For now… we moved into a nearby empty conference room with the runner-up from this season of Idol Inc., who had appeared out of nowhere.
“Thank you so much!”
“…It’s nothing.”
No, actually, this was something worth being thankful for.
We had agreed to carve out time in the middle of our schedule without any prior arrangement, just because someone had suddenly asked us to.
And for a junior we had never even met before.
The only reason I had time in the first place was because this was an individual ad meeting.
Otherwise, there would have been no chance.
- Ah~ The meeting runs more smoothly when Moondae is there too!
Even just now, Big Sejin had been setting up an escape route like that.
All I had to say was something like, Mm, apparently so. Sorry, and I could have gotten out of this without making myself look bad.
The reason I deliberately chose not to was simple.
It’ll be easier if I know in advance.
Someone had clearly made some kind of move that would affect TeSTAR too, and if the information went through company employees before reaching us, it would inevitably get distorted.
Even if I hear it directly, I can still stay out of it easily enough.
Even if we were in the same company, we were still competitors.
If we couldn’t offer concrete help to people in the same situation, there was no moral obligation for us to do so.
Then let’s hear it.
…However, once the pleasantries were over, what came out of the junior’s mouth was far beyond anything I had imagined.
“Our… working title for our debut track was ‘Magical Girl’…!”
“Pfft!”
That sound had not come from me.
It came from Kim Raebin, who was sitting beside me.
He had time too, since he wasn’t the one involved in the ad meeting.
And if I had been drinking something, I would probably have made the same sound.
Have they lost their minds?
Had the person in charge of them gone insane?
No, there was a chance there had been some misunderstanding.
I barely managed to open my mouth.
“TeSTAR’s debut song, ‘Magic Boy’….”
“Y-Yes! You immediately think of that song when you hear it. Some of the lyrics are similar too, and even the genre is similar….”
So it wasn’t a misunderstanding.
The junior’s face had gone white.
“We already saw the concept and… the outfits too, and they’re so, so similar….”
“…….”
“I thought I had to tell you, so I came to see you….”
Right.
That part I understood perfectly.
So this kid came because it looked like this was going to screw all of us.
Well, this kid had survived that insane show called Idol Inc. too.
There was no way they had come here blindly believing TeSTAR would help them.
A senior group from the same agency with a two-year head start was, in many ways, closer to a rival than anything else.
But if something like this blew up, it would give TeSTAR a headache too, so it made sense that they had come hoping we would oppose it together.
It was a rational line of thought.
Still, I couldn’t blindly trust them.
I should dig a little deeper first.
I could roughly guess what the agency was thinking, but I still needed to hear more about the specifics of the situation.
But before I could probe at anything, Kim Raebin raised one hand sharply.
“May I ask a question?”
“Pardon? Yes!”
Considering this guy’s usual social skills, I briefly considered covering his mouth, but decided against it.
Kim Raebin had personally worked on “Magic Boy,” after all.
And just as expected, Kim Raebin went straight to the heart of the matter.
“How similar is the song? Beyond genre similarity and the concept having some common ground, is there anything more?”
“Well… Ah!!”
The junior became excited and planted both hands on the table.
“There’s something they copied directly! Something that comes in briefly during the bridge!”
“Yes…?”
“You know that ‘ttarara~’ melody in ‘Magic Boy’!”
“…!!”
The most iconic riff in “Magic Boy.”
That clear, refreshing accompaniment played on the kalimba.
They had copied that…?
Wait. Isn’t that plagiarism?
Even if the original composer was the one reusing it, there would still be a copyright issue.
As far as I knew, during the arrangement process Kim Raebin had added several chords to those notes and changed them.
Which meant Kim Raebin was definitely listed among the song’s copyright holders….
“Ah, so it’s sampling.”
But Kim Raebin simply nodded calmly.
The junior’s mouth dropped open.
“S-Sampling….”
“Yes. There have been frequent cases of unauthorized sampling throughout the history of popular music, but recently the tendency has been to avoid it….”
“Anyway, you haven’t heard anything about this, right?”
“No.”
“And legally, it’s ambiguous too.”
“That is correct. It depends on the extent of it…. There are many actual cases where it was not recognized as a legal violation. Furthermore, since you said it only appears briefly in the bridge in this instance, it is possible that it could be interpreted as an homage.”
In other words, this might end up being something that could only be resolved as a moral issue through public opinion.
Come to think of it, I feel like there have been plenty of cases where people released something first and got permission afterward too.
I clicked my tongue.
…This really does seem like one of the division head’s gambles.
The division head had already half given up on realizing his personal vision through TeSTAR.
In that case, it wouldn’t be strange if he had decided to use TeSTAR as one huge helping of fertilizer for that rookie group instead.
He’s trying to bait attention.
He was using the firepower of TeSTAR’s fandom in reverse.
Maybe he had drawn up a plan where he would cross just enough of an ambiguous line that it could be passed off as a shared universe between groups from the same agency, then convert even the anger of TeSTAR’s fans into public interest.
