Chapter 85 of "The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails"

"Did you hear this?"

When Han Hyoseok asked, Shin Jiwoon replied.

"Yeah. The arrangement is different, but it's this. I heard it while passing by the meeting room where the A&R team was listening."

Park Sunjae asked suspiciously in response.

"...Bro, is the company's security okay?"

"Our company doesn't impose any restrictions on artists."

"Exactly. The security isn't good."

"It's not exactly good."

Shin Jiwoon agreed.

I don't know how a demo I've never released ended up with another company's A&R team. But if it got to Shin Jiwoon's company, it might have also gone to Formda A&R.

Hwang Saebok said,

"Formda definitely heard it. Otherwise, this song wouldn't have been praised."

The members agreed, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"You guys really like my songs."

In response to my words, Shin Jiwoon retorted,

"Not all of them."

"Right, not yet."

Min Jihoo chimed in from the side. Well, these guys. Still, when I'm confused, these two, who are subtly cold, are quite helpful.

Anyway, after hearing this, I started to think that maybe Xda Entertainment didn't reject my song because it was bad.

I asked Shin Jiwoon,

"Can I get the phone number of Tike Entertainment's A&R?"

"I'll handle it. You try Formda."

"Ah, yeah, thanks."

While Shin Jiwoon was on the phone with Tike Entertainment, I called Formda Entertainment.

After the A&R at Formda answered, I asked directly,

"By any chance, have you heard my song before?"

-Huh? Oh...

The fact that they couldn't answer clearly suggested that it was true.

Wow, it could have been a disaster.

At least I found out in advance, which is fortunate. If Firstlight had recorded it without knowing, it would have been bad. The poor security at Tike Entertainment helped.

If another team had prepared and released it first, I would have either escalated the issue and stressed out or quietly discarded the audio I had.

I couldn't get any more information from the evasive A&R at Formda, so I hung up and called Lee Junhee at Big Blue. When I called, he didn't answer, probably because he was shooting, but he called back right after I hung up.

-Yes.

It was an international call, so he seemed to consider his junior's financial situation. Thanks to the advance payment, it wasn't that light, but it was still a regular person's wallet. I've never called my sister internationally either.

"Are you busy?"

-Not right now.

"Um, I had a meeting with Formda's A&R today. There's a small problem."

It could be a big problem depending on how you look at it...

I continued,

"The song seems to have been leaked. Today, the A&R's reaction wasn't good, so I played it for the members, and one of them said they heard it at another company."

After a brief pause, Lee Junhee said,

-It's not a small problem.

"Indeed... I've been careful about security, so it seems to have been leaked internally. Ah, I'll ask my senior too. Anyway, this is my song."

-I know. I received it from the initial concept.

Lee Junhee sighed, as if he had a headache.

The last time I saw him, he just seemed like a cool celebrity, but working with him was subtly scary. Lee Junhee asked,

-So, did you find out who received the leaked demo?

"I called my senior because he didn't tell me. I'm sorry."

-Why are you sorry? It's a loss. I'll call the company and get back to you.

"Okay, thank you."

After hanging up, Shin Jiwoon, who had called his company's A&R, came to me and said,

"They don't know who sent it."

"Did they tell you?"

"Huh? Yeah."

No matter how different the atmosphere is at each entertainment company, Tike Entertainment is too supportive of artists. When I called, they avoided all answers, but when Shin Jiwoon called, they told him everything.

I asked,

"Anyway, what does it mean that they don't know who sent it?"

"They tried to contact the number in the email that sent the demo, but the name and number were fake."

"…So, they've already rejected my song?"

A&R doesn't explain to composers why their demos were rejected. They often don't even inform them of the rejection.

I heard this from Yang In-hyuk, but since I've been pushing my songs through connections, I haven't really felt the rejection.

"Bro, is that important now?"

"Of course, what's more important than a composer's song being rejected?"

"But you're an idol, not a composer."

Well...

While I was thinking about that, Shin Jiwoon continued,

"Except for the lyrics and melody, the song's progression and arrangement were completely different."

"Really? That makes sense."

"…Sometimes I can't tell if you have self-love or not."

"At this point, I think you should see it as having self-love."

While we were talking, Lee Junhee called again. I answered and said,

"International calls are expensive, so wouldn't a video call be better?"

Lee Junhee chuckled and replied,

-If it's expensive, I'll do it. I just called the A&R, and they said the contact information was fake.

"Really?"

So, it's literally true that someone sent the demo to various A&R teams to ruin my chances. Of course, I've made some enemies recently...

Still, I wonder why Big Blue would use a song that has already been leaked to various A&R teams for their rare comeback. Especially since I didn't leak it myself, but someone else did first. There could be problems in the middle, so our company's A&R will likely oppose it desperately.

The song's life as an idol's song is dead.

From now on, finding the person who leaked it is separate from this. This song will now be one that I listen to alone...

-Anyway, since it's resolved, can I send it to the demo members?

I hesitated at Lee Junhee's words.

"What? There's no need to use a leaked song..."

-It's leaked, so we need to fix it quickly.

Unlike my defensive stance, his response was casual and relaxed.

It seems that after 10 years of debut, such ease develops.

* * *

As soon as Lee Junhee of Big Blue hung up with Jung Hae-won, he posted the leaked audio in the group chat for Big Blue members.

Everyone had been busy, so the last contact was almost a month ago.

[Got a song, looking for members to work on it]

Surprisingly, the other four members read the message quickly.

"...They're less busy than I thought."

Lee Junhee muttered, checking the time. It would be reassuring to get a response from at least one person before the shoot started.

It's a 3-minute and 4-second song, so it should take at least 5 minutes, but one person responded in less than 30 seconds.

[Park Min-ha: I'll do it]

[Did you listen to the song?]

[Park Min-ha: Not in a position to listen]

[Park Min-ha: Trust your ears lol]

Fortunately, the others, except for Park Min-ha, listened to the song and responded.

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): What song? Who gave it to you?]

[Junior. My connections]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): ...You have time to make composer connections now?]

[Yoo Chan-hee: I'll do it. But if I say I'll do it now, will you exclude me if I don't?]

[Oh]

[Park Min-ha: With Junhee's personality, he'd do that and more]

[Daani (Daniel Seo): I'll do it too!]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): But...]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): Did you all listen to the song?]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): You said you were all busy, but you're free?]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): Wait, I'll listen to it after the shoot, don't do anything without me]

[I'm shooting too]

Except for the worried leader, they all said they would do it as soon as they heard it, as expected. When Lee Junhee returned from shooting, the Big Blue leader Choi Jung-min had also listened to the song.

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): Jun, this song was written for us from the start, right?]

[Yeah]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): I cried. The song is good, and it's about us and our fans... I'm sorry for not paying attention to you... And]

[Yoo Chan-hee: I cried too, and I understand your feelings, so please summarize]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): I'm sorry... I have a cold...]

[Daani (Daniel Seo): Oh, Jung-min, are you going to do it or not? Just say it!!!]

[Park Min-ha: If Daani is frustrated, it's really frustrating, bro lololol]

[Big Blue Leader (Choi Jung-min): Of course, I'll do it. Let's do it. Let's go! This song is great! We have to do it!]

[Just say it once and