How Is That Guy?
I moved Park Yu-hyeon, the head of the department, along the route I had already laid out.
"If you’re going to push a double title track, then we’ll need to split the album concept in two too, Won Chief Manager."
The walk from the lobby entrance to the makeshift stage room took ten minutes.
For those ten minutes, Park Yu-hyeon kept firing questions at me without pause.
They weren’t the sort of questions that dug too deeply, so they were easy enough to answer.
"So I split the album concept into two sides."
"Into two sides?"
"Yes. We’ve put the first title track, Attention, front and center, and set Youth Travel apart with a different concept so it feels more like the finishing touch."
Park Yu-hyeon nodded.
"As long as the distinction is clear, that doesn’t sound bad. From the fans’ perspective, it’ll feel like they’re getting two gifts."
With that positive response from Director Park, we reached the makeshift stage room.
I hurried ahead and opened the door.
Park Yu-hyeon came in after me at an unhurried pace.
Choi Jeong-eun, looking half out of her mind, was about to follow him without thinking, so I caught her by the wrist.
"Director Choi."
"Y-yes?"
"Pull yourself together. Why are you spacing out when the department head is asking about the album?"
Her eyes went wide.
"S-sorry. I’m sorry..."
"It’s fine. Just keep your head in it from here on out."
"Ugh... I don’t know why I get so nervous around high-ranking people."
She wasn’t exaggerating. Choi Jeong-eun was literally trembling from the chin down.
I was worried about her condition, but I couldn’t afford to waste time because of her.
She was right next to me anyway. If she made a mistake, I’d cover for her on the spot.
I went into the makeshift stage room and took a seat beside Park Yu-hyeon.
The real questioning started.
"The Attention concept colors were vivid, right?"
Fortunately, my concern had been unnecessary.
"Yes, that’s right, Department Head."
"How did you decide to handle the concept styling?"
"We went with Y2K retro, and for the colors, we matched them to the theme of Attention with light blue and yellow..."
Choi Jeong-eun started doing her part.
After letting out a breath of relief, I took out my smartphone.
I sent the message to Lee Ye-ji as planned, then muttered to myself.
That’s everything I can do.
Right.
As a manager, I’d done everything I could.
From here on out, it was To.Any’s turn.
That worried me a little...
but my expectations were swelling too.
If the stage quality came out anything like it had at the final rehearsal, I was confident I could surprise Park Yu-hyeon.
Then Park Yu-hyeon set down the tablet PC he had been holding and said,
"You’ve prepared well."
"!"
"The album structure is perfect, and for a music video with one member suddenly missing, the result is still more than decent..."
Park Yu-hyeon trailed off, then lifted the corner of his mouth.
"But whose idea was it to rent this makeshift stage room?"
Choi Jeong-eun whipped her head around to look at me.
...I had no choice but to raise my hand.
"That was my idea, Department Head."
"If you went as far as renting a stage, I assume you even got the girls into wardrobe?"
"Yes. They’re already done with makeup and hair too."
"So you wanted to show me the actual set-up? That was the idea, then?"
"Yes, sir."
Park Yu-hyeon burst out laughing.
"I like it. So long as they don’t make a mistake."
That wasn’t praise. It had teeth.
In another way, it meant everything up to this point had been perfect.
And I had confidence in the stage too.
Park Yu-hyeon crossed one leg over the other and said,
"The first stage is Attention, right? Get the girls ready and send them out."
The mid-check had begun.
***
Under the dazzling lights, To.Any stepped onto the stage.
"Hmm..."
Interest flickered in Park Yu-hyeon’s eyes.
"That girl with the black hair is..."
"Seol Chae-i."
"She’s got a good visual."
I nodded.
Our maknae could be a little sharp-tongued, but she really was a face genius.
"She’s handling the center visuals in place of the member who caused trouble."
"The girl with the bob is the rapper, right?"
"Yes. That’s Nova."
"And the leader..."
I answered quickly.
"The one with the brown hair is Ga-eul."
"She looks much better in person than in her profile photos."
I strongly agreed with the department head’s praise.
Her real name was Ga-eul too.
Even with the stage name being Ga-eul, she didn’t exactly photograph well.
Then Ga-eul walked to center stage, grabbed the mic, and shouted,
"...One, two, three. Two steps to the top! Hello, we’re To.Any!"
Park Yu-hyeon let out a small snort of laughter.
"That’s their greeting chant?"
"Yes, sir."
"Two steps to the top... hmm."
He glanced sideways at me.
