Chapter 232
What? Exhausted?”
Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik’s office .
Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik was scolding Jang MinJi, the leader of h.e.l.lo Tint, who was looking down on the floor .
“Tsk tsk . To think you’d complain after that tiny bit of schedule . Your senior’s never batted an eye with a schedule like yours . ”
“Director, So-In and InJung are ill right now . If we keep…”
“No . ”
Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik frowned .
“How can an entertainer say such pathetic things during their activity period?”
“Director, we’ve been sleeping in the van for three straight months now . We rarely ever slept back at the dorms . MinHee’s period has been getting irregular . I, I really didn’t want to say this, but…”
“Then don’t . ”
Jang MinJi became speechless by Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik’s cruel words .
She appealed to him several times that all of the members were exhausted, but had to leave without getting any results .
When the door closed, Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik shook his head .
“An entertainer during their activity period can’t even take that much? Tsk tsk . Kids these days don’t have any tenacity . ”
He snorted and put his coat on before heading to the studio .
Today was the day of ECTM’s alb.u.m recording . ECTM was a 7-man boy group .
Inside the studio were 3 members of ECTM, who were the ones doing the recording today, as well as the second producer, Frey, who were working .
Nodding at the greetings of the singers and the producer, Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik looked around .
“Where is Producer Oh?”
He was curious since this man was always present when recording alb.u.ms .
Producer Frey narrowed his eyes as he replied .
“He hasn’t come to work yet . ”
“Hasn’t come to work? Well, not that there’s anything for him to do here . ”
“Right?”
Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik put his hand on Producer Frey’s shoulders .
“You should get the t.i.tle of the first producer this time . How long are you going to stay behind Producer Oh? Try hard, okay?”
“Yes! I’ll definitely meet your expectations . ”
Producer Frey enthusiastically went back to work, and the singers inside the booth all started singing again .
‘Producer Oh is still better… but rather than a disobedient headache, an obedient fool is better . ’
Seeing Producer Frey, Director Moon Gw.a.n.gShik’s lips curved upwards .
***
“The sound is too messy . ”
Seo HanYu subconsciously frowned upon hearing the sharp percussion sound that was just inserted .
Producer Oh JiWan pointed at the graph that represented the sound frequencies and explained the reason .
“It’s because the extreme highs aren’t cut . ”
“The extreme highs?”
“Let’s try removing this part here, shall we? Cut off anything above the 20 kHz range and…”
When Producer Oh JiWan adjusted the sound, the ear-piercing percussion sounds disappeared, and it became more refreshing .
Seo HanYu looked up towards Producer Oh Jiwan as though looking at superman .
“…You’re amazing . ”
“Nah, this is nothing much . ”
It was a great joy for a man to be admired by a lady in their prime .
Producer Oh JiWan straightened his shoulders .
Lee HyunJi and KangYoon, who were watching all of this, were watching with glee .
“Looks like he’s adapted already . ”
“He’s fast . Producer Oh’s definitely more sociable, and he’s capable . I always thought that communication skills were a must in a producer . ”
“Producer Oh is a flexible man . Not only are his ears for music good, he knows how to accept everyone’s opinions .
As soon as Lee HyunJi’s words finished, Kim JiMin expressed her opinion on the song to Producer Oh JiWan .
“Uhm, producer, about the vocals . . ”
“The vocals? So there’s a specific voice type you want?”
They were already at ease with each other, and the atmosphere looked good .
“The t.i.tle of this song is 20, right? but it sounds too fluffy… I’m worried that it might sound too young rather than mature . ”
“Hm . The freshness of being 20 years old amidst an acoustic mood, and you want to appeal to being mature at the same time, right?”
“Yes, that’s it . ”
Producer Oh JiWan thought about it for a moment before speaking what he thought about this .
“Then, I think you should change the vocal method when you sing . You put strength into your stomach when you sing, right?”
“Yes . ”
“Then this time, let’s go with a head voice . ”
Producer Oh JiWan pointed out .
Kim JiMin’s expression brightened as though she saw hope .
“Okay!”
“Do you need anything else?”
