Episode 41: A Real Devil?
Charting at No. 98 on release day?!
We hit CEO Kim’s Top 100 goal!
My future salary is safe!
The streaming program showed the album cover, song runtime, and lyrics.
Each song’s clip was about seven seconds, so I hyper-focused on the highlight chorus, typing the scrolling karaoke-style lyrics into my notes while scanning the album cover.
Song title: Smile Again.
Runtime: 3 minutes, 23 seconds.
No lyricist or composer info.
The jacket photo was a close-up of the five members’ faces, split evenly in a row, all flashing bright smiles fitting the title.
Ah-hyun’s hair stood out—purple fading to blue, now a short, blunt bob, a hand’s length shorter than her old mid-length cut.
The others rocked trendy hairstyles and makeup, shedding the bizarre concept looks to reveal their natural beauty.
This is it.
-“You make my heart flutter (Smile Again), you make me smile (Smile Again), the start and end of my day is You & You & You & You & You…”
The chorus, likely led by main vocalist Ah-hyun, had a vibe straight out of first-gen idol songs from Topgol Park’s music shows.
It felt like a follow-up track—bright and cute, contrasting a more artistic title song.
Not Free Sense’s early astral concepts, but closer to the accessible “How Do I Look Today?” melody.
Solid.
This is enough to start strong.
The chorus melody was catchy as hell.
-“Smile at me (Smile Again), I sing for you (Smile Again), at the end of a tiring day, you can fall into my open arms~”
A refreshing high note capped it off.
The lyrics were standard healing-song fare, but Ah-hyun’s emotion made them tug at the heart.
-“Moving away from their experimental music and performances, Free Sense returns with a lovelier, mass-friendly newtro sound at No. 98. No. 99 is…”
The chart review YouTuber called it “newtro” (new + retro).
My gut feeling about the first-gen idol vibe was spot-on.
The brief Top 100 review ended.
I opened a recording app, glanced at my lyric notes, and sang Smile Again’s chorus from memory.
In a tiny falsetto…
“You make my heart flutter, S-Smile Again. You make me smile, S-Smile Again…”
God, I sound awful.
Ah-hyun made it a hopeful healing song; I turned it into a funeral dirge.
Rushing the “Smile Again” rap-like part made it a chaotic mess.
Whatever, I’m not composing it—just saving it for reference.
So, what can I do with this fragmented info?
The new album’s composition and production seem nearly locked in with CEO Jung’s team, ‘Spade’.
Will they churn out ‘Smile Again’ as the future video predicts?
Or is it another composer’s work?
If only I had the lyricist or composer’s name, I could narrow it down.
If Jung wrote ‘Smile Again’ and picked it as the title track, the future’s on track, no worries.
But if not, I’d have to step in… as a road manager, daring to meddle in production?
That’s absurd.
Pushing schedules or recruiting members is one thing, but this is a whole different level of overstepping.
Even with a rookie composer, I’d hesitate—let alone with top-tier producer and CEO Jung Han-yong.
I can’t just shove my shoddy recording at him and say, “Make it like this.”
Even hearing the full song wouldn’t change that.
Jung’s playful and approachable, but when it comes to producing and composing, he’s uncompromising.
How do I know?
Even CEO Kim, the company’s real No. 1, couldn’t break Jung’s stubbornness, leading to the epic flop ‘Halloween Day’.
Despite that failure, Jung doubled down on similar concepts for follow-up albums.
The best scenario now:
When title track or album candidates come up, Smile Again is among them.
Then, I beg—grovel, if I must—to make it the title track.
-“Oppa, where are you?”
A call from Ah-hyun.
“Outside, smoking.”
-“We need to assemble the shoe rack.”
“Seung-ah’s working on it.”
-“Yeah, she messed it up. Total klutz.”
“I’m coming in.”
In the living room, a half-built shoe rack loomed.
Seung-ah crouched in front, muttering with a soulless expression.
“Where did I go wrong? I followed the manual…”
She’d been filming for YouTube, dressed up with two tripods set up, but clearly botched the assembly.
A glance showed she’d mixed up the joints, swapping the top and bottom panels.
As I approached, she looked up like a guilty puppy.
“It’s ruined…”
“Step aside, klutz.”
“Just take it apart for me, oppa. I’ll try again.”
“Nah, I’ll do it. Let’s finish quick and get to the team dinner.”
“Nooo, I need to film this for YouTube! Engineering unnie concept!”
“You’re in engineering?”
“No, acting department.”
“Oh, you’re in acting? So you enrolled while doing Free Sense?”
“Yup, passed the non-celebrity entrance exam. 88:1 competition rate.”
I knew Ah-hyun was on leave from practical music, but Seung-ah being in acting was news to me.
As I disassembled the botched shoe rack, I asked, “You originally wanted to act?”
“No, my mom said if I was gonna be an idol, I should act instead. My parents were super against singing at first.”
“So you’re decent at acting?”
Ah-hyun jumped in. “She got ripped apart for her acting in our MV. Worse than me. Total foot-acting.”
“Pfft! Hey, that’s ‘cause Min-ji unnie kept nagging me, so I froze up. I’m actually good!”
“Klutz and foot-acting…”
“No way! I’ll own klutz, but foot-acting? No way!”
I teased, throwing out a challenge. “Cry in 30 seconds, and I’ll believe you.”
“Thirty? I can do it in ten!”
Seung-ah, brimming with confidence, dragged Ah-hyun in.
“Kwon Ah-hyun, get over here. Let’s bet on who cries first.”
“Call!”
“No, everyone join! Last two clean up!”
