Chapter 1027: We Call the Rain (11)

Tap tap tap.

The sound of laptop keyboards echoed throughout Lemon Entertainment's conference room.

After NewBlack left, the staff had begun gathering information in earnest.

On the large screen was a profile.

[Cha Woohyun]

Born in 1980

Height: 191 cm

Korea's greatest vocalist

In the photo, the singer wore a serious expression.

With his appearance, he looked more suited to being a police officer or soldier than a ballad singer.

The analysis continued.

"If we're talking about Cha Woohyun's strengths, the first thing is the vocal projection that comes from that frame. Even before discussing technique, people get overwhelmed by the sheer volume coming out of him."

"Hmm..."

"In that regard, Ri Hyuk is at a significant disadvantage."

A simple difference in physical vocal power.

"His solo career is incredible as well. Famous drama soundtracks, sold-out concerts, and he's one of the few ballad singers who can fill the Olympic Gymnastics Arena by himself. More importantly, he has extensive competition experience."

"That's definitely another disadvantage."

Back in the mid-2000s, Cha Woohyun had only been considered the weakest member of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings of Vocals.

Then the early 2010s arrived, bringing an explosion of singing competition programs.

And everything changed.

He finally had a stage where he could showcase the skill he'd been honing all those years.

—

TBC's Birth of Legends — Cha Woohyun Wins the Final Championship

Cha Woohyun Shares Victory Thoughts: "So I really won."

[Hot Topic] Cha Woohyun's Legendary First-Round Performance Still Discussed Today

—

One by one, he defeated singers who had previously been considered above him.

It wasn't a lucky upset.

He kept winning.

Kept defending first place.

And after six months of competition, he claimed the final championship.

The combination of huge ratings and explosive buzz instantly elevated him from one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Vocals to Korea's undisputed number-one vocalist.

Even people who disliked his singing style usually admitted he belonged somewhere in Korea's Top 3.

His impact had been that overwhelming.

"Wooow..."

"Seriously..."

The employees couldn't stop gasping while watching old footage of Cha Woohyun's performances.

This is insane.

So that's why legends are legends.

Even now, new comments were still appearing on videos that were years old.

—

Who's still listening in 2018? Raise your hand.

Seven years later and nobody has surpassed this stage.

Some idol these days is acting like he's King of Singers lol... Senior, please teach him a lesson lol.

└ It's just popularity. Makes me sick watching people praise him like he's actually good.

└ That fandom really thinks their oppa is the best in the world lol.

└ Honestly don't even know if he's that good.

└ If it's a good performance, let's just talk about the performance. Why is everyone bringing up unrelated stuff?

└ Boomer detected.

This is what a real King of Singers looks like lol. Unlike certain people.

—

The employees immediately bristled.

"Why are they suddenly dragging Ri Hyuk into this?"

"Leave them alone. They get beaten up if they leave hate comments on recent videos, so they've run away to old ones."

"They're probably under a ton of stress lately. The reactions to Ri Hyuk and Wooju on Mission Singer have been insane."

The latest Mission Singer clips were too popular.

Any malicious comment was immediately buried.

As a result, the antis had fled to old Cha Woohyun videos instead.

The employees continued observing.

These antis are a different breed.

If the antis lurking on social media were suspected of being fans of rival idol groups, these ones were more likely community users who simply disliked NewBlack.

Flames seemed to ignite in the employees' eyes.

Fine.

We'll make sure they can't say a word after the next round...!

Of course, there wasn't much they could actually do.

Their job was research and analysis.

The artists themselves were responsible for strategy.

The stage wasn't their specialty.

We gather and process data!

Their goal was simple.

Collect raw information.

Process it.

Deliver refined reports to NewBlack.

"I've organized every song Cha Woohyun has performed from debut until now."

"I analyzed the genres he's selected in competitions. Eighty-seven percent were ballads, ten percent rock, and three percent miscellaneous genres."

"He tends to struggle slightly against female rock vocalists like Baek Siyeon. We should probably gather information assuming there's a chance she beats him."

And among all the findings, the most important one appeared.

