Chapter 88
Chapter 88
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: The First Wave of Offers
-----------------------------------------------------------------
On the dark stage, the slow, lonely cello solo evoked a sense of desolation and frustration.
A spotlight shone down, revealing Your Girl’s main vocalist, Seyeon, in a pink dress. It was a Baroque-style gown that looked like it cost a pretty penny, with the front cut open like a miniskirt.
♪♬
Lascia la spina, cogli la rosa
tu vai cercando il tuo dolor
♪♬
“Whoa!”
The familiar melody of Handel’s “Lascia ch’io pianga” began to play.
Unlike the cacophony of the live venue, the cleanly edited sound was quite pleasant to listen to.
“Ugh, that…”
“Just listen. Even if she’s a brat who’s getting a boost from the sound system, it still sounds good.”
Choi Yoo-jun was the type to be on his friend’s side, ride or die.
It didn’t matter now, but it could become a major weakness later. I’d have to make sure to correct it.
*Gulp, gulp.*
The harsh beer flowed down Choi Yoo-jun’s throat.
A stream of positive real-time comments scrolled up on the broadcasting app.
The audience and judges alike cheered for Your Girl Seyeon’s musical-like performance.
-Are you really an idol? It felt like I was watching a play, no, a musical. Did you study classical singing?
-Yes! I did, until I joined SJ Enter.
-I knew it. That wasn’t a level you could reach without training. Judges, what did you think?
From the MC to the judges, everyone was busy praising the performance of Your Girl’s main vocalist.
-Yes. A real powerhouse has appeared. Was Answer next? The pressure must be immense. Let’s see if they can overcome it and surpass Your Girl… Here is Answer!
The screen first showed the interview Answer had filmed after coming off stage.
-What are your expectations for this Best Idol rookie special?
-That we’ve been given a great opportunity to show what we’ve got! We worked really hard.
-Are you confident you’ll win the first round?
-Ah… well…
It was definitely the interview we had done, but it felt strangely different.
The video cut off right at the moment Seul-bi had glanced at me, seeking my opinion.
The edit made it seem as if Answer was being arrogant.
“…Those bastards.”
“See? It’s weird, right?”
“…It should be fine after they see the performance. It was that good.”
After the interview, the stage was revealed, with Seol-ah bathed in a soft light.
“…We should have spent the money and gotten a real piano.”
“Ah… for real, a digital keyboard just doesn’t cut it.”
Seol-ah’s large, deep, sorrowful eyes contrasted with her purple hair, exuding an air of elegance.
The digital keyboard, standing in for a grand piano in front of the uniquely beautiful Seol-ah, was a regrettable sight both during the recording and now.
-Broadcast error. Who’s in charge of props? Not even an upright, but a digital piano?
-OMG, please don’t tell me the person above just called a grand piano a “wooden piano.” All pianos are made of wood because of the soundboard.
Seol-ah’s body, which had been synchronized with mine, seemed to flinch for a moment, and her emotional expression deepened.
♪♬
Seol-ah skillfully played a 1-3-6-4 chord progression, weaving a calm yet lyrical melody. Her coral lips parted, and a light seemed to sparkle.
Sadness poured out from between her slightly parted, white teeth.
♪♬
Your eyes, your nose, your lips
The touch of your hand on me
♪♬
Silence fell over the audience and the judging panel. The camera zoomed in for a one-shot of them staring blankly at the stage. It was clear they were captivated by Seol-ah’s blooming beauty and emotive vocals.
No matter how biased the main PD was towards Your Girl, he couldn’t have ignored a shot this good.
“Wow… it looks even more amazing on TV. So cool… She’s a completely different person when she sings.”
Choi Yoo-jun’s mesmerized praise sounded familiar, as if I’d heard it on the recording day, but it was a welcome sound no matter how many times I heard it.
Right now, Answer was practically an extension of myself.
Her white, delicate hands, immersed in emotion, flew across the keyboard, creating an overwhelming illusion that she was playing a classic grand piano.
♪♬
All those little things
Still remain in my heart, but
♪♬
Just as the audience and judges were completely drawn in, hyped by the beautiful piano melody and Seol-ah’s vocals…
A cheerful dance song suddenly flowed from Seol-ah’s lips.
The juxtaposition of the same melody, a deeply expressive face, and a sobbing delivery gave the viewers no sense of incongruity at first. But the moment they realized the lyrics were from a completely different dance track, the atmosphere flipped.
♪♬
Psycho, psycho
You’re a foolish
Psycho, psycho
♪♬
-Ahahahaha!
-Kyaa-hahaha!
-Puhahaha!
A judge who had shot up from his seat knocked his chair over. The “crash” sound effect was added with CG as a roar of laughter erupted.
