<Episode 77>
“CEO.”
The employee who had taken the initiative to produce Spade Joker’s in-house content grabbed me as soon as they arrived at work.
“Yes.”
“I have something I’d like to ask.”
“Let’s go to my office and talk.”
“Yes.”
Since they didn’t bring it up right away, it meant they wanted a private conversation, so we immediately headed to the CEO’s office.
“What is it?”
“I was reviewing the footage to edit the behind-the-scenes of Spade Joker’s music video.”
“Yes.”
“And it turns out there’s a scene where actor Kang Woojin and you are talking.”
At the time, the camera wasn’t close, so I hadn’t thought we’d been filmed.
‘To think that got captured.’
“Kang Woojin referred to Spade Joker as his first disciples, and I really want to include that part. But it’s so different from his usual image, so I wasn’t sure if it’s okay… I wanted to ask for confirmation.”
“Ah.”
Throughout the music video shoot, Kang Woojin had maintained his public image well, but when he spoke with me alone, he showed just a slight glimpse of his true self.
‘Hmm…’
“When do you think this can be uploaded?”
“I have other editing work as well, so it’ll probably take about a month.”
The employee answered in a very small voice, as if they had done something wrong.
“One month. That’s perfect. Include it.”
“…Pardon? Is it okay not to ask actor Kang Woojin first?”
“It’s fine.”
Didn’t Kang Woojin upload my photos to his SNS without permission? If I called this a form of revenge, he wouldn’t be able to say anything.
Besides, he’s been showing a strong desire to reveal his true self to the public lately, so it won’t be a problem. He might even welcome the video we upload.
By that time, interest in the drama Hansoo and Soohan would also be picking up in earnest.
“By the way, I remember there was also talk that day about wanting an apology from his former agency’s CEO.”
“Ah, don’t worry. I’ll definitely cut that part out.”
The employee waved their hands as they spoke.
I let out a sigh of relief at that.
Showing Kang Woojin’s true personality wasn’t a problem, but bringing up his former agency would be a big issue.
He hadn’t been able to show his real self due to suppression from his previous agency.
If that line started spreading online, Kang Woojin’s hardcore fans would never stay quiet.
A conflict between his former agency and Kang Woojin would naturally arise… and that wouldn’t be a welcome situation for him right now.
Especially with a project meant to change his image about to be released.
Moreover, it could end up looking like an unrelated agency was taking a shot at them instead of Kang Woojin himself.
Since we had already started a full-on confrontation with CEO Joo Youngjun, we needed to minimize enemies.
“Then that’s fine.”
“Understood. I’ll proceed as is, trusting your word.”
“Yes.”
The employee gave a light bow and left the office.
Knock knock.
As if passing a baton, a knock came at the door.
“Yes.”
“CEO, it’s me.”
It was Han Suseok.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Han Suseok entered.
“Here’s today’s schedule.”
He handed me my schedule.
“Did your conversation with A-Pen go well yesterday?”
“Yeah. He said he wants to start an independent agency. So I didn’t need to do any extra persuading… it worked out. He’ll probably keep contacting me for a while, though.”
I’d conveyed everything I could today, but it wouldn’t be possible to completely cut off contact from here on out.
Han Suseok nodded as if he understood.
“Spade Joker… no issues, right?”
“Yes. They’re promoting smoothly.”
“Ah, what about CEO Joo Youngjun? Their rookie group?”
“It seems certain they’ve targeted our group. I was actually going to show you this.”
Han Suseok handed me the tablet he was holding.
A collection of Spade’s album goods appeared on the screen.
“Wow. They’re copying our goods lineup exactly?”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
“What the hell are they thinking? Have they completely lost it?”
Starting with dolls that could easily be mistaken for official dolls designed by the Spade Joker members themselves, the goods lineup looked like something pulled straight out of my own head.
“Ah, seriously. This damn guy.”
“There’s more.”
At Han Suseok’s words, I swiped.
The next page appeared.
This time, it was a comparison of Spade Joker’s stage outfits and Spade’s stage outfits.
“Wow. They’re fast, too.”
Even though the title track concepts weren’t similar at all, they had copied Spade Joker’s outfits exactly within just a day.
‘Yeah. I figured they’d do this.’
How could they be so consistently predictable?
It was enough to make me yawn.
“Tell them to dress our members in the most expensive outfits possible this time. I don’t care how much it costs.”
“…Pardon?”
Han Suseok looked slightly startled by my sudden statement.
