Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Yeonwoo's Special Feature
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"You're saying it's being scheduled as my special feature?"
Yeonwoo was surprised by Jaehoon's words.
He had planned to appear with a light heart, but they were going to do a broadcast just for him.
Yeonwoo, who only grasped money in simple terms—writing songs earns money, showing his face earns more, others performing his songs earns money, and him performing live earns even more—hadn't yet realized the value he held in the broadcasting world.
Namely, the guarantee of viewership ratings.
But he did know this much.
The more his songs appeared on stage, the more royalties would come in.
"Well, I don't mind."
And he was even a little grateful.
Who was he for them to make a special feature just for him?
Wait, a Yeonwoo special?
"Then doesn't that mean I can take all the stages?"
"Huh? The stages?"
"Yeah, I want to play from behind the scenes at least."
Yeonwoo liked being on stage.
After all, hadn't the whole idea of making an album started because he loved the stage and wanted to stand on it?
"I'll talk about that too. Since it's your request, it'll probably work out."
"Yeah."
Yeonwoo's wish was easily granted.
From the broadcasting station's perspective, there was no reason to dislike Yeonwoo appearing as much as possible.
"But who's appearing?"
* * *
"Only an offer for Chae Hayeon came in? What about Invincible?"
Ko Shinkun, the head of JOP's Korean branch, asked the employee who had come to report, looking puzzled.
"Well... the lineup has Olivia Snow as the main act, so if we bring in Invincible, there'd be too much dead time in between... And Mr. Yoo Jaehyuk said he couldn't go on alone."
"Ah, I get what you mean."
Ko Shinkun nodded.
Chae Hayeon's Late Night was a format where they gathered an audience and edited the performances from that day for broadcast.
Typically, recording ran two to three hours, and if the final main stage was a band, they could set up and go right into it without issue, but putting a band in the middle required a lot of time for setup and teardown, causing problems for the broadcast.
In this Yeonwoo special, with Olivia Snow's stage as the main event, it wasn't easy to slot in the band Invincible midway.
"Well, nothing we can do about it then. Tell Chae Hayeon the singer to prepare."
"She's already basically commuting to SSHIN Studio every day."
"Already?"
"You know Yeonwoo's personality."
"Ah."
Inside JOP, Yeonwoo was regarded as a perfectionist.
A perfectionist who caught even the subtlest pitch deviations that not even industry pros would notice, recording with computer-like precision and zero margin for error.
"Then... is there nothing for us to prepare?"
"Yeonwoo said to supplement the sound equipment if it's lacking for Chae Hayeon's Late Night."
"I'll have to talk about that. It's Yeonwoo's broadcasting debut as representative, and with Olivia Snow appearing too, we can't have any sound issues come up."
Actually, this was something the broadcasting station should handle, but Korean stations couldn't be trusted.
You had to nag and double-check multiple times to avoid getting screwed.
"By the way, we should talk to BSK too, right?"
"Yes, I'll set up a meeting."
"No, that's for SSHIN to handle. What would we even discuss if we met? Just make it so the artists can talk comfortably."
"Ah, yes."
* * *
"Sangchul, isn't this great?"
Lately, Kim Beomsin had been playing Yeonwoo's album in his office every day.
His favorite track was none other than Yeonwoo's piano rendition of 'Star'.
"It's good, but aren't you sick of it, hyung? Listening to Yeonwoo's album every day. And this track feels like you're hearing it dozens of times a day?"
"Because it's good, man."
"Yeah, yeah. Must be nice. You'll get to see the face of the guy who made that great song today too."
"Yeah, when are our kids arriving?"
Today was the day they were visiting Yeonwoo's studio.
Since Yeonwoo was doing all the stages himself, the songs would be rearranged somewhat, and they planned to match their parts accordingly.
"Huh? What are you talking about? The Hadassah kids are heading straight to Yeonwoo's studio."
"What? What do you mean! Weren't we going together? You're telling me to go there all lonely by myself?"
"Think about the kids, hyung. Would they feel comfortable going with their boss? They're already fumbling around because of an 8-year-old kid."
After Ellis and the Hadassah kids recorded, no one in the company was unaware of how intimidated they were by Yeonwoo.
"Eyy, that's exactly why you should come with me! That way they'll be less scared of Yeonwoo."
"Hmm... From what I see, you'll just make Yeonwoo intimidated by you too, hyung."
"Hey, how could I be intimidated by my son— I mean, yeah, practically my grandson? What do you take me for? Eyy, just assign me a road manager! To take me there!"
With that, Kim Beomsin headed to Yeonwoo's studio with the road manager Park Sangchul assigned him.
"Who'd believe Yeonwoo and Olivia Snow live in a neighborhood like this?"
Looking over the old apartment complex, he turned his gaze to the commercial building.
Same story.
Who would believe that a Melboard No. 1 album came out of such an old neighborhood shop?
"Thinking about it... why did I bother setting up the company in Gangnam?"
Kim Beomsin considered relocating headquarters nearby.
Being close would mean more collaborations and him benefiting a ton, right?
As he thought that, he went up to the studio, rang the doorbell, and someone soon appeared.
"Ah, CEO Kim Beomsin. Hello."