The faces of the audience and judges, clutching their stomachs and clapping like mad, filled the screen. Choi Yoo-jun and I shot up from our seats as well.
Seol-ah continued to sing the dance song with a tragic expression, now even adding some of the choreography.
The screen showed that even the staff, including the camera director, couldn’t hold back their laughter.
It looked like it was filmed with a jib camera.
-Holy crap! Is she insane!
-Her expression is crazy lolololol
-She’s singing Psycho while crying?
-This is epic, absolutely epic!!!!
-Wow, I think I got abs from laughing so hard!
↳ +1
↳ +2
↳ +3
-Her acting is insane. How have kids like this not made it big yet?
I quietly posted Answer’s Tube address in the comment section.
-http//Answertube.com This is their Tube channel. It’s only been open for 30 minutes.
The subscriber count, which had been crawling up one by one, began to jump by the hundreds per minute.
Even before Answer was announced as the winner of the first part of *Best Idol*’s first round, an article from reporter Shin Dong-min was already up.
As a special feature on a popular variety show, it garnered a lot of attention.
-Starting today, you’re my number one. I love you, Answer.
-I saw them a long time ago and didn’t think they were all that, but seeing them today, they’re so pretty.
-Ugh, is being pretty all that matters? They’re singers, you should be looking at their singing and performance.
-I was wondering why they hadn’t made it with that level of skill, and then I saw they were raised by Park Jae-yong.
-lolololol fr, a classic Park Jae-yong product.
-That company is going to hit rock bottom if they don’t change their producer.
-Aren’t they already at rock bottom? Seems like they’ve been pushed out by all the new groups.
-Feels like Kim Sung-hoon is the only one working his ass off to make money. If he leaves, they’ll just crash and burn.
The conversation had been going well, but it suddenly veered off towards CEO Park Jae-yong. Figuring nothing good would come of this, I started typing a comment myself.
-They were a bit awkward at their debut, but wasn’t this performance amazing? I heard a different person is producing their new album.
-Is the person above a JD part-timer? How do you know so much?
-First of all, it’s ‘know,’ not ‘no.’ And I know because one of their security guards is an acquaintance of mine.
-lolololol He knows because his acquaintance is a security guard. That’s hilarious.
-fr, must be nice having a security guard for a friend, so reliable, right? lol
An incredulous laugh escaped me, but at least I had managed to change the topic in the comment section.
We had finally entered the mainstream.
***
It was early in the morning, and we were on our way to the salon.
As the winners of the first part of *Best Idol*, they had a radio appearance on their schedule.
It wasn’t a viewable radio show, but a rookie showing up with no makeup could give off the impression of being rude.
There wasn’t much conversation among the members, but smiles were plastered on their faces.
“Congratulations again, artists.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Oppa! And the necklaces are soooo pretty! Thank you, really!”
Led by Seul-bi and Ro-si, bright replies came back. The sight of them taking off their necklaces to show me made the money feel well spent.
“Oppa, Oppa! Did you see the comments?”
“Yes. Most of them were positive.”
“And we haven’t even started promoting the new song yet…”
Once the members started talking, the van filled with cheerful chatter, and time flew by.
I parked the car in the lot and we entered the salon.
“Oh! Hello! You’re Answer, right!”
“Yes.”
A new staff member, still unfamiliar to us, greeted us with a bright smile, and the members’ faces filled with confidence.
“I saw *Best Idol*! You’re all so pretty.”
“Thank you.”
As Seol-ah smiled and bowed her head, the staff member looked overjoyed.
“Oh my gosh! I loved the song. It made me cry from emotion, then cry from laughing so hard…”
“Ae-hyun, what are you doing right now?”
A senior staff member who had approached unnoticed glared at the rookie and spoke.
“Ah! I’m sorry.”
-The lovely members of Answer have arrived!
The momentarily intimidated rookie spoke into her headset.
“Answer, this way please.”
The senior staffer’s cold expression instantly softened as she guided Answer.
“Hello, ma’am.”
“I watched the show too. You were all so good. To be honest, Your Girl comes to our salon too, you know? But I bet everyone here was rooting for Answer.”
The members looked even more delighted at the staffer’s whispered words.
“Thank you so much.”
“Oh, please. Don’t mention it.”
The staffer’s gesture was surprisingly cute, and the Answer members let out small laughs.
“It’s all thanks to our manager.”
“Right, right. Ever since our super handsome manager joined, Answer has really blossomed.”
At Seol-ah’s words, the staffer looked at my face and spoke with a warm smile.
“And you must be busy, so from now on, get your hair washed here. You barely have time to sleep, when are you supposed to wake up and wash your hair? You can get a little more sleep while we shampoo it for you. Got it?”
