Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: OST II
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Sound engineer Gwak Yu-seon asked,
"What kind of scene needs a male singer?"
Fate's Spear was a film that alternated between the Joseon era and the modern day. There was plenty of action in the Joseon scenes, but the modern parts had their share too—intense action sequences at crucial moments.
Director Byun Hyeong-chan explained,
"In the latter half of the movie, there's a scene where the male lead loads his spear into a car and speeds off. We need a powerful male vocal for that. There's one other scene that calls for it too."
"Ah. Then you definitely have to include it."
Byun Hyeong-chan pondered.
"So, who do we book for the male singer? We need to start looking right away if we're scouting someone fitting..."
Gwak Yu-seon’s eyes sparkled as she suggested,
"What about the singer Ddaengddaeng?"
"Oh, that faceless singer Ddaengddaeng?"
"Yeah. Doesn't she seem like a good fit?"
Byun Hyeong-chan nodded.
"Walking Again Today has some pretty intense sections too. That could work. But she's faceless—can we even book her?"
"Ddaengddaeng debuted with my big bro's song. Of course we're in touch."
Gwak Yu-seon said that while glancing subtly at Na Gang-in.
Na Gang-in wouldn't be showing his face in this movie either. The only time he appeared on camera was masked.
"He'll be a faceless singer again this time too."
Filming at the Namyangju outskirts set wrapped up in just three days.
The Seoul shoots set in modern times had almost no action in the early stages.
Two days later, Na Gang-in met with composer Gwak Chan-seok.
Gwak Chan-seok proposed,
"Why don't you handle the male version of our OST, Gang-in?"
Gwak Yu-seon chimed in from the side.
"We don't have to reveal that singer Ddaengddaeng is you, Oppa."
"Hmm... I'll do a short version just for the movie scenes. It's not really my style of song, and I don't think it'd suit a full album release."
Gwak Yu-seon beamed excitedly.
"Come on, that's still huge! If the reaction's good, you can drop a full version too. Hohoho."
Na Gang-in asked,
"So who's singing the original OST?"
Gwak Chan-seok explained,
"Plenty of girl groups can handle this song vocally. We've got three candidates."
He pulled up a document on the monitor.
"We'll give it to one of these three."
The document featured a comparison chart of the three groups.
"Cherri Sky, Red Stars, Puff Girls?"
Puff Girls was one of them.
Na Gang-in asked,
"What are the selection criteria?"
"Personal taste, the group's popularity, the company's promo plans, and a whole bunch of favors and connections mixed in."
"Some of these aren't even that famous."
Purely by popularity, Puff Girls lagged far behind the other two.
"Sure, a popular singer ups the odds of a hit, and we'd rake in royalties if it blows up."
Gwak Chan-seok grinned.
"But does my song really need that? It's me, Gwak Chan-seok."
Gwak Chan-seok was a renowned composer with a string of hits.
"Even total rookies could shine with my track, but Cherri Sky and Red Stars are popular groups, and Puff Girls—the least popular of the bunch—isn't obscure enough to bury it."
Na Gang-in pointed at Puff Girls on the chart.
"Why are they in the running?"
"Jae-hyun—er, President Seo Jae-hyun—is a buddy of mine. He begged and begged, saying if we gave it to Puff Girls, his company would push promo hard. Plus, if the movie hits, the song will too. And this movie?"
Gwak Chan-seok chuckled.
"It looks like a surefire smash to me."
Na Gang-in thought,
'OST for a masterpiece film. Singing it would be a huge break for the girls.'
He didn't know the other two groups personally, so no need to worry about them.
But Puff Girls were learning Natural Gymnastics Level 2 from him.
'They said they only have one charted song, so even when gigs come in, they mostly cover others. One more original would help.'
Gwak Chan-seok said,
"I'm polling folks on which of the three to give it to. Give us your pick, Gang-in. You're the martial arts director, so it'll carry weight."
Na Gang-in posted in the group chat.
- Anyone free tomorrow, come practice Tongkwon-do or training.
Four replies popped up right away.
- Got it.
- Of course.
- I'm in Daejeon now, but heading to Seoul tonight.
- Tomorrow's perfect for Tongkwon-do training.
The last one came a bit later.
- Saw this late, was working. Count me in.
Na Gang-in asked,
- Thought some might bail since it's sudden, but why's everyone so quick to say yes? One's freelance so maybe free, but the other four are civil servants.
Police agent Park Sun-gi explained.
- Thanks to the Jongno chemical weapon jewelry heist, our bosses are showing way more interest in Tongkwon-do. Training approvals go through almost automatically now.
When the Cougar gang hit the jewelry expo, trainee Park Sun-gi had disarmed a knife-wielding mercenary barehanded.
The incident report spread it across departments, building buzz that Tongkwon-do was practical in real fights.
Many expected strong trainees to teach others later.
For agent Park Sun-gi, his department even comped a day off after weekend sessions.
Na Gang-in messaged,
- Nice. So tomorrow's a workday—train all shift long?
- Uh, no. Not that. A day's delay doesn't erase my workload; it just piles up. Mercy, please.
