Episode 56. Sunbaenim (3)
Who to select as the vocalist for the CM song.
Kang Dae-oh returned home after having spent almost an entire day on this topic.
Seeing her Appa’s face, which looked particularly tired today, Kang Yera tilted her head.
“What’s wrong, Appa?”
“Huh? No, nothing. More importantly, it seemed like you were just on the phone with someone. Don’t mind Appa, you can continue your call.”
“Ah, it’s fine. It was Yebin.”
“Yebin?”
Kang Dae-oh checked the current time.
“Yebin answers the phone at this hour?”
It must still be late dawn there.
Kang Dae-oh couldn’t understand why Kang Yebin was on the phone at this hour.
Staying awake too late would negatively affect her condition. Then she wouldn’t be able to perform properly during filming.
That’s why Kang Yebin was the most meticulous among her sisters when it came to self-management.
Because she knew well that one NG from her could determine the going-home time for over a hundred staff members.
It was unbelievable that Kang Yebin, with such a mindset, was still awake at this hour.
The answer to this was very simple.
“She said it’s an all-night shoot today. She’s waiting for her turn. She said she was bored, so she was talking to me on the phone.”
“Ah, is that so?”
That makes sense then.
As Kang Dae-oh let out a sigh of relief, Kang Yera smiled brightly and said.
“Now it’s my turn.”
“Your turn for what?”
“Because I told you my story. Now you have to tell me Appa’s story. Appa always said that since I was little, didn’t you? That if you receive something, you have to give something back. That’s how good relationships are formed, didn’t you say?”
Her memory is really good at times like this.
Kang Dae-oh let out a short sigh and reluctantly decided to tell Kang Yera everything.
He had intended to talk about it someday anyway, as it might also be related to Kang Yera.
It was just that the time came sooner than expected.
“Actually, at Appa’s company…”
Since the family already knew about the launch of the new food and beverage brand, he omitted explanations about it.
Kang Dae-oh immediately moved on to the story about the CM song.
He told Kang Yera everything, including that Producer Na Jun-tae had given him a very catchy CM song, and that he was looking for a vocalist to sing it.
Kang Yera nodded, showing that she fully understood Kang Dae-oh’s position.
“Well, if Appa calls me anytime, I can make time to record. Please feel free to ask.”
“Thank you. If Appa decides to entrust the CM song to you, I’ll let you know in advance.”
“It doesn’t really matter if you tell me at the last minute. It’s not a formal album recording, but a CM song recording.”
The process itself would be relatively easy.
And if Producer Na Jun-tae was in charge of both composing and writing the lyrics, there was no doubt about the quality of the song.
“Is Producer Na Jun-tae doing well?”
“Oh. I saw him after a long time, and he was almost exactly the same as when we last met. There was no difference.”
“Oh my, really?”
When Kang Yera showed such a reaction, Kang Dae-oh, on the contrary, looked puzzled.
“Yera, haven’t you met Producer Na at the broadcasting station?”
Since they both work in the entertainment industry. So Kang Dae-oh thought they might have run into each other at least once.
However, Kang Yera shook her head, indicating that Kang Dae-oh’s guess was wrong.
“I thought I would run into him once or twice too. Surprisingly, I haven’t seen him even once since I recorded an animation theme song a long time ago.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
They say the land of Korea is small, small.
Nevertheless, the distance between Kang Yera and Producer Na Jun-tae seemed to be greater than expected.
“Instead, I often met Harin Sunbaenim.”
“You often told Appa that too.”
“Just recently, I even received a signed album as a gift! Look at this!”
It was Harin’s solo album, recently released.
Harin was enjoying great popularity thanks to her unique calm vocal tone.
Kang Dae-oh also sometimes enjoys listening to her songs at night.
Perhaps because her voice stimulates emotional aspects, it’s really good to listen to at late hours after sunset.
This method, by the way, was also recommended by Kang Yera.
“When Harin Sunbaenim played the acoustic guitar and sang alone on stage with her legs crossed. She looked really cool then. Even just sitting still, how should I put it? Her unique atmosphere? Aura? Anyway, it felt like the stage was filled with it.”
Whenever Harin was mentioned, Kang Yera, as always, would have a special sparkle in her eyes, just like now.
While talking about Harin, an idea suddenly popped into Kang Yera’s head.
“Appa! Can you possibly let me listen to that CM song that Producer Na sent? You have the file, right? Please?”
“Huh? Uh… I do have it, but…”
“I absolutely won’t leak it externally. I’ll just listen to it using Appa’s laptop or smartphone, so please let me hear it too! Please?”
Kang Yera’s stubbornness was not something even Kang Dae-oh could easily break.
And letting her listen to the song itself wasn’t a big problem.
On the contrary, it might be a golden opportunity to hear the opinion of Kang Yera, who is an active idol singer.
