Chapter 12. Never give up (4)

"I think we should go with Troublemaker."

"Any reason behind choosing your decision?"

"Yes."

The A&R employee said, gathering everyone's attention in the room. She seemed oblivious to all the attention and tapped on the laptop in front of her.

The screen in the middle of the room turned on. Some statistics appeared on it.

[Groovy day - 19th in the rankings.]

[Mimi - 24th in the rankings.]

[Shut up and bounce - 16th in the rankings.]

Lee Hyun immediately understood what those statistics show. They were the results of Producer Park's previous songs.

'It's certainly not bad.'

The results were good. Producer Park's previous songs are all in top 30 in the music rankings.

There was a reason he was called the best producer in Nike Entertainment.

"As you all can see, Producer Park's last songs have been a hit. They have earned us a large amount of revenue. So, it would be safe to assume that Troublemaker will do well too."

The A&R stopped talking after that.

Lee Hyun thought that her point was unbiased as it was simply based on data and statistics.

He also noticed Producer Park showing a smirk at him, but he just ignored.

"Does anyone have other opinions?"

The director asked and the employees opened their mouths one by one.

"I think that Troublemaker is the safe choice."

"Yeah, it's a song that would be famous among teenagers."

"It's nice to the ears and it's groovy too."

Most of the people in the room sided with Producer Park. There were people who liked Never give up more, but they stayed silent.

Their voices would be suppressed anyway because the majority sided with Troublemaker.

"It looks like Troublemaker is a better choice. What do you think about it, Hyerin?"

The director turned to Lee Hyerin after hearing everyone's opinions.

Everyone stared at Lee Hyerin, especially Producer Park. He was glaring at her, like he would kill her if she didn't side with him.

Amidst those gazes, Lee Hyerin calmly opened her mouth.

"I still think Never give up suits me more."

"Is there a reason behind this?"

"It's just that the song suits me more and it matches my current condition too. I think it would connect with the people more…"

Lee Hyerin continued to say, but suddenly, someone interrupted her.

"You can't succeed just because a song suits you more."

It was Producer Park.

He looked like he wanted to say way more, but he was holding himself back in front of the director.

"A song would automatically start to suit a singer, the more you get familiar with it and it's all about trends these days."

Producer Park frowned before continuing his words.

"Do you think a ballad would work when you are trying to make a comeback? You need a catchy theme song and a sensual choreography to make the young people interested."

It looked like he was scolding Lee Hyerin in front of everyone, but Lee Hyerin still stayed silent.

She knew that she currently didn't have authority to oppose Producer Park.

'He's being way too strict.'

Lee Hyun thought as he stopped himself from frowning. He hadn't said anything, but it looked like he had to interject now.

"Can I put out my opinion?"

He suddenly said and all the gazes fell on him. Producer Park also looked at him and said.

"Hey newbie, I know you are trying to sell your song here, but you have to accept that your song won't work here. It would be a miracle If it can even enter the top 100."

Lee Hyun held himself back from laughing when he heard that. It just felt too absurd to him.

'A bad song? Won't even reach top 100?'

He really wanted to laugh at those words. It's been a long time since someone has said that his song was bad.

"Hear me out before saying that my song is bad."

"You…!"

Producer Park was surprised that Lee Hyun dared to speak back at him.

All the newbie composers would usually won't dare to talk back to him, but Lee Hyun had done it.

He was even smirking while looking at him.

Producer Park felt immense anger rising. He hadn't liked Lee Hyun from the start. It was not just his song, but also his face that angered him.

'I can't let him get away!'

Producer Park thought in his head, but before he could say anything more, he heard the director's voice.

"Let's hear what he has to say. As the composer of Never give up, he has the right to speak."

"Director, but he's just a…"

Producer Park stopped speaking when he saw the director's gaze.

No matter what, he doesn't have the authority to go against the director's words.

That's why he glared at Lee Hyun and said,

"Let's hear what you have to say, newbie."

Everyone's gaze fell on Lee Hyun. They all wanted to know how he would defend his song and promote it as the title track.

Especially Lee Hyerin, who was looking at him like he was her final lifeline. She knew that if nothing happened, then she would have to go with Troublemaker.

Singers don't have much authority on which song to sing if they are not famous.

"First of all, I would like to ask a question. Does a sexy theme really suit Lee Hyerin?"

Producer Park was the first to laugh at his question. He looked at Lee Hyun like he was saying something ridiculous and retorted.

"What are you even saying? Her image was always of a young and sexy idol. A sexy theme…"

"Wasn't that five years ago?"

Lee Hyun asked as he interrupted him. He continued his words when he saw no one speaking.

"Lee Hyerin's image was of a young and sexy idol, but will it suit the current her? Think about it, she's a mother now. If you are aiming for a younger audience, then you would fail miserably."

"What the hell are…??"

Producer Park stood up from his seat and shouted. Even the other employees were surprised by his words.

Only the director and Lee Hyerin was calmly listening to him.

Lee Hyun decided to ignore Producer Park and continued his words.

"Sorry for my bluntness, but that's the truth. There are too many younger singers and idols in the market. Aiming for a younger audience just means you are throwing money away."

"Then, what should we do?"

The director looked at Lee Hyun, surprise and curiosity was on his face.

"It's simple. You should show her image as a mother. Her backstory will surely interest the people, especially the woman in their late 20s and 30s. I don't think I have to say more."

There was silence after Lee Hyun said all that.

Everyone was thinking back on his words. His words can be blunt but they were also logical.

A sexy theme will work for a new idol or singer, but Lee Hyeri's case was unique and something completely different.

A sexy theme is less likely to work on her. The more they thought this, the more logical it was.

"No matter what you said, there are higher chances of succeeding with my song."

Only Producer Park was still opposing Lee Hyun.

'He's really persistent.'

Lee Hyun thought and glanced at the director's face. The director was still thinking about his words.

He felt a sense of urgency seeing that.

Lee Hyun was not sure if the director would side with him. After all, he was just an outsider.

'Looks like I have to play my final card.'

He thought and glanced at Producer Park who was still glaring at him.

Then, he calmly opened his mouth.

"No matter what, my song is still better than a plagiarised song."