Chapter 170
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: OST III
The manager in charge of SAH Entertainment's Puff Girls explained the situation.
"The boss just called me to say your new song is confirmed. He said he only just heard it himself and passed it along."
They were on speakerphone right now. Even so, leader So Ji-young brought her smartphone to her mouth as she asked,
"So that's really happening? We're really getting a new song?"
- Yeah. And it's none other than from composer Kwak Chan-seok.
The youngest, Choi Ji-hye, who had been lying on the gym floor, suddenly shrieked.
"Kwak Chaaan-seook!"
She shot to her feet, screaming and dancing around.
"It's a new song by Kwak Chan-seok! Kyaaah!"
The other members were on their feet in no time, joining Choi Ji-hye in the dance.
Leader So Ji-young's hand trembled as she gripped her phone, asking,
"I-Is it real? You're not messing with us?"
- Come on, who'd joke about something like this? Anyone who would isn't even human.
"R-Right?"
So Ji-young glanced at Na Gang-in.
"No way he'd joke, right? I should've believed it."
Na Gang-in grumbled from a short distance away.
"They didn't believe me when I said it."
"S-Sorry!"
The manager asked,
- What's there to be sorry about?
"Nothing! It's nothing!"
- So how did you girls find out about the new song already? You called me before the boss even knew, from the looks of it.
"W-Well, you see, it's like..."
- And why's it so noisy there? Not practicing?
So Ji-young couldn't hold back anymore. She threw both arms up and screamed.
"Kyaaa!"
She jumped into the fray with her dancing bandmates, shaking her body and cheering along.
"Kwak Chan-seok!"
"Kwak Chan-seok!"
"New song! Kwak Chan-seok!"
"Let them be happy."
Natural Gymnastics Level 2 training had the girl idol group Puff Girls and the boy idol group Angel Warrior Squad practicing together.
The Angel Warrior Squad members watched the rampaging Puff Girls and said,
"I'm jealous."
"I'd be set if we could just drop any old song."
"Nah. Might as well make it a good one."
"Yeah. They got a track from composer Kwak Chan-seok. I want one from him too."
"He only makes one song a month, so no chance for us."
"Probably not."
AI Jeon Ji-in's initial data included a few Earth Union military anthems.
"Giving idols a military anthem? That's a hard no."
"Ji-in, you know you're pretty biased toward them, right?"
"I just answered when Composer Kwak told me to pick one."
"No military anthems. They'd be done for if they released one as a new song."
The Total Kwon Do Five were stunned watching what happened to the Puff Girls.
"I thought Master Na was pranking them and you'd crossed a line, but it was real?"
"Yeah."
Min Young-hee had a question.
"Master Na's info network is insane. How does he know about a song before their own agency president?"
Police agent Park Sun-gi offered his own explanation.
"Master Na's the guy who analyzed only public internet info to track down kidnappers and their location. Even crazier, the other two suspects he flagged were caught mid-crime. 100% hit rate on that analysis."
"I heard that wild story, but..."
"And in the recent Jongno Jewelry Expo chemical weapon incident, he pinpointed the enemy's goal faster and more accurately than the joint task force. Master Na's info analysis is on another level."
Min Young-hee wagged her finger.
"I know all that, but this is different. You can't find out about an idol group's new song from internet data, right? Why would that be online?"
"Huh. True. How did he know?"
The four Puff Girls had gone wild with joy at the news of their new song, burning through a ton of energy. They'd already done a grueling practice session before that.
Completely drained, the four collapsed on the floor, twitching. Even so, they were giggling nonstop.
They weren't in any shape for more training anyway, so Na Gang-in ended their session early.
The four headed straight to the company. They were too curious to go back to the dorm first.
Leader So Ji-young asked the manager,
"Team leader, what's going on?"
"No idea. Boss said bring you girls when you get here. Let's go."
SAH Entertainment president Seo Jae-hyun sat them down and explained.
"I put in a ton of effort to get that song for you girls."
"Thank you!"
"President's the best!"
Seo Jae-hyun grinned and waved his hand downward to quiet the four.
"But since it's a movie OST, word got out that Chan-seok made it. Tons of competitors piled on."
The youngest, Choi Ji-hye, nodded vigorously.
"Right? He's a top-class composer with all those hits."
"He made a bunch of my old hits too."
Impatient So Ji-young cut off the old stories quick.
"President..."
"Ah, got sidetracked. Everyone else was knocked out, but two of the Big Five wouldn't budge. They wanted this track bad."
"Whoa. The Big Five..."
SAH Entertainment wasn't far behind the Big Five in overall size. But it was split between actors and singers. In singers alone, they lagged far behind the music Big Five.
Especially in idols, they weren't even in the same league.
"Know which girl groups were competing against you for it? Cherry Sky and Red Stars."
Choi Ji-hye freaked out.
"Eek! Cherry Sky and Red Stars!"
"Get how fierce it was? That three-way battle was war. Only one song, so only one winner. Winner takes all."
"How'd you beat groups like that? We're no match."
Seo Jae-hyun nodded slightly.
"Popularity-wise, sure, you're outclassed. But skill? You're right there. And we covered your visuals gap with company support."
"Whoa... President's just trying to look cool."
