A few days earlier, in the Solar Entertainment staff lounge.
"I get that you want to bring Yeon-gyu here. But what is it you want my help with?"
"Before that, could I find out which direction the debut album concept is currently heading?"
"Why?"
"The Planning Team staff member said earlier, didn't he, that Go Yeon-gyu ended up leaving because he didn't fit the concept. I'm curious what kind of concept it is that led to that opinion."
"Hmm....... It's not completely fixed yet, though."
Kim Ji-su, who hesitated for a moment, soon looked this way with determined eyes.
"Can you promise you won't tell anyone?"
"Yes, I can promise."
I took out my cell phone, unlocked it, and showed her my contacts and app list myself.
"As you can see, I have no friends to contact, and I don't use social media. I'll also be especially careful that nothing leaks to the trainees. If you're really uneasy, you can check it yourself......."
"No! You don't have to show me, Seol-han! You're already trustworthy enough!"
It really would have been fine to check.
Kim Ji-su adamantly refused my offer.
Taking out her own cell phone, Kim Ji-su picked out a few images and showed them to me.
Black leather outfits, a racer leaning on a motorcycle, a photoshoot showing an intense black-and-red contrast.......
It was similar to the PLUTO concept I knew.
"We're planning to go with an intense, mature vibe like this. The kids are all tall and cool, so don't you think it'll suit them well?"
A concept like that did suit Baek Ji-hyuk perfectly; he took to it like a duck to water.
Namgung Hyun and Seo Seo-jun pulled it off somehow too, if not as well as Baek Ji-hyuk.
Cha Min-seong was a bit iffy because of his soft looks, like a devoted second male lead in a drama, but his solid 186cm height and impressive low voice held him up, so he survived.
But.
'It really doesn't suit Ha Hyun.'
Seon Yeong-ran, who was deeply attached to Colorize, the first idol group she launched, apparently tried to make the latecomer connect to Colorize in its own way, too.
And so was born PLUTO, a child of darkness led by a cold, powerful concept, contrasting with Colorize, which emphasized an innocence and brightness that brought blooming spring to mind all on its own.
Because of this, early in their debut, Ha Hyun nearly split himself in half trying to keep up with a strong concept that was never in the cards for him.
After painstaking effort—changing his makeup countless times, studying expressions, and so on—he eventually came to pull it off well, but the level of criticism Ha Hyun had to take in the process was practically abyssal.
But how on earth did Ha Hyun end up in the debut team?
Considering the reason they cut Go Yeon-gyu, it seems they planned from the start to make a group that would debut with a concept like this.
But that was something I couldn't figure out no matter how much I thought about it, so I decided not to think about it any more for now.
Anyway, considering several reasons, it looks like this group needs its buttons redone from the very first one.
A strong concept itself isn't bad.
The problem was whether it suited the current debut team guys.
Didn't I say it earlier?
Somehow, iffy, really doesn't suit.
A concept that comes with negative modifiers like these wasn't something to give a debuting group, for whom the first impression matters most.
In fact, for an album with a fair amount of capital invested in it, PLUTO's first album produced below-expectation results.
At the time, people cited a lack of understanding of the artists and a lack of planning ability as the reasons the debut promotions failed.
The company debuted them with the concept it wanted to push without properly grasping the members' strengths and weaknesses, and in the end it came out as neither one thing nor the other.
And if they follow the route they took in the past exactly, these guys' album concepts won't even be strong-weak-medium-strong-weak; they'll come out as nothing but strong-strong-strong-strong-strong.
If that happens, the benefit of including Go Yeon-gyu in the debut team disappears. The genres where Go Yeon-gyu's abilities shine were far from the route the old PLUTO pursued.
It'd mean not being able to properly use the lifeline I went to all the trouble of bringing in.
To change the concept, now—before even the demo songs for the debut album had been picked—was the right time.
If it went any further than this, the chances of it being rejected would keep rising, so once I'd made up my mind, I had to finish it fast.
"Would it be difficult to twist the concept a little, by any chance?"
"Why? You don't really like this kind of thing?"
"No, it's not that."
I shook my head and went on.
"To put it bluntly, I don't think it's a concept that suits the current debut team."
Kim Ji-su, who seemed startled for a moment, asked carefully in a small voice.
"Really? ...Can I ask why you think so?"
"First of all, everyone looks rather young overall. It suddenly struck me that it might be a bit early to attempt something like this. Especially considering Seo Seo-jun is still a middle schooler."
