Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 181

Lee Unha was ignorant when it came to the ways of corporate life. 

 

To be more precise, he knew nothing about it at all.

 

He didn’t know how other agencies operated. 

 

Of course, he had heard people say that some agencies were run haphazardly or were terrible at doing their jobs. Whenever an idol caused a controversy or a minor accident occurred, the fans always blamed the agency first.

 

But he didn’t know why they were so bad at their jobs or why they had no choice but to handle things in such a slapdash manner. Unless you were someone in the industry, it was difficult to know in the first place. After all, organizational life was full of situations where even something as simple as a delay could have all sorts of reasons or hidden circumstances behind it. 

 

Naturally, Lee Unha also didn’t know how an organization was structured or which department wielded the most influence. He could see organizational charts for the former floating around the internet, but the latter was a fact you could only learn if you were part of the inner circle.

 

However, he could guess.

 

Every agency probably had its own characteristics. An agency that prioritized business above all else would likely give the Business Division the greatest influence, while one that valued content planning the most might allow the Content Planning Division to hold the most power. An agency focused on live performances would lean on its Performance Division, and one focused on fan communication might put weight on its Management Headquarters.

 

Of course, since they were all groups pursuing profit, he knew that the Business Headquarters or the Audit Headquarters—which audited all other departments—generally held significant power, but that likely still varied from agency to agency.

 

Naturally, The World was no exception.

 

And just like any other agency, The World had a specific division that exerted a particularly massive influence.

 

It was a fact known to everyone currently at the company.

 

It was the Planning Headquarters, led by Director Gu.

 

While the group was busy promoting and grinding their bodies down, a major war—no, two or three wars—had broken out within the company. In the organizational war that had begun so each department could seize even greater power in this hopeless company, the Planning Division was the one that remained standing until the very end and planted the banner of victory. 

 

Lee Unha didn’t know what kind of war had taken place, but the loud-mouthed Director Oh always grew quiet in front of Director Gu. The success of their first mini-album likely played a huge role, but separate from that, Lee Unha remembered Director Gu possessing formidable authority from the very beginning.

 

It was the only department that could speak up without interference from the CEO or any other division—a place that was both the most creative and the most closed-off organization in the company. In other words, it was the place where the core talents leading The World resided.

 

And in that organization…

 

In that Planning Headquarters…

 

“The concept this time must be: Dark, Blood, Sexy.”

 

Those words were actually being spoken.

 

‘What on earth… are these people doing?’

 

These were people who had studied extensively, elites who would be recognized as top talent wherever they went…

 

“Dark, Blood, and Sexy, huh…”

 

Yet they were sitting here saying things like,

 

Of course, since this was a meeting to decide the concept for an idol album, it wasn’t exactly a strange thing to hear. After all, a sexy concept was something every idol either went through at least once or wanted to try at least once.

 

The problem was the image displayed on the screen.

 

‘What… is that?’

 

“……”

 

‘No, seriously… what is that?’

 

“……”

 

‘Why is no one pointing it out?’

 

It looked like a concept image or an illustration. It was clearly a rough sketch of <Fantasia>, but everyone was wearing outfits made of black or red. Naturally, it wasn’t modern clothing. They were wearing outfits—no, more accurately, armaments—that symbolized their respective classes.

 

He could see them holding swords and staves. Even the illustration of the person presumed to be the Dark Mage—presumably Lee Lee Unha—was holding a giant scythe.

 

‘Doesn’t anyone else think this is weird? Am I the only one who can’t get used to this? Why is nobody… saying anything after seeing that?’

 

As if that weren’t enough, everyone had exaggerated dark circles under their eyes.

 

“The imagery is good, but… I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a bit too one-dimensional, focusing only on the keywords. I always thought it was a card we could play eventually, but we have to consider if now is the right timing. Especially the ‘Sexy’ concept.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“It could easily end up looking similar to a fallen or corrupted concept. I’d rather save that card for later. More importantly, <Fantasia> has only just been recognized by the public. The concept of idols who protect the Hidden World has only just started taking root.. Coming back with an image like this so suddenly might make it hard for the public to adjust.”

 

‘The public is already struggling to understand our concept, you know, sirs.’

 

“However, I don’t think there is a concept more suited to this imagery than <Execution>.”

 

“That’s true. Looking at other images, nothing stands out… Dark, Blood, Sexy seems the best among them, but the keywords are still too abstract. Can we play the music again? Let’s go back to the beginning and think it through one more time.”

 

Naturally, the music composed by Kim Haejun began to play. It was the same track they had already repeated dozens—no, hundreds—of times. It was right after the suggestion that they should do some brainstorming for creative ideas, rather than a typical meeting.

 

‘Is this for real?’

 

“……”

 

‘Do they think they’re some innovative startup? Are you guys Coogle or something? What?’

 

“……”

 

‘And what is written over there?’

 

A large board was covered in a staggering number of ideas.

 

‘Hidden World’, ‘Magic’, ‘Skills’, and so on.

 

They were also endlessly discussing Executioners, execution, what deserved to be executed, and who deserved to receive a death sentence. The discussion had now expanded into deciding what should be purged.

 

They talked about monsters inhabiting the hidden world, different races, and even ordinary humans. At some point, voices began to rise.

 

“No! No! Humans are a step too far! No matter what, that’s not it. I’d rather change the song than…”

 

“No, are you saying demi-humans don’t look like people? From the perspective of taking a life, be it a demi-human or a monster, it’s the same. In the first place, based on the Hidden World lore, humans can be enemies too. f it’s something we have to introduce eventually, why postpone it? We should take another step forward while the public is still willing to accept it. Since when have we ever done our work worrying about what other people think? Are we just going to pretend not to see the problem?”

 

“So, do you plan on turning <Fantasia> into murderers?”

 

“Watch your words! Murderers?!”

 

‘Seriously, what on earth are you guys doing?’

 

They certainly had passion.

 

They were so passionate that Lee Unha felt like they were going to crash and burn. Looking at them continue the heated debate, he wondered what kind of spectacle he was witnessing.

 

What made it even stranger was that they weren’t simply being irrationally negative.

 

Their direction might have been misguided, but he could genuinely feel their determination to build an overall concept around the song Kim Haejun had composed.

 

He still couldn’t understand why everything absolutely had to revolve around the Hidden World or supernatural powers, but they seemed convinced that, given the established universe, there was no choice except to interpret Kim Haejun’s song within that framework.

 

‘Is this… that… important?’

 

“……”

 

‘Is is the Hidden World setting really that important?’

 

“……”

 

It was a textbook example of ‘if you’re going to go far, go all the way’. At this point, he couldn’t tell if they were planning a concept for <Fantasia> or starting an animation studio for the next season….

 

It was then that Director Gu spoke up.

 

“Mr. Unha, what do you think?”

 

‘Can’t I just keep my mouth shut?’

 

“I’m curious about your opinion….”

 

‘I’d rather just stay still….’

 

“Does anything come to mind when you listen to <Execution> or look at those images?”

 

Actually,

 

Something did come to mind.

 

But saying it out loud was a different matter.

 

“Fi—first, about that ‘Hidden World’ thing, does it absolutely have to….”

 

“The public has only just begun to understand Fantasia’s worldbuilding. The response may still be modest, but we’re finally starting to see some reactions. Didn’t I make it clear that the concept needs to be firmly established?”

 

That was exactly why I’d kept my mouth shut until now. The best I could do was try to stop people from going off the rails if things went too far, but now they were pressuring me for an answer.

 

“Yes… I understand that. I am aware Execution is a song that’s difficult to interpret overall, but I’m a little concerned that everyone seems to be interpreting it in an overly dark way. It’s also a bit disappointing that the only images coming to mind are abstract keywords like Dark, Blood, and Sexy.”

 

“So, what kind of image comes to your mind?”

 

Actually, there was an image that came to mind.

 

It was an incredibly vivid image.

 

Director Gu, Planning Team Leader Park Sangah, and many of the other staff members were all staring straight at me. I had been doing my best to avoid this, but I realized it was time I had to open my mouth.

 

It felt less like they were asking for my opinion as Fantasia’s representative and more like they were demanding that Lee Unha prove he actually belonged in this room, so I had to speak up. In the end, I had no choice but to voice the thoughts that had been sitting in my head.

 

‘Oh, whatever. I don’t care anymore.’

 

That was the mindset behind what I was about to say.

 

Fine, you guys can suffer through this too.

 

It was almost as if I were saying, ‘Go ahead and experience a little mirror therapy yourselves’. It could serve as a way for them to re-verify just how absurd their behavior had been through me, so I actually felt it was a good idea.

 

And so,

 

I quietly opened my mouth.

 

“……”

“……”

 

“Demon Hunters.”

 

‘I should say it more confidently.’

 

“De—Demon Hunters.”

 

‘No, even more confidently.’

 

“When I hear it, I think of a demon hunter. I think it fits the song the best. The dark atmosphere… also feels like something people could relate to. The seals of the 9 demons who have slept for 1,231 years are broken, and <Fantasia> hunts them—how about that for an overall plot? We keep the image of the desolate Hidden World… and we upgrade all of <Fantasia>’s basic equipment to gear specialized for demon hunting. For example, the scythe I use could naturally serve that role.”

 

‘Yeah. I’ll give you a proper brainf*ck.’

 

“Of course, using the gear and skills to hunt demons must come with a penalty, right? Because fighting demons—hunting them—means that you yourself must become a demon. ‘Dark’ and ‘Blood’ should be used with that meaning. Joo Wooyoung, the <Paladin> who loved God more than anyone, begins to doubt his faith… and what if Jung Taehee, the Priest, were redesigned as a religious fanatic?”

 

‘This is exactly the kind of thing you people have been talking about.’

 

“In such an extreme situation, it wouldn’t be bad to throw out a philosophical question about what <Fantasia> must choose as the ‘right’ path.”

 

See? Here’s your mirror therapy.

 

“Whether they should become stained by hunting demons, even if it means becoming demons themselves… or preserve their own dignity.”

 

I subtly scanned the members of the Planning Headquarters.

 

To my bewilderment….

 

I saw Planning Team Leader Park Sangah slowly clapping.

 

‘What the hell… Are these people… actually out of their minds?’