Chapter 223

“It’s a clear fact that discussions about an IPO are popping up inside Topist.”

“Surely, Debonaire’s sales figures exceeded expectations.”

However, the head of the planning coordination department, Mr. Han, considered the IPO premature.

“I expected to be in the red until the first album, but the album sales have been substantial. It looks like we’ll be in the black before the next comeback.”

The reason Topist was so eager for an IPO stemmed from a single clause in an old contract with some childish investors.

If they didn’t go public by the end of this year, specifically by December 31, 2025, they would have to pay back the investors’ shares.

In other words, if they had to repay the capital increase previously received, they would need to make up for the increased corporate value with retained earnings.

“If we can’t go public by the end of the year and don’t get an extension, we’ll have to pay back about 19 billion won. That means we’ll need to bring in that much new investment.”

The existing investment amount was around 14 billion won, but with the expectations from Seven and Debonaire…

The potential corporate value had risen, and if they couldn’t get an extension, they’d have to return more than the principal to the investors.

“Our retained earnings… are insufficient. Moreover, Pastel Love is about to disband, and the Xten members are now headed to the military…”

To make matters worse, Debonaire’s debut was coinciding with the bad news from the two previously stable cash cows.

“When you consider the money earned by Do-hee and Seo-yoon, who were active as members of Seven, it’s quite substantial. However, since it was shared with the other members and Shock Enter, the company’s profits are sluggish.”

Especially Debonaire’s debut required significant investment due to extensive promotions and the double title tracks.

“Next comeback will likely be double title tracks too…”

Kim Wi-dong let out a sigh.

“Huh… So excluding Debonaire, what’s our estimated net profit for this year?”

“Approximately 11.8 billion won.”

“That’s still about two-thirds covered.”

Of course, if they went public, everything would get resolved without a second thought.

But as Manager Han said, the IPO was indeed premature.

While they had many singers and actors under contract, the absence of the two major cash cow groups meant that Topist relied solely on a rookie girl group, Debonaire, raising questions about stability.

Furthermore, the investor sentiment towards Debonaire was clearly divided with Ailee from JS, who had set initial sales figures higher than Debonaire, being a strong competitor in the market.

Thus, considering the current situation, an IPO…

Would be priced below the actual corporate value, resulting in an undervaluation.

“That damn recklessness has really tangled up the timing, hasn’t it?”
“Thanks to that reckless guy, the timing’s all messed up.”

“Even if we go public, it’s a loss.”

“Even if we don’t go public, we still have to explain ourselves to the investors.”

“I’d rather there be no reckless guy. If there weren’t, we would’ve debuted the members already.”

“At least it’s a relief. Thanks to Seven, despite being rookies, Seo-yoon and Do-hee have already become ambassadors for Fendi.”

“Of course, it’s a big win that both Seo-yoon and Do-hee were selected as luxury ambassadors, just as Lee Jung-hye, our management director, consoled us.”

“Ambassadors aren’t just picked based on local popularity.”

“That alone proves we have quite a number of overseas fans.”

“As for luxury ambassadors in small to medium agencies, there are only five, including them.”

“Especially for high-end lines like Cartier, Do-hee is the only one.”

“But even if there was no ‘recklessness’, Kim Wi-dong was confident that Debonaire could not fail.”

“From member composition to concept to songs.”

“The reason we attracted so many investors in the first place was this project.”

“But here’s the issue. If we pay back the retained earnings and this year’s net profit, there’s ultimately no funds to pour into Debonaire.”

“I was planning to funnel all that 20 billion into Debonaire.”

“Though extending the payback period would solve things… but those opportunistic investors are stalling on assurances.”

“Yeah, but still, going public is premature.”

“Right now, we need to find ways to secure activity funds and investments for Debonaire.”

“There are three methods.”

“Either collateralize company assets to take on new debt.”

“Find new investors to do a capital increase.”

“Or artificially inflate Debonaire’s sales temporarily.”

“Definitely the best option is cash.”

“Increasing Debonaire’s sales.”

“And the method is…”

“Let’s start with a fan signing event.”

“Just as our head of the first division, Moon Kyu-cheol, suggested.”

“It was a way to roll out the members and boost album sales.”

“This album’s initial sales are already out, so I think it’d be better to promote for the next album.”

“The method was simple.”

“If we hold fan signing events, a huge number of fans would show up to buy dozens, if not hundreds, of albums just to participate.”

“So, we can just hold countless fan signing events.”

“Plus, we’d sweeten the deal by negotiating signing event contracts with distributors in advance.”
“Let’s see how it goes.”

“If the distributor buys the albums in advance…”

“Albums that will be purchased after a week could inflate the first-week sales figures, making the results look better without any downside.”

“If all goes well, we might even surpass Ailee’s first-week sales with the next album.”

“But there was a side effect.”

