Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 351



Only Noblemtl

Episode 351

“Hello!”

The managers, led by Team Leader 1, gave Nam Hong-beom a powerful greeting.

Nam Hong-beom came towards Team Leader 1, waving his hand slightly.

“Team Leader 1, how are you?”

“yes!”

Team Leader 1 didn’t necessarily say, “I saw you three hours ago,” like he did with Ginger.

“Ginger wants to invite the Girls’ League to the showcase?”

“yes!”

“But the team leader said it wasn’t possible?”

“yes…….”

“Why don’t you just do it? If you put it in a corner somewhere, it won’t interfere with your work.”

“Well, that’s true, but… … .”

“Ginger asked me to do it. And I heard that the Caius kids were all fine. Hey, Team Leader, this is so unreasonable. When the kids ask to call their friends, you immediately turn them down?”

“ah…….”

“Our Ginger and I? Let’s call the juicy Kaiser’s Vitamin Girl League.”

“Who, who are you?”

“Huh? Look at this? Mr. Park!”

Nam Hong-beom raised his hand with a playful laugh. As the hand, the size of a pot lid, rose upward as if it would kill someone with one blow, Team Leader 1 unconsciously shrank his neck like a giraffe.

“The guy who calls himself the management team leader doesn’t even know our company’s artist branding strategy?!”

“Yes, yes?”

“Kim Min-joo, the vitamin of the juicy and beautiful Kaias!”

It was a catchphrase that Nam Hong-beom had instilled in Kim Min-joo since her trainee days, which had the A&R team and visual team of KS Entertainment shedding tears and pleading with Nam Hong-beom to please not do.

Surprisingly, the fans loved it so much that the A&R team and visual team had 10,000 question marks.

“Ah, fruit, juicy and delicious vitamins from Caius… … .”

“These little bracken fern-sized kids are holding each other’s hands and begging for a favor, but I’m refusing.”

Team leader 1 looked at Ginger standing behind Nam Hong-beom.

She watched Nam Hong-beom’s abuse of power with an innocent face, as if she knew nothing.

‘I guess it’s because you’re Chinese (a minority group), you use guanxi (关系) well.’

Team leader 1 shed tears in his heart as he recalled the book ‘The Jungle’ that he had read a long time ago.

At the same time, I thought of Rika’s live. Rika’s voice automatically played in my head, saying, “That’s racism!”

‘… … That’s a really racist thought.’

Team leader 1 sincerely apologized to Ginger (a minority) and the Chinese people.

“Anyway, you understand?”

“yes…….”

Nam Hong-beom patted Team Leader 1’s shoulder heavily. There was deep trust in it.

“I’m doing well. I’m sorry.”

Nam Hong-beom turned his back. Ginger bowed politely to Team Leader 1 and followed Nam Hong-beom.

Team Leader 1 sat down on his chair like a puppet whose strings had been cut off. Suddenly, he remembered a suggestion he had heard from a friend a while ago.

‘Sangmok-ah. Do you want to open an internet shopping mall with me? I’ve prepared all the capital. If you want to join us, we can pool our money and start a bigger business. Since you’re in the entertainment industry, you have some insight into this. At first, you’ll probably have a hard time just renting a small room in your office… … But I have a vision of my own. I’ve also got a few employees I’ve been looking at. If you’re okay with it, come. Think about it.’

Team leader slumped heavily on the desk.

‘Company life is hard… … .’

Team Leader 1, on the verge of resignation?!

The worst enemy I’ve ever encountered in over a decade of managerial experience!

Will he be able to protect his sanity against Ginger’s clutches and Guanshi?

The next episode will be titled ‘Will you include me in starting a shopping mall?’

* * *

A&R team member Lee Jae-ho swallowed hard.

Currently, sitting in front of him were Son Hye-bin and Seong-pil, executives of Garo Enter.

In addition, Baek Seol-ha, the leader of the Girls’ League, was also looking at Lee Jae-ho with an artistic spirit.

