Chapter 85

Chapter 85
God of Music Chapter 85 . Three Years Later, a New Beginning (5)

“Unni, what is it!?”
Jin SeAh was surprised by the scream from the living room and rushed out . The other members all rushed out to the living room after hearing their leader, who was normally very calm, scream .
“Unni, what happened?”
“N… . n… . num… … . ”
“Num?”
Kim HyoRin only pointed at the screen with shaking hands, so no one understood anything .
Jin SeAh looked at the computer .
– 07 ↑47 Good Feelings | T&T
“WHAT!!!!!!”
Everyone gasped . They jumped 47 places and were now placed in the top 10 . This… .
“What, the hell is this!”
Even Lee Min, who was rarely surprised, gaped her jaws in shock . It was needless to say that the other members were equally as shocked .
“Call the president immediately!”
Among everyone’s excitement, Min HyoRin called President Lee WooSung with her phone .
“The top 10, huh? That’s quite high . ”
Lee HyunJi, who was monitoring it, couldn’t hide her surprise .
“Really?”
KangYoon only smiled lightly while drinking the coffee Jung HyeJin gave him .
“Looking at you, I feel like you saw this coming . ”
“Really?”
KangYoon shrugged his shoulders . Then, he spoke on after sipping the coffee .
“The producing side of Laurel was a bit of a pity . If that was better than the reaction would have been better as well . ”
“Well, we can’t help it since his skills are only subpar . It seems like your advice played a big role . But rather than that, the choreography is quite good . Their accents are on point . ”
“The leader has good senses, as well as experience . She’s quite the unlucky fella . ”
After watching the music video, KangYoon was surprised by Kim HyoRin’s dance . He even felt that she was lowering her skills intentionally to match the rest of the team .
The fact that the song was in the top 10 meant that the public would know about the group . After all, many people from all over the country must listen to the song for the rankings to go up .
“So, it’s about time we did the next thing . ”
“Yes . Now there’s only the receiving part left . ”
President Lee HyunJi laughed at KangYoon’s words .
“You know what, the more I look at you, the more I think you act on practical benefits . You should have had a hard time dealing with that old ass Lee WooSung, too . Did you know that it will come to this?”
“Maybe . He probably didn’t know that our song would go so well when we signed the contract . Well, he tried to abandon the music with all sorts of excuses, so he probably accepted such a contract . ”
“He’s a fool alright . ”
KangYoon shrugged his shoulders while thinking about the contents of the contract .
Once in the top 10, a percentage of all profits gained from the song must be paid to the composer . Instead, the cost of rights to use the song was lowered . Thanks to that, President Lee HyunJi could get him to sign the contract easily . President Lee WooSung tried to abandon the song with various excuses, but he could not think of one, and things eventually lead to this . Advertisement
“Pfft, well then . I’m off to collect some money . ”
“Watch your words, there . ”
Seeing Lee HyunJi speak like a loan shark, KangYoon jokingly warned her . However, he also felt relaxed after enduring it for such a long time .
‘Was the audition programme this week?’
KangYoon called the number he got from Lee HyunJi . A producer of the programmer answered the call and notified KangYoon of the schedule . When he asked if there was anything to prepare, he was replied that only himself needed to be there . Also, he was warned that he may be physically fatigued as there would be a lot of people .
“…Okay . ”
– Before the shoot, there will be an interview with the writer of the programme . Is there anything else you need?
KangYoon asked him that he would be represented as a CEO of a company . He was doing this to advertise the company after all . The producer gave a positive reply .
After the call, KangYoon downloaded the audition programme videos that took place until now and watched them .
‘There are a lot of styles . ’
From judges that blatantly shouted at the candidates, to those that praised but gave them a fail as well as judges that silently did their markings; there were a lot of styles . The most eye-catching one was without a doubt the one that shouted and drove the candidates to the bottom . However, they had their charms as well: they said that it was to motivate them to do better . This kind of style grabbed attention and produced some news articles as well .
‘So, all in all, it’s a TV programme . ’
It was an audition, but at the same time, it was a TV programme . After everything that’s said and done, it was done to grab viewers at home . So, the judges were writing dramas in various styles . Even KangYoon thought that he might do that as well .
When he was thinking, he got a call . It was from Lee HyunJi . She spoke of her matter immediately .
– Everything went as the contract stated . We’ll receive the money by today .
