The conclusion of CEO Haseohwan, delivered low and clear.
“Then we must film music videos for all the songs.”
Though frail, Department Head Gimgibaek had opened his eyes wide, quite surprised, yet—
“By filming MVs for all the songs—”
He repeated what had come to mind.
“You are permitting—all songs to be treated as title tracks?”
“If not, there’s no need to make MVs for every song.”
Perhaps because it was an unexpected answer, Department Head Gimgibaek froze briefly before smiling faintly.
“If it comes to that, um—the investment costs will rise considerably, CEO.”
“I know.”
“If it’s three songs, three times; four songs, four times. Perhaps even more.”
“······”
CEO Haseohwan, who had been tapping the sofa armrest with his index finger. After a few seconds of silence, he opened his mouth.
“These days, ‘desperation’ and ‘all or nothing’ keep swirling in my head.”
“Is that so.”
“Maybe it’s because I got hit by a young friend, but it’s struck deep.”
Department Head Gimgibaek roughly guessed who the CEO was talking about.
‘Is he talking about Rojun?’
CEO Haseohwan let out a small sigh and continued.
“I’m thinking of betting everything on ‘Vanguard’—whether it’s money or the name value of GN.”
“······”
“So do it. Whatever you want. As long as it helps ‘Vanguard,’ anything.”
Sensing sincerity in that heavy gaze, Department Head Gimgibaek suddenly became solemn.
“To summarize, a mini album rather than a single. Whether three or four songs, each with a different concept—every song at title track quality. Additionally, every song gets an MV produced at the same quality.”
It sounded quite simple in words, but translating it into reality was considerably complex. Composition, recording, choreography, production, promotion, and so on. Since every song had to proceed at title track quality, not only would all company employees have to jump in, but external personnel would need to be hired as well. A workforce large enough to make one’s jaw drop would need to participate.
It was that expensive. Department Head Gimgibaek had just mentioned tens of billions or more.
But CEO Haseohwan seemed as if he didn’t care.
-Swish.
He called the A&R team through his secretary and relayed the current conversation as orders to the arriving team leaders. The A&R team was also quite surprised, but—
“Understood, CEO. We will do our best.”
They immediately kindled their fighting spirit.
Afterward, CEO Haseohwan asked Department Head Gimgibaek about ‘Vanguard’—that is, Rojun and the members.
“How are the kids? Are they lacking in anything?”
Department Head Gimgibaek cleared his throat lightly and answered.
“Um—CEO, you can speak comfortably.”
“Right now, this is more comfortable.”
“Ah, yes.”
“So?”
“The members are adapting well; recently, they’ve been focusing on practicing for the congratulatory stage at the SBC Drama Awards.”
“What about Rojun?”
“...He’s exceptional.”
“Exceptional.”
“Yes.”
Department Head Gimgibaek recalled Gang Rojun’s face.
“The kids in ‘Vanguard’ all have outstanding abilities. But Rojun—he’s different. I think the market’s bowl is too small to contain him within the category of an idol. I’ve seen idols for over a decade... but Rojun is the first I’ve watched without understanding.”
Soon, Department Head Gimgibaek roughly explained Rojun’s daily schedule. Additionally:
“There are more than one or two astonishing or shocking things. Especially his visuals—Rojun’s schedule is clearly hellish, yet every time I see him, he looks more pristine. It feels like he’s getting more handsome by the day. The team members even joke that he’s like a vampire.”
Rojun’s face hadn’t been left out either. Department Head Gimgibaek, thinking briefly, spoke again.
“We might need—to prepare for overseas expansion sooner than expected.”
A few days later, Friday the 18th.
The time was around 6 PM. The location was the Sangam SBC Prism Tower. A large ‘SBC’ logo was affixed to the tall, towering, and wide building.
The area around the Prism Tower was literally saturated.
A long red carpet laid out from the entrance, iron fences erected on both sides of the carpet, and SBC logos or advertisement boards attached in rows in front of the fences.
It looked exactly like an awards ceremony.
The first-floor lobby of the SBC Prism Tower was already filled with over a hundred staff members.
"#*%&*#()@!!!"
