– Professor… I feel burying myself in the school’s backyard would be faster than graduating. Why do I have to go to school?
– No… and why isn’t Black Call making a comeback? Don’t you want to work with the agency anymore???
A graduate student who posted on SNS today cursed their professor thoroughly.
They said being a fan in the later stages was scarier and that meeting Joo Woosung of Black Call, an idol she used to casually fangirl over as a student, changed her.
“This kid… He’s good-looking…”
She shed tears thinking that for the last three months, all she had re-shared on social media was Joo Woosung’s rice cake photo.
Black Call was a male idol group that was ambitiously launched by a major planning agency a few years ago and was undoubtedly a top-tier idol in Korea.
Although she was initially known as a “muggle fan,” she had become a true stan after getting into it once.
She was posting while annoyed and cursing the agency when a notification from Joo Woosung’s SNS appeared.
“Huh…?”
Crazy, was it finally happening?
This guy who constantly posted “#Ads #Brand Name” without properly showing his face made her feel like she would die.
But today, he finally posted his own face!
As she happily scrolled through, the graduate student frowned at the next video that was uploaded.
“What’s this?”
***
Daepaseong Entertainment.
It had only been two days, but because he had done so much, it felt like he hadn’t come in for a long time.
After seeing Joo Woosung’s apartment once, the company building looked even more dilapidated, and he sighed. But on his phone, he had a powerful weapon hidden.
As he walked into the building, he saw Jeong Dajun limping anxiously in the lobby.
“Hyung?”
“Yeah.”
Jeong Dajun’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly ran towards him, grabbing his arm and stretching it out.
“Why weren’t you answering my calls, Hoyun-hyung?”
“Um… Your diction is good.”
“Oh, hyung!”
Wah, I was unsure if it looked like blood came out of my ears as he kept asking me questions.
I pulled my arm away from him and asked, “How have you been?”
“How have I been?”
Kang Ichae popped up beside us. He shook his head like a crazy person.
“It was crazy the past two days.”
“Seonghyeon-hyung was going crazy… The atmosphere was really tense. Jiwon-hyung covered for that… No, that’s not important. Did you finally give up?”
“What did I give up?”
“Huh? You didn’t come because you couldn’t get the song, right?”
These kids really didn’t trust me enough.
I squeezed the back of Jeong Dajun’s head as he looked up at me innocently. In the blink of an eye, Jeong Dajun let out a cry of pain that he couldn’t help but make, and Kang Ichae met my gaze. A fleeting expression in Kang Ichae’s eyes seemed to say, “No way.”
Kang Ichae may act like a lunatic, but he’s quick-witted.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
I replied sullenly. Kang Ichae still doubted me but obediently headed to the practice room.
There, I saw Kim Seonghyeon and Seong Jiwon having a serious conversation. They both stood up abruptly when they caught sight of me.
“You came back?”
“…”
Kim Seonghyeon glanced at me, and I could also feel Seong Jiwon’s embarrassed gaze.
Why did they both seem so gloomy?
“Hey, Hoyun.”
Seong Jiwon hesitated before approaching me.
“You’ve been through a lot, huh?”
Huh?
“I heard that composer Lim Hyeonsu has a rough personality and a sharp tongue… Did she say anything harsh?”
This was an unexpected development.
Seong Jiwon was comforting me under the assumption that I failed.
“I heard it.”
“What… What did she say?”
“Crazy bastard, idiot, son of a bitch… You name it, I heard it.”
Lim Hyeonsu’s mouth was still bitter.
As I objectively listed the words I heard, the practice room atmosphere, which was already about to explode, became even tenser.
“Hyung…”
“Oh dear…”
Jeong Dajun cried as if the world had come to an end. Kim Seonghyeon, who I thought would be sarcastic, surprisingly kept his mouth shut and tried to console me.
“Well, you did a good job. Don’t be too disappointed that we didn’t receive the song…”
“What are you talking about? When did I say I didn’t receive it?”
