Sihu entered the practice room. Among the members, he called out to Kang Rojun, who was taking a short break from practice.
“Rojun.”
“Oh, hyung. Did the talk go well?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just a second.”
Sihu called Rojun out into the hallway, scratched at his baby-perm hair, and spoke.
“The A&R team says they want to talk to you too.”
“Why me? Weren’t they just talking to you, hyung?”
“They were, they were, but—”
Sihu explained the whole situation to Rojun, who tilted his head slightly. How, while talking with the A&R team, Rojun’s situation had come up. Apparently understanding the gist of it, Rojun nodded.
“Really? Well, it’s not like there’s anything that’d be a problem.”
“D-did I say something unnecessary?”
“What do you mean, unnecessary? I had to let the company know I’d been composing anyway. Compared to you, hyung, the number of songs I have is pitiful, so I was just putting it off.”
Rojun gave a small laugh and asked,
“More importantly, what did the A&R team say?”
“…They said when they collect songs, they want to listen to the ones I wrote too.”
“Oh— that’s great. All of them?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Awesome. At this rate, we might debut with one of your songs, hyung.”
“That’s insane… If that happens, it’d seriously be amazing. Ah, but it won’t be that easy. They’ll be collecting songs from suuuuper famous composers.”
“Like Song Mingeun sunbae?”
“Of course. This is GN.”
“So what? You were the main composer for ‘Geubaekpeu,’ hyung. I’m voting that it’ll be one of yours.”
Sihu, who had been lost in fantasy for a moment, shook his head.
“You have a chance too, Rojun!”
“I’ve only got one song, and it’s a ballad.”
“You said you’re writing the next one. A dance track.”
“Mm, I am, but—”
“Anyway, hurry up and go.”
“Okay.”
After saying goodbye to Sihu, Kang Rojun walked down the corridor. Before long, Rojun arrived at a meeting room. Inside, the staff were waiting for Kang Rojun. The A&R team members in charge of “Vanguard.”
After they exchanged brief greetings, one male staff member asked Rojun,
“Rojun, I heard from Sihu that you’ve started composing too?”
“Yes. Sihu hyung is the professional, and I’m just studying.”
“Wow—”
All the A&R team staff looked surprised. It was understandable.
“Isn’t he already beyond human just in terms of ability? And now he’s even studying composition?”
“Does he even have time to study? He must already be swamped with his other side jobs.”
GN Entertainment’s staff were already well aware of Kang Rojun’s side jobs. The amount would have been enough to leave an ordinary person gasping. But Rojun was handling it all calmly, and apparently he had even added composing on top of that.
At this point, it was far beyond common sense.
This time, a female staff member asked,
“Do you happen to have any songs you’ve already made?”
“Yes. It doesn’t have an official title yet, but it’s a ballad called ‘Song No. 1.’”
“You’ve already made a song! Then are you preparing the next one now?”
“For now, yes.”
“Is the next song a ballad too?”
“No. I’m going to try making the next one a dance track.”
“Ooooh—”
The staff let out genuine exclamations. However, their expectations regarding the song’s quality weren’t particularly high.
“He’s definitely excellent at writing lyrics, but composition is probably still at a beginner level, right? He said himself that he’s studying.”
Since “Geubaekpeu,” Sihu had shown results, but Kang Rojun, regardless of anything else, had no record at all when it came to composing.
“Even if the composition side is amateurish, the fact that he’s trying itself deserves respect. He was born with musical sense, so even if he’s lacking a bit right now, he’ll probably get good pretty quickly.”
On top of that, the staff found it a little unexpected. To think the first thing he had composed was a ballad. Then one staff member recalled the early days of “Geubaekpeu.”
“Ah— come to think of it, Rojun, you sang ‘Bereavement’ at the first judging round of ‘Geubaekpeu,’ didn’t you?”
“That’s part of why I made a ballad.”
“Could we possibly listen to that ballad?”
“Right now?”
“Yes. If you want to let us hear it after raising the level of completion a bit more, that’s fine too.”
“Song No. 1” was already perfect. As if it didn’t matter much, Rojun took out his phone.
“No. It’s fine. I’ll play it for you.”
“Ah! Thank you!”
Every gaze from the A&R team staff fixed on Rojun, and Kang Rojun, with a calm expression, tapped around on his phone screen. Meanwhile, on the inside, he was slightly nervous.
“Other than Sihu hyung, this is the first time, right? Playing my song for someone. This is surprisingly nerve-racking.”
A few seconds later.
—Slide.