In other words, classic noise marketing.
The general public wasn’t deeply interested in the fact that TeSTAR had handled its own concepts and arrangements anyway.
They only absorbed that information as part of our image.
No one was going to investigate every detail to figure out exactly which parts of production the group itself had participated in.
So if that junior group got a good song and music video and successfully registered itself in the public consciousness, the discourse could easily end with, “TeSTAR’s fans went too far.”
Something like this.
- Isn’t connecting the lore of groups from the same agency common? Seriously, people are so dramatic… tsk tsk
- It’s good, though. The composer and agency are the same, so of course the styles can overlap. Don’t tell me you actually think TeSTAR makes absolutely everything themselves?ㅋㅋㅋ
- Everyone made such a fuss that I checked out their stage and ended up becoming a fan. Milky Wayz, let’s only walk the flower path from now onㅠㅠ
Read only on MUGEX
And the song and concept of “Magic Boy” were already proven hits.
Obviously, they’re also calculating that even if they only manage half the same success, the response will still be decent.
The picture was probably to make that rookie group explode in popularity through this method first, then have the division head push them as his main focus afterward.
Taken as a whole, it was a structure where only the agency benefited without suffering any real loss.
The arrows will all hit the rookie group first anyway, so the company won’t have to bear as much of the criticism themselves.
And just looking at the expression of the junior sitting over there, I could tell how burdensome this situation was for their group.
Having gone through that insane program called Idol Inc., every member of that group had probably already received enough hate to last them a lifetime.
And now they’re being told they have to keep serving as punching bags even after debut. Of course they’d hate it.
Still, even so, this method guaranteed at least one thing after debut: attention.
Yet instead of hesitating over that, they were showing nothing but aversion.
Hmm.
I opened my mouth again.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes!”
“Do you happen to have an alternative in mind?”
“Pardon?”
“I was wondering whether there had been another candidate besides ‘Magical Girl.’”
“…! Yes!”
As expected.
Some color returned to the junior’s face.
Then came a calm explanation.
“Actually, one of our members was originally studying producing too. That member’s song made it all the way to the final round of title-track candidates… but then, suddenly, a few days ago, the decision was reversed.”
As far as this situation went, that was good news.
“You’d rather do that song.”
“…Yes. Th-The team leader said we could use it on our next album, but…. Honestly, putting everything else aside, I objectively think that song is better too.”
Hmm.
The company’s strategy itself wasn’t bad.
Apparently, their plan had been to attract a massive amount of attention with the debut, then blow up with a self-produced song on the next album.
The problem is that they’re using us to do it.
They were probably thinking, So what if TeSTAR gets a little annoyed?
Our contract renewal wasn’t around the corner. We still had three and a half years left.
I frowned slightly.
The junior panicked.
“Of course, ‘Magic Boy’ is an incredible masterpiece…! It’s just that our current debut song feels like an imitation, so I mean the original candidate is better than that….”
“Of course. I understand completely.”
They seemed to have misunderstood my expression.
While I relaxed my face, Kim Raebin abruptly joined the conversation.
“What kind of song was the one you were originally preparing?”
“Ah, it’s sort of newtro… It’s a style that’s getting a lot of attention lately, and my members and I thought it was really easy to listen to and extremely cool!”
“If it’s newtro, is it closer to disco or synthwave?”
“Um, I think it was probably synthwave!”
“Then, by any chance, the sound pack….”
The junior, who didn’t personally work on the production and therefore couldn’t possibly know every composing term, gradually began shrinking under Kim Raebin’s questions.
Time to cut him off.
“Sorry. He’s extremely passionate when it comes to working on music….”
“It’s good to be passionate…! You’re incredible!”
“Ah, thank you.”
This wasn’t going to work.
They had turned back into a new employee again.
I looked pityingly at the junior, who had stiffened up as if they were about to start reciting flattering corporate lines, then tried to lighten the mood.
“Anyway, I understand clearly why you came to see us. You must have been worried. And disappointed too.”
“Yes….”
“But as you know, it’s difficult for us to interfere recklessly with the production of another group. We’re still a new group ourselves, not even two years into our debut. And from what I’ve heard, this isn’t something we could easily take legal issue with either.”
“…….Right.”
The junior’s expression darkened.
And Kim Raebin’s face darkened right along with it.
Hey, you shouldn’t be doing that.
He sympathized because it’s about the song.
For a moment, I nearly found myself missing Big Sejin.
I suppressed a sigh and continued.
“But I understand why you’re uncomfortable. Have you tried talking to the company about this?”
“…We tried, but they wouldn’t listen.”
As expected, I supposed trainees who hadn’t even debuted yet would need to prepare something on the level of a presentation for their opinions to be taken seriously.
“I see.”
Kim Raebin nodded vigorously, perhaps reminded of his former agency.
“That is unfortunate. Anyone should be able to speak freely….”
