Chapter 80

Yoo Young-jin, the in-house composer of South Korea's S.M. Entertainment, is known as the godfather of Korean music and a promoter of Hallyu. He is also a key figure at S.M. Entertainment, having composed, written lyrics, and produced music for groups such as H.O.T., S.E.S., BoA, Shinhwa, TVXQ, DBSK, Super Junior, and Girls' Generation over the years.

At this moment, Yoo Young-jin was hurrying through the S.M. Entertainment building because just five minutes ago, Lee Soo-man had called him, telling him to come to his office as quickly as possible!

Yoo Young-jin did not dare to be negligent with Lee Soo-man's orders. Although Lee Soo-man seemed to have resigned from his position as the CEO of S.M. Entertainment, his prestige within the company was still far beyond what Kim Young-min could match. If it weren't for the support of some shareholders behind Kim Young-min, he would have been nothing more than a puppet of Lee Soo-man.

Rushing to Lee Soo-man's office, Yoo Young-jin gently knocked on the door. Upon receiving permission to enter, he pushed the door open and immediately bowed deeply to Lee Soo-man. Lee Soo-man smiled and gestured for Yoo Young-jin to sit down. Once Yoo Young-jin was seated, Lee Soo-man turned on a player, and music began to play. Then, Lee Soo-man said, "Listen to this song and tell me if it can become a hit."

Lee Soo-man's words made Yoo Young-jin listen attentively. However, the more he listened, the more his brows furrowed. By the time the song ended, Yoo Young-jin's expression had become very strange. Lee Soo-man asked again, "What do you think? Tell me your honest feelings. Don't hold back; I want to hear the truth."

Looking at Lee Soo-man, Yoo Young-jin hesitated and said, "First, the song is very cheerful, and the melody conveys a sense of cuteness...!" He paused for a moment.

Lee Soo-man immediately said, "Don't stop, continue!"

With no choice, Yoo Young-jin continued, "However, the overall style of the song seems childish. The repeated 'GEE, GEE, GEE' throughout the song gives it a very silly feel. After listening to it, I think it would be better as a children's song. A hit? I don't think so." Yoo Young-jin shook his head and added, "In all these years of Korean music, only two songs by JYP's Park Jin-young, 'Tell Me' and 'Nobody,' have become hits."

"What about 'MR'? It's already starting to create a craze!" Lee Soo-man said.

After hearing Lee Soo-man's words, Yoo Young-jin shook his head and said, "It's not enough. It will soon run out of steam. 'MR' is popular because of its dance, which is half the reason for its success."

"Is that so? Then this song really won't become a hit?" Lee Soo-man asked again.

Hearing his boss's words, Yoo Young-jin shook his head helplessly and said, "It's too childish, with almost no chance of becoming a hit." To his surprise, instead of being disappointed, Lee Soo-man smiled meaningfully.

Then, Lee Soo-man smiled at Yoo Young-jin and said, "That's good. Do you know, Young-jin, that the songwriter of this song is the same person who wrote 'MR' for Girls' Generation? Kim Young-min was counting on this song to make a comeback and regain the support of the shareholders. I was worried, but now I feel much more at ease. Kim Young-min, I will show him what it means to defy me!" With that, Lee Soo-man burst into laughter.

Unlike Lee Soo-man's joyful laughter, Kim Young-min had already taken the song sent by Park Ji-ho to several well-known musicians. In truth, Kim Young-min didn't trust Park Ji-ho. If he did, he wouldn't have taken the song to others for their opinions. The results were disappointing, as the musician he asked directly called the song "garbage" and "childish."

This was a huge blow to Kim Young-min. The song by Park Ji-ho was his last chance. When he heard the well-known musician call the song "garbage," he wanted to throw away the demo and curse Park Ji-ho for being a fool. However, his rationality told him to endure, as he had no other options. After leaving the musician's house, Kim Young-min decided to ask a few more people.

...

A week later, KARA's "MR" became a special case, not the main song but still performing on "Music Bank" and "Inkigayo" due to strong fan demand. KARA officially became the first group to rise to fame with a non-main song from their album. The songwriter of "MR," Park Ji-ho, was also hailed by KARA's fans as a man with a miraculous touch.

On the same day, "Infinite Challenge" Music Festival was officially broadcast. Notably, all seven songs from "Infinite Challenge" were excellent and quickly rose to the top of the music charts. Park Myung-soo and Jessica's "Naengmyeon" was an anomaly, dethroning KARA and 2NE1, which had dominated the charts for a long time, even surpassing "MR." All Korean music producers were stunned. No one could understand why such a simple and catchy song could be so popular!

Since they didn't win the "Infinite Challenge" Music Festival, they missed the chance to perform on "Music Core." However, their performance invitations were heating up. More and more fans were requesting their performance on the "Music Core" bulletin board.

Originally, the show's rules stated that only the winner of the "Infinite Challenge" Music Festival would get the chance to perform on "Music Core." However, due to the overwhelming popularity of "Naengmyeon," MBC promised to let Park Myung-soo and Jessica perform twice on "Music Core" once Park Myung-soo was in good health, highlighting their immense popularity.

Speaking of Kim Young-min, he had taken the song Park Ji-ho wrote for Girls' Generation and asked nearly ten well-known musicians over the week, and not one of them said it was good. This left Kim Young-min extremely disheartened. Just as he was about to give up on Park Ji-ho's song and choose another one, he heard the song "Naengmyeon" playing in his daughter's room when he got home.

Surprised, Kim Young-min walked into his daughter's room and asked, "Yujeong, what are you listening to?"

Hearing her father's voice, Kim Yujeong turned around and smiled, "It's 'Naengmyeon.' It's so cute! Park Myung-soo and Sica performed it on 'Infinite Challenge.' It's a pity they didn't win, so they can't perform on MBC's 'Music Core.' But more than 30,000 people have left comments on the MBC homepage, asking MBC to let 'Naengmyeon' perform on 'Music Core'!"

"What... more than 30,000 comments? This song is so popular?" Kim Young-min was shocked because he knew that "Naengmyeon" was written by Park Ji-ho and was considered a simple and catchy song by his company's music producers.

"Um... yeah, Dad, you didn't know? 'Naengmyeon' has already taken the top spot from KARA's 'MR.' It's a pity for Sica. If this song were to chart, Sica would definitely win a few top spots!"

"Taken the top spot from the currently popular 'MR'?" Kim Young-min was speechless with shock. He looked at the song "GEE" by Park Ji-ho in his pocket and remembered the words of the so-called music producers in Korea.

Then, he laughed coldly and cursed, "Damn fools, I'm betting on this one. Park Ji-ho, don't let me down!"

...

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