Chapter 101. Unsubscribe from Spam
The day after Episode 1 of 〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉 aired, I was invited to a private gathering of members of the Korean Broadcasting Association.
Major PDs and entertainment-industry people were gathered there.
Since I was a new face among them, they kept talking about how they'd acknowledge my abilities and all that, but I wasn't particularly interested in compliments that were nice to hear.
It was far more important to make connections with promising PDs and writers.
Once they became successful, many of them moved on to famous OTT platforms or film companies.
Just like Seo Hoe-dong.
I was able to attend this gathering thanks to Shin Hyung-geol.
That was probably why most of the praise directed at me was being led by him.
They talked about how I'd gotten involved in film production, but most of all, they kept bringing up Anna's appearance on 〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉.
"Even if you deliberately built an idol group entirely out of rappers, it'd still be hard to find someone as good as Diana. Or should I call her Maralak now? She's really good. Hahaha. She is good, right?"
"Young people love her. I'm fu... ahem, idol~! It's incredibly catchy, isn't it?"
They were talking about her introductory rap from the Episode 1 teaser, which ended with the line:
"I'm fking idol."**
Viewers were making a huge fuss over the appearance of an idol rapper who had both skill and personality.
Of course, the backlash against idol rappers was still there too.
Apparently one or two good tracks could happen if an agency pushed someone hard enough, but true ability was revealed over the long term.
What, did Anna need to keep rapping well until she became a skeleton before they'd finally acknowledge her?
Either way, she was definitely generating attention.
It also looked like the show had successfully revived the same rivalry structure that had worked in Season 3.
[〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉 Records Highest Ratings in Cable Variety Show History!]
[Universe's Diana Never Disappoints. This Time as MC Maralak! Showing Outstanding Talent as a Rapper.]
[MC Maralak's Beat Shocks Everyone! Why? Episode 2 Air Date for 〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉...]
"But the articles and teaser keep mentioning a beat. What's that about?"
I'd watched the teaser too.
Once again, Anna and Kaiser were the centerpiece.
Those crazy bastards had even put my face in the teaser.
They'd told me beforehand that my face might appear if the audience seats were filmed and asked for permission.
That sounded like such an obvious precaution that I'd agreed without thinking much about it.
Then they went and gave me an actual close-up.
Kaiser's line—
"Hey, Jun-hyeok! Your girl's crying! Come take care of your daughter!"
—played while my face filled the screen.
Wait a second.
They told Kaiser to diss Anna.
Why was she dissing me?
Anyway, the teaser showed that part of Kaiser's rap, then Anna suddenly opening her eyes sharply right before starting, then the audience going wild in shock at the beat.
After that, the 〈K-Hip-Hop Star〉 logo covered the screen.
And that was the end.
What exactly had Kaiser said in full?
What had Anna rapped?
And what was so special about the beat that the audience had reacted like that?
Not just viewers, but PDs and producers here were curious too.
"Hahaha. I'm absolutely not telling you! You only have to wait one week, don't you?"
Kim Gyu-sam grinned like some foreign missionary introducing new technology.
Naturally, I couldn't tell them.
If anyone was going to reveal it, it had to come from Kim Gyu-sam, the producer in charge.
After saying that, I slowly moved away from the target area.
If I stayed nearby, they'd keep asking questions, and refusing over and over would only get tiring.
Once I reached a quieter spot, Shin Hyung-geol followed me.
"Let's talk for a moment, CEO Do."
"What? ...Sure."
Shin Hyung-geol guided me toward an area where only entertainment-company executives were gathered.
The Riven CEO was there too.
Anyone watching would think 〈Rebooting〉 still hadn't ended.
"CEO Do, you've been doing very well lately, but you had one obligation, didn't you?"
"An obligation? Ah, yes. That's right."
You don't have to nag me.
I remember.
Debut them, make them popular for six months, then return them all to the soil they came from.
I was already speeding things up in my own way.
