Chapter 88

# Chapter 088

Seong Pil stared at the lyrics sheet, pondering several times.

He struggled to find the right words to say to Jung Ji-eum, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly.

After a deep sigh,

"I need to tell the boss."

"Huh? No, if you just tell me, I can redistribute the parts. There's no need to bother the boss..."

"You're a composer and a music producer. Your opinion shouldn't be overlooked."

Jung Ji-eum seemed touched and a bit apologetic, rubbing her shoulder.

When Jo Ara first took the trainee test, her vocal skills were below average.

However, under Baek Seol-ha's guidance, she made remarkable progress. Jo Ara's natural talent also played a role.

But Jang Hae-yang was widely acknowledged as the slowest to improve among the trainees.

Despite her efforts not yielding proportional results, she compensated with an extraordinary amount of hard work.

'Her rap skills are improving, but even then, they're still better than the other members. Is it meaningful to compare her with someone who has never learned rap...?'

Of course, even if Jang Hae-yang's skills were lacking, adjustments could be made during the editing process.

However, the problem was the performance.

When she performed live, her skills would clearly fall short compared to the recorded version, and this would be evident to everyone.

"Your opinion is valid."

For the sake of the song's quality, it was reasonable to reduce Jang Hae-yang's part.

It would be better to increase the rap parts where she had a comparative advantage.

"Hmm."

Upon receiving Seong Pil's report, Hong Gyu-hyun seemed to fall into deep thought, remaining silent for a while.

After reading the parts assigned by Jung Ji-eum several times, he finally spoke.

"I respect Ji-eum's opinion. If she thinks this is the best, then it probably is."

The part distribution was designed to maintain a balance among the members.

Seong Pil nodded at Hong Gyu-hyun's response but couldn't shake off a sense of injustice.

He believed, perhaps irrationally, that Jang Hae-yang could do it if she was told to.

A voice from the deepest part of his heart cried out that she could do it.

"But I don't think this is right."

Seong Pil, who had been looking down, suddenly raised his head at Hong Gyu-hyun's response.

"Looking at it, Hae-yang's part is about 15% less than the others on average."

"Did you calculate that right away?"

"Addition and division are taught in elementary school."

"Right, right. That's true."

"Go to Ji-eum and ask her to redo it."

Seong Pil took the lyrics sheet with a dazed look.

"This is the debut song for the kids. I don't want to divide them based on their current skills. No one knows them yet. We don't know how they'll perform in a real setting."

"That's true. Regular people might not notice, but fans will dissect every line and figure out the part distribution. Even if Hae-yang is assigned the rap part, there might be talk of favoritism."

"What? If Park Manager thought the same, why didn't he say anything?"

"Just, I didn't want to seem like my emotions were clouding my judgment. I didn't want to appear too emotionally attached to the kids..."

Seong Pil was always wary of this.

He tried to treat the members humanely, and he was naturally a caring person.

But he worried that it might affect his objectivity as a producer.

'In my past life, it was better.'

As the head of management, he had shown a lot of interest in his affiliated artists.

But his attachment to the members he directly produced was on a different level.

"Park Manager."

Hong Gyu-hyun chuckled at Seong Pil's response.

"Is being rational always right?"

"Excuse me?"

"Is being emotional wrong?"

"Well..."

"Rationality is a good tool, but it can make people dry. Rationality isn't always right. Emotions can be right too. Anyway, this part distribution will cause problems among the members."

Hong Gyu-hyun pointed out the issues one by one.

"It might create a hierarchy. It could lead to Hae-yang being overlooked. 'She can't do it,' 'We're better.' That's not a team."

"I don't want to think the kids would do that, but yes, it could happen. And Hae-yang might not develop an attachment to the song."

"Right. This isn't just our company's song; it's Hae-yang's and the members' song. She needs to feel like it's hers."

Seong Pil finished his conversation with Hong Gyu-hyun and went back to Jung Ji-eum.

As soon as he saw Seong Pil, she apologized.

"Brother, I thought about it. I think it's better to distribute the parts fairly. It's not right to consider comparative advantages for a debut song. Can you talk to the boss again?"

Jung Ji-eum seemed confident that Hong Gyu-hyun would redo the part distribution.

"The boss wants to redo it."

"Really? Oh, he did?"

"Yeah. The boss thinks the same as you."

"Thank goodness..."

After several hours of deliberation, Jung Ji-eum redistributed the parts.

After passing it through a staff meeting, the members received the new parts.

"Oh, I was worried about this part. It's good. It connects here. I thought it would be too difficult to dance and sing at the same time."

Surprisingly, Jo Ara gave a positive response.

"I thought she would come at me angrily, saying, 'Why did you reduce my part!'"

"What kind of person do you think I am?"

"You have the image of an adventurous explorer with a lot of spirit."

