The Concert (1)
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
The man approached the table with a warm, good-natured smile.
He naturally took a seat and pulled two business cards from his breast pocket, sliding them across the table.
"I'm Kim Muhwan."
Kim Muhwan introduced himself as the team leader of Taeseong Entertainment's Rookie Development Team.
He was a man with a very neat, clean-cut impression.
The business card was undoubtedly Taeseong's.
And above all, he was someone I knew of.
The CEO mentioned him in passing the other day.
If you're good at your job, your name is bound to get around in this industry.
Even Bae Sol, who usually couldn't care less about other agencies, had mentioned his achievements.
...A much bigger player showed up than I expected.
A faint tension hovered in the air around me.
"I'll pay for the drinks, so don't be nervous. Please, order whatever you'd like."
Kim Muhwan's good-natured smile remained unchanged.
It was a strategy to melt away our wariness and tension.
"So, what made you start a band?"
We shared various stories about ourselves—nothing of real substance, just light banter.
As the conversation flowed, the awkward atmosphere gradually began to thaw.
In truth, I wasn't particularly guarded to begin with.
If Kim Muhwan had been some shady, unknown figure, I would have been on high alert.
But since he was already famous in the industry, I didn't think he was here to scam us.
Of course, I kept a baseline level of tension.
My trust in him was still paper-thin.
I couldn't just mindlessly swallow everything he said.
"First of all... what I can tell you with absolute certainty is this."
Slurp.
Kim Muhwan took a sip of his coffee before continuing.
"You two possess the most important talent required to become celebrities."
With the ice broken, the conversation slowly drifted toward the main point.
"It might sound disappointing, but in this industry, looks are incredibly important. Perhaps even more so than talent."
Kim Muhwan gestured toward the two of us with both hands.
He complimented our appearances.
Then, he added that Taeseong was highly motivated to establish a relationship with us.
That's a very enticing pitch.
If I were an aspiring celebrity, those words would have made my heart race.
Just looking at Yoon Seolah sitting next to me proved it.
Her previous desire to join HS Entertainment was nowhere to be seen.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked back and forth between Kim Muhwan and me.
"Of course, you'll start as trainees. Even if you aren't going to be idols."
"..."
"However, in your case, I expect the training period to be exceptionally short."
"...?"
"If you debut, you'll either promote as a duo or we'll add a few more members to form a band."
...They've already decided that?
Does that even make sense?
That wasn't something a rookie development team 'leader' could just decide on a whim.
Normally, they rarely discuss the specific debut format during a first meeting...
Has something actually been decided?
There was no way Taeseong would make such a swift decision.
My mind grew slightly complicated.
But I listened to Kim Muhwan's pitch to the end, quietly noting the questionable points one by one.
"It's a real shame... that you already have an agency, Jisul."
The conversation wound down.
Just before the meeting wrapped up.
Kim Muhwan, who stood up first, looked at me with deep regret written all over his face.
"Still, thank you for letting me know early on."
Kim Muhwan had already paid for the drinks.
"With looks like yours, Jisul... I'm sure I'll see you on TV soon."
He offered me some warm words of encouragement before turning to bid farewell to Yoon Seolah.
"I hope to hear good news from you, Seolah. I'll be waiting for your call. Good work today, both of you."
With that, Kim Muhwan left first.
"How was it?"
Only the two of us remained in the cafe.
"...I don't really know. Everything from the moment school ended until now feels like a dream."
Yoon Seolah fidgeted with Kim Muhwan's business card, turning it over in her fingers.
"Should I sign with them?"
She suddenly turned her head toward me.
The eyes looking up at me were undeniably full of life.
"It's hard to say since they haven't laid out the exact terms of the contract yet, but..."
Still, the fact that they want you so badly is a huge plus.
I added that thought, then continued.
"And since the meeting is over, I'll tell you this."
HS is going to hold an audition soon. For a female solo artist.
Hearing this, Yoon Seolah's eyes wavered.
As usual, her facial expression didn't change drastically.
But if you looked closely, she was clearly shaken.
If she was going to be this flustered, maybe I should have told her beforehand.
I had a brief moment of doubt, but I still believed my original judgment was correct.
The reason I hadn't told her earlier was simple.
Yoon Seolah wanted to join HS. If I had told her this first...
She might not have shown any interest in today's meeting at all.
"...When?"
"Before summer break."
"Next month?"
"Probably late June or early July."
"..."
"Think about it carefully."
As I closed my mouth,
Yoon Seolah stared straight at me, her posture perfectly still.
Like someone who was nervous, her hands, neatly clasped on her lap, tightened slightly.
She parted her lips as if to say something, only to press them shut again. After repeating this a few times,
"...Thanks for letting me know."
She quietly thanked me.
"Hmm..."
A few days passed.
The band members gathered in the music room, but we weren't really practicing today.
Everyone was simply too exhausted.
