A Song That Speaks for Itself
“PD Jang, what do you think you're doing, acting this insolent in front of people you're meeting for the very first time today? You should have heard the full story from me before asking the CEO anything. I didn't raise you to be this cocky, and frankly, it's not a good look.”
Having delivered that sharp rebuke, PD Lee Hyo-young turned to CEO Lee Jae-man and offered a polite apology.
“CEO Lee, I'm truly sorry. He's really not a disrespectful young man, but he must be worn out today, because he was quite rude to you. I apologize once again.”
“Oh, please, it's quite all right. It's not as if he's wrong. Seven years in this business and we still haven't made a proper name for ourselves. Don't give it another thought.”
Catching that something had gone wrong amid the exchange, PD Jang Won-seok hurriedly bowed his head to Lee Jae-man.
“CEO Lee, I sincerely apologize. I've been buried in work lately, and on top of that, agency people keep dropping by unannounced to pester me about promoting their new songs, so… Of course, that's no excuse, but I spoke out of turn without meaning to. Please accept my apology once more.”
Only after Jang Won-seok's heartfelt apology did PD Lee Hyo-young seem to soften, picking the conversation back up.
“I did partly call you here today to help promote Five Girls' new songs. But as you know, I'm about to co-direct a twenty-episode miniseries with PD Kim Pil-joon.”
“Yes, of course. I've been looking forward to it myself.”
“Look at you, laying on the flattery. Anyway, it's scheduled to air in early December, and we've reached an agreement with the production company, Sinabro Production, to use songs sung by Five Girls as the OST. Good directing matters if a drama is going to succeed, but you can't leave out the music either—that's why I asked you to come give them a listen. We need an expert's ear on this, after all.”
“Understood. PD Kim Pil-joon is such a renowned director that if he's co-directing alongside you, hyung-nim, it's guaranteed to be a hit.”
“For now, two songs are slated to be included, with the possibility of a third if the response is good. One is titled 'A Loving Heart,' and the other is called 'After Farewell.' 'A Loving Heart' is already finished. 'After Farewell' is still incomplete—a piano-backed demo recorded with Five Girls on vocals—but the song is good enough that it won't be unpleasant to listen to. CEO Lee, you brought the songs, right?”
“Yes, I saved them on my phone. It's rather noisy in here, so I'd recommend listening with earphones.”
Lee Jae-man handed his phone and earphones over to PD Jang Won-seok.
Jang Won-seok had been through this routine more times than he could count, so despite the introduction from PD Lee Hyo-young himself, he wasn't holding out much hope.
But the moment he pressed play on 'A Loving Heart,' he was swept away by an emotion he could not contain—so thoroughly that every song he'd ever heard before might as well have been the barking of dogs.
'Ah! This isn't just a song. Yes—this is an angel's whisper, seeping straight into the heart. Oh, Lord above, I believe, I believe unconditionally. This is going all the way. The whole world is going to be moved to tears!'
When the song ended, PD Jang Won-seok said nothing at all. He simply raised his thumb in silence, as though even putting his impressions into words would be an insult to the music.
“No words necessary. If this song becomes the OST for your drama, hyung-nim, I'd say twenty percent ratings or better come out of the gate.”
“Even by your ears, it's a masterpiece, right? Now listen to the other one too. That one's still not the finished version.”
PD Jang Won-seok took a deep breath before playing the next song. Having already been flooded with emotion by 'A Loving Heart,' he steeled himself anew—then, with careful fingers, pressed play on 'After Farewell.'
'Oh, this one… this is the aching heart of two people in love. Is love, in the end, nothing but pain? And yet this feeling—knowing the pain and being unable to stop loving anyway—it's so unbearably sad. This song is going to be a massive hit too. The whole world will be weeping along with it.'
Overcome by the sheer sorrow of it, PD Jang Won-seok found an old love surfacing unbidden in his memory, and tears slid quietly down his cheeks. A grown man crying over a single song should have been embarrassing, but his face, oddly enough, looked refreshed—as if something long stuck inside him had finally come loose.
“Hyung-nim, where on earth did you dig up songs like these? With just these two, I'd guarantee your drama breaks thirty percent ratings. And wasn't the screenplay by Lee Na-yeon, the writer?”
“That's right. Script by Lee Na-yeon, directing by Kim Pil-joon, cinematography by Director Seo Dong-chan—with a lineup like that, the game's basically over before it starts, wouldn't you say? Add these two OSTs on top, and thirty percent is the floor we're building from. Don't you think?”
“Then who's playing the leads, hyung-nim?”
“Casting is locked: Seo Jae-won for the male lead, Han Hyo-jin for the female lead.”
“You're clearly determined to write a whole new chapter in miniseries history. Don't tell me you're actually aiming for fifty percent?”
Young-hoon, too, was startled by the remark. These days, with terrestrial channels, general programming channels, and cable all crowded together, even twenty percent was considered a runaway hit. Yet at PD Jang Won-seok's mention of fifty percent, PD Lee Hyo-young only grinned—he didn't deny it in the slightest. They really were aiming for fifty or better, it seemed.
“That's why, PD Jang, I'm going to need your help. The drama airs in early December, so you'll need to build the buzz. From a professional's standpoint—when would these songs have to hit the airwaves for maximum dramatic effect?”
“Hmm, by my judgment, about three weeks before the drama premieres would be ideal.”
“CEO Lee, how soon can you complete the copyright registration and music distribution registration for these two songs?”
“'A Loving Heart' will have every step of the process finished by October 30th at the latest, and 'After Farewell' can be done by November 10th.”
