Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Flare UP and Ignit's Debut
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Yeonwoo, back in Korea, threw himself into composing the music for Damian Cruise's film.
He pieced together hums recorded from various people in all sorts of ways—cutting, pasting, layering, overlapping—to shape the track.
"Yes, cut it there and paste it in."
"Like this?"
"Yeah, Wakana-noona."
In truth, while Yeonwoo was directing with his mouth, it was Fujii Wakana's hands that were flying across the controls.
Wakana, reveling in her rare chance to shine as an engineer, handled Yeonwoo's requests with ease.
The track itself came together quickly, but Yeonwoo's on-the-fly revisions and re-arrangements stretched it out over several days.
"[Is that the track?]"
With SSHIN's new headquarters still under renovation, they were using the old studio. Olivia Snow, who had been tagging along every day, was the first to hear the finished piece.
"[It's good.]"
"[You think so?]"
"[Yeah. It's almost too good to give to that damn lunatic.]"
Yeonwoo nodded.
He couldn't deny feeling a bit reluctant to hand it over to Damian Cruise, who had been such a pain in so many ways.
But he had to.
He wanted to hear his song in that movie, see it blasting as Mongol horsemen charged across the steppes.
"Wakana-noona, send the finished track to Damian Cruise's email."
"Got it."
Fujii Wakana fired it off right away.
"[You actually sent it.]"
"[Yep.]"
Yeonwoo nodded and sprang up from his seat.
Woof!
The moment Yeonwoo stood, Woong-i—who had been curled up asleep beside him—jumped up and barked.
"Yeah, Woong-i! Big bro's done with work! Let's play!!"
Yeonwoo petted Woong-i's head and grabbed the tug toy.
The second the tug was in Yeonwoo's hand, Woong-i wagged his tail furiously and lunged for it.
"[Ha, but you don't think that guy's gonna nitpick Yeonwoo's track or anything, right?]"
Yeonwoo froze at her words and turned to Olivia Snow.
"[......My track?]"
Who?
How dare they?
Yeonwoo didn't say it outright, but Olivia could feel both meanings packed into his "My track?"
'Well, can you blame him?'
Who in their right mind would dare nitpick this track?
* * *
-Excuse me, Director Cruise. How's the music video coming along?
Damian Cruise, deep in editing, snapped irritably at the call from JOP.
"It'll get done somehow."
-Pardon? What do you mean...
"It's getting done."
-Director Cruise, we have schedules to keep...
"That's why I'm pulling all-nighters. Stop nagging."
Damian Cruise hung up.
It was an infuriating call from the perspective of those waiting, but Damian Cruise was pissed too.
Music video or not, this was a project bearing his name.
He couldn't half-ass it.
But he couldn't ignore their side either.
He wasn't the type to trample on others' circumstances.
"Goddamn... if it weren't for Yuin."
No, he might have ignored them if it weren't for Yuin?
Screwing schedules and causing financial losses for a polished final product—that was Damian Cruise's style.
But right now, he was in the weak position.
Never in his life did he imagine being at someone else's mercy over a single piece of music.
Grumbling, he dove back into editing when a mail notification chimed. He glanced over absentmindedly.
"......!"
He froze, then whipped back when he saw it was from Yuin.
"Oh, finally...!"
Yeonwoo had delivered on his promise.
Heart pounding, he opened the email and hit download.
"Please..."
Let the track be perfect.
Truth be told, the film in prep wasn't in a great spot.
Hollywood hadn't had a single historical epic hit in the last decade.
They guzzled budgets on historical accuracy, massive scale, and location shoots—and every one bombed. Studios were gun-shy now.
Even a director of Damian Cruise's caliber couldn't just snap his fingers for funding. Even masters like him had struck out on recent historicals.
In that climate, no studio welcomed a script for one, not even from the great Damian Cruise.
OTT platforms were the same.
After dumping fortunes into blockbusters and series to gain ground, they weren't blindly investing anymore without guaranteed hits.
So he had to prove it.
Show if this film would succeed.
Damian Cruise planned to fund a 20-minute teaser himself—using his personal savings and his company's money.
Teaser or not, it meant shooting the film's crucial climax scenes out of pocket.
Key cast were on board, charmed by the script; staff, gear, locations—all set. Just needed to roll cameras.
The finishing touch? The music.
It would fill the gaps where visuals alone couldn't capture the Mongol cavalry's overwhelming majesty and terror—the track he'd begged Yuin for.
Damian Cruise hit play with trembling hands.
It kicked off with the Mongol throat-singing he'd heard while researching, layered over heavy horsehead fiddle and drums rumbling deep.
He closed his eyes, picturing the footage synced to it.
