Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 61

61.

‘Momoji’ Production Meeting Room.

Because the Philosophy Academy was more successful than expected, we decided to accept a new offer to appear on another show to further build our image.

Blossom, Kang Seung-won, and even Jang Hae-jin, who rarely participates in these things, were all gathered.

It’s their first variety show, and the agency seems to be putting a lot of effort into it, especially since Taek, who initially received the offer, is also involved.

Yes, key personnel involved in the idol launching process within the company have assembled.

“…But, Iden hyung.”

Ryu Iden, who was hydrating with bottled water, turned to me.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“…What exactly does our agency’s president do?”

How is it that I’ve never met her face-to-face until now?

“Ah, President Hye-rang? You haven’t met her yet?”

I only knew her name from online searches.

“She was actively involved in the early days of my trainee life, but now she focuses on attracting investors and managing things because she felt she’d lost her touch with the creative side.”

…I see. I had personally suspected she’d committed some kind of white-collar crime.

“Actually, even the TOT hyungs have barely seen her.”

While we were engaged in this rather pointless small talk, the PD [Production Director] arrived and greeted us.

“Ah, you’ve been waiting. I’m sorry. I was a little delayed in preparing the materials.”

We arrived earlier than the scheduled time, and the meeting hadn’t even officially started yet, so there was no need for an apology.

“I’m Kim So-young, the main PD of ‘All Knowledge About Everything’.”

She bowed politely.

She seemed like a person with impeccable manners, much like Kang Seung-won.

“Um, before we discuss the basic contract, I’d like to briefly explain what you’ll be doing on the show.”

Kim So-young placed a copy of the materials in front of each person.

“First of all, our program is currently facing a survival crisis.”

…Oh my gosh, that’s quite unexpected. It’s like going to a job interview and being told the company is on the verge of bankruptcy without any preamble.

“The public no longer desires ‘nobility’ in knowledge. The image of intellectuals formed in the 17th and 18th centuries is largely due to the development of mass media…….”

‘…She’s quite knowledgeable.’

I straightened my posture and listened attentively. She was discussing the diachronic [changes over time] shift in the image of intellectuals and the proper way to deliver knowledge derived from it.

The depth of her study of mass media and certain philosophers was remarkable.

Kim So-young finished her lengthy explanation. In essence, the conclusion was simple, even though she took a long time to logically express her opinion.

‘Momoji’s way of delivering knowledge is outdated.’

“…As you just saw, Momoji conveyed knowledge in the way I just described.”

Kim So-young said in a subdued voice, then looked at me and continued.

“Of course, some people like Ji Dong-hwa enjoy logical conversations, but most people… find it boring.”

I subtly rolled my eyes and glanced at Seok-joon sitting next to me.

‘…His eyes are half-closed.’

He’s trying hard not to fall asleep, but it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he succumbs. I wonder if he learns anything at school.

I carefully poked Seok-joon’s side with a pen. If he had any sense, he wouldn’t be startled.

“Hoo-ah!”

Yes, thanks for reminding me that I’m a fool for expecting anything.

“So, sorry.”

Kim So-young, seeing that, looked around at everyone with a ‘right?’ expression and continued.

“So… our team is very positively evaluating the Philosophy Academy that Blossom recently released as its own content.”

Then Kim So-young PD turned over a piece of paper, showed it to everyone, and said.

“Momoji, as a starting point for a new change, we are going to create a video in the format that Blossom showed this time, with the theme of modern philosophy.”

Wow… Hegel and Nietzsche having a philosophy battle – it’s already embarrassing just thinking about it.

“However, due to various constraints such as Momoji’s production budget and target viewing age… magic will be a little difficult to incorporate. So, this is the proposal we have prepared. You can look at this later and give us your opinions. I heard that Blossom provided a lot of ideas for the production of Philosophy Academy. If you have any ideas, please let us know right away, and we will review them positively.”

As she said that, she looked directly at me, indicating that she knew I wrote the first draft of the script.

…Damn internet age. It’s an achievement that I’m too ashamed to show anywhere in the world.

* * *

“Wow… these people’s concepts are amazing too.”

While Kang Seung-won and Jang Hae-jin were discussing the detailed contract terms with Kim So-young PD, Lee Hyun-jae, who was skimming through the proposal, muttered.

Yes, I know that our video’s concept was ‘amazing’.

“Mixing modern philosophy with a mystery drama… that’s really something.”

Ryu Iden also muttered after hearing that.

It’s a measure to secure a younger audience in the first place, so it’ll probably be okay, but what kind of result will it produce?

In addition, looking at the list of people involved, I can see that they did their best to grasp the core themes of modern philosophy. In other words, these people are serious about this.

“…Personally, I think it’s a less ‘amazing’ concept than ours.”

“Well, philosophy magic is weirder.”

Ryu Iden said that and smiled at me.

He’s amazing at pinpointing what others are ashamed of.

“…Remember that you also agreed with my opinion.”

“Of course.”

* * *

After the Momoji production meeting, there’s another urgent matter to address.

“Contact with Kim Hyun-jin, a trainee at Dione Entertainment, has been completed. He said it would be a good opportunity before his debut, so he agreed to make a special appearance on the ‘Horizon’ stage.”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen that gangster-like face.

“Location arrangements are also complete, and we’ve contacted a security company as well. So now we just need to prepare for the stage. Considering your physical stamina, we’re going to limit the actual stage performance to about 20 minutes, excluding talk time. So, you’ll be preparing about five songs.”

Jang Hae-jin sighed deeply.

