CH29

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Sitting at his desk, Kang Seok-Woo clicked his ballpoint pen as a habit and reviewed the filming progress so far.

He had directly intervened in the shooting composition for Team B's preliminary round, but that did not mean it was the only thing filmed up to now.

The second filming crew had captured a lot of the interview footage for Take Scene and their practice room daily lives, and tomorrow they were scheduled to film Take Scene's reaction videos to the Team B preliminary performance.

Additionally, they had shot individual interviews and daily life cuts of the Team B members.

On Sae-Miro and Lee Ye-On hogged most of the spotlight, but Choi Jae-Seong and Go Tae-Hwan got their fair share, too.

Next, they filmed that controversial scene.

Han Si-On's recording of <Under the Streetlights>.

Kang Seok-Woo had originally planned to film some of Han Si-On's individual interviews and daily life footage here.

He had not informed Si-On beforehand because he thought that a situation that unfolded unexpectedly would seem more natural.

However, after witnessing what had happened at LB Studio, he decided that Han Si-On did not need any individual footage.

He had never imagined that he would think this way after seeing an idol trainee, but what Han Si-On needed was not more footage.

He needed to flex his musical chops.

Most individual cuts in audition shows scream the message, "Notice me, please!"

Han Si-On did not need that.

If he played his music, people would go wild and somehow try to learn more about the name Han Si-On because of his skills.

'Cause he's that good.'

After Han Si-On's performance on <Coming Up Next>, Kang Seok-Woo believed that the song would dominate the first half of the year.

But the version sung at LB Studio made him feel the song would have some serious staying power.

There are songs like that, right? You listen to them like crazy, then forget about them, only to suddenly remember and listen again. And again. There are songs you listen to for a lifetime.

It was exactly that kind of song.

So when Lee Hyun-seok approached Si-On with a dazed expression after the performance and asked if they should release the song digitally, Kang Seok-Woo thought.

'So you're not going to release this?'

Everything was perfect.

Kang Seok-Woo would spotlight Han Si-On's talent and genius.

And then, when the atmosphere had reached its peak, he would reveal the story about his parents to the world.

A genius who was left alone after his parents were declared to be in a vegetative state.

It was a narrative that people could not help but root for.

Now, there was only one problem left.

Promoting Han Si-On went against the original plan for <Coming Up Next>.

After all, the program had originally been created for Take Scene's debut.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

After pondering for a while, PD Kang Seok-Woo got up from his seat and headed to the chief director's office.

"Director. No, let's keep it casual, Seonbae."

"What's cracking, Seok-Woo? You call me Seonbae at the company."

"I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"You know what show I'm directing right now, right?"

"Yeah, the one with Lion Entertainment. I've heard the PDs talking about how it's quite entertaining."

"How much of Take Scene's bankroll do we pocket?"

Channel M Show would take 30% of Take Scene's earnings for two years post-debut.

If not for this condition, M Show would have no reason to air <Coming Up Next> and just give Lion Entertainment all the benefits.

To go into more detail, half of the money M Show received would be paid by Lion Entertainment, and the other half would be paid by Take Scene themselves.

But they keep that under wraps.

Even the broadcast sponsorship contract doesn't mention it; Lion Entertainment just pays for it as an external marketing expense.

The director's face went from friendly to frosty, and after a moment of silence, he spoke up.

"30% cut, excluding event fees."

"Don't singers rake in the big bucks from event fees?"

"That money is already being cut off as a tax invoice anyway. If we try to hold on to it, we'll both just end up empty-handed."

"The amount we get will depend a lot on how much buzz we generate for Take Scene, right?"

"You know the score. So what's with the sudden Q&A? What do you want to say?"

Kang Seok-Woo knew the deal, as the chief pointed out.

Nodding, he calmly said.

"I want to push one contestant as the center of the program. But I'm not sure what it'll do to Take Scene."

"Really? The buddy must be on fire."

"I can't say for sure because it's all about the team competition, but if it were solo, Take Scene might not even debut."

"So, you can frontload him in the first half, then push Take Scene in the second?"

"I'm worried there won't be any buzz left to milk by then."

"Quit playing. He's just an idol wannabe."

"No. He is a genius."

The director chuckled as if in disbelief.

"Seok-Woo, you have no clue how many "geniuses" are out there in this industry. Did you know the real cash isn't made by the geniuses, but by the ones who copy them first?"

Kang Seok-Woo agreed, but Han Si-On was different.

He was not just somebody flaunting his talent.

He knew how to use it to get what he wanted, and luck was on his side, too.

Kang Seok-Woo did not realize it, but his producer instincts allowed him to see through to Han Si-On's true nature.

He saw that of a regression turner who had gone through dozens of repetitions.

But explaining that was not easy.

If he showed the chief the video of Han Si-On singing now, it likely would not have much impact and would just end with a response like, 'He's good. Try to milk him as much as possible early on.'

