The SP Studio office was unusually noisy today.
This was a place that was always so busy, the employees barely had time to sit at their desks, but….
“My eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, right?”
Right now, everyone was gathered in one place with their heads pressed together.
“They seriously said this is how they want it produced?”
“That must be why they organized it by section and sent it like this.”
What they were looking at was none other than a storyboard file for MV production.
“Hah, seriously…”
Before long, Kai, who was in charge of production overall, let out a hollow laugh and vigorously scratched his back with the backscratcher he had bought during his trip to Korea.
“I was kind of looking forward to this project…”
At that moment, Matthew, Kai’s direct junior and the director of photography, muttered in a voice full of disappointment.
At his words, the others nodded as if they agreed.
That was understandable.
Most of the production requests that came in these days were like things stamped out of a mold.
And people also made them by moving their bodies like robots moving according to inputted data.
Putting sexy women with good bodies at the front.
Or burying people in flashy accessories and stacks of money.
Or, if not even that, handling everything with CG.
Around the time they were growing used to such obvious and repetitive work.
Suddenly, they heard that a support production request had come in from “VINCIS,” so everyone had been looking forward to it.
Because if it was VINCIS Label, it was currently the hottest topic in America and the place everyone in the same industry was watching most closely.
Moreover, the Worlds theme song recently released by VINCIS Label had been noisy from the moment of its release, and afterward, the video and even the stage had become consecutive hot topics.
In particular, Studio Tiger had participated in it.
Although the content they produced was from an entirely different company, as employees belonging to SP, since they also carried the name “studio,” their morale had been blazing with the determination to make an MV even better than theirs.
But the moment they saw the storyboard, all of their morale snapped completely.
Not only was the storyboard so poor that nothing but “shoddy” came to mind.
“I thought Vincent’s new song was going to be included.”
“Putting that aside, who on earth is this rapper?”
It was also because of the name “Jamal,” which they were hearing for the first time in their lives.
Since it was a VINCIS production request, they had expected they would be producing an MV for some incredible artist.
Wouldn’t anyone?
Think about the lineup of artists in America whom “HS,” the CEO of VINCIS, had given songs to.
Sarah Stewart and Vincent.
And since this had been forcibly squeezed into an already tight schedule, in truth, it was close to physically impossible.
Especially in the case of this request, even the production deadline was tight, so for the employees, it was a project they could hardly welcome.
“This is really…”
Matthew, who had been listening to their complaints, clicked his tongue and wiped down his gaunt face as if troubled.
In truth, Matthew felt the same way they did.
However, the reason they could not easily refuse was because of the single name “VINCIS.”
Of course, VINCIS was still nothing more than a newly established label.
But behind them stood Unice Music Group.
And according to rumors, the CEO of VINCIS, HS, was supposedly close enough to composer Matteo and the head of the New York Philharmonic to call them brothers.
If they were to get on the wrong side of someone like that…
‘That would be a disaster. A total disaster.’
Moreover, although SP Studio had a high reputation in the United States as a studio specializing in MV production, Public Studio, which had recently been chasing frighteningly close behind them, was holding firm.
If they refused the job, there was a high chance it would go to Public Studio.
‘We can’t let that happen.’
Clap!
Just as Matthew, who had already finished calculating in his head, clapped his hands to focus everyone’s attention.
“Doesn’t it seem like it’ll be pretty fun?”
Kai, the production director, who had been diligently scratching his back with the backscratcher, unexpectedly said that.
“Pardon?”
At the same time, everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
In those gazes, the thought, “Is he in his right mind?” was openly revealed.
He was certainly the kind of eccentric person who sometimes did unpredictable things no one expected, but…
How could he say this seemed fun after seeing a storyboard like that just now?
“Are you serious?”
Even Matthew, who respected and followed Kai no matter what, could not agree with that statement, and asked back with a puzzled expression.
“Yeah. The organization is clumsy, but the content and emotion it contains look all right, don’t they?”
“Ah…”
“How we bring that to life is our job.”
He tapped Matthew’s shoulder with the backscratcher for a moment.
“Most of all, they said the budget is unlimited, right?”
He added that with a face that looked like he was enjoying this to death.
That expression…
It was the expression Kai made whenever he came up with bizarre and challenging MV production ideas.
And it was also the expression he had made when he ended up producing MVs that set all-time view records.
Meanwhile, Jamal looked at the storyboard he had completed through his so-called “eagle typing” and wore a pleased smile.
“Looks good, doesn’t it?”
To complete this storyboard, he had even asked someone to cover his part-time job shift, then stayed up for two full days.
He was fairly satisfied with the quality.
Before long, Jamal immediately started pressing the flimsy master keyboard, which looked as if the keys might fall out at any moment, without a break.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
However, unlike his blazing eyes, his hands were somewhat slow.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
Because he had lived without ever using something called a computer, even handling a composition program was clumsy for him.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
Still, he was carefully mobilizing every free tool available and arranging the song anew.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
Of course, these days, the songs he had made were being reborn through HS’s hands.