"Hmm... I've analyzed Cha Woohyun's win rate across every competition program he's appeared on."

A TF Team employee projected a chart onto the screen.

"In programs where multiple contestants compete for first place, like Challenge, Masterpiece Troupe, his win rate is roughly forty-three percent."

"Wow..."

In other words, if five singers competed for first place, there was a forty-three percent chance Cha Woohyun would win.

Even with votes scattered across different preferences, he still finished first four times out of ten.

Manager Yoon Seokhwan raised a hand.

"What about head-to-head formats? Something like Mission Singer?"

"That..."

"Eighty-seven percent?!"

"Eighty-seven?!"

My brothers and I stared at the report we'd received from the company employees.

Junghyun blinked.

"So if you face Senior Cha Woohyun, you'll lose eighty-seven times out of a hundred."

"Numerically speaking, yes. But what's important is the list of people who make up that thirteen percent."

Who exactly were the thirteen percent who had managed to defeat Cha Woohyun?

The names stretched down the page.

"Choi Yujin... Baek Siyeon..."

The strongest female rock vocalists, the type who devoured singing competitions wherever they appeared.

"Yoon Chanhyuk... Yeon..."

And the kings of ballads.

Even among ballad singers, only Yoon Chanhyuk had managed a win rate approaching forty percent against Cha Woohyun.

Biju muttered blankly.

"How did we even beat him in the first round of Masterpiece Troupe?"

"We got lucky. The format helped too..."

As we talked, everyone's attention shifted.

One person still hadn't spoken.

"..."

Ri Hyuk was silently reading through the report.

"Ri Hyuk...?"

"I thought seeing the numbers would make me feel better..."

"It didn't?"

"Not even a little..."

Our main vocalist closed his eyes with a distant expression.

Jiho immediately grabbed his shoulders.

"No! Hyung's soul is leaving his body!"

"Hahahaha."

"Pull yourself together, hyung!"

"Hahahahaha."

We laughed while watching our main vocalist descend into despair.

Ri Hyuk looked ready to tunnel straight through the floor.

Jiho patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay, hyung. Wooju hyung will come up with another idea. Right?"

"Yep."

At that, Ri Hyuk glanced toward me.

I smiled confidently.

"You don't need to worry that much. Winning or losing isn't actually the important part of this competition."

"...?"

"...??"

The others looked confused.

Junghyun flipped through the report.

"If winning doesn't matter, why did you ask the staff to do all this analysis?"

"Because we need it for our strategy."

In truth, the important thing about Ri Hyuk versus Cha Woohyun wasn't who won.

I explained to my attentive brothers.

"Imagine Ri Hyuk beats Senior Cha Woohyun. The vote is close, but he wins."

The others nodded.

—

The winner of today's King of Singers match is King Wooju!

King! King!

—

In their imaginations, Orpheus looked devastated while the Sunflower Mask laughed triumphantly.

But there was one important point.

"Even if Ri Hyuk beats Senior Cha Woohyun, does his image suddenly change?"

"What do you mean?"

"If Ri Hyuk wins one competition, does he instantly become Korea's greatest vocalist?"

The public reaction would probably look something like this:

—

Holy crap!

Wow, he got really lucky!

Ri Hyuk's good!

—

Now, if he beat Cha Woohyun ten times out of ten, people might start saying, Has Cha Woohyun's era finally ended...?

But one competition wouldn't suddenly rewrite public perception.

"Senior Cha Woohyun has spent more than ten years building his image as a vocalist. Ri Hyuk only started building that image recently."

"That's true."

"And people already have a specific image in mind when they hear the phrase 'Korea's greatest vocalist.'"

The title belonged to veteran singers in their thirties, forties, and fifties.

People with decades of experience.

Meanwhile, our Ri Hyuk was—

"Young."

Biju and Junghyun immediately added their own comments.

"He's cute too."

"He looks like a pointy little chick."

Ri Hyuk cleared his throat with an offended expression.

Jiho raised his hand.

"Question. I get that Ri Hyuk hyung won't suddenly become the ultimate king of kings if he wins. But what if he loses?"

