Chapter 34
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason…”
Seong Ji-won paused his practice, his eyes widening in surprise.
Looking at him again, he was far too talented to be stuck at such an obscure agency. He had the face of a popular idol, his singing was beyond reproach, and he was a tenacious worker who excelled at dancing too.
It was a predictable story. He’d likely been blacklisted by a major agency and drifted from place to place before ending up at a nobody company like this.
‘Better to have a stomachache here than to suffocate to death there.’
He had definitely said that before.
Ji-won clearly knew the score. He knew that if he was pushed out of here, he had nowhere left to go. That was why he’d called this his last chance at the beginning.
The world is a cruel, filthy place.
But there was no need to bring that up now.
“…I’m not sure about the pitch here.”
“Huh? You, Ho-yun? That’s a first. You’re usually a human tuner.”
“Just teach me.”
When I deftly changed the subject, Ji-won flopped down on the practice room floor. He began explaining with all his heart, scribbling on the lyric sheet.
“You have to hit the end note precisely here. It goes from A to C-sharp. It’d be great if we had a piano—well, since we don’t, let’s just use an app.”
‘What kind of entertainment agency doesn’t even have an electric piano…?’
The more I watched him, the more I realized what a decent guy he was. He taught me so passionately without a hint of annoyance…
‘…It’s actually kind of irritating.’
As I pressed a hand to my forehead, reflecting on what I’d heard yesterday, the door swung open with a loud thud! Kang Yi-chae burst in, accompanied by a strangely proud-looking Kim Seong-hyeon.
“Guys!!”
“Hey, you’re going to break the door. Are you going to pay to fix it?”
“If the door breaks, we’ll just practice with a hole in the wall. It’ll be nice and breezy,” Yi-chae replied shamelessly, approaching Ji-won and me. He plopped down and opened the laptop he was carrying.
“I tinkered with it yesterday. I even called Composer Im Hyeon-su to get her approval, and she said it was better than she expected. I mean, I did get cursed at for some parts being trash… but I finally got the final okay!”
“Uh-huh, sure.”
Ding!
[What’s with this passion?]
Yi-chae seemed to be working hard, yet he maintained a relaxed, nonchalant air. He had always acted like a disinterested bystander, so seeing him this proactive was a first.
“Give it a listen. First, our debut single, Glow.”
As Yi-chae played the track, even Jeong Da-jun, who had been collapsed in the corner, came running over with his ears perked.
It started with the creak of a door and the sound of footsteps. The melody that followed prioritized a refreshing coolness over the typical bubbly teen vibe, giving it a more mature feel than the original. Moreover, it had a unique charm and a slight twist toward the end that I really liked.
“And second is our comeback song, Second Chance. Ah, wait. Should I call it ‘The Second Opportunity’? Since that’s the concept.”
Yi-chae smiled brightly and played the next track.
This one had a completely different concept. While keeping the beat Im Hyeon-su had insisted on, he added sound effects to create a more dreamlike and poignant atmosphere.
The members fell into a stunned silence after listening to the end.
“What? Why?”
Yi-chae looked panicked by the silence hanging over the practice room.
“You don’t like it? Should I tweak it a bit more? I thought it was pretty good…”
“…Yi-chae.”
At Ji-won’s thoughtful call, Yi-chae’s eyes darted around.
“Are you… a genius?”
“Eh?”
“Wow—I had no idea Yi-chae had this kind of talent.”
“Yi-chae-hyung, you really nailed it. I can’t believe this was our song.”
Yi-chae blinked slowly at the pouring compliments, then soon broke into a bashful grin. He chuckled, placing a hand over his heart.
“Ha~, even I’m scared of my own talent… Am I going to end up composing a Billboard number-one hit at this rate?”
“Let’s just ignore him.”
“Yi-chae gets like this sometimes, then he stops.”
Everyone joked at Yi-chae’s sudden arrogance, but the songs had truly turned out spectacular.
I thought back to the stats I had seen on the system window.
Perhaps that was Kang Yi-chae’s special trait.
“I listened to Yi-chae’s arrangement and thought of the choreography in advance. The formation starts like this…”
Kim Seong-hyeon explained, drawing lines across a piece of paper. Jeong Da-jun, who had been watching silently, raised his hand high.
