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Chapter 44: Survival Entertainment Show - Group Original Song (1)

Kim Jin-Wook had been silently looking at his meal all this time, but he then raised a valid concern. "But are we allowed to discuss this? Didn\'t the broadcasting company and your agency make an agreement to share this information only with you guys in advance?"

It made sense. UNET wouldn’t have given them such great treatment solely because of the size of their agencies.

"Ah, we weren\'t even aware that we were receiving such benefits. It explains why the Next hyungs suddenly agreed to do a comeback show." Next was a group famous for shunning variety shows, and they were the talk of the town. Hosting a comeback show would have been a definite no-go for them, especially considering the additional comedic content they would have to create for their fans.

‘Is it alright for Ji-Hyuk hyung to casually divulge such information? This could somehow affect Next\'s enigmatic image.’

As Kim Jin-Wook, Yoo On-Sae, and I exchanged worried glances, Ji-Hyuk shrugged it off nonchalantly. "It\'s the final competition, and we\'ve all grown closer, haven\'t we? It’s only right to share what I know." The duo from Street Center also seemed to agree with this.

"That\'s true. Even if we have over a month before all the footage airs, it\'s not nearly enough time to prepare an original song. It\'s only fair to share this information," they agreed.

"We should prepare discreetly though. If it became known that this information spread after the Team D meeting, we might find ourselves in a difficult position," suggested Woo-Jeong, and Ha-Yoon chimed in with his support.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, we all nodded. Ji-Hyuk wisely shifted the conversation to a lighter topic, knowing well that lingering on such sensitive matters could be problematic.

Thus, our simple lunch with the Team D members concluded. What was initially meant as a brief catch-up had turned into a profound discussion, and before we knew it, the clock was nearing 5 PM. It was at this point that the duo from Street Center received a call, signaling it was time to head back. “We should get going too. We’ve already secured a composer," one of them announced.

"Have you found a lyricist?" Ji-Hyuk asked.

Woo-Jeong couldn’t hide his pride. "Yes, a member in our group is quite skilled at writing lyrics. He’s taken on the task."

As the Street Center duo got up to leave, the other Team D members started to wrap up the meeting. When Ji-Hyuk dropped me off at the dorm, the sky had already started to darken, indicating the end of the day.

- Hyun-Woo, where are you? It\'s time to come back.

I quickly replied to Joo-Han that I was near the dorm. Feeling somewhat guilty for my extended absence, I stopped by the convenience store and bought some sausage sticks for them all.

"Hey, yo! Manager hyung is arriving at seven. You made it back just in time."

"Wow, what\'s this smell? Sausages!"

The aroma of the hot sausage sticks enticed the members out of their rooms. I then handed them the sausages, giving an extra one to Lee Jin-Sung, before settling back onto the couch in the same position as I had been that morning.

“Hyung, where did you go today? It must have been nice to enjoy some good food."

“We went to an upscale Korean restaurant. Did you know Ji-Hyuk hyung is the son of YU\'s CEO? I was shocked when he showed up in a luxury car to pick me up."

“The other High Tension members mentioned it. Aren’t the fans already aware?"

It seemed that I was the last to learn of this, even though I had spent two weeks in the same house with him.

“Six hours just for lunch? Did you do anything else?"

I shook my head in response to Joo-Han’s inquiry.

"We just kept ordering more food, eating as much as Chronos usually does. But hyung..." I quickly diverted the conversation, knowing his tendency to lecture, especially after the recent incident involving my photo with Park Yoon-Chan.

"I heard some really exciting news today."

"And what might that be?"

Trying to maintain a composed demeanor, I couldn’t help but let a proud smile slip through.

“About the theme of this competition.”

“...The competition theme? How did you find that out?” The surprised members bombarded me with questions.

“I hung out with Team D members earlier. Turns out, the big agency hyungs are already aware of it,” I explained, keeping my tone calm as we moved from our informal gathering spot to the kitchen table.

"Why did they only inform the big agencies? What exactly is the theme?"

"Goh Yoo-Joon, finish eating that sausage before speaking," Joo-Han reminded him, feeling half-amused.

"We\'re in the dorm without cameras, so it should be fine to say this.” I said, "This competition is all about original songs for groups."

“...” A stunned silence enveloped the room.

"Did High Tension and Street Center already start preparing for this?"

"That\'s just not fair," muttered Yoo-Joon.

As someone quick to engage in any conversation, even Joo-Han was momentarily speechless. As our songwriter, he was well aware of the considerable time investment needed to craft an original song.

"It goes beyond covering a song; it’s about creating a new one entirely. Isn’t this disparity with the big agencies almost like telling us not to aim for victory?" Joo-Han\'s expression grew serious. The realization that other groups had a head start in preparations, thanks to early information, seemed to burden him deeply.

"What\'s going on in the kitchen?" Our manager’s voice echoed as he entered the dorm with dinner, pausing at the sight of our serious faces.

"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"Hyung, please, come sit down for a moment," I urged him gently.

"Is something wrong? Did I do something?" Our manager approached the table and placed down the meal boxes with an anxious expression.

"You aren\'t aware of the next competition’s theme, are you?" Joo-Han asked.

Our manager hesitated for a moment and then avoided our gaze.

"...Do you know about it?"

"I have an idea about it," he admitted, his face reddening slightly. "I’ve always said that the big agencies get preferential treatment. I didn’t want to upset you, so I haven’t told you."

"But why are we discussing this now?" our manager asked.

"The theme for this competition is original songs for groups."

"How did you all find out about this? You didn’t secretly get phones or something, right?"

"We just exchanged emails with other group members. What\'s the issue?"

