Episode 128
While Cheon Aram blankly replayed the video, she lightly fixed her hair and said,
“What on earth happened, Team Leader Seon? I distinctly remember it having around 300,000 views not long ago. Twelve million… that’s such a huge number that it doesn’t feel real. This can’t really be a glitch, right?”
“The first test video of Gyeoul from Girl 100 has already surpassed ten million views, hasn’t it? I was a bit surprised too, but I wouldn’t go so far as to think it’s an error.”
“That’s different; Gyeoul’s video was uploaded to the MNet official channel, which has 9 million subscribers and attracted a lot of buzz. But Gaeul’s busking video was posted on the TwoBear official channel, which didn’t even get proper promotion, right?”
“There’s no need to think of the two so separately. Soo-yeon and I believe the buzz from MNet has influenced Gaeul’s video as well.”
“Those two?”
I opened the comments section on AllTube and explained.
“If you look at the comments, you’ll see many mentioning Gyeoul. This isn’t limited to just Korean; it’s mentioned in English and various other languages too.”
“Hm… I see. The algorithm didn’t just hog our country, huh?”
“Not to mention, as awkward as it is to say, the title seems to have had a valid impact on the views.”
“‘The Manager Plays the Piano Too Well’… even now it’s an eye-opener for a title.”
Honestly, I was against that title back when it was uploaded, but thanks to Cheon Aram’s insistence and the thought of many more videos to come, I just turned a blind eye. Realizing it’s working now makes me think the world’s a funny place.
“Hehehe, see, didn’t I tell you that clickbait would be effective?”
“…Yes, it definitely seems that way.”
Right, if our kids can succeed, I’d gladly be a sacrifice for clickbait.
“Not only that, but the uniqueness of the busking video probably played a role too. Unlike idol videos targeting a specific fanbase, busking has a broader appeal, attracting people of various ages and interests. …Plus, I think there was a ‘national pride’ effect from foreign viewers engaging and their comments being translated in the community.”
“…It all connects, huh?”
Right? It’s fascinating.
“Okay, I get that this buzz isn’t an error and that it could positively affect us. But what you’re really saying is that we should advance the debut, right? What’s the reasoning behind that? Is it really to cut down the company’s investment costs?”
“It’s not about the money. I’m not the type to go through a grueling schedule just to save a few bucks. It’s simply that now is the right time for a debut.”
“Evidence?”
Instead of explaining, I handed her a binder.
“Provisional Project Report: ‘Girl Revolution’?”
“Just read about five pages of the introduction, and I’ll give you more explanation.”
As Cheon Aram nodded and began reading the report, I started speaking.
“We’ve successfully generated an issue, and a fanbase is forming. This isn’t limited to just one person; although there are differences in scale, it’s happening to everyone except Jin Yeoreum. This is the moment where Han Gyeoul, Yoo Gaeul, and Oh Yoori’s next steps will be under the spotlight.”
But that won’t last long. No, we can’t let it last long.
“This world is one where issues erupt every day, and public interest shifts too easily. It’s not that the public has a short memory; it’s that when one issue drags on, people feel fatigue.”
We succeeded in becoming an issue. But that wasn’t entirely positive.
“And fortunately or unfortunately, the aftereffects of Girl 100 are still being brought up. If we leave it like this, the names Gyeoul and Yuri might start to feel tiresome. Simply being frequently seen on television can generate anti-fans. Before that happens, we need to redirect this interest and expectation.”
“So, the direction is debut?”
“Yes, changing from negative issues like fraud, vote manipulation, and recorded conversations to new issues. Although the impact of this new issue will gradually lessen, it should be seen as stabilization. It’s okay for the anticipation to last longer.”
While flipping through the report and speed-reading, Cheon Aram asked.
“I understand that now is the optimal timing. But there’s still a lot to prepare—producing, directing, art, coordination, albums, promotion, broadcasting, and so on. We’re not just having fun while preparing, right? There’s still so much to decide.”
“I’ve laid out the general direction in that report. It covers what personnel to hire, the reasons for it, what concepts to use, and how to strategize. Of course, the promotional methods are structured to enhance what we’ve discussed considering Jin Yeoreum.”
That report was a culmination of knowledge gained as a regressor and a summary of Seon Taeyang’s experiences as a former president.
Of course, even if I designed the report, it would be nothing but meaningless scraps of paper without materials. But TwoBear had the most luxurious materials available from all previous opportunities.
There’s solid investment capital. We know what personnel would be the best choice. We’ve memorized all the trends for the next decade. Lastly, we have kids with world-class talents. Those kids are already generating major buzz.
Yes. Every element is already complete. All that’s left is to race forward.