“Hyung!”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t tell what’s going on in your drawing.”
“…Dammit. Fine, get up. I’ll show you myself.”
Seong-hyeon let out a deep sigh, tossed the paper and pen into a corner, and began demonstrating the dance. One by one, the others started following his movements, and soon everyone was syncing their formations.
And the whole time, I was getting chewed out by Seong-hyeon.
“Seo Ho-yun!”
“Seo Ho-yun, I told you that’s not your spot!”
“Seo Ho-yuuun!”
“…I know my name is Seo Ho-yun.”
“If you know, then get over here quickly when I call you.”
“Ugh…”
It seemed Seong-hyeon had caught the ‘practice bug’ from Ji-won. I answered quietly and practiced doggedly, but it seemed I still hadn’t satisfied him.
Well, it made sense given my stats.
[Viewing Seo Ho-yun’s stats.]
[Seo Ho-yun]
[An obscure idol appearing on Shining Star. Recently gaining a flash of popularity.]
[Singing: A]
[Dancing: D+]
[Variety: B+]
[???: ???]
[???: ???]
[Charm: B+]
What had changed?
My dance stat had moved from D- to D+.
It was a very minor growth.
“Why isn’t it working?”
“Maybe it’s because Ho-yun doesn’t have much stage experience?”
“Huh?”
“You know, the feeling is different when you’re actually on stage. He might be lacking the intuition that comes from real performance.”
“It’s not like we can just jump on a stage right now, though.”
“That’s true, but…”
Hey, Quest Window… give me some help. Please…
Just as I thought that, a ding! sounded for the first time in a long while.
[Quest Arrived!]
[Oh, How Pitiful!]
[A surprise gift from the system window, which took pity on Player Seo Ho-yun. Hold a surprise guerrilla concert and gather five hundred audience members.]
[Success: Dancing D+ → C-]
[Failure: Dancing D+ → F-]
I stood up abruptly.
If I couldn’t capitalize on this, I might as well go join the members of Today.
“Guys.”
“Yeah?”
“Who says there isn’t a stage we can jump on right now?”
Everyone looked at me with bewildered faces.
* * *
[Everyone, today at 7 PM, The Dawn will be appearing for a guerrilla concert at Sangho-dong Hosan Park!]
[We look forward to seeing you there!]
[#The_Dawn #GuerrillaConcert]
“Check the microphones over there!”
“No, the costumes later! How many people have gathered now? What?”
As soon as we posted the group photos and promotional text on various SNS platforms to advertise the sudden guerrilla concert, the news began to spread at a terrifying speed.
I kept muttering the lyrics to myself. Lee Ji-hyeon approached me, her face looking haggard.
“Mr. Seo Ho-yun, are you ready?”
“Ah, yes, Ms. Ji-hyeon. Thank you for setting this up despite the sudden request.”
“Ha… haha. We just have to pray it goes well today!”
The words ‘If you know that, don’t do it’ were practically written in giant letters across her face, but I ignored them.
‘Does Lee Ji-hyeon actually do her job well?’
The moment I had barged into the office and brought it up, she hadn’t flustered for a single second. She handled the SNS promotion and contacted venues, successfully securing a stage in no time.
A large corporation would never operate in such a reckless manner. Sometimes, being at a small agency had its perks.
“I’m serious. If today goes well, I’ll make sure to tell the CEO to give you a bonus.”
“Mr. Seo Ho-yun… do you know you’re actually quite wicked?”
What were the odds of an idol who was just starting to make a name for himself actually getting a bonus for a staff member by talking to the CEO? Even Ji-hyeon, a fellow bottom-tier employee at Daepasung, knew the reality. However, a kind word can go a long way, and she didn’t seem to hate that I was trying to look out for her.
Seeing Ji-hyeon’s lips curl into a slight smile before she refocused on her work, I smirked and looked around. In the makeshift waiting room under a tent, everyone was busy reviewing their parts.
Just then, a staff member hurriedly opened the tent flap.
“The Dawn, are you ready?”
“Yes.”
As we slowly gathered, Seong-hyeon glanced at me.
“I knew Seo Ho-yun was reckless, but I didn’t know it was to this extent.”
“Sometimes in life, you just have to step up.”
