Chapter 94 : Special Thanks To
Chapter 94: Special Thanks To
My mouth reacted before I could think.
For a moment, like a cut in editing, the air in the meeting room froze.
Did I interrupt unnecessarily?
Was he just asking out of courtesy?
……That thought crossed my mind only briefly.
But this wasn’t a criticism, just me sharing an opinion.
As the track producer, this was exactly the role I was supposed to play in this meeting.
If I was just going to sit here like a sack of rice, I wouldn’t have come.
I was someone who spoke when I had something to say.
While I hesitated to find the right words, Director Na Seongmin spoke gently.
He must have thought I was troubled.
“Please, feel free to speak. Producers—sometimes they’re incredibly sharp.”
Flinch.
The assistant director’s expression shifted slightly.
He pushed his glasses up with his thumb.
Our eyes met.
I gave him a slight nod, then answered without hesitation.
“I’ll start with the song’s atmosphere. The bridge is the section where emotions die down for a moment, then burst open again at the chorus.”
“That’s right.”
“But in the storyboard, that dip feels a little skipped over.”
Director Na nodded.
That was a sign of agreement.
Good. All I had to do was carry the flow properly.
“The lights flare and the set changes immediately, so the visuals feel like they’re running ahead of the emotions, which haven’t caught up yet. It feels rushed, I guess?”
I didn’t really know the proper terminology.
It was just…… how it felt.
The assistant director crossed his arms and let out a thoughtful “hmm.”
Was he about to refute me?
From the quiet room, someone suddenly exclaimed “Oh!” in admiration.
The performance director, who had let out the exclamation, raised his hand.
“Ah, I agree with PD Seo. That section is where the emotional line dips, right? The choreography flow could even feel a bit random otherwise……”
Again, the assistant director’s lips twitched.
But before he could add anything—
This time, the Art Team Manager spoke up.
“Then what if we delay the lighting tone transition by a beat? And instead of a full set change, add a connecting scene to make it feel more natural?”
The Manny Entertainment staff—so reliable.
Someone from the lighting team chimed in.
“Then we could delay the transition a little, and maybe add a lingering afterglow in between.”
Snap!
The director flicked his fingers.
“Those kinds of details—good. We can’t let the mood break.”
In the end, the assistant director said nothing.
He just stroked his beard, glanced once at me, once at Director Na, then kept scribbling endlessly into his notebook.
Then it was my turn again.
I gestured with my hands as I explained.
“For example, something like this—sliding smoothly, like a reverb. The emotion goes swoosh, srrrk. Naturally.”
Too abstract?
Couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t a professional, so I didn’t know the technical terms.
It was just how it felt to me.
But at that moment—
The assistant director spoke abruptly.
“Deep focus with a blur should work. That way, the emotion recedes backward like reverb. Even though it’s the section where emotions dip, we’d still keep the rhythm.”
Huh?
All I did was convey a vague feeling—
And he instantly translated it into precise directing language.
The director added a word of agreement.
“Nice. That keeps the editing tempo alive, and the emotional line stays natural.”
He quickly scribbled notes as he added—
“Okay, I get what you mean.”
Relief washed over me.
I had expressed what I felt, and it had been understood correctly.
A little while later.
The revised storyboard came back around.
“Wow……”
“PD Stay, this is exactly what you meant, right?”
It had been reflected perfectly.
Originally, the lights flared instantly, but in the revision, a single dark blur cut had been inserted.
That moment where the emotions sank gently—
It was exactly the flow I had wanted.
I nodded vigorously.
Amazing, truly amazing.
The meeting wrapped up like that.
The atmosphere in the room had somehow warmed as well.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“We’ll make sure the music video comes out great.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
As I gathered the storyboard and prepared to leave the meeting room, someone tapped me on the back.
It was the assistant director.
At first, he had seemed rather cold, but up close, he looked almost warm?
Before I could ask why—
He quietly said a single line to me.