“Whaaa, really?”
“Wow!”
Seul-bi and Ina said with wide grins.
This completely different treatment made me realize once again what a huge deal appearing on *Best Idol* was. If this was the reaction just from winning the first part of the competition, how would things change when the episode announcing their first-round victory aired?
“I have a meeting, so I’ll be back. If I can’t make it in time, I’ll send Yoo-jun, so just know that.”
“Okay! See you later, handsome manager!”
Leaving Seul-bi’s bright farewell behind, I headed out the entrance and glanced back. A quiet sense of emotion washed over me as I saw Answer, surrounded by the salon director and several staff members, their faces beaming.
⋮
I arrived at the company.
A meeting this early in the morning, and it wasn’t even the monthly one?
Was it a strategy meeting because commercial offers were flooding in for Answer?
“Yo, Min-jun! No, Team Leader Min. That was fun, huh?”
“Hello, Team Leader Choi. Did you watch it?”
Team Leader Choi gave me a thumbs-up.
“Of course. Man, when did those little crybabies transform like that? I was shocked. You planned the concept well, but Seol-ah, seriously, wow…”
Team Leader Choi was the type to speak without a filter, but he wasn’t a malicious person.
“Head on in. You got this.”
“You work hard too, Team Leader Choi.”
“You bet… Oh, Director-nim. How have you been?”
Team Leader Choi suddenly took a call and walked away.
I entered the planning office.
CEO Park, Director Lee, Manager Ji, and Team Leader Lee were looking at the wall-mounted monitor. It seemed to be a proposal for a music video.
“Good morning.”
“You’re here. Have a good holiday?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, sir, I did.”
CEO Park Jae-yong smiled as if pleased to see me.
“The reaction to Answer has been insane. A commercial offer came in right after the holiday ended.”
“Really?”
My voice came out excited before I could stop it.
For an entertainer, the biggest sources of income were events and CFs.
Team Leader Lee’s expression turned strangely uncomfortable.
“Then we’ll confirm with Bling for the music video.”
“Yes. Since we’re behind schedule, I was planning to go see them tomorrow.”
On the table where I was to sit, there were four file folders. Commercial proposals, printed on fresh paper instead of scrap, even though they could have just used a tablet PC.
“As you can see, these are the offers that have come in for Answer as of 10 minutes ago.”
The Director spoke with an excited smile, his usual charisma replaced by undisguised glee. He seemed to be in a very good mood.
One for a hangover cure, two for ice cream, and one for a points membership program.
“Normally, we’d just choose one ourselves, but we called you in since you played a big part in Answer’s growth. I hope you can be of help.”
CEO Park Jae-yong nodded with a magnanimous smile. Then, his expression instantly shifted, and he opened his mouth with a serious look.
“Alright, let’s get down to business. The hangover cure is 30 million won for one year, Smile Ice Cream is 35 million for one year, Latte Ice Cream is 50 million for one year, and the Quarter Points Membership ad is offering 55 million won for one year.”
“Whoa.”
A gasp escaped my lips at the mention of 55 million won, an unimaginable sum for a rookie group. My heart was pounding.
The advertisers’ response was incredibly fast, considering the group had only just garnered some attention from the first broadcast. Of course, they were technically experienced rookies.
Was this a sign of their foresight, predicting that our Answer would succeed?
If so, you people have a good eye.
“Don’t be so surprised. Let’s look at the hangover cure first.”
CEO Park Jae-yong picked up the proposal, acting nonchalant as if it were nothing.
The proposal was laid out in order: 1. Situation Analysis, 2. Target Audience, 3. Concept Proposal, but I flipped straight to the concept.
I frowned at the C-list sensibility of the proposal, which was so focused on a sexy concept that it was hard to tell if it was for a hangover cure or a male enhancement drug.
“I was planning to filter this one out myself before the meeting. I assume you feel the same, Min-jun?”
“Yes. Even if Answer had maintained a sexy concept, this is an ad they should never do. It would ruin their image in one go.”
I felt a surge of resentment towards the company that had offered such an ad to Answer.
CEO Park Jae-yong set that file aside and picked up a new one.
“This one seems urgent, so let’s decide on it first. They asked for a decision by this morning, right?”
“Yes. They said they want to finish filming within the month and have it air on a major network.”
It seemed the Director had received the initial offer.
“Striking while the iron is hot, I see. Hey, I heard this was trending in the online communities, and it came to our Answer? For their first commercial, too.”
CEO Park Jae-yong’s face twitched with pleasure.
I also picked up the file with a happy heart, but the moment I did, a strong, ominous light began to flicker from it.