Chapter 8
The thing I hated most in the world was singing. Throughout my life, I could handle anything else, but I was always incredibly envious of people who could sing well. Back in my school days, whenever I sang, everyone around me would burst into laughter and have a great time. Even now, thinking about that time makes me kick my blanket in my sleep. And now they wanted me to do a guide recording? I absolutely wanted to avoid it, but Hwang Jae-hu confidently said he had a way.
‘You’re telling me to do it, so I will, but I’m tone-deaf and have no rhythm. Are you sure it’ll be okay?’
– I’ll sing with you. Your body is very different from what you think, so don’t be surprised when you hear it.
‘It won’t work…’
– Just do as I say.
I wasn’t keen on it, but after some training, he told me to try singing, so I did. A refreshing yet deeply appealing, beautiful voice resonated. The sound clearly came from my mouth, but it was so different from what I’d expected. Hwang Jae-hu said that was the difference between vocalization and resonance. Of course, his possession had significantly improved my breathing and singing technique, but he said I was naturally blessed with a rich volume, good tone, and high notes.
‘Me…?’
In my entire life, I’d never heard such a thing. I couldn’t understand it at all, but I continued the recording. What was amazing was that as I sang according to Hwang Jae-hu’s directions, my singing skills improved along with it.
‘I can sing this well?’
– I told you that would happen.
‘How strange.’
– Maybe you just didn’t know yourself?
I didn’t know myself… that’s absolutely not it. It was strange ever since I heard I was born with a sense for composition. It seemed that while being fried 348,754 times in the Oil Cauldron Hell, I had undergone some sort of metamorphosis. That was definitely it.
– Your breathing has become very natural. Shall we start again from here?
‘You said not to put any emotion in this part?’
– Yes. Sing it calmly.
Anyway, as I diligently followed his instructions, the guide recording was finished before I knew it.
—
* * *
—
J-Entertainment’s 8th floor, CEO’s office. A dignified white-haired man and a sturdy man were having a conversation over coffee. The white-haired man in his late 50s with round gold-rimmed glasses was Geum Sang-cheol, the CEO of J-Entertainment. Across from him was the robust man, Kim Joon-soo, who had started as a roadie and risen to become the Executive Director and Head of Planning. Geum Sang-cheol was listening to “Black Excitement” coming from the speakers.
“CEO-nim, what song is this all of a sudden?”
“How is it? Sounds decent, doesn’t it?”
“Well… Is it Black Girls’ new song?”
Black Girls, Korea’s representative girl group, was the one who had elevated J-Entertainment—which had been far too inadequate to be called a major company—to right below the Big Four. They were J-Entertainment’s pride and foundation. Now in their 6th year since debut, Black Girls were preparing to enter the US market, leveraging their high popularity and recognition in Korea and various Asian countries.
“Come on, this is a rookie composer’s song. I can’t give it to Black Girls. I’d get cursed at.”
“Now that you mention it, it did sound unfamiliar. So it was a rookie composer’s song?”
“A rookie named JH. Division Head Seon Woo-cheol brought it in.”
“Who are they going to give the song to?”
“I heard they got it for Lovely.”
“Lovely hasn’t found a song yet, so they’re going to use a rookie’s song? At that point, wouldn’t it be better to just cancel their activities?”
“Division Head Seon says the song is good.”
“I see. Then they can just give it to Lovely as planned.”
“Looks like that’s what’s going to happen. But Division Head Seon made an interesting proposal, and I’m debating whether to accept it.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“He’s asking us not to reduce the budget and activity period, but to properly push Lovely instead.”
“And what about this rookie’s song?”
“They’ll use this for their activities.”
“Using a rookie’s song and asking for full support? That’s ridiculous. Activities aren’t a joke—once they start, a considerable amount of money will be spent… If it were up to me, I’d just terminate the contract altogether… Why would they do something like that?”
“I had the same reaction, but he said he’d take responsibility if they fail.”
“I see…”
“He said he’ll take full responsibility, so just push them this once. I have to grant his request, don’t I?”
“You said the composer is a rookie, right?”
“Yes.”
“And yet he’s asking for support, saying he’ll take responsibility?”
