Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 820



Only Noblemtl

Episode 820 Epilogue: Young Forever (6)

The Girls’ League heads to the stage.

Even in her dazed state, Snow White could clearly feel the gazes directed at her.

Hundreds of idols were shocked, some were dumbfounded as if they couldn’t understand, and others clenched their fists as if they had won an award.

There was a group that reacted differently from the majority of idols. They were idols from KS Entertainment and large entertainment agencies.

‘The target is privileged.’

Snow White remembered those words.

The target is passed down to idols of large entertainment companies like a right passed down through bloodline.

It wasn’t because of collusion with those in power or lobbying behind the scenes.

The best producers who built an altar of glory, erasing all their contemporary competitors.

Lee Jun-ho of YJS Entertainment.

Kang Sung-wook of SMS Enter.

Jeong Ho-hwan of KS Enter.

Since they were idols created by the best producers and the best agencies, it was only natural that they, as the best idols, would win the grand prize.

‘The path I take is… … .’

Snow White stood on the stairs leading to the stage. The stairs were covered with a red carpet.

‘A path that no one has ever walked before, except for girl groups from the big three entertainment companies.’

The feudalism of talent that idols face from the moment they are born. Those who are not at the top are not even allowed to dream.

About 15 years.

It is a system that has been maintained for a full 15 years.

So it’s natural.

Those who only looked up from the lower levels of the feudal system are praising the Girls’ League.

Those who had been looking down from the top of the feudal system had stiff expressions at the appearance of the Girls’ League.

This is what it is.

‘revolution.’

Snow White stood in the center of the stage and took in the view at the peak.

With the people chanting ‘Shojo Renme (Girls’ League)’ until their throats are torn.

The red glow of dozens of cameras broadcasting the Girls’ League’s victory to the world.

Support like a fireworks display for idols.

At this moment, the Girls’ League became a possibility. The possibility that those who were groaning and being persecuted at the bottom of the system could stand here.

The Girls’ League is the idol of idols.

Snow White looked at the golden trophy in her hand. Then she turned her eyes straight ahead again.

What should the best idols say right after they have won the greatest honor?

When I think about it like that, there really is only one.

“The people!”

Snow White raised the trophy in a flash.

“The Soviet Union will win! It will win unconditionally!”

* * *

There are only a few minutes left to express one’s feelings about the acceptance speech before one gets up from the waiting area and leaves the stage.

The leader could have said everything, but the Girls’ League didn’t.

The microphone was passed to each member once.

Rika, who received the microphone, could not easily open her mouth. Her mouth was tightly shut as she tried to hold back tears, and only sporadically let out sobs.

Soon Rika closed her eyes and tears flowed down her cheeks.

“Strange… … Strange… … .”

It took Rika a long time to even utter a single word.

“Well, it’s been like that since my debut. I, I can’t believe that I became an idol. It’s gotten even better, even more amazing.

I know I shouldn’t waste time crying, but my throat still feels blocked.

“There were so many people who told us that we wouldn’t make it. We wouldn’t be able to go any further, we wouldn’t be able to succeed.”

I’ve been getting cursed at since my debut.

They were even criticized by politicians for shortening Girls’ League to Soviet Union and for the fandom’s name being People.

I have been cyberbullied countless times by people who don’t know the idol.

This bullying continued even after the success of ‘Arabesque’. They continued to slander them, asking how a small girl group could sell 100,000 copies of an album and claiming that it was a hoax.

As the growth continued, a different type of attack came in. They said that this was the limit for you, and that you could not go any further.

It was peak before the release of ‘Song for People’.

“It’s over now… … Really, I know that I shouldn’t do that. I keep hearing that over and over again… … I, I’m starting to think that maybe that’s really true… … .”

And Rika found the reason within herself.

Could it be that the Girls’ League can’t go any further because they’re lacking?

Even before her debut, she lived with the thought, ‘If only it had been like that.’

If it had been like that back then, if it had been like this, wouldn’t it have been better than it is now?

