Dark Clouds Over the Comeback

Because of his job as a manager, Yong-ha spent a vast amount of time each day on the phone. This call was no different from any other, but he leaned in closer to catch Ji-ho’s voice coming through the car’s Bluetooth speakers.

[…is what Jae-in wanted me to tell you. He said Enheim decided to take a break for a while and hasn’t scheduled any activities.]

“Yeah, seems that way. I’m sure they’re keeping their heads down after this mess. How is Jae-in’s mental state?”

[He seemed to be having a hard time, but I’m going to try and help him shake it off while he stays here.]

“While he stays there? I thought you guys were just taking photos?”

[Tell me about it. Jae-in brought a ton of luggage without even asking. You’d think he was going on a trip to Europe. He says he’s going to stay at my place for a few days.]

“Phew, that kid is as headstrong as ever.”

[Exactly. Anyway, Hyung, you’re busy so I’ll get to the point. Jae-in wants to do a livestream; would it be okay if I appeared in the broadcast with him? Honestly, I feel bad for the fans waiting for my… return, but I think this would be the most definitive way to settle things.]

“Public interest in your whereabouts is high, so leaking some news this way isn’t a bad idea. I’ll go into the office and talk to the PR team. Even if you do it, it’s probably best if you just show your face briefly beside him.”

[Understood. Until Jae-in heads back up, please contact me at this number. It’s Jae-in’s phone. It might be hard for me to answer the village hall phone for a few days. And… Hyung, you were trying to get Jae-in and me to reconcile, weren’t you? Don’t worry, we’ve cleared up our misunderstandings, even if things are still a bit awkward.]

“Huh? Oh, right… yeah. Ah, I’ve arrived at the company. Ji-ho, I’ll call you back later.”

After parking the car, Yong-ha mulled over the conversation. Ji-ho had been sounding brighter ever since he moved to the countryside, but today his voice sounded particularly buoyant.

‘Well, I only told Jae-in the old stories so he wouldn’t go down there and harass Ji-ho. Ji-ho is too good-natured for his own good. “Awkward,” my foot. He sounded like they’ve already made up completely.’

Yong-ha felt a slight pang of guilt. He had made a deal to accept Enheim’s request for cooperation in exchange for their agency’s help during Pentagram’s upcoming studio album promotions. Remembering how he had nearly chosen to abandon Ji-ho during the hiatus discussions made him feel uneasy.

In fact, he felt this way every time he spoke to Ji-ho.

“It’s already been over two months since he went down there. I should drop by and at least check if he’s doing okay.”

Yong-ha let out a deep sigh as he looked at the Star Ent office through his windshield. He wasn’t blind to Ji-ho’s feelings when he tentatively mentioned the word “return.”

However, the barriers of reality were too high for him to say, “Of course you should return.” While he sometimes used being “busy” as an excuse to end their calls early, these days he was so overwhelmed he wished it actually was a lie.

Especially since the incident a month ago when they had to change Pentagram’s title track.

“Proceeding with the album production without delaying the schedule… No matter how I think about it, it was a insane decision.”

Throughout September, the employees of Star Ent had to endure days that felt like hell. After the responsibility for the title track incident fell on the Business Team, the A&R Team began pushing the studio album production forward like a runaway train.

They had to pick a new title track within a month, and naturally, the remaining B-side tracks had to change accordingly. They rushed through every stage: readjusting the concept to fit the new song, setting the budget, and finalizing marketing. Pentagram had finally started recording, but it was shocking that some songs hadn’t even finished their arrangements yet.

“Even a mom-and-pop shop wouldn’t work in such a haphazard way. I acknowledge the ability of those two to pull this off somehow, but we’re the ones dying here.”

These were words he couldn’t say in front of Yu-jin and Kwon-ho, who were competing more fiercely as time went on. Like a shrimp caught in a fight between whales, the minority Management Team was being ground down while helping with both sides’ workloads.

Working like a dog was daily life for the Management Team, but for some reason, it had felt even more draining lately. If he thought it had gotten worse since Ji-ho—who used to help him from the side—disappeared, was that just because of Yong-ha’s guilt?

Reluctant to start his workday, Yong-ha was about to open his car door when his phone rang in his pocket, the Bluetooth connection having been cut. Thinking it might be Ji-ho calling back, he answered, only for the call to pull his already gloomy mood even further down.

“What? A sudden closure? What does that… Wait a minute. Your side was also handling the session and chorus contracts for us. We’re supposed to start recording now; don’t tell me those haven’t even been processed……”

The mixing company they had newly contracted for this album had suddenly announced they were closing down and could no longer proceed with the work.

The situation was so absurd that Yong-ha just stared blankly at the sky after the call ended. Passersby looked strangely at the burly man standing still, holding his half-open car door.

“…Wow. Talk about bad luck. Is the universe punishing us for proceeding with the studio album without Ji-ho?”

Literally, everything looked pitch black.

*******************************************

Naturally, Star Ent was turned upside down.

What is mixing, after all? It’s the process of balancing recorded instruments and vocals to create a single track, which in Korea often includes mastering—the final touch of song production. Moreover, it’s such a crucial stage that it’s considered even during the composition phase. Since the quality of the final product varies wildly based on the engineer’s skill, small agencies preferred outsourcing to professional firms rather than training their own technicians.

And yet, the mixing company that was supposed to handle nearly half of the tracks had suddenly declared they couldn’t do the work. This, with only about a month and a half left until the album release.

