Producer Shin Hye-yoon

A lively discussion was in full swing at the Five Girls' agency office in Seongnam.

Sung-hoon was working to finish the song as quickly as possible, while CEO Lee Jae-man and Kyeong-hwan traded ideas on how to work their connections at the broadcasting stations.

Young-hoon, meanwhile… sat off in a corner like a discarded sack of barley, quietly enduring the boredom.

Even so, the meeting dragged on until dawn without producing any real conclusions. Since it had been so long since the group last released a song and promoted properly, the road ahead was anything but smooth.

In the end, unable to settle on a concrete direction, they agreed to meet again in the afternoon and parted ways.

Young-hoon returned briefly to his studio apartment in Ilsan and sank straight into bed. Unfortunately, with another trip to Seongnam scheduled for the afternoon, a long, restful sleep was out of the question.

So he had no choice but to drag himself up at eleven in the morning. On weekends he usually needed a good ten hours of sleep to shake off the week's accumulated fatigue, but he'd come home so late that he'd barely slept at all, leaving his body heavy and limp.

Just as he was rousing his exhausted self to fix a late breakfast-slash-lunch, the phone rang. It was Hye-in.

"Hey, why do I have to go over there again? I'm completely useless there. Can't I just not come?"

Young-hoon tried to whine his way out of it, but he never stood a chance. Hye-in declared with iron resolution:

"What are you talking about?! Of course you have to come. Aren't you one of us, Oppa?"

"What do you mean, one of your— fine. Fine, I'm not. Sorry. My bad. Okay, okay, I'll come. I give up, I'm coming. So where is this dorm of yours, anyway?"

Having cleanly surrendered his meal, Young-hoon hurried through a shower and drove to Seongnam, where the Five Girls' dorm was located.

The dorm occupied the first floor of a row house—a shabby place that looked like it had been built more than thirty years ago. Three bedrooms and a small living room made up the roughly eighty-square-meter space.

When Young-hoon pressed the doorbell, Hye-in greeted him with a bright grin.

"Hehe, you got here fast."

"Welcome, Oppa!"

"…Good to see you."

"Ahem. Well, this is… a little embarrassing, walking into a place where only young ladies live."

"You're getting shy now? And why did you buy toilet paper of all things?"

"Hey, it's my first visit. A gift like this is just basic courtesy."

While Young-hoon and Hye-in traded light jabs, Joo-yeon emerged in an apron and called everyone to the table.

"Come in and sit down, Oracle-brother. It's nothing fancy, but please eat plenty."

Young-hoon, who practically lived on takeout, felt his mood lift at the rare prospect of a home-cooked meal. The mound of white rice and the steaming kimchi stew set before him stirred his appetite all on their own.

But the moment he scooped up a spoonful of the stew with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all that expectation riding on it, his hopes took a nosedive. It was edible, sure—but the gap between the dish's inviting appearance and its actual taste was a bit brutal.

Strange. There was a time when everything tasted good to me, but ever since Chuseok my palate seems to have changed. Is this the ring's influence too? Archmage Hains's ring?

A twinge of disappointment flickered through him, but Young-hoon did his duty, eating heartily without letting a hint of it show.

"Did you enjoy the food, Oracle-brother?"

Joo-yeon asked him eagerly. Given the apron she'd been wearing moments ago, she had probably been the one to cook it all.

"I did. Your cooking skills are no joke, Joo-yeon. Whoever marries you is going to be one lucky man."

"Oh my, Oracle-brother, really."

Joo-yeon's cheeks flushed pink, clearly delighted by the compliment.

"So, Hye-in—when and where are we meeting the producer?"

"Two o'clock, at our office. So take your time getting ready, but we should head out soon. It's a ten-minute walk."

"Right. Then I should at least help with the dishes. Are you girls really going out dressed like that?"

"It's fine. We're walking right up the street, so who cares. Once we're famous, it won't be too late to start worrying about that stuff."

"If you say so."

"I do."

Still, Young-hoon couldn't shake the feeling that the Five Girls members had put a little extra care into their appearance that day—and his instincts were not deceiving him.

