translation by mourningmoor
Cherished hoobae-nim. Still shining as expected.
#ARCHE #NOAH #L.I.T_KangIchan #Promise_TotallyAMasterpiece
A photo was uploaded on SNS—Noah sitting in the audience seats, watching our rehearsal stage with a pleased smile.
This bastard, he even waved his hand back then. That photo isn’t floating around somewhere too, is it?
For a moment, it felt like the blood was draining from my head.
Looks like what Ga Yuna mentioned earlier was because she saw this photo.
“This bastard, this is totally intentional.”
He’s showing off the kind of influence he holds in this world. It’s a kind of power play to show me the difference in our statuses.
“Ha, what kind of nonsense is this?”
And it was a kind of warning.
A warning not to mess around.
I could feel the heat rising all the way to the top of my head. It had been a long time since I felt this way.
It reminded me of Jesquière in his late teens, recklessly running around without a care.
“You know what happened to me after that? I became the youngest Grand Master.”
That damn Demon King bastard, he’s provoking me so carelessly, without a shred of fear?
Does he even know what I’m capable of in this world? I’m Jesquière. If I set my mind to it, I could reach the top just by breathing.
* * *
"Did you take something?"
From the moment I was called into the office in the morning, Pyo Cheonhee blurted out something ridiculous.
"You little punk. What the hell did you do to the song?"
"Oh, are you talking about the song?"
Looks like they already listened to the track I sent at dawn.
Last night, after getting all riled up because of Noah, I had worked on it until the early morning.
I left only the basic framework and completely rewrote everything, pouring all my frustration into it.
As a result, I ended up creating a rather rough-sounding track.
Feeling a little guilty, I scratched the side of my eyebrow with my fingertip.
Pyo Cheonhee had really liked the original version.
"I tweaked it a little."
"A little? The whole vibe has completely changed?"
Of course, it had. The original version was soft and light, written with the idea of a sweet dorm life in mind. But this one? This one carried my anger, resentment, and sheer frustration.
"This is basically a battlefield."
When Pyo Cheonhee clicked on the track, the music I had worked on last night flowed through the speakers.
"Aggressive, dark, brutal..."
Even though the melody line was the same, the feeling was entirely different.
Still, I didn’t think it was bad.
"You don’t like it?"
"No?"
Pyo Cheonhee let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
"I absolutely love it."
His voice carried a noticeable excitement.
And yet, he furrowed his brows, as if something still felt off.
"But I feel like it might be nice to keep the bridge part the way it was originally."
The reason the song had become so intense was precisely because of the bridge.
Last night, in a fit of anger, I had rewritten the bridge, and it turned out better than expected—so much so that I went ahead and reworked the rest of the song to match.
But now, it seemed Pyo Cheonhee wanted to turn this intense bridge into something fresh and youthful instead.
After a long moment of contemplation, Pyo Cheonhee spoke with a determined expression.
"Let's go with both versions."
Both versions? How are we supposed to fit that into one song?
"We’ll use the fresh and youthful version as the title track, and this one will be a hidden track at the end of the album—pulling in both audiences. The choreography will be completely different too."
Ah, I get it now. The fresh version is more approachable, so it'll attract a broader fanbase first. Then, the intense version will blow everyone away with a high-impact performance.
"The choreography will be completely different for each version."
They call him a genius producer for a reason. My head was already spinning with ideas of how to execute this. This is what makes Pyo Cheonhee better than the HS rep—he immediately thinks about winning through skill.
"We'll promote the fresh version on music shows and go all out with the intense one for year-end stages. The music video will also have a twist in the editing."
Looks like Director Gong Seokho and the Artist Concept Team are going to have their hands full making Cheonhee’s vision come to life.
Of course, this wasn’t just Pyo Cheonhee’s ambition. Winning the Rookie of the Year award and crushing HS Entertainment’s pride—it was my ambition too.
"That sounds good."
But Cheonhee took it a step further.
"The sub-title track has to be just as strong, you know? So, I'm thinking something with a moombahton or Afrobeat vibe."
He then handed me a USB.
"Moombahton or Afrobeat?"
"Yeah. I’ve put together some reference tracks for you. Listen to them on repeat and get a feel for the style—then start sketching something out. I’ll be refining this track in the meantime."
A clear division of labor was forming. I created the prototype, and PD Pyo turned it into a polished product. Not a bad system, actually. It kept the momentum going.
"I'll give it a shot."
Taking the USB from PD Pyo's hand, I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It wasn’t just Director Gong Seokho or the Artist Concept Team who would be busy because of PD Pyo Cheonhee and I’s ambitions.
More than anyone, L.I.T members would have to step up.
It’s 10:30 AM now. Practice started at 11, so it was about time to get things moving.
I was just about to say I’d be heading out when PD Pyo casually continued the conversation.
"The lyrics—how’s that going?"
"I assigned it."
"Assigned it? To who?"
"The members."
At my words, PD Pyo furrowed his brows.
"I just told them to roughly draft a storyline. Once you give the okay, I'll let them hear the demo album and have them properly work on the lyrics."
Usually, if the lyrics come first, the song is composed to match the mood. But since the song was completed first, the lyrics now had to fit the track’s atmosphere.
