On the day of the release, night had fallen.
They say even haters can be fans in disguise, right?
Thanks to some of Seo Jini’s haters streaming her music just to criticize it, she unintentionally cracked the Top 100 on the charts.
[I was ready to roast her, but now I’ve got nothing to say.]
↳ What the heck happened?
↳ Must’ve teamed up with a great composer.
↳ Sure, the composer did great, but singing it well is a skill in itself.
↳ True, credit where it’s due.
Sadly, that was as far as it went.
After that, her chart ranking barely moved at all.
A day passed, then two, then three, then four…
Almost five days went by, all the way up until she went on stage.
[“Music Center” – Seo Jini’s comeback ‘gorgeous’ was a flawless live performance]
↳ Gotta admit it now: Seo Jini can actually sing.
↳ Honestly, I never knew she was this good.
↳ Don’t you think her vibe and vocal style changed a lot?
↳ Yeah, I noticed that too. Seems like she found the perfect song.
↳ Seriously, besides her debut days, her songs were always meh—but this one’s a banger.
↳ My whole view of Seo Jini changed after that performance.
↳ Everything about it was perfect. Straight-up legendary performance.
After performing on “Music Center,” followed by the other two major broadcast music shows, the online communities started buzzing. At the same time, her title track “gorgeous” managed to break into the Top 50 on major Korean streaming platforms.
Considering all the negative conditions, this is a really good sign… Manager Kim thought. If things kept going well—especially with college festival season coming soon—she’d easily pass the break-even point.
“Huh,” Manager Kim muttered, glancing over at Hyun-seung, who was sitting across from him with a bored look, staring at his handheld game console.
Maybe he’s a little disappointed… Manager Kim guessed.
From the company’s perspective, this was a fantastic outcome. But from the composer’s point of view—someone who poured his heart into his first official single—it might feel a bit underwhelming.
“You might not realize it since it’s your first time, but these numbers aren’t bad at all,” Manager Kim said, patting him lightly on the back. “You can’t expect to hit the jackpot with your very first release, right? Don’t feel too pressured.”
Hyun-seung raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “I already know there’s no reason for me to feel pressured.”
“Uh…?”
“Like I said, once the song’s out, it’s all on the company.”
Manager Kim kept trying to figure the guy out but was getting nowhere.
“If the song ends here, it just means our distribution capacity is limited,” Hyun-seung went on. “But I get it—we’re all in the same boat.”
Hyun-seung was like a bottomless ocean: deep, dark, and oddly calm. He always seemed relaxed, even a bit lazy, but in a self-possessed way. Manager Kim found it strange. A rookie composer in his early twenties usually can’t help but care about the results, even if they pretend otherwise. He figured there had to be some weight on his mind. But it turned out he was worried over nothing.
“I just thought you looked kind of bummed,” Manager Kim said.
“Nah, it’s just my radishes aren’t growing the way I want them to.”
He spent almost all his time in his private studio—how he found time to farm was anyone’s guess.
Maybe all that chill comes from working extra hard at something else… Manager Kim’s misunderstanding only deepened as Hyun-seung kept talking.
“The die’s already been cast, right? We just have to wait until it stops rolling and see how it lands.” He put down his game console and added quietly, “So let’s stay calm, like me, and kill time by ‘farming’ or something.”
Do I need to start farming to be as chill as this guy?
Before he knew it, Manager Kim was seriously considering moving to the countryside.
“Ugh, my head…”
In a bustling café, at a table in the corner, one woman was hunched over, clutching her temples.
Her name was Kim Hee-yeon, and she worked at Daeil Planning, one of the top three advertising agencies in the country.
“Isn’t there a decent track anywhere?”
Dark circles shadowed her eyes. Today, she was on a mission to find a song—any song—that would perfectly match the commercial she was planning.
Screech, screech.
Countless songs come out every day on various music platforms. From pop to classical, CCM—there are tons of genres. But finding that one perfect fit? Not easy.
And that was exactly her job today.
“…Ugh.”
She let out a deep sigh. The hardest part of crafting a commercial storyboard, for her, was picking the right song to insert.
If worst comes to worst, I’ll have to pitch writing a brand-new jingle.
She’d been listening so much her ears were buzzing. Finally, she slammed her laptop shut.
I can’t listen anymore…
It was her first time handling an ad campaign for a lodging platform, and she’d created a brilliant, not-too-clichéd storyboard. Now she needed the perfect background music. But nothing was hitting the mark.
There’s just nothing that screams ‘This is it!’
Slurp, slurp.
She was so lost in thought that she finished her cup of coffee without realizing it. She planned to stay until she got results, so she went to order another.
That’s when she heard it.
“Huh?”
A song drifted through the café’s speakers. It was a woman’s voice—familiar, yet somehow new. It had a slightly rough edge, but it also felt warm and comforting, wrapping around her like a cozy blanket. Kim Hee-yeon took out her wireless earbuds to listen directly to the not-so-great café speakers.
This is… kinda good?
A spark of hope flared. The track matched the vibe she’d been envisioning for her ad.
Bzzz bzzz!
Right then, her pager for the coffee order buzzed, so she had to step up to the counter.