Learning rap from Jang Ha-yang, dancing from Jo A-ra, vocals from Baek Seol-ha, and composition from Jeong Ji-eum, releasing a mixtape, and working under the sub-character ‘Flori Girl’, and even the Samurai Girls.

I’ve been trying to push myself as hard as I can.

“If, if our members weren’t here… … .”

If it weren’t for the members who always brought a future beyond Rika’s imagination.

“I really might have given up, like those who look down on us said… … .”

It’s amazing that they debuted. It’s amazing that they became a moderately famous group.

If we accepted the limits set by others as our own, we would never be able to escape the shackles of ‘if only it had been so’.

“But now I know. I get it.”

That the path he took was right.

There was nothing unnecessary, nothing I regretted.

He said that he had taken the path of ‘because it was like that’ rather than the path of ‘if only it had been like that’.

“Because the people gave us evidence… … … .”

Rika hugged the target trophy tightly to her chest.

“Everyone is telling me that the path I took was the right one… … .”

* * *

Shin A-reum received the microphone and trophy from Rika. Shin A-reum stared at the trophy for a moment, then playfully raised it toward the audience.

“What is this?”

When Shin Areum laughed, the people laughed too.

“No, as soon as I saw it, I thought, why is this in my hand? It’s the same thought. But… … it’s not new.”

Because it’s something Shin A-reum has experienced several times.

“It was the same when I won the main prize and when I won the best performance award. Really? Me? No, I’m not saying that the Girls’ League is not qualified.”

Shin A-reum smiled bitterly and turned her gaze to her feet.

“I wonder if I am qualified.”

Shin A-reum had a poor childhood. She longed for a life where she could not obtain the things her friends naturally desired and obtained.

When I was very young, I would throw tantrums at my mother and still get what I wanted, but I matured early and that period passed quickly.

If you follow your mother to the market, and compare your mother’s behavior with that of the parents of a friend you meet by chance, you will naturally come to know her.

“I thought about it for a long time, what should I say? Am I the right person for this group?”

Shin A-reum’s irony came from comparisons with others. The fact that she was different from other children of the same age made her hunched over and raise her thorns.

She herself did not extend her hand beyond the thorns.

However, there was someone who reached out to her even though she was pricked by thorns. It was the first time Shin A-reum felt warmth, and she wanted to repay that warmth.

But are you really qualified to do so…?

“So, whenever the Girls’ League started getting recognition from people around us, I was surprised. Not like, “Can we receive this?” but “Can I receive this?”

Shin A-reum thought of herself as a misaligned piece of the Girls’ League.

Just as one of the car’s components may not meet specifications, I’ve always thought that it may not be suitable for long-distance driving.

So I cried. I hid in a dark room, secretly swallowed my tears, and lived a life with countless drugs.

“But now that I’ve received the award, I can’t deny it anymore.”

Shin A-reum pretended to have an arrogant expression.

“I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words to my mother, who raised me alone. She always… … .”

Her made-up expression cracked.

“You said you were sorry often.”

I’m really sorry for raising you in this environment and not being able to give you what you wanted.

I feel ashamed as a parent.

“But now there’s no need… … to do that… … Mom… … .”

Shin A-reum held out the trophy towards the camera with trembling hands.

“What should I be sorry about, my daughter who received such a great award… … . I grew up so well… … .”

* * *

Shin A-reum couldn’t pass the mic to Jo A-ra, who was next in line, because she was sobbing. She hugged Jo A-ra tightly, patted her on the back, and forcefully gave her the mic and trophy.

Joara cried loudly and finally brought the microphone to her mouth. Then she let out a shout full of anger.

“Really! Ah! Eww! Aaaah!”

For the first time ever, an idol got angry at an awards ceremony.

“What is it, what is it, what is it, what is it… … !”

For the first time ever, an idol has been born who raps in babble at an awards ceremony.

“Producer Park Sung-pil!”

For the first time ever, an idol has been born who addresses his producer informally at an awards ceremony.

“Sir! For the first time, really, really, ahh… …!”

Joara grabbed her head and stomped her feet. The members nearby shed tears at her strange behavior.

“When we first started producing! I was like, what is this? I got really angry! No, I thought, isn’t this a job scam? So, that’s what we did!”

