Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 575



Only Noblemtl

Episode 575

“Who should I send?”

Seongpil entered into a discussion with Min Kyungseop.

We had to decide which of our members would be judges for a K-pop dance cover competition.

I can’t send all five of them.

First of all, there are members who have schedules.

“Ara has a magazine film photo shoot, and Seol-ha can’t make time because of ‘Aoa’… … .”

“Right, how about Seol-ha?”

“How is it?”

“There is a sense of burden and such.”

Min Kyung-seop let out a hollow laugh, as if to say, ‘Why does my brother say something like that?’

“You sold Seol-ha and now you’re worried?”

“Hey, selling it is too harsh. I have faithfully fulfilled the rights and duties that Seol-ha gave me.”

The rights and obligations that Baek Seol-ha transferred to Seong-pil refer to the management authority stipulated in the contract.

The ultimate management authority of Garo Enter is Hong Gyu-heon, and under him are Seong Pil, Son Hye-bin, and Min Gyeong-seop.

Snow White cannot work as an entertainer without the permission of these people. Conversely, they must manage Snow White with all their heart to ensure her success.

Seongpil believes that sending Baek Seol-ha to ‘Aoa’ was ‘management done with sincerity’.

“Ara, you exchanged a one-time photo shoot ticket, right?”

“You’re secretly setting me up.”

There’s nothing I can do.

Min Kyung-seop felt guilty when he sold Baek Seol-ha that day.

Snow White sat in the passenger seat, quietly closing her eyes and swallowing her sobs.

Even the coldest manager, Min Kyung-seop, couldn’t keep his composure after seeing that.

“Well, it’s a good opportunity.”

Just before, ‘Aoa’ achieved unprecedented success.

The three-way battle between Jiyu of Globe, Ginger of Kaius, and Joara of the Girls’ League became a hot topic for many reasons.

The synergy between these three videos was so great that they broke all the records for number of views.

The next ‘Aoa’ after them is also bound to garner a lot of attention. It may even be more of a hot topic than before.

That’s where Baek Seol-ha appeared.

It was a sweet gift for the people who were sad that the Girls’ League’s activities were over, and it was a salivating bait for Dolpan fans.

“Surprisingly, Seol-ha seems to like it.”

“Really? What specifically?”

“If I say you’re like Seol-ha from ‘The Unknown Singer’, how do you feel?”

“Yes, it is.”

There was something strange about Snow White back then.

Because he often said, ‘I want to know defeat’ with a somewhat languid look in his eyes.

The sense of accomplishment that came from defeating her master led her into a swamp of arrogance. Even though she was arrogant, she seemed cute.

“That’s fortunate.”

Min Kyung-seop recited the next member’s schedule.

“Ara has a photoshoot for ‘Ara who can do anything’.”

‘Anything is Possible Beauty’, one of the Girls’ League’s own entertainment series, is still being serialized. It has finished season 3 and is scheduled to enter season 4.

This entertainment show, which has a very ordinary plot of Shin A-reum challenging herself in all sorts of new fields, is doing a great job as a devoted daughter of the Girls’ League channel.

In any group, there is an issue maker who captures the public’s attention. In Girls’ League, that role was filled by Shin A-reum.

“What did you say you were going to do this time?”

“Card toss.”

“Card throw?”

“You know, there’s this guy who throws poker cards like javelins? He’s a master at it. He’s supposed to be competing against him.”

“Oh, so is Arami’s acting practice related to that?”

These days, Shin A-reum is memorizing several short lines at Yang Sang-heon’s request.

They used to say fancy things like, “Lady Luck is smiling on me,” or “Blue would be nice,” or “You’re lucky? It’s fate.”

“Yes, what game character is that?”

“It suits you.”

As I noticed when she played the role of Siseri in ‘Western Bullet’, Shin A-reum seems to have talent for acting.

I’m not talking about serious acting, but character acting.

“If Areum wants to go to Russia, can I get out of it?”

“no.”

Min Kyung-seop firmly denied it.

“Now, our kids’ own entertainment show filming should be viewed in a similar way to going to a broadcasting station. It’s that important.”

The two were sitting on a sofa in the first floor lounge talking.

Seongpil looked at the wall above the sofa.

There was a small picture frame hanging there.

