Chapter 144: Healing Anyway

That night.

Inside the CEO’s studio on the 2nd floor of the dorm.

In this place, which had a better sound environment than Yoon-seo’s room, the CEO, the Team Leader, and Pantheon were gathered.

It was to have a session listening to the title track candidates Yoon-seo had composed.

“Yoon-seo, how much longer do you intend to delay playing it?”

Yet Yoon-seo himself was unable to click the mouse out of nervousness.

Unable to endure the wait, the Demon God was urging him.

“Ugh, just a moment, please.”

“It has already been three minutes, though?”

Even so, it wasn’t as if he had waited that long.

Ha-gyeom held the Demon God back.

“Sun-woo. You can wait for three minutes.”

“It is already complete, so why must we wait again?”

“But hyung.”

Feeling wronged by the Demon God’s firm attitude, Yoon-seo opened his mouth to protest, but in that moment.

“If it is Yoon-seo, he has undoubtedly created a good song. There is no room for doubt. So why must we wait.”

“…….”

At the sudden ambush of trust, Yoon-seo’s parted lips closed on their own.

“It would be nice if you said kind words normally, right?”

“When you look past it, he is actually caring.”

It wasn’t just Yoon-seo; everyone felt the trust embedded in the Demon God’s words.

“I am not? Refrain from insults.”

Seeing the Demon God’s expression turn sullen for some unknown reason, Yoon-seo let out a small laugh.

“Sun-woo hyung, really.”

And with a tap, he clicked the mouse.

[Near Starlight]

Intro.

A sparkling synth arpeggio.

A soft string pad.

The members’ eyes widened.

It was different.

It had a different feel right from the intro compared to their previous songs.

Unlike the faint desolation of [Idolatrize] or the intense sprint of [Crash To You], it was a soft beginning.

And above all, the genre itself was different.

“Retro City Pop?”

Just like Ha-gyeom’s quiet mutter, this song was following the trend.

The easy listening wave that started with girl groups had crossed over to boy groups. And within that, retro sounds were included.

Ha-gyeom nodded as he looked at the youngest.

‘It didn’t have this feel when I heard it before. You put in a tremendous amount of effort, Yoon-seo.’

However, whether it would fit Pantheon, a group that had done exceedingly intense songs, was something they had to listen further to figure out.

Verse 1 proceeded with a groove.

The desert and labyrinth that were the background of [Crash To You].

The members who had been sprinting through it.

Now, they were leisurely walking through a desert in the middle of the night.

Past the Pre-Chorus and reaching the main Chorus, rich synth chords and a disco groove beat unfolded strongly yet sophisticatedly.

In the Bridge, an electric piano and saxophone solo led dramatically but smoothly.

It was definitely a desert, yet firmly City Pop.

To think such a vastly different atmosphere could come from the same background.

Dreamy yet warm.

Above all, sweet.

After the Final Chorus gave off an 80s movie OST feel with orchestra strings, the Outro returned to the same synth arpeggio as the intro, drawing an emotional close.

“…….”

Everyone who heard the song sank into silence for a moment.

It was a tremendous change.

If their previous songs were centered around intensity, this song was centered around groove, to the point of being dreamy.

Pantheon, who had been hotly sprinting across a hot desert, was now leisurely strolling through a night desert.

“The core instruments have completely changed.”

Ha-gyeom, who was skilled with instruments, spoke first.

Retro analog synths, saxophones, bell sounds, and so on.

“The choreography is going to completely change too.”

Tae-young, the main dancer, also nodded.

The feel of the choreography was already coming to mind. It seemed they would use leisurely steps with delicate hand movements and lots of body waves and turns. Making people want to dance.

“The rap too.”

It was the same for Ji-ho, the main rapper.

Instead of the previous forcefully tearing raps, they had to ride the rap funkily yet with a groove.

“That is right. The feel of the outfits will likely change a lot, too.”

Yoon-seo nodded.

