Chapter 154 : If You Want to Catch a Tiger, Go Into the Tiger’s Den
Chapter 154: If You Want to Catch a Tiger, Go Into the Tiger’s Den
Kim Minsoo was on the verge of dying from happiness these days.
Following The Kids Who Escaped From Us, Double Line, and now even Lumière.
With consecutive home runs, ‘KIM Entertainment’ was beginning to receive serious attention.
ToMe, Manny, Tomorrow.
There was even talk that the Big 3 had evolved into the Big 4.
[ It’s not the Big 3 agencies anymore, it’s the Big 4. If you disagree, explain Jeong Jaewook, Tae Junggi, Kwak Youngho. ]
↳ KIM Entertainment's been on fire lately.
↳ Ever since they brought in Cheongseong, game over~~~
↳ First of all, the songs are just too goodㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
↳ These days I only listen to Lumière songs……. Dan Dan Dan is insanely addictive…….
↳ That guy Kim Minsoo has a good sense, doesn’t he?
↳↳ No no, that too, but isn't it all thanks to Stay?
That’s right. It was thanks to Stay.
There was no room for argument.
People didn’t really watch TV anymore, but they sure watched YouTube.
They might not listen to the radio, but they did check out the Maron Chart.
Only two songs had been released, but the impact was tremendous.
[ Track 01. <Not Yet> Title ]
– Composed by: Stay
– Lyrics by: Stay
– Arranged by: Stay
[ Track 02. <Velvet Trigger (Feat. DJ Blackhole)> – Lee Jeongin (Solo) ]
– Composed by: Stay, Lee Jeongin
– Lyrics by: Stay, Lee Jeongin
– Arranged by: Stay
The online community was abuzz with nothing but talk of Lumière’s second album singles.
Beginning with Lumière.
Not Yet – Dan Dan Dan – Stay created a natural flow.
Then came the DJing showcased by Blackhole in Velvet Trigger.
[ Velvet Trigger – MV Blackhole’s Part on Loop for 1 Hour ]
↳ Hea.ven.ly.
↳ Oh, so that came from a Lumière song? Lately, it’s the only song you hear at clubs ㄷㄷ
↳ Where can I learn DJing???
↳ I’m so curious about his face……
↳↳ Apparently he’s ugly lololol
↳ I don’t think so. You can tell just by the vibe.
↳↳ What are you, psychic? How would you even know that lololol
[ Velvet Trigger is f*cking amazing. Blackhole featuring? ㄷㄷㄷ ]
↳ Who the hell is that~~ you weeb~~~~~
↳↳ Google it, you lazy bum. Comes right up. ;;
↳ What’s up with Stay, landing Blackhole like it’s nothing.
↳↳ That connection only the insiders know……. lol
↳ I thought KIM Entertainment was done for when they said R&B, but DJing? ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
↳ Ugh……. When you mix DJing with rap, it’s freakin’ tasty~~ you uncultured fools~~~
[ Lumière is insane, right? R&B with DJing? Game over. ]
↳ Thanks to Blackhole, DJing finally made it into the mainstream ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
↳ Stay really has an amazing instinct. To think he’d do R&B with Lee Jeongin~~~~
↳↳ Honestly, I think Kim Minsoo, who approved it, is even more incredible?
↳ That’s true lol who would even think of doing R&B on a girl group album.
↳ Stay is god!
Lumière’s second album had become a full-blown phenomenon.
No one had imagined that R&B could become the genre connecting the 1990s and the present.
But.
Stay had done the impossible.
[ Rumie Lumière ‘Velvet Trigger’ (feat. DJ Blackhole) MV ]
[ 90 million views ]
Not just in Korea.
The comments in various languages were more than enough to make Kim Minsoo break into a quiet smile.
One hundred million views was just around the corner.
He happily clicked “Translate” on each comment to read them in Korean.
Lee Jeongin is seriously cool. Can’t believe a concept like this came out of K-pop. Truly captured the essence of R&B. (English)
Oh my gosh…! Never thought a KIM Entertainment song would make me feel nostalgic. (Japanese)
It’s based on R&B but has such a modern vibe. (French)
The bridge melted my ears! If you listen closely, the bass is incredible! (German)
World peace didn’t need anything else.
Music had already achieved it.
With that thought, he continued scrolling through the community.
The translated reactions in different languages were nice.
But what truly thrilled him were the passionate cheers from domestic netizens.
[ Have you listened to Lumière Lee Jeongin’s Velvet Trigger? ]
↳ It was already over the moment that Latin-style guitar came in at the intro.
