CH7

Lion Entertainment.

LPL Entertainment.

Double M Entertainment.

Commonly referred to as the top 3 agencies in Korea.

In fact, if you look strictly at sales, Double M has not been in the top 3 of the industry for a while now.

However, the public still considers these three companies to have the highest name value and thus calls them the Big 3.

One day, Lion Entertainment's CEO Choi Dae-Ho conceived an ambitious project.

"...What are you trying to do?"

"An in-house survival show."

Choi Dae-Ho.

His name means 'big tiger,' but he acts like a lynx.

No, like a cat.

Cats can be cute, but they only make trouble for humans.

So that is Lion Ent. for you.

Flashbacks of fan reactions from yesterday's monitoring session automatically played in the head of the planning team leader.

"Sir, do you seriously think that's a good idea?"

"And why wouldn't it be?"

"We've already finalized a 5-member debut team and they're preparing for debut. The team name and debut song have been decided. Why suddenly suggest an in-house survival show?"

Team name: Take Scene (TAKE#)

Debut song: Scene Stealer

Everything was set.

Why randomly add a few more trainees and make them compete now?

It does not make sense.

Even if a great genius appears and joins after going through the survival show, the team chemistry is bound to be terrible.

"The competition should end before finalizing the debut team. I object, sir."

"Hold on, hold on. Mr. Park. It seems like you've misunderstood something."

"Please, tell me."

"We have to stick with the 5 kids we've picked. How could we not, after all the effort we've put into training and selecting them? Why would we add someone else to that, right, Mr. Park?"

"Uh…then?"

"What I mean is, make it a 5 vs 5 battle. Team A vs Team B. The winning team debuts."

"I'm sorry? Team A would obviously be TAKE#, but… Where do we find Team B? Bringing back eliminated trainees would kill the suspense."

CEO Choi answered Team Leader Park's question.

"It's time to recruit candidates."

"From where? Inside the company?"

"No. Let's open up applications for the survival show nationwide. Immediate debut for the winners. Tempting, right? We'll even make it a TV show."

Team Leader Park blinked.

Starting from a no-name road manager, Park Seung-Won became a Team Leader after 7 years.

Despite the rapid promotion, his title remained Team Leader, but his treatment was not much different from that of the General Directors of the business divisions.

This meant that he was a very capable person and that he had read between the lines of CEO Choi's words.

"So you want to create a narrative?"

"That's right. In these times flooded with boy groups, it's a bit difficult to just head straight into the fray."

"What if the Team B kids are no good? Won't Take Scene get anti fans?"

"Aren't anti-fans a force that unites fandoms?"

"Hmm… So, you're hoping to attract some first-string trainees through the survival show?"

"As expected of Mr. Park."

There is no shortage of idol wannabes in an era where there are millions aiming to be celebrities.

But genuinely talented trainees were always scarce.

Plus, although a maturation period is necessary, the more talented and promising individuals tend to jump ship to smaller agencies for a quicker debut.

That is because they want to debut as quickly as possible.

Openly recruiting for survival shows can be a masterstroke for this issue.

To put it bluntly, Team B could become TAKE#'s junior group.

While the Team Leader was lost in thought, CEO Choi spoke in a calm tone.

"So, it sounds good, right?"

"Two issues need to be resolved first."

"Which are?"

"Firstly, Take Scene's debut has to be confirmed, right?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that question? Are our kids bad? Are they so bad that if we gather five other kids who can sing and make them compete, they will still lose?"

Idols are often looked down upon or ignored as a profession.

But in reality, the tears and sweat required to reach that stage are no small feat.

Musical talent and idol talent are distinctly different entities.

"Still, the kids might not take it well. They could grow tired of continuous competition."

"Let's keep it unofficial then. Just hint at it."

"For promotional purposes?"

"Exactly. And what's the second issue?"

"What's the pretext? If we're doing this survival show, we need a solid reason."

