The Era of Haon
The day Ryu Won and Ryu Se-a went together to record Cantabile.
“Um… Miss Ryu Se-a?”
“Oh, just call me Se-a. It’s fine.”
While Ryu Won had stepped away to the bathroom, Kang Beom-jun cautiously spoke to Ryu Se-a.
“Alright, Se-a. Do you have any goals or dreams for the future? For example, becoming a singer… or maybe becoming a singer? Yeah, I suppose singing would be it.”
“Oh, is this a casting offer?”
“Haha. You caught me. So, what do you think?”
Despite Kang Beom-jun’s sudden proposal, Ryu Se-a didn’t seem flustered at all.
It was something she had been pondering even before entering the Practical Music Department at Seolhwa Arts High School.
What kind of life she should lead from now on…
But perhaps the answer had crystallized recently while working with her brother, and especially in this moment—her first proper recording session.
“Being a singer sounds good. But do I actually have the talent for it?”
“Hehe. Wouldn’t the fact that your brother gave you a song be the answer to that? In that sense, how about joining RT Entertainment? We don’t have much to boast about yet, but we do have an incredible composer named Haon.”
“Hmm. That would be more than enough.”
Ryu Se-a and Kang Beom-jun smiled at each other as if their thoughts had aligned perfectly, then shook hands.
It was a contract made in the blink of an eye, in a place Ryu Won knew nothing about.
And exactly one hour after the long-awaited Seolhwa Arts High School practical performance ended—
“CEO? Care to explain?”
Ryu Won, who had rushed to the CEO’s office at RT Entertainment, sat across from Kang Beom-jun and flashed a deceptively kind smile.
To Kang Beom-jun, it felt like a goblin was sitting right in front of him.
But don’t worry.
Kang Beom-jun had his reasons.
“Wait! Give me a chance to explain.”
“Sure. Go ahead, I’m all ears.”
“Okay, first—when you think about it, how would you rate Se-a’s talent as a singer?”
“Hmm.”
Ryu Won decided to play along and seriously considered the question.
The answer came surprisingly easily.
“She’s exceptionally talented. Probably the best among her peers, except for Baek Yerin.”
“There it is! Then, do you think the Cantabile you two collaborated on would do well in the music market?”
“It would.”
It was an immediate answer.
By Ryu Won’s personal standards, Cantabile was a quite satisfying piece, and Kang Beom-jun clearly felt the same.
“Then the conversation’s over. There’s not a single reason not to bring a singer named Ryu Se-a into our company, is there? Oh, and I have one more piece of good news for you.”
“Did the audition get canceled or something?”
“Exactly. An outstanding talent walked right through our doors, so there’s no need to hold an audition anymore. And at Se-a’s level, she’s definitely a singer worth writing songs for, isn’t she?”
Kang Beom-jun asked with a faint smile.
From the moment they worked together on Cantabile and he watched Ryu Se-a’s performance today with a satisfied smile, Ryu Won’s answer had probably been set in stone.
However.
“Well… yeah, I get all that. But why didn’t you tell me? From what I can see, it looks like everyone at RT Entertainment knew except for me.”
“That’s because…”
As Kang Beom-jun trailed off, someone opened the door to the CEO’s office and walked in.
“I told him to keep it a secret.”
Ryu Se-a.
She had come to RT Entertainment after finishing her practical performance.
At his sister’s appearance, Ryu Won made a fed-up face and asked her,
“Why did you specifically hide it from me?”
“Because it feels more like a surprise that way. It’s fun, right?”
“Is that seriously the only reason?”
“Yep. That’s it.”
…This crazy woman.
Ryu Won could only curse at the person who was supposed to be his older sister in his mind.
Anyway, the deed was already done behind his back.
There was nothing he could do about it now, and honestly, there was no real reason to reverse it.
At Se-a’s level…
She’s not a bad singer at all.
The conclusion was that if he just kept squeezing out good songs, everyone would be happy.
Yeah. Everyone…
But I am included in that “everyone,” right?
With that slightly depressing question in mind, Ryu Won began discussing future plans regarding Ryu Se-a’s activities.
