Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Episode 3. A Night with a Top Star (2)
What should he say?
After thinking for a long time, Park Siwoo couldn’t find an answer and eventually fell asleep.
—Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep.
6 a.m.
Woken by the alarm he had set, Park Siwoo rubbed his eyes and got up.
The light from the computer he had forgotten to turn off tickled his eyes before the sunlight did.
“Whew……”
Letting out a small breath, Park Siwoo looked at the computer.
Since he had checked his emails before falling asleep, the inbox was still open on the screen.
‘More messages came in.’
It wasn’t that many.
About three new emails had arrived.
“Alright.”
He got out of bed and sat down in the chair.
Looking closer, two of the emails were game advertisements.
Including the two from last night, there were now three emails requesting compositions.
And—
‘They’re all famous names.’
The senders varied.
JYT Entertainment, known as Korea’s top agency.
The idol band Sunshine.
Even singer Jang Areum.
Contacts from celebrities recognized not just in Korea, but worldwide.
Park Siwoo’s heart pounded heavily.
‘Maybe… my music isn’t bad.’
No, it definitely wasn’t bad.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be getting contacted by celebrities like this.
‘Kim Soyeon said it wasn’t good.’
Whenever he made a song, he used to let his wife listen to it.
And every time, her responses were cold.
[It sounds like a children’s song.]
[Spend that time working instead.]
[Stop wasting time on music and go wash the dishes.]
She treated his music like trash.
But now—
[The bouncy acoustic guitar melody combined with the steady drum bass, and the narrative lyrics that calmly tell a story—it’s incredibly charming.]
[Composer! I’m a huge fan! If it’s not too much trouble, I’d love to meet you just once! Or at least get in touch! I’m always cheering for you! From Sunshine’s Kim Hana!]
Every email was full of praise.
Famous celebrities were openly saying his music was good.
‘Maybe… I can achieve the dream I couldn’t back then.’
The childhood dream of making a living through music.
—Gulp.
Swallowing dryly, Park Siwoo straightened his posture.
Then he began replying to the emails.
“So, for this track—”
—Ding!
“Just a moment.”
During an internal meeting,
A notification popped up on the monitor of executive producer Jung Jinwoo.
He was about to ignore it as usual and continue the meeting, but when he saw the sender’s name, his eyes widened.
‘Guitar Hero…!’
A composer and singer-songwriter who had suddenly appeared five years ago.
His singing wasn’t particularly outstanding, but his compositions were extremely captivating.
‘For some reason, his view count wasn’t that high.’
But producers tended to search extensively for music.
So most people in the industry knew of him.
‘Several people even tried to sign him.’
But they all failed.
Guitar Hero didn’t read comments and never left contact information.
And yet—
‘To suddenly open email contact like this.’
Having subscribed and turned on notifications, Jung Jinwoo sent a contract offer as soon as the video was uploaded.
And now, Guitar Hero had replied.
From that moment on, the meeting no longer mattered to him.
He quickly checked the email.
[Hello, thank you for the contract offer. However, I believe my skills are still lacking, so I must respectfully decline. Thank you.]
“…My skills are lacking…?”
After composing something that could easily rival top-tier composers?
‘It must be a polite refusal.’
He was turning it down indirectly.
‘So that’s how he’s playing it.’
Jung Jinwoo nodded.
It seemed Guitar Hero knew his own value very well.
‘Normally, contract terms are discussed in person.’
But it couldn’t be helped.
Jung Jinwoo wanted him to work on a song for a new idol group debuting soon.
[Top industry…]
His hands began moving quickly.
Park Siwoo sent rejection emails to all the celebrities who had contacted him.
He believed his skills weren’t perfect yet.
‘I don’t want to chase money with a light heart right now.’
For now, he wanted to keep working at the company while gradually improving his music.
‘That aside.’
Lee Yena still hadn’t contacted him.
‘Did something happen?’
Or maybe—
It really had just been a one-night thing.
Thinking about it, there was no need to assign meaning to that night.
It might have been special to him, but just ordinary to her.
“Team leader.”
A dull voice broke his thoughts.
“This report……”
“Ah, give it here.”
“Yes.”
Park Siwoo took the report from his team member.