Before long, Young-hoon and the members of Five Girls arrived at the agency office, where CEO Jae-man, producer Sung-hoon, and manager Kyeong-hwan were already waiting. Producer Hye-yoon was said to be arriving shortly.

Minutes later, PD Shin Hye-yoon—who bore an uncanny resemblance to the beloved actress Son Hye-gyo—walked through the door.

The Five Girls were pretty, yes, but the age gap was so wide that Young-hoon had never once thought of them as women. Shin Hye-yoon, however, made his heart flutter the instant he laid eyes on her.

"Sung-hoon Oppa, it's been a while."

"Oh, good to see you. Hye-yoon, say hello. You know Jae-man's brother, right?"

"Of course I do. His dad and Jae-man Oppa's dad are drinking buddies from the same neighborhood. Jae-man Oppa, how have you been?"

"Come on in, Hye-yoon. Ah, forgive the sorry state of the office."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. All agency offices look like this. Mine's even messier, believe me."

"Ha, kind words nonetheless. These are my Five Girls members, their manager Kyeong-hwan, and finally—our benefactor, Kim Young-hoon."

"Please, Mr. CEO, you flatter me. Me, a benefactor?"

Young-hoon flushed with embarrassment as he extended his hand to Producer Shin Hye-yoon.

"Kim Young-hoon, nice to meet you. And might I say—you're stunning. Honestly, for a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠second I thought Son Hye-gyo herself had walked in."

Hye-yoon didn't seem to mind the compliment in the least; she clasped his hand and returned the handshake warmly.

For some reason, the gazes of the Five Girls members seemed to sharpen all at once… but that had to be his imagination. Surely.

"Thank you for the kind words. Though I have to ask—why exactly are you Jae-man Oppa's benefactor, Mr. Kim?"

Hye-yoon asked carefully. When Young-hoon hesitated, unsure how to answer, CEO Lee Jae-man jumped in quickly.

"You know how it is, Hye-yoon—I run a small agency. You know these girls, right? Five Girls? Ah, maybe you don't. Anyway, they're already seven years into their debut, but with low name recognition and hardly any event bookings, I was about to shut the whole thing down."

Mid-sentence, Jae-man suddenly noticed the atmosphere around him turn frosty and looked around in confusion.

"Huh? Girls, I'm not making any of this up—could you maybe tone down the death glare? And I'm in the middle of something important here. If you've got something to say, save it for later… actually, no, just don't say it. Keep it bottled up inside. Uh, where was I? Right—Hye-in."

Oblivious to the chill deepening around him, CEO Lee Jae-man pressed on without missing a beat.

"This girl Hye-in's hometown senior, Mr. Young-hoon here, wrote them an absolutely staggering song. We just finished recording it yesterday, and Sung-hoon's doing the final polish now. But you know how it is—a great song means nothing if there's no way to let the world hear it. Then I happened to hear you'd become a drama producer, so I figured if you had any connections at the broadcasting stations, maybe you could lend us a hand. That's why I asked to meet you."

"Hmm… well, what can I say? I work in broadcasting, but I only really know drama PDs. I barely know anyone on the music side…"

Jae-man was crushed by her answer, but with everyone else present, he couldn't let it show.

"By the way, what kind of song is it that you're calling it staggering? Could I possibly have a listen? Who knows—if the song is truly that good, I might just go to bat for you. For a fee, of course."

"Really? If you'd do that, I'd be the one thanking you. Sung-hoon, you've got the girls' recording on you, right?"

"Of course. The mastering isn't fully finished yet, but the song's so good that hearing this version will give you the right idea. I brought the USB—just plug it into the PC and play it."

When Hye-yoon showed interest, Jae-man decided he couldn't let the opportunity slip and hurried to connect the USB and start the song.

The instant the song began, Hye-yoon felt an irresistible wave of emotion wash over her. It was as if the sailboat floating on the vast open sea were right there before her eyes.

Oh my! What is this feeling? My heart feels so warm, like I'm walking along the shore. Ah, if only there were a handsome lover walking beside me, it would be absolutely perfect…

While Hye-yoon was swept helplessly along by the tide of feeling, the song came to an end.

