Let's Shock the World

I had about twenty more songs of similar quality to the one they'd just heard.

"W-what did you just say?!"

The managers stared at Ryu Won with expressions of utter disbelief after his casual remark.

And it wasn't just the managers reacting this way.

Kang Beom-jun, who had spent more time with Ryu Won than anyone else at this point, looked stunned. Even Baek Yerin, sitting right beside him, wore a rare look of pure shock.

In the midst of that chaotic atmosphere, Kang Beom-jun asked urgently,

"You seem perfectly fine to me. Like I said earlier, I have about twenty more songs that are quite listenable. If we arrange them to fit Yerin, every single one should be more than good enough to release as official tracks."

"You're serious...?"

The songs they'd heard from Ryu Won so far were all at the level where they'd be called hit songs if released into the music market.

And naturally, creating such hit songs was an incredibly difficult task.

Some people spent their entire lives barely managing to write one. Others hit a wall of talent and couldn't produce anything at all.

But he was saying there were still twenty more songs like that? From a middle schooler, no matter how much of a genius he was?

Even the professionals in the room found Ryu Won's claim hard to believe.

"I'll go grab my laptop from the CEO's office for a moment."

If they couldn't believe his words, then showing them the results would settle it.

"Oh my god...!"

There were ten songs in total.

The rest of the tracks Ryu Won had created whenever he had spare time.

In his position, it was simply a matter of pulling songs he'd written in his previous life or tweaking the weaker parts slightly.

But of course, no one in the conference room could possibly know that. To their ears, all ten songs sounded just as exceptional as the ones he'd shown before.

He was right. Every single one was more than worthy of being released as official tracks.

And Ryu Won had clearly said there were twenty in total.

"Then the remaining ten songs...?"

Ryu Won didn't bother answering Kang Beom-jun's cautious question with words. He simply opened the composition program on his laptop.

It took thirty minutes.

In just thirty minutes, the composer named Ryu Won had completed an entire song, including lyrics.

There wasn't a single moment of hesitation or blockage. It was as if he had simply copied and pasted a song already stored perfectly in his head...

"So there really are twenty songs."

"Yes. I made them a while ago, but the files got accidentally deleted. Still, I remember all of them."

Whether that was true or not, Kang Beom-jun had no way of knowing.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But one thing was certain.

Ryu Won wanted something from him.

Otherwise, given the boy's personality, there was no way he would reveal such an insane hidden card at this particular moment.

"Ryu Won, what exactly do you want to do?"

Kang Beom-jun asked the boy whose thoughts he couldn't read at all.

The boy simply answered,

"I have a favor to ask."

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Is it completely outrageous in your opinion?"

"This time, it might actually be."

Kang Beom-jun swallowed hard at the boy's affirmation. Ryu Won continued explaining his request.

"When Yerin debuts, I want to release a full-length album instead of a mini-album."

"A full-length album?"

"Yes. We can arrange everything to fit the album concept, so there shouldn't be any problems."

But the request was far more reasonable than what Kang Beom-jun had imagined.

No... actually, considering how much this boy wanted Baek Yerin to shine brilliantly as an artist, it might have been the most natural decision.

Let's think about it the other way around.

In the digital age, with music streaming platforms becoming the norm, people often chose to listen to specific tracks rather than buying entire albums.

As a result, releasing full albums had become inefficient. For rookies especially, the bold move of dropping a full-length album at debut had practically vanished.

But what if an unknown newcomer went against that trend and proudly released a full album right from their debut?

That alone would generate enormous interest and attention.

Moreover, a full album was a symbolic record for any artist.

The title of "first full album artist" at the young age of a middle schooler would create a truly exceptional image.

And in the current situation, releasing a full album for Baek Yerin wasn't that difficult.

The most expensive part of making a full album—the process of securing enough songs to fill it—had been completely solved thanks to someone.

That was why Kang Beom-jun felt even more confused. Exactly which part was supposed to be outrageous?

