Chapter 106

“It’s not bad . ”

Said Professor Choi ChanYang as he praised the song that Park SoYoung brought him . The feel of the song, accompanied by a piano, was pretty good .

Park SoYoung finally calmed down her nervousness with a sigh .

“Phew . That’s good . I thought about HyunAh-unni as I wrote this . Is it really okay?”

“I think it will suit her well . The bass line is especially good, but the chord progression is a little… . ”

Professor Choi ChanYang pointed out a part played by the electric guitar . Although the bass line was good, the electric guitar part was too showy, and suggested her to edit it slightly . Park SoYoung understood what he meant and nodded .

“I understand . Thank you for your guidance . ”

“Okay . Come again anytime if you need any help . ”

“Oh, yes . Now that I think about it; can I submit this to somewhere other than my graduation exam?”

“Another place? Where?”

When he asked, Park SoYoung replied after a little bit of hesitation .

“I… thought of taking this to KangYoon-oppa . ”

“You want to sell your song to him?”

Professor Choi ChanYang became very curious . He even had a slight smile on his face .

“That would be… good, but… actually, no . Who would buy my song? I shouldn’t have said that . Sorry . ”

She thought that she said something rude since Professor Choi ChanYang was always so nice . She shook her head and turned around to leave . Just then, Professor Choi ChanYang kindly spoke .

“You’re afraid of being judged . ”

“…… . ”

Bullseye . Professor Choi ChanYang added .

“But if it’s him, he should be able to tell you what level your composition is at . If I were you, I would prioritize showing my work to him rather than the graduation exam . Being examined within college is like judging the sky from the bottom of a well . Moreover, Mr . KangYoon has a good eye for these kind of things . ”

Park SoYoung did not reply and left after a greeting .

‘Being judged, huh… . ”

The bottom of the well contrast did not leave Park SoYoung’s head for a long time . Her hesitations continued into her classes as well .

***

Springtiue is warm, usually . However, to Kim JaeHoon, his spring this year was hotter than anyone .

“Whew… . I guess I’ll say goodbye to this hellish schedule for a while after today . ”

Inside the car with KangYoon, Kim JaeHoon ended up laying down on the seat as he muttered .

“That’s right . Thanks for all your hard effort, earning all that contract fee back for us . ”

“I never imagined I would have earned 1 . 5 billion won (about 1 . 5 million USD) all in one month . ”

“Didn’t I tell you that you’ll experience hell?”

Kim JaeHoon now had a headache from all those hellish events . He practically visited every place in the country . Jeju island, Land’s End, and even the frontlines where North Korea could be seen – KangYoon did not leave any one of them out . What was even more frightening was his driving skills . His awesome skills lead Kim JaeHoon not being late to schedule even once .

Kim JaeHoon gulped down a bottle of water that was on the back seat .

“But it looks like I’ll say goodbye to events for a while . This is rather sad on its own?”

“Hahaha, that’s how people are . What? I could get you some more if you want to . ”

“I’ll have to decline . I’m no robot . Rather than that, I want to record the song I heard at the house quickly . ”

“Okay okay . But the release date will be scheduled along with the concert hall date . Keep that in mind . ”

“Got it . ”

Now that he was liberated of all of his burdens, Kim JaeHoon’s expression was very bright . He could not focus on singing without any debt or burden to his heart .

Arriving at an event venue in Daejeon, Kim JaeHoon immediately went on stage after preparing himself . The staff there all had sparkly eyes as they knew that he was coming . Although Kim JaeHoon was the type of singer liked by the male populace, there were naturally female fans as well .

After about 40 minutes of peformance, KangYoon and Kim JaeHoon immediately got back on the car and moved to Seoul . In the evening, he had another concert at a concert hall near a university, and after that was his final schedule for the day, an interview with a man’s magazine .

Time flowed by in a flash .

Kim JaeHoon waited at a cafe after the concert at the university . Soon, a female editor from a magazine company and a cameraman arrived . After a brief introduction, the interview began .

“I didn’t even release an album . Is it really fine for you to interview me already?”

When he asked in a joking tone, the female editor smiled awkwardly while fixing her thick glasses .