Ah, it's over already? What a shame. I wanted to keep listening…

For Young-hoon, too, hearing Five Girls' voices pour out of the speakers struck him differently than he'd expected.

Wow! They really are singers, through and through. How on earth have they not made it yet, singing this well? They're all adorable, too… is there something wrong with their personalities or what?

Young-hoon, blissfully unaware, was entertaining thoughts that would have started a full-blown revolt had the girls heard them.

Hye-yoon finally composed herself and spoke.

"Jae-man Oppa, this song is really something. Even an amateur like me could feel it this deeply—I'm certain this song is going to be a hit."

"See? You can feel it too, can't you, Hye-yoon? I want to put this song out into the world as fast as I can—but how much would it hurt if there was no one willing to give it a listen?"

"A masterpiece like this will find its light the moment you release it. Take a deep breath and be a little patient—I think that's all it needs."

"You've got a point, but my girls have already been at this for seven years. They haven't earned much along the way, and right now the company's just bleeding money. That's why I'm rushing—every day counts when you're desperate to see the light. You couldn't even recognize them a minute ago, remember? Seven years, Hye-yoon."

"Boss! That's going too far!"

"Yeah! None of that is our fault!"

"Boss, I hate you…"

"If you don't buy us meat, you'll never be forgiven!"

As the Five Girls members hurled their indignant outbursts, Hye-yoon could fully understand where Jae-man was coming from. After all, she had spent five long years in this industry herself, and was only now, finally, seeing her own light at the end of the tunnel. If this song took off properly, that single track could win Jae-man Oppa and Five Girls all the wealth and fame in the world.

She wanted to help—but unfortunately, she'd never so much as met a single music PD at the broadcasting companies. True, she could probably manage something through introductions from the drama PDs she knew, but in this world, every favor given was a favor owed, and Hye-yoon hesitated to step forward.

And then, in a corner of her heart, greed began to stir.

The thought struck her: this song would be perfect for the OST of the drama she was producing right now. If that worked out, she was certain the OST alone would hook viewers beyond a doubt.

Hye-yoon spoke up carefully.

"Jae-man Oppa, then how about this? Our company is producing a twenty-episode drama with screenwriter Lee Na-yeon. It's already slated to air on MBS, a terrestrial network, starting in early December. I think this song would be perfect for the drama's OST… what do you think?"

"Oh? Well, that would be incredible, honestly… but can you really decide something like that on your own?"

"Of course. I'm the producing director—you think I don't have that much pull? The song is so good that our CEO, screenwriter Lee Na-yeon, and PD Lee Hyo-young will all say yes, I'm sure of it. I'll do the persuading, so send me the track once it's finished. Sung-hoon Oppa, when do you think it'll be done?"

"No later than Tuesday of next week. I'll send it over myself."

"Oh, and Jae-man Oppa—just one song won't be enough… Could you make one more? It would be ideal if the lyrics carried that heartache of a lover left behind after a breakup…"

In that instant, Jae-man's eyes darted instinctively toward Young-hoon. The thought had struck him that if anyone could whip up another song in no time, it was this man. But Young-hoon held the power here—Jae-man was the weaker party—and with no way of knowing how the man would take it, all he could do was wait carefully for a reaction.

Young-hoon, for his part, could feel exactly what that heavy look ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was asking of him.

It was all or nothing now, anyway.

He turned his mind inward, sifting through the songs Hains had left behind for anything suitable. About five minutes passed in silence before Young-hoon quietly began to sing.

For a moment, not a soul in the office could utter a word. The sorrow of parting struck with such raw, devastating force that it stole their breath away.

Su-min, the most tender-hearted of them all, couldn't hold back her falling tears—and even CEO Lee Jae-man, the self-proclaimed tough guy of the office, had eyes rimmed with red.

Even after the last note faded, a long silence hung in the room as everyone sat wrapped in their own lingering echo of the song.

At last, Hye-in gathered herself, her tear-glistening eyes shining, and spoke.