Park SoYoung also asked some things about rearrangement, and the discussion became heated .
Lunchtime .
KangYoon took everyone to a nearby restaurant .
“Thank you for the meal!”
This restaurant had autographs of world entertainment artists .
The nearby customers were busy looking at Kim JiMin and Seo HanYu .
Some of them were even giving glances to KangYoon .
Producer Oh JiWan spoke as he ate some galbitang .
“I feel like I’ve finally done some work after all this time . ”
“I wonder if I might have stolen valuable time off someone busy . You should be at your company right now…”
When KangYoon spoke apologetically, Producer Oh JiWan shook his head .
“…They’d do fine without me anyway . Fuu . ”
His expression contained bitterness .
Then, Seo HanYu asked .
‘How can they roll without you? You’re the number 1 producer there, aren’t you?”
“Thanks for that . ”
Producer Oh JiWan smiled faintly at Seo HanYu before continuing to speak .
“MG, as you know, has many talents . From trainees to singers, and from composers to producers . As we possess many talents, the compet.i.tion is fierce, and skills are a must to survive the compet.i.tion . ”
“Indeed . As far as I know, you were the most trustworthy in MG, back when I worked there . ”
“…Haha . I’m thankful that you, someone who was called the greatest planning team leader in MG history, tell me something like that . I was t.i.tled the first producer . But right now, it’s nothing more than a sh.e.l.l . ”
“…So something happened . ”
“What I’m about to say from this moment onwards, you can consider it to be an excuse from a dropout of the compet.i.tion . ”
Producer Oh JiWan emptied his cup in one go with a bitter expression .
“After you left, Team Leader KangYoon, the directors limited the decisions that could be made by the employees in order to consolidate their power . In that process, the authorities given to the producers shrank, and as a result, the quality of music that we released dropped . ”
“So a non-professional is trying to take control of the professionals . ”
“Indeed . Embarra.s.singly, I wasn’t able to work on an alb.u.m for the past year . ”
“……”
KangYoon felt bitter .
A capable producer like Producer Oh JiWan wasn’t able to spread his wings out .
Seo HanYu, who was listening quietly, pointed out .
“It’s because those baldies always use people that suck up to them… They always did . ”
Seo HanYu gritted her teeth as the piled up anger inside her was considerable .
Park SoYoung patted her back, and Kim JiMin grabbed her hand in order to calm her down .
KangYoon calmly looked at Producer Oh JiWan .
“…It might be somewhat wrong of me to ask you this, but what do you plan to do here on?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure . It won’t be easy for me to find work at MG, but… it’s the place I first joined, and it’s the place that raised me, so it’s hard to walk away from them . ”
Even though his love lost interest in him, his one-sided love continued .
However, there was also a desire to start working again .
…It was a tough decision to make .
At that moment, Seo HanYu spoke again .
“I read from a book that a man stakes his life for someone that acknowledges him . ”
“HanYu . ”
Producer Oh JiWan looked flabbergasted .
Everyone had put down their spoons already .
KangYoon stayed quiet, and Seo HanYu continued to speak .
“Is there a reason for someone like you to rot at MG, is there? You know, I had an enjoyable time working with you together . Wasn’t it fun for you as well, producer?”
“That’s…”
“Don’t fool yourself, producer . I want to work with you . ”
Producer Oh JiWan closed his eyes and bit his lips .
KangYoon didn’t say anything .
What was supposed to be a simple lunch became extremely heavy, and no one spoke carelessly .
When they returned to the studio, White Moonlight and HeeYoon had arrived .
The three people other than Lee HyunAh had set up instruments inside the booth for recording and were waiting for everyone .
“…Oh, White Moonlight . ”
Producer Oh JiWan was aware of White Moonlight as well .
There was no way he didn’t know since they were famous for OSTs and their concerts .
However, he was surprised in a different way when he looked at the booth .
“…President KangYoon, is cooperation within the company this easy?”
For Kim JiMin’s alb.u.m, there was an instrument session, and there was also the composer, rearranger as well as a member from a completely different group .
This was unimaginable in MG .
