Trot Factory Manager's Dream
Namhun finished filming the ValiCoffee commercial on Friday morning.
The Elixer version had been the real problem, but he hadn't had to worry much about his own Namhun version.
"Good work."
"Is the filming all done now?"
"Yeah. We just need to do the editing. Additional filming probably won't be necessary. Enjoy your weekend and rest properly."
"Okay, I'll be careful not to overdo it."
"Haha. Thanks. Thanks to you, we're getting some breathing room."
Namhun left Mubibro and headed straight for Wonhyung's studio.
* * *
Thanks to his supernatural ability, it had gone smoothly, but for the past three days Namhun had felt quite stressed.
So, the idea of becoming a trainee singer and heading to practice felt strangely pleasant.
"Hey, you're here? You were probably too busy filming the ad to listen to trot songs."
Seeing Wonhyung tease him right away, Namhun sighed.
It wasn't because he was jealous; he knew exactly why his friend was ribbing him.
"It was busy, but I made sure to listen as much as possible. Mainly senior Ha Daeun's songs... well, something familiar to my ears probably sounded best."
"Senior Ha Daeun's style is so different from yours though."
Jang Namhun's style had no embellishments, very much in the realm of classical vocal technique.
It had been the direction he chose to preserve the inherent quality of his voice, whether it was from his vocal training or natural timbre.
By contrast, among the Trot Four Heavenly Kings, Ha Daeun possessed a rock-style technique because he came from a group sound background.
With his sharp, pointed voice and the ability to incorporate every trick in the book, he was a singer known for unmatched vocal prowess.
In short, he wasn't exactly the best textbook for beginners.
"In the end, I still have to listen to everything anyway. Choosing the hard stuff from the start seemed better."
"Fair enough. Picking the show-off type on purpose wasn't a bad choice."
Jang Namhun's determination made Wonhyung smile.
"Still, you've been singing for a long time. You've got the training direction down well."
"Everyone has their own method of practice."
"True. You're not a newbie. Do whatever feels comfortable."
Jo Wonhyung respected his thoughts.
With his solid foundation from years of vocal training, there was no need to tear everything down from the start.
'It would be best to move forward in the direction that preserves his strengths.'
Wonhyung was seriously considering the path Namhun should take.
For someone who didn't know them, the two genres might seem similar, but trot singers had very strong individual personalities compared to others.
Trot could be broadly divided into traditional and semi styles.
Traditional trot featured a slow tempo with the emotional depth of han (Korean court music).
Semi trot, on the other hand, used a faster BPM to generate excitement.
Naturally, the fan base that preferred traditional trot tended to be older.
'If I could master both, that would be ideal, but...'
That wasn't easy.
Traditional trot required the kind of life experience only a veteran singer could convey.
The target audience was also older, so even imitation wouldn't satisfy them.
Recently, most agencies training trot singers had been aiming for semi-trot tracks.
Though conversion was relatively easy, the main reason was that they were producing singers with event markets in mind.
Events called for energetic songs, after all.
'In the end, I should preserve Namhun's strengths, but starting with semi-trot makes sense. He already knows dance tracks.'
Since the primary goal was events, Wonhyung summarized his thoughts and asked Namhun.
"You haven't listened to any recent songs, have you? Besides senior Ha Daeun."
"Yeah. Besides senior Ha Daeun, I mostly listened to existing hit songs."
The history of the trot genre wasn't short.
Without listening repeatedly, there was no point in studying, so he had analyzed each song multiple times.
By the end, even though he had used his time efficiently, he had only managed to listen to a dozen or so tracks.
"Then we need to look at recent trends. Probably your first song will be neo-trot."
"Neo-trot? What's that?"
"You, with your vocal base, can't do kugak trot, right?"
"True."
"Neo-trot is the new trot genre that young composers are pushing lately. It's about blending dance music with trot. The composers who switched over used to make dance music. It's a semi-trot, but with a more modern, MZ feel..."
