Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 789



Only Noblemtl

Episode 789

A disturbing rumor began to circulate in Webex.

The reason was Seiko’s sudden change in hairstyle. Her manager and even Misato, who was close to Seiko, couldn’t figure out the reason.

Usually, when a woman cuts her hair, it means she is experiencing a breakup.

So, some people who heard the news couldn’t help but think of one incident.

‘Seiko has finally been completely dumped by Director Park.’

Misato became depressed.

I knew this would happen.

In the first place, didn’t Sungpil have a history of rejecting Seiko’s confession? The reason was ‘I want to focus on work’, which is the most common repertoire for rejecting a confession.

‘Director Park’s ambiguous attitude is the cause of this trouble.’

I guess I’ll have to be firm.

He even went on a date with Seiko, raising her expectations to the max. As Misato watched from the side, Sungpil’s attitude was the worst of the worst.

‘You’re saying that love won’t come to your mind because of idols? No, you’re saying that it’s a sin to think of idols and love at the same time?’

That makes sense… … .

‘… … won’t it work?’

Seongpil can’t blame himself for postponing his marriage to Seo Yuseon because of work.

Anyway, I can’t stand that lukewarm attitude. Still, it seems like Sungpil’s ambiguous attitude of leaving things open has finally come to an end.

The motive was easy to guess.

‘It must be because of Mr. Chinon.’

It’s been quite some time since Seiko declared that they would grind Chinon to dust.

As soon as Seiko met Seongpil, she would have asked him about Chinon. Even Seongpil would have been shocked by Seiko’s devilish attitude.

In this way, Seiko must have reached the end of her long-standing unrequited love.

‘It’s better this way.’

Seiko won’t suffer anymore.

‘Let’s have a drink together and comfort each other after a long time.’

Finding Seiko wasn’t difficult.

Because she was always in her dedicated studio when she was working on her album.

The dedicated workroom inside Webex epitomized her status at Webex.

Misato opened the door to the studio as usual and tried to go in.

“uh?”

The door was locked.

After pulling a few more times, the door opened on its own. Seiko appeared through the narrow gap in the door, just enough for one eye to be seen.

“Misato?”

“Seiko… … .”

Seiko’s appearance was even worse than what I had heard from rumors. The shock was so great that she went back to the hairstyle she had in her 20s.

Misato swallowed the words, “It surprisingly suits you very well,” and made a sympathetic expression.

“are you okay?”

“what?”

“You don’t have to hide it from me. Just go in… … .”

As Misato opened the door and tried to come in, Seiko’s eyes widened. Misato flinched and stepped back.

“This is my workspace. Don’t come in without permission.”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

“And Misato, we’re enemies, right?”

“……huh?”

Misato was dumbfounded.

“An enemy?”

“I’m talking about ‘New Asa’. Misato is producing Tomoe’s stage, right? Her opponent, me, is Tomoe’s, no, Misato’s enemy!”

Misato’s vision turned pure white. She staggered, her strength draining from the hostility she felt from Seiko for the first time.

It didn’t end with being shocked.

Misato was moved to tears when she was treated hostilely by Seiko, who was like her own child.

“Se, Seiko-chan. I, I’m sorry. I haven’t been paying much attention to you lately, have I? You wouldn’t call me an enemy, would you? It’s just that Seiko-chan has always been on her own when it comes to the stage… .”

“No questions and answers.”

“uh……?”

“When the time comes, I, Seiko Kafu, will achieve victory.”

Seiko started using difficult words that I didn’t even know the meaning of. No, that’s not important.

What Misato noticed was the declaration that “we will achieve victory.” She immediately linked the person, the declaration, and the past events.

“Then that’s it.”

“Seiko-chan!”

Just as Seiko was about to close the door, Misato grabbed it.

“You’re not thinking anything strange, are you?”

Surely you’re not going to compete again just to prove your abilities to Seongpil?