"I am cool. Anyway, overall scores were razor-close. Chan-seok couldn't decide who to give it to!"
The four gulped.
Seo Jae-hyun grinned.
"Then at the end, Na Gang-in voted for you girls."
The four were stunned.
"Huh?"
Maknae Choi Ji-hye's eyes went wide as she asked,
"Why's he in the mix?"
"Connections were fierce too. They factored into the total score. Na Gang-in's tight with Chan-seok, so that's one connection vote."
"Oh! Right, he debuted with a Kwak Chan-seok song."
"Plus, he's the martial arts director on the movie this OST's for. His input matters for action scene music. Vote from the guy who'll actually use the song in the film."
"Wait, that counts?"
"It does. And the male vocal feature's by singer Ddangddang, who's Na Gang-in himself. The guy singing with the girl group endorsed you. Bonus points."
"No way. Three votes from one guy."
"In the end, Na Gang-in pushing for you tipped the tied scales. That's how we got the song."
Now the four understood.
Choi Ji-hye suddenly clapped like a seal.
"Whoaaa! Master's the best!"
"Master?"
"The people training martial arts with us today called him that."
"If they're learning from Na Gang-in, they're no ordinary folks."
"Yeah. Cops, soldiers, even a Blue House bodyguard guy. Some manager whose deal I don't know, oh! And Young-hee noona, super famous female celebrity bodyguard."
Seo Jae-hyun smacked his lips regretfully.
"I thought maybe I could sneak our managers into his martial arts classes, but sounds like no room."
Gong Ji-hyun was shooting both movies and dramas in supporting roles, so she had plenty of off days.
On one such day, she stopped by the PC bang in Na Gang-in's neighborhood.
"Heard this place has killer food..."
She'd heard Na Gang-in was selling meals, but it wasn't a selling day.
Night shift A-reum Yoon explained.
"Gang-in oppa only sells food when the mood strikes. No schedule, so don't get your hopes up or you'll be disappointed..."
Yoon A-reum suddenly clapped.
"Ah! Knew I recognized you. You're from that drama!"
"Hello."
"Heh. Our PC bang gets tons of celebs. That's why I can't quit this gig."
Gong Ji-hyun asked,
"Any way to know in advance when Master Na sells food?"
"Nope. But Eun-ha noona and Bora noona get special alerts."
"From the master himself?"
Yoon A-reum shook her head.
"Nah. Eun-seo noona and I handle it."
Yoon A-reum made a sly pitch.
"There's a one-time meal day alert pass. Want it?"
"Really? How much?"
"Not money. Something else."
"Like what?"
Yoon A-reum's eyes sparkled as she proposed,
"Appear on my Nutube channel once."
"Ah. Nutube..."
"No personal stuff. Just say hi, share a few public-friendly episodes from your current movie or drama."
As an agency celeb, Gong Ji-hyun couldn't just hop on any internet show.
"I'll check with my company. But the channel name..."
"Gaming A-reum."
Yoon A-reum bluffed.
"'Cause the streamer's beautiful. A-reum."
"So it's a gaming stream?"
"Nah. Games, self-defense, gymnastics, bits of everything. Just casual stuff."
Yoon A-reum recorded the interview in the PC bang staff break room. She called college hacker An Seong-hwan to cover the desk during.
An Seong-hwan grumbled,
"You're working me too hard lately... Whoa! Gong Ji-hyun! Huge fan!"
Yoon A-reum shoved An Seong-hwan out.
"Go work!"
"Yes, ma'am."
Yoon A-reum uploaded pre-recorded gymnastics and self-defense vids, streamed games live.
Gong Ji-hyun's would be edited, cleared by agency, drama/movie producers, and broadcasters before upload.
During chit-chat, Gong Ji-hyun brought up meeting Na Gang-in on set.
"That acting coach who helped me? Turns out he's martial arts director Na Gang-in."
Yoon A-reum hit stop recording quick.
"Hold up. I'll cut that part."
"Huh?"
"Oppa hates his name dropped on broadcasts."
"Why?"
"Says he's a regular guy with a private life."
"Aah... But he's not, right?"
"Dunno. He insists."
Yoon A-reum trimmed the end of the file and resumed.
"So how's the movie you're shooting? Fun?"
Gong Ji-hyun nodded big.
"Totally. Super fun. Everyone's hyped shooting it."
"That martial arts director teaches acting too. Why not act? Insecure about looks?"
"Nah. He's pretty handsome."
"Like Kim Yu-chan?"
'Answer yes and Eun-ha noona'll say I'm lovesick.'
Gong Ji-hyun laughed and waved it off.
"No way. Kim Yu-chan's blindingly hot in person."
Yoon A-reum was a Kim Yu-chan fan too.
"Right? Wanna talk about our Kim Yu-chan?"
Gong Ji-hyun's interview got chopped up by movie company, drama team, and network approvals.
Not all cut. Over half survived.
Yoon A-reum re-edited and uploaded to her Nutube.
Her channel had original Natural Gymnastics vids. Decent views from folks learning the routines.
Game vids? Not so much. But celeb interview? Plenty clicked.
Manager grabbed Kim Yu-chan's hand mid-comment.
"Stop! No more comments like that. Fans might figure it's you."