"Aah, bro, saying MZ makes you sound really old."
Wonhyung flinched at the comment.
He had always been at the cutting edge of trends.
"I'm actually old now. What am I supposed to do? Are you weighing me in my twenties? In a few days you'll be in your thirties too, ya."
"Ah... I don't know when I last heard the word 'ya'."
When he thought about it, he had felt the generation gap with Wonhyung even during Evil Spirits days.
Eight years apart hadn't been nothing back then.
"This is what happens when you get too much pampering. I'm still getting eaten when I go to clubs."
"At that age? Is club entry even possible?"
"Gangnam, of course, and Hongdae too. Unless it's impossible in some places... but with connections, you can make it work."
"The fact that you have to use connections makes it sadder. You really have aged, bro."
"Enough with the nonsense. There's a prepared song. Let's listen to it."
"Sure."
Watching Wonhyung fiddle with the console, Namhun saw he had become quite the professional.
It had been awkward when he was producing Namhun's first album.
'He must have grown a lot in the meantime.'
When he considered it, Jo Wonhyung had always approached everything with passion.
It was the result of his efforts during the time Namhun wasn't around.
"Hmm. This is a song made by a friend of mine. It's for a female newcomer. Listen to it. We've been making songs like this lately."
The song began, and a loud intro poured out.
Zzajja-zzajja-
♪♬♪-
"You, there's a woman here who only looks at you~"
"It doesn't sound like a guide track."
"Yeah, she recorded it herself. It's not the final master yet."
"The voice is soft and nice. It really hits the ears."
"Right? She used to be in a girl group, so her skills are good. That's why that friend convinced her to try trot."
Just from her vocal ability, Namhun could guess she was a main vocalist.
"It's embarrassing, but I'll say it anyway~"
"I like you, I really like you~"
Namhun listened quietly to the song and suddenly stopped during the chorus.
"Bro, 'slightly' is better than 'slightlykkung', right?"
Jo Wonhyung hurriedly stopped the song at Namhun's sudden comment.
"What? What did you say?"
"'Slightlykkung' sounds better. It's for a female newcomer. It feels more cute. Since it's a dance track, you can add dance points. The title 'Slightlykkung' would have a big impact."
Wonhyung silently mulled over Namhun's words.
"Yeah... you've always had good instincts."
"Huh?"
"'Forever Only You' is the title you gave."
"That's true, but..."
"The title track of Evil Spirits was also your choice."
"Yeah. It was the best among the candidates."
The problem was that no one else had agreed.
So, he had run a blind test on former employees, and Namhun's choice had been correct.
The title track had received positive reactions, but the album tracks had not.
Wonhyung suddenly started tugging at his hair.
"Why?"
"Hey, man, do you have time today?"
"Huh?"
"Yuyeon and Yejun can come home on their own, right?"
Their house was near an elementary school anyway.
It was possible, but leaving them alone in an empty house still made him uneasy.
"I'll ask Sera. She said she has no schedule."
"Great. Then come with me for a bit."
"Where to?"
"The studio of the composer who made this song."
"What?"
"If things go according to plan, we'll get a decent connection. Come on."
In moments like this, Jo Wonhyung had real leader presence.
Namhun followed him without even realizing it.
* * *
The composer Kang Seongdae had originally been a singer and was a veteran in the trot scene.
He had written hits for countless singers, including the Trot Four Heavenly Kings, and acquired enough wealth to live comfortably.
But then his mindset had started to shift.
'Should I start a company too?'
He had been frustrated to see younger composers who were behind him opening their own agencies and succeeding.
'Some people get told they're boss material, while others just hear "trot factory manager."
Even a former junior who used to receive his taxi fare as pocket money had become the owner of a listed company and ignored his calls.
But trot had become a non-mainstream genre in the music industry more than twenty years ago.
So Kang Seongdae had tried to enter a new field.
But at his almost sixty years old, it was a realm he struggled to understand.
Hip-hop was trending among young people now, or K-pop, or whatever.
