Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 170

Music Monster Overnight! Episode 161

Contrary to their initial expectation of meeting the new members in a month, they actually met them just ten days later.

“Hello! I’m Kim Ga-eun.”

“……Hello. I’m Song Ha-young.”

However, the information they had received beforehand turned out to be inaccurate.

The new members were Kim Ga-eun, born in 2003, and Song Ha-young, born in 2005.

Having been told by CEO Kim Seung-jae that members born in 2002 and 2004 would be joining, the group was initially surprised by the two younger girls, but soon became overly enthusiastic.

“Oh my, oh my! I can’t believe a middle schooler is joining us.”

“Kyaa, so cute! A cat. A human cat!”

“You’re Ga-eun, right? You look so sophisticated.”

“You think so too, *unnie* [term used by younger females to address older sisters or female friends]? Me too! She’s totally human Chanel!”

Jaehee and the ’99-ers (members born in 1999), as well as Chaeryeong, were at a loss for what to do with their new younger sisters. The fact that they were so young was overwhelming, but the fact that they both had natural idol potential made it even more so.

Among them, Kim Ga-eun, born in 2003, was truly a visual member who could easily take the center position in any group.

Her face was a blend of typical cat-like features with a dog-like innocence, and despite that, her height of 170 cm (approximately 5’7″) gave her an incredible aura.

It was as if she possessed the aura of a top model.

If that was Kim Ga-eun, then Song Ha-young, born in 2005, had the kind of face that would appeal to dedicated fans.

Her shy demeanor during their first meeting was enough to make anyone, regardless of gender or age, feel endeared.

In addition, although not as tall as Kim Ga-eun, her height of nearly 170 cm and slender figure created an atmosphere that was just as captivating.

Depending on the concept, Song Ha-young also seemed capable of taking the center position.

The fact that these two had joined their team made them happy, but also somewhat apologetic.

They couldn’t help but wonder if these girls, who were brimming with idol potential, would be negatively impacted by joining them, a group known as the epitome of a failure.

Perhaps that’s why they were being so enthusiastic in welcoming them.

“Ah! I’m going crazy. Look at Ha-young’s red cheeks!”

“……Docile. So docile.”

They were at a loss for what to do with Ha-young, who was shy but obediently nestled in the arms of her older sisters like a gentle cat.

“The more I look at her, the prettier she is! She looks like she only needs a base makeup…….”

“Ah… No. Jaehee *sunbaenim* [Korean term for senior or mentor] is prettier.”

“Oh my! Her voice is so pretty too! And she speaks so beautifully.”

“…….”

No matter what she did, she was so pretty that even Ga-eun, who had a fairly confident side, couldn’t help but lower her head and blush like Ha-young.

Thus, Kim Ga-eun and Song Ha-young joined as new members.

However, just as the information CEO Kim Seung-jae had given them ten days ago differed from reality, the members who were originally supposed to join were not them.

“So, you’re not going to join?”

“Yes. I didn’t know the team I would be joining was Happiness.”

“……You feel the same way?”

“I’m… sorry.”

“Haa…….”

Park Sung-ryul realized that reality doesn’t always go as planned.

The two members who were supposed to join Happiness this time were those who had narrowly missed the debut lineup at YC Entertainment.

Rather than lacking skills, they were dropped because they didn’t fit the group’s concept, so it was safe to say that their talent had already been proven.

In fact, both of them had received at least a B+ in appearance, singing, and dancing even before their potential debut.

In particular, one of the members was personally chosen by CEO Youngchan because he thought her voice would go well with the concept of the song he was creating.

That’s why Park Sung-ryul actively tried to recruit them.

He emphasized his experience as a manager of Black Tiger, who had risen to team leader, and also disclosed the fact that he had received a significant investment from P Investment.

He wanted to convince them that joining Happiness was a better choice than debuting in a mediocre entertainment company.

In fact, the two were greatly attracted to the two things Park Sung-ryul had put forward.

However, when they later learned that the entertainment company Park Sung-ryul was trying to take them to was P Entertainment, and that the team they would be joining was Happiness, they quickly changed their minds.

The fact that Happiness had failed twice, even after re-debuting by moving companies, suggested a lack of star quality.

In particular, the fact that the re-debut had changed the previous problem concept to girl crush, and that a significant investment had been made, only made them change their minds even more.

“I can’t force you. Okay, I’ll respect your decision.”

“I’m sorry.”

“……I’m sorry.”

Park Sung-ryul shook his head as he looked at them apologizing again.

No, he even felt sorry for them.

‘If I had known that the CEO was behind P Entertainment, I would never have made this choice.’

Perhaps if they had known that fact, they would have tried to be with Happiness no matter what, whether they were a failed group or not.

Unlike the teams debuting this time, which are not receiving YC’s direct involvement for the sake of the company’s system growth, they are being created under YC’s guidance, like their senior team, which has grown into a global group.

That means their potential to grow into global idols is incredibly high.

Park Sung-ryul knew that well, so he felt so sorry for them as they apologized.

However, apart from feeling sorry, he quickly looked for a replacement as things fell apart from the beginning, and visited the CEO.

“Let’s look for someone in Tier 2.”

“Tier 2, you mean?”

Currently, YC Entertainment’s trainees were divided into three tiers.

Tier 1, who are about to debut. Tier 2, who have not yet met YC Entertainment’s strict debut standards.

And Tier 3, which is a seedling stage that has potential regardless of current skills.

“If possible, let’s go with younger members. If they’re young, it’ll be easier to re-debut even if they fail. In fact, everything is like that, but in this industry, experienced people are bound to be preferred, right?”

