379: Chapter 442 Phantom Thief Zhimin (7)

The end of the movie filming was like a watershed, neatly cutting Jiang Zhiyu's life into two halves.

The first half consisted of the sea breeze at Ulsan Port, muddy shipping containers, the film set at three in the morning, and the image of Im Yoona falling to the ground and picking herself back up while repeatedly refining her action scenes. The second half was the never-ending pile of coffee cups in the TG Entertainment President's office, the whiteboard densely packed with to-do items, the data charts constantly flickering on the computer screen, and—the urgent messages sent every two hours by Director Park Min-young of the PR department.

Jiang Zhiyu finished the last sip of his herbal tea, put down the cup, and tapped a few keys on the keyboard. The smooth data curves on the screen made him furrow his brows.

The promotion period for "the crab" had already been underway for two weeks.

Two weeks.

Seventeen press releases had been sent out, three versions of teaser posters had been released, behind-the-scenes production videos had been posted on five platforms, and Chairwoman Kim Soo-yeon had personally appeared on a talk show for two hours to discuss "TG Entertainment's cinematic ambitions." Im Yoona's side hadn't been idle either; she had attended four variety show appearances, appeared on two magazine covers, and was even forced by a host during a livestream to perform three combat moves from the movie, nearly smashing the studio props.

And the results?

One couldn't say there were none. The first teaser trailer had surpassed eight million views, the hashtag #TheCrabMovie briefly appeared at thirty-seventh on the trending list, and Im Yoona's "mercenary transformation" short video had two hundred thousand likes on TikTok—for a project with an investment of twelve billion KRW, these numbers looked good, but they were far from enough.

Twelve billion.

Jiang Zhiyu closed his eyes, leaned back against his chair, and recalculated the accounts in his head once more.

TG invested three billion, LOEN invested four billion, and the remaining five billion came from venture capital from three joint production partners. The break-even point was three million viewers, and the profit line was five million. Based on the current promotional heat, if there wasn't an explosive trending event in the next three weeks, the final box office would most likely get stuck between 2.5 million and 3.5 million—

Right around the break-even point.

No loss, but not much profit either.

For TG Entertainment's first film, "no loss" was actually a decent result. But Jiang Zhiyu didn't want decent; he wanted—a smashing success right out of the gate.

There were three knocks on the door. When Park Min-young pushed the door open, the expression on her face looked as if she had just attended a funeral.

"President Jiang." She placed a folder on the desk, her voice carrying a sort of calm that bordered on a breakdown. "This is the summary of this week's promotional data. The good news is that our material delivery precision has increased by twelve percent. The bad news is—" She paused, "The heat is still dropping."

Jiang Zhiyu opened the folder, his gaze sweeping across the rows of curves marked in red.

Topic exposure: Down seven percent month-on-month.

Interaction volume: Down twelve percent month-on-month.

Conversion rate: Down fifteen percent month-on-month.

He closed the folder, his expression remaining unchanged.

"What does the PR department suggest?"

Park Min-young took a deep breath, as if organizing a long-premeditated speech:

"We are considering a few directions. First, increase the frequency of Im Yoona's personal exposure. Her national popularity is our biggest trump card; we can try to get her on more variety shows, preferably the kind that show her gap-moe side in private, as audiences love to see the other side of the 'Nation's Goddess.' Second, consider releasing some topical content, such as 'Im Yoona gaining muscle for the role' or 'Im Yoona doing action scenes without a stunt double'—things with points of controversy. Third—"

She paused, looking at Jiang Zhiyu's expression as if judging whether he would find this suggestion too crazy.

"Third, we can manufacture some... 'chance encounter' events on social media. For example, have Im Yoona be photographed in a popular commercial district, dressed a bit cooler and with a colder expression, letting netizens ferment the topic of 'Yoona has changed so much' themselves. This kind of natural traffic is much more effective than hard advertising."

Jiang Zhiyu didn't respond immediately after listening.

He stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the Seoul skyline. The autumn sky was high and distant, with a few clouds drifting lazily, forming a sharp contrast with the frantic atmosphere of the PR department.

"Min-young Noona," he spoke, his voice very calm, "have you ever thought about a problem?"

"What problem?"

"Why is our promotion like a stone falling into water?"

Park Min-young was stunned for a moment.