In the meeting room—the largest space in the office—every team at Star Ent was forced to assemble.

“How is it that our side had no idea until we were notified of the closure? Isn’t this the company the A&R Team recommended and contracted? You said you had a long working relationship with their Team Leader, Mr. Kim.”

Yu-jin attacked Kwon-ho fiercely, as if she had been waiting for this moment. Her criticism was even harsher because she had clashed with Kwon-ho when he recommended this firm over the one Star Ent had collaborated with for a long time. If she hadn’t held her ground and let that company handle all the songs, wouldn’t it have been an even bigger disaster?

Kwon-ho shut his mouth, letting out a low groan as if he had no excuse. Hwi-jun, sitting beside him, stepped in to defend him.

“We’re also very taken aback. As you know, the reason Team Leader Kim recommended that firm was because their quality was higher than the previous one. Who could have known that a large company that even works with major labels would collapse so suddenly?”

“What’s the reason? Seeing as they just notified the Management Team and went MIA, it doesn’t seem like a situation that can be reversed.”

“Sigh, well… it’s true their CEO is a skilled engineer, but it seems there were problems with internal staff management.”

“Staff management?”

“In that industry, isn’t it common to pay ‘passion wages’ under the guise of teaching until someone gains enough experience? Apparently, there was a mass walkout of employees related to that, and even the core staff left. The CEO reportedly collapsed from shock……”

“Even so, they’re processing a closure just because the CEO is gone? Shouldn’t they at least connect us with other engineers? This is a case for a civil lawsuit regarding the damages incurred.”

The employees whispered among themselves: “I heard it was a brain hemorrhage,” “Who was the engineer that betrayed him?” “I heard rumors they treated junior staff like slaves, maybe it’s karma.” They continued until Yu-jin stepped in to firmly organize the situation.

“That’s enough. We’ll hold the mixing company accountable later. The problem is the work schedule. How did the contact with other mixing firms go?”

“Most firms are shaking their heads, saying it’s too difficult to work with the current schedule. But we can’t exactly sign with a low-quality place for a studio album.”

“Is it impossible to give additional tracks to the firm handling the rest of the songs?”

“They say they have no room either because their schedule became twice as tight after the song change last time. Plus, we need to find new sessions and choruses for the recording right away….”

“At this rate, we have to postpone the album release….”

“What? Postpone the release? We can’t. It’s a fall comeback; moving past mid-November is a big problem for marketing points. Besides that, many schedules were adjusted because of the previous song incident. If we mess up, we might even incur penalty fees……”

Assigning blame was only possible if the situation allowed for it. It was serious enough that the A&R Team, the opposing Business Team, the PR Team, and even the Management Support Team had to put their heads together.

‘I don’t think there’s an answer no matter how much we talk about it.’

Yong-ha had been the first to hear the news from the mixing firm, but in this situation, he had relatively little authority and was just listening to the discussion. In truth, he didn’t have the energy to actively jump in.

“Oppa, did you not sleep last night? Why do you look like that?”

Ha-neul whispered from beside him, seeing her boyfriend looking completely drained.

“How am I supposed to look good in this situation? Sigh, I don’t know how to tell the kids the recording is being pushed back again.”

“What else can you do? At least the songs aren’t changing this time.”

“You’ve been running around for sponsorship meetings lately, so you don’t know. Especially Lee Ha-un. It’s like his puberty is just hitting him now; he’s being a total rebel lately. He’s even talking back to Se-han. The other day, he was complaining about whether the agency was doing a good job because of the title track issue… Ugh.”

“What? You never told me that, Oppa. You didn’t report it to the company either.”

Ha-neul checked the other employees’ reactions while suppressing her rising voice. Fortunately, they were so absorbed in the intensifying discussion that they didn’t notice her and Yong-ha.

Yong-ha’s voice sank seriously. It was a weary voice filled with his recent struggles.

“If I talk about it, they’ll just say our team can’t handle them. And you’re busy too, I didn’t want to give you more to worry about.”

“Still, we already had those discord rumors, we have to be careful. What are you going to do if he acts like that after promotions start? Is he… is he acting like that because of Ji-ho?”

Knowing that Ha-un followed Ji-ho particularly well, Ha-neul asked the question cautiously. A faint tension appeared on her face. She seemed to be remembering how she had wanted Ji-ho to go on hiatus after being persuaded by Kwon-ho.

‘I knew this would happen, that’s why I didn’t say anything.’

With new employees continuing to resign, there was a reason Yong-ha hadn’t shared information with Ha-neul—his only remaining team member and girlfriend. It was because of the uncomfortable feelings the two shared in silence.

Because Ji-ho had expressed his intent to go on hiatus first, they hadn’t needed to persuade him, but their decision to turn their backs on him remained. Ha-neul, especially, who had delivered Kwon-ho’s words, had been careful about bringing up Ji-ho’s name ever since.

They had even avoided meeting outside of work recently, using being busy with album preparations as an excuse. It was because meeting each other felt like facing a co-conspirator.

“It’s not like that. Kids get confused when so many things happen at once.”

“I guess. If we’re this anxious, imagine how they feel. Phew. Everyone’s losing their minds trying to fix this. Is it even possible to release the studio album on the original date? Five out of twelve songs are tied to that firm. It would be different if we were splitting the album up like solo singers do.”

“Huh? Splitting it up?”

At Ha-neul’s words, a great plan flashed through Yong-ha’s mind.