Joara raised her thumb and jumped around.

Some idols in the audience burst out laughing. They were mostly the ones who were shocked and asked, “What is that?” when the ‘Our Producing’ project was announced.

It was a burst of laughter because I understood Joara’s psychological state in light of my feelings at that time.

Moreover, it was funny to see him publicly criticize the producer in his acceptance speech.

“What is this!”

Joara shouted at her sisters.

“What’s wrong with you guys! Why are you so good at this! No, seriously, I can’t believe it! I just… … .”

Joara’s crying, which she thought had stopped, burst out again.

“No, thank you… … .”

She roughly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Originally, I just lived each day doing what I was told to do. But after I started producing, I realized, I just lived while breathing. But after I started… … I started imagining… … .”

Let’s succeed by just doing as we’re told.

Beyond that, I started to imagine what kind of image I wanted to show as an artist named Joa.

“I came to know what it was like when other people liked the things I liked… … I came to know how happy it was when people liked me… … .”

Joara looked down at the trophy she was holding in one hand as if she was carrying a grocery shopping basket.

“Just, just thank you… … .”

* * *

Jang Ha-yang held the trophy in his left hand and the microphone in his right.

“First of all, thank you to the people who helped us receive this award. I told a person at our first fan meeting that we should go up together. Thank you for being our wing. It was definitely not something we received by our own strength. Without the love of the people, we would be nothing. And.”

Jang Ha-yang took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“Thank you to the HPT Music Awards Committee for giving us this award. I also thank the audience who made this event shine, those who watched the HPT Music Awards, and those who will watch it again in the future. Thank you to President Hong Gyu-heon, Director Min Kyung-seop, Director Son Hye-bin, Director Park Sung-pil for their unwavering support… .”

“Hey, wait a minute, Hayang!”

Baek Seol-ha quickly stopped Jang Ha-yang.

“Staff appreciation comments are mine… … .”

When Baek Seol-ha put her hand on his shoulder, Jang Ha-yang shook her hand away. Even as Baek Seol-ha was shocked and flustered, Jang Ha-yang continued his thank-you commentary.

“Thank you, General Producer Park Sung-pil. Thank you to the managers who take care of us. Thank you to the staff who make us shine. I would also like to thank JJH who made our music videos, Atlas who decorate the concert and performance stages, and the countless people I couldn’t mention here. It’s an award that we don’t deserve… .”

An award speech mixed with the usual humility.

“I don’t think so!”

The audience was shocked. The first virtue of an idol, humility, had disappeared.

Jang Ha-yang lifted the trophy high into the sky with a spirited look in his eyes.

“This award was achieved through our efforts! The support of those who love us! The encouragement of those who helped us! The strength and wishes of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions of people! So! I will gratefully accept it!”

As the subtitles appeared a little late, the tens of thousands of spectators applauded and cheered.

Rappers, other solo musicians, and idols who came to the congratulatory stage were amazed and laughed out loud.

Some idols were so happy that they would tap their colleagues on the shoulder or pat their own thighs and jump around.

It was a vicarious satisfaction.

Although idols say humility is their number one virtue, they also want to brag about themselves. How exciting would it be for the Girls’ League to show such a dark desire on stage while accepting the award?

In an atmosphere filled with laughter and admiration, Jang Ha-yang handed over the microphone and trophy to Baek Seol-ha.

“Uh, yeah?”

“Sister.”

Jang Ha-yang pushed Baek Seol-ha, the leader, forward by pushing her on the back.

“I gave the thank you commentary, so please give your personal acceptance speech.”

“……ah.”

* * *

Baek Seol-ha, 26 years old (27 a few days later).

There were a few moments when she thought, ‘Isn’t this a dream?’ For example, when Sungpil recruited her on the street with something like a public confession.

That’s… …yeah, it was a dream.

Every time she watched a drama, she thought, ‘I wish something like that would happen,’ and now it has come true.

An official from a certain entertainment agency appeared in front of him, who was now too old to challenge himself to become an idol (at the time he was 21 years old). He begged and pleaded with him to please become an idol.