“Uh, this, first of all… … .”

“Mr. Jaeho.”

Just by hearing Son Hye-bin’s call, Lee Jae-ho realized what he had done wrong.

It was a stutter.

“First, if you look at the table, there is a list of sessions available for booking.”

Everyone opened the list that Lee Jae-ho had prepared.

“The first chapter was arranged in order of the certainty of the casting, and the second chapter was arranged in order of the session’s ability as I judged it.”

In addition to these, many other criteria occupy the upper columns of the table, and sessions are compared accordingly.

I could see the strengths and weaknesses of the band sessions at a glance. The problem, if I had to point out, was that it was written under Lee Jae-ho’s subjective opinion.

In other words, the list is the ranking of castings as judged by Lee Jae-ho.

“Those who answered positively received a guided session.”

The sessions were audio sources in which several songs by the Girls’ League were selected and played as accompaniment.

When a band supports a singer’s song with instruments, the performance does not follow the sheet music exactly.

In the first place, there is no case where K-pop can be fully expressed with just band instruments, unless it is a song that only uses band sounds.

That’s why the session’s ability to creatively interpret a song is important.

A Grade A session means not only the ability to not make mistakes on stage, but also first-class interpretation skills.

‘I couldn’t get the A-class session artists because they were all called up during the peak performance season… … .’

Jaeho Lee connected his phone to a speaker and tried to play the guide sessions in order.

At that time, Jaeho Lee saw Seongpil and Seolha Baek whispering to each other.

‘What, what? Did I write something wrong? Is there a typo? Or is it a lack of intuitiveness? Or did you prepare a completely different file?!’

Jaeho Lee barely managed to find the session sound source on his phone while trembling with fear.

“Mr. Jaeho.”

“yep!”

Lee Jae-ho responded sharply to Seong-pil’s call.

“Here, there’s the band that Jaeho chose as number one.”

The band was described as “always available for booking” and “the most talented.”

In fact, it meant that it was a band session that Lee Jae-ho was pushing hard for.

“You mean ‘Debbie’?”

“Yes. How did you contact these people?”

“I, I’ve been wandering around Hongdae recently, getting to know bands and meeting session men. So, little by little… … .”

“Mr. Jaeho, you shouldn’t be talking nonsense.”

Lee Jae-ho tapped his lips at Son Hye-bin’s comment.

“I found out the name through other people I met and went to contact him in person.”

“ah…….”

Seongpil turned his eyes back to the list.

The band ‘Debbie’, which Lee Jae-ho strongly recommends, only released one album. Other than that, they had no experience as a session musician or any notable performance experience.

In other words, they were like blank sheets of paper.

* * *

A rented studio used by the band ‘Debbie’. Three people were sitting crowded together in a space filled with various equipment.

Dong-ha Kwon, the leader and bassist of Devi, stood in front of a CD player with a serious expression on his face.

Finally, after thinking it over, he took a CD out of his bag and put it in the player.

The Girls’ League’s ‘No’ blasted through the speakers and reverberated through the studio.

“Why worry when you’re just going to put the same thing in anyway?”

“It’s not the same? Yesterday was a full album? This is a single album?”

Kwon Dong-han responded childishly to the vocalist’s nagging.

The band ‘Debbie’ brings a CD to each regular meeting with the aim of getting to know each other better and experiencing various musical worlds.

And for about a year now, Kwon Dong-ha has only been bringing CDs from the Girls’ League.

Kwon Dong-ha shouted with a bleeding heart.

“You guys should have been there at that moment too, right? I saw the ‘Ani’ music video and listened to the song and thought, ‘What a great artist this is!’ No, what a great artist this is!”

“Okay, stop… … .”

I’ve already listened to Girls’ League songs thousands of times because of Kwon Dong-ha.

Since he had no desire to listen to the praises of the Girls’ League, the vocalist tried to please him a little.

