NOVEL NEXT Chapter 47
EnsonGT Main Building 6th Floor, SM Headquarters Recording Studio.
After being out of contact and avoiding appearances for a while, I visited the recording studio after receiving a call from Chae-young.
“Hey, you’re here?”
“What’s the matter? Lately, you haven’t been coming to the office.”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to come, but I couldn’t because of work.”
“Anyway, why did you call me here?”
In response to that question, Chae-young slightly turned the monitor to show me.
“The final version of the trailer’s OST arrived this morning.”
“Oh, really? How is it? Did it turn out well?”
“Just listen to it once, and you’ll understand the feeling.”
“Alright.”
At my question, Chae-young nodded and played the song.
After the familiar dubstep introduction, the base and drum sounds began, with a graceful male vocal leading the song.
Even amidst the avant-garde accompaniment and orchestration, K’s singing prowess stood out.
‘This is the skill of a top-tier vocalist…?’
Certainly, it was worth it to have pleaded with Chae-young last time.
Of course, the cost was a bottle of expensive liquor that I cherished.
“It’s better than I imagined…?”
At my straightforward and honest review, Chae-young burst into laughter, as if she had expected it.
“Isn’t it? Even though he seems a bit aloof, his singing skills are undeniably amazing.”
“Rather, I’m worried that the quality of the song might overshadow the trailer video.”
“Rather, isn’t that a good thing? If it spreads among fans, we can get free additional publicity.”
“That’s true.”
With the avant-garde accompaniment subtly echoing in the background, Chae-young opened a new can of beer.
“So, when is the trailer supposed to be released?”
“Since the trailer video production is about 70% complete, it will probably be no later than August or September, but since October is the second anniversary of Girls’ Memorial, it’s been decided to release it then to avoid overlap.”
“We still have a few more months, right?”
“Right.”
“Alright, I’ll contact you when needed. I’ll send the audio files.”
“Sure, whatever.”
Once the OST ended, Chae-young waved her hand to shoo me out of the recording studio.
“Next time you come, bring some snacks to the tea room, you old burn.”
***
One day in October, after the grand festival of Chuseok had passed.
Jae-hyun, sitting in front of his computer, was immersed in anticipation.
The reason was that the release of the Project RA trailer, which was scheduled for release, was just around the corner.
There was only 30 minutes left until the release.
Jae-hyun opened the BigSib website, where his pictures were uploaded, while waiting for the trailer release.
A spectacular display of images spread across the monitor.
When I switched the sorting to ‘Recommended’, the first post at the top revealed the drawing of the Resistance Leader that I had created.
Literally, it was the number one recommendation.
Achieving the feat of being the first to upload a high-quality drawing at the time of the teaser image release,
As a reward, I consistently benefited whenever Project RA-related information was released.
‘Thank you, EnsonGT…’
Of course, being number one on BigSib didn’t yield any monetary gain or financial benefit…
But at least it felt good.
Checking the steadily increasing recommendations again ahead of the trailer release, I happily accessed the Project RA gallery.
The gallery, created by a hero who paid tribute with dumplings, was bustling with people like Jae-hyun, eagerly anticipating Project RA.
[Nickname: Anonymous]
[Title: Holy crap, the Project RA trailer is out ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[SD-deformed ‘Leader’ meme]
Is it really out? xD xD xD xD
[Comment List][Registration Order]
-Drive out the scammers
-Damn, I wanna kill them xD xD
[Nickname: MobileNick]
[Title: So, what genre do you think Project RA will be?]
[Project RA Teaser Image]
Honestly, with a mobile apocalypse background, it’s either going to be RPG or FPS, right?
Making a casual game with this kind of background would be unlikely, isn’t it? xD
Personally, I’d prefer it to be a defense game.
[Comment List][View Order]
-Might be a strategy sim surprisingly
-That’s probably too much for smartphone screens, honestly
[Nickname: MinesTea]
[Title: Things I hope will appear in this trailer]
1. In-game battle scene
2. ‘Leader’ name
3. ‘Leader’s past
4. Other characters
Honestly, while ‘Leader’ is compelling, the quality of the Resistance members behind him is impressive too.
I hope they release more information about them.
And it seems they all have different weapons, maybe they’re planning to divide them by classes?
[Comment List][View Order]
-Honestly, it’s not a PC game, so isn’t that impossible? xD
-RLF xD
Enjoying the posts that came up on the gallery, the trailer release time soon approached.
