[Over here.]
HeeYoon was lead by her friend, Helena, to a place where the cheerleader club of her university was practicing. Several ladies wearing tight-fitting clothes were in the middle of practice in a place that was like a basketball court.
[Wow. Everyone’s so pretty.]
[Right?]
HeeYoon couldn’t hide her surprise while looking at the several white ladies who had a tall stature and a thin bodline. They were wearing red cheerleader clothes and looked very passionate about practice. They lifted others up like it was nothing, jumped 2m into the air like it was nothing, and landed down like it was nothing. This was a completely new experience for HeeYoon.
[They’re so cool.]
[Not everybody can do that. Those girls have quite the background. Don’t even start with me with their studies.]
They had the looks, the smarts and the background. They truly were perfect.
Just as HeeYoon picked up her pen to write something down, the leader-like lady walked towards them.
[Helena? Wow. This is rare. What are you doing here?]
[Michelle!]
The two ladies hugged each other as though they were overjoyed to see each other. After having a brief talk, Helena soon introduced HeeYoon too her. Although Michelle didn’t seem to have any interest in the rather short, Asian lady in front of her, her eyes changed when she heard the name ‘HeeYoon’.
[HeeYoon? From composition?]
[Hello, I’m HeeYoon Lee. I came here to get some inspiration.]
[Really? If I can help, I’d be glad to.]
Michelle seemed to have heard a lot about HeeYoon recently, and approached her very kindly. She gladly accepted HeeYoon’s request. She even prepared a seat for her.
[Thanks. I’ll treat you to something next time.]
[Sure. This is good, getting treated by the top student of Composition.]
Although HeeYoon herself wasn’t aware of it, she was rather famous within campus. Well, it was reasonable, since she never failed to take the top spot.
‘My brother said that there should be differences in cheerleaders of America and of Korea, and yet he still told me that they were fundamentally the same. Here, the girls have power. What are the cheerleaders of Korea like?’
Michelle returned to her place, and practice resumed after a loud shout from the cheerleaders.
Listening to them, HeeYoon wrote down the things that came up in her head into the notepad in front of her.
Currently, Yoonseul Entertainment was in an uproar after they heard about who their president went to for DiaTeen’s next song.
It was none other than Eddios’s former planner!
This rumor, spread around by Kang SeGyung, caused a big wave across the entire company. The directors, the ordinary employees, and even the members of DiaTeen were worried that KangYoon might give them a strange song to help Eddios out. The company-exclusive composers especially had a lot of complaints about this as they were practically left out this time.
Those complaints showed up in the meeting.
The PR team leader showed his objection with his low voice.
“If I had known that the composer Muse was the planner of Eddios, I would have objected to this idea.”
How much have they suffered thanks to Eddios until now? They did their utmost best to topple Eddios’s place and take the top spot. But the person they asked to write their song this time was none other than the source of all their troubles; the planner of Eddios. As the planner of Eddios, he may have the skills, but his intentions were still concerning.
Another member of the planning team cautiously spoke out.
“I also don’t see it as a good opportunity. If he was simply from MG Entertainment, we wouldn’t go this far, but he just had to be related to Eddios. He’s the person that created the group that we so hated until now. As for what he thinks of Eddios… I do not know what to say.”
One composer, with a rather peculiar hat, added to this opinion.
“There are many good composers that make good songs that follow the trends. There are many good composers out there other than Muse. I’m rather concerned that you picked a composer that may become a problem to us later.”
Everyone was of one mind. However, President Choo ManJi shook his head in dissatisfaction.
“Think about it in another way. Lee KangYoon wasn’t in a good place when he left MG. Despite his numerous achievements, he was framed of embezzling company funds. Though, he was proved innocent later. MG chased out the golden egg-laying goose without even cutting its stomach. Do you think Lee KangYoon has good will towards MG? Wouldn’t he be rearing to topple them down instead?”
“That’s….”
Seeing the employees unable to answer, President Choo ManJi seemed to be more motivated and continued to speak.
“MG’s former president, Lee HyunJi was also working with him. HyunJi, that picky girl isn’t someone to work with just anyone. The two seemed to get along well, and we can see that from their company’s growth rate. Some time ago, they perfectly made Kim JaeHoon return in an absolute blast. Though, this is a field separate from composition. Do you really believe that we should let these people, who don’t have any good will towards MG, and are skilled to boot, go?”
“Oh….”
Everyone then exclaimed in realization. When everyone accepted, President Choo ManJi shook his head and looked at everyone as though they were pathetic.
“Think. Lee KangYoon is a sword that we must use. And we are the person that possesses that sword in our hand. We just need to worry about not getting cut. If everyone’s so concerned about it, I’ll tell him to send us a sample, so think about how are you going to promote DiaTeen’s next album by the next meeting.”
President Choo ManJi waved his hand to declare the end of the meeting. Everyone left the meeting room like a receding tide. There was no way they felt good since they started out kind, but ended with a scolding.
