get-shopping Chapter 133: Year-End (10)
Chapter 133: Year-End (10)
Si-hoo entered the practice room. Among the members who were taking a break from practice, Si-hoo called out to Kang Rojun.“Rojun.”
“Ah, hyung. Did the talk go well?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just a sec.”
Si-hoo called Rojun out into the hallway and scratched his baby perm hair as he opened his mouth.
“The A&R team said they want to talk to you too.”
“Why me? Wasn’t it just you they wanted to talk to?”
“Yeah, that’s true, but-”
To the slightly puzzled Rojun, Si-hoo explained the whole situation. How Rojun's matter came up during the conversation with the A&R team. Rojun nodded as if he more or less understood.
“Yeah? Well, I don’t think there’s any problem.”
“Did I… say something I shouldn’t have?”
“There’s no such thing as saying something you shouldn’t. I had to tell the company I composed something anyway. I just delayed it a bit since I didn’t have as many songs as you.”
Rojun let out a short laugh and asked a question.
“More importantly, what did the A&R team say?”
“...They said they want to listen to the songs I wrote when they’re collecting songs.”
“Oh- that’s great. All of them?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Awesome. You might even debut with one of your songs at this rate.”
“That’s crazy...... if that happens, it’d be seriously amazing. But I don’t think it’ll be that easy, they’re going to collect songs from super famous composers.”
“Like Song Min-geun sunbae-nim?”
“Of course. This is GN, after all.”
“So what? You were the main composer for ‘Produce That 100!’. I bet they’ll go with your song.”
Si-hoo, who had been lost in thought for a moment, shook his head.
“Rojun, you’ve got a chance too!”
“I’ve only got one ballad.”
“You said you’re working on the next one. A dance track.”
“Yeah, that’s true, but”
“Anyway, hurry up and go.”
“Okay.”
After saying goodbye to Si-hoo, Kang Rojun walked down the hallway. Not long after, Rojun arrived at a meeting room. Inside, employees were waiting for him. The A&R team in charge of ‘Vanguard’.
After a brief round of greetings, one of the male staff members asked Rojun,
“Rojun-nim, I heard from Si-hoo-nim that you’ve started composing?”
“Yes. Si-hoo hyung is a professional, I’m just studying.”
“Wow-”
The A&R team members were all surprised. It was understandable.
‘Isn’t he already superhuman in terms of ability? And now he’s studying composition too?’
‘Does he even have time to study?? He must be swamped just with his other side jobs.’
GN Entertainment employees already knew well about Kang Rojun’s side jobs. It was a workload that would normally have anyone gasping. But Rojun handled it all calmly, and now he’d added composing on top of it.
He had long since surpassed common sense.
This time, a female staff member asked a question.
“Do you already have a song made?”
“Yes. It doesn’t have an official title yet, but it’s a ballad called ‘Song No. 1.’”
“You already made a song! Then are you working on the next one now?”
“For now, yes.”
“Is the next one also a ballad?”
“No. I’m planning to try a dance track next.”
“Oooooh-”
The employees let out pure exclamations. However, their expectations regarding the song’s quality weren’t that high.
‘He’s definitely great at writing lyrics, but composing must still be beginner level, right? He did say he’s still studying.’
From the time of ‘Produce That 100!’, Si-hoo had shown results, but as for Kang Rojun, even if he was skilled in other areas, he’d never shown anything in composition.
‘Even if his composing is amateur-level, the fact that he’s trying is respectable in itself. He’s naturally musically gifted, so even if he’s lacking now, he’ll probably get good soon.’
On top of that, the staff found it a little unexpected. That his first composition would be a ballad. Then one of them recalled the early days of ‘Produce That 100!’.
“Ah- come to think of it, Rojun-nim sang ‘Farewell’ in the first evaluation of ‘Produce That 100!’, right??”
“That’s part of why I made a ballad too.”
“Would it be possible to listen to that ballad?”
“Right now?”
“Yes. If you’d prefer to polish it a bit more before sharing, that’s totally fine too.”
‘Song No. 1’ was already perfect. As if it didn’t really matter, Rojun took out his phone.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll let you hear it.”
“Ah! Thank you!”
All eyes of the A&R team staff were fixed on Rojun, and Kang Rojun, with a calm expression, tapped his phone screen here and there. Meanwhile, he was slightly nervous inside.