Even though she was dumped, she had a childish thought that if she proved herself, Sungpil would change his mind…

“No?”

“Wh, what are you talking about? What a strange thought.”

“Don’t think that your opponent will look back at you just because you won somewhere!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“I know everything! Seiko-chan, you got dumped by Director Park again! That’s why you’re doing this to me!”

“… … .”

Seiko closed its doors.

Misato knocked on the door almost on the verge of tears.

“Seiko-chan, Seiko-chan, come out! Talk to me! Talk to me… …!”

The door opened.

Misato’s body, which had been leaning against the door and knocking, was thrown forward and bumped into something. When she raised her head, it was Seongpil.

“……ah?”

“Hello, Chief.”

Misato looked around.

Seiko was standing behind Seongpil, and Joara and Baekseolha were sitting on the sofa in the corner.

“What is this… …?”

“This is my team.”

Seiko, using Seongpil’s authority, declared confidently.

“This is the Kafu Seiko TF team. The best combination I’ve ever made to beat Tomoe. Do you know how serious I am? And I didn’t get kicked!”

“It was tea.”

“who is this?!”

Seiko turned around in the direction of the sound. It was snow-white. Seiko shrank back to half her size, like a vegetable that had lost its moisture.

“That’s true… … .”

“Director Park and the Girls’ League… … are they helping Seiko-chan?”

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

The moment the door opened, Misato, who was about to fall forward, held onto Seongpil’s chest for balance. Seongpil carefully pulled away the hand that was attached to her to maintain her balance.

“You know, Seiko-san’s contest song was ‘Apple Crush’? That’s why Seiko-san asked us for help.”

To the producer of Girls’ League and the producer of ‘Apple Crush’.

To perfectly interpret and accept the original composer’s intentions and to reach the highest level as a performer.

Misato realized the situation a few seconds later.

“Himura… … .”

Himura took action. When ‘Apple Crush’ became the competition song, I had no idea that they would use this kind of method…

“Don’t worry. I will make sure to create the best stage with Seiko-san.”

* * *

The stage work with Seiko went smoothly. Seiko, who had a very strong sense of self as an artist, surprisingly followed the instructions of Sungpil and the Girls’ League obediently.

“A song belongs to its singer. No one understands it more deeply than the singer.”

That was the reason.

Both Seongpil, the executive producer of ‘Apple Crush’, and Seolha Baek, the main producer, are present.

There was no reason for Seiko to resist. As an artist with a strong ego, she knew how to understand other artists.

The first thing to do was not to come up with a concept and details, but to understand Seiko’s capabilities.

First, Joara figured out Seiko’s capabilities related to rhythm.

“Senior Seiko. I want to find out your abilities. There are two ways to do it: one is difficult and hard, and the other is a little embarrassing but easy.”

“What is the difficult way?”

“It’s like jumping left and right a few dozen times. Since there is a rhythm to it, it’s a matter of your physical ability to execute the movements… … .”

“The easy way.”

Seiko has been living a life of exercise and building walls.

Of course, I don’t not exercise at all.

She is a member of what is called a ‘maintenancer’, a group that focuses solely on maintaining her weight. Her exercise routine involves walking for several hours a day.

For her, who maintains her weight by walking for an hour or two after eating, high-intensity exercise was bound to be scary.

“yes.”

Joara stood behind Seiko. Then, she wrapped her arms around her as if embracing her from behind and touched her stomach.

“Huh… … ?!”

“Try to push yourself.”

“Hey, strength? Ugh!”

Seiko tightened her abs. Joara swayed her stomach and moved on to the next step.

Next was the arm.

“Try to push yourself.”

“… … .”

Seiko was concerned about Sungpil, who was watching from a nearby sofa. If she could just show some muscle by putting strength into her arms, it wouldn’t be so embarrassing.

“Hurry up.”

“Huh, huh… … !”

Seiko raised her arms passively and put strength into her biceps. Joara, who was fidgeting with them,

“hmm.”

