Chapter 87: Go Higher (4)

Before meeting with President Lee Yoo Min, Do Wook had suggested to the KK members and Manager Oh Baek Ho about trying hip hop unit activities.

The type of hip hop unit Do Wook was thinking of had Kim Won and Jung Yoon Ki as the main members, and featured Ahn Hyung Seo or Do Wook.

Do Wook couldn’t help but tread carefully when speaking.

A unit activity, like individual activities, could mess up the overall balance of the team.

It was also possible that the members not included in the hip hop unit would feel alienated.

Also, the determination of members included in the hip hop unit was incredibly important.

“Wow, Do Wook is working again!”

As soon as Do Wook finished talking, Ahn Hyung Seo was astonished about it. The other members shook their heads.

There didn’t seem to be any complaints about the member composition, which was the part he had worried about.

“It’s a unit activity and not an official activity, so it’s an opportunity to show the KK members have this side to them too. We can slowly…”

Ahn Hyung Seo laughed, thinking Do Wook anxiously explaining was funny.

Feeling that the members’ reactions were not positive, Do Wook quickly added,

“If you all think it’d be too difficult…”

He had absolutely no intention to cause other people hardship over his greed. Kim Won interrupted and said,

“Bro, I’m okay*. I’m fine. And it made me want to try it as soon as I heard it.”

(TL Note: this part is said in English)

Do Wook’s expression immediately became brighter.

“The problem is you overworking.”

Do Wook was about to say “Don’t worry about it” in response to what Kim Won said, but Jung Yoon Ki interrupted.

“I’m all for it too. It’s definitely a good plan for me and Won.”

“Right?!”

“Thank you for thinking of it. But I have a condition, man.”

“A…condition?”

Jung Yoon Ki’s ‘condition’ was very unusual. It wasn’t a discussion that usually happened between members. Slightly nervous, Do Wook listened to what Jung Yoon Ki’s condition was.

“Will you be producing the album, Do Wook?”

“Yes. If by any chance you don’t like that…”

“No, I’m fine with that part. There’s no producer that knows us as well as you do. But we’ll write the lyrics, all the parts, the entire song.”

That was Jung Yoon Ki’s condition.

Jung Yoon Ki wanted to lessen Do Wook’s burden even just a little. Do Wook was grateful for Jung Yoon Ki stepping up and saying they’d do the lyrics.

“Hip hop is my specialty.”

He was right.

Do Wook had thought to better utilize other members’ talents for this album anyways.

It was a relief the two of them didn’t see this plan as an annoyance, but enthusiastically saw it as an opportunity.

“Of course. You’re more knowledgeable than I am.”

Jung Yoon Ki smiled brightly at what Do Wook said. Kim Won was also fired up.

“I think it’d be good if you guys were involved in not just writing the lyrics but also from the concept all the way to the song selection.”

“Sure, man. We need to try it too so we can get better.”

Jung Yoon Ki and Kim Won were proactive about it since it was an album that had them as the focus.

If it were Jung Yoon Ki, who had been on a fairly steady track, and Kim Won, who had been working on polishing his skills, working together, it’d be enough. There was no need for Do Wook to carry all the burden by himself like when he produced KK’s second full-length album by himself.

“I have a condition as well.”

Everyone looked at Manager Oh Baek Ho with a puzzled look when he suddenly spoke.

It was actually Oh Baek Ho who had gathered all the members. Because Do Wook had brought up the topic first since everyone was gathered anyway, It became a meeting about doing a unit album.

“Schedule-wise, if we were to make a hip hop unit album, you’ll have to prepare for at least 2 months, right?”

“Yes…most likely,”

Do Wook responded to Oh Baek Ho’s question.

“Then let’s do what the company says for one week next week and then go into preparations.”

“Wow. Do Wook has more events scheduled? Our company really is demandi –”

Manager Oh Baek Ho raised one eyebrow when Ahn Hyung Seo got riled up.

“Not just Do Wook but all of you.”

“Huh?”

“What…what is it?”

Park Tae Hyung, who thought there were no activities scheduled other than preparing for the concert and the occasional large festivals, asked, a little surprised.

“You get a vacation for one week.”

“Huh?”

“To Guam.”

The members’ jaws dropped.

“You guys haven’t had a break in over a year. The company is sending you on an all-expense paid vacation to Guam so you can rest properly. It’s like a reward vacation.”

“Is that true?”

Jung Yoon Ki asked as he swallowed hard.

“Why would I lie? And if we gave you a vacation in Korea, you wouldn’t be able to really rest. Go to Guam for about 4 days and go home for the other 2 days.”

“Oh my gosh!”

Kim Won yelled with a voice full of joy.

Do Wook also nodded his head over how thoughtful the company was being. Both people’s conditions were out of consideration for Do Wook.

After discussing it further with Album Production Team Leader Shim Joon and Production Director Kwon Heung Jo, KK’s hip hop unit album activities that Do Wook planned were decided.

Director Kwon Heung Jo even told them he only saw this album as something that would diversify their music color and help their skills grow, so they didn’t have to work too hard on it.

It wasn’t something easy to say for a company whose goal was to generate revenue.

However, Director Kwon’s calculation that there would be no deficit since Do Wook and KK members already had a certain amount of popularity was also an underlying factor.

