Chapter 225. Yuri-chan (1)

‘Why did Akabashi not stop praising this person?’

The CEO of A-Trust, Kojima, took glances at KangYoon while drinking coffee.
His tall stature and broad shoulders were definitely impressive. However, nothing stood out from him whether it was his style of clothing or his facial expressions.
Then why did Akabashi Tao praise this KangYoon to no end?
Just because they worked together on JooAh’s project?
In fact, the one that caught his eyes more was Lee HyunJi.

‘Maybe that woman is the CEO?’

She may be small, but her eyes were sharp, and there was an air of pressure around her.
He whispered to the lady next to him, Producer Tsukasa, to check if it was just him that felt this.

[The lady looks to be more in power, doesn’t she?]
[I think so too, but I’m not sure.]president
[Alright, so we should find out what kind of person he is first.]

Stopping their whispering, President Kojima smiled softly.

[Hahaha. I had a great time watching the video you sent us. I never thought that I would get to watch someone from another country sing ‘Osaka-de(In Osaka)’. Her voice still lingers in my mind. I’m glad to see a singer so good.]

‘Osaka-de’ was a renowned Japanese Enka that was released in the 70s.
However, a woman not yet thirty could bring out the emotions in that song so well.
Thanks to that, he, the CEO, decided to come here himself.
Although he heard a big compliment, KangYoon waved his hand with a light smile.

[Not at all. She’s still lacking. The feelings unique to Enka and the characteristics that stem from that culture… she’s still lacking to sing enka properly.]
[But I believe that her voice alone is enough to debut. I was excited to come here.]

Although the other party complimented him endlessly, KangYoon didn’t make any rash decisions.
The general mood between them was good though.
Meanwhile, Lee HyunJi watched the conversation unfold while speaking intermittently.

‘Are they probing us out?’

Everyone had smiles on their faces, but no one said ‘let’s do it’.
However, the fact that they came all the way here meant that they had intentions to sign the contract, but the other party was Japanese.
They were known to be very cautious.
KangYoon clapped midway through the conversation.

[Right about now… she should be coming back after her skin parlor. Would you like to meet her in person?]

Producer Tsukasa replied to those words.

[Yes. I wish to know the singer in person.]
[Can you please wait a moment?]

KangYoon called manager Kim JiHyun, who was taking care of In MoonHee.
She told him that they would arrive in 20 minutes.

“Please take care.”

After the call, KangYoon turned around to the A-Trust people again.

[I was told they would be arriving in twenty minutes. You can come downstairs while you wait.]

After they finished their coffees, the four of them went down to the studio.
Watching the studio speckless, Producer Tsukasa showed interest.

[The facilities here are clean. Huh? Isn’t this the OSM-137? It’s hard to get your hands on one of these things these days…]

Producer Tsukasa’s eyes gleamed as she eyed the installed mixer, speakers, and various instruments.
They weren’t just expensive equipment; they were renowned for being tried-and-true equipment, so as a producer, she was naturally interested.

[I had to search a lot to get these. I found them with difficulty on foreign websites.]
[Really? Ah, you’re terrific. Can I… turn them on?]

Producer Tsukasa asked cautiously, wondering that it might be an impolite request, but KangYoon nodded.
She controlled many of the equipment with fluency and had an expression like a little child.

[Sheesh, that otaku.]

President Kojima clicked his tongue but wasn’t able to stop her.
Her eyes were drawn to the number of speakers. They numbered much more than usual studios.

[There’s a lot of speakers here. It looks like you care a lot about sound.]

Although the speakers were actually for looking at the music notes from the songs in more detail, they could also be used for surround sound experiences.
KangYoon smiled and nodded his head.

[It’s a studio, so I put a little more investment into the sound quality.]
[This isn’t just a little more though… Hmm.]

Producer Tsukasa played back some files on the computer and tried adjusting the dials.
The harmony of highs and lows gave her a good impression of the studio.
They spent some time like that, and soon In MoonHee arrived.
She flinched after seeing the unfamiliar people, but soon, she greeted them politely.

