SCT-Novel Chapter 206: Summer (9)
Chapter 206: Summer (9)
An article about Kang Rojun suddenly appeared on the internet.《Soaring Popularity of Vanguard's Rojun, This Time He Teams Up with Netflix Korea as a Writer?》
It stated that Kang Rojun and Netflix Korea were working together. After the first article was released, several other media outlets also confirmed it.
“Huh? Rojun’s doing something with Netflix??”
“What are you talking about? It hasn’t been that long since Rojun finished his Japan concert.”
“There’s an article.”
“Look, huh? It’s real? Eh- but it must be a tabloid.”
Of course, it wasn’t believed 100%.
“Now that ‘Vanguard’ is starting the latter half of their promotions, Rojun’s got even more schedules. I doubt he even has time to take on anything else.”
“That’s true, but... the way it just popped up out of nowhere is kind of odd.”
“Well, it’s not even an official statement from Netflix Korea. They probably just scraped some rumor and threw together an article. Still, let’s publish a few pieces ourselves.”
“We’ve gotta get the clicks.”
To be precise, they dismissed it as a tabloid article. Even so, reporters from various media outlets mass-produced similar stories. Since ‘Vanguard', recently riding high after the huge success of their Japan concert, was selling well in the news.
《Rojun to Work with Netflix Korea / Photo》
《[StarTalk] Rojun Teams Up with Netflix Korea... Is It Possible with Such a Busy Schedule?》
《No Time to Breathe with His Main and Side Jobs, Rojun, a First-of-His-Kind Idol!》
Among them were some with questions,
《[StarTalk] Vanguard's Rojun to Work with Netflix Korea This Time, As a Writer? Or Actor?》
Even though it seemed like a tabloid at first, similar articles were quickly added, and before long, the story spread to the public.
-Holy shit.... Is this real?? What is it! What’s Rojun making with Netflix!!!
-Is he starring in a work as an actor? Or is it as a writer?
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Rojun... do you have like 10 bodies???
-He worked on a project with Netflix Japan, so I guess now he’s doing one with Netflix Korea too ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I’m already excited....ㅠㅠ
-I’ve been waiting for the works Rojun wrote anywayㅜㅜㅠ
-But seriously, Rojun is just on another level ㅋㅋㅋㅋ he’s already at the top as an idol and everything else is blowing up too
-↑ Agreed, never seen a male idol like this ㅋㅋㅋㅋ fangirling is so worth it!!
Of course, there were plenty who didn’t believe it either.
-Rojun’s swamped with Vanguard schedules, how does it make sense he’s doing another project? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-100% tabloid
Anyway, the news that Kang Rojun was teaming up with Netflix became a hot topic and sparked a lot of curiosity.
A few days passed.
Netflix Korea still hadn’t made an official announcement. Or rather, it wasn’t much different from having already opened it up.. They were the ones who fired the first shot in this issue. They just dropped a teaser. They hadn’t revealed the concrete details yet.
Letting various speculations and predictions run rampant.
It was Kang Rojun who put a period on the question mark of this issue. In the middle of ‘Vanguard’ promotions.
“One, two, three!”
“Hello! We are Vanguard!”
It was during an interview with a magazine company.
“Hello, ‘Vanguard’! I’ve really wanted to meet you guys!”
“Yes! Thank you.”
Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, Do-kyung and others went through over 30 minutes of pre-arranged questions, and toward the latter part of the interview, the recent hot issue was brought up.
“Next is Rojun-nim!”
“Yes.”
“There’s been a flood of articles about you for the past few days, Rojun-nim! Saying you’re teaming up with Netflix Korea! There’s a lot of talk about whether it’s real or fake, what do you think??”
Dressed in a gray leather jacket matching the concept of their promotions, Rojun answered with a smiling gaze.
“It’s true.”
“......What?”
“I was actually planning to mention it today or tomorrow, but yes, it’s true that I’m working on something with Netflix Korea.”
“Oh- that’s a bit surprising, so the speculative articles were actually correct?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of project is it??”
Considering Rojun’s roles in ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’? Writer, actor, and ‘Vanguard’, he holds a lot of positions, but Kang Rojun held back a bit.
“I can’t say everything in detail yet, but for now, I’ve participated as a writer.”
