novelraw Chapter 322: Promotions Start (1)
Chapter 322: Promotions Start (1)
The first place we visited after making our comeback was Polo’s radio show. This time, instead of the sparkly name headbands, we wore arrow headbands with our names attached in fluorescent colored paper on a black background.
“Spark, you’ve all come in with new headbands today, haven’t you?”
“We rewatched the broadcast we were on, and the visibility of the last headbands was a little lacking. This is version 2.”
At my words, Polo let out a burst of laughter. Above his head, the golden headband we had gifted him before bobbed up and down.
“Oh dear, I can’t believe I came in wearing the old version, not even knowing a new one had been released.”
“Knowing that might happen, we brought one for you too…”
Park Joowoo rummaged around and pulled out a new headband. A headband that read ‘⇩Polo-nim⇩’ was handed to its owner.
“Why am I the only one with two arrows? Is this a seniority perk?”
“It’s the utmost courtesy we can show to the host who invited us.”
“I’m genuinely curious, where did you learn to say things like that, Mr. Iwol?”“I’m self-taught!”
Polo wiped away a tear. I wasn’t sure which part he found so funny, but since the host was satisfied, I decided to consider it a good start.
At the beginning of the second part, where the guests appeared, we were supposed to have some time to promote the album under the guise of sharing life updates… but.
Since it seemed like half the listeners were Spark fans and the other half were ordinary people listening to the radio on their way home from work, instead of giving a music-show-style album introduction, we decided to just chat about the album’s key features. After all, a general listener wouldn’t be curious about the tempo and genre of a title track from an idol group making a one-time appearance.
“We need to be alarmed about the desertification of the Earth. I’m telling you, even though we wore different outfits for the music video shoot, when we got back to the dorm, the shoe rack was covered in sand!”
Lee Cheonghyeon said with the most serious expression on his face. Park Joowoo, with a sad face, gave a nod of agreement.
“But I think the most moving part is that friendship can overcome all of it. Human greed led us to destroy the environment for civilization’s sake, but the desire to be together is also a kind of greed — it just depends on where the heart is pointed.”
When asked what he liked most about the comeback track, Kang Kiyeon launched into a whole speech. Not only did he read the continuity script diligently, but he even analyzed it. It was something impossible without a genuine passion for one’s job.
Opening the album we gifted him, Polo examined its contents and then grabbed the microphone.
“You played the bass, Mr. Iwol?”
“Yes, I participated as a session musician for just the two title tracks.”
If I had as much musical talent as Lee Cheonghyeon, I would have tried to do something with the B-sides as well. Unfortunately, coming up with and recording bass riffs for two songs was my limit.
I’d like to take this opportunity to give a round of applause to the creator of Spark’s music, the electronic maestro, the source of unending inspiration, Mr. Lee Cheonghyeon.
“You’re very talented, Mr. Iwol. At this rate, won’t you be on TV someday as a master artisan of something?”
“That might just happen.”
Choi Jeho chimed in. As if I had time to polish any kind of craftsmanship. Every day’s a crisis just keeping myself together.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Lee Cheonghyeon went on and on about the bass, a topic no one would find interesting.
“The song ‘End’ is a two-bass track. A single bass line would have been fine for completing the song, but when I said I wanted to bring out the music video’s concept of wanting to escape the post-apocalyptic setting, Iwol hyung added a line where he plays the notes with breaks to match Morse code.”
It was by no means an easy task. The amount of message that could be included was limited, and at the same time, the irregular plucking had to be adjusted so that it wouldn’t sound jarring when listening to the music.
I printed out dozens of versions with tiny, nail-sized modifications to the Morse code. I had lost count of how many rounds of trial and error it took.
“Oh, could you explain that part in a little more detail?”
“Yes. It might be difficult to distinguish the two lines by pitch alone, so to give you a hint, the Morse code line quotes a passage from a classic novel. It might be fun to try and find the line with the unique rhythm!”
“Could you tell our listeners what the passage is? Or will this part remain a secret?”
At Polo’s question, I glanced over at Lee Cheonghyeon. Better to let the bilingual kindergarten alum handle this one than the cram-school TOEIC pro.
“To let you have the fun of finding it yourselves, I’ll just tell you the last sentence! The phrase is, ‘Wait for a time, exactly under the star’!”
“There were comments saying the bass line was unique, but no one guessed the exact reason, so it was a bit disappointing… It’s nice to have it revealed like this.”
Park Joowoo added his thoughts with a smile.
Still, if no one noticed, that meant the trick had failed. They say a joke is ruined the moment you have to start explaining why it’s funny. I must strive to avoid such humiliation next time…
“That’s right. Recently, a lot more idols have been mentioning Spark.”
“Really?”
“Of course. All Over appeared two weeks ago. They told me to let you know they’re big fans and always keep up with your work. They said they’re really enjoying Spark’s promotions.”
