boyutpedia Chapter 143: Album (6)
Chapter 143: Album (6)
A studio.It was a music studio that was neither too big nor too small. Various monitors, keyboards, and other equipment necessary for music production could be seen. There was also a recording booth equipped with a microphone. It had a slightly worn-out feel.
What stood out were the things attached to the walls of the studio.
Autographs and photos of famous idols who had visited this studio were densely displayed.
Currently, there were two people visible in the studio.
Both were men.
One wore a cap and a loose black hoodie, and the other was bald. The distinctive thing about the bald man was that his eyebrows were brown. Apparently, he had dyed them. Additionally, he had a piercing near his eyebrow. The two men were in the middle of working on a track.
Occasionally, music would play.
-♬♪
Or the two would have a conversation.
Then the man wearing the cap suddenly asked the bald man,
“Eon-ah, what do you think about the track we sent to GN Entertainment? They wouldn’t actually drop it, would they?”
The bald man, called ‘Eon’, clicked his tongue.
"Hyung, you always talk negatively. What do you mean dropped?"
“No, I was just a bit worried, that’s all.”
“What’s there to worry about? I'm ‘Pineon’, and it’s not like I made the song half-heartedly. Would GN be crazy enough to drop my song?”
“Well- yeah, you’re right.”
The bald man was Pineon, a renowned composer in the domestic music scene. If Song Min-geun had the aura of a maestro, Pineon had the feel of a hot rising star. But Pineon was not a rookie composer.
He was evaluated as having plenty of experience and an excellent sense for trends.
《'Hit song every time he releases one', composer 'Pinion' who's hot among idols these days/ Photo》
Combining both male and female idols, Pineon had composed eight hit songs so far. The other tracks were only slightly shy of being hits, not weak at all. That’s why among the hottest idols today, the number one choice for new songs was composer Pineon. Due to overwhelming demand, Pineon was known for writing only for famous idols and ignoring rookies.
Such a Pineon gave a song to GN.
That meant he had written the debut song for ‘Vanguard’.
Pineon, with his arms crossed and legs folded, said,
"You're talking about dropping it. GN will definitely bet their lives on this ‘Vanguard’ debut, and naturally, the press and public opinion will be heavily considered, so my song is a must.”
“Is it just unnecessary worry then?”
Pineon rubbed his bald head a couple of times and picked up an e-cigarette from the front.
“This is the first time I gave a song to rookies, and that’s ‘Vanguard’. You think they can skip over it?”
Meanwhile, in the GN Entertainment main conference room.
At the meeting to decide Vanguard’s final debut track, Kang Rojun’s voice echoed.
“I’d prefer we not include Composer Pineon’s track.”
The fastest reaction came from the members.
“......?”
“??”
Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung widened their eyes or opened their mouths in shock, almost in unison. On the other hand, Kang Rojun remained quite composed, exuding a slight villainous vibe. Soon, all eyes in the conference room were fixed on Rojun.
“...What?”
“What are you suddenly-”
“Exclude Pineon??”
Everyone said a word each. Not just the executives, but also the A&R team, management team, and other departments. All were either flustered or dumbfounded by Rojun’s sudden remark. The murmuring grew louder and louder.
In the middle of it all, the quietest person was.
“......”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan. With an expression that was hard to read, whether it was a smile or a blank look, he stared at Kang Rojun. Meanwhile, executives and employees were noisy, and some executives urgently questioned Rojun.
“You do know who Pineon is, right?”
“It’s not just any composer, you can’t exclude Pineon. Why did you suddenly think of this?”
“You’re not joking, are you? Do the other members feel the same?”
They tried to persuade or inform him, speaking gently.
“The CEO also said Pineon and Song Min-geun were good, and Pineon’s influence in the market is significant. Excluding him without any reason would be a huge loss.”
And then it happened.
“It’s okay to exclude him.”
A heavy voice filled the conference room. It was CEO Ha Seo-hwan. The executives who had been looking at Rojun all turned their heads toward Ha Seo-hwan.
“Huh??”
With his gaze still fixed on Kang Rojun, CEO Ha Seo-hwan crossed his legs and spoke again.
“I said it’s okay to exclude Pineon.”
