“Ugh, good job, everyone…”
“Hey Eden, Seo Yehyun’s out of it.”
“Leave him. I feel like I’m gonna lose it because of him too.”
The recording session finally ended smoothly only after I repeated “again” over a hundred times.
I expected it to be much less stressful for our members, who had a decent level of skill, thanks to my experience producing various idols before my regression. Unfortunately, Seo Yehyun alone was a one-man army of trouble.
Leaning back against the chair with my headset still on, I played the completed recording.
A cheerful, dance-like melody flowed through the headset.
[Meet you in my dreams? Sorry, I have plans today
Regrettably, today’s concept is all night]
It felt like a dream to hear the song exactly as I had envisioned it when I wrote it, rather than in the voices of other guys as it once was.
Unable to contain myself, I let out a joyful laugh.
“Hey Seo Yehyun, what do we do? Eden’s finally lost it.”
“And that’s because of me?”
Hearing the whispers piercing through the music over the headset, my laughter stopped abruptly and I ground my teeth.
Can’t I make them taste the pain of their enthusiasm being dulled by discord? They’re the ones causing discord right now, aren’t they?
‘Ugh, this is my life.’
Lamenting my pitiful state, I immersed myself in the music again.
Seo Yehyun’s part, which I had been worried about, blended in quite naturally, probably because I kept pushing him until he reached the desired level.
If I were to compare the overall quality of the final product to a Harry Potter-style report card, it would be Exceeds Expectations (E).
Considering my strict evaluations, where I would give even my own songs an Acceptable (A), this was a good outcome.
By the way, before my regression, every song by REVE was at a Poor (P) level. Oh, the title track of the second mini-album was Dreadful (D), wasn’t it?
Feeling good, I returned to the dorm and lay down on the old mattress in my room, closing my eyes.
With the title track nailed down, all that was left was to come up with a concept that matched the song well…
[A multiverse where the soul is split by the power of darkness… well, it makes sense… yeah, it makes sense…]
[No, if you’re going to do an homage, you need to do it properly! This is just plain plagiarism! It’s exactly like Interstellar! We’re doomed! We’ll be called plagiarists from now on!]
[Wow, I’d rather wear the outfits from <Come to My Universe>. At least they were simple. This is just, damn.]
[My mom says it’s embarrassing… Should I just quit…]
Cold sweat broke out as past memories from around this time before my regression flashed before my eyes like a panorama.
“Damn it!”
I had forgotten in my excitement over the completed song that we still had a big mountain to climb.
The concept meeting.
Since the title track was already decided, it shouldn’t be difficult to come up with a concept to match the song, but our representative, who once came up with a multiverse concept for a song about dark souls, was the obstacle.
The head of planning, who would agree with anything the representative said, was no help at all.
A harmful combination of favoritism and connections.
After inwardly cursing the agency, I jumped up and took out a notebook and pen from the desk.
Turning past the page titled [REVE Meeting #1], I scribbled with a felt-tip pen.
[REVE Meeting #2]
[Subtitle: Mini Album 2 Concept]
“Guys, let’s have a meeting!”
Bang!
I kicked the door of the room shared by Kim Dobin and Ryu Jaehee and shouted.
Lying on the mattress, looking at his phone, Ryu Jaehee didn’t even look up as he grumbled.
“Don’t we have meetings too often?”
“Use your eyes. Can’t you see it says ‘Meeting #2’? Is having two meetings frequent? Or can’t you read numbers?”
[Detected a remark that fosters discord among members.]
[Initial Intention –1]
Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll say it nicely.
“My dear youngest, do you see this number 2? Wouldn’t it be a bit much to say two times is frequent?”
“Why are you being like this, hyung? It’s scary.”
Ryu Jaehee shuddered and cringed at my overly kind tone.
Even if I say it nicely, they react like this, so do I really need to be gentle?
Seo Yehyun, who had been leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe, commented indifferently.
“Just have the meeting. It’s better than Eden’s dictatorship days.”
“Hey, why do you always have to say things that hurt? When did I ever act like a dictator?”
“Did you erase from your memory the time we fought and raised our voices?”
“Ha, logically, having one time isn’t often… dear eldest, wouldn’t it be hard to see one time as frequent?”
“…Did you eat something wrong?”
Looking at Seo Yehyun’s cautious question, I engraved the character for patience (忍) in my mind.
Patience, if I write the character for patience three times, I can avoid losing another point of initial intention.
Worried that we might start fighting, Gyeon Hajun hurriedly pushed Seo Yehyun and me into the room.
In the cramped room, the five of us gathered around a small mattress with a sketchbook in the middle, feeling like we were on some kind of retreat.
Looking at the words written on the sketchbook, Kim Dobin had a puzzled expression.
“But isn’t there a concept meeting soon? Do we really need to have our own meeting now?”
“Yeah, I think it’s better to hear from the staff and the representative before deciding.”
Gyeon Hajun nodded in agreement. Of course, I understand. That’s the standard procedure.
