Chapter 232. Our Producer Disappeared (1)

“What? Exhausted?”

Director Moon GwangShik’s office.
Director Moon GwangShik was scolding Jang MinJi, the leader of Hello Tint, who was looking down on the floor.

“Tsk tsk. To think you’d complain after that tiny bit of schedule. Your senior’s never batted an eye with a schedule like yours.”
“Director, So-In and InJung are ill right now. If we keep…”
“No.”

Director Moon GwangShik frowned.

“How can an entertainer say such pathetic things during their activity period?”
“Director, we’ve been sleeping in the van for three straight months now. We rarely ever slept back at the dorms. MinHee’s period has been getting irregular. I, I really didn’t want to say this, but…”
“Then don’t.”

Jang MinJi became speechless by Director Moon GwangShik’s cruel words.
She appealed to him several times that all of the members were exhausted, but had to leave without getting any results.
When the door closed, Director Moon GwangShik shook his head.

“An entertainer during their activity period can’t even take that much? Tsk tsk. Kids these days don’t have any tenacity.”

He snorted and put his coat on before heading to the studio.
Today was the day of ECTM’s album recording. ECTM was a 7-man boy group.
Inside the studio were 3 members of ECTM, who were the ones doing the recording today, as well as the second producer, Frey, who were working.
Nodding at the greetings of the singers and the producer, Director Moon GwangShik looked around.

“Where is Producer Oh?”

He was curious since this man was always present when recording albums.
Producer Frey narrowed his eyes as he replied.

“He hasn’t come to work yet.”
“Hasn’t come to work? Well, not that there’s anything for him to do here.”
“Right?”

Director Moon GwangShik put his hand on Producer Frey’s shoulders.

“You should get the title of the first producer this time. How long are you going to stay behind Producer Oh? Try hard, okay?”
“Yes! I’ll definitely meet your expectations.”

Producer Frey enthusiastically went back to work, and the singers inside the booth all started singing again.

‘Producer Oh is still better… but rather than a disobedient headache, an obedient fool is better.’

Seeing Producer Frey, Director Moon GwangShik’s lips curved upwards.

***

“The sound is too messy.”

Seo HanYu subconsciously frowned upon hearing the sharp percussion sound that was just inserted.
Producer Oh JiWan pointed at the graph that represented the sound frequencies and explained the reason.

“It’s because the extreme highs aren’t cut.”
“The extreme highs?”
“Let’s try removing this part here, shall we? Cut off anything above the 20 kHz range and…”

When Producer Oh JiWan adjusted the sound, the ear-piercing percussion sounds disappeared, and it became more refreshing.
Seo HanYu looked up towards Producer Oh Jiwan as though looking at superman.

“…You’re amazing.”
“Nah, this is nothing much.”

It was a great joy for a man to be admired by a lady in their prime.
Producer Oh JiWan straightened his shoulders.
Lee HyunJi and KangYoon, who were watching all of this, were watching with glee.

“Looks like he’s adapted already.”
“He’s fast. Producer Oh’s definitely more sociable, and he’s capable. I always thought that communication skills were a must in a producer.”
“Producer Oh is a flexible man. Not only are his ears for music good, he knows how to accept everyone’s opinions.

As soon as Lee HyunJi’s words finished, Kim JiMin expressed her opinion on the song to Producer Oh JiWan.

“Uhm, producer, about the vocals..”
“The vocals? So there’s a specific voice type you want?”

They were already at ease with each other, and the atmosphere looked good.

“The title of this song is 20, right? but it sounds too fluffy… I’m worried that it might sound too young rather than mature.”
“Hm. The freshness of being 20 years old amidst an acoustic mood, and you want to appeal to being mature at the same time, right?”
“Yes, that’s it.”

Producer Oh JiWan thought about it for a moment before speaking what he thought about this.

“Then, I think you should change the vocal method when you sing. You put strength into your stomach when you sing, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then this time, let’s go with a head voice.”

