Chapter 95
G.o.d of Music Chapter 95 . Spreading the Broken Wings (1)
White Moonlight’s stage was successful .
Midnight that day .
They released the music file and created reservations for the alb.u.m .
They gave out sample alb.u.ms to CD stores across the country and released the concert video on their homepage as well to advertise them .
Lee HyunJi’s expression stiffened after looking at the current state of the alb.u.m from Jung HyeJin .
“Looks like we’ll definitely need a concert venue . ”
Lee HyunJi grumbled as the sales and the concert income was not satisfactory . KangYoon was no different in his opinion and spoke while crossing his arms .
“The alb.u.m sales are proportionate to the concert income . ”
“Yes . Seeing as how the fans are buying the alb.u.m, it appears the number of concerts they do is important . ”
“So, it all comes down to publicity . Looks like the clubs know this well . That’s why the rent is so high . ”
Doing business required smarts . KangYoon exclaimed at the meticulous calculations of those club owners and sighed . Lee HyunJi put down the papers and continued to speak .
“It looks like we’ll need to do at least two concerts a week . However, there are many indie bands and not enough concert venues . The other bands should also know about that as well . Even if we want to do a street performance, bands need permission as well… . It’s quite complicated . ”
“So, it all comes down to our own exclusive concert venue . ”
“Yes . Do you still not like any of them?”
KangYoon shook his head at Lee HyunJi’s question .
“I think it will be better to buy one even if I don’t think we should . If we miss the opportunity, it might come to nothing .
“Yes . Next… . ”
At that moment, Lee HyunJi’s phone started ringing . She apologized and took the call .
“Oh, producer Oh . It’s been a while . ”
The call was from producer Oh JiWan . She expressed joy from listening to a voice she hadn’t heard for quite some time . After catching up with each other about normal stuff, Lee HyunJi’s expression turned strange for the rest of the cal .
“Did something happen?”
“It’s producer Oh . ”
“Really? What happened?”
It was rare to see Lee HyunJi at a loss about what to do . KangYoon was curious .
“It sounds like he has something to talk to me about, but he didn’t go any further about it . From what I got, he seemed to want to ask me a favor… . ”
“A favor, huh? Is it a personal one?”
“I don’t think so . We owe a lot to producer Oh, so let’s meet him . ”
When KangYoon asked about the schedule, Lee HyunJi said that it was tomorrow evening . KangYoon returned to his seat after telling her that she should tell him about it if it was related to the company .
The same evening .
Only after Kim JiMin finished her practice and left did KangYoon’s business day finish . Just as KangYoon was about to leave the office after locking down, he saw someone familiar near the entrance .
Advertis.e.m.e.nt
“HyunAh . ”
“Pre… . ppa?” (President + Oppa)
“…What the heck does that mean now… . ”
She seemed to have resentments about what happened last time . KangYoon laughed . Lee HyunAh said that she had someone to meet after separating with the rest of the band .
“Don’t play around too late . ”
“Do you want to go together?”
Just as KangYoon was about to go, Lee HyunAh held him back .
“Me? Nah . It’s fine . ”
“I’m meeting up with SoYoung . You’re close to her, aren’t you?”
She was referring to HeeYoon’s friend, Park SoYoung . There was no way KangYoon wouldn’t know about her .
“Is it just the two of you?”
“Yes, that’s good . Treat us to something good . ”
“…… . ”
In the end, KangYoon had to wait for Park SoYoung with Lee HyunAh due to her clinging . He also treated this as a reward for the successful concert this time . After he waited for a little, Park SoYoung left the bus and ran up to them .
“Unni!”
“SoYoung~~!”
The two seemed to be delighted as they held hands and hopped around .
“Unni, you’re so pretty . How do you do your makeup?”
“You too, you too . What tint do you use?”
“…… . ”
KangYoon couldn’t say anything as the girls were flattering each other . He never understood how women thought . Without a clue of what he was thinking, the two looked at KangYoon and Park SoYoung looked delighted to see him .
“Oppa, h.e.l.lo . ”
“Yes . How have you been?”
“I’m doing fine . Hey, you look good? You were totally burnt black when you were in America . ”
KangYoon tapped her shoulders after hearing that light prank .
The three-headed to a nearby bar . Although they wanted to head to a café, none of them were open as it was late . Having arrived at a bar, the three found a table at a corner .
