Debut (2)
Park Siwoo stepped out of the CEO's office. After checking the album's tracklist one last time, he headed for the recording studio.
The soundproofing had been configured to perfection, so Neon Heart did most of their practice there — and today was no different. The band was already gathered inside.
Knock, knock, knock.
Park Siwoo rapped on the door and went in.
The members of Neon Heart sat clustered around the computer. There were still ten minutes left until the pre-release, and yet they were already waiting like this.
Park Siwoo smiled faintly as he walked over.
"Ah, Producer."
Ha Seungjin, Neon Heart's leader, recognized him and rose from his seat.
Park Siwoo spoke quietly.
"You've all worked hard. Now only the results are left."
"They are. You've worked hard too, Producer."
The exchange was brief. Then Seol A-yeon stood as well.
"Producer, you're here?"
"Ah, A-yeon."
"Sit here."
She pointed to the seat she had just vacated. Park Siwoo shook his head.
"I appreciate the thought, but I'll grab the chair next to it. Please sit, A-yeon."
So saying, he dragged a chair over from the corner.
"Producer, you should sit in the middle."
"Thank you."
Thanks to Neon Heart's consideration, he ended up in the center seat, where the monitor was most visible. Once settled, Park Siwoo checked his watch.
About five minutes until the pre-release.
"Not much time left."
The moment he muttered it, Seol A-yeon, sitting right beside him, answered.
"I know. I really hope it goes well."
Tension was written all over her face. Park Siwoo's, by contrast, was perfectly calm. He already knew how this would turn out.
The part that's actually worth being nervous about is the public release.
Of course, he could afford to predict success — he knew the fan club numbers. Seol A-yeon had every reason to be wound tight.
While that thought lingered, the minutes slipped away.
"I-it's out!"
At Ha Seungjin's cry, the lock on the song sprang open. Hearts began pouring in at once.
A heart was essentially a like — one per track on the album. Neon Heart's new album had six songs, and roughly seven thousand people had joined the fan club, which meant…
We should be looking at around forty-two thousand hearts.
Just as he expected, the count blew past twenty thousand in no time. Seol A-yeon's eyes went wide.
"Th-this many already? It's only a pre-release."
"No way…"
It wasn't just her. The entire lineup looked stunned. And still the likes kept climbing.
Park Siwoo moved the mouse and opened the comments.
An endless feast of praise. Beside him, Seol A-yeon's whole body trembled. When he turned his head, her face had gone scarlet, as if it might burst. Looking closer, he saw faint tears gathering in her blue eyes.
Park Siwoo smiled.
"A-yeon, are you all right?"
"Of course I am. This was only to be expected."
The answer came out blunt — a tone that was the exact opposite of her usual soft, affectionate voice. Her face, meanwhile, looked one second away from crumpling into tears.
She's just too cute.
Park Siwoo chuckled inwardly and held out a handkerchief.
"I'm not crying."
"Just in case. Or do you not need it?"
"…Thank you."
The moment he started to pull his hand back, she snatched the handkerchief up. He was fairly sure he'd given her one last time, too.
I should buy these in bulk.
With that thought, he shifted his gaze back to the comments. A little further down, another cluster caught his eye.
Praise for Park Siwoo himself. His YouTube channel was already buried in compliments, but seeing them written out on a music streaming site felt entirely different.
Ah. A band really did debut with my songs.
Until the divorce, this had been unimaginable. Every time he had played his music for Kim Soyeon, she had flown into a temper. The criticism had been so vicious that even he — someone who actually worked in entertainment — had failed to recognize his own ability.
Park Siwoo let out a breath.
That was in the past now. He had shaken off the sandbag that had been weighing down his future. All that remained was to take flight.
The moment he clenched his fist, Cha Seungjun, the engineer sitting a little apart from the group, called over to him.
"Producer, could I have a word?"
Something in his voice had gone subdued. Park Siwoo stood at once.
"Producer…?"
Seol A-yeon looked up at him.
"I'll just talk for a moment. Keep watching, A-yeon."
"Ah. Okay…"
Fortunately, she didn't seem to have picked up on Cha Seungjun's mood. Clutching the handkerchief Park Siwoo had given her, she turned her eyes back to the laptop.
"Shall we."
Park Siwoo walked out of the recording studio. Cha Seungjun followed and shut the door. Only after confirming it was properly closed did he put on a grave expression.
"Producer. Look at this."
He held out his phone. The music streaming app was open, and naturally Neon Heart's album cover sat at the very top.
But right beneath it—
An advertisement occupied the space as if it owned the place. ENTRA's comeback ad. And the timing of that comeback was wrong.
