Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Debut Concept
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We moved to the third-floor conference room.
Director Lee, whom I’d met when signing the contract, entered the room with a man I hadn’t seen before.
“Hello, I’m Kim Jun-seong, the team leader for Team 2.”
Unlike the strict-looking Director Lee, he had a warm and friendly appearance.
“Alright, I’ll now explain the debut concept.”
The team leader pressed something in his hand, and the monitor in the center of the conference room flickered to life.
The first thing that appeared was the red-lit alleyway I had seen just a moment ago.
“The overall concept for this album is a city in ruins.”
It was a very unfamiliar concept.
‘Was this the original concept for RE-V’s debut song?’
I knew the song and choreography, but I had no knowledge of the music video or the overall concept, which made me doubt what I remembered.
*Click.*
With the sound of a button press, the screen changed.
This time, a series of animal images appeared.
“Didn’t you say the concept was a ruined city?”
Seeing the cute images that didn't seem to fit the concept at all, Park Ji-ham raised his hand and asked a question.
“It’s K-pop, so you have to have some bright elements. Each of you has an animal that symbolizes you. A hamster, a snake, a cat, a dog, and a white tiger.”
These were all the animals that had been officially pushed as our look-alikes on RED CUBE.
“These friends are like your guardian angels. You’ve seen things like that in cartoons when you were young, right?”
I had, of course.
Those kinds of cartoons were popular when I was a kid.
‘Come to think of it, was this the era when worldviews were in vogue?’
The sudden trend of creating worldviews was slowly fading out, only to pop up here and there.
With countless idol groups debuting every year, it was an unavoidable way to differentiate oneself.
“It’s not something as grand as a ‘worldview’; it’s just a concept.”
As if he had read my mind, the words I had been hoping for came from the team leader’s mouth.
‘What a relief.’
It wasn’t that I disliked worldviews, but this kind of concept wasn’t particularly welcome, so I let out a sigh of relief internally.
“And we’ll also be producing dolls based on your symbolic animals.”
“Dolls?”
“Yes.”
*Click.*
The sound of a button press was heard, and the screen changed again.
A lineup of dolls designed with our symbolic animals as a motif was displayed.
[Hamsy, Eun-snakey, Tig-jun, Ham-kitty, Yoon-goldie]
“Oh? They even perfectly recreated the mole on my cheek.”
Park Ji-ham said, pointing a finger at the mole on Ham-kitty’s right cheek, his voice full of wonder.
“We have to design them to resemble you as much as possible.”
Now that he mentioned it, they did seem to have a subtle resemblance to the members.
‘Do I look like that puppy?’
A golden retriever the color of scorched rice.
It was cute, but I wasn’t sure if it actually looked like me.
“It was tough producing these. The fans have been eagerly waiting for official merchandise, so we worked hard to prepare them.”
It was certain that the fans would love them.
I had seen posts complaining that the official merchandise from our activities before RED CUBE was not only ugly but also ridiculously expensive.
‘The merchandise design was pretty bad.’
They had slapped the group’s name in giant letters on a ridiculously large tumbler.
I really couldn’t understand the agency for trying to sell that to fans.
If they had at least made the name a bit smaller, people could have used it somewhere. But that thing was basically a public declaration that you were a fan of the idol group GANGSTER-M.
The same went for the photo shoots.
Excessive makeup and concepts.
Eyeliner that seemed to reach the temples and dark black eyeshadow that could rival a panda’s.
Who would have wanted to buy that?
‘There were also a lot of comments about the other members’ merchandise having poor image quality and a yellow filter, making them look like faded photos. It’s unavoidable that there’s a difference between merchandise from a small agency and a large one. Plus, it wasn't a small agency known for doing good work.’
“Now, let’s listen to the song first.”
“The song is already out?”
“We started preparing it when RED CUBE began broadcasting.”
This project had been in preparation for longer than I thought.
“You have to strike while the iron is hot.”
Director Lee nodded in agreement with the team leader’s words.
“The title is ‘MESS.’”
MESS.
Fortunately, it was the song I knew.
It was no exaggeration to say that this song heralded RE-V’s successful debut.
It had created a challenge craze with its intense melody and dance.
“Listen carefully and with focus.”
“Yes.”
The song began with a sound like an airplane taking off.
*Thump.*
A heavy drum beat resonated once.