"Something's weird lately."
Yet, there was one person who seemed completely immune to fatigue.
"? What's weird?"
"Just the vibe... it's strange. Everyone feels strangely stiff, you know?"
"...Huh?"
"Ah, not the band itself. I mean the vibe between us."
Choi Saeron began to ramble, spouting things that made no sense.
"...Why don't you explain that in a bit more detail?"
"Was my explanation lacking?"
"Severely."
"...What?!"
Choi Saeron reacted as if she hadn't expected that response.
She let out a sharp breath and spoke.
"I mean, the vibe between us lately is weird. Between you and the three of us."
"Is it?"
"I'm telling you, it is! How should I put it... Dain seems a bit cold toward you, and Seolah seems to have lost her energy..."
Choi Saeron hummed, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
"...Now that I think about it, you're the problem. You crazy Jeong Jisul."
She blurted out that nonsense.
"Why is it that the girls only act weird when they talk to you? Why? Did you slide into their DMs and confess to them or something?"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Confession my foot.
In the first place, the person I had been texting the most lately was Choi Saeron.
I hadn't spoken to Kwon Dain at all after school.
And since Yoon Seolah must have a lot on her mind, I refrained from contacting her first.
When I pointed this out to Choi Saeron,
"Well, we have been texting a lot."
She nodded her small head in agreement.
The reason my conversations with Choi Saeron had increased was simple.
The Orchid concert was just around the corner.
The concert was scheduled for May 27th.
It was originally supposed to be held in mid-May, but due to adult circumstances, it was postponed and finalized for that date.
"But will you be okay?"
I asked, steering the conversation.
It was a light attempt to tease Choi Saeron back for poking fun at me.
"About what?"
"Isn't your seat really bad? Didn't you kind of fail at ticketing?"
"You said last time that it wasn't that bad of a seat."
"That's by normal people's standards."
"...Huh?"
"With your height, you probably won't see anything."
"...What?!"
Choi Saeron scowled deeply.
"You said it's a seated show, so it'd be fine!"
"Well, your sitting height is short too."
"...Is that a compliment?"
"It means you have long legs."
"...I don't think that's what you meant."
A pouting Choi Saeron threw light jabs at me.
She didn't put any force behind them, so it didn't hurt at all.
"I wish the concert day would just get here already."
With that familiar phrase, our little play-fight came to an end.
At the same time, I glanced around the music room.
Yoon Seolah is asleep.
And the class president...
"..."
"..."
My eyes locked awkwardly with the class president's.
The reason for the awkwardness was the smirk on his face.
The way he was staring slyly at Choi Saeron and me...
He's definitely thinking something weird again.
After school, I dropped by the agency.
I had some things I wanted to discuss with Bae Sol.
I also came to watch Generation X practice, as their choreography was finally complete.
"You're here?"
"Yes."
Bae Sol was the first to greet me in the practice room.
"Jisul, did you know?"
The moment she saw me, she beamed and asked a question.
"Know what?"
"That Fuzz has officially become a trendsetter?"
"...Ah."
Bae Sol playfully patted my back.
"I've never seen sampling used like this in mainstream pop before."
Ever since Seong Haein's seventh album was released,
and the public showered it with praise, other singers had quickly jumped on the bandwagon, using sampling in their own tracks.
"You absolutely started this trend."
I was well aware that I had influenced other people's music.
It was something I couldn't ignore.
I simply chose not to dwell on it to keep myself from getting arrogant.
"Do you know what's good about this for us?"
Bae Sol kept the questions coming.
"...No, what?"
"We can go viral. We can post Shorts or Reels with titles like 'The composer who first merged mainstream pop with sampling.'"
Indeed...
That was entirely possible.
While some might view the word "viral" negatively,
it was ultimately just another form of marketing.
From the agency's perspective, it was a strategy well worth trying if the conditions allowed.
"Gosh, signing you was the best decision I ever made."
Bae Sol roughly ruffled my hair.
"Should I give you a bonus? It's still a few weeks before your payout."
"If you're offering, I'll take it."
"Ha, the old you would have declined."
"...It's fine if you don't."
"No, it's not like I'm giving you cash for a bonus anyway."
Bae Sol pondered for a moment.
But her hesitation didn't last long.
"Jisul, you said you listen to Orchid a lot, right?"
"Yes."
"Then do you want to go to their concert? I received a few VIP tickets."
"...VIP seats?"
"Yeah, I got them because I have a bit of a personal connection. You don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm just asking."
Like a conditioned reflex, the mere mention of Orchid brought Choi Saeron to mind.
I pictured her, genuinely and purely loving the band.
"So, are you going? If you are, let me know how many tickets you need."
Bae Sol asked brightly.
I replied, keeping Choi Saeron in mind.
"Yes, I'll go. I need two tickets."
With this, I might be able to hold the upper hand over Choi Saeron for a while.
The amusing thought crossed my mind.