nycdaug Chapter 147: Gocheok (2)
Chapter 147: Gocheok (2)
《‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, confirmed to launch on Netflix Japan, written and starring Rojun?》The sudden news of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ spread faster than light.
《Silent for a while, ‘Vanguard’ reignites buzz, Rojun confirms next acting project after ‘Rental Lover’》
《[Issue Talk] From ‘Rental Lover’ to ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’? Rojun writes it and stars in it!》
Around the end of last year, Netflix Japan had already dropped a teaser for ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’. They planned to launch Kang Rojun’s next project following ‘Rental Lover’. However, that news had focused heavily on ‘Writer Rojun’, and what GN Entertainment had just exploded was all about ‘Actor Rojun’.
As if on cue, Culture Drawer also joined in on the media play after GN Entertainment.
《‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, written by Writer ‘Rojun’ and confirmed to star Actor ‘Rojun’, what’s it about…fans cheer / Photo》
《Culture Drawer official: “The work is quite fun. Please look forward to it.”》
Just like with ‘Rental Lover’, Rojun was both the writer and the actor once again. Thus, ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, set to launch as a Netflix Japan original series, was a scorching hot topic in both the domestic writer and actor circles.
“He’s acting in ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ too??!”
“Does Rojun have like 100 bodies or something?! It was already crazy enough that he made it to Netflix Japan as a rookie writer… and now acting too, can he even handle this?!”
“He’d been quiet, and now he drops this massive teaser, at this point, Rojun’s debut as a writer and an actor immediately led to an overseas launch.”
Not only did he achieve massive success right after debuting as a writer, but he was also straightaway advancing to Japan. That alone was jaw-dropping, but now he was debuting overseas as an actor too, right after being a writer.
Thanks to this, the previously quiet ‘Vanguard’ began attracting media attention again, and the fans who had been eagerly waiting for ‘Vanguard’ also stirred with excitement.
-ㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅠㅠㅜ Congrats, Rojun!!
-Well, obviouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋ If GN wastes Rojun’s face, they deserve to be cursed out
-Heoongㅠㅠ But we won’t get to watch ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’!!! Netflix Korea!! Negotiate with Netflix Japan right now!!!
-Rojun’s acting skills were proven in ‘Rental Lover’ㅎㅎ Seems like Netflix Japan recognized that too
-Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ congratulations Rojun but I want to see Vanguard quickly…..
-He’s just riding on his looksㅋㅋ
-↑Ignore that troll
-If ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ doesn’t get uploaded in Korea, I’m going straight to Japan for real
-Rojun!! Please upload your work in Korea tooㅠㅠㅜㅠㅠ I’ll watch literally anything!!!
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With the fire rekindled around Kang Rojun and ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, Netflix Japan updated both Korean and Japanese fans on the production status of the show. Most of the casting, including Kang Rojun, had been completed.
Later that afternoon, GN Entertainment dropped another bomb.
The official fan club launch for ‘Vanguard.’
There had already been some prior movement regarding the fan club.
《[Star Talk] ‘Vanguard’ teases official fan club recruitment》
GN Entertainment had previously recruited the 1st-generation fan club for ‘Vanguard’ and had promoted it with various perks. Naturally, it sold out in an instant. So GN Entertainment officially revealed the name of Vanguard’s fan club at the designated time.
《Vanguard’s official fan club ‘Guards’ begins official operations / Photo》
The fan club ‘Guards’ had already begun communicating with GN Entertainment. With the official fan club now established, a greeting video from Rojun and the ‘Vanguard’ members was uploaded to the official ‘Vanguard’ Instagram.
However, the members’ focus was set on their debut showcase and concert.
Practice, practice, and more practice.
For now, the training was focused on vocals. Naturally, each member’s training style differed depending on their abilities, and on top of vocal practice, they were also managing their appearance, exercising, studying foreign languages, etc. It might have looked like hell, but so far, it was still a happy kind of hell. Once dancing was added, the schedule would get even tighter.
That day soon arrived.
“Please take good care of us.”
“Yes, we’ll come up with some killer choreography. First, you’ll need to send over Vanguard’s debut tracks, and can we talk with the ‘Vanguard’ members?”
The official choreography teams responsible for Vanguard’s debut album were confirmed. Why is it called choreography teams, plural?
Sometimes a single choreography team handles the entire routine for a song, but in the idol industry, it’s more common for several teams to submit proposals. Once the guide track, concept, and direction of the song are meticulously conveyed by the entertainment company to each choreography team, they create their choreography drafts based on that information.
If there are three teams, three drafts come in; if there are five teams, five drafts are submitted to the company.
Then, the in-house choreography team of the company reviews the compiled proposals and selects only the movements they find suitable, combining them into a single choreography. In the end, a single routine holds the sweat and effort of multiple teams. For Vanguard’s debut mini album, which consists of three tracks, GN Entertainment contacted four choreography teams per song. That means a total of twelve choreography drafts will be submitted.
These finalized choreographies are what the idols eventually encounter.
A few days later, the choreography drafts from the teams started to arrive at GN Entertainment. Soon after, GN’s in-house choreographers gathered to dissect the movements.
“That part must be the point choreography.”
“How about placing it in the first verse rather than the second?”
“The first verse? Hmm- not bad.”
“The moves are good, but who among the four should execute them?”
“Someone with clean dance lines would be ideal, Rojun or Kang-min?”
“Let’s check the next choreography team’s version first.”
Just as the choreographies for Vanguard’s debut tracks were beginning to take shape, more news reached the ‘Vanguard’ members who were immersed in their practice. Naturally, it came from Manager Kim Ki-baek.
“Everyone, the music video director has been decided.”
Two days later in the morning, at GN Entertainment.
The ‘Vanguard’ members gathered early in the large recording studio at GN Entertainment. They were inside the recording booth with microphones, and Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung all wore headphones. The reason was simple.
Today was the test recording day before the official recording.
Because of that, the members had to calm their pounding hearts by any means necessary.
“Ugh- I’m nervous.”
“It’s okay, Si-hoo hyung. Just do it like we practiced.”
“Do-kyung, stop shaking your leg while talking.”
“There are too many people watching.”
Kang Rojun, observing quietly, offered a single comment.
“It’s okay to mess up, you won’t die.”
Baby-permed Si-hoo forced a smile.
“Yeah, leader-nim. That’s real helpful.”
Rojun gave a double thumbs up and turned to face forward. As the members had said, many people had gathered. The producer teams, some from the management team including Manager Kim Ki-baek, the A&R team, and more. A rough count looked like at least twenty people.
‘What kind of test recording draws this many people? Well, I guess it really does feel like everything’s riding on this.’
As Rojun muttered inwardly, a producer outside, with a hat pulled low, spoke into the booth.
“Shall we begin? As I explained earlier, this will be vocals only without choreography, but try to perform it as close to a real recording as possible. We’ll start with ‘GreenBee’, then go to ‘Windveil’, and finish with ‘Flying Bell’.”
“Got it!”
“Yes!!”
The members nodded vigorously, each managing their nerves in their own way. Meanwhile, outside the booth, staff shared their worries.
“Ah, why am I the one feeling nervous.”
“Well, it’s the kids’ first recording, of course it’s nerve-racking. My heart’s pounding too.”
“According to the vocal instructor, the kids have been improving quickly… but did they fully absorb the songs?”
Manager Kim Ki-baek, sitting on a couch in the back, chimed in with a weary tone.
“They’ve been practicing late into the night and even at the dorm. I’m sure they’ve got the songs down.”
“That’s a relief, but I guess the management schedule will get more packed? The choreographies will be finalized soon too.”
“Yes.”
“Hopefully the song recordings go smoothly.”
Then, the conversation turned to Kang Rojun.
“Rojun… there’s just not enough information to say anything about him.”
“Right? Since he does everything alone from training to whatever else, we can’t gauge him at all.”
“I didn’t think doing things alone would feel this much like actual seclusion.”
“Will he be okay? He practiced and memorized three songs on his own without any vocal training… Well, ‘GreenBee’ is his own creation, so that’s one thing, but the other songs must’ve been tough to handle solo.”
“But still, if you think back to ‘Produce That 100!’, he managed to pull it off, right?”
