16. Position (1)
"That's it. I'll take your questions now."
The employee who had been unconsciously ignoring Yoo Young shook his head. The song was so good that he had to admit it, and he almost fell for it.
'Crazy....... No, I can't let my guard down yet. Aren't there a few geniuses who haven't made it in this industry and have been buried?'
No matter how good the song is or how well the plan is chosen, if you have bad luck or your interests don't match, you'll end up in trouble.
The employee secretly glanced at CEO Son Dong-young. He nodded with interest.
"You're more prepared than I expected."
"Thank you. Director Kwak said before, 'It's natural to cherish excellent children.' I tried hard because I wanted you to cherish me too."
On the surface, it seemed like a joke to relieve the tense atmosphere, but there was some truth to the words. If Director Kwak In-hyuk, who usually ignored Yoo Young, had said something like that, it would have most likely been sarcastic.
As expected, Director Kwak In-hyuk clenched his jaw.
He was already feeling bad because of Ahn Jung-woo, but Yoo Young kept provoking him, so he seemed to have gotten angry. The employee wanted to go home for a different reason than before.
The employee wanted to go home for a different reason than before. Please let the meeting end quickly without any problems.
"So, what the producer just said is that you want to include two songs in the debut single album, including the pre-released song? The songs are......."
"Yes, of course, we will discuss the title and the song list with others and decide on it."
Everyone looked at Director Kwak In-hyuk's expression at the employee's question. Director Kwak In-hyuk tapped the paper with a pen.
"I don't know if we can have a say in that."
"I'm willing to accept any reasonable opinion at any time."
The pronunciation of reasonable opinion requires strength. He took a deep breath. When Director Kwak In-hyuk frowned, Yoo Young raised the corners of his mouth. And before the other person could open his mouth, he asked without losing momentum.
"But what you just said is a bit strange. I thought Director Kwak was in the planning team, but it seems like his affiliation has changed."
A warning to not cross the line even if you express your opinion. It was a comment that pointed out that 'the producer is in charge of the group' and was also a criticism of Director Kwak's past abuse of authority.
Currently, the label is divided into teams by job, but due to the chaotic personnel movement and the small size of the company, the boundaries between each team were not clear.
Director Kwak In-hyuk also often interfered beyond the planning team's work. Yoo Young openly mentioned that.
"Does the A&R team think similarly to Director Kwak? "
Isn't this your job? Don't you have any pride when other teams keep interfering?
Yoo Young's voice seemed to be in his ear.
If this were the first meeting, it wouldn't have worked, but not now.
He made people aware of his abilities and took the initiative when people were absent-minded, then brought in other teams. If Director Kwak In-hyuk added something here, there might be a backlash.
'Wow, that kid is no joke.'
The staff kept marveling at Yoo Young's unblinking appearance. Just looking at his face, he seemed like an innocent child who didn't know anything.
As the tension grew, someone gently stepped in between them.
"Um... Well, I think we should accept the proper opinions that someone has expressed. There's nothing wrong with what Producer Yoo Young said, right? "
The one who mediated the situation was the A&R team leader. He was one of the people who had looked closely at Director Kwak In-hyuk.
It may have been unintentional, but Director Kwak In-hyuk lost the opportunity to refute.
"....."
A silence flowed, clearly different from the beginning. Director Kwak In-hyuk wiggled his eyebrows and nodded.
"I was sensitive. Let's continue the meeting."
At this point, Director Kwak In-hyuk seemed to have made some concessions. Only then did Yoo Young smile with satisfaction.
After that, the meeting went smoothly. The title was decided to be Yoo Young's song, and thanks to Director Kwak In-hyuk's relaxed attitude, there was no needless ranking or fighting.
'It's comfortable......'
How long has it been since a meeting has been this smooth and unobstructed? There were no unnecessary dragging-on parts, no side conversations, and the work was distributed systematically and cleanly. At this point, the employees couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. It seemed like they could easily finish work on time today.
