Just like how he hates Hawaiian pizza, his tastes seemed to overlap with Baek Sian hyung in many ways. Do Yeonjae momentarily imagined the two of them together without realizing it.
‘Wow, your face is insane. You look more unrealistic than the 5-star character I pulled yesterday.’
‘Why do you talk like that? You seem like someone who uses SNS a lot.’
‘Then why are you so blunt?’
…Do Yeonjae’s expression instantly soured. It’s better if those two just don’t meet.
“Uh… I’m glad it suits your taste. Shall I buy you another cup?”
PD Woo Jiyeon asked with a faint smile. Seeing him still firmly gripping the already empty drink cup, she couldn’t not say something. Kwon Isoo gazed at the PD with somewhat relaxed eyes.
“Yes.”
Wow, that expression just now. It was the brightest I’ve seen so far…
The woman who had been staring blankly for a moment quickly came to her senses and sent the youngest staff member again. Relief was spreading across the staff member’s face as they left the conference room. To think that thanks to the youngest’s accidental mistake, Kwon Isoo-ssi discovered a new preference. I should praise them later.
After the second drink arrived, the meeting began in earnest.
After the ‘Idol Universe War’ came to an end, a new craze is blowing through the K-pop market. Unlike before when teams created unique narratives to solidify their fandom, they’ve begun to put forward ‘original genres’ that can clearly display each group’s musical color.
The forerunner of that ‘original genre’ was none other than NEOS, who debuted from JG Entertainment.
NEOS. A portmanteau of NEW meaning ‘newness’ and EOS the ‘goddess of dawn,’ containing the meaning of a new dawn or a new beginning.
The original genre ‘EOS Pop’ they chose as a differentiation strategy is a genre containing the new musical world NEOS presents. It could be seen as NEOS’s独自的 music style combining NEOS’s experimental sensibility and mysterious sound.
Kwon Isoo, who created EOS Pop, captivated the public’s ears with an unfamiliar musical style and placed their debut song at #2 on the annual chart. Now rookies are following NEOS, each putting forward their own ‘original genre.’
That’s why he’s called a ‘genius producer.’
“Tell me what you’ve been thinking about first.”
In front of such a Kwon Isoo, trying to appeal for the concept he wanted was bound to make him nervous.
When Kwon Isoo nodded as if telling him to go ahead and talk, Do Yeonjae slowly steadied his breathing.
He took a sip of coffee, cleared his throat, and calmly began laying out his thoughts. Very detailed, from what inspired him, what message he wanted to convey, to what kind of picture would be drawn when the two performed together.
“…So I thought about doing the song <Cats Never Lie> with a band concept.”
“…….”
Do Yeonjae swallowed dry saliva. Because he who was quietly listening to his words now had a producer’s eyes. Kwon Isoo propped his chin languidly and answered.
“The theme is good. Unique and intuitive.”
At those words, Do Yeonjae’s expression, which had been stiff with tension, relaxed as if somewhat relieved.
“Really? That’s a relief. First, what I found as a reference has this kind of feel.”
Do Yeonjae played a stage by an indie band on the tablet. It was a song with an impressive harmony of emotional melody and rough, dreamlike textured sound, starting gently but standing out with dynamism that heightened emotions toward the latter half. The vocals were powerful but in a plain style with less technique, and overall it flowed with a lyrical atmosphere containing the sensibility of youth.
“With this kind of feel… what do you think?”
Kwon Isoo, who watched the stage with an expressionless face, took a sip of ddal-shot-chu. Do Yeonjae licked his dry lips and narrowed his eyes trying to read his expression.
…I don’t know what he’s thinking.
What Kwon Isoo said after swallowing the drink was this.
“There are many more mainstream rock genres, so why did you specifically choose indie?”
‘Indie music’ originally doesn’t refer to a single genre like ballad or R&B, but rather music made on a small scale with a low budget without control or intervention from major labels. The reason Do Yeonjae attached the modifier ‘indie’ even knowing this was because he judged that the raw honesty that music pursues suited the song’s theme. The boundary has also become ambiguous as indie musicians who succeed commercially have increased.
“I was drawn to indie music’s autonomy and originality. I wanted to try something I haven’t done before. I think it would make a good picture as an acoustic session at a small venue.”
“Individuality, good. It’s also good to convey musicality by making the sound delicate and sophisticated, raising the quality.”
Kwon Isoo, who tapped the table, organized Do Yeonjae’s proposal point by point in a low voice.
His relaxed attitude seemed very accustomed to this kind of meeting, and his low-ringing voice had the power to make listeners immerse themselves. The leisure imbued in his body naturally captivated the atmosphere. Do Yeonjae was already carefully listening to Kwon Isoo’s words.
“If it’s rock, it would suit your vocal style too. I understand what kind of feel you want to go for. Since you have the vocal ability, if the song comes out well, you’ll be able to get good reactions.”