I'm certain their comeback was scheduled for a week from now.
The plan had been to debut ahead of a group with real name recognition and take the views first. Somehow, ENTRA's comeback had been moved to overlap with Neon Heart's public release.
Riiing.
Park Siwoo's phone went off loudly. The caller ID showed Cha Yeseung. He answered.
"Team Leader Park."
"Yes, CEO."
"ENTRA's comeback schedule changed suddenly. I only found out ten minutes ago."
Park Siwoo's expression darkened.
ENTRA had been active for roughly seven years. They were not a wildly successful idol group, but they had lasted long enough that their name recognition and fandom were considerable. Overlapping a debut with a group like that was a serious blunder.
Obviously.
Kim Mir. That man must have pulled something.
Moving a comeback date forward was highly unusual. Schedules were set only after extensive internal research and preparation. Changing one this abruptly required a special reason — and there wasn't one.
"Team Leader Park, I'll look into this further on my end."
"Yes. Please do."
Park Siwoo hung up. A schedule overlap serious enough for the CEO herself to investigate was unprecedented.
On day one, you climbed the real-time rising charts, then promoted and promoted until the song was branded into people's minds. That was the entertainment industry's current formula for success. But if two schedules overlapped, one side was bound to go under. Even a good song could sink into the depths, quality intact, and never be heard from again.
It was true that Neon Heart, with their smaller fandom, was the relatively weaker of the two. However—
This was a fight we were going to have anyway.
The timing had simply been pulled forward a little. Park Siwoo was not afraid. He was certain his songs could surpass ENTRA.
"Let's go back in."
First, the Neon Heart members needed to hear this. Nodding to himself, Park Siwoo stepped back into the recording studio.
Unlike the lively atmosphere of a few minutes ago, the room had gone quiet. They must have noticed the overlap after he left. A dark shadow had fallen over Seol A-yeon's previously elated face.
"Producer…"
Her voice was gloomy, close enough to tears that Park Siwoo genuinely wondered how to comfort her.
But then—
She clenched her fist. It was as if a clean wind had swept through the gloomy studio.
"With your songs, Producer, we can do this. I believe in you."
She smiled — a smile so lovely it created the illusion that the whole room had brightened. When she, who usually went around with her face set and closed, smiled that radiantly, the clouds lifted from the other members' faces as well.
"It'll be fine! They were opponents we were going to face anyway!"
Leader Ha Seungjin piled on, riding the wave. Park Siwoo had been genuinely worried the mood would drop and throw off the next schedule — but the members of Neon Heart were taking the trial in stride.
From here on, it was his job.
We need to promote as hard as we can before the public release.
The silver lining was that they had already been moving faster than ENTRA.
I don't think we'll lose in firepower.
Still, just in case.
I should look into more challenges.
The thought had barely formed when his phone rang. Lee Yena.
"Excuse me a moment."
Park Siwoo slipped out quickly, moved into the empty room next door, and answered.
"Hello."
"Yes, Siwoo."
"What's going on. I'm at work right now. If we get caught—"
She cut him off with a small, breathy laugh.
"You're at work, and you still picked up my call right away?"
"That's…"
"How sweet. When you come over today, I'll make you something delicious. What do you want to eat? Don't tell me you don't want anything I make?"
"Huh?"
"Jeon. Pancakes."
Jeon wasn't a bad idea. No — more importantly.
"What's this actually about."
Lee Yena answered with a little laugh.
"I just saw the schedule. The Neon Heart you've been preparing and ENTRA — their dates overlap."
"Ah. Yes. The other side changed their schedule out of nowhere."
"I don't think a bunch of pretty-boy parasites could ever beat you. But just in case, I wanted to help."
"Yena… you?"
"Yes!"
Her voice was bright as sunshine. He could practically see her nodding like a puppy.
From Park Siwoo's position, there was no reason to refuse her help. She was, no matter what anyone said, Korea's number one singer. Calling her world-class would not have been an overstatement.
But—
I'm worried about Yena.
He couldn't help wondering if she was getting too entangled with him. For a female singer, a scandal was fatal.
As if she had read the thought straight off him, Lee Yena spoke.
"Siwoo, I'm doing all of this because I want to. I'll take the responsibility too. So please don't worry so much. I'm really fine."
"Understood."
Park Siwoo nodded. Then her voice turned quite serious.
"Let's film a challenge. Me and Neon Heart. Right now."
A challenge with her would be a guaranteed viewership jackpot. A video with Kim Yuna — who was considered a full tier below her — had pulled in nearly thirty million views.
"Sounds good."
Park Siwoo smiled.