“Well, we get to stand on stage, so it’s good for us.”
“Hyung, hyungs.”
Jeong Da-jun’s lips trembled. His face was pale.
“There won’t be, like, zero people out there, right? At least ten people will show up, right?”
“Hmm…”
“Remember? We did a guerrilla concert after our debut single came out. Did even ten people show up then?”
“Right, and half of them were just people passing by.”
“Still, it was really touching that even five people came specifically for us,” Ji-won said with a gentle smile. The PR team was busy filming that smile from the side.
Ji-won, who had been trembling just a while ago, was already showing a more mature side.
“Hands in.”
“Right. …But we still haven’t decided on a group chant, have we?”
“Just do it roughly, let’s just get the feeling.”
“I do not approve of this haphazard management,” Da-jun grumbled, pouting. We were secretly impressed that he even knew the word ‘haphazard.’
Everyone chuckled as we stacked our hands.
“Aja aja, fighting!”
“Then, let’s go.”
Hairspray followed the members until the very moment we stepped out of the tent.
As we emerged, microphones were handed out amidst the chaotic atmosphere, and staff members gave directions to the stage.
The moment we stepped onto the stage, we were… honestly, stunned.
“Waaaaah!”
“Guys!”
“The Dawn! The Dawn!”
A massive crowd filled the park. I could see the sweat-drenched staff members struggling to hold them back.
The cheers grew even louder when we came into view.
This was…
This wasn’t just five hundred people.
There had to be at least a thousand. While some seemed to be curious passersby, at least half of them appeared to be our fans, waving slogans.
“…….”
“Guys, greet them. Greet them.”
Seong-hyeon quickly regained his composure and nudged us. We hurriedly brought the mics to our lips and bowed.
“Hello, we are The Dawn!”
“Waaaaah!”
After finishing our individual introductions, Seong-hyeon nervously licked his lips.
“It’s a cold day, so thank you all for gathering like this.”
“To be honest… we didn’t know this many people would come. We’re shocked.”
“Earlier, Jeong Da-jun was wondering if even ten people would show up…”
“Aaack! No, I didn’t!”
Da-jun, his face turning white, tried to stop Yi-chae.
I glanced at the staff and then addressed the crowd.
“So many of you came… I’m just sorry we don’t have many songs to show you today.”
“It’s okay! It’s okay! Just seeing your faces is enough!”
“Ho-yun-ah! Have you eaten?!”
I laughed at the shouts coming from the audience.
“Since I’m Korean, I’m making sure to eat all three meals a day.”
“Ho-yun-hyung is always nagging us. He tells us to make sure we eat before we do anything.”
“Exactly. Every time I run into him, the first thing he says is, ‘Have you eaten?’”
Of course. Whatever you do, you have to do it on a full stomach.
As I shamelessly shrugged my shoulders, Ji-won took the mic.
“We’re eating well. We hope you fans eat well too. Now, we’ll show you our comeback song, Second Chance.”
The mention of Second Chance was met with a roar of cheers. We bowed and moved into our starting positions.
It was a beat I’d heard thousands of times by now. The audience probably couldn’t see it, but Seong-hyeon was mouthing the fan chants.
Kim Seong-hyeon, Seong Ji-won, Seo Ho-yun, Kang Yi-chae, Jeong Da-jun.
Seeing him, Ji-won chuckled, then stepped forward with a grin as the first verse began.
[Give me, Give me, Give me Second Chance]
“Seong Ji-wooon!”
[This sensation ringing in my head, tell me again.]
The chant that I was back hit perfectly in sync.
Ji-won, looking like someone who had tossed his nerves out the window, hyped up the guerrilla concert. Unlike on music shows, he whispered the next line while slowly folding his fingers.
[I can’t ever let this chance go]
Ji-won stepped back, and it was my turn. The cheers were perhaps even more breathtaking than during the music show broadcasts.
I added a gesture of shuffling cards and drawing one out.
[You’re anxious about the low odds, but there’s no need for that]
“No need!”
[Because I will lead you]
It was the moment leading into the highlight. Suddenly, the audio that had been flowing out went skritch and cut off. Seong-hyeon’s face froze.
‘Dammit.’
An audio accident.
The kind of mishap that frequently happens at concerts, especially at makeshift events, had just occurred here.