I'd thought she'd laugh it off since it was a trainee saying it, but Kim Ji-su was listening with an unexpectedly serious face.
"There are also some things that bother me in terms of their usual personalities and their understanding of the concept. Honestly, the current debut team kids don't give the impression of suiting that kind of vibe at all, do they? With a strong concept, what matters most is pulling it off flashily and confidently, as if you're about to devour the stage."
Now, someone might ask this question around here.
Why not do something strong for the debut and try something refreshing for the next album!
Uh, no.
The other way around, maybe, but going refreshing right after a strong concept is a route that's obviously going to get a lukewarm response.
Try eating something clean and bland right after eating something stimulating and spicy. Can you taste it?
Taking the gamble while saying 'we'll be different,' despite countless past cases that have already proven it, is something only a major agency with lots of coins to spend can do.
A small agency like this that tried it would only see an ending where they get shut away in the practice room for years because it doesn't make money.
"So I was thinking it might be good to start with a mild flavor that suits the members, then go in a direction that slowly gets more intense step by step."
"A mild flavor...... you mean refreshing, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Most rookie groups go through that, so wouldn't people say it's a bit clichéd?"
"There's a reason for every steady seller. And recently a lot more groups are debuting with intense, hip concepts, so I also think that whatever we choose, similar opinions will come out in the end."
It's probably because we'd entered an era where going overseas was a mandatory task. You have to choose performance-heavy songs to get a good response overseas.
PLUTO probably tried to ride that current too.
"Of course, I'm not saying to go entirely mild and refreshing. For example, even within 'refreshing,' the cheerful, breezy kind and the kind mixed with bitter youth feel different, don't they? This group aims for the latter. Then even if we gradually go to stronger concepts, it'll connect naturally, so wouldn't that be all right?"
And as far as I remember, no boy group debuting over the next two years stood out with this kind of concept.
'Faraday,' appealing with the positive energy of adolescence through a cute, youthful image.
'XENAS,' whose restrained intensity, built on enormous capital, stood out.
And 'Imaginary Cross,' promoting with a rough, rebellious concept of smashing through limits.
Those three were the ones mainly mentioned.
It's already a market where everyone's busy stealing each other's pie, so instead of overlapping for no reason, let's go rob the empty house and play it safe.
"I get what you're trying to say. But in that case, isn't there no reason to include Yeon-gyu in the debut team?"
"Once they debut, they'll have to constantly think about what suits them like this—not just the concept but the songs, too. I think there's a big difference between having a member with the eye to judge that properly and not having one."
Of course, the real reason is that guy's songwriting ability, but that's an achievement Go Yeon-gyu will only accomplish in the future, so I couldn't explain it.
Kim Ji-su, who had been listening seriously, nodding now and then, opened her mouth.
"I think it's fine, but I don't know what the others will think."
"So, from here on is the real favor I want to ask."
I bowed at the waist to Kim Ji-su as politely as I could.
"Could you pass on the opinion I just gave to the staff and help Go Yeon-gyu get into the debut team? I'll somehow get in touch with Go Yeon-gyu and do my best to persuade him."
Sorry for making you do a bothersome job.
But if a mere trainee barked at the staff to listen to him directly, would they give it even half an ear?
"I know it's shameless, but this is something I can't do anything about on my own. Please."
"Okay, so you don't have to go this far, your back's going to hurt!"
When I kept bowing no matter how much she tried to stop me, Kim Ji-su finally forced me upright.
"In exchange, can I add one condition?"
"A condition......."
"Seol-han, have you ever used a word processor, by any chance?"
"Yes, I have."
"Then I'll lend you my laptop, so could you neatly organize what you just said and bring it to me? Attach reference images too, not just text."
This was a positive sign.
Persuading them would go more smoothly if we clearly pointed out why they needed to scrap a concept that had taken shape to some degree and choose a new one.
"Understood. I'm sorry to ask a favor like this when you must be very busy."
"Oh, come on, you don't need to apologize! If you guys debut with a better concept, that makes us happy too. Then, follow me for a sec!"
Back at the New Talent Development Team office, Kim Ji-su took a laptop out of her bag, fiddled with it briefly, then put it in a pouch and handed it to me.
Judging by the other laptop on the desk, this one seemed to be her personal laptop. Was it okay to lend it out so casually? What if I ran off with it?
I carefully held the laptop pouch that had landed in my arms with both hands so I wouldn't drop it even by accident.
Since it had come to this, it'd be good to use it when persuading Go Yeon-gyu too.
