Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 063
Chapter Title: Midnight Stroll (1)
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“Wow, hyung-nim. The reactions on your Nutyube channel lately are insane.”
The man clicked away frantically at the mouse in front of the massive monitor.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Aren’t you curious at all, hyung-nim?”
The guy calling Yeonwoo “hyung-nim” was the highly skilled sound engineer they’d hired not long ago. A jack-of-all-trades who handled everything from recording to mixing and mastering on his own.
-Gasp! No way, are you really the guy behind that track?!
The engineer, who’d graduated early from the prestigious American B Conservatory, had gaped in shock the moment he learned Yeonwoo was the star of “that video.”
-My friends are gonna faint if they find out! Not just the composition majors, but the classical ones were losing their minds!
-……?
-Classical music might be old-school, but it evolves with the times and audience tastes! It went from Baroque to Classical to Romantic, and into the 20th century with Impressionism, Expressionism, all sorts of branches.
-……??
-Anyway, the point isn’t history. Music only exists if people listen. With classical declining into a stagnant pool… Some folks thought your track could ride that wave and bring it back to the masses.
It was a masterpiece crafted over two centuries by Salieri, a titan who dominated his era. Of course it would have that kind of impact.
But the one who’d tossed the stone into the calm waters couldn’t care less.
-Gasp… Are you sure I can work on this?
-That’s why I hired you.
-What an honor…!
-……?
Another oddball had joined the team. That was Yeonwoo’s take.
To be more precise: ‘He’s convenient?’
Sure, the guy shielded his eyes every time he looked at Yeonwoo like he was staring at something dazzling. Or always used both hands politely when handing things over. Or clasped his hands in prayer-like fashion whenever he heard Yeonwoo’s rough drafts, shouting “Jesus!”
It was hard to get used to the cult-like worship. But he was tolerable because he handled the machinery so expertly—otherwise, Yeonwoo would’ve sent him packing already.
Thanks to the engineer, the final product sounded even more polished to Yeonwoo’s ears.
“If it were me, I’d be thrilled with reactions this good.”
Especially seeing haters turn into fans—it gave him that sweet catharsis, apparently. The engineer had a stubborn streak.
“See this ID? This guy was spamming hate from day one, but now his comments are straight-up praise—worship, even. Oh, and this one just jumped in last time. Let’s see what he said now…”
“Wait. You memorized all that?”
“Yup. Just reporting to Seonghyeon hyung-nim…”
“What?”
“Oh, slipped up there. Korean’s so tricky.”
-……?
Hadn’t everything so far been in Korean?
More importantly: ‘That name sounds familiar…?’
The engineer was already nose-deep in the monitor again, as if he’d never said a word.
For some reason, he was way more obsessed with managing the Nutyube channel than Yeonwoo himself—who barely gave it a thought.
And why would he? The impact was hitting him directly.
[Multi-Lifespan Auto-Harvest completed.]
[Auto-harvested Lifespan: 78 days]
[Multi-Lifespan Auto-Harvest completed…]
[Auto-harvested…]
No need to check comments or followers—the channel’s influence was tangible.
‘Better results than expected.’
Especially lately; the auto-harvested lifespan was piling up nicely. It started with Salieri, but now listeners were hooked on Yeonwoo’s own melodies. The creator mattered.
“Hyung-nim, any plans to go public? Everyone’s speculating who you are.”
The engineer giggled, mouse flying across the screen.
-Isn’t this famous pianist AXXX? Total Boeing vibe.
ㄴNah, he posted denying it himself.
-I heard it’s P, the pianist who won Chopin three years straight.
ㄴThat guy doesn’t play violin.
-Rumors say it’s hot US rapper J…
ㄴYou okay up there? :(
ㄴBest joke I heard this year :D Nice try!
-What about famous million-follower Nutyuber K? Rumors it’s his sub-account. Plausible?
ㄴWhy hide if it’s him? Dude thrives on attention.
“The agency says casting requests are flooding in. Interviews, docs, even buyout offers for the tracks. If I had to pick the hottest rising Nutyuber right now? You, hyung-nim. But no plans to reveal, right?”
“Too much hassle.”
Yeonwoo shut down the engineer’s modest dream in one word.
“Shame. Followers at 800k now—reveal and you’d smash a million easy…”
“Not interested.”
Bothersome. Tedious. He’d started the channel just to test music’s influence potential. Mission accomplished.
“Oh, and no new tracks on Nutyube for a while. Heads up.”
“What?! No way, why?!”
