How to sell yourself the right way

“We’re living like dogs!“

For once Bangwon had to agree with Geunji. The rapper had never been prone to adapt to lowly food standards and their current living standards were anything but what he was willing to live like. Good thing his parents were still sending him allowance and so every now and then he was able to go out and eat when he felt like it. And no, he didn’t want to share with the other members.  He didn’t feel close enough to any of them, not that he had tried, but alas the group he ended up with consisted of idiots only. Idiots and one . Actually, Bangwon was wondering why Toby wasn’t doing the same when his parents seemed to be so well-off. But also, that was none of Bangwon’s business and he wasn’t too much interested in his roommate anyway. He was just thankful that Toby brought girls when he wasn’t around so the only thing that Bangwon noticed after the female visits was the stinging sweet scent in the room.

Geunji was still raging as he stabbed his spoon into the bowl of rice that was topped with a single fried egg. Jaekwang had his usual apologetic expression on. The poor soul always blamed himself for the lack of food in the dormitory when it wasn’t his fault at all. Idiot.

“I’ll miss promotions… now that we don’t even have the variety shows left, Taehee won’t feed us extra meals, right?“, Sian asked, his bowl already completely empty. Bangwon pushed his untouched bowl towards the maknae. He wouldn’t eat a single bit of what the others served to him anyway as long as it wasn’t a decent meal. Should the kid eat the dry rice. The maknae blinked at the rapper with big eyes in disbelief but then grabbed the bowl and emptied it just as quick as the first one.

Jongin frowned at the sight of Sian eating Bangwon’s portion as well. “Why aren’t you eating? You even eat less than Jaekwang, that’s not healthy.“, he noticed but Bangwon only shrugged.

“Sian is still a kid. He needs to eat so he can grow.“, he told them and again checked the reactions to the Black Dragon songs on his phone.

It was already December, one month had passed since the group debuted and the reactions to their songs and videos weren’t all that strong. There still were a dozen of comments criticizing the work of the boys.

‚Just another common K-Pop song.‘

‚Nothing special.‘

‚Boring.‘

There were plenty of positive comments as well but to Bangwon only the negative ones mattered. He needed to know how to get better. If the songs he produced now , how would he become a professional producer later then? The chances weren’t all that high to ever achieve his goal if he didn’t improve, so he was looking for every straw he could grab that led him to the right path. And he was constantly on it. When the others were doing extra practices, did something for the makestar project or just relaxed in the dormitory, he was working on new songs. And Toby was, too.

Bangwon could complain as much as he wanted, but Toby’s low-key hatred towards Bangwon had its merits. The younger rapper was in a constant need for competition and Bangwon had multiple times noticed how Toby was working on songs on his own once he found Bangwon on his PC or the music paper again. But the competition from November had weakened with Toby and Jaekwang having to take on extra jobs as models or CF actors, bringing in the only money the group earned when promotions had stopped. Their music didn’t sell well. Sponsors and makestar were the only two sources the group had to pay the production costs of upcoming comebacks, Toby’s and Jaekwang’s extra jobs being the only source of money they got for paying the rent and to buy food. What they needed were new songs. Some digital downloads they could sell to get some extra cash. Black Dragon wasn’t popular. They tended to become a second Arora. And Bangwon wanted to feed the other members more than plain rice, instant noodles and fried eggs. They were idols, not beggars.

The door of the dormitory opened and their manager got in, snowflakes covering his jacket, his hair completely drenched from the melting mass on his head. “Someone help me, please.“, he demanded and Sian and Jongin both quickly rushed over to help him carrying his bags inside.

“Food?!“, Sian asked as so often when Taehee brought heavy bags with him. Taehee was probably the only one of the inhabitants of the dormitory who had a set income and therefore brought food with him sometimes. The maknae’s hopes were crushed and replaced by disappointment, though.

“No, no food.“, Taehee answered and unpacked the bag after taking off the thick jacket. “I had a new idea.“ Great. Because all of Taehee’s ideas had helped them so much. The only ideas that ever helped the group in something were Toby’s and Jaekwang’s before the group debuted but their fountain of ingenuity had dried out right after debut. “Bangtan got some fame thanks to their Bangtan Bomb. I asked the executives if we could do the same and they allowed me to start a similar thing for you guys. So….“ Finally he revealed what was in the bag. Several recording cameras. So they had to record their lives in the dormitory starting now? Yay… “…here you go!“

Three cameras were all they got from the manager but those three were already too many for Bangwon. He was just hoping that the others wouldn’t ask him to actually start recording . No, thanks. He had better stuff to do.

Kangjoon was the first to secure himself one of the cameras. The second was, for whatever reason, Geunji and the third was Toby. How great that the three members that probably turned their livestreams into chaos the most now were in charge of recording.

The stupidity Bangwon was expecting when he was sitting in the living room, working on his song when Kangjoon entered the room with his camera was beaten by the actual unimaginable idiocy of his co-members.