He had coordinated with Netflix Korea on that.
“As a writer! So you’re writing something new, not one of the previously prepared works! Wow... that’s amazing, your schedule must be intense.”
“I’m working hard!”
After the interview ended, Kang Rojun glanced at Manager Kim Ki-baek, who responded with a weary smile and a thumbs-up.
“You did exactly what Netflix Korea requested. Well done.”
The next day, the interview wasn’t seen as just a tabloid but was officially turned into an article.
《[Official] Vanguard's Rojun Speaks Out Himself! “It’s True That I’m Working with Netflix Korea”》
Friday, July 2nd, the day after.
When articles about Kang Rojun were pouring in, Netflix Korea uploaded an official statement.
It was through their official SNS channel.
-[Hello, this is Netflix Korea! Today, we’d like to share some exciting news many of our subscribers have been curious about! We’ll be working on a project with Writer Rojun, and as long-time fans, we’re very excited!]
Naturally, Netflix Korea only revealed the basic information about ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’. In other words, they didn’t disclose everything.
-[The project with Writer Rojun is a historical drama titled ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’, directed by PD Jung Soo-ryeong, who previously worked with Writer Rojun on ‘Rental Lover’! This new project, ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’, is a major production that Netflix Korea is pouring its heart into, and it will be launched not only domestically but also worldwide on Netflix! We’re working hard on production, and we ask for lots of anticipation from our subscribers...]
The announcement only included the title, the presence of PD Jung Soo-ryeong, and the direction of the project being launched globally. Roughly only about 30% of the details were revealed. There was no mention of Rojun being cast as the lead or of the collaboration with ‘Vanguard’.
The reason for that was murmured by Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin while checking the uploaded SNS.
“This is just right, this much is enough for Phase 1. The anticipation will rise plenty on its own. We can drop the remaining bombs one by one later. If we show everything at once, it’s no fun.”
It was clear the promotion and marketing strategy for ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’ was already mapped out. The rest of the major bombshells would likely be dropped in a more dramatic and sensational manner. Whatever it may be, just as Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin predicted, the announcement from Netflix Korea stirred up the media.
《Writer ‘Rojun’ to Create Historical Drama with Netflix Korea! Title Revealed as ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’ [Official]》
《Another Collaboration with PD Jung Soo-ryeong... This Time, Vanguard's Rojun Writes the Script for a Historical Drama》
《‘Worldwide Netflix Launch’ - Can Writer Rojun’s ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’ Properly Showcase Korean Historical Drama to the World?》
《Amidst His Busy Schedule, Vanguard's Rojun Writes a Historical Drama... Why ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’ Is So Anticipated / Photo》
Public excitement was amplified.
-Whoa ㄹㄹㄹㄹㄹㄹ a historical drama written by Rojun??? How am I supposed to wait for this.....
-I’m in this for the long haul....
-I really hope it does wellㅠㅠ Please make a historical drama even overseas viewers can enjoy!!
Of course, there were also hate comments.
-Foreign folks don’t like historical dramas okay
-With all the historical accuracy and whatnot, writing a historical drama is super hard ㅋㅋㅋ do you really think someone like Rojun wrote something fun?
But those quickly got buried. The number of enthusiastic and praising reactions was dozens of times greater.
And at this point.
-Vanguard IN JAPAN 2021｜Vanguard
-Views: 20,000,981
Vanguard’s Japan concert surpassed 20 million views.
Early morning on the 5th, at GN Entertainment.
Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were gathered in the recording studio. So were Kim Ki-baek and the rest of the management team. They, along with the producer sitting in front of the equipment, were all looking toward the booth.
Inside the booth, Kang Rojun could be seen wearing headphones.
At that moment, Si-hoo, whose perm had loosened a bit, approached the producer. The producer glanced at Si-hoo and then spoke to Rojun in the booth.
“Rojun, let’s start with Do-kyung’s rap part.”
“Okay. I’ll go with a standard take, no ad-libs.”
“Okay-”
Soon, music started playing through the entire recording studio.
-♬♪
It was ‘Royal Procession’, confirmed as the main theme song for ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’. As the gayageum melody rang out from the intro, Kang Rojun began rapping into the mic. A flow with a slightly rough edge in a low tone. The rhythm was solid enough that the producer nodded along, and Si-hoo, who was seemingly co-producing, had a serious expression on his face.