Just then, the door opened and a man soaked in sweat came in. As soon as he was hit by the air conditioning, he spread his arms wide with a look of relief.

“Art Blakey is here!”

Kwon Dong-ha said teasingly.

The man who had just entered, the drummer of ‘Debbie’, was very impressed. However, the guitarist and vocalist just snickered and did not stop Kwon Dong-ha’s prank.

“Stop teasing me.”

“Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers!”

“Where did your real age come from?”

Art Blakey is a legendary jazz drummer.

The drummer stepped in for a jazz session the past few days at the request of an acquaintance.

When a man who proudly declared that he sold his soul to rock joined a jazz session, everyone was anxious to make fun of him.

The drummer slumped down on the sofa in a fit of rage.

“How was it?”

Kwon Dong-ha asked while offering a cold drink. Despite his affectionate attitude, the drummer just glared at him.

“Hey, Dong-ha. These guys… … Just thinking about it makes me mad.”

The drummer’s throat was bloodshot as he slapped the vocalist and guitarist.

“Did they bring their girlfriends to the jazz bar?”

“I happened to see you while I was on a date.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I already knew that.”

“That’s not bad. Aren’t you talented in jazz? That solo performance… .”

“Improvisation.”

“Yeah, that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?”

One of the characteristics of jazz is improvisation.

“That’s good. All the guests there were surprised… … .”

The drummer was dumbfounded.

He clearly stated that he was a rock musician and could not improvise in the jazz genre.

Those guys suddenly lightened the mood and started calling out the drummer’s name while demanding improvisation.

In the end, the drummer had no choice but to improvise and unleash his rock spirit without reserve.

“Still, I’m glad it’s all over today!”

“You said you liked playing in front of people, so are you glad?”

“All the people there came with their lovers and had no interest in playing music. If that was the case, I don’t know why they would have brought in a musician instead of just having a speaker. So you guys, you guys who brought your lovers to the bar where your colleague was playing, you guys …

“That’s not important.”

The band’s leader, Kwon Dong-ha, brought up the real agenda.

“Dong-ha, does he have bipolar disorder?”

“I suspect. You were talking excitedly and then suddenly became serious.”

“That’s not what’s important.”

Kwon Dong-ha brought up the topic again in a serious tone.

“We were supposed to record, right? This month, today is the collection day.”

Kwon Dong-ha took out ‘Debbie’s’ debut and last album from his arms.

It was an unremarkable design compared to other albums, housed in a plain plastic case.

“How long are you going to keep putting up albums from two years ago at every show and asking people to buy them? They don’t even have the songs we play on them.”

“Wow, it’s already been two years?”

The vocalist laughed out loud when he saw his own face printed on the album.

“I’m really young!”

“Okay, everyone be quiet. Please pay me this month!”

Everyone put their hands into their arms.

This is how Debbie collects her money.

Each person suggests the amount of money they can afford to pay this month.

Four people reveal the amount at the same time.

Everyone follows the amount offered by the person with the lowest bid.

That was the end of it. It was a rule made so that people who were short on money didn’t have to worry about what others thought.

“One, two, three!”

When each person opened their hands, a rough picture appeared.

Kwon Dong-ha caught the person who paid the least in an instant.

“70 thousand won?”

The vocalist smiled awkwardly.

“I have some debts to pay off… … .”

Everyone gave 70,000 won to Kwon Dong-ha. He counted the money and spoke in a businesslike manner.

“There is currently about 800,000 won in the common safe. We just need to save 2 million won more.”

“You’ve collected a lot.”

‘Debbie’ is a little-known band.

If you want to stand on the Hongdae stage, you have to be placed in front or behind other bands and just play the role of livening up the atmosphere. No, that’s better than nothing.

There are times when I have to stand in a venue with less than 10 people in the audience and play with other unknown bands.

But there is hope.

“Let’s just save up for about 6 months.”

‘Debbie’ will release a new album.

That album won’t change everything dramatically, but it will definitely take Debbie further.

