Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 560



Only Noblemtl

Episode 560

There was a call from Jeong Ho-hwan.

With some time left until the call, Erica came to the artist’s lounge.

Perhaps because it was the end of the year, there weren’t many people. Erica relaxed her nervousness and rummaged through the refrigerator, wondering if her senior might be there.

A plastic case caught my eye.

Inside was some leftover cake.

[Darkest Hamin]

This is senior Ha Min’s cake.

‘It’s been a while since Darkist was disbanded, and yet you still use the name Darkist.’

Erica took out a can of coffee and sat on the sofa.

“Ugh.”

An old man-like sigh naturally comes out.

I have to go to several award ceremonies in December. I can’t do them all half-heartedly, so I’m nervous every day.

I have to put my heart and soul into dancing and singing for each awards ceremony performance, and I feel like I will become chronically tired, not to mention physically exhausted, and even nervously exhausted.

Take a sip of coffee and the caffeine will spread through your bloodstream.

“… … .”

Erica glanced at the refrigerator.

I keep thinking about the case where it was written ‘Darkest Hamin’.

It’s been several years since Darkest ceased its activities. But senior Ha Min still adds “Darkest” to his name.

‘Is it true that for idols, being a group is a label that they can never be separated from?’

Or is it something so precious that you don’t even want to part with it?

Erica reached out to the ceiling light, light streaming through her fingers.

“Caius, target… … .”

Erica, who had been humming like that, laughed heartily.

“Target!”

Erica stamped her feet and expressed her joy with her whole body. She smiled brightly, a smile she would never show to anyone else.

‘You received it thanks to the company?’

Did you say that to Snow White?

No, in the end, what remains is the result.

Entering KS Entertainment is a skill. Choosing a company is also a skill.

If we were to make excuses for the background, there would be no competition in the world.

“It’s the target, the target… … .”

Caius finally reached the top.

The gaze of those around you changes.

The company people treat Caius more respectfully.

The expressions of company executives looking at them brighten.

The whole world cheers for Caius.

“ha.”

Finally, it came.

So easy.

It’s like other things Erica has done.

Whatever she desires, the world will easily give it to her.

‘I am loved by the world.’

The only thing that bothers me is… … .

“Oh my.”

When she heard someone else’s voice, Erica looked in that direction in surprise. Park Su-ryeon, the senior from ‘B.I.S.’ who had come in at some point, was standing at the entrance.

“Are you filming a movie?”

“Seo, hello, senior.”

“okay.”

Park Su-ryeon was wearing a thin leather coat over her training clothes, as if she had just been practicing.

It was truly unbalanced.

She came and sat down next to Erica, holding a plastic case and a drink from the fridge.

“Senior, that’s darkest… … .”

“know.”

Park Soo-ryeon opened the case and ate the remaining cake. Erica was shocked when she saw that.

‘Are you crazy?’

Darkest is a group that is one generation older than B.I.S. The only thing that Park Soo-ryeon can compare herself to the members of Darkest is her age.

“Do you want some too?”

“no…….”

“congratulations.”

“Huh? Oh, thank you.”

“It feels like I have everything in the world.”

Park Su-ryeon ate and drank cake and drinks alternately, tasteless.

“I had a good time back then too.”

The group B.I.S., which Park Soo-ryeon is a part of, won the ‘Song of the Year’ award at an awards ceremony about four years ago.

This is the ‘Portrait in You’ that gave immortal fame to B.I.S.

That was the last target of the Byes.

“It felt like our prime was finally starting. That was the exact moment we reached our prime.”

“… … .”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t say something like, ‘Don’t act like you got the award once, you bitch.’ I just said that.”

B.I.S. is a group that has received favorable reviews from both critics and the public. Critics highly rate B.I.S.’s musical achievements.

However, his award history at popular music award ceremonies is quite poor. He has received many minor awards at the main level, but only two or three grand prizes at the highest level.

“I got hit by SMS Entertainment, and then got dumped by YJS Entertainment. What the heck am I?”

“Senior… … .”

“What could have been the problem?”

problem?

does not exist.

Each member of B.I.S. is a vocalist who would be successful if they debuted as solo singers. They also possess top-notch dance performance skills.

Even in terms of visuals, Park Su-ryeon maintained the undisputed top spot until Jin So-yu appeared.

Each member shines like a jewel.

“… … At this point, it’s a job scam.”

“yes?”

“I came here expecting to be like Darkest, but what the hell am I? Top tier? Don’t make me laugh. Ugh, it’s my fate.”

After Park Su-ryeon finished eating all the cakes, she put the case in the refrigerator.

Erica thought that perhaps the reason why B.I.S. didn’t succeed was because of Park Soo-ryun’s personality.

“Still, I’m glad that things are going well for you.”

“luck.”

“huh?”

“luck…….”

Erica said so.

It must have been because the back of Park Su-ryeon, who was now 30 years old, seemed hazy. That’s why I felt like comforting her in some way.