Yeonwoo’s devotee—no, self-proclaimed #2 fan—flung the mouse and leaped up.
(#1 was Kwon Seonghyeon, FYI. The engineer had humbly claimed #2, saying, “How could I surpass Seonghyeon hyung-nim?” Yeonwoo just thought, ‘Definitely a weirdo.’)
“Radio’s starting soon, so I’ll focus there.”
“Right, you mentioned dropping originals on radio too? Whew, thought my heart was gonna stop. So Nutyube’s on hiatus?”
“Yep.”
“And the radio track’s a pop song, right?”
“Figured adding lyrics and singing it might be fun.”
“The complete form at last…!”
The engineer burst into another inexplicable exclamation.
“Nutyube fans’ll be heartbroken. You vanishing like that.”
“It was always just for practice. Can’t be helped.”
Better than expected, but he stuck to the original intent.
‘Worst case, I can run both.’
A few days later.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Kang Yeonwoo, filling in for Lee Joo-ha for the next month. Welcome to ‘Midnight Stroll’—shall we take a walk together?”
Yeonwoo’s first solo radio broadcast began.
***
“Yeonwoo-ssi, did you go take some training somewhere?”
As the ON AIR light in the radio booth flicked off, the writer approached, eyes sparkling.
“Huh?”
“Did Joo-ha tutor you or something? You handled it so smoothly!”
“Ah, I was worried I messed up. Was it okay?”
The writer nodded vigorously.
“Okay? The listener board’s exploding already! Some night owls say you’re better than Joo-ha. He’d cry if he heard. No troubles?”
“Nope. Felt natural since I guested before.”
“Pfft, if one guest spot made everyone pros, I wouldn’t have busted my butt hiring. It’s all you, Yeonwoo-ssi.”
“Thanks. Glad to hear it.”
“Not empty words! 100% sincere.”
[Truth]
No need for her to raise her hand like swearing an oath—Intent Discernment read her pure intent crystal clear. Her outer enthusiasm matched her inner screams of “sincere,” drawing a short laugh from Yeonwoo.
“Uh… uh…?!”
The writer covered her mouth in fluster.
At the same time, the Child Spirit clicked his tongue beside him.
[Tsk tsk. Kang Yeonwoo. Don’t tease nice ladies like that.]
That explained Yeonwoo’s radio ease.
The Child Spirit. And countless other ghosts led by him.
Dealing with them nonstop had honed his selective focus and concentration—perfect for broadcasting.
-We’ll pre-select stories, but it’s live, so surprises happen. Signal if issues.
The writer’s pre-show warning? Laughable.
‘Compared to ignoring dozens of ghosts shoving heads over a textbook as a kid? Child’s play.’
Back when he couldn’t control his Spiritual Power yet. Even reading took Herculean effort amid interruptions.
Blackboards? Worse. Ghosts drawn to his aura peeked incessantly, cluttering his view—note-taking was a battle.
Plus.
[Ooh, this story’s juicy.]
[Whoa, this one’s suffering.]
[Aww, poor thing. Tsk tsk.]
One ghost loved chiming in.
‘Even crap has uses.’
Solo rambling felt awkward sometimes.
But Yeonwoo had the Child Spirit as prime convo partner. Chatting with ghosts? Text replies were easy.
No room for the awkwardness staff feared.
“Um, ahem! Ahaha. Kinda hot in here?!”
“You look cold, though…”
With all these Earthbound Spirits around, heat?
“A-anyway! First day, so no full stats yet, but your talk’s killing it, Yeonwoo-ssi. Especially your story comments—huge reactions. Listenership ticked up a bit too.”
The story corner she mentioned was standard listener participation. A hook to boost engagement.
Few sent real advice-seekers.
Yet.
“Submissions are 1.5x what they were. New DJs usually get welcome chit-chat overload, but real corner entries dominated. Even beat Joo-ha’s peak.”
Today was different.
Joo-ha’s playful style made counseling nominal—pure banter.
But today’s ‘Midnight Stroll’ broke the mold.
“For a debut, it’s flawless. So, how about making that your fixed segment? No need to stick to Joo-ha’s format. Fresh blood like you? Perfect for change.”
“I’m fine either way. Glad my honest replies helped.”
“Joo-ha dragged this show years; we worried. You made it pointless. Explosive reactions day one? Future’s bright. Truly grateful you came.”
That was the point—she bowed deeply.
“Please take care tomorrow too! Get rest; see you then.”
“Yes. Same to you. See you tomorrow.”
His debut as main DJ—no guest safety net—was an unqualified smash.