“Most people only understand sequences with their head.”
……Sequence? What was that?
If this had been a comic, a hundred question marks would’ve popped up above my head.
But regardless of my puzzled expression, the assistant director slowly added—
“But people who understand how that actually reaches someone’s heart—those are rare.”
Ah, it was a vague expression.
Even so, that day, I felt certain.
“I’d been feeling frustrated inside, but thanks to you, I feel relieved. I enjoyed today.”
Seeing the assistant director smile with his rugged face—
I realized I had taken a step closer not just to the song, but also to the process of what came after.
And I was certain of it.
Time passed quickly.
In the span of just one season changing—
Signum’s comeback schedule was finally confirmed.
When I at last held the completed album in my hands—
“……Writer? Are you okay?”
“Ah, no. It just came out so incredibly well.”
“You’re going to poke a hole in the jacket.”
“If I do, you’ll give me another one, right?”
I forgot my composure and stared at it for a long time.
Assistant Manager Go Minseo watched me with a pleased smile.
“You’re happy, right? You worked hard.”
“You worked harder, Assistant Manager.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
[ 02. <Avalanche> ]
[ PRODUCED BY STaY ]
How should I even put this?
Even though there were countless tiny letters printed all over—
It felt like the word ‘STaY’ was shining brightly.
It leapt straight into my eyes and stuck there.
Producers aren’t the main characters.
That’s what I reminded myself of every day.
But so what, in my world I am the main character!
That much is fine, isn’t it?
“Ah, Writer. Take a look at the next page too.”
Still lost in emotion, I turned the page.
And found words that moved me even more.
Album jackets often contained the members’ short comments.
The so-called Special Thanks To.
And inside every single one of those comments—without exception—was my name.
Thank you, Stay-hyung!
To PD Stay, who made us an amazing title track……
Shout it! God-Stay!
And, our soulmate Composer STaY.
Our bass teacher, Stay-hyung……
Sniff—
Why was this making me so emotional?
These guys… a little old-fashioned, but it was fine. They were Signum!
“The jacket photos came out well, right?”
“Yes, thank you for reflecting all the opinions I gave.”
“No problem. The title changed, so the tone should change too. Check the photo section as well.”
Ah, right, I’d been too focused on the credits.
These days, album jackets were practically like magazines.
I flipped ahead to see Signum’s jacket photos, and then—
“Uwah!”
“Writer?”
“Huff, huff.”
“……Is something wrong?”
Guess my resistance to cringe was too low.
I just couldn’t look at this.
The photos were cool, the editing was polished—
But that wasn’t the point here.
“These kids……”
“They’re cute, right? They showed this side too. You didn’t get to visit the shoot, did you?”
“No.”
“It would’ve been nice if you had. You could’ve seen another side of them……”
“Waaaah. No, absolutely not!”
So this was what they called a collapse of worldbuilding.
In front of me, they’d been like chirping chicks.
But here—
Photos of them posing coolly with instruments.
Photos of them holding lollipops and winking.
Photos of them glancing back while running.
Black-and-white photos like a 70s band.
There were a lot of them.
Honestly, it was a little hard to keep my eyes on them.
Right. They were idols, after all.
Even though it was hard to look straight at them, as I kept staring, a warm feeling crept in.
“Seeing them like this makes it feel real somehow.”
Me, and these kids too—
It felt like we had all grown at least a handspan.
Go Minseo spoke with a faintly regretful expression.
“It would’ve been nice if you had joined the music video shoot as well.”
“Ugh, Iceland was too much.”
“The schedule was a bit tight, yes.”
For the music video, fitting the concept of <Avalanche>, there were scenes of an avalanche pouring down.
Between stillness and explosion—
To capture that delicate emotion bursting forth, they had even decided on a shoot in Iceland.
Manny Entertainment, their scale really was something.
Rather than the avalanche itself, the filming was for the surrounding atmosphere.
