Chapter 163: Listen to My Song (2)
Chapter 163: Listen to My Song (2)
[Signs of a Rift Between KMB Drama Departments 1 and 2?]
[Monday-Tuesday vs. Wednesday-Thursday: How Intense Will the Internal Feud Be?]
Sunyang Media, an internet news outlet, was buzzing with the latest scoop.
The news was that the KMB Drama Department was splitting. There was clearly intense internal competition or some other underlying reason.
"It’s just factionalism," a fellow reporter said dismissively.
Han Seo-ryeong turned her head at the comment.
"The leading candidate for the head of Drama Department 2 is PD Baek Tae-soo. From what I gathered before, he and the president of KMB are alumni from the same university."
Seoul Baekcheon University of the Arts.
It was the most prestigious institution in Korea for those entering the broadcasting industry. Therefore, the colleague argued, the president was likely throwing his weight behind Drama Department 2.
"That’s true..."
Seo-ryeong agreed.
The drama PD Baek Tae-soo was in charge of was Grand Game. Meanwhile, the drama being pushed by the current head, Ha Tae-oh, was Sky Garden. At this point, anyone with half a brain could see the two were in a direct rivalry.
"You can tell just by looking at the teasers. Grand Game clearly had a much bigger budget."
In fact, that wasn't the only issue. Perhaps due to a sudden personnel reshuffle, the teaser for Sky Garden felt somewhat lacking in quality. Or rather, it felt like the editing skills were a bit subpar. It seemed like they had crammed in everything they needed to, but the execution was clunky.
"It must be a bit disappointing for you," her colleague said, offering some consolation.
Everyone at Sunyang Media knew Seo-ryeong was a fan of Seo-yeon. She consistently wrote articles whenever Seo-yeon was active.
"Well, you can't win them all. Her movie was a massive hit, and her previous drama did well enough. I should be satisfied with that."
It was meant as comfort, but it was the truth. The reason Seo-yeon was so popular in the industry right now was that she hadn't had a single definitive failure yet. Everything she appeared in performed at least above average. The three syllables of her name, Ju Seo-yeon, carried significant weight—whether it was in dramas, movies, or variety shows. Even cable variety shows had benefited from her influence.
"I don't think Sky Garden will flop, though. It looks like it'll be interesting."
The colleague patted Seo-ryeong on the shoulder and stood up with a warm Americano. The season was gradually turning chilly.
'...'
Feeling the change in the weather, Seo-ryeong toyed with her pen. The end of the year approaching meant that award ceremonies were just around the corner. Film festivals, entertainment awards—the season of honor for celebrities.
'Seo-yeon will definitely win something.'
Her colleague might be right. Seo-yeon had already been incredibly active throughout the year; Sky Garden didn't necessarily have to be a massive success. It didn't look like it would fail, either, so there was no need to worry.
However, as the end of the year nears, dramas or movies that hit late in the year tend to leave a stronger impression than those from the beginning. If Grand Game became a mega-hit now... the awards Seo-yeon should have received for Dream Future might go to someone else.
Sky Garden didn't have to succeed. But Seo-ryeong desperately wanted it to. That was the only way to truly solidify her position.
"And..."
Seo-ryeong began typing. It was an article about the recently released teaser for Sky Garden. While it had felt underwhelming at first, it was gaining renewed attention because a certain YouTuber had highlighted it as a potential sleeper hit. With over 1.4 million subscribers, his influence was considerable.
'I should be grateful to him.'
Seo-ryeong had already watched the video by that YouTuber, Bong-sik. Since they shared the same surname, she felt a strange sense of kinship with him. Regardless, as he said, Sky Garden felt more like something you'd see on a general programming channel.
Whether that would work in its favor or end up being merely "strange" remained to be seen.
*
Was it because the teaser had too much exposition? Or because there weren't many standout scenes? Still, the final scene where Lee Yu-ju and Gil Su-jin talked was praised for being quite impressive.
However, since people didn't know the context, many comments said things like, "It has a nice atmosphere, but I don't really get the plot." Instead, the gentle song playing during the dialogue received a lot of attention. Because the conversation was calm and not intense, the lyrics and accompaniment were much easier to hear.
