Chapter 17

On April 3, 2007, three days later, Yoon Hyun and LOEN Entertainment finally signed a formal artist contract, with a term of 4 years. On the same day, Lee Ji-eun, who had already signed a trainee contract with LOEN on April 1, finally moved into the dormitory prepared for her by LOEN.

Still on that day, Yoon Hyun's promotional poster appeared on the exterior wall of LOEN Entertainment and on the company's website.

The next day, the planning for Yoon Hyun's first album officially began.

The speed was so fast that even Yoon Hyun himself was a bit dazzled.

It seemed that LOEN and SK were indeed in a hurry!

"Yoon Hyun, your songs are all very good, but they don't have the potential to become a hit!" In the recording studio of LOEN Entertainment, a somewhat tired voice sounded. This was the music producer who had been excited during the interview, now Yoon Hyun's album producer, Jang Hyeok-dong.

"What do you mean by the potential to become a hit?" Yoon Hyun was also a bit frustrated, as he had almost been driven crazy by Jang Hyeok-dong over the past two days.

"It's simple: catchy, easy to sing, light, and almost everyone can hum it." Jang Hyeok-dong, who had been in the music industry for over twenty years, naturally had a deep understanding of the industry.

"Simple, catchy, light... a pop song?" Yoon Hyun frowned, and the image of a legendary Chinese group from the future, known as the pioneers of rural heavy metal, came to mind...

"What's wrong with a pop song? Songs that can be hummed repeatedly leave a deep impression." Jang Hyeok-dong rubbed his forehead and said, "If it doesn't work, I'll see if I can find a friend to help you with a song. Anyway, all the other songs on your album are written by you, so it's fine to include one more."

"Repeated... um... Teacher Jang Hyeok-dong, I think I have a song that can meet your requirements. It's an English song, though." Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and said straightforwardly.

"English? Why did you write an English song?" Jang Hyeok-dong was puzzled.

"It's inspired by my trip to the United States..." Yoon Hyun started to boast.

"What's the name of the song? Do you have a demo or sheet music?" Jang Hyeok-dong, seeing Yoon Hyun's confidence, was also very curious.

"The song is called 'Baby.'" Yoon Hyun smiled.

And so, the lead single for Yoon Hyun's album was decided.

Even the name of the album was changed to 'Baby.'

There was no other way; the song was just...

The production of the album was proceeding smoothly, but Yoon Hyun received a new piece of news: the company was already arranging his debut stage.

This was actually a common practice in the Korean music industry. Before the album was released, the company would arrange for the artist to appear on some music shows to increase their visibility and attract fans. This would help determine the artist's popularity and plan the promotional strategy, as well as ensure that the new album's sales wouldn't be too disappointing...

Perhaps because everything was going so smoothly for Yoon Hyun, his debut stage was quickly confirmed.

On April 19, Yoon Hyun would perform his debut song on Mnet's M!Countdown. Then, on April 22, he would perform again on SBS's Inkigayo.

Thus, under the already tight schedule of album recording, dance practice was added to Yoon Hyun's agenda.

The only consolation was that CCM and LOEN Entertainment had a good relationship, so Yoon Hyun, without hesitation, asked his sister Yoon Ji-hye to be his choreographer and backup dancer.

Yoon Ji-hye was naturally delighted to receive her brother's invitation. She organized a few girls from CCM who were close to Yoon Hyun for a celebratory barbecue. However, when Yoon Ji-hye heard Yoon Hyun's song and understood his requirements for the backup dancers and choreography, she was a bit angry and organized the girls for another barbecue...

Because the dance for Yoon Hyun's song was really too simple...

It was practically all about being cute!

But Yoon Hyun couldn't do anything about it. In his memory, the actual performer of the song was just a young boy. His stage presence was all about being cute and charming to young girls...

Because it was simple, Yoon Hyun's dance passed the review by Yoon Ji-hye and the company's dance department, and the time quickly came to April 19.

Yoon Hyun woke up early as usual and went for a run. This habit had become a fixed part of his routine. After returning, he took a shower, changed clothes, and drove to the pre-booked beauty salon.

When Yoon Hyun arrived at the salon, the agent assigned to him by the company was still not there.

Yoon Hyun had no choice but to wait at the front desk. After a while, the agent, Kim Soo-yeon, finally arrived, with dark circles under her eyes, clearly still half-asleep.

"Sorry, Yoon Hyun..." Kim Soo-yeon bowed deeply to apologize.

Yoon Hyun waved his hand to stop her self-criticism and excuses, and asked her to immediately arrange the makeup.

This was the first time Yoon Hyun had ever had a formal makeup session in his two lifetimes.

After a period of conscious skin care, Yoon Hyun's appearance, similar to his sister's, had become clearer. The tan he had from his military service had long since faded, returning to his original fair skin.

Now, with a simple hairstyle, Yoon Hyun's entire look was complete.

