God Idol Project: Hope [GIPH]

Chapter 30: Is it my responsibility?

The debut date has been set: January 12th of next year. With less than four months left, the schedule was tight.

Today, we were selecting the songs for the tentative "Teorra" album. Once we chose the title track and the other songs for the single album, our debut preparations would accelerate.

After several visits, I had become familiar with the conference room. As I sat down and waited for a bit, the CEO, staff members, and A&R team employees came in and took their seats.

"We've finally completed the song collection and narrowed down the tracks for the album."

Because the collection period was long, many songs had been submitted. The A&R team leader jokingly mentioned that listening to all of them had dulled his hearing.

The A&R team initially selected the songs, and only the surviving ones made it to this meeting.

"Today, everyone here will listen to 15 songs that passed the first screening, and from those, we'll select the title track and the remaining songs for the album. We'll first choose the title track, followed by the other tracks. Please refrain from reacting while listening to avoid influencing others' opinions."

In front of each person were several small voting slips. The A&R team leader confidently started playing the songs. Could we find a song that would captivate both us and the staff?

"The first song is an upbeat tropical track."

We had to consider whether the song matched our concept and suited the people who would sing it. But most importantly, the song had to be good. A solid and beautiful foundation was necessary for the arrangement to turn it into near perfection.

As we listened to all 15 songs, the A&R team leader was the only one adding commentary. The attendees were seriously analyzing the music, jotting down notes as they went.

Although the atmosphere and genre varied slightly, all the songs were dance tracks suitable for an idol group. Two or three songs sounded decent, and a few made us flinch, but only for a moment.

"Now, please vote for the title track."

The room was quiet. No one hesitated as they seemed to already have a song in mind. While the votes were being tallied, the attendees began chatting about their impressions.

"Don't you feel the energy of a hit?"

"This time, we've got a great selection. The A&R team leader's skills are top-notch, but this time it's on another level!"

"Thanks for the compliment. Please wait a moment longer."

"Are professional composers struggling this time? Or did they change their style?"

"It's all about the arrangement, but you can tell a good song when you hear one."

While the staff chatted away, we stood there, feeling a bit out of place. It was our first time attending a song selection meeting, and it was hard to get used to the atmosphere.

"...The votes are in. The song that received the most votes for the title track is song number 11."

"Knew it!"

"I thought number 11 would win."

"It was clearly more polished than the others. The guide vocalist did such a great job."

The unanimous reaction showed that there was no surprise in the selection of song number 11 as the title track. Everyone agreed and repositioned themselves to listen to it properly again, some even swaying to the rhythm as the song played.

I was the only one left confused.

Why was this song chosen? Was it really that good? The voting was done anonymously, with numbers instead of names. I couldn't believe it.

That's because song number 11 was the one I composed!

I might have known the members' styles and capabilities better than other composers, but I never imagined my song would be chosen as the title track.

I had just submitted it for the experience, thinking that, at best, it might make it as an album track.

Should I say something? If I don't mention it now, it could be awkward later when they contact me. But how should I say it without sounding strange?

"Excuse me...."

I slowly raised my hand amid the crowd of people immersed in the music. They looked at me with curiosity.

"I think I should mention something. This song..."

Before I could finish, the A&R team leader, seeming to overreact, interrupted me.

"What? Have you heard this song before?"

"Well, yes, I've heard it..."

"I knew something was up. No wonder it's doing so well..."

Huh? What does he mean? Of course, I've heard it. I made it! Some of the staff members rubbed their temples, looking frustrated, and sighed deeply.

Did I say something wrong? I didn't know why, but I needed to clear things up quickly.

"No, no, that's not it. I composed this song...."

"Yeah, you probably want to salvage something since we might lose this track. Got any demo versions you've made?"

"...?"

The conversation was becoming more confusing. Losing the track? A demo? The song was right here—why were they asking for more? It felt like the misunderstanding was growing.

"A&R team leader. The song that's playing right now is my song. I composed it."

"What?"

Everyone's heads snapped up. Even my group members stared at me with disbelief.

Only Seohon, Chorok, and Oran, who knew about my late-night outings, seemed to finally understand.

"So, the composer of song number 11 was H21?"

When deciding on a name to submit under, the first thing that came to mind was "H21" from Team Hamjeong.

"Yes, that's me—Ham Iwon, H21. I just turned my name into numbers."