“Usually, no . But the interest of the people is on you, Mr . Kim JaeHoon . We are a magazine company with a major male audience, so I thought that it would be good to have your interview on board . ”

“Okay . Then, what . Should I start with my secrets of being successful?”

“Hahaha . I’ll appreciate it if you do . ”

The mood was very lively . The female editor’s sharp eyes looked slightly scary, but she had a knack for calming the mood down . She calmly dragged out stories from Kim JaeHoon, especially about the past 4 years, during which he spent nightmarish days . The main topic was about how he overcame this crisis .

After a bit of thought, Kim JaeHoon spoke calmly .

“Maybe it’s because… I met a good person?”

“A person?”

The female editor showed interest and jotted things down while recording the entire interview . Kim JaeHoon calmly continued .

“I was in a serious conflict with my previous company . In the end, I was forced to pay the cancellation fee, and was burdened with debt ever since time . Then, I did my military service in disappointment, but nothing much changed even after I went there . The person who saved me at that time is my current president . ”

This wasn’t an answer that the female editor wanted . She wanted an answer like “I held on to the best of my ability” or something along those lines . And naturally, she induced him to say so .

“But didn’t you put in a lot of effort to come back?”

“Of course, I practiced every day . To a singer, practice is life . ”

“Oh, so in the end, your secret is to prepare for your comeback every day . ”

“I guess that’s true, but actually… in my case, it’s my president’s deeds . ”

Kim JaeHoon turned his head towards KangYoon . KangYoon shrugged his shoulders when Kim JaeHoon looked at him . Kim JaeHoon only laughed .

The female editor asked as though this was quite strange .

“This distance shouldn’t be enough for him to listen . Looks like you really admire your president . ”

“Yes . He taught me a lot of things . Unlike my previous president . ”

“Your former president, oh . It’s foreign gambling incident . ”

“Yoo MinSung… . At that time, I thought I could become successful as long as I could sing well, but he painfully made me realize how important the people around me were . Unlike him, who invested the money I earned him into gambling, my current president invests his money into new singers, and enables them to sing better songs . ”

“Is that promoting your company?”

“Hahaha, can I ask you to do it?”

“I’ll think about it if you buy me coffee today . ”

The female editor smirked . Kim JaeHoon took out his credit card . He implied her to promote World Entertainment .

Now, Kim JaeHoon was a proper entertainer solely belonging to World Entertainment .

After the interview, Kim JaeHoon was about to take the bill, but the female editor took it from him .

“Where do you see an editor that let’s an interviewee pay?”

She left the cafe first saying that he didn’t need to worry about promotion .

After the interview, KangYoon approached Kim JaeHOon .

“Thanks for all your hard work . You’re now free . ”

“You too, president . Wow… I finally get to rest tomorrow . It feels quite strange, you know?”

“Now, you’ll have to work on your songs while resting . If we can release the album with this kind of current public opinion, we should be able to get good results . I’ll go get the car . ”

KangYoon patted Kim JaeHoon’s back and left the cafe .

“Hyung, thank you . ”

Muttered Kim JaeHoon as he saw KangYoon’s sturdy back .

***

Lee HyunJi, who was visiting estate agents around Yeonnam-dong looking for a building that can be used as a concert hall, was currently heading to one such building that was out for sale .

“The price is a little steep, but the location is pretty good… . ”

It was not far from a subway station, and it was easily accessible by foot as well . Moreover, as this was an urgent sale, the price was lowered quite a lot . Though, it was still expensive considering World Entertainment’s current finances . Lee HyunJi still deemed this to be suitable .

“No one’s contracted yet, right?”

“Some people are eyeing it out, but I don’t know if they will . ”

“Okay, I’ll have a talk to my president . ”

Lee HyunJi considered this building a suitable candidate and returned to the office . When she returned, KangYoon, who was currently guiding Kim JiMin, was working at the office . (T/N: How does that work… it doesn’t make sense in Korean either)

“Did you have a look at the hall?”

“Yes . Although the price is a little expensive . It was by far the best among the ones we saw thus far . ”

“Really? Shall we go right away?”

KangYoon immediately left the company . Although Lee HyunJi had to leave as soon as she arrived, she did not complain .

