Chapter 44: The Signal Before the Surge

At the same time.

Kwak Daesu, who had gone home like the other A&R team members, clasped his hands together in prayer.

“God, Buddha, Jesus, Allah. Please…”

Kwak Daesu prayed earnestly with his hands clasped.

He begged that his song’s ranking would be higher.

He desperately wished that <Ultra Marine>, which he had poured his heart into, would win the bet.

Of course, Kwak Daesu was an atheist.

He, who believed only in himself, had never worshiped any god in his life.

But in this moment, he called out the names of every god in the world and begged.

To win that damn music chart bet.

“Alright, let’s see…”

Having finished his prayer, Kwak Daesu entered the Melon site.

After confirming that girl group Daisy’s album had been launched, he immediately checked the TOP 100 chart.

“Okay!”

As soon as he saw it, Kwak Daesu did an uppercut celebration.

<Ultra Marine>.

It was ranked an impressive 12th.

In contrast, Seo Eunbyeol’s <Love Cutie> was only 27th.

Overwhelmed by the dominant victory, Kwak Daesu cheered loudly.

“Yes! Got it! I did it! Muhahaha!”

Kwak Daesu raised both arms high and shouted in joy.

He won.

He finally won.

It wasn’t the final victory yet, but since initial performance almost always carried through to the end, this was as good as winning.

“Heh heh heh, everyone must be shocked right now.”

Kwak Daesu imagined the faces of the A&R team members.

Starting with Nam Seungha, then Ahn Hyeji, and the rest of the team.

Thinking of those who had only sided with Seo Eunbyeol, that little kid, being astonished made him feel great.

“How’s that, Seo Juwon? Surprised? You’re probably shocked out of your mind, you bastard.”

The one who came to mind most strongly was none other than Seo Juwon.

The father of Seo Eunbyeol, who had even added an extra bet.

“What? The loser kneels and apologizes? And bets 100 million won on top of that? This arrogant bastard. Talking big without knowing anything about the industry.”

Kwak Daesu gritted his teeth imagining Seo Juwon sweating coldly right now.

How dare you look down on the composing industry?

And dare to look down on me, the second-best in Daphne Entertainment’s A&R team?

Serves you right, you bastard.

Kwak Daesu smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.

“Heh heh heh, it’s the first time I want to see that guy’s crumpled face.”

Tomorrow was the day of the Daphne Entertainment A&R team meeting.

Kwak Daesu couldn’t wait to attend and see Seo Juwon’s defeated expression.

Nam Seungha.

As Daphne Entertainment’s lead composer, he monitored the launch situation of girl group Daisy.

From the music charts to the music video and various articles.

Since it was a girl group that Daphne Entertainment was ambitiously launching, Nam Seungha checked everything meticulously.

The actual chart performance wasn’t bad either.

However, there was one thing that bothered him.

“Hmm, so this is how it turned out.”

Nam Seungha’s expression as he looked at the Melon chart was solemn.

<Ultra Marine> was 12th.

<Love Cutie> was 27th.

Of course, it was a good situation for girl group Daisy.

For Daisy, who hadn’t yet had proper promotion or word-of-mouth, achieving this ranking right upon launch was truly a success.

But it was a bit strange that <Love Cutie> was behind by nearly double the score on the charts.

He hadn’t shown his emotions for the sake of a fair bet, but personally, he had expected <Love Cutie> to do well.

To be lagging this much, though.

For Nam Seungha, with decades of experience, it was a little puzzling.

“If this is the public’s judgment, I should accept it humbly…”

Nam Seungha nodded with a bitter expression.

Though he personally couldn’t understand the result, if the public’s ears had judged it that way, he had to accept it.

Commercial art for the masses ultimately has its value determined by the consumers.

No matter how much the creator says A is good, if the consumers say B is good, then B is the answer.

Thus, Nam Seungha decided to accept all results.

Of course, the final rankings weren’t decided yet, but since it was lagging significantly and likely to continue, that was that.

“Miss Eunbyeol must be quite heartbroken.”

Nam Seungha stood up and headed to the rooftop of the building.

For some reason, it was a day when his chest felt stuffy.

The next day.