Jiang Zhiyu turned around, leaning against the window frame with his hands in his pockets.

"When a stone falls into water, there's a splash at first, then it sinks quickly, and the water surface returns to calm. Because a stone is a stone and water is water; there is no connection between them. No matter how many press releases, teaser posters, or behind-the-scenes videos we put out, we are essentially just throwing stones into the water."

He paused, his gaze becoming deep.

"But what if—what's thrown in isn't a stone? What if what's thrown in is a seed?"

Park Min-young blinked, not quite understanding.

Jiang Zhiyu smiled slightly, a smile that made Park Min-young's heart skip a beat for some reason—she recognized that smile. Every time Jiang Zhiyu showed this expression, it meant someone was going to be unlucky, and often without knowing it at all.

"Min-young Noona," he said, "do you still remember the incident of Karina stealing the pig's head at the Opening Ceremony?"

Park Min-young nodded. That incident was known all over the internet, and the "pig head thief" meme was still being used by fans today.

"That wasn't an accident." Jiang Zhiyu picked up his teacup, his tone casual. "That was the key."

Park Min-young's pupils contracted slightly.

"Director Park," Jiang Zhiyu stood up and walked to the window, speaking with his back to her, "why do you think the 'pig head thief' meme went viral?"

Park Min-young hesitated: "Because... because it was funny?"

"Because of the contrast." Jiang Zhiyu turned around, his gaze calm. "What is Karina's persona in aespa? She's the cold, perfect, and unapproachable leader. But that pig's head pulled her down from the altar, turning her into a flesh-and-blood ordinary person that the whole internet can make memes about."

He paused and continued:

"Contrast is the easiest thing to use to create a topic. And topics are what I need most."

"aespa is one of the most popular girl groups in South Korea today. Karina's individual traffic is in a league of its own among the entire fifth generation. Her number of die-hard fans, search index, and topic discussion volume—are all top-tier." Jiang Zhiyu paused, as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact, "It would be a pity not to make good use of that."

"So... you had this calculated from the very beginning?"

Park Min-young's voice trembled slightly.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't answer, only giving her a look.

The meaning of that look was obvious—how could it be otherwise?

Park Min-young opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately nothing came out. She looked down at the document again, suddenly feeling like the paper in her hand weighed a thousand pounds.

"Wait a minute," she finally found her voice, "Karina? That Karina? aespa's Karina? The 'pig head thief' Karina? She... she's going to act?"

"She's filming a fifteen-minute comedy short, not a serious acting role," Jiang Zhiyu corrected her. "But for external promotion, we will say 'Karina stars in a spin-off short for "the crab"'. That will be enough."

"But—" Park Min-young's brain was still processing this information, "what does this have to do with 'the crab'? A crime action movie and 'Phantom Thief Zhimin'? This... this sounds like a completely different style!"

Jiang Zhiyu laughed.

"Min-young Noona, what do you think will be the netizens' first reaction when they see this news?"

Park Min-young thought for a moment: "...Confusion?"

"Correct, confusion. And then?"

"Then... they'll click on it to see?"

"Correct, they'll click on it to see." Jiang Zhiyu stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and drew a simple funnel diagram. "What is the essence of promotion? It's to let more people know about your product. But after they know? They won't necessarily be interested. After they're interested? They won't necessarily go see it. This is the conversion funnel."

He drew a large circle at the top layer of the funnel.

"Most promotions are doing this—expanding the entrance of the funnel. Spending more money, buying more traffic, letting more people 'know.' This is how the current promotion for 'the crab' is; a lot of money has been spent, and many people know about it, but the conversion rate for interest and action is very low. Why?"

He drew a horizontal line in the middle of the funnel.

"Because between 'knowing' and 'being interested,' there is a chasm. The name of this chasm is—'What does this have to do with me?'"

Park Min-young nodded thoughtfully.

"When an ordinary person sees a news item about 'Im Yoona starring in a crime action movie,' they think: 'Oh, Im Yoona, I know her, the one from Girls Generation. A crime action movie? Doesn't really seem like her style. Whatever, we'll see when the time comes.' And then there is no 'then.' Because their emotions weren't triggered."

Jiang Zhiyu wrote the word "Emotions" in large letters next to the funnel.

