Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 352



Only Noblemtl

Episode 352

Jung Ho-hwan visited the showcase venue a few hours before the comeback showcase.

The huge stage built for KARA’s performance was filled with all kinds of decorations to show the meaning of their album.

On the LEDs that covered the ceiling, walls, and floor, images depicting the sky, the horizon, and the earth flowed gracefully.

There, fluorescent three-dimensional structures depicting temple pillars, trees, and grass fields were used to express life.

‘The stage itself is a world.’

If we limit ourselves to the angles captured on camera, this stage could be called a world apart from reality.

This is the world of Caius.

“It’s much better than seeing it in graphics, right?”

A woman in her 40s approached Jeong Ho-hwan.

“Director Yoon, you’re here.”

“Then you came.”

It was Hee-yeon Yoon, the director of the visual division at KS Entertainment.

As a visual director, she manages and supervises all of KS Entertainment’s artists.

Literally, ‘everything that is visible’ must undergo Yoon Hee-yeon’s review before being shown to the public.

This stage was also created under her supervision.

“I can already tell from Director Jeong’s expression, but can I ask you to appreciate it?”

“What do you want me to say?”

As I felt during the music video, this stage also perfectly expressed the world of KAUS’ music visually.

Jung Ho-hwan was once again impressed by the visual team at KS Entertainment. They are the ones who bring into reality what existed only in the human mind and imagination.

There were things that Jeong Ho-hwan couldn’t do even if someone tried to beat him to death.

“Can I congratulate you in advance?”

“What can I do?” is her catchphrase.

It’s something I’ve been familiar with since I was a low-level employee at KS Entertainment. It hasn’t changed even now that I’ve become a director.

Even if she suddenly started speaking informally to Jung Ho-hwan, no one at KS Entertainment would blame her.

“What are you talking about?”

“The initial sales of Caius will be huge.”

They may not be the number one girl group of all time, but considering their two-year career, they will break the limitations that girl groups have had up until now.

“When you were making ‘Gaia’, you postponed your comeback as if you were possessed by something. But in the end, it turned out better.”

“It’s getting better.”

Didn’t various music-related media outlets trumpet KS Entertainment as well as KAIST as if they were neighborhood books?

“No matter what the evaluation, the market moved.”

The main reason why ‘Gaia’ was criticized was that it was ‘not K-pop-like’.

The funny thing is, the mainstream critics were those in the United States.

While Korea was engrossed in a conflict over whether idols were musicians or not, the discourse on K-pop shifted to the United States.

The biggest influence on the world’s perception of K-pop today is not what Koreans think, but what Americans think.

And those American critics criticized ‘Gaia’ produced by Jung Ho-hwan as ‘not K-pop-like’.

Yun Hee-yeon made a proud expression.

“Why bother with people who don’t even set foot on Korean soil?”

“… … .”

“Oh, those eyes?”

Yun Hee-yeon said cheerfully.

“It’s similar to when you said ‘We’re going to Japan’ 20 years ago. Could it be that you’re going to the US this time? Are you trying to become like SMS Entertainment?”

“Let’s not be so hard on SMS Enter.”

Jeong Ho-hwan highly appreciates their courage in trying to enter the United States.

People have been impatient to criticize the work, both in the past and now, but industries do not develop on their own. They develop only when someone continues to take on the intentional challenge.

SMS Entertainment’s courageous challenge, no, its shoveling, has provided a direction for the Korean music industry to take.

“Even without that, your representative complains to me every time he meets me.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“… … Director Yoon.”

Jung Ho-hwan showed a frail appearance that did not match his age. The trust he had built up over the years had disappeared, and he was filled with fear, like a young man about to take on a challenge.

“This song… … we made it.”

KS Entertainment’s A&R team and production department all put their heart and soul into creating this.

“We made it, so it will be successful, right?”

Yun Hee-yeon smiled faintly.

‘I really wonder when I’ll ever get over that habit.’

Even though Jung Ho-hwan took the lead in producing, he insists on saying, “We did it.”

It wasn’t that he was emphasizing the bond with his colleagues and subordinates. He was just afraid of taking all the responsibility on himself.

Jeong Ho-hwan thoroughly hides his fears from others.

But in front of people like Yoon Hee-yeon who have been around for a long time, they often find excuses like this.

“The A&R team was all chosen by Director Jeong. Trust me.”

“I picked everything… … .”

“The whole team made it. Since we all worked hard together, there will be good results.”

Only then did Jeong Ho-hwan show a slightly relieved look.

“But I can’t see Sangyeol.”

“It’s already been several years since PD Yoon Sang-yeol resigned.”

“Huh? Oh, oh, I see. Right, that’s a lie, right?! That much time has passed?! How many years?!”

Yoon Hee-yeon is a workaholic.

I devoted all my youth to work, and I still do.