Naturally, the first thing brought up was Cantabile.
Since the recording was already complete, it could be released as a digital single right away.
Moreover, with today’s news of Ryu Se-a joining RT Entertainment, public interest in her had naturally skyrocketed. Thanks to that, the video of today’s performance was already spreading rapidly across the internet.
RT Entertainment planned to ride this momentum and release Cantabile as a digital single as quickly as possible.
“We’ve already contacted the distributor. It could go up on the charts as early as tomorrow.”
“As expected, you’re very thorough about these things. But…”
“But?”
“Never mind. Let’s proceed as planned.”
As they talked, Ryu Won felt a faint sense of unease.
It didn’t take him long to realize what that unease was.
Cantabile being released meant a new song under the name Haon was coming out.
But it was being sung by a completely unknown artist instead of Baek Yerin?
The problem was that this fact might have a bigger impact on the composer known as Haon than expected.
The news of Ryu Se-a joining RT Entertainment caused the world, which had been relatively quiet lately, to grow noisy once again.
But as I read the articles about my sister, I could only let out a sigh.
If all the attention had been focused solely on her, I wouldn’t have had to sigh like this.
…What the hell.
No matter where I looked, it was all about me.
Just because I released one song with my sister, the whole situation flipped like this?
The world really is unpredictable.
“Heh heh.”
While I was thinking that, an annoying laugh came from beside me.
…It was Kim Tae-hwan.
He was grinning widely, looking quite pleased.
Well, what had he been wishing for all this time?
Exactly this—the composer named Haon receiving recognition from the world and rising above the surface.
And it was slowly happening.
“This should’ve happened a long time ago. It was buried for a bit because of Yerin. If I had to compare it, it was like a balloon right before it pops.”
“So the person himself popped the balloon?”
“From the start, Haon has been choosing actions that would pop the balloon even with the smallest move. So, what do you think?”
“About what?”
“Doesn’t it feel like the era of Haon has finally arrived??”
I could only give Kim Tae-hwan a bitter smile.
I don’t know, you idiot.
…Meanwhile.
“It really is good.”
Baek Yerin, who was on her way to her next schedule, naturally smiled as she listened to Cantabile through her earphones.
No matter who sang it, his songs were just that good.
Especially, in her opinion, when he sang them himself.
“You’re talking about Cantabile, right?”
At that moment, Baek Yerin’s manager, Lee Ha-ri, who was driving, spoke up.
“By the way, it’s surprising.”
“What is?”
“I thought you wouldn’t want anyone else singing his songs. But you seem to be accepting the news pretty willingly.”
At Lee Ha-ri’s words, Baek Yerin gave a slightly bitter smile.
Because there was a flaw in that statement.
The truth was, Baek Yerin still wanted to sing his songs.
More precisely, she wanted to monopolize that privilege all by herself.
She wanted him to look only at her and keep making songs just for her.
From the beginning, Baek Yerin had been confident.
Confident that she could sing in a way that would make the composer Haon— no, Ryu Won—look only at her.
But that was greed.
Baek Yerin knew it all too well.
That the reason she could be loved by so many people and shine on stage right now was all thanks to Ryu Won.
No one in the world knew just how incredible he was better than she did.
That was why this question kept coming up.
Why couldn’t he shine brightly?
Why was he yielding that privilege to her?
…Suddenly.
“There can’t be two suns under the same sky, right? I hope that sun becomes you, Yerin.”
The words she had heard that day came back to her.
Recalling those words, Baek Yerin found herself smiling faintly before she knew it.
Yes. Because now she felt like she could fully return those words.
Baek Yerin also wholeheartedly agreed with Ryu Won’s opinion.
There could never be two suns under the same sky.
It was just that, in her mind, that sun wasn’t her.
She had thought that way ever since the first time she met him.
“Ha-ri, should we add a few more schedules?”
“We already have quite a few… Is there some special reason?”
“Hmm… Lately I’ve been thinking that a woman with a lot of money is attractive.”
“Wow, so you’re trying to stack up even more charm?”
At Baek Yerin’s innocent remark, Lee Ha-ri could only let out a dry laugh.