PD Jang Won-seok considered for a moment, then spoke up.
“Then here's what we'll do. Around November 10th, we'll have Five Girls appear on my radio show to promote 'A Loving Heart.' 'After Farewell' will follow ten days after that. Though—the second appearance will be decided based on how 'A Loving Heart' performs.”
“Hold on, PD Jang. You can just decide the schedule like that, on your own authority?”
“Oh, come on, hyung-nim. Who do you take me for? I'm the head PD of 'Pleasant 2 PM,' the number-one-rated radio program on the air. You think I'd lack that much pull? Rest easy.”
Having made his grand declaration, PD Jang Won-seok turned his gaze toward Young-hoon, seated across the table, his eyes gleaming.
“So this gentleman here, Kim Young-hoon—he's the original composer of these songs, I take it?”
“That's right. Didn't I tell you? This is the man who's going to have our entire broadcasting and entertainment industry eating out of his hand. That's why I'm courting him early, putting in the work ahead of everyone else. You'd best make a good impression too. Good things are bound to come your way because of it.”
Young-hoon looked flustered at PD Lee Hyo-young's lavish praise.
“PD Lee, aren't you building me up a little too high? The fall is going to hurt like hell if there's no parachute when I come down.”
“Haha! What are you talking about? It's simply the truth. Though you really should ration out the jokes. A young man like you telling dad jokes like that…”
PD Jang Won-seok did not forget his gratitude to Lee Jae-man either.
“CEO Lee, thank you a thousand times over for letting our program be the first to launch songs this remarkable. And my deepest thanks once again to you as well, Mr. Kim Young-hoon, for writing them.”
After that, Young-hoon, CEO Lee Jae-man, and the two PDs carried on drinking deep into the evening, the atmosphere so warm and convivial that the earlier awkwardness might have been a lie.
Young-hoon bolted upright from a dead sleep and checked the clock on his phone.
Nine in the morning.
He gathered himself and tried to piece together the previous night. He had drunk to the point of total blackout, the two PDs' endless stream of praise leaving him no chance to keep his wits about him. It had been a genuinely valuable evening, too—he'd picked up inside information about a broadcasting world he barely knew.
'But wait—how did I get home? Did someone drop me off? I don't remember a single thing.'
Young-hoon had his own polished tricks of the trade as a salesman, but last night, against those three, he hadn't stood a chance, plain and simple. 'Are broadcasting and entertainment people just naturally that good at drinking?' He'd already witnessed it once with CEO Lee Jae-man, but PD Lee Hyo-young and PD Jang Won-seok were no pushovers either. A flicker of worry crossed his mind—had he done anything embarrassing?—but CEO Lee had been there with him, so surely no major disaster had occurred.
He'd been run ragged all week, and last night's drinking had wiped him out completely, so he resolved that today, Saturday, would be spent resting at home, no exceptions. And since he was up anyway, Young-hoon sat down calmly and jotted out his to-do list in a notebook.
First: prepare the paperwork to register his composed and written songs with the Korea Copyright Commission.
Second: draft the revenue-sharing contract with CEO Lee Jae-man covering digital downloads and streaming.
Third: practice writing drama scripts and screenplays as promised to PD Lee Hyo-young.
Fourth: develop the additive that would make his wine taste even better.
Fifth: think seriously about whether to keep working at the company.
The personal documents needed for copyright registration—like a certified copy of his resident registration—could be obtained on Monday, and he could hand over the revenue-sharing paperwork and discuss it that same day. The third, fourth, and fifth items could wait, which took a considerable weight off his mind.
'Might as well catch up on some more sleep. I'll grab whatever for lunch, whatever.'
He climbed back into bed and was drifting off when the phone began to ring.
So much for a peaceful weekend, apparently.
“Hye-in? What's up? It's a holiday.”
“Oppa, what are you doing? Have you eaten breakfast?”
“Breakfast? Please. I was going to sleep a little more and then figure things out.”
“Are you kidding me? Your poor kids are out there busting their tails to make money, and the parent who wrote them wants to laze around sleeping?”
“What on earth are you talking about? Parents? Out of nowhere?”
“You wrote the songs, oppa. That makes you Mom and Dad, obviously. We're the kids out there grinding away with songs their parent made for them. Am I wrong? And don't think I forgot you drank a ton last night.”
“Don't even get me started. I can hold my own, believe me, but last night was something else. Those two PDs and your CEO—do you have any idea how much they can drink? I blacked out first, that's for sure. Your CEO's probably still asleep right now.”
“What?! He's already at the practice studio watching us rehearse! He says to come over to Seongnam and take it easy.”
“Ugh, come on. Can't I just rest at home today? My stomach is killing me.”
“Not my problem. The CEO says he has things to discuss, so get ready and get over to the dorm—fast. Joo-yeon's making hungover soup, so come soothe your poor stomach here.”
“Hey, it takes over two hours to get from Ilsan to Seongnam. The riverside highway is going to be jam-packed on a weekend. Do I really have to come? Can't I just not?”
“Ugh, enough. The CEO says hurry over. Don't argue with me. Come quick. Bye!”
That girl Hye-in hung up on him, ruthless as ever.
'Unbelievable. Two hours each way for a bowl of hangover soup? It'd be way cheaper and easier to just buy some around here…'
Groaning all the while, Young-hoon forced himself up and got ready to go out. Then came the grueling drive toward Seongnam—and sure enough, being the weekend, the roads were absolutely choked with cars.