"Sounds like it means they’re going to reach the top, hit number one on the music charts, something like that, right, Won Chief Manager?"
...That wasn’t what we’d meant when we made it.
But hearing Park Yu-hyeon say it, that’s how it felt.
Director Park isn’t easy to read.
In a different way from Representative Baek, he was the kind of person who could drain you dry.
Then the lights cut out with a sharp snap, shifting the mood.
Park Yu-hyeon’s gaze moved to the stage.
I turned with him and saw To.Any standing beneath soft pink lighting.
"Are they starting right away?"
"Yes, sir."
As I answered, my throat bobbed hard.
So this was it.
Would they be able to pull it off?
No, just don’t get so nervous that you can’t perform, even if you miss something.
One of the most unjust things in the world is failing to show your real ability on the main stage.
But in the professional world, even that becomes part of the evaluation.
No matter how hard you try, if nerves make you stumble, all that effort can vanish in an instant.
So I prayed with everything I had.
Don’t shake. Show everything you’ve got.
Enjoy the stage itself, just like we talked about at the end.
Then the beat hit hard.
Attention, all eyes on me,
Attention, this moment belongs to me.
When the shining spotlight falls on me,
Attention, I’m the star in your heart.
Park Yu-hyeon’s shoulders gave a tiny twitch.
While monitoring that slight reaction in real time, I watched the girls’ stage too.
This night won’t end,
Feel this moment with me and you.
Take my hand, come closer still,
This is the moment we’ll remember forever.
The choreography was stiffer than usual.
There were signs that they were holding back a little in parts where they could have pushed harder, too...
But there were no glaring mistakes.
So far, they were delivering a stage worthy of the work they had put in.
Without realizing it, I clenched both fists when Park Yu-hyeon muttered,
"Their fundamentals are solid."
The corner of my mouth lifted slightly.
"Last time I saw them, the blocking and part distribution were a bit lacking... but it looks like that’s been cleaned up too."
Should I add something?
I thought about it, then decided to stay quiet.
It seemed better to let the girls stay fully focused on the stage rather than split their concentration with unnecessary commentary.
Then Ga-eul’s explosive vocals cut clean through the performance!
Right now, in this moment, feel me with everything you have!
...That tore it apart.
Even I, who had seen hundreds of stages, got chills from that shout just now.
And of course Park Yu-hyeon didn’t need to be told twice.
"..."
The man who had come to evaluate them was staring, eyes wide.
In that instant, I knew.
It’s done.
The first title track.
The Attention stage had succeeded.
The music ended and the performance came to a close.
"...Thank you."
Ga-eul bent forward in a bow, breathing hard.
Watching her, Park Yu-hyeon murmured,
"...More than I expected."
"Pardon?"
"The stage quality is good."
"!"
"At this level, you could almost push this alone instead of making it a double title track."
I barely held back the twitch in my lips.
"Thank you, Department Head."
"I’m looking forward to the next stage."
Park Yu-hyeon looked at me quietly.
"The next one is Youth Travel, right? The song you personally asked the representative to push as a double title track?"
"Yes, sir."
"How is it? Confident?"
I worked my lips for a moment, thinking.
Was I confident about the next stage?
I was.
Youth Travel was the stage we had polished far more obsessively than Attention.
So I answered with confidence.
"Yes. I think you’ll be able to look forward to it."
Park Yu-hyeon burst out laughing.
"I like how full of confidence you are, Won Chief Manager."
"Thank you."
"Then shall we watch it right away?"
His body leaned forward.
As if he were warning me that the mid-check truly started now.
"Let’s see the Youth Travel stage you worked so hard on, Won Chief Manager. Go ahead and start."
The main stage began.
***
The first time I heard Youth Travel, my impression was simple.
This is a good song.
It felt different from the idol songs that were popular these days.
There was no addictive hook, no crushing beat, no flashy melody.
Even the lyrics were entirely in Korean, without a single line of English.
In one sense, it was pleasant to listen to. In another, it was almost plain.
Which made me wonder, all of a sudden:
Could a song that was merely pleasant actually take first place in a music market so saturated with stimulation?
I got my answer the moment I saw it live.
Youth Travel was a song that sounded good, yes, but it was also perfectly built for live performance.
And unlike many girl groups these days, To.Any had real fundamentals.
They were one of the few girl groups who could sing with handheld mics while dancing!
Their true strength showed itself onstage.
Youthful days, our own journey
A heart swelling with excitement
Days full of sunlight
Enjoy this moment, right now.
Park Yu-hyeon, who had been evaluating every second of the To.Any stage, hadn’t opened his mouth for a while now.
