Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Chapter 10. Fireworks
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A few days after hearing about Min-jun.
We were gathered in the practice room, having lunch.
"Here, everyone. Dig in."
Bijoo beamed as he passed around the lunchboxes.
The boxes looked high-end just at a glance. And the contents? Mouthwatering at first sight.
Fried chicken karaage, smoked duck, bulgogi, and more.
"I love you, hyung!"
Ji-ho ripped open his wooden chopsticks with an ecstatic look on his face. I gave Bijoo my thanks too.
"Tell your dad we're grateful."
The lunchboxes we were eating had been sent over by Bijoo's father.
He must have wanted to express his gratitude in his own way—ever since the surgery, Bijoo's family had been sending us these pricey meals every so often.
"How's Min-jun doing?"
"Don't even ask."
Bijoo waved it off with a laugh.
"He's so excited about starting school next year. He's already nagging his mom and dad to buy him a backpack. His mom sends pictures every day, and the kid's face just gets brighter by the day."
I hadn't seen the photos, but I could picture it.
Just look at Bijoo's face right now—it was sparkling.
A proud, ticklish warmth swelled in my chest for no reason.
"Oh, right."
Bijoo, who'd been bragging like a proud parent for a good while, changed the subject.
"I ran into Manager Yoon downstairs earlier. He said to stick around after lunch. He's got some things to pass along."
"Things to pass along? Oh, right. Meeting today."
The meeting where all departments gathered to plan promotions for our debut album.
Call it a strategy check-in.
New Black's album was down to just the cover shoot and MV filming.
Today's meeting was about hashing out the back-half production and marketing.
"Now Uju hyung's gonna be all over the news as a composer idol."
"No way."
"Why not? No idol's ever debuted with a self-composed title track before. You're the first, hyung."
He wasn't wrong.
We were the first to lead with a self-composed track from debut.
It was unprecedented in every way.
And in a sense, inevitable.
Making an album cost hundreds of millions of won, after all.
Would any company really bet the fate of such a massive project on an idol's original song?
Even our company had pushed back at first, or so I'd heard.
Big agencies had tried the self-composed concept with solo idols and bombed—not once or twice. Why would we succeed?
"But the staff vibe feels positive."
Bijoo smiled.
"They seemed iffy before. But once the final Fireworks track dropped, their faces totally changed."
"Yeah. I asked my noona on PR yesterday. She said after A&R played the finished song for the teams, the whole mood shifted. They're like, this track's a hit—gotta promote it right."
"Whoa, they're really pushing us hard."
Jung-hyun, who'd been impressed, added on.
"The song's great. The company's fired up. My gut says this is gonna be huge..."
But Jung-hyun didn't finish.
"Agh! Nooo!"
"Hey, Wang Ji-ho! Cover Jung-hyun hyung's mouth!"
"No way! Why me?"
I turned to Bijoo.
"What's the commotion now?"
"Jung-hyun's got this jinx thing. Whenever he says something feels promising or his gut's good, stuff always goes weirdly sideways. Last time he said that was the mid-year eval last year, right?"
"Yep."
Ri-hyuk shuddered like the thought alone was too much.
"We got totally crushed by Street Boys. The rookie dev team was a mess, and the CEO wouldn't even look at us properly for days. Hate even thinking about it. For real."
"Hyung, we agreed—no 'gut feeling' talk unless it's snacks."
"Sorry..."
The rapper, scolded by his dongsaengs, ate his lunch with a sulky face.
Maybe it was his bearish features, but he looked like a grumpy Pooh bear hugging a honey pot.
Feeling bad and kinda cute, I patted Jung-hyun.
"Why pick on your Jung-hyun? Believing dumb superstitions like that."
"Easy for you to say—you haven't lived it."
Ri-hyuk waved it off.
"You don't know our history. Once you do, you'll react the same. You have no idea the storied legacy of Jung-hyun hyung's gut feelings."
"I wouldn't."
"You will soon."
"Why scare him like that? Right, Bijoo?"
But even Bijoo just let out an awkward "haha."
If he's in on it too, it's getting ominous.
"Hyung."
Jung-hyun said, looking sheepish.
"I wish I could say it's nonsense, but weirdly, when I do..."
"What's this?"
I turned. Ri-hyuk was frowning at his smartphone.
"What's up?"
"Well, Jung-hyun hyung drops another gut-feeling line, so I figured something blew up. Checked the web... and boom, it's right there on the main page. Look."
"Hm? What exploded?"
The maknae peeked, then made the same face.
"Wanna show me?"
Bijoo took the phone, furrowing his brows hard.
Then all three glanced my way, gauging my reaction.
"What's going on?"
As Jung-hyun subtly scooted back, the dongsaengs exchanged looks amid my confused stare.
You tell him. No, you.
Bijoo stepped up.
"Remember Street Boys, hyung?"
"The ones we faced at year-end eval? DNS Media's launch."
"Yeah. They dropped an article."
Bijoo cautiously handed over the phone.
The headline hit me, and I couldn't help but frown.
-New Boy Group Street Boys: The True 'Composer Idol' Arrives.
...What the hell?
* * *
-Street Boys Debut Album Tracklist Revealed.. "Member's Self-Composed Song as Title Track"
-Title Track is Member's Original: Will 'Street Boys' Blow Fresh Wind Through K-Pop?
-DNS Media: "Look Forward to Our Self-Composed Track"
It started with an Yeondailly article.
Then copycat pieces popped up, same content different headlines.
Two takeaways.
DNS Media was going full promo blitz. And Lemon Entertainment had just eaten a solid L from the rival.