↳ R&B is not dead!!! Stay resurrected it!!!
↳ Honestly, I didn’t think Lee Jeongin’s vocals could bring back old-school R&B like that.
↳ Guys, try listening to it alongside Not Yetㅜㅜㅜ
[ I legit bawled listening to Velvet Trigger ]
↳ Feels like the R&B I listened to in middle school, but it hits different now……
↳ Ugh. I suddenly cried because it reminded me of the Alicia Keys song I heard during my first kiss with my ex……
↳ Seriously brought back an entire era of memories.
↳ Am I the only one who thought of their first love after the first verse?
↳ Hearing a song like this in 2025 is a real blessing.
↳ I’m a guy in my 50s. Listening to it with my daughter in her 20s ^^
↳ I should’ve treasured my youth a bit more…….ㅎㅎ Thanks for bringing back the good memories!!
Yeah. This was the true power of music.
The lyrics may be in one language, but the emotions transcended borders.
Some were reminded of their long-forgotten first loves.
Others brought back feelings buried deep in old cassette tapes.
The 90s. Wisps of cigarette smoke floated along the stage lights.
The Seoul accent from that era—now reduced to a meme on variety shows—stuck thick to the ears.
Though he hadn’t really lived through the 90s.
Through this song, through the listeners’ reactions.
It was as if he had traveled to that time himself—Kim Minsoo was lost in a deep reverie.
How long had he been like that?
He startled awake at the sound of someone calling him.
“CEO?”
“Oh… When did you come in?”
“I knocked more than ten times. Thought you weren’t here.”
It was Yoon Seonghan.
Yoon Seonghan glanced once at the monitor, then at Kim Minsoo, and smiled softly.
Probably feeling the same way.
“You’re that happy?”
“What’s there to say.”
Velvet Trigger wasn’t just a hit song.
It was that forgotten era we all kept buried in one corner of our hearts but never spoke of.
Stay had brought that era to life through music.
He wove generations together and summoned memories.
Overlaying rhythm onto longing, he made the old clock hands move once more.
Stay had done it.
He brought the 1990s into the 2020s perfectly.
In a much more refined way.
Yoon Seonghan asked Kim Minsoo,
“How does it feel to be setting trends?”
“I’m not setting them. Stay is.”
“There’ve been a lot of R&B pitch requests for Track Race, too.”
“That’s good. No genre should be left behind.”
To the younger generation, R&B was no longer like trot to their parents.
It wasn’t just music of the past anymore.
It was now music for everyone living in this moment.
“Nice.”
Just as Kim Minsoo leaned back into his chair with a satisfied look—
Whine—
A phone buzzed.
When Kim Minsoo checked the name on the screen, the corners of his lips lifted smoothly.
Just seeing the name made him break into a smile.
Why was Kim Minsoo smiling? It was obvious.
Yoon Seonghan glanced over and asked slyly,
“Is it Taeyoon?”
“Yeah. Damn, I can’t act proper. I was gonna say I’d buy her meat if she came over……. Hm? Hold on. Hey, what is this?”
“What is it?”
A video had popped up on the screen.
The two men leaned in and stared intently at the small smartphone.
The video was barely thirty seconds long.
Without saying a word, the two men watched it.
“Waaahhh! What is this?!”
“What did I just see?”
Startled, they ended up tossing the smartphone away.
From the sofa across from them, the video cluelessly played again.
– Dan dan dan~
Stay and Taeyoon were clumsily copying the dance challenge.
“Ah……”
“This is just……”
They could only blink in silent lament, sighing as if in pity.
Then, almost simultaneously, they muttered in unison:
“The dancing is so……”
“Weird, right?”
Even Stay had something he couldn’t do.
Was this dancing, rhythmic motion, or just flailing?
“Pwahahaha! What do you think?”
“Phuhuhuhk. It’s funny but cute, right?”
In the end, they both burst into belly laughter.
A dance challenge served by the original artist himself.
It would definitely go viral.
There were plenty of fans waiting for Stay.
But still……
Was releasing this really the right move?
In the wake left by Lumière and Stay.
A man was clucking his tongue, scrolling through news articles and comment sections in frustration…
“…They really played it out like this?”
It was Im Geonwoo, Casting Director at Daebak Sound.
He’d had a lot on his mind recently.
It was all about the Seo Brothers.
Not like they were exes or anything.
But he’d been secretly keeping tabs on their every move.
Losing out on Seo Dongyoon was one thing.
But now, even with an important project ahead, he’d failed to recruit Stay.
