Chapter 335
Chapter 335
Everyone agreed that since this was an OST, it required a different approach than their usual album tracks.
“It’s not a collaboration like the game was, so we should tailor it to the movie.”
“But it’s also important to make sure TeSTAR’s color shines through!”
The focus would be on the movie, with TeSTAR’s identity serving as the recognizable foundation.
However, there was a problem.
“U-um… it would be better if there were a main melody, like in a game.”
“…I can’t make anything if they don’t give us the materials.”
The movie studio had provided next to nothing.
Claiming ‘restrictions due to leak concerns,’ the keywords and scenario summaries they sent were even more meager than expected.
Let’s look at the keywords.
[Space, Cyberpunk, Superpowers, Combat, Focus]
The plot was standard SF hero movie fare. There was almost no world-building explanation.
‘This is a bit much, even for them.’
I frowned. They could have just made us sign an NDA; this felt like less information than they’d give someone coming in for an audition.
“For now, I will begin composing while keeping in mind that this is background music, following the conventions of a film OST…”
Kim Rae-bin made his grim declaration and dove into work, but that left the rest of the members with nothing to do.
‘What can we even do from scratch when we don’t know the first thing about OST composition?’
With only four days left, it was too late to try and cram a crash course.
‘At most, I’ll just have to tweak the melody…’
There wasn't even anything to brainstorm. At this rate, we were just surplus labor waiting to give feedback on whatever Kim Rae-bin produced.
‘I started this camp to avoid this exact situation.’
It left a bitter taste in my mouth to fall back into old patterns for this OST. I stretched my neck and stood up.
“Where are you going, Moon-dae Hyung?”
“To get some water.”
“I’m coming too!”
Cha Yu-jin tagged along. It felt like he followed me every time I went to the kitchen… and I didn’t think I was imagining it.
“Can I eat this?”
“Sure.”
I didn’t bother telling him that since the company was footing the bill, he was technically paying for half of it anyway. He had plenty of money, regardless.
Cha Yu-jin, who was tossing snacks from the hotel fridge into his mouth, suddenly spoke up.
[I can see the worry on your face, Hyung.]
“…So?”
“This is delicious! Have some!”
I don’t need it.
I absentmindedly took the nuts he offered, chewing as I muttered, “Do you have a problem?”
Well, it was obvious.
“It’s just a grueling schedule to pull off an OST in four days. Especially when the company gave us so little to work with.”
He wasn't the type to be swayed by realistic concerns, so it was fine to say this much.
As expected, Cha Yu-jin looked unfazed, but he shrugged his shoulders.
Then, he dropped a bombshell.
“That company is doing it on purpose!”
“…!”
Cha Yu-jin crumpled the snack bag and tossed it into the trash.
Thud.
“On purpose.”
[Right. It’s completely obvious. Hmm, it feels like this company doesn’t want to give us the work, doesn’t it?]
“……”
Keep talking.
I leaned against the wall. Cha Yu-jin did the same.
[They’re annoyed because we suddenly jumped in. Well, there might be a bit of prejudice at play, too.]
Ah.
‘Is it a racial thing?’
Since he was a local, he’d know better than anyone.
“Is this from experience?”
“It’s not like it never happens! But I don’t care.”
He was even using double negatives now.
Regardless of Cha Yu-jin’s Korean skills, seeing his nonchalant expression made it clear that nothing serious had happened to him.
“That’s why I know. If you’re good, they can’t say anything.”
Oh.
“And we don’t have to do it. We’re cool even without an OST!”
“You said you wanted to go to America.”
[Well, there are always other options!]
He was the same as ever. His point was that we wouldn't lose anything by coolly turning them down.
‘It’s been a while since he’s shown himself thinking this proactively.’
It was interesting. Should I egg him on?
“What if I don’t want to quit, but I find these guys' behavior offensive?”
“Then, well, I’d scream that I want a 100% proper request form. That’s what stars do. And… I want to do it! Let’s have our company send an email.”
Hmm.
It was certainly a refreshing method… but since it was true that we’d squeezed in using the T1 line, there was no need to give them a blatant excuse to push back.
I smirked.
“What if there’s a quieter, more satisfying way?”
“…! Tell me!”
Sure.
“Well… if we look at how they’re acting unfairly while pretending to give us work.”
It was actually a good situation.
I smiled as I opened a water bottle.
“We should pay attention to the fact that they’re going to such lengths to be indirect.”
“Are those two things different?”
“They are.”
I took a sip of water.
“It means they’re in a position where they can’t just flat-out refuse us.”