I believe so.

“Six months is too long.”

“Until then, just focus on your work.”

“Isn’t there a way to save money quickly… … .”

The drummer scratched his head and snapped his fingers.

“What happened before? Did some agency come and ask you to do a session?”

“No contact… … .”

Kwon Dong-ha lowered his head in a heavy manner.

Everyone wondered why he was doing this.

Then the drummer answered my question.

“That agency is under Girls’ League. That’s why Dong-ha was so depressed that she thought she was going to die.”

“Wow, if you take on that job, wouldn’t Dong-ha become a successful fan right away?”

“Ugh.”

Kwon Dong-ha took a deep breath.

“What kind of girls’ league session are you talking about at our level?”

“I can’t just ignore that. What about us?”

The drummer hit Kwon Dong-ha on the shoulder. Kwon Dong-ha smiled as if asking for forgiveness and stepped back.

Suddenly, the drummer asked.

“But how much do you get paid for a concert session?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t you know any session men?”

“Umm, it’s been about 2 hours, so… 40,000 won?”

“Working for 2 hours and getting 40,000 won? Isn’t that a huge benefit? I really want to do it, please.”

“What’s 40,000 won? We’ll do the arrangement, so we have to pay for that as well!”

“then?”

“Um… … 80,000?”

“Wow, I really have to do this!”

The band ‘Debbie’ is young, passionate and poor.

Still, I don’t consider myself unhappy.

Because there are still many opportunities. The opportunities for people to hear their songs and performances will remain as long as their youth.

I have no doubt about it.

“Hey, Dong-ha, call me.”

“If I can run for 2 hours and get 80,000 won, isn’t that heaven?” said Dong-ha Kwon, who was full of energy. He looked at the table at the vocalist’s call.

The phone rang.

I saw a number come up instead of a name calling. Then I picked up the phone and answered cynically.

“I don’t need a stock reading room… … Oh, yes. Hello.”

Suddenly, Kwon Dong-ha became humble. His eyes opened wide.

“Ah, ah, you’re going to entrust us with the concert session… … Yes, yes, I can show you as a demonstration, of course. Yes? Pay? Pay, the pay we get… … ?”

I’ve never jumped into a session before, so I don’t know.

Kwon Dong-ha’s eyes rolled around anxiously.

The vocalist and drummer fought over what they each thought was the right level, and barely managed to come to an agreement.

The drummer spread his fingers wide, his hands shaking.

Kwon Dong-ha asked with his mouth open in surprise.

‘100,000? Are you crazy?!’

‘These are people who spend hundreds of millions on one album, so how can you not give them 100,000 won per person?’

‘100,000 is too much!’

‘Just say it, just say it! If they say no, then just lower your voice! It’s more detrimental to get caught talking low for no reason!’

Kwon Dong-ha swallowed his saliva and spoke resolutely.

“100,000… ….”

Everyone’s eyes bulged out like reptiles and they looked only at Kwon Dong-ha’s mouth.

After a while, Kwon Dong-ha said.

“… … I’m sorry, I’m not in charge of finances. I’ll discuss it with the band and get back to you.”

As soon as he hung up the phone, everyone started making a fuss and pressing him, asking what was going on.

Kwon Dong-ha shouted.

“I said that was all you could give me! Is that all I can accept? You don’t have to give me Enuri! What can I do?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“100,000, 100,000 is ‘only’? Then, how much should I get paid? Doesn’t anyone know Session Man?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Let’s search on the Internet!”

Of course, such information did not come out.

There was only one column that denounced the state of affairs of session men. Not only was there a cut-throat competition to get jobs, but skilled session men only shared work with their colleagues.

“It’s just as hard to make a living here.”

“Don’t feel sorry for them, just find out how much they are getting paid!”

And, the guitarist found some useful information.

It was an iTube video of a former band member who is now a singer with a decent fan base.

“This person revealed that he got paid for his session at an idol concert?”

