Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: A Bold Proposal
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“I’m telling you, Lee Yoo-ah has massive potential!”
“That’s what you said when you were producing Answer, too.”
“Haaah…”
Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong leaned his head back against his chair and sighed in frustration.
“You kept sending Answer on those money-losing gigs for the troops that didn’t even cover travel expenses, saying they’d make it big that way.”
“Haaah…”
“What are you going to do about the trainee who’s been here for ten years? And the new ones you just picked? If this is how it’s going to be, you should just let them go.”
Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong couldn’t even muster a proper response to the department head’s words. Had he failed so many times that, even as the CEO, he’d lost his right to speak?
“Still, how can I just let them go… They all have potential…”
“You’re just giving them false hope.”
“…And Yoo-ah isn’t just a good singer, you know? She just turned twenty…”
“Twenty-one.”
“Twenty, twenty-one, what’s the difference! Anyway, that young kid is already writing her own songs.”
“…Let’s be real. Say Lee Yoo-ah makes it big as a solo artist. Is that going to make us any money? You need a group to sell tickets to fan signs or make and sell merch. How are you going to handle all the marketing costs? You already used the Doksan-dong property; are you going to sell the Majang-dong one next?”
The department head’s relentless attacks were making me feel sorry for the CEO.
“It just feels like such a waste…”
“…Haa… If you’re that set on it, how about forming a group with Lee Yoo-ah as the main vocalist? It looked like she could dance well enough, so with a little more practice…”
That would be a disaster for both Answer and Lee Yoo-ah.
“That won’t work!”
I shot up from my seat, startling the director I’d been talking to.
“I know Lee Yoo-ah well. She’s hit a wall with her dancing, and no amount of training will change that.”
The CEO and the department head stared at me, dumbfounded.
“What does a rookie know about limits? She looked like she could dance just fine at the audition.”
The department head said, looking utterly baffled.
Lee Yoo-ah had truly worked her hardest. Thanks to that, she had pushed her dancing to its absolute limit, but now, the only way forward was down.
“That’s because she practiced for a long time. As you know, to be in a group, you need to master choreography within a set timeframe, but Lee Yoo-ah can’t do that. That’s why she couldn’t debut in a group, despite her stunning looks and vocals.”
“…Who is this guy?”
The department head asked, crossing his arms.
“I was in the final debut lineup at SJ Enter. For the main vocal position in Fire Emblem, the group that just came out.”
The department head’s eyes widened. It seemed he was aware of the super rookie group from their competitor.
Clap!
“That’s right! That’s right! Min-jun, you were in a debut group, weren’t you? And it was Fire Emblem?”
Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong clapped his hands, beaming. Fire Emblem had been hailed as a super rookie group from the start and would go on to gain massive popularity overseas.
“We were trainees together, so I know her well. In fact, she came here on my recommendation.”
“Really? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“There was no need to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“No wonder you randomly borrowed a guitar on audition day.”
Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong’s expression turned serious.
“Still, what does a rookie know?”
“Let’s hear him out, Siljang Ji. It’s not like it’s costing us anything.”
When Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong spoke seriously, Siljang Ji closed his mouth.
“The reason the average number of members in recently debuted groups is increasing is…”
“Is a rookie lecturing professionals now? It’s about selling a 100,000 won gift set instead of a 50,000 won one for the same marketing cost. Are you kidding me?”
The department head said, pointing an accusatory finger, clearly offended.
“That’s right. We can promote two teams with a single marketing budget.”
“So how are you going to do that?”
“Siljang-nim, let’s just listen. He may be a rookie, but he seems to have been around the block.”
With the director stepping in, Siljang Ji sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“First, we need to quickly admit that Answer was a failure.”
“…”
The CEO’s face twitched for a moment.
“Instead of picking a new debut lineup, I believe we should give Answer—the members who were already carefully selected through public auditions—the right concept.”
“What’s wrong with their current one? A sexy concept hidden within an innocent…”
“Daepyo-nim. You said you’d listen.”
At the director’s words, the CEO adopted the same posture and expression as the department head. The pouting faces of grown-ups.
“We can’t overlook the fact that three members of Answer have already left. Sexiness should feel natural, not forced…”
The director was nodding emphatically in agreement, but seeing the CEO’s face grow increasingly stern, I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.
“I’ll get to the point. What if we make one song with two tracks? We mash up two songs of completely different genres into one.”
“……!”
"Anyone who likes even one of the two songs will remember both teams."
Their furrowed brows smoothed out, a sign that their interest was piqued.
“The concept would be the mystical world of ethereal girls, fitting Answer’s image, and in parallel, Lee Yoo-ah singing in the real world, sometimes together, sometimes apart. It creates a narrative link that allows us to promote both teams at once. Something like a project called ‘Answer x Lee Yoo-ah.’”
“…I can picture it.”
The director said, nodding as if an idea was forming in his mind.
“Yes. We take a pop-influenced song made by Lee Yoo-ah and a dance track from another composer and mash them up through arrangement…”
“Jiyun, sorry to bother you, but could you bring the keyboard from my desk?”
Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong suddenly made a phone call.
“Once the promotion period is over, they can also perform their individual songs separately. Conversely, it will also create opportunities to plan fresh, innovative events.”