It was a simple naming method that anyone familiar with my name could have guessed. The team leader clearly hadn't suspected it at all.

Then again, without knowing I composed music, it would've been hard to figure out.

"Oh my! I thought it was plagiarism... It all makes sense now! Ham Iwon, let's work together closely from now on."

The A&R team leader extended his hand, and I shook it in confusion.

"If you were this good at composing, why didn't you tell us sooner?"

The team leader expressed his frustration at having delayed the title track selection process, but at the same time, he seemed pleased that we'd ended up with a great song.

"Iwon! Since when have you been able to compose? You never told us! You should have let us know!"

I had only considered composing a hobby, and since I was still far from being proficient, I hadn't thought to mention it.

The new talent development team leader was on the verge of tears, lamenting that if she had known, she would have scheduled time for me to compose. She even blamed herself for not knowing sooner.

I apologized repeatedly before finally being let off the hook. In any case, my song was officially confirmed as the title track.

"What's going on, Iwon?" Jion asked, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"I've been working on it for a couple of hours each night. I sent it in just in case, and it ended up being chosen as the title track. I didn't expect it at all."

"Iwon, you're being too modest. You should be bragging about how awesome your song is."

At least Jion liked it, which was a relief. I had written the song while thinking of each member and incorporating my interpretation of them into it. It was a song designed to showcase their strengths to the fullest.

The track had a trendy feel suitable for a debut, but because I focused on the message, it had a bit of a unique and experimental vibe. However, that could be adjusted during the arrangement process.

In the end, my goal was to freely express what I wanted, and I had achieved that, so I had no regrets.

"The voice didn't sound like yours, though."

"I changed it. I didn't want anyone to recognize it in case it didn't make the cut."

"There were lyrics too, right? The rhymes didn't quite match, though."

I was just mumbling words as they came to me, but they acknowledged it as lyrics. I don't even remember exactly what I said.

It was mainly about the emotions of encountering a new world. I left out the parts where Jion or Seohon would rap, thinking it'd be better if they wrote their own lyrics for those sections.

The A&R team leader probably understood my intention.

"Seohon, Jion, would you be interested in writing the rap lyrics?"

Bingo.

"Since a member composed the song, wouldn't it be great if the members also wrote the lyrics? There's bound to be a connection between you all. Plus, you could label it as self-produced."

"I'd love to write the lyrics."

"If you let me, I'll give it my best shot."

It would be more beneficial for our growth to try it ourselves first and seek help only if we hit a wall.

"We'll refine the lyrics ourselves. How will the arrangement be handled?"

"We could have a professional producer handle it, or our A&R team could do it. But can I ask you something?"

The A&R team leader asked how long I'd been composing and how long it took me to write this particular song.

"I've never properly learned how to compose, so it's hard to say when I started. The first real song I made was around when I was twelve. As for this one, it took about a day. Before that, I was working on a few rough drafts."

"You've never been formally trained, and you made this? A song of this quality in just a day? You're a genius!"

People in the entertainment industry tended to give generous compliments. I didn't mind, but I had to work hard to stop my lips from curling into a wide smile.

"Have you ever thought about doing the arrangement yourself?"

"I've never done any serious arranging before."

"In that case, we'll assign you an experienced producer. You can learn from them. Even if they just casually give you advice, with your sense, Ham Iwon, you'll pick up a lot."

"Thank you."

Learning to arrange would definitely be useful in the future. I was going to be composing regularly while working as an idol, so naturally, I'd want to try my hand at arranging too. If someone else handled the music I composed, there could be communication issues during discussions.

"You mentioned rough drafts—could we hear those too?"

"Why even the rough drafts...?"

"I just feel like what you call a rough draft wouldn't actually be rough to us. Let's hear them. It's not too much to ask, right?"

"...I'll clean them up and let you listen."

As soon as I finished speaking, the A&R team leader clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, here's the plan. We'll postpone the track voting for a few days until Ham Iwon brings us his rough drafts."

Wait, are they really going to consider my rough drafts as track candidates? Is this okay? I glanced around, checking everyone's expressions, and since no one seemed upset, I felt relieved. There didn't seem to be any major issues.

Two days later, I brought in two refined rough drafts. One of them ended up being included as a track on the album.

I don't want to worry unnecessarily before our debut, but...

If the debut album flops, wouldn't it be my fault...?