Peninsula: It’s just a dream, are you serious?

Chapter 320 Apink (3000 words)
After parking his car in a roadside spot, Chen Yan opened the door, got out, and walked into the ACUBE building.

After greeting the company's receptionist, I took the elevator to the floor where ACUBE's music department was located.

The elevator doors opened, and the female assistant who had just spoken with the receptionist was already waiting there. Upon seeing Chen Yan, she immediately bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Chen PDnim."

"Hello."

"The head of the department is waiting for you in his office. Please come with me."

Chen Yan nodded and followed the female assistant to the door of the department head's office. The female assistant raised her hand and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

The female assistant pushed open the door and gestured for Chen Yan to come in.

Inside the office, Director Cui, who had signed the contract with Chen Yan last time, immediately stood up with a smile to greet Chen Yan as he entered.

"Haha, we meet again, Chen Yanxi."

Chen Yan reached out and shook hands with Chief Cui's outstretched hand: "Hello, Chief Cui."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two got straight to the point.

“I took Chen Yanxi to the conference room. The Apink members are already here.”

"Ok."

The two walked out of the office and came to a conference room.

The assistant pushed open the door, and the conversation in the conference room instantly ceased. Several girls sitting in their seats immediately stood up and bowed when they saw Director Cui enter.

"Hello, Room Leader."

After Park Chorong and Jung Eunji finished bowing and straightened up, they were both taken aback when they saw Chen Yan smiling next to Chief Choi.

Isn't this the man they saw at the gym last time?

Chen Yan noticed the way the two were looking at him and said with a smile, "Hello, it's nice to see you again. It seems you still remember me."

The head of the department, Choi, and the rest of Apink were taken aback by what they saw.

"Do Chen Yanxi, Chorong, and Eunji know each other?"

Chen Yan and Director Cui nodded: "We bumped into each other at the gym last time and even said hello then."

After speaking, he turned his gaze to Park Chorong and Jung Eunji.

The two nodded quickly: "Yes, we met at the gym before."

"Oh, it seems that Chen Yanxi and our Apink have a special connection."

Manager Choi smiled and then formally introduced the group to Apink: "This is PD Chen Yan, the music producer the company hired to be in charge of the title track for your next album."

Upon hearing this, the group quickly bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, PD Chen."

"Hello."

After both parties got to know each other, the audition meeting officially began.

The assistant played the demo of "nonono," a song composed by Chen Yan.

The listening session is mainly a place where the song's creator and the artist listen to the song demo together, and then discuss and revise some details based on the artist's opinions.

After playing the demo several times, it quickly ended. Apink members pondered and offered their suggestions on the song, discussing some details with Chen Yan.

Chen Yan wrote everything down, planning to summarize and revise the song details later.

The discussion ended after nearly half an hour, at which point Chief Cui suddenly asked:
"Chen Yanxi, I'd like to ask, from your perspective as a music producer, what market positioning do you think Apink fits?"

Chen Yan was taken aback, somewhat surprised that Director Cui would suddenly ask him this question.

It's not that he couldn't answer; music producers also need to study the market, not just write songs behind closed doors.

Only by understanding current market changes, and then creating songs that align with market trends based on those changes and the artist's/group's own positioning, can one achieve success.

His gaze unconsciously drifted towards the Apink members beside him.

When he looked over, the members of Apink sat up straight, their eyes fixed straight ahead, like soldiers being inspected by their superiors.

Chen Yan pondered for a moment.

"Based on Apink's previous comebacks and the current market, I personally think it's better for Apink to continue with their innocent image. The song I wrote, 'nonono,' is also in the innocent style."

“But I see that some girl groups on the market have already shifted to a mature and sexy style, and the audience for this style is constantly increasing. Chen Yan, do you think Apink could also try this style?”

Chen Yan shook his head and offered his thoughts: "Although the market has indeed changed in this way, I personally believe that the market audience is diverse. The popularity of the mature and sexy style does not mean that the audience for other styles has decreased."

"In fact, the audience for the pure and innocent style is not small. Girls' Generation also started with the pure and innocent style, but they have transformed in the last two years. However, the market for the pure and innocent style has not disappeared."

"In my opinion, Apink is currently the girl group that best embodies the pure and innocent style in the market. If they continue down this path, they may be able to fill the market gap left by Girls' Generation's transformation."

"Just like a person's three meals a day, it's impossible to eat only meat and no vegetables every day."

While following trends is indeed the fastest way to capitalize on market hype, how to continue once the hype dies down becomes another problem.

Especially in a market like the peninsula, where competition is fierce and trends change rapidly, Chen Yan believes that sticking to a particular positioning is more promising than following the crowd.

Of course, he didn't rule out any possibility: "However, this is just my personal opinion, and the specific situation will depend on the market feedback after this return."

But Director Choi smiled and shook his head: "No, I think Chen Yanxi makes a lot of sense. Actually, the company is currently hesitant about whether to transform Apink, and Chen Yanxi's words have given me a new perspective."