Sometimes one sentence organized on paper is more effective than long-winded talk.
"Then I'll be going."
"Ah, Seol-han."
As I bowed again and was about to turn around, Kim Ji-su called out and stopped me.
"If there's anything else you want to ask of me, tell me anytime!"
That one's a fervent, hopelessly good-natured office worker, too.
Instead of answering, I nodded readily and left the office.
***
To take this opportunity to tell the truth.
Kim Ji-su, the team leader of Solar Entertainment's New Talent Development Team, had always harbored doubts about whether the company's trainees could really pull off such an intense concept.
Since the higher-ups wanted it, she'd gone along with it, but no matter how she thought about it, she felt that the kids in this debut team, except for Baek Ji-hyuk, didn't fit that kind of thing well.
And watching a freshly joined trainee scratch that exact itch so satisfyingly, she became certain.
'Even a kid who just joined thought this wasn't right.'
So whether Go Yeon-gyu joined the debut team or not, she intended to try persuading the staff with the opinion Pyeong Seol-han had presented.
The ones who understood the current debut team trainees best were none other than herself and the members of the New Talent Development Team.
And.......
There were only four numbers saved in the contacts Pyeong Seol-han had shown her.
The three debut team members other than Cha Min-seong, and Kim Ji-su herself.
Isn't that strange?
No matter how few friends he had, for his relationships to be that narrow was unnatural unless he'd done a major clearing-out of his personal affairs.
A call log with a history of contact only with her, belongings so sparse they all fit into one bag, signs that he'd lived alone with no family to rely on.
And the expression on his face when she first saw him at the street food tent.
She still remembered that face, so steeped in fatigue that it made a mockery of the solidity you could sense in his exotic, chill-laden features and his body like a well-carved statue.
Add to that a polite, unflappable attitude that she couldn't possibly imagine belonged to a hot-blooded young man who'd only just become an adult.
It was hard to fathom how deep the storms were that his life had passed through.
And that same Pyeong Seol-han had, for the first time, made a proper request of her.
And with his will burning so actively, at that!
So she'd told him to put his opinion in writing himself and bring it to her.
Who knows. Through the experience of planning out what he wanted in detail, he might come to find this work interesting and develop toward voicing his opinions voluntarily from now on.
If Pyeong Seol-han's influence on the group gradually grew that way, this place might become a good environment for him, with nowhere else to go, to put down roots with peace of mind.
Still, since it was his first time, she'd been expecting something at the level of a student's book report, but contrary to her expectations, the result Pyeong Seol-han brought in two days later was excellent.
What Pyeong Seol-han presented wasn't merely a description of the debut concept he wanted.
From a rundown of albums that had been well received by the public over the past few years, to materials analyzing each member's strengths and weaknesses and collecting items that would suit them, to a wide range of image references.
His will to make the group succeed, however he could, was pressed firmly into this document.
'It'd be fine to show this to the staff directly.......'
So Kim Ji-su left detailed feedback on the document Pyeong Seol-han brought and helped polish it into a more complete result.
Hoping this would lend his opinion even more weight.
The kid she'd brought in had come back with results beyond her expectations, so shouldn't she live up to that effort too?
Before long, Pyeong Seol-han actually succeeded in persuading Go Yeon-gyu.
She was simply amazed at how a freshly joined trainee had managed to bring in a kid whom even the company staff had given up on after failing to reach him.
So Kim Ji-su was about to move to persuade the staff as she'd promised in advance, when Seon Yeong-ran suddenly summoned her in person.
Who on earth had she picked this up from? This company really was a small world.
Called to the CEO's office, Kim Ji-su proposed a concept revision to Seon Yeong-ran and held out the document Pyeong Seol-han had written along with it.
"Seol-han wrote this himself?"
"Yes. He said he was curious what vibe they'd debut with, so I just told him a little, like, they'll debut with a bit of a strong concept~ and he asked if there was any way to change the concept and gave me this. Doesn't it remind you of Jae-woo? Jae-woo also persuaded the staff around her debut, asking if they couldn't change the concept and asking us to set up a chance for her to brief it herself."
"Haha! He's got the same boldness as that kid, all right. I was worried because this debut team's kids are especially shy, but I guess I can breathe a little easier."
"What will you do? I also think it's better to add Yeon-gyu and change the concept."
"I think it's a reasonable opinion too. But just granting it would be no fun."
"...Sorry?"
And so, with her passing on to Pyeong Seol-han the will of the CEO, who had finished reviewing the document, Kim Ji-su's first act of help came to a close.