Chapter 1132: The Warmest Season, Winter (4)

"You’re going to revise the song a little?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The promotional concept changed slightly."

I explained it to the producers on the production team.

"Hot Sauce was originally supposed to be released in November. But when it got pushed back to December, a few problems came up. For one thing, the mismatch between the song’s concept and the season became even more pronounced."

"That’s true."

"Right. Even in November, I wondered whether that song would really work. The weather would already be cold, and we’d be going around singing, ‘Hot sauce~ Hot sauce~’"

I nodded.

"Exactly. So after discussing it with the TF team, we decided to shift the promotional target toward South America."

"Why...?"

"Because it’ll be summer there by then."

Only then did everyone make an expression of realization.

At that moment, composer Sandgirl, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand.

"But will that be all right? South America celebrates Christmas in a huge way too. The faith of the Catholics there is incredible. The Christmas fervor isn’t that different from the US."

Composer Yoo Woong agreed.

"I traveled to Peru around that season once, and it was no joke. Once December comes, they celebrate all kinds of feast days too. The weather may be summer, but sometimes the Christmas atmosphere is even more intense over there."

It was vivid testimony about the South America they had each traveled through, delivered by the ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend.

Then their eyes met, and both of them fell silent.

I spoke to the production team’s composers.

"Our American agency mentioned that too. South America is still in the holiday season. But they said the overall atmosphere is definitely different from North America."

If the American mood was everyone gathering quietly in front of a fireplace to open presents, South America had more of a passionate party atmosphere.

"I thought Hot Sauce might actually suit that pretty well. We’re tentatively looking at an early December release."

"Hmm. Not bad."

"That’s all for the explanation. Now, about revising the song."

Once I raised the question of which direction we should take , all kinds of advice came pouring in.

"Latin pop is characterized by a dynamic tempo... The tempo already fits, so the changes themselves shouldn’t be too difficult."

"Do you have any reference tracks in mind? This is just my personal opinion, but what about looking at reggaeton artists? That seems to be the rising trend in Latin pop lately."

"If you’re targeting South America, I think the performance will need to be extremely strong. First, the drums should definitely be brought forward more...."

Team Leader Na Sangyoon asked,

"But that means you’ll have to record it again. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course."

It was much better to revise the song extensively and greet festive South America with a cheerful "Hola!" than to bring unchanged into a North American music scene singing "Silent night~ Holy night~"

The production team staff looked at me sympathetically.

"You’ll have so much to do. You’ll have to redo the choreography too."

"I heard there’s a choreographer who’s famous in the Latin pop scene. Biju is in a video meeting with them right now. We’ll need to assemble a new dance team to match... and redo the music video concept too."

"Oh dear...."

The composers gave me snacks like Mychew and Snickers with pitying expressions.

Munch, munch.

The composers each took one out for themselves and smiled at me reassuringly.

"Still, don’t worry too much, Wooju. While you’re busy with your other work, we’ll transform the song into something amazing."

"That’s right. Put your mind at ease, Wooju."

"We’ll take care of everything."

Our composers spoke with truly dependable expressions.

But I could not smile at their passionate display of friendship.

"Uh... About that...."

"What?"

Producer Saltman looked hurt.

"Don’t tell me you don’t trust us."

"No. Th-that’s not it...."

"?"

"It’s just that I...."

I scratched my cheek and placed a USB drive on the table.

"I got inspired yesterday and already revised it."

"......"

"O-of course, I don’t know that much about Latin pop, so I still need all of your opinions...."

"......"

"I haven’t had many hobbies lately. Ever since I started studying for the college entrance exam, composing has somehow become even more fun."

But the staff members’ expressions did not soften.

Rustle, rustle.

The composers confiscated the Mychew and Snickers they had given me for encouragement and ate them themselves.

"I knew it. I knew this would happen again."

"I bet he even revised the song well."

"What is the meaning of our existence? We aren’t even underlings. We’re just audience members at the Sun Wooju Show."

I burst into laughter as I watched the composers grumble.

"Sorry. It just happened."

"Tch. Hand it over first. We’ll listen to it and be impressed."

"All right."

I bowed my head to the composers, who said they would give me feedback if they found anything that needed revision.

I was just about to say goodbye to the composers, who were brimming with excitement at the prospect of working on the song.

"Wait...."

Composer Sandgirl called out to me.

"Wooju?"

"Yes?"

"I think I misheard something. What did you say you’ve been doing as a hobby lately?"

"Studying for an exam."

"......"

The staff began staring at me as though I were insane.

I truly had no idea why I kept receiving looks like that these days.

Work came crashing down all at once.

"Hello, MTV EMA!"

We filmed a message thanking the MTV awards held in Europe for giving us an award.

"People’s Choice? What’s that, hyungs?"

"There are three Choice Awards. Kids’ Choice, Teen Choice, and People’s Choice. In order, they’re a popularity vote for children, teenagers, and the general public. We’re attending the last one this time."

"Ahh."

We prepared for the upcoming People’s Choice Awards.

"Aaaaaagh!"