—you messed up
everything is a mess
Even for me
This was the start of the song proper.
—Let's go somewhere
Sound effects that you would hear in a video game appeared throughout the song.
—Even without a destination
I walk endlessly
through this faded city
The members were concentrating on the song with serious expressions.
—Not knowing what I should do
I'm just following your words
“For your reference, this song was made by our agency’s artist, Leon.”
Leon.
It was no exaggeration to call him one of the founding contributors of JR Entertainment.
He was also the male solo artist currently at the peak of his popularity.
Leon, a singer-songwriter, showed exceptional talent in composing.
He was famous for having written and composed a third of his own songs.
Receiving a song written by him as our debut track was a great honor.
“Leon, our senior?”
“No way.”
“I told him about your story and made a special request. Leon also went through a lot to get to where he is now.”
The manager didn’t elaborate.
Leon’s story was so famous that everyone knew it without needing an explanation.
‘Leon, like me, debuted in a group but was left alone.’
The circumstances were a bit different, though.
In my case, the members left because they committed crimes, whereas Leon was unilaterally bullied by his members.
‘The severity wasn’t something to be taken lightly.’
It wasn’t just ostracizing one person; it was continuous verbal abuse and harassment.
Leon had silently endured it all for the fans, even developing depression.
Despite that, he quietly protected the group. But after his members brazenly claimed in an interview that they were close, only to return to the dorm and treat him as poorly as ever, he finally couldn't take it anymore and exposed everything.
At first, Leon also became a target of criticism.
There were more people than expected who claimed to be neutral, and the fans of the other members refuted the claims, saying it was nonsense.
‘They even treated him like he was crazy, saying he was having delusions due to his depression.’
Then, Leon released all the evidence.
An associate who felt sorry for him offered to be a witness and a whistleblower, which quickly turned the situation around.
People began to sympathize with Leon.
[??So they bullied him out of jealousy because he was the only one doing well? They deliberately made it so he couldn’t sleep? (Screenshot of a group chat where they intentionally set practice times when Leon was busy) Wow. They’re scum lololol. He was trying so hard on variety shows to get the group’s name out there even once. And they did this to him just out of jealousy lololol]
↳Besides, aren’t they releasing albums thanks to the money Leon earned?
↳Leon said that everyone just has their own timing and that he just got his start a little earlier…
↳Ah. This is so frustrating. All this time, I had no idea our boy was suffering… I didn’t know he was going through something like this. I naively believed them when they said the members were his source of strength, and I even prepared events and gifts for them so they wouldn't feel left out.
↳Seriously. We took such good care of the other guys so Leon wouldn't feel uncomfortable, and this is what we get in return. What have I been doing?
And so, after a lawsuit with his previous agency, Leon transferred to JR Entertainment.
He debuted as a solo artist right after.
His first solo debut was a massive success.
A talented singer-songwriter and all-rounder, backed by the support and sympathy of the public—there was no way it could fail.
Thus, he established himself as the top male solo artist.
“This is something to be so thankful for.”
“You know Leon doesn’t give his songs to other people easily, right?”
“Yes, that’s famous.”
“He’s very attached to his own songs, so he doesn’t give them to anyone he doesn’t know. This is a really special case.”
The team leader emphasized the words ‘special case.’
It was indeed a special occasion.
—You make me dizzy
and confuse me again
“We should thank him in person later.”
“That’s a great idea.”
At Jung Eun-woo’s words, the team leader’s face lit up.
—woo
You're covering my eyes so I can't find the answer
—I want to get the key to this question
“The song’s lyrics are about gaslighting.”
“Gaslighting?”
“Yes. The ruined city symbolizes a mind devastated by gaslighting, and the overall concept is gaslighting. It’s a story about being in an isolated state and moving toward a bright future with the help of others.”
—There's nothing as harmful and pretty as you
Before, I just thought it was a song about someone trying to find the answer to some problem.
After hearing the team leader’s explanation, I felt like I could understand the lyrics much better.
—You slowly eat away at me
and when I'm useless, you'll throw me away
just like gum
The first verse ended.
Perhaps because they were filming, the team leader stopped the song there.
“What do you think?”
“It’s amazing.”
“I’m really so excited.”
A flood of positive reactions poured out.
“We’ve also already received the choreography.”
“Already?”
“Yes. You just need to trust us and follow our lead.”