“Thank you for your work . You must have had a hard time . ”
– Not really . Oh, President Lee WooSung wishes to call you, should I hand it to him?
When KangYoon gave the okay, the caller switched .
– Composer, I’m Lee WooSung .
“Yes, President . Congratulations to you . ”
– Thank you . Thanks to you, the results were good . I thank you again .
Good greetings were exchanged . President Lee WooSung didn’t have that complaining tone anymore .
“Not at all . Thanks for your hard work as well . ”
– Not at all, no . It’s all thanks to you .
That attitude . There was definitely something he wanted from this . Probably something like lowering the contract conditions . KangYoon knew that well . Of course, he wasn’t going to do that .
“Oh, I must apologize, I have a different call . I’ll call you next time . ”
– Composer, com… .
KangYoon ended the call . He waited to see if he called back, but there were no calls .
“You deserved that . ”
The superior position in this contract was flipped .
***
“…I apologize . I don’t think I can go there alone . ”
Lee HyunAh voiced her thoughts to the scouter of Yerang entertainment .
“I wished that we could have a better relationship… but okay . Let us meet next time if fate allows us to . ”
The scouter from Yerang entertainment gave Lee HyunAh a business card while expressing disappointment . Lee HyunAh received the business card and put it in her bag .
“Man . Maybe I’m missing an opportunity because of that oppa . ”
Left alone inside the café, Lee HyunAh drank the rest of the Americano and grumbled . However, her expression looked as though she was relieved .
“Well, then . I’m not so busy anymore so let’s go hit him in the chest . ”
Having drunk the coffee, Lee HyunAh was about to leave through the front door . However… .
“Excuse me, miss… .
“Sorry? Is something wrong?”
“You haven’t paid . ”
“Sorry? Didn’t the woman that just left pay?”
“She only paid for one person . ”
“…… . ”
Lee HyunAh felt absurd after seeing the meticulous ‘going dutch’ (individual pays for himself/herself) from the businesswoman that seem to imply that their fate ended there .
***
– Wow!! Oppa, what is all this money?
HeeYoon called KangYoon after seeing so much money in the bank account .
“What do you mean? This is all the profit from the song this time . I’m not sure about the cost of rights to use the music, but I got loads from the extras . ”
– You’re one capable man .
“I must get the proper payment for a good song . Eat some nice things with that money . ”
– Okay .
KangYoon was delighted to give HeeYoon so much pocket money . To be exact, he was planning to give HeeYoon all the composer rights, but HeeYoon left the money with KangYoon saying that he should use it for managing the company . KangYoon was proud to see her sister’s growth over these years .
After telling her to beware of boys, KangYoon ended the call and stood up . Today’s was the filming day of Korea ONE STAR . KangYoon headed to SBB TV station in Seoul .
“Hello . ”
“Hello . ”
KangYoon headed inside the station with the assistant director that came out to meet him . He leads KangYoon to the makeup room . He had his hair done and put on some light makeup .
‘This feels awkward . ’
Although he visited TV stations many times, this was the first time he would be appearing on any programme . Although it was a special guest appearance, he felt very fresh .
It took around 30 minutes for the stages to be set up . KangYoon headed to the waiting room . Today, veteran singer Lee JaeHyuk and composer Moon SangJae were there . KangYoon greeted them and got ready .
One of the programmer writers entered and they started an interview . He asked about their standards for their judgment today as well as their preferred genre of singers . KangYoon was interviewed last .
“What kind of candidates are you planning to pick?”
When he was asked that, KangYoon answered after a little bit of thought .
“I wish to pick a candidate that has a unique trait as well as skills . ”
“Do you have any candidates that you have your eyes on?”
“Hmm… . ”
He didn’t specifically have one, so he shook his head .
After the light interview, the judges took their seats . The audition started like that .
Although this was the 2nd round of auditions, there were still a lot of candidates . Although each of them got less than 5 minutes’ worth of time, the endless numbers of candidates exhausted the judges .
“My heart – to the sky— “
“Wait wait . Did you not have breakfast today? You sound too powerless . ”
“S… . sorry . ”
“This is an audition . Try again . ”
Singer Lee JaeHyuk was like a roaring tiger towards the applicants . Sitting in the center, he glared at the applicants through his sunglasses . Moon SangJae supported his words as he branched off the candidates .
