Lee Ye-eun (2)
"Isn't that Kim Se-jun?"
"Looks like it..."
Whispers rippled through the crowd as people caught sight of Kim Se-jun with his hat off. Feeling the bodies around him multiply by the second, he tugged the brim back down and pointed toward a café.
"Shall we go talk in the café for now?"
Lee Ye-eun, the shock still written all over her face, couldn't even form a word. She just nodded. She was even hiccuping. A small laugh slipped out of Kim Se-jun at the state of her nerves.
She's this fragile, and she was out there busking?
They stepped inside, ordered drinks, and only then did she seem to find her voice, murmuring so quietly he almost missed it.
"I'm a real fan..."
"Thank you. I really enjoyed your singing. You've got a great voice."
"No, not at all..."
She waved her hands in frantic denial, then started fidgeting with her fingers.
"I... I've heard a lot about you from my oppa."
"Your oppa?"
"Ah... Joo-sung, your manager. He's my real older brother..."
"...!"
That muttering back then — that really was Lee Ye-eun?
He'd assumed it was just someone with the same name. Never in a million years had he imagined she was actually the man's little sister. The unexpected connection left Kim Se-jun more than a little stunned.
That bear of a guy and this little shrimp are siblings?
He shook his head slowly. No matter how he looked at them, the two didn't share a single feature.
"He said you're a really wonderful person..."
An embarrassed laugh escaped him, and he waved the praise off.
"Not at all. Joo-sung is just so good at his job. There's nothing for me to take credit for."
Perhaps because he'd spoken well of her own brother, Lee Ye-eun smiled faintly — then asked, her voice suddenly grave,
"But... what you said earlier... is that for real?"
Anxiety and hope tangled together in the eyes she lifted to him. Kim Se-jun nodded firmly.
"Yes. I'm not in a position related to casting, but I really want to introduce you to the CEO."
"...!"
Is this a dream?
Meeting her favorite singer in person hadn't been enough — now he was recognizing her talent and trying to cast her. The reality was so impossible that Lee Ye-eun pinched her thigh under the table. The pain bloomed, vivid and sharp; her face crumpled for a second, then broke into a smile.
What's with her?
Kim Se-jun tilted his head at the sudden grimace-then-grin, then let it go.
"What do you think, Ye-eun? Do you want to audition?"
"I'll... I'll do it!"
She clenched both fists as she said it, the words coming out like a vow. Kim Se-jun nodded and held out his phone.
"Give me your number. I'll ask the CEO and get in touch."
Lee Ye-eun took it with trembling hands, moving her fingers with extreme care, terrified of pressing a wrong digit. Kim Se-jun watched her and smiled, finding the whole thing rather adorable.
"H-here..."
"Thanks. I'll contact you tomorrow. Shall we get going?"
He saved the number and started to rise from his seat.
"Ye-eun?"
But he never quite made it to his feet. He was stuck in an awkward half-crouch, because Lee Ye-eun had already caught his sleeve and was looking up at him with eyes brimming with tears.
"C-can I really join the company? No — do I even have what it takes to be a singer...?"
Her lashes were wet, her voice on the edge of breaking, every word loaded with anxiety. She had no real confidence in her own ability, and the chance being offered felt impossibly larger than she was. It was a question so unlike the woman who would one day stand alongside Kang Yu-na as a giant of the female singer-songwriter world. Kim Se-jun answered that Lee Ye-eun with a smile full of conviction.
Last night still felt like a dream to Lee Ye-eun.
Kim Se-jun. The rookie who had appeared like a comet — and the singer she had fallen into more deeply than anyone else these past weeks. His skill didn't feel like a rookie's at all. She had lost count of how many times she'd gasped, watching his stages, listening to his tracks. And then there was everything she'd heard about his character through her brother, Lee Joo-sung. He was perfect, without a single shortcoming, and the more she learned, the further she fell. Covering his songs while she busked had happened as naturally as breathing.
"I never thought he'd actually be listening..."
The memory of last night rushed back, and Lee Ye-eun covered her face with both hands. Embarrassment and mortification burned her cheeks scarlet.
"And an audition, of all things..."
