OST
Lee Hae-jin muttered in a hollow voice, and Song Dae-jun was just as stunned. While the two of them had worn themselves to the bone producing a single song, Kim Se-jun had breezed through twice that workload — and he had done it while keeping up with his own packed schedule on top of everything else. Even granting that they were busy, could they really claim to be busier than him, a famous singer at the height of his career?
"You're taking care of yourself, right?"
Lee Hae-jin voiced his concern, and Song Dae-jun looked at Kim Se-jun with a face full of worry.
"Yes. I'm fine. I'm a little short on sleep, but that's just how it is."
Kim Se-jun waved it off as if it were nothing and steered the conversation back.
"I'll play the next song. This is the one I've been thinking of as a duet for Ye-eun and me."
Setting their worries aside for the moment, they turned to the new song Kim Se-jun had written. It was a completely different feeling from the bright, lively track before. Rain began from the very first notes of the intro, and then that distinctive atmosphere of Kim Se-jun's followed — plaintive, melancholy, aching. The opposite of the bright, energetic feel of the previous song. A lyricism so tender it felt ready to spill over into tears at any moment.
Lee Hae-jin's head began to nod along without him realizing it.
This is good...
Once again, Kim Se-jun hadn't let him down. Both songs they had heard today were more than good enough to serve as title tracks.
"What do you think?"
"Honestly, I love them both. It's almost a shame one of them won't get to be the title track."
"I agree. These are too good to just leave as album tracks."
Song Dae-jun clicked his tongue in amazement as he looked at Kim Se-jun.
"Thank you."
An awkward smile tugged at Kim Se-jun's lips at their praise.
"Oppa. What's going on today?"
"Yeah? Why are so many people gathered here?"
COEX always drew heavy foot traffic, but today the atmosphere was different. People had clustered together across the vast complex, and at a glance there had to be hundreds of them. Staff-looking personnel were managing the crowd.
"Is there some kind of signing event today?"
"Ah. That must be it. Want to go take a look?"
"Sure. But something feels off."
As they headed toward the crowd, the man tilted his head.
"Why?"
"Don't signing events usually draw a lot of young people? Look at this. Most of them are middle-aged."
"You're right. Maybe it's not a signing?"
As they said, what filled the enormous plaza were mostly middle-aged men. Men with streaks of gray in their hair waited with eager, almost hungry anticipation for someone to appear. And a moment later, following a staff member's guidance, a man stepped out before them — and a great cheer erupted.
Kim Se-jun.
Today was the day of his public fan signing.
"Se-jun! I'm a real fan."
"Thank you. Where would you like me to sign?"
"On this paper, please. And a photo too. Photos are okay, right?"
"Of course, Hyung-nim!"
"Hyung-nim?"
"You're in your early thirties, aren't you? Then we're barely any different in age, so of course you're Hyung-nim."
"Hahaha. Do I really look that young?"
The man burst out laughing, flashing his gums. Kim Se-jun's words were transparently flattering. But just being able to exchange this kind of small talk with the celebrity he admired was enough to make him happy.
"Thank you. Because of you, I actually made up with my daughter. If it weren't for you, I might never have spoken to her again."
The middle-aged man took a photo, then clasped Kim Se-jun's hand and expressed his genuine gratitude.
"I'm glad I could help your family, Hyung-nim."
"Oh, it was a huge help. Ah, and this. Take this."
The man handed Kim Se-jun a gift he had brought. A beautifully wrapped box. Just from the wrapping, it looked like something precious — not an ordinary item.
"No, you didn't have to go this far."
"I looked into it, and being a celebrity is a hard job. You can't sleep properly, you can't eat on time. So I was wondering what I could give you, and something good came in, so I'm giving it to you."
At the man's words, Kim Se-jun nodded and carefully accepted the box, then handed it to Lee Joo-sung.
"Thank you. But what is it?"
The man leaned in and whispered quietly beside Kim Se-jun.
"Wild ginseng. A thirty-year-old wild ginseng from Mount Jiri."
Kim Se-jun choked. A muffled snort slipped out. The man had tried to whisper, but it reached Lee Joo-sung's ears all the same, and he quickly clutched the box to his chest — terrified he might drop it and ruin what was inside.
"Wild... wild ginseng?"
"Yes. Not that cultivated mountain ginseng or anything like it. Real wild ginseng. The kind no human hand has ever touched."
Seeing the man's solemn expression, Kim Se-jun quickly glanced at Lee Joo-sung. It was far too valuable a gift to accept. Catching his look immediately, Lee Joo-sung carefully set the box back on the table, and Kim Se-jun pushed it toward the man.
"Hyung-nim. This is too much for me to accept. I think it would be better if you went and shared it with your family."
"Don't even say that! Don't you dare. Our family became harmonious thanks to you, Se-jun. Compared to that, wild ginseng isn't even worth anything. So don't feel burdened and take it. Just make more great songs after eating the ginseng, that's all. And..."
"The day we ate this was the day our daughter came back home. Eat it on a special day."
With a sly expression, the man pushed the box back, and after some hesitation, Kim Se-jun gave a small nod.
"Thank you. I'll repay you with good music."
"That's right. Thank you."
The man stood up with a bright smile, and Kim Se-jun handed the box back to Lee Joo-sung.
Wild ginseng. He had put on a bit of a brave front for people, but lately the fatigue had been piling up. In the midst of that, wild ginseng from a fan was like rain after a drought.
