Chapter 1163: Artist of the Year (6)

I learned exactly what had happened after returning to Korea.

Only a few people had gathered in the CEO's office.

"This situation seems to be getting pretty complicated."

Director Jo Gyuhwan crossed his legs and scratched his head.

"I contacted some sources in China to find out what was going on. Apparently, the government has decided to take a very firm stance. From what I heard, Knet also found out before holding the awards ceremony this time and seems to have backed off on their own first."

A heavy atmosphere filled the room.

Everyone exchanged cautious glances.

Hanbyeol sat upright on the sofa.

Beneath her neatly styled hair, her face showed no sign of emotional disturbance.

"I had expected something to happen to some extent."

Hanbyeol spoke.

"...I just didn't expect it to become this serious."

Her gaze shifted toward the paper placed on the table.

Written on it was an official notice stating:

"Entertainment industry appearances by singer and actor Jang Liang are prohibited."

The list of restrictions was extremely detailed.

She was prohibited from filming dramas and movies, appearing in advertisements, participating in variety shows, holding concerts, and more.

Hanbyeol gave a small, bitter laugh.

"Thank goodness I didn't set up an agency in China. If I had, I would've probably been hit with a tax investigation by now."

"They've basically taken every measure possible except an outright entry ban."

While Director Jo and Hanbyeol continued discussing the situation, I asked a question.

"But why did things end up like this? Because Hanbyeol decided to promote in Korea?"

"Hmm. It's not only because of that..."

Seeing him hesitate, I understood.

"...It has something to do with us."

"It's hard to deny when there are so many circumstantial pieces of evidence."

The full story was like this.

With NewBlack gaining worldwide influence this year, the Chinese entertainment industry had become extremely uncomfortable.

The success of Overcook was one thing, but what had especially heightened their wariness was Sound of the Sun recently becoming a massive global hit.

After all, films had an enormous amount of influence.

They're annoyed? Their pride is hurt?

Amid that atmosphere of wounded pride and growing suspicion, Hanbyeol's actions naturally stood out.

One of the biggest stars in the Chinese-speaking entertainment world had announced her return after a long hiatus.

And the place she chose to resume her activities was Korea.

On top of that, there was her interview comment.

I wanted to continue my activities in Korea.

If you compared it to Korea, it would be like us making a comeback after a long break and saying we wanted to focus on activities in Japan first...

But even then, it was difficult to understand why the reaction had become so extreme.

"Aren't there plenty of other top stars in China?"

"There are."

Hanbyeol answered.

"There are probably at least thirty people around my level. The country is huge and there are so many people, so naturally there are a lot of top stars too."

"Then why only you...?"

"This kind of thing happens often. I just happened to become the target this time."

I nodded, understanding.

In the end, it was a matter of being considered disloyal.

On Manager Hong Seoyeong's laptop, which was monitoring the situation nearby, countless opinion pieces were displayed.

It seemed to be the general tone of major Chinese media outlets recently.

The articles were filled with incredibly hostile statements.

The comments were similar.

I frowned.

"...Isn't this reaction a little too extreme, Manager?"

"Right?"

Manager Hong Seoyeong agreed.

"But this is generally how public opinion works over there. The authorities release commentary first, almost like giving instructions from above, and then netizens follow along. It's different from Korea, where netizens often form public opinion first."

"Ah."

"Before you guys debuted, our actors also entered the Chinese market quite often, so I know this well. Of course, that's all in the past now."

The CEO, Director Jo, and even Seokhwan hyung all reacted as if they were familiar with this.

Seokhwan hyung spoke.

"It is true that those are actual public opinions. They just don't form naturally."

Either way, furious Chinese netizens were going around all kinds of places and leaving malicious comments toward Hanbyeol.

The reaction was excessive enough to be difficult to understand.

Hanbyeol had not said in her interview that she hated China, that Korea was the best country, or that she would work only in Korea forever.

She had simply said that she regretted not being able to promote in Korea despite being a K-pop idol, and that she wanted to release music there.

But judging from their reaction, it was as if they were saying:

"We raised you in China, and now you have the audacity to work in Korea without even knowing gratitude?"

"......"

I turned my head and looked at Hanbyeol.

I couldn't guess what she was feeling right now.

Because everything she had built over nearly seven years was disappearing overnight.

The movies and dramas she appeared in were being removed from streaming platforms, she was being dropped from every advertisement, and even signs of a boycott were beginning to appear.

And yet Hanbyeol looked calm.

"Ah..."

Until she looked at the phone in her hand.

"...Huh."

"What is it?"

"My SNS accounts were deleted."

Apparently, all of Hanbyeol's accounts on the major SNS platforms used in the Chinese-speaking market had either been suspended or deleted.

She tried logging in several times with a disbelieving expression, but every attempt only brought up a message saying the account did not exist.

The tips of Hanbyeol's fingers trembled slightly.

"......"

The CEO, who had been about to hand Hanbyeol a cup of tea, stopped and exchanged a glance with me.

CEO Park Gyuho spoke calmly.

"Let's take some time to discuss this first. How about we rest for now and meet again later?"

"......"

Instead of answering, Hanbyeol nodded.

