The concept meeting continued after that, and the only one I could agree with was Zen’s Dionysus concept. In Zen’s case, his appearance on broadcast as a chaotic and free-spirited personality had a big impact. Since viewers were already aware that Zen was a quirky, carefree, and laid-back individual, it seemed that public perception and my own understanding of him aligned fairly well.
In the end, Lee Hwayoung was left with the Hades concept because the Apollo concept was already taken by me, and Zen didn’t want to wear a revealing outfit.
And even without my personal bias, there were many opinions that Lee Danbi should take on the Hermes concept because he was the youngest. However, due to my opposition, it ended up going to Do Yuda.
‘There is a specific role I want to assign to Lee Danbi.’
At first, everyone tried to brush off what I said again. That’s understandable because the concept I suggested didn’t match Lee Danbi’s appearance or image. It was obvious that they thought my character interpretation was strange again. I tried to prove my innocence so desperately, and eventually succeeded in convincing everyone.
Fast forward a few days later, we were once again gathered in the conference room at the request of the A&R team.
“Hello, everyone. You’ve already been informed about the agenda for today’s meeting, right?”
“Yes!”
“Okay, then I’ll assume you all already understand, and we can start right away.”
“First of all, regarding the debut, the company has been preparing for it since before you made it to the debut lineup, so we should be able to proceed with it in the near future. The candidates for the title track have already been narrowed down. Once we finalize the title track today, the members can immediately start preparing for practice and recording.”
‘That’s quite a fast pace.’
Due to the nature of survival shows, the fans that was gained through the program had a tendency to quickly lost their interest after the program ended. So, if we wanted to leave a good record, it was important to release an album before the interest faded.
In short, it meant we had to row while the water was still coming in.
“We want to move forward as quickly as possible, but the issue is the detailed timeline. So, if the members have any thoughts regarding this, please feel free to share. We’ll do our best to accommodate them as much as possible.”
“Uh, for now, I want to avoid the scary seniors. We’re still rookies.”
Despite the absence of cameras, Do Yuda glanced around nervously when he mentioned the presence of the other group in response to that question. The staff nodded in understanding and replied.
“As Yuda-ssi had mentioned, we should prioritize the activity period of first-tier idols. However, it’s easier said than done. It’s really hard to get information. Sometimes, things can suddenly change at the last minute, so we can’t afford to let our guard down.”
“…….”
“First of all, we need to keep an eye on Prism and Raize. Prism, how many years have they been active? How long do we have to worry about their comeback timing? Seriously … they’ve had so many incidents, and they’ve gone through two accidents, yet they’re still active in the industry. It’s really impressive.”
Just like the staff said, the timing of an idol’s comeback was determined through a meticulous battle of intuition.
When a group with top-tier recognition was about to make their comeback, the music industry became like the calm before a storm. In cases like this, we had to carefully consider and even postpone the comeback if necessary so that our promotional periods wouldn’t overlap.
When a group had high recognition and a strong fanbase, it was not uncommon for not only the title track but also the B-sides to sweep the charts. During such times, the difficulty of chart entry became ridiculously high, so changing the comeback date was an inevitable decision.
‘That’s what Prism was like in its prime.’
But our situation was a little different.
After Prism, who experienced various incidents and accidents and naturally spent their heyday the years went by, took an unofficial hiatus, no idol group with that level of fandom has emerged.
And we, who had just finished Survive IDOL, had a fandom that was so powerful we could probably have debuted straight into the top-tier. It meant that we should have been the ones being watched out for, rather than us having to be overly cautious of other groups.
‘We’re not quite ready to compete with Raize, who are the most popular group right now, but it’s okay to exclude them from our considerations since they’ve only recently finished their active promotion period.’
Having calculated that far, I turned to the staff and spoke calmly.
“Since it hasn’t been long since Raize-sunbaenims finished their promotions, I think it would be best for us to proceed at our own pace. If there happens to be a group whose promotional period overlaps with ours, we can just face them head-on.”
“Even if Raize is excluded, we don’t know when Prism will return as a group. There’s also a possibility that members who have strong solo careers, like Lee Chise or Jay, might make a comeback. It would be a real disaster if we were blindsided.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve confirmed that Prism-sunbaenims have no plans to make a comeback for the time being.”
When I casually dropped the information about Prism in response to the staff’s worried question, the staff stared at me with their jaws dropped open.
“…How does Seungbeom-ssi know that?”
Since I couldn’t say ‘Oh, I robbed Jay for all he was worth‘, I hardened my expression and replied in a serious tone as if I had a grave secret.
“I have connections. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what those connections are. It could cause problems if I speak about it to others.”
Then, with their expressions equally hardened, the staff began whispering to each other in a solemn manner, trying to comprehend my statement.
“So, it turns out that the image he showed on the broadcast wasn’t fabricated.”
“Is there an employee providing you with internal information? That’s impressive, Seungbeom-ssi. RH is extremely cautious about leaks, so this information is something we couldn’t even obtain … in that case, it’s understandable that you can’t disclose your source.”
‘I heard it directly from a member of Prism, and I’m also a Prism’s member myself.’
My conscience was pained because I felt like I had caused a huge misunderstanding. But then I rationalized that since Prism also had their own employee IDs, they could be considered an internal employee, and I felt instantly at ease.
I put on my natural virtuous expression and opened my mouth again, “Other than that, an important point to note is the rookie group from RH Entertainment, which is expected to debut around the same time as us. The chances of Pantheion losing out to them are pretty slim under the current circumstances, but we should keep a close eye on the unique mediaplay tactics of that agency.”
“There’s a new group coming out from RH?”
“Yes, I think Kim Saemyeong, who made it to the final, is part of that group.”