Producer Oh JiWan pointed out.
Kim JiMin’s expression brightened as though she saw hope.

“Okay!”
“Do you need anything else?”

Park SoYoung also asked some things about rearrangement, and the discussion became heated.

Lunchtime.
KangYoon took everyone to a nearby restaurant.

“Thank you for the meal!”

This restaurant had autographs of world entertainment artists.
The nearby customers were busy looking at Kim JiMin and Seo HanYu.
Some of them were even giving glances to KangYoon.
Producer Oh JiWan spoke as he ate some galbitang.

“I feel like I’ve finally done some work after all this time.”
“I wonder if I might have stolen valuable time off someone busy. You should be at your company right now…”

When KangYoon spoke apologetically, Producer Oh JiWan shook his head.

“…They’d do fine without me anyway. Fuu.”

His expression contained bitterness.
Then, Seo HanYu asked.

‘How can they roll without you? You’re the number 1 producer there, aren’t you?”
“Thanks for that.”

Producer Oh JiWan smiled faintly at Seo HanYu before continuing to speak.

“MG, as you know, has many talents. From trainees to singers, and from composers to producers. As we possess many talents, the competition is fierce, and skills are a must to survive the competition.”
“Indeed. As far as I know, you were the most trustworthy in MG, back when I worked there.”
“…Haha. I’m thankful that you, someone who was called the greatest planning team leader in MG history, tell me something like that. I was titled the first producer. But right now, it’s nothing more than a shell.”
“…So something happened.”
“What I’m about to say from this moment onwards, you can consider it to be an excuse from a dropout of the competition.”

Producer Oh JiWan emptied his cup in one go with a bitter expression.

“After you left, Team Leader KangYoon, the directors limited the decisions that could be made by the employees in order to consolidate their power. In that process, the authorities given to the producers shrank, and as a result, the quality of music that we released dropped.”
“So a non-professional is trying to take control of the professionals.”
“Indeed. Embarrassingly, I wasn’t able to work on an album for the past year.”
“……”

KangYoon felt bitter.
A capable producer like Producer Oh JiWan wasn’t able to spread his wings out.
Seo HanYu, who was listening quietly, pointed out.

“It’s because those baldies always use people that suck up to them… They always did.”

Seo HanYu gritted her teeth as the piled up anger inside her was considerable.
Park SoYoung patted her back, and Kim JiMin grabbed her hand in order to calm her down.
KangYoon calmly looked at Producer Oh JiWan.

“…It might be somewhat wrong of me to ask you this, but what do you plan to do here on?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. It won’t be easy for me to find work at MG, but… it’s the place I first joined, and it’s the place that raised me, so it’s hard to walk away from them.”

Even though his love lost interest in him, his one-sided love continued.
However, there was also a desire to start working again.
…It was a tough decision to make.
At that moment, Seo HanYu spoke again.

“I read from a book that a man stakes his life for someone that acknowledges him.”
“HanYu.”

Producer Oh JiWan looked flabbergasted.
Everyone had put down their spoons already.
KangYoon stayed quiet, and Seo HanYu continued to speak.

“Is there a reason for someone like you to rot at MG, is there? You know, I had an enjoyable time working with you together. Wasn’t it fun for you as well, producer?”
“That’s…”
“Don’t fool yourself, producer. I want to work with you.”

Producer Oh JiWan closed his eyes and bit his lips.
KangYoon didn’t say anything.
What was supposed to be a simple lunch became extremely heavy, and no one spoke carelessly.
When they returned to the studio, White Moonlight and HeeYoon had arrived.
The three people other than Lee HyunAh had set up instruments inside the booth for recording and were waiting for everyone.

“…Oh, White Moonlight.”

Producer Oh JiWan was aware of White Moonlight as well.
There was no way he didn’t know since they were famous for OSTs and their concerts.
However, he was surprised in a different way when he looked at the booth.

“…President KangYoon, is cooperation within the company this easy?”