I had occasionally imagined something like this before.

When my body was unbearably exhausted.

When I was so busy that I only slept one or two hours a day and couldn't even remember what I had said on broadcasts.

I had imagined making a mistake while I was at my worst physically and mentally, and that mistake permanently damaging my career.

But...

"Isn't it strange?"

"A little."

"That's just how the entertainment industry over there works."

I nodded at Hanbyeol's words.

I had imagined being in trouble because I had done something wrong or because I had been falsely accused.

But I had never imagined my entire career being halted and myself being removed from the industry because of a single statement from an administrative authority.

"......"

While Hanbyeol silently sighed, we all looked at each other.

The younger members of TNT.

If there was one positive thing about this situation, it was that the friends from our TNT days had gathered together in one place.

Ji Hanbin looked around our empty company cafeteria and asked:

"Do you guys not have any alcohol here?"

"What are you talking about? Why would there be alcohol in a cafeteria?"

The youngest, Seok Jihoon, scolded him, and Hanbin looked embarrassed.

"We have it."

"You do?"

"Whiskey."

"Ah, the stuff in that room? Isn't that the chairman's?"

"I just drank it."

"...Good for you."

While they continued chatting, Hanbyeol spoke.

"...Anyway, thanks for coming. Especially you, Seok Ji. You're busy filming a movie right now."

"Come on. How could I not come after hearing the news? Of course I had to. We're not strangers."

While the younger members of TNT talked, Taehyun and I sat silently beside Hanbyeol.

Hanbyeol asked Taehyun:

"By the way, what did your uncle say? Did he not say anything?"

Referring to Han Youngjun, the current CEO of TJ Entertainment and Taehyun's uncle, Taehyun answered brightly.

"We're not close."

"You two are always together these days."

"I'm following him around to learn how to manage a company."

"Ah."

After giving a brief answer, Hanbyeol looked toward the cafeteria window.

Across the building reflecting the sunset, the name TJ Entertainment was written.

The person beside me muttered bitterly.

"They must be laughing at TJ right now. Saying I acted all high and mighty about promoting in Korea, and now I got kicked out of the Chinese entertainment industry."

"They wouldn't."

I placed my hand on Hanbyeol's shoulder and comforted her.

"They're probably only thinking about leaving work. We're not important enough for them to spend time thinking about us."

"Ah. Hyung."

"I'm serious. That's just you being self-centered."

We talked like that, trying our best to draw Hanbyeol out.

We didn't say things like "Let's wait and see" or "Everything will work out."

Our job as friends was simply to sit beside her, keep talking to her, and stop her from sinking too deeply into her own thoughts.

But because everyone was busy, the gathering couldn't last long.

"Ah, I have to go now."

"Me too."

Hanbin stood up first, and Taehyun also got up while saying, "Let's have a drink at my place later."

"I have a schedule at ten too."

As Jihoon stood up, I waved at him and asked:

"The movie?"

"Yeah. The one you know."

The low-budget comedy film about four siblings from a chicken restaurant defeating aliens.

Jihoon was playing Jiho's older brother in it.

As I saw off TNT's youngest member, I asked about our youngest.

"How's filming going?"

"The atmosphere's great. The director is funny, the food is good, and the staff are all really energetic."

"Oh."

"Well, maybe that's not what you're actually curious about, but your little brother is doing great. Every time he acts, the seniors all stare with their eyes wide open. They keep saying, 'How can a kid this young act so well?'"

"Our kid is pretty talented. Maybe he takes after me."

I said that and added:

"Take good care of Jiho. He looks mature, but he's actually fragile inside, so I worry about leaving him out there on his own."

"??"

"Why?"

"Jiho is fragile inside?"

"?"

At my comment that Jiho was secretly sensitive and that I worried about him, Jihoon burst out laughing.

I asked again:

"What's so funny?"

"No, it's just... I realized you don't completely understand your own youngest member either. I thought Jiho was like that too because of what you said, but he really isn't. In some ways, he's actually similar to you."

"?"

"If you're curious, come visit our set~ It'd be even better if you made a cameo."

I said I would and saw Jihoon off as he entered the elevator.

Wondering what he meant by saying Jiho was similar to me, I returned to the cafeteria.

"......"

Hanbyeol was still standing with her back turned, looking out at the Cheongdam-dong street where the sunset was fading.

Clatter.

I pulled out a chair and quietly sat beside her.

After a brief silence, Hanbyeol spoke.

"Ah. I need to practice singing."

"Rest today."

"...I have to. The album release is soon."

Her voice was slightly cracked.

Perhaps embarrassed by it herself, she cleared her throat and asked:

"Hyung."

"Yeah."

"Will my album promotions go well this time?"

Hanbyeol continued.

"I suddenly feel a little smaller. CEO Park Gyuho seems like a good person, but in the end, he's still a businessman. From that perspective, I was a good product before... and now I've become a bad product."

"......"

"So I feel like I need this promotion to go well at least, so I can make up for it somehow... Anyway, you know what I mean."

I understood what she meant.

The reason Hanbyeol had received offers from every agency she considered going to was because of her popularity in the Chinese-speaking market.

She was wondering whether her value would fall in a situation where she couldn't work like this, regardless of when things might recover.

I said:

"Don't worry about that. We considered that part when we recruited you from the beginning."

"Really?"

"Strictly speaking, I think CEO Park focused less on the fact that you were popular in China and more on the fact that you had a lot of fans. Those two things are different."

If he had only considered her popularity in the Chinese-speaking market, he would never have signed a contract with Hanbyeol, who wanted to promote in Korea.

I continued:

"The plan to make your Korean solo activities successful ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) hasn't changed from the beginning. And the reason we were able to push forward with that plan wasn't because you were popular in China. It was because you had a lot of fans."

Her entertainment activities had been banned, but there was nothing stopping fans from buying her albums or supporting her.

Only then did Hanbyeol seem to understand.

"...I don't know how this sounds from your perspective, but actually, this is a good situation for your activities."

She looked at me.

"Your fans are probably more fired up than ever right now."

If the other side thought banning Hanbyeol's activities had broken her, they were deeply mistaken.

"And in a way, thankfully..."

For Hanbyeol's Korean activities, at least, this could be considered an enormous opportunity.

"The ban on your entertainment activities is going to become the best promotion you could ask for in Korea."

"?"

"Trust me and watch. You'll understand when you see it."

I smiled and patted my younger brother's shoulder.

The part that Lemon Entertainment's TF team and Sun Wooju had struggled with most while producing the artist Jang Hanbyeol was this.

A singer whose name always appeared when drama OSTs were released.

A singer universities would write down on their festival invitation lists every year.

For an idol solo artist, a strong core fandom was essential for survival. And for Jang Hanbyeol, who had a relatively small Korean fanbase, this was the only realistic direction.

Of course, she could have operated like a normal idol solo artist and made money solely through her Chinese fandom.

But if she only released albums in Korean while Koreans showed little interest and only Chinese fans purchased them, it was questionable whether that could truly be called Korean activities.

Therefore, the biggest concern for the TF team after deciding to pursue mainstream appeal was promotion.

She wasn't someone with an established image from frequent variety appearances.

Nor was she a celebrity who already had the attention of Korean audiences.

Rather, she was the kind of celebrity who would make people ask:

"Why...?"

if they heard she was promoting in Korea.

The biggest problem was that people simply weren't interested.

For example, if a famous idol group member announced a new project, people would at least ask, "Oh, really? Why?"

But in Jang Hanbyeol's case, people wouldn't even click articles with her name in the headline.

It was the same reason Koreans generally had little interest in articles about Chinese or Japanese celebrities.

That was why Sun Wooju decided to appear with Jang Hanbyeol on PBS's educational program Our Language Showdown.

He needed to draw people's attention.

-NewBlack's Wooju to appear on PBS's Our Language Showdown with close friend Jang Hanbyeol

The news that a beloved national star, who was adored by the public, would be appearing on terrestrial television for the first time in a while naturally sparked curiosity.

The reactions were still lukewarm because the episode had not aired yet.

Most people were simply curious about what kind of scenes NewBlack's leader would show on an educational program after a long absence.

At first, that was definitely all it was.

But not long after, other articles appeared, and public attention suddenly shifted.

-China's National Radio and Television Administration bans Jang Hanbyeol from entertainment activities in China

The public immediately reacted.

"I knew it. She must have done something wrong."

The first thought that came to mind was that she had caused some kind of incident in China, could no longer work there, and had come to Korea to continue her career.

Why else would she suddenly promote in Korea?

But as follow-up articles appeared, people blinked.

-Was it "betrayal" for announcing Korean activities...? The circumstances behind TNT's Jang Hanbyeol's ban from Chinese entertainment

They realized that was not the case.

The truth was that she had merely said she wanted to promote in Korea and release an album, and because recent events surrounding NewBlack and the explosive success of Sound of the Sun had created anxiety and anger in certain circles, she had become a target and received a ban.

Combined with the continuing flood of malicious comments...

Looking at Hanbyeol, who had become a target simply for saying that promoting in Korea had been a long-held dream, Koreans began to feel complicated emotions.

"Wow. That's too much."

Posts continued appearing across online communities.

-[Long post] Why Jang Hanbyeol was expelled this time

-Chinese malicious commenters seem to have exploded over K-pop

-The subtle changes in Chinese reactions toward K-pop after Sound of the Sun

There were also reports that entertainers who had promoted in Korea before moving to China were criticizing Hanbyeol, and that younger idols from Chinese-speaking backgrounds had unfollowed her on SNS.

"Wow, this is..."

At first, Koreans had casually treated it as someone else's problem.

But soon, they began frowning.

Because these were exactly the kinds of actions Koreans disliked most.

"This is really not okay, is it?"

"It was honestly scary. She said promoting in Korea had been her dream, and they just cut off her entire career... Seriously..."

"That Jang Hanbyeol girl..."

And just as the keyword "Jang Hanbyeol" was beginning to spread among ordinary people...

[Up next, Our Language Showdown will begin.]

At a truly perfect moment, the PBS educational program featuring Sun Wooju and Jang Hanbyeol was about to air.