“But the circumstances and environment are completely different now. Honestly, I’m a bit worried. It’s not that I doubt Rojun’s skills, but I’m afraid he’ll stand out awkwardly compared to the other members.”
The staff’s concerns were, in a way, understandable. Currently, ‘Vanguard’ was a project that everyone at GN Entertainment was staking their lives on, and at the core of that project was Kang Rojun. But since he had done everything alone from the beginning of training, there was no information about him at all.
Soon, eyes from the A&R team and all the other staff members turned toward Manager Kim Ki-baek, and noticing their gaze, Kim Ki-baek casually shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know either, Rojun’s training in vocals, choreography, rap, all of it is strictly top secret.”
“You didn’t sneak a peek or anything?”
“Why would I. Hmm- if I did, that’d be a breach of contract.”
“…Ah, no, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I don’t know much else, but I do know one thing.”
Kim Ki-baek, weakly rising from the couch, stood behind the producer. His gaze was fixed on Kang Rojun inside the booth. There was even a faint smile on his face.
“Rojun isn’t someone you can evaluate by ordinary standards.”
In other words: just shut up and watch. That was the subtext implied.
At that moment.
-♬♪
The dark intro of ‘GreenBee’ began. In rhythm, Kang Rojun and the other members started nodding their heads. The melody followed a vocal chop that sounded like a deep male voice, then led into the keyboard.
It started with Do-kyung, whose tone was familiar with rap.
He opened ‘GreenBee’ with a heavy presence through his deep voice and rap. There was a slang-like flavor to it. Calm, but rough. Standing two spots over, Kang Rojun thought to himself.
‘As expected, starting with Do-kyung was the right call.’
It was the perspective of a composer and lyricist.
Next came Kang-min, and then lead vocalist Si-hoo set the stage. With a soft yet cynical tone, it felt like the song was running toward the main vocal.
At that point, the producer listening attentively outside the booth gave an evaluation.
“This is good. Needs some refinement, but everyone’s handling it well. Especially Si-hoo. His understanding of the song is high. I did think the song would highlight everyone’s strengths… but damn, this track is really well written.”
Other staff members looked relieved.
“Phew- they’re all doing well.”
Faces that had held worry relaxed.
“You can feel how much they’ve practiced, not much trembling either.”
“Having live performance experience seems to be helping too?”
“Ahh, from ‘Produce That 100!’?”
“They really don’t seem like rookies right now.”
At that moment.
-Slide.
Someone else entered the recording studio full of staff. CEO Ha Seo-hwan, with his middle-aged handsome looks. He was in just a white shirt, his suit jacket left somewhere else. As soon as the staff spotted him, their eyes widened, and CEO Ha gently shook his head, as if signaling them not to make a fuss.
Soon.
“……”
Standing right by the door, he folded his arms and stared into the booth at the ‘Vanguard’ members. More precisely, he was attentively listening to their performance of ‘GreenBee’.
Just in time, it was Kang Rojun’s turn as the main vocalist.
Si-hoo, the lead vocalist, had laid down the tone well. Now the main vocalist’s job was to make the track ‘GreenBee’ even more dazzling, rich, and explosive.
And that responsibility was.
“Hmmm-”
Now on the shoulders of main vocal Kang Rojun, who opened with an ad-lib. Rojun took on the chorus of ‘GreenBee’, which he had both created and fully studied. He glided effortlessly from a dreamy ad-lib into a wild high note.
-♬♪
Rojun’s voice filled the wide recording studio. Instantly, thrilling goosebumps rose on CEO Ha Seo-hwan’s thick forearms. There are vocalists like that, whose voices, entering through the ears, grip and shake the listener’s heart. Skill and technique are just the foundation; what pours out is a voice drenched in emotion. He controlled tempo and flow freely. But such voices are rare. Especially among idols.
It’s on a completely different level from simply being good at singing.
It moves the heart. It gets stuck in the mind. It makes time stop.
That was Kang Rojun at that very moment.
An incredibly rare being.
Even for CEO Ha Seo-hwan, who had seen and experienced countless vocalists.
‘……Now I’m finally experiencing it again.’
It was the first time.