CH24
Winter hiatus season, a cruel time for drama viewers, has begun.
Mid-November, right before Thanksgiving, "Invisible Children" ended its episode with the main characters surrounded by adults from a gang, entering a long winter break.
-HMO! Are you not going to release the next episode now?! Release it quickly before Thanksgiving turkey!
└Why are you so mad? It happens every year.
└It happens every year, and that's exactly why I'm mad!
└Oh, shit!
-Will one of the kids die in the next episode? It looked too dangerous.
└I think Noah might die.
└Shut up! If Noah really dies, you're the second person I'm coming after!
└Second?
└First is the production team.
They received a lot of complaints.
However, the production teams preferred it, as these complaints would become the driving force to overcome the long two-month hiatus.
Not all drama-related personnel enjoyed a happy holiday like the production team of "Invisible Children."
Most dramas had been airing for more than a month, and by this point, the outline for the next season was emerging.
-CBO, aged works, and plummeting ratings.
-Strip Club Boy, with its provocative theme, ended prematurely at episode 4.
-HMO, "Invisible Children" Season 2 must air.
The season when broadcasters and producers cry and laugh over the clear result called ratings brought significant changes to Ian's life as well.
"How about it? It's going to be our home, isn't it great?!"
In front of the two-story house, Dylan spoke excitedly like a child.
How about it? Isn't it great? Ian cheered thumbs up, with sparkling eyes.
"Wow! It's really great!"
It truly was great.
A two-story house in Beverly Hills. It was surprising how they managed to get it, especially since it hadn't even been a year since their condo had sold well.
"Wasn't it expensive?"
"Ayla's help was crucial. She helped us get a good deal on a house that went to auction."
Even in a recession, houses in good areas usually don't go to auction and are traded, which shows how bad the US real estate situation was.
Of course, even if it was an auction, a Beverly Hills single-family home wouldn't have been cheap…
"It must have been expensive even at auction."
"True. Without her help in getting a loan, we couldn't have bought it."
The financial crisis was caused by indiscriminately granted real estate loans, to the extent that home equity loans were issued in pet names.
Banks, having suffered greatly, were hesitant about home equity loans, so without Ayla, they wouldn't have gotten the loan.
'I've received too much help.'
It wasn't that he wasn't grateful for the easy help from her.
Thinking to repay her later, they entered the house, feeling a sense of emptiness.
"Haha, it's quite empty, right? It felt a bit odd to bring over our old furniture. We'll fill it up slowly."
"That sounds good!"
It would be better than bringing over all the old, shabby furniture.
Touring the interior, decorated with luxurious marble and wood, and going up to the roof terrace, they saw a familiar car entering the house.
The girl who got out of the car smiled at the terrace above.
"Ian!"
Rachel waved her hands, seemingly very happy to be living in the same area.
As she went downstairs, the girl who had been looking around the house came running up excitedly.
Her expression was a mix of anticipation and shyness.
It wasn't just a look one would have simply because they had moved in, and this question was soon answered.
"I finished it!"
"Finished?"
"Yeah! The song you asked for. I finally completed it!"
"You finished it already?"
He hadn't expected her to bring the finished product so soon.
Having dabbled in composing music himself, even just at a level to earn some pocket money, he knew all too well how difficult composing could be.
-My ears are rotting! Do you call this a song? If you're not going to pay for my hospital bills, get rid of it now!
The vivid memories of how much nagging he had endured from such a peculiar person.
"Can I take a listen?"
"Just a moment."
Rachel took out an MP3 player and handed over the earphones, and soon music began to flow through them.
A simple melody with playful sounds that tickled the ears, followed by a pleasant falsetto.
-See you anytime. Any time. I'm waiting for you. only you~
Ian's eyes widened in surprise as he turned his head. Ayla was smiling and shrugged her shoulders.
It was unbelievable.
To think that Rachel had gotten pop star Ayla Olson, who boasts a huge fandom, to do a guide recording.
She must be the only person in the world bold enough to undertake such a ridiculed action.
It was a teen pop song filled with the sweet innocence of wanting to see someone at any time, and the catchy chorus,
"Any time," lingered in the ears.
As the song ended, Rachel looked anxious, but Ian smiled broadly at her.
"It's really good!"
"Really?"
"But the guide recording is so perfect, I'm not sure if I can do it justice."
Everyone would probably think the same upon hearing it; the song suited Ayla's voice so well.
Feeling the pressure to perform, Ian expressed his concerns, but Rachel firmly responded.
"It's meant for Ian to sing. It's a song that will showcase your voice most beautifully."
"She said that to me too. She wouldn't even give me a chance to butt in, even after making a guide recording. As if saying something nice would cost her."
Ayla, who had approached unnoticed, looked slightly annoyed as she looked down at her daughter.
Regardless, Rachel, paying no mind, clung to Ian's arm.
"Let's go record it now! I can't wait to hear you sing it."
"Right now?"
"Yes!"
Ian was practically kidnapped by Rachel.
***
The control room, filled with various buttons and rotary dials on the console and mixer, with numerous cables connected, had a complex recording program running on the monitor.
Rachel watched the recording booth from behind the glass in the control room, where Ian, adjusting the microphone stand to his height and clearing his throat, could be seen.