Actually, even during the rock, ballad, R&B, and dance music eras, he had faced the same situation.
Back then, trot had maintained its legacy centered around nights and nightclubs.
That's why he had always taken the solo trot path.
But now, even nights had almost disappeared, and clubs were treated like relics of the past.
Only hip-hop clubs were growing.
'The current atmosphere isn't great...'
At first, it had been a dream to hear the words "boss" from his boss.
But he was starting to feel it too.
The decline of the trot genre.
The main audience for trot was now over sixty.
Even the fifty-year-olds had grown up with pop and rock as new waves.
'This won't do.'
Fortunately, many people shared his view.
Not just trot, but also dance, ballad, R&B, and everyone in the industry who had failed to step into K-pop.
Some had given up their genre and moved to OST or music direction, but Kang Seongdae, a true trot person, couldn't do that.
So his only option was one.
'There's still demand for trot.'
If idols aimed at Musicpie, albums, YouTube, global markets, and university festivals, there were markets they couldn't conquer.
TV programs targeting high-age groups, local festivals, and events.
The upper generations of the Trot Four Heavenly Kings had mostly retired.
The current mainstream trot generation couldn't perform at many events due to health and body issues.
Imitation singers were active there.
That's how young trot singers began to appear and carve out niches.
Kang Seongdae had been looking for a promising young talent to fill that spot.
'If I create a young big star to swallow this market, I might revive the dying trot genre.'
Perhaps that was his lifelong mission in the trot world.
The talent he found was the main vocalist from girl group Crepas.
Jin Seryeon, twenty-four years old.
'Seryeon. What a nice name? She's attractive, young.'
Among creators, many relied heavily on intuition and feeling.
Kang Seongdae was one of them.
So Jin Seryeon had debuted under the stage name Seryeon.
It wasn't a bad thing for her.
With a successful composer and a substantial budget behind him, Kang Seongdae wasn't cheap.
Under his generous support, Seryeon had quickly adapted to the trot genre.
The problem was... that Kang Seongdae's age was too advanced.
The melodies he composed weren't bad.
There was a slight old-fashioned, tired feeling, but after Wonhyung's touch, they became cute and cheerful dance tracks suitable for newcomers.
Of course, the lyrics had many issues, but after Wonhyung and Seryeon persuaded her, she received lyrics that matched her image from a professional songwriter.
But the title had caused chaos.
"Boss... even if I think about it, 'You, there's a woman here who only looks at you' doesn't feel right."
Kang Seongdae snapped at Seryeon's words.
"How many times do I have to say it? The title cannot be changed! The feeling came through perfectly!"
"I don't feel it at all..."
"Do you know how many years I've been in this industry? When I say it, it's it. I accepted changes to lyrics and arrangement because they were better, but the title is perfect. It matches your image."
Despite her name Seryeon, she had a clean-cut appearance.
In the idol world where trendy looks were preferred, it didn't fit the current image, but in the trot scene it was exactly the type they loved.
"The song sounds recent, but the title sounds like an eighty's song. My stage name is Seryeon, so this is..."
"It works in this scene. The listeners are all my age. You probably can't understand the taste."
Kang Seongdae had lived by his intuition, so he worshipped it.
Of course, he had an open mind for better suggestions.
"Then think of a better title. If it's better, I'll change it right away."
This had been the same routine for months now.
The song and lyrics changed, but the title remained firmly in place.
She couldn't strongly object.
There was no "this is it" feeling.
To be honest, since it was her first trot song, she wondered if Kang Seongdae's opinion might be right.
'Ah... lunch time soon.'
'Eating out doesn't seem right.'
'I should order lunch soon.'
'You say it, bro.'
'This is something the maknae should handle.'
The awkward atmosphere in the office was getting heavier.
The office door suddenly burst open.
"Hyung, you haven't eaten yet?"
It was none other than Jo Wonhyung and Jang Namhun.
For the employees, they felt like saviors in this moment.