Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 348



Only Noblemtl

Episode 348

The street, with its low-rise houses scattered here and there, was bustling with customers after a long time.

Windows were open throughout the building.

Parisians watched with interest as Jang Ha-yang’s video was being filmed below.

Jang Ha-yang stood there, basking in the sunlight streaming through the low roof of the building.

“Hmm.”

Lee Yu-i was lost in thought as she circled around Jang Ha-yang.

“Something… is missing.”

Jang Ha-yang was wearing a white T-shirt with long hems that covered her hips, and a southern shirt with purple flowers on a yellow background over it.

Although she was wearing skinny jeans and showed off her curves, her top was not at all idol-like.

This is the epitome of freedom.

Because it was a loose, oversized outfit that showed off a lot of freedom.

“Director Han, how would you evaluate Hayang’s clothes historically?”

“Historically speaking?”

“Do you look like a European college student from the 60s?”

When I look at the photos taken during the 68 Revolution, the clothes of the young people somehow feel stuffy.

That’s because we live in an era where expressing individuality through fashion is not common.

It was a time when young people were trapped by the pressure of the older generation and the gaze that they had to ‘wear neat clothes’.

“Considering that background, I think Hayang’s attire is appropriate, as it seems like a new generation at the forefront of the revolution.”

“What is it?”

“On a short-sleeved shirt… … with a floral pattern?”

“I guess Director Han thinks adding floral patterns is a very unique thing.”

“I will not tolerate any insult to my suit.”

“I never insulted you… … .”

“I won’t deny that my outfit looks a bit stuffy to others. It’s as if I come from a world where the peacock revolution never happened.”

The Peacock Revolution is a men’s fashion revolution that took place in the 1960s. It is also called the men’s fashion revolution.

Certainly, the Korean man who insisted on wearing a suit with a modern ambience was far from a peacock.

“But these days, aren’t casual clothes taken for granted? So, I’m rebelling against that trend. To make men classy again… … This is the so-called reverse peacock revolution.”

“You surprisingly have a fashion philosophy. I thought you only wore suits because you were too lazy to choose clothes.”

Seongpil barely managed to stop Han Guin from rushing at Lee Yui.

“Oh, of course, Director Han is really cool, right?”

Lee Yu-i was a little late in wrapping up Han Gu-in. She also sincerely thought he was cool.

‘Yui-san, you’re the type of person who gets cynical when the results don’t come out the way you want.’

Everyone has a different attitude when things don’t work out. In Seongpil’s case, he becomes depressed and hides in a corner.

‘In recent years, whenever I’ve been depressed, my coworkers or members have comforted me, so I’ve never been locked up anywhere.’

While Seongpil listened to Han Guin lamenting his situation, Lee Yui made a decision and approached Jang Hayang.

Lee Yu-i focused on the long hem of Jang Ha-yang’s T-shirt. She pulled it, held it long like a string, and tied it in a knot so that it was secured under her ribs.

“Oh.”

Seongpil was impressed. He tied up an oversized t-shirt to make a crop top.

“How is it? It’s much better, isn’t it?”

“I understand Yui’s way of thinking, that if you just wear a crop top, you’ll look like an idol.”

Seongpil barely managed to stop Lee Yui from rushing at Han Guin.

“Of course, it suits you well.”

Just like the reason I mentioned earlier, Han Gu-in belatedly took back his words. No, that was his original intention.

Jang Ha-yang looked around at his outfit and spun around.

“How are you, Director Park?”

“It feels like we came here to take a summer pictorial.”

“Hahaha, it’s summer now.”

“It would have been nice if the background had been the sea.”

“Are you wearing a bikini? I guess I’ll have to shoot a swimsuit pictorial next summer.”

Jang Ha-yang asked with a mischievous smile, expecting Sung-pil to smile bitterly and say, “Bikinis are a bit like that… .”

“Bikini… … .”

But Seongpil thought seriously about it.

“Well, whatever you want, Hayang.”

For quite some time, bikini swimsuits were taboo for girl groups.

Even if you wear it, you have to wrap a rash guard around your waist or add a t-shirt on top.

On stage, you can show your stomach and legs, but not at other times. It’s not polite.

