021 Before the Music Festival

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Suddenly, a sharp, deafening roar erupted from the long queue at the ticket gate. Lee Jun-ho cast a curious glance over; it turned out the BTS van had just arrived from the other end.

"Hui-hyung, how much did you spend to book BTS?"

"A favor, and the standard rate." Yoon Woon-hui watched the van pull up to the front and spoke indifferently.

"The standard rate? Tsk, BTS really is something else. Even with a favor involved, they still charge that much." Lee Jun-ho clicked his tongue in disbelief. Yoon Woon-hui sighed.

"Fortunately, PSY-sunbaenim was generous and agreed without hesitation."

Yoon Woon-hui hadn't originally intended to invite PSY, but since the cost of booking BTS was so exorbitant, he had to find someone more affordable to balance the books. The university festival commercial model was quite mature, making it relatively less expensive. Based on a 20-minute set, although PSY's public quote was the maximum of 50 million won, he typically offered a one-third discount and often performed encore stages, frequently singing for a full hour.

BTS, on the other hand, was different. They started at 100 million won, with a "friendship price" of 75 million, and they wouldn't perform a single second more than the allotted twenty minutes. It seemed the combined influence of Bang Si-hyuk and his uncle was only worth 25 million.

Last year, the Yonsei University festival had booked IU, Twice, and Red Velvet as a package for 80 million won. Plus, how many tickets had I even sold? 10,000 tickets at 13,500 won each...

Fortunately, BTS was indeed effective. The Yonsei campus was nearly packed today. Coupled with the clear, sunny weather, it significantly boosted consumption at the student-run food and beverage stalls and booths. Although there were slight security concerns, they were negligible.

For the student council, the festival served as a mid-term performance review. Clearly, the current student council led by Yoon Woon-hui remained highly regarded. Once the cafeteria meal subsidies were implemented next semester, Yoon Woon-hui could consider his mission accomplished and step down with grace.

"Wait, that’s not right. How much did you pay those other two rookie girl groups, Hui-hyung?"

Lee Jun-ho mentally calculated the costs. Yoon Woon-hui glanced at him.

"Same as IZ*ONE, 8 million won each. It's very fair."

"Shit..." Lee Jun-ho cursed outright. "Three rookie girl groups with hit songs only cost 24 million won total?"

"Yes."

"What’s the point of these lousy girl groups? We really need to secure a boy group." Lee Jun-ho looked disgusted and disgruntled, quietly making a grand vow to manage a boy group in the future.

As they were joking, the BTS van parked in the designated spot. After a few members stepped out and waved to the long line of fans across the road, they headed straight to the back of the open-air theater.

The two brothers, Yoon Woon-hui and Lee Jun-ho, looked at each other.

"Hui-hyung, if it were me, I wouldn't be able to stand this. Yonsei is your turf, and they saw you right there, yet they didn't even come over to say hello? How arrogant!" Lee Jun-ho fanned the flames at lightning speed, but Yoon Woon-hui remained unmoved.

It was somewhat humorous. He was just an ordinary Yonsei student body president right now; being ignored was perfectly normal.

Shortly after, PSY arrived. As soon as he stepped out of his car, he spotted Yoon Woon-hui in the shade of the trees by the road.

"Hahaha, why is our Director Yoon here? Are you here to welcome me?"

"That’s right, sunbaenim. Welcome back to Yonsei University."

Yoon Woon-hui hadn't really wanted to take advantage of PSY. This older brother didn't lack money or a stage to perform on; PSY’s father was a manufacturer of semiconductor testing equipment. But he had no choice; his budget was on the verge of exploding, forcing him to call upon this overly enthusiastic veteran. This man had attended the Songdo Memorial Foundation’s charity gala and had donated a total of one billion won to the Children's Future Center at the In-Song University Affiliated Hospital. Even if PSY had a checkered past, Yoon Woon-hui could overlook it for the time being.

"Please go ahead, the space is a bit small."

"I've been here many times, you think I don't know? It's enough, it's enough." PSY wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked into the backstage area without needing a guide.

"Hui-hyung, when is your movie coming out?"

"At the Jeonju International Film Festival in July."

"Jeonju... there's an international film festival there?"

"I suppose so. I only just found out myself."

Yoon Woon-hui’s expression was serious. What was wrong with the Jeonju International Film Festival? While it wasn't exactly "international" in the global sense, it was one of the few film festivals on the peninsula that operated stably, having been held for over twenty editions. At the very least, it was held every year, consistently attracted film buffs, was relatively fair, and was very welcoming to rookie actors and directors without connections.

Having discussed it with his agency multiple times, Yoon Woon-hui had a very grounded professional plan: one step at a time. He would act in independent films, take on supporting roles, endure the hardships before tasting the sweetness, and after completing a challenging role, he would reward himself with an idol drama.

He didn't need the agency to market a "hard-working" persona; Yoon Woon-hui was naturally that kind of person. Moreover, he didn't care about potential haters—they were outsiders, heretics. He only needed to be responsible to his own fans. Centrist ideologies required seeking the greatest common denominator, but fandom culture and polarization were the exact opposite.

"Where is BTS? Where is BTS!"

A student council electric shuttle bus crawled up the gentle slope, and Assistant Kim jumped off the back seat.

"So, Kim-ssi, you really are a fan of BTS..." Yoon Woon-hui said softly. Assistant Kim reacted defensively.

"No! I'm not!"

"Hehehe, Hui-hyung, I only came because you said I could take a picture with BTS."

Assistant Kim looked like a tomboy on the surface, but she was quite girlish at heart. Chasing male idols? She was likely just following the trend, wanting to take a photo with BTS to post on social media. Understandable.

"Here." Yoon Woon-hui handed a paper VIP pit ticket to his assistant, and she thanked him repeatedly.

The school cheerleaders had specifically given the student president VIP tickets. Since the president accepted them, it was tacitly understood that he wouldn't audit the VIP ticket revenue; whatever they made belonged to the cheerleading team, ensuring future cooperation. After all, the cheerleading team had contributed to his campaign. In any case, the pit area was limited; if too many people were crammed in, the advantage of being close would be lost, and those who paid a high price for VIP tickets would be dissatisfied, leading to trouble. Therefore, he couldn't issue too many. A smart person understands the value of long-term benefits and turns them into a long-term perk for the cheerleading team. There were four years of college ahead, and you didn't want your juniors badmouthing you after they graduated.

Yoon Woon-hui also had his own favored juniors he was looking out for.

What is academic affiliation? In a university on the peninsula that was layered with both Westernized and traditional influences, the operations and outcomes of the student council naturally built and reinforced more elite academic networks.

After introducing Assistant Kim to his good friend Lee Jun-ho, Yoon Woon-hui felt satisfied with the assistant the agency had arranged. She was talented; he had received a background check from his family’s memorial foundation regarding her. She was from Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, her parents were ordinary citizens, her family status was average, her younger brother was successful and had been admitted to Kyung Hee University (currently serving in the military), and her younger sister attended an arts high school. With a family to support, she was a born workhorse.

Yoon Woon-hui planned to observe Assistant Kim for a while longer. By next year, he would give her an additional title as an assistant to the board members of the Songdo Memorial Foundation, providing her with an extra salary.

Even though today was theoretically not a workday, Assistant Kim was very observant and displayed perfect service spirit; she offered to go fetch chairs and water for the two of them. However, it seemed someone had stolen Assistant Kim’s job. Kwon Eun-bi walked out of the small building, carrying water.