Seongpil was literally a collection of Snow White’s fantasies.

As a trainee, Baek Seol-ha used her experience (she was 21 years old at the time) to make a realistic plan for her future.

‘If you have two or three hit songs, you can make money by going around performing. Then, when you retire, you’ll have hundreds of millions. It would be good to open a vocal training academy.’

That was Baek Seol-ha’s wish at the time. It was the minimum requirement for a comfortable retirement (the expected retirement age for idols is 30).

However, because he could not kill his nature, he dreamed of realizing his delusions like Seongpil.

‘Okay, I’ve got a hit lineup with Long Po and Arabesque. I can go to a lot of events.’

Baek Seol-ha, 23 years old, suddenly announced a world tour plan.

‘Us? World? Tour?’

Then, in just one year, it sold 100,000 copies in its first week and won the main prize.

After two years, they made an unusual debut in Japan and completed a world tour.

After three years, they participated in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen and won the Best Performance Award, and reached 4th place on the Oricon annual chart.

In 4 years, it reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, entered the Global Song Chart TOP 10, and achieved initial sales of 1 million.

‘What is this, what is this, really?’

The goal is to be the best idol.

But it’s too fast.

I can’t keep up.

Usually, reality overwhelms dreams. Cold reality approaches dreams, taps them on the shoulder, and threatens them, saying, “Is this enough?”

But in Baekseolha’s case, it was the opposite.

As you gradually eat the fruits of reality, dreams come and hit reality hard. Saying, “Are you still there?”

Dreams overwhelm reality.

And as these things continued to happen, changes came to Baek Seol-ha as well. Inertia was added to the spirit of trying to follow the future.

“People, it doesn’t end here.”

‘Song of the year’.

Holding the most splendid trophy in his hand, Baek Seol-ha declared with a determined face.

“The Girls’ League will win, will win unconditionally. Our flight does not end here, nor will it end. There will be no crash or landing.”

Baek Seol-ha, the leader of the Girls’ League, always took the lead among the members. In fact, to some extent, she was pushed to take the lead by the members.

But at some point, she was moving forward on her own, with shining faith and conviction, without any fear of defeat, just believing in herself.

“The days we’ve spent together have been the best. Every moment has been our best. But the real best is yet to come.”

Snow White looked down at the golden trophy.

“So when will the best moment be? I don’t know. But I can promise you this, people.”

It’s a declaration without any evidence.

But it is by no means an empty boast.

“If you continue to stay with us, we will show you a sight no one has ever seen before.”

Behind the Girls’ League, the music video for ‘Song for People’ was playing on the screen.

Coincidentally, it was Snow White’s part.

‘I imagine that day, a life where I give up on challenges.’

Baek Seol-ha, who gave up her dream of becoming an instructor at a practical vocal academy, watches television.

‘I was an idol, I sang songs, the master of my dreams was the night, not the day.’

A hand pops out from inside the television and grabs Baek Seol-ha, pulling her into the screen.

“The best for you and me is yet to come, so let’s keep going together.”

A life that doesn’t give up on challenges.

The life that Baek Seol-ha chose six years ago has returned like this.

Song of the Year, an idol who holds the most glorious life in his hands but still cries out that it’s not enough.

‘ah.’

The clouds hanging over Snow White’s heart seemed to clear away.

‘This is what it feels like to sit at the top.’

The peak was a place where you could talk about your dreams without having to hide them.

“We will become the best idols.”

To millions of people around the world, Baek Seol-ha declared:

* * *

The HPT Music Awards have entered their closing stages.

The final event was a celebration of the hidden heroes behind the curtain of K-pop.

When idols receive awards, the person in question doesn’t go up on stage. That’s because what the audience and viewers want to see is the idols, not the staff.

So there is no particular order of importance.

It ends with just a fleeting message on the screen informing us that an award has been given.

But there were those who put their hands together and prayed as if it were the most important turn. It was the Girls’ League.

“Everyone, pray! In ‘The Secret,’ they said that if you wish it, the universe will grant it!”