By then, now that the tension had finally loosened, the girls had started letting loose too.
On this night where the stars shine,
You and I can be together.
We’ll ride the sea of youth
Like waves, together.
Four girls singing for just three audience members.
Their four distinct tones were bound together by Youth Travel and created something beautiful in its harmony.
Their expressions, gestures, and lip-sync all looked far more natural than they had during the rehearsal.
I rubbed my goosebump-covered arms and muttered,
...Why are the girls this good?
I had expected a good stage.
They had spent the past few weeks practicing like their lives depended on it.
But this stage...
They’re too good, aren’t they??
Was I overreacting?
No.
Proof of that was the fact that even Park Yu-hyeon, sitting next to me, was fully enjoying the performance.
I turned my gaze slightly and looked at Choi Jeong-eun. She suddenly shot both thumbs up.
In-credible!
It was only a lip movement, but the meaning came through clearly enough.
At that moment, my heart started pounding.
Thump-thump
Now I wasn’t so much worried as curious.
What would be Park Yu-hyeon’s first line after seeing Youth Travel?
As my anticipation kept rising, the Youth Travel stage came to an end.
Park Yu-hyeon, who had watched the whole thing without blinking once, finally moved his eyes.
His mouth opened slowly.
"Hm."
"!"
...What?
That wasn’t the answer I expected.
Then Park Yu-hyeon muttered,
"This song, Youth Travel..."
"..."
"It’s good."
"!"
That short sentence sent my heart dropping straight through the floor.
"Thank you, Department Head."
"Strange... why would the former director not know a song like this?"
"..."
"Well, considering he was the kind of man who was doing filthy things inside the company, I suppose it makes sense."
Park Yu-hyeon turned sharply and looked at me.
"Suddenly, this feels a little chilling."
"...Pardon?"
"If it hadn’t been for you, Won Chief Manager, we would’ve missed this song, wouldn’t we?"
"!"
"When I think about that... yeah, it’s a little chilling."
My heart, which had sunk with a thud, started pumping again.
Sensing the rush of adrenaline, I asked,
"Then, Department Head..."
Park Yu-hyeon answered at once.
"Prepare the showcase like this."
"!"
"You both worked hard, and To.Any did too. The stage was excellent."
It was the highest praise possible from a department head.
After that, everything moved fast.
The heavy atmosphere broke into laughter, and Park Yu-hyeon held a question-and-answer session with the girls.
There was a brief incident where Rei, whose tension suddenly snapped, collapsed to the floor, but it was the kind of thing everyone could laugh off.
After the mid-check was over and Park Yu-hyeon was on his way back to Baekhak headquarters, he patted my shoulder and said,
"Good work, Won Chief Manager."
"!"
"Today’s stage was good, but your handling was excellent too. Keep doing it like this."
Without meaning to, I held my breath.
I was acknowledged.
My chest swelled a little.
Because I had been acknowledged by Park Yu-hyeon, one of the legends of this industry alongside Representative Baek Ji-won.
"...Thank you, Department Head."
"See you at headquarters."
After Park Yu-hyeon left, I let out a long breath alone.
"...I’m kind of dazed."
I hadn’t sorted out my emotions, and I hadn’t even sorted out the situation I was in.
So I decided to just enjoy it.
I stood there blankly, savoring the afterglow from a moment ago, when my smartphone rang.
After checking the message, I burst out laughing.
"Ha ha..."
Wow...
So that’s how it was going to be?
The results of the past few weeks of running hard all came at once.
Before I knew it, I was muttering to myself,
"Perfect."
That’s how it felt to me.
That day had been the most perfect day in Kwon Chan’s life.
***
That evening, after To.Any’s mid-check had ended.
In the middle of the city, where rows of gray buildings stood packed tightly together, Representative Baek, watching the night view from the top floor of a glass-walled high-rise, murmured,
"It looks like Queen of Joseon may go past 25 percent viewership."
While decanting red wine, Park Yu-hyeon said,
"The ratings are at 23 percent now. If nothing goes wrong, 25 percent is practically guaranteed."
The corner of Representative Baek’s mouth lifted.
"You said you went to the training center today?"
"Yes. It was an outside visit after a long time, so they were excited."
"How was it?"
"To.Any was better than expected. At this level, if we push promotion a little harder..."
Representative Baek cut him off.
"No, not To.Any."
The representative, who had been looking out the window, turned her body around.
"What does Park Yu-hyeon think of the manager in Management Team 5, that kid Kwon Chan?"