“It’s not a concert, it’s just a performance? How much is it?”

“Ship, a million won… … .”

“… … Really? Who is that group?”

“The Darkest.”

“X is a big shot! If the opponent is Darkest-level, I’ll start at a million won!”

A while later, I received a call from Garo Enter’s A&R team again.

‘Debbie’ had objectively calculated her own worth.

“… … ten, ten, one hundred and fifty thousand, one hundred and fifty thousand won.”

After a while.

“Yes, I’m really sorry, but I’ll call you back. I have a guest coming in unexpectedly. I’m really, really sorry.”

The phone call is disconnected.

“’… Yes?’”

“what?”

“‘Yes?’! I guess 150,000 won is cheap!”

Debbie’s worries continued for a long time.

* * *

Overwhelmingly good.

This was the impression that the A&R staff of Garo Enter felt after listening to the session performance of the band ‘Debbie’.

Seongpil was the same way.

‘It really can’t be compared to other sessions?’

I couldn’t tell how good his skills were.

It’s hard to catch that unless you’ve actually played the instrument.

However, Seongpil was deeply impressed by ‘Debbie’s’ interpretation and arrangement of the song.

‘Debbie’ transformed the Girls’ League songs into what was originally a band sound.

‘At this point, I’ve listened to our kids’ songs hundreds or thousands of times… … .’

They didn’t just add band instruments to the song, they paid attention to every little detail of the sound, making sure the band instruments rose above the rest without getting in the way of the song.

How can an unknown band show this level of quality?

There are two hypotheses.

‘Debbie’ has listened to and played the Girls’ League’s songs thousands of times.

‘Debbie’ is a genius.

‘Of course it’s the latter!’

Jaeho Lee of the A&R team discovered a genius band.

Seongpil looked at Son Hyebin. Son Hyebin nodded.

Then Seongpil looked at Baek Seol-ha. Baek Seol-ha nodded.

“Mr. Jaeho.”

“Yes, Director Park… … .”

As the directors kept their mouths shut and exchanged glances, Lee Jae-ho’s anxiety grew considerably.

Lee Jae-ho cowered like a puppy that sensed it was going to get scolded.

“Bonus, do you like it?”

“……yes?”

“This is incredible. How did you find this band? Seriously, even if you brought in a famous session musician, they wouldn’t be able to arrange this well. This is… … Seriously, it’s to the point where you don’t even need to discuss the composer or arrangement. It’s already done.”

Lee Jae-ho’s face brightened.

Son Hye-bin also joined the praise relay.

“Jae-ho, you did a great job. As expected, you’re the number one employee on the A&R team! If you keep going like this, you might even be able to become the A&R team leader later on.”

Lee Jae-ho, Sungbul.

* * *

For the first time in a long time, I had lunch with only the executives of Garo Enter.

Hong Gyu-heon took a sip of his hangover soup and looked at Seong-pil. He didn’t want to ask, but he couldn’t hold back from asking.

“Director Park, are you having a good day today?”

“Me?”

Seongpil shook his head with a big smile.

“no.”

“Is this something you have to hide even from the boss?”

“Hey, it’s nothing.”

“Sungpil, you’re going to the KARS comeback showcase today. You’re following the kids.”

“Hey, why are you telling me, Unnie!”

Sungpil was more concerned about Hong Gyu-heon finding out about his affection for Kaius than the other members.

Although Garo Enter is too small to be called a competitor, Sungpil recognizes KS Enter as a competitor.

So, Seongpil felt uncomfortable letting the president know that he was concerned about his competitor group, K-US.

“Oh, have a good look around.”

Hong Gyu-heon didn’t show any particular reaction.

It wasn’t unexpected.

‘What’s going on with the boss these days?’

Hong Gyu-heon seemed to be in a bad mood recently. He spoke less and his tone became shorter.

‘Probably because of the pressure of the concert.’

The concert business is not a problem that can be solved with a few pennies. It is not even an overseas tour.

