The Star and the Fangirl - A Lisrene Adaptation (AU)

Chapter 95 - A New Arrangement

"So let me see if I got this right - seven out of the nine girls told you that they were ultimately unprepared for an October release so they reassigned themselves as trainees, and you still want to go with October as the month to debut this new group with a new name? Also... not only will you be part of this group but you also managed to convince the members of Red Velvet to not only sign with the company but to also be a part of this group?.... Why? I'm not saying doing all of this is impossible, I just need a good reason to approve it..." One of the executives spoke to Irene.

In the meeting, the people who were present were all high-ranking executive producers and managers of the music company on one side and Irene, Lisa, Chaeyoung, Jennie, Jisoo, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy and Yeri on the  other.

Everyone was pretty nervous on the group's side of the room, but Irene wished to continue the conversation:

"Look, we've talked, the nine of us... Chaeyoung, Wendy and Joy here have amazing vocals, they can even be considered as the best vocal line of the third generation of idols.." Irene smiled as she looked at the three. She then looked at Jennie and Jisoo and continued: 

"Jennie here came on her personality and charm alone but she wasn't some spoiled person who only wanted to pass a couple of auditions and then be an entitled member of a group - she, along with Jisoo worked very hard on their vocals and dancing and both of them have not given up on their dream to become a performer. despite a lot of obstacles... And with all that charm and that personality, they could host music events, go on variety shows, do commercials...." Both Jisoo and Jennie blushed upon hearing those compliments. I really appreciate Irene's words... She's a true professional... Lisa really knows how to pick out the right people in her life. Jennie mused.    

"Seulgi and Yeri are both amazing dancers, vocalists and rappers as you might have seen on their previous work as Red Velvet"

"And Lisa..." Irene looked at Lisa and gave her a soft smile. Lisa smiled back. "It was actually the hardest to convince her even though she and I get along very well" You can say that again! Lisa mused after hearing those words.

"The reason why it was hard is because she is very humble, which is a much appreciated quality.. She also has the talent that really shines through her when she does it and that's her dancing. I believe Lisa along with Seulgi will be hailed as the greatest dancers in the third generation. Lisa is also very self-conscious and she always works hard which is something you definitely need in a group, someone who will always work hard and try their best but who will stay grounded... And in the end, I knew she would want to do it, she told me so herself afterwards but... How did I know? Because the nine of us believe in this... We actually believe that it's possible to meet the date in October.. So you've got me, the experienced one, Jennie and Jisoo who will be great on various things I've mentioned before, Chaeyoung, Wendy and Joy with their vocals and Lisa, Seulgi and Yeri with their dancing.... It really doesn't get better than that when it comes to rounding up a group with such various skills, you can even call it a "super group".... Plus, when you think about it, how would it look like if a company like this made an announcement about a band and then didn't follow through with it? I'm not saying all of the credibility would be lost, but a lot of it probably would be..."

That's when the entire room went silent and everyone started to think about Irene's words.

Whoa... Irene really knows what to say to make everyone think. Chaeng, Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, Wendy, Seulgi, Joy and Yeri thought to themselves. Lisa then also thought:

I knew she was smart and I knew she had a way with words when it comes to her professional life but oh wow... She still amazes me when she talks like that!

There was still a silence in the room. Finally, one of the executives spoke after the entire room nodded at each other approvingly

"Okay, like you said... We will still go with the new song since it has been made for a 9-member group, but what about other songs?"

A light was shining in the group's eyes once they realized the executives were on board for the idea. That's when Irene added:

"Well... We discussed it. The best and fastest way to get everything done is to reuse one of mine and Red Velvet's songs..."

"Reuse? What? Why?"

"Well - it would be the fastest and easiest thing to do for starters...it would also give everyone in the group confidence because they would be familiar with the material and they would know how to perform it but we could always add new twists to it so that we could keep it fresh... We would just have to give the song a different arrangement... Plus, it would definitely sound different with nine voices instead of one or five... And with time, we could work on old and new songs, and when the fan-base grows enough, we could all get to work on our solo projects as well as sub-units and group projects so that we could really show off all our skills individually and as a group... We thought this through, we know it could work... We just need backup from the company... And if you believe in us and give us the support, we will achieve our goals!" Irene spoke so confidently that everyone in the room was amazed by her. No one had proper arguments about it.

"Okay, we're sold!" The executives agreed with the group. "The group will start from scratch, we have faith in the project! Irene, you've never let us down so far and we believe that if you put your mind to something, it will work. You haven't given up on this group even if you lost almost half of it and even convinced Red Velvet to join and for that we really commend you" This put a smile on Irene's face. One of the managers the said:

"So Irene....we will start to re-record the song on July, you along with Jennie, Lisa and Chaeyoung will have to teach Jisoo, Wendy, Seulgi, Joy and Yeri the choreography for the song so that it'll all be ready for the 2nd of October if we're going forward with this... We will of course do a huge amount of promoting to spread the word about the "New Super Group" so that the hype builds up... But all of you will have to work hard... I mean, you will perform at a music event where a lot of huge idol groups will be performing so we would really like to make this group something that people will remember that night, for that matter..." 

" We will definitely work hard! You can count on us!"

"By the way, you mentioned that you already have thought of the sub-units for this group? What names were you thinking of and what's the new name of the group?"

The group just looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

Irene then spoke: 

"We were thinking of retaining the name Red Velvet and Blackpink for the sub-unit names. But for the whole group's name, we were thinking of..."

A/N: They are coming.....