It was the business plan for this quarter, decided in the last meeting.
Though it was said to be decided recently, in reality, they had been aiming for this opportunity for a year.
‘A lot of celebrities’ contracts are expiring this time.’
Starlight Entertainment was trying to turn things around by signing them.
The problem was—
‘Who would join a company with a lobbying scandal?’
They would rather renew with their current agency.
Or sign with a better one.
Either way, they wouldn’t come to Starlight.
The real issue was—
‘Only the higher-ups don’t realize that.’
The executives firmly believed effort alone could overcome this crisis.
‘And when it fails, the blame will fall on us again.’
The rookie development sales division, where Park Siwoo worked, handled all sorts of miscellaneous tasks.
His Sales Team 1 especially so.
They had to discover talent, secure contracts, and even handle company partnerships.
Because of Starlight’s financial struggles, departments had been merged.
“Ugh……”
Should he just resign now?
The thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head.
Just then—
“Team Leader Park!”
The director gestured to him.
Suppressing a sigh, Park Siwoo quickly headed to the office before getting picked on again.
“You saw the report, right?”
“Yes.”
“The higher-ups are expecting us to bring in at least one top-tier celebrity this time. Don’t disappoint them. Got it?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“It’s not about trying. If this fails, Team 1 is done for. And you’ll have to hand in that ID card too.”
The director smirked.
“Do well.”
Being told to “do well” at something impossible was truly unpleasant.
Park Siwoo barely held himself back from punching him.
“I’ll get going.”
“Yeah, go.”
The director waved him off lazily.
‘I should start preparing quickly.’
Maybe he should buy some professional books on the way home.
As he returned to his seat, a man approached.
“Team leader, it’s dinner time……”
“Oh, let’s all go eat.”
At his words, the entire team headed out together.
‘Guess I’ll eat too.’
Park Siwoo followed them to the cafeteria.
He usually ate alone, so the team looked unusually excited.
“You’re eating with us, Team Leader?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Wow, when was the last time we all ate together? We don’t even have team dinners.”
At that, another team member chimed in,
“That’s right. I want a team dinner!”
“I thought you didn’t like those, Kim Shinhye.”
Park Siwoo asked, and Kim Shinhye laughed.
“Well… maybe if it’s with you, Team Leader?”
“What, are you hitting on him?”
Startled, she waved her hands.
“No, that’s not it! You’re different from other bosses. You’re easygoing, witty, and handso— I mean, yeah. Hehe.”
—Ding!
The elevator arrived at the first floor.
The team joked as they walked into the cafeteria.
Watching them, Park Siwoo thought,
‘I didn’t know they’d like it this much.’
Maybe he should join them more often.
With that thought, he entered the cafeteria.
Starlight Entertainment’s cafeteria was famous for its food.
A buffet of delicious-looking dishes was laid out.
He filled his tray and sat down.
“You like sausage stir-fry, Team Leader?”
“Who doesn’t?”
“True.”
While chatting casually, his eyes drifted to the TV in the center of the cafeteria.
Entertainment news was playing.
“Ah, it’s Lee Yena.”
“Isn’t she so pretty? How can someone look that lovely?”
“Seriously. The guy who marries her is lucky.”
“Lucky? He’d get beaten by the entire nation.”
Park Siwoo flinched slightly and looked at the TV.
Then—
‘That song sounds familiar…’
“Ah, I love that song.”
“What song?”
“You don’t know? At the end of her concert yesterday, she sang a cover. The title was… Following the Milky Way, I think?”
Hearing that, Park Siwoo was startled.
“Following the Milky Way?”
“Whoa, that scared me. You know it too? Apparently it’s by some unknown composer. Guitar Hero, I think?”
—Ding!
As if fate was playing a joke,
The moment he finished speaking, notifications flooded his phone.
—Ding! Ding! Ding!
Endlessly.
Checking quickly, they were all emails.
[Are you the composer of “Following the Milky Way”? We at YDD Entertainment would like to……]
[Hello, composer. We are a high school indie band……]
Emails poured in like a waterfall.
And among them—
[Lee Yena: Siwoo, can we meet for a moment?]
There was one from Lee Yena.