Genghis Khan's hordes sweeping into Kievan Rus'.
The riders moved as one, and the screen spun to the allied Kievan forces awaiting them.
Outnumbered by multiples, yet their faces were etched with pure fear.
Then the fiddle and drums surged wild and fast, sharp hums slicing through.
The Mongols charged savagely; they loosed arrows in freakish contortions, shafts piercing the Kievan lines.
Hooves thundered in; below, a terrified young soldier stared death up.
The instant the hoof crushed down on the soldier's head.
Boom!
The drum hit perfectly, like he'd watched the cut already.
Damian Cruise's eyes snapped open.
"This is it."
A shiver ran through him.
No track fit his film better.
"That crazy kid, that mad bastard!! Goddamn genius!!"
Damian Cruise, hyped and cursing, snatched his phone.
Yeonwoo's message had just come in.
[Like it?]
Like it?
[It's perfect.]
Nothing else would do.
[Then hurry up and finish the music video. The company's getting antsy.]
"Goddamn it, I'll pull all-nighters to wrap it fast!!"
For the guy who made this killer track, he had to hustle.
Damian Cruise sat, buzzing, and dove into editing the music video.
* * *
With Damian Cruise delivering the music video after receiving Yeonwoo's track, all prep for JOP's debut group was complete.
JOP named the five-member unit IGNIT.
Drawn from "ignite"—to set ablaze—the name carried hopes they'd fire up not just K-pop, but the world.
The teaser matched: five flames bursting from darkness, revealing the members and "IGNIT" as Yeonwoo's custom track played short and sweet.
For the record, Yeonwoo's track was titled "Flare UP."
And on the big debut showcase day.
From Yuin to Damian Cruise, the star-studded lineup behind them had buzzed early, drawing hordes of reporters to the stage.
The YouTube live stream, not even started, already had 30,000 viewers waiting.
-lmao a rookie debut pulling 30k viewers
-Damien Cruise did their MV, how could you not be curious?
-Came running out of curiosity lmao
-Living to see a Hollywood legend direct a Korean boy group MV lol
-Producer's that Billboard #1 artist lol
-Makes sense a legend joins then
-I'm legit hyped for the song
-It's Yuin's first boy group ㅠ Am I the only one excited?
-Me too 22222
-Me 3333333333333
-Super curious 44444444444
"Whoa... 30k? What is this?"
"All here to see us?"
"My heart's pounding. Mom gave me something for when I'm nervous."
"Calming pills?"
"Yeah, where'd I put them? Gotta take one."
The debuters—no, IGNIT—couldn't contain their jitters checking the YouTube live on their phones.
Their manager, watching from behind, sighed.
"Kids, I told you not to look 'cause it'd make you nervous. Why don't you ever listen?"
"Sorry, hyung. Curiosity killed the cat."
"You guys..."
As the manager started scolding, the waiting room door opened and a group entered.
"Oh, hello!"
IGNIT bowed in unison.
It was JOP's top execs, led by Nanase, Jiyeong, and Yeonwoo.
"Everyone prepped okay?"
The members gave awkward smiles at head PD Jiyeong's question.
"Yeah, sorta..."
"Doing great."
"You don't look prepped at all. You're all frozen stiff?"
"It's debut nerves... Sorry."
Jimin, the eldest and leader, spoke for them. Jiyeong considered soothing them, then put on a stern face.
Idol groups often molded into a unified vibe after long training, but IGNIT was the type to get cocky with praise.
They needed a firm hand to perform under pressure.
"You all know, right? Bomb this showcase, and everything's toast. Not exaggerating."
"......Yes."
"You know the company went all-in to debut you? Gave you the rep's custom track, shelled out for a world-class director on the MV."
"Yes."
"Imagine it all going to waste."
The members grimaced at the mere thought.
"But worse? Everything you've built for debut—gone. Poof. Meaningless."
"Ah..."
That hit harder.
How much had they poured into this moment?
Getting reamed by Yeonwoo and Damian Cruise was nothing.
They skimped sleep, food, locked in the practice room till they dropped.
Losing it all in a flash? Terrifying.
Jiyeong addressed them.
"Make mistakes? Fine. You're human. Screw up a ton! Just don't quit. Freeze and give up after one slip? That's game over. Get back up, act like it didn't happen, give it your all. That's it. You've drilled mistake recovery a million times, right? Do it, and they'll praise your quick fixes."
Their faces hardened with resolve.
Jiyeong checked the time.
"Alright, stage time soon. You got this?"
"We'll nail it!"
Jimin's shout echoed by the others in unison.
Still nervous, but the vibe had shifted. Jiyeong smiled, satisfied.