Just a few days after they got their cameras, Kangjoon had turned into a hobby videographer. And it wasn’t pretty. The first time Bangwon couldn’t believe his eyes was when he entered the bathroom, hearing a bunch of guys cackling inside. He had only wanted to brush his teeth and ran into Kangjoon, Sian and Toby posing half- in front of the camera, only towels around their hips, shaking their booties to Sistar’s Touch my Body. The member whose towel went missing first lost. Idiots. Bangwon had closed the door immediately again after irritatedly blinking into the lens of Kangjoon’s camera that the guys had messily installed in the shower.

The second time was during Sian’s studying session. As the youngest member, Sian had not managed to finish school yet and therefore was expected to pass the upcoming exams. The boy was studying in the living room, next to working Bangwon, Jongin helping him as much as possible while Geunji was going through some of his dancing recordings on his camera.

“I can’t do this! Math is too complicated! IT BURNS DOWN MY BRAIN CELLS!“, Sian squealed in frustration and threw all his math sheets up in the air. Bangwon sighed a little as he had to try dividing his sheets from Sian’s math chaos raining on from the ceiling.

“You’re not taking this seriously, that’s the problem!“, Jongin muttered. Whatever motivated him to help Sian, Bangwon could not relate. Teaching Sian math was like trying to teach a monkey to drive a car. It wasn’t impossible but it was a pain in the .

“Why aren’t you trying to learn the mathematical formulas by connecting them to dance? You could invent a choreography and when you need it, just think of the dance.“, Geunji suggested and looked up from his camera’s little display. “You want to try it? I can record it for you.“

Just a little later Sian was really singing and dancing to some formula, Geunji filming him while Jongin and Bangwon could not believe what was happening.

Why was Bangwon only surrounded by fools?

Luckily, even in times like these, Bangwon could count on two people in the world. The first one was Hyunjoo who was giving him a wide smile as always when he entered the coffee shop and got his favorite coffee served by her. The second was his best friend Jibin, who entered just a few minutes later and greeted him with a fist bump.

“It’s been a while!“, Jibin greeted him. His cat-like smile was framed by the strongly bleached hair, the small guy sitting down next to Bangwon. “You’re a real idol now! Congratulation!“

Bangwon just snorted. Real idol. But he was still able to leave the house with no crazy sasaengs following him around. Not that he wanted some. But at least they would have meant that his group was actually gaining a little bit of fame. The only ones being followed around still were Toby and Jaekwang and that was because they had gained popularity even before Black Dragon debuted.

“Yeah. Wow.“, the irony came across Bangwon’s lips. “Did you listen to our songs?“, he wanted to know and Jibin nodded as Hyunjoo joined them again to take his order.

“I did. And the songs didn’t really sound like the stuff you usually write. That’s because that boy… Toby?… he’s working with you, right?“ Hyunjoo left as soon as she took Bangwon’s best friend’s order and Jibin watched her with a grin. “I should visit this place more often, the barista is pretty!“

The Black Dragon rapper rolled his eyes. “So you noticed? I was hoping for your feedback. Everything I get from the internet and fan reactions doesn’t help me further. And Toby is not really a person you can negotiate with.“ Jibin surely would help him out on this one. He always did. Jibin was like the Jesus of production to Bangwon. They had known each other for so long now, starting back then during their days at middle school to their underground times. Jibin was the reason why Bangwon became a rapper, why he wanted to be a producer. The one who had introduced him to the world of hip hop and rapping. And seeing how successful Jibin was now as a YG producer at the age of 24, while Bangwon was still stuck in idol hell, it just hurt his pride. One day he really wished to surpass Jibin, if that was ever possible.

“It’s pretty mainstream. So nothing really outstanding. Maybe that’s your problem.“, his best friend told him. “I see that Toby heavily influences your work but it’s more like you two work against each other and that takes away from how great your songs could be. I noticed that the weaknesses you usually have in writing songs are less showing… but the songs turn out overly mainstream now. Seems like your co-writer is more into strict training routines than actual creativity.“ That was exactly what Bangwon was thinking about Toby as well. Toby was an outstanding rapper when it came to technique only. He had the flow, he had the skills… but his writing wasn’t great. His lyrics were lacking soul. And so were his compositions. “He’s younger than you, right? Give him some time. Kimchi gets better over time, too.“

“So what do you suggest me to do? We still have to write songs… and waiting for Toby to mature isn’t really an option, you know that.“ Everything Bangwon got until now was Jibin telling him the obvious. What he needed was hearing what he wasn’t able to see. Something new. Something that helped.

