Chapter 147 Chapter 147

The idea of ​​proposing might have been impulsive at first, but soon, Kwon Ji-yong began writing and drawing in his spare time. A proposal, first and foremost, required a ring. He first struggled with choosing between diamonds and colored gemstones.

Diamonds are the safest choice. Their transparency, brilliance, and symbolism of eternity make them the obvious choice. However, precisely because they are so safe, they also seem incredibly commonplace. The selection of colored gemstones is much larger, but also much more complex.

He browsed through a wealth of jewelry resources before finally settling on emerald—a deep green with a subtle blue hue, like a spring deep in the forest, both quiet and resilient. It symbolizes hope, rebirth, and enduring love.

It was exactly what he thought of Lia. Then he began to sketch, from the shape and cut of the gemstone to the ring style and setting. Once the prototype was completed,

I asked a friend to contact Graff's haute couture team, sent them my sketches, and included a handwritten letter explaining my desire for a "custom piece." The gemstone selection process was even more laborious.

The biggest difference between emeralds and diamonds is that they are almost always naturally flawed and cleft. Top-quality Colombian emeralds that met his requirements were incredibly rare. So, the entire process, from selecting the stone to crafting, lasted six months.

A few months later, a complete set of dark green leather jewelry boxes arrived from London. The emerald chosen for the ring was a three-carat emerald, step-cut, with a rich and deep color, and a hint of blue when it was illuminated.

There are almost no visible cracks. The designed center stone resembles a deep lake, surrounded by tiny diamonds, with clean lines and intense brilliance.

In addition, Graff's workshop also designed a simple necklace and a pair of earrings according to his requirements.

The main stone of the necklace is slightly smaller than the ring, and is also stepped-cut. It is dotted with fine diamonds around it, and the pendant has slender lines that fit the neckline. The earrings are mainly symmetrical rectangular emeralds, which are low-key yet exquisite.

Despite trying their best to keep it secret, whether it was him burying himself in writing and painting at all times, or him taking time out of his schedule to fly to London accompanied by Lee Soo Hyuk to confirm the gem, this matter certainly could not be hidden from the members who were together almost all the time.

Dasheng was the most excited. Although several of them had stable girlfriends, he had always thought that Yongbae would be the first to get married. "Brother, do you want me to sing the wedding song in the future?" "Of course not so soon," Quan Zhilong boasted.

"If we get married, should we tell the president first?" Yongpei was the most worried one.

He was very realistic - if Kwon Ji-yong got married, even if he took the most pessimistic view, it would be a disaster for the group. Even if they weren't idols, they were still idols.

"...Yeah, I know." Quan Zhilong was absent-minded. He had made the product, but he wasn't entirely sure. He was taking it one step at a time rather than being completely confident.

The members all thought they were trying to reassure Lia, but in reality...it was only after the gifts were delivered that he could finally feel at ease. He knew better than anyone the huge impact marriage would have on the group.

"...We may not get the marriage certificate right away," he whispered, playing with the ring on his fingertips. * In June, Lee Hi released her second full-length album, "Veil."

The title song of the same name debuted at number 1 on the Melon, Genie, and Bugs real-time charts on the day of its release, and remained at the top of the daily charts for a full month.

Kim was in charge of the entire process, and the album includes a total of seven songs including the title song, which means revealing oneself while retaining mystery.

In addition to the top-notch audio performance, the physical album also sold well. Gaon album sales exceeded 60,000 copies in the first week, setting a record for the highest sales of female solo artists that year.

But what really caught the public's attention was that on the day the album was released, YG officially announced that it would release an overseas version of the album, "Veil-Special Edition", separately for markets outside of Korea a week later.

At the suggestion of Yang Hyun-seok, the overseas version of this album not only has independent English lyrics, but also includes an additional song "Echoes" written by Lee Hi. In addition to the promotion on the official YG YouTube channel, producer Lia

Kim also specially produced a dialogue program about this album - as the album producer, he shared the production process and musical concepts with the singers who performed on this album in the form of a dialogue.