Click, click.
"..."
Click, click.
"Stop looking it up."
Unable to watch any longer, Ji-yeon poked Seo-yeon in the ribs while looking at her script. Only then did Seo-yeon stop her frantic mouse-clicking. Seo-yeon was dead serious about ego-searching. She had taken a break for a while, but she had started up again with a passion—specifically, as soon as the song she sang started trending.
'She doesn't even look up reviews of her acting this much,' Ji-yeon thought.
It wasn't that Seo-yeon didn't look them up at all. If there was a scene she personally thought she nailed, she would look it up and secretly gloat. But she didn't bother for ordinary scenes. Ji-yeon figured it was because Seo-yeon had heard praise for her acting so many times that she was used to it.
'What a brat.'
Even as she thought that, Ji-yeon couldn't deny the truth of it. However, unlike acting, singing was something Seo-yeon used to be bad at. Seeing it receive praise seemed to make her exceptionally happy.
"But are you really going on Masked Singer?"
"Yeah. To promote the drama, too."
"I guess that’s not a bad idea. Especially since Grand Game is hogging all the buzz right now."
At Ji-yeon's words, Seo-yeon turned her head. Ji-yeon was rolling around on Seo-yeon's bed, listening to music with an earbud in one ear. Seo-yeon was confident that Sky Garden could win, even if they were lagging in buzz for now. That was the kind of drama it was. However, just in case, she was going to do everything she could. It would be incredibly frustrating if something went wrong because she was careless.
"What have you been listening to this whole time?"
Seo-yeon watched Ji-yeon, who had been listening to music with one earbud in for a while. Ji-yeon was visiting Seo-yeon's house for the first time in a long while. She hadn't originally planned on coming, but Seo-yeon had practically dragged her there—likely to make her listen to the song that was receiving so much praise.
But even the best song gets tiring after ten repeats. After listening to it, Seo-yeon had gone back to ego-searching, and Ji-yeon had started listening to something else.
"Oh, a singer I like just released a new song after a long time."
"A singer you like? An idol?"
"No, just a singer."
Apparently, she was a "vocalist" type. Seo-yeon had recently pondered what it meant to be a "vocalist," but since people rarely used that title unless the person was truly talented, the singer's skills were likely top-tier.
"Ju Seo-yeon, want to hear?"
"Sure."
Seo-yeon sat down beside her and took the wired earbud Ji-yeon offered. As their heads lightly touched...
"Why don't you use wireless?"
"Wireless isn't for listening to music, okay?"
'Then what are wireless earbuds for?' Seo-yeon wanted to argue, but Ji-yeon was quite serious about audio equipment. Come to think of it, Ramiel was also obsessed with audio gear. And she was a great singer, too.
Anyway, when it came to music, it had to be wired. Judging by the fact that Seo-yeon had never seen these earbuds before, they were likely incredibly expensive. The last pair she saw cost over a million won, so these were probably around that price... It was the only luxury Ji-yeon allowed herself.
"Oh, this is good. The sound quality really is different."
"Right?"
In a rare moment, Ji-yeon looked proud. With her temple pressed against Seo-yeon's, she turned her head slightly and smiled. Seo-yeon couldn't tell if she was happy because her earbuds were praised or because Seo-yeon liked the song.
The voice was incredibly clean. Having learned to sing herself, Seo-yeon knew immediately how difficult this song was to pull off. First of all, the notes were incredibly high. It was just that the singer sang them so effortlessly that they didn't sound high. On top of that, the vocal volume was rich and the technique was so seasoned that Seo-yeon could only marvel.
'Who is this?'
Seo-yeon wasn't particularly interested in singers. Most of the music she listened to was idol music, and even that was a recent development thanks to Cha Na-hee.
"Girls, do you want some fruit?"
Just then, Sua knocked and entered the room, holding a plate of fruit. Neatly sliced apples were arranged on the plate.
"Oh, yes."