No one would be crazy enough to say, "Actually, this competition is all fake, and we just made this program to show off our kids. Oh, and we'll recruit trainees while we're at it."

So, a plausible reason was necessary.

At that moment, Choi Dae-Ho averted his eyes.

"...?"

"...I couldn't think of it. Not that far."

"...!"

"...I'll leave that to you."

"...!!!"

The 'big tiger' CEO, who is less helpful than a lynx, ended up dumping a ton of overtime work on Park Team Leader.

This was four months ago.

…Marking the beginning of a program in partnership with the cable channel MShow. It was titled, <COMING UP NEXT>.

Han Si-On's participation would take it in an unimaginable direction.

That was the point when the program was planned.

"Yes, Uncle. I've already eaten. Have you?"

I left LB Studio while talking to Uncle Hyun-Soo on the phone.

Originally, I had planned to stay only until Sunday, when my uncle would leave, but the CEO said I could stay as long as I wanted, so I stayed one more day.

He didn't take my money.

Just asked me to let him watch me compose, so I agreed…

"Why! Why! Just why!"

Eventually, he broke down in tears.

He asked why I didn't become a producer or composer, instead of an idol.

He asked why I didn't join an idol band if I wanted to be an idol so badly.

He said he even had a place to recommend.

But no thanks.

From my point of view, this life is the most typical style of idol I can challenge.

If I were to become an idol with a unique or original concept, there is a high chance that there would be an error in my information gathering.

So I rejected it outright and asked him to recommend me to Lion Ent.'s survival show.

I don't necessarily need a recommendation, but it would be easier if I had one.

After that, I heard from a sobbing Lee Hyun-Seok about the <COMING UP NEXT> program.

It was a program created to promote a team that had already been decided for a debut. So, no matter what I do, a debut would be impossible.

Everyone in the know knows it's rigged, so he told me to find another way.

But after hearing the explanation, I found it even more appealing.

Firstly, it offers TV exposure.

They could let the world know that a person called Han Si-On exists.

I'm not exactly a heartthrob, but I'm not disagreeable with the viewers either.

I have my charms.

That's not my opinion. Those are words from the styling team that only works with top Hollywood A-listers.

So even if the broadcast only captures half of my skills, love calls offering immediate debut will come flooding in.

According to the recruitment notice, the participants who drop out of the survival show are free to choose their path.

Sure, Lion Entertainment isn't a fool and will try to keep them as trainees, but I am not someone who will be tied down by such things.

If there is one thing I have realized after living a longer life than most, it is that generally, it is better to choose than to be chosen.

I don't want to be chosen by a company that is wondering whether or not to debut me.

I want to choose a company that wants to debut me.

Secondly, the show offers a crash course on the idol lifestyle in a short period.

I don't know much about idols, and I've been out of Korea for too long.

I need an adjustment period, and a program like <COMING UP NEXT> will shorten that.

And lastly, the most important reason.

At the very least, <COMING UP NEXT> won't be boring.

Even now, I am confident that I would be chosen if I challenged the audition for the joining of an entertainment company's trainees.

I am also confident that I will debut through the trainee life.

But that would be too boring.

Learning what I already know and getting nitpicked over what I can already do.

Even by those who are less skilled than me.

I don't have the patience to endure that.

Considering my regression rules, there is no guarantee that I will not regress without knowing it.

That's why I wanted to appear on <COMING UP NEXT>.

Of course, Lion Entertainment may not pick me…

But if they don't have that much insight, they're not a place to learn anything.

-Si-On?

"Oh, just block my uncle's number."

-Even so, he's still your relative…

"He said he couldn't come to visit because he lives far away, but he came running when he heard he could be my guardian. Buddy, how pitiful is that?"

-…Alright, got it.

After finishing the call with Uncle Hyun-Soo, I searched through my wallet and found Seo Seung-Hyun's business card from BVB Entertainment.