Right now, Kang Rojun was recording the guide version of 'Royal Procession'.
It wasn’t something he necessarily had to do, but he had insisted on it. Well, since both the composition and lyrics had gone through his hands, it was better that he did it. Not only for Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung to familiarize themselves with the song, but also because this guide track would be passed on to many others, the choreography team, the music video team to be selected, various departments within GN Entertainment, and so on.
Anyway, as Rojun began the rap part, Do-kyung’s indifferent expression stiffened even more.
Not because he was uncomfortable, but because he was completely focused.
And also slightly shocked.
‘Holy shit. Hyung... got even better at rapping??’
Even more so, Kang Rojun wasn’t even rapping heavily. Since it was just the guide, he was keeping it moderate and light. He smoothly rolled out the core and key points only. Yet Do-kyung, who handled rap in ‘Vanguard', found his eyes gradually widening.
And it wasn’t just Do-kyung who was surprised. Manager Kim Ki-baek, who watched Rojun with a rather serious expression as well.
‘He hasn’t even touched rap lately because he’s been focusing on main vocals, and yet, he’s still got that charisma. No, he’s better than he was during 'Produce That 100!'. What the hell.’
Other staff members also clicked their tongues in awe.
‘Right... Rojun-nim was an all-rounder, wasn’t he? I kind of forgot for a while because his leadership and main vocals stood out so much. But he’s killing the rap too.’
‘Ugh, goosebumps. It’s not just that he raps well, there’s a vibe that can’t be described in words. His tone is already cheating-level.’
With just a few lines of rap after the intro, Kang Rojun had captivated everyone in the studio, and the vocals that followed left even Si-hoo and Kang-min frozen.
'He's completely versatile.'
Watching Kang Rojun, who pulled off not only rap but also the capability of a lead and main vocalist, the members of ‘Vanguard’ thought,
‘...Still not enough. I need to cut down on sleep even more.’
They were fired up. They had already been pushing hard, but now they were determined to raise their effort even more. Once the first guide recording was finished, Rojun came out of the booth. Then, the producer team, Si-hoo, and Rojun gathered for a serious discussion.
Watching them silently, Kim Ki-baek let out a quiet chuckle.
‘Now even his producing looks natural.’
He set an example. That was a fitting phrase for Kang Rojun as the leader. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were learning and growing constantly by watching Rojun. Manager Kim Ki-baek, who was in charge of their management, felt that Kang Rojun’s value wasn’t just in his skills or abilities, but also as the pillar of ‘Vanguard’.
‘That kind of leadership would sell for a high price anywhere.’
Only after the meeting was wrapped up did the guide recording for 'Royal Procession' fully conclude. Once the guide track was distributed to various teams, the official recording for ‘Vanguard’ would begin next week. Soon after, Rojun, having finished his talk with the producer, approached Kim Ki-baek.
“Manager-nim, one moment please.”
“Hm? Ah- yes.”
Rojun moved to a slightly secluded spot and opened his mouth.
“About the English versions of the songs you mentioned before.”
“Yes.”
“For ‘GreenBee', ‘Windveil', and ‘Flying Bell', I think instead of making them entirely in English, it would be better to highlight the Korean lyrics, like in the chorus or certain parts.”
“Of course, there’s no need to go full-on with English lyrics. The idea was just to see if we could increase the English parts from what we have now.”
“Ah, really?? Then I think adding more English parts than now would be perfect.”
“And what about the songs you’re composing personally, Rojun?”
"I'm planning to do those freely without worrying about that."
“Hmm- got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”
After that, the ‘Vanguard’ members got into the van to move on to their next schedule. The next item was attending a fashion event. So, they had to stop by the salon first.
-Vroom!
As the van started moving, Kang Rojun opened his laptop, and his phone gave off a short vibration.
-Buzz buzz.
Without much thought, Rojun pulled out his phone, and was slightly surprised. The reason was simple. The source of the vibration was the 'AI Simulation' app. A notification appeared on his phone screen.
-[The Evolved Title ‘World Star’ has met the conditions and is now enhanced by +1!]
It was the first enhancement of his evolved title.