Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Translator: Penny
Chapter 101
I pulled out my phone and opened the notepad app, typing out my reply and showing it to them.
I don't know. Maybe he really won the lottery?
That can't explain this. It's like a normal person's soul just possessed the CEO. He wasn't acting normal at all during the first part of the meeting.
Could the CEO be under the System's control too? Like some "Regaining the Sense of a CEO Who's Lost His Touch" Project or something? But it's not like he lost his touch—it's more like he never had it to begin with.
Normally, I'd be mortified for letting Kim Dobin's otaku-like fantasies infect me, but since I was also being manipulated by the System for this "Original Intent Score" Project, it seemed like a perfectly plausible theory.
What on earth could have made the CEO, who was completely hopeless and had zero sense even seven years after Reve's debut in our previous timeline, suddenly snap out of it six years early? Did he get electrocuted somewhere? Or is it really the System's doing?
Our lukewarm reaction to the unexpectedly smooth situation startled the CEO, who asked anxiously, "Why? Don't you need lessons or direction? Do you want to handle it yourselves?"
"No! We really like it!"
"That's impossible!"
Fearing he might tell us to fend for ourselves again, we frantically waved our hands and answered in unison.
Kim Dobin, finally freed from his involuntary role as dance director, spoke the loudest.
If we get consistent vocal lessons, even Seo Yehyeon's hopeless vocals might improve to a passable level.
Even though her maximum vocal growth potential is only a C, a C is still better than a D+, right?
The Title Track confirmation meeting concluded far more smoothly than we had anticipated.
Before 본격적으로 recording, we divided the parts for "Come to My Universe," which had been chosen as the Title Track.
We had roughly divided the parts during the songwriting stage, but some adjustments were needed after the arrangement was finalized.
Seo Yehyeon's vocal performance in this comeback track would determine his part allocation in future activities.
Neither his rapping nor his vocals met my standards, but if I had to choose, his rapping fell even further short. Of course, that was just my opinion—my opinion.
To be honest, calling that rapping was an insult to hip-hop.
Is that mumbling or rapping, you fucking idiot?
"Work hard on your lessons until recording day. Especially you, Yehyeon Hyung."
Even though I singled him out, Seo Yehyeon nodded solemnly.
Could this guy be...?
The Original Intent Project is exclusively for Yoon Eden.
Yeah, yeah, thanks for confirming.
With the move to a larger agency building, we finally had a proper recording studio, workspace, and practice room.
I'd been to the practice room a few times, but since I had my own workspace fully equipped with the latest gear, there was no need to visit the agency's workspace.
As a result, I'd never been to the recording studio either. This recording session marked my first visit to the agency's studio.
The equipment in both the workspace and recording studio was just so-so. Not bad enough to complain about, but certainly not top-of-the... either. There seemed little point in working here when I had my own superior setup.
"What do you think? Great, right? Pretty good, huh?"
I reluctantly nodded at Manager Hyung, who was beaming with pride as if he'd built the studio himself. Social life is such a pain, sigh.
"How about setting up a camera in the recording booth for behind-the-scenes footage?"
"Dobin-ah, whether there's a camera or not, my mood will depend entirely on how you record. I could become an angel or a devil."
"Ah, recording is like a training camp, huh?"
I shoved Kim Dobin into the recording booth, tired of his pointless chatter.
"Am I going first? Not Hajun Hyung?"
"Yeah, after you record, Jun will record. Let's see how much it lifts my spirits."
"I've been taking intense vocal lessons, you know? I'm not the old Kim Dobin anymore!"
Kim Dobin grinned confidently and began warming up his voice in front of the microphone.
The instrumental track started playing, but before Kim Dobin could even finish his soulfully delivered part, the music stopped and Gyeon Hajun scowled.
"Again. Get back to being the old Kim Dobin, you bastard."
"Huh? That's impossible!"
"Hey, if a few vocal lessons could dramatically improve your skills, wouldn't everyone in the world have taken lessons and debuted as singers by now? Let's try again. Focus properly this time."
After several more repetitions, Kim Dobin's recording was finally finished.
"We definitely can't have Kim Dobin go first. I'm already getting pissed off just from the start of the recording...?"
Gyeon Hajun rested his chin on his clasped hands, glaring at the empty recording booth as he muttered in a chilling voice. Ryu Jaehee hurriedly pushed Gyeon Hajun into the booth.
"Eden Hyung's favorite, Hajun Hyung, take the booth!"
"This actually... makes me feel a bit better. Jun-a, let's move on to the next verse."
As expected, hearing a voice that matched my taste calmed my mind and body, even if only slightly. I nodded in satisfaction, then paused the instrumental and opened my mouth.
"That was good. Really good. But at the end of 'catch me if you can,' could you try raising the last note by one key?"
Gyeon Hajun executed my request flawlessly. He tapped his fingers on the desk, briefly considering the previous version versus the current one, before shaking his head slightly.
"Hmm, sticking with the original version sounds better. Jun-a, let's try it one more time. Yeah, don't raise the key—just the original version."
