strictlysupreme Chapter 141: Album (4)
Chapter 141: Album (4)
In the large conference room filled with countless employees, the low and heavy voice of CEO Ha Seo-hwan spread.“This song is confirmed.”
He was referring to the song 'GreenBee' that had just been played. CEO Ha Seo-hwan made a bold decision to confirm the song after listening to only about 30 seconds, including the intro. The conference room buzzed at his sudden directive. The employees were slightly flustered.
‘J-just like that??’
‘Before even listening to the whole first verse?’
‘Is this really okay??’
It was already nerve-racking that CEO Ha Seo-hwan had shown up, and now he suddenly confirmed a song. The current song showcase was merely a test. Normally, CEO Ha Seo-hwan wouldn’t get involved until much later. It would be after several deep meetings and once a final list of candidate songs had been prepared. That’s how it had always been, and that’s how they expected it to go in the future.
But CEO Ha Seo-hwan lightly shattered everyone’s expectations.
At this point, the female team leader who had stepped up to lead the atmosphere at the front of the conference room spoke up.
“......Excuse me?? Confirm the song?”
“Yes. Confirmed.”
“So- you’re saying you want to confirm ‘GreenBee’ as one of Vanguard’s debut songs?”
“That’s right. Why? Does it sound strange?”
“N-no! It’s just that it’s so quick.”
Manager Kim Ki-baek, with a faint smile in response to CEO Ha Seo-hwan’s decisive call, raised a question.
“You’re not going to listen to any other songs before deciding?”
“I’m sure the others are good too. But is that a reason to leave out ‘GreenBee’?”
“No. I think your decision is right as well, sir.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan looked at Manager Kim Ki-baek for a few seconds, then scanned all the employees gathered in the conference room.
“‘GreenBee'. The quality of the song is one thing, but it also fits Vanguard very well.”
As if in agreement, Kim Ki-baek slowly nodded.
‘Honestly, 'GreenBee' sounded perfect to me. I was shocked the moment I heard it. The song is just that well-made.’
CEO Ha Seo-hwan turned to the female team leader again with a request.
“Let’s listen to the song again.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Once more, 'GreenBee' echoed through the conference room. Given the circumstances, the employees listened more intently than they had the first time, and so did Kim Ki-baek.
-♬♪
CEO Ha Seo-hwan tapped his chin. Maybe it was his refined middle-aged looks, but he gave off an actor-like vibe.
‘The intro uses breakbeat. But it’s not light. It’s intense and solid. Rough. Then the vocal chop enters, and the keys come in to balance out the darkness. Just the melody line from the intro to the verse already gives the right feel. This is a Vanguard song.’
Before they knew it, 'GreenBee' had passed the second verse and was nearing its end. A few employees nodded along to the music, absorbed in it. Though CEO Ha Seo-hwan's presence dominated the atmosphere, most of the employees were genuinely convinced.
‘This is a hundred times better than what your average factory-style composer would crank out.’
‘This song is seriously incredible.’
Once the song ended, CEO Ha Seo-hwan turned his gaze to the female team leader.
“You said A&R asked Rojun?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes yes. We heard from Si-hoo that Rojun-nim also composes.”
“How long did it take him to deliver the track?”
The one who answered wasn’t the female team leader, but Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had directly received the track.
“Hmm, it took less than ten days.”
“Ten days.”
“Yes. To be exact, it didn’t even take ten full days.”
Less than ten days? The employees whispered among themselves. Meanwhile, CEO Ha Seo-hwan crossed his legs in the opposite direction, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. Then he murmured softly.
“Absurd.”
As someone with decades of experience in the entertainment industry, flashes of genius artists he had met passed through CEO Ha Seo-hwan’s mind. And next came Kang Rojun’s face.
‘Just based on current momentum, he’s ahead of everyone.’
Kim Ki-baek casually added in, having heard the CEO’s ‘Absurd’.
“If we count his face too, he’s easily number one in Korea.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan’s smile deepened in agreement.
“‘GreenBee’ is confirmed.”
No one, absolutely no one, could object to CEO Ha Seo-hwan. Because no matter what anyone said, the top predator at GN Entertainment was CEO Ha Seo-hwan.
“Let’s listen to the next track.”
“Ah yes! Next are Si-hoo-nim’s songs.”
One after another, the songs composed by Si-hoo played in the conference room. CEO Ha Seo-hwan couldn’t contain his joy.