The two people had a look at the buildling with the estate agent, but this time in detail . Such as the height of the ceiling, the area of the hall, as well as accessibility . KangYoon was especially interested in the number of audience it could hold .

“How is it?”

KangYoon nodded after a bit of hesitation .

“It’s suitable . As for the price… . ”

When KangYoon said that, the estate agent interfered .

“The price can be negotiated . Since this was put on urgent sale, if you talk with the owner directly… . ”

Hearing that, Lee HyunJi stepped in .

“Oh, is that true? How much do you think we can shave if we get it today?”

“If you get the contract done today… . ”

The estate agent quickly talked about the price . It was pretty obvious that he had talked to the owner beforehand . However, Lee HyunJi was dissatisfied with the answer .

“There’s no merit even though if we get the contract done today . President, should we look into some more?”

“Okay, then . Can you give me a business card?”

KangYoon received a business card from the estate agent and turned around . He told him that he would come back after negotiating with the owner .

After returning to the company, the two began their respective work again . KangYoon guided Kim JiMin in the studio, while Lee HyunJi took care of administrative work and scheduling White Moonlight and Kim JaeHoon’s timelines .

During this past month, Kim JiMin received almost no guidance from KangYoon, and due to that, she was receiving spartan education right now .

“I, it’s so hard… . ”

“It is . Let’s have a look at it again . Although it’s not on the score, try playing it with a sus-4 chord . That part brings liveliness to the song . There, try again . ”

“Okay… . ”

Kim JiMin was almost about to cry as she played the guitar . After almost a month of waiting, KangYoon’s education was very hard . Despite that, she felt that she was learning something and did her best to follow .

Just as she was focusing on learning, two people opened the door to the studio and entered . They were Professor Choi ChanYang and Park SoYoung .

“Professor, you’re here . ”

“Hello, Mr . KangYoon . And hello to you too . ”

“Hello . ”

KangYoon declared a bit of rest . Kim JiMin headed to the preparation room saying that she would get some coffee . Park SoYoung followed suit .

“You’re here with SoYoung today?”

“Yeah . I chanced upon her on my way here . She has business with you, apparently . ”

“She does? What kind of…?”

“She’ll say it herself . ”

Soon, Kim JiMin and Park SoYoung brought coffee . The four people talked about various things while drinking; about university, about practice, as well as other things . This was a rest time after all .

After everyone emptied their cuppas, Professor Choi ChanYang spoke to Kim JiMin .

“JiMin, shall we go practice?”

“Okay . ”

“I told you last time that you can’t just top midway, right? Let’s see how much you improved on that . ”

Kim JiMin was nervous as she left the studio with Professor Choi ChanYang . The two headed to the practice room .

Only Park SoYoung and KangYoon were left in the studio .

“Uhm… . oppa . ”

“You had business with me?”

“Yes . ”

She carefully took out a score and a USB . KangYoon received the USB and put it on his PC . When he played the song that was in it, a song flowed out .

“It wasn’t recorded in a studio . ”

“I don’t have that kind of money… haha . ”

While the music played, Park SoYoung laughed awkwardly . The speaker contained a guitar progression along with Park SoYoung’s voice .

– I could still run, but why do people —

It was a light-paced yet powerful song . Even though this was just a classical guitar and a voice, the power could be felt . However, KangYoon tilted his head .

‘The light is weak . ’

Perhaps this was because there was no arrangement done, or it was for some another reason . It seemed that he had to listen to this live in order to judge for sure .

“SoYoung, can you play it to me?”

“Play? Live?”

“Yup . ”

She hesitated a little seeing that KangYoon was so adamant . But soon, she picked up her guitar .

– But in my heart — I engrave my love — and on your heart —

Park SoYoung closed her eyes and started singing . The light-paced guitar sounds made her heart flutter . The song became more powerful due to that .

KangYoon focused his eyes on Park SoYoung’s musical note and the guitar’s notes . This was very pleasing to the ear . However… .

‘I knew it . It’s still weak . ’

What was it that was lacking? This was definitely a good song, but the influence was a little weak . It was like this was a song that you would listen to only once . Maybe it would change if other instruments came into play, but right now, the feeling was just ‘okay, and?’-like feeling .

The song ended .

“Uhm… . How… was I?”

KangYoon replied to her careful question .