Freyja's True Voice
At this point, I figured I'd pretty much won him over. Two days ago, when I recorded and sent the sample to the publisher, I'd focused solely on getting it done quickly. We had to pitch "Please use us for this" as soon as possible, so I recorded it as close to the original as I could. And while doing it, I thought, 'Yeah, it really doesn't suit her.'
Freyja's character song was the polar opposite of Haeun's style—a cutesy, babyish voice was the whole point. So even when Haeun tried her best to mimic it, it came out awkward and the quality suffered. 'It's like watching those huge tits squeezed into a kindergarten uniform. The weird thrill from the mismatch is nice, but objectively? Total miss...'
Still, I couldn't ask for more. Haeun was the type who'd throw a fit and storm off a shoot if she didn't like the photographer. For her to grit her teeth through the obvious distaste and still give it her all? That was plenty.
'What a shame.' If we were singing for an ad anyway, it'd be ideal if she nailed it perfectly and left a strong impression burned into people's brains.
'Weird, though. Her performance during the ad recording synced so well with Freyja. So why doesn't the character song style fit her?'
Wait a second. Haeun's vibe matched Freyja's image perfectly, but the song didn't...? Character songs are supposed to follow the character's image, so a gap like that felt off.
'Hold on...' If I played this right, it could be a great chance to promote Haeun.
Back to the present, in the waiting room outside the recording studio. I locked eyes with Section Chief Song and pressed on.
"When you think about the character Freyja, doesn't singing in this style fit her better?"
In the game, Freyja was a proud female warrior, so a cool, energetic singing style suited her perfectly.
"Is that so...?"
"Remember Haeun's Freyja acting from last time?"
"Of course."
"The reason that performance worked was because Freyja's a cool character, and Haeun pulled off that cool vibe perfectly."
"Huh? But the ad footage we shot was mostly Freyja getting overwhelmed and conquered, right?"
"Exactly. The gap comes from a cool, confident female warrior suddenly blushing and falling—that's what fans love, so that's what we filmed."
Freyja's core character is cool. That's why Haeun's acting nailed the "normally aloof and chilly, but shows a shameful gap when conquered" dynamic.
It's what made fans go wild for lines like "Kuh, kill me!" or her rare cute moments, spawning a flood of doujinshi emphasizing those bits.
"But that gap only works if you establish the original character first. You have to show the cool, powerful image properly for the other side to have any flavor, right?"
Taming a strong girl is fun because she's strong to begin with. If she starts off weak, it's boring. From experience... ahem, anyway, I knew it well enough.
"So for a character song that reveals her basic traits, singing in this style makes sense? Not the cute version?"
"Exactly."
Section Chief Song crossed his arms at my words.
"Hmm... You're not wrong..."
He wasn't opposing my interpretation so much as worrying if straying from the original was okay. Halfway there—I just needed a little more convincing.
"I analyzed the YouTube comments on the original song."
"What? You did that too?"
"Yeah, while researching Freyja's character. I summarized it here—take a look. The reactions are kinda mixed."
I pulled up the prepared data on my phone and showed it to him.
"Our local communities have similar reactions..."
"Yeah... lots saying it doesn't fit."
"Exactly. People see the current character song as mismatched for Freyja. That's why there are quite a few covers out there."
This time, I pulled up a list of amateur covers on YouTube...
"This one's the highest-rated cover. Give it a listen and compare."
"Mm... sure, let's try."
I handed him the earbuds and played a version sung in a style close to Haeun's.
"Ho, hmm... similar vibe. Not bad..."
"Right?"
That sealed it. I kept persuading Section Chief Song.
"Unnie, water here..."
Meanwhile, inside Da'o Entertainment. Shin Soye and Park Minji were taking a break during dance practice for their second album's title track.
"Thanks, Minji."
Soye smiled as she took the water from Minji and drank. Minji sneaked a glance at her face.
"Unnie... you feeling okay...?"