However, the stylist insisted on drawing eyeliner, while Yoon Hyun insisted on not having it.

After nearly an hour of struggle, Yoon Hyun finally gave in.

The entire makeup and styling process took only two hours.

After the styling was done, Yoon Hyun drove to Mnet, where the battle for the day was to take place, with his agent, who had been sleeping during the makeup session.

MCD was broadcast live in the evening, but for a debut artist like Yoon Hyun, arriving early was not inappropriate. Unlike artists from major companies with strong backgrounds, Yoon Hyun didn't even have a chance to record; he had to do a live rehearsal and then go straight to the live broadcast. The success or failure was entirely up to him...

Fortunately, although the agent was drowsy and half-asleep, she still knew how to handle things. It was unclear what methods LOEN used, but with the recent lack of artists performing on music shows, they managed to secure a separate waiting room for Yoon Hyun. When Yoon Hyun entered the room, he saw a large box of single CDs of "Baby" that had been rushed to completion overnight. The cover featured a promotional photo Yoon Hyun had taken at the company, which was also the photo hanging in the company's promotional area. The background was plain, and Yoon Hyun, wearing a light yellow casual outfit, was smiling and looking at the camera.

Simple and elegant.

Yoon Hyun liked it very much and secretly kept 7 copies, counting on his fingers, just enough...

The main reason Yoon Hyun arrived so early was to thank the MCD staff. This was something the company had repeatedly emphasized as a must-do. Otherwise, he could have arrived later. The agent, Kim Soo-yeon, had prepared many small gifts in boxes, and Yoon Hyun couldn't tell what was inside, but they felt heavy.

Under the guidance of Kim Soo-yeon, Yoon Hyun went to the MCD preparation site, giving gifts to each staff member, bowing, and saying thank you, truly showing extreme politeness. Because of his behavior, almost all the staff members had a good impression of him.

By the time all the gifts were distributed, it was already 2 PM. The other artists had also started to arrive at the MCD site. Yoon Hyun took the opportunity to rest, and the agent, who had been drowsy, finally regained her energy. She massaged Yoon Hyun's back, which had become a bit sore from bowing, and chatted with him about the senior artists who would be performing that day.

At this moment, Yoon Hyun finally believed that the company had not assigned this seemingly pretty and delicate agent to him just to keep as a pet...

After resting for less than half an hour, Yoon Hyun started following Kim Soo-yeon to meet the senior artists one by one.

Meeting senior artists also had its own etiquette. The order must start with the most senior and proceed according to seniority.

The words were uniform: "Hello, Senior [Name]! I'm the new artist Yoon Hyun. This is my debut single CD. Please take care of me."

Most of the senior artists would just say "Oh, I see" or something similar.

Yoon Hyun wasn't too concerned about this. After all, he had full confidence in his songs.

What made him most pleased was that he met the Wonder Girls, who had debuted less than two months ago but would later become famous. The girls were also quite polite to him.

Because he was a new artist, Yoon Hyun's rehearsal was scheduled first. So, after visiting all the senior artists, Yoon Hyun immediately went on stage to prepare for the rehearsal.

According to the company's arrangement, no music would be played during the rehearsal, just to practice Yoon Hyun's coordination with the cameras. However, most of the staff members, who had a good impression of Yoon Hyun, disagreed with this. Since the rehearsal could also be recorded, even though it wouldn't be as good as a professional recording by a senior artist, if Yoon Hyun made a mistake during the live broadcast, they could switch to the recorded version, which would also help reduce his pressure.

However, Yoon Hyun was very confident in the song.

After all, it wasn't a difficult song to sing.

Yoon Hyun designed the stage for his debut performance himself, with a style similar to his album cover: simple and elegant. He only had Yoon Ji-hye and a girl who was close to her as backup dancers. If one didn't know what kind of song it was, they might think it was a ballad.

After two rehearsals, the camera coordination was basically confirmed, and Yoon Hyun left the stage. At this point, the audience started to enter the venue.

After the rehearsal, Yoon Hyun obediently returned to the waiting room, waiting for his turn to perform.

If there were a few moments in an artist's life that were the most nerve-wracking, this time would definitely be one of them.

Yoon Hyun wasn't a person with a big heart. His nervousness was clearly written on his face.

"Brother, why are you so nervous?" Yoon Ji-hye, who was waiting with him, couldn't bear to see him like this and decided to chat with him to distract him.

"Can I not be nervous? This is my first time on stage." Yoon Hyun's smile was a bit stiff.

"What's there to be afraid of? When I first went on stage, I was so excited!" Yoon Ji-hye couldn't help but mention her past.

"That's true..." Yoon Hyun scratched his head.

"Hey, don't touch your hair, it's hard to fix!" Kim Soo-yeon, seeing Yoon Hyun touch his head, couldn't help but shout.

"Agent, do you think this is a good hairstyle?" Yoon Hyun, who didn