Regardless, he meant that they didn’t have to put too much pressure on themselves.

The album announcement was planned for two months later. They decided to do activities such as music broadcasts for one week so that it wouldn’t overlap with events like the concert or the award ceremony.

As for fan service, they only planned to do one or two fan autograph sessions.

The name for the hip hop unit was decided as ‘OKAY’. They decided on that name because it had the initials from Kim Won (One)’s ‘O’ and Jung Yoon (Yoon) Ki’s ‘Y’ as well as the letter K from KK.

The meaning and vibe from the word ‘Okay’ was good too.

The idea for the unit name came from Suk Ji Hoon. The other KK members who weren’t the focus of the album also readily stepped up to help the hardworking members with miscellaneous things.

***

While the discussions were progressing little by little, Do Wook met with Yoo Sung Fashion President Lee Yoo Min.

And he brought up KK’s hip hop unit OKAY to Yoo Sung Fashion President Lee Yoo Min.

They didn’t have a concrete plan.

“A hip hop unit….that’s fun.”

“We wanted to try something different.”

“What I wanted to work with you on was actually to revamp our brand image.”

President Lee Yoo Min brought up the details first.

Since Yoo Sung Fashion also had multiple brands under them, someone on a Department Assistant Manager or Manager level who dealt with projects usually came up with the proposal, planned out the project, and recruited models, not someone on the level of President.

The standard work President Lee Yoo Min did was giving them a general direction and leading the project.

However, President Lee Yoo Min would step up once in a while and come up with specific projects. She lived up to her reputation as the President who gave new life to Yoo Sung Fashion’s brands.

The plan she came up with after seeing Do Wook was one such example.

“I’m not sure if you know but there’s a brand called ‘7 days’ in our SPA brand.”

“I’m aware.”

It was a brand that Yoo Sung Fashion quickly prepared and launched once the SPA brand gained strength in foreign countries.

They hadn’t been around for long, but riding on the back of a large company like Yoo Sung Fashion, they were getting their name known through die-hard fans.

“We’ve been expanding our stores with Seoul as the focus since last year, and our goal is entering the global market of course. “

Do Wook took a sip of water as he listened to what President Lee Yoo Min was saying.

“But it’s been hard trying to make it stand out from the other SPA brands. It doesn’t have a concrete brand image yet either. So I was thinking of making you the face of ‘7 days’.”

What President Lee Yoo Min brought up was very enticing.

Being the face of a brand was a huge deal. Even though it was new, it was a Yoo Sung Fashion brand.

“I think a young but not too light image would go absolutely perfect with our brand. I came up with it while watching the Rendez-vous project. I think I also heard that you guys are doing well in the Chinese market these days…”

“Thank you for thinking favorably of us,”

Do Wook politely thanked her. President Lee Yoo Min saw Do Wook’s reaction and laughed. She could see why her brother thought highly of Do Wook.

It was already near the end of the course meal.

“It’s hip hop…there isn’t a ton of cussing, is there?”

“Of course not,”

Do Wook quickly answered President Lee Yoo Min’s provoking question.

“Are you saying you want to do a collab with our 7 days and KK’s hip hop unit?”

“I didn’t necessarily have that brand in mind, but since we forged this relationship it’d be a huge help if we got to work with you.”

It wasn’t a bad option for President Lee Yoo Min either. She would have to tell the strategic planning team to analyze it before getting into the details.

President Lee Yoo Min answered readily,

“Ok, sure! I don’t think a young image would be bad. You’re there, so I’ll trust you with the other stuff.”

“Ah…Thank you.”

“KK wll give us a positive image, we will heavily promote KK along with the brand. As you said, I hope this will grow into a strong relationship.”

Do Wook nodded his head.

President Lee Yoo Min’s ruby ring sparkled on her finger. Do Wook hoped this partnership would turn into something valuable like that ring.

***

The faces of the KK members, who returned from their reward vacation in Guam, were all tanned. The members had laughed together, had talked together, and had relaxed together as they recharged. They focused again on their shared dream.

During this time, Do Wook’s mind also had a moment to relax.

He’d continue to work hard, but it was an opportunity to look back at the year that he had spent charging forward only focused on revenge like a rhinoceros charging with its horn.

He started to think about how he wanted to live his life as the current Kang Do Wook.

Of course there was the uncertainty of not knowing when something might happen to his soul or the timeline, so he couldn’t think about it too deeply.

As the clear autumn weather continued, KK’s hip hop unit ‘OKAY’ entered the latter stages of album production.

A tracklist with a total of 3 songs was made.

The title song ‘Go High’ featured Do Wook.

One song featured Ahn Hyung Seo, and one song was solely Kim Won and Jung Yoon Ki rapping.

For the week-long activities, Do Wook and Ahn Hyung Seo would take turns performing.

As the promotion went in full swing in anticipation of the album sales, the response from young people of the idol fandom and even the hip hop scene was intense.

Yoo Sung Fashion’s ‘7days’ design team was in charge of all of OKAY’s styling, and OKAY became models for the new line ‘7 days’ that was launching.

Furthermore, along with the comeback for OKAY, they planned on having OKAY’s songs play in all of the ‘7 days’ stores and national TV advertisements.

Sa Bang Shin Hwa’s comeback was also scheduled.

—