"Huh? No, nothing like that. Did I seem off during practice?"
"Not really... but you look kinda low-energy..."
Soye gave a weak smile at Minji's words.
"I just... wished I could've gone to that recording with you."
"Together...?"
"Yeah. It would've been nice if we could've covered that game opening too, like Sejin said."
Soye wanted success as an idol too. After years of grinding, that desire burned strong in her. Missing even small opportunities like this stung.
"Yeah... me too..."
Minji's voice held regret too—mostly because she couldn't snag work from her favorite game.
"With this recording, Haeun's gonna get tons of gigs from that side."
"Unnie could get some too... right? In that game, there are characters that'd suit you... like Hera or Ishtar..."
Soye would land jobs like Haeun. She smiled at the encouragement and wrapped it up.
"Yeah, Sejin'll bring 'em to me. Alright, back to practice."
"C-can we rest a bit more...?"
"No. Don't slack—let's do one more round."
"Hiiing..."
Yeah, they'd just keep grinding at what they could do now. Then jobs would come their way too.
'It's just the start—gotta stay calm, no getting antsy.' Soye soothed herself and refocused on practice.
The recording wrapped successfully. Haeun poured her style into it and nailed the song, and I finally convinced Section Chief Song.
"We'll send the new-style version to HQ along with the original mimic. Whether they pick it or the straight cover is up to them..."
I'd turned a publisher staffer into someone proactively pitching extra work to his bosses. I'd done all I could.
On the way back to the company after wrapping...
"How'd you make it go your way? Even got the okay sign right away."
"'Cause you sang it great."
"Liar—empty words."
"No, for real."
"...Hmph."
Embarrassed by the praise, Haeun grumbled pointlessly.
"I already told you—your singing style matches the character's original personality, so they'd love it if you did your thing."
"Mm, I get that part doesn't click. The original was clearly cute..."
"They just botched the character interpretation on the original."
"So you're saying your take was god-tier?"
"That too."
"Show-off~"
Her tone sounded mocking, but I could feel the praise underneath.
"But do you really need to hustle this hard?"
"The cover?"
"Yeah. We're swamped with lessons for the second album comeback."
"That's why I'm doing it."
"Huh?"
Haeun shot me a "what're you on about?" look.
"If we time it right, the ad and our title track MV release could line up perfectly."
"So?"
"Synergy. The more your face pops up everywhere, the more attention draws to the group."
One girl group drops a title track. Versus: one girl group drops a title track, and hey, isn't that face from an ad? Double—no, triple the promo effect.
'Wait, I saw her here... and there too? She famous or something?' Curiosity sparks linkage.
"Lots of gamers are idol fans too, so the promo'll hit hard."
"Ah~ Turning their game ad into my ad too?"
"Yep."
"Smart cookie, Sejin."
"Just... doing my best."
No guarantee it'd pan out as planned, though.
Japan, at Forest Games HQ—the developers of Grand Ragnarok. The overseas publishing manager was reading the email that had landed in his inbox.
"Ho ho... interesting."
The manager was impressed by the Korean email. Publishers usually half-assed things or quietly shirked work, so this proactive pitch with options was refreshing.
With a favorable mindset, he checked the song file right away—and it blew him away.
"...Oh? Feels good."
"Whatcha doing, senpai?"
"Ah, the Koreans sent a new character song recording for the ad... pretty solid. Listen."
He played the file for his junior staffer.
"How is it?"
"Super cool? Total Freyja."
"Right? Matches the new recording style. Might approve this for the ad."
"I like it. Way better than that crap from China last time—100x."
"Cool, send the approval then..."
"Whispering over something naughty?"
"Naughty? Just work... Eek, Director?!"
The two jumped at the sudden director's appearance, but composure returned fast. He was notorious for wandering the office hunting fun.
"Something good?"
"Give this a listen. Korean ad recording—feels spot-on."
They played the song for the director...
"Hmmm..."
His expression shifted slightly as he listened.