Things You Can Take Away
Director Negi Jung was a Korean-Canadian.
Born in Korea and having spent his early childhood there, his Korean was extremely fluent. That was why he hadn't brought a separate interpreter. Of course, his Korean wasn't perfect, so there were moments when English became necessary — but I could handle that much English myself.
Still, once I got back to Korea, I figured I ought to start studying English again. I had a feeling I'd be needing it a lot more from here on out.
"Thank you so much for coming all this way."
"Not at all. I came because I want the project I invested in to succeed. Don't worry about it."
We exchanged light greetings, took our seats, and I listened as he walked me through the production process and current progress on K-Sler. I asked about the things I was curious about, too.
But Negi Jung's attention wasn't really on the conversation with me — the investment firm's representative. His focus was elsewhere entirely.
Alright then. Time to take a hint.
"How about we wrap up this boring talk and just listen to the songs?"
"Are you sure that's alright?"
"Of course. You're a busy man — it'd be rude to waste your time. And our schedule's pretty tight as well. We have to leave the country on the fourteenth."
"Ah…!"
Today was the eleventh. Was he flustered because time was so short?
Director Negi Jung hurriedly guided us to the recording studio. Along the way, he chatted and laughed with Yoo Serin and Minju, who had been staring at him the entire time without blinking.
"Rap?"
"Yes! I'm really good at it!"
"Ah…"
Even here, Minju's relentless self-promotion continued, and Director Negi Jung looked over at me with a flustered expression. It was a face that screamed help me.
But Minju's face said the same thing.
"Just give her a listen. No pressure at all, though. If there had been, I would've sent you a recording file ahead of time."
"Ah… yes, understood."
"Oppa…!!"
"What? Getting cold feet?"
"It's not that… Thank you. For putting up with my stubbornness…"
"Why the sudden gratitude?"
"It's not sudden…! I've felt bad this whole time… But I really want to become a singer! So even knowing it wouldn't work, I still forced it… I'm sorry…"
Well, she'd always been that kind of kid. Even when we first met — bold enough to speak her mind without flinching in front of a corrupt cop, yet polite enough to bow in thanks to the guy holding the elevator for her.
But that didn't change anything. What I could do for her stopped right here: bringing her to America and giving her a chance to sing. From this point on, she had to make it on her own strength alone.
And from this point on, there were things I had to accomplish with my own strength, too. I'd decided on this trip to America at Director Negi Jung's request, but I'd been thinking the whole time about what I could take away from it.
The first of those was the person behind the countless songs Yoo Serin would be singing — the composer, Lee J.
"Hello. I'm Lee J, the composer. My Korean name is Lee Jeong."
"Yoo Eunho."
"Hello! I'm Lee Min-ju!"
"Yoo Serin. Looking forward to working with you."
"Wait — there's more than one of you?"
"Serin's the one who was invited. I'm her friend, and an aspiring singer who happens to be good at rap!"
"Ah… Director?"
"Just listen once."
"Hmm… alright, fine."
"And since we just arrived today, we'll only do a test."
"Got it. Do you already know the songs?"
While composer Lee J played the tracks for Yoo Serin and Minju and showed them the lyrics, I made contact with my second target: Director Negi Jung himself.
"Director."
"Yes, Representative?"
"If this project succeeds, the IP belongs to our U-I — so if you ever start planning a sequel, you'd be working with us, correct?"
"If the company agrees to it, that would be the case."
He worked at a world-class corporation. The odds of that happening were practically zero. But even a persimmon you can't eat is still worth poking at.
"Then would you produce the sequel under Sony Animation as well?"
"Excuse me?"
"If you ever think about starting a new company, give me a call. I'll put up the investment. Or if you'd prefer, I can set up the company myself. All of this assuming the current project succeeds, of course."
"Ah… yes. Understood."
That was as far as I went. You had to stop before the other person felt you were being rude. Though doing it this way meant half the point of the whole thing went up in smoke.
"Shall we call Serin in first? She's probably not in the best condition, so no need to push herself."
"Alright."
I'd brought Yoo Serin here to create a real-world version of the K-Sler group. But Serin had driven a stake into the ground and declared she had no intention of becoming a singer. That meant half the meaning of this trip had already evaporated — it no longer had anything to do with the idol group I was trying to produce.
Still, at least she'd be a help to this project. That alone was something to be grateful for.
Now then — how was I supposed to meet the third set of targets?
K-Sler's protagonists were three people. Even if it was just sampling, I wanted to meet the ones who'd sung the songs I'd heard. Because I wanted to recruit the versions of them I was going to create.
"Director, would it be possible for me to meet the people who sang the sampling tracks I heard?"
"Those people?"
"I mentioned it over the phone. I want to create the group that appears in K-Sler in real life. If they're not too old, I'd like to recruit them — could you arrange a meeting?"
"You'd be better off asking Lee J about that than me. I don't even have their numbers."
"Ah, right. Understood."
After that, without much further conversation, I listened to Yoo Serin sing as she stepped into the recording booth. Then I listened to Minju, who went in wound tight with nerves. Both Director Negi Jung and composer Lee J nodded and said the same thing.
"The pronunciation is a bit off-putting."
"Yeah, the pronunciation will need some work."
Most of the songs were in English. Korean only came in as the occasional ad-lib. So English pronunciation had become the issue.
To my ears, it wasn't a big problem. But both of them were Korean — maybe it just felt different to people who lived in the English-speaking world?