"At this rate, 〈Rebooting〉 itself is going to become an old show. We don't really need to rush you. We're getting our trainees back at the end anyway. But what did the trainees do wrong? Whether you can manage them properly is a separate issue. You still have to debut them first. If any one of us had the handling rights, we'd already have released the debut song."
Using the trainees' situation against me like that.
You should've managed Tae-jung properly instead.
...Still, the delayed debut was definitely my fault, so I decided to accept the criticism.
"Understood. The reselection process took more work than expected, so things got delayed. But as of last week, we've already notified the members who officially made the debut lineup of their schedules. As soon as I find a song with strong potential, we'll record immediately, so don't worry."
"And when exactly is that?"
The Riven CEO asked.
"I'm working on it right now. I haven't been putting it off. These days, finding the debut song is practically my daily routine. We'll finish recording within this month at the latest."
That was only a tiiiiny exaggeration.
As long as we recorded within the month, wasn't the result the same?
If necessary, I could just choose one of Billy Aaron's songs, write lyrics, and start recording immediately.
I was only taking my time because I wanted to find something even better.
"Oh! Mr. Do Jun-hyeok! There you are. How are you feeling?"
"What? Me? Why?"
Seo Hoe-dong spotted me from a distance and hurried over.
The entertainment executives all looked at me again, wondering what had happened.
"Ah, excuse me for interrupting. Mr. Do Jun-hyeok, you got into that car accident in America, remember?"
"That was ages ago... Anyway, I wasn't hurt."
I turned around once to prove that I was perfectly healthy.
The executives tilted their heads as though wondering what kind of accident could possibly require that demonstration.
Seo Hoe-dong spoke.
"None of you knew? I guess you don't pay much attention to American news. This man here, Do Jun-hyeok, drove a Weimarch First Class at 180 kilometers per hour and crashed head-on into a Starius."
"Who the hell told you that?"
It wasn't even a First Class.
And I definitely hadn't been going 180 kilometers per hour.
I'd slammed the accelerator, sure, but I doubt I even reached forty.
What were they going to do when people learned the truth later and got disappointed?
"Oh, really? A Starius? Wasn't there some recall issue with those? Did you get yours recalled?"
"You're all working in entertainment, yet you're this relaxed about current events? Mr. Do Jun-hyeok crashed into it to prove that the airbags didn't deploy. That's why it was recalled. I still don't know why he suddenly felt the need to personally prove it, though."
When Seo Hoe-dong scolded them, the executives cleared their throats awkwardly.
Even Shin Hyung-geol, who was far too senior to be getting lectured by Seo Hoe-dong, looked away as though he felt slightly guilty.
"Anyway, Mr. Do Jun-hyeok, I also heard about the film. You're participating in production now, right? Sorry I took so long to decide, but you haven't forgotten the proposal I made that day, have you?"
He meant the girl-group documentary we'd talked about over the phone back in Geoje.
"Of course not. I've been waiting."
"I delayed things partly to give you some breathing room, you know? We need to finalize casting now. You're really available, right? I'm reporting everything upstairs."
"Come on. It's your project, PD Seo Hoe-dong. I told you we'd definitely do it."
Ah.
I already had too much work.
This was becoming a headache.
Let's see...
The film already had all its producers lined up, so once filming began, most of that could be handled by the production staff.
After supporting Serin through the audition, I could hand off the schedule itself to the road manager.
That would give me a little room to breathe.
The real problem was the 〈Rebooting〉 debut group...
"We need to expand the scale of the business too. We already have dedicated people ready for PD Seo Hoe-dong's project and Director Choi Gyu-sik's movie. I'll personally control the 〈Rebooting〉 debut group."
"Yes, yes. That's enough."
I wrapped up that conversation and was about to leave when Kim Gyu-sam approached from the distance.
He'd been looking around earlier.
So I'd suspected it.
He'd been searching for me.
Give me a chance to breathe.