They mixed CG with real snowy mountain footage for the direction.
Especially right before the chorus, when the emotional line briefly dipped—
They synced that moment with a massive ice wall collapsing, maximizing the visual effect, perfectly aligning with the song’s emotional flow.
“I’d like to go with them next time. Iceland must’ve been amazing.”
“Oh? Does that mean you’ll work with us again next time? Okay! Memo! I wrote it down. Should I go grab a contract now?”
“W-wait! I didn’t even bring my seal!”
“Huh? So if you had your seal, you really would’ve signed?!”
“……Huh?”
Why did that sound so natural?
I almost really signed on the spot.
Instead of answering, I just laughed.
Of course I’d love to work together a hundred, a thousand times.
But you could never guarantee the future.
Who knew how these kids would grow with <Avalanche> and <Spell!>.
That didn’t mean I should reject it outright either.
So I answered with a feigned air of ease.
With sincerity.
“If fate allows, maybe for the next album too?”
“Writer, sometimes you’re so romantic. Fate…… that’s a beautiful word.”
The words came first, and my heart followed later.
When sincerity is dressed up, it becomes romance.
And sometimes, romance persuades you all on its own.
Today was exactly like that.
As I sat there alone, absorbed in emotion, fidgeting with the album, Assistant Manager Go Minseo called me.
“Oh, Writer.”
“Yes?”
“Take this with you.”
What was this? She looked like she was holding back a laugh.
“The Signum kids prepared a gift for you.”
“Oh, really?”
I accepted the shopping bag.
Something big and squishy, like a cushion?
I pulled out the gift, not thinking much of it—
“Uwaaaah! What the heck is this.”
I nearly threw it away.
These little punks, what were they doing.
Why…… why would they……
Give me a cushion made out of their jacket photos?
And they even had the nerve to put a shameless phrase on it.
[ STaY x Signum ]
No, don’t plaster me on things like this…… I ought to just—
“Pfft.”
“Assistant Manager, please don’t laugh.”
“Writer…… your face. Heheh.”
“Want it?”
“No, thanks?”
Did she really have to act so serious about it.
“No matter how cute they are, this is a bit much……”
It was just a few days before Signum’s album release.
I made up my mind.
For at least two days, I wasn’t going anywhere.
Conveniently, Sierra had no shows either.
The plan was simple.
I’d stay in bed for at least 12 hours.
Do nothing but listen to music.
I had been too busy.
My blood concentration of “going out” was way too high.
At times like this, you needed to stabilize your body and mind with full-on homebody mode.
‘……Better grab a taxi.’
Even with lots to do, you still needed time to rest!
Just imagining it made my eyes already start to close.
Moments later, as I got out of the taxi and entered the villa entrance—
“Huh?”
Sniff, sniff.
From the first floor, a nutty sesame oil scent pierced my nose.
So warm, so familiar.
No way? Seriously, no way?
They had to be really busy right now.
I rushed up the stairs.
I hurriedly punched in the password and flung the door open.
You said time wouldn’t stop.
<More Than Time> was playing from the speakers.
So it was Hyung.
Tch, what a letdown.
I was sure that was Mom’s japchae smell.
No way Mom would be listening to this song.
Guess…… I must have been missing Mom.
Wow. I really must’ve been tired.
If even that savory smell was following me in my imagination.
I asked as I took off my shoes.
“Hyung, what are you doing?”
Why was he listening to this song all by himself.
“What do you think, eating japchae.”
“You bought it?”
Then, a gentle voice called out from the kitchen.
“Baby, you’re here?”
……It was Mom.
Mom was really here!
“Mom? Is it really Mom?”
My feet quickened with urgency.
Thud, thud, I ran into the kitchen.
Through my clouded vision, I stepped inside—
And only when I saw twenty servings of japchae piled on the dining table did it hit me.
“Mom……”
Mom had come to our home.
After a whole year.