Casting. She'd only ever heard of it as a rumor. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined such an offer coming to her — and from Kim Se-jun himself, no less. The thought that he had recognized her sent a thrill racing up from her toes. Then the anxiety came flooding back in behind it.
Lee Ye-eun lifted her head and looked at the clock on the wall. The second hand pointed, indifferent, at 9 PM, and her face crumpled.
"Of course... who am I to join Ares Music..."
The call she had waited for all day still hadn't come. She buried her face in her pillow, and tears of disappointment began soaking into the fabric.
That was when her phone buzzed in her hand. She snapped her head up and checked the screen.
Lee Ye-eun stared at the message, her eyes filling all over again — and then she broke into a brilliant smile.
In the Ares Music practice room, Kim Se-jun looked at the reply Lee Ye-eun had sent yesterday and smiled to himself.
The reply had arrived the instant he'd hit send. Her urgency, her barely contained desperation, came through in every character.
"Se-jun. I'm going along with you here, but... you're sure this is okay?"
The reason he'd contacted her so late yesterday was simple: Ha Dong-jun and Lee Hae-jin had not been easy to convince. He'd wrestled with them well past dinner before finally carving out a slot on their schedules. Even now, Ha Dong-jun's displeasure was written all over his face. Kim Se-jun turned to the man sitting beside him and grinned.
"Yes. You really won't regret it."
Lee Hae-jin and Ha Dong-jun sighed in unison. They'd told him to rest, and he'd shown up with more work. Watching him work himself into a froth, insisting they absolutely had to sign Lee Ye-eun, they'd finally given in.
"Fine. We'll know once we hear her."
Lee Hae-jin smiled faintly, a thread of genuine expectation in it — and at that moment the practice room door opened, and Lee Ye-eun came in.
"Hello..."
She was struggling through the doorway with a keyboard half her own size. She flinched at the unfamiliar sight of Ha Dong-jun, then brightened the instant she found Kim Se-jun.
"Welcome, Lee Ye-eun."
"Yes. I'm Lee Ye-eun."
Lee Hae-jin greeted her with a warm smile, and she bowed from the waist.
"Nice to meet you. We normally hold regular auditions, but Se-jun recommended you so enthusiastically that we made time separately."
"Th-thank you!"
"Go on up and get ready, then you can start. Don't be too nervous — just show us what you can do."
Lee Hae-jin's easy tone seemed to loosen something in her. She answered with a small smile and began setting up.
"The visuals aren't bad, huh?"
Ha Dong-jun whispered it to Lee Hae-jin, who nodded.
"She's pretty."
She was a classic Eastern beauty. Long, straight black hair suited her perfectly. Her eyes weren't particularly large, but they had depth, and her features were beautifully proportioned.
"Looks like that, she could debut as an idol."
Ha Dong-jun's whisper carried to Kim Se-jun two seats over, and he found himself nodding. On looks alone, she could have debuted as an idol without anyone batting an eye. Ares Music didn't train idols, but the point stood: another agency could have put her on that path without a second thought. Not to disparage anyone — for an idol, visuals were a weapon every bit as important as vocal ability.
"I'm ready."
Lee Ye-eun was already seated at the keyboard, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"Alright. Whenever you're ready, go ahead."
"Hooo..."
At Lee Hae-jin's word, she drew a long breath and set her fingers on the keys.
Huh? This is...?
A familiar accompaniment. Kim Se-jun's brow furrowed. The song she was playing was his own — Lotus. She'd apparently prepared Lotus for an Ares Music audition.
This isn't it.
He shook his head. Most of Ares Music's artists were singer-songwriters. This was the moment she should have proven she had that kind of value herself. He turned to look at Lee Hae-jin and Ha Dong-jun, and let out a quiet sigh. Just as he'd expected, their expressions weren't good. Not fully disappointed — but their eyes said it was below expectations.
When the song ended, Lee Hae-jin made a small sound in his throat and spoke.
"Hmm... not bad, but... a bit disappointing."
Lee Ye-eun's already tense face froze.
If the VP piles on too, her nerves won't hold.