“......”
“......”
The once noisy conference room instantly fell silent. About five seconds passed like that. The handsome, middle-aged CEO Ha Seo-hwan calmly asked Rojun,
“If ‘Vanguard’ doesn’t want it, whether it’s Pineon or whoever, it can be excluded. But let’s hear your reason?”
Rojun briefly looked around at the members, then returned his gaze to CEO Ha Seo-hwan. The reason he wanted to exclude Pineon?
‘There’s no particular reason. Just that his score was lower compared to the other composers.’
In fact, it was two days ago when Kang Rojun and the other ‘Vanguard’ members had checked the final candidates for their debut song. Manager Kim Ki-baek had informed them of the song candidates before the meeting, and upon seeing the list that included Song Min-geun and Pineon, Rojun naturally grew curious.
Which song would be the best match for our group, ‘Vanguard’?
So what Rojun did was:
-[AI analysis in progress...... analysis complete!]
It was ‘AI Automation’. He was confident. He already had experience with it. Just like before, he had written the instructions thoroughly, and although ‘AI Automation’ required a decent amount of Coins, Rojun believed it was worth the investment.
After all, wasn’t this Vanguard’s debut album?
If possible, it should be launched with the best of the best. Whatever the case, ‘AI Automation’ delivered its answer to its master.
-[Song Min-geun/ 89 points]
-[Pineon/ 18 points]
-[Jung Ji-ah/ 66 points]
-[Blue Coffee/ 71 points]
-[Kim Ha-neul/ 69 points]
.
.
.
.
Most of them scored above 50, but only Pineon scored 18. Of all numbers, it had to be eighteen. And Song Min-geun had 89 points. After seeing these results, how could Rojun not exclude Pineon?
‘If the score were average, maybe. But 18 points? That’s over the line.’
It reminded Kang Rojun of EY Entertainment. If he had chosen EY Entertainment, he would be suffering by now. Of course, at EY Entertainment, Pineon had scored a slightly higher 3 points, but it was the same difference.
‘And Big Star Entertainment scored 28 points.’
EY Entertainment was already down the drain, while Big Star Entertainment, one of the so-called Big Three, remained quiet for now. But since he had already come to GN, there was no need to pay it much attention. Anyway, the only person in this conference room who knew Pineon’s score was Kang Rojun. Even the members looked at him as if they didn’t understand.
And it made sense.
‘If it were me and someone suddenly said this out of the blue, I’d think they were crazy too.’
Naturally, Kang Rojun had looked up the composer Pineon. He knew the guy was famous, but
‘What can I do if the score is eighteen?’
Rojun scratched his chin slowly and paused for a moment. What should he say to CEO Ha Seo-hwan? Then, feeling a little lazy to explain in detail, he decided to just tell it as it was, though a little vague.
“The song is good, but I don’t think it’ll do well.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan tilted his head slightly.
“The song is good, but it won’t do well?”
“Yes.”
Sighs and groans spilled from the executives. On the other hand, CEO Ha Seo-hwan accepted it with a rather serious expression. Then a few executives threw questions at Kang Rojun.
“What do you mean it’s good but won’t do well??”
“Rojun-nim, this is a really important meeting. You can’t take it lightly.”
Rojun nodded calmly.
“Yes, I’m being serious.”
“If the song is good, shouldn’t we go with it?”
“It’s hard to explain... but aren’t there a lot of good songs that don’t do well in the market?”
“......”
At this, CEO Ha Seo-hwan smiled faintly.
“There are.”
He continued speaking with his eyes fixed on Rojun.
“In the end, the decision is made by the public. No matter how much we say it’s good in here, if the public turns away, it gets buried."
Still watching Rojun with subtle eyes, CEO Ha Seo-hwan slowly shifted the direction of his crossed legs. Only then did he take his eyes off Rojun and address everyone in the conference room.
“Exclude Pineon’s song. Vanguard’s debut track will be between Rojun, Si-hoo, and Song Min-geun. Let’s go with those three.”
In an instant, Vanguard’s debut album was finalized with three songs. The staff were flustered, but since it was CEO Ha Seo-hwan’s decision, no one said a word. The staff exited the conference room, and the same went for Kang Rojun and the members. As soon as they stepped out of the room, the members immediately bombarded Rojun with questions.