"Then we'll stop here for today."
As soon as the meeting was over, the employees quickly left the conference room. Half of them wanted to get off work quickly, and half wanted to avoid this place. On the other hand, Yoo Young was indifferent. The reason was simple.
'If I can't do this much in my career, I should just give up.'
Because I had experience in the past.
Whether I liked it or not, I had been to these places so many times that I would get sick of them. The experience I had naturally accumulated was flexibly applied in various situations.
"Young-ah, you've worked hard."
The members finally let out a deep breath after some people had left. Then they approached me, hesitant, as if they were worried that they couldn't help me during the meeting.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"No. Other people had a harder time than me."
To be honest, the A&R team helped me a lot. I never asked for help, but luckily our interests aligned.
Hwang Bo-kyun, who understood what I meant, rubbed his arm and said.
"We haven't done anything."
"No, don't think like that. We'll be busy from now on, okay?"
Now that the song has been decided, it's time to start working on the album in earnest.
We have to record, learn the choreography, do the music video and various photo shoots, and prepare the content. This is actually the busiest time.
No wonder there are one or two trainees from each agency who can't get through this period and run away.
Since it was the members' first debut, it would be helpful if they just followed the schedule well.
'I also need to work hard to manage my stamina for a while.'
I shook my head and tried to shake off my fatigue, but someone grabbed my shoulder.
I instinctively turned around to check on the other person.
"Oh, CEO."
"I saw what you prepared well. I can really trust you with this album."
"Thank you."
"You worked hard. I'll look forward to it in the future."
What was so exciting? CEO Son Dong-young, who was smiling brightly, nodded to a corner of the conference room. It was Director Kwak In-hyuk's seat.
"We need to get along well."
It was a single word that implied a lot.
'I want to do that too.'
He had been sitting silently since the meeting ended, but when I saw him get up from his seat, it seemed like his thoughts had finally come together.
Director Kwak In-hyuk slowly approached me and said just one word before passing by.
"You worked hard."
As soon as Director Kwak In-hyuk passed by, CEO Son Dong-young laughed heartily. I turned away from them and wiped my face.
***
Bloodshot eyes shine in the quiet studio. A list of choreography dance crews to outsource choreography was organized on the computer screen.
After clicking the mouse for a while, I finally handed the list over to the A&R team.
After the meeting day, Director Kwak In-hyuk's unnecessary interference disappeared as if it were a lie.
The embarrassment was short-lived. I went about my daily life as usual.
"Whew......."
I pressed the space between my eyebrows and sighed deeply. The blue light glasses were irritating my nerves.
"Hyung, I'm here! "
Baek Han-gyul opened the door and came in to the still space. When I made a quick eye contact, Baek Han-gyul handed me coffee.
"How's the work? "
"Not bad. What about An Jeong-woo and Aram Hyung? "
"They said they're going to finish vocal practice and go to the recording studio."
I looked at Baek Han-gyul while drinking coffee. He looked so cheerful as he pressed the electronic piano in the studio.
"Let's go too. We'll be late if we keep going like this."
I gathered the lyrics and urged Baek Han-gyul. We left the studio and walked along the hallway.
Suddenly Baek Han-gyul turned his head, and his eyes sparkled.
"But, hyung. Can I ask you one question?"
He wiggled his eyebrows, waiting for me to say something, and his eyes looked up as if he was recalling something from a few days ago. Then he jumped up and down as usual.
"When did you prepare the song? I didn't know about it at all."
"Really?"
"Yes! You don't know how surprised I was while listening to the meeting."
The song had been prepared before, but the recording was done secretly only with Ahn Jung-woo, so it was surprising. Baek Han-gyul must have been impressed by the content of the meeting because he talked about his impressions. To be exact, it was a barrage of compliments disguised as impressions.
I shrugged my shoulders and lightened the mood.
"Thank you. Oh, right. You're the center for this debut album."
"Huh?!"