"Honestly? Losing won't hurt him much."

After all, he'd be losing to Cha Woohyun.

Likewise, nobody would suddenly conclude that Ri Hyuk had been overrated all along.

Jiho frowned.

"So winning doesn't matter, and losing doesn't matter?"

"Exactly."

Just as I was about to explain what actually mattered—

Ri Hyuk figured it out.

"It's about image more than victory."

"Exactly."

Seeing the others still confused, Ri Hyuk explained.

"The important thing isn't whether I win or lose. It's what kind of image I leave in the minds of the audience and viewers."

"Oho..."

"Think of beating Senior Cha Woohyun like winning a mini-game on a variety show. Winning is nice. Maybe you get the food prize. But compare that to a comedian who loses the mini-game but gets tons of screen time versus someone who wins but barely gets any memorable moments."

"Obviously the person with more screen time benefits more... Ah. So substance matters more than the result."

Now they understood.

I nodded.

"Of course it'd be nice if Ri Hyuk won. But the real point is what kind of image gets engraved into people's minds."

At present, Ri Hyuk's image was simple:

—

A top-tier singer within the industry.

—

Through Mission Singer, King Wooju had defeated one strong singer after another.

He'd beaten Jo Yuri, a vocalist respected even among indie bands.

He'd beaten survival-show champions.

His reputation had skyrocketed.

But—

"People still don't have a clear image attached specifically to Ri Hyuk's vocals."

"That sounds about right. Everyone just says he's really good."

The praise was endless.

The image was not.

Which meant this was the perfect opportunity.

—

Cha Woohyun vs. Ri Hyuk.

—

Mission Singer would spend four full weeks building hype around this matchup.

And we intended to use that attention.

"It's a great opportunity. Through Senior Cha Woohyun, we can establish a completely new image for Ri Hyuk."

"What image?"

I grinned.

"The future of Korean music."

The future of Korean music.

It sounded grand.

In reality, it was closer to being a highly promising prospect.

The kind of reaction sports fans had when a young soccer player dominated youth leagues.

—

That kid is the future of Korean soccer!

—

Ri Hyuk wasn't going to become one of Korea's ten greatest vocalists overnight.

Personally, I thought he could already rank somewhere in the top twenty.

But ability wasn't the issue.

Public perception was.

—

I like Ri Hyuk and he's definitely good, but that's a bit much...

Isn't Ri Hyuk only twenty-two?

Those singers debuted when Ri Hyuk was still a baby.

—

He was simply too young.

Talent alone couldn't overcome that.

He needed another decade of experience.

Solo activities.

A long track record.

Proof.

"But we can absolutely give him the image of a future star."

"I like that."

Ri Hyuk nodded with satisfaction.

"Sounds good, right?"

"So what's the plan?"

Ri Hyuk was looking at me like I was a producer now.

"Hmm."

I thought for a moment.

"It won't be easy. There are several conditions."

First, he couldn't get completely overwhelmed by Cha Woohyun.

Second, he needed to maintain the same orthodox vocal style associated with Cha Woohyun.

And finally—

He needed song choices that differentiated him from established veterans.

"Something that feels youthful. Bold. If I had to describe the atmosphere... powerful freshness."

"...That's really difficult."

Ri Hyuk summarized.

"So I need to battle someone who's better than me in every category, showcase a similar vocal style, differentiate myself from the older generation through youthful energy, and then narrow the vote gap to six-to-four or maybe even five-to-five."

"Exactly."

The others looked exhausted.

The youngest member muttered, "Is this difficulty level even legal...?"

But after organizing everything in his head, Ri Hyuk nodded and smiled.

"I like it."

"You think you can do it?"

He nodded without hesitation.

"Why not? I'll give it a shot."

"The next two weeks are going to be brutal."

"That's fine. Being tired doesn't bother me. Honestly, the uncertainty was worse. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find an answer."

"..."

"But now there's someone standing in front of me giving me one."

Smiling brightly, Ri Hyuk looked at me.

"So, Producer."