“How did you know that?”
Ah, I robbed Park Sangjoon for this one.
This, too, was something I couldn’t tell the staff, so I decided to just smile as brightly as the Buddha. The staff, seeing me like that, whispered among themselves in confusion, while the members, now quite accustomed to it, simply sat silently with a look of resignation.
‘Good.’
I nodded approvingly at the members and then spoke to the staff again.
“If two new groups debut in the same quarter, we’ll just have to crush them. I don’t want to avoid it.”
This would be the first selection process to distinguish those who could reach the top and those who couldn’t, and it would serve as a kind of ceremony to showcase the birth of Pantheion. As I spoke with that intention, I could hear the members nervously swallowing.
And with the same nervousness, the staff responded with a determined expression.
“…Okay. Then, as Seungbeom-ssi suggested, we will not take into account the comeback dates of other groups, and we will set the debut date for two months from now.”
“Thank you.”
After confirming that I gave a nod, the staff proceeded with the next part of the meeting.
“Now that the debut schedule has been finalized, let’s move on to the blind test for the title track. Our A&R team has conducted an initial round of blind tests and meetings, and we have selected a total of three candidates. From now on, the members will proceed with the final blind vote to choose the title track.”
“Okay, great!”
At the mention of choosing the title track, the members’ eyes, which had been empty until now, started to sparkle. It seemed like figuring out the debut date had been incredibly boring for them.
“Then, let’s listen to the first song. We haven’t been given any information about the composers or lyricists, so even if you ask, we won’t be able to answer.”
With a series of explanations flowed effortlessly, as if it had been scripted, the first song began to play from the speakers.
“Wow.”
“Oh, it’s okay?”
“Sounds good. Great.”
After hearing the first song, Woo Kangwon, Do Yuda, and Zen opened their mouths wide in awe and expressed their admiration.
I simply smiled at their reactions.
‘There’s no way there’s something that’s not okay with you guys.’
First of all, the opinions of those three weren’t helpful at all. Not only did they have zero musical taste in picking songs, but they were also the type of people who live with the mindset of ‘Good things are good things‘1 without any dissatisfaction about anything.
Just as I was trying to pretend I hadn’t heard the OK Men’s favorable comments, Lee Hwayoung uttered a short remark.
“No.”
Then Baek Kiryang, who had been observing silently, stepped in to support him.
“Yeah, I think the song’s overall quality is a bit lacking to be chosen as the title track … especially the latter part….”
“…….”
‘As expected, those two are the ones who excel at choosing songs.’
I nodded my head in agreement with Lee Hwayoung and Baek Kiryang.
Indeed, the first song wasn’t meant to be used as the title track. While it was clear that they had put a lot of effort into capturing the mythological concept from the intro, the overall tone was too heavy, making the song feel monotonous.
“Next, we’ll play the second song.”
After Lee Hwayoung and Baek Kiryang gave negative feedback, the staff played the second song without hesitation. This time, Baek Kiryang looked at me with a brightened face. It seemed like he was trying to express that he liked the song.
‘The song is good, but…….’
Unfortunately, although the second song was well-produced, the chorus sounded too casual and didn’t fit our concept.
“…….”
Sure enough, as soon as the song ended, Lee Hwayoung frowned again and shook his head. When he repeated the word “No” again, instead of “On Hold”, the members started whispering, looking totally confused.
“Now, let’s listen to the last song.”
Unfazed by Lee Hwayoung’s unfavorable response, the staff immediately prepared to play the third song. It seemed as though they were quite confident in the third song.
As expected, the moment the third song played, the doubtful atmosphere that had been lingering among the members instantly disappeared. They all broke into smiles and expressed their admiration.
“….So this is what a title track should be like.”
“To be honest, I thought Nicholas-hyung was being too picky, but now I realized that a truly good song isn’t just ‘okay’, it should make you think ‘this is it‘ as soon as you hear it.”
“I think it fits well with the concept, and the chorus is really addictive, so I like this one.”
This time, even Lee Hwayoung seemed to have no complaints, as the lines between his brows softened, and the tension in his tightly clenched facial muscles eased. Then, his bright blue eyes shifted to look at me.
“…….”
I stared straight ahead, doing my best to ignore Lee Hwayoung’s burdensome gaze and the upward twitch of my lips. What kind of composer on Earth could have created a song that fit so well with the members, stayed true to the concept, and was even addictive? I was genuinely curious.
“Now that we’ve made our decision, can we have the names of the composer and lyricist?”
“They must be someone famous! I’m so excited!”
After deciding on the third song as the final title track, the excited members gathered around the staff and asked that question. The staff immediately pulled out their phones to look up the composer’s name to satisfy the members’ inquiries.
I squeezed through the space between them, smiled brightly, and announced it with my hand raised.
“It’s me, the one who composed the third song.”
“….WHAT?”
At that, a chorus of shocked screams echoed throughout the conference room.
…Calling it a surprise might be a bit odd.
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Translator’s Corner:
Who wants to bet what God our youngest Danbi will be~
ugh I’m so sad these days, and with the quiet atmosphere and frequent rain, everything just seems SADDER but I can’t cry (idk i’m not crying often, I only cry when I read or watch sad fiction), so it felt so uncomfortable and I have no motivation to do anything because of it ajdhsfjhdshjfd and the current chapters also in happy mood …. MC I want to see you happy so badly, but … let’s reach another angst so I can cry ….
Thank you Colin for the Coffee!
omg for some reason it’s the cutest thing I saw this week, I just read it and automatically smiled T_T but how did people found my coffee page but not my blog…..? hope you found this blog safely….?
dear thief website, that’s why i said don’t repost!!! you’re confusing people T_T
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