University Festival
Lee Hae-jin stared at the music chart with his eyes wide open.
“1st and 2nd place at the same time?”
“Wow...”
It was an unbelievable achievement to top both the 1st and 2nd places on the music chart simultaneously.
Awe welled up at the sight of a feat that defied belief.
“Has there ever been a time like this until now?”
He muttered to himself and fell into deep thought.
Has a veteran singer or a nationwide hit idol ever created this scene?
After a moment, Lee Hae-jin shook his head.
None.
Even if he mobilized every singer he knew, there was no one who had achieved such a record.
“So this is what a singer who is only in his first year of debut has accomplished?”
He muttered with a mix of self-deprecation.
As the agency president, he should have been the happiest, but a bitter feeling rose inside when he considered that the singer was the same one.
It was enough to feel a touch of jealousy.
Yet despite that emotion, Lee Hae-jin’s face was filled with smiles.
The singer named Kim Se-jun was an existence that was hard to hate.
His skills were naturally flawless, and his personality had no flaws to speak of.
He overflowed with how he treated his fans.
His habit of constantly throwing bait for fans to enjoy through MeTube was one of the biggest reasons other singer fans envied Kim Se-jun’s fans.
“Now he’s really top class in Korea.”
The rookie who had sparkled last year had become the top class that all singers looked up to this year.
“1st place twice, and simultaneously taking 1st and 2nd... An achievement no one can refute.”
Even Lee Hae-jin, a singer highly regarded among Korean singer-songwriters, could not achieve such a great feat.
Although it was still early morning, articles related to this would pour out after the sun rose tomorrow.
It was only natural for the company to promote it aggressively.
“Hyung Jun would be happy.”
He had been happy last year seeing the increased sales due to Kim Se-jun, so how happy would he be this time.
Lee Hae-jin let out a light laugh and headed to the refrigerator.
Today was a day he wanted to raise a toast.
A toast to commemorate Kim Se-jun’s unbelievable achievement and his own insight that discovered such a Kim Se-jun.
***
As Lee Hae-jin had predicted, Kim Se-jun’s album that topped both 1st and 2nd place had enormous ripple effects.
Articles poured out like summer rain, and various community posts related to him overflowed.
April was literally his month.
Wherever he went, his songs echoed, and there was no one in the country who didn’t know his songs.
And time passed, and May came with the spring scent even more fragrant, and Kim Se-jun was busier than ever, touring the country.
And now, the time when singers love the most has returned: the university festival.
“It feels different.”
Kim Se-jun muttered lowly while waiting in the car, looking at the large stage prepared on the university athletic field.
Last year’s university festival with Kang Yu-na.
A completely different position and emotion from then.
Unlike last year, where he watched Kang Yu-na who sang only one song and sadly came down alone to the stage, this time he had contracted a 30-minute performance with the university.
“Speaking of which, it’s the first time performing for 30 minutes.”
Having gone through countless broadcasts and stages, it was the first time he decorated the stage this long.
Radio stages or concerts he had gone to so far were all just singing a couple of songs.
“Hyung-nim. It’s time to prepare soon.”
Lee Joo-sung glanced at his phone and said, and Kim Se-jun nodded.
“Ye-eun?”
“She’s waiting first.”
With the answer, Lee Joo-sung opened the door and went out, opening the back door.
Escorted by Lee Joo-sung, they headed to the back of the stage, and some university students who spotted Kim Se-jun’s figure let out cheers.
With that in mind, Kim Se-jun headed to the back of the stage with his heart fluttering, and there Lee Ye-eun was waiting, loosening her neck.
“Ye-eun-ah.”
Kim Se-jun called, and Lee Ye-eun’s head turned sharply, and her eyes lit up with joy upon seeing Kim Se-jun and Lee Joo-sung.
“Hello.”
Unlike the first broadcast stage, there was no tense look, so Kim Se-jun playfully asked.
“Not nervous now?”
“Yes. I did eat Calmine just in case, though.”
She said with a bashful smile, and Kim Se-jun looked at her and recalled himself from last year.
Her situation today was no different from himself last year.
Just one song. She was standing on the stage for that one song, and she was the kind of newbie who couldn’t reach such a stage alone.
Kim Se-jun looked at her with a bit of pity for a moment, but soon shook his head.
She was now a full-fledged album releasing artist. With only the task of soaring like himself left, worrying like this was a luxury.
“Today, even though it’s just one song, I’ll do my best.”
And she had a part where her mentality was different from himself.
She wasn’t without greed, but her personality was more grateful for everything than dissatisfied.
Probably right now, her only feeling would be gratitude for being able to stand on such a stage.
“Let’s go perform separately next year.”
“What? Ah... It’s good but a bit sad.”
Lee Ye-eun’s eyes widened in disappointment at Kim Se-jun’s words, then she realized the meaning and smiled shyly.
“Um, Kim Se-jun-nim? You can go up on stage now.”