Embracing an 80s fashion sensibility, coats or knits in navy, black, and gray came to mind first.

As the members pointed out the changes Yoon-seo’s song brought one by one.

Only the Demon God threw out a single question.

“Are the fans approaching us?”

In this song, instead of sprinting, Pantheon is leisurely walking.

This was something everyone felt.

But the Demon God felt one more thing.

The target Pantheon was going to meet.

Their fans.

Why wasn’t Pantheon sprinting in this song?

Because they had either met the fans or were close to them.

They wouldn’t have stopped except in such cases.

But for fans to be in a desert?

“Does that mean the fans were coming our way too?”

“Yes, we have mutual worship, right?”

At the Demon God’s question, Yoon-seo answered with a wink.

“Heh.”

The Demon God smiled more satisfied than ever before.

Pantheon approaches the hope known as fans, and that hope also approaches Pantheon. Could it be more hopeful than this?

“It is a magnificent song. Both as a song itself, and as our Pantheon’s song.”

The ultimate answer to the question of whether this song suited Pantheon.

It was the optimal song.

It was Pantheon’s song.

“Uwoooah! I can see success again!”

“That is right! CEO!”

With the CEO, the Team Leader, and the ahjusshis letting out a shout to close, the decision was made.

Yoon-seo’s song was chosen as the title track.

.
.

From then on, time was spent showering Yoon-seo with endless affection and praise.

“Yoon-seo, I am so proud of you.”

“We do not know what the reaction will be yet, though.”

“The song itself is a masterpiece. The reaction will be good too.”

“Will, will it be?”

Yoon-seo seemed bewildered.

He had been confident inside, but he didn’t expect the reaction to be this good.

“Yoon-seo, come here! This CEO will give you a hug!”

“Ugh, ugh.”

Feeling that he wouldn’t just use words but might actually smother him with affection, Yoon-seo took a step back.

“How did you finish it? Did Sun-woo really help?”

At Ji-ho’s curious question, Yoon-seo nodded.

“Yes, from the motive to start composing, to Sun-woo hyung’s so-called encouragement in the middle, and even when I was stuck at the end. Talking about it, Sun-woo hyung helped me from beginning to end.”

The Demon God nodded his head vigorously.

“Is that so? My existence has grown you a step further, Yoon-seo.”

“Yes. For some reason, that is true.”

He couldn’t deny it.

It was entirely a fact.

“Is it because there are many intense, unforgettable moments with Sun-woo hyung.”

“If that is the case, it is very easy. I shall make many unforgettable moments for you in the future as well.”

The Demon God’s eyes gleamed.

Reading the ominous mischief held within, Yoon-seo shook his head violently.

Unforgettable wasn’t exactly a good thing.

“N-no, there is no need to do it on purpose!”

“Look forward to it.”

“Ahhh!”

As always, Yoon-seo’s world went dark.

And with that as the final note, the CEO changed the atmosphere.

“Now, now. Since Yoon-seo has finished the title track, we need to hurry the comeback work. It feels late if we are aiming for the end of the year.”

It was already getting chilly when they filmed I Live Alone in Nature.

Usually, a grueling schedule with barely any sleep stretches from comeback preparations through the promotion period. Since they were late, an extremely tough march was anticipated.

Even for Pantheon, who could easily maintain their stamina thanks to the Demon God’s authority, it was a schedule they couldn’t take lightly.

Beside him, Team Leader Oh Dae-ho also nodded.

“Just preparing for the comeback will likely be like that. What should we do about promotions?”

The promotion mentioned here meant the promotion the members had to do, not what the company could handle on its own.

“You mean self-produced content or variety shows? It would be good to appear on one or two public variety shows. Should we just go on one now and show our faces?”

It was more to pave the way rather than a full promotional variety show appearance.

“If we are going to appear, we need to do it soon. Fortunately, there are many variety shows we have been invited to.”

“Right? Thanks to Sun-woo, that is.”

At the mention of his name, the Demon God’s ears perked up.

