wavenovel Chapter 1270 Robbery
Chapter 1270 Robbery
Chapter 1270 Robbery
Although Park Soo-young tried to appear calm, she was surrounded by her group members with whom she had spent so much time and knew each other very well. Who could not sense the jealousy in her emotions?
However, everyone has similar feelings to some extent, so it's just that the eldest sister doesn't talk about the second sister... After all, which female idol wouldn't be envious? And those who are closest to her feel it the most deeply.
After a brief silence, Park Soo-young stopped making things awkward by talking about the eldest sister, and the other members, such as Kang Seul-gi, also wisely refrained from saying anything more.
After chatting for a while, they started practicing the dance as planned. Although they had stopped promoting their songs, they had been doing a lot of stage performances and events recently. Red Velvet's popularity had soared with this comeback, and they received many more offers from various sources.
Although Bae Joo-hyun wasn't there, the other four of them practiced quite well.
However, even though she's not here, there are some things that just can't be avoided...
"Stop for a moment..."
The manager walked in and stopped the music, followed by several assistants and a stylist carrying several outfits.
She walked to the middle, looked at the four members of Red Velvet, and said quickly, "These are the clothes you'll be wearing for the activities in a few days. The sponsor has already sent them over. Try them on first and see if there's anything that doesn't fit..."
Although that's what they say... in general, once sponsors or companies send over the clothes, they rarely make any changes.
As the manager spoke, the staff next to him walked over and handed the clothes to each of the four people, including Park Soo-young.
"understood."
The group of people took the clothes and gave a casual reply.
Whenever there are events like red carpets or promotional events, people usually wear clothes provided by sponsors or their companies; this is all too common.
However, the clothes sponsored by local brands in the peninsula are often of questionable style and quality, and are even inferior to their own personal clothes... But they don't have much say in the clothing they wear to public occasions.
"..."
Park Sooyoung glanced at the clothes in her hand, looked around at the other members, and then, as if she had just thought of something, suddenly asked, "Where's Joo-hyun unnie's?"
"she?"
Upon hearing this, the agent didn't think much of it: "Although there are some clothes for Irene in this sponsorship,... the company doesn't plan to let her wear them."
As she spoke, she seemed quite satisfied with the treatment, and casually added an explanation: "Although Irene only got the collaboration on jewelry products, the company felt that it was still necessary to avoid wearing competing products on such occasions... Moreover, after the collaboration was reached, GUCCI will provide corresponding clothing support for such public runway events whenever we need it."
Luxury brands typically require their spokespeople to "avoid collaborating with competitors" and require them to wear the brand's products in public.
Sometimes this is a comfortable situation for big-name celebrities, as they can't dress as they please. But for the Korean Peninsula, where fashion resources are already extremely scarce, especially for K-pop idols who have never had big brand sponsors, this has become a "shield" for idols to refuse low-quality resources.
Even though they don't really value Bae Joo-hyun's personal development, in order to avoid her returning GUCCI and to maintain their cooperation, SM won't just give her random local brands to wear like before.
"..."
Park Soo-young really wanted to punch herself. She had finally managed to catch her breath after seeing it out of the sight and feeling better, but why did she have to ask such a question?
I might not have noticed it before, but in the last couple of days, seeing Bae Joo-hyun's various treatments, from her increased resources to high-end sponsorships, almost everything she's doing is exactly what she dreams of.
Looking at the dress in her hand, with several loose threads showing even at the waist, and not knowing what brand it was, she felt a burning fire in her heart, but the smoke from the fire made her feel bitter and irritable.
They're all from the same group, so why is it that they're on the same team?
...How enviable!
Kang Seulgi, who was observing everything from the side, couldn't help but sigh deeply.
Especially when it came to this dress, she immediately thought of something that happened last year.
I remember last year at the KBS Entertainment Awards, I think Bae Joo-hyun wore a high-end GUCCI gown to attend and present an award. Because it looked so good and she looked beautiful, it became a hot topic online after the awards ceremony, with many people saying they were 'amazed by Irene'.
Kang Seulgi had a deep impression of this incident. When she came back, she told me that the clothes that the company had prepared were also provided by the sponsor, but they were ugly and a bit tacky... As it happened, Ji Kyungwon saw them and decided to change them for her.
