Translator: Chamber

  Editor: Illidan

  With many expectations, KangYoon and In MoonHee arrived at Narita International Airport in Japan and headed to A-Trust’s headquarters with Producer Tsukasa, who had come to pick them up.

  [I didn’t know you’d come to pick us up.]

  In the front passenger seat, KangYoon expressed his apologies to Producer Tsukasa, who was driving.

  When he said that, Producer Tsukasa smiled, saying that it was okay.

  [We’re going to have to meet quite a lot from now on. This much is nothing, so you don’t need to mind.]

  Entering Tokyo, Producer Tsukasa asked In MoonHee a lot of questions.

  [I heard you used to be a teacher at an elementary school.]

  [Yes, I was.]

  In MoonHee sat upright in nervousness.

  [I heard that, like Japan, teachers are quite stable jobs in Korea. To think that you’d give up on such a job to become a singer… We valued your courage highly.]

  [Not at all. You praise me too much.]

  There should be a reason behind all that flattery.

  In MoonHee nervously waited for her next words.

  [May we use those facts to promote you?]

  Passion for singing, a mind that likes to challenge.

  It would definitely be practical to use those things in marketing.

  However, KangYoon, who was listening to the conversation the whole time, disagreed.

  [It’s not a bad idea, but why don’t we discuss that later on?]

  [May I ask about the reason?]

  As the Japanese population was around 100 million, it had a correspondingly large market, and singers used all sorts of means to get more popular. They were in the same position, and KangYoon wanted to forgo such a good marketing strategy like this?

  It was a quiet question, but her expression clearly demanded answers.

  KangYoon turned around and looked at her eyes.

  [This is a big market, so where can you find a singer without a backstory? The other singers will also try to stimulate their audiences with their backstories, connections, and everything. I don’t think we need to walk the same path as they did.]

  Producer Tsukasa’s eyes narrowed.

  She wasn’t able to understand what KangYoon was saying right now.

  In this era, where numerous celebrities could be seen on TV, new rookies had to use all means possible to get their names known to the public.

  [The same path, you’re right. However, strictly speaking, Miss MoonHee is no more than a foreigner who came to Japan to sell her music. We need to package her as nicely as possible.]

  [There’s no reason to do that with her backstory, is there?]

  [So you’re saying you have another method in mind, Sir KangYoon?]

  The car that Producer Tsukasa drove slowed down as it entered central Tokyo.

  When she stopped in front of the traffic lights, her sharp eyes looked at KangYoon.

  [I believe that singers should be promoted using their songs.]

  [Using songs? What do you mean by that?]

  [A singer is someone who sings songs. In that case, we need to promote them in such a way that could let the public know their song or their skill, don’t you think?]

  Hearing KangYoon’s words, Producer Tsukasa became absent-minded.

  [D, don’t tell me marketing is like that In Korea?]

  [Yes, I have always used this method.]

  She tilted her head.

  The priority when it came to marketing singers was to get their name known to the public first using whatever means possible.

  Only if they stood out from the rest could they appeal to the general public.

  But songs only? In this era where stimulative content was everywhere?

  [Uhm, president? Is, is that a proven…method?]

  Seeing Producer Tsukasa get flustered, KangYoon nodded his head with confidence.

  [JooAh also succeeded here because she was given a stage to showcase her skills to the fullest. Though, the process of getting there was a little complicated.]

  KangYoon commanded JooAh’s Japan project.

  A Korean singer appeared in the most prominent music show in Japan where no foreigners had stood on stage there, and the gazes of the people were naturally focused on her. But then, the scene had something unseen before in female music artists they had seen until now.

  The lights changed.

  She stepped on the accel and thought.

  ‘…Song, a song-focused promotion, huh.’


  She was able to get a grasp of their new cooperator’s style of work.

  Their style could be called old fashioned. At least it didn’t conform to the typical marketing strategies that big companies used nowadays where they promoted their artists before they even debuted.

  However, she also realized.

  ‘If it’s that singer and that producer…’


  Producer Tsukasa erased any plans to market In MoonHee using her backstory from her mind.

  Then, she smoothly changed topics.

  [Miss MoonHee. What’s your favorite song among enka?]

  [Mine? Song of the Beach. the slow guitar sound captivates me.]

  [Oh? It’s the same as mine. Gino’s songs are quite relaxing.

  The sharp atmosphere from before was gone, and it became warm again in the car.

  After driving for around an hour, the car arrived in front of A-Trust’s office.

  In front of the building, KangYoon exclaimed, looking at the trendy building that was around seven stories tall.