“Thanks to me? Of course it is all thanks to me, but what do you mean?”

The Team Leader explained simply.

“Sun-woo, you get a lot of casting offers for variety shows.”

“Is that so?”

Recently, variety shows involving idols were mostly centered around self-produced content.

Perhaps because of that, there are frequent cases where idols excel in their own content but struggle when they appear on broadcast variety shows.

Self-produced content caters to everything so their company’s idols can shine, but broadcast variety shows do not need to do that.

But what about the Demon God?

He did his part on variety shows of various concepts, and his chemistry with the Pantheon members was well-received even by the general public.

“If it weren’t for the possibility of causing an accident, we could send him out a lot more.”

“Should we slowly start sending him out more often?”

The CEO and the Team Leader put their heads together and shook them at the same time.

“That is a bit.”

“You are anxious too, right?”

“What is this? What are you talking about?”

To dodge the Demon God’s questioning, the Team Leader pulled out the list of variety shows.

“After filming I Live Alone in Nature last time, we are getting a lot of offers for variety shows heading into nature too. Have a look.”

The Demon God skimmed the list.

There really were quite a few of those kinds of shows.

“How about this one? It is a Relief if You Get a Good Rest. Something like this.”

It is a Relief if You Get a Good Rest.

A variety show with the concept of heading to an island, gathering natural foods, eating them, and healing. The actual point, however, was that the process of gathering and cooking was exhausting.

“Healing. That is a word originally far from me, yet somehow I seem to get entangled with it frequently.”

“You look like you are far from healing, Sun-woo, but you subtly provide healing.”

“Is that an insult?”

“…….”

The Demon God shook his head from side to side.

“I feel I am frequently exposed to insults lately. As much as I am living as a human, my patience has its limits.”

It was patience that couldn’t even wait three minutes for Yoon-seo’s song to play. Reaching its limits was a matter of course.

“Team Leader, it seems I must go on that variety show.”

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“It is a conclusion reached after deep deliberation, however.”

“Well, you made a good decision. When the comeback approaches, we will have to do full-fledged promotional self-produced content and variety shows. Right now, something like this is better.”

Oh Dae-ho put the list away with a light heart.

The production team had said they could be contacted at any time. If they called and accepted, filming wouldn’t take long, and the actual broadcast could be a little later.

However, the Demon God added a single sentence.

“I shall go there and ensure that I never receive offers for a healing program again.”

“Hm?”

Did he hear wrong.

What is he going to do?

“Ensure you receive them?”

“Ensure I do not receive them.”

The Demon God’s purpose was firm.

“Healing? I must cut off any further insults.”

His motive was also firm.

“Team Leader, where are you going? Contact them in front of me and schedule it immediately.”

As always, Oh Dae-ho’s world went dark.

The Demon God possessed a talent for making the future of those around him go dark.

.
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Ultra Nova, Novior’s agency.

In the underground practice room, Novior’s leader, Ian, was fiercely practicing ahead of his solo debut.

“Ian, the variety show has been confirmed.”

One of the manager heads came down and called for Ian.

“That one?”

“Yeah, that one, but-”

The head stopped mid-sentence.

He was looking at Ian’s face.

“Aren’t you overdoing it too much? Your eyes are already hollow.”

“Haha.”

“You can’t collapse once the schedule actually starts. You need to pace yourself now.”

“I know. It is not like it is my first or second time doing this.”

Ian wiped his sweat and returned to the topic of the variety show.

“It is a healing variety show anyway, isn’t it.”

“It is a Relief if You Get a Good Rest, this one? It only wears the mask of healing, everyone knows it is a show that makes you suffer. Oh right, and-”

“?”

The manager head provided one piece of additional information.

“When you appear on it, Ian, Pantheon’s Sun-woo is also coming?”

“Is that so? He is a friend I know well because of Zion.”

After thinking for a moment, Ian said.

“It will truly be a time of healing.”

He had absolutely no idea what kind of time he would be spending with the Demon God.

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