She heard things like "call directly," "the flagship store designer drove over," and "all her numbers and matching jewelry," which she found very interesting, like something out of a TV drama.
I didn't expect Bae Joo-hyun to pull off something like this again this year, and she did it all by herself... Last year it only happened once, so I didn't think much of it, but this year it really makes me a little envious.
However, Kang Seulgi knew in her heart that although Bae Joo-hyun relied on herself... she also relied on Ji Kyung-won. This resource was obtained for her by that classmate and friend.
Tsk tsk, these two are really entangled, even she, who is right next to them, can't quite figure them out.
As she was thinking this, she looked up at Park Soo-young, whose expression wasn't very good, and inwardly chuckled.
It's understandable to feel resentful and envious about unfair resources and treatment, and she felt a little bit of that too... but not as obviously or intensely as Park Soo-young.
However, Park Soo-young has always been the member with the best resources in the group. This year, she also became the first member of Red Velvet to transition into acting, starring in a drama as an actress.
Why didn't she say that back then?
As for Kang Seulgi, she also had the hit song "Really Really" last year under Ji Kyung-won's leadership. Although it may not seem as high-end as the resources of an actress and high-end luxury brands, it did increase her popularity and benefited her a lot.
So she sees things quite clearly: resources can never be fair; there will always be some who are good and some who are bad.
but……
As she was thinking, she inexplicably looked at Son Seungwan next to her again.
Come to think of it, Wendy seems to be the most pitiful one.
They haven't taken care of me even once.
………………
In a beauty salon in Gangnam District, Kim Hyun-ah is sitting in front of a mirror getting her hair styled.
The stylist next to her was someone she often worked with and was very familiar with; they chatted intimately.
As they were talking, Cody seemed to remember something and casually asked, "By the way, weren't we supposed to be recording 'Knowing Bros' today? How did it turn into a radio show?"
"..."
But this question was like igniting a powder keg; Kim HyunA's previously smiling expression instantly changed, and she even blurted out a curse: "Ugh..."
When Cody mentioned this, she couldn't help but recall the news she had heard from her agent the day before yesterday.
"Hyuna, the Korean PD from the production team just informed me that filming for this episode has been canceled."
"Huh? Why?"
"They said that a special segment was added at the last minute, and our guests for this episode were changed to Sehun from EXO and Irene from Red Velvet."
"Why?"
"Have you seen the news these past two days?..."
"Xiba!"
Whenever she recalls that scene, Kim Hyun-ah still feels an inexplicable anger rushing to her head, making her temples throb.
Just last week, she released a comeback teaser for her sixth mini-album, and her official comeback on the 29th is just around the corner. These days, she's been tirelessly appearing on various variety shows to promote her comeback.
Regular programs were fine, but getting on those top-rated shows with good viewership and buzz wasn't so easy. Several attempts didn't go smoothly, and it took the company a lot of effort to finally secure the rights to "Knowing Bros." They only managed to get the rights by leveraging her "sexy queen comeback" image.
She was supposed to record "Knowing Bros" with NU'EST member JR and Park Sung-kwang today. The recording today will air on the 9th of next month, which is exactly one week after her comeback and coincides perfectly with her key promotional period for the comeback. The timing is perfect.
Two days ago, they were suddenly notified that their filming was canceled.
She was stunned. She had prepared everything and memorized the script. Why was it suddenly canceled?
Upon further questioning, they said there was some kind of impromptu special project planned...
She understood instantly: it had been stolen.
That made her instantly furious, and she exploded.
It's not uncommon for resources to be stolen; in fact, it's quite common in the industry, and this isn't the first time she's encountered it.
But usually, people grab the best spots during the competition, so it's quite rare to be suddenly replaced at the last minute.
Upon further inquiry, it turned out that two artists from SM Entertainment had been replaced: Sehun from EXO and Joo-hyun from Red Velvet, with Joo-hyun reportedly playing the lead role.
To be honest, she had also seen the news these past two days and knew that they, especially Bae Joo-hyun, had obtained high-end luxury resources, which was a hot topic.
But for her, having her resources snatched away by a junior at the last minute was a blatant humiliation.
But what can she do?
They have SM Entertainment backing them up, so they can just snatch them away whenever they want. The production team also clearly values them more, so even if they violate the contract, they can't say anything.
