Team Leader Shin waved his hand roughly with a bitter expression.
Ha, prince. Prince, he says.
I recalled the kid who started cooking at home from a certain day, and began filling the refrigerator with side dishes with quite skillful hands.
It’s not like I forced him to do housework, but sometimes the back view of him groaning in the kitchen once in a while felt pitiful. On top of that, lately there’s even a strange cloud over his face.
It’s fortunate that such a kid at least hears ‘prince’ here…
…Wait a minute.
‘Shouldn’t princes be pitiful?’
That thought suddenly came to mind and my heart started racing.
Pitiful, wistful, dim image. Go Won. And prince.
‘I think this could work.’
“Hyung, wait. Just a moment.”
Since it came to mind, I turned on my phone to memo immediately and earnestly tapped the screen. With an expression asking why I’d seek understanding for such things when we’re both in the arts, Team Leader Shin waved his hand.
The memo pad where I wrote down whatever came to mind quickly gained a scroll. Concept, lyrics, melody jumped out haphazardly then gradually took shape. Looking at something vaguely created, my lips trembled.
‘Wow, I want to work on this right away.’
If <Unlimited> was a song I poured desperate passion into because the deadline was urgent, this was a song I’d want to pull an all-nighter to hear the completed version immediately.
“Hyung, hyung. How’s this? Isn’t it killer?”
Team Leader Shin’s eyes widened as he skimmed the content.
“Hey, I’ll do just this one and then resign.”
It was a more certain green light for a hit than any other words.
It’s time to reopen the flower path.
‘Still, one thing’s certain.’
Go Won will absolutely not regret entrusting his comeback to me.
[Chorus 1]
“Go Won will make a comeback in the summer season.”
Following Kwon Taeyoung’s declaration, a brief silence flowed. Soon a sharp-toned question returned.
“Exactly when?”
“We’re considering mid-June.”
“Ah. Then it won’t overlap with us.”
Division 1’s general manager softened his voice as if that was enough.
“Yes, we have no intention of interfering with the Summer Queen either. July and August are Girls Party’s months.”
When Kwon Taeyoung added more praise, he even showed a smile as if asking when he’d acted sensitive. No one would dislike having their child praised.
“Go Won’s results were really good too. How long has it been since a solo did well? I’ll look forward to the Rookie Award too.”
“Yes. Since the start was good, we should work especially hard this activity.”
“Look at Taeyoung-ssi’s expression. Taeyoung-ssi has become a dad now too.”
“Director Kwon was like that even when he was yACE’s eldest. Contrary to how he looks, he really likes taking care of people.”
“…Was I like that?”
“People don’t usually know about themselves. It comes from innate personality.”
“But isn’t the budget a bit excessive?”
Amid the harmonious conversation, Division 4’s general manager, Executive Director Choi, interjected.
“About Go Won. This time he’s releasing a physical album, is this a number a solo artist can handle alone? What, to recover all this, will you release 20 types of photo cards?”
When selling physical albums rather than digital, various strategies are needed. Representatively, there are random photo card components where you don’t know which member will appear. It targets fans who open their wallets until their bias member appears or until they complete all members.
But it was criticism that such a strategy isn’t possible for Go Won. There must surely be limits to him taking various versions of photo cards himself.
“We plan to release at a common-sense level. Since it’s Go Won’s first fan signing too, the results should be worth expecting.”
“Well, how many people can you even call to a fan signing done alone…”
Knock knock.
Cutting off Executive Director Choi’s crooked voice, a knocking sound rang in the conference room.
“Can I come in?”
A woman who playfully raised the corners of her mouth suddenly intruded. A comfortable smile hung on her face entering mid-50s.
Upon confirming her identity, the general managers who had been sitting immediately stood up.
“CEO-nim.”
“CEO-nim, you’ve come.”
“No, I was playing around this area and thought there might be something fun, so I sneaked in. Then I heard the general managers were meeting. Can I join too?”
