“Even if you’re busy, you still have to eat. Go upstairs now, have lunch, and come back. You’re going to be busy all day.”
“Are you all right, Director?”
“Hey, she’ll take care of herself. Hurry up and get out.”
Seeing the junior employee from the planning team tactfully lead her colleague away, Jeong Sohyeon turned her eyes back to the screen.
Release of the first title music video.
About two hours until release.
Even before taking charge of Debonair, Jeong Sohyeon had been an industry veteran who had participated in more album releases than she could count on one hand. But this time, she could not help feeling restless, caught between anticipation and anxiety over the results.
“Ha…”
And with good reason. In over ten years of working in planning, this was the first time she had ever dealt with a release format like this.
When she first encountered Dohee’s proposal, she had felt a slight headache coming on.
There were four titles, even if one looked only at the title tracks.
It had seemed obvious that the music video shoots alone would cost an astronomical amount.
But in reality, the opposite had been true.
‘I thought it would be difficult because of the costs… I never thought it would be difficult because the costs were so low…’
If it had really cost a lot, that would almost have been a relief.
Jeong Sohyeon recalled that time.
Dohee, who had presented solutions that took financial issues into account from the very moment she first laid out her plans.
─Um… I think it’ll be fine if two of the four titles are produced at a low cost… No, actually, they have to be produced at a low cost, so I don’t think the budget will be much different from before.
And that was exactly what happened.
Despite having four titles, they had managed to reduce costs compared to the previous album.
Of course, that did not mean they had cut costs from the music video production budget. They had still filmed four music videos.
The area where they had actually reduced the budget was…
─For this album, there can’t be any promotion at all until all the songs have been released.
The promotional budget.
─That’s the only way we can preserve the image of this album…
They had eliminated the promotional budget entirely.
And that was what had continued to make Jeong Sohyeon uneasy.
Even though it had all been exactly as Dohee’s proposal dictated.
The only thing Jeong Sohyeon had barely managed to compromise on was this:
She had talked Dohee out of refusing to take concept photos for early release, and had instead changed it so that they would be released later, arguing that they had to be included in the album anyway.
‘Whew… That was the first time I really stood my ground…’
To repeat, there had been absolutely no promotion before the songs were released.
No articles, no concept photos, no timetable.
─Teasers aren’t allowed, either. If there’s a teaser, people know when the song is going to be released.
Not even music video teasers.
They were simply going to release the music videos at the appointed times, just like that.
“This really is completely ridiculous…”
On top of that, the release date for the first title was Friday, not Monday.
A disadvantage when it came to domestic streaming aggregates.
That was not because releasing on Friday was particularly advantageous for their Billboard results, either.
The album itself was not scheduled for release until the following Thursday.
It was simply that, according to Dohee’s idea, this was the right way to do it.
“Haah…”
No company or idol group had ever attempted such a bizarre method before.
It was completely unprecedented.
Before the interlude, Jeong Sohyeon briefly checked the fan community.
[Is Top East not doing any work? What are they doing that there isn’t even one ordinary promotional article?]
[No, how can there not be a single teaser? Does that make any sense?]
[All we know is that Dohee said it would come out sometime in February while she was on the phone with Harang, and the members said in Bubble messages, “It’ll be revealed soon, so look forward to it.” That’s it lol]
[There aren’t even concept photos, and SNS has been completely silent.]
[Is anything even happening?]
Sure enough, the fans looked ready to send a protest truck to the front of the company building at any moment.
Of course, once the music was released, they would begin promoting it, and the atmosphere might turn around.
But was this really the right thing to do?
And yet… despite that, Jeong Sohyeon could not help the anticipation blooming in one corner of her heart.
Because Dohee’s plan this time really was, truly, both idealistic and groundbreaking.
“Unprecedented…”
People called those who were known as geniuses eccentric because geniuses sometimes behaved strangely.
But this was a plan that had been meticulously calculated down to the last detail.
She had no choice but to be convinced.