Moreover, in terms of buzz... her return as a sexy queen really didn't generate as much buzz as Bae Joo-hyun's. Casual viewers and fans were all discussing her, and her popularity was completely overshadowed.
She had met Bae Joo-hyun a few times during previous events, and this junior was quite polite...
But now, instead of recording "Recognize Each Other," she can only do her styling for a mediocre video radio show in the evening. The contrast between her past and present has made her completely hate this junior.
"...What else could it be?"
HyunA was so angry she was practically snorting. She was furious just thinking about it and didn't know how to explain herself. Her manager, who had been waiting behind her, heard their conversation and just snorted, "They're just trying to ride on our popularity and replace us because they're more popular."
This stylist is someone they've worked with for a long time and know very well, so the agent didn't hide anything from them.
Moreover... this kind of thing can't be kept secret forever. Good things might go unnoticed, but this kind of thing spreads the fastest.
After a simple explanation, Cody understood what had happened.
Actually, she had seen the news these past two days and knew the significance and popularity of Bae Joo-hyun becoming the first idol to endorse a high-end luxury brand. Even the stylists among them had been discussing this matter privately these past two days. When they heard that Bae Joo-hyun had squeezed out Kim Hyun-ah, they actually felt it made a lot of sense deep down...
Of course, he couldn't say such things out loud. He immediately put on an angry expression and denounced JTBC, Bae Joo-hyun, and SM Entertainment.
After hurling her insults, she spoke with a hint of disdain about the news she'd heard in the past two days: "Irene is really something else. She's the first female idol in the music industry to get a formal collaboration with a high-end European luxury brand. My friend told me that she's been getting her hair and makeup done at the beauty salon these past few days, and a lot of people have come over wanting to catch a glimpse of her."
"Even the opportunity to style her hair is something they have to fight for. Ha, it's as if styling her hair makes her associated with high-end luxury and fashion. It's ridiculous."
Although she appeared disdainful, her words inadvertently revealed that, in the eyes of others, Bae Joo-hyun's status had become significantly different.
The public's stereotype of "idols" is mostly that they are "singing and dancing machines" and "traffic tools," and their status has never been very high. Even the stylists at beauty salons sometimes look down on them and would rather work with actors of higher status.
Bae Joo-hyun was the same before, nothing different.
However, things are different now. No matter how much the public discusses whether she is qualified or how she obtained the resources, given that high-end luxury brands still hold a very high status in Europe, this high-end luxury endorsement has unknowingly given her the labels of "tasteful" and "stylish".
This allowed her to naturally take the step from "idol" to "artist" and "fashion icon".
So even though the stylist's tone was somewhat sarcastic, Kim HyunA found it even more infuriating and displeased.
However, she was indeed united with the enemy, which calmed down Kim Hyun-ah's anger somewhat.
After talking for a while, Cody casually asked, "...But speaking of which, why would GUCCI hire Irene? Isn't she just an ordinary female idol? I've never heard of her having this kind of ability before. This is GUCCI!"
The cosplayers discussed this issue quite a bit during their private meals these past two days, and it's a question that many people in the industry who aren't well-informed about it have in mind.
"What else can happen? Isn't it all the company's fault? Didn't SM Entertainment handle everything for her?"
Upon hearing this, Kim HyunA sneered and said with disdain, "Unnie, do you really think she can rely on herself?"
"Are SM's fashion resources really that good now? I heard a few days ago that their connections in the fashion world were really bad, much worse than YG's," Cody asked doubtfully. She was an insider in the industry and had pretty good information.
"That was how it used to be, but things changed after Chi Jingyuan became the regional spokesperson."
The manager next to him was quiet for a moment before interjecting to explain, "We didn't know before, but the news gradually came out. GUCCI took a liking to Ji Kyung-won and contacted SM on their own initiative, so their attitude has always been very good."
"Thanks to Ji Kyung-won's connections, SM has now established channels with the European fashion industry and is now considered the company with the best fashion resources in the music industry."
Although he was equally unhappy, the manager's tone was relatively calm: "But after all, he started developing his career relatively late. Nobody expected SM's Juna to get the GUCCI title..."
"It can only be said that the company produced a Ji Kyung-won, which made SM Entertainment so full that they were about to throw up."
I've been a bit busy with work these past few days, so updates will be a little late.