[Hello. I am In MoonHee.]

Her Japanese accent was still a little awkward, but it was enough to communicate.
President Kojima smiled and shook hands with her.

[Nice to meet you. I’m Kojima Makoto.]

After Producer Tsukasa, who was absorbed in the machines, greeted In MoonHee as well, KangYoon spoke to In MoonHee.

[Exercise your voice and get ready.]
[Yes.]

In MoonHee took off her coat and started doing some vocal exercises.
After that, she was about to enter the booth like she always did when President Kojima asked in confusion.

[You do practices in the booth?]

Lee HyunJi replied to that question.

[Not every day, no. But we do so when necessary. Please hear her song with the accompaniment first and then hear her voice alone.]
[It’s interesting that we’re doing this in the opposite order. Alright.]

Kojima stood in front of the booth while thinking that it was rather peculiar.

“I’m starting it.”

When In MoonHee gave the OK signal, KangYoon played back the music recording that he had prepared beforehand.
Soon, an acoustic guitar and an ocarina could be heard, decorating the introductory part.
This was the ‘Osaka-de’ song that they sent a video of to the people of A-Trust.

– 痛い目見てやっと気づいた馬鹿なあたし
(Only after having a hard time did I realize how foolish I was)

Seeing what he watched on the video in person, President Kojima and Producer Tsukasa fell into contemplation.

‘She’s skilled.’
‘Yes. Her voice fits well with the sorrowful melodies of enka… and it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of effects applied onto the mic either. There’s nothing done to her voice. It’s clear.’

In MoonHee was digesting the culture of enka perfectly, when it was supposed to be a Japanese cultural song.
After the first verse, KangYoon was about to tell her to stop, but Producer Tsukasa stopped him.

[I want to listen to the end.]

KangYoon nodded his head and told In MoonHee to continue singing.
In MoonHee closed her eyes and continued to sing.
Producer Tsukasa looked alternately at In MoonHee and the speakers above before tilting her head.
Seeing that, Lee HyunJi whispered to Producer Tsukasa who was hesitating in front of the mixer.

‘Would you like to have a go at it?’
‘May I?’

When Lee HyunJi asked KangYoon, he soon gave up his seat.
Producer Tsukasa joyfully started adjusting the mixer.
When she did, various effects were added to In MoonHee’s voice, making it crisper than before.

– あなたが他の子と話をしてるだけで
(Just watching you talk to other girls makes me)

In MoonHee’s breathing sounds, which couldn’t be heard before, started coming out, and it added to the sorrowful feeling of the song.
Soon, the pink musical note from her voice became thicker and thicker and made the white light brighter.

‘Looks like A-Trust came prepared. It’s not easy adjusting the mixer to her voice. This producer named Tsukasa seems to be a capable person as well.’

KangYoon took a step back and looked at In MoonHee and Producer Tsukasa alternately in satisfaction.
Like that In MoonHee’s song reached its end.
When she left the booth, President Kojima greeted her with a bright smile.

“Sank yu fo sing-ing.”
“Thank you too. You could speak Korean?”

The sudden Korean made In MoonHee ask in surprise, but President Kojima only smiled, as he didn’t understand what she was saying.
Noticing what was happening, KangYoon spoke in his stead.

“Unfortunately not, I think. Thank you for your work.”
“Ah, yes.”

In MoonHee stood in front of everyone nervously.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she trained herself all this while for this moment.
She was about to go back to the booth to sing acapella, but President Kojima stopped her.

[Please wait. Can you give us some time?]

When KangYoon said okay, the two left the studio for a moment.
In MoonHee was somewhat confused since the people she was supposed to sing for just left.

“President. Will I… be alright?”
In MoonHee was shaking with worry.
Seeing that, Lee HyunJi grabbed her hand, and KangYoon patted her back.