And then there were the songs she had written herself together with the members.
In truth, those songs themselves were the basis for anticipation that went beyond her anxiety.
Jeong Sohyeon had her own convictions and stubbornness.
The belief that she could trust her instincts and perspective.
After all, she had never once been wrong when it came to planning.
And the songs on this album were certainly making her nod in agreement.
The first title track in particular.
The song they had put the greatest amount of effort into, more than any other.
‘…It’s a song that leaves me with no choice but to be truly, truly confident.’
She had the certainty that its response could only be hotter than that of the previous album, never weaker.
And so, although it was a thought she had had before, Jeong Sohyeon found herself thinking of it once again.
A girin-a.
There could be no more fitting word than girin-a to describe Dohee.
A term referring to a child of exceptional talent and wisdom, whose future is promising because they have been blessed by the girin, the auspicious spirit creature of legend.
She was surely still only at the threshold of that future, but Jeong Sohyeon’s heart was already beating this hard.
“…The kids should be coming in soon.”
They would be coming to the company building to film their music video reactions, so as their producer, she would have to go downstairs to greet the members.
* * *
“Hmm…”
Before beginning the composition, there was still some background knowledge the older girls needed.
“First, before we start the song camp for the first title track, I’ll go over the proposal a little.”
“Teacher Dohee’s classes are so much fun!”
“Ah, seeing such a cute and adorable student makes me want to teach~”
“Hehe, am I cute?”
“Sigh… You two are really something.”
“So what is it this time, Dohee?”
Where should she even begin explaining this?
“Right. Do you remember what the concept of our previous album was? I mean, the album title.”
“DBNR? You mean that?”
“Yeah, Dicatated But Not Read. We dictated it, but didn’t read it. In other words, we wrote it down but made no corrections. Put another way, in the process of transferring ourselves into an album, we showed ourselves honestly and exactly as we were, without embellishment. That was what it meant, right?”
“Yen!”
“But this time, the concept is the exact opposite. To put it simply, we’re going to fit ourselves into the world instead? Correct ourselves?”
“Hmm…”
After hearing her explanation, the older girls looked over the proposal again and tilted their heads slightly.
“Maybe the album title should be RNBD, the opposite of DBNR.”
“…Seriously?”
“But I looked up RNBD, and it means Research & Business Development, basically research and development for creating business-strategy-based revenue. It does kind of make sense. It gives the impression that we’re strategically adapting ourselves to the world for the sake of profit.”
“Oh, you’re pretty good at forcing things together?”
“That’s what it means to begin with.”
“So is that what we’re settling on?”
“No? I was just throwing it out there.”
“...Sigh.”
“But the planning team specializes in this kind of thing, so won’t they come up with another good idea on their own?”
Even if she had designed the broad framework, getting the company’s help with these little details was important.
Yes.
“Anyway, the concept is already decided. We’re going to fit ourselves into this world.”
The older girls looked through the proposal again, examining it from every angle.
Of course, it would not be written there.
“But you’re probably wondering exactly how we’re supposed to fit ourselves into it, what this means, and how we’re going to express it, right?”
“Yeah. This only has explanations of the song concepts.”
She had deliberately kept the girls’ abbreviated proposal vague.
So that they could come up with new ideas without being constrained by preconceived notions.
“Uh… This needs a bit of explanation, too. R&BD is really just something I forced together, but the actual point is that this album is strategically tailored toward the American market.”
“What? Lee Dohee, were you seriously thinking about getting number one on Billboard?”
Oh, our Seoyun unni was acting all sour again just because she felt embarrassed.
“Well, if Ms. Seoyun says we should give it a try, shouldn’t I at least make an effort?”
Still, it was thanks to that side of her that the atmosphere in our group could always remain so warm and friendly.
“Actually, it would be fun if we really got number one on Billboard, like Seoyun unni said.”
“Right. We definitely got a response from overseas markets with the last album, so even if aiming for number one on Billboard isn’t easy, I think it would be good to steadily build the steps while we’re getting a response.”
