Chapter 8
[Set a goal.]
[Example: Hitmaker]
[Time limit: 5 minutes]
Five minutes was too long.
The example was basically the answer.
My first memory in life is the piano.
I had played since I was little, and naturally I planned to enter music school.
The problem was that around middle school, my family started struggling because of my sister’s study-abroad expenses.
Before she left, I thought we were at least middle class.
But as her time abroad stretched longer, we couldn’t keep up.
My sister wanted to quit, saying our family couldn’t afford art school.
But my parents insisted if we stopped then, everything already invested would become nothing.
And they could push that hard because I was the one who first said I would quit piano.
At the time, I didn’t have exceptional talent anyway.
And honestly…
I was a little burned out, so saying I’d quit came easily.
But strangely, the moment I stopped playing piano, I became deeply depressed.
Just looking at the piano made me cry.
Only after we sold the piano in my room did I realize…
Piano had been my whole life until then.
Maybe I had truly loved it.
Anyway, our family was one of the lucky cases.
Now my sister is considered a promising artist.
The day we went to her exhibition—
We cried together.
She had eaten ramen for months to afford plane tickets for the three of us.
My parents worked nights and weekends.
But no one regretted it.
And I thought quitting piano had been the right choice.
Though finding out my sister was living with her boyfriend, now my brother-in-law, to save money was a bigger shock than even my parents felt.
But when I entered the chaotic studio they shared…
My chest swelled.
They looked like the artists I had seen in movies.
And I thought—
I want to become something like that too.
That was when I got a new goal.
Idol.
All through school, I was obsessed with dancing.
I was fairly popular.
I had confidence.
And ironically…
When I first stood on stage in The Idol Chosen by the Nation…
I realized again that I truly loved music.
Especially pop music.
[(Hitmaker) has been set as your goal.]
[Checking hit song production possibility.]
- L-Rank hit probability: 0%
- S-Rank hit probability: 0%
- A-Rank hit probability: 0%
- B-Rank hit probability: 0%
- C-Rank hit probability: 0%
I didn’t know what level C-rank counted as.
But according to this window…
I apparently had zero chance of making even a C-rank hit.
And since there was nothing below C…
It looked like I had no chance of making a hit song at all.
Then Hwang Saebyeok asked,
“When can you give me the song? Our tracklist meeting with A&R is next Friday.”
“I’ll give it to you by Thursday.”
“The day before? You…”
Since he’d debuted twice as an idol, he stopped short of cursing.
But next Thursday was still only a week away.
“Just send something first.”
He said that and went back into the hotel.
Having a deadline definitely made the pressure feel different.
* * *
On the day of the live broadcast, despite efforts to keep it quiet, news of Kang Ha-yeon’s lift accident had reached Korea.
Reporters crowded in several times more than before.
Not just entertainment reporters.
Apparently even news reporters came.
And despite what happened yesterday, Kang Ha-yeon still hosted as MC without missing anything.
Her mentality was strong.
Maybe this is what people call soft outside, steel inside.
Anyway, the accident had made the venue atmosphere razor sharp.
And I got more tense as Park Hee-young’s stage approached.
It showed too much on my face.
She smacked my back.
“Why are you this nervous?”
“Noona, if anything feels even a little wrong on stage, signal right away—”
Before I finished, she laughed brightly.
“I’ll handle it. I’ll handle it.”
Maybe things had gone well with her ex.
She looked absurdly happy.
Variety show fame really was powerful.
When Park Hee-young went up, the crowd screamed like they would for any idol.
Already in a good mood, she pushed the cheers even higher and absolutely tore up the stage.
Maybe because of that—
First Light, who came right after, looked intimidated.
Their stage presence seemed weaker than during rehearsal.
Then someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned.
It was Kang Ha-yeon.
“…Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
I answered.
She said nothing.
Just looked at me.
And because she was too beautiful, I almost avoided eye contact.
Her manager hurried up behind her.
“Ha-yeon is naturally really shy!”
“Ah…”
I didn’t know what was happening.
Kang Ha-yeon kept staring at me.
Then put something in my hand and disappeared.
I opened my palm.
It was a note with her phone number.
Wait—
An actress just gives out her number like that…?
I hurriedly returned the note to her manager.
And exchanged business cards with the manager instead.
Her manager thanked me over and over, even asking me to please go through him for anything involving Ha-yeon.
Then they left.
Well…
I guess it was her way of saying thanks for warning her.
Maybe later, if I need actor connections, I’ll contact them.
Through the manager.
Definitely through the manager.
* * *
The next day we flew back to Korea at lunchtime.
Without even going home, I immediately drove Park Hee-young to an interview at a café in Yeonnam-dong.
When we were almost there, the company called.
Director Kwak.