He made a snorting noise that had no meaning.

Seiko blushed and quickly relaxed her arms.

Next was the thigh. Joara, who had been fiddling with the quadriceps, took her hand off without even being told to exert strength.

And next.

“There, there… … !”

Joara pressed Seiko’s buttocks with her thumb. Seiko was at a loss as to what to do with her shame.

After a while, Seiko pushed Joara’s hand away.

“This is just harassment!”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work. I have finished checking.”

“Oh, already?”

“I told you it was easy.”

“Oh, what do you think?”

Joara frowned as she looked at Seongpil.

“Isn’t this guy just a slime?”

“Slime?!”

“If I keep stepping, I’ll collapse panting. The rhythm should be just waving my arms.”

Seongpil nodded as if he had expected that. Seiko was embarrassed by that too. She felt as if her charm was being denied, so she vehemently refuted it.

“I’m working out! This is the optimal body condition according to the experts at Webex! A singer doesn’t need anything more than this! I’ve been a singer for over 15 years! I don’t have any reason to listen to you!”

“Ah, right. Now I understand why you dumped me.”

“What is that… … .”

“Sir… … .”

“Araya, stop it.”

Baek Seol-ha stopped Jo Ara.

“I have no reason to tell you that.”

“I’m really curious?!”

“Anyway, the idea has come out. A dance performance is out of the question.”

Even if I had the physical ability, I wouldn’t have asked you to do it.

There is nothing more unsightly than a musician who has only just learned how to dance and then starts dancing on stage, trying to show off something.

Especially if Slime Seiko dances, who would like it? I guess that’s what supply without demand is like.

It was a special case that Seiko’s dance at last year’s Kohaku Uta Gassen became a hot topic.

“Next, I need to figure out your vocal style. Could you sing ‘Apple Crush’ in the way you feel most comfortable?”

Finally, Seiko’s expression brightened.

Up until now, the focus has been on visual style and rhythm, areas in which I am not very confident. But now, the realm has finally shifted to songs.

“Can I just call you like I usually do?”

As soon as Baek Seol-ha nodded, Seiko picked up the guitar. Baek Seol-ha was slightly impressed when she saw that.

“Did you practice?”

“No, I’ll just type in some code.”

“Shall I tell you?”

“no.”

“… … Have you heard a lot?”

“How many times… … .”

Seiko tuned and stroked the guitar.

“Maybe the chords are… … A, F#m7, E, D, A… … .”

Seiko played the guitar a few more times, as if she was vague, and then began to sing along with the music.

Snow White’s eyes gradually opened wide.

The drop was so intense.

‘I ignored it.’

Because of Seiko’s sloppy attitude, Snow White has been unconsciously ignoring Seiko.

That’s why the emotional gap was bound to be even greater when she sang her main occupation, singing.

‘This is a song sung by five people… … .’

It will take a lot of thought to figure out which lyrics to ignore and how to arrange them.

But according to Seiko, she was able to recreate the perfect ‘Apple Crush’ after listening to it a few times.

They didn’t chew on any of the lyrics. They sang the song with five people, with incredible lung capacity, without missing a single word.

The pitch was sometimes off from the original, but it wasn’t a mistake. Seiko, who had only heard it ‘a few times’, changed all the ambiguous pitches that she didn’t like.

And it was just so beautiful.

Suddenly, Snow White realized.

‘This person has been a singer since I was digging dirt at the playground… ‘

All songs written and composed.

An unprecedented singer who created all the songs on his albums himself and made all of them hits.

Even though it is a roughly held posture, there is no confusion. Without any special preparatory movements, the whole body becomes a soundboard and spreads sound in all directions.

The highlight is the tone. Even in the realm of individuality, Seiko has overwhelmed everyone here.

The technique was beyond words, and the creativity in rearranging ‘Apple Crush’ for guitar was jaw-dropping.

