Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, and Tottenham’s Heung-min Son (AKA Son). The three were from different countries, but they shared one thing in common. They were EPL superstars.
Those very superstars were given one simple instruction by the commercial director.
“I don’t want anything… except Adidas.” Kevin De Bruyne muttered the line with a red face.
Son smirked. “They say this line is from a song by a YouTuber from my country.”
“What? This commercial is airing in Asia?”
“Hey, now. Is there a rule saying Asian music can’t be in a European ad? Stop looking at Asia as just a marketing tool. There are so many talented people there.”
Salah frowned.
“Who said I was looking down on Asia? You’re literally right in front of me. But a YouTuber? Come on, we have standards, don’t we?”
Son nodded in response.
“I get that. But after listening to the song, I can see why they picked it. Even Daft Punk acknowledged it, apparently.”
Salah and Kevin shared a look of confusion.
“Who’s Daft Punk?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
As he said that, the brand representative and director approached them. What ensued was an enthusiastic explanation of the concept and storyboard. The brand representative would normally have the final say, but it was different with these three.
De Bruyne asked if he really had to say the line as his face flushed red from embarrassment. It took a lot to convince him to say the line before filming could start.
“Watch and learn,” Son said.
He was up first. At the cue, he started juggling the ball in place.
One, two, three, and.
The ball bounced away. He shook his head with his hands on his hips. Then, he turned to look at the neatly placed pair of cleats on the bench.
“Cut! That was perfect!”
They moved on to the next scene. Son laced up a pair of Adidas soccer cleats with the logo clearly visible.
He started juggling again.
One, two, three, four, five, six… nine, ten. On the eleventh juggle, he popped the ball high up.
And boom! He fired a shot. The ball sliced cleanly through the air and slammed into the net. With a bright smile, Son delivered his line.
“I don’t want anything… except Adidas.”
Kevin and Salah buried their faces in their hands and groaned in embarrassment, shaking their heads.
***
Several forums were recently ablaze with heated keyboard battles over a few select hot topics. Today was the day one of those topics would take center stage.
Why? Well, that was because Hee-yeon’s music video’s behind-the-scenes footage was scheduled to release today with an interview featuring Hae-yeol and LOAN.
Anti-fans, rock fans, Hee-yeon’s fans, and common netizens thirsty for entertainment eagerly waited for the video to drop at 6 p.m. After the video was promptly released on Hee-yeon’s YouTube channel, views skyrocketed.
Did the president lose it? Had Hae-yeol lost his mind? Or would this be the welcoming of a new protagonist in the idol industry? With controversy brewing, countless eyes were trained on the video. All attention was on what Hae-yeol Yoo had to say.
Soft instrumentals played in the background, and over it, was the noise of a music video set.
In an all-white space, the hem of a red dress trailed across the floor with every step Hee-yeon took. The footsteps of the staff and Director Jung-woo’s loud voice echoed as he gave instructions.
“Let’s make it feel like you’re weighed down by despair, like you’re sinking. Good! Now, throw your gaze into the air. Unfocused, dazed!”
Whether Hee-yeon could truly pull off rock music remained unseen, but aside from the anti-fans, everyone had to admit one thing. She looked absolutely stunning in this video.
The video cut to the next scene, which showed Hee-yeon monitoring the footage. She frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied.
“Director, I’m sorry.”
“What? Sorry for what? It looks perfect to me.”
“No… I think I was too hungry to focus properly.”
“Sorry…?”
As the soft instrumental continued to play, more clips of Hee-yeon filming different scenes played. Each time her makeup, hair, and outfit changed, it showcased a new music video scene in the making.
Then, when the background music hit the second verse, the highly anticipated interview scene appeared. LOAN and Hae-yeol sat side by side in a two-shot frame. Off-camera, someone asked a question.
“What made you decide to use rock for Hee-yeon’s song?”
It started with a direct question. LOAN and Hae-yeol both grimaced as if they recalled something unpleasant. The anti-fans would have relished in their expressions, no doubt. However, the answer that followed was one that would have left those very anti-fans groaning in frustration.
“You see, LOAN and I have very different approaches to composing songs. When I started working on Hee-yeon’s song, it wasn’t easy to come up with something that matched perfectly, like ‘Wish to the Moon,’ which is the song LOAN composed. So I suggested a collaboration…”
Hae-yeol continued on to explain the process in more detail.
“If it didn’t suit her, we were ready to change the genre… But it didn’t just suit her. It was simply on another level. That was when I realized that I was still trapped by my own biases. I realized that even idols, and even rookies, could pull off rock properly.”
LOAN picked up where he left off.
“We were completely satisfied with Hee-yeon’s singing, so we gave the go-ahead. But we were surprised when she said she wasn’t good enough and asked for more time. We were really shocked. At the time, we thought what we had was already the best. We assumed she was just being overly ambitious because she felt pressured by the genre.”
Their detailed and unfiltered explanation was hard to swallow, and it only made viewers more curious about the song itself. The fact that the background music lacked vocals felt like a deliberate move to torment the viewers even more. Then, came the final question.
“What kind of reaction do you expect when this song is released?”
LOAN answered with a slightly anxious expression.
“It’ll depend on the listener. Art is something that changes depending on the perspective of the person perceiving it. So I’d like to ask the fans to please be careful. You might just find yourself completely enchanted.”
It wasn’t a statement of concern over any possible negative reception, but rather a warning that people might like it too much. He was obviously confident in the song.
“Haha! Clever answer. What about you, Hae-yeol?”