A singer really does need fans.
He murmured the thought inwardly, smiled, then opened his mouth again in a lively voice. There were still dozens of fans waiting to meet him.
"Glug... ugh... that's bitter."
In the car heading home after the signing, Kim Se-jun sucked down a pack of deer antler extract and grimaced. The gifts he had received hadn't stopped at wild ginseng. On top of that, he had been given red ginseng, deer antler, nutritional supplements — every kind of health product imaginable. A generation generally more materially affluent than others, and more interested in their health. With people like that as his fans, Kim Se-jun had been hit with an enormous barrage of gifts.
"Joo-sung, you take this too."
Kim Se-jun passed a box of red ginseng to the passenger seat, and Lee Joo-sung took one hand off the wheel to wave it away.
"I couldn't, Hyung-nim. Your fans gave this to you. How could I eat it?"
"It's fine. I can only focus on my work if you're healthy."
"I'm healthy, Hyung-nim."
"Don't be like that. Go share it with Ye-eun."
At the mention of Lee Ye-eun's name, Lee Joo-sung hesitated, then gave a small nod.
"Thank you, Hyung-nim."
When a singer is busy, of course the manager is busy too. He didn't show it, but Lee Joo-sung had clearly accumulated quite a bit of fatigue as well. In that situation, hogging all these gifts for himself and saying nothing would have been too shameless.
Kim Se-jun leaned back against the seat and turned his gaze to the wild ginseng. Ginseng they had told him to eat on a special day. But would a day that special ever come? For now, it still felt impossibly far away.
A vast conference room at BBS Broadcasting Station. Men and women alike, all worn down by fatigue, were gathered there.
"Director. Is this project going to work?"
"We'll make it work."
The man seated at the head of the table, his goatee unkempt, had a gleam in his eyes. Their next project. A masterpiece being produced to commemorate BBS's thirtieth anniversary. If this project failed, their performance evaluations would undoubtedly plunge into the abyss.
"How far along is Writer Kang Sook-hee with the script?"
"I think she's written about three episodes so far."
"And the actors? Has the casting been confirmed?"
"Well... I don't think S-list actors are going to happen. After all..."
As the staff member trailed off, Director Kim Byung-seo pressed a hand to his forehead. He knew what that trailing-off meant. Dramas that actors avoided even more than films. And among those, historical period dramas, whose shooting conditions were close to the worst in the industry. It was easy to predict that S-list actors, who had no shortage of offers, wouldn't readily accept.
"Haa... keep pounding on their doors."
"Yes..."
Kim Byung-seo turned to another man with a furrowed brow.
"Jun-young. What about the OST? What are you going to do?"
Sound director Park Jun-young answered promptly.
"Well. What about Kim Se-jun?"
"Huh? Kim Se-jun?"
Kim Byung-seo's furrowed brow eased slightly at Park Jun-young's words. A meeting that had been stifling from start to finish. At last, a decent answer had come through.
"Yes. Kim Se-jun writes songs with Gugak instruments, and he's been doing incredibly well lately. If we announce that Kim Se-jun is taking on our drama's OST, the promotional value alone would be considerable."
"Hmm..."
Kim Byung-seo stroked his goatee and gave a small nod.
"Go on."
"Yes. And while Kim Se-jun is still in a rookie position, his songs are incredible, aren't they? And this is just speculation, but I think Kim Se-jun would readily accept our offer as well. A historical drama OST would let him make the most of his strengths."
"I like it..."
A smile spread across Kim Byung-seo's lips. Just as Park Jun-young said, the combination of Kim Se-jun and their project looked excellent.
"Good. Put in an offer."
Once Kim Byung-seo's approval dropped, Park Jun-young nodded firmly.
"Ye-eun wrote these lyrics?"
"Yes."
Looking at the paper Kim Se-jun held out, Lee Hae-jin clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Wow... you're something else, but Ye-eun's unusual too. This isn't the kind of sensibility a twenty-something should be able to pour out. As far as I know she doesn't even have any dating experience. That's impressive."
The reason for Lee Hae-jin's admiration was the lyrics Lee Ye-eun had written.
Trusting my judgment was the right call.
Lee Ye-eun's lyrics were a perfect match for his melody. A song that calmly, quietly unfolded the story of a wistful couple. And one value he had held to all this time.
So she noticed.
It was a value he hadn't told anyone about, but Lee Ye-eun seemed to have guessed it. His lyrics. They were composed exclusively in Korean. It wasn't that he disliked English — just a small stubbornness he kept in his heart. The insistence that he wouldn't write English lyrics for his own songs. Lee Ye-eun had figured it out and written the lyrics in Korean only.
"It goes well with the song too. I like it."
Ha Dong-jun, sitting beside Lee Hae-jin, nodded along.
"I agree. Ye-eun's got good sense. Ah, and."
Ha Dong-jun narrowed his eyes.
"I hear you got some wild ginseng?"
"...Where did you even hear that?"
"I hear everything. What's with that look of disgust? What, afraid I'll ask you for some?"
"No. Of course not."
At Kim Se-jun's words, Ha Dong-jun let out a hearty laugh and clapped him on the back.
"Forget it. I wouldn't eat it even if you gave it to me. You're the one who needs it right now. Don't hoard it — eat it freely. You've been looking pretty tired anyway."
"I'm still thinking about how to eat it."
It was Lee Hae-jin who broke the atmosphere of their idle banter. Crossing his legs, he tossed the question at him.