‘After the song.’

He is the peak singer of the Heisei era.

The strings stopped shaking and the playing stopped.

Seiko asked Baek Seol-ha without any sign of boasting.

“This much.”

She asked, blinking her big eyes.

“How should I arrange it?”

Snow White swallowed hard.

‘Even if it had gone like this… … .’

Did he really beat this guy in a contest?

‘It’s a win.’

Snow White looked at the emotional reader Seongpil. He was covering his mouth with the back of his hand and looking askance.

At first glance, he seemed to be thinking about something, but Snow White, who had been with him for a long time, could tell.

‘Hold back your tears.’

Snow White readily admitted that Seiko was an excellent musician.

but.

“barely.”

As a fellow vocalist, Baek Seol-ha’s blood boiled.

“I know that this is absolutely not possible.”

“Well, I just called you as a test… … .”

“10 times.”

“yes?”

“I’ll aim for 10 times the current performance.”

“10 times what… … ?”

“moved.”

Unless you yourself are able to shed tears, it would be better to give up on your dream of going on stage with ‘Apple Crush’.

* * *

The ‘Newasa’ side is progressing well.

The production team said they would come soon to film Seiko receiving help from the Girls’ League.

If the scene where Seiko prepares the stage with the Girls’ League and the stage is released, the spotlight that the Girls’ League will receive will be enormous.

‘But that goes for Tomoe too.’

Of course, how could the Girls’ League receive more attention than Tomoe, who directly competed against Seiko?

In addition, Tomoe has an album release and large-scale promotions covering all of Japan left.

In other words, Sungpil’s main battlefield was still the ‘Girls’ League X Bugbug Invasion!’

So, is ‘Girls’ League X Bugbug Invasion!’ going well?

“It’s going very well.”

A bench in the corner of the idol training center playground.

Sungpil sat and talked with main PD Junpei. Junpei listened to Sungpil’s story while wrapped tightly in padding.

“But, it’s hard to expect any further growth than this, right?”

“Yes. People around me say it’s a miracle that we even reached 8% in viewer ratings… … .”

Junpei was scared.

Today, Sungpil suddenly asked for a private meeting. Not even in a room inside the building, but on a lonely bench outside the playground.

And all he said was, ‘What about any more growth?’ so I couldn’t help but be scared.

“It’s also being promoted well on SNS. There’s a lot of secondary processing on Clark and iTube… … . When it’s finalized, it’s expected to gain a lot of attention… … .”

“There are about 4 episodes left. There’s a lot left. I know that just maintaining the ratings during that time is a great achievement.”

“Yes, yes… … .”

Junpei wanted to put his hands inside his padding. His hands, which were placed politely on his knees, seemed like they would freeze in the cold winter wind.

“But I hope for better results than that. I hope it gets a viewer rating of over 10%.”

“No, I will try… … .”

There is no other answer that can be given.

The viewer ratings aren’t something you can raise just because you want to. It’s much more plausible to say that they rose as the show went on air.

‘There must be someone like this… … .’

I’m talking about someone who pushes you to do better when you’re already doing well.

“That’s why I think we need a crisis.”

“Crisis… …?”

“Bugbug has never failed.”

I have cleared all the tasks.

In the upcoming episode of Snow White’s homework evaluation, Bugbug finally solves the homework.

“If you say you have never failed… … .”

Artificially create failure?

“That would definitely be a hot topic, but… … .”

“There’s no need to make it look unnatural. It’s just the right timing. Now that she’s mastered the basics of vocals and dance, Bugbug is going to want to learn the choreography for ‘Prom Queen’ in earnest.”

That will be where the bug bug first fails.

“The person teaching will be Rika, and a scene will unfold where the Girls’ League and Bugbug are compared in earnest.”

“… … I agree. The atmosphere right now is, what can I say, like Power Rangers.”

The Power Rangers are in danger.

