Madness for Two 🎬 yungi [▶]

15

"One hundred thirty thousand copies. No other offers."

Mingi sat tensely in his chair, watching these people argue about how much money his artwork might generate. It sounded like gambling.

Well, it wasn't that different in the end.

Mingi hated the music industry, just as he hated the frequent rain in London. He despised it, but it was a part of him. So, he had no choice but to get used to it.

"This album has more diverse material. And 'Take Me to Church' is in it. People are anticipating this album, do you understand? At least release two hundred thousand copies. The album deserves it." San was now in young businessman mode, acting cool but basically just like a housewife haggling over prices at a traditional market. "It will take a long time to produce the next one if demand is too high and we can’t meet it."

Mingi appreciated San's stubbornness, but he felt it was unnecessary.

"When this album drops, people will be tired of 'Take Me to Church.' Unless Mr. Song has another song to rely on as a hit, one or two more. We’ll give you three hundred thousand copies without any fuss."

Mingi glanced disdainfully at the older woman with tight blonde curls. Her makeup was subtle, still pretty for her age. She seemed to know that it wasn’t appearance or scandal that sustained one behind the scenes in the entertainment industry, but brains.

And Mingi hated to admit this woman was right. He couldn’t rely on 'Take Me to Church.' He had to admit that, although the music compositions felt more mature and varied, he needed another song to grab attention. And there wasn’t a single song in his album that could do what 'Take Me to Church' did. He knew because if anyone in this room doubted Mingi’s album sales, it was him.

Mingi took a deep breath, drawing in the room's attention to give him a chance to speak. This was a meeting of policy leaders between his record label, the music label handling his album distribution, and his management.

"Give me one month." Mingi could feel San’s breath catch. He didn’t understand why this young man seemed the most worried about everything Mingi did.

"For what?" Sir Eden, his boss, seemed displeased. Mingi knew because he could see where Eden expected this discussion to go.

"I will create some new hit-worthy song material. We can try to make one song for a music video before the album release. And see the public's response. If the response is good, I will ask for the three hundred thousand copies you promised, Mrs. Atkinson." Honestly, Mingi didn’t know what he had just said. He had been given ten months, and the results he had achieved were not satisfactory enough to secure his position in the music industry. And somehow, within a month, he needed to get better songs. Three better songs.

Mingi didn’t know.

But he now had Yunho and his magical words. Mingi had his music. He just needed the right words to mess with people’s minds with his music.

He could do it. The older woman with the dull blonde hair chuckled for a moment. "Honestly, Mr. Song, this is the dumbest offer a singer has made to me in the past twenty years."

Mingi could see Eden shaking his head in disappointment.

Someone at the far end of the room, one of the senior executives Mingi wasn’t sure of the name, smiled slyly at him.

"I have the help I need to create something as phenomenal as 'Take Me to Church.'"

"Oh, because you now have a poet boyfriend, Mr. Song? Hunter Jung was never recognized as a talented writer." The sneering man at the far end of the room spoke up.

"That’s because he never really tried seriously."

Mingi honestly had no idea what he had just said. He knew it wasn’t good to rely on Yunho for this. Especially without talking to the young man first.

"Just one month. It’s not a long time to create three new song materials."

"There are many processes that will be delayed."

"And more money will be spent on the recording process."

"I’ll pay for it myself, at least part of it." Mingi cut off the debate that made him feel like he wasn’t even there.

"Mingi, I don’t think it’s a good idea." San whispered in his left ear.

"Alright." Mrs. Atkinson, the seemingly powerful older woman, paused for a moment. Her silence commanded the room to be quiet. "You need to have three new songs and decide on three songs to discard when we resume this meeting on the twenty-fifth of next month, how about that?"

The room fell silent. Mingi knew from the start that this woman was the main authority, even if her position didn’t seem that high.

"Alright. On the twenty-fifth, three new songs, three discarded songs."

"If you can’t meet the target, we’ll only provide one hundred thirty thousand copies. No more."

Mingi liked the challenge in the woman’s eyes.

"And having one song ready to be a lead single before the album is released doesn’t seem like a bad idea."

"Checking the weather forecast has never been a bad thing before leaving the house." Mingi gave a charming smile. The older woman nodded challengingly.

"Although it seems useless in the always rainy London weather." Eden added sarcastically. Mingi ignored him. He didn’t need his approval if the powerful woman in front of him agreed to the deal he offered.

And a nod from her was enough to end the tension in the room.

There was a disgruntled protest from the sneering man earlier. There was a sigh of relief from San next to Mingi. And a threatening smile from Eden as he left the room without a word. The meeting was over.

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