“It is more so than you think.”

Apart from skills, there are things that can only be gained from experience.

The stage is like that, so YC Entertainment, as well as large entertainment companies, create their own stages with cameras set up like actual performances to gain experience.

It’s no wonder that the idols released by large entertainment companies capture the camera so skillfully from their debut.

However, no matter how much they try to make it as similar as possible, the fastest way to increase experience is still through actual combat.

Unexpected variables are bound to arise everywhere in actual combat, and experience increases rapidly in the process of dealing with these variables and moving forward.

It is natural that the mindset itself becomes distinctly different from that of an amateur in this process.

Should I say they are somewhat verified?

That’s why there are more and more companies that include members from debut auditions or new idol teams.

This is because they can naturally set the atmosphere in the early stages of a chaotic team.

As such, they began to look for new talents in Tier 2, setting the condition that they could return to Tier 1 of YC Entertainment in case of failure, and these two were selected in less than half a day.

“This has a higher chance of success.”

Youngchan, who contacted them as soon as he saw them, couldn’t hide his great satisfaction in the subsequent test.

Kim Ga-eun and Song Ha-young also joined without thinking any further, on the condition that they could return to YC Entertainment’s Tier 1 idol trainees in case of failure.

“The new team name we’re creating this time is ‘LITTLE LADY’.”

CEO Kim Seung-jae said that the team name was inspired by the novel *Little Women* by American novelist Louisa May Alcott.

He said that it was a team name created to give a slightly classical and universal feel, but they didn’t understand what that meant.

Ten days passed since Kim Ga-eun and Song Ha-young joined, and around that time, CEO Kim Seung-jae gathered them with a very excited look.

“The song is out.”

“Yes???”

They couldn’t hide their surprise at the song’s unexpectedly quick arrival. However, what made them even more surprised was CEO Kim Seung-jae’s excited appearance.

“It’s also the best song ever! With this…….”

Although he couldn’t finish his sentence, they understood what CEO Kim Seung-jae wanted to say.

-Dugun Dugun- [Sound of a heartbeat]

As a result, the LITTLE LADY members were all preparing to listen with expectant expressions.

Seeing LITTLE LADY’s appearance, CEO Kim Seung-jae realized his reality and belatedly cleared his throat and continued speaking.

“Ahem. The title of this song is ‘puppy love’. If you translate it directly, it can be said to be puppy love, but in reality, it is an expression used as ‘first love’.”

“First love?”

There were many expressions in English that included animals, and it can be seen as an expression similar to an idiom.

For example, the expression “ugly duckling” is an expression from the *Ugly Duckling* fairy tale, which is used to describe someone who is unattractive when they are young but beautiful and wonderful when they grow up.

“Puppy” is also used as ‘puppy’, but it also has the meaning of ‘rookie’, so it is naturally expressed as rookie’s love, that is, first love.

-Tak- [Sound of something being turned on]

After announcing the title, CEO Kim Seung-jae immediately played ‘puppy love’.

-Lalalalala~lalala!-

-Tadadadan! Tadadadada-

And ‘puppy love’ captivated the LITTLE LADY members from the very first notes.

It went beyond simple immersion and gave them a feeling close to shock.

And it only intensified as the song continued.

-puppy~ love! puppy love!-

Especially during the highlight, it made them flinch even more.

-Lalalalala~lalala!-

-Tadadadan! Tadadadada-

And finally, with the clear piano sound and the humming vocals, just like at the beginning, ‘puppy love’, which lasted 3 minutes and 42 seconds, came to an end.

“…….”

Even after the song ended, none of the LITTLE LADY members could speak.

And CEO Kim Seung-jae didn’t find their reaction strange. That’s because when he first heard this song from Director Park Sung-ryul, he had reacted the same way.

Overwhelming.

The feeling that he felt at that time, and that they are feeling now, is best described by this word.

Jaehee, the leader of LITTLE LADY, was the first to come to her senses. She barely calmed her still-racing heart and opened her mouth.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s the first time I’ve heard such a good song… Especially the guide who sang this song…….”

That’s right. As Jaehee said, there were two reasons why they were overwhelmed.

First of all, the song was exceptionally good.

However, what makes this song special is that it deviates from the existing K-pop format.

Due to the weak delivery in the low-pitched parts because of the characteristics of the Korean language, K-pop often features intense beats and a unique hitting form.

The pursuit of girl crush music is a natural phenomenon in the process.

However, since ‘puppy love’ is not in Korean but in English, there was no need to adhere to the unique K-pop form.

Naturally, it pursued a universal form of music, which significantly reduced the listener’s fatigue.

In fact, Youngchan focused on creating easy-listening pop that would work in any country and any place.

He minimized everything except the melody line to reduce fatigue in the song, and removed all girl crush elements.

Instead, he focused on universal themes like a girl’s infatuation.

So the whole song became light and simple, which soon made people focus on the vocalist’s tone.

It is truly a song that most vividly highlights the color of the vocals.

The guide’s vocals who guided this song were enough to shock Jaehee and everyone else.

That’s because the person who guided this song was Jamie, often compared to Karen Carpenter [American singer and musician known for her distinctive contralto vocals].

Her elegant, beautiful, and comfortable voice, like a jazz singer, stood out throughout the song, so it was no wonder they were so surprised.

“How do we do this…….”

Like Chaeryeong’s muttering, it is probably the inner thoughts of all the LITTLE LADY members.

Beyond whether the song is good or bad, the singer who may be the most unique in this style guided it, so the burden that LITTLE LADY feels is bound to be enormous.