But no one thinks that Power Rangers will lose. Even if Power Rangers are in danger, you can watch it with peace of mind. Because they will win anyway.

Junpei continued his explanation.

“But if that continues, it’ll get tiresome. Around episode 30, a giant evil appears that drives the main characters to despair. Director Park, is that what you want to create?”

“Yes. This is the element that will lead to the rebound of ‘Girls’ League X Bugbug Invasion!’, which does not seem to have any more rebound points.”

“The original intention of this program was to draw attention through ‘comparison.’ In some ways, this would be the most fundamental directing. Is there anything you would like me to do?”

“It’s despair.”

It’s so deep and dark that you’ll be watching with sweaty palms, wondering if you can get out.

“despair.”

Junpei flinched.

‘Is this person being sincere?’

The word ‘despair’ came to mind.

Did you learn Japanese through anime?

It’s as if some demon king is making the main characters faint and saying ‘Kore ga zetsubo (This is despair)… ‘

‘I said to the child before that she was pretty. I feel like my Japanese skills are lacking in small details.’

Junpei, who had been momentarily dazed by Seongpil’s declaration of despair, quickly came to his senses.

“While directing it, it’s a picture that doesn’t damage the image of the Girls’ League.”

“Have you thought about your homework?”

Seongpil talked about the assignment. Junpei was embarrassed when he heard it.

“Can you judge that objectively? Who won and who lost… … . If we’re not careful, opinions like ‘The bug bug was good, so why did you fail the assignment?’ could easily arise… … .”

“If it looks good, Rika will automatically give you a pass. And if the PD sees the assignment evaluation, Rika won’t think about diagnosing it. Rika will win anyway.”

“I win… … .”

Can there be victory and defeat in a performance?

If there is a significant difference, that may be the case, but it is not easy to judge objectively.

Even more so if it is a task conceived by Seongpil… … .

“Okay, I’ll try to do that.”

“Is it okay?”

“You can tell me everything and ask for my opinion… … .”

Junpei chuckled.

“They don’t say it, but everyone wants to see other people suffer. If not, there’s no way to explain the tragedies that fill the news, the hidden cameras that are a regular feature of entertainment, the entertainment with wicked plots, the low-quality content that abounds on iTube, and the vicious witch hunts. It’s a good idea. We’ll definitely raise the viewership ratings.”

“And also.”

“Go ahead.”

“It’s not just about being frustrated. The most important thing is for Bugbug to realize his own shortcomings. Please highlight the scene where he realizes his own shortcomings.”

“All right.”

Junpei stood up from his seat. Seongpil waved his hand.

“I’ll stay here a little longer and then go.”

“It’s cold, come in quickly.”

Seongpil stuffed his hands into his coat and enjoyed the cold for a while. Just as he was about to go in, he saw someone coming out of the building’s entrance.

It was a man wearing a padded jacket and a scarf. He was taking off his clothes on a bench as if he was going to exercise, and then he looked at Seongpil and ran towards him.

“Producer!”

There was one.

She smiled, hiding her heavy breathing.

“What are you doing?”

Seongpil burst into laughter at Aidaun’s bright question.

“My throat hurts because of the cold wind while I was walking.”

“Then, you should go in quickly… … .”

“The weather is so nice again. I was planning on staying a little longer and then going in.”

“ah…….”

One of them took off her scarf and fiddled with it in her hand. Then she shyly held it out to me.

“Hey, would you like to use this? I’m going to run… … .”

“It’s so cold?”

“Mentor Hayang told me not to be lazy about exercising.”

One said proudly. The atmosphere was filled with people wanting to praise me for working out hard even on this cold day.

Seongpil accepted the scarf with a smile.

“I’ll use it well. I’ll use this and watch over Hana until she runs out.”

“Huh?! Even if that’s not the case, why… … ?”

“It’s a reward. When you exercise, you tend to work harder if there are people watching you. Since they’re watching, you shouldn’t cheat, right?”