“Luck, maybe? This industry is all about luck. I think the reason we’re able to claim success is because of luck… …it just all came together.”

The ways in which individual idols can contribute to the success of a group are quite limited.

Idols can put in effort on their own, but that is a fixed value. Let’s assume that idols will put in as much effort as possible and calculate the success rate.

It is no exaggeration to say that virtually everything is decided during the production stage.

“Hey.”

Park Su-ryeon laughed.

“Our junior is incredibly humble. Yeah, he must be lucky. Come to think of it, the great people in history were lucky all the way through. The unlucky ones must have died before they became great people.”

Park Su-ryeon left the break room.

I don’t know if Erica’s consolation is working, whether it’s comfort or humility. Park Soo-ryeon is always like that, so I can’t figure out what she’s thinking.

Erica drank the entire can.

The story that Park Su-ryeon told me is still hanging in my mind.

‘It felt like our prime was finally starting. That was the end of our prime.’

I thought, ‘It’s going to go up even higher!’ but that was the highest point.

It’s a sad story, but it’s also a common story.

A feeling of uneasiness spread through Erica’s chest.

‘We, Caius.’

They have reached the top among the current generation girl groups.

From this moment on, everyone will call Caius the best. And if he falls just a little short of expectations, the words ‘he’s gone downhill’ will follow.

It can’t be helped.

‘Caesar has been writing a myth at every moment.’

Even now, they say it is a dream-like record.

But does it go any further than this?

Erica found it hard to imagine.

When BTS hit the jackpot with ‘Portrait in You’, received a response from the West, and emerged as a global music powerhouse.

Many people said that BTS had reached the top of K-pop. But there was another peak above the peak.

B.I.S learned from their contemporary girl groups that there was actually a higher level above what they thought was normal.

Suddenly, the Girls’ League came to mind.

A feeling of discomfort wells up in my stomach. The moment I lost to the Girls’ League is etched into my mind again and again.

“……it’s okay.”

Erica gathered all her worries and pushed them somewhere in her head.

Now is the promised time.

Erica headed to the designated conference room.

All the other members had already gathered. And the one sitting at the top was not Jung Ho-hwan, but the chief producer, Kang Dong-hyun.

“They all came.”

Kang Dong-hyun has become much closer to the members of KARA recently. He no longer hesitates to talk to them or stutters.

“Shall we begin?”

“Wasn’t Director Jeong Ho-hwan coming?”

“Director Jeong Ho-hwan, um, today is the next group’s business… … .”

When they heard that they were the next group, each member of KARA felt an inexplicable sense of disappointment.

In fact, Jung Ho-hwan is not only in charge of KS Entertainment. As the general producer, he manages all of KS Entertainment’s idols.

Caius was better than his seniors, and Caius’ juniors will be better than Caius.

The history of KS Entertainment is the history of K-pop.

That lineage is the pride of KS Entertainment idols, but at the same time… … .

‘what.’

Erica was able to directly verbalize the discomfort she felt. The face of Park Soo-ryeon, who she had seen earlier, overlapped with those words.

‘We must… … .’

It feels like it has an expiration date.

It started when Jung Ho-hwan broke his promise and left for work with another group.

“ruler.”

Kang Dong-hyun clapped his hands.

“You all worked so hard. This is more than we expected. No, what is more? This is beyond expectations. You are the very definition of KS Entertainment. I’m proud of you. And.”

Kang Dong-hyun turned on the beam projector.

The writing on it was as follows:

[Caius Phase 2]

“Cayers enters phase 2.”

“What is it? So far, it’s been phase 1, right?”

“That’s right. As you know, the plans for you guys are all laid out on a yearly basis. Of course… … .”

Kang Dong-hyun laughed heartily.

“This is a plan that was decided on suddenly.”

The screen flipped over.

When they saw it, all the members of Kaius’ eyes lit up. Something completely unexpected was revealed.

“I, we.”

Erica even stuttered.

There was both surprise and joy in it.

“That’s right. You will each debut solo one after another.”

Caius Phase 2.

“No, it’s not about individual character that goes beyond the identity of the group.”

What Kang Dong-hyun wants to implement with this plan is not just characterization.

“Individual personality. Each and every one of you must have the personality of an artist as an individual.”

The huge change brought about by the Erica mixtape incident. The future changed by Sungpil.

Plans to turn Kaias into artists.

“You are not Erica of Caius, Ginger of Caius, Soyou of Caius, or Minju of Caius. You are.”

Kang Dong-hyun’s face flushed as if he couldn’t stand the anticipation.

“Erika, Mei, Soyou, and Minju will become one.”

Jin So-yu raised her hand.

“Yeah, it’s mine.”

“Cause has been disbanded? So, can I leave the dorm and find a separate room?”

“Oh, no, that doesn’t mean that KAIST is disbanding! It means that KAIST is promoting and making a solo debut at the same time!”

Jin So-yu put her hand down.

Then this time, Kim Min-joo raised her hand.

“Does it have to be like this?”