“Huh?”
“Of course, I received it. I said I would bring it.”
Everyone had a dazed expression, unable to accept reality.
I walked past them and connected my phone to the speaker. The speaker was quite worn out. I’ll have to buy a new one when I get paid.
Then I played the audio file I had received on my phone earlier. I remembered what Lim Hyeonsu had said when she called and sent me the file.
– “Hey, I really… suddenly got inspired by something. Could it be that my talent is crazy?”
“Yes…”
Is this asshole even listening?
At first, it was garbled as if underwater.
And after a moment, the sound began to be heard properly with a beeping noise, as if waking up. An intense electronic beat began.
– “As I kept going, I got excited and put in various things. There are still parts I don’t like, so I will change them.”
Anyway, she was a perfectionist. At the same time, I didn’t expect her to do it, but Lim Hyeonsu herself sang the guide song. Temporary lyrics were added to match the concept I had conveyed.
She had a husky woman’s voice, but there was no problem changing it to a male key.
“Say it once more. It’s the beginning for us,
I will come back every time,
Don’t be afraid of this strange feeling,
No need to worry.”
The lyrics fit surprisingly well.
Even without saying it, it was obvious that this was a Blue Tiger song.
These were Lim Hyeonsu’s favorite beats, songs, concepts, and styles.
She whined, but she created a great beat and melody.
You did well, Lim Hyeonsu.
Three minutes and forty seconds passed, and the song ended.
It turned out well. All that was left was to add more detailed planning and story and ask Lim Hyeonsu to modify the lyrics.
“What do you think?”
I turned towards the members with a subtly satisfied expression. I expected them to be jumping with excitement, but they were all…
“…”
“…”
It was silent.
“Why are you all like that? Are you still suspicious?”
Did they still doubt that it’s a Blue Tiger song? I even considered making a video call with Lim Hyeonsu to prove it, but Seong Jiwon nodded. It seemed like he understood.
“I trust you.”
Then why? What was with this silence?
“How did you get it? How do you know each other… Those things are secondary.”
“…”
Meanwhile, Kim Seonghyeon opened his mouth. He seemed hesitant.
“It’s ours, right?”
“Of course.”
No need to say it was received as a talent donation.
After a long silence, Kang Ichae spoke up.
“The song is good….”
Suddenly, Jeong Dajun sniffled at those words, startling everyone. I was the most surprised.
“Are you crying?”
“No, I’m not crying… Ugh, it’s so frustrating.”
“Why are you crying?”
It’s a common thing that people who were crying often had no answer when asked why they were crying. But I couldn’t help but ask because it was so absurd.
Instead of Jeong Dajun, who was busy pretending not to cry by sniffling, Seong Jiwon comforted him and explained to him.
“Maybe it’s because the song is so good. We received a song that we can only get from a big planning agency. It’s unbelievable.”
“Wow…”
“Dajun has been struggling for a year.”
Ah, at least he didn’t say he disliked it.
Jeong Dajun continued to cry while Seong Jiwon offered affectionate words to him.
Suddenly, Kang Ichae stood up and clapped.
“Let’s all clap. Applause for us who have escaped from the curse of ‘Pineapple.’ And applause for that bastard Seo Hoyun!”
At least the atmosphere changed a bit. It was fortunate that Kang Ichae had a strong mentality.
No one said anything, but I could tell from their eyes that they were grateful to me. Even Kim Seonghyeon.
“Thank you…”
He didn’t directly say thank you until the end.
Ugh…
I quickly revised the image in my mind.
These guys might end up guaranteeing something they can’t handle…
They’re all too innocent. I waited for this sudden warm atmosphere to calm down. And when Jeong Dajun stopped sniffing, I clapped my hands.
“Okay, guys. Let’s talk.”
They were afraid of what I would say next, but they just looked at each other’s faces without saying anything.
