NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Since Newrain was in the building right next door, there was no need to take a car; we could simply walk over.
A shiny building with a large Iris advertisement hanging on it. I was finally entering that building, which had seemed so out of reach on my first day of work.
As I went up with Secretary Choi’s guidance, the person who had invited me was waiting.
“Hello. I am Heo Yongseok, the Head of Planning at Newrain.”
“Hello. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
It was a lie. I had only been in this world for about two weeks; what could I have possibly heard?
But that’s how business mode worked. I put on my best social smile.
“I should have greeted you sooner, but as you can see, I’ve been quite busy.”
“I needed some time to adjust to the company myself.”
Director Heo pointed to the office with employees, mentioning he had been busy as well.
When I first entered Newma, I had a gloomy impression, but Newrain, despite the still-unpacked boxes, looked bright.
‘These people must have worked with Monochrome before.’
From Monochrome’s perspective, half of the employees they were familiar with had suddenly left.
Thinking about that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
It wasn’t my place to say anything since I had sought out Iris as soon as I landed in this world, but now that I was slightly settled, I started to feel a sense of camaraderie and standing together.
“You might not know this, but since the new representative is said to be the chairman’s daughter, she has been a bit of a topic among the employees. We didn’t know the chairman had such a beautiful daughter.”
I was surprised too, suddenly being told I was his daughter.
“Have you worked in a related industry before? I saw the new photo on the website and was impressed. You have a good eye.”
“I haven’t worked in the industry, but… I’ve seen and heard quite a bit.”
In the game, that is.
Of course, I had checked the external reactions to the new profile photos of Monochrome.
Especially thanks to not showing Haerang’s face on VLive, the anticipation had built up among fans, leading to explosive reactions.
The successful shoot resulted in satisfactory outcomes and equally satisfying reactions. This boosted my confidence a little.
Director Heo nodded and smiled at my words.
“Haha. Thanks to you, the company’s future looks promising. Shall we go then?”
After a brief exchange of greetings, it was time for the company tour.
They explained what teams there were and what work they did. The structure was slightly different from Newma Entertainment, so even just observing was informative.
But this wasn’t what I was looking forward to.
After circling the company, we finally arrived on the floor with the practice room. Though soundproofed, small singing voices could be heard.
‘So the Iris members are in here.’
I couldn’t hide the trembling feeling of meeting a celebrity I had liked for a long time as a fan.
When Director Heo opened the practice room door, I saw staff members gathered inside.
“They’re currently filming a choreography video, so it’s a bit chaotic.”
So this was what a practice room usually looked like, bustling with activity.
‘Monochrome usually only had five people standing around…’
The more I observed, the more I couldn’t help comparing it to Newma. Sigh.
“Over here! Do-yoon made a mistake~.”
“I got it right though?!”
“You’re half a beat too fast. It’s supposed to go like this: da-da-da, da-da-da. You see?”
From a corner, I heard girls giggling.
It felt like a male teacher experiencing an all-girls high school after being at an all-boys school.
When Director Heo spoke to a staff member next to him, he approached the group of girls.
The girls then turned around and noticed us by the door, bowing in greeting.
“Hello, Director!”
“Hello!”
“This is Director Shin Joo-in, who recently joined Newma Entertainment. Please introduce yourselves.”
The girls, who had greeted us energetically, quickly lined up, and one of them said, “Two, three.”
“Your rainbow! We are Iris!”
They greeted in unison.
‘Gasp! It’s really Iris!’
They were all dressed in comfortable everyday clothes.
The outfits I styled in the game were mostly stage costumes, so this was the first time I saw them in such casual attire.
‘So… so cute!’
Their visuals were enough to break their own records continuously since their debut.
After brief introductions with the members, Director Heo continued introducing the staff, but honestly, his voice went in one ear and out the other.
Even while greeting the staff, half my mind was focused on Iris, who were resting nearby.
After finishing introductions with the staff, one member who had been peeking from behind approached.
“Director, I am Red, the leader of Iris!”
It was Red, approaching with her ponytail swinging.
‘How could I not recognize her?’
I had seen her face countless times as a character. I could almost immediately distinguish who was who.
“We just released a new album, please give it a listen!”
Red spoke energetically and handed me something she had been holding.
It was a signed CD with each member’s autograph and the message, ‘Please love Iris a lot♡.’
But when I saw the album title, it looked familiar.
‘Isn’t this the album I planned in the game?!’
Album production took time in the game too. I got swept into this world before the production was completed, so I never got to see the final result. And here it was.
While I was feeling emotional, Red glanced around nervously for some reason.
Not at me, but behind me.
‘Now that I think about it…’
I didn’t know why this element existed in the game, but at My Entertainment, random rumors, or “jjirasi,” would circulate.
When these jjirasi started, the success rate of events would drop for a certain period.
‘And Red was usually the main character of those jjirasi.’
The ridiculous part was that the content never even got to the point of dating, it always ended with one-sided affection.
Even so, isn’t the entertainment industry harsh? Those jjirasi, which were barely more than a cute nuisance in text, significantly hindered game progress.
Once or twice might be understandable, but it happened three times, becoming an almost annual event.
‘This girl. This girl.’
At the end of Red’s gaze was Secretary Choi.
Though Secretary Choi stood out for an ordinary person, wasn’t her expression too obvious?!
No wonder rumors kept spreading.
“I’ll definitely give it a listen.”
How could I let an event I lovingly nurtured be marred by such recurring incidents again?
I stepped slightly in front of Secretary Choi and smiled sweetly.