“Is HeeYoon doing well?”
“Yeah . It seems like she likes college . She sends me pictures all the time . ”
KangYoon showed them the photos that HeeYoon sent him . They were full of pictures of HeeYoon taking pictures of African-American professors to Asian, as well as Caucasian people .
“I’m so envious . I want to study in America too… . ”
Park SoYoung’s eyes shined . She was envious of HeeYoon, who was the same age as her and had the opportunity to study in America . Park SoYoung was stimulated from time to time when she thought about HeeYoon, who was a weak little girl before, doing so well .
After talking about HeeYoon for a while, they talked about music . Park SoYoung was shocked after hearing that White Moonlight’s t.i.tle song this time, named Walking on the Road, was composed by HeeYoon .
“No way… . ”
“What is?”
“Is HeeYoon a genius? She’s already composing songs?”
“The arrangement was done by HyunAh . She only made the melody . ”
KangYoon said that as though it was nothing, but that was not what it sounded like to Park SoYoung . She had heard that music was something innate, but HeeYoon seemed to be just that . HeeYoon used to be weak, so she also thought that G.o.d was fair .
After talking about the song for some time, KangYoon stood up saying that he needed to go to the bathroom .
“Ah… what have I been doing all this time?”
When KangYoon left, Park SoYoung was slightly ejected . Her friend was miles ahead of her, but she was merely so-so . Their difference in position was clear .
Lee HyunAh consoled her junior .
“It’s brother like sister . How much do you think KangYoon-oppa cares about her? I heard a bit from the director, but the two had a hard time in America, didn’t they?”
“That’s true but… . I’m fine with hardships so I also want to become like HeeYoon . ”
“That’s not gonna happen in one day . For now, just focus on doing your homework . ”
“I know that… . But I’m still envious . HeeYoon turned out to be a genius!”
“Honestly, I’m envious as well . A genius sister and a brother who knows that . Oh, how nice it would have been if I had a brother like that . ”
“Isn’t it like a movie? The brother is some cool handsome dude, too . Looks like HeeYoon will forever be single . ”
“Hahaha, why? Because she will have too high standards?”
While the two were talking about HeeYoon, KangYoon came back .
“What is it? Are you talking something interesting without me?”
“Well, who knows?”
KangYoon ended up laughing hearing Lee HyunAh’s joking words .
After drinking, the three left the bar . As it was late, the women grabbed taxis
“Then I’ll take my leave here . ”
“Be careful on your way home . ”
The two women headed to their homes in the taxi . Even inside the taxi, the two girls didn’t stop talking .
“Unni . Can I bring you a song next time?”
“Sure . If I listen to it and if it’s good, I’ll use it . ”
“Really? Promise?”
When Park SoYoung got excited, Lee HyunAh poured cold water on her .
“But you need to get KangYoon-oppa’s permission as well . ”
“Urgh… . It’ll be hard to get his permission . ”
Lee HyunAh burst out laughing after seeing Park SoYoung so unconfident .
***
“Here it is . ”
“Thanks for your work . ”
President Kang ShiMyoung received the papers that a female secretary brought him . The t.i.tle of the paper was ‘Recent state of affairs of World Entertainment and White Moonlight’ . He flipped through each page while he corrected his gla.s.ses .
‘It’s been around 3 months since they’ve started acting for real . Their main income is from the songs from the composer called Muse… . Well, yes . Muse has been a hot potato recently . ’
After that episode of Korea ONE STAR, the composer Muse started spreading his name among the public as well . President Kang ShiMyoung also heard about Muse quite frequently during meetings . There were a lot of singers who wished to work with him, saying that his arrangement skills were very good . However, he put down that proposal saying that it was hard to judge him just on one song alone .
‘So, Muse was their exclusive composer . Are they a team or an individual? Is Lee KangYoon muse himself? No, no . That can’t be right . They have one trainee and one singer, that’s White Moonlight . The director… is Lee HyunJi . She’s good at doing business . ’
President Kang ShiMyoung kept flipping through the pages while sipping coffee . As they were a small company right now, the amount of material was few . The paper was mostly about their source of income, groups that belonged to them, and very little things about their private lives .