“… … .”

“Why are you like that?”

“Oh, no.”

One was flapping the front of the padding.

“All the other staff members call me Hana-chan, but the producer keeps calling me Hana-san… … .”

“You don’t like it?”

“Poem, it’s not that I don’t like it. Is there a reason… … ?”

Seongpil was reminded of Baek Seol-ha from the past. He answered with a smile that came out naturally.

“Later.”

“yes?”

“I’ll tell you why later. When the time comes.”

There was one face that she wanted to ask more about, but in the end she couldn’t. She folded the padding neatly next to Seongpil and bent down.

“I’ll be back!”

“Oh, Hana.”

“yes?”

“You want to live as an idol?”

“ah…….”

One of them laughed out loud.

“Yes! It’s been my dream since I was little! Now, more than ever, I’m happy to be an idol!”

“You won’t give up, right?”

“Uh, yes?”

“You won’t give up even if it’s hard, right?”

One of them was a look that seemed to be pondering whether there was some great meaning behind it. After a moment, she smiled shyly.

“It was always difficult until I met the producer… … .”

She quickly lowered her head and ran back, knowing that she had said something embarrassing. Seongpil laughed again, because she dealt with embarrassment in a childish way.

* * *

The performance of ‘Prom Queen’ is structured like this.

In the first verse, the Girls’ League takes the lead and dances, and in the second verse, Bugbug takes the lead and dances.

It’s a composition that seems to alternate.

Finally, on the bridge leading to the finale, the two perform as if they are crossing each other.

In the finale, the pieces on the chessboard stand in a crossed manner to mark the end.

This is a performance composition for a total of 11 people, created to accommodate the 5 members of Girls’ League and the 6 members of Bugbug on stage, and to not leave out any group.

“This is my assignment!”

Rika, as usual, smiled brightly and explained to Bugbug.

“We’re going to do the ‘Prom Queen’ choreography! Just me and six Bug Bugs!”

Miyoko raised her hand.

“Yes, Miyoko!”

“There’s something I don’t understand. What does it mean for a mentor to be alone… ?”

“It’s literally true! I’m the only one going into a part that requires five members of the Girls’ League!”

Bugbug Power was suspicious.

Why do you do that?

When there were no more questions, Rika continued her explanation.

“The staff will watch our performance on video and vote! Which one is better, Girls’ League or Bugbug!”

There is a problem with the explanation you just gave.

It’s not a question of which is better, the Girls’ League or Bugbug. It’s a question of which is better, Rika or Bugbug.

But Rika insisted on calling it the Girls’ League.

That means, she’ll stand alone in the place where all the Girls’ League members should be, and handle the six Bugbugs.

“Are the evaluation criteria based on the Girls’ League and Bugbug?”

“As expected, Miyoko-san, you’re sharp! For example, there was a part where the Girls’ League and the 11 Bugbugs were lined up on the left and right, right?”

Bugbug has been receiving tasks from Joara and Baekseolha and solving them. However, he has not been focusing only on tasks.

If you have a brain, you know that you have to practice the choreography of ‘Prom Queen’ and the vocals of ‘Light Speed’ in between.

Bugbug was able to immaturely sing ‘Prom Queen’. It was just an imitation, though. That’s why she asked Rika to teach her.

“The two groups lined up on the left and right are like birds spreading their wings! But if I were alone, of course I wouldn’t look good! The group choreography is full of emotions! So, what the (maa)… … .”

“Mentor, are you going to handle all of us by yourself?”

“Oh, if you say that, I sound so arrogant! But… … .”

Rika smiled faintly.

“That’s right! One against six! Bug.”

One word at a time.

“Bug.”

One word at a time.

Rika spoke out loud.

“everyone!”

Bug.

Bugs, you guys.

“The task has become simple. Beat me!”

Miyoko bit her molars through her closed lips.

‘It seems like it’s not something to be underestimated.’