K-dum Entertainment’s CEO Yang Okmi’s voice resonated loudly even when speaking plainly, as if showing the skills of a trot singer from that era.
The CEO sat in an empty seat at the end. Then that seat immediately transformed into the head seat. She poked the shoulder of Division 5’s general manager sitting next to her.
“Taeyoung’s side debuted a rookie this time.”
“Yes. Did you see?”
“He was handsome. Good at singing and dancing too.”
“That’s why Hanje dotes on him.”
“Oh my. A vocalist who satisfies Hanje’s standards?”
“I still haven’t met his standards either. But he definitely cares and looks after him well. Won is such a hard worker too, his skills are improving day by day.”
“I should meet him sometime. I’m looking forward to it since you say that much.”
“But CEO-nim. Since Director Kwon is full of spirit, and Go Won is like that too, I’m worried they might fall hard later. Starting from debut, nothing isn’t radical.”
“Hmm…”
CEO Yang, who had been lost in thought for a moment after hearing Executive Director Choi’s words, soon just shrugged her shoulders.
“Hey, I don’t know! I even emptied the CEO’s office to not nag. So I’m not saying anything! And how can I tell yACE not to go big and go safely? They’re kids who came out doing that. Right, Taeyoung?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Kwon Taeyoung also answered with a relatively easygoing attitude as an affiliated artist rather than Director Kwon.
“But what song is that kid releasing this time?”
“We’d like to receive some sharing on the comeback song concept too.”
“Mm, this song seemed to be thinking of a slow tempo.”
“What do you mean ‘seemed’?”
“Hanje seems so excited working on it that he forgot to give me a heads up. He barely answers calls either.”
The CEO burst into loud laughter and said.
“Then the right thing is to wait without a peep.”
* * *
Beginning [Creation].
The musical talent dwelling in you meets good inspiration and is maximized.
Even without verbal explanation, I could tell that concentration was surging enough to be sucked into the screen, and my head was spinning rapidly.
The exhilaration on stage comes from shooting up huge fireworks.
Over the suffocatingly rising adrenaline, the ear-splitting cheers and waves of light created by light sticks endlessly explode.
The exhilaration of creation is completely different in texture.
It’s the thrill of each moment when the desired form gradually materializes, like dominoes that must be carefully placed point by point, or a tower built with playing cards.
Previous creation was accomplished when I only superficially knew about Go Won. It was also recycling an already made song.
But now it started after watching his stages multiple times and desperately understanding what kind of person he is.
A song entirely for Go Won, from the first cornerstone to the last delicate decoration.
Thus, a song that will make Go Won shine brightest on stage.
After extracting the topline over two days, I attached lyrics I’d thought of in advance here and there. Around that time, I presented it like homework to Go Won who I’d summoned to the studio.
“Fill it in.”
“Me…?”
“Of course. Did you come to just cheer ‘hyung-ah, do your best’ while I work? Are you really a two-year-old baby?”
“…No. …But hyung, could you please stop with the baby nickname…”
“What can Go Won the child, who’s not a baby, do?”
The big baby fidgeted restlessly and eventually received the guide file and lyric sheet.
“If you memorized even yACE’s early songs perfectly, you’ve learned a bit what kind of feel the lyrics attached to my songs have, right?”
“……”
“You’ll stand before your fans with what you wrote.”
While I refined the song’s details, Go Won sat in one corner of the studio holding a pen and clutching his head like a student studying for exams.
His will was quite admirable. Go Won didn’t take his eyes off the pen tip for even a moment, to the point where it was miraculous the paper didn’t get holes.
But the kid seemed terrible at keeping his body still in front of a desk. The legs that always stepped to fast beats changed position several times. And he was gripping his abundant hair with the momentum to pull it all out as if he had no attachment to it.
“Go Won, did you study at all when you went to school?”
“……”
“Oh, never mind. You have plenty of time so work hard on writing.”