[Employee of the Year

Yang Sang-heon]

The photo of Yang Sang-heon smiling awkwardly stands out.

He made a great contribution as the person in charge of video content for Garo Enter. Thanks to that, he was selected as the best employee of the year.

The contribution is so great that, excluding art videos such as music videos, the Girls’ League channel has earned over 1 billion won.

There is no doubt that the Girls’ League’s own entertainment program planned by Yang Sang-heon has made a great contribution.

‘Of course, it is not just Sang-heon’s achievement, but also the achievement of the content team led by Sang-heon and the entire PR team.’

Above all, it is the Girls’ League members’ contribution.

In particular, the members who appeared in ‘I’ll Make You Happy, Rika-chan’ really worked hard.

Including Baek Seol-ha, who shed tears in ‘Garo High School’, and other members who were sacrificed at the hands of Rika’s monkey…

Still, wouldn’t Snow White have been happy? Because she could wear her school uniform for a little while and reminisce about her past.

“Then what’s left is… … .”

Two people.

“It’s Rika and Hayang.”

Only two people can go to Russia.

You don’t necessarily have to go to both.

Only one person can go.

“Ha-yang, isn’t it hard for you because of ‘our producing’?”

“maybe.”

But in Sungpil’s opinion, it would be better for Jang Ha-yang to go. It could fit with the theme of ‘Our Producing’ that she had set.

“But, do you think the kids would want to go?”

“I don’t think you’d really want to go.”

It’s been quite some time since the Girls’ League started receiving compensation. Their way of thinking has probably changed from when they were hurriedly doing the work given to them by the company.

They too have risen to the position of knowing what makes money and what doesn’t.

Every time Rika stands on stage for an event, she calculates everything one by one, saying, “When I finish this stage, the amount of money I will receive is XXX thousand won.”

Of course, they are also people, so if they are going to spend time, they want to do it on a stage where they can make money.

“This is exactly the same as a military base tour performance.”

It means that the price of oil is barely covered.

“Except for the symbolic nature of meeting overseas fans, I don’t think I would really want to go. Even for that, the Girls’ League… … .”

I already have enough and more than enough.

Girls’ League is a group that is evaluated as having a much larger overseas fandom than domestic fandom.

I was so surprised to see the huge crowds that came to greet them when they landed at the Chilean airport during their overseas tour two years ago.

All tours were like that.

“It might not be a good idea to ask who is going.”

Min Kyung-seop was the first to bring up what Seong-pil wanted to say.

“yes.”

If both Jang Ha-yang and Rika are reluctant to do this schedule, they may experience conflict over this matter.

If you tell each other, ‘You go,’ the emotional rift will deepen.

“It would be better if we choose.”

“hmm…….”

“Ha-yang has some producing work to do, so it would be better to stay and send Rika.”

“… … Let’s go, Hayang.”

Seongpil thought about it for a moment and then came to a conclusion.

Min Kyung-seop was slightly embarrassed, but nodded after hearing his explanation.

“I also thought that Hyung sent me here on purpose because he wanted to go on a date with Hayang in Russia.”

“what?”

“Aren’t you going to come with me, hyung?”

“I’ll follow you, but what does that mean?”

“Oh, I’m joking. Don’t look at me like that.”

At the same time, Min Kyung-seop recalled the melodrama that Seong Pil and Jang Ha-yang had previously performed.

The sight of them hugging each other and rubbing cheeks in the Garo Enter Hall. Of course, it was Jang Ha-yang who did it, not Seong-pil.

If something like that had happened to Min Kyung-seop, his wife would have been erased from his memory, even if only momentarily.

I thought it would be different because it was Seongpil.

“Then how much promotion should we do?”

I heard that Girls’ League will be appearing as judges for the Russian K-pop cover dance competition.

This means to what extent you are going to promote this.

There was no need for Min Kyung-seop to ask Seong-pil a question. But even so, the meaning of his question was this.

‘Since we are using important human resources, shouldn’t we at least make a small profit?’

That is, let’s blow this incident out of proportion to give the Girls’ League some fame.

“I think it would be enough to just distribute a press release to the media. Well, even if we advertise it a lot, people who hear the news won’t react more than, ‘So what?’”

“But still, it’s Russia.”

This is an unprecedented territory for K-pop.