Leaving Baek Han-gyul frozen in surprise, I went into the recording studio, where Ahn Jung-woo, Lee A-ram, and the engineer who was going to help with the recording were each at their respective positions.
"You're here."
"Have you been waiting for so long? I'm sorry for asking you over the weekend."
"No. Are you going to direct it yourself?"
"Yes, it's not enough, but I'll ask you to do it well."
After handing out the lyrics to the three guys sitting on the sofa in the recording studio, I sat down next to the engineer. As I quickly looked around the inside, two cameras caught my eye.
'As we've decided on our own production concept, we've decided to meticulously produce behind-the-scenes videos as well.'
This was in accordance with Director Kwak In-hyuk's opinion. The more content there was, the better, and it was a warning to the members about having to live with cameras around them.
They were going to edit it anyway, but I gave special attention to Lee Aram, who is known for his foul mouth. I think he's good at reading, so he must have understood.
After looking at the lyrics for a while, Lee Aram raised his head.
"Is this the song you made?"
"Yes, I'll be directing the other songs as well since the composers are foreigners."
"Hmm....."
"I'll give you directions while recording, so don't be nervous."
The preparation process didn't take too long. After the explanation, Lee Aram cleared his throat.
"Then I'll start first."
"Okay. Let's start from the B2 part."
Entering the recording booth, Lee Aram tapped the condenser microphone with his fingers, put on his headset, and held the lyrics. As soon as the melody sounded according to the part, he started singing.
"Wow....... Your voice is really good."
Ahn Jung-woo, who was sitting on the sofa and fiddling with the lyrics, quietly exclaimed. Lee Aram's tone was so amazing that even he was amazed. Baek Han-gyul's eyes sparkled, amazed by the recording process. I pressed the talkback switch and recited instructions to Lee Aram.
"Hyung, the feeling was really good, but could you make the ending a little longer?"
Oh.
"Let's keep the 'to you' part. Let's record more and choose the best one. Please leave the emotional line as it is."
He gave a short answer and made precise corrections to the parts I had directed. It wasn't as bad as I thought. As soon as I thought Lee Aram had loosened up his voice, I started to correct the details one by one.
By the time Lee Aram came out of the recording booth, he was tattered like a wrung-out towel.
"Are you dissatisfied with me by any chance?"
"...? No?!"
What are you saying when I'm so satisfied? I raised my eyebrows, and Lee Aram wiped his face and leaned back on the sofa. Baek Han-gyul seemed to be looking at him with pity, but was it my imagination?
"It was really good. You captured the atmosphere well."
"But why......."
"We have to record accurately."
The voices that go into the sound source last a lifetime, so we have to be careful. The Planet members also took 3 days to record. If it was a group that was working with me for the first time, it would take up to 7 days.
"After a 10-minute break, Jungwoo, you can go in. Hyung will finish tomorrow."
Ignoring Lee A-ram and Baek Han-gyul, who were looking into the air, I started working on the post-processing. After discussing with the engineer, I could see the outline of the arrangement.
Having Ahn Jung-woo participate in the pre-recording was partly a warning to Director Kwak In-hyuk, but it was also to get Ahn Jung-woo into the song. I had to change the song that was made for 6 people to a 7-person song.
"Can I go in now? "
"Huh? Oh, right."
I turned my head at the voice coming from beside me. An Jung-woo was holding the lyrics tightly with a determined expression on his face for some reason.
At first glance, he looked calm, but I could tell he was observing my expression and condition. Even though he was the same age as Yoo Young, it had only been a short time since we had spoken to each other, so his appearance seemed very awkward.
'Has it already been 10 minutes? '
I squinted my eyes and looked at the clock. When you're focused on working on a song, it's hard to tell the time.
I checked that Ahn Jung-woo had entered the recording booth and leaned back in my chair.
"You've recorded once, so you can do it well, right? Relax, and when you're ready, let's start recording."
At that moment, the recording studio door opened.
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