‘Besides Si-hoo hyung, this is the first time, right? Letting someone hear my song. This is kind of nerve-racking.’
A few seconds later.
-Swoosh.
Kang Rojun played ‘Song No. 1.’
-♬♪
The meeting room was instantly filled with the melody of the ballad. What was interesting was.
“......Huh?”
The expressions of the staff changing in real-time.
“???”
They blinked rapidly or furrowed their brows. All of them shifted to uniformly serious faces. About a minute later, Rojun stopped the playback.
“How was it?”
As if waiting for that moment, the staff jumped in.
“Wh-what is this??! It’s good?! It’s so good!”
“Exactly! Are you sure this is your first time composing?! That makes no sense.”
“The quality is honestly professional level?? Wow- wait, please let us hear up to the second verse!”
Slightly startled by the excited staff, Kang Rojun played the song again while smiling inwardly.
‘Nice reaction. This is the kind of thrill composing gives.’
Each side job offered its own kind of catharsis. That was the driving force that kept Kang Rojun moving. Whatever it was, once the staff had heard the second verse as well, their excitement evolved into frenzy.
“......It’s incredible.”
“You could literally pitch this to top-tier ballad singers and it would sell immediately.”
“Wait, Rojun-nim! You said you’re still studying composition! But your first song is already at a pro level?!!”
Even after that, the staff's praise didn’t stop, and a female employee urgently asked Rojun,
“What are you planning to do with this ‘Song No. 1’?”
“For now, I’m thinking of collecting all the songs I make.”
“That’s a good idea. The song’s good enough to still sell even after a few years.”
The staff strongly agreed.
“Right? It doesn’t sound dated at all, even after years.”
“This makes me really, really excited for the dance track Rojun-nim said he’d make next.”
“Can we ask how far along the next dance track is? Still in the planning stage?”
It should be fine to share something. Kang Rojun responded, not revealing everything, but giving a reasonable summary.
“I’ve decided on the concept at least, ‘GreenBee’.”
“Ah! ‘GreenBee’? That was one of the candidate group names??”
“Yes. I’m planning to build the song around ‘GreenBee’.”
“......Hmm.”
The staff suddenly became serious and exchanged looks, then one of the male employees met Rojun’s eyes.
“Would it be possible to hear that song sometime soon? We’d like to include it in the pool for ‘Vanguard’s debut songs.”
“My song too?”
“Yes. It’s not definite yet, but after hearing ‘Song No. 1', we really want the next one too. Ah- of course, your opinion matters most, Rojun-nim.”
“I don’t mind. What’s the deadline?”
“Hmm- within two weeks would be best, but no later than the end of this month… ah, but there’s really not much time. It might be tough.”
While the staff looked discouraged, Kang Rojun remained upbeat.
“I’ll give it a try.”
Later.
Before they knew it, it was Friday. With the group name finalized, Kang Rojun and the members focused primarily on rehearsing for the year-end awards show performance, and in the meantime, various departments at GN Entertainment became even busier.
Of course, among them, the one whose workload increased the most was Kang Rojun.
‘I’ll have to keep working even after I get back to the dorm today.’
So much that working at the company wasn’t enough, he had to work at the dorm too. He cut down on sleep. While handling the training volume required of an idol, he also managed all his side jobs, like writing, lyrics, and composition.
Especially in the past few days, he focused on composing.
It might even be more intense than during ‘Produce That 100!’
But Rojun didn’t feel stifled at all. If anything, he enjoyed it several times more. Because the environment had changed. During ‘Produce That 100!’, he had been an outright amateur, but now he was at the stage just before debut. Debut was right in front of him? His adrenaline had no choice but to explode.
Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were also influenced by Kang Rojun.
Everyone was cutting down on sleep and striving for growth. Alongside composing, Si-hoo reviewed the feedback he had received during training, and Kang-min and Do-kyung also worked on improving what they were already good at or revisiting what they lacked.
By the time the weekend arrived, the media had begun pouring out numerous articles about the year-end.
《[Issue Pick] MBS and KBC, who couldn't secure Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, Do-kyung, complete lineup of S-class idols for year-end award ceremony celebration stages》
《The year-end award season begins again this year... Who will come out on top among SBC, MBS, and KBC?》
《S-Class idols vs. ‘Produce That 100!’ winners, public broadcasters set for a showdown at year-end award shows》
Only three weeks remained until the end of the year.