"@*$#(#%(*#!!"
Shouts bursting as if to tear one’s eardrums were so mixed together that understanding anything was nearly impossible. Moreover, numerous cameras were set up from the entrance of the red carpet to the hall, and the so-called photo zone was also installed on a considerable scale.
Bustling, buzzing.
The most eye-catching sight was the hundreds of reporters gathered on both sides of the red carpet. No, it wasn’t only reporters. Reporters, correspondents, camera operators, and so on were all mixed together. Each was shouting at the top of their lungs to secure the best spot.
“Hey!! Don’t push! I said don’t push!!”
“What the! Don’t sneakily cut in!”
“Who is it! Who just hit me?!!”
“Aack! Stop pushing! Are you crazy?!”
“Hey!!! What media outlet?! That’s our spot!!”
“Where’s your spot? Did you write your name there??”
Because of the cold weather, breath vapor filled the air. Moreover, the hundreds of swarming people weren’t the end. There were even more onlookers surrounding them. Citizens or spectators with phones in one hand. From above, it looked like the hundred or so reporters were encircled by spectators. Quite a few internet broadcasters holding action cams or selfie sticks were visible as well.
Utter chaos.
The reason these people had flocked to the Sangam SBC Prism Tower red carpet was simple.
《The ‘SBC Drama Awards,’ firing the first shot among year-end ceremonies, starts in 2 hours at 8 PM!》
To watch this year’s SBC Drama Awards. More precisely—
“Ugh—when are the actors arriving??”
“Right? Shouldn’t they be here by now? It’s damn cold!”
—to capture the glamorous actors on camera. Of course, PDs and writers were attending today along with the actors, but generally, celebrities were the focus at awards ceremonies. Furthermore, top actors were abundant at today’s Drama Awards.
Male actors showed off in suits or tuxedos, female actors in dresses.
Since Best and Worst Dressed were picked every year, the actors tended to pay a lot of attention to the red carpet march. Thanks to that, the public’s interest also exploded.
Soon, the hundred or so reporters positioned on both sides of the red carpet conversed while rubbing their chilled hands.
“Reporter Gim, who’s your target today?”
“Who else. Rojun. What about you, Reporter Bak?”
“I’m half-and-half. Choe Rina also had good form this year.”
“Anyway, it’s ‘Rental Lover’—”
“Right. Well, wouldn’t more than half the reporters here be thinking the same thing?”
Talk of Gang Rojun came up everywhere.
“That Rojun guy will come, right?”
“Surely he wouldn’t pull a no-show after stirring up this much hype? Would GN be crazy enough to do that? He’s definitely coming.”
“Appearing as a writer at the year-end awards right after Geubaekpeu ended? He’s a really interesting guy.”
“Isn’t he a writer and actor? If he wins an award today too, he’ll really be setting an unprecedented record.”
“Will SBC give it to him? Well, considering his impact, they might.”
“But the Drama Awards atmosphere itself is a bit stuffy—so they might just use him as a hook and not give him one.”
Right then.
-Screech.
A large van stopped at the end of the red carpet. The first actor to walk the carpet had arrived. The reporters who had been chatting while enduring the cold instantly—
-Clickclickclick!
—pressed their camera shutters before the actor even got off. Hundreds of flashes burst in the dimness, making the brightness no different from morning, and the spectators who outnumbered the reporters all held their phones above their heads.
Soon.
-Swish.
The first actor revealed himself. He was a male actor, and a shout rang out among the reporters.
“Hey!! Minu!! Minu!”
“Minu! Please greet while looking at the camera!!”
“Minu!! Over here too!!”
The first male actor walked the red carpet with a relaxed expression, scattering hand greetings. He occasionally struck poses toward the reporters. His destination after the march was the photo zone. After a brief interview, he moved to the hall where the awards ceremony would be held.
Afterward, actors arrived one after another.
“Hello!! Mina!!! Please do a cheek heart!”
“This side too! This side too!!”
A female actor in an off-shoulder dress despite it being winter, a male actor quickly striding across the red carpet, a veteran actor walking slowly while chuckling, and so on.
-Clickclickclick!
An endless barrage of flashing lights and—
“Kaaaahk!”