Ji-yeon was strangely intimidated by Sua. As soon as Sua entered, she jumped up to take the plate. Sua laughed a bit awkwardly at Ji-yeon's reaction.
"Hm? Are you listening to music? Those are pretty earbuds."
Sua walked over to the flustered Ji-yeon. Ji-yeon was holding an MP3 player in her hand.
"Oh, it's not a phone? Do they still make MP3 players these days?"
"It's... it's an audio device. I use an amp with it too..."
"Can I have a listen?"
'Auntie.' It was a title that didn't suit Sua at all. The woman who had recently appeared on a variety show and caused countless middle-aged women across the country to have an existential crisis smiled gently, her face free of a single wrinkle.
"Yes."
At Sua's request, Ji-yeon glanced at Seo-yeon. Because Ji-yeon had jumped up so suddenly, Seo-yeon, who still had the other earbud in, had been dragged along.
'Hey, I barely got to listen to it,' Seo-yeon thought, but knowing Ji-yeon's weakness for Sua, she obediently took out the earbud and handed it over.
"Oh, the sound quality is..."
Sua's expression became quite peculiar as she stood there listening to the music. It was a look that was both welcoming and nostalgic.
"It's Yeo-hee."
"Oh, do you know her?"
Yeo-hee was the name of the singer Ji-yeon was listening to. She was a singer who had taken a long hiatus and recently released a new song. Ji-yeon had bought the album as soon as it came out and had been listening to nothing but Yeo-hee lately.
"I know her. I know her very well."
"Really?"
Sua didn't know much about celebrities. She liked the ones she liked, but she didn't know the details of the industry. Especially when it came to singers. Naturally, Seo-yeon was surprised. It was rare for Sua to know a celebrity.
Under their curious gazes, Sua slowly took out the earbuds and looked at the album jacket on the MP3 screen. It showed a glamorously styled Yeo-hee.
Looking at the image, Sua spoke with a soft smile.
"We were high school classmates."
*
"Hello, Actress Ju Seo-yeon!!"
Seo-yeon bowed her head to the tall, handsome man who greeted her with a bright smile. Though he looked quite young, she knew he was actually in his late thirties.
"I've told PD Lee so much about you. It was worth it!"
"Ah, thank you for thinking highly of me."
"Of course I do!"
The man spoke with a beaming face. He was PD Shim Kyung-hoon from the KMB Variety Department. He carefully observed Seo-yeon as she politely greeted him.
'She doesn't feel like a typical rising star.'
Though he was smiling brightly, his eyes were scanning her. People could be different from their reputations, after all.
'...His eyes are sharp.'
Others might not have noticed, but Seo-yeon realized that PD Shim had a very meticulous personality. Then again, for a show like Masked Singer where many people's identities had to be kept secret, the PD had to be thorough. One slip-up and an identity could be leaked.
But the sharp gaze was only momentary.
"I'm glad the opportunity finally came up. Especially since you're filming Sky Garden right now."
"I think it's a great opportunity as well."
Today's meeting was just a simple sit-down. PD Lee Min-hwa joined them later, making it a casual three-way meeting.
"As you know, every contestant on Masked Singer wears a mask. You can design it yourself, or we can make one for you."
"Is that so?"
"Do you have a design in mind? I actually brought a few drafts."
Seo-yeon felt a surge of internal anxiety.
'What if there's a gorilla mask or something?'
Whenever she searched her name online, videos of her "fighting" a gorilla often popped up. Thanks to her efforts to improve her image, it had decreased lately, but if she wore a gorilla mask now...
"How about this? I personally really like this one."
"Oh, it's cute."
PD Shim Kyung-hoon showed her a concept mask on the screen. Although it was called Masked Singer, it often involved full costumes and props, almost like a high-end Halloween outfit.
The one PD Shim showed her was a rabbit.
"It has red eyes, and I think it would suit you perfectly, Seo-yeon."
A Vorpal Rabbit.
In other words, a killer rabbit.
Seeing it, Seo-yeon felt a wave of satisfaction.
It was cute! And strong!
It was exactly the kind of thing Seo-yeon loved most.