Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Episode 11. A Night with the Vocal Trainer (2)
How could a vocal trainer who had only been employed for one year possess a golden thread?
Park Siwoo pondered deeply.
Of course, no amount of thinking would solve the problem.
“I’ll just have to keep him close for now.”
“Mr. Bae Suwon, please listen to Ayeon’s singing first.”
“Ah, yes. Where should I listen?”
“You can come next to me.”
“Ne, next to Guitar Hero….”
He blushed and moved closer.
‘Something feels a bit off.’
Park Siwoo quietly stepped one pace aside and picked up the microphone.
“Ayeon, are you okay?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
“Good. Then we’ll start recording right away.”
With that, Park Siwoo signaled the engineer.
Cha Seungjun pressed the play button.
After the intro ended, Seol Ayeon’s song began.
[Floating in the endless darkness
A small, lonely blue light
Containing everything that we are
That tiny space]
“…….”
Park Siwoo frowned.
‘The sound.’
It wasn’t Seol Ayeon’s signature clear and sharp voice.
It felt suffocating, as if her airway was completely blocked.
‘Is it because she’s nervous?’
She herself seemed dissatisfied with her singing, her delicate brows furrowing.
Before she could start blaming herself further, Park Siwoo quickly grabbed the microphone.
“Ayeon, you don’t need to be so nervous.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Let’s try again. Relax your throat a bit more.”
The song started again.
But this time as well, her usual refreshing vocal tone did not come out, as if her throat were constricted.
“I’ll try again.”
Seol Ayeon gripped the microphone.
It seemed her competitive spirit had been ignited by the unsatisfactory result.
But.
“Please wait a moment, Ayeon.”
Park Siwoo stopped her attempt.
Effort made in the wrong way is worse than not doing it at all.
‘We have a vocal trainer.’
From the beginning, the reason Park Siwoo had asked the representative to assign a vocal trainer was for this very situation.
No matter how much of a genius someone is, when they encounter something like this for the first time, they are bound to shrink back.
“Mr. Bae Suwon, what do you think?”
Park Siwoo turned his head and looked at Bae Suwon. He had his eyes closed, as if lost in thought.
“Mr. Bae Suwon?”
When Park Siwoo spoke, he finally opened his eyes and smiled awkwardly.
“You called?”
“Yes. Ayeon seems to have throat tension. Could you take a look?”
“Of course. That’s my job. May I go inside and examine her directly?”
“Please do.”
After Park Siwoo nodded, Bae Suwon immediately entered the recording booth.
“Um, Miss Ayeon?”
“Call me Ayeon.”
At the cold voice coming through the speakers, Cha Seungjun flinched and said,
“I think he’s only speaking nicely to the producer.”
“That can’t be.”
As soon as Park Siwoo firmly denied it, Cha Seungjun tilted his head.
Meanwhile, Bae Suwon inside the booth spoke.
“You’re using too much force right now. Because your vocal cords are tightening up, the sound isn’t coming out clearly.”
“…….”
“First, here. Under your ribs, right?”
He pointed to his chest as he spoke.
“Press here gently. Then take a deep breath. Good. And exhale. Yes. You can feel the tension, right?”
Seol Ayeon nodded.
“We’ll sing using abdominal breathing instead of chest breathing. Relaxed. Think of it as practice. You know the children’s song ‘Flying, Flying Airplane,’ right? We’ll loosen up with that. One, two.”
Following his instructions, Seol Ayeon began singing the children’s song.
Listening quietly, Park Siwoo suddenly widened his eyes.
“Seriously… it’s improved?”
The previously blocked vocal cords had loosened, and her breathing began to flow.
‘As expected, the golden thread?’
He was undoubtedly talented.
‘If possible, I’d like to keep him by my side at all times.’
I should negotiate with the representative.
Just as he was thinking that, Bae Suwon, having finished his task, came out.
“Thank you for your hard work. That was excellent.”
“It wasn’t a big issue. I just relaxed some tense muscles.”
“I know how difficult it is to properly understand and resolve something like that.”
Bae Suwon’s face flushed red.
Perhaps aware of it himself, he laughed awkwardly and said,
“Ah, I’m usually not this weak to compliments. But since it’s Guitar Hero praising me… haha.”
“Please continue to take good care of us.”
“Y-yes. I should be the one saying that.”
Bae Suwon accepted the handshake, standing at attention.
Park Siwoo smiled slightly and turned his head.
Now it was truly time to finish the recording.
“Ayeon, you’re ready, right?”
“Yep.”
Her tone had softened compared to before.
Cha Seungjun muttered quietly,
“She really does only soften up for the producer.”
“Alright, let’s start recording.”
At Park Siwoo’s words, the recording began once again.
―Rrrring.
The phone rang several times.
―Hello?
“Where are you!”
Han Eunjeong shouted sharply.
At that, the man on the other end let out a long sigh and replied.
―Why are you so angry again?
“You, do you know the new producer who just joined?”
―The new producer? I don’t think there is one.
“The one, you know. The young, tall one.”
―Ah. Team Leader Park Siwoo? Why, why?
“That crazy bastard, do you know what he did to me?”
The man on the phone, Lee Sangmin, Han Eunjeong’s husband, felt a sense of foreboding.
Team Leader Park Siwoo was someone who should never be provoked.
