80: Chapter 80 VIVID Debut

On April 15th, long queues formed outside the Blue Square Concert Hall in Seoul's Gangnam District. Most were young girls holding support banners printed with "VIVID" and the members' names. Pink lightsticks swayed in the twilight like a glowing wave. Chairman Wang Shunyi's black Mercedes drove into the underground parking lot through the back entrance. Kim Young-jun opened the car door and whispered, "Chairman, the VIP seats are in the first row on the right. Chairman Lee Soo-man has already arrived."

The concert hall could hold three thousand people, and today it was full. Large screens on both sides of the stage looped VIVID's debut teaser—six girls in white dresses standing before a starry backdrop, their long hair windswept by fans, every slow-motion frame edited to look like a magazine cover. When Chairman Wang Shunyi walked through the corridor to the VIP seats, Lee Soo-man was leaning back with his eyes closed, resting. Several SM Entertainment executives sat beside him. Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't say hello and simply sat down. Choi Ji-yeon handed him a program with "VIVID DEBUT SHOWCASE" printed in large gold letters, followed by the date and location. Chairman Wang Shunyi took the program, scanned it, closed it, and placed it on his lap.

The moment the lights dimmed, the entire venue fell silent. The big screen lit up as the VIVID logo emerged from a nebula, accompanied by a low string melody. The strings swelled and suddenly switched to a powerful electronic beat as six silhouettes rose from the center of the stage.

They wore white dresses with silver sequined belts, their hair half-tied. Chairman Wang Shunyi noticed their formation was identical to the practice room demonstration—Park Soo-yeon was in the center, Kim Ye-rin was in the front left, and Choi Min-ju was at the very front. He watched for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to the audience. The fans' reaction was intense; some in the front rows even burst into tears while holding their banners, though it was hard to tell if it was genuine excitement or just for show.

Four minutes later, the music stopped. The six members stood in a line and bowed. The lights shifted from cool white to warm yellow. Lee Soo-man clapped twice expressionlessly, as if confirming an expected task had been completed. Chairman Wang Shunyi also clapped—not loudly, but enough to show his presence.

The performance was followed by a media interview. Reporters swarmed the front of the stage, stretching their microphones out as camera flashes went off incessantly. Park Soo-yeon took the microphone as the representative and answered several questions about their debut preparations in a steady voice. Kim Ye-rin chimed in occasionally with witty remarks, making the reporters laugh a few times. Choi Min-ju barely spoke from beginning to end, only nodding occasionally. When her gaze swept across the press section, it met Chairman Wang Shunyi's eyes for a moment before she looked away.

After the interview, Chairman Wang Shunyi went backstage. Coats, bags, and makeup kits were scattered across the sofas in the dressing room. The six girls hadn't removed their makeup yet, and the sequins on their faces reflected the fluorescent lights. When they saw him enter, they immediately sprang up from the sofas and stood in a messy line, with Kim Ye-rin scrambling to put on one of her high heels. Chairman Wang Shunyi waved his hand for them to sit, but no one dared.

"The stage was good today. Debut is only the first step; the road ahead is long." His gaze swept across each of their faces. "In this entertainment industry, out of a hundred groups that debut, fewer than ten are still alive after three years. Whether you can survive depends on strength, luck, and yourselves."

Choi Min-ju took a step forward—as the leader, it was her responsibility to speak up first. "Chairman, we will work hard. We can't say how long we'll stay popular, but at the very least, we won't let you down."

Wang Shunxin glanced at her. She wasn't particularly tall but stood very straight. Having just danced for four minutes, her breathing hadn't fully settled, and there was sweat in the hollow of her collarbone. He looked away and turned to Choi Ji-yeon. "Director Choi, how is the media feedback?"

Choi Ji-yeon stood nearby holding her tablet. "Over fifty media outlets attended. Reporting teams from KBS and MBC are here, and there will be coverage on the morning news tomorrow. On social media, 'VIVID Debut' reached third on the trending list, with over fifty thousand comments already." She paused. "The reviews are mostly positive. Several music critics have posted evaluations saying the title track's arrangement is high quality and the choreography is memorable."

"What about the negative reviews?"

"Some say they look too similar and it's hard to tell them apart. Others say the company spent too much money and the results were bought. But the proportion is low."

Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't care much about such negative reviews. Which group debuts without being criticized? Criticism meant people were watching; if no one criticized them, then they were truly finished. He took a heavy, deep blue velvet bag from Kim Young-jun. Inside were six custom watches with "VIVID" and the debut date engraved on the back. He didn't hand them to the girls but gave them directly to Choi Ji-yeon.

"A gift from the company, one for each of you. It's not anything expensive, just a memento."