That’s why they were making unreasonable demands while pretending otherwise.
“Oh….”
Cha Yu-jin nodded half-heartedly.
“But why is that good?”
“It means our company has some real influence.”
“Is our company stronger than Limestone?”
Against that massive copyright conglomerate? No matter how big T1 was, there was no way.
“Not exactly, but they have a close relationship. T1 Ent handles all of Limestone’s film distribution in Korea.”
“Ohhh.”
There was definitely a reason the movie studio couldn't say no. Whatever it was, T1 had offered a better deal than expected.
T1 probably saw our proposal as a green light—a bit of flattery saying, ‘We look forward to working with you.’
‘Did they think we were bowing down because the direct label proposal fell through and we were feeling slighted?’
It was a complete misunderstanding, but it was useful.
Anyway, T1 would have wanted to grow their Daesang-winning singer’s international presence as well, so they likely contacted the movie studio and struck a big deal.
The movie studio agreed for the sake of their relationship with T1, but the actual staff on the ground were probably annoyed that K-pop idols, who weren't even American, were suddenly being shoehorned in.
I rubbed my chin.
‘Someone in the middle management of the movie studio is playing games.’
Did they think they could get away with this just because it was a single OST track for some foreigners?
“It seems like someone in the Limestone management doesn't think much of us.”
“I get it! But when are you going to tell me the method?”
“Now.”
So impatient. I gave a thin smile.
“Right. The meaning behind everything I just explained is…”
“Just tell me!”
How bold.
“It means that if we meet the ridiculous conditions they set, they’ll have no choice but to give us the okay.”
“Hmm?”
“The higher-ups have already reached an agreement. They can’t refuse us without a valid reason. Maybe they could ask for revisions, but that’s it.”
Which meant we could go all out.
“So the method is… first, we send them a perfectly finished product.”
“Booooo. That’s losing.”
This guy.
“Not just a well-made one, but one where we’ve added more than just the keywords they gave us.”
I took another sip of water.
“We’ll research the keywords from this studio’s previous hero movies and the game company’s world-building ourselves, then use that to create a sophisticated piece of work.”
“Why do that for them?”
“To make them feel ashamed.”
“Huh?”
I crushed the empty plastic bottle.
“We’ll send it and add a blunt note. We’ll say that since they didn't send us much, we went ahead and collected the materials ourselves to make it.”
“Uuuuuh!”
“And the next part is the important bit.”
“What is it?”
I smiled.
“We’ll act like the person in charge just didn't know any better. We’ll ‘kindly’ inform them that when requesting an OST demo, this level of information and time is usually required.”
“…!”
I shrugged.
“And then, we just tell them what they need to prepare for the meeting, like we’re teaching a kindergartner. That’s it.”
Even if it’s just one OST track, they won't be able to skip the preparations for the first meeting with outsiders without reporting it to their superiors.
Then, whoever was playing games won't have anywhere to hide. They’ll have to explain to both companies exactly what happened.
“WOW.”
Cha Yu-jin immediately changed his tune.
“Hyung, that is totally badass!”
“You like it?”
“I love it!”
I’m glad you approve.
Cha Yu-jin asked for a high-five, then ran into the hotel living room and started explaining it himself.
“Let’s make an amazing OST and make them feel ashamed!”
“What?”
I knew this would happen.
I finished the explanation, filling in the gaps in Cha Yu-jin’s words. The members looked stunned at first, but their expressions soon turned serious.
“That’s a dignified way to handle it.”
“It’s good~ Even if things fall through, it shows we did our best.”
This meant that even if the deal went south, we would definitely win the public relations battle. Yes, I had considered that too.
“Shall we take a vote?”
“Sure.”
The moment a unanimous 'okay' was reached, Cha Yu-jin let out a whistle.
“Our members are so cool!”
And Kim Rae-bin started getting excited again.
“Then I must get to work immediately.”
“Right. We’ll hurry up and pull the movie and game references~ Good luck, Rae-bin!”
“Yes!”
And so, the surplus labor besides Kim Rae-bin finally had work to do.
“Um, should we tell the company about the explanatory note we’re sending?”
“Well, I think it would be more effective if we wrote it ourselves.”
It wasn't like they’d provide a translator who could capture all the subtle nuances in such a short time. It was better for us, the parties involved, to put in a bit more effort.
‘And we happen to have the perfect person for it.’
“Me??”
“No. You gather the references. You know American culture best.”
“OK.”
It wasn't Cha Yu-jin. He was proactive, but honestly, I didn't think he’d be great at using formal, professional vocabulary.