“A parade of geniuses.”
As he quietly listened to the tracks, he once again gave a firm directive.
“This one’s confirmed too. Gather the rest well.”
Si-hoo’s song was also added to the debut tracks. In other words, two songs for Vanguard’s debut album were decided in an instant. Additionally, since Si-hoo had many songs and those were also considered good, CEO Ha Seo-hwan gave instructions to store them carefully. Following that, CEO Ha Seo-hwan remained involved in the song listening session for quite some time, and the songs from various famous composers continued.
Familiar names like Song Min-geun, and others like the composer 'Pineon', who had many idol hits, were included.
Eventually, excluding the songs by Kang Rojun and Si-hoo,
“Pick two songs out of those ten.”
The final candidate songs were selected.
After that.
Perhaps satisfied to some extent, CEO Ha Seo-hwan stood up from his seat. The one who stopped him was Manager Kim Ki-baek, who slowly raised his hand.
“Excuse me, there’s something I’d like to bring up.”
Not only CEO Ha Seo-hwan but also all the employees gathered in the conference room turned their attention to Kim Ki-baek. CEO Ha Seo-hwan, tilting his head slightly, sat back down.
“Let’s hear it.”
With a flat tone, Manager Kim Ki-baek began.
“Two debut songs for Vanguard were decided today, and a few more will be confirmed in the future.”
“That’s right.”
“I was thinking, what if we have Rojun-nim write the lyrics for all of them?”
“Rojun?”
“Yes.”
The surrounding employees widened their eyes and quickly voiced their opinions.
“All the debut songs?? That’s a bit much.”
“Ah- Rojun being good at lyric writing is something everyone knows from ‘Produce That 100!’ or Park Hyun-jung-nim’s ‘Black and White Sound'. But giving him all the songs might be a bit risky.”
“It would be more of a burden than a risk. These aren’t just any songs; they’re debut songs. It’s a whole different weight than during ‘Produce That 100!’”
“How about just one song?”
Most people expressed concern. It wasn’t surprising. They also wanted Vanguard to succeed. It wasn’t about disliking or underestimating Kang Rojun, it was just a judgment that minimizing risk would be better. What if they gave everything to Kang Rojun and then something happened? For example, what if his mental state wavered, and he slowed down or gave up on the work?
“He’s still young. And he already has a lot on his shoulders, doesn’t he?”
“Is there a need to give him even more burden? He already composed ‘GreenBee', and he started individual activities earlier than the other members. If we push him further, I think it could hit his mental health.”
This opinion came from the A&R team, who were leading the Vanguard debut album production. They had seen many idols break down from mental exhaustion, so their concern was only natural.
“Besides, from what I see, Rojun-nim is already doing a lot.”
“Yeah, I heard he’s shut in the studio for over half a day.”
“H-half a day??”
The one who calmed the noisy atmosphere was CEO Ha Seo-hwan.
“Manager Kim.”
The moment he spoke, the conference room suddenly quieted. Perhaps this wasn’t the first time, as dozens of employees turned their eyes to CEO Ha Seo-hwan, and Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had been called, responded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Your suggestion, was it your own idea? Or does Rojun know about it too?”
“Mm- I’m only bringing it up after telling Rojun and receiving his opinion.”
“And what did Rojun say?”
“He said he wants to do it.”
“......”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan looked at Kim Ki-baek for a moment with an indifferent gaze, then crossed his legs.
“If he said it because he was pressured into it-”
“That didn’t seem to be the case at all. His eyes were sparkling.”
“Sparkling.”
“Yes, sparkling. His incredibly handsome face was also full of energy.”
“If they were sparkling, then we should give it a try.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan gave a faint smile and stood up from his seat.
“Then all lyrics for Vanguard’s debut songs will be handled by lyricist Rojun.”
Again, the decision was made in an instant, and Manager Kim Ki-baek, as he lifted himself lightly from the chair, threw in a line he had prepared.
“You’ll make sure the lyric fee is quite generous, right?”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan paused and thought for a moment. Then.
“Rojun will probably have to move around a lot for various side jobs. And there will be days when the management team can’t accompany him.”
He gave instructions to the staff.
“Get him a car of his choice. Anything he wants.”
A short while later.
The news that two songs from Vanguard’s debut tracks had been confirmed was quickly delivered to Kang Rojun and Si-hoo. For Si-hoo, who was in the middle of vocal training, it was schedule manager Lee Yul-bin who brought the message.
