"...In future advertising negotiations as well, rather than one-off contracts like now, we need to keep long-term deals in mind. The contract offers currently on the table, too..."

On the conference room screen were the materials the employees had worked hard for days to prepare.

Today was the day of an important meeting where each department would present changes and plans for Iam’s future activities.

In the case of the marketing team, whose turn it currently was, they were passionately explaining that after the upcoming renewals, Iam’s advertising and modeling contracts needed to be handled differently.

For example, not only going beyond simple cooperation with brands they were currently partnered with, like Tommy Brown, and pursuing things like ambassador deals as well.

They were explaining that it was necessary to review the long-term contracts they had rejected until now due to contractual issues and build Iam’s brand image.

'Everyone prepared their materials well.'

Sanghyeok was pleased as he looked over the employees’ explanations and materials.

In the past, he would have checked the preparation process for everything one by one himself, but lately he had been busy with renewal-related issues, so he had not been able to pay attention, and it seemed everyone had prepared diligently.

Seeing employees work enthusiastically without even being hounded was truly rare.

At Sanghyeok’s previous workplace, when it came time to prepare for a meeting, the default was to turn around, frown, and let out a sigh.

But there was not a hint of boredom or irritation on the faces of the KJ Entertainment employees participating in this meeting.

Rather, they were excitedly talking about what to do going forward, and the employees listening were smiling too.

Sanghyeok thought this was a peculiar aspect of the entertainment industry.

And that made sense, because the entertainment industry was, in fact, not particularly good in terms of working conditions or treatment compared to other ordinary companies.

Low pay, excessive workloads, and even work hours that frequently changed according to celebrities’ schedules.

To be honest, the entertainment industry belonged on the rough side.

Was that why?

Most people who worked in the entertainment industry were people who had entered it with passion and dreams for the field.

Whether it was admiration or desire, they were people who had come in to do the work they themselves wanted to do, and that was why it was a place that endured and developed.

-"For Shinyu’s renewal, a guardian is required, but right now Shinyu’s only legal guardian is her grandmother. But it seems it’ll be hard for her to come up to Seoul, so we’ll probably have to go directly to Jeju."

-"I’ll go!"

Thanks to employees motivated enough to even make a same-day business trip to Jeju for a member’s renewal earlier, Sanghyeok was able to lighten his burden a little.

"As for the members’ renewals, the ones currently completed are Lee Sion, Geum Shinyu, and Im Yunkyung, so three people. Kurosawa Yuri’s meeting is set for this week, and next week Lee Gahyeon and Ryu Ayeon, and finally Seo Ryujin. The goal is to finish within two weeks."

"The schedule is tight. Will that be all right?"

"Of course, up to now the members have all positively agreed to the renewal terms we presented, so things have wrapped up early, but in case that doesn’t happen, we’re also discussing the detailed clauses of the contracts with the legal team."

"Minor changes are fine, but please be careful that the larger framework must not change. Please report any revised proposals separately."

"Yes!"

Even now, because they had taken charge of the members’ renewal process, which Sanghyeok had originally overseen himself, he was able to focus on other matters.

"As for overseas expansion, we plan to have discussions with Unibex soon."

"That was fast."

"The news about the renewals hasn’t come out through articles yet, but inside the industry it’s already as well known as it can be, so they contacted us first."

"Then shouldn’t we hurry the renewals too?"

Sanghyeok shook his head at Raon’s question.

"We cannot get the cart before the horse. Renewal comes first, and the Japan expansion follows after that. We must not let impatience over rushing the renewals damage our relationship with the members."

At Sanghyeok’s next words, all the employees gathered in the conference room had no choice but to agree.

'Should I say the members are very kind, or very naive.'

Before renewal, maybe, but now it was clearly the members, not the company, who held the stronger position.

Considering that during renewal season it was not uncommon for other idols to throw absurd conditions at their companies, the Iam members renewing right now without any special demands were giving them preferential treatment.

And ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ they must not take that preferential treatment for granted.

Even if the members whose renewals were not yet finished thought things over carefully and weighed the conditions, pushing them by saying the other members renewed quickly, so why are you being this difficult, would be the worst move possible.

Also,

"And Lee Sion and Shinyu are now fully KJ Entertainment artists. It’s certainly something to celebrate, but please all be careful and considerate so that the members who still belong to other original agencies don’t feel a sense of alienation because of this, and continue to treat them the same as before."

For the sake of a tiny gain, making partners you had to work with for another three years harbor bad feelings was not good business behavior either.

"Returning to the Unibex matter, for now you can practically consider Iam’s Japan debut confirmed, so for future activities they said they want to start by moving ahead with the Idol Ground 100 licensing contract."