It was a limitation created by the invisible pressure of society.

‘But now what… … .’

There are still people who are reluctant or point fingers, but those gazes have decreased significantly.

It was the result of the main concept of girl groups changing.

“No, what’s a swimsuit? You want to do an underwear commercial? Something big on a billboard.”

Seongpil did not want the members’ desires or egos to be confined by the gaze of society.

But his words were not interpreted purely.

“Director Park, are you serious… … ?”

He spoke as if he had heard something that Han Gu-in could not believe.

“You shouldn’t use the idol you’re in charge of as a means to satisfy your own desires!”

Lee Yu-i immediately protested to protect Jang Ha-yang’s rights.

Hanguin and Yui Lee seemed to have forgotten that they had been trying to attack each other until just now, and they formed a united front against Seongpil’s clutches.

“No, if Hayang wants it.”

“How is that any different from what I asked you to do!”

“How is that any different from coercion!”

The two people spoke while trembling.

If main producer Sungpil was truly serious about pushing for such a project, and if his well-known gift of gab was used, it seemed likely that Hong Kyuheon would approve.

Actually, Seongpil made the suggestion lightly.

‘A year or two later, a member of a top-tier girl group did an underwear commercial. It was hung on a large billboard in New York… … .’

It was a huge topic of conversation and an event that impressed many people.

Seongpil made the suggestion based on that logic, but the two people who did not know the future could not just listen and let it slide.

And Jang Ha-yang, who was watching the situation.

“… … .”

Suddenly, Ex-Evil came to mind.

The video of Ex-Evil that Sungpil showed in the past. The costumes of the Ex-Evil members that appeared there.

That outfit that Rika said was ‘just like a swimsuit’…

‘When Ara asked us if we wanted to wear something like this, Director Park said no… … .’

Maybe, you want to wear it.

“Yes, I will do it when I get the chance.”

Han Gu-in and Lee Yu-i’s mouths were wide open at Jang Ha-yang’s shocking declaration.

“We’ll start filming now!”

After Jo Jung-hoon finished setting up, he called the actors together. Jang Ha-yang bowed her head to Han Gu-in and Lee Yu-i, who were shaking Sung-pil’s collar in a friendly manner, and headed to the filming location.

“Swoop, hoo… … .”

Jang Ha-yang, standing in front of the camera, took a deep breath. Beside her were many actors and comrades from the 68 Revolution.

“Here it is.”

The staff gave Jang Ha-yang a flower.

It was a purple tulip that Jang Ha-yang had specially requested. She looked at the camera in front of her and smiled at Jo Jeong-hoon behind her.

Jo Jeong-hoon also smiled.

‘I kept discussing it with Director Cho until I fell asleep last night.’

How can we enhance the visual beauty?

The answer is.

‘I don’t know.’

I couldn’t figure it out.

But there was something to be gained.

The filming itself was an immersive experience.

We spent hours discussing, practicing, and training our images to get better shots.

There was no proper conclusion, but the experience of immersion sharpened Jang Ha-yang.

“Set.”

Jo Jeong-hoon’s screams spread throughout the filming set.

“Here we go.”

Jang Ha-yang closed his eyes and immersed himself in the situation.

“Ready.”

68 years.

A frozen world.

Young people who were born after the war and became adults live in a rigid atmosphere.

“And.”

Adults only emphasize rules and order.

Those who collaborated with and served Nazi Germany, Vichy France and the fascist regimes still hold important positions in society.

They force collective forgetting on young people. They tell them that they had no choice, that it was something they did to survive, that they should erase the past and only look to the future.

They sit on university campuses, in corporate executive positions, and in high-ranking government positions.

What they wanted was not a better world, but a return to the way things were before the war.

This is not the right world.

“Action!”

It needs to be changed.

Jang Ha-yang opens her eyes and steps forward. She stands in front of heavily armed police who have deployed to suppress the protest.

What the little girl was holding was a flower.

She smiles and holds out a flower towards the muzzle.

Flowers and guns.

The girl holds a beautiful, pitiful, weak flower in front of the black metal that could tear her apart.

Put a flower in the jaws of death.

And people move forward together.

All they have in their hands are flowers.