"You flatter well."

In contrast, Rika seemed a bit dissatisfied.

"My part has been reduced a lot..."

As the lead vocalist, Rika mainly handled the pre-chorus before Baek Seol-ha's chorus.

It was a difficult part that Jo Ara and Jang Hae-yang couldn't handle.

With Shin Ah-reum joining in, Rika seemed to have lost her role.

"But you're in this part now."

"Yeah, but..."

"Rika, what's wrong? Not happy?"

Shin Ah-reum put her arm around Rika, who then smiled widely as if there had never been any dissatisfaction.

"No, no complaints at all. I'm honored to be with Ah-reum!"

"Ah-reum, what did you do to Rika? Did you bully her?"

"Maybe the power of friendship?"

Rika's feelings towards Shin Ah-reum were unclear.

She seemed to struggle with her, but she also often watched programs featuring Shin Ah-reum.

"Ah-reum doesn't bully me! She's nice to me! She's my friend!"

"Stockholm syndrome, maybe..."

Sometimes, even among friends, such dynamics exist.

One person dominates and controls, while the other just goes along with it.

It might seem strange to see someone being led around like that, but when you ask the person, they might say, "What's the problem?"

There's always a reason for the relationship to continue.

"Manager, are we going to re-record now?"

Baek Seol-ha, who had been carefully examining the lyrics, asked.

"No. Only Rika and Hae-yang need to re-record. Go with Ah-reum when she records."

"Wow, I'm jealous. A day off."

"It's not a day off."

"We already did it once... Oh."

Jo Ara became solemn, recalling Jung Ji-eum's devilish directing.

She patted Jang Hae-yang's shoulder.

"Sister, hang in there. This time, flatten Ji-eum's nose."

"I'll try my best."

Jang Hae-yang didn't show whether she was happy or unhappy about the reduced part.

She never complained when things were difficult, so Seong Pil couldn't read her emotions.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

When Seong Pil kept staring, Jang Hae-yang asked.

"Well, just. You look even prettier today. I can't wait to show you to the fans."

"Ahaha, Manager too."

"Why would you show me to the fans?"

Jo Ara butted in, getting close to Shin Ah-reum.

She whispered, trying to get her to agree.

"Those two really have something going on. They always exchange sweet words. Didn't you see just now? You'll see it often if you stick around..."

"It does look that way."

"Really?"

Jo Ara was surprised by Shin Ah-reum's serious response to her joke.

* * *

It had been a few months since the weekly and monthly evaluation system was implemented.

For each evaluation, the members performed busking in areas where they were lacking. For example, Jo Ara focused on vocals, and Baek Seol-ha on dance.

Performing in front of people seemed to help, and their skills improved rapidly.

"Let's end the individual busking. Let's do a group performance."

"Group performance? Like an idol song?"

"Yeah."

"Will we sing too?"

"No. We'll just dance. The song will be completed soon, and the choreography will be ready. Teamwork is important. We're practicing the synergy."

The busking videos are posted on Garo Entertainment's channel.

The views hover around 1,000, which is a huge success for videos of trainees who haven't debuted yet.

"Where will we perform?"

"Hot spots require reservations and a lot of time. We'll find a quiet spot in the city."

"Where's a quiet spot in the city?"

"Exactly."

The location was decided to be where Jo Ara always performed.

When Jo Ara first did vocal busking, she was a sight to see.

Her face was so red it looked like it might burst, and she made many mistakes, performing poorly.

People even mocked her, and she ran away as soon as the performance ended.

"Ara, you won't do that again, right?"

"Dance is my specialty."

The members arrived at the busking location and warmed up. Shin Ah-reum was, of course, with them.

Seong Pil had considered keeping Shin Ah-reum hidden until just before debut, but decided it wouldn't be very effective.

If the show had gained widespread popularity, hiding and then revealing Shin Ah-reum could have caused a big reaction from the public.

However, the audience for Project Poyu was a dedicated niche, so it would be better to use Shin Ah-reum's fame from the start.

"Oh, quite a crowd."

"Indeed."

Min Kyung-sub prepared the camera, glancing around.

The five members gathered, attracting a lot of attention.

It was strange if people didn't look at a group of pretty girls.

Moreover, with Shin Ah-reum in the middle, some people recognized her and stopped.

"Let's start. Get ready."

After setting up the camera, the song started.

The members, who had practiced for a week, showed off their skills to the rhythm from the speaker.

It was a recent hit that was still in the top 10 on the music charts.

Many people reacted positively to the song.

'They still don't have perfect synergy.'

A week wasn't enough to perfect teamwork. While Seong Pil wasn't satisfied, the audience couldn't tell the difference.

Most people were just passing by and watching casually.

They would stop, thinking, "There are a lot of pretty girls," and then leave, thinking, "They're dancing."