Especially since there would be two contrasting versions of this song, I had to think carefully about how the lyrics should be structured.
"Surprisingly, Hanjoon-hyung is good at this kind of thing."
He might look like he does nothing but play games all day, but Hanjoon reads a ridiculous amount of books. Plus, he's got a sensitive, refined sense for things. If we take advantage of that, we might get some really good lyrics out of him.
PD Pyo’s expression twisted into something even more serious.
"You… do you even like your members?"
"What?"
"They’re already swamped with practice because you push them so hard, and now you’re piling lyric writing on top of that?"
Ha, this guy. He’s great at everything, but at the most crucial moments, he gets timid.
"PD-nim, how do you expect to escape from being a small company with that kind of mindset?"
He’s full of ambition—going on about creating an artist group that can compose their own songs and dominate performances—but when it comes to actually making the younger members do the work, he hesitates because he feels bad.
"If they just sit around waiting to be spoon-fed, how are they supposed to improve?"
If he truly cares about L.I.T members, he needs to be thinking ten years ahead, mapping out their future.
The fact that such talented kids ended up in one place—that was PD Pyo’s luck. But from here on out, it’s their effort that will determine their results.
"Those kids… they’re something else. If you push them to their limits? They’ll bring back insane results."
Just look at Roa, who can create high-quality choreography in such a short amount of time. Of course, he can’t be compared to Director Gong Seokho yet, but when Roa reaches his age, will he even be able to stand next to him?
I don't think so.
In this way, if you create opportunities, you can actually assess someone's abilities.
"I'll take full responsibility and make it happen, so don’t worry."
At that moment, the aura of trust emanating from PD Pyo was quite something.
《Infinite Trust》
No, seriously. You’re forty years old, and you’re putting infinite trust in the words of a nineteen-year-old? Isn't that a little too shameless?
His smooth, jet-black eyes were sparkling with both 《trust》 and 《respect》, and it looked pretty funny.
In the end, moved by his own feelings, PD Pyo gave us two days off after the upcoming K-POP Summer Concert, which would mark the end of our album activities.
* * *
Time passed quickly, and it became Saturday.
We set out early in the morning to participate in the K-POP Summer Concert in Gyeongju.
Though it was a long summer day, it was so early that darkness still surrounded us.
Two days ago, the demo album was completed, and I handed the file to the kids. They each began jotting down their thoughts.
As I expected, Hanjoon stood out in this area.
Maybe it suited his hobbies, but the kid who had been scribbling until dawn continued to write lyrics even as he got in the car.
Well, with this kind of atmosphere, L.I.T.'s future might not be that dark.
Of course, for that to happen, that demon king bastard has to be out of the picture... but.
At that moment, a messenger notification popped up.
Kim Jeongsoo
Chan chan chan. Are you leaving for Gyeongju?
It seems like Möbius is also participating in the Summer Concert.
Just the thought of meeting the chatty Kim Jeongsoo already makes my ears feel noisy.
Yes.
Kim Jeongsoo
Oh, nice. We can have an off-meeting with our members.
Our members? Off-meeting? What is this about?
What kind of scheme is he plotting again? Anyway, at times like this, I just want to get rid of Kim Jeongsoo, forget about friendships or anything else.
What do you mean by an off-meeting?
Kim Jeongsoo
Our group chat. "Loot."
Right. The group chat that Kim Jeongsu invited me to was named "Loot."
Then, after disappearing from the individual chat, Jeongsoo moved over to the "Loot" group chat and started chatting away.
I’ve never actually entered this chat after being invited, but now seems like the time to check it out. I really need to find out what exactly "Loot" is all about.
With uneasy fingers, I tapped on the group chat with the red number +999.
And I was instantly shocked.
The Almighty, Leaders’, Classy Gathering = Members: 12
<Notice: Please change your nickname. Group Name/Nickname>
Möbius/Jeongsoo
How about a beer after the show today?
Dinaple/Yuna
Sure.
DAS 17/Woogi
We have the next schedule right after.
Möbius/Jeongsoo
Where?
DAS 17/Woogi
Seoul ㅠㅠ
Sniper/Seokwoo
I'm fine with it.
Colpis/KangYoo
Not beer, something else. There are minors, and I can't drink.
Möbius/Jeongsu
Minors? Ah, ChanChanChan is a minor. Chan and KangYu can drink cola.
.
.
.
Kim Jeongsoo, what on earth are you dragging me into?
"Gyuhyung hyung? Do you have the list of artists participating in the summer concert today?"
"Yeah, hold on."
So all twelve of these groups are coming to the summer concert? This is a meeting for the leaders of each group, and... they want to meet separately after the concert?
You're crazy, Kim Jeongsoo. You couldn't just stop with me, now you're adding ten more to the mix?
"Here it is."
Receiving the list of concert participants from Kyuhyung, I quickly scanned through it.
Dinaple, Möbius, DAS 17, Sniper, MuteSeven, L.I.T, K-MAX, Romance Share, Colpis...
It looks like nearly thirty idol groups are performing on the concert stage today. But to gather twelve of them for a meeting—should I praise your sociability or curse your meddling?
"Huh?"
Then my gaze landed at the very bottom of the lineup.
"ARCHE?"