Watching from behind, Kim Dobin muttered timidly, "Please stop comparing Hajun and me..."
"Shut up, Dobi," I snapped.
Ah, right. The Relationship Improvement Score. I doubted such a small remark would actually lower it, but our dear members had a knack for exceeding my expectations, so I couldn't let my guard down.
Thankfully, a quick check revealed the score remained unchanged. It seemed Kim Dobin was finally starting to mature.
After safely completing the recording, Gyeon Hajun emerged from the booth. Kim Dobin handed him a water bottle and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Hyung, what's it like being Eden Hyung's favorite voice? I'm so curious what it feels like to get through a recording without getting verbally beaten down."
Was I wrong? Was I still far from growing up?
"Next, Yehyeon Hyung, you're up."
"Not Jaehee?"
"I want to try alternating between you two. Let's see how much of a positive effect it has on my blood pressure and mental health."
So far, the method seemed to be working.
But Kim Dobin hadn't quite met my impossibly high standards. Skill-wise, he was decent—a mild flavor. The ultimate spicy boss was still waiting in the wings.
"Yehyeon Hyung, you can do it! Show them how hard you've been working!"
"Hey, hey. Don't give Yoon Eden any false hope."
"Just relax and do your best, Hyung. No pressure."
"Right, Hyung. Just relax since you didn't have any expectations to begin with. Like I said earlier, if a few lessons could dramatically improve someone's skills, everyone in the world would have debuted as singers by now."
Encouraged by his bandmates' warm support, Seo Yehyeon awkwardly stepped into the recording booth. When their eyes met through the transparent glass, he flinched.
"Seriously, why are you so nervous? I haven't even said a word yet. Anyone would think I'm some kind of monster."
"Hey, do you know about the Pavlov's dog effect?"
"Why? Does the sight of the recording mic make you drool?"
"As if!"
Though he was still sighing heavily, Seo Yehyeon's face looked slightly more relaxed than before, as if the tension had eased a little.
I braced myself and pressed play on the instrumental track. As Seo Yehyeon's voice flowed in sync with the melody and rhythm, I blinked.
Oh, he really did work hard, didn't he? If his skill level was once like an espresso, it's now more like an Americano with ten extra shots.
I clapped enthusiastically and spoke into the microphone.
"Again."
While even a slight improvement deserved applause, he still had a long way to go to reach a passing grade.
Every time we have a concept meeting, I'm reminded that LnL is a hopeless small company.
Reve's consecutive successes have made the company grow in size, but the way LnL operates still hasn't risen above the level of a small company.
Normally, the staff would meet to finalize a concept, then present it to the artists and CEO in the form of a proposal and presentation, working together to refine it. But...
Here, even the artists are just staff members, yeah, yeah.
The very fact that we had prepared a PowerPoint presentation showed how disorganized this small company was.
At least the staff numbers have increased. When I remember how the number of Reve members used to be similar to the number of agency staff, I can only sigh.
Still, it's comforting to know that we can now strongly push our opinions and that there's a higher chance they'll be accepted.
Before my regression, my opinions were never taken seriously. They even rejected the perfectly good song I had created from scratch. What else could I expect?
My second biggest regret was failing to escape LnL before regressing. This time, I was determined to make it happen.
The title track, "Come to My Universe," was written and composed with the concept of a Phantom Thief and Detective locked in a relentless chase in mind.
The idea for this concept originated from our CEO Kim Nodam, through Ryu Jaehee, who had proposed it.
"Remember that concept I suggested during the Concept Meeting? The Multiverse! We'll have them travel through space and time to solve unsolved crimes! And we'll keep pushing out full albums in this series!"
A wave of relief washed over me as I brushed my hand across my chest.
So this is the CEO as usual—not sick, not possessed, and not being controlled by the System. The Title Track meeting was one step back for three steps forward.
The fierce debate within Reve—between those who insisted, "The CEO will definitely push that failed Multiverse heist concept from 'All Right Or Night,'" and those who argued, "No, now that a normal person's soul has possessed the CEO's body, he won't pursue such concepts anymore"—now seemed utterly pointless.
The CEO had always been consistent, after all...
Kim Dobin, who had stubbornly clung to the "normal person's soul possession" theory like a true otaku, looked visibly disappointed.
No matter how you look at it, he definitely won the lottery.
"But why is the CEO so obsessed with space?"
"Who knows? Maybe he wanted to be an astronaut when he was a kid."
"Maybe he's a secret alien or something..."
"That's ridiculous."
I casually responded to Kim Dobin's absurd whispers while subtly raising my hand to counter the CEO's proposal.
"The detective concept seems sufficient for a one-time release. This isn't a Sherlock Holmes drama series, and trying to push it as a full album series would be a stretch. We've already exhausted the possibilities for refreshing the concept through variations."
"So, the multiverse idea is okay?"
"No."
I handed the USB from Kim Dobin to Ryu Jaehee.
"Jaehee, go set up the PPT."
"Yes, sir!"
Still clinging to the multiverse concept, the CEO casually replied. I stood up and approached the screen displaying the presentation.
Since it's a full album, I need to take charge myself.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny