When I walked into the conference room with the debut team members, the eyes of the production division staff who had arrived first shot our way all at once.
This familiar tension. It reminds me of my days preparing for the media company entrance exams.
Back then, I ultimately failed to land a job at a major media outlet and turned to an entertainment outlet instead, and I wondered how it would go this time.
If there was a difference from then, it'd be that when I was preparing for the media exams, I at least had a backup plan, but now, if I failed, it might be the end, just like that.
A sideways glance showed obvious tension on the faces of the three trainees.
Go Yeon-gyu and Cha Min-seong... well, they looked so-so.
Once the trainees had each found their seats and sat down, Seon Yeong-ran opened the discussion.
"You've all heard, right? Today we're going to finalize the group name and debut concept. First, the group name. Debut team, check the document in front of you."
When I flipped through the document, the group name section came up first.
PLUTO, Pater, Thanatos, Orcus.......
Every word choice is gloomy beyond compare. Did the CEO see a grim reaper in her sleep or something?
At least I can tell they're aiming for a dark image that contrasts with Colorize.
"Out of the group name candidates written there, PLUTO got the best feedback. What do you think, debut team?"
Seon Yeong-ran asked, looking around at each of the debut team's faces.
But the four existing trainees didn't offer any real answer. Go Yeon-gyu, maybe because he'd only just returned to the company, seemed to be reading the room for now.
Can't be helped. There's no choice but for me to voice an opinion first here.
"No objections."
Seeing 'PLUTO' written openly inside the hallucination, it seemed better to go this way instead of needlessly veering off.
If I had to pick from those, I'd think PLUTO was the safest too, so I had no complaints.
"I like this one too."
The moment I kicked things off, Go Yeon-gyu immediately joined in. Then the other guys relaxed too and one by one voiced their approval.
Approval prevailed among the production division staff as well, so the group name was decided smoothly.
"Next is the debut concept. Originally we were going to do something intense and strong, you know? But...... recently an opinion came up that 'it doesn't seem like it would suit the members.' That the current debut team kids would suit something slightly refreshing much better, apparently?"
Seon Yeong-ran slid her gaze over to me and smiled suspiciously.
"So we're debating which is better: a refreshing concept mixed with three spoonfuls of youth, or the concept we originally planned. Tell me freely what you all think."
The production division staff, who seemed to have finished reviewing the documents before the trainees came, began giving their opinions first.
"Everyone's tall and their performance is good, so I wonder if going with the dynamic, intense concept we originally had in mind wouldn't stand out more and go over better overseas too."
That's not entirely wrong. In fact, the early PLUTO got more of a response overseas than at home.
The agency messed around and missed the timing to push aggressively into overseas markets, so it petered out, though.
Until now, Solar's artists had followed the standard procedure of securing a domestic fanbase first and then expanding overseas.
Colorize, the first idol group Solar put forward, was also a case of going through Asia all the way to the North American market based on the popularity gained through domestic activities.
But PLUTO tried to do it in reverse order, and it seems the lack of experience left their planning ability thoroughly unable to support it.
No matter how much response there is, it's meaningless if the agency can't do its job properly.
And before even considering overseas, the problem starts at home.
If events flow exactly as I remember, early next year XENAS will debut with a similar concept.
Unless you're confident you can win going head-to-head with a big rookie that has massive capital slathered on frame by frame, you'd better look for another way to survive.
As I was lightly clicking my tongue inwardly, another staff member offered a new opinion.
"Hmm, but it does feel like they're still 2% short of pulling off something strong, so going a little softer at first doesn't seem bad. There's steady demand for youthful, refreshing concepts too."
"So many groups have tried this before, though. Won't that make their position iffy?"
"Is it that different for hip or intense concepts? These days, whatever you do, it overlaps anyway."
"Weren't these kids gathered with a strong concept in mind from the time we first planned the boy group? If we change that, don't we need to redo the debut team lineup too?"
With that last remark, a chill spread among the debut team members, as if cold water had been poured over them.
Ha Hyun, sitting beside me, had his head down and was even trembling slightly.
'He doesn't look good.'
I brought my right hand around the back of the chair, placed it on the guy's back, and gave it a light pat. At that, Ha Hyun's trembling eased a little.
Saying that outright in front of all the debut team members—what a clueless bastard.
Seon Yeong-ran, who had been listening to the staff's opinions, nodding every now and then, looked at me.
"Opinions are all over the place. Then shall we hear from the person who proposed the other concept? ...Seol-han, what do you think?"
She's laying out the stage for me very openly.
In that case, I'll grit my teeth and put on a real show for her. With no path of retreat, there's nothing to fear either.
"I fully understand the parts everyone is concerned about. That the overseas market has become important, and that you're troubled because it heads in a different direction from the initial concept."
They were all answers within the range I'd expected, but let's not relax.
Isn't that just life? However thoroughly I prepare, someone's whim can stop me dead.
"First, I don't think you need to worry about the debut team lineup. Everyone has visuals that can handle concepts well, so as long as it doesn't veer to an extreme direction like harmless and cute, won't they pull it off well?"