Good grief.
I stared silently at Kim Raebin.
Kim Raebin quietly froze.
Good.
Now I had to choose my words carefully.
The important thing here was not to bother mentioning that we would be uncomfortable too.
If TeSTAR steps in directly and shuts this down, who knows how that’ll get twisted later.
The picture had to be that the rookies themselves opposed it.
Not TeSTAR.
Our role would end at giving advice.
I folded my arms.
“Have you heard anything about America around the company recently?”
“A-America? …Ah, when we met the division head, he did talk about things like that a lot.”
“I see.”
So his America fever was still going strong.
I nodded, then said casually,
“Whenever there’s someone high-ranking around, how about letting conversations like this slip out?”
“Pardon?”
“Say that magical girls are too traditional and too much of a common niche-fandom sensibility to work somewhere like America.”
“…!!”
“And bring up some examples of how newtro is trending in America lately, and how it would be extremely effective to ride that wave before it passes.”
“Directly??”
“No. You members should have those conversations among yourselves where people can hear you. Do it around A&R employees and other company staff too.”
“…….”
The shock vanished from the junior’s expression, replaced by composure.
“And once the rumor has spread enough, should we meet the division head and make our case properly?”
Oh.
Not bad situational judgment.
I gave a small nod.
“I can’t guarantee anything… but if you prepare properly, it might work. We did something similar when we debuted.”
“…….”
The junior seemed lost in thought and remained silent for some time before eventually nodding calmly.
“…Okay. Thank you.”
“No problem. I hope it helps.”
“Yes! Thank you so much for giving me your valuable time. Thank you! …Oh, my phone! Ah, I’ll see you again, sunbaenim!”
The junior gave a brisk farewell, then jumped in alarm at the vibration of their phone and ran out of the conference room.
Looks like they snuck out.
Well, the rest was up to them now.
I shrugged and stood.
“Raebin, let’s go too.”
“Yes.”
Kim Raebin stood, straightened his chair, and only then asked with a serious expression,
“Do you believe our juniors will succeed in persuading them?”
“Who knows. That’ll depend on luck and ability.”
Kim Raebin lowered his head, then murmured in a slightly gloomy tone.
“I hope it goes well.”
“Why? You feel bad because the juniors might get hated on?”
“That is part of it, but….”
Kim Raebin hesitated before continuing.
“I also wish they wouldn’t use our debut song however they please.”
“…!!”
“Everyone worked incredibly hard on it without even having time to sleep, and I don’t want someone else to abuse that precious result however they want…. It may sound selfish, but I found myself more concerned about how our own group would feel.”
Good grief.
“That isn’t selfish.”
“I-It isn’t?”
I gave a small snort of laughter.
“No. I feel the same way.”
“…!”
“Why would I be happy about someone appropriating our song just to get some attention?”
“S-So you do feel the same.”
Of course.
Our own group stood to take damage too.
If we smiled and let this slide, we’d just be fucking pushovers.
“And even if they don’t succeed, I’m planning to set things up so it won’t go completely the way the company wants, so don’t worry too much.”
“…Yes!”
The dejected look vanished from Kim Raebin’s face.
“But what method are you planning to use?”
Hmm.
Just laying some groundwork.
That day, as soon as I returned to the dorm before the other members, Kim Raebin and I uploaded a post to social media.
========================
Debut Production Log
(File)
In celebration of the theme-park spending-spree episode airing, we’re looking back on our original mindset. We’ll keep working hard in the future…
(Screenshot)
========================
It was the first draft and final draft of the PowerPoint presentation about our debut song that we had used to persuade the division head back when we debuted.
For good measure, I attached screenshots of the file-save history from the first draft all the way through the final version.
Titles of every possible version filled the screenshots—things with names like “REAL_FINAL” and “1_(1)” everywhere.
Kim Raebin clapped one palm.
“I understand! You released it while emphasizing concrete evidence that the arrangement, concept, and lyrics of ‘Magic Boy’ were all self-produced by TeSTAR!”
“Uh… Right.”
When he put it like that, it sounded incredibly grand.
It was really just a preemptive little trick.
And just in case, I had formatted the post so that it looked like something I had happened to upload because of the reality show.
If the company went through with its plan anyway, this would prevent people from later saying, “TeSTAR took a shot at their junior girl group.”
“Hyung! There are also fans recommending PowerPoint templates to us!”
“Yeah.”
The fans were bursting out laughing over the bizarre PowerPoint content while simultaneously seeming to sink into nostalgia.
I listened to Kim Raebin relay their reactions while waiting for the others to return.
Now that I had used the reality show as an excuse to post on social media, I thought it might be good to take some reality-show-related action at tomorrow’s awards ceremony too.
Worth discussing.
And…
I needed to give the two same-named bastards a warning as well.
Should I at least tell them not to make it obvious for no reason?
I had just seen the article.
At tomorrow’s awards ceremony, VTIC would finally resume its official schedules.