…is what I was thinking.
But there’s no time for that. Which legs are these druggie group members latching onto now?
* **
Just because I had a dedicated team didn’t mean all my work disappeared.
It couldn’t be helped. I had to fulfill my role as a producing member as ordered by the system, and I also had to achieve the KPIs.
However, separate from this, there were times I had to push back against the dedicated team. It was to avoid getting entangled with problematic groups.
No company would accept an unreasonable demand like, ‘One of our peers is a potential criminal, and we don’t want our reputation to suffer by getting involved with them, so let’s change our work hours.’ I’d be lucky if my own reputation wasn’t tarnished for slandering others.
It also didn’t help that All Over wasn’t a group big enough for people to go out of their way to avoid. If those guys were superstars, the dedicated team would have adjusted our comeback schedules on their own so they wouldn’t overlap.
So, until midnight on the day before Spark’s annual schedule was released, I read press releases from All Over’s agency and various other groups, checking the timing of their artists’ releases one by one to gauge their comeback schedules. To create my own team’s schedule, I ended up creating schedules for other teams as well.
Thanks to these tear-jerking efforts, Spark hadn’t had to cross paths with All Over group since ‘IDC’, except for major events.
Even this time, how much trouble had I gone through to stick to a May comeback while ensuring our schedules didn’t overlap with All Over’s, and choosing a date that would allow for stable album planning and production?
And now these bastards decide to screw me over with a time-delay attack? My blood boiled.
“All Over sunbaenims, you say?”
Jeong Seongbin gave a polite reaction. It seemed he remembered me telling him to stay away from All Over during ‘IDC’. Only Polo, oblivious to the situation, was beaming at the thought of making friends for Spark.
“All Over has members who compose too, you know. They said they were really inspired by watching Mr. Cheonghyeon. You don’t have a separate crew or anything, do you, Mr. Cheonghyeon?”
“No, Jeho hyung and I started out on the streets!”
“Are those the same thing…?”
Choi Jeho retorted dubiously. He sure made ‘coming from the street’ sound fancy. Though for being from that side, both of them were far too handsome.
Watching the cheerful-looking Polo, the blank-faced Choi Jeho, and the four fidgety members, I gritted my teeth.
“I’m sorry, but All Over sunbaenims are a no-go for my boys.”
“Huh?”
Polo looked at me, who had slammed on the gas out of nowhere.
Calm down, Kim Iwol. Speak sincerely and seriously, but don’t ruin the mood. You can do this. After putting Jeong Seongbin through so much during the ‘Worry Sharing Session,’ you should know how to control yourself by now!
“It’s because I don’t have any friends! If these guys make new ones, I’ll be in trouble. We already have too many social butterflies in the group — if they all get new friends, I’ll end up all alone.”
You have no idea how hard it was to wrap my increasingly serious tone in humor. Honestly, I’m not even sure if it was wrapped well, but whatever.
“Mr. Iwol, what do you mean you don’t have friends! You have Mr. Jeho, and you’re close with the Berion members too!”
“I’m a greedy person, so I’m only satisfied when I have everything. I want everyone to think of me as their best friend. Please, think of this as saving one lost soul and let it go.”
At my solemn denunciation, Polo laughed until he was out of breath. Jeong Seongbin’s eyes flashed a message that said, ‘Do we really have to go this far?’
But we did have to go this far. Otherwise, after all that work stopping Lee Cheonghyeon from turning to painkillers, he’d just get caught up in some ridiculous controversy instead.
Seeing my desperation, Polo left a voice message for All Over saying, ‘Let’s protect Mr. Iwol’s friends’.
I, too, said I was sorry for being a petty person and that I hoped we could meet during their comeback. Not that I’d ever let that happen. You can say anything if you don’t mean it.
My back was damp with sweat. It was the most nerve-wracking radio show I’d been on since debut.
* * *
Staring at the opened delivery box in front of her, Won Chaehee was lost in thought. In her hand was an unopened album.
It wasn’t her first time buying albums by the box for fan-sign event raffles. If she bought this many, she could complete her photo card collection without any trades, unless her luck was absolutely terrible.
There was just one thing that was different from usual: Won Chaehee was holding one album, still sealed.
‘Should I give this to Assistant Manager Yeo, or not?’
There’s always that one person you can’t forget from work. For Won Chaehee, it was Assistant Manager Yeo. Someone you respect so much you actually want to get closer to, not just as colleagues.
Usually, she’d just send a coffee gift card or buy a drink to say thanks, but this time she’d had the thought, ‘Since she said she liked the song, should I give her an album?’.
‘She was probably just trying to make small talk. Don’t jump the gun. You’re a working adult.’
Won Chaehee pulled the mask of society, which she had almost let slip, back over her face. Then, for tomorrow’s workday that she wasn’t looking forward to at all, she slowly pulled her blanket up.