"But if you tell them: 'Im Yoona plays a cool mercenary, and aespa's Karina is coming to steal a pig's head from her'—"

Park Min-young couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"—They will think: 'What the heck? Stealing a pig's head in a crime action movie? What is this? I have to see this.' Their curiosity is piqued, their emotions are touched, and they will go search, discuss, and share it."

Jiang Zhiyu put down the marker and clapped the dust off his hands.

"This is called—not throwing a stone into the water, but throwing a seed. A seed will take root, sprout, and grow into a tree that everyone can see."

Park Min-young looked at the funnel diagram on the whiteboard and remained silent for a long time.

Then she took a deep breath and looked at Jiang Zhiyu with a completely new gaze.

"President Jiang," she said, "this plan... when did you start thinking about it?"

Jiang Zhiyu didn't answer, only sat back down in his chair, picked up the now-cold herbal tea, and took a light sip.

His gaze fell on the sky outside the window, a faint smile playing on his lips.

When did he start thinking about it?

From the first day "the crab" was greenlit, from the moment the derogatory nickname "pig head thief" was born, from that afternoon at the Opening Ceremony when Karina fled the scene holding that braised pig's head in a panic—he had already calculated everything.

aespa was one of the most popular girl groups in South Korea today, the kind of popularity that had no rivals. And as the leader of aespa, Karina's individual topicality was in a league of its own among all fifth-generation female idols; her number of die-hard fans was terrifyingly large, and her number of anti-fans was equally terrifying—this massive controversy itself was the rarest kind of traffic mine.

And the "pig head thief" meme had already been fermenting on the internet for several months, spreading from fan circles to the general public, and from South Korea to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia—for an idol to be memed by the entire internet to this extent wasn't a bad thing; it was a godsend of wealth.

It would be a pity not to make good use of it.

But this wasn't the kind of exploitative use that kills the goose that lays the golden eggs—draining Karina's heat and discarding her when finished. No, what Jiang Zhiyu wanted was a win-win.

Karina needed an opportunity to break out of her circle, a stepping stone to move from "idol" to "entertainer." The "pig head thief" was traffic, but traffic is ethereal; only works are solid. Even if it was just a fifteen-minute comedy short, it was a solid "work." With this on her resume, she would have another card to play when taking on future acting roles, variety shows, or business deals.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

What Im Yoona needs is a sense of contrast—from "National Goddess" to "cold mercenary," the gap is too wide, too wide for the audience to accept.

But what if there were a "transitional state" in between? An intermediate state that retains the shadow of Im Yoona while beginning to showcase the "Withe" temperament?

The audience can adapt to her new image in advance through the short film, and by the time the movie is released, this "contrast" will have turned into a "pleasant surprise."

And what the crab needs is a key to open the door to traffic.

Karina's fans will watch the short film for her and become curious about the movie; Girls Generation's fans will watch it for Im Yoona and discuss it on social media; passersby will be attracted by the bizarre topic of "Phantom Thief Zhimin," and after clicking in, they'll find—huh? This mercenary seems kind of cool? Then I have to check out the movie.

A win-win-win for all three parties, with everyone getting what they need.

And—Jiang Zhiyu silently added in his heart—he knows that child, Karina, too well.

He has known her since she was a trainee, watching her grow from a nobody into the top idol she is today.

He knows her potential is far greater than the word "idol."

She possesses a very rare trait—in front of the camera, she can completely hollow herself out and then step into the shell of another person.

That is the potential of an actor.

This short film is also a test.

A test to see if she can act, and if the audience will accept her acting.

The fault tolerance of a comedy short film is high; if she acts well, it's a surprise, and if she doesn't, it can just be dismissed as "it was meant to be funny anyway"—no one will seriously mock an idol's acting in a comedy short film, and if they do, they must be anti-fans.

And anti-fans—Jiang Zhiyu's lips curled up slightly.

He knows anti-fans too well.

After all, he is the group leader of Karina's largest anti-fan group.

At the same time, he is also the group leader of Karina's largest fan group.

From the day aespa debuted, he used two alias accounts to dive headfirst into the vast ocean of the fan circle.

On one hand, he acted as a "wealthy sugar mommy" throwing money around to control comments, and on the other, he acted as a "ringleader of anti-fans" to incite conflict.

The two accounts were like two knives in his hands, wielded with great skill.

