Chapter 835: Is This the Land of the New Black? (11)

The composers took a long breath.

"Whew."

"I’m nervous."

It felt just as nerve-racking as when Woojuseon inspected their songs.

Their gazes turned toward the hall doors.

Soon, foreign composers would walk in through those doors and the training would begin in earnest.

'This is a really important opportunity.'

It was precious time to learn about overseas trends and the latest composition techniques from foreign composers.

Especially since their artist was aiming for American promotions, they too needed to grasp the direction of overseas pop music.

What was popular, and what American audiences liked.

"I hear footsteps."

Heavy steps echoed, and the door clicked open.

Bright light streamed in as foreign composers with colorful eyes poured inside.

「Nice to meet you! We finally get to meet Lemon Entertainment’s producers.」

「Who is in charge?」

Overseas composers of various nationalities greeted them warmly.

The staff with English anxiety quietly slipped to the back, and Team Manager Na Sangyun stepped forward to welcome the guests.

But then.

"Hm?"

Foreign composers were staring at him with sparkling eyes.

「Is something wrong?」

「Ah.」

One composer spoke.

「Among us, Mr. Na’s reputation is enormous. It’s fascinating to see Na Sangyun, who worked on Blue Moon, in person.」

「Me... fascinating?」

「You’re the composer behind a song that swept Billboard from 2016 to last year. Isn’t that only natural? You have to tell us the secret later.」

At the suggestion of having a beer later and chatting, Team Manager Na Sangyun laughed.

'Here, I’m Krillin, huh.'

Weak among the strongest, yet called the strongest among humans.

As he wondered how to package the fact that he had barely survived between the two monsters Haley Blue and Woojuseon, Na Sangyun gestured.

「This way, please.」

Composers with backpacks or rolling suitcases began unpacking at their respective tables.

Sweden, England, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Canada, and more.

It was such a diverse group that someone joked they could hold a UN meeting.

Among them, the majority were American composers.

'They look seriously strong.'

They were composers influential enough in America that Wooju had personally sent invitations to recruit them.

In terms of career alone, they could be considered the best in this room.

Perhaps aware of those gazes, the American composers smiled with pride.

「Shall we begin in earnest?」

At their words, Lemon Entertainment’s producers nodded.

Somehow it felt like the guests had become the hosts, but the other side’s career and aura made it feel natural.

「Then let’s take time to evaluate the songs everyone brought.」

Na Sangyun said.

「The composers’ identities will not be disclosed. We’ll proceed with blind evaluations.」

Soon the hall screen descended with a soft whir.

Flash.

The TV turned on, and the face of a handsome man appeared. He looked delighted to see the screen back on.

[Oh!]

The women in the room gasped, and Wooju continued with a gleeful face.

[So you’ve changed your minds? You’ve decided you need my help....]

Na Sangyun called someone.

"Hyeongseop."

"Yes."

Kim Hyeongseop picked up the remote and erased his same-age friend’s face from the screen.

Ignoring the disappointed groans behind him, Lemon Entertainment’s staff began projecting the songs.

Click.

As the mouse clicked, songs played one after another.

"Oh."

"This is good."

"What do you think? It feels a bit oddly suffocating to me."

Lemon Entertainment’s producers stroked their chins and evaluated one by one.

Foreign composers also exchanged comments.

「Clean.」

「The top line melody is lacking. It would be better if it pushed in more at that part.」

「Nice. Not bad.」

After the murmurs subsided, they cautiously discussed each song.

At first, it was no different from a solo stage for the American composers.

「The disappointing part of this song is the intro. The structure of the opening is weak. That’s very unfortunate.」

「The money chord progression repeats to an excessive degree. Even if it’s a money chord, this is a bit....」

The Lemon composers nodded at the mainland pop composers who took the lead in voicing opinions.

But gradually, they began catching oddities.

They couldn’t just sit and listen quietly.

「I see it differently. The issue isn’t the repetition of the money chord, but how it’s used. I don’t think varying the chord alone can be called a solution.」

To the one who pointed out the repetition, Composer Saltman clicked his mouse and demonstrated.

「Instead of splitting the chord into complex variations here, I think reducing the chords and simplifying the progression would be better. It suits current trends more. If we change it like this....」

Other composers gathered around him.

Soon the modified melody played, and the overseas composers widened their eyes.

「Indeed....」

「It’s better. Easier to listen to.」

Even the sharp American composers went, "Oh?" and admitted they might be right.

That was when it started.

The Lemon composers slowly gained confidence and began actively voicing their opinions.

And then they realized something shocking.

'These people....'

The Lemon staff’s expressions cooled.

'They know less than we do.'

As the illusion surrounding foreign composers peeled away, reality began to show.

Including the Swedish composers, most of them didn’t know more than they did.

Even the American composers with impressive careers weren’t that different when compared.

Composer Yoo Ung said quietly,

"Something’s strange, Team Manager."

