novelraw Chapter 308: Time to Go to Work
Chapter 308: Time to Go to Work
After the bittersweet vacation ended, the time to work arrived. It was our first full album, so there was a mountain of things to prepare.
The dedicated team had contacted me in advance, saying they could handle it from A to Z, but I wanted to send some of the ideas I had in mind, so I was busy typing until my laptop key fell off.
In between, I also thought about what bug the system might want me to fix. Because ‘Why Kim Iwol?’ and ‘What exactly must Kim Iwol do?’ were two different questions.
The final KPI achievement reward was just a bonus for when I fulfilled the system’s requirements; there must be something else the system ultimately wanted to correct.
I split my head in half, immersing one side in the sparkling idol world and the other in the bug-ridden game world, and from the midway through, I became dazed.
“Hyung, why are your eyes so unfocused?”
“For a moment, I was wondering what kind of bu…”
I was about to say bug, but then quickly changed my words, worried that even this phrasing might fall under some confidentiality clause.
“…what kind of burden category it might fall into.”
“…Hyung, just take a break.”Lee Cheonghyeon pressed ctrl+s with a serious expression and then closed the laptop. I hurriedly opened it again.
“No. I have a lot to do today.”
“Didn’t the counseling session tell you to maintain a work-life balance? Right now, you’re a complete working dead, you know?”
“But as long as my walking is still functional, it shouldn’t be an issue on paper, right?”
“This hyung is out of his mind.”
Lee Cheonghyeon grimaced.
“Cheonghyeon, you’re not in a position to be like this.”
“Why? If I put my mind to it, I can go to the office right away and call Seongbin hyung.”
“We’re going to release a double title track next time.”
“Huh?”
At my words, Lee Cheonghyeon checked the newly opened screen.
“This isn’t like 『Winter Night』. Both songs have to be title-track-worthy. We’ll be promoting both at the same time.”
“……”
“Speaking of which, please share the progress of the melodies you showed me last time. I was brainstorming item ideas based on those. If it’s too much of a hassle to organize, you can just send the whole file. I’ll check it myself.”
Lee Cheonghyeon put a hand to his forehead. There were dark circles under his eyes.
“I will organize it and send it by midnight…”
Lee Cheonghyeon left with staggering steps. Finally, I was able to check the opinion paper sent by the dedicated team without anyone’s interruption.
* * *
Spark, the 1st-year idol group, had youth and freshness as its main concept. Towards the end of the year, they mixed in a bit of ballad to convey a fluffy and fresh feeling of adolescence.
So then, what should Spark show now that they’d entered their second year?
It was both important and difficult to display variety while not discarding the group’s unique color.
If they repeated a similar concept, they would be immediately told they were overusing it, and if they came with a completely different concept, they were likely to be told that they had lost their touch.
If they took fans’ requested concepts too literally, people would notice that the agency and idols were monitoring social media, and then everyone would lock down or delete their accounts.
On the other hand, if they only pushed items that had been discussed internally at the company, people would sneer that clueless folks working together could only produce such a lousy outcome. How difficult it must be to strike a balance in this situation.
‘At the very least, if I step in as producer, I’ll be the only one taking the blame.’
From the past up until now, the only ones consistently favorable toward Spark had been the fans. Everyone else had shifted between positive and negative, but Sparklers had existed since before debut and had remained ever since. Just like back in the days when I used to monitor everything while fangirling by proxy.
These people, at the very least, must be maintained. For Spark to keep running until the end.
That was why, at least when news about albums and comebacks came out, I wanted the fans to be able to share in Spark’s happiness wholeheartedly.
So what if I worked a little harder? It was not like I’d die from it.
‘A concept that gives off a bright and positive energy but is not just cheerful, where the two titles are independently meaningful yet connected…’
It was a demand as difficult as Manager Nam’s daughter’s ‘I wish Jeho’s impression was softer!’ If it weren’t for the contradictory work skills I’d accumulated over the years, I would have given up long ago.
Still, it was a joyous thing that the budget was large. When the company suggested cutting back on comeback frequency, I asked for a bigger budget instead, and negotiations wrapped up smoothly. At this level, maybe we couldn’t manage the flashy backdrop Lee Cheonghyeon wanted, but we could at least afford a location shoot.
Managing a household with a tight budget was no easy task. I even found myself missing the accounting team at the Hanpyeong Industry.
At that moment, as if it had been waiting, a new message arrived. The sender was Cutie Pretty Visual Lee Cheonghyeon. He really couldn’t be a gentleman.
Cutie Pretty Visual Lee Cheonghyeon
[PD Kim]
[Please check the melody line…]
[Attachment (2X02XX)SongA_Melody(Complete)_TotalLength_3min_28sec]
[Attachment (2X02XX)SongB_Melody(Complete)_TotalLength_4min_35sec]
Me
[Yes, thank you for your hard work^^]
[Please go to sleep now^^]
Cutie Pretty Visual Lee Cheonghyeon
[You’re a devil, hyung]
You think Mr. Devil wants to be like this? Mr. Devil would be comfortable too if he didn’t have to work. Mr. Devil’s first choice of workplace is the hell of sloth.