For Kim JiMin’s album, there was an instrument session, and there was also the composer, rearranger as well as a member from a completely different group.
This was unimaginable in MG.
Cooperation happened in the form of featuring at most in MG.
But here, all the other artists could step in for a single artist.
KangYoon shrugged as he replied.

“We’re all one family.”
“…Family, family, huh.”

Producer Oh JiWan reminded himself of that word several times.
The word that was thrown out of habit in other entertainment companies was actually a word that they abide by.
KangYoon looked at Kim JinDae, who was adjusting the snare drums and spoke into the mic.

“We’re going to start with the drums, so tell me once you’re done setting up.”
– Yes.

While everyone moved around busily, Producer Oh JiWan approached KangYoon.

‘President KangYoon.’
‘Yes, producer.’
‘…This project… can I have a hand in it as well?’

KangYoon’s eyes widened, and he continued.

‘The money… I don’t need it. It’s fine even if I get found out by the company. At this rate, it’s obvious that I’ll be kicked out… please. I’m actually quite useful, you know?’
‘Producer.’

KangYoon nodded his head and patted Producer Oh JiWan on the back.
He accepted his offer.
Kim JinDae seemed somewhat surprised that someone other than KangYoon was sitting in front of the mixer, but he gained his calm after seeing KangYoon behind the chair.

“My name is Oh JiWan. Pleased to meet you.”
– I’m Kim JiWan. Are you the producer?
“Yes. I might be lacking, but please take care of me.”

The instruments were finished being set up, and Producer Oh JiWan started the recording.

***

It was autumn, and the leaves were starting to fall.
Eunha’s album, ‘Twenty Years Old’, was released.
Kim JiMin held a comeback stage in ‘Music Count’ in a public TV station, and after that, she showed up in many kinds of music programs, having a fantastic comeback. Her music shot up in the rankings and reached the first rank in merely two days.
It was a digital single that many other artists released as well, but this album became a hot topic since ‘SeoYu’ of Eddios participated in the production.
The fans of Eddios didn’t just stream the music and downloaded the entire song, in order to raise the sales of Eunha’s album.
Seeing the profits of the album, Lee HyunJi was all smiles.

“HanYu was a godly move.”

Seo HanYu’s participation in the album acted positively during promotion and positively influenced sales as well.
KangYoon hung up on his phone and nodded his head.

“It seems so. There were a lot of hurdles, but I’m glad that this ended well.”
“Yes. That call was from Japan, right? How is Miss MoonHee doing?”
“Nothing has changed. She’s not getting much sleep with all the schedule she’s got.

KangYoon said that he was worried about In MoonHee’s physical condition and sent a mail to A-Trust asking to decrease her schedule.
Lee HyunJi looked over some documents when she came across something strange and asked KangYoon about it.

“President. Were we right to put Producer Oh’s name in the album?”
“It’s fine. There’s no need to hide one’s family member.”
“President.”

Lee HyunJi frowned and looked at KangYoon.

“It was indeed me who told you to recruit Producer Oh, but it might not be good for the public opinion if we create trouble like this.”
“Perhaps, but he worked with us, albeit a little. If necessary, we should cover for him.”
“Haaah.”

Lee HyunJi sighed and shook her head.

“Sheesh, I knew you’d be like this. Did you get anything ready?”
“Of course. I sent it over to your email.”
“I knew it.”

KangYoon wasn’t just all talk.
When Lee HyunJi opened the email, she saw a list of materials that they could send to the media in cases of emergencies.

“…How is MG taking the exact actions that we predicted them to?”

Looking at an article in the entertainment section of Sace, the web portal, Lee HyunJi snorted.

– World Entertainment poaches a producer belonging to MG?
– World poaches a producer without prior negotiation. MG, “we will right these bad manners in the industry.”

KangYoon also smiled faintly seeing the absurd articles.

“They should be aware that despite being ‘exclusive’ producers, they are entitled to work that they wish to do. Director, please take care of it.”
“Sure.”

Lee HyunJi put her thumbs up telling KangYoon to believe in her.