RAP STAR

Chaptet 46 [verse 6. Fuck Tha Show Biz, END]

Hwang Ju Cheol hurried to the office only to be summoned by the CEO. "Ah, I'm busy," he thought.

This month's magazine was expecting a significant revenue, all thanks to the treasure-like interview obtained from Gwangju.

The magazine decided to temporarily conduct the music interview section under the theme of "Band vs. Hip-hop," with both teams interviewed together.

They had already been doing this for about three months, and if the response was good, they planned to continue for another six months. Thanks to this, Hwang Joo-cheol, the editor-in-chief, had been feeling very good these past few days.But that feeling was shattered in an instant.

"Do I have to be insulted by high school students at this age because of you?" Upon hearing the CEO's first words, Hwang Joo-cheol knew it was because of the song uploaded by Lee Sang-hyun.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry won't cut it," the CEO snapped back.

Hwang Joo-cheol lowered his head, grinding his teeth inwardly. "Damn it, he confirmed the interview edits and still managed to stir up trouble," he thought.

The editor-in-chief had come across Lee Sang-hyun's song just last night. Honestly, it was well done. Admirable, even. But it also left a bitter taste. After all, it was essentially a diss track directed at him. But he thought it was unavoidable. "Yeah, those brats must have felt bad too."

Still, he hadn't said anything he wasn't sure about. He had edited it, but he hadn't changed the content. "Did I really think it wouldn't become an issue?" Some reporters even tried to put the 888 Crew issue on internet news for filler content. He managed to stop it, partly due to his conscience and a twinge of guilt.

As Hwang Joo-cheol faced the CEO's scolding and later stood on the company rooftop smoking a cigarette, he pondered, "Society is society, you little rascals. One day, you'll be grateful to me."

In guerrilla marketing, the noise will quickly fade away, and what remains will become marketing. And that benefit will also somewhat return to the 888 Crew. But Hwang, the editor-in-chief, couldn't have anticipated how long the entanglement between Sang-hyun and Showbiz would last or what it would bring.

Sang-hyun and Jun-hyeong were exhausted after several days of overnight work. The biggest challenge of the project was not the rapping itself but the mixing and editing. Sang-hyun lacked expertise in mixing and composition beyond the basics, while Jun-hyeong was still studying diligently. As a result, even though the guide recording for the rap was finished the day after the 888 Crew meeting, it took another two days or more for the song to be completed. They managed it because Jun-hyeong, Ha-yeon, and Sang-hyun stayed up late into the night working on the song. Surprisingly, Ha-yeon showed talent in handling the mixing software.

Jun-hyeong and Ha-yeon made efforts to meet Sang-hyun's various demands without showing any signs of reluctance. It was truly appreciated. When the work was completed and they played the music through the monitoring speakers, Sang-hyun, Jun-hyeong, and Ha-yeon admired the music they had created. "I won't listen to anyone saying I can't rap," Jun-hyeong said, making Sang-hyun chuckle. "Why do you have ears if you can't do this?" Sang-hyun was confident.

After uploading the song to the club, the 888 Crew members tried to distance themselves from the public's reactions. They had said everything they wanted to say. There would surely be people who understood their injustice and those who labeled it as lies. They didn't expect everyone to believe them. So constantly refreshing to check reactions was unproductive.

They also felt stressed seeing a massive amount of criticism every time they entered the club during the work. "Let's just stay away from the club for ten days. The situation should be over by then." They didn't show it, but Kim Hwan, who majored in visual design and had a sensitive soul, and Oh Min-ji, a celestial girl despite her tough exterior, and Shin Ha-yeon were struggling more than expected with the criticism pouring on the 888 Crew.