I turned my head.
“A-hyun.”
“U-um…?”
“Could you draft our work explanation in English?”
Seon A-hyun’s face lit up.
“Y-yes…!”
He had studied abroad at a prestigious private school and had a sophisticated English vocabulary, so he was the better choice. We could just have an expert check it before sending.
Besides, since Seon A-hyun didn't often get to participate in production, he seemed delighted to have something he could contribute.
“I’ll… work hard…!”
“Good.”
That seemed to take some of the burden off Seon A-hyun’s mind.
Keun Se-jin smirked.
“Ah~ Everything seems settled. Shall we do a ‘fighting’ and get back to it?”
“Let’s do it!”
The atmosphere became lively again.
In that mood, Kim Rae-bin muttered as if he had just realized something.
“Then, considering the explanation and the translation… the deadline has been shortened by half a day.”
“……”
“……”
Kim Rae-bin gave a thumbs up.
“The original camp schedule was three days anyway, so this fits perfectly!”
Right, if you’re okay with it, we’re all okay with it.
“Ah… I’m so tired.”
The night shift worker in T1 Ent’s external relations department sighed.
Since international calls came in even in the early hours of the morning in Korea, having to stand by for emergencies once a week was the absolute worst.
He took naps and watched Netplus, but it was still boring.
‘I don’t even have access to most of the things that come in at this hour anyway.’
There was nothing to do except quickly forward any urgent messages from the few specific clients he’d been told to watch for. The worker sighed and scrolled through the company’s ERP system.
Then, he saw a document.
[TeSTAR Movie Collaboration Matter]
They were such hot idols that he’d heard rumors floating around the department.
‘I heard they were the ones who asked to work with Limestone first.’
And he thought he’d heard they sent the actual demo around the day before yesterday.
He only had a glimpse over someone’s shoulder since he didn't have access, but he could tell they’d put a lot of heart into it, even down to the attached explanation.
That’s why he felt uneasy.
‘Do they have to go this far…?’
Honestly, it looked almost subservient.
‘Anyone could see they were being ignored, and yet idols who won the Daesang in our country are…’
Was the company making them do it?
Feeling a sense of vicarious wounded pride, the worker used it as an excuse to vent his frustrations against the company.
And based on his experience, he made a brief prediction about the future.
‘This damn company will probably just use it for media play once they get a condescending ‘okay’ sign…’
It was then.
A new email arrived.
[Fw: In response to your request of……]
The sender caught his eye first.
‘Limestone!’
He wanted to click it immediately… but he didn't have the authority. So, the worker, who was settling for just skimming the surface, noticed one thing.
The attachment file size.
‘Uh….’
What had arrived was a pile of files as large as the one TeSTAR had sent…!
‘What on earth did they send to get that kind of response?’
If it were a simple ‘okay,’ it wouldn't be this large, and the same went for contract clauses.
‘Damn it!’
It was frustrating that he couldn't see it because he lacked access…! The worker sighed.
And after daybreak, the worker finally managed to hear the story behind the email.
That it was a gesture of voluntary surrender and reconciliation sent through a roundabout way.
‘Woooah!’
It was a refreshing, satisfying moment.
‘What exactly did they send? No, more importantly, how good was the song they made?’
“A proper request form arrived.”
“Oh.”
It worked.
Of course, I didn't know what they’d say once we actually met in person.
‘Actually, at this rate, we might just exchange emails without a meeting.’
Still, I didn't stop the members from smiling and high-fiving each other.
‘A win is a win.’
Ryu Cheong-woo smiled as he continued the briefing.
“There are almost no revision requests, just some arrangement requests regarding the song structure.”
“That won't be difficult!”
Kim Rae-bin was practically flying. He showed an unbelievable level of proactiveness for someone who had been chugging caffeine like water for three days.
‘He seems to be having fun.’
It was then. Ryu Cheong-woo showed a hint of confusion.
“And… they want to bundle a cameo appearance into the contract?”
“…?”
“Really? A movie cameo?”
“Yeah.”
I was impressed.
These guys….
Now that things have turned out like this, they’re really trying to milk the Korean box office for all it’s worth.
“You’re talking about this movie, right?”
“Yeah. It looks like we’ll just be passing by in the background.”
“If it’s just that much…”
“Is it okay?”
And naturally, we all looked at one person.
“W-why…?”
“We’re counting on you, Hyung.”
“…!?”
Bae Se-jin, the genius child actor—the time has come for your Hollywood debut.
“Don’t count on me!”