―Y-you… you didn’t do something to Team Leader Park, did you?
He asked in a trembling voice, but instead received an irritated response.
“I’m the one who was wronged by that Team Leader Park or whatever!”
Hearing that, Lee Sangmin began to roughly piece together the situation.
His already deeply wrinkled brow sank even further.
―Ha… do you even know who that person is… and still did something like that…
“What?”
―I’m asking if you knew who he was and still did that…!
“Y-you’re yelling at me now? Huh?”
He could no longer hold it in.
Lee Sangmin snapped and shouted.
―Then how am I not supposed to yell, you woman! Do you realize you just messed with the top artist in Korea?!
“Top artist in Korea, my foot… what nonsense….”
―The representative had been going all out trying to support Team Leader Park. Ha… you really… this is too much.
Click.
The call ended, and Han Eunjeong, left alone in the emergency stairwell, shouted in anger.
“Just who the hell is Park Siwoo that he treats me like this?”
After the recording ended.
Park Siwoo brought his team to a barbecue restaurant.
It was a place strongly recommended by Seol Ayeon.
Perhaps because of how she found it, the place was quiet with hardly any people.
“Ayeon knows all the barbecue places in Seoul. She’s a real meat fanatic.”
According to guitarist Jang Junhyeok, that was the explanation.
‘She really is an interesting character.’
After debuting and appearing on various variety shows, she would likely attract fans quickly.
Well, before that, she would probably gather plenty of fans through her singing alone.
Park Siwoo now had some confidence in his compositions.
Not only because each song he produced was receiving praise, but because he himself was satisfied with the results.
‘Just by studying a bit of music theory, to reach this level…’
Park Siwoo smiled in satisfaction.
At that moment.
“The producer smiled!”
Lee Suah, who was sitting in front, shouted.
She hadn’t been particularly quiet to begin with, but after drinking, she had become even louder.
Park Siwoo let it pass.
It was a company gathering, so being noisy wasn’t wrong.
Above all, Lee Suah had a very cute appearance.
No one would dislike a cute person acting cutely.
“Producer, would you like to take a photo with me?”
“I’ll pass.”
“Ahh, why?”
“I don’t really like taking pictures.”
“Hmph.”
Lee Suah returned to her seat, looking dejected.
In truth, he could have taken a photo at least once.
But whenever he took pictures, thoughts of his ex-wife would come to mind.
Park Siwoo casually took a sip of soju.
But then.
“Producer.”
Seol Ayeon, sitting beside him, spoke in a small voice.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
“If you have time later….”
―Ring ring ring!
The phone rang loudly, cutting her off.
“Sorry.”
Park Siwoo apologized to Seol Ayeon and checked the call.
The name displayed on the screen was Cha Yesung.
“Ayeon, let’s talk in a bit.”
“Ah, yes.”
Leaving behind Seol Ayeon, who somehow looked dejected, Park Siwoo stood up.
He walked outside and stood on a road littered with many cigarette butts, then answered the call.
“Hello.”
―Park Siwoo.
“Yes, Representative.”
―I spoke with an investor today.
At the time Park Siwoo was busy recording, Cha Yesung had visited Tams, the top music streaming company in Korea.
She went there to directly discuss music distribution.
“Hello, Representative. I’m Kim Seungpyo, head of the PR department.”
“I’ve heard about you.”
“Please, have a seat.”
Following his guidance, Cha Yesung sat down and handed over materials regarding the debut of Neonsheart.
“This is….”
“This is a band debuting from Starlight this time.”
“A band?”
“Yes. They’re skilled and outstanding.”
Cha Yesung didn’t easily praise them.
The fact that she did meant they were truly talented.
Even so, Kim Seungpyo’s expression was not good.
“Representative, there’s still lobbying risk. It’s not easy for me to give them a strong promotional push.”
As expected, it was due to lobbying risk.
But.
‘Do you think I came here without any backing?’
Cha Yesung smiled softly.
Then she took out her phone and played a song.
“This is….”
“You’ve heard it before, right? ‘Following the Milky Way’ by Lee Yena.”
“Yes, well.”
It was such a famous song that anyone in Korea would have heard it.
But why bring this up now…?
As confusion appeared on Kim Seungpyo’s face, Cha Yesung spoke.
“Our company has a contract with them.”
“What?”
“Guitar Hero. Neonsheart is a band being prepared by Guitar Hero.”
“W-wait a second.”
Shock spread across Kim Seungpyo’s face.
“Guitar Hero signed with Starlight Entertainment? And they’re currently preparing a new song?”
“If that weren’t the case, why would I come here in person?”
“W-wait a moment, I need to speak with the representative….”
“Go ahead.”
Cha Yesung nodded confidently and leaned back on the sofa.
After drinking about three sips of coffee, Kim Seungpyo, who had been exchanging words with Tams’ representative, ended the call.
Having roughly anticipated the outcome, Cha Yesung asked leisurely,
“So?”
“It’s… they told us to sign immediately. If it’s a Guitar Hero production, they’ll place it at the very top no matter what….”
And so, Cha Yesung completed a contract with the nation’s top distributor.
And now, she was telling Park Siwoo about it.
―Anyway, that’s how it turned out. Congratulations.
A look of joy spread across Park Siwoo’s face.