"A DNS rep said, 'K-pop trends are shifting wildly lately. Look at Something—idols writing and composing their own hits, right? That gave us conviction. Soon, idols who can't compose won't survive,' explaining the title track choice... What shameless bastards."
The exec reading the article spat it out rough, but no one stopped him.
Even CEO Park Gyu-ho just listened quietly.
"......"
Heavy silence blanketed the conference room.
Lemon Entertainment and DNS Media were longtime rivals.
The two biggest mid-tier agencies after the Big 4 always snarled at each other.
It started as an ego clash between their founders—ex-TJ manager and engineer—but like all feuds, it had hardened into unavoidable rivalry.
Scarlett drops an album? Raviang Rose counters. They launch Street Boys? We drop New Black.
Year-end evals were pure pride wars.
But they'd never crossed certain lines before.
"This reeks of malice."
The A&R team lead spoke up.
"Back in April pre-debut, they never breathed a word about self-composed tracks. Now suddenly title track? Too convenient—the composer's even someone we met."
DNS Media's official SNS listed a familiar name in the title track credits.
JCM—the pen name of composer Jeong Chang-mo.
Third-year pro.
Now co-composer on Street Boys' debut title 'Hunger,' but he'd nearly been New Black's guy.
If A&R hadn't nixed him after hearing my song.
"He must've shopped the rejection—'New Black ditched my track for Seon Wooju's original'—to DNS..."
"No self-blame."
CEO Park Gyu-ho spoke.
His face was a touch stiff, but he smiled his usual warm smile.
He soothed the downcast staff.
"What's done is done. We can't unring that bell. Backstabs aren't new in this biz. Toughen up now—company holds steady, artists survive."
Staff nodded.
"So no more negativity. Let's brainstorm counters."
The meeting resumed.
"Think about it—this shows how desperate they are."
New Black's handler, Section Chief Yoon Seok-hwan, said.
DNS Media's position sucked.
Idol gen shift hitting, they launched girl group Raviang Rose recently.
Results? Meh.
Jeon Yu-bin popped on variety a bit, but group-wise? Zilch.
So they were all-in on new boy group Street Boys.
Rumor had it their debut reality got massive K-net lobbying last year.
Problem: Internal DNS drama delayed Street Boys' launch—past due.
Huge losses on venue fees, outfits, investments.
Meanwhile, rival New Black surged post-year-end eval on duet fever.
"In a way, this mess is Wooju's fault."
Hearing year-end's fresh stage came from New Black's rookie? Agencies shrugged: Lemon scouted well.
Then whispers: he's composing with Jang So-won.
February: nationwide smash.
Credit to So-won at first.
But Music Cafe stories, dad Seon Myung-ju reveal—minds shifted to half-belief.
Real composing talent?
Then Lemon picks his original over pro tracks for title.
DNS panic? Obvious.
How good's this song for title?
Couldn't dismiss as amateur after year-end, Something precedents.
Street Boys risked debut buzz devoured by powerhouse rival.
Best play? Preemptive strike.
Steal the 'composer idol' image first.
"Anyway, tricky spot."
PR lead chimed in.
"We blast press releases now? Public sees us as copycats. We teased B-sides from April—who remembers? Not with DNS flooding headlines."
Silence again.
Worried eyes tangled in midair.
The producer, silent till now, spoke.
"Not necessarily bad."
Executive Director Jo Kyu-hwan said.
"DNS stole our exclusive image via marketing, sure. But flip it—this could be huge opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
"Ride their promo wave backward."
He elaborated.
"DNS is betting the farm on Street Boys. Preempting our untouched promo. The harder we counter, the harder they push. Use that to forge a rivalry narrative: our boys vs. Street Boys."
Lemon vs. DNS marketing war? Reporters sniff blood.
Rookie boy groups debut clash.
Juicy for stale K-pop scene.
"Once rivalry sticks, it favors us. Their promo mentions New Black free—marketing on autopilot. Bigger fight, bigger buzz."
"Makes sense. Curiosity clicks: 'Lemme hear the songs.'"
CEO Park Gyu-ho pondered.
"But risky. Blow up the pot—we win big, lose huge."
Winner takes all; loser bleeds.
Could end in pyrrhic nothing.
Tapping the table, he turned to A&R lead.
"Team Lead Park."
"Yes, sir."
"Wooju's song—mixing done recently, right? Play it again?"
Raising singers, Park Gyu-ho's big lesson: it's a song battle.
Promo volume? Shows? Secondary.
Quality song rises eventually—luck/opportunity second. His mantra.
He needed conviction.
Proof this investment pays before big calls.
A&R lead queued the final Fireworks on speakers.
When it ended.
CEO Park Gyu-ho decided with full confidence.
* * *
Hours past schedule.
We'd been tweaking Fireworks choreography in practice, dead tired, when we met exhausted Yoon Seok-hwan.
Face like a math ghost microwaved.
He chugged corner-table water, eyes glazing, then beckoned us.
Like he had news.
"Gather up. Announcements."
We sat.
"Meeting just wrapped—CEO's call: double New Black's debut budget. All in."
Jaw-dropping. Kids gaped blankly.
Me? Goldfish gaping.
Hold up.
Already huge—double?
"Everything changes. Top director for jackets and MV. Showcase budget skyrockets. Company celebs SNS support? Obvious."
Decisions? All wild.
"PR adding video crew—daily life reality clips online."
Till recently, he'd shot down our daily vlogs: no bandwidth.
Company swamped with movie promo. One editor.
Today's shakeup flipped it.
"Bottom line: company pulls every lever to launch you. CEO and execs locked in. This is our shot—all of us. Especially you."
Manager urged.
"Grab it. Survive."
And so our debut showdown with Street Boys began.