"Agbaek?"

"Yes. Iam’s biggest appeal is, after all, the narrative built through the survival program. So it seems they want to officially air it in Japan this time and use that as a stepping stone for Iam’s expansion."

"That’s good. Honestly, Agbaek and Iam can’t be separated, and overseas fans need to know that too for the sales pitch to work."

Sanghyeok nodded at Raon’s response.

'There’s a reason know-how matters.'

As expected of Unibex, the company that had spread Korean idols into Japan, they seemed intent on proceeding step by step.

Just because something was popular in Korea did not mean they could expect that popularity to carry over to Japan as-is, so Sanghyeok agreed with Unibex’s thinking that they should secure recognition first.

After that, the meeting continued to flow smoothly, from major issues to small agenda items.

Raon, who until now had remained seated and simply watched, stood up and moved in front of the screen when it became her turn.

"Then from now on, I’ll begin the report regarding Iam member management."

Now the highlight of today’s meeting was about to begin.

***

"Im Yunkyung, I evaluated her as Management Grade B."

"Isn’t B underestimating her too much?"

Raon shook her head at one employee’s question.

"She definitely has enough potential to be called Little Lee Sion, but maybe because she’s still young, she’s at a manageable level. Even if the grade might be adjusted later, at her current level I think Grade B is appropriate."

Along with Raon’s words, everyone’s eyes turned to Im Yunkyung’s photo and profile that had appeared on the conference room screen.

Management grades.

-"We need to assign management grades to the Iam members and manage them closely!"

That was the name of the material created through a special proposal from producer Raon and the managers.

'It’s not even a webnovel, and they’re using grades.'

When he first heard they were going to manage the members by assigning grades according to danger level, Hakyoon had wondered if they had copied the idea from the webnovels that were popular lately.

Of course, Raon had added that it was not simply about danger, but that with renewals now ahead of them, they also needed to plan activities by bringing out each member’s individual traits.

But to Hakyoon’s eyes, no matter how he looked at it, it seemed more like dividing beasts according to danger level.

Even back with Seo Ryujin, who had been assigned Grade B before Im Yunkyung,

-"Ryujin is dangerous too! When I went to the dorm last time, she was already in the middle of becoming Lee Sionized!"

Even though everyone had questioned whether Seo Ryujin was really that bad, Raon had firmly emphasized that the old Seo Ryujin they had known was gone now and that they needed to be careful.

"In Yunkyung’s case, she’s still young, and she herself also doesn’t show much interest in any one particular activity. So rather than the company pushing her toward something specific, I think it would be better to give her various experiences and let her find her own path forward."

Still, as expected of Raon, who had spent a great deal of time watching the members from up close, she was able to help all the employees share a vision for future direction by adding a detailed explanation of Im Yunkyung.

Next was Lee Gahyeon.

Click.

As soon as the explanation about Im Yunkyung ended, Lee Gahyeon’s photo and profile appeared on the screen this time.

"Grade C? Well, it is Gahyeon."

"We’d be in trouble without Gahyeon."

"Just looking at her makes me feel reassured."

And in the conference room, a brighter mood settled in, very different from the atmosphere during Im Yunkyung’s turn.

'Grade A was members requiring caution, Grade B was members of concern, and Grade C was safe, right?'

This time, Hakyoon completely agreed with Raon’s grade assessment.

Harmless.

Was there any word better suited to Lee Gahyeon than that?

Iam’s eldest member, who would just let herself be fooled if someone tricked her, and whose personality was so good that even if someone played a mean prank on her, she would complain once and move on.

At the same time, unlike the other members, who caused incidents every day, she was timid, so she did not cause trouble and stayed quiet.

Because of that, not just the managers but the content team too—no, all the employees’ favorite member was Lee Gahyeon.

Management Grade C?

In Hakyoon’s opinion, even Grade C was too high. He thought they should create a protection grade and designate her under that so they could shield her from the other members, especially from Lee Sion’s clutches.

"In Gahyeon’s case, honestly, she doesn’t really seem to have talent for acting. Solo activities also still feel a bit premature. Instead, since the response to her on the variety side has been good, how about planning around those activities?"

"Even if we move in that direction for now, her own wishes are important, so I hope we won’t completely let go of other options either."

"Yes, I’ll reflect that."

With the question-and-answer exchange between Sanghyeok and Raon bringing things to a close, the management grades moved on once again to the next member.

"This time, it’s Geum Shinyu. Her grade is A."

This turn belonged to Geum Shinyu.

"Shinyu is A? That feels a little strange."

As soon as Shinyu’s danger grade—no, management grade—was announced, the employees began murmuring in confusion.