Rika forced her junior idols (including Waypercent) to pray. So the others also put their hands together and looked at the screen.

Baek Soo-hyun looked around and whispered to Kim Samuel.

“Wouldn’t it be great if Director Park becomes this year’s producer?”

“He’s going to be the executive producer of the year.”

“ah…….”

The Executive Producer of the Year award encompasses the accomplishments of all the idols he directs. In that case, the award would go to the producer of KS Entertainment, who won two grand prizes for Album of the Year and Artist of the Year.

‘Since it is the judges who make the selection, are you expecting Director Park’s achievements to be…?’

Baek Soo-hyun closed his eyes tightly and prayed that Seong-pil would be selected.

When looking at objective indicators, the only way for Sungpil to become this year’s executive producer was through the real Secret Law.

As Rika said, we just have to hope that the universe will help us.

“It’s possible.”

At that moment, someone spoke from behind Chaotic Energy. When I turned around, it was Kang Hyun, the leader of Waypercent.

“KS Entertainment won two awards, but the producers who directed them were different.”

Kaius’ ‘Phaeton’ was directed by Jeong Ho-hwan in the first half of this year.

PTR-17’s ‘Symphony’ was directed by Yoon Hee-yeon in the second half of this year.

And, Girls’ League’s ‘Song for People’ was directed by Sungpil.

“The overall design of the works that won the award is different. So, there is a possibility.”

Baek Soo-hyun couldn’t properly respond to what his senior, who had never mixed up stories before, said. All he could do was nod and say, “Oh, I see.”

“Is that so?”

Instead of asking my unfamiliar senior, I asked Samuel Kim. He nodded.

“uh.”

Waypercent’s Kang Hyun waited for the award to be announced with his fist clenched.

When Sungpil recruited him, he said that there was a way percent in the dream landscape he saw.

And in Kang Hyun’s opinion, today was the day when Sung Pil’s dream would come true. The day when he would receive universal praise as the executive producer of the year.

“Kamisama (God), I will give you one month of my life. Please, please, please… … .”

Rika prayed with the ‘Best Executive Producer’ award on her lap.

The plaque was a gift from the Girls’ League to Seongpil last year, and was brought in place of an amulet.

The Girls’ League was desperate.

When it was their turn to receive the prize, they were out of their minds, but now they gathered all their strength and prayed to God.

It wasn’t just the idols from Garo Enter who were concerned about this. The idols from KS Enter on the other side also focused their eyes on the screen.

And, unexpectedly, the audience was also curious about who would be the ‘Executive Producer of the Year’.

In a situation where the fight between Garo Enter and KS Enter is visible, the award given to the producer becomes a key card that will tilt the balance.

Who will be awarded ‘Executive Producer of the Year’?

Is this PTR-17’s Yoon Hee-yeon who produced the best album?

Is this Jung Ho-hwan of KAIST, who produced the best artists?

Is this Seongpil from Girls’ League who produced the best song?

“It comes out.”

As if responding to everyone’s wishes, letters appeared on the screen. The names of the awards and people flashed by quickly.

Art Director of the Year.

Sound Engineer of the Year.

Composer of the Year.

Choreographer of the Year.

Performance Director of the Year.

Producer of the Year.

The main characters behind the curtain who are in charge of one axis of K-pop. All of their names take up a moment and pass by, and finally the greatest honor comes to mind.

[Executive Producer of the Year

(Executive producer of the year)]

This year’s introduction for Executive Producer of the Year was different from others.

When introducing the composer of the year, the songs he composed appear, and when introducing the choreographer of the year, the choreography he created appears.

When Producer of the Year comes out, the group he produced comes out.

But when it comes to executive producers this year, the names of all the idols he directed come to mind.

There were a total of four names of groups that came to mind before those who would receive the award.

“……iced coffee!”

Waaaa …

The waiting area for the Garo Enter idols was filled with screams, cheers, and shouts.

* * *

[Executive producer of the year]

[Park Sung-pil]

KS Entertainment General Producer’s Office.

Yun Hee-yeon buried her face in the desk and sobbed, bathed in the pale light emitted by the television.