“I’m not sure. We personally think the song is amazing, but that’s a very subjective thing, so I can’t guarantee how everyone will feel. But there’s one thing I can guarantee.
“People might criticize our composition, but they won’t be able to tear down Hee-yeon as a rock singer. She’s that good.
“She’s an artist with unlimited potential, and I just hope the public will support her instead of beating her down.”
With that, the video ended. The controversy surrounding this topic only burned brighter as it spread like wildfire. It was to the extent that even those who weren’t originally interested in the topic could see that something big was happening.
***
Two days after the behind-the-scenes video was released, it was the day the music video and song would go public.
“Haha. I never imagined things would become this big,” I said as I shook my head in disbelief.
Team Lead Na gave me a look.
“Are you kidding? You deliberately made that behind-the-scenes video to rile people up. At this point, even Director Park would feel something is off and pull out. Not that it matters now. It’s already become too big for anyone to back out.”
For two days straight, the news outlets had been chewing over, dissecting, and savoring every detail about Hee-yeon. Articles analyzed who LOAN was, what kind of music Hae-yeol had made, and even what rock musicians thought about the whole thing.
It felt like the industry itself joined a massive gambling game. The number of people anticipating our downfall was only growing, but we laughed. At this point, the outcome was practically set in stone.
“If I were you guys, I’d be too nervous to even eat fried chicken right now.”
At Team Lead Na’s comment, all eyes at the table turned in his direction, mid-bite. Hee-yeon calmly swallowed her food and replied.
“I’m not worried.”
Her words were so matter-of-fact that Team Lead Na let out a dry chuckle.
“You’re something else, Hee-yeon. I mean, your skills are more than enough to back your confidence, but still. When things get this big, it’s normal to get nervous. You’ve got a mind of steel, I’ll give you that.”
The others exchanged glances, as if they were trying to figure out what exactly he meant. Then, realizing he was slightly off the mark, Yoon-jung grinned mischievously.
“Hee-yeon isn’t the type that doesn’t get nervous. Remember that time she went viral for it in Yeol’s Music Notebook? ‘Hae-chun Lee’ and all?”
“Oh, right… But still, this situation is way bigger than back then. There’s no way she’s not feeling a bit of nerves. I mean, how much experience can she have built up by now?”
Hee-yeon’s gaze fell on me, filled with unwavering trust.
“I’ve learned that as long as I trust President Kang, I don’t have to worry about anything. Even if things go wrong this time, it doesn’t matter. No matter how capable President Kang is, mistakes can happen. I know he’d make things right again.”
There was pure admiration in Jung-han’s eyes as he looked at me.
“Boss!”
Na simply chuckled as he looked my way. Feeling embarrassed, I fixed my gaze on my laptop and muttered gruffly.
“You’re only saying that because you did a great job yourself.”
“Pfft!”
Who was that? Who just laughed?
I snapped my head toward the direction of the sound and found Yumi, covering her mouth with wide, startled eyes.
“Oh, it was you, Yumi.”
My gaze softened, and that song came to mind. The one that needed a rapper.
‘It’s about time Yumi stepped into the spotlight, too.’
Because of Hee-yeon and Jin-ah’s promotions, I had held off on recruiting a rapper for a while. Managing their schedules alone took up all our resources. If Yumi debuted now, it would only divide the public’s attention and make things less than ideal.
“President Kang!”
Jin-ah raised an eyebrow after keeping a close eye on me.
“You were totally going to give me a hard time if I had been the one laughing, weren’t you?”
“What? Not at all.”
Yumi fidgeted nervously and mumbled in a tiny voice.
“S-Sorry. I know I shouldn’t have laughed…”
“No, it’s fine. You can laugh as much as you want.”
“This is discrimination! You could treat me with that kind of affection too, you know!”
“I already do. You have no idea how much I care about you.”
Like that, we spent the time chatting about all sorts of nonsense. Then finally, the music video and song both released. To say the reception was explosive would still be an understatement.
Was it because everyone had been waiting? Every time I refreshed the page, the view count on the music video shot up like crazy.
One hour later.
“Debut #3!?”
I knew this ranking was temporary, given all the hype we orchestrated. Still, third place. The fact that so many people were interested in Hee-yeon’s song and actually listened to it was what mattered most.
“Whoa!!!”
“Kyaaah!”
The moment we saw the chart, the dorm erupted as if we had just won the World Cup. The trending searches were flooded with keywords related to Hee-yeon, and articles filled with praise released like an opened like a floodgate.
[An Unbelievable Feat! Blue Sherbet’s Hee-yeon Lee Takes On Rock!]
[“I Feel Guilty for Ever Doubting Hae-yeol” Rock Fans Speak Out.]
[K Management’s President Kang Behind Blue Sherbet’s Success: A Deep Dive into Hyuk Kang.]
[Could Korea’s Declining Rock Scene Be Revived by an Idol? Expectations Rise.]
“Shall we turn our phones on now?”
After being bombarded with interview requests, we had all switched off our phones for a while. The moment we powered our phones back on, it was non-stop ringing.
The members huddled around Hee-yeon, hugging her tightly and sharing in the joy.
“Hee-yeon! You did it! Rock and roll, baby!”
“Congrats!”
“Congratulations!”
It was about time to expand our company. We needed to upgrade from that old minivan, find a better practice studio, move to a new office, and hire more staff.
‘Now that we’re a company with a star in its ranks, we should look the part.’
We were no longer just a small agency. Now, we were a company with a certified celebrity.
—