"Y-Yeah."

"It feels like those patriotic MyTube videos. Like ‘I’m the best in Korea, so I’m the best in the world too.’ That kind of feeling...."

Of course, compared to the truly world-class composing prodigies, it would be different.

Those freaks of the composing world, considered on another level, didn’t participate in camps like this and worked alone.

But those here were at least second-tier elites.

By their expectations, they should have been above Lemon Entertainment.

'Why are they worse than us?'

Caught off guard, the composers felt slightly bewildered.

After the evaluation session, during a short break, composers from other countries flocked to them.

「Your insight earlier was incredible.」

「Thank you. Ha ha....」

「Who did you learn composition from? I know this isn’t something that comes from studying, but....」

When asked who they learned from.

'Ah.'

Someone surfaced in the Lemon composers’ minds.

And at that moment.

Everything became clear.

'It was because of Wooju.'

They finally understood why foreign composers felt underwhelming.

They had learned by watching a composing monster out of the corner of their eyes and pricking up their ears whenever he spoke about overseas trends.

The experience they picked up by sight and sound had accumulated in their bodies.

It was truly strange.

They only remembered being scolded when working with Woojuseon....

Team Manager, is that progression really... the right direction? I’m just purely curious.

Uh... it bends there like that...?

I like it. I’m used to minor tones. But from the public’s perspective, it might be a liiittle difficult?

Had all that accumulated nagging done this?

Whenever they listened to the foreign songs earlier, their bodies had flinched.

'That’s not it there.'

'Uh... if it goes that way, it won’t work?'

Instinctively, they knew what should be done at those points.

Like a disciple who had been pummeled by a boxing coach every day, eventually dodging and countering automatically whenever a punch flew.

The composers smiled bitterly.

"I don’t know whether to laugh or cry."

"Let’s laugh. We’ve cried enough until now."

"Still, it’s rewarding. Sometimes I felt so inferior because of the skill gap that I cried in the bathroom...."

"And whenever that happened, Junhyun would hand over tissues...."

In any case, one thing was certain.

The ones who had rolled around under a composing monster now possessed skills that couldn’t be ignored.

'Thanks, Wooju.'

They still felt a playful resentment, but they were truly grateful.

Not anyone could come every day, sleep-deprived, and give feedback on songs.

They remembered him, eyes bloodshot, saying, "It’s fine. I want to hear more," and smiled faintly.

"Mm...."

As the song camp continued in earnest, something began settling in their hearts.

Confidence.

Until now, Lemon Entertainment’s staff had lacked confidence regarding the overseas market.

No matter how successful they were in Korea, overseas was different.

They had regarded the foreign music industry as one tier above, like watching the EPL or MLB.

But now....

'We can do this.'

As they faced overseas composers, confidence began to sprout.

'At this rate... an international album is doable.'

The composers, who had been deeply worried about NewBlack’s upcoming international album, nodded.

In the past, they would have thought of outsourcing to foreign composers.

Now it was different.

They felt they could take the lead.

'It’s possible.'

While Lemon Entertainment’s composers thought this.

The song camp, passionately attended by composers from around the world, kept its lights on until dawn.

And.

Within it, Lemon Entertainment’s composers were growing even more.

That was one of the reasons why the quality of their newly released albums rose so astonishingly.

"They’re doing well, right?"

"Who?"

"Our PDs. I’m worried about the ones who went to the song camp...."

Biju tilted his head.

"No matter how strong the overseas composers are, our PDs aren’t at a level to be pushed around, right?"

"Exactly. That’s what I’m worried about."

"......?"

"What if they show overwhelmingly superior skill?"

At my joke that we should consider the other team’s feelings too, the younger members burst into laughter.

When I looked at my phone, brief progress reports about the song camp had arrived in my inbox.

Unlike the first and second days, there was a noticeable boost in confidence.

"That’s a relief."

"Because it’s going as you planned?"

"Yeah."

The primary goal of this song camp was to improve our producing team’s capabilities through training with overseas composers.

And one secondary goal was to boost our composers’ confidence.

Junhyun said,

"But that confidence... didn’t you crush it first, hyung?"

"Whew."

I exhaled lightly.

"When you say something correct like that, Junhyun, there’s no way to punish you."

"Heh."

"Biju. Recite the recent record of the KG Dragons."

"I’m sorry, hyung."

As Junhyun immediately changed his stance, even the managers in the front seat burst into laughter.

Snowy winter streets passed swiftly outside the car window.

Jiho rubbed his gloves while looking outside.

"I’m seriously jealous of the composers.... They say Hawaii is early summer right now. It’s totally warm."

"You want to go to Hawaii?"

"Yep."

"Let’s go someday. We’ll suggest it during the Travel Diary meeting."

At the mention of travel, the younger members began chatting excitedly.

As I half-listened to the youngest talking about having a mojito in Hawaii, I looked at my phone.