KangYoon was also judging the people coming on stage . He was looking at the light emitted by them while saying some comments . However, there was a problem .
‘Why is everyone so stuffy?’
It was grey light everywhere . Not only that, KangYoon was now more influenced by the musical lights . It was hard to endure this audition venue that was filled with grey light . He tried his best to endure by drinking lots of water . However, the stuffy feeling did not go away so easily .
They continued the audition without even eating .
“Number 701 entering . ”
With the assistant director’s notification, a girl clad in school uniform entered with a guitar .
“Hello . My name is Kim JiMin . I’m 17 and I currently go to XX Girl’s High . Please take care of me . ”
All the judges were fixated on the guitar behind the girl’s back . The first one to ask was Lee JaeHyuk .
“So, you play the guitar?”
“Yes . I liked playing it since I was young . ”
“Really? Hmm . ”
He seemed to be interested and urged her to play . Then, the girl started playing on the seat that was prepared for her . At that time, Lee JaeHyuk coldly spoke .
“Wait, aren’t you going to tune it?”
“Ah, I forgot . Tuning… . Tuning… . ”
Nervousness made her forgot about the most important thing . Kim JiMin finally took out the tuner from her bag but there was no way the judges would wait for that .
“…Forget the guitar . What have you prepared for us today?”
“A song called ‘Romance’ . ”
“Oho . That’s a hard one . Go ahead, then . ”
The song ‘Romance’ was a high-pitched song sung by a veteran female singer . Lee JaeHyuk’s eyes shined in interest . KangYoon was the same . Kim JiMin did a light vocal exercise and started singing .
“The romance I dream of – “
Quiet and soft – Kim JiMin’s voice rang out . Lee JaeHyuk and Moon SangJae closed their eyes and admired her song .
‘Strong . ’
KangYoon was surprised . The white light from the purple notes was getting stronger as the song progressed . Lee JaeHyuk and Moon SangJae were humming under its influence .
However…
“Go—slowly—roman…”
Due to her nervousness, she messed up a tone . Thanks to that, Lee JaeHyuk and Moon SangJae’s eyes abruptly opened, Kim JiMin ended up stopping there as she was surprised by their reactions .
“Ah… . ”
“Hm . ”
Lee JaeHyuk and Moon SangJae shook their heads in disappointment . Her voice was very good, but it felt as though she was lacking something . Lee JaeHyuk started his evaluation first .
“Your voice is very good . ”
“Thank you . ”
“But you’re too nervous . You must learn to relax a little bit more . And right now, only your voice is good . Come again after you get used to this kind of stage . For me… . ”
He pressed X . It was a fail .
“Ah… . ”
Kim JiMin lowered her head . There were two votes left .
“I’m not that much different from Mr . Lee JaeHyuk’s . You have a good voice, but I wish you could practice some more before you come again . ”
Moon SangJae pressed X as well . 2 out of 3 gave an X . This was a fail .
“…Thank you . I wish I can see you again at this place next time . ”
Without even looking at KangYoon’s result, Kim JiMin left .
“Looks like she was disheartened . ”
“It’s a pity . Her voice was really good . ”
Lee JaeHyuk and Moon SangJae talked about Kim JiMin . Her voice was good, but it was too early for her to get a pass . This was their opinion .
However, KangYoon was different .
‘If she relaxed a little more, she would be really good . Looks like I’ll have to see her again . ’
Just the voice was good? Not in KangYoon’s opinion, no . Among the trainees KangYoon saw, there were rarely any that could produce such a clear white light . He stood up from his seat as though something tugged his mind .
“Can we have a little rest?”
“Hmm… . Should we? I’m hungry too . ”
When Lee JaeHyuk agreed to KangYoon’s request for a rest, the programme was paused . KangYoon immediately left and looked for Kim JiMin .
‘Where is she?’
However, she wasn’t in the lobby . When he asked a staff in the lobby, he got the reply that a girl with a guitar had just left the lobby, and he ran out .
Fortunately, he could see the girl not far away from the building . KangYoon ran .
“Wait!”
“Eh?”
The girl turned around at KangYoon’s call .
“Sir judge?”
“*pant pant… . *”
Looking at the girl’s confused expression, KangYoon made a bright face .
“Fuu, I was looking for you . ”
“For me?”
The girl, Kim JiMin, looked at KangYoon with very confused eyes .