“Secretary Yoon, call Lee KangYoon and ask him when he could send a sample.”
– Yes, sir.
“Oh, and also, tell him to visit our company once.”
Ordered President Choo ManJi before heading to the practice room where DiaTeen were currently practicing.
“…I’ll send it to you by tomorrow.”
– Okay. And also, the president has asked you if you can visit the company, if your time will allow it.
At that request, KangYoon thought about it for a while before replying.
“Okay, then. Please tell him that I will visit the company tomorrow along with the sample.”
-Then I shall tell him that.
After the call, KangYoon turned around to his score. However, that last request to visit YoonSeul Entertainment didn’t leave his mind.
‘They sure seem concerned.’
The song wasn’t even finished, but he was asked to visit their company. It was safe to say that the other side was rather concerned. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand. For DiaTeen, the fact that the planner of Eddios was writing them a song must have made them complicated.
‘Well, if they reject purely due to that, then they are only at that level.’
KangYoon decided to take it simply. If the other side was so petty, he would get nothing out of working with them. He instead thought about how to arrange the song that HeeYoon sent him.
The next day.
KangYoon finished editing some of the song and visited Yoonseul Entertainment. The secretary came out to greet him and immediately lead him to the president’s office.
“Welcome.”
President Choo ManJi and KangYoon shook hands, and Choo ManJi brewed him coffee as well.
“I’m very sorry. I did not want to disturb you until you finished on your work….”
As he brewed him coffee, President Choo ManJi seemed very apologetic. KangYoon shook his head whie accepting the coffee.
“It’s fine. I understand. It must not have been easy to let the former planner of Eddios take care of DiaTeen’s song.”
“Hahaha. I’m rather embarrassed. The people under me are rather short-sighted. I really should have denied any objections. But these days, kids don’t work properly if they don’t get a reasonable explanation.”
Although what he said was right, KangYoon understood the implications behind those words as well. President Choo ManJi also wanted to listen to what the song was like this time.
KangYoon handed him a USB stick. He didn’t want to talk about this topic anymore. President Choo ManJi accepted the USB and played the track.
“Electronic?”
A rather crude Electronic music soon changed to a fun beat. President Choo ManJi widened his eyes after hearing the music that grabbed his heart in an instant. Although the first verse started 4 seconds into the song, it was replaced with a hum since it wasn’t recorded yet. However, the feeling could be transferred.
‘This is it!’
President Choo ManJi got the ‘feel’. Although the repetitive electronic style was simple, it was powerful, and it suited DiaTeen’s voices and choreography perfectly.
Although the sample was only a part of the 1st verse, he fell for it already.
“Let me listen to it just once more….”
He played it back once more just in case he had misheard. However, it wasn’t like the same song was going anywhere. The melody that easily stuck to his ear grabbed his heart immediately. Obviously, this was a great outcome.
Hiding his excitement about having received a good song, President Choo ManJi spoke to KangYoon.
“…It’s not bad.”
“That’s good. Do you need anything else?”
“Hm…. Why don’t you meet the girls first? I think you should refer to their opinions rather than mine.”
President Choo ManJi himself had nothing else to ask of. He only wanted KangYoon to give him the best song he could.
KangYoon, along with President Choo ManJi, headed to the practice room where the girls of DiaTeen were.
The 5 girls of DiaTeen were doing practice when the two entered.
‘This… it’s been a while.’
The smell of thick sweat, the heat coming off their bodies; seeing DiaTeen practicing while wearing comfortable jerseys, he remembered of his past. Eddios also practiced like that – he made a bitter smile.
“Everyone gather round.”
President Choo ManJi gathered the girls. Everyone wiped the sweat off their heads and approached him.
“Huh? Composer.”
Kang SeGyung realized it was KangYoon, and KangYoon waved his hand. Soon, President Choo ManJi introduced KangYoon to them, and the members widened their eyes in shock. This was the case since Kang SeGyung had already told them that their song was coming from the former planner of Eddios.
“There, there, there. You have a lot of things you want to ask, right? And about Eddios too, right? But first comes the song.”
President Choo ManJi knew of his priorities and plugged the USB into the audio first. Soon, the song played back. The repetitive yet familiar song made the girls all shake their bodies according to the rhythm. And when the melody started, they exclaimed slightly as well.
“This song’s so good. It’s like a night-club song.”
The most honest one of DiaTeen, Joo YeAh, spoke. A girl of the same age, Ji HyunJung, also agreed.
“You’re right, the beat’s good, and the melody’s good as well. The pitch isn’t too high, either.”
The youngest ones, Kim JiSook, and Han HyoJung, also added.
“I was worried that we were getting a strange song because of Eddios, but… is this a trap?”
“What the hell does that mean.”
Of course, the youngest ones were the rudest ones as well.
Kang SeGyung shook her head and spoke to KangYoon.