“Then…”
Does that mean it’s good? Just when color was about to return to Do Yeonjae’s face, Kwon Isoo indifferently dropped a bomb.
“But, Do Yeonjae. I’m not really drawn to this.”
Not drawn to it. At those words, his heart dropped with a thud.
“…Why?”
Kwon Isoo, who was staring intently at Do Yeonjae’s slightly stiffened face, answered slowly.
“Think about it. This is a web variety show that needs to aim for buzz. Not music you listen to concentrating with good headphones, but something with the flashiness to make fingers pause while flipping through Shorts.”
“…….”
Do Yeonjae’s mouth fell open blankly. Kwon Isoo’s low words seemed to sharply dig into his brain.
Those words were right. The performance was important, but that was just one process of the program—the essence was YouTube. To make the program succeed, they had to consider commercial viability first. In a world where views became important, focusing only on musicality was excessive greed.
Do Yeonjae, who slowly nodded, straightened his posture and asked.
“Then what genre were you thinking of?”
Kwon Isoo’s eyelashes, who had been propping his chin, lowered indifferently. He seemed to think for a moment, then said bluntly.
“House music would be good.”
“…You’re saying to do EDM?”
“Yeah. Make the chorus repetitive and addictive, then upload a dance challenge to make everyone follow along. If we target short-form content, buzz will naturally follow. The indie rock you proposed has irregular rhythm and complex melody lines, making it difficult to choreograph into a challenge.”
Do Yeonjae rubbed his chin with his hand and fell into thought.
Kwon Isoo’s words about needing to captivate the masses by maximizing addiction with dance-friendly beats and electronic sounds were extremely valid. Of course, they could produce sufficiently powerful music with rock too, but for spreading a short 10-15 second challenge, house with its constant rhythm and relatively simple melody was overwhelmingly advantageous.
It was also a very trendy genre these days, and the beat was refreshing and cool, making it perfect for now when summer was about to start. Do Yeonjae cleanly acknowledged Kwon Isoo’s view.
“You’re right. I think I was only thinking about live performances.”
An addictive chorus… He lowered his gaze, ruminating on Kwon Isoo’s words. The intervals of his eyelids blinking gradually lengthened.
Though the opinion he’d thought hard about was directly refuted, he didn’t feel disappointed. Because Kwon Isoo’s words were rational and strategic enough to convince him at once.
“…….”
Just when he was deep in thought, he suddenly felt something frantically swooshing back and forth above his head.
‘What’s this?’
When he slightly raised his gaze, Kwon Isoo’s hand in the air went toward his head, then stretched to his shoulder… it was chaotic. Just when he was about to ask what he was doing in puzzlement, Kwon Isoo, who firmly grabbed the hand that had been moving busily, spat out a sharp and rough voice.
“Fuck… Hey, Do Yeonjae.”
“…?”
Kwon Isoo, who bit his lips tightly, put strength in his eyes and glared at Do Yeonjae. After scanning his black pupils persistently for a long while, he got angry as if having some misunderstanding.
“Can’t you even say this much? Why are you sulking and making a fuss?”
…I wasn’t sulking though? Just as he was about to answer that, Kwon Isoo, who furrowed his brow, added bluntly.
“You came up with a decent hook. ‘Cats Never Lie.'”
“Ah… We’re going with the keyword I thought of?”
“I thought toward house after hearing that. The phrase is fresh and sticks perfectly while being good to repeat. We could make a challenge with choreography that evokes cats, or we could even use it like a meme.”
“A meme?”
“For example, making cat butlers upload funny and unique situations they had with their cats along with the song.”
“…!”
Do Yeonjae’s eyes widened. It was such a good idea.
He remembered seeing a video on YouTube of ‘A cat’s flustered expression when I came home using half-day leave and disrupted their routine.’ If they make people use this song for those kinds of situations, and if that becomes a trend… Do Yeonjae, whose mouth opened slightly, stared at Kwon Isoo.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you seem like a genius.”
He accurately understood YouTube’s essence where buzz is important, and after hearing the hook he’d thought of, he not only immediately presented an appropriate direction but also planned promotional strategies like dance challenges and memes all at once. Is genius really genius after all? Nothing came out except that it wasn’t for nothing he received the Daesang.
“Kwon Isoo, you’re really cool.”
“…….”
When he looked at him with a gaze filled with respect, Kwon Isoo instantly stiffened, then his pupils began wildly shaking. The face that had been coldly leading the flow of the meeting turned bright red in an instant. It’s not like it’s the first or second time he’s heard he’s cool, so why is he like that?
Kwon Isoo, who made a face, began combatively inhaling the ddal-shot-chu in front of him. His Adam’s apple roughly gulped down. Kwon Isoo, who emptied more than half in 5 seconds, said in a harsh voice.
“Don’t overreact.”
“Mmm…”
A lukewarm answer flowed out. Even when I say something nice, he makes a fuss…