The cost of booking performance venues and setting up facilities around the world is by no means small.

Hong Gyu-heon will think every second and every minute about whether it is possible to recover the cost and, if so, how much he can earn.

‘I bet you’re feeling a bit queasy.’

They say that business is like crossing a single-log bridge. In his previous life, Tae-Hoon Kim, the CEO of Success Entertainment, also rarely had a moment of peace of mind.

Success Entertainment had grown particularly through aggressive business expansion, so it could have collapsed at any moment if someone had just tampered with it.

‘Don’t worry, boss.’

Seongpil promised Hong Gyuheon success.

In my heart, of course.

I’m a little embarrassed to talk about it here.

‘I’ll put you on a money cushion.’

After finishing his meal and returning to work, Seongpil spent quite a long time in the bathroom.

I usually bring wax and touch up my hair often, but today I put in a little more effort.

It wasn’t really to look good to the members of KAIST. Really.

‘I’m going to a competitor.’

It cannot be seen as sloppy.

After finishing setting up, Seongpil took a deep breath while leaning against the sink.

‘The concert is just around the corner. I can’t put pressure on our kids.’

Even without that, it is expected that Caius will show the best performance ever.

‘In this situation, it would be the worst if I showed myself getting excited by seeing Caius.’

For today, I’m going back to being the devil of Success Entertainment. Back to the days when I was a robot with a blank expression and no emotions.

Seongpil slapped his own cheek.

“let’s go.”

* * *

The concert hall that KS Entertainment booked for the comeback showcase was obviously larger than a music show stage.

To give you a rough idea of ​​the size, it was twice as large as a music show stage.

I know it may be rude to say this to the broadcasting station, but their equipment seemed better than theirs.

In the space in front of the stage, KS Entertainment employees and performance staff were moving around busily.

Seongpil and the Girls’ League entered there.

“Yes, Tomodachi (friend).”

As soon as she saw Sungpil, Erica approached him and stuck out her fist. Sungpil ended up punching her without realizing it.

“Hello, Director Park!”

Ginger greeted me cheerfully. The joy in her eyes seemed to drip down like honey.

Seongpil couldn’t return that greeting so coldly, so he gave Ginger a friendly expression.

“It’s been a while, Director Park Sung-pil. Have you become my fan?”

Jin So-yu greeted me with her characteristically blunt speech.

Although she was blunt, the fact that she recognized an outsider was enough of an anomaly to be featured on the KS Entertainment bulletin board.

Seongpil exchanged brief greetings with her.

“Hello, Director.”

Even Kim Min-joo, who wasn’t particularly close with Sung-pil, greeted the other members of KAIST lively.

I wasn’t swept away by the atmosphere.

I did it because I thought it would be fun to see Shin A-reum’s face hardening with each passing moment.

“Have fun today. Oh, and maybe an autograph?”

In that way, Kim Min-joo irritated Shin A-reum.

The greeting with the Girls’ League came after the greeting with Sungpil. Even that was cut short because Keus had to prepare for the stage.

After Caius left, Sungpil turned his head back to look at the members.

“… … Uragiri, ehyo.”

Rika shook her head without saying anything.

“Unnie Hayang, please!”

“Watashi (I), I’m an idol.”

Jang Ha-yang, declare strike!

At the same time, behind the stage, another declaration was emerging in Erica’s head.

The members of KAIST are waiting for the curtain to rise while reviewing the showcase script.

Erica stared at Ginger among them.

Ginger, sensing her gaze, looked at Erica with a smile.

“Why are you like that?”

“No. Our Ginger is cuter today.”

“Hehe, is that so?”

Erica made up her mind.

‘My solo song in this album was specially prepared as a sentimental and technical ballad pop song at Ginger’s request. In terms of technique, it is no worse than Ginger’s solo song.’

With that song.

‘Make Director Park cry.’

Erica, Sungpil’s declaration to cry!