The people cry out for peace and freedom.

The girl declares.

We will plant daffodil landmines all over the world.

We will put dandelion wire around the world.

We will detonate tulip bombs all over the world.

I will fight you only with the power of flowers.

“uh…….”

Jo Jeong-hoon was right behind the camera, in a position where he could see Jang Ha-yang from the front.

He was shocked when he saw Jang Ha-yang’s face. It was so emotional that he had difficulty controlling his emotions.

‘This is what I thought… … .’

There was only gentleness in Jang Ha-yang’s expression.

I didn’t feel the fighting spirit or resolute will characteristic of those at the forefront of the revolution.

Compared to Ricana Joara, she is even weak. It is impossible to associate her with the slogan of the Girls’ League, which is struggle and liberation.

‘It’s not what I thought… … but… … .’

It fits the situation and background so well that it’s ecstatic.

Jang Ha-yang was like the flower she held out.

You may not win the fight, but you can get attention.

It can’t be used as a weapon, but it can stop someone from walking.

Make others realize without hurting them.

Jang Ha-yang seems to be saying this with a smile.

‘Don’t you need more flowers?’

Compared to her, how pathetic the police officers standing there with guns look.

How much disaster has the power to kill and hurt others caused, and how much sorrow has it created?

Jang Ha-yang made Jo Jeong-hoon think about all these reflections and emotions.

There is no struggle or liberation, but there is still victory for Jang Ha-yang.

“Cut… … .”

Jo Jeong-hun sang in rapture.

Because his voice was small, no one could hear the director’s cut signal, so the set had to be filled with silence.

Even if I had heard it, it would have been similar.

* * *

Paris was Lee Yui’s home ground. She studied abroad in Paris for a full three years.

The tourist destinations recommended by that reason are… … .

“I never imagined I would come to a botanical garden.”

Seongpil and Jang Hayang passed the entrance to the Paris Botanical Garden. The two, who had been half-hearted at first when Lee Yui recommended the botanical garden, were speechless at the sight that unfolded before them.

“Wow… … It’s spectacular.”

The paths are arranged symmetrically from left to right. In between them, rectangular gardens extend all the way to the end, like soldiers lined up in ranks.

All kinds of flowers and grasses whose names I didn’t know were blooming even more beautifully in the summer sunlight.

“I haven’t even been to the place that Yui unnie recommended yet… … .”

Jang Ha-yang slowly looked around the botanical garden with shining eyes.

“I’m already satisfied… … .”

“Yeah, I’m really grateful to Yui.”

I didn’t come here with the intention of seeing as many plants as possible.

The two walked leisurely along the road, looking at the plants and scenery.

“Director Han, have you been to the Louvre Museum?”

“Yeah. I just got a call, and they said there were too many people and it was hard to move.”

“Hahaha, I wish you were here.”

Only Jo Jeong-hun, who gave in to Han Gu-in’s enthusiastic persuasion and went to the Louvre Museum with him, felt sorry for him.

Rumor has it that you have to stand for hours just to see the Mona Lisa. Well, there’s more to see at the Louvre than just the Mona Lisa.

“ah.”

A very small square space separated from several plants.

There was only a certain kind of tulip growing inside. As soon as Jang Ha-yang saw it, he ran over and squatted down like a child.

She squatted down and looked at Seongpil, striking a pose.

“Director, please take a picture of me.”

“Yeah. Oh, I guess I won’t take a good picture.”

“Shall I give you my phone?”

“No, it’s not a phone problem… … .”

Seongpil chuckled.

“I can’t tell which is the flower and which is the white one. I’m confused.”

“Ahaha.”

“How about it, I’m feeling better… … .”

“You said that to Rika too.”

“… … Are you guys all gathered together and writing down what I said?”

“‘Don’t go to the botanical garden. You’ll get confused with the flowers and won’t be able to find them… …’.”

“I’m sorry… … .”

“Did you seduce women by using such roundabout comments? Don’t you have any pangs of conscience?”

“ha.”

Seongpil sighed and took a picture.

“You can’t say that to a woman with a good heart.”

“… … Yes? Then?”

“I’m only talking to you guys.”

“Then what do you do with a woman you care about?”