“Of course, Miss MoonHee. You’ve done really well.”
“…director-unni.”
“Well done. It’ll go well, so don’t worry so much about it.”
“……”

They tried to put her at ease, but In MoonHee’s shaking didn’t go away so easily.
After around 20 minutes, the two fro A-Trust came back to the studio. Their faces were full of seriousness as though they made a huge decision.
President Kojima looked at KangYoon and spoke.

[Producer KangYoon.]
[Yes. Please speak.]

He took a deep breath before smiling.

[Miss MoonHee is an outstanding talent. I hope we can work together in the future.]

KangYoon shook hands with him and spoke.

[I will not fail your expectations.]

Everyone smiled.

***

[Music Room]

A room sign was hung up on the door to the room where Seo HanYu’s music equipment was installed.
Ailee Jung, who was passing by that door while eating ice cream, tilted her head since she just couldn’t understand them.

“…What an expensive hobby.”

Regardless, the inside of that room was busy.
Kim JiMin ambitiously set out to make a song herself, Park SoYoung stepped in to rearrange the music, and Seo HanYu told them that she would do the mastering on the song.
Their passion was intense, and they would probably make an oath to be sworn broth-, Uhm sisters if there was a peach tree in there.

(T/N: Referring to the oath sworn by Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in the three kingdoms (oath of the peach garden))

“SoYoung-unni, why don’t we bring out the groove on the intro?”

Kim JiMin spoke her opinion while pointing at one part of the score on the monitor.
Park SoYoung made some changes to the score, and an ocarina sound started flowing out along with an acoustic guitar, making everyone jerk their shoulders along with the rhythm.
However, someone wasn’t satisfied.

“SoYoung-unni, I don’t like the ocarina. Why don’t we go with another ocarina sound instead of ocarina 1?”
“I’ll try changing it to two.”

The problem began there.
They tried putting ocarina two and ocarina three, but none of them satisfied all three of them.

“Is an ocarina no good? How about a ukulele?”
“JiMin, but that’s more of a guitar sound.”
“Why don’t we have a listen to it and find out?”
“We can change after we think about it carefully.”
“Unni, sounds are supposed to be heard.”
“It takes time!”

Kim JiMin and Seo HanYu’s opinions couldn’t be narrowed down.
Although Park SoYoung was the oldest here, she was being thrown around in between the two.

‘Just how is Oppa taking care of all these artists?’

She now had more respect for KangYoon, who could listen to everyone’s opinions and bring out the best results.
After sighing, she tried to mediate between the two.

However, the three spent more time on getting their opinions together rather than working.

***

World Entertainment made a deal with A-Trust in regards to In MoonHee’s debut in Japan.
After that, their procession into Japan went very quickly.
A-Trust was making strategies for In MoonHee’s debut and her promotion in Japan, while KangYoon thought about her debut in Korea.
HeeYoon was having a busy time herself finishing off In MoonHee’s songs for her mini-album.
Meanwhile, In MoonHee had a completely different problem.

“…Yuri?”

Hearing the stage name she would use in Japan, In MoonHee tilted her head.

“It’s a common name in Japan, and it’s compatible in Korea as well, so I thought that we could use that stage name in both countries.”
“There are many famous singers with that stage name; I think it won’t stand out when it comes to search terms… I don’t think it fits the trend either.”

As In MoonHee wanted something more refreshing like an English name, she found it a bit of a pity.
However, Lee HyunJi thought differently.

“At first, maybe. But it’ll all change in one year.”
“…Okay.”

In MoonHee found it unfortunate, but she didn’t say anything about the name anymore.
Not long later, KangYoon entered the studio.

“MoonHee, you ready?”
“What? Ah, yes.”

In MoonHee pointed at a carrier bag in one corner of the studio.
Today was the day she went to A-Trust in Japan with KangYoon.

“It’s a little early, but shall we go?”
“Yes.”

KangYoon and In MoonHee were driven to Incheon International Airport by Lee HyunJi.