October is the busiest month for record labels. This is because many artists prepare for comebacks in November and December. To avoid being forgotten, artists must release at least a single during this window.
Consequently, to release an album in December, preparations must begin by October at the latest. Currently, Ichigo Production was in a state of chaotic frenzy.
They had to draw attention through collaborations, negotiate with advertisers, and coordinate schedules with broadcasting stations to align with comeback dates. In particular, Saito Ichigo, whose intuition was top-tier in the entertainment industry, saw that Enfants Terribles had surpassed 3 billion views on a platform called YouTube. He was making very special preparations to leverage that platform.
"Have we connected with the person who uploaded that AAA performance video? Their request? They want VIP seats for AAA? Just give it to them! What's the problem? What? You think it's unfair preferential treatment? Just pick a few dozen other fans and throw them in together! Let's be flexible here!"
Saito Ichigo recognized the immense potential of the YouTube platform. While traditional broadcasters were the mainstream now, it was clear that a time would come when YouTube would take that place. Recognizing that potential now, Saito Ichigo intended to use it aggressively. As early as 2008, he was thinking of utilizing 'fancams.'
"Are the PDs connected? Once this single is released, we're going to push B-Komachi in earnest. If the agreement with the PDs is done, tell them to create some episodes. What? How? Hire a scriptwriter! We have to hit the top of the Japanese industry first before we can even think about going overseas!"
Saito Ichigo was losing his mind, barking orders at middle management and digging through documents filled with complex metrics.
Although their scale had grown larger than some major agencies, he was still the only one at the newly established Ichigo Production who could handle work properly. He was currently in the process of training capable middle managers, which meant he personally had to oversee countless areas: singles, music videos, advertisements, and broadcast programs.
On top of that, with B-Komachi preparing for a comeback, he had to connect and reach agreements with producers, choreographers, and other stakeholders. Saito Ichigo was working so hard his hair was thinning at the crown.
"Hey... you damn star... aren't you being a bit too comfortable?"
Saito Ichigo glared at Hide, who was reclining on the sofa in the president's office, nonchalantly sipping an iced americano. Though he was a busy man currently active in the United States, he had to return to Japan alone due to unavoidable circumstances.
The reason was the collaboration with B-Komachi they had discussed at the steakhouse. While work could have been handled via Gmail—which had appeared like a comet in 2004—it wasn't sufficient for this task, so he had been summoned.
"Hey, President Sato. You know we've been working like dogs in America, right? I barely managed to clear some time to come here. Do you have any idea how much Shuji and Yokishi complained about me heading to Japan?"
"You damn star... your schedule is clear after events. I'm sure your off-days have increased recently because you said you were exhausted... and besides, wouldn't you have more rest time since you're on a plane?"
"President Sato, isn't it only natural to rest on travel days? Honestly, is it right to work a major shareholder this hard?"
Regardless, now wasn't the time for such idle chatter. Saito Ichigo reminded himself of the reason he had called Hide back from his busy activities in the States.
"You damn star... did you write the song?"
"Uh... well... I've written the song for Ai."
"Not that one. I mean the title track for B-Komachi's full album."
Hide shut his mouth and went silent at Saito Ichigo's sharp interrogation. There was a specific reason why a man active in America had flown all the way back to Japan.
"Well, it'll come soon. I haven't actually started it yet, though."
At Hide's brazen answer, Saito Ichigo grabbed his hair in frustration and despaired.
"President Sato, this is why your hair is thinning. Should I have bought you some blonde hair-thickening fibers?"
"It's not Sato... it's Saito... PLEEEEEASE!!!!"
Saito Ichigo let out a lion's roar as he looked at Hide, who had become a mirror image of Ai after spending so much time with her. He felt like he was losing his sanity because of Hide's 'my pace' attitude, which perfectly matched Ai's.
For the record, Hide was scheduled to fly back to America in two days. And the deadline for selecting the title track for B-Komachi's comeback album was also two days away.
B-Komachi. This was the girl group Ichigo Production had ambitiously launched during their days in the indie scene. While they weren't the top of the industry yet, they possessed enough ticket power to easily host a concert at the Budokan.