Na Gang-in posted in the Puff Girls and Angel Warrior Unit group chat too.
- Gather tomorrow if you want Natural Gymnastics Level 2.
Eight replies flooded in.
- Me!
- Me too!
- Bro! I'll be first!
The gym buzzed the next day.
Puff Girls' four members greeted upon arrival.
"Hello!"
Min Yeong-hee, juggling government and private gigs, slung her left arm around maknae Choi Ji-hye's shoulders.
"How've my chicks been?"
Choi Ji-hye boasted,
"Heehee. Good. We did events this week."
"Lots of singing? How'd it go?"
"We only have one original, but they loved the old hits. The crowd was older."
Shin Eun-ha skipped today for film shoots.
PC bang trio Yoon A-reum arrived with college hacker An Seong-hwan, camera in tow.
No filming the training itself—instead, interviews during Puff Girls and Angel Warrior Unit breaks.
"Heh heh heh. Post today's interview on my channel, and subs will... heh heh."
She'd uploaded full Natural Gymnastics Level 1 to her account before. It drew crowds.
Mostly gymnastics fans—no ads there—but some stuck for her gaming streams.
Na Gang-in asked the pair,
"You two coming here—when do you study?"
Yoon A-reum replied,
"We're freshmen now."
"Freshmen don't study?"
"Uh..."
Hacker An Seong-hwan bragged,
"I aced all my majors with A+."
"Good job. A-reum?"
"Well... grades aren't everything for happiness!"
An Seong-hwan said,
"A-reum, you got the order wrong."
"Huh? Where?"
Na Gang-in said,
"Anyway, you flunked? Banned from here."
"Ack! I'll study!"
"Gotta give her a way."
"Seong-hwan'll teach me."
"Me?"
"Dude, save me."
"Huh? Oh, sure."
The eight idols practiced Natural Gymnastics Level 2. The five-man Tongkwon-do group trained.
After an hour, break time.
Puff Girls and Angel Warrior Unit collapsed on the gym floor.
"Huff huff. Dying."
"Heh heh. Already dead."
The Tongkwon-do five were fresh.
"Training with the chicks was the right call."
"Way easier than just us."
"We could do this daily..."
"Shut it. Master might hear. We'd die for real."
"Yeah. Mouth slipped. Not daily."
Na Gang-in checked his phone off to the side. Text from Gwak Yu-seon.
[Locked in with Puff Girls. Call if curious.]
He dialed.
"The OST?"
Gwak Yu-seon replied brightly.
- Yep. The three agencies fought dirty behind the scenes. Puff Girls got it.
"Lucky break."
- Ooh, luck? All three pulled every connection. Puff Girls held thanks to their pres and your big bro link, but scores were neck-and-neck on popularity and promo. Then your rec tipped it!
"Mine?"
- You recommended them. That swung it. Just confirmed.
"Congrats."
- Big bro says he'll arrange a male version for you post-OST. Look forward.
"No need."
- You have to. Good news deserves something.
"Uh... Dinner next time."
- Buying's fine, but I prefer you cooking...
"See you at Penelope's next."
Na Gang-in pocketed his phone and approached. Puff Girls sprawled exhausted.
Maknae Choi Ji-hye panted, looking up at him flat on her back.
"Hah hah. If I'm this beat... Teacher, ease up on Ji-young unnie. She's older—she'll die."
Leader So Ji-young, panting too, raised a trembling hand.
"Get over here. Selling me out over a few years?"
"Even three years older—sacrifice a bit. I'm dying."
Na Gang-in told Puff Girls,
"New song means dance practice too. Building stamina and body control here will help then."
Choi Ji-hye whined,
"What new song? We don't even know if one's coming."
"Yeah, might never."
Puff Girls had more gigs now, eating better than cafeteria days.
But another issue.
"At events sometimes, we only have one song to perform."
The four lay chatting.
"So we do company sunbaes' songs and old classics."
"Our clip went online last time—comments ripped us for only covers."
Leader So Ji-young sighed.
"One more good song, and no more of that."
Na Gang-in said,
"New song drops—you'll have two. Comments die down."
Choi Ji-hye snickered,
"Huh? Nice joke. Feels good anyway."
"For real."
"What?"
Leader So Ji-young bolted up, dashing to their bags. She yanked her phone and called her manager, voice thrilled.
"Team leader! New song coming?"
- What nonsense?
"Huh? No?"
- No. Never heard that. Don't get hopes up—train hard there.
So Ji-young returned phone in hand, deflated.
"No dice."
Choi Ji-hye flailed on the floor in protest.
"What the—! You got us hyped!"
The Tongkwon-do crew gossiped aside.
"Master went too far this time."
"Teasing like that? It's life-or-death for them."
"Ooh. Bad boy concept too strong."
Na Gang-in smacked his lips.
"Tell the truth, no one believes."
So Ji-young's phone buzzed. Manager calling.
She took it on speaker so Na Gang-in could hear.
"Team leader, why I said that was..."
The manager yelped in panic.
- How'd you know!
"Know what?"
- How'd you hear about your new song before us! I just found out!