"Ri Hyuk, you’ve gotten much less flexible lately."

"Aaaaaaaaaah! Ah! Aah! Ah! Biju! Aaaaaah!"

Under the guidance of our terrifying choreography teacher, we began preparing our stages for the Mango Chart Awards and the K Net Music Awards.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

"How does his scream still sound so pure?"

"It’s because his vocal cords are beautiful. Only his personality is ugly."

We had conversations like that as we threw ourselves into choreography practice.

Both ceremonies had assigned us approximately twenty minutes for the closing stage, so there was an ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) enormous amount to prepare.

And amid all of that, what kept me busiest was preparing the stage for , which was nearing its release.

"Wooju."

"Yes, Senior."

"Couldn’t you just... sing everything yourself?"

"Senior."

"Yes."

I gazed wistfully at the peerlessly handsome man wearing a timid expression.

"You’re the lead actor. How can you say you don’t want to sing?"

"But it’s scary."

Senior Lee Gyeonwoo stared off into the distance.

"I have to travel around the world singing. At every premiere, I’ll have to sing for Japanese audiences, French audiences, British audiences, German audiences... And near each country’s landmarks, too."

"It is a little overwhelming."

"I don’t know if I can do it...."

I comforted the dejected Senior Lee Gyeonwoo while diligently preparing the stage for .

Of course, he was only like this below the stage. Once he went up, he would use method acting to appear completely confident.

Still, I understood why he felt burdened.

Until last year, he had been tone-deaf. Now he had to sing near the Eiffel Tower and in front of the Empire State Building as part of the movie’s premiere events.

"All right! Engage your core! And the tip of your tongue?"

"Down."

"That’s right. Create space inside your mouth for resonance! Let’s start vocalizing while making sound!"

Senior Lee Gyeonwoo cleared his throat and firmly engaged his abdomen.

"Aaaaaa↑ Aaaaaa-↓ A↑a↓"

I took out my phone.

"Junghyun, it’s me. I’m here with Senior Lee Gyeonwoo, and...."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa↗!!!!"

"Junghyun, you don’t need to come. Senior has attained enlightenment."

Along with that practice, we began preparing for the global premiere of .

When it came to music, I was the expert and the one teaching everyone else. But regarding the premiere events, I was the one learning.

"Senior, are there any particular things I should watch out for during movie interviews?"

"You probably already know this, but taking diligent notes is important. Usually one reporter asks several questions at once. If you’re answering and then say, ‘What was the second question again?’ that reporter turns into an anti-fan."

"Ah, right. And when they ask questions related to spoilers...."

"It’s important to reveal the right amount of bait. You don’t always have to evade the question by saying it’s a spoiler."

I spent my time preparing answers to anticipated questions with Senior Lee Gyeonwoo.

Every day had me trembling lately.

It had been nearly a year since I met Director Kim Bora at the Sundance Film Festival early this January, when I visited for the premiere of our documentary.

After that, entered production at a rapid pace and was now finally approaching its release.

-Sound of the Sun Releases Official Third Trailer

Trailers kept appearing on MyTube, tempting audiences.

The atmosphere was also clear from the posts Souffles uploaded to the fan café.

The trailer was playing on a huge billboard near COEX, and it appeared among the trailers shown in theaters before movies.

"Hyung, did you see this? It’s in Los Angeles."

"Wow...."

There was even a massive billboard mounted on top of a building in Los Angeles.

Apparently, the film’s promotion had also appeared in Times Square in New York. Silver Screen was truly throwing itself into the campaign.

My younger members laughed as they watched me tremble every day.

"Are you really that nervous?"

"Yeah. I deliberately didn’t watch the final cut. I want to see it in a theater."

Excitement and tension coexisted inside me.

It felt as nerve-racking as an album release.

"I’m as nervous as I was for our debut album."

"Well, it is a project that important...."

"That’s not why. The break-even point is really high."

"......"

"It needs ten million admissions in Korea and a pretty big overseas run just to break even...."

"......"

Everyone sympathized when I said it felt similar to the Fireworks album, which CEO Park Gyuho had poured a huge amount of money into.

In any case, while we counted down the days and waited in nervous anticipation....

As November began, the release date of Junghyun’s solo album, which Souffles had been eagerly awaiting, was also approaching.

-NewBlack’s Junghyun to Release Third Album... "A New Track Stronger Than VIBE Is Coming"

Our third member had written a success story last year when reached number one on the daily chart.

He was extremely nervous ahead of the release....

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"

...so naturally, we gathered around the utterly relaxed Junghyun.

His new album was unfamiliar territory even for us.

-This time, I want to do everything myself.

From promotion to composition and production.

Junghyun had handled everything from A to Z on his own.

Of course, the crew from Senior Hation’s hip-hop label, which we had acquired, and the TF team had contributed their efforts as well.

"Honestly, I think all I really did was write the songs. That and come up with a few promotional ideas."

"You came up with promotional ideas too?"

"Yes. I was worried the ideas were too weak, but they accepted all of them."

Jiho asked the bashfully smiling Junghyun,

"So what’s the concept of this album, hyung?"