There are a total of 7 songs that I made in the past 3 days.

Except for <ProKkuners >, the other 6 are not new compositions.

Would it be accurate to say that I output songs that I composed in the past?

Anyway, they are all carefully selected songs that have been on the Billboard Hot 100 hits and have been loved in Korea.

3 were the #1 hits of the board, and the genres range from electronic pop to hip-hop.

I'm thinking of selling these.

Lee Hyun-Seok from LB Studio said he would help me if I wanted to sell the song, but the person I'd entrust with consignment sales is Seo Seung-Hyun.

Originally, this wasn't the purpose of building my network, but when you see a use for something, why not take advantage of it?

'Guess I gotta record the guide first.'

I didn't do any vocal recording at the studio.

After pulling consecutive all-nighters, my singing condition wasn't ideal.

Even though it's a bit sloppy, I have recording equipment at home.

I was an aspiring singer before I made a deal with the devil.

By the way, I'm a little curious.

I wonder how the Korean music industry, which revolves around idols, will arrange my song, what lyrics they will attach to it, and to which singer they will give it.

Seo Seung-Hyun, the team leader of BVB Entertainment's A&R team, had just returned from a 5-day leave taken by sandwiching the weekend.

'It was horrible to come back to work after a long time, but what can I do?' thought Mr. Seo.

He is a slave to his paycheck.

After that, he opened his mailbox to deal with the work that had piled up during his vacation and was surprised.

– Hello, this is Dream Catcher Ent…

– Hello, TNT Ent…

– We are PPN Entertainment…

…Because his inboxes were emails flying in endlessly from entertainment companies.

Due to the nature of the duties of his team, A&R teams seldom interact much with other companies.

When they do communicate, it is usually when there's a conflict.

'What the hell is going on?'

He looked through the emails in detail, and they were not just from entertainment companies.

There were also messages from indie bands in Hongdae and even advertising agencies.

Seo Seung-Hyun moved the mouse to check the identity of the unknown email bomb.

And then he tilted his head.

The contents of the emails were pretty similar.

They wanted to buy the song he uploaded to SoundCloud.

SoundCloud.

SC for short.

A platform where indie musicians can upload their songs freely.

A place rumored to shut down next year for posting annual deficits, 3 years straight now.

A place that is maintained every time by donations from native American singers on SC.

It is like an oasis for the indie scene.

But…

'I didn't upload any songs to SC?' I straight up haven't composed at all since joining BVB,' thought Mr. Seo.

He thought there might be an error, so he backtracked the song title written in the email.

When he clicked on the account that so many companies had contacted, he was able to confirm the artist's name.

HAN SI-ON.

'Han Si-On?'

Where have I heard that…

'Ah? That kid?'

The polite and good-looking young employee from H&R Corporation.

Said he'd be settling down in Korea.

Why is he contacting me through his SoundCloud account?

Thinking that, Seo Seung-Hyun soon discovered his email address written in the artist's account information.

SHSEO@BVB.COM

'This absurd buddy wrote his work email on my SC account.'

'How can you make such a mistake? No, is it even possible to make such a mistake?'

After understanding the situation, Seo Seung-Hyun became curious.

'I wonder just how amazing the music uploaded for entertainment companies to be showering contact.'

There were 12 uploaded tracks, but only 6 songs.

That was because each song was uploaded twice, once as an instrumental version without vocals and once as an AR version with guide vocals.

Seo Seung-Hyun played the tracks that Han Si-On had uploaded to SC as if he were spellbound.

After some time…

Having listened through all the songs, Seo Seung-Hyun looked for his business card and called Han Si-On.

– Hello, the person you have called is not available at the moment…

"Why now!"

Two of these songs were definitely made for NOP!

He tried calling again, but it was still turned off.

It was out of his control.

At that moment, Han Si-On was taking the test at Lion Entertainment.

TL/n - 

You can read 5 chapters in advance on p@treon.com/inkbound