But this song…
Right.
This song, he wanted to do himself.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
It was a song that contained his entire life.
Darkness.
Hope.
Longing.
Respect.
Miracle.
Because it was a song containing honest emotions and sincerity made up of abstract words like those.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
That was also why he had not entrusted the MV production entirely to the hands of professionals, and had gotten involved himself.
Tak, tak, tak, tak.
And that was why he was trying to arrange the song on his own like this.
Although his hands kept stumbling, Jamal’s eyes at least gleamed with a madness no less than that of most composers.
Tak!
Soon, Jamal finished the arrangement and overlaid it on top of the track file that had already been saved.
Under a new name.
Then he opened his email window, attached the newly born audio file, and sent it.
The recipients were SP Studio and Boss.
“Heh heh.”
A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
Michelle sat down with perfect posture as soon as she came to work today as well, wrote out her checklist, then checked her inbox.
Click, click.
She quickly deleted the advertising emails dirtying her inbox.
Click, click.
Then she set aside the emails about investment proposals or love calls separately and investigated the relevant companies and artists.
Based on the materials she gathered that way, she filtered out what needed to be filtered, organized everything neatly, and made approval documents. That was her essential morning task.
Click, click.
Then one title caught her eye.
『 I Dedicate This to Boss. 』
Michelle was about to immediately put that email into the trash.
“Mm?”
But after checking the sender’s email, she stopped her hand.
jamalxhs@ggmail.com.
Because no matter who looked at it, it was an email sent by Jamal.
“Hoo.”
Michelle let out a sigh that suddenly escaped her and swept back a single strand of hair that had fallen loose.
She herself liked HS’s music, and had been drawn by it enough to throw everything aside and join this place, but.
She could not understand a blind love so intense that even his personal email address contained “HS.”
Ding!
And…
[ Should you wish it, I can go to America right this minute. ]
She also could not understand Jayble’s blind love.
She was certain there was a considerable time difference between Korea and America, yet it was as if he set an alarm and waited.
[ Even if it is not me you want, but a single cup of coffee, I can go all the way to America to buy you coffee. ]
He sent messages every day, always timed exactly to when she came to work.
They had not even seen each other many times, nor exchanged more than a few words. Could a person really like someone this much?
“Hah…”
For Michelle, who had absolutely no dating experience and had never liked anyone as a member of the opposite sex, it was something she could not understand.
In truth, the thing she could not understand most in all this was…
Click.
Why someone on HS’s level was working on Jamal’s song.
Of course, since it was something he had ordered, she was carrying it out without complaint.
‘He really is a unique person.’
The HS she served directly beside was the most unpredictable person among all the countless people she had ever seen.
‘That is why work has been fun lately, though…’
A single loose strand of hair bothered Michelle, so she tied her hair tightly again and fixed it with a hairpin.
Then, soon.
She checked the file attached to the email Jamal had sent.
She could have sent it directly to HS’s personal email, but…
Click.
Just in case, Michelle always first checked whether attached files had any viruses.
After going through the process of confirming that no strange content was included, she forwarded it to HS.
— ♪♪♪
Since Michelle was not a professional, she could not evaluate the song, but as soon as she heard it, she could tell that the beat was quite unfamiliar.
— I was born beneath the ground you people walk on.
That did not mean it was pleasant to listen to.
— Feeding on darkness and denial, I made it this far. No matter how bright it is, I rise, once again.
To begin with, she did not like the rap genre itself, and Michelle’s ears, which listened only to HS’s songs, had become quite refined.
— I don’t need drugs anymore. You do them.
Soon, Michelle’s smooth brow crumpled like a sheet of paper as she listened to the song. It was because the occasional curse words and rough nuances were unpleasant to hear.
‘So this was what kind of song it was…’
Michelle shook her head.
— HS’s songs are my drug. If he hears my song, he’ll be soaked in ecstasy.
In her heart, she did not want to pass this on to HS, but…
— Following behind HS, before I knew it, I was on the stage.
She could not do that, so she decided to turn off the audio at this point.
— Godchis, Godchis, now I’ll feed on him and climb higher.
Did rap have to mix in profanity to be cool?
Seriously.
It was music that felt not only light, but vulgar.
‘Does he really have to do a song like this?’
Putting aside what she could not understand, Michelle forwarded the audio file to HS’s personal email.
Before long, she neatly arranged the approval documents she would take to HS.
“Godchis, Godchis…”
From Michelle’s mouth, the song she had heard just a moment ago naturally flowed out along with a hum.
“Hup!”
Michelle belatedly realized that fact and covered her mouth.
“Michelle…?”
But the employees were already only staring at her strangely.
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