They even held a record for briefly breaking the Oricon chart dominance of Enfants Terribles with 'Sign is B' and 'Star☆T☆Rain!!' Although they only broke into the top 20, it was a feat nonetheless.
In truth, that success was less about the music being exceptional and more due to the fact that Ichigo Production was also the label for Enfants Terribles. This caused broadcasters to support B-Komachi quite favorably.
And now, as B-Komachi prepared for their comeback, they were staking everything on this album. While AAA had long since established themselves, even achieving results on the Billboard charts, B-Komachi had not yet reached that level.
Considering that the girl group market has the fastest turnover in the industry, B-Komachi absolutely needed to produce meaningful results with this comeback.
However, the six members of B-Komachi—excluding Ai—were dazed as they watched their president, Saito Ichigo, and Hide argue.
"You damn star!!! How are you going to write a song in just two days?! Considering all the factors, the song has to be finished within this week at the absolute latest!"
"Don't you know that idols are essentially selling an image?! You've been in the game long enough, why are you like this?! I have to grasp their image before I can write anything!"
Watching the scene, Ai was covering her mouth with her hand, stifling her laughter. If the other members hadn't been there, she would have burst out laughing.
"You can grasp their image from their previous music!"
"No, I mean, who did you buy those songs from? How am I supposed to grasp an image from those kinds of tracks?!"
Seeing the two men grabbing each other by the collars and arguing, the members of B-Komachi began to worry whether they would even be able to make an album at all.
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"""He... Hello!!!"""
I bowed my head in response to the tense greetings from the B-Komachi members.
"Ah, nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you all from Ai."
To be honest, I had agreed to write a song for B-Komachi, but no particularly good inspiration had come to me. Of course, having grown up in my past life in Korea—where idol groups had essentially swallowed the music industry whole—writing a girl group style song was not a difficult task.
In fact, it could be said it was easier than making a band song. The instinct etched into one's DNA from growing up in the land of K-pop is a terrifying thing. However, since idol groups fundamentally operate by selling an image to the public, I couldn't write a song without seeing their faces. Even though I knew Ai, B-Komachi wasn't a solo act; I couldn't just write based on Ai's image alone.
With those thoughts in mind, I scanned the faces of the seven girls.
'So this is what Ai's coworkers look like?'
Certainly, they lacked the magnetic charisma that pulls people in compared to Ai, who had stars embedded in her eyes. Nevertheless, all five of the others looked like they had enough charisma to be the center of an idol group from a typical major agency.
"Ah... it seems you all are surprisingly unphotogenic. You're all much lovelier in person than in your photos."
After I finished speaking, I felt a faint, sharp gaze from Ai, but I forced myself to ignore it and carefully observed the members' faces and gestures, thinking of their individual characteristics. If a certain level of individual color is a given for an idol, what kind of atmosphere would suit the combination of those colors?
I recalled the many 'innocent concept' groups I had seen in my past life. First off, B-Komachi was far from 'sexy'; instead, they shared a commonality of teenage freshness and purity.
"The atmosphere... you all feel like a first love from one's school days."
"Like a first love...?"
"I mean you all seem like fresh, adolescent girls."
As I spoke with a faint smile, several faces turned red.
And then, I began to assemble all sorts of instrumental sounds in my head. I would bring out their image while adding elements to appeal to the masses, ensuring commercial success.
I began to fit the puzzle pieces that satisfied all these conditions.
Fundamentally, I'd use synthesizers as the base and layer in drum beats. The melody would be lyrical, and the theme of an adolescent girl's unrequited crush would be perfect.
Becoming the subject of an unrequited first love from school days—this was a subject with guaranteed mass appeal.
"La, la, la, la-la-la."
Ah, it's done. Unlike band songs, idol songs use fewer instruments that need to be combined, so they can be made quickly.
"Let's head to the recording studio. I'll leave a demo tape after we finish recording."
"""Whaaaaaaat??!??!!"""
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And so, accompanied by the seven girls, I headed to the recording studio inside the Ichigo Production building. The B-Komachi members seemed bewildered by my actions.
"At least tell us the song's name!"
Ah, was it because of that?
"I think something like 'Cupid' would be appropriate."
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