Of course, Russia is also a land where world-class entertainers are active.

Not only pop stars and rock stars, but even Japan’s X Japan has held concerts in Russia.

However, it is a particularly cold land for K-pop. It has only been 10 years since K-pop began its globalization, so it is still far from being able to break through the Russian curtain.

“Isn’t this a place with deep meaning to our children?”

“Because of the name? Don’t be ridiculous.”

When he thinks about the humiliations the Girls’ League suffered because of its name, Seongpil still wakes up with his eyes wide open.

It was self-inflicted, but the abbreviation ‘Soviet Union’, the fandom name ‘People’, and the fan meeting name ‘League of International Congress’ were enough to cause controversy.

Two years ago, Hong Gyu-heon was almost summoned for a state audit.

Luckily, the Japanese ‘Nationalist League’ exploded, and the lawmaker who was trying to summon Hong Gyu-heon was silenced.

Or maybe Hong Gyu-heon’s family did something.

Maybe it’s both.

“Rather, because it’s Russia, I don’t feel like doing anything more.”

“but.”

Min Kyung-seop answered bitterly.

Girls’ League was particularly subject to strict control by other fandoms. They called Girls’ League fans ‘reds.’

Usually, when putting down a fandom, the term ‘regular fandom’ is used, but the people are simply called ‘reds’.

Even without pointing out any particular abnormality, it seems like just saying “red” is enough to be a curse word. That was actually the case.

“Then, is it okay for Hayang to just be a judge in this kind of competition?”

“Yeah. Tell the PR team to send the information to me… … No, I’m sure my older sister can do it. Do that.”

“yes.”

“And I’ll tell Hayang.”

In this way, Jang Ha-yang’s participation was confirmed.

‘I hope you don’t hate it too much.’

Isn’t it?

It is only Sungpil’s arbitrary judgment that the members will hate things that don’t make money.

Above all, Jang Ha-yang will be happy to do this.

‘Because it fits the theme that Hayang chose this time.’

Inspiration is important.

This will be an inspiration to Jang Ha-yang.

I accepted Meyer’s request not only because I was moved by her story, but more importantly, for Jang Ha-yang’s sake.

* * *

“I’ve always drawn―.”

A cheerful melody and sound flowed from Rika’s laptop. She sang while shaking her shoulders.

“Dream yaiyaiyaaaaa―.”

It was ‘Summertime Dream’ arranged by Rika with the sound of the stationary sound.

The lyrics are intentionally muffled to keep the song cheerful, so they’re not very audible. However, the highlight melody is good enough to make up for it all.

No, it’s not that good.

It’s the end.

“The dream that never stops is yaya―.”

Rika went beyond just shrugging her shoulders and started to take steps.

He approached Jang Ha-yang, who was sitting reverently like an audience member in a classical theater, and rubbed his chest against her shoulder.

“Papa bab papa papa bab papa!”

Shin A-reum’s scream, irritated by Rika’s constant nagging. The vocal chops transformed it into a lively instrumental sound, filling the melody.

The ‘Pappapap’ part that Rika sings along to was exactly that. It was made with a human voice, but it is a sound that cannot be reproduced with a human voice.

There’s an internet meme where someone who does something wrong turns into a musical instrument.

This is a phenomenon that does not discriminate between countries.

From politicians to celebrities and even American Internet users, even the voices of terrorists have been transformed into musical instruments.

Shin A-reum became a musical instrument even though she did nothing wrong.

“Oh you oh you, my dream is yaaaaaaa―.”

When Jang Ha-yang didn’t respond, Rika started twerking. Jang Ha-yang also burst out laughing after seeing that.

And then we got up together and danced together with Rika.

The rhythm that makes you move your shoulders without you knowing might be referring to this song.

Even ‘Apple Crush’ didn’t have such a cheerful atmosphere.

“It’s a dream I’ve always had!”

As the song ended, the two were out of breath from dancing so intensely.

“What do you think?”

“Okay. Did Rika really make it?”

“Hi! It’s an arrangement, to be exact!”

This ‘Summertime Dream’ was created by an unknown composer. It was purchased by Garo Entertainment’s A&R team through a publisher a few months ago.

For reference, the price was only a few hundred thousand won.