“Division Head Seon said he felt it the moment he heard the song. So I’m listening to it too, but I don’t really get it.”
“What did AR Team Leader Lee Sang-ho say?”
“Team Leader Lee said he’s not sure either.”
“Is that so? If Division Head Seon went that far, I suppose we should give it a chance.”
“You want to push them?”
“Division Head Seon has made contributions over the years, and he says he’ll take responsibility if they fail. Shouldn’t we grant his request?”
“Alright. If that’s Executive Director Kim’s opinion, let’s do it. Call! But if they fail, make sure he takes responsibility.”
“Seon Woo-cheol is an executive, so of course he’ll be responsible for his words.”
—
* * *
—
The decision regarding Lovely was reversed once again. After leaving the CEO’s office, Kim Joon-soo returned to his own office and smoked a cigarette, deep in thought.
‘It’s definitely going to flop.’
The idol scene is a strange thing—no matter how good a song is, if a flop group like Lovely sings it, it will never succeed. Of course, there are miraculous cases of reverse runs, but those are exactly that—miracles. Furthermore, it’s even rarer for a rookie composer’s song to become a hit. Even so, the fact that Seon Woo-cheol readily said he’d take responsibility bothered him.
Now just an old tiger with missing teeth, but in the past, Seon Woo-cheol had been born with an instinct. It was unlikely, but in the one-in-a-million chance that Lovely dramatically revived with this song, it was as clear as day that Seon Woo-cheol’s position would strengthen again. Having just barely solidified his position as the second-in-command within J-Entertainment, backed by major shareholders, and harboring ambitions of becoming CEO someday—the prospect of his rival Seon Woo-cheol’s influence expanding was…
‘I absolutely cannot allow it. I must stop it!’
Knock on the bridge before crossing, as they say. No matter how much it was a rookie composer’s song, since he was determined to kill it, he had to use a sure hand.
‘If the choreography is shabby too, it’ll be even more buried.’
—
* * *
—
When I returned to the office, Lee Woo-seong was there. Spotted me, he asked with a bright expression.
“Su-ho, when did you get the song?”
“It just happened that way. Would you like some coffee?”
“Sure.”
Since we worked together, I had to let him know I was the composer. People easily get upset over small things like this. Lee Woo-seong, who looked like a bear but was perceptive, read my eyes and followed me to the first-floor café, knowing I had something to say.
“Manager, you haven’t heard the song yet, have you?”
“No, I haven’t. I may not know much else, but I’m known within the company for having a born sense for picking good songs.”
“Would you like to hear it?”
“Sure.”
“Just a moment.”
I took out Bluetooth earphones, handed them to Lee Woo-seong, and played the saved file. Lee Woo-seong closed his eyes as if appreciating classical music.
“Kya—! The song is good!”
“The song turned out well, right?”
“Definitely worthy of Division Head Seon Woo-cheol’s high praise.”
“What do you think, Manager?”
“Need I say more? With this song, Lovely will definitely succeed. I’ve been in the entertainment industry long enough to know—hit songs all have this feel.”
“What do you think of the lyrics?”
“What lyrics?”
“The words.”
“The lyrics aren’t playing.”
“That can’t be.”
Confused, I checked the playlist and realized it wasn’t “Black Excitement” but the song I’d composed as practice. Playing the wrong song was my mistake, but calling a complete beginner’s practice piece a hit song—Manager Lee Woo-seong was definitely tone-deaf. I wanted to say that perhaps Lee Woo-seong’s contribution to Lovely’s repeated failures was significant, but I held back and played “Black Excitement.” Manager Lee Woo-seong, oblivious to my thoughts, responded even more enthusiastically, but my trust in his judgment had already crumbled.
“Su-ho, even the lyrics are perfect.”
“The song distribution among the members is already done through the arrangement process, so vocal training can be done accordingly.”
“Above all, the members’ preparation is most important. We should start them on song practice until they’re perfect.”
“Absolutely.”
“How did you get to know this composer JH?”
“Actually, I am JH. I made ‘Black Excitement.'”
“Why are you joking with such a serious face?”
“It’s true. Here’s the contract.”