However, from the beginning, Kang Seok-Woo had not expected the chief to fully approve anyway.

Then allow me to extend it by just two more episodes."

"Why?"

"Gotta see how much bank we can make with Han Si-On over those."

In society, permission was not something that you received before proving yourself but something that you received after proving yourself.

"Hmm… His name's Han Si-On?"

"Yes."

The director tapped his desk with his fingernails for a while before nodding.

"Alright. You got two more episodes. But on one condition."

"I'm listening."

"You should care about YouTube views and subs."

In the past, fixed channels held significant power.

That was why the three major terrestrial broadcasters with the most established channels had tremendous power.

However, times have changed.

Nowadays, people don't just enjoy content by sticking to fixed channels. They enjoy content on OTT platforms, like YouTube highlight clips, and SNS videos.

In the case of terrestrial broadcasters with a lot of content, the revenue from the highlight clips of dramas uploaded to YouTube channels far exceeds the revenue from rerun commercials.

That Channel M show scheduled for <Coming Up Next> was also greatly influenced by this.

A cable TV survival show for idols is only watched by those interested anyway.

An in-house survival show has an even smaller viewer pool.

However, if they could attract all of them to M Show's official YouTube channel, it would be a huge business.

Anyway, they would share part of the revenue that Take Scene would earn.

"If we hit big numbers, I might even go toe-to-toe with CEO Choi."

"I see."

Kang Seok-Woo nodded confidently.

He did not know what kind of competition Han Si-On's song would face.

But he was confident in Han Si-On's ability to generate buzz online.

The next day.

Channel M Show announced that the Saturday 4 p.m. variety show <Lucky Day> would be ending two weeks earlier than scheduled.

It also asked for a lot of love for <Coming Up Next>, which would be aired as a follow-up program.

In other words, <Coming Up Next> gained 2 extra episodes through this schedule change, with its premiere being pushed up by 2 whole weeks, leaving only 3 weeks until <Coming Up Next's> first broadcast.

I kick off the day early and repeat my vocal cord stretches.

"Ah-ah-ah—"

Starting from the lowest note, I raise half-tones to the highest note using consistent breath volume and intensity, then go back down, then repeat the cycle.

Important thing? Keep it chill. Not forcing the notes.

All the sounds should come out very naturally, and if even one of them isn't the tone I want, I have to go back to doing it again.

Fairly simple method, but effective.

In fact, the way I change the tone is something I created myself through a lot of trial and error.

I borrowed the methods of Korean pansori masters who torment their vocal cords under the premise of "득음" (deukeum, gaining sound), as well as techniques from European gypsy singers, a German operatic family, and Billboard vocal coaches.

I'm probably the world's biggest vocal tone geek.

There is a lot of research on the sound.

There are also many training programs on how to make a good sound.

But strictly speaking, those are about producing good sounds, not obtaining a good voice.

If you're not a professionally trained singer, your voice will improve just by learning the proper vocalization method.

But what I want is not to deliver good sounds; it's to have an even better voice.

After my two-hour morning ritual, I hit up Myeongdong.

It's <Coming Up Next> shooting day.

The theme of the filming is 'Getting Close'.

Honestly, I'm not sure how much we can really get closer in front of the cameras, but I'll fake it.

With that in mind, I roll up to the set, and a staffer who clocks me shuffles me straight into the makeup van.

Inside, Lee Ye-On, On Sae-Miro, Go Tae-Hwan, and Choi Jae-Seong are getting their makeup done since they seem to have arrived around the same time as me.

I'm 20 minutes early, but still the last to arrive, huh?

"Hi."

"Hello."

I throw some hellos to the makeup crew and plop down on the far right.

Choi Jae-Seong sits up next to me and can't turn his head because of his hair styling, but he smiles and greets me with his eyes.

"Bro, you just got here?"

Perhaps because we finished the second mission, he seems to be treating me more comfortably than last time.

We also have a few texts through Kakao in the meantime.

Oh, come to think of it, I forgot to reply to Go Tae-Hwan's gift message.

"Yep. When'd you roll in?"

"A little before 10."

"The shooting isn't till 12 today, right?"

"True, but I was so nervous I came early. The others came around at the same time as me."

Well, it's understandable they'd be tense and excited since this is their first time on a broadcast.

Hopefully, they're not so nervous that they can't even speak properly.

Peeping at the squad, I notice they aren't as wound up as I thought.

There are cameras set up in the van. They know there are cameras, but they aren't dodging them.

"Well, good luck, everyone."

Go Tae-Hwan finishes his makeup first and leaves the van.

Choi Jae-Seong and Lee Ye-On follow, leaving just On Sae-Miro and me.

Despite the hustle and bustle of the makeup artists, it's kind of awkward with just the two of us remaining, but I don't mind.