I was insensitive to the changes in time and human relationships.

Since everything in the world is centered around oneself, those on the periphery become blurred. That was the person named Yoon Hee-yeon.

“Ah… … That’s right, Sangyeol submitted his resignation, right… … .”

“How much sleep have you had?”

“I don’t know?”

Jung Ho-hwan called the staff and had them arrest Yoon Hee-yeon. She resisted, saying she was normal, but soon disappeared from the showcase venue.

Jeong Ho-hwan looked at the stage again in silence.

‘Yes, we made it… … .’

At that time, two people came to mind in Jung Ho-hwan’s head one after another. First, Seong-pil, and second, Jeong Ji-eum.

Jeong Ho-hwan’s thoughts stopped, and soon new thoughts took their place, like new flesh sprouting.

‘No, I made it.’

So look.

* * *

“This is a new song by Caius.”

A&R team member Lee Jae-ho conveyed his intuitive impressions to Jeong Ji-eum.

“All I can think is, ‘What is this?’”

Jeong Ji-eum sat across from Lee Jae-ho at the table, her eyes focused solely on the laptop right in front of her.

There, the music video for the title song of KARS’s regular album, ‘Time’, was being shown.

Lee Jae-ho continued speaking.

“It really doesn’t feel like a Korean song.”

I don’t think it was made in Korea.

That is to say, it was difficult to understand.

“That was the first thing I thought when I first heard it.”

But as I kept listening, it was different.

“It’s addictive and there are a lot of parts that listeners can enjoy. I don’t think the song itself is bad… ….”

Jeong Ji-eum was just quietly listening to his story. No, it wasn’t even clear if she was even listening to his story.

Because Jung Ji-eum’s eyes were focused only on the music video in the laptop.

“Honestly, I’m not an expert, so I can’t say this or that. But if I had to say something… … .”

When Lee Jae-ho first joined the company, he frequently checked music charts from around the world under Son Hye-bin’s instructions.

Of course, Korea, Oricon chart, QQ chart, Billboard chart, music charts targeting the entire Europe, etc.

In fact, Lee Jae-ho followed musical trends around the world.

That’s what he evaluates.

“In terms of musical perfection and originality, there is no song in Korea that can compare.”

If we have to compare.

“I think it should be done with the European electronic music scene.”

Kaiser’s ‘Time’ is the birthplace of electronic music and can only be compared to some of the most sophisticated electronic music in the world.

“That’s what I think.”

It seems like KS Entertainment is provoking the Korean people.

Is it fun to live listening to the same songs, voices, instruments, and sounds? This is how music has evolved. Listen.

“It’s cutting edge with an industrial feel. But if you take out the chorus, it’s all in pieces… … PD, are you listening to me?”

The still sound did not answer.

He was focusing all his attention on Caius’s ‘Time’. He gave his soul to that sound.

And it got creepier and creepier.

‘There are five, six composers… … .’

Jung Ji-eum read the personality from the song.

The personalities of countless people.

‘Seven, eight… … .’

The still sound made him laugh.

‘I think there were more than 10 different composers involved in just one song?’

There are only 10 composers.

I couldn’t even guess how many dozens of other sound engineers there were.

What’s more surprising than anything else is…

‘You managed to keep it unified even though you put so many people into one song.’

Probably, it’s Jeong Ho-hwan’s work.

‘Doesn’t this person age…?’

Maybe Jung Ho-hwan’s mind will never harden.

* * *

Joara was so amazed that she watched Keus’ performance.

Before the title song performance began, it seemed like all the joking conversations with the MC were lies.

As expected of an idol, Kaius used humorous comments and statements, as well as affectionate speech to ask for love from fans.

But, all of that wasn’t necessary.

‘When I see something like this… … .’

Who wouldn’t be a fan, even if there was no return for their love?

Every second of Kaius’s dance was amazing. Not only in terms of skill, but also in terms of choreography.

Choreography composition.

There is no duplicate action in any part.

The choreography of Kaius changes with each part. No, even the song changes.

The only repetitive structure is the chorus, and even in that chorus, the choreography is different between the first and second verses.

If you cut this song up in parts and played it for someone who didn’t know, it was so deconstructed that they wouldn’t know it was the same song.

‘This, this, this kind of thing… … .’

Was it possible?

As a K-pop idol, no, in the world, KARA is definitely the first to attempt this kind of composition.

A performance without repetition.

As the title suggests, it expresses ‘time’.

The irreversibility of time is demonstrated through performance, and the impossibility of stuffing time, which is the essence of dance.

Without being overly forceful or overpowering, the choreography succeeds in intuitively symbolizing non-intuitive sounds by revealing intensity in segments.

As soon as the second verse ended, Joara unconsciously clenched her fist.

‘It’s a dance break part.’