Kang Dae-oh played the CM song saved on his smartphone for her.
After listening to the entire CM song, which was just over a minute long, Kang Yera nodded repeatedly, saying she knew it would be like that.
“Producer Na’s style is strongly embedded in it.”
“Really? I wouldn’t know.”
There is naturally a difference between when a general public listens and when an expert listens.
Because you see as much as you know, and you hear as much as you know.
Kang Dae-oh did not have deep knowledge of popular music.
On the other hand, Kang Yera was an expert among experts.
She was considered one of the leading female solo singers in South Korea. How many people in South Korea would not acknowledge Kang Yera as an expert in popular music?
To that extent, Kang Yera showed a thorough mastery of K-pop.
“This, I think it would suit Harin Sunbaenim perfectly?”
“Hmm, really?”
“Yes. As Appa knows well, Harin Sunbaenim has sung many dance songs, right? Like the single album track she released late last year. She also subtly handles cheerful CM songs very well. I guarantee it!”
Kang Yera was so confident that she even mentioned a guarantee, which is something you shouldn’t rashly give even among family.
If Kang Dae-oh and Kang Yera were to debate something related to popular music, the weight would naturally fall on Kang Yera’s side.
Just as mentioned earlier.
Because she is an expert.
“If you ask Producer Na Jun-tae, Producer Na will probably recommend Harin Sunbaenim too, you know?”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes. If you’re curious, ask him tomorrow. To see if my prediction is right or wrong.”
At this point, he really wanted to test it out.
As a result of contacting Producer Na Jun-tae separately.
―It’s a bit awkward to say this myself, but… what about Harin?
Kang Dae-oh hadn’t expected him to actually recommend Harin.
Kang Dae-oh once again realized that Kang Yera’s discernment was remarkable.
Producer Na Jun-tae chuckled awkwardly and said.
―I feel embarrassed as it seems I spoke too obviously.
“Not at all. Yera also recommended Harin, actually.”
―Really? I thought Yera would sing this CM song.
Since it was about launching a new food and beverage brand at Appa’s company. He naturally thought Kang Yera would have priority.
Of course, he wasn’t entirely without such thoughts.
However, rather than immediately borrowing Kang Yera’s influence, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to first market to customers with a new face internally, and then utilize the ‘Kang Yera card’ later.
Producer Na Jun-tae, having heard Kang Dae-oh’s opinion, suggested a new idea.
―Then how about this? Harin and Yera. Having both of them take on the CM song simultaneously.
“Simultaneously?”
―Yes. I still remember how well they harmonized when they sang an animation theme song a long time ago. Although it was a very old event, they have worked together before. And since both Yera and Harin think well of each other, I thought it might be good to entrust it to them together.
Of course, the payment would double accordingly.
As Kang Dae-oh often said before, he wasn’t going to worry too much about the cost.
Because if he could reap effects commensurate with the investment, Kang Dae-oh thought it didn’t really matter.
Since Producer Na Jun-tae had also heard this before, he decided to recommend both of them simultaneously, as he did now.
―From a producer’s perspective, I also think a duet would be better for this CM song than a solo.
“I see. Since an expert said so, it’s probably correct.”
―It’s just my personal opinion. The decision is yours, CEO. If you decide to entrust the CM song to both Harin and Yera, I will take charge of the part division.
With him saying all this.
From Kang Dae-oh’s perspective, he could no longer refuse.
“Understood. Then, let’s go with entrusting this CM song to both of them.”
How much synergy their two vocals could create.
Kang Dae-oh already felt a surge of anticipation.
On the day of the recording.
Kang Dae-oh, who visited the site to show support, happened to make eye contact with Harin, who was talking with Kang Yera inside the booth.
“Oh my, Abeonim! Ah, no, CEO! Long time no see!”
Kang Dae-oh chuckled and said.
“You can just call me Abeonim.”
“May I?”
“Yes. Because I am Yera’s Appa, actually. It’s not wrong, is it?”
“That’s true.”
Despite the passage of time, Harin looked almost identical to when Kang Dae-oh first met her.
It also meant that she had managed herself meticulously.
After a brief greeting, Harin entered the booth again with Kang Yera.
‘Yera was so tiny back then.’
Now, she had grown up so much that she was singing into a microphone at a similar height to Harin.
Seeing the two of them, Kang Dae-oh felt a renewed sense of emotion.
Even if he didn’t realize anything else, being on site made Kang Yera’s growth particularly striking.
‘As Producer Na Jun-tae said, it was a good decision to entrust it to both of them simultaneously.’
Although the result wasn’t out yet.
Kang Dae-oh reconfirmed that merely seeing Harin and Kang Yera standing side-by-side again right in front of him was a sufficiently valuable choice.