“Uaaahk!!”
—the screams of an enormous number of spectators heated up the Drama Awards red carpet.
The arriving actors gradually increased.
Alone:
“Sehui!! Sehui!!! You’re really beautiful!! Please wave once!!”
“Hello—”
“How do you feel?!!”
Or two or three walking the red carpet together.
Had about 30 minutes passed like that?
When the excitement of the hundred-plus reporters reached its peak—
-Screech!!
A white van arrived, and from it—
“Choe Rina! It’s Choe Rina!!”
—top actress Choe Rina got off. She had long straight hair flowing down in a dress close to pink. The beauty mark beside her nose stood out especially today. With Choe Rina’s appearance, the shouting and screaming that had been pouring out doubled.
“Kyaah!! Unnie! I love you!! Unnie!!!”
Choe Rina stepped onto the red carpet with the help of a guard waiting in front of the car. Wearing a smile that could melt everyone, Choe Rina raised one hand and waved, and at that moment, another car pulled up right behind the white van she had arrived in.
The hundred-plus reporters who had been photographing Choe Rina—
“Who is it this time?!!”
—continued pressing their shutters while anticipating the next arrival. Soon, someone got off the van that had just arrived. It was a man. Quite tall with a considerable physique.
The interesting thing was, the moment he appeared—
“He’s here! He’s here!!”
—the easily thousand-plus reporters and onlookers went into a frenzy.
“Rojun!! Kyaah!! Rojun!!!”
“They must be crazy!! Rojun!!”
The one who had just gotten out of the car was Gang Rojun, who had neatly swept his black hair back and wore an all-black tuxedo, radiating a glow from his face more than any actor.
All eyes were drawn to him in an instant.
It was a presence that heavily dominated the flow. Countless people were overwhelmed by Rojun’s face.
“......Crazy, what the hell is with his face, really.”
“Top actors are everywhere, but he’s going to overshadow them all??”
“Wow—amazing, amazing.”
“His visuals are really...... breathtaking.”
They took in his bearing. Some reporters even forgot to press the shutter and stood agape, and dozens of spectators endlessly let out exclamations.
In any case, the flash barrage exploded blindingly.
Around this time, Choe Rina, who had been waiting, glanced back.
‘Does that face even make sense? Hoo—my heart is pounding. The male actors coming after Rojun-nim must really......be feeling completely awful.’
However, she was a pro.
‘Hup hup! Choe Rina! Get a grip, you’ve done the Drama Awards how many times!’
She somehow maintained her composure.
“You’re beautiful, sunbaenim.”
“......Eh??”
Choe Rina’s composure broke in just three seconds.
Rojun had merely moved his long legs and thrown out a single word beside Choe Rina. Words like beautiful or pretty were things Choe Rina always heard, but why did they sound so seductive coming from Gang Rojun’s mouth? Choe Rina, who had briefly short-circuited, somehow smiled.
“Th-thank you. The tuxedo really suits you too, Rojun-nim?”
“Thank you. It feels a bit awkward.”
Currently, Gang Rojun was out of it. No—to be blunt, he felt like throwing up.
‘Why are there so many reporters?!’
He had been doing mind control by searching for photos and videos related to the awards ceremony for days, but when he actually arrived at the scene, reality was far more tremendous. Flashes bursting violently before his eyes, and the screams of spectators bordering on madness.
‘If I stay here any longer, I’ll really lose my mind.’
Though Gang Rojun had experience with concerts and such, this first experience was indeed not easy. On the other hand, adrenaline was also surging. His heart was pounding partly from nerves, but mixed with delight as well.
The red carpet laid out before him, the lights bursting around it looked almost like stars.
Was this the road that stars always walked?
Gang Rojun was not calm, but he didn’t flounder either.
No experience? Then suppress the nerves with bravado.
Then Rojun muttered to Choe Rina.
“Shall we go?”
“Huh? Ah—yes, yes.”
Gang Rojun set his first step onto the red carpet.
And shortly after, articles began to be posted on the internet.
《[Photo] Rojun, ‘Visuals That Turn the Red Carpet Into Heaven’/Photo》