*

Jung So-hyun couldn’t understand.

“Director, no matter how much Do-hee and Seo-yoon are here, we’re just a rookie group that just debuted. Right now, we need to solidify our fan base and support, but relying on fan hearts like this… You know we should be producing content even if we have to reduce the fan signing schedules for the next activities, right?”

“Solidifying the support base? Of course. Who doesn’t know that? But what’s the point of letting the inactive period go to waste? During that time, we can do fan signs. For now, we just need to shoot a lot of content and release it when the time comes.”

X-TEN and Pastel Love did this too.

“No, we need to practice now. Perfectly. We need to strengthen the individual abilities of the members. Not just activity songs, but constantly taking vocal lessons, dance lessons, and even posting covers of foreign artists one by one—”

“Director Jung, even Chiyo, who has the shortest trainee period, trained for over four years. We did a ton of that during the trainee period. What more do we need? Look at Do-hee and Seo-yoon; they did well during Seven’s time! Plus, both of them have a ton of personal schedules right now and time—”

When Jung So-hyun was just a staff member in the A&R team, no matter how good a song she picked…

“So, what’s your point? Even after finishing unavoidable personal schedules, we need to practice with the rest of the time. I can’t settle for just a few hundred million won in annual sales. Coral Blue’s Lira alone makes 31 billion won a year from Instagram. Jin-a makes 24 billion—”

“That’s per day. The senior group already paved the way.”

In the end, the methods of promotion, the viral strategies, and how to engage with fans all showed growth limitations.

“And what about NND? Did they have a senior group?”

“That’s a male idol group. Female fans tend to stick more easily.”

“Yes, that’s why I set the group concept like this, to attract and impress female fans.”

That’s the reality and structure of Topist, a small to medium-sized business.

“Hey, Director Jung. I’m the general supervisor of Division 1. The artist management, marketing, and album business departments are all under Division 1. After all, a girl group based on public appeal doesn’t collapse just because they write good songs. Just keep doing what we’re doing—”

“For how long? Has Pastel Love not hit? They had three, four hits in a row. But if one song flops, we’re done? Again?”

However, the members of Debonaire were those whom she had watched closely since their trainee days, having put more thought into them than anyone else.
As the general manager, I’ve been closely watching these kids since their trainee days, stressing over them more than anyone else.

“I don’t want to just maintain the status quo; if one song does well, that’s the stepping stone. We need to roll that snowball and eventually expand overseas. That’s why I said I’d oversee and manage Debonaire this time. In all aspects.”

Especially Do-hee, even if she wasn’t around, would be a sure bet everyone could rely on.

It was a stroke of luck that a kid who could very well become an icon of the fourth generation, or perhaps even of idols themselves, ended up at Topist, a mid-sized entertainment agency.

“Director Jung, are you saying we should call you ‘Chairman’ now? The Debonaire members aren’t puppets, you know.”

“Well, they’re not exactly puppets of Director Moon either─”

Bang─!

A loud crash echoed through the conference room.

“Ha-ah… Now’s not the time for family squabbles, is it?”

In the brief silence, the sound of Kim Wi-dong clearing his throat could be heard.

“Ugh… Let’s stick to the original Debonaire schedule. Do whatever you want, Director Jung. All eyes are on us right now, so we need to follow the original plan.”

“Anyway, NND is already starting with hundreds of billions in debt, while we’ve been in the black every year. We have profits in the tens to hundreds of billions.”

“If we can’t do a capital increase, I’ll sell my stocks to bolster the company’s funds…”

*

Once everyone left, only Jung So-hyun and Kim Wi-dong remained in the conference room.

—Chiiik

Kim, the representative, lounged back in his chair, lighting a cigarette, and spoke to his niece Jung So-hyun.

“Moon Kyu-cheol. That punk is something else. Totally impressive.”

“Uncle, you’re about to turn sixty. Mind your language…”

“Just like his mother, always nagging. Got all defensive over the kids, didn’t he?”

Watching Jung So-hyun’s stern expression, Kim Wi-dong took a big puff from his cigarette.

“Ugh… Ha, this kid has such a wide network that I can’t just cut him off. Plus, if we want to entertain clients, he has to be at the department head level. It’s true, being good at hosting is just as important as doing your job well.”

“…I know. I was just reckless─”

“Stop, stop. We can offer him a director position later and have him buy back some of our stocks. We might as well do a capital increase while we’re at it, balancing things out while also making it a full-on hosting role. Right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Good. Go handle things. It’s the last day of activities for the kids, so go buy them something delicious. And don’t let them know; use my company card for it.”

Seeing Jung So-hyun nod, representative Kim Wi-dong flicked the ash from his cigarette.

“Oh, but if you’re going for beef, make sure it’s sirloin, not tenderloin… Hey! Wait until I finish speaking…”

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