“You know the emergency funds we set aside? Use that to buy luxury brand items and dress them in those. No matter the price.”
“Will that make them stop copying?”
Han Suseok asked carefully.
“They will. From what I’ve seen, unless it’s sponsored, CEO Joo Youngjun has never put A-Pen in expensive clothes.”
“…What?”
Han Suseok’s expression was quite a sight… filled with both disbelief and contempt.
“Isn’t JM Entertainment not exactly short on money?”
JM Entertainment, Joo Youngjun’s company, was far larger than Ramos Entertainment.
Not only were A-Pen’s core fans spending heavily on them, but the members still earned a considerable amount individually.
“He probably thinks it’s a waste to spend that money. There are plenty of clothes they can wear without going luxury. And besides… you could say there’s basically no profit from A-Pen’s group albums or broadcasts, right?”
At my answer, Han Suseok nodded.
“Then I’ll proceed that way.”
“Good.”
Han Suseok nodded and left the office.
‘Yeah. Let’s see if they copy this too.’
If they did, I would pour even more money into styling Spade Joker.
We had already recovered most of the investment for this album. And it’s not like outfits are used just once, so it wouldn’t even be that much of a loss.
‘Worst case, we can alter and reuse them. If the response is good, we can use them for fan meetings or concerts. Let’s see who wins.’
***
Spade Joker’s stylist worked so hard it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she poured her soul into it, following the company’s policy that price didn’t matter and she could do whatever she wanted.
As a result, the cost exceeded expectations, but upper management approved it without issue.
‘Did they recognize my skills?’
She felt good, as if her abilities had been acknowledged.
Although the group Spade was copying Spade Joker’s outfits, if you looked at SNS, far more people were saying Spade Joker’s outfits looked better.
[LOL if you’re gonna copy, at least do it properly. Spade Joker’s outfits are tailored to the members’ hair colors and body shapes, so they look stylish. But Spade just took the clothes as-is. Nothing fits. They’d look better in casual wear. Their airport fashion looks the best.]
↳ “Exactly. It feels like they just bought clothes from a shopping mall and made them wear it. There’s nothing special. Not even sure it fits the concept.”
↳↳ “They’re too busy trying to copy. All their time goes into finding similar clothes. In a way, that dedication is impressive.”
↳↳↳ “Impressive. They should put that effort into something else.”
↳ “LOL, but seriously, Spade Joker’s stylist seems really good. Even if the overall concept is set by the company, the details are what the stylist handles.”
Seeing posts like that gave her strength.
“Here are today’s outfits.”
“Thank you.”
She also had a good relationship with the members.
She had worked with many idol groups before, but this was the first time she’d seen members as polite as Spade Joker.
Even the manager, Kim Jawook, would carry things for her if she had too much… not just taking care of the members, but also looking after her, who was “just” a stylist.
“Have some coffee.”
“Thank you.”
“While the members are on stage, get some rest.”
“Thank you.”
Having stayed up late making outfits, the stylist quickly drank the coffee the manager handed her.
‘This helps.’
With caffeine in her system, she felt her mind clearing.
Meanwhile, the Spade Joker members came out after changing into their outfits.
“Wow.”
The stylist covered her mouth the moment she saw them.
It was exactly how she had imagined it.
Because the album concept was based on a “game” theme, the outfits weren’t really suitable for everyday wear. But aside from that, they suited the members perfectly.
She had mainly used a luxury brand with beige check patterns as the key point, giving off a detective-like vibe.
“Don’t we feel different today?”
“Yeah. And doesn’t this look kind of familiar?”
“Oh, this! That luxury brand, right?”
“Ah! It really has that vibe.”
“They are from that brand.”
At the stylist’s words, the members just blinked silently.
“…What?”
They asked blankly, thinking they had misheard.
“I remodeled actual pieces from that brand to make these.”
“Then these are really expensive, right? Like over a million won?”
“Yes.”
At her answer, the members stiffened.
“Why are you reacting like that?”
“…Is it okay for us to go on stage wearing something like this?”
The manager burst into laughter.
“What if it tears during the performance…”
“Have your outfits ever torn during a performance before?”
At the stylist’s question, Juseok shook his head.
“Then what’s the problem? And even if it tears, it’s fine. I’ll fix it perfectly.”
Since the clothes had been purchased… not sponsored or rented, she could remodel them freely, but she decided not to mention that, thinking it wouldn’t really register with the members anyway.
Comments (0)