  [What a beautiful building. It’s artistic.]

  [Thanks. This is our president’s preference.]

  They were led inside by a secretary, where President Kojima was waiting inside.

  After greeting, In MoonHee left with Producer Tsukasa to get a tour around the office, while KangYoon discussed plans with President Kojima.

  [End of July, huh. That’s the beginning of the holidays.]

  President Kojima nodded at KangYoon’s words.

  [Indeed. August will be the showdown. Also, I agree with the stage name Yuri. It sounds friendly. Though the downside is that it looks very common.]

  [I went with this name because it would work well in both Korea and Japan.]

  [Okay then. Let’s then talk about how we should package our singer, Yuri.]

  President Kojima offered many plans to KangYoon.

  From starring on ‘Today’s Enka’, a TV show which aired every night at 11 o’clock in OLS, to showcases, to drama OSTs.

  As he got notified from Producer Tsukasa beforehand, he didn’t talk about things like revealing In MoonHee’s personal history.

  KangYoon looked over the many proposals before pointing towards one TV program.

  [What’s the viewership like for ‘Today’s Enka’?]

  [It’s hovering around a 7% viewing rate. It’s neither high nor low, but it has steady popularity among the 30s and the 40s.]

  [Steady, you say…]

  [The viewing rate is higher than ‘Love Singers’ where many idols appear.]

  The most crucial thing after debuting was recognition.

  If there was a way to show up to one program steadily, it couldn’t be more charming.

  [A high viewing rate, huh. That sounds attractive. What’s the method like for ‘Today’s Enka’?]

  [What do you mean by method?]

  [Oh, I’m referring to their liaisons, rankings, and things like that.]

  Understanding what he meant, President Kojima explained.

  [There’s no battle or rankings. However, there’s an interview midway. More interview time is allocated to rookies. The questions range from simple things like ‘what did you do yesterday’ to harsh ones like ‘you look bloated today’. It is a little pressuring for rookies.]

  [How about towards rookies from Korea?]

  [This industry is more conservative than others, so they should be harsher. We don’t welcome rookies that much.]

  [So that’s the consequences we’d have to undertake, huh. Alright then. So we should prepare for both the song and the interview, to make this successful.]

  [Indeed. Singing skills and wits are the two most important things here.]

  After that, KangYoon went over many other proposals, but nothing seemed better than ‘Today’s Enka’.

  He no longer hesitated and decided on it.

  [Why don’t we go with ‘Today’s Enka’?]

  [It’s her debut stage we’re talking about… you’re quick to decide.]

  When President Kojima seemed surprised, KangYoon smiled awkwardly.

  [It won’t change anything even if we drag things out any further. I believe that this is the best option for MoonHee. If there are drawbacks, then we should try to minimize them as much as possible.]

  [Okay. I’m glad that you’re so clear cut about everything. We’ll contact the producer for that program then. Please tell me if you need anything from me.]

  [Oh, the one I talked to you about before…]

  [Oh, you mean the workspace? It’s ready. I’ll lead you to the room after you unpack your luggage.]

  KangYoon was then guided around the company with In MoonHee before the two went to their residence to unpack their luggage.

  Their schedule in Japan began like that.

  ***

  “Miss HyunHee, please take this to the director’s meeting room.”


  Manager Jung BeomHo gave some documents to Assistant Manager Cha HyunHee.

  Assistant Manager Cha HyunHee was known to be meek and obedient in the company, but her face turned blue after hearing the words ‘directors meeting room’.

  “M, manager, isn’t there a meeting there right now?”


  “Yes.”


  “…Manager, this… is about the construction, isn’t it?”


  Assistant Manager Cha HyunHee looked like she didn’t want to go to the director’s meeting room.

  However, she couldn’t disobey the instructions from her superior. She headed towards the meeting room, leaving behind the apologetic manager.

  When she quietly entered the meeting room, she could see a tense atmosphere in the air.

  “You want to delay the construction? You want to increase the scale and delay the finish to November?”


  Director Lee HanSeo’s sharp remarks could be heard.

  However, as always, he didn’t have any allies here.

  Director Jung HyunTae smirked with a cold expression.

  “This is all necessary business we’re doing. Even Euros, the shopping mall that we decided to build passages between, has started extension work. We’re just raising the scale to match theirs.”


  The other directors all seemed to agree with Director Jung HyunTae as they were all nodding.

  However, Director Lee HanSeo continued his lonely battle.

  “We are barely keeping up with the money that’s being spent on the Star Tower project. And you’re trying to up the scale? That means we’d go into debt. Who’s going to take care of all the risks?”