Once the scheduled release time arrived, one post appeared on the gallery.
[Nickname: Anonymous]
[Title: Not lying, really, the trailer is out!!!!!!!!!!]
{Video link with a red icon}
I just posted it right away, so I’m heading to watch it too.
[Comment List][Registration Order]
-Ha ha ha
-I’m going to watch it ㄱㄷ
Like the comments, Jae-hyun clicked the video link as if enchanted and moved to the trailer video.
As the video started,
It began with avant-garde dubstep accompaniment and showed a ruined city.
Henrietta, standing in the middle of the ruined city’s road with her eyes closed.
The moment Henrietta opened her closed eyes, the main OST began with a sharp bass noise.
The harmony of bass and drums.
In between, a vocal voice that couldn’t be matched by any instrument added richness to the OST.
Henrietta disappeared, and the screen changed.
First, it showed young Henrietta and the exit of the underground city.
[The feeling is coming. The fire is spreading. There’s a whispering voice in my heart─.]
As the OST proceeded, the scene moved to two adults who appeared to be Henrietta’s parents being dragged away.
[Impostors and leaders, pull towards your fears to dilute them─.]
Next, the scene of a cremation site in the underground city, and the unique pendant held in the hand of a crying young Henrietta.
[Keep breathing. Don’t lose consciousness. When the storm comes, act according to the plan─.]
As avant-garde accompaniment blended with bass, electric guitar, and drums, the OST reached its highlight.
[Parents, siblings, neighbors, put your feet in front of your eyes and incite a riot─ don’t stay quiet!]
Along with the breaking news of a riot happening and bloodstains visible everywhere.
Once again, the screen showed the destroyed cities.
This time, it was filled with chaos caused by the underground city resistance’s riot.
Bang─.
Henrietta’s axe shattered the helmet and head of the last remaining policeman.
[If you’re losing your goal and drifting, it’s okay to hold on to me. We can reach beyond that─.]
After the riot ended, Henrietta and the Resistance gathered in the middle of the road.
As if blessing the success of the riot, the snowstorm that had been raging began to subside.
As the OST also began to die down, it seemed like the video was about to end,
Crunch─.
Crunch Crunch─.
The sound of footsteps on the snow was heard.
The pace was consistent, but judging from the sound, it wasn’t a single person but multiple people.
The moment Henrietta noticed the approaching sound,
Click─.
The sound of a gun being loaded was heard, and the screen went black.
At the same moment,
[Last Arcadia]
The title appeared and the video ended.
***
Jae-hyun, who had watched the entire video, couldn’t say a word.
‘What did I just see…?’
The impact of this trailer was beyond that of Girls’ Memorial.
It might be because the concept was completely opposite to the refreshing concept of Girls’ Memorial.
However, the shock was not just due to the concept.
First, the quality of the trailer.
The quality was akin to watching an animation that topped a season, leaving him in awe.
Especially since Jae-hyun had some knowledge of art, it was even more impressive for him.
Secondly, the vocalist who participated in the OST.
It was a voice he had heard many times before, and after pondering for a moment, Jae-hyun quickly realized whose voice it was.
Kei Ishida.
Even someone like Jae-hyun, who didn’t listen to J-pop often, could instantly recognize such a famous singer.
One of the top three vocalists in Japan at the moment.
And they were using such a singer for just a game trailer OST?
‘I guess EnsonGT must have earned a lot of money through Girls’ Memorial…’
In reality, even with a lot of money, it wouldn’t be easy to hire someone of Kei’s stature,
But, not knowing much about the music industry, Jae-hyun simply thought ‘they must have earned a lot of money’ and opened the Bluebird.
[Trending]
1. Last Arcadia
2. Ishida Kei
3. Ishida Kei’s New Song
4. EnsonGT
5. Ishida Kei’s New Song Title
As expected, there was a lot of talk about Ishida Kei alongside the trailer.
It seemed that the singer, who had been on hiatus, had drawn attention by suddenly singing the OST for a game trailer.
‘Well, this isn’t something I need to worry about.’
Looking at the monitor, he took out his long-prepared LCD tablet and connected it again.
Because his hands started to itch with the pure desire to create, not for earning money as he hadn’t done for a long time.
Who should I draw this time? The three resistance members who assisted Henrietta?
Or perhaps Henrietta’s mother who briefly appeared?
After contemplating for a moment, he finally decided and picked up the tablet pen.
‘Of course, it has to be young Henrietta.’