“Sweet, sounds fun. Baek Jin-ah, Oh Woo-ya, Seo Seon-yu, come to the living room!”
And so, the impromptu Free Sense Tear-Jerking Contest began.
This could be killer content.
The girls lined up in the living room, and I set up three phones—Seung-ah’s two for her shoe rack video and the company phone—to record.
“It starts when I say ‘go.’ Ready, contestants?”
Jin-ah looked bored, but the others were already glaring into space, diving into their emotions.
“Ready… go!”
A surprise hit within seconds.
Woo-ya was the first to cry, quietly raising her hand. I nodded, confirming the clear tears streaming down her cheeks, awarding her gold.
Silver went to an unexpected contender: Seon-yu.
Blinking her dazed eyes, tears rolled down, hitting the 30-second mark.
One spot left.
Seung-ah, who’d boasted a 10-second cry, was all dramatic expressions but bone-dry.
As we neared a minute, Ah-hyun shot up.
“Yes! I did it!”
She shoved her face at me, a single tear barely trickling before sinking into her cheek.
“It came out, right? Counts? Counts?”
“Okay, counts! Baek Jin-ah, Lee Seung-ah, you’re on cleanup duty!”
“Nooo! It was about to come, but you yelled and it went back in!”
Seung-ah flopped onto the floor, yelling at Ah-hyun.
Jin-ah, uninterested from the start, made a request.
“Unnie, cry like a deer.”
“Eek! Eek!”
“Pfft-hahaha!”
“Puhuhuhu!”
Oh god, I lost it too.
Deer mode is an instant laugh button.
“Unnie, do Doraemon too.”
“Ugh, Seung-ah! Why are you so bad at this? Just go die!”
“Pffft-hahahaha!”
“Puhuh, is this unnie for real?”
“Seung-ah unnie, you’re older than me but so cute!”
All of Free Sense, including me, rolled on the floor laughing.
As the laughter died down, Jin-ah, the only one tear-free, explained her high-and-mighty reasoning.
“A maiden’s noble tears are saved for our first music show win.”
Ah-hyun, shaking her head, asked gold-medalist Woo-ya, “How’d you cry so fast? Like, under 10 seconds.”
“Unnie, I just think of my grandma, and it comes automatically. Sniff…”
Oh, that’s a cheat code.
Woo-ya, choked up again at the mention of her grandma, wiped away tears.
I swear I saw her grandma’s kind smile behind her.
-“Manager, take care of our Woo-ya…”
Come on, Grandma, why are you doing this to me?
Live long, visit Seoul, travel abroad!
I turned to silver-medalist Seon-yu. “What’d you think of?”
“When my dog Mangchi crossed the rainbow bridge.”
“Oh, a puppy…?”
“Yeah… I had Mangchi for 12 years, but he passed last year…”
A 12-year doggo? That’s another cheat code.
“Sniff, I miss Mangchi… my baby…”
Seon-yu pulled out her phone, probably to look at his photos.
Behind her, I swear I saw a faint image of an old Shih Tzu with its tongue out.
“Pant, pant, pant.”
Since when did my imagination get so vivid?
I asked, “Was Mangchi a Shih Tzu…?”
“No, a Welsh Corgi.”
Then who’s this Shih Tzu…?
***
That evening, after dorm setup, the first Free Sense full-lineup team dinner took place at a barbecue spot near the company.
Both CEOs attended, along with the new female manager for our team.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jung-sun.”
Twenty-eight years old.
Short, bowl-cut hair.
Over 170 cm tall, with a strong presence.
Having trained under Team Leader Lee Sook-young, she exuded the same confident, meticulous vibe and masculine tone—Lee’s doppelgänger.
CEO Jung asked with conviction, “You played sports in school, right?”
“Yes, volleyball until high school.”
“Whoa, bet you’ve got a mean swing.”
Kim Jung-sun flashed her palm at Jung, responding with bold humor.
“Want a back-smash?”
“Nah, my lungs are weak… How about you take one for me, CEO Kim?”
“Hey, why drag me into this when I’m just sitting here? Man, you’re something else…”
It was my first time seeing both CEOs together, but their dynamic was crystal clear.
Alcohol hit the staff table, while the Free Sense table got soft drinks.
Kim Jung-sun cracked open a soju bottle with a snap and offered a glass to CEO Kim.
“Let me pour you one.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll work hard moving forward.”
Jung, Jeon, and then it was my turn.
I held the soju glass with both hands and introduced myself.
“Kang Hyun-jong.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Mind if I speak casually, then?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
I didn’t mind, but Team Leader Jeon let out a scoff, clearly displeased.
He shot Kim Jung-sun a sharp look and said, “Excuse me, Manager Kim.”
“Yes, Team Leader?”
“By company seniority, Hyun-jong’s ahead of you. Why are you speaking casually? I’m sure Team Leader Lee didn’t teach you that.”
Jeon never spoke casually to me at first.
Come to think of it, Lee Sook-young used formal speech during our call too…
“Even as a road manager, Hyun-jong’s a full-time employee, so mind your manners.”
“Yes, my apologies. I was careless.”
Jeon was clearly trying to establish dominance early.
Come on, why sour the team dinner vibe like that?
The CEOs are right here…
But wait—what?
“Oooh, that was a solid first punch…”
“Wow, our Team Leader Jeon, huh? Nice…”
The CEOs, far from upset, were grinning ear to ear, eating up the drama.
Okay, so it’s fine?
Then Jung, like a true instigator, poured fuel on the fire—right into the house I was scrambling to escape.
“Manager Kim messed up. Apologize formally to Manager Kang.”
Is this guy an actual devil…?