“...What?? M-my song got confirmed??”
“Yes. Si-hoo-nim’s and Rojun-nim’s songs are confirmed.”
“Huh.”
“That’s all you need to know for now.”
“Weren’t we still collecting songs?? This being decided so suddenly doesn’t make any sense.”
“You’re right. It’s my first time seeing something like this too. Having songs confirmed this fast, it might be the first time it’s happened at GN. That’s what the A&R team said, so I’m sure it’s solid. But since the CEO decided, there’s no going back.”
“Th-the CEO??!”
“He listened, then said confirmed. Then confirmed the next one. Full charisma mode.”
“Wow……”
Manager Kim Ki-baek approached Rojun, who was studying composition in the studio.
“Rojun-”
Kang Rojun, who had been focused on his laptop, turned his head.
“Yes, Manager-nim.”
As Rojun tried to stand up, Kim Ki-baek gestured for him to sit back down and then sank deeply into the sofa behind him.
“Ah- this is comfy. Aren’t you lonely? Being here alone in the studio.”
“There’s a lot to do, so it’s fun.”
Manager Kim Ki-baek peeked around to check what was spread out around Rojun. Laptop, tablet, phone, notebook, guitar, and so on.
“Feels like you’re even busier than I am when I see you.”
With a weak smile, Kim Ki-baek suddenly changed the subject.
“Do you have a dream car or anything like that?”
“All of a sudden?”
“Yes. All of a sudden.”
A dream car? Of course, Kang Rojun had one.
“Lamborghini.”
“Nice. Then what about a car you’d like to buy as your first?”
“There is one that I think’s alright. It’s a foreign car, though.”
Rojun mentioned a model from brand B that he wanted to drive. Manager Kim Ki-baek tapped his chin.
“Ah- something like that would cost around 50 to 60 million won? You could buy it now if you wanted. You must’ve earned quite a bit before coming to GN.”
“I’ve been a bit out of it lately, so I haven’t paid much attention. I was actually keeping an eye on it. But... can I really buy that car?”
“Well, most rookie idols wouldn’t have the means to do that, and usually they just ride in company cars, so there’s no need to buy one. But for you, it’d definitely be useful.”
Manager Kim Ki-baek searched the car model Rojun had mentioned on his phone and then said,
“Then I’ll get this one.”
“Sorry?”
“The price is a liiittle high, but we’ll make it work. It’s the CEO’s order, after all.”
Seeing Rojun’s confused expression, he chuckled.
“Congratulations. Your song ‘GreenBee’ has been selected as Vanguard’s debut track. The CEO just made the decision a moment ago, along with Si-hoo’s song. So, two songs are confirmed.”
Afterward, Manager Kim Ki-baek gave a summarized explanation of what had happened in the conference room.
“So now, we just have to decide the remaining songs, excluding the two that are already confirmed. The CEO’s already narrowed things down a lot, so we’ll have an answer soon. Also, what we discussed yesterday about lyric writing? That’s a go, too.”
“You’re saying I’m getting a car... as lyric payment?”
“Yes.”
“It’s over 50 million won. That’s kind of a lot for lyric work.”
“You don’t like it?”
“I like it.”
Not just “like”, it was insanely sweet. Still, it was a bit puzzling. It was over 50 million won. Maybe even more. On the other hand, Manager Kim Ki-baek remained unbothered.
“Sure, it’s a lot of money. But if you look at it as an investment in your potential, it’s not that excessive. The CEO thought so too, which is why he said to just give it to you as lyric pay.”
“Ah-”
“Anyway, the lyric fee. I’ll handle buying the car and getting it to you.”
Opening his planner and jotting something down, Kim Ki-baek continued speaking even as he wrote.
“You can start writing lyrics for the two debut songs right away. It’d be best to begin with ‘GreenBee', which you composed. Then you’ll get Si-hoo-nim’s track and start lyrics for that.”
Since the songs had been confirmed, of course, it made sense to start writing lyrics immediately. Kang Rojun understood this well, and his expression was hard to read. It was calm. Then, he pointed to his laptop with his index finger.
“I can start with Si-hoo hyung’s lyrics right away.”
Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had been looking down at his planner, paused. Rojun spoke in a light tone, as if it was nothing.
“Because I’ve already finished writing the lyrics for ‘GreenBee’.”