As expected, it is a dance that does not overlap with the previous one in any way.

Fortunately, Joara pointed out what she didn’t like about Caius’s performance.

Yeah, I was really lucky that I couldn’t help but admire it.

‘The stage looks empty.’

I prepared a dance like that.

If there had been several assistant dancers, the performance could have been much more powerful and quantitatively complete.

‘Did you think it would be okay to only have the members of Caius?’

It’s not bad, of course, but there was a better way.

Although I don’t like it because it’s a flaw I found in the choreography, from a production perspective…

‘Why isn’t it ending?’

Even after 15 seconds, the dance break doesn’t end. The sound keeps changing, continuing to drag Kaius along without stopping.

20 seconds.

30 seconds.

40 seconds.

‘until when…….’

50 seconds.

The dance break alone was over 50 seconds long, during which no vocals were heard.

The dreamy yet intense and industrial sound continues to change.

‘I was wrong.’

The stage doesn’t look empty.

The stage was filled with performances.

The aura exuded by the members of KARA was enough to fill a space twice as large as a music show stage with just four members.

60 seconds dance break.

A one-minute dance performance finale, never before attempted in K-pop history.

* * *

Until just before the dance break, Jang Ha-yang couldn’t hide her surprise.

‘Did Soyou sing the entire chorus?’

Jin So-yu was given all the highlight choruses of the song.

There was no such thing as fair distribution of parts.

It was such a violent sight for a fellow idol to see.

At the same time, I thought it was a very good choice.

[Go, go, TIME, grab, TIME, quick, grab]

The chorus was a rap.

Although it was nothing more than a string of words called rap, it dug into my ears so sharply that it was impossible to shake it off.

There are no high-pitched vocals that inadvertently elicit admiration, nor are there any flashy rapping that catches the ear.

But Jin So-yu’s chorus was more than enough.

‘The chorus… … .’

Although she didn’t want to admit it, Jang Ha-yang was jealous.

Jang Ha-yang herself has never been in charge of the title song highlight chorus within Girls’ League.

But Jin So-yu took charge.

It is a highlight chorus that was chosen from among the talented members of KAIST.

* * *

The members of Globe were crowded into the practice room, watching a large screen used to play videos when performing choreography covers.

There, the comeback showcase of Kaius was held.

“… … .”

Rahee, the leader of the Globe, glanced back.

Yoon Sang-yeol was sitting on a chair, arms crossed, looking this way.

inconvenient…….

[The album title is the same as the title song. Why is the title ‘Time’? I’m a youth too, and there’s a kind of speculation that youths write, right? After ‘Chaos’, it was ‘Gaia’, so I thought the next one would be related to Greek mythology as well.]

When the MC asked, Erica picked up the microphone. Next to her was a real-time English translation window.

[What the youth thought was right.]

[Is that right?]

[Yes. ‘Time’ refers to Chronos, the god of time.]

[Ah, that’s right! Kronos! … … I, I watched a Greek and Roman mythology comic when I was little, but I don’t remember. What story was it from?]

[Zeus, my father.]

[Oh, that’s right, that’s right!]

Tch.

When Yoon Sang-yeol clicked his tongue, the Globe members flinched. Since they didn’t have the courage to check why Yoon Sang-yeol clicked his tongue, they pretended not to hear and just focused on the video.

‘How much time are you wasting with such useless talk?’

Hurry up and show us the title song performance.

[Hesiod’s Theogony says: Chaos came next, then Gaia.]

[So after Gaia there was Cronus?]

[no.]

Erica smiled brightly.

[There was Uranus, the god of the sky. So… … he was a god who was parasitic on Gaia, the earth itself.]

[A parasite? Just sticking to you?]

[Yes, by clinging. She was afraid that Gaia’s children would covet her place, so she prevented the children from being born.]

[Oh, that story is similar to the story about Kronos?]

The MC answered by recalling the first episode of a Greek and Roman mythology comic.

Because Cronus ate Gaia’s children as they were born, a rebellion against Cronus broke out, led by Zeus.

[That’s right. Cronus didn’t like that, so he joined hands with Gaia and cut down Uranus… ]

“I castrated him.”

Yoon Sang-yeol said.

The Globe members all looked back.

“They didn’t just cut it off, they castrated it.”

“… … Ah, yes.”

The Globe members chimed in and then returned their focus to the video.

[So the heaven and the earth were separated. In some ways, it resembles the creation of heaven and earth.]

[Then the album title is ‘Time’, Chronos… ]

[Yes, creation… … .]

Erica smiled faintly, as if embarrassed.

[It’s a grandiose way of expressing the beginning. Our adventure is just beginning! It’s like that. The original album title was ‘Chronos’, but we wanted to make it new, so we changed it to ‘Time’, and we wanted to make it even newer, so we changed it to ‘Time’. For the first time, our title song title is in English.]

