Invitation (2)
"Velvet Night Concert?"
I echoed the words, and CEO Kim Taesung nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Looking into his eyes, I saw a reflection of my past self. There was nothing more thrilling or joyful than playing a song for a musician you respected—or a peer whose talent you recognized—and hearing their honest evaluation.
Still, the question lingered.
But why now?
"You said it yourself in the interview, Jiyoung. The reason you went on the audition. You wanted to prove that your reverse climb wasn't just luck—that it was pure skill."
"I did."
He scratched the back of his head and continued.
"Honestly? The reverse run of your On the Road happened because the song itself is excellent, yes… but more than that, it soothed the hollow feelings of modern people at exactly the right moment. It was a kind of zeitgeist luck."
I didn't argue. I simply nodded.
Music really does have that power. When the accident of reading the air of an era lines up just so, a song finally grows wings.
"An old track climbing the charts again isn't common, but it's not unheard of either. Some people miss that chance and vanish. Some turn away from it themselves. And plenty more dream of a second leap only to end up as one-hit wonders."
"The public is cold," I said. "They turn away so fast."
Kim Taesung agreed at once.
"Exactly. Ice-cold. Ruthless, even. More often than not, they never loved the musician—they just loved that one song."
His words pricked something deep in my chest.
"If you truly want to become a musician who moves people's hearts… I think you need to see that difference for yourself."
He slid an envelope across the table.
"Watch it from the closest seat possible. You'll get at least a hint of what kind of music you should make from now on, and how to keep holding onto the public's heart."
"Is this some kind of contract?"
I looked up from the envelope.
"No. Just one musician cheering for another."
"…May I open it?"
"Of course."
With his permission I picked up the envelope and checked inside. The stiff paper texture brushed my fingertips. Inside lay a lavishly gold-foiled VVIP ticket and a private lounge pass.
When I read the name of the concert printed on the ticket, my eyebrows shot up.
"It's not just Velvet Night performing?"
"Correct. People call it the Dream Concert."
The Dream Concert—where every top-tier idol in Korea and every rising rookie gathered on one stage.
Kim Taesung propped his chin on his hand and added,
"All sorts of industry people will be in the VVIP seats. Go see who they look at. See which stages make the crowd lose their minds. Wouldn't that be valuable experience?"
A kind of field study, then.
Typical businessman.
My interest was piqued. It was a chance to witness the massive energy the idol industry of this life created—something the musician I used to be had never seen.
I checked the date printed at the bottom of the ticket.
"It's tomorrow."
I carefully tucked the ticket back into the envelope and gave Kim Taesung a small bow.
"Thank you, CEO. I'll watch carefully."
After Jiyoung left, Kim Taesung lifted his tablet. Articles about her filled the screen.
Has there ever been another musician who moves like this?
He gave a bitter smile and swiped.
Songwriting ability that let her compose her own tracks. Dance skills that could match idol trainees blow for blow. And above all, looks that captivated the public.
Why did I let a kid like this go?
He slowly closed his eyes. Five years of memories flashed through his mind like shattered glass.
Back then, Kim Taesung had been full of venom. Obsessed with popularity and profit alone so he could hoist Luminous into the major-agency ranks.
Money called money. The more the numbers in his bank account swelled, the narrower his vision became. For immediate sales he favored only provocative music and cookie-cutter idols.
And so he had never seen the deep, unique potential of the raw gem named Han Jiyoung. He had coldly cast her out under the excuse that she wouldn't make money.
"…Or maybe if I'd kept her, her individuality would have died."
He muttered it like a consolation to himself.
Kim Taesung swiped the tablet again and brought up the next document—Kim Naeun's profile.
"Naeun-ah. It's about time you debuted too."
His fingertip slowly traced over her photo.
The growth she had shown in the Round 2 performance—after four years of what had looked like standing still—was almost miraculous. Rhythm sense, eye contact, and above all the ease of simply enjoying the stage.
It was clearly the result of absorbing energy and stimulus beside the enormous talent that was Han Jiyoung.
Does Naeun still want to be an idol?
Kim Taesung tapped the desk with a fingertip, lost in thought.
Watching Han Jiyoung had taught him something. The public no longer responded to manufactured dolls. They responded to real people who breathed and sang on their own.
"A solo debut might not be a bad idea…"
Not as a member of an idol group, but as a solo artist with a unique color, just like Jiyoung.
Kim Taesung's eyes flashed again with the cool, burning heat of a producer. The fresh shock Jiyoung had thrown at him was waking senses that had long grown stagnant.
The next evening.