"I finally got to see the boy Rachel always sang about in person."
"Sorry for calling you out of the blue."
Ayla apologized to the engineer, who had worked with her for a long time, but he waved his hand.
"I would have been disappointed if you hadn't called. To hear a song that Ayla Olson passed up? When else would I get such an opportunity?"
"Tony, if you don't want to be kicked out, let's just get started."
"Yes, ma'am."
He smiled playfully and offered the headphones to Rachel as Ian seemed about ready to start, but then she asked, "Can we listen through the speakers instead?"
"Through the speakers?"
Listening was possible, but playing it through the speakers could risk the recording not being done properly.
Before the engineer could respond, Ayla took the initiative.
"Turn it on through the speakers."
"If that's what you want. Alright."
After changing the settings, Tony spoke to Ian through the microphone.
"We're about to start recording. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I'm ready."
Tony was surprised by the response.
It was a mature, smooth falsetto, different from the greeting earlier.
He wondered if he had heard correctly.
"Please take care of me."
He had heard right.
Puzzled, Tony started the song.
It was a track he had heard several times while making Ayla's guide recording.
The song started, and it was of such high quality that one might doubt a girl had completed it.
As Ian began to sing,
-See you anytime. Any time~
It was different.
Even though the lyrics were the same as Ayla's, the feeling was completely different.
The sweet falsetto revived faded memories into fresh recollections.
As the adults were deeply immersed in the song, Rachel blinked in awe.
"Wow…"
The Milky Way.
It flowed through the speakers like a river of milk, named for the Milky Way.
Rachel playfully rolled her feet as if splashing in it would cause stars to burst out like droplets of water.
The girl pretending to splash in the intangible Milky Way looked up.
The song abruptly ended.
"Was it okay?"
Caught up solely in the music, Tony turned to Ayla and asked,
"What's with him?"
"He's an actor, you know. You said you were enjoying the performance, too."
"I can't help but feel like the acting industry has stolen one of our talents. So, what are we doing with this song?"
Tony, wondering if Ian was going to sign with a label, heard Ayla say calmly,
"They're putting it on YouTube."
"…On YouTube?"
"And anonymously at that. Just the song, nothing else."
The song had dredged up embarrassing first love memories, making his cochlea curl inwards, it seemed.
Hearing this absurdity, he asked again,
"I heard you correctly, right? Say it again, please."
"They're posting it anonymously on YouTube."
"My goodness."
Tony slapped his forehead.
"Should I be looking for a new job? My singer seems to have lost the mind."
Being part of such a crazy plan, Tony laughed dryly and fiddled with the equipment.
A few days later,
A song named 'Any Time,' with no promotion whatsoever, was simply uploaded to YouTube.
***
Amidst the adorable dragons, a cute dragon wriggled and flew around.
The animation was so well-made that it immediately struck one as adorable, and Melody halted at a certain scene.
A dragon with golden scales fluttered and flew around.
"That's Raul, who you'll be playing. Is that okay?"
"He's cute. I'll definitely buy it if it comes out as merchandise."
It looked like something Rachel would enjoy receiving as a gift.
'Or not. Maybe she wouldn't like it.'
Since it seemed like she was always competing with this animation.
Melody smiled softly and placed five scripts on the table.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all this effort. We got approvals in five languages."
English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.
In the end, the dubbing was decided to be in these five languages.
"Don't be too disappointed. It's not at all because of a lack of talent on your part, and this is already a huge achievement."
The cost of producing an animation that would be shown in theaters was no joke.
Melody couldn't ignore the complex web of interests involved.
'With five languages, we should be able to achieve sufficient promotional effect and also need to consider relationships with voice actors from other countries.'
After all, no country likes it when foreigners intrude on their turf.
"It's amazing that it passed in five languages. And I would have disliked it if they asked me to record more because of my 'lacking' skills, saying it was for promotion."
"Thanks for understanding."
Melody smiled broadly, relieved by the decision, and shared some news she had heard.
"I heard that you're incredibly popular in Korea. They accepted it right away, saying it would help with the box office."
"That's nice to hear."
Ian remembered Caitlin, the showrunner, telling him that the rights income from "Invisible Children" was also proactive.
"And the Japanese outsourcing company said they'd cover your dubbing fees, so they accepted."
"Really? I guess that makes sense since I heard voice actors in Japan don't get paid much and often have to work part-time jobs."
It was known that most voice actors in Japan couldn't make enough to sustain themselves and had to juggle part-time jobs.
"But the most interesting response was from China."
"Why?"
"They said that since you're so good at Chinese from such a young age, you must definitely have Chinese ancestry."
Ian laughed lightly.
Even when he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, there were comments in China suggesting that despite his facial features being blurred, he seemed to have Chinese ancestry.
"Hope that doesn't bother you?"
"It's meant as a compliment. No reason to be upset about it."
With the mood lightened by the conversation, Ian hugged the final version of the script.
"Let's get to recording then."
As Ian entered the recording booth, a song began to flow out.
It was destined to be more addictive than the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Indians," a goal solely for this song as it began to be recorded.
TL/n -
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Chaebol up to Chapter 55+
An Investor Who Sees Future up to Chapter 53+
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