And a MC who looked like a university student approached awkwardly and spoke, and Kim Se-jun nodded.
The first stage was his solo song. Lee Ye-eun was to be inserted in the middle.
“Kyaaak!!”
“Oppa! I love you!”
People watching from the side of the stage let out cheers as Kim Se-jun appeared on stage, and as he stepped onto the stage, the audience’s voices filled the athletic field with joy mixed with cheers.
The athletic field was packed without a gap to step on. People jumping up and down, eyes full of expectation, looking at him.
Kim Se-jun bowed with a relaxed smile full of his face.
“Hello! I am Kim Se-jun!”
Even though it was just a greeting, the cheers towards him pierced the sky, and Kim Se-jun smiled at the audience’s reaction.
“It’s really an honor to be able to perform in front of everyone. Shall we start right away without dragging the time?”
The audience answered in unison to Kim Se-jun’s words, and as he sent a look, his debut song began to flow from the large speaker.
“Kyaaak!”
Even though it was just the intro, the sound was piercing, and Kim Se-jun felt adrenaline surging from his body.
“This is the taste of being a singer.”
People going wild looking at him.
They would be full of life’s joys and sorrows, but to them now, only pleasure was visible.
Kim Se-jun, feeling the emotions of the audience fully, gave them a thumbs up towards the audience.
Just by looking at the audience’s reactions, his whole body tingled and shivered. It was a privilege unique to singers and a luxury only singers could have.
When the lotus blooms, I first saw you.
Better than the lotus, I kept you in my eyes.
Your red lips
Shone like a red lotus.
The audience’s mouths moved, hundreds of voices hit his ears.
The phenomenon called “singing along”.
As hundreds sang his song with him, Kim Se-jun looked at them with a loving gaze.
It was a feeling he had never felt before.
“Truly, I’m glad I became a singer.”
It was an emotion that couldn’t be felt in a lifetime if not a singer.
And when the song’s highlight came, Kim Se-jun extended the mic all the way to the audience.
That day’s memory. The time I want to forget now.
When the lotus withers, I will leave you.
Hundreds of voices harmonizing to create the chorus.
Kim Se-jun’s body trembled as if he couldn’t control himself at the harmony.
It was overwhelming emotion beyond control.
***
After “Lotus”, Kim Se-jun sang “Simcheongga” together with the audience literally.
He opened his mouth with an excited voice.
“Everyone. It’s fun, right?”
“Yes!”
“I’m also having fun. You don’t know how happy and joyful I am because of you all.”
Kim Se-jun walked from the end of the stage to the beginning, and every time he moved, people’s phones lit up.
“I can’t describe in words how happy I am today. So I’ll show you with action.”
Expectations and curiosity appeared on the audience’s faces at Kim Se-jun’s words.
Kim Se-jun paused for a moment, smiled widely, and spoke again.
“The performance fee I received today, I’ll return it all to scholarships! Without missing a single penny! I’ll donate it all back as scholarships!”
“...!”
The audience let out screams in surprise at Kim Se-jun’s words.
A word spoken in front of hundreds.
It couldn’t be false.
Kim Se-jun! Kim Se-jun!
Seeing the audience chanting his name, Kim Se-jun nodded in satisfaction.
He had planned this from the beginning.
Insanely high college tuition fees.
Compared to those who live with debt from the start, how blessed was his life.
He wanted to give them one gift, and that was why he intended to return his performance fee entirely to the university.
“If I mix in a bit of lip service, it would be even better. And right now, getting their hearts is more important to me than money.”
His 20s fan base, relatively weaker compared to middle-aged.
With this album’s success, he had gained some popularity with them, but there was no lack of regret.
But if this event spread widely on the internet, his popularity among university students would surely skyrocket without bounds.
“If buying their popularity for a few hundred million won, it’s a steal.”
And the truth was that he genuinely wanted to reward their enthusiastic reactions.
“The next song is the one men have been waiting for so long, the dance song.”
Men who guessed who it was expressed joy with deep voices.
“These days, he’s busier than me. I barely managed to bring him. The song Spring Rain with Ye-eun.”
With Kim Se-jun’s introduction, Lee Ye-eun who had been waiting backstage came on stage.
Like when Kim Se-jun came up, an enormous cheer was heard, and Lee Ye-eun flinched in surprise but soon smiled brightly.
The men who saw her smile let out screams, and the women cheered.
Regardless of gender, they expressed admiration for her beauty.
“Unnie is pretty!” and similar voices were heard, and every time Lee Ye-eun smiled, a joyful scream came out.
Kim Se-jun, enjoying the audience’s reactions, sent a look to Lee Ye-eun, and Lee Ye-eun, reading the gaze, nodded.
And the sound of rain flowing.
People were excited by the familiar sound, and Kim Se-jun smiled faintly.
And slowly opened his mouth.
The emotion of this day would be a great memory for the audience, for Lee Ye-eun, and for Kim Se-jun to chew over for a long time.