“Mm, Chiyo is in huge agreement.”
Ah, and she should probably explain a few of her own thoughts, too.
“But honestly, before Seoyun unni said that, I thought Billboard didn’t matter all that much.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean, should I say our country’s market is a little unusual culturally? The American market is practically the global market, after all.”
“Well, obviously, right?”
“Part of it is because the American market is so large, but it’s also because when something becomes culturally popular in America, it becomes a trend around the world.”
There was a definite indicator of this.
“For example, Hollywood. What percentage of the screening time in most countries’ film industries do you think Hollywood movies account for?”
“I don’t know.”
“Still, wouldn’t it be around fifty percent on average?”
“Hmm… So, like Naeun unni said, Hollywood accounts for about fifty percent in Korea.”
“Oh, so it’s not that high overseas?”
“Yeah. In other countries, I heard it’s at least seventy percent, and in many places it exceeds ninety percent.”
“Ahh~”
“They say Korea is practically the only exception. Koreans really like Korean movies.”
“Hmm~”
“And apparently that applies to Korea’s music industry, too? I don’t know the details, but I heard there are hardly any countries where people listen to more domestic music than pop.”
“Come to think of it… East Asian countries do seem to have particularly strong domestic cultural markets.”
“I guess it’s just part of their character. Anyway, since I live in Korea, my view was that we only needed to care about the Korean music charts. The overseas fans would come on their own, so it wouldn’t matter.”
“But you know that from the company’s perspective, the size of the market itself is completely different.”
“Right, but that’s my point, too. If we try to do something unusual just because we’re targeting the American market, it’s easy to lose our way. If it doesn’t even work in Korea, why would it work in America?”
“That’s true.”
“So this is really difficult. What we need to focus on is doing what we’re good at while finding a concept that Americans would like.”
“Hmm…”
“I’ve thought about it a lot. What’s the concept we do best, anyway?”
“Debonair itself, obviously. Our songs have always been like that.”
“Chiyo is in huge agreement again.”
“Exactly. Idealistic femininity, Born Ideals. And the somewhat masculine girl crush of We Debonair. Those are the core, right?”
“Right.”
“But what’s the fundamental concept behind that image? Contrast. Contrast. Things with different qualities are arranged in relation to one another, and their opposing characteristics emphasize each other and make both sides stand out.”
“You’re unusually eloquent today.”
“Ah, but does anyone have a whiteboard? I want to write things down as I go.”
Her thoughts were becoming disorganized from talking so much.
“Hmm… No.”
“You could use the memo pad on your laptop.”
“…I’d rather not. Anyway, this law of contrast, along with the law of repetition, is one of the most basic and essential compositional elements in all art. It’s our fundamental concept, right?”
“Right.”
“So, in this album, we’re going to bring out this contrasting image as much as possible. The first and second tracks are going to pay homage to a very famous novel.”
“So that’s why it was Jekyll and Hyde.”
“Yeah. I’ve also thought about the music video’s imagery a little.”
“Right at the beginning, Seoyun unni points at Chiyo unni and says, ‘Is she Jekyll?’ Then Naeun unni coldly says, ‘Yes, she’s Jekyll.’”
“Then the people in the story, along with the viewers, wonder what that means. Are they saying they’ll protect Chiyo?”
“Then Uah unni keeps interfering with Seoyun unni and Chiyo unni at every turn, and stops them from taking Chiyo away.”
“So everyone thinks Uah unni is the villain?”
“But then, at the end, the girls bring Chiyo unni in front of me. And Dr. Lee Dohee, a psychopath who has become Hyde, appears, hangs Chiyo unni on a cross, burns her at the stake, and kills her!”
“The twist suspense is that it turns out she wasn’t protecting Chiyo unni—Chiyo belonged to Jekyll!”
“Ah… right.”
“You’re really excited about this.”
“But why do I have to die?”
“She said she’s a psychopath.”