Baek Ji-hyuk debuting with a harmless, cute concept.......
Even I think that sounds like a horrifying hybrid.
"And the overseas market. Unless the group is planned to openly target the overseas market, I'm concerned there's a high chance of falling into an iffy situation where we miss both the domestic and overseas markets. Above all, it bothers me that among the current debut team members, there aren't enough people to take on overseas. And I don't just mean foreign language skills, but knowledge of the local scene too."
"I think it'll be fine since there's Yeon-gyu."
"To be exact, there's only Go Yeon-gyu."
Go Yeon-gyu, the subject of the topic, looked around for a moment and then lightly raised his hand.
"Can I talk too?"
"Of course. Go ahead, feel free."
"Intense is cool. I like that stuff too."
When Seon Yeong-ran agreed, Go Yeon-gyu went on in a calm tone without a single tremor.
"But does it suit this lot? First off, none of these guys have charisma."
I could see Namgung Hyun, next to Go Yeon-gyu, who had come right out and said it, desperately pressing down the corners of his mouth to hold back laughter.
"Baek... Pyeong Seol-han suits it. Because of that face. But other than him, it feels like forcing them into clothes that don't fit? If Ha Hyun came out in a leather jacket acting tough, looking like that, I'd find it horrible."
Ha Hyun, suddenly attacked despite doing nothing wrong, was trembling like before, but this time it seemed to be from holding back laughter.
Judging by that reaction, he wasn't particularly hurt. Well, I guess he became friends with him knowing full well that's how he is.
"Targeting a market that can make a bigger profit? Important. It's a business. But before that, look at the members. No matter how hard the company works, it's no use if it's no good for these guys, who'll actually sing and dance. That's the end of my opinion."
When Go Yeon-gyu, who had stubbornly said it straight to the very end, finished speaking, an odd silence flowed among the production division staff.
Among them was a staff member openly showing displeasure.
That bastard who was clueless earlier.
Apparently it soured that one's mood that a trainee, who's supposed to obediently follow what the staff say, dared to add an opinion.
Amid it all, Seon Yeong-ran, who alone was smiling, spoke energetically.
"As Yeon-gyu said, let's hear what the debut team thinks. Which do you all think is better? It's fine to give a completely different opinion too."
Among the hesitating members, Cha Min-seong, who had kept a blank face the whole time, quietly opened his mouth.
"If the group name is going to be PLUTO, wouldn't something like youth going through a chaotic period suit it better than flashily showing yourself off?"
"Oh, really? Why?"
"Because that's the keyword people mostly think of when they see the word Pluto."
The group name PLUTO seems to have come out of a search for a grand, dark image, but that kind of interpretation isn't bad either.
Plenty of places decide on the word first and then attach a plausible meaning, and there's no law saying this place can't.
Next up, Namgung Hyun left his opinion.
"And~ our faces still look a bit young, don't they? Look at Seo-jun—so youthful and full of baby fat!"
The lies just flow out of him.
If he really means that, Namgung Hyun may need new glasses soon.
"For now we go with the refreshing concept mixed with three spoonfuls of youth, like Seol-han-hyungnim said, and then when some time passes and grown-up stuff suits everyone, we put out something sexy, bam! The buzz about the fantastic visuals would be insane~ Right?"
Namgung Hyun flashed an easygoing smile, inviting a good reaction.
Pretty diligent, for someone who wanted to do a strong concept. He seems to be drawing a clear line between his personal taste and the group's direction.
"Seo-jun and Ha Hyun?"
"Heok... Yes! I think going refreshing would be good too!"
"I think so too."
Both nodded and answered with expressions full of some kind of resolve.
"That's what everyone says. What do you think, would it be okay to change it?"
"Hmm, you're right. The kids' faces do look a bit young to take on a strong concept right away. Especially Seo-jun, who's only in his third year of middle school. Gathering an early fanbase with a natural charm that blends with a concept about growing up doesn't seem bad either."
"If we focus on intense performance, there'd be impact, but the vocals would get relatively buried, which would be a waste. There's a strong prejudice that idols debuting these days have bad vocals, so it'd be good to show them as skilled from the moment they debut."
The Planning Team and the A&R Team answered Seon Yeong-ran's question in turn. By the look of it, those two were the heads of their respective teams.
"Then we'll fix the concept to the one Seol-han proposed. Now we'll get into debut preparations in earnest and it'll get hectic, but let's all join forces and run well to the end."
It's ironic that the end is also the beginning, though.
After the CEO's order to disperse, Seon Yeong-ran added a word, watching the trainees get up from their seats.
"Seol-han and Yeon-gyu, I'm going to give you two some separate homework. It's nothing hard, so don't worry."
And the homework in the hands of Go Yeon-gyu and me, back in the practice room after the meeting, was.......
"She says I should help plan the debut album concept. What do you think?"
"You've got it better. She told me to try making a song to use as the title track. Said she'd connect me to other agencies' song camps while she's at it, so I should go learn a lot."
...Self-producing, for real.
Nothing hard, she said. You sh—tty small-fry company.