90 episodes
“I want to be number one.”
Towards the end of the meeting, Min Ji-ho spoke up and Room 304 was quiet for a moment.
If I was lucky, I could have tried to win 1st place in the regular show, but it was a time when strong music sources were coming out one after another, so even no 1st place candidates were not able to enter.
A year and a half since debut. Among the six teams we worked with in The Rising that can be called ‘Rising’, we are the only team that has never won first place.
Min Ji-ho grabbed my arm and waved it.
“brother. Give me first place.”
“How do I do that?”
“If you work hard, you can do it.”
oh my gosh
I calmed Min Ji-ho once I knew.
Then, while looking out the window, I found the blue sky and thought of something.
“I remembered the name of the fan meeting. It’s really good this time.”
Han Hyo-seok asked me reluctantly.
“What?”
“pilot.”
The members were looking at me without any reaction, so I immediately added an explanation.
“Why do you say you’re a pilot when you throw in the first episode of a drama? It can also mean being an aviator in a double sense.”
Park Seon-jae said with a confused expression at my words.
“… … Why are you okay?”
“I know. I can’t.”
When Shin Ji-woon agreed, Min Ji-ho jumped up and ran to the whiteboard, took Han Hyo-seok’s marker and said:
“At the start of the fan meeting, an announcement should appear when you board the plane. Someone to record!”
“Let’s record everything and write the best one.”
After Han Hyo-seok answered, Ahn Joo-won said.
“The stage changes time in the middle of a fan meeting. Take off a plane at night, watch the sunrise, and land during the day.”
Then Shin Ji-woon added.
“There are things like lightning and turbulence in the middle.”
“Jiho, give Hyoseok a pen to write.”
When Hwang Sae-byeok took the fan and told it to Min Ji-ho, who was drawing an airplane, Min Ji-ho answered, ‘Yes,’ and returned the marker to Han Hyo-seok.
As I was about to go back to my seat, Min Ji-ho hurriedly turned back and said,
“The fan meeting ticket is in the shape of an airplane ticket! “First light for takeoff and sunrise or sunshine for landing.”
The title decides a lot. After we decided on a name for the fan meeting, ideas poured in from the members.
* * *
Immediately after Park Jung-woon’s job change, VMC asked specific questions about First Light’s schedule for this year and albums.
However, most of the questions could not be answered because the First Light members had closed meetings with each other, reached a conclusion, and then passed it on to the staff.
After that, I joined the management department of VVV Entertainment, but no one taught me or entrusted me with work. When asked about work, they were told to just wait.
Less than a week later, Park Joong-woon accepted that he would never ever be in charge of a singer at VVV. And what was certain was when the manager of VVV said as if to listen.
“No, I’d rather have a child, even if it’s recognized from above, would you steal the song? Which artist trusts such a manager?”
I regretted it right after the leak was revealed, but it got even worse after I joined VVV.
Unlike his appearance, Jung Hae-won smiled well, had a lot of respect, and was a person who constantly hit people who believed he was on my side. After being next to such a person, I felt even more emptiness when I was away in a place where no one was around. Even though my body was comfortable, I couldn’t stand it mentally.
After all, I thought it was wrong to work here for a long time, so it was not difficult to decide to hand over information about schedules and plans at the VMC headquarters building where VVV Entertainment is located.
The VMC building had strict access security, but after entering with an employee card, a year’s worth of plans would stick to the wall of the conference room.
I just took a picture of what I saw and delivered it to him, so I got a call from Jung Hae-won.
-… … Are you a leak master?
“Oh, I’m sorry… … .”
– I’m asking because I’m sorry hyung. Maybe you can’t get CCTV or something like that during BMMU? It would be nice if the staff suggested something to hyung.
“Haewon, hyung is not a spy.”
– But try it. you don’t know Since it was a busy day, I think I had backed up all the CCTV data that day. Anyway, I have to work, so please fight.
“Here, Haewon.”
-yes?
“I’m really sorry bro.”
-yes.
And the phone hung up.
* * *
The comeback date was set in the last week of March, but I still haven’t made a title.
I had to admit one of two things. Sad, or lack of talent. And of course, I’ve decided to call the plateau I’m going through a slump.
The cause of the slump was clear. The monitor has been empty since the day I found out that Manager Park Joong-woon was the culprit. Even right after the leak, I tried to take pictures of anything even though the quality was low, but now it has been in place for almost two weeks.
It would be nice if the status window would help me out in this case, but it seems that the new friend becomes inactive if I achieve something or don’t think about it.
Fortunately, the A&R team was preparing in case the song didn’t come out at all. The problem is that, as always, the members don’t like the songs the A&R team sang. To my ears, it sounded incomparably high quality to the songs I could make now, but to the members, it doesn’t seem like it.
I put aside the song work for which there was no answer, and checked the materials that manager Park Joong-woon sent me at VMC at random.
“I chose the wrong job. I had to be a spy.”
I muttered to myself. The whole year’s worth of plans for VMC’s channels were filmed and sent.
To pass the time, I enlarged the data sent by Park Joong-woon and checked them one by one.
“… … Oh, this project is going to be interesting.”
There were plans that looked interesting, and there were plans that I really wanted to do with money. As I was watching, I discovered a variety show scheduled for October.
‘From the Boy (tentative title)’
Just looking at it, it was an entertainment that we wanted to make mainly for boys after taking over TRV.
