from a schedule filmed before I possessed this game world.

‘A video like this wouldn’t suddenly go viral unless some special force intervenes.’

Sure, it was an era where anything could trend quickly through SNS if it went viral—but even that required some level of appeal. A video with neither humor nor emotional impact wouldn’t suddenly gain traction for no reason.

With the video playing, I used the item… imagining it being applied to that video.

‘It works.’

Now, all I could do was wait.

Tick.

It felt like the ticking of a clock echoed in my ears.

“If it works, that means it should have an effect.”

Of course, that was just my hope. In games, even when you used an item, the effect often fell far short of expectations.

I stared at the monitor with an anxious expression. It was hard to do anything else while waiting, since I needed to see when and how the item would take effect.

But contrary to my expectations, there was no change in the video’s view count.

‘Did I just waste an item?’

The 5 million won felt like a loss.

Still, I thought this was an experiment that had to be done eventually, and as I placed my hand on the mouse to close the video…

Something unbelievable happened.

The video, which hadn’t even reached 3,000 views, suddenly surpassed 10,000.

I quickly grabbed my phone to check whether there were any SNS posts or clips related to the video that might have caused the spike.

But no matter how much I searched, there were no posts or images related to it.

SNS was simply filled with Clover fans excited about Spade Joker’s fan meeting.

The moment I confirmed that, the corners of my lips lifted.

‘It works.’

The item’s effect applied to videos as well.

The one that makes my celebrity shine the most.

‘There must be other idol videos on YouTube. Because of the effect that my idol has to shine the most, it probably creates a logic where it has to outperform other idols’ videos, which is why the item gets applied.’

It was an unexpected twist for an item I had thought was useless.

A true rediscovery.

Even as I was thinking that, the video’s view count kept rising.

‘This video is blowing up like this… all of a sudden.’

Once this situation was resolved, I felt I needed to go through the item shop again and properly check the effects.