By the time I finished my presentation, the department head who had dismissed me earlier had a completely different look on his face.
“That sounds like a good idea. I don’t think it’s ever been tried before, has it?”
An employee entered the planning office, handed a mini keyboard to Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong, and left. Don’t these people ever go home?
Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong suddenly started playing the keyboard, lost in his own world, while the department head and the director began a deep discussion.
“I’d like to add one more thing.”
I spoke softly, trying not to break the CEO’s concentration.
“What is it?”
The director, understanding my intention, whispered back, and the department head leaned in closer.
“We should start using an A&R system. Or, at the very least, we could try a song camp.”
“Ho. This young rookie knows a lot, doesn’t he?”
“But the CEO is against A&R. He lets us handle everything else, but he’s incredibly stubborn when it comes to production.”
“If it can’t be done, we have to make it happen, don’t we?”
Siljang Ji looked at me with an expression that said, ‘Look at this guy.’
“Isa-nim, this rookie talks like he’s much older than he is.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Isa-nim Lee Sun seemed pleased by Siljang Ji’s backhanded compliment. Perhaps I had seized my opportunity faster than I had originally planned.
Does Lee Yoo-ah know this wonderful news?
But telling her would be overstepping, right?
Being the only one with memories of the future wasn’t always a pleasant feeling.
It seemed my idea had won everyone over, as they all began to move busily. While I was studying the theoretical aspects of being a manager, a company-wide meeting was held.
“Chief Producer. You’re not making another risqué song, are you? Something like, ‘Beneath Lee Yoo-ah’s bright pop exterior lies the same sultry desires as anyone else’…”
Faced with Isa-nim Lee Sun’s sharp guess, Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong was speechless.
“See! Again! Please, just hold back this time.”
“I’m telling you, this one will be a real hit!”
“And not another failure?”
But the CEO’s stubbornness was formidable, so I subtly suggested a solution to the director.
In the end, she reached a compromise with him.
“Alright, let’s do this. For Answer’s song, we’ll get a few recommendations and decide by a company-wide majority vote. Including the trainees’ opinions.”
“A blind test, you mean? Fine! My song will be chosen in the end, anyway.”
Where did Daepyo-nim Park Jae-yong get all that confidence? Normally, the process would be to decide on a concept, produce a track that fits it, write lyrics for the finished melody, and then create the choreography.
The music video would be the final step, but thanks to the CEO’s stubbornness, we were making the song before even deciding on a concept. In any case, this led to JD Enter’s first-ever song competition.
Of course, I had no intention of missing this opportunity.
I couldn’t produce a full track with the equipment I had, but I could create a topline, which is arguably the most intuitive part of a song. Once the song is done, I’ll play it for Isa-nim and secretly borrow a studio.
Thinking about the future that lay ahead, I felt a happiness that went beyond mere joy.
* * *
A few more days passed.
I studied so much that I had practically mastered the songs and dances of all our artists. I was a person who valued trust, and I still had a promise I hadn’t kept.
No, it was more of something I’d said to myself than a promise.
“Isa-nim, I think I have a decent grasp of how the company operates now…”
“How long has it been? How could you know how the company works already?”
Isa-nim crossed her arms with a sullen expression.
Everyone in the company, including the CEO, knew to back down when Isa-nim Lee Sun crossed her arms. It was her undefeated combat mode.
“…I know I might sound arrogant, but I believe I can at least pull my own weight.”
“Min-jun, do you really have a thing for someone in Answer?”
“As I’ve said before, I don’t have the luxury for personal feelings.”
It was the conversation that had been cut short when the mashup meeting for Lee Yoo-ah and Answer had suddenly started.
Isa-nim tilted her head.
“Why do you want to do this so badly?”
Isa-nim’s attack.
Time for a counter.
“You said you were going to interview the members separately… Have you done that yet?”
“……”
Isa-nim had been busy drafting the initial plan for Answer and Lee Yoo-ah. There was no way she’d had time for interviews.
“…What on earth did Timjang Park do?”
The attack landed.
“You haven’t been able to yet… If you knew, Isa-nim, you wouldn’t have just let it be. You’re someone who cares about every single trainee who gets cut.”
My words made her expression stiffen slightly. It seemed she was now ready to listen to me.
“That day, there was an unbelievable amount of abuse.”
“Abuse?”
“Things like forcing them to get on their hands and knees, or to kneel.”
“What? He made the members do things like that?”
Her face was a mask of disbelief.
“…What you’re saying and what Timjang Park said are so different… I’m a bit thrown off.”
“It hasn’t been long since I joined, but I believe this company is staying afloat thanks to you, Isa-nim Lee Sun.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
Isa-nim asked, her expression indifferent.
“That you would never have hired a rookie who talks back to his superiors from day one. I held back at first, but when his words and actions became almost criminal, I had to stand up to him. And even though he grabbed me by the collar, I didn’t attack or even act defensively.”
As I expected, it seemed Isa-nim knew nothing about Timjang Park.
She listened to me intently. Though it had only been a few short days, the ideas I had proposed had clearly earned me a significant amount of trust among the company staff.
Time to raise the stakes.
“And this might be purely my own misunderstanding.”
“Go on.”
“I think I saw Timjang Park at SJ several times when I was there.”
“What?”
A look of surprise flashed across Isa-nim’s face.