“Your current problem is that your group is not outstanding. And, sorry to say that but it’s the truth, lacking in variety skills. If we add, that next to a monster group like BTS…. yeah, chances aren’t all that high to get more popular than them. I’d suggest you to go all the way experimental. If Netizens are complaining about your song being too mainstream and boring, then do something they don’t expect. Something nobody would expect.“ Jibin was intensely looking at Bangwon. That was the Jibin that knew his . The Jibin that produced hits like Hello es or Jinusean’s Tell me one more time. “The advantage you have is freedom, Bangwon. You should take the opportunity when given. Write a song, go crazy with it. It’s not going to be your next Comeback anyway. Just write it, ask your choreographer to create a decent dance to it and then that’s all you need. Drop it at the world. Nowadays all you need are two things. Decent beats and a choreography that motivates fans to cover the stuff you produce. And idols, of course. But that’s to make it big. Not to make it just decent. What you need though is something decent.“

Bangwon was exhaling slowly, looking into the black depths of his coffee. Being experimental. Then what Jibin was saying was to show the world that he didn’t give a single about what they were thinking of him? That was something he could work with. But making the others cooperate with him was a different story. “There’s Toby, though. How will I manage to write a song alone when Toby’s there to sabotage me all the time?“

Jibin chuckled. “Toby’s interfering in song-writing and choreographing, right?“, he said and leaned back. “The only person you need to convince is the main choreographer. He has to work with you first. Then you ask the others. Six against one won’t make it easy for Toby to go against you. And from what I saw so far Toby loves to be the center of attention. Give him the center position and he won’t complain too much. If that doesn’t help, come up with something else.“

“Why do you know so much about us?“, Bangwon wondered, speechless of what kind of information Jibin knew about Black Dragon.

His friend again just laughed. “Oh Bangwon, my love. I am the most loyal TREASURE out there.“ Treasure? What was he talking about? The rapper looked at his friend with confusion showing on his face, Jibin frowning and then laughing even more about his reaction. “Jesus, you don’t know the fanclub name of your own fandom? It’s TREASURE! And yeah, I did my research! Because I’m your biggest fan!“

“That’s a lie, I am.“, Hyunjoo argued immediately when she reached the two guys and served Jibin’s order.

Jibin looked up at her and nudged Bangwon. “Ooooooh, say what. You can totally start your own fandom, Batman.“

Jibin’s plan was working perfectly. The song was quickly written once Bangwon felt the goddess of inspiration smiling down on him. And to his surprise, Geunji was very easily to convince to work for him. Geunji’s loyalty towards Toby wasn’t all too strong and the choreographer was more than thankful to work on a choreography without the half-Korean member constantly interfering with his work. The rest of the group was easily won over as well… except for Kangjoon and even Sian.

“I’ll only agree if Toby says yes.“

Kangjoon’s statement had been strong enough to shut Bangwon from asking further and Sian’s reaction was a very insecure shake of his head and the words ‚I… don’t feel like I can make a decision like this. Ask Toby first‘.

It was three against four… still the majority but Bangwon knew that Jaekwang would give in the moment Toby started arguing and he wasn’t sure how much he could count on Jongin. If it was just him and Geunji against Toby and Kangjoon things wouldn’t look great for him. So Bangwon tried to approach Toby very cautiously.

Toby was sitting on his bed, paper spread everywhere as he was scribbling some more tunes on them, lyrics everywhere. Bangwon could read the line ‚E-O-E-O Blow the siren for me‘ somewhere.

“Hey Toby, can I ask you something?“, he tried.

“Hm?“ The other rapper looked up and raised a single eyebrow.

Okay. How was Bangwon supposed to address the control freak over there now? If he told him straight that he and Geunji were collaborating, then Toby would kick his verbally. So… how should he proceed?

“I was thinking about a B-Side track for the album. And that is what I came up with so far. I’d really like to keep it that way so I was wondering if it was okay for you if each of us produces a song on their own?“, he said and handed Toby the sheets of what he had come up with. Toby grabbed the paper and flew over it shortly.

The boy went through the lyrics before he looked up again. “You even wrote the line-distribution already?“, he wondered. Yes, Bangwon did. And Toby must have also noticed that he was dominating in the song a lot.

“Yes, I did. I thought we could ask Geunji for a choreography maybe. I can’t choreograph… so it would be some kind of collaboration between me and Geunji and you get entire freedom for your  own track.“ The others would slap his face for making this deal with Toby. But Bangwon was more afraid of Geunji punching his face if he failed convincing Toby to agree with what he came up with. If Toby decided to work on the choreography as well, all the work Geunji already had put into it was worth nothing. To Bangwon this sounded fair.

Toby nodded. “Alright.“, he said and handed Bangwon the the sheets back. “If I get my own production, then you get your chance for this one, too.“

Bangwon perplexedly stared at Toby. That… was easy. Maybe even too easy.

 

author notes

You might be thinking now "What the hell, why is she updating every single day?!". My answer: I dunno XD Now that I'm back having some free time, the urge to write is so big... I even contemplated if I should really update or not... my decision was... I'll update until creativity leaves me again and throw everything at you, no matter how short it is, so you've got stuff to read until there's like a 6-month break again xD I'm so sorry about how I manage my writing timing... 
Anyway...  I hope you enjoyed getting to know Jibin, Bangwon's better half. Next one on the list is Toby!

“ the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”