That had been mild coming from Lee Hae-jin. Ha Dong-jun would have been far more scathing. He was a businessman of merciless honesty, more than her paper-thin composure could bear. So Kim Se-jun spoke before Ha Dong-jun could open his mouth.
"Ye-eun. How about singing one of your own songs instead of mine? The one I heard last time was really good. You know — that song, Dead Letter."
"Pardon?"
Lee Ye-eun blinked, lost, and Kim Se-jun quickly winked. She caught his meaning at once and answered with sudden force.
"Yes! I can do it!"
However poor her social instincts, she could tell Kim Se-jun was trying to give her one last chance. At her rapid reply, Ha Dong-jun's eyebrow twitched — then he nodded. One more chance wouldn't kill them.
"Hooo..."
A deep breath, and her playing began.
"...!"
"Oho..."
From the very first notes, the keyboard rang out with such force that a spark of genuine interest lit in Lee Hae-jin and Ha Dong-jun's eyes. Powerful playing that didn't match her slender frame — their gazes changed in an instant, and the corner of Kim Se-jun's mouth lifted on its own.
Dead Letter. The first song of hers he had heard after regressing. The intense accompaniment seized the ear in a single stroke.
Your letter was the light of my day.
My heart grows heavy at replies that never come.
A love song. But not the kind you'd heard a thousand times. It was a song with a highly unusual concept: a woman pining for a lover who had died — and not just died, but fallen on the battlefield. Given Lee Hae-jin and Ha Dong-jun's taste for unique, distinctive artists, they couldn't help but find it fascinating.
I knew it!
Kim Se-jun glanced sideways at Lee Hae-jin and let out a quiet laugh. The music pervert. That other face of his was coming out again — the same greedy, wide-eyed look he'd worn at the bar the night they first met.
It's a done deal.
Wearing a faint smile, Kim Se-jun closed his eyes. It was time for him to sit back and enjoy her song in peace.
"We heard you well, Ye-eun. Great song. You should've sung this from the start."
"Thank you!"
Ha Dong-jun's praise hit her so hard her voice came out thick with emotion. She stood and bowed from the waist.
"We'll have to discuss it among ourselves, but honestly — that was impressive."
The continued praise left her not knowing what to do with herself. Lee Hae-jin looked over at Kim Se-jun and smiled.
"You should be thanking Se-jun. Where does he keep digging up gems like this?"
"Thank you, sir."
Kim Se-jun gave an awkward smile, and Lee Ye-eun's gaze turned toward him. A benefactor. That was what Kim Se-jun was to her — the man who had taken an unknown singer bouncing from busking gig to busking gig and given her a chance to sign with Ares Music. The look she gave him was full of respect and raw emotion.
"We'll talk it over among ourselves and get back to you separately. You did well today."
"Yes. Yes. Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Lee Ye-eun kept bowing as she packed her things, and she was still bowing as she went out the door. The moment she was gone, Ha Dong-jun and Lee Hae-jin turned on Kim Se-jun with the same peculiar look.
"He's a real lucky charm, isn't he?"
"Didn't I tell you? This kid's a walking blessing."
Now even Lee Hae-jin was calling him that.
"So? Not bad, right?"
They both nodded at the question, aimed at Lee Ye-eun.
"She's good. She's got something."
"Agreed. Unique, and the looks are there. But I think it'd be better to start her as a trainee rather than debuting right away."
Lee Hae-jin chimed in at once.
"Hmm. That's not a bad idea. She's still lacking in a lot of areas. She's still quite shy around strangers, and she embarrasses easily. If she went on stage right now, who knows what kind of wreck it'd be."
He'd clocked her paper-thin nerves in a single sitting. Kim Se-jun felt a twinge of disappointment at their judgment, but he accepted it. At the very least, Lee Ye-eun would be more than satisfied.
"She could debut next year, though, right?"
"Next year?"
"It should be possible, no?"
Lee Hae-jin and Ha Dong-jun both looked puzzled by the question.
"Sir. I can put out an album next year, right?"
"That's a promise. Once the duet's done, we go straight into the first album."
At Lee Hae-jin's firm answer, Kim Se-jun smiled.
"My first album. I want to use Ye-eun as a featured artist."