[Start! What is the beginning?]

Erica looked around at the members and hesitated, saying, “Me? Really me? Oh, I’m embarrassed!”

She cleared her throat and made her expression as serious as possible.

Although he was serious, he couldn’t hide the playfulness inside him. He couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that he was saying such things on purpose.

[It’s a start towards the best.]

‘I can’t listen to it because it’s so cringey. What’s the best…?

Yoon Sang-yeol laughed at Erica and the producer behind her.

I didn’t necessarily think of Jeong Ho-hwan.

Idols are the producer’s alter ego, so making fun of idols is no different from making fun of producers.

Caius is the manifestation of Jeong Ho-hwan’s anima (the feminine aspect of a man’s unconscious).

As is the case with the globe.

[Now, let’s start with Caius! The creation of heaven and earth! Please watch the start towards the best!]

Erica stamped her feet and told him not to do it, despite the MC’s grandiose introduction.

After such a humorous time, the performance of KAIST’s title song began.

Everyone was so focused that they didn’t even know when it was over. After the performance, Rahee said something without realizing it.

“Wow… … .”

Yoon Sang-yeol roughly dragged his chair and stood up. He stamped his feet as he left the practice room.

The Globe members were silent.

“Why are you?

Globe member, Jin-i said bluntly.

* * *

Snow White seemed almost out of her mind.

Without even realizing it, I was enjoying the stage of Baekseolha Keus. It was like watching an idol concert at Sungpil’s house.

‘They’re all so pretty… … .’

I can sympathize with why Sungpil likes Kaius so much. No, I’ve kind of understood it since long ago, but now I know for sure.

‘So pretty and cool… … .’

My eyes were drawn to Erica in particular.

It might be because she’s the member of Kaius that I care about the most. No, even if I didn’t have a connection with Erika, I would have focused on Erika.

Because the aura was gushing out like a spring.

Snow White felt a burning thirst and looked into the fountain of aura that Erica was emitting.

‘Idol… … oh… … Erika is… … .’

It seemed like he was born to be an idol.

No, it’s not.

Erica was born to be a star.

An opera singer born before 1900.

If you were born before the 60s, you’re a jazz singer.

If you were born before the 80s, you’re a rocker.

If she had been born any other time, she would have been a pop diva.

Now, I became an idol because I was born close to Korea.

‘The whole stage seems to belong to Erica.’

Erica makes the stage her own.

‘This is Erica’s artistry.’

Erica is an artist.

‘This is Erica’s idolism.’

Erica is an idol.

‘This is Erica’s aura.’

Erica is a star.

Natural talent.

She seems to have been blessed by both Apollo and Dionysus.

But clearly, behind it all, there must have been excruciating pain and patience. Anguish that others cannot understand, that only idols can relate to.

‘It must have been really, really hard.’

I could feel Erica’s efforts touching my skin and I couldn’t help but cry.

How much suffering must it have been to stand in that place? How much pain must he have endured?

And now that all that pain has been shaken off, how proud he must be of himself.

Please be proud.

‘Erika, you deserve it. No matter what anyone says, you are the best, you are the best, be satisfied and proud… … .’

* * *

‘What should I eat for dinner?’

After finishing the performance of ‘Time’, Erica thought about that.

How was the performance? How did it look on camera? How did people react?

Satisfaction in that aspect has already been achieved during the album preparation period. Without a doubt, it will be perfect no matter when or where it stands.

‘Isn’t it going to end soon?’

Whether she did well at her debut showcase or not, those things meant nothing to Erika.

Once upon a time, perfection was achieved.

Just like how most people don’t worry about ‘Can I brush my teeth well? Did I do it well?’ when brushing their teeth.

‘hmm?’

His eyes went to Baek Seol-ha, who was looking at him from under the stage.

Erica smiled at Baek Seol-ha, who covered her mouth with her hand as if she was touched. Then she looked at Seong-pil, who was standing next to her.

I wish I could send a better sign than a smile… … but no.

‘I should ask the director directly how it was.’

In France, the reason Erica asked Sungpil to be her friend was because he was different from other people.

Seongpil has no expectations from Erica.

Erica lived a smooth life because she instinctively knew what others expected of her and instinctively met that expectation.

But Seongpil had absolutely no expectations from Erica.

It’s like when a teacher tries his best but still sees a student who smokes and behaves badly.

‘What do you think?’

Yeah, let’s ask then.

‘When our initial sales figures come out.’

Showing only the pre-order sales figures would have no impact.

Erica finished her performance while thinking about something else. She didn’t even look around to see what other people’s reactions were.

* * *

KAIST’s first full-length album ‘Time’.

Pre-order sales volume.

Twenty-one thousand six hundred (211,600) chapters.

On the first day of release, initial sales are being tallied.