Thinking he wouldn’t easily believe me, I took out the contract and showed it to him. Only then did Lee Woo-seong express his surprise and ask how this had happened.
“I studied composition in my spare time as a hobby.”
“Composition? Amazing. So now you’re not a roadie but a composer teacher?”
“If that were the case, I would’ve signed the contract under my real name, not JH.”
“You want to continue as a roadie?”
“I may not know much else, but I have to make Lovely succeed.”
“Heh heh, I like that. More importantly, you’ll be doing the members’ vocal training, right?”
“Me…?”
– You did the arrangement and guide vocal, so of course you should do it.
‘Is that so?’
– Of course. I’ll help you, so just say yes.
‘You’re making all kinds of excuses because you want to keep possessing me, aren’t you…’
“If you don’t, who will?”
“…Of course I will.”
“The members are probably waiting eagerly. Go tell them the song is here. They’ll be thrilled when they hear it.”
“Aren’t you going to do it, Manager?”
“It’s better for the composer to tell them directly than me. And starting tomorrow, we’ll be moving non-stop, so tonight, treat them to a nice meal.”
“Some kind of last supper?”
“Sometimes they need this to get motivated.”
—
* * *
—
Practice Room A, located in the innermost part of the basement floor. The four members of Lovely were talking with Blue Velvet’s Yewon and Airin. Blue Velvet technically hadn’t debuted yet, but since they’d recently signed a girl group contract in preparation for their debut, the company was treating them as celebrities.
“Unnies, you still haven’t found a song, right?”
“Not yet, but the manager oppa said he’ll find a good song soon.”
“Unnies, looks like you still don’t know?”
“Know what?”
Among the members, the most outgoing Ji-a, who had the smallest age gap with them, took the lead in the conversation with Airin and Yewon.
“I heard the company is drastically cutting your activity budget and shortening your activity period to 7 days. You haven’t heard that yet, have you?”
“…Who said that?”
“As expected, you didn’t know. We came because we thought you’d be upset when you heard the news.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s because of us, so we felt uncomfortable too.”
“We haven’t heard anything at all.”
“Ask your manager when he comes.”
“I heard the higher-ups are even considering canceling your activities or terminating your contracts. It might become reality soon.”
“Te-termination?”
“They said Lovely hasn’t succeeded once since debut and only incurred losses. Isn’t that right?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Unnies, I know it’s upsetting, but cheer up.”
“We’ll be moving up.”
“Right, right.”
“Fighting, unnies.”
They called them “unnies,” but they were only in their early twenties. Lovely’s still-young members, as soon as Airin and Yewon left, slumped to the floor with deflated expressions. The budget cut and shortened activity period regarding their comeback were shocking enough, but the possibility of being kicked out filled them with dread. It’s a common occurrence for flop groups that haven’t gained popularity to be disbanded or neglected midway. In reality, Lovely was being quietly neglected as well, and though they didn’t show it, everyone could feel it. A prime example was that Super Heroes, in their 2nd year since debut, were treated much better than Lovely, who were in their 5th year. They’d even recently been overtaken by Blue Velvet, who hadn’t even debuted. It was devastating every time, and now was no different.
Meanwhile, Airin and Yewon, who had left the practice room, were giggling as if something was amusing. In their conversation, Lovely’s center Hye-rin’s name kept being mentioned.
—
* * *
—
I called Lovely’s members out of the practice room and loaded them into the car. The members, who seemed especially listless today, immediately became sullen when I said we were going for a special company dinner. This wasn’t the reaction I’d expected. I wasn’t expecting the enthusiastic response of starving high school girls, but I thought at least cheers would erupt—instead, it felt like a funeral parlor.
The atmosphere was so different from what I’d expected that I found it strange. As I looked at the members, I made eye contact with the youngest, Kwon Ji-a. I didn’t know why or for what reason, but with reddened, moist eyes, she asked in a weak voice:
“Su-ho oppa, is it really true? Where are we going?”
“We’re going to eat something delicious. Why such a reaction? Don’t you want to eat?”
“I do want to eat, but this is so sudden?”
“It’s a kind of last supper.”
“Huh! A last supper? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah—! So we’re being kicked out immediately?”