I nodded my head and threw them a printout that I had prepared. Kang Ichae, who was nearby, caught it deftly.
“What’s this?”
“Data.”
“What data?”
“It’s not just about picking a song. Choreography, lyrics, planning. I’ve gathered all the current trends.”
“So what?”
When Jeong Dajun was still bewildered, Kang Ichae and Kim Seonghyeon seemed to have noticed and were already scanning the data.
Yes, idols had to be quick-witted.
“Plan it according to the song, and then we will all look at it.”
“Huh?”
“We can’t apply ‘Pineapple’s’ plan here. I’ll tell the CEO that we need to completely revise it.”
Usually, the first step was to plan, and only when it was complete could you move on to composing, lyrics, and choreography, but we only had one month left.
It’s better to assume we’re dead.
Everyone seemed to be determined, nodding their heads like crazy.
“We’ll work hard.”
“Yeah! Let’s do it!”
“It’s already two o’clock, right?”
“Yeah!”
I looked at my phone.
“I’ll come back by three. Then we’ll go to the planning meeting.”
You guys had to pay for your meals now.
“That’s ridiculous…”
“No, we’ll do it.”
While the manager and Jeong Dajun were speechless, Seong Jiwon suddenly stood up with a fierce look in her eyes.
I’ll leave this to you.
I gestured toward the manager.
“Come with me.”
“Me, why?”
“Huh? Where are you going, Hoyun-hyung? Aren’t we supposed to be doing this together?”
Nope. Of course, as a former PD, I could plan with my eyes closed, but there was something more urgent now.
I pointed up in response to Kang Ichae’s question.
“To meet with the CEO.”
Everyone was speechless.
“That’s ridiculous?”
“We have to start over from scratch, so yeah.”
“Hoyun, I’m sorry for making you the scapegoat.”
“…”
Ding!
[Um… Hmm…]
Even the system window that had been sulking lost its words and sighed towards these innocent members.
“It’s okay.”
I turned my head and grabbed the manager, walking briskly to the CEO’s office.
The manager was speechless, but we had business to attend to.
“You said you fixed all the contracts, right?”
“Uh, well, but there’s no need to call the CEO…”
“We must consult him about the plan’s complete overhaul.”
… Is actually an excuse.
I needed to face off with the CEO alone.
When we arrived at the CEO’s office, the man I had seen last time was still looking at documents with a serious expression.
“What is it?”
“Hello, I’m Seo Hoyun.”
“Ah…”
“Did you want to talk about the contract?”
The CEO narrowed his eyes.
“Yes, that’s one of the reasons.”
“Please contact me in advance next time. You keep showing up suddenly…”
I can’t trust this damn entertainment company that hasn’t done anything even though we had about a month until our comeback date.
As I stayed still, the CEO sighed and gestured to the manager.
“The contract.”
“Yes!”
The manager brought it over in a hurry. I quickly glanced over the contents of the contract while sitting in front of the CEO.
Usually, people in their early 20s, and especially those who trained in practice rooms as idols, didn’t even know what this and that were, so they just stamped their seal on it and were done with it.
“The search revealed that there was still no properly written contract, so I made a new one according to the standards.”
The manager explained to me in detail while I dryly flipped through the document consisting of about 10 pages.
I asked, “Did you tell the CEO I’m going to overhaul the plan?”
“Uh? Uh…I roughly mentioned it, but…”
Looks like they skipped over it slyly.
“Overhaul the plan? Why?”
“Because it’s a waste of time.”
I looked at the CEO, hoping to see a frown on his face. He probably thought it was just arrogance.
Suddenly, the manager next to me started tapping his foot.
“H-Hoyun is not just saying this! He brought a song from Blue Tiger!”
Oh, damn it.
These were the words I was going to use at the crucial moment, the words I was going to use to encourage him, but they didn’t come out.
I gave the manager a cold glance and turned my eyes to the CEO, who looked interested.
“From Blue Tiger?”