‘Summertime Dream’, which had been gathering dust in a corner of Jeong Ji-eum’s treasure trove, was recently rescued by the A&R team.

This is because the A&R team once again checked all the songs it owned in preparation for Jang Ha-yang’s ‘Our Producing’.

“How about the original song?”

“I’ll turn it on for you!”

The unarranged ‘Summertime Dream’ was sloppy. First of all, it seemed like it wasn’t recorded with a very good microphone.

Human voices are scattered here and there.

Still, the original form of the melody can be felt.

“Did you arrange this to make it like that?”

“Hi (yes)!”

Rika puffed out her chest with pride.

Jang Ha-yang thought she and Jung Ji-eum were great. And the A&R team was also great.

Both the fact that I was thinking of buying and saving ‘Summertime Dream’ and the fact that I brought out this song at this timing.

Honestly, the original song was so sloppy that I thought it was made by a practical music student for an assignment.

That might actually be the case.

Since he said he bought it for only a few hundred thousand won, the person who sold it to him may not have had high expectations for the song.

That’s what it means to sell the copyright itself.

Of course, if this song becomes the title song of the Girls’ League, I will shed tears of blood and regret it.

“If you want, I can arrange it in a different direction!”

“For example?”

“This song is totally EDM! But if Hayang unnie asks me to change it to a musical, I can change the sound with an orchestra or big band session! I can even combine the two!”

Rika seems to remember Jang Ha-yang saying in the past, “If I were to produce, I would want to create a musical atmosphere.”

Jang Ha-yang gently stroked Rika’s hair. Of course, since the two were of similar height, he had to raise his hand to the height of her head to stroke her hair.

Rika laughed heartily.

“There are many other songs!”

“Rika, I’ve always wondered, do EDM and electronic have the same meaning?”

“It’s different! It’s different! EDM is music to dance to and electronica is music to listen to!”

“I see.”

“It’s often used interchangeably! I don’t really want to point it out! As long as the meaning is understood, that’s fine! Then, shall we listen to the next song?”

“I want to do that too, but… … .”

Jang Ha-yang looked at the bed as if she was troubled. Her loose luggage and carrier bag were lying there.

“Isn’t there still time to go to Russia? Are you already packing your bags?”

“Um, something.”

Jang Ha-yang wiggled her hands. Anticipation seemed to spread from her heart to the blood vessels at her fingertips.

“I can’t calm down.”

“Is Russia that good?”

“Ahaha, that’s right.”

“I’m jealous! You’re dragging along two of Garo Enter’s top executives!”

As he said, when Jang Ha-yang goes to Russia, he goes with two people.

They are Seongpil and Han Guin.

Admiration was fixed in Rika’s eyes.

“It’s like a drama! It gives off an amazing career woman vibe!”

With two company executives on each side, it could be called a grand procession.

Wasn’t it Hong Gyu-heon who had been able to enjoy such luxury up until now?

“Oh, is that what you mean when you say it’s not real? Well, it’s a fantasy!”

“Huh? Fantasy?”

Rika immediately picked up her phone and showed me the screen.

It was the cover of a web novel. A woman with a troubled expression was in the center, and on either side were a man with an innocent-looking expression and a man with a sharp expression.

Although the woman had a troubled expression on her face, she was holding the two men’s ties with her hands like a leash.

The title was ‘Directors, please be moderately obsessed.’

“This is it! This is romantic!”

“……I see.”

Jang Ha-yang reads a lot of romance novels. But that doesn’t mean web novels.

Whether it was because of the influence of being educated by a Korean person or because of an inferiority complex caused by her family history, Jang Ha-yang did not prefer snack culture.

However, the title and cover caught Jang Ha-yang’s eye, and she expressed her curiosity.

“What is it about?”

“I don’t know because I didn’t read it!”

I see.

Jang Ha-yang climbed back onto the bed and started packing. Rika followed Jang Ha-yang like a dog following its owner and dived onto the bed.

Jang Ha-yang asked.

“Aren’t you sad that you can’t go?”

Jang Ha-yang paused for a moment.

“It’s romantic.”

“Hey, when there are two of you, it’s not romance, it’s just a simple double date!”

“Are you on Director Han’s side?”

“Hi (yes)?”

Rika tilted her head as if she didn’t know what he was talking about. Jang Ha-yang shook his head, feeling embarrassed.