"Loneliness and friendship."

Everyone had a different composing style, and Junghyun was the type to weave his everyday experiences into songs.

That was probably why , which dealt with a massage chair, had received such a strong response.

Junghyun explained,

"As we go through everyday life, we sometimes feel lonely. Sometimes we feel completely alone for no particular reason."

"Right."

"It’s about approaching people like that and comforting them. I also included a message from a philosophy book I’ve been reading lately."

As we made impressed sounds, Junghyun looked slightly worried.

"But I don’t know how interested people will be in my song."

"Junghyun, you’re one of us too. Of course people will pay attention when you announce something."

"Exactly."

Ri Hyuk said,

"You had a huge success with VIBE last year. Because of that, people will be interested when they hear you have a new song."

"Right, right."

Biju nodded as well, encouraging his friend, when Junghyun glanced sideways at me.

"That’s not what I mean. Interest in Sound of the Sun is so high right now...."

"Sorry, Junghyun."

I gave an embarrassed laugh, and Junghyun waved his hands.

"No, hyung. I expected that too, so I prepared a little more diligently for the promotion this time."

"You did?"

"Yes. I came up with several ideas. Ah, I heard one of the promotional teasers is going up in a little while...."

Junghyun searched through his phone and showed us the content in advance.

"I’m a little worried it might be too weak."

"Let’s see it."

"This is it."

But the moment Junghyun showed us the video, all of us stared blankly in shock.

"Junghyun."

"Yes?"

"You think this... is weak?"

"Isn’t it a little ordinary?"

In most cases, a group’s fame and an individual member’s fame were separate things.

For example, even if someone belonged to a five-member group, their solo activities would not receive one-fifth of the group’s attention.

Usually, it was far less than that.

That was why even extremely successful idol groups tended to show much weaker firepower when promoting solos or units.

Hmm.

The Souffles smacked their lips as they browsed the web.

Junghyun’s album would be released soon, but online interest did not seem particularly high.

In a way, it was only natural.

Fans already knew and were excitedly saying, "Wow! Junghyun is releasing a solo!" But the general public usually did not find out until the music itself came out.

Once the song is released, it’ll probably rise steadily as a general-public pick, but....

It was already approaching the year-end season, when people paid less attention to the music industry, so they felt slightly disappointed.

-Guys!!!

One Souffle came galloping in like an urgent royal messenger.

-Junghyun’s album teaser is up!!!

At those words, the Souffles’ hearts began pounding with Deoksun-Deoksun excitement!

They all charged toward MyTube at once.

But after opening MyTube, they noticed something strange.

"Huh?"

What they needed to do was perfectly clear.

Type Junghyun’s rapper name, Sweet Potato, or simply "Junghyun" into the search bar and watch the teaser.

Or open the [Subscriptions] tab and watch the video uploaded to NewBlack TV.

But before they could do either, Junghyun’s video was already listed among MyTube’s trending videos.

"??"

Even the title was unusual.

[Short Film] Let Me Introduce My ○○ Friend

The thumbnail looked like a scene from a short film.

At a social gathering, a woman appeared to be introducing a man in a coat to her friends.

That silhouette looks like Junghyun.

His face was not visible, but the body was unmistakably Junghyun’s.

Even through the coat and sweater, they could make out his solid build and lean muscles.

The Souffles clicked the video.

Ah, I was wondering who it was. It’s Silly.

The female lead was Silly, the female rapper who had recently appeared as a judge on .

Her hair was dyed a calm black, and she sat there in a sweater.

It was a gathering among friends.

[Oh, he’s here.]

One of the other friends called, "Over here!" as a handsome man approached.

The friend linked arms with him and introduced him.

[This is my boyfriend. Say hello.]

[Hello~!]

One by one, the friends at the gathering brought their boyfriends and began chatting.

In an instant, the protagonist found herself surrounded by couples.

As she drank alone, one of her friends asked,

[Didn’t you say your boyfriend was coming too? When is he getting here?]

[He’s not my boyfriend.]

[Then someone you’re seeing...?]

[He’s....]

Just as Silly was about to answer....

[Jingle-]

A man entered with the sound of a bell.

The camera moved in order from his stylish shoes to his long legs and solid upper-body silhouette, making everyone at the table widen their eyes.

[Step. Step.]

He strode forward with a model-like walk.

The Souffles watched with thrilled expressions, thinking, That’s it! right up until—

"Huh?"

"Uh...?"

Junghyun’s face was revealed, and all of them blinked.

Despite his elegant outfit, Junghyun was wearing a potato mascot head.

"......"

"......"

Junghyun walked over, and when Silly approached and linked arms with him, someone asked,

[Your boyfriend...?]

[No. This person is....]

[I’ll explain.]

Junghyun greeted them in his pleasant low voice.

[Hello.]

An innocent smile.

[I’m her potato friend.]

Dun-dun!

The screen went dark.

[Sweet Potato 3rd Album]

[Potato Friend]

As the caption ended with Coming Soon, the Souffles stared blankly at the view count climbing at a terrifying speed.

It was bait on a historic scale.