As Cheon Aram, who had started reading the entire report beyond the summary of the introduction, flipped through the pages while holding her breath, the only sound was that of the paper rustling.
Cha Jeong flipped the paper with just the corner.
By the time the chilled car had been sitting for quite a while, Cheon Aram flipped to the last page of the report. After taking a small deep breath, she looked at me and said.
“When I first recruited Team Leader Seon back in the day, I told you not to feel pressured by the title since I would hire experienced people separately, remember?”
“I do remember that.”
It felt like such a long time ago.
“To be honest, I expected Team Leader Seon to have great insight and talent in producing, but I didn’t expect much in terms of traditional manager duties. Team Leader Seon was young and hadn’t experienced that level of responsibility yet, so I thought it was natural for them to show some immaturity in that area. But seeing how things have progressed, that concern turned out to be completely pointless.”
Cheon Aram said with pure admiration.
“Team Leader Seon is a true genius.”
I was slightly flustered by her unexpected praise and asked.
“…What do you mean by that?”
With a proud smile, she said.
“Let’s move up the debut.”
*
The preparations for the debut were progressing very smoothly.
While I maintained the overall direction I had set, my colleagues, led by Cheon Aram and James Oh, kept pitching in their opinions on the finer details. As a result, we quickly established a plan and picked up the pace on scheduling personnel and locations.
James Oh, who was busier than anyone else running around under the ambitious goal of picking all four songs for the album as title tracks, showcased a monstrous ability to maintain both quality and speed.
I was incredibly thankful to work with him and supported him more than anyone else. Except for just one thing.
“Do I really have to do this?”
“Yes, Team Leader Seon must do this, no exceptions.”
I sighed and replied.
“To be honest, I’m very negative about this. You know how important the kids’ songs are, right? To have me solely responsible for one of those four songs… I don’t want to pass on a flawed track to the kids.”
“Don’t worry about that at all. I know your talent very well.”
“…That’s an exaggeration. I think you might be misunderstanding because of my arrangement back then, but honestly, I’m not that talented.”
It’s all just compensation points anyway.
“Come on, you’ve created dozens of melody lines so far; how can you be so humble? Team Leader Seon, you really are a genius, so rest easy.”
“…”
Honestly, if James Oh said that to me, it might have been my karma.
In response to my excuse that I had never tried composing before, James Oh said even a few melody lines from him would be more than enough.
He said he was overwhelmed.
Since rejecting such a request would endlessly lower his morale about settling down in TwoBear, I casually played the melody lines of songs that would hit in eight years from the previous episodes on the piano, avoiding anything that could get me accused of plagiarism.
Honestly, even if James Oh liked it, I had no intention of using those melodies.
Given that I had enough funds and knew what kind of song would succeed in the current situation, it would be far better to preemptively recruit the composer of that song and buy it rather than go through this tedious and risky process. There was no need to use such overly experimental melodies in this era.
So, I planned to find a melody that James Oh loved and then create a reasonable excuse to switch to another song.
But James Oh just kept clapping and asking if there were any more fresh melody lines from those hits.
“Wasn’t there something decent around here? You kept praising it, right?”
“…Well, it’s fresh and good, but I just don’t feel like ‘this is it.’ Let’s try just one more… just one more.”
“…What on earth does that ‘this is it’ feel like?”
Having already played dozens of melodies, I was struggling to recall what other hits there were while being pestered by James Oh’s endless “just one more.” So, I decided to stop thinking and just hit the keys. Suddenly, James Oh halted me.
“…Wait a minute.”
I had a feeling I knew why he stopped me.
After randomly playing the ear-splitting version that would make even Seon Taeyang’s ears bleed during the medley of future hits, it must’ve started to sound like a torture session.
“Yes, yes, one more. So, can I have a moment to think…?”
“Can you play that again?”
“…This one?”
Why on earth would I do that?
Despite my doubts about his reasoning, I replicated the keys.
“…This is it.”
“Excuse me?”
“This! Team Leader Seon! We absolutely have to keep this!”
…This isn’t even a hit; I just played whatever I felt like!
As I tilted my head in confusion, Oh Jin-woo, who was rummaging for samples in the corner, perked up and said with bulging eyes.
“Can I try to develop that melody line? As a genius composer, I have the ability to turn it into an attractive song. I might even throw your name on it as a favor…”
“This punk thinks he can pull a fast one because he saw something amazing. Did I teach you to act like that, you little brat?!”
“Ah! Hyung! That hit me hard. Hard!”
“…”
The melody detector, Oh Jin-woo, was reacting to my mindless melody with his plagiarism radar.
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