Naturally, the atmosphere was intensifying.
《Red carpet to be laid at Sangam SBS Prism Tower where this year's Acting Awards will be held/ Photo》
Public anticipation was sky-high.
-I wanna see Rojun walking on that red carpet already aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
-Even if MBS and KBC pulled in some amazing idols, I’m 100% going with SBC!!
-ㅋㅋ this is hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋThose ‘Produce That 100!’ guys haven’t even debuted yet, why is everyone so hyped??
-↑No feeding the trolls
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThis is the first time I’m actually excited for the year-end award shows
With that, the weekend came to a close, and Monday began once again. Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had brought Kang Rojun and the members to the company, stood in front of the GN Entertainment CEO’s office.
“Phew-”
Even someone like him, who was usually a bit weak but rarely looked nervous, seemed to find CEO Ha Seo-hwan quite intimidating.
‘First time one-on-one.’
After a moment of steadying himself, he adjusted his loosely worn coat and knocked on the door.
-Knock knock.
Manager Kim Ki-baek opened the door. Inside the CEO’s office, CEO Ha Seo-hwan, who had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, came into view. Flashing a mature and charming smile, he gestured toward the five-seat sofa.
“Have a seat.”
“Yes, CEO nim.”
As soon as Kim Ki-baek sat down on the sofa, CEO Ha Seo-hwan took the seat at the head of the set. Kim Ki-baek glanced between Ha Seo-hwan’s solid upper body and his own weak-looking frame, then gave an awkward cough.
-Swoosh.
He buttoned up his coat.
Whether he noticed or not, CEO Ha Seo-hwan crossed his legs and spoke in a calm yet weighty tone.
“This is our first time one-on-one, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How’s GN treating you?”
Kim Ki-baek rolled his eyes briefly before replying.
"The food is delicious."
“That’s the highest compliment.”
“The staff look happy, too. I think they have a lot of pride.”
“......”
“More than anything, thank you for letting me handle the ‘Vanguard’ kids.”
After staring silently at Kim Ki-baek for a few seconds, CEO Ha Seo-hwan shifted the topic.
“Speaking of ‘Vanguard', I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
“By thoughts, do you mean... about what exactly?”
“What comes to mind when you look at how things are going recently.”
“May I speak freely?”
“By all means.”
Though the CEO said freely, Kim Ki-baek began with a touch of discomfort.
“Hmm... I think the A&R team will report on it soon, but depending on the song collection process, there’s a high possibility that the album will be a single with one or two tracks.”
“I know.”
“Yes, but I personally think that’s a bit of a shame.”
“A shame.”
“Yes. From the perspective of a newcomer, ‘Vanguard’ feels more suited to a mini-album with at least three songs than a single.”
“But the trend is heading toward a single album?”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan switched the direction of his crossed legs and muttered in a low voice.
“That’s a passive move. It reflects subconscious fear due to past failures.”
It seemed that CEO Ha Seo-hwan had already seen the big picture and anticipated this.
“Please continue.”
“...Hmm- I think three to four tracks would be optimal. And I wonder if, rather than having one title track and the rest as B-sides, we could approach all of them as if they were title tracks.”
“Make the promotion period longer?”
“Yes.”
In other words, instead of wrapping up promotions with a single title track, all the songs would need to be produced with title-track-level quality and promoted equally as such.
But doing that would cost several times more.
Moreover, whether the songs sell only to fans or become hit tracks that reach the general public is a completely different matter. Manager Kim Ki-baek, who knew this industry inside out, understood that better than anyone.
‘If there’s only one title track, the cost is limited to things like one choreography and one marketing plan, but if all songs are treated as titles, then the cost triples or quadruples.’
Which naturally made him cautious.
‘Back at my previous company, when I brought up this idea, it got tossed straight into the trash can.’
Most entertainment companies aim to spend as little money as possible while maximizing profit. From that perspective, Kim Ki-baek’s idea wouldn’t be easy to approve.
‘But the ‘Vanguard’ kids aren’t your average idols, right? Even if doing all tracks as titles is too much, at least two songs should be treated as title tracks.’
At that moment.
“Let’s do it that way.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan calmly and decisively gave the conclusion.
“Then we’ll need to shoot music videos for all the songs.”
*****
For 30 or more extra chapters, you can check out my Patreon here --> /dreamscribe