“no.”

“I’m busy even when I don’t have a schedule!”

Literally, Rika is busy.

Whenever I have free time, I always study about composing and producing. It’s like Joara from the days when dancing was the club and entertainment.

These days, Joara doesn’t use dancing as a stress reliever. Instead, she sets aside time and focuses as much as possible to hone her skills.

Not only do they learn difficult techniques that don’t fit with idol broadcast choreography, they also read professional books on dance.

I know Rika is busy. I know that, but Jang Ha-yang asked playfully.

“Why, because of the love business?”

It’s because of what happened to Rika a while ago.

In December, I was at the broadcasting station because of a music show.

Yubin, a member of boy group Waypercent, dropped a piece of paper in front of Rika.

The Girls’ League was in a state of panic. There must have been a phone number written on that note.

Perhaps Yubin had been keeping an eye on Rika for a while. And she probably waited for the ban on dating to be lifted before approaching her.

however.

“It’s that again!”

Rika glared at Jang Ha-yang. Jang Ha-yang responded with a playful smile.

At that moment, Rika picked up the note and ran to Yubin. Then she returned it, saying, ‘You dropped it!’

Yubin was so shocked that she received the note, and just stared blankly at Rika as she walked away.

His trademark pink hair waved in a particularly lonely manner.

But Yubin’s work didn’t end there.

After a while, he dropped a note in front of Rika again. Rika picked it up and gave it back to him.

“Isn’t it cute?”

“You’re older than me!”

“It’s romantic.”

My goodness, these days, who would write their phone number on a note and hand it to someone? They’d contact you via DM or get introduced through someone else.

Of course, there was no definitive proof that the note contained a phone number, but everyone was convinced that it did.

“I feel like she’s innocent. How about meeting her sometime?”

Rika smiled faintly.

“You seem to be very interested in other people’s relationships, Sister!”

Jang Ha-yang felt a chill in his liver.

Rika doesn’t get angry openly. She doesn’t show her displeasure openly.

So the restraint she occasionally uses has a much stronger force than the curses of an ordinary person.

It’s much scarier to hear a polite person say “Stop” than to hear someone say “Stop” every day.

“You told Ara-chan to do well with Senior Kyuyoung!”

When Rika said, “You seem to be interested in other people’s relationships,” it was an indirect declaration of “take it easy.”

Jang Ha-yang was momentarily taken aback.

Should I call it PTSD? When I stood at Budokan, my cheek where I had been hit by Rika stung.

“Oh, sorry… … .”

Instead of saying, “It’s okay,” Rika wrapped her arms around Jang Ha-yang’s waist.

“It’s going to be cold in Russia! Bring lots of warm clothes!”

“huh.”

“Cheer up! This work of yours will protect us!”

Jang Ha-yang laughed weakly.

“Do you think similarly to Kyung-Seop? That you have to prove your ideological purity?”

“It never hurts to be careful!”

Since her debut, Rika has been more sensitive to fans’ reactions than anyone else. That’s why she knew all about the criticism that the Girls’ League received.

From tackling the group’s name, to making up lies about the company’s private interests, to spreading malicious rumors and crude accusations about the members.

I always watch it, even though it’s hard to bear. And I sigh in depression after watching it.

For her, the world outside of the Girls’ League is a thorny path full of malice.

If left alone, that malice will multiply infinitely. It might threaten the Girls’ League someday. That’s why even if it’s baseless and unsubstantial malice, you’ll want to nip it in the bud in advance.

For Rika, this trip to Russia must have felt like such a task.

There was an incident where Hong Gyu-heon was almost summoned to the state audit. For Rika, ‘proving ideological purity’ is by no means a distant threat.

“Go and give me the best judgement! It will satisfy the king!”

“Ahaha, do you think I’ll understand?”

This isn’t something the government led; it’s something carried out by a foundation under a government organization.

It probably won’t be a big topic.

It’s written in a few lines by a journalist, so it’s probably intended to increase traffic to the media a little.

Rather than that.

“You should think of it as a place to meet your fans.”

* * *

Here are some ways to attract investment:

Once you receive investment from a big company, the rest is easy. If you say, “We received investment from Group A,” other investment companies will naturally think this way.

‘If Company A invested, there would be promise.’

