Chapter 229. Putting Three Girls Together Causes Something Big (1)

“SoYoung, it’s been such a long time!”
“Oh, HeeYoon.”

HeeYoon and Park SoYoung met in the World Entertainment studio after a long time.
HeeYoon was thrilled to meet her, Park SoYoung was surprised but only replied with a faint smile.
Seeing that, HeeYoon asked worriedly.

“Are you sick? You don’t look so good.”
“No. HeeYoon, I have something to do now, so I’ll talk to you later.”
“Huh? Ok.”

Park SoYoung left the studio as soon as she said those words.

“SoYoung’s acting strange. Is something up?”

While HeeYoon looked confused, the door to the studio opened once again.
It was Lee HyunJi, clad in her flawless suit as always.

“Director-unni.”
“Even you’re calling me director-unni?”
“It has a nice ring to it. Director-unni.”
“…Sheesh.”

Lee HyunJi laughed and told her to sit down.
When HeeYoon looked somewhat confused, Lee HyunJi took out a USB stick.

“What’s that, unni?”
“It’s the song that JiMin brought me this time.”
“Really? I wanted to listen to it.”

HeeYoon was aware that Kim JiMin was working together with Park SoYoung and Seo HanYu to produce a song.
It was great to see that many different possibilities were being tested within the company.
Soon, the song started being played back inside the studio, and HeeYoon focused on the 8-beat music.

– Today disappears like a disappointing gift-

The acoustic guitar, the drums, and the bass formed a harmony with Kim JiMin’s crisp voice starting from the intro.
However, listening to the middle parts, HeeYoon tilted her head.

‘It’s somewhat strange.’

It was definitely a good song, but she felt something off about it.
Once she felt that the song’s flow changed somewhat, the thought stayed in her mind until the very end.
After the song was over, HeeYoon shook her head and expressed her opinions.

“It’s good, but… I think there’s something strange mixed within.”
“What do you think about releasing this as an album?”
“Hm….”

It was hard for her to say for sure.
It had an excellent melody and a very good rearrangement, but something just tickled her mind.

“I think it’s better to talk to my brother about it.”
“So you think so as well. Well, I guess that’s the safest way.”
“No one’s as capable as him when it comes to musical judgment. He’s coming back tomorrow, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. I’m going to the airport to pick him up. Would you like to come with me?”
“Sure, if you’re alright with it.”

***

“…And that’s why both of you are here to pick me up?”

On the motorway back to Seoul CBD from Incheon International Airport.
KangYoon laughed awkwardly while sitting on the passenger seat while Lee Hyunji drove.

“I’m sorry when you must be tired. But I thought I should give them feedback quickly.”

KangYoon waved his hand, saying that it was okay.

– Today, the first day of my twenties —

While Kim JiMin’s song started flowing, KangYoon focused on the music.

‘Are the drums strange? It feels like they put the wrong clothes on.’

The musical notes that he saw from the speakers in the car were creating white light.
However, when the drums started getting louder in the middle parts, the white was beginning to turn murky.
The drums fell apart, and it made KangYoon feel like everything was falling apart somewhat as well.
After listening to the song until the end, KangYoon tilted his head.

“I should have a listen to it at the studio to be sure… but I don’t think the sound selection in the rearrangement went well nor did the mastering. This isn’t the final rendition, right?”

Hearing KangYoon’s question, HeeYoon, seated at the back, replied to him.

“Yeah. HanYu said she was doing the mastering, and as for the rearrangement… it’s supposedly finished.”
“Really? Who did it then?”
“SoYoung did.”

Hearing that, KangYoon sighed a little and shook his head.

“…I guess I should call her tomorrow and talk to her about it. Okay then.”

KangYoon no longer said anything about the song, but both Lee HyunJi and HeeYoon felt that releasing this song in its current state was not going to happen.
When the air seemed to be a little heavy, HeeYoon switched topics.

“You said MoonHee-unni seems like she hit the jackpot, right?”
“Jackpot, you say, since we only printed 30 thousand albums, the sales aren’t that high yet.”

At that moment, Lee HyunJi interrupted.