Cooperation happened in the form of featuring at most in MG .
But here, all the other artists could step in for a single artist .
KangYoon shrugged as he replied .
“We’re all one family . ”
“…Family, family, huh . ”
Producer Oh JiWan reminded himself of that word several times .
The word that was thrown out of habit in other entertainment companies was actually a word that they abide by .
KangYoon looked at Kim JinDae, who was adjusting the snare drums and spoke into the mic .
“We’re going to start with the drums, so tell me once you’re done setting up . ”
– Yes .
While everyone moved around busily, Producer Oh JiWan approached KangYoon .
‘President KangYoon . ’
‘Yes, producer . ’
‘…This project… can I have a hand in it as well?’
KangYoon’s eyes widened, and he continued .
‘The money… I don’t need it . It’s fine even if I get found out by the company . At this rate, it’s obvious that I’ll be kicked out… please . I’m actually quite useful, you know?’
‘Producer . ’
KangYoon nodded his head and patted Producer Oh JiWan on the back .
He accepted his offer .
Kim JinDae seemed somewhat surprised that someone other than KangYoon was sitting in front of the mixer, but he gained his calm after seeing KangYoon behind the chair .
“My name is Oh JiWan . Pleased to meet you . ”
– I’m Kim JiWan . Are you the producer?
“Yes . I might be lacking, but please take care of me . ”
The instruments were finished being set up, and Producer Oh JiWan started the recording .
***
It was autumn, and the leaves were starting to fall .
Eunha’s alb.u.m, ‘Twenty Years Old’, was released .
Kim JiMin held a comeback stage in ‘Music Count’ in a public TV station, and after that, she showed up in many kinds of music programs, having a fantastic comeback . Her music shot up in the rankings and reached the first rank in merely two days .
It was a digital single that many other artists released as well, but this alb.u.m became a hot topic since ‘SeoYu’ of Eddios partic.i.p.ated in the production .
The fans of Eddios didn’t just stream the music and downloaded the entire song, in order to raise the sales of Eunha’s alb.u.m .
Seeing the profits of the alb.u.m, Lee HyunJi was all smiles .
“HanYu was a G.o.dly move . ”
Seo HanYu’s partic.i.p.ation in the alb.u.m acted positively during promotion and positively influenced sales as well .
KangYoon hung up on his phone and nodded his head .
“It seems so . There were a lot of hurdles, but I’m glad that this ended well . ”
“Yes . That call was from j.a.pan, right? How is Miss MoonHee doing?”
“Nothing has changed . She’s not getting much sleep with all the schedule she’s got .
KangYoon said that he was worried about In MoonHee’s physical condition and sent a mail to A-Trust asking to decrease her schedule .
Lee HyunJi looked over some doc.u.ments when she came across something strange and asked KangYoon about it .
“President . Were we right to put Producer Oh’s name in the alb.u.m?”
“It’s fine . There’s no need to hide one’s family member . ”
“President . ”
Lee HyunJi frowned and looked at KangYoon .
“It was indeed me who told you to recruit Producer Oh, but it might not be good for the public opinion if we create trouble like this . ”
“Perhaps, but he worked with us, albeit a little . If necessary, we should cover for him . ”
“Haaah . ”
Lee HyunJi sighed and shook her head .
“Sheesh, I knew you’d be like this . Did you get anything ready?”
“Of course . I sent it over to your email . ”
“I knew it . ”
KangYoon wasn’t just all talk .
When Lee HyunJi opened the email, she saw a list of materials that they could send to the media in cases of emergencies .
“…How is MG taking the exact actions that we predicted them to?”
Looking at an article in the entertainment section of Sace, the web portal, Lee HyunJi snorted .
– World Entertainment poaches a producer belonging to MG?
– World poaches a producer without prior negotiation . MG, “we will right these bad manners in the industry . ”
KangYoon also smiled faintly seeing the absurd articles .
“They should be aware that despite being ‘exclusive’ producers, they are ent.i.tled to work that they wish to do . Director, please take care of it . ”
“Sure . ”
Lee HyunJi put her thumbs up telling KangYoon to believe in her .