“Ha, that’s interesting . Everyone’s so clean . Lee HyunAh, or their members, too . They are singers that only ate and sang, so that’s reasonable . But Lee KangYoon, this guy, just what… . ”
Lee KangYoon was their CEO, and that was the person he was most curious about . The fact that he accepted the entire band tugged his mind . He may have done that to accept Lee HyunAh, but it appears the rest of the band were adapting quite well .
“They’ll definitely become a hindrance to Jang HyoJi… . ”
In the indie world, Lee HyunAh and Jang HyoJi were rivals . It was likely that that wouldn’t change even when the two came to major . Lee HyunAh was a bit of a pity, but the singer belonging to his company was Jang HyoJi . It was better to get rid of obstacles beforehand .
“Attacking first is the best way . ”
President Kang ShiMyoung seemed to have come to a decision and pressed a bell to call the secretary . Then, he ordered the things he had in his mind .
***
Just as always, KangYoon and Lee HyunJi started their mornings with the coffee that Jung HyeJin brought them . They looked at their daily schedule, and when they finished, Lee HyunJi spoke .
“Producer Oh JiWan asked me something yesterday . ”
“Oh, did he?”
“Yes . He wanted to introduce a singer to us . ”
So, it was about an audition . They needed a singer as well . When KangYoon’s expression lightened up in expectation, Lee HyunJi shook her head . KangYoon asked doubtfully .
“What happened yesterday?”
“The thing is… the singer he was talking about has a bit of a problem . ”
“A problem you say . Who is this person?”
Lee HyunJi seemed to be thirsty and emptied her coffee in one go .
“Do you know about Kim JaeHoon?”
“Kim JaeHoon? I do . He’s called a G.o.d amongst men . ”
“Yes . He’s called the G.o.d of karaoke . Producer Oh JiWan introduced him . I said that you’ll be the one to judge and called him over . ”
KangYoon fell into thought for a moment . Kim JaeHoon was a very famous singer that almost everyone knew about .
‘Did Kim JaeHoon get out of military around this time? I heard that the conflict between him and his former company was very harsh . The story about how he had to pay several times his contract deposit and fell bottom-low was a hot topic . Unfortunately, he failed his lawsuit and never came back again . I don’t know what happened to him after that either . ’
KangYoon remembered back to his past . If Sedy was a singer who women fell for, Kim JaeHoon was the singer who made men go crazy . His unique voice and singing style seemed easy at a glance, but it was incredibly difficult to imitate and was loved by many . However, due to a conflict with his evil management company, he was also considered a tragic singer who lost everything from money and the right to his songs .
“It seems like I’ll have to decide after I see him . ”
“Yes . But I’m in a tight spot too . Accepting a singer who’s in debt… . I did tell him to come for an audition since it was Producer Oh’s request but considering our financial situation, I want to reject him . ”
Lee HyunJi was skeptical . However, she said that to show grat.i.tude to producer Oh JiWan . She didn’t think it was good to accept Kim JaeHoon right now .
A bit after lunchtime, an ordinary man wearing jeans and a baseball cap visited World Entertainment .
“h.e.l.lo . ”
“h.e.l.lo, I’m Kim JaeHoon . ”
Kim JaeHoon shook hands with KangYoon . He had an ordinary impression with a rather naïve-sounding voice . They introduced themselves lightly and sat down .
“I heard from producer Oh . ”
“Yes . I’ve heard a lot from hyung-nim (Oh PD) as well . ”
“Let’s talk after we listen to your song . Can you?”
Kim JaeHoon was surprised to hear KangYoon being so direct . However, he stood up and exercised his voice . After warming up a bit, he started singing .
“The day—- it rained— outside—-“
Kim JaeHoon’s voice had depth . KangYoon was pleasantly surprised to see the musical notes producing white light . The light was very intense .
‘So, he practiced a lot while he was in the military . ’
KangYoon could tell that at a glance . There was a gap in time from going to the military, as well as the conflict with his previous company, but his voice was flawless .
After his song ended, KangYoon applauded .
“Splendid . It was the best . ”
“Thank you . ”
Kim JaeHoon became nervous and sat back down . No matter how good the song was, he didn’t know what KangYoon would say afterward . Most companies he went to for an audition were like that . He was tense because he didn’t know what this president would say to him .
However, the man in front of him seemed to think very differently .
“Let’s not drag this out . Should we sign the contract?
“What?”
Was this a new type of scam?
Kim JaeHoon doubted his ears thinking that it was too easy .