The area around Jamsil Main Stadium was already packed long before the show began. Tens of thousands of light sticks painted the night sky, and the beat pouring from the massive speakers made the ground itself tremble.
I pulled my cap down low and entered the stadium through the VVIP corridor.
At the lounge entrance a staff member in a suit greeted me politely.
"Han Jiyoung-nim? Right this way, please."
The VVIP lounge he led me into featured a floor-to-ceiling window that looked down over the entire stadium. Industry people were already there, champagne flutes in hand, chatting.
I took a seat in a quiet corner and looked down at the heat outside.
Beyond the glass the stadium was a sea of people—hundreds of thousands tangled together like ants, every nationality and age.
In contrast, the people gathered here seemed to have no interest in the stage. They exchanged business cards over champagne and whispered about secret contracts in low voices.
Had they come for business?
Kim Taesung gave me a gift this big?
A root of suspicion still lingered in one corner of my mind, but with this much sincerity I figured I could start letting it go. Simply being here let me read the current of the industry at a glance.
I felt sharp gazes prickling against my skin. No wonder—among the people dressed in glittering suits and gowns, I was the only one in an oversized hoodie, ball cap pulled low, mask on.
They were probably thinking some passing staff member had wandered into the wrong room, or that I was some foolish personal assistant.
That was when it happened.
The rustle of a dress and the smell of alcohol arrived in the seat beside me, and a single finger pressed firmly into my cheek right over the mask.
"…?"
I turned, startled. A woman in a dazzling gown was smiling brightly at me.
"It is you, Jiyoung. Fancy meeting you here."
It was Kang Soyoung—judge on Voice of Legend and the original singer of my Round 2 performance song, Invitation. A living legend of the music industry.
"Judge…?"
"Judge, nothing. Anyway, Jiyoung, you really are a hospital director's daughter, huh? Must be loaded. Not just anyone gets into a place like this."
She winked playfully and tossed out the teasing joke. When I only blinked in flustered silence, she burst out laughing and thumped my shoulder so the awkwardness wouldn't settle.
"I'm kidding, kidding! Loosen that face. So how did you get in here, Jiyoung? Even with money, this lounge is tough without an invitation from a celebrity or an agency CEO."
"CEO Kim Taesung gave me the ticket. He told me to come study a little…"
Kang Soyoung's eyebrows shot high.
"Oh my? Really? That man? Honey, he coldly kicked you out five years ago and now he's clinging all pathetic? Hilarious."
She set her champagne flute on the table and leaned in close.
"Be careful, Jiyoung. That Kim Taesung is a salesman. This is him laying bait so he can drag you back to his side."
"I'm already fully aware and being careful."
At my answer she patted my head, eyes soft as if she were looking at a very clever puppy.
"Look at this sharp little thing. Are you really only twenty? You talk like you've lived a couple of lives already."
After that Kang Soyoung stuck right by my side, swirling her champagne and chattering nonstop. The main topic was my performance stage.
She never dreamed her own song Invitation could be interpreted that way. Especially the breath work in the intro—more erotic than when she herself sang it. Praise poured out of her.
Then her expression suddenly grew serious.
"But Jiyoung. I've really been curious—why did you quit music so emptily five years ago? With that kind of talent."
Her eyes held genuine regret. I could guess right away why she was talking so much. A junior who had interpreted her song perfectly—no, better than perfectly. Plus the solidarity and kinship that came from being fellow female artists.
"Same thing I said on The Spotlight. I ran because I was scared. Like a coward."
"Scared? Of what?"
"That my voice might never reach anyone. I was so terrified of being abandoned that I threw myself away first."
"Aww, our Jiyoung did that?"
Kang Soyoung wrapped an arm around my shoulders and rubbed against me. The scent of champagne and her body heat washed over me.
This woman is definitely drunk.
Just as I felt her tension reaching the danger zone—
Bang—! Pop-pop-pop—!
Brilliant fireworks shattered the stillness of the stadium. The pitch-black night sky filled with flame, and the roar of tens of thousands of people made the glass tremble.
The concert had finally begun.
Without thinking I stood and pressed myself against the window, staring down.
"Jiyoung."
"Yes?"
"What kind of studying is looking through a window from here? This is just peeping."
She grabbed my wrist tight.
"Want to go see it up close?"
There was no time to stop her. Kang Soyoung dragged me out through the lounge door.
"Where are we going??"
"Front row~~ Don't worry. There are empty VVIP seats."
I didn't actually mind. I wanted to feel, on my own skin, the cheers and heat of the public that I had never experienced in my previous life.