The episode quickly surpassed one million views upon its release, and within a week, it had accumulated ten million views. In fact, the publicity effect far exceeded that of YG's official channels.

It is obviously a very bold and even somewhat unreasonable attempt to let a new singer who has debuted for only two years release an overseas album without any preparation.

There is undoubtedly an insurmountable barrier between the mainstream European and American markets and KPOP. SM and JYP have failed to enter the US market, even though YG has had its predecessor Bigbang's "ALIVE" album enter the Billboard

200 is the best result, but...Big Bang and Lee Hi's influence is obviously not on the same level. But Yang Hyun-seok's bet is not on Lee Hi, but on Lia Kim.

Unlike the domestic concept that producers should hide behind the scenes wholeheartedly, Yang Hyun-seok clearly believes that Lia Kim has become a brand with considerable appeal overseas.

This can be seen from the influence of her Youtube account. After several years of operation, this "Lia

Kim" has surpassed 10 million subscribers. This is a rare occurrence in the entire KPOP world... no, it's unprecedented. Even Psy, who became famous because of "Gangnam Style", has yet to surpass this number.

This was naturally due to her advantage in timing. While most Korean entertainment companies were still using YouTube as a promotional tool, she had already begun to seriously operate it as a content platform.

The account's consistent high-quality content over the past few years has earned it a good reputation and steadily grown its overseas audience. Furthermore, the K-pop craze ignited by "Gangnam Style"...

Her account became the unexpected "miracle". This bet was confirmed in the promotion of Lee Hi's album.

Edition" successfully topped the iTunes charts in many countries in its first week of release and even made it into the Billboard 200 chart.

Although this result is not as good as the original "ALIVE", considering Lee Hi's popularity, it undoubtedly far exceeded YG's initial expectations.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that, in addition to Lee Hi’s own musical talent and the excellent production of this album, Lia Kim’s promotional efforts also played an indispensable role in this achievement.

Suddenly, invitations from China came pouring in. If you ask K-pop artists which producer they most want to work with in 2014, the answer is most likely Lia Kim.

Kim asked for cooperation, some asked her to sing songs through the company's channels, and some even tried to "meet" her accidentally at a party...

Kim prioritizes producing songs for his own artists, and continues to pursue invitations for music videos, variety shows, and even TV dramas. Yang Hyun-seok even received greetings from Lee Soo-man and Park Jin-young after years.

Everyone has the ambition to make it to the US, but he just happened to find the way. It's a true story of 30 years in the east, 30 years in the west – first Bigbang made it onto the official Grammys website with an all-Korean album, then there's Lia Kim, a hidden gem.

While Yang Hyun-seok was feeling proud, he couldn't help but worry about Kwon Ji-yong's love life.

Although these two are still boyfriend and girlfriend, and Teddy said there are no problems for the time being, one is touring with his team, and the other stays in the United States most of the time... If this continues, their relationship will not last long no matter how good it is.

Distance is the biggest killer of relationships, he knows this very well. But he can't intervene in this matter. YG's income depends on Bigbang's tour, and now its development in the United States depends on Lia

Kim is at the forefront... really putting all his eggs in one basket. It's a bit shameful to say that YG, a company so powerful, couldn't find any other way to keep this cash cow.

If Kwon Ji-yong was raised by him and Teddy was a talent he recognized, then Lia... could almost be said to be raised by him.

Although he had a feeling that she could develop a career, he couldn't believe the speed and quality of her work even if someone had told him directly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so harsh towards her in the first place.

Although Li Xiuman and Park Jinying were only politely calling him now, these old foxes were planning to come and poach him in a few days. He had specifically asked Baoheng if Lia had signed a five-year contract.

This was the deadline YG usually gave to new artists with uncertain prospects. He'd misjudged her. With her contract set to expire next year, he desperately wanted to bring her back, planning to inquire further about her at Xia Yi's album celebration party.

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