"No issue," our manager replied, looking somewhat relieved, yet his avoidance of Joo-Han\'s piercing gaze suggested otherwise.

"We found out through email exchanges. Someone from one of the big agencies shared it with us," I explained.

"Really? Original songs for groups?" As our manager absorbed the news, his expression mirrored our earlier seriousness. "It takes so much time to prepare a song. How can they make such a discriminatory decision? You guys need to succeed so you can avoid this kind of unfair treatment in the future."

"What should we do about it then?" I asked.

Our manager paused, somewhat lost in thought. "Are you certain about this information? It\'s not just a speculation, right?"

"Why would we doubt it?"

"Well, obtaining a song is not a trivial expense. If we’re getting one, we need to consider its quality and potential for your debut album," said our manager.

Hearing our manager\'s words, Joo-Han glanced at me, and I nodded, affirming the reliability of the information. "I am one hundred percent sure. I heard it from Ji-Hyuk hyung."

"...Hyun-Woo, you’ve been exchanging emails too?"

"Yes, emails," I replied, trying to stifle a laugh.

Goh Yoo-Joon covered his mouth with his hand, his cheeks twitching as he struggled to contain his laughter.

‘Ah, don’t laugh, kid. I’m struggling to keep it together too.’

Unaware of our internal battle to maintain composure, our manager nodded seriously. “Then we need to hold a meeting first thing in the morning to find a song. Make sure you guys are ready early in the morning."

"Us too?" Park Yoon-Chan asked.

"Of course, it\'s your song. Be prepared. I’ll come to pick you up early. Joo-Han, make sure everyone is awake and ready."

***

Last night, our manager must have immediately contacted the company. At 9 AM, while most company employees were just beginning their day, the A&R team executives were already deep in discussion in the meeting room.

"I called a university friend who works at UNET right after hearing the news, and they confirmed it. I just played it off, saying I guessed it based on previous patterns."

"We are lucky the kids found out, or we would have been completely in the dark. UNET is really shitty! All the good songs would have gone to the big agencies,” said the team leader.

Hearing the team leader’s words, Supervisor Seong grumbled, “Even without that advantage, good songs naturally gravitate toward the big agencies because they have the financial backing.”

However, this assertion visibly irritated the team leader. "Supervisor Seong, we may not match the scale of the big agencies, but we have sufficient capital to acquire quality songs. Have you not seen the tracks on Allure\'s album?"

At this moment, as the one who played a role in producing “Goblin,” YMM\'s dedicated producer let out a deep sigh, injecting a touch of realism into the discussion. "Are you sure about that, Mr. Kim? The agency brought poor quality songs, and it was my team members who tirelessly worked to improve them." Producer Do\'s influential statement seemed to diffuse some of the team leader’s frustration, prompting him to settle down and retake his seat.

Producer Do let out a sigh yet again, his gaze sweeping over the record of past competition performances. "Will Hyun-Woo continue as the center?"

"Yes, he will," Joo-Han responded, "although we plan to rotate the popular members in that role eventually."

"The stages overall were impressive, but \'Moon Sea\' truly stood out. Hyun-Woo and Yoo-Joon were the double centers for that performance, right?" Producer Do asked.

"That\'s correct," Joo-Han affirmed, "It was arguably the most straightforward competition for us, with not much difficulty."

"The following stage seemed to experiment with varying positions, giving the impression of compensating for relative skill gaps through member count and arrangement." Producer Do\'s keen observation unveiled our tactics. He was really the one who propelled Allure to national idol status.

"With an original song on the horizon, establishing fixed positions might be important. Let\'s avoid overfilling the stage with dancers," he suggested.

As Producer Do paused the video of our performance, our typically reserved Supervisor Seong, chimed in with a polite question. "Excuse me, sir, could you clarify what you mean by fixed positions? Chronos’s members haven\'t solidified specific roles yet."

Feeling weary yet still attentive, Producer Do ran his hand through his disheveled beard. His look toward the manager was tinged with both exasperation and acute sensitivity as he asked, "Hyun-Woo is the center, isn\'t he?"

"Yes, but as for the other members-"

"I\'ve made my point. Having Hyun-Woo and Yoo-Joon as double centers seems like the most stable option. The performance needs to be designed around them, especially considering the song could become either the album\'s title track or a coupling track."

"Ah, I understand now!" Supervisor Seong acknowledged, hastily jotting down notes. "I agree with Producer Do. Opting for those two as double centers seems ideal. We also need to mind the budget. We\'re aiming for an A-grade song, so let\'s limit the stage to five members, excluding dancers. What about the concept?"

Though we were present at the meeting, our opportunity to contribute was minimal. Even Joo-Han, who was slated to be involved in the song production, remained silent, merely listening.

The discussion was firmly entrenched in commercial territory: determining marketable songs, fitting positions, and suitable concepts for Chronos. Lacking the ability to make an objective assessment in these areas, we had no choice but to entrust this crucial aspect to the professionals.

While examining through video clip thumbnails on his USB, Producer Do brought up a creative direction. "Allure adopted a strong and rebellious concept. For Chronos, veering towards a dreamy, dark theme akin to the concept of \'Moon Sea\' could work effectively. Though I produced \'Moon Sea,\' it actually aligns better with Chronos than with Allure."

Team leader Kim had been somewhat moody until now, but when he heard this, he finally showed signs of agreement. "I agree with that approach. Given that some members of Chronos have a more ethereal look, it would be a fitting choice. According to the data, the \'Moon Sea\' concept garnered the most explosive response."

With a decisive motion, Producer Do shut his laptop. "Then, let\'s settle on \'Moon Sea\' as our concept. Supervisor Seong, let’s collaborate on securing the song this time."