Unfortunately, his confusion didn't last long.

"But releasing just one full album feels a bit too ordinary, doesn't it?"

"What...?"

Because the boy—no, Ryu Won—had given a crystal-clear answer.

"A typical full album usually has eight or more tracks. But right now, we happen to have twenty-five songs that are all good enough to release as official tracks, don't we?"

"Wait... you can't possibly mean—"

"Yes. Let's skip the first and second albums entirely and release up to the third album all at once. Releasing a debut full album is already special in this era. So what kind of reaction would we get if we followed it immediately with a second album? And then a third?"

"...!"

"CEO Kang, let's shock the world together. Let's make sure everyone remembers the arrival of the singer named Baek Yerin."

Ryu Won's words hit Kang Beom-jun with such force that he finally understood what true chills felt like.

Releasing a full album from debut was already quite unusual given the current market.

But releasing not just the second album, but going straight to the third all at once? That went beyond unusual—it was downright insane.

And Ryu Won was actively encouraging him to commit this insane act together.

All while wearing...

"What do you think? It would make for a pretty fun picture, right?"

A smile so pure it made him look like a child.

Kang Beom-jun let out a helpless laugh as he looked at that smile.

He had known for a while that the composer named Ryu Won was crazy in more ways than one.

But this time, he really had no choice but to throw both hands up in surrender.

Kang Beom-jun looked away from Ryu Won and scanned the atmosphere in the conference room. He wanted to check the managers' reactions.

They all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wore flustered expressions at first, but something new was slowly blooming in the corner of their hearts.

It was probably...

Excitement.

That was just how geniuses were.

With ideas ordinary people could never dream of, they easily flipped the world upside down and drew people's hearts along with them, just like this.

"It seems I wasn't really suited for the position of CEO after all."

The same was true for Kang Beom-jun.

He found himself agreeing with Ryu Won's thoughts more than anyone else in the room, and he was genuinely curious to see the picture the boy had drawn.

"Our first artist wants to pursue romance rather than simple business. But wouldn't it feel a little empty if romance were missing from music? So I'm fully inclined to grant this composer Ryu Won's request."

At Kang Beom-jun's endorsement, the managers began exchanging glances.

But perhaps the answer had already been decided the moment they heard Ryu Won's speech.

"I agree."

"Sure, let's give it a shot. It's not like we'll die, right?"

"We might actually die from overwork."

"Haha. That might actually happen."

Mid-March.

The cold winter had passed in the blink of an eye, and the season of spring had arrived.

What image did the season of spring usually bring to mind?

Most people would think of flowers blooming, new buds sprouting, and the weather gradually growing warmer.

But this year's spring felt a little distant from the word "warm." Perhaps "hot" would be the more accurate description.

The starting point was clear.

It began when the newly established agency RT Entertainment started promoting their rookie singer.

They promoted their new artist by saying she would release a full album simultaneously with her debut.

People thought,

After all, Kang Beom-jun was someone who had already succeeded in the music industry. Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if he'd taken a break, his sense for music couldn't have disappeared.

And most people knew just how crazy it was to invest in a full album for a mere rookie's debut in the current music market.

On top of that, they hadn't even done any pre-orders or pre-releases.

People were curious.

It was hard to dismiss all of this as mere noise marketing because the pieces didn't quite fit together.

Even the industry experts who heard the news concluded that this wasn't confidence—it was pure recklessness.

And so, amid reactions mixed with anticipation and skepticism, the rookie singer named Baek Yerin and her album were released.

Not the first or second album, but a full third album right from the start.

People were bewildered.

Where were the first and second albums? Why did the third come out first?

And as if to wipe away that question in an instant...

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The very next day after the third album dropped, the second full album was released.

Whether the songs were good or bad, people gradually began to feel a certain intuition.

It seemed like RT Entertainment was really planning to do something completely insane.

They were right.

For the past several months, RT Entertainment had poured everything into this very moment.

So now...

It was finally time to see what kind of results their sincerity would bring.