He had tested the attack power of the anti-fans and the combat power of the real fans; he knew which words could strike a nerve and which rhythm could make a certain group of people explode with anger.

Do not underestimate the combat power of the fans of the undisputed most popular girl in the group.

This was all "trained" by him personally.

"President Jiang?" Director Park's voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

"Ah, sorry, I zoned out." Jiang Zhiyu sat up straight, his expression returning to his usual indifference, "This short film has two purposes."

He held up a finger: "First, to highlight Im Yoona's mercenary temperament."

Director Park frowned.

"Since her debut, Im Yoona's persona has been pure, sweet, and gentle. The National Goddess, the white moonlight in the hearts of fans." Jiang Zhiyu's tone carried a sense of precise analysis, "But who is Withe in the crab? A former mercenary, cold, sharp, and covered in wounds. The gap between these two images is too large. If there is no transition, the audience will be pulled out of the immersion."

"So you want to use this short film...?"

"To let her show 'coldness' to the audience." Jiang Zhiyu said, "Not the comedy in variety shows, not the gentleness in interviews, but a true, unadorned coldness. Let the audience discover for themselves—so Im Yoona has this side to her."

He paused and added: "When the voice of 'Cute Yoona can actually be this cool' drowns out 'She is not suitable for this role,' the promotion is half successful."

Director Park nodded thoughtfully.

"Second," Jiang Zhiyu held up a second finger, "to test Karina's acting talent."

"A test?"

"Yes." Jiang Zhiyu sat back in his chair, fingers crossed on the table, "The short film is black comedy + action comedy; the audience's requirements for acting in comedies are naturally lower than for serious dramas. If she acts well, it's a surprise; if she doesn't, it can just be called a 'comedic effect.' No one will seriously mock an idol who lets loose in a comedy short film. Those who do will automatically be labeled as anti-fans."

"Karina, that child, has had many possibilities since her debut. Her stage presence, camera sense, and ability to convey emotions are top-tier among idols. But whether these abilities can be transferred to acting, no one knows."

He paused, his voice carrying a nuance that Director Park didn't quite understand.

"Even she doesn't know."

"So I need a touchstone. A touchstone with a low enough cost, high enough fault tolerance, and one where she won't be truly mocked even if her performance isn't great."

He reached out and made an "OK" gesture in the air.

"The setting of 'Phantom Thief Zhimin' is inherently funny. When the audience sees this name, the expectation is 'absurd,' 'fun,' and 'cringe-worthy'; no one will expect Karina to put on an Oscar-level performance."

He withdrew his hand, his gaze landing outside the window.

"Under this premise, she only needs to be 'natural' to exceed everyone's expectations. If she can do more—like acting a bit cute, a bit tsundere, and having a bit of chemistry with 'Withe'—then the audience's reaction will be 'Karina is actually quite good at acting?' 'This phantom thief is so cute!' 'Looking forward to seeing Karina act more in the future!'"

He turned his head and looked at Director Park.

"This is the second layer of the purpose. Use a ten-minute comedy short film to complete the first market test of Karina's acting potential. If the response is good, the cooperation between TG Entertainment and SM can have more room for imagination; if the response is average, it's just a small interlude of an 'idol dabbling in acting' and won't affect anyone's career."

He picked up his tea cup, took a sip, and added: "Besides, this short film itself is content. A ten-minute high-quality video can be broken down into dozens of clips on short video platforms, continuing to ferment for one to two weeks. During this process, the three keywords 'Karina,' 'Im Yoona,' and 'the crab' will be repeatedly mentioned and associated, forming a deep cognitive binding."

He put down the tea cup, looked at Director Park, and his lips curled up slightly.

"A movie with an investment of 12 billion won needs more than just a key. It needs a key that can keep turning. Karina's traffic, aespa's fan base, and the self-propagating power of the 'phantom thief' concept itself—all these combined are enough to keep the heat in the public opinion field until the movie is officially released."

Director Park was silent for a long time.

She looked at the young man in front of her and suddenly remembered a sentence said by the senior who mentored her when she first entered the industry fifteen years ago—"In the publicity business, the highest skill is not to make the bad look good, but to make everyone feel that this result was reached by themselves."