After that meeting, he’d declared in anger that “We’ll do it ourselves!” in the CEO’s office and even got tacit approval.
But this wasn’t just some ordinary project.
He’d tried to downplay it by mocking the guy as a nobody, trying to convince himself.
But in today’s market, the most sought-after artist was undeniably Stay.
The anxiety was no joke.
And now both songs from Lumière’s second album were massive hits.
[ Maron Chart – Real-Time ]
Lumière – <Not Yet> (–)
Lumière – <Velvet Trigger> (Feat. DJ Blackhole) (–)
This wasn’t hype.
It was a syndrome.
Im Geonwoo felt it firsthand.
His twelve-year-old daughter was constantly running around the house singing “Dan dan dan.”
She even wore headphones and mimicked the stretching motion from the song.
When she asked, “Why doesn’t your company make songs like this, Dad?” he could only chuckle awkwardly.
Stay. He was slipping further and further away.
How could he be pulled in? If not with money, then with what?
Mulling it over, he absentmindedly scrolled through YouTube’s trending shorts.
“Hmm?!”
His eyes widened.
[ STaY Dan Dan Dan Challenge! Original artist’s clumsy dance cover?! ]
[ 3.02 million views ]
Gulp.
He swallowed hard without realizing.
My god.
Was Stay really revealing his face at a time like this?
His hands trembled. The whole industry would flip if he did.
“Sigh……”
But thankfully, that didn’t happen.
His face was cleverly hidden with perfect angles.
Only a sharp jawline could be seen in the clip…
“…What is this? Did he do this on purpose?”
The video showed Taeyoon dancing like a robot.
It was bizarre.
Clearly awkward and awkwardly exaggerated movements.
But you kept watching.
Admit it.
He was bad, but he gave it his all.
And the reactions, the reactions…
Put any idol dance challenge to shame.
[ 3,819 comments ]
↳ LOL he’s good at singing, but what is that dancing? LOL
↳ But why is it kinda cute?
↳ The fact that he thinks he’s dancing well is legendary;;; lol
↳ The dance lines are totally weird lolol how does that kind of dance come from that kind of body? lololol
↳ I love this kind of video. There are people in the world who aren’t good but try really hard~~~~
↳ Dan dan dan— feels like he’s about to push someone off a cliff ㄷㄷㄷ such intensity ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
Could it be intentional?
Was he pretending to dance badly to provoke this reaction?
If it were Stay, it was possible.
He’d experienced firsthand how those two brothers could play people like puppets.
Which is why, to him… they were nothing but a thorn in his side.
“Ugh… I’m gonna lose it.”
Im Geonwoo scratched his head wildly.
As he glared at the screen with bloodshot eyes—
“What are you doing?”
The door opened, and in walked a familiar silhouette.
As always, it was Park Taekeun, dressed in yet another baffling suit.
“Oh, just…”
Frantically, Im’s hand scrambled across the desk.
He grabbed the mouse and quickly closed the video.
But even in that fleeting moment, Park Taekeun saw it clearly.
The name ‘STaY’ in the title.
“You were watching Stay’s cover video, weren’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s clunky but kind of cute. Don’t you think?”
“Pfft, cute my ass…”
Though Im Geonwoo feigned ignorance with his words and gave a pleading look that screamed, ‘Let’s just pretend you didn’t see anything and move on!’
But Park Taekeun wasn’t one to just let things go.
He fiddled with his fedora for a moment, then firmly declared:
“You’re sick.”
“Sorry?”
“Obsession is an illness, I’m telling you. The train’s gone. Let it go.”
Im Geonwoo said nothing in return.
He just stared blankly at the desktop background showing a field of flowers.
His reflection in the bright screen looked strangely pitiful.
He had followed CEO Park’s orders to the letter.
Whether it was money, threats, or blackmail.
He pushed everything he had to get what he wanted.
But recently, his batting average was terrible.
Busan Goblin, Seo Dongyoon, Stay.
They all slipped through his fingers like sand.
‘And the worst part… they all ended up in the same place?’
Im Geonwoo bit his lower lip.
Kim Minsoo.
Just picturing that smug face made his chest tighten.
That guy had nothing but the title of “chaebol 4th generation.”
What kind of wicked magic had he pulled to snatch up all that talent?
‘Still… Stay’s technically a free agent……’
There was still a chance.
Im Geonwoo picked up the phone.
“CEO Kim, how’ve you been? You’re on a roll lately. Want to grab a drink sometime?”
If you want to catch a tiger, you have to go into the tiger’s den.
And the opponent was none other than CEO Kim Minsoo.