That made sense, because Geum Shinyu was famous for being almost as gentle as Lee Gahyeon among the members, so they were wondering whether the grade was too high.

"No. Certainly, on her own, in some ways she’s an even safer member than Lee Gahyeon, but..."

"But?"

"When she’s with the other members, she becomes much more dangerous."

"Ah!"

As Raon’s additional explanation continued, the employees let out exclamations as if they had finally realized it.

'Right. How should I put it—a soldier with no fear?'

An invincible soldier who, if a superior gave an order, would charge ahead without hesitation and rush the enemy even if the ground in front of her was a minefield.

That was Geum Shinyu’s hidden side.

There had been more than one or two times they had seen that if it was the older members—especially Lee Sion—Shinyu would obey no matter what they said.

-"Go ask!"

-"Yes!"

The last time Lee Sion had been running away after breaking through Yunsik and Jiu, she had ordered Geum Shinyu to bite them to buy time, and Shinyu had rushed in like she was really going to do it, so how shocked had they all been?

Of course, she had not actually bitten them, but—

-"Her eyes were serious!"

Hakyoon remembered Jiu, one of the victims, insisting that the look in Shinyu’s eyes had been absolutely sincere.

"So the first part of managing Geum Shinyu is educating and guiding her so she can be a little less influenced by the other members. Being too dependent on the members could become a problem later too, so she needs management."

"That’s a good opinion. If solo broadcasts or ad offers come in for Shinyu, let’s move in the direction of trying them."

"Yes. But since Shinyu is very interested in producing and also talented at it, I want to give her a chance during the selection for this album’s title track in order to make use of that. Also, right now she’s learning composition here and there from Lucas and me, but if the chance comes up, I’d like to have her train under other composers too."

"Hmm... I’ll leave that part entirely to Producer Raon."

"Yes!"

Once the report on Geum Shinyu ended, it became Kurosawa Yuri’s turn.

"Kurosawa Yuri, Management Grade A plus."

"A plus?"

When Sanghyeok repeated the unfamiliar grade, Raon slowly continued her explanation.

"It’s a management grade more dangerous than Grade A, but below Grade S."

And after hearing Raon’s explanation, Hakyoon tilted his head slightly.

'It’s surprising enough that there’s an S grade above A, but if it’s Yuri, shouldn’t she be S?'

Kurosawa Yuri, the Iam member who fit the word troublemaker best.

She was a frightening member who even used the fact that she was Japanese as a weapon.

But,

"Yuri’s pure danger level could be placed at S just fine, but I lowered her to A plus because she can be negotiated with."

"Well, Yuri was the type who would agree to a deal if there was a suitable benefit."

"Yes. At least conversation is possible with her."

Hearing Raon’s explanation that Yuri was someone compromise was possible with, Hakyoon had no choice but to agree.

Certainly, in Yuri’s case, if she alone was exempted from punishment or given premium snacks, she would return to normal and respond to negotiation.

"And Yuri recently got an offer to sing a drama OST, and I think it would be good to try that. Also, what about having her upload cover songs to the YouTube channel from time to time, especially Japanese songs?"

"Let’s put that into action right away, Team Leader Hakyoon."

"Yes!"

With the discussion about making use of Yuri’s solid vocal skills and suggesting individual activities, the conference room screen moved on to the next member’s materials.

"Ryu Ayeon, Management Grade S."

"Ayeon is definitely dangerous."

"There had been signs from before, but that zombie content confirmed it. When it comes to certain topics, Ryu Ayeon possesses madness on the same level as Lee Sion."

Raon saying Ryu Ayeon was dangerous, and CEO Kim Sanghyeok agreeing.

The other employees were reacting like it was too much of an exaggeration, but—

'That’s because they haven’t seen the Zombie Laboratory content yet.'

Anyone who had seen the content that could be called the peak of Ryu Ayeon’s madness had no objection whatsoever to placing her in Grade S.

On top of that, during their last comeback practice, because she was dissatisfied with their skill level, she had locked the Im Yunkyung, Geum Shinyu, and Lee Gahyeon trio inside the practice room and launched a twenty-four-hour forced practice session, so when she occasionally went off the rails, there was no way to stop her.

She was definitely a member who required attention.

"In Ayeon’s case, I’m thinking of preparing a solo album after some time passes, in cooperation with TSP. If she gets polished a little more, I think the potential is absolutely there."

"Let’s discuss that a little further with TSP."

Once the report on Ryu Ayeon’s management grade was wrapped up, tension began to settle over the conference room.

No one said it out loud, but with only one member left, everyone already knew whose turn was next.

'Is the real thing finally coming?'

The true culprit behind today’s management grade meeting even existing.

It was Lee Sion’s turn.