[SNH Entertainment]

Information about SNH Entertainment, one of the Big Four agencies, filled my screen.

Because today we were visiting SNH Entertainment.

The purpose was obvious: rehearsal for the Pyeongchang Closing Ceremony.

Pyeongchang Closing Ceremony Idol Lineup Confirmed... NewBlack, TNT, Daylight

There were sections not only for each group’s stage but also joint performances, so we needed to coordinate together.

If it were just a year-end music festival stage, coordinating on-site would suffice.

But for something like the Olympic closing ceremony, rehearsing only on-site was not enough.

We had to show the very best.

And somehow, we were in the leader position among the three groups.

Since Wooju participated in stage planning... we’ll rely on Wooju for the parts where the three groups need to coordinate.

Yes, Director.

I trust you’ll prepare well before rehearsal.

Because we had been involved in planning meetings from the moment we were chosen as performers, our share was significant.

Although we had the shortest career among the three groups, we had the highest understanding of this stage.

So we had to lead the practice.

Jiho said,

"Wow. They’re complete seniors."

"Right. Eight years and four years our seniors."

Daylight debuted in 2006, TNT in 2010.

We weren’t rookies anymore, but 13 years and 9 years in the industry were honestly... overwhelming.

That meant they had four to eight more years of stage experience than us.

TNT was fine since we were friendly.

But we were practically meeting Daylight for the first time.

Biju shook his hand warmer and muttered,

"I hope they’re nice people."

"Yeah."

From their broadcast image, they seemed like they’d mesh well with us, but you never really knew.

"Well. Taehyun said we don’t need to worry much."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He said they’re basically our female version."

"Oh."

Jiho nodded.

"So cute, charming, talented, and good visuals."

"Exactly."

The managers looked like they had a lot they wanted to say.

Anyway, they were once called the nation’s girl group before us, so maybe our vibe matched.

As the vehicle turned into Seongsu-dong where SNH was located, Junhyun said,

"We’ve finally visited all the Big Four. If we film NewBlack TV at TJ, KM, MOP... and now SNH."

"True."

"I never thought we’d come here... It’s fascinating."

I nodded at Ri Hyuk’s words.

Before we knew it, we had naturally visited all four major agencies.

It wasn’t intentional. As we discussed rehearsal spaces, it simply ended up being SNH.

Hyung! Hyung! I want to tour Lemon Entertainment.

Lemon go?

TNT members had wanted to visit Lemon Entertainment, but we didn’t have a large rehearsal room to accommodate many people.

The new building would have one, but that was next month.

So we considered going to TJ Entertainment.

I’m against it.

Hanbyeol vetoed it due to bad feelings about the China circuit and TJ Entertainment’s persistent contact.

And so, like a neutral country, SNH was chosen.

SNH’s reaction was extremely positive.

It was fascinating that they even suggested content for NewBlack TV first....

"SNH is known to be unique."

"Right."

"I’ve heard that too. They say the company atmosphere is really good."

The common story about SNH was that the company atmosphere was good.

They were strict about trainees’ personalities and character, but accordingly the internal atmosphere was good.

There was a rumor among trainees that once you went to SNH, you never left.

It was that unique.

Unlike other agencies named after founders’ initials, SNH’s name meant something else.

People. Tree. Sky.

I’d heard that the CEO’s aspiration was to become the best company for artists and staff.

It was surprising there was someone like our CEO elsewhere too.

"We’re almost there."

"Yes."

Stretching as Jongwan spoke, I checked the gift bags for Daylight seniors and TNT members one last time and fixed my outfit.

Thump, thump.

Just thinking about seeing the TNT juniors again made my heart flutter warmly.

Waaaaaaa.

We tilted our heads at the faint cheering sound.

"What’s that cheering? Am I hearing things?"

"No. It’s real."

As we approached the SNH building, the source was revealed.

Around a hundred people had gathered in front of the building, welcoming us.

And behind them hung banners.

[Congratulations on NewBlack’s visit to SNH Entertainment!]

[Today is a company holiday ( ๑˃̶ ꇴ ˂̶)♪ ]

It felt like a company retreat.

Employees and what looked like their spouses, children, and parents were clapping and welcoming us.

SNH had contacted us asking if they could prepare a mini fan meeting for staff....

"NewBlack! NewBlack!"

Faced with an atmosphere that felt like an actual fan meeting, we stood there blankly.

'What kind of company is this.'

'The company atmosphere is....'

It felt less like a company and more like visiting some fairy village.

Just as we stood speechless in confusion, a middle-aged woman holding a bouquet appeared before us. SNH Entertainment’s CEO, Jang Sohui.

We paused at her somewhat familiar smile.

Then we realized why.

"......!"

"......!"

We suddenly remembered SNH Entertainment’s CEO’s internet nickname.

Long-haired Park Gyuho.

It truly was accurate.