In this way, it is possible to receive chain investments.

The Cultural Exchange Center did something similar. They used the fact that the Girls’ League was going to be a judge at the Moscow K-pop cover dance competition as a promotional element.

The exchange center contacted the public relations teams of several planning companies.

‘The Girls’ League is coming. It wouldn’t be a loss for your group to come out.’

And so this is what happened.

“Wow, what is this?”

Seongpil couldn’t believe it even after seeing it. Min Kyungseop was the same.

“Do you understand…?”

“No, I’m not going at all.”

“Right? Hayang is just a judge, so the scale of the competition won’t change and the buzz won’t be that big… … .”

Seongpil and Minkyungseop looked through the materials they received from the exchange center.

K-pop cover dance competition, list of groups hoping to participate as judges.

Wow… … .

* * *

KS Entertainment Management Team Leader Meeting.

All the leaders of Team 1, Team 2, Team 3, and Team 4 gathered together. They are each in charge of a group representing KS Entertainment.

Team leader 1 is in charge of the case.

The agenda they were gathering on was to coordinate management planning agendas. And the atmosphere here was different than usual.

First of all, all the team leaders raise their hands.

“No, isn’t ‘Butes’ a break for the kids? But you’re sending them to Russia? That’s cruel.”

Team leader 2 laughed.

Team leader 3 got angry.

“Cruelty? The kids wanted to go! Where is Russia, an easy place to go? While we’re at it, we’ll give the kids a break.”

“Honestly, what are you going to do there? Butes doesn’t have a growing fan base anymore.”

“What?!”

“No? Isn’t it time to retire?”

“We haven’t even signed a 7-year contract yet?! And there’s no fandom to grow! Is that what you mean? If you’re going to be that picky, PTR-17 is already doing well, so why is it like this?”

“I said I’ll go because things are going well.”

“Are you going to discriminate against children based on their sexuality now? No, you are discriminating against them. That’s what you’ve been saying since a while ago!”

The war of nerves between KS Entertainment’s 3rd and 4th generation boy groups was intense. It seemed as if their pride was at stake and no one backed down first.

The team leader in charge of ‘B.I.S.’ spoke timidly.

“Let’s decide with time.”

“Speak sensibly!”

“sorry.”

Team Leader 4 shrank down. But his eyes didn’t lose their gung-ho. He opened his mouth again.

“Honestly, I think this is largely an opportunity. Excluding groups that are already doing well. PTR-17 is going to sell 2 million copies of their next album, so why bother going all the way to Russia?”

“That and this are different… … !”

“and.”

Team leader 4 looked at Team leader 1.

“Caius, you don’t have to pay attention to such a small piece, right?”

Team Leader 1, who raised his hand like everyone else, clenched his molars.

Why are they all raising their hands and speaking like elementary school students? When Team Leader 1 asked, “Which group will be the judges for the Russian K-pop dance competition?”, everyone raised their hands as if they had been waiting for it.

They are arguing excitedly with their hands raised.

‘These sons of bitches… … .’

Team leader 1 suppressed his anger.

‘I was the first one to recognize the value of this work!’

I don’t want to give up on this even if it means getting on bad terms with other team leaders.

‘I was the one who found it first!’

Team leader 1 was wondering how to keep the others’ mouths shut.

I absolutely have to get this done.

Because, Caius’s future goal was to catch up with the Girls’ League’s popularity overseas.

This could be the beginning.

So, I have to make all the people in front of me shut up and have Caius go to Russia.

‘Shit…….’

The aftermath is also a problem.

If thoughtless exchange agents and Russian officials had sent appearance offers to all Korean entertainment agencies… … .

‘I’m sure other agencies think the same way.’

What is the current image of the Girls’ League?

This is an incomparable, irreplaceable girl group.

As of now, only Girls’ League has ever climbed above number 14 on the Billboard 200, with the exception of one girl group.

They are considered almost like evangelists of Korean culture. Their popularity is so great that the ridiculous nickname ‘National League’, which was created through their activities in Japan, seems ridiculous.

So, if only it could be placed alongside the name of Girls’ League… … .

‘It’s unimaginable what our children have achieved by just riding an airplane once… … .’

This creates a huge publicity effect.

That’s the name value of the Girls’ League.