However, since the photo was taken outside the conference room, only the title was blurred, and the details were not visible at all. I texted Park Joong-woon’s manager again.
[Hyung, can you take a picture of the details of this ‘From the Boy’?]
[It is difficult to take pictures because it is inside the conference room]
Less than an hour after that, a more detailed, high-definition picture arrived. Again, I am convinced that I may have chosen the wrong job.
I enlarged the picture that arrived again.
[Mockumentary showing the process of the members of ‘Boys’ getting rid of their pain and becoming a team]
And there was a pretty detailed composition plan, and I checked it, and the more I read it line by line, the more cursing came out.
It was made entirely of interest. The editorial direction to arouse interest by using viewers’ doubts about which of the members is the manipulation member was melted in the composition. After all, the people involved seem to think that it doesn’t matter because they’re in litigation or in detention.
In the first place, from the beginning, the VMC nailed this manipulation as a personal deviation of the PD, and nailed them as victims.
“no… … Fuck you, what are these bastards?”
I realized now that I wasn’t even trying to create a good image as First Light members.
I don’t know why the ratings turned around like this. The channel where the program was organized was quite noisy a while ago that VMC would renew and reopen in 2024. Perhaps, this difficult re-opening channel needed something topical to properly attract aggro.
If you drag enough to attract aggro like this, is it good if it goes well, or is it tense if it doesn’t?
At the very least, I thought that if things didn’t go our way, even if First Light became a part of VMC, they would take good care of them.
But now I know it’s not at all.
And I looked at the empty monitor again.
VMC is a villain to me, but for the rest of the members, I have thought that even if it is not a good role, it is a necessary evil. But now I know that’s not necessarily the case.
In order to do that, you have to show that you are on the top, or at least, a candidate for the first place. Number 1 is symbolic. And since the influx of fans during the hiatus was large, this album was more important than any other album so far.
I remembered what Shin Ji-woon said that the will is to do it where it will not be broken. Don’t rely on composing.
Actually, I didn’t rely on composing. I depended on my willpower. Even though I knew my willpower was half broken. So, I realized just how poor it was, looking at the monitor that had been empty for two weeks.
I then contacted the support team, and headed to the counseling center on my own feet for the first time.
* * *
The doctor initially told me that I had to force the medication to beat the anxiety symptoms, but I couldn’t be patient enough, so I was prescribed only a minimal amount of medication.
Miraculously, from the moment I acknowledged that I had a problem, my head, which seemed to be filled with stones, began to lighten little by little.
And at some point, the top line came to mind, and as soon as I arrived at the studio, I immediately called Yang Yi-hyung.
-Bro bro. listen.
I was in a hurry, so I played a melody I recorded in the car. There was ambient noise mixed in, but everything I wanted to express was heard.
Yang Yi-hyung laughed out loud.
-I am coming.
“What do you think?”
– Say you go because it’s good.
According to Yang Yi-hyung’s standard, ‘good’ was the same answer as Min Ji-ho’s standard, “Hyung, this must be crazy. Oddly enough, the two reactions are similar. ‘What’s wrong?’ In terms of saying three letters and the end.
Yang Yi-hyung immediately ran to my studio and entered the meeting with me. The blockage was cleared, so I was excited and chatting, and after Yang Yi-hyung went back to his studio, I checked my cell phone. There was a photo sent by manager Park Joong-woon.
Checking the picture, I was more dazed than angry this time.
“… … uh?”
My name was on a project that had not yet been organized.
[I’ll be back (tentative title)]
[The story of aspiring idols who have various pains and have not achieved their dreams of debut, growing together with mentor Jung Hae-won]
I couldn’t explain how I felt.
So far I’ve been thinking that the VMC will only be interested in keeping my mouth shut. So when TRV is taken over by VMC, I’m just going to fall out.
But it wasn’t. When I’m not good enough, when it’s good, it’s good. VMC had plans to use me.
This was completely unexpected, so it was a bigger shock.
Now that I think about it, before this contract renewal, VMC was trying to make me sign a separate contract with a subsidiary. At that time, I thought that the down payment was just a settlement, and I didn’t think there was any intention of putting me on the stage.
But looking at this plan now, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.
… … So, was it because of Lee Yong-min’s excessive loyalty?
[Traitor 2: Surprisingly, VVV seems to have a plan to support you if you take over TRV. Other than this, I’ll send you any other materials you can see. I think I’ll quit soon.]
If it was true, I thought that it might be able to do some damage even if I couldn’t blow Lee Yong-min away. I called the manager Park Joong-woon.
“Brother, is this real?”
-… … So I guess I made this up to deceive you?
“Then there is. Hyung, if you ever meet someone with some power in VVV.”
– Haewon-ah, I’m quitting here soon… … .
“Why stop? What are you talking about. You have to keep going.”
No, this hyung is helping out a little now, and he says he’s quitting?
“cheer up. I know because I’ve tried it, but it’s not fun. Do you know that I still believe in you even if I go through something like this?”
-… … So, what if you meet someone with some power?
“When TRV was taken over by VMC, I tried to do my best in everything I did, but I know that Lee Yong-min, the head of the music content department, attacked me, so tell me that you are very upset. membrane… … Oh, I was so upset that I cried.”
Well, believe it or not. It is a story that is not bad for me by passing it on. Where can I get angry when I say I was going to do a good job? I don’t know if it’s the other way around