“huh.”

“why?”

“We judged it.”

KS Enter has decided.

“This is what is needed to elevate you above this.”

“Above this… … ?”

“You guys weren’t planning on being satisfied with this, were you?”

Kang Dong-hyun pointed upward with his index finger.

“Just one target? There are more to come. Caius will set an unbreakable record for years to come. Your name will never fade. We… … .”

KS Enter.

“We will make it so. Your stage is not domestic. It will be the world.”

Kang Dong-hyun swallowed these words.

‘Just like the Girls’ League.’

Caius’s future goals are simple.

It is to rob the Girls’ League of its status overseas, and to expand and strengthen that status.

* * *

“Why do we have to be like this?”

Jeongjin grumbled.

Rahee smiled and put the cone-shaped hat that she was wearing crookedly on her head.

“I can’t just let it go.”

The Globe members were preparing a surprise party in the practice room. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a party atmosphere at all.

Because the party’s main character was Yoon Sang-yeol.

In the practice room, there was a banner hung that had been prepared with the help of people from the company.

[Producer of the Year: Sang-Yeol Yoon]

He won Producer of the Year at the HPT Music Awards for producing Globe’s album, ‘Graffiti’.

The Globe members were shocked when they saw that.

No, the Globe won one grand prize, but Yoon Sang-yeol is the producer of the year?

There really must be something to the song ‘Who Uh’. The experts will be the ones to choose this year’s producer, and judging by what they gave to Yoon Sang-yeol.

“But a little… … .”

Wiserra, who was counting the number of candles on the cake, opened her mouth.

“Isn’t that so?”

“what?”

“No, there’s that, that performance of the year.”

“You don’t like what the Girls’ League got? They deserved it.”

Rahee was worried that Wiseora was interested in being jealous of others and putting them down.

The Girls’ League’s “Automata” was more than worthy of being named Performance of the Year.

“It’s deserved. But, um, uh, can’t we do something like that too… … ?”

“huh?”

“No, before Jiyu started causing trouble, we practiced dancing and vocals really hard.”

That’s what happened.

Yoon Sang-yeol introduced a daily, weekly, and monthly evaluation system that was not even used in the military. He managed Globe members like rats.

It wasn’t like some Russian State Ballet youth system, they treated grown adults like prisoners.

“I just saw Automata and thought, ‘We could do that too.’”

“right!”

Noah was practicing aiming firecrackers at Yoon Sang-yeol’s face when he got hit.

“The dance for ‘Who A’ is so simple!”

“Hey, you shouldn’t say that it’s simple.”

Jiyu scolded Noah.

“We’ve added more personality to it. To be honest, I didn’t really like Automata. What’s that? If you want to see something like that, watch a marching band or ballet.”

“I liked automata better! It was just like this!”

Noah imitated the automata.

It wasn’t a simple imitation.

The steps were quite plausible, as if they had practiced separately.

“Isn’t it cool!”

“… … No, really, this is ridiculous.”

Jiyu scratched her head. It was a rough gesture, as if she was annoyed and couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Really? You want to do that? Dude, that’s something you do by changing people. You dance while getting your knees and shoulders all broken. I made a fuss with Yoon Sang-yeol so that you wouldn’t end up like that, but now you want to do that?”

“That, that’s not what I meant… … .”

“Okay. If you want to do it, go and tell Yoon Sang-yeol right now. Beg him to monitor you and scold you every day like before!”

“That’s not it… … .”

“Jiyu.”

Rahee stood between Noah and Jiyu.

“Why are you like that to Noah? And please refrain from calling me by my PD name.”

“Um, okay. Our Rahee, just rendezvous with Sangyeol and go on a trip together.”

Rahee’s eyes burned with one-dimensional anger.

“Jiyu, isn’t it not a good thing to raise your voice at others?”

“You need to get your position straight. Everyone here thinks Yoon Sang-yeol is a piece of shit, but you’re the only one who keeps protecting him. What are you doing? Are you advertising that we should treat you like shit?”

The Globe members were confused and just rolled their eyes here and there. Eventually, their eyes focused on one person.

“stop.”

It was Choi Yu-Hyeon.

She gave the order coldly, as if trying to separate the two with her words.

“That’s right, stop it! I don’t want to see you two fighting because of me! Yamero (Stop it)!”

“stop.”

“yes.”

Noah immediately shrank down at Choi Yu-hyeon’s one word.

Choi Yu-hyeon got up from his seat and approached Ji-yu and Ra-hee.

“No matter what the PD says, let’s not bring it up easily. Having different opinions is not a reason to fight, right? There will be people who will agree with the PD.”

Choi Yu-hyeon looked at Ra-hee.

“The PD… … .”

Yoon Sang-yeol entered the practice room.

“There are some shitty people… … .”

“Kkaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Noah screamed and fired the firecracker towards Yoon Sang-yeol.

A confetti piece flying from a firecracker hit Yoon Sang-yeol’s eye.

“AAAAAHH …