“It’s because you’re so strict about statistics that you don’t see it as a jackpot. You should tell her the pre-orders for new batches.”
“The pre-orders?”

When HeeYoon tilted her head, Lee HyunJi replied with a soft smile.

“It was 200 thousand the first week.”
“…Whoa there.”
“As a rookie enka singer, that is a huge jackpot. Moreover, I heard that she’s getting many TV appearances despite her trouble with the JAN.”

It was just as she said.
After In MoonHee’s debut, rumors about her spread like wildfire through social media, and the video of her singing currently has over 4 million views already.
Since the songs were so good, people started looking for the album, which led to more profit.
This happened within the first 3 to 4 days.
At the end of the summer, a ‘Yuri-wave’ was blowing.

“It looks like our company funds will be quite full again in a month.”

Thinking about the incoming money, Lee HyunJi’s face blossomed into a smile.

***

– We appreciate your consideration for our artist Yuri. However, we believe that Yuri is still lacking to join the JAN. I hope we can… (omitted)
[Dammit!]

The chairman of the JAN, Haruki Subaru, shouted angrily while looking at the email from A-Trust.

[I extended my offer to them with a wide heart, and what? You are still lacking to join the JAN? HAH!]

It was expressed formally, but it was practically saying, ‘I’m not joining your association.’

[I shouldn’t have listened to that white man, what the hell is this now!]

The JAN received damages because he listened to Richard’s instructions.
If the artist Yuri joined the JAN and paid the fees…
The profits of having sold over 200 thousand albums in one week would raise the JAN to new heights, and it would all be his contribution.
However, they had already burned the bridges.
As his hands started trembling, his phone started ringing.
It was from an important person in his company.

– M… Mr. Haruki. Can you turn the TV on for a moment?
[The TV? Is something happening?]
– This is very serious so let’s talk about it after you watch it. It’s on channel 43.

The other party hung up one-sidedly.
Haruki Subaru turned on the TV while grumbling.
Channel 43 focused on celebrity news.
On the channel, a group of singers read a script in front of many journalists.

– The JAN chairman, Haruki Subaru, one-sidedly raised the association fee from 3% to 6%. Moreover, he rejected a rookie with a potential solely based on the fact that she is from Korea and…
[!!!!!!]

It was a press conference for his impeachment.
The singers all declared that the current JAN run by Haruki Subaru, who had raised the fee, had no more potential, and that they would leave the JAN and create a new enka association.
It was enough to freak Haruki Subaru out.

[Th, those…!]

He felt like he would faint if he watched anymore, so he turned off the TV.
However, that wasn’t the end of it.
Ping!
A message arrived on his phone, and he looked at it while shaking his hands.

– It looks like our relationship ends here. Nothing happened between us.

The message was from Richard.
Misfortune came his way all at once.

[Aaaaack!]

Haruki Subaru’s screams resounded within the chairman’s office.

***

[…Pathetic.]

Throwing his phone onto the sofa, Richard sighed.
On his TV was the Japanese TV program he put on.

– We cannot stand the tyranny of Chairman Haruki Subaru anymore and…

Turning off the TV, Richard turned his gaze outside the window.

‘Yuri-chan? Chaaan? Tch.’

The sound of teeth-gritting could be heard from his mouth.

***

On KangYoon’s first day of work after returning to Korea.
He called for all the artists belonging to World Entertainment.
As none of them were particularly busy with any schedule, everyone gathered save for In MoonHee.

‘I still am not used to seeing Min JinSeo here.’
‘Me too… we’re both celebrities, right?’

Jung ChanGyu and Kim JinDae were busy taking glances at Min JinSeo, who stood next to Kang GiJoon in one corner of the room.
Though, they soon got their punishment from Lee ChaHee.
When everyone seemed to have gathered inside the studio, KangYoon talked briefly about In MoonHee’s debut in Japan.
When they heard that she produced great results in Japan, everyone’s eyes fired up in envy and motivation.

“Well, I guess everyone did rest for a long time.”