Kang Rojun played “Song No. 1.”
—♬♪
The meeting room was quickly filled with the melody of a ballad. The interesting thing was.
“…Huh?”
The staff members’ expressions changed in real time.
“???”
Some blinked, others furrowed their brows. Uniformly, their faces turned unusual. After about a minute, Rojun stopped the song.
“What do you think?”
As if they had been waiting, the staff rushed in with their reactions.
“Wh-what is this?! It’s good! It’s so good!”
“I know, right! This is really your f-first time composing?! That makes no sense.”
“The quality is seriously professional-level, isn’t it? Wow— wait, please play it through to the second verse!”
Kang Rojun flinched slightly thanks to the excited staff, but even as he played the song again, he smiled inwardly.
“Nice reaction. Composing has its own kind of thrill too.”
The catharsis his side jobs gave him was different for each one. That was the driving force that moved Kang Rojun. In any case, after listening all the way through the second verse, the staff’s excitement evolved into frenzy.
“…This is incredible.”
“If you sent this around to high-level ballad singers right now, it’d sell immediately.”
“No, Rojun! You said you were studying composition! But your very first song is completely professional-level?!!”
Even afterward, the staff’s praise did not let up, and a female staff member urgently threw a question at Rojun.
“What are you planning to do with this ‘Song No. 1’?”
“For now, I’m thinking of collecting the songs I make.”
“That’s right. This song, from what I hear, is good enough that it would still sell even years later.”
The staff agreed vehemently.
“Right? Even years from now, it wouldn’t feel outdated at all.”
“Then I’m really, really looking forward to the dance track Rojun says he’s making next.”
“How far along is that next dance track, by any chance? Is it still completely in the planning stage?”
It should be fine to tell them. Kang Rojun did not reveal everything, but answered after trimming it down appropriately.
“I’ve decided on the concept for now. ‘Geurinbi.’”
“Ah! ‘Geurinbi’? The one that was among the group name candidates?”
“Yes. I’m going to try making it with ‘Geurinbi.’”
“…Hmm.”
The staff suddenly became serious and exchanged glances with one another, then a male staff member met Rojun’s eyes.
“When do you think we might be able to listen to that song? We’d like to include it in the collection for ‘Vanguard’s’ debut track.”
“My song too?”
“Yes. It’s not certain, but after listening to ‘Song No. 1,’ I really want to hear your next song too. Ah— of course, your opinion is the most important, Rojun.”
“I don’t mind. How much time do I have?”
“Mm— within two weeks would be best, but at the latest, it would need to come in by the end of this month… Ah, but that really isn’t much time. It might be a bit difficult.”
Compared to the staff, who had grown gloomy, Kang Rojun was breezy.
“I’ll give it a try.”
After that.
Before they knew it, it was Friday. With their group name decided, Kang Rojun and the members focused first on practicing for the year-end awards ceremony congratulatory stage, and in the meantime, various departments at GN Entertainment grew even busier.
Of course, among them, the one whose workload increased the most was Kang Rojun.
“I’ll have to do more even after I get back to the dorm today.”
It was to the point that working at the company was not enough; he had to work at the dorm too. He cut down on sleep. While completing his practice volume related to his main job as an idol, he handled every side job as well—writer, lyricist, composer.
In particular, for the past few days, he had been focusing on composing.
Perhaps it was even tighter than during “Geubaekpeu.”
But Rojun did not feel stifled at all. On the contrary, he found it several times more enjoyable. The environment had changed. During “Geubaekpeu,” he had been an amateur out in the open, but now he was at the stage right before debut. Debut was right in front of him? There was no way his adrenaline would not explode.
Sihu, Gangmin, and Dogyeong were also influenced by Kang Rojun.
All of them were cutting down on sleep and striving to grow. Along with composing, Sihu reviewed the points he had been criticized on during training, while Gangmin and Dogyeong likewise worked to make what they were good at even better, or reviewed what they lacked.
By the time the weekend dawned, the media poured out many articles about the year-end events.
《[Issue Pick] MBS and KBC, Unable to Secure Rojun·Sihu·Gangmin·Dogyeong, Finish Casting a Lineup of S-Class Idols for Year-End Awards Ceremony Congratulatory Stages》
《The Year-End Awards Ceremony War Begins Again This Year… Who Will Win Among SBC, MBS, and KBC?》
《The Three Major Terrestrial Broadcasters’ Year-End Awards Ceremonies Set Up as S-Class Idols vs. “Geubaekpeu” Winners》
There were only three weeks left until the end of the year.