"But isn't this a K-pop group anyway? Doesn't that actually make it more natural?"
"Ah…!"
"That's true… it is a K-pop group…"
"Ah, no! I was just talking to myself!"
"No, that's a good point. Their pronunciation isn't bad to begin with, and a Korean singer having imperfect English isn't awkward at all. If anything, it's more natural."
"……"
What the hell? Why do they keep taking everything I say so seriously?
The first day wrapped up with nothing more than a light test. The official recording would probably start today. They needed to adjust to the time difference and get their condition up first.
But why did those two look even worse than yesterday?
"Minju, what's with your face? Did you not sleep? Serin, you too?"
"Well… Serin and I stayed up all night working on our English pronunciation…"
"Haaaah…"
"The director and the composer both said it was fine."
"Still… I wanted to do better…"
"……"
I stared straight at Minju, dark circles hanging under her eyes. Then I dropped the hard truth.
"You're not even part of this. Why are you pulling all-nighters?"
"Y-you never know! If I work hard enough, maybe they'll change their minds…"
Minju had been told she didn't make the cut yesterday. Even to my ears, her rap hadn't been great. Unlike what she'd belted out in the taxi, the nerves had been so obvious even I could hear them.
The time she had left was today and tomorrow. At most, until the morning of our departure three days from now. Could Minju reverse the evaluation of herself?
"Well, do whatever you want. I'll just focus on my own work."
I caught a taxi in front of the hotel and headed to Sony Animation. And when I arrived, I heard something surprising.
"The composer asked for me?"
"Yes. I spent a long time as a trainee back in Korea. Never did debut, though."
"Ah…"
Composer Lee J had been the main vocalist on the sampling tracks I'd heard. Already past thirty. Time to give up on that one.
But surely the other singers weren't all that old… right?
"This one's in their mid-twenties. Twenty-six, I think?"
"Ah… then the last one…"
"This one's quite young."
"Really? How old?"
"Speak of the devil — here she comes."
I turned my head. A woman with copper-toned skin walking down the hallway immediately caught my eye.
Was she about my height? She looked too tall… My height was 183 centimeters. If she was roughly the same as me… ah, thankfully she was wearing heels. Extremely high heels, at that. The kind of dizzying stilettos that looked like they'd snap an ankle at the slightest misstep.
The woman who walked over in those heels stretched out arms as long as her height and pulled composer Lee J into a hug.
"Unnie~~"
Her voice was a touch lower than most women's, with a unique tone and the faintest metallic edge mixed in. A remarkably distinctive voice. Yeah — that voice was what made the songs sound powerful and colorful instead of monotonous.
"Hey, hey. Don't greet me — greet this guy."
"Who?"
"The representative of our film's investment company."
"Huh?? Wasn't this a Metflix investment?"
"It changed a little while ago."
"Whoa… rich guy."
"Haha… Hello. I'm Yoo Eunho of U-INVESTMENT. I also run a small agency called Art Company. And right now, I'm preparing to produce a girl group."
"Ah…"
"I'll cut straight to it. I intend to bring the group from the film into reality. Want to join me?"
"……"
Those slightly sharp-looking eyes went noticeably round and soft. Her mouth fell open and stayed that way, and at the sight of it, composer Lee J covered her mouth and laughed quietly. Then the flustered woman turned to me and asked:
"I… looking like this… can I really do it…?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm ugly… that's why I couldn't debut…"
Ugly? Where?
Sure, Yoo Serin and Minju looked prettier to my eyes. But this was absolutely not an ugly face. On top of that, she had a body with proportions close to eight heads tall and a uniquely husky voice. She was an incredible rapper and could sing reasonably well, too.
And someone like that couldn't debut because she was ugly?
Wait a second.
"You were a trainee?"
"Yes…"
"Where?"
"Well…"
She'd trained at one of the so-called Big Four agencies in Korea. But in the end, her debut had fallen through because of her looks — charitably described as "sharp," less charitably as "a little bratty-looking." She'd been offered a debut if she got plastic surgery, but she'd refused that herself.
"I think May as she is now is more charming. What's your full name?"
"May! May Jung! My Korean name is Jung Mina!"
"I think May as she is right now is more attractive. Get plastic surgery and everyone ends up looking the same."
"Exactly! They all look the same! Not a shred of individuality! But people still like that, so…"
"There will be plenty of people who like May exactly as she is. And does a singer's face really matter that much? What matters is the voice."
"……"
A singer? Face mattered. Especially in the K-pop market — a pretty face got you halfway there on its own. But the era of gathering pretty dolls and riding a wave of popularity was over. Or rather, it was passing.
What mattered more than looks was skill and individuality. From that perspective, May Jung was an outstanding character.
Of course, all of this might just be a fantasy I'd cooked up in my own head. But I'd already decided.
"May, would you like to come to Korea with me?"
"I… I…! I'll go. I'll go to Korea!!"
"Great. Then Lee J, you should come with me as well."
"…Me?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
"A-are you telling me to debut as an idol right now?"
"No. As a composer. Beyond that, I'm offering to bring you on as a producer. I'll put three hundred million won on the table for your annual salary."
"Ah…!"
"Three huuundred million~?!"
Lee J blinked with her mouth half open and her eyes blown wide, while May Jung beside her — jaw dropped so far it looked ready to fall off — grabbed Lee J's shoulder and shook her.
Looks like this one was a success.