“Rojun-ah, what was that all of a sudden??”
“Yeah, seriously. Wow- I was so nervous. Hyung, how can you speak so calmly like that in front of the CEO and the executives?”
“No, more importantly, Rojun hyung. Why Pineon? I liked that song.”
Kang Rojun simply shrugged his shoulders.
“I said it earlier. The song was good, but I felt like it’d flop.”
At that moment, a tired voice chimed in from behind.
“Right, if something’s bothering you, speak up clearly.”
It was Manager Kim Ki-baek, smiling.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s to me or the CEO.”
Meanwhile, back in the conference room, the executives and CEO Ha Seo-hwan remained. The atmosphere was somewhat ambiguous, and one executive carefully asked CEO Ha Seo-hwan,
"Um- CEO-nim. Will it be okay?"
"What will?"
“......”
Though he didn’t say it out loud, everyone understood what he meant. Was it really okay to make such a decision based solely on Rojun’s opinion? CEO Ha Seo-hwan responded just as calmly.
“If the artist doesn’t want it, there’s no need to force the song.”
“W-Well, that may be true, but… Rojun is still young.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan looked at the executive for a few seconds, then recalled Kang Rojun who had just been in the room.
“It might’ve been coincidence, but think about the EY case. Regardless of his age, Rojun has insight.”
“......”
“Of course, I didn’t make this decision based solely on what he said. I also did some calculations regarding Rojun’s standing in the current ‘Vanguard’ project and such. Whether it’s throwing out Pineon or boosting Rojun’s confidence, this was just a matter of choosing the greater benefit.”
It seemed CEO Ha Seo-hwan had calculated many things in that short moment.
“Whether today’s Rojun was acting out of youthful bravado or the guts that come from inexperience, if we crush him from the desk early on, he’ll rust eventually.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan stood up and looked across all the executives.
“We’re the ones who are supposed to oil the machine, not pour cold water on it.”
The next day, perhaps thanks to Vanguard’s finalized debut songs, GN Entertainment became even busier. For starters, Kang Rojun added lyrics to Song Min-geun’s track, and the A&R team immediately kicked off choreography and music video planning.
They began scouting top dance teams and music video production teams.
Naturally, the concepts for the debut tracks also had to be finalized, and since all the debut songs would have music videos, storyboards for each MV needed to be prepared. More than anything, music videos were now one of the most crucial elements in the idol market. They served not only to introduce idols’ unique style to domestic fans but also as an extremely effective way to promote them overseas.
Which meant it was inevitably going to cost a lot of money.
Anyway, amid GN Entertainment’s chaos, two days flew by. And in one studio, a famous composer was furious.
“...Fuck, they dropped me? Seriously??”
It was Pineon, who had just received the result from GN Entertainment. The explanation he got was something along the lines of, “The song received high praise, but unfortunately it won’t be included in Vanguard’s debut album". The bald-headed Pineon, who had been almost certain of the outcome, said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Some rookies just dropped my song?”
His anger quickly turned into disbelief. It was the first time he’d been treated this way. He hadn’t even considered the possibility of being rejected, so the impact hit even harder. He scratched his dyed brown eyebrows as if stressed, and his studio colleagues worried he might rip out his eyebrow piercing.
After venting his frustration and disbelief for several dozen minutes, Pineon finally admitted it.
“Screw it, then.”
Though he was hurt, he picked up his phone with an expression that pretended not to care. A colleague cautiously asked,
“Why?? Don’t tell me, you’re going to call GN??!”
“Do I look like an idiot? Why would I call them?”
“Then??”
Pineon clicked his tongue.
“Big Star Entertainment.”
“Ah-”
“Tsk! Big Star made me an offer first, but because ‘Vanguard’ was hot these days, I ditched Big Star and gave the song to GN. And now they drop me??”
“You’re just going to toss the dropped song straight to Big Star?”
With his phone pressed to his ear, the bald Pineon answered coolly, and his decision was clear.
“Of course I’m handing it over to Big Star.”
That was ‘Big Star Entertainment’, the one that ‘AI Automation’ had given a score of 28.