“Everyone! You can’t fill it with five dance songs! TOT also rented an outdoor stage by the Han River and performed, and at that time, the members insisted on performing a lot of dance songs, and Jun-sung lost strength in his legs and fell!”

But the problem is that there are no ballads on our album.

“Therefore, please include ‘Cliff and Boy’ in the setlist unconditionally. As a break.”

Then Jang Hae-jin showed us the setlist created by the planning team.

“First of all, we made a draft. Take a look, and if you think it’s okay, we’ll go with it.”

Hmm, the title song ‘Cloudy Blue’, the b-side song ‘Our Hour’, the unreleased song ‘Cliff and Boy’, the survival show song ‘Horizon’, and the last song is the b-side song ‘Start, Time’.

It’s a setlist that captures the dreamy feeling of the first album and the refreshing atmosphere unique to summer, with slightly different colors.

There’s a reason why there are experts.

But there’s one problem…….

“Team leader, is it okay to change ‘Cliff and Boy’ to another song?”

Ryu Iden raised his hand and asked.

“…Um, why?”

“It’s too much of my personal song… I don’t think it fits the purpose of the performance.”

Yes, that’s the problem. It’s a project to thank the fans who have been supporting us since the survival show. It’s good to have a direction that can make everyone stand out.

That’s why Jang Hae-jin can’t help but look at me. Because I was the one who opposed the group song arrangement.

…I have no choice.

“…Can you let me arrange it instead?”

Jang Hae-jin looked at me with eyes that saw something inevitable and muttered.

“…I can already see the A&R [Artists and Repertoire] team being happy that their workload has been reduced.”

* * *

After all the meetings were over and I returned to the dorm, I felt like my whole body was decaying.

“…Bed.”

I quickly washed up, burrowed into the blanket, and took out the book I had placed on my bedside.

…I’m happy, very.

“You look happiest when you read a book, Dong-hwa.”

Ah, come to think of it.

“…Hamin, if you’re free tomorrow, do you want to go to the studio?”

Chae Ha-min chewed on his salad and answered.

“Huh? Aren’t we going to record ‘Cliff and Boy’ tomorrow anyway?”

“…A little earlier than that.”

Then Chae Ha-min shook his salad bowl and asked.

“What, are we going to hang out?”

“…Maybe.”

Unlike me, you’re an extroverted human whose idea of fun is meeting people.

* * *

The next day, I went into the studio with Chae Ha-min and waited for a while, then the studio door opened.

“Hyung! I’m here! Hello, Hamin sunbaenim [senior/respected colleague]!”

Mok-hwa came in.

It’s his first day off after the last week of music show promotions, which is perfect for fulfilling Mok-hwa’s wish to visit my studio and his secret hope to become closer to Hamin sunbaenim.

“Wow! Mok-hwa, it’s been two months.”

“It’s all because Dong-hwa hyung is hiding me.”

…Um? Nonsense.

“Congratulations on all the second-place wins on the music shows. I watched all of them to see Hamin hyung’s dance.”

…I’m, a bad person.

Then Mok-hwa glanced at me with his unique relaxed expression and smiled slyly.

How did he grow up to be so cunning? I tried so hard to show him only the right things in his childhood.

Mok-hwa started to look around at the furniture and equipment in my studio and admire them.

“Wow… hyung, did the company provide all this for you?”

“Yeah.”

“They said Dong-hwa has good composing skills, so they bought it for him.”

After a round of studio exploration, we sat on the sofa and had a conversation that we hadn’t had for a while.

“…Mok-hwa, do you know Kim Hyun-jin?”

“Huh? Did you know he joined our company? I was going to tell you today after saying hello for the first time yesterday.”

Um, I told Ryu Iden right after it was decided that he would join.

“…What about his debut?”

“Maybe he’ll debut early next year? The atmosphere is completely tense because they announced that they’re picking a debut group now.”

Looking at Mok-hwa sighing, I gave him a sympathetic look.

‘…Come to think of it, Mok-hwa is going through the same thing I went through after my debut.’

He’s eighteen years old, but maybe it’s because he’s still like a child in my eyes. I’m very worried.

“If he debuts, maybe he’ll debut with Hyun-jin?”

I really appreciate that he speaks respectfully even though he knows he’s younger than him.

“Dione Entertainment is a big company, so if you debut, they’ll be all over you, Mok-hwa.”

When Chae Ha-min said that, Mok-hwa shook his head. Mok-hwa’s expression was like he was analyzing something sharply.

“Eh, still, the speed at which the hyungs are gaining popularity is almost… I think you can say that you’re in the rising stage soon, right?”

…The rising stage probably means being on the upswing.

Such trivial conversations continued.

Mok-hwa is good at conversation, and Chae Ha-min is good at reacting, so I was just listening.

Then I took out the USB.

I’ll feel relieved if I give it to him today.

“Ah, Mok-hwa.”

“Why, hyung?”

“…This is a gift.”

Mok-hwa received the USB with both hands and looked puzzled.

“Hyung, is there a trend of giving USBs as gifts these days?”

“…The contents are the gift.”

“Oh, what is it, hyung? Did you write a song for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh?”

What, you little brother. You’re making a fuss even though I said yes because you asked.

“…No, why?”

“…I knew you didn’t have a song to use for your debut audition. I made one reflecting the atmosphere you described, so listen to it and create some creative choreography.”

…Yes, right now I’m busy with idol activities, so it’s hard to help directly.

So, this is my meager attempt to help, even in this small way.

“No, but hyung, aren’t you busy? When did you…….”

…Um?

“…Okay, go practice.”