"Huh? Who...?"
"I'm Oh Jaehoon, Yeonwoo's manager. Come on in."
"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you."
After a brief introduction with Oh Jaehoon who opened the door, Kim Beomsin entered the studio and quickly scanned the room.
The Hadassah kids were sitting at the table, glancing around nervously like rookies again, Ellis was chatting with Jiyeong in one corner, and Yeonwoo was passionately talking with Olivia Snow.
To someone who didn't know English, it would look like a deeply serious musical discussion.
Maybe that's why the Hadassah kids looked so stiff.
It felt like they shouldn't interrupt.
But...
"[So, let's go to that place over there, okay? It's close.]"
"[But today I want something plain. Everything at the place eye-noona wants is super sweet.]"
"[Disciple, think about it. The place you want doesn't sell yukhoe. I want yukhoe.]"
"[It's real summer now, so they don't sell yukhoe. It's seasonal.]"
"[What? For real? So no yukhoe for a while?]"
"[No. There's a yukhoe specialty place. They deliver too.]"
"[What? Why didn't you tell me something that important?! Starting today, yukhoe delivery every day.]"
...the reality of the conversation was all about food.
Kim Beomsin was speechless at how seriously they were discussing it.
"[So...] Huh? Uncle, hi!"
Just as Yeonwoo was about to dive back into the passionate talk, he spotted Kim Beomsin and scurried over for a bow at waist level.
"Oh, hey, Yeonwoo. Long time no see?"
"Yeah, Uncle."
"Didn't I tell you before? Not uncle, call me Uncle!"
"Yeah, Uncle. Long time no see."
"Yeah, yeah."
As Kim Beomsin gazed at Yeonwoo with a honey-dripping smile, Olivia Snow approached.
"[Hey, hi. I know you. BSK! Right?]"
"[I know you too. Olivia Snow.]"
Sparks flew in Kim Beomsin's eyes for a moment. Someone he wanted to surpass but could never reach, an insurmountable wall.
In truth, that ambition was possible only because it was Yeonwoo's song, and when it climbed to No. 3 on Melboard, he'd secretly hoped for No. 1.
'Couldn't top it myself, so he goes and scouts Olivia Snow.'
Kim Beomsin looked at Yeonwoo.
Just 8 years old, but undeniably a cold, success-hungry producer.
'Then I need to properly showcase my skills today and appeal to him.'
Kim Beomsin craved Yeonwoo's songs. Now, nothing else caught his eye.
Of course, the current Kim Beomsin was in his second peak—or rather, his greatest peak ever—capable of succeeding with any composer or producer.
But after years of being treated as washed-up, with every effort failing and albums flopping, he'd become someone who could no longer innovate or change on his own—passive and conservative, in the worst light.
He absolutely didn't want to go back to those days of rotting in the office like an old man clinging to his seat.
Burning with resolve, Kim Beomsin said,
"Alright, enough introductions. Let's practice. What song should I sing?"
"What do you want to sing, Uncle? You get two songs."
At that, Kim Beomsin answered immediately.
"I want to... yeah, the first one you gave me, 'Cold Night,' and the one that got me into Melboard, 'Going Home'?"
"Then do that."
"Huh? Nothing else? Like something you prepared..."
"Hmm... Since I'm on stage with you, maybe piano versions? Oh, 'Going Home' will be on classical guitar."
Kim Beomsin nodded and said,
"Then shall we give it a go?"
"Sure! Start with 'Going Home'!"
"Good."
Yeonwoo stood up and went to grab his guitar.
"Um... singing in the booth feels like recording. How about singing here? There are people watching, gives it a stage feel, right?"
"Then I'll set up the mic and amp here."
At Yeonwoo's words, Wakana—who had been nowhere in sight—appeared as if waiting and began setting up.
All the studio gear was under Wakana's domain, and as she swiftly and expertly finished, Kim Beomsin stood before the mic and pulled out his in-ears.
"Come to think of it, does Yeonwoo have in-ears?"
Yeonwoo shrugged and said,
"I don't need in-ears."
Used for precise monitoring on stage, but Yeonwoo's exceptional ears made them unnecessary.
No matter how loud the cheers or sing-alongs, Yeonwoo could hear every voice clearly.
In fact, to hear the crowd's cheers, sing-alongs, and cheers, Yeonwoo avoided in-ears.
Yeonwoo... was an exhibitionist at heart.
"Alright, shall we start?"
Kim Beomsin said that and looked at Yeonwoo. Yeonwoo nodded at his words and immediately brought his hands to the guitar.
'How good is this kid on guitar?'
Kim Beomsin, who had never seen Yeonwoo play guitar, was curious since he'd said it would be classical guitar for 'Going Home.'
Amid that, Yeonwoo's hands unleashed Jimi Hendrix-level playing with Wes Montgomery's technique.
Stunned by the flashy performance unbelievable from an 8-year-old's hands, Kim Beomsin lost the beat.
At once, Yeonwoo's eyes sharpened.
"Uncle!! Focus!!"
"Uh, uh... sorry."
Just as Park Sangchul had predicted, Kim Beomsin froze like the Hadassah kids peeking nervously from the table, staring at Yeonwoo.