Our father and daughter headed to Daphne Entertainment.

Since girl group Daisy had launched, it was to review if there were any issues with the music or music video, and to discuss arrangements and future plans.

In the meeting room where most had gathered.

A round of consolation followed.

“Eunbyeol, it’s okay. 27th is already amazing.”

“That’s right, Eunbyeol. Your first composed song reaching 27th on Melon chart. Not many on our team have done that well.”

“Agreed. My uncle’s debut song didn’t even chart. So don’t be upset, Eunbyeol. Okay?”

“Seo Eunbyeol fighting! Cheer up! Let’s work harder from now on!”

The A&R team members consoled Eunbyeol with angelic faces.

Since <Love Cutie> was far behind <Ultra Marine> in rankings, they seemed to be comforting her out of pity.

“Thank you, unnies and oppas! But Eunbyeol isn’t hurt at all! It’s not over yet anyway!”

Fortunately, Eunbyeol was as bright as usual.

That eased my heart a bit.

I had worried all last night that if she found out about losing the initial performance, she might cry.

“Miss Eunbyeol, you worked hard.”

Nam Seungha, seated at the head of the meeting table, said in a gentle voice.

“Yes! Composer uncle worked hard too!”

“That’s right. As Miss Eunbyeol says, it’s not over yet, so let’s wait and see. Okay?”

“Yes yes! Got it! <Love Cutie>, go up up! Up up!”

Eunbyeol shouted, poking her index fingers toward the sky.

Yeah, Eunbyeol.

It’s not over yet, so don’t be heartbroken.

And even if this performance is a bit disappointing, we can do better next time.

You worked hard, my daughter.

Thinking that, I gently stroked Eunbyeol’s bobbed hair.

Click.

That was when it happened.

While various conversations were going on, the last A&R team member entered the meeting room.

The one who arrived even later than Nam Seungha—Kwak Daesu.

The person who had bet with our Eunbyeol on the charts.

“Oh, I’m a bit late. Had a drinking session that went late last night.”

Kwak Daesu entered with a smirk.

As he casually took a seat, the smell of alcohol wafted strongly.

He must have drunk quite a bit.

Nam Seungha spoke to him.

“Daesu, try to come earlier.”

“Haha, sorry. Teacher. Went to fourth round celebrating the release last night.”

“It’s not just today that you’re late.”

“Wow, our teacher. Why so sensitive today? Ah, is it because I won the chart ranking?”

“What did you say…?”

“Be honest. Teacher only favors that little kid, not me. Isn’t that why you’re acting like this? Because my <Ultra Marine> crushed <Love Cutie>.”

At Kwak Daesu’s words, Nam Seungha’s expression darkened.

For Nam Seungha, usually gentle like Buddha, to have his face crumple.

I felt the atmosphere turning bad.

The team members who felt the same said a word each to Kwak Daesu.

“Daesu oppa, that’s no way to talk to teacher.”

“That’s right, senior. You’re late, why pick a fight with teacher.”

“Daesu hyungnim, I think you’re wrong here. Apologize quickly.”

“Daesu hyung, at least sober up before coming. The meeting room smells too much of alcohol. There’s a kid here, you’re really too much.”

The team members shot back at Kwak Daesu one by one.

That was a relief.

Unlike Kwak Daesu, the team members were all normal.

“Shut up, you bastards. Who are you to tell me to apologize or not? I’ll decide if I apologize. And about what you said…”

Kwak Daesu continued without backing down.

“You all think the same, right? Because Seo Eunbyeol, that little kid, is losing on the charts, you’re just being petty.”

“Daesu senior, that’s not it…”

“What not, you punk. Because my <Ultra Marine> is winning, you’re getting mad and nitpicking weird things.”

“Daesu oppa, I said that’s not it? Don’t assume.”

“Pfft, assume my ass. It’s obvious even without looking. Right, Mr. Seo Juwon?”

Kwak Daesu looked at me and said.

“What do you mean.”

“Be honest. The whole A&R team is on your side and your daughter’s, so you’re ganging up on me. You’re sulking because the guy you dislike won the bet. Right?”