“Are you curious about that?”

The two went inside the botanical garden. After walking for a while, a garden covered in greenery on all sides appeared.

The trees blocked the sky like a roof, making it difficult for even the warm sunlight to enter.

“You might not believe me, but I’m kind of a novice when it comes to that kind of thing. What should I say… … um… … I don’t know.”

“I can’t believe it at all.”

“If you do that, people will think I’m some kind of Casanova.”

“I don’t believe any of it.”

“… … .”

Jang Ha-yang ran to the big tree with a smile. She turned her back to the tree and posed again.

Seongpil took the photo.

“Does your voice tremble even when you confess?”

“I have never confessed.”

“yes?!”

No, it happened once.

Seongpil tightly closed his eyes and tried to forget the dark history of that time.

It’s a memory I want to carry with me until I die.

Seongpil continued his story, pretending to be calm.

“We started dating after everyone confessed to us.”

“So, you dated someone you didn’t like?”

Jang Ha-yang was thrilled like Moses receiving the commandments, Newton discovering gravity, and Wittgenstein realizing the meaning of language.

Seongpil nodded with a somewhat hazy expression on his face.

“That was the case at first. I guess I’m just weak to the atmosphere. Something, something… I can’t resist the flow… .”

“You have no manners.”

“This is ridiculous. Hayang, you should have been the first to confess and date. Just accept the confession and date. Then, he’ll immediately call you immoral and curse you out.”

“Yes, I will.”

“I can’t say anything because I just admitted it… … .”

The two entered the glass house.

It was noticeably hotter than outside. As such, there were many plants that were not easily seen.

The two stood on the bridge across the pond and chatted.

“Sir, there was a promise for the Golden Record. When the time comes for me to achieve it, I will have beaten Caius, right? I will have sold 500,000 copies.”

“Umm… … .”

Seongpil laughed bitterly.

Because the future KARA will definitely reach the realm of K-pop girl group dreams, selling 1 million albums.

You can’t beat Caius with a golden record. You have to go all the way to platinum record certification.

“It’s okay if you don’t win. The entertainment industry is going back to ranking performance, but the idol with the highest sales isn’t necessarily the best.”

Of course, Sungpil also thought it would be good to reach the peak in sales. However, he hid his feelings because he did not want to burden Jang Ha-yang too much.

“You know? The story about Mozart and Salieri. Mozart is much, much, much more famous now, but when they were alive, Salieri was much more famous.”

What Seongpil hoped for was not temporary success or a wind that would sweep a generation.

I want a name that will be engraved in history.

“therefore…….”

“Don’t make excuses for your failures!”

“uh?”

“I want to win. I’m going to beat the number one.”

Jang Ha-yang grabbed Seong-pil’s shoulders and made him look straight at her.

Her eyebrows rose sharply, then softened after a while.

“My ‘best’ includes victory. Girls, federation, struggle, liberation, and?”

“……victory.”

“Yes, so please watch and support us.”

Jang Ha-yang let go of Seong-pil’s shoulder and leisurely crossed over to the other side along the bridge.

Seongpil smiled faintly as he looked at her back.

‘It’s really changed a lot since the old days.’

When Sungpil first suggested she become an idol, she refused, saying, “I don’t like competition.”

‘It must have been because I had low self-esteem. I was no better than others despite my shortcomings, so how could I possibly win? … .’

But look at Jang Ha-yang now.

She confidently said that she would win first place and victory. She believed in her victory.

I was able to trust myself.

“Director, come quickly!”

“Oh, go now.”

Seongpil followed her with light steps.

* * *

“Okay, I’ll be back.”

Snow White left the accommodation, dragging her carrier.

I was able to maintain some level of composure on the stairs leading down to the first floor, but I couldn’t do that once I touched the ground.

Snow White hummed a tune and walked along with cheerful steps.

‘It’s a trip.’

Snow White suddenly stopped and shook her head vigorously.

‘Well, it’s not a trip, it’s work.’

Go to France for work.

You shouldn’t get excited.

As a professional after all… … .

“… … .”

Snow White hummed again, taking brisk steps.

‘It’s a trip! I’m going to France!’

The story of Snow White was about to begin.

It was summer.