Park Hee-young always wanted company calls on speakerphone.
So naturally, I answered on speaker.
“Huh, Cheol. I’m sending another road manager there, so leave the car and go to TRV.”
“TRV… Jongno?”
“Yeah.”
Near Gwanghwamun was TRV Entertainment.
Once considered one of the Big Five agencies.
Though now it had fallen out.
Their gamble of debuting First Light from the audition show members was a make-or-break move.
Even though TRV was the parent company of Park Jong-ryeol Entertainment, the two operated separately.
Not once had a trot singer from our company appeared on TRV’s official YouTube.
Still…
Seeing them send emergency support like this made me realize they weren’t completely separate.
“The First Light boys are so introverted they won’t talk to outsiders. They’d rather someone they know help out.”
Before he even finished, Park Hee-young snapped from the back seat.
“Oppa, is Cheol a machine? He hasn’t even been home since the overseas schedule!”
Her diction was so clear even Director Kwak responded instantly.
“I told you. The boys won’t talk to outsiders.”
“What nonsense. What kind of rookie has that many conditions? And why is the company indulging it?”
“Ah, noona. Maybe less swearing while on the phone…”
I’d followed other artists’ schedules before.
I didn’t know why she was this irritated today.
Trying to lighten things, I quickly said,
“Then I’ll try adjusting things with Hyung Si-hyung.”
Then Park Hee-young said,
“What adjusting? It means they’re telling you to go to TRV. You’re not coming back.”
At a red light, I turned around without thinking.
She said,
“If an entertainment company knows there’s someone who looks like you, do you think they’d keep you as a manager forever?”
“But after The Idol Chosen by the Nation, my image is…”
“Even being disliked is buzz, okay? Didn’t you say First Light has no buzz?”
“…”
“When they say help out, do you think they mean fill in as road manager? They’re saying choose. Quit here or join them.”
I’m doomed.
I should quit the company.
That seemed obvious.
Then Park Hee-young asked,
“But for another company to poach staff, it’d have to be someone executive-level, right?”
And Director Kwak, still on the call, answered honestly.
“TRV President Park Hee-taek.”
The president?
Did Hwang Saebyeok tell the president I was studying composition?
No way.
That guy’s too shy to chat with executives.
While I was overthinking, Director Kwak added,
“You remember that drinking gathering? The president saw you there and asked why a kid who should be an idol was working as a manager.”
Wait.
Come to think of it—
There was some middle-aged guy doing love shots with CEO Park Jong-ryeol, calling him “CEO Park~” and “President Park~.”
…That guy was the TRV president?
I stared blankly.
Park Hee-young kicked the back of my seat.
“Why were you born looking like that and causing trouble by standing out?!”
What did I do?!
* * *
In the end, I switched with another road manager and left Yeonnam-dong.
Park Hee-young grumbled the whole time.
“I knew you wouldn’t stay long anyway. Didn’t like your face from the start.”
Then she went into her interview without even saying goodbye.
She looked ridiculously sulky.
I got on a bus to TRV between Gwanghwamun and Jonggak.
On the bus, I looked up First Light.
Even two years after the audition show, their first-week sales were only around thirty thousand.
And total sales barely differed.
And listening again…
Their songs really were flat.
The comments seemed to think the same.
“They perform well but somehow I’m not drawn in.”
“↳ So it wasn’t just me lol”
“Feels kind of artsy-disease…”
“Art or whatever, I don’t even understand the concept.”
There weren’t even many reactions.
TRV was clearly pouring money into self-produced variety content for First Light.
But views were dropping sharply lately.
Especially those two were a problem.
Eighteen-year-old same-age members Han Hyo-seok and Min Ji-ho.
In one clip, while playing basketball, Min Ji-ho shoved Han Hyo-seok.
“Hey, damn it, we’re supposed to be having fun.”
A censor beep played.
Text said affectionate swearing.
But anyone could see it looked like a real fight.
Park Seon-jae, the youngest, hurriedly stepped in.
“Ah, they’re both just too competitive.”
Calling bad chemistry “competitiveness” didn’t fool anyone.
One comment read:
“First Light members really don’t seem close.”
That was a problem.
But the bigger problem was this.
“Why is our fandom always so quietㅠㅠ”
“Is stanning… supposed to feel this lonely…?”
“I can really feel Nation’s Idol fans moving to other boy groups lately…”
Unless Korea has hundreds of millions of people—
Domestic fandom size has limits.
Fans leaving for other idol fandoms…
That might be one of the worst things a male idol group can hear.
By then I had arrived at TRV.
Following Director Kwak’s instructions, I headed first to the president’s office.
And when I entered…
It really was the same drunk middle-aged man I’d seen at company dinners.
Park Hee-taek.
This shabby industry really might stop functioning without alcohol.