"Ah!"

As the song reached the highlight, a scream of joy erupted from the audience.

Seong Pil was surprised to see two middle school girls jumping and watching the members.

The members, also surprised, looked their way and stumbled slightly. But they quickly recovered under Baek Seol-ha's direction.

"Thank you for watching!"

After the busking, the members bowed, and a small applause followed.

The two middle school girls' enthusiastic clapping stood out.

Baek Seol-ha bowed again to them.

As they prepared to leave, the two middle school girls approached the members.

Min Kyung-sub tried to stop them, but Seong Pil nodded, indicating it was okay.

"U-Uh, sisters. T-This."

One of them handed Baek Seol-ha a beautifully wrapped cookie.

There were five, matching the number of members.

Baek Seol-ha smiled and accepted it, deeply moved.

The other members were similarly touched, their hands and feet unsure where to go.

"We saw you on SNS!"

"Thank you."

"Will you do busking here every week? All together?"

"Maybe."

The two middle school girls continued to chat with the members.

They were extremely excited.

'Strange.'

It was the first time Seong Pil had seen someone who was a fan of trainees.

Of course, some agencies focus on online promotion before debut due to a lack of funds for media appearances.

But it's hard to gain fans that way.

The quality and quantity of the provided content are low, and there are no achievements or metrics for the group to attract fans.

"Rika's videos are so fun!"

"Learning Korean history?"

"Yep! I even got a few more questions right on my school test. Can you do it again? Sonna (like that)!"

"Sonna!"

The middle school girls were thrilled by Rika's fan service. Rika was also on the verge of flipping out with joy.

'So this is the result of continuously posting content on YouTube and SNS.'

Seong Pil had put a lot of effort into the videos, photos, and posts the members made.

He aimed to maximize communication with fans and make them feel like they were interacting.

At first, Hong Gyu-hyun had doubts about this strategy, but look.

Fans were created this way.

"I came to your school to see Ara!"

"Me? How did you know my school...?"

"I saw your uniform. But I waited until evening and you didn't come out, so I left."

"I left early for lunch and went to the company..."

Jo Ara started to reveal personal information.

Seong Pil quickly intervened, blocking the middle school girls.

"Thank you for your interest. But the members need to go to their academy now."

"Ah, sorry."

The two middle school girls hesitated but didn't leave.

"Um, can you sign this? Just a signature?"

They then pulled out a sign.

Ah, they didn't get a signature just by talking.

"Should we sign...?"

Jo Ara's face turned beet red, and she was about to burst with embarrassment as she moved the pen.

"When is the debut?"

"It's not decided yet."

"Are you sure you won't debut?"

"We will."

"Will you keep posting videos?"

"Yes, we'll try our best."

They had so many questions.

I understand.

When Seong Pil was an idol fan, he wanted to memorize every detail about the members' favorite foods.

Any information was a source of joy for him.

"Can we take a photo...?"

Seong Pil allowed it.

The middle school girl who took a photo with Jang Hae-yang looked entranced.

"Face... so beautiful..."

She was almost fainting.

After taking photos, they were about to leave, but they still had more questions for Seong Pil.

"Sorry, we're busy."

"Can you just tell us one thing? What's the group name? Is it decided?"

Group name?

It hasn't been decided yet.

In fact, the group name was a topic no one at Garo Entertainment wanted to bring up.

It had been discussed once in a meeting.

The result was:

"Everyone keep thinking about it until debut. Come up with as many names as possible and we'll discuss it again later."

So the Garo Entertainment staff were just collecting candidates, not expressing their opinions.

"It's not decided yet."

Seong Pil put the members in the car and headed back to Garo Entertainment.

On the way, Shin Ah-reum, sitting in the passenger seat, said,

"The reaction to me was a bit lacking. Did you notice, Team Leader?"

"Yeah."

The middle school girls had been watching the Garo Entertainment YouTube channel and SNS since Baek Seol-ha joined.

They started to seriously follow the group when Jang Hae-yang joined.

"You must be worried."

"About what?"

"About the spotlight being on you. There might be malicious fans."

Malicious fans.

Short for malicious individual fans.

After the trainee survival project group ends, the members disperse to different groups.

The fans also disperse.

These fans become individual fans of the scattered members and part of the fanbase of other groups.

If they develop an attachment to the group, there's no problem. But if they only like one member, there's a problem.

This has happened multiple times.

When the Garo Entertainment members debut, most of the new fans will likely be Shin Ah-reum's fans.

This could cause a split in the fanbase.

"Then what about the ones who only treated me like a side dish? Are they malicious group fans?"

"Hey, they're fans. Don't call them that. They didn't refuse to sign or talk to you. Why are you like this?"

"Just..."

I'm also anxious.

* * *

While having lunch, Seong