Unfortunately, common sense and reality are often quite different.
“Do you guys want to shoot an Interstellar-plagiarized music video with a multiverse concept?”
The buried memory of our anxiety about being labeled as plagiarists resurfaced from the depths of my mind.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, no one cared about the music videos of a flop idol group, so the music video quietly passed with just 921 views on YouTube without becoming an issue.
After REVE gained popularity, even the fans treated the second mini-album as if it didn’t exist, so it quietly faded into oblivion.
While the song might change, making the music video content different, the likelihood that the CEO’s obsession with the cosmic worldview would change was slim.
Though, looking at how the concept of a shared universe became a staple in the idol industry years later, it seemed like he had some foresight.
However, considering that all his stubbornly insisted concepts were garbage, his sense was quite unpredictable.
“Why are you so sure? Better concept ideas might come up during the meeting.”
“Jun, the world isn’t as positive as you think. And if you consider the concept meetings we’ve had so far—”
I stopped mid-sentence.
The experiences of failing to block terrible concepts by not aligning our opinions during meetings were all from before my regression, so the members had no idea.
It was bitter knowing that those memories were mine alone.
The frustration of not being united and the anxiety of having to block horrible concepts immediately.
The days of wearing those awful costumes on stage and singing those cringe-worthy lyrics about darkness.
The painful memory of getting a stomach ulcer from worrying about being labeled as plagiarists.
Having to remember all these shitty memories by myself was really bitter and left a bad taste in my mouth.
Suppressing the surging feelings of injustice and irritation, I opened my mouth.
“Can you all endure a concept and costumes more horrible than the ones from <Come to My Universe>?”
“Can it get worse than that?”
“We’ve been trained with sponge experiment jumpsuits, so we’re confident we won’t be shocked by any costume.”
I figured as much. At least, until they actually see the stage costumes.
“If you can handle an outfit with black feathers, tacky black shirts with chains, gothic pants with studs and straps, and a dog collar choker, then go ahead with whatever concept comes up at the meeting.”
If <Come to My Universe> was the epitome of simplicity, the next concept was the epitome of excess.
No wonder the fans buried it as a dark history.
“You’re quite detailed for just guessing. You talk like you’ve seen it.”
“In my dreams, my great-grandmother, who couldn’t bear to see her great-grandson fail, gave me a spoiler.”
Seo Yehyun, unable to dismiss the dream involving someone else’s great-grandmother as nonsense, stopped questioning and kept quiet.
Sorry for selling out my great-grandmother. I’ll definitely visit her grave this year.
“We don’t know what ideas will come up in the meeting, so it’s not a bad idea to pre-decide and align our opinions. You’ve all seen the CEO’s taste during the follow-up song activities.”
Recalling the CEO pushing <Come to My Universe>, the members’ expressions darkened.
“Moreover, our beloved members aren’t likely to support my opinion during the meeting. If I try to steer things with my opinion alone, I’ll be called a dictator again. So let’s have a meeting, okay?”
Shrugging my shoulders, Seo Yehyun frowned and asked.
“All good, but why do you keep adding ‘beloved’?”
“Why? Doesn’t it make the words sound a bit softer? Right?”
Seeing their hesitant expressions, but no outright denial, it seemed to be somewhat effective.
Thus, the second REVE meeting began.
First, Ryu Jaehee raised his hand and suggested.
“How about a club concept?”
“Our youngest, have you been to a club?”
“No. I’m a minor.”
A club concept wasn’t bad. The lyrics were about partying all night, and the song genre was dance.
Before my regression, the group that received this song also went with a club concept.
However, having two minors in the team makes a club concept music video a bit problematic.
Moreover, the club concept is a well-trodden theme in the idol industry, offering low risk and low return.
“Or how about gathering people for a street performance abroad instead of a club? Like this.”
Gyeon Hajun, who had been diligently searching on his laptop, displayed a YouTube video.
It was a music video of a senior idol group performing a rap/hip-hop song.
The vibrant graffiti on the walls and the exotic street scenery.
Senior idols dressed in street fashion and foreigners enjoying the performance in front of a makeshift stage.
The atmosphere matched our song, and the image was quite good. However, the problem was…
“Considering we filmed our debut music video with cost efficiency in mind, will we have the budget to shoot abroad?”
Seo Yehyun’s skeptical question prompted nods of agreement.
Before our rise as a secondary group, all our music videos were low-budget domestic shoots, so there’s no way we could afford an overseas shoot now.
Abroad? We’d be lucky to secure the English Village in Paju.
Also, it would be challenging to create that kind of atmosphere with a domestic shoot.
“Let’s hear from the producer. Yoon Eden, didn’t you have any concept ideas while making the song?”
As the speaking turn came to me, I stroked my chin and opened my mouth.
“Well, I was thinking…”
***
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Pfffftttt.. the members aren’t used to his kinder words. It is funny how I imagined their maknae looked, when their leader softened his words.