  “Don’t worry about that. Ericton Capital has decided to invest in us.”


  Hearing that, everyone’s gazes turned around to the caucasian man sitting next to Director Jung HyunTae, Richard. Richard showed a soft smile and continued where Director Jung HyunTae left off.

  “We believe that the Star Tower project has potential. The cooperation between Euros, as well as merchandising Korean stars. Although the pressure is big due to the initial investment scale, we believe that it would soon return to us in the form of profits.”


  The other directors were already overjoyed by Richard’s words.

  Except for President Won JinPyo, who stayed silent the whole time, and Director Lee HanSeo, everyone seemed to agree to increase the project’s scale.

  “…Haaah.”


  In the end, it came down to a vote, and Director Jung HyunTae’s proposal was accepted.

  “…Everyone’s out of their minds.”


  Director Lee HanSeo said those words for all of them to hear before leaving the meeting room first.

  Even President Won JinPyo returned to his office dejected, and only then did the directors start leaving.

  Soon, only Richard and Director Jung HyunTae were left in the meeting room.

  “Thanks for your work.”


  Richard smiled and shook hands with Director Jung HyunTae.

  “It was only natural. From now on, we should have more voice in the meetings.”


  “Hahahaha.”


  Richard laughed and patted his back.

  ‘He has his uses.’


  He made a blunder at the party last time, but he was quite smart when it came to things like this.

  The two of them joyfully talked about company matters before switching topics to issues about the industry.

  “I hear the name Lee HyunAh quite frequently these days.”


  “*Cough*. hm…”


  Director Jung HyunTae frowned at those words.

  A man feels envious of his neighbor’s success, and here the neighbor was practically their enemy, so there was no way he felt good.

  “I heard she even influenced the viewing rates.”


  “That’s simply not true. Affecting viewing rates through a simple OST? It’s just nonsense made by people who like to gossip.”


  Director Jung HyunTae shook his head, but Richard disagreed with him.

  “Not at all. I’ve seen the drama in question, but it was well-made. It’s not being called a high-class drama for anything. Moreover, there’s something that rings in my heart whenever the song starts playing. Even I, a man, feel like this. What would the ladies be like?”


  “……”


  Director Jung HyunTae only made an awkward smile.

  As drama watching wasn’t one of his hobbies, he didn’t understand Richard at all.

  Regardless, Richard continued to speak.

  “I realized again after watching that drama. World is a frightening place.”


  “…Is that so?”


  Director Jung HyunTae didn’t show much of a reaction, but Richard grabbed his hand.

  “At this rate, I believe that World has become on par with MG.”


  “Director, that’s…”


  “You realize what I’m saying, don’t you?”


  “……”


  Seeing Richard’s frosty eyes, Director Jung HyunTae wasn’t able to say anything.

  ***

  Four songs for In MoonHee’s mini debut album were finished.

  KangYoon had Park SoYoung, HeeYoon and the other artists of World take care of the rearrangement for three of the songs, while he took one into his own hands.

  In Japan, KangYoon practically lived in his workspace and the office at A-Trust working.

  In MoonHee also started her last-ditch practices, and people from A-Trust also met the producer for ‘Today’s Enka’ that they talked about last time.

  Everything seemed to be a smooth sail.

  “No wait, the kick source is a little too high…”


  KangYoon sighed while inserting a percussion sound for the rhythm.

  He was adjusting the drums’ kick sounds, but one of the lower peaks went out of range due to the bass being too echo-y.

  “Just as it was getting okay too… it just goes outside the range. Moreover, it’s snapping… it’s like an electronic sound.”


  An electronic sound in enka?

  That was the worst combination.

  The song he was working on emphasized on acoustic sounds.

  However, the instruments he deemed suitable always became chaotic when it was added to the rest.

  He tried all sorts of sources that he deemed were suitable, but it wasn’t easy to find something that fitted well with enka.

  “Phew…”


  KangYoon did not stop his work despite being dejected.

  He combined many sounds and adjusted the sources so that the graph looked like a wave.

  While he was working, he got a call.

  [This is Lee KangYoon speaking.]-

  President. It’s me, Kojima.

  President Kojima sounded urgent.

  When KangYoon asked about the reason, he took some deep breaths before talking in a somewhat flustered voice.

  – You know that MoonHee was going to appear in ‘Today’s Enka’, right? I think… that might not happen.

  [What? What do you mean by that?]

  – I’m sorry. Their reason was that the atmosphere between enka artists isn’t looking good recently… I’ll tell you about the specifics at the office.

  KangYoon stopped his work and hurriedly headed towards the office.