I downloaded the two files Lee Cheonghyeon had sent and played them one by one. The songs were, as always, excellent.
* * *
In households with students, the sense that ‘a new year has begun’ arrived a little late. The new year had long since passed, but the students’ new beginning started in March.
Before the start of the new semester and school season, I had called Lee Cheonghyeon into my room and asked him. The gist of it was whether the guy, who had become a senior in high school, needed dedicated time to prepare for college entrance exams.
‘Hyung, what do you think is the wise thing for me to do?’
‘If you have a will to study, I think it’s good to do your best.’
‘And if I don’t?’
‘Wouldn’t it be better to focus on what you like right now? But before that, I’d like you to check this first.’
I showed him the departments I had looked up in advance. They weren’t famous or attractive departments in the job market, but departments that taught things Lee Cheonghyeon might be interested in, like composition or hobbies.
‘I’ve organized the curriculum, actual lecture reviews, and the textbooks they use separately. You’ll be able to meet the admission requirements easily. Read all this before school starts, and if you find a department you want to go to or one you want to learn more about, let me know. I’ll look into it more.’
‘Wow.’
‘I’ll say this again, but I’m not insisting you go straight to university the moment you graduate. You’re smart enough that as the years pass, your horizons will widen and you’ll want to try more things. So this is just for reference. Got it?’
The first data collection of the college entrance consultant Kim Iwol was thus passed into Lee Cheonghyeon’s hands. I didn’t hear much from the guy after that, but I left him alone, thinking he would tell me if he ran into a wall while contemplating.
Anyway, time passed, and the start of Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon’s school, and Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo’s entrance ceremony, arrived.
After sending off all these kids, who were juggling being idols and students, and even dumping Choi Jeho at the gym, I spent the whole morning in meetings. By the time I got back to the practice room for lunch, my eyes were sunken with dark cicles.
“You said you were going to a meeting, were you practicing instead?”
Choi Jeho, who had arrived next, asked, looking at my complexion. I shook my head back and forth.
These damn dark circles were really annoying. I thought they were almost gone during the vacation, but they came right back. Was sleep really the best medicine?
“Right, since you’ve got some time, you should think ahead too.”
“About what?”
I stopped picking at my salad and pulled out my planner. Choi Jeho chewed on chicken breast, waiting for me to continue.
“Our next choreography. I think you and Kiyeon will have to work hard.”
“We’ve always choreographed it, me and Kang Kiyeon.”
“I mean the difficulty has to go up. I’m thinking of going all out for this album.”
I kindly explained the key points from the morning meeting in a way someone of Choi Jeho’s level could grasp. Choi Jeho just ate his salad, half-listening.
“…So two versions have to come out. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Seeing as you said ‘I understand,’ there must be something you’re not sure about.”
“There is.”
Choi Jeho pointed at me with his chopsticks.
“You, if I choreograph it, can you dance it as is?”
What a piercing question, stabbing the heart of this clumsy dancer. I’ve improved my dance skills a lot, you know?
“I’ll practice hard. It’s not like I only dump the work on you guys.”
“I wasn’t asking if you can dance it or not. Because your dancing has improved.”
“Then?”
“Will your heart be okay?”
Choi Jeho’s chopsticks returned to the salad container.
These guys still weren’t convinced. That my heart was fine when doing idol activities.
Well, no one would easily believe someone saying, ‘I’m only energetic when I’m working!’
Still, it was unfair. I even rode a bike along the Han River just fine, didn’t I? You brat have a memory worse than goldfishs.
“In group choreography, Kang Kiyeon will probably design your part to be less taxing. He’s good at that. But it’s impossible for just one member to stay comfortable the whole way through. It’s not like you’ll be singing alone while the rest of us act as backup dancers.”
What a gruesome comparison Choi Jeho made. I knew there were limits to simplifying steps and small movements, so I wasn’t planning to slack off anyway.
“Don’t worry about things like that and just make the choreography. You don’t trust my endurance?”
I pleaded with a sincere voice. Because for me, who ranked number one in the longest-lasting in the practice room, number one in the best long-distance running record, and number one in the working man’s grit of long working hours compared to sleep time, showing grit was the easiest thing.
However, Choi Jeho only gave me a displeased look.
“To be precise, I don’t trust you.”
“Jeho, is our friendship worth only this much?”
“Do you think there’s such a thing as friendship between us?”
It was a rather philosophical question to be a topic of conversation for men in their early 20s.
Choi Jeho, who had cleanly emptied his salad container, stood up, brushing himself off, and said.
“It’s work, so I’ll do it. But make sure the kids don’t complain to me.”
“That mindset is enough. Show me your potential!”
I gave him a thumbs-up of encouragement. Choi Jeho’s disgusted expression was priceless.