I had no choice but to revert to business mode for her sake.
Red, seemingly caught stealing glances, blushed and quickly retreated after greeting.
‘There are plenty of handsome guys in the entertainment industry; how will she handle it…’
To think such a pretty girl was a hopeless romantic in an environment where she couldn’t even date.
There wasn’t much I could do by worrying. I had to hope the agency treated her well.
While finishing conversations with the staff, the members returned to formation, their break apparently over.
‘Wow.’
The intro started, and the girls, who had been lounging around a moment ago, moved in perfect unison.
Their movements, which looked light as butterflies, were intense from a different angle, akin to a rigorous workout.
Even after the song ended, the members maintained their expressions and poses, waiting until they confirmed the filming was over before catching their breath.
“Did you like what you saw?”
“Wow. Professionals are indeed different.”
I clapped softly.
Just seeing this made today’s visit to Newrain worthwhile. I mentally thanked Director Heo for inviting me during their active period.
Everyone seemed busy, so to avoid disrupting them, we left the practice room and sat in a meeting room.
“Right now, we’re focusing solely on Iris. May I ask for your opinion, given your discerning eye?”
Watching Iris videos wasn’t a big deal for me.
When I readily accepted, a team leader next to Director Heo briefly showed me stage videos on a tablet.
Then, I understood why they were asking for my opinion.
‘Oh no. This doesn’t suit her at all.’
Perhaps because Newrain was a sub-label of Newma Entertainment, the settings for Iris were still available on my My Enter app.
Unlike Monochrome, which I managed, Iris’s outfits in My Enter automatically changed every time I looked at them.
But perhaps because it was out of my hands, the style was subtly different from how I would have dressed them. Watching the videos confirmed this.
There was one exception: the end-of-year stage with their new song was in the outfit I had chosen and saved just before coming here.
But in the subsequent performance videos, there was a growing sense of disharmony.
‘Is it okay to give advice?’
I hesitated for a moment, but then I remembered the day Yun-hee handed in her resignation.
Being direct instead of beating around the bush had definitely helped a lot.
“May I speak frankly?”
“That would be greatly appreciated.”
“Well… First, Orange. It seems she often uses orange blush or coral lip colors to match her stage name, but she actually looks better in pink without any orange. In the
I continued giving my opinions as they came to mind, based on what I saw in the videos.
I only talked about what I felt from watching the videos, but it ended up being longer than expected.
Apparently, Director Heo hadn’t expected such detailed feedback, as he looked at me with his mouth agape.
The team leader beside him had the same expression but quickly regained his composure and diligently took notes.
Judging by his note-taking, I guess it was helpful…?
“How do you know so much about Iris?”
“…I’m not an obsessed fan or anything.”
I reflexively blurted out a strange excuse, feeling awkward.
***
This visit to Newrain was beneficial for both parties.
Besides the signed album, I received other albums as well.
On the way back to the adjacent building, Newma, I walked with a light step, smiling brightly and hugging the shopping bag with the albums.
Then I heard Secretary Choi’s voice from behind.
“Have you liked Iris for a long time?”
It was unusual for Secretary Choi, who never talked about anything outside of work, to start a casual conversation.
By “a long time,” he probably meant before I joined as an executive, right?
I did like them, but not as a fan; it was more in a different sense. How should I put it?
“Um… maybe?”
“On your first day, you asked for Iris, which surprised me a bit. The chairman… has never personally looked for an artist before.”
Secretary Choi mentioned something about the chairman that I didn’t know.
No, this was about me as a player in the past.
‘…Of course, I wouldn’t have sought them out personally.’
It dawned on me after talking directly with the members.
I had always watched them one-sidedly, not as the representative within this world but as the me outside the smartphone screen.
So I initially assumed there had been conversations and exchanges between the company and the members.
In reality, there was a massive wall called the system blocking the way.
“Since you joined… we feel like some changes are starting to happen.”
On the snow-covered road, the buildings reflected sunlight, making them sparkle even more. Secretary Choi stood against such a background.
Seeing him as a character in a game often made me feel that this was indeed a game world, making him seem somewhat inhuman at times.
But today, he felt human.
‘Of course, he is human. But still…’
Just as I had unconsciously kept a distance from the members, suspecting them to be soulless game characters, I might have done the same with him.
Realizing this made me feel a bit sorry, so I smiled back at him in response.
***
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the office door.
Since the sound wasn’t the calm knock of Secretary Choi, it must be someone else.
As expected, it was Woohyung who opened the door and came in.
“Director, do you have a moment?”
“Yeah, why?”
I had plenty of time. I had been flipping through the photobook in the signed album I received.
Woohyung seemed to have something to say and approached, then seemed to notice what was on my desk.
For a moment, his eyebrows subtly drooped.
If he had a tail and ears like a puppy, they would’ve drooped too.
‘It feels like I got caught admiring someone else’s kids.’
I cleared my throat and pushed the albums to the side.
“Ahem. So, what’s up?”
“I finished the guide for the original song I mentioned earlier. I’d like you to listen to it…”
He had told me about a song he had been working on some time ago.
I thought I could listen to it immediately since he seemed to have been preparing it for quite a while, but Woohyung said he’d refine it more and then show it to me, and he had been working in the studio with a determined expression since then.
And now, after some time, it seemed the song was finally completed to the first stage.
“Let’s hear it.”
My thorough inspection of Iris’s albums wasn’t purely out of personal interest.
Monochrome now needed to prepare such an album in earnest too.
An album that would showcase the new sides of the five members.