KangYoon had a look at the calendar.
It was nearing the end of August.
Summer was almost over, and Autumn was coming.
From Eddios, who had minor schedules to attend to starting in the winter, to Kim JaeHoon and Kim JiMin, who focused on going to events as well as White Moonlight who practically lived in Lunas all this time – everyone was eager for a new album.
While everyone looked at each other, KangYoon called out some names.

“JiMin, HanYu, and SoYoung. Why don’t you three talk to me for a minute?”

The ones that were called out rejoiced, and the others expressed their disappointment.
It was common knowledge that those three were working together on a song in the company.

“As for the others, please wait a little longer. Or, you can bring me songs that you worked on… Let’s talk about planning albums when you come to me. Any questions?”

Although this meeting happened after a long time, it wasn’t that long.
After seeing that no one raised their hand, KangYoon finished the meeting.
Just as everyone packed their stuff and left, Min JinSeo approached KangYoon and put something in his hand.

– Dinner tonight? ^^

It was a small note written in girly handwriting.
KangYoon smiled and nodded his head.
Min JinSeo gave KangYoon’s hand a tight grab before leaving.

‘She’s so cute.

Feeling excitement from her back figure, someone grabbed his arm.

“Sir.”
“Oh, JiMin.”
“Who are you looking at?”

Hearing Kim JiMin’s question, KangYoon shook his head calmly.

“No one in particular. I was just watching everyone leave. So you’re here. Sit down.”

Kim JiMin, Seo HanYu, and Park SoYoung sat in front of KangYoon nervously.

“You’ve worked hard, the three of you. It wouldn’t have been easy getting your opinions together. The composer, the rearranger, and the producer worked together; I’m glad to see that.”

Although he started with a compliment, the three of them were still nervous.
The real part hadn’t started yet.
And soon, KangYoon gave his rational judgment on the song.

“It’s a good song… but I don’t think we can release it as it is now.”

All three girls sighed at those words.
Seo Han Yu spoke first. She seemed especially disappointed.

“Was the mastering bad?”

Perhaps it was her fault in the mastering? She was worried that she might have caused trouble for the other two.
However, KangYoon shook his head in disagreement.

“Let’s talk about the mastering first then, shall we? First up, the mastering was very well done. You started from the drums, right?”
“Yes, because you told me that was the first thing I should do…”
“Well done. The drums and the bass were leveled well. However, your leveling of the acoustic guitar was a little off. I have something to tell you about spatial awareness. There are more than ten sounds here, but I felt that all the sounds were coming from one spot.
“…The spatial awareness was too hard…”

When Seo HanYu looked dejected, KangYoon smiled before continuing.

“You just need to imagine the instruments on stage and set their position accordingly. It gets messy if all the sounds come from one place. What you’re trying to do is minimize that. And the frequency. I have something to talk about that as well.”

“Here, track eight and track nine has a lot of overlap, right?”
“…Yes.”
“You should shave that down a little so that it doesn’t overlap, right?”
“…Yes.”

Seo HanYu accepted immediately.
KangYoon pointed out the basics that she had missed.
After finishing his words to Seo HanYu, KangYoon turned around to Kim JiMin.

“The chord here is F Major 7, okay. Well then, considering the key of this song, what do you think should come next?”
“A G7? or an F?”
“Yes. Well then, let’s try both of them, shall we?”

KangYoon went to the synthesizer and played the chord and the melody at the same time.
He first played the chord written on the original score, then changed it to G7 and then F in his next run, while asking for opinions.

“I think G7 is better.”
“I liked the last one better.”

Park SoYoung liked the G7 version, while Seo HanYu liked the one after that.
Kim JiMin looked dejected.
Seeing that, KangYoon patted her back.

“I think it’ll be better if we just change the melody. I don’t think we need to use such a difficult progression.”
“…Aaah, okay.”

Making Kim JiMin accept his words, KangYoon turned around to Park SoYoung this time.

“SoYoung.”
“Yes.”

However, unlike before, KangYoon didn’t explain anything.
He simply put his hands on her shoulders and smiled softly.

“I believe in you.”

He didn’t tell her much, unlike the other two.
The words that she didn’t expect to hit her hard in her heart.