It was only natural that the atmosphere was intensifying.
《Red Carpet Being Laid at Sangam SBS Prism Tower, Where This Year’s Acting Awards Will Be Held / Photos》
The public’s anticipation was also piercing the sky.
-Aaaaaaaaaaa I want to see Rojun walking that red carpet already!!!
-Even if MBS and KBC lined up insane idols, I’m SBC all the way!!
-This is hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋ They’re just small fry from Geubaekpeu who haven’t even debuted yet, why is everyone making such a fuss??
-↑Do not feed
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is seriously the first time I’ve ever looked forward to year-end awards ceremonies
And so the weekend ended, and Monday began again. Director Kim Gibaek, who had taken Kang Rojun and the members to the company,
“Phew—”
stood in front of the door to the CEO’s office at GN Entertainment. Though he was usually rather frail, he was not the type to show nervousness, yet even he seemed to find CEO Ha Seohwan quite difficult to deal with.
“It’s my first time one-on-one.”
After calming himself for a moment, he straightened the coat he had roughly thrown on and knocked on the door.
—Knock, knock.
Then Director Kim Gibaek opened the door. Soon, inside the CEO’s office, he saw CEO Ha Seohwan, who had taken off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. Showing a handsome middle-aged smile, he pointed Kim Gibaek toward the five-person sofa.
“Sit down.”
“Yes, CEO.”
As soon as Director Kim Gibaek sat on the sofa, CEO Ha Seohwan took the seat of honor. Kim Gibaek glanced back and forth between CEO Ha Seohwan’s sturdy upper body and his own scrawny frame, then cleared his throat for no reason.
—Slide.
He buttoned up the coat he was wearing.
Whether he did or not, CEO Ha Seohwan crossed his legs and spoke in a quiet yet weighty voice.
“This is our first time alone together, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.”
“How is GN?”
Director Kim Gibaek’s eyes rolled around for a brief moment before he answered.
“The food is delicious.”
“That’s the highest praise.”
“The staff’s expressions are good too. They seem to take pride in their work.”
“……”
“More than anything, thank you for letting me be in charge of the ‘Vanguard’ kids.”
CEO Ha Seohwan stared fixedly at Director Kim Gibaek for a few seconds, then changed the subject.
“Since we’re on the topic of ‘Vanguard,’ I’d like to hear your opinion, Director.”
“By opinion, what exactly do you mean?”
“What thoughts came to you after seeing how things have been moving lately.”
“May I speak frankly?”
“As much as you like.”
Though he said “frankly,” Director Kim Gibaek began with a hint of discomfort mixed in.
“Mm… I think the A&R team will be submitting a report soon, but depending on the song collection, the album is likely to be a single made up of one or two songs.”
“I know.”
“Yes. However, I judge that to be a bit of a shame.”
“A shame.”
“Yes. Looking at it from a transfer student’s perspective— for ‘Vanguard,’ rather than a single, a mini album containing three or more songs would be appropriate.”
“But the flow is moving toward a single album?”
CEO Ha Seohwan, switching the direction of his crossed legs, murmured in a low voice.
“A passive stance. There was a failure, so fear is embedded in the subconscious.”
Apparently, CEO Ha Seohwan had also seen the overall picture and known in advance.
“So continue.”
“…Mm— I think around three to four songs would be optimal. And for those songs with different concepts, instead of proceeding with one title track and B-sides, I think it might be better to handle all of them like title tracks.”
“You want to take the promotions long?”
“Yes.”
In other words, rather than ending promotions with a single title track, they would raise the quality of every song as if it were a title track and promote all of them equally.
However, to do that, it would cost several times more money.
On top of that, whether the songs sold only to fans or became hit songs that appealed to the entire public were entirely different matters. Director Kim Gibaek, who knew this industry better than anyone, understood that well.
“If there’s only one title track, then the choreography, marketing, and so on would only cost as much as one song. But if every song is a title track, the money goes up three to four times.”
Because of that, he could not help being cautious.
“When I actually pitched this idea at my previous company, it got tossed straight into the trash can.”
Ordinary entertainment companies tried to spend as little money as possible and reap as much profit as possible. Seen that way, Director Kim Gibaek’s idea was not one that would easily pass.
“But the ‘Vanguard’ kids aren’t ‘ordinary’ idols, are they? Even if making every song a title track is difficult, at least two songs should be treated as title tracks.”
Just then.
“Let’s do that.”
CEO Ha Seohwan reached a calm yet clean conclusion.
“Then we’ll have to shoot music videos for every song.”