In fact, his question just now wasn't asked casually; he genuinely wanted to hear the young man's opinion.

A couple of days ago, he learned from a chat with his company president that Park Jin-young of JYP intended to mold the young man in front of him into another brand for JYP, and that the plan was already in place.

Such talented people usually have their own unique perspectives on things, and his own boss had instructed him to try his best to build a good relationship with this young man, which is why he asked that question earlier. As he spoke, Director Cui's smile suddenly widened, and wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.

"Moreover, Mr. Chen is too kind. Our Apink is still far behind Girls' Generation, and we dare not say that we can replace Girls' Generation."

Chen Yan was stunned when he heard this.

When did he say that Apink could replace Girls' Generation? He clearly said that Apink might fill the void in the pure and innocent style market left by Girls' Generation's transformation.

Is this how you do reading comprehension?
Chief Cui: They're all the same, they mean almost the same thing.

But since this was their territory, he didn't argue or embarrass them. He simply gave a polite smile, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

Manager Choi turned to Apink and said, "You all heard what PD Chen said just now, right? He has high hopes for you guys. You must cooperate fully when recording the album later."

"Inside~"

Apink responded, their gazes flickering slightly as they fell on Chen Yan.

Jung Eunji secretly tugged at Park Chorong's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Unnie, this producer is so handsome."

Park Chorong was startled by what she heard and subconsciously glanced in Chen Yan's direction.

Seeing that he was chatting with Chief Cui and hadn't noticed them, she breathed a sigh of relief and said with a slightly flushed face:

"Hey, Eunji, don't talk nonsense. What if the producer hears you?"

Although the tone was fierce, the childish voice made it sound cute and fierce, which made it seem intimidating.

Jung Eun-ji remained unfazed: "So what? He's just handsome."

As a girl from Busan, she has always had a straightforward personality and says what she thinks most of the time.

Chen Yan's face, combined with the way he was chatting so confidently with Director Cui just now, is really handsome.

This doesn't mean anything else; it's just pure appreciation.

"When I met him at the gym before, I thought he was a senior actor. I didn't expect him to be a music producer."

After glancing at Chen Yan across from her again, Jung Eunji leaned close to Park Chorong's ear and said, "Unnie, have you ever seen such a handsome music producer?"

Upon hearing this, Park Chorong glanced at Chen Yan across from her, then quickly looked away, as if afraid of being noticed, and a faint blush rose on her cheeks again.

Jung Eun-ji watched from the side, her smile gradually widening into a smirk.

This unnie is still so easily embarrassed, so cute.

"Unnie, don't be so shy. Just look if you want to. It's just for appreciation. Look, Bomi, Namjoo, Naeun, Kyungyu, and Xia Rong are all watching."

"Oh, who said I wanted to watch it?"

Park Chorong raised her hand and patted her younger sister, who liked to tease her, but when she turned around, she found that Chen Yan was looking at her and even smiled at her.

The girl instinctively forced a smile in response, but her cheeks quickly flushed.

Seeing that the unnie's neck was gradually turning pink, Jung Eun-ji, who was standing next to her, quickly spoke up to attract attention.

Otherwise, she won't let me off the hook when she gets back, as the "culprit" who started teasing her in the first place.

Don't let her sweet, childlike voice and cute, innocent face fool you; she's actually a practitioner of Aikido since she was a child.

If it really came down to a fight, my body wouldn't be able to handle it.

"What year was PDnim born?"

"I was born in April 1990."

Chen Yan looked at the girl's smiling eyes and replied with a smile.

Those smiling eyes reminded him of Tiffany Noona from his childhood.

Pani: When are you going to return those two boxes of sushi?
"That producer is older than all of us."

Jung Eunji laughed heartily, "Can I be a little more friendly and call Chen Yan oppa?"

Upon hearing this, the other members of Apink were taken aback.

Park Chorong reached out and tugged hard at her younger sister's clothes, giving her a look that urged her to apologize quickly.

They're music producers, and even the department head treats them with respect. Their status is far higher than theirs, so how could they try to build a relationship on their first meeting?

Chief Cui frowned, about to reprimand him, but Chen Yan, standing beside him, smiled and replied, "It's fine, I don't care much about titles."

Realizing she had been a bit offensive, Jung Eun-ji, who was about to apologize, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and her smiling eyes returned.

Phew~ Thank goodness, it seems this handsome producer is quite easy to talk to.

"Then I'll call you Chen Yan oppa from now on."

Seeing this, Chief Cui swallowed back his reprimand and a smile returned to his face.

Since Chen Yan himself doesn't feel offended, then it's fine.

He was also happy to see his girl group members get closer to Chen Yan.

These are all hidden resources. In the future, if Chen Yan has any good songs, he might think more about Apink.

While Chen Yan was getting to know Apink and the others, on the other side, in a coffee shop in Gangnam District...

The door to a private room opened, and a stylishly dressed figure wearing a black mask walked in.

The man with the long, narrow face sitting in the private room immediately stood up when he saw the figure, a smile spreading across his face: "Sika, you're here."

(End of this chapter)