“The song is really good. If the entire track is like this, and there’s good choreography, this album will be a huge hit. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“Who’s the one doing the guide voice?”
Kang SeGyung wanted to know who the one humming was. The voice was very clean.
KangYoon answered honestly since it was no secret.
“She’s Lee HyunAh, a singer in our company.”
“Oh, I asked since I wanted to do something like a featuring later. Her voice is just so good….”
Although this was rather random, KangYoon had no reason to refuse. More good relations were better.
“That’s good with me. We’ll be helping each other out.”
Since the song was very good, the mood was very good as well.
The members of DiaTeen asked KangYoon an incredible number of things at this opportunity: about how KangYoon came to make Eddios, and what kind of people they were. Their questions were endless. President Choo ManJi also didn’t stop them either. He actually also wanted to borrow their words to satiate his own curiosity.
KangYoon told them reasonable stuff. He didn’t leak any company secrets, and usually told them about Eddios’s trivial habits and their lifestyle.
“Ha, sheesh. So Neither you nor Eddios talked to each other that much?”
“…Yes. Those girls act so cold. How scared do you think we were?”
KangYoon had already become close to DiaTeen, and was unable to hide his surprise when Han HyoJung grumbled.
“That’s strange. There’s no way they acted like that. I always told them to not make any enemies in this industry.”
Just as KangYoon tilted his head in confusion, Kang SeGyung replied.
“Their and our schedules overlapped for a while, didn’t it? At that time, Eddios avoided us consciously. At first, we talked to them a lot, but from some time onwards, they acted so cold.”
“Really?”
KangYoon thought about it for a moment.
Just when Eddios was able to firmly stand on their own in the industry, KangYoon took his hands off them and started doing another work. Although he received reports regularly, he did not specifically interfere with others’ work. He thought about the things he heard about them.
‘I heard that they put up a strategy to no longer meet with DiaTeen, and that’s the reason. So they chose to avoid them. I’d rather crush them head on.’
KangYoon would have done so; enough to never let any girl groups rise in the industry again. However, the company decided to go safe rather than the dangerous route. Whether there were some behind-the-scenes deal, he didn’t know.
In any case, to Eddios, who rose to the top in one go after their debut, DiaTeen were naturally an obstacle to them. In the first place, the ‘top spot’ was harder to maintain than to get. Perhaps that was why they decided to not associate with DiaTeen.
‘A failure in strategy let the rise of a rival. Or, it might be that they needed a rival.’
To sum it up, it was like that. The result? Eddios and DiaTeen were in a horrible relationship. And that was why the girls of DiaTeen were worried that KangYoon might give them a strange song. Though, they were touched to receive such a great song.
KangYoon only laughed.
“You’ll have to listen to the end to find out. You only got the sample right now.”
“Even so, I think something like this is just great.”
Kim JiSook showed absolute trust in the song. Her eyes were already sparkling.
“Well, I’d be thankful if you do trust me. I shall reply with a good song.”
“Yes! Thank you, KangYoon-oppa.”
“Oppa?”
KangYoon slightly smiled at that word.
“Lol. Looks like KangYoon-‘oppa’ likes it.”
“That’s right, he’s an oppa.”
Joo YeAh and Ji HyunJung giggled. KangYoon’s tall stature and wide shoulders were attractive to the girls. Although he was in his 30s, he was skinny and had sharp eyes. He also had all the perfect conditions, so he was worthy(?) of the girls to call them ‘oppa’.
KangYoon also…
Didn’t dislike being called that so much.
The acoustic and illumination construction was finished, and acoustic equipment started coming in one after the other over at Lunas.
Thankfully, the speakers, mixers and other devices coming from foreign countries managed to pass customs early, and the construction was finished before the due date. Jung HyeJin was proud to have done all this.
“This speaker looks cool.”
Exclaimed Lee HyunJi while looking at the speaker hanging in the air. The speaker was hanging in the air with chains and was facing down. There were woofers on its side as well. There was no worry about sound at all.
“I also put design into consideration. You don’t even need to mention sound.”
KangYoon was confident in his choice. Since these came from foreign countries, their functions were over the top. Although he had to go through some suffering, it was all worth it – he thought.
“The first concert at Lunas will be from White Moonlight, right?”
“Of course, it was for them we constructed all this.”
“I wish we could invite another singer. Of course, with a low budget. We don’t have a lot of money on hand.”
Lee HyunJi said those last words just in case KangYoon brought some world-class singer. KangYoon was definitely the person to do that in her mind.
However, as always, KangYoon gave a completely different answer.
“How about we bring ‘her’ out this time?”
“Her? Who?”
“You know, the one we’ve been raising until now. I don’t think it will be bad to do a mid-way check. It will also be an experience for her too.”
“EEEEH!?”
Lee HyunJi realized what KangYoon was saying and shouted.
“You, you mean… JiMin?”
Kim JiMin.
KangYoon was thinking of showing the public World Entertainment’s sole trainee this time.