She looked at Jiang Zhiyu's eyes, which were as calm as a deep pool, and suddenly realized that this person had been weaving a web since last September. Every step, every node, every seemingly casual move was a knot carefully calculated on this web.

When Karina stole the pig head, she didn't know she would become the key to the publicity of the crab.

When Kim Minjeong was live-streaming "revelations," she didn't know she was helping Jiang Zhiyu complete the second step.

When the whole internet was playing the "pig head thief" meme, they didn't know this was a fermentation period deliberately allowed by Jiang Zhiyu.

And today, when "Phantom Thief Zhimin" hit the number one spot on the trending list and the whole internet was arguing—they still didn't know that all of this had been written into someone's proposal a year ago.

"President," Director Park's voice was a bit dry, "SM... won't they have any objections?"

"We have already communicated." Jiang Zhiyu's tone was very calm, "I personally called Representative Kim Young-min and explained the logic of the entire plan. SM expressed their understanding and willingness to cooperate."

He paused, the curve of his lips becoming a bit subtle.

"In their words—'Just play dead.'"

Director Park: "..."

"Karina starring in the short film has only benefits for aespa, no drawbacks." Jiang Zhiyu continued, "A ten-minute short film does not require her to leave the group for too long and does not affect aespa's normal activities. Moreover, the label 'Phantom Thief Zhimin' is heat itself, which will feed back into aespa's group popularity. SM has no reason to refuse."

He picked up his tea cup, took a sip, and his tone became even more relaxed.

"As for those voices saying 'Why doesn't SM respond'—no response is the best response. Silence is acquiescence, silence is tacit understanding, silence allows the topic to continue fermenting. When the day comes for the short film to be officially released, everyone will understand that this is a carefully planned cooperation, not some farce of 'leeching off traffic.'"

He looked out the window, his gaze becoming somewhat distant.

"And what about Karina herself? Did she agree?"

"She..." Jiang Zhiyu remembered the conversation by the Han River that day, remembered Karina pouncing on him to choke him, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously, "She wasn't very willing at first. But later... she sort of agreed."

Director Park looked at his expression and silently lit a candle for Karina in her heart.

This child, she was probably "calculated" by President Jiang again.

But on second thought, this kind of "calculation" didn't seem like a bad thing for Karina.

"One more thing," Jiang Zhiyu suddenly spoke, his tone becoming casual, as if chatting about a trivial matter, "Director Park, do you know how the combat power of Karina's fan base is?"

Director Park thought for a moment: "aespa's fans... are indeed very capable of fighting. Especially Karina's solo fans, they are notoriously fierce."

"How fierce?"

"Last year, when Karina was rumored to be dating a male idol, that male idol's Instagram was flooded for three days and three nights, and he finally had to close his comments."

Jiang Zhiyu smiled.

In that smile, there was something Director Park couldn't understand.

"That's good."

Director Park took a deep breath, turned and walked towards the door. When her fingers touched the door handle, she suddenly stopped and looked back.

Jiang Zhiyu had already lowered his head again and began to process the documents on the table, as if the conversation just now was just the most ordinary exchange in daily work.

"President," Director Park couldn't help but ask, "When did you start... planning all of this?"

Jiang Zhiyu looked up and glanced at her.

"At the first planning meeting for the crab."

He said it very lightly, as if talking about a trivial matter.

"That was last September."

Director Park was stunned.

Last September.

The first planning meeting for the crab.

At that time, aespa had just released Savage, Karina's fancam data was still climbing, the title of "the undisputed most popular girl in the group" had not yet been formally proposed, and the term "pig head thief" did not exist in this world.

And from that moment on, the person in front of her had already calculated every step.

He calculated how much Karina's traffic would grow.

He calculated the self-propagating power of the "pig head" meme.

He calculated the fermentation cycle and rebound path of public opinion.

He calculated SM's reaction, the fans' reaction, and the passersby's reaction.

He even calculated today—that Director Park would push open this door and ask this question.

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Park." Jiang Zhiyu's voice interrupted her thoughts, "Just let the team follow up normally, no need to deliberately control the comments. Public opinion has its own direction, we only need to give it a push at key nodes."

Director Park nodded and pushed the door open to walk out.

The moment the door closed behind her, she leaned against the wall of the corridor and let out a long sigh.

Fifteen years.

She thought she had seen everything. —