His cool eyes sparkled.

"What should I do first?"

We kept the meeting simple.

Mostly song selection.

Ri Hyuk spoke first.

"I think a rock song would work best. Something that can showcase powerful freshness. It gives us options no matter what happens."

We wrote down every song people wanted to perform.

Every idea that came to mind.

Every possibility.

"Since Senior Cha Woohyun performs first..."

"We should emphasize the contrast between them. Their vocal styles are similar."

Using the data provided by the company, we brainstormed together.

Some plans even assumed Baek Siyeon might advance instead of Cha Woohyun.

That possibility had come from Ri Hyuk.

"If Baek Siyeon suddenly advances instead, our entire plan falls apart. We need a contingency plan."

So we built a strategy capable of achieving our objective regardless of variables.

Cha Woohyun was the most likely opponent.

But Baek Siyeon wasn't an insignificant possibility either.

Not only was she one of the Three Great Female Rock Vocalists—

—

"I am Baek Siyeon! Even I don't know what my performance will be today!"

—

She was completely governed by inspiration.

Her stage quality fluctuated.

If Cha Woohyun was the type to score 99, 99, 98—

Baek Siyeon was the type who scored 93, 91, 97...

And then suddenly exploded with a 120.

A true mystery box.

Cha Woohyun had suffered from exactly that in past competitions.

I was remembering the thunderous volume we'd heard during the live recording when Jiho spoke up while watching one of her videos on MyTube.

"Wow. No matter who advances, Ri Hyuk hyung is doomed. This is genuinely hell difficulty."

"Stay strong, Ri Hyuk."

"Thanks, everyone... sigh..."

After comforting Ri Hyuk and wrapping up the meeting, everyone dispersed for individual practice.

Meanwhile, Biju and I changed clothes and headed out.

"Alright. Shall we get going too?"

"Yep."

It was Sunday.

We had a prerecording for WAVE at HBS's public hall in Deungchon-dong.

Once we got into the vehicle in the underground parking garage, Biju looked outside with concern.

"I hope it doesn't rain today."

"Seriously."

Rain.

Every single WAVE prerecording seemed to come with rain.

Looking up at the cloudy sky, we muttered—

"At least today probably won't—"

Rumbleeeee.

The moment we left Gangnam, the sky transformed.

"..."

"..."

Biju and I wore matching expressions of despair.

"At this point, I'm almost willing to accept it."

"Honestly, I think we can just assume we're the cause."

It felt like it had rained every week we'd been promoting on music shows.

Mostly, we just felt bad for the fans.

It was also frustrating because we kept performing a bright summer song under gloomy skies.

Still.

Who were WooBizz?

"We're WooBizz. We find flowers blooming even in garbage cans."

"Exactly."

We always preferred focusing on positives.

If it rained every time we performed—

Couldn't that become part of our image too?

Just as we were thinking that—

"Oh."

Manager Mingi, sitting in the passenger seat, raised an eyebrow.

"Guys."

"Yeah?"

"You know the schedule you pushed for tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"The detailed itinerary just came out."

"Really?! Nice!"

Biju and I high-fived.

At the same time.

Lemon Entertainment TF Team Office.

"Hmm..."

"Mmm..."

Ri Hyuk and the other members of SamBlack sat with their arms crossed, deep in thought.

"This one is a little..."

"Feels questionable."

The three carefully listened to songs while evaluating possible selections.

The TF Team and producing team were still discussing options when—

"Hmm?"

Ri Hyuk suddenly noticed something.

A TF Team employee had just finished a phone call and was writing something onto NewBlack's monthly schedule board.

And then—

"Huh?"

"What's wrong, hyung?"

"...That."

Following Ri Hyuk's finger, the other two looked at the schedule hanging on the wall.

Tomorrow's WooBizz schedule.

—

PBS Today, My Hometown

Rainmaking Ritual Special Recording (Tentative)

—

At first, they simply nodded.

Just another television shoot.

Then they froze.

"...Huh?"

"Wait a second..."

Among the perfectly normal schedule entries, one very strange phrase stood out.