Kim Ye-rin looked down at the bag, her lips moving as if to speak. Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't give her the chance and turned to leave.

After getting into the car, Kim Young-jun looked back from the passenger seat. "Chairman, the debut stage was very successful. Should we follow up with another round of media promotion?"

"No need. Let it ferment naturally. In this industry, over-marketing can easily lead to a backlash." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Back to the company."

The car drove out of Gangnam District and onto Gangbyeonbuk-ro. The Han River shimmered with a grayish-blue light in the twilight, and scattered lights began to flicker on in the office buildings on the opposite bank.

At 6:45 PM, Chairman Wang Shunyi walked into the conference room. Marketing Director Lee Jung-hoon and Sales Director Park Jae-beom were already there, with laptops and stacks of printed reports laid out before them. Lee Jung-hoon stood up to pull out a chair, but Chairman Wang Shunyi didn't sit, instead standing in front of the projection screen.

"The data." He raised his hand to look at the sales briefing he had taken from Kim Young-jun.

"In the month since the new products launched, cumulative sales for the low-calorie fire noodles reached 820,000 packs, instant bibimbap reached 480,000 boxes, and the ready-to-drink makgeolli series reached 350,000 cans." Lee Jung-hoon spoke while flipping through documents. The sheen of oil on his forehead was even heavier than last month—it had nothing to do with how much hair restorer he used, it was just pure heat. He was wearing a thin sweater.

Chairman Wang Shunyi picked up the sales curve for the instant bibimbap. Next to the 480,000 figure was a downward arrow—a month-on-month decrease. The drop wasn't large, but the direction was telling. "Nongshim launched their low-calorie Shin Ramyun last week. What are their numbers?"

Park Jae-beom cleared his throat. "They haven't made them public. But according to channel feedback, they distributed about 300,000 packs nationwide in the first week. Their price is lower than ours, so the stock moves fast."

Chairman Wang Shunyi set the report down. "Does the decline in instant bibimbap have anything to do with CJ's new products?"

"Yes," Lee Jung-hoon said. "CJ launched two new instant bibimbap varieties last month with prices 10% lower than ours and aggressive promotions. Our shelf space at GS25 and CU was partially squeezed—not delisted, but moved to secondary positions."

"Why did the makgeolli series go up instead?"

"There are no competing products. Nongshim doesn't make makgeolli, and neither does CJ. We are currently the only ones in this lane."

Chairman Wang Shunyi pushed the report to the center of the table. "The issues with the low-calorie fire noodles and instant bibimbap stem from two places. First, Nongshim is following our low-calorie line, and a price war has already begun. We won't lower our prices, but we need to make consumers feel the price is worth it—quality, taste, and brand; we can't lose on any of them. Second, the instant bibimbap category is too crowded. CJ's price is lower and their quality isn't bad. It's hard to create a gap just with our current approach."

He stood up and walked to the whiteboard, writing two words with a marker: "Quality" and "Differentiation."

"For the low-calorie fire noodles, starting next month, print 'Number one in sales in Korea for three consecutive years' on all packaging. Nongshim's new low-calorie noodles don't have that history. Consumers trust that. For the instant bibimbap, find food bloggers to do a batch of blind test videos. Put Sunyi and CJ together without telling the audience which is which, and have the bloggers score them after eating. We have confidence in our quality; we aren't afraid of a comparison."

He drew a line under "Differentiation."

"Also, VIVID debuted today. Starting next month, begin filming endorsement materials. Start with the low-calorie fire noodles and instant bibimbap, doing print ads and short videos simultaneously. The fan base of a debut girl group overlaps significantly with our target consumers. This resource cannot be wasted."

After the meeting, he returned to his office and sat at his desk. Outside the window, the Seoul nightscape unfolded, with dense lights stretching to the horizon. The Han River cut through the middle like a black ribbon.

He picked up his phone and scrolled through his messages. Park Min-ji had sent one: "How was the debut stage?" He read it twice but didn't reply, putting the phone back down. Kim Young-jun knocked and entered, saying the viewership data for VIVID's debut stage was out. The average rating was 0.8%, ranking third in its time slot, which wasn't bad for a rookie girl group. Chairman Wang Shunyi gave a grunt of approval and said, "Have them keep doing music shows. Don't stop."

After Kim Young-jun left, he sat alone for a while longer before turning off the lights. The motion-sensor lights in the corridor flickered on and off as his footsteps echoed one by one in the empty hallway. The elevator descended to the parking lot, the car door opened and closed, and the engine started with a low hum. As the car drove out of the underground garage, the lights of Namsan Tower flashed by in the rearview mirror.