“That’s unrelated. And the chart results aren’t decided yet? You did the same last time, why keep acting like you’ve won?”

“Heh heh heh, here we go again. Listen, Mr. Seo Juwon. Except for rare cases, chart rankings almost never reverse. Your daughter’s whatever love song has no chance of beating my <Ultra Marine>. If you don’t know the industry and just blabber…”

“Kwak Daesu, you really!”

Nam Seungha shouted loudly.

The meeting room fell silent.

There, Nam Seungha glared at Kwak Daesu.

“Kwak Daesu, leave.”

“Pardon?”

“Anyway, you have nothing to do in today’s meeting. I’ll brief you on the content separately, so leave for today. The alcohol smell won’t be good for Miss Eunbyeol either.”

At Nam Seungha’s low voice, Kwak Daesu blinked for a moment before standing up.

“Sigh, really only caring for that little kid. I’m disappointed, so disappointed. Even when I make a good song, I get scolded. Fine, I’ll leave. Have fun with your close friends!”

Kwak Daesu said that and slammed the door on his way out.

The meeting room fell silent again.

There, I narrowed my brows.

Then, Eunbyeol spoke.

“Whine, Daddy. Why is that uncle like thaat…?”

“It’s nothing, Eunbyeol. It’s okay. It’s nothing.”

“Is it because of Eunbyeol?”

“Huh? No. Absolutely not. So don’t worry. Eunbyeol did nothing wrong.”

I patted Eunbyeol’s back to comfort her.

Nam Seungha, Ahn Hyeji, and the team members also added that it wasn’t Eunbyeol’s fault and told her not to mind.

Grateful words from grateful people.

Listening to those words, I glared at the meeting room door.

Don’t make me laugh. Our Eunbyeol will definitely win.

Why was it.

There was no basis, but I kept getting that premonition.

A strong feeling that our Eunbyeol’s <Love Cutie> would surge up and defeat Kwak Daesu’s song.

There are all sorts of channels on YouTube.

Gaming.

Vlogs.

Movie reviews.

Politics.

Even web dramas.

Truly countless genres of channels exist.

And among them, there are ‘fan channels’ too.

Spaces where fans of specific singers do idol fandom activities.

Among them was a channel called ‘HummingHumming’, which gained great popularity by adding subtitles to domestic and international music videos.

And today, one video was uploaded there.

The video’s title was.

「Legendary Masterpieces in the Opinion of a 20-Year Veteran Female Idol Fan」

It was a video uploading what the YouTuber considered masterpieces.

In the video’s description, HummingHumming added that they made the video because they thought these were amazing masterpieces that seemed buried.

Especially, usually they upload dozens of songs in a playlist concept, but this song was so good that they made and uploaded a video with just this one song.

The video uploaded with HummingHumming’s unique visualizer.

Comments began pouring in rapidly.

ᄂWow, crazy! HummingHumming uploaded this song too?

ᄂWooowww! It’s <Love Cutie>! Ah, this is really a masterpiece!

ᄂAs expected of HummingHumming. Uploaded this. I thought it was a legendary masterpiece the moment I heard it too.

└Ah ᅲᅲᅲᅲ Finally someone recognizes <Love Cutie> ᅲᅲᅲᅲᅲ

L222 So touched that HummingHumming uploaded this ᅲᅲᅲ

L333 Crazy, I’ve been promoting <Love Cutie> as a true masterpiece to people around me, but they don’t know it ᅲᅲ

ᄂAh, thank you. <Love Cutie> is really a masterpiece.

Sob sob ᅲᅲᅲ Someone who recognizes the true value of this song has appeared ᅲᅲᅲ

└As expected of female idol otaku HummingHumming! No way you’d miss this song ᄏᄏᄏ

ᄂOh! Video views are shooting up ᄏᄏᄏ Hope the video and the song both skyrocket like this ᄒᄒᄒ

└Definitely too good to be at 27th on Melon chart. If it was a top-tier girl group’s song, it would’ve definitely hit 1st.

<Love Cutie> skyrocket! Break through the ceiling and gooo!

Views surging madly and comments pouring in one after another.

At this point, no one knew yet.

That this video would become the starting signal for <Love Cutie>’s massive rise.