“Um, excuse me…”
She wanted to ask the barista about the song title, but they were swamped with orders. No luck. She went back to her seat, tried using a song-identification app, but thanks to all the background noise, she got the same message over and over: “Couldn’t recognize the track.”
Crap, the first verse is already over…
She was about to hold her phone closer to the speaker when she overheard a conversation at the next table:
“Hey, that singer—who is it, again?”
“Oh! Seo Jini, right? This is her new track.”
“What, this is Seo Jini’s song?”
“Told ya. Doesn’t her vibe seem totally different now?”
“I had no idea she could sing like this.”
“I know, right? She should’ve done this kind of music from the start.”
Two young women were chatting excitedly, and the people around them started to murmur.
“Wait, did you catch that? It’s Seo Jini?”
“Check your phone—what’s the title?”
“I was thinking this was a good song too.”
Hearing that, Kim Hee-yeon immediately searched “Seo Jini.” She saw that three tracks had recently been released in a single:
- “The Spring That Passed”
- “gorgeous”
- “Let’s Walk Together”
She put in her earbuds and started playing them in order. By the end of the third song, there was a massive smile on her face. She even found herself tapping her feet and humming along to the super catchy chorus.
Her conclusion? All three songs were incredible. They reminded her of a warm spring day and a blazing hot summer sun, and the final track filled her with an overwhelming sense of comfort and joy.
Out of those three, the one she’d heard in the café was the last track, “Let’s Walk Together.” It had exactly the vibe she was after—perfect mood, tempo, arrangement, vocals, even the singer’s breathing style.
Trying to contain her excitement, she opened her laptop again and typed a new section into her uncompleted storyboard. Then she picked up her phone and made a call.
“Hello? This is Kim Hee-yeon. I’ve found the song we’re going to use,” she said. She could feel it in her gut: this was going to be the best ad storyboard she’d ever worked on.
At the company cafeteria, Manager Kim and Hyun-seung grabbed their trays.
“Hey, these options look pretty decent today, huh?”
“Yeah, looks good.”
“I’m thinking the bibimbap might be tasty. That omelet, too.”
“Could be.”
“Dude, are you just gonna answer with one-liners all day?”
“Looks like it.”
“Min Hyun-seung is a dummy, a poop dog, a sea cucumber, a sea anemone.”
“Totally agree.”
Manager Kim pounded his chest in frustration. “That’s enough! Anyway, you know why I called you here?”
As Hyun-seung set his tray down, he asked, “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Why else? To celebrate the fact that Seo Jini’s new album passed the break-even point.”
“Celebrate, huh? Then why’d you bring me to the company cafeteria?”
He quickly followed up with a little jab: “Shouldn’t we go somewhere nicer?”
While mixing his bibimbap, Manager Kim let out an awkward chuckle. “What’s better than the company cafeteria? Where else can you get food this good, at this price?”
Taking a big spoonful, he added, “So from now on, whenever we need to celebrate something, let’s do it here.”
Hyun-seung shook his head. “Or we could just order delivery to my studio.”
Manager Kim muttered, “No respect… no respect at all…”
Just then, a team leader from the A&R department hurried over. “Sir, there you are!”
“What’s got you so worked up?” Manager Kim asked. The poor team leader looked like he’d been sprinting around the entire building, sweat dripping down his forehead.
“Good thing I found you both together,” the team leader said, catching his breath. “Sir, you know Daeil Planning, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“They just got in touch a little while ago.”
Manager Kim’s eyes lit up. “Daeil Planning? They must be asking about using a new song for an ad, right?”
“Yeah, but—”
“If it’s a recent release, then maybe they want something from Hyo-ju?”
Before Manager Kim could finish his thought, the team leader cut in. “No, sir. They’re asking to use ‘Let’s Walk Together,’ from Seo Jini’s album.”
Manager Kim’s expression turned completely dumbfounded. “What? They want to use that track?”
LS Entertainment had countless songs under its rights. Some of them were nationally famous, others currently topping the charts. But Seo Jini’s song? And specifically “Let’s Walk Together,” which hadn’t even been performed live on a single music show, and wasn’t on the charts at all?
Sure, having a song in a commercial doesn’t guarantee success. But Daeil Planning is a top-tier agency sought after by all the big corporate clients. They’re known for high-quality, hard-hitting ads. If “Let’s Walk Together” got featured, the exposure could do wonders for the track.
“They said they’re in a rush and want a response ASAP…” the team leader added urgently. Manager Kim snapped out of his thoughts.
“Got the contract? Let’s go check it out right now.”
He stood up, looking back at Hyun-seung. “Sorry, Hyun-seung, guess you’ll have to finish lunch on your own.”
“Why apologize? You’re just doing what you have to do.”
Manager Kim gave him a quick nod and rushed off with the team leader. Watching them leave, Hyun-seung let out a quiet snort.
He looks over the moon.
There was no doubt this commercial deal was a huge opportunity for Seo Jini. With any luck, it’d really push her single forward. The company folks probably saw it as an unexpected jackpot.
But to Hyun-seung, a good song always ends up getting noticed eventually. It might’ve taken a different path, but Seo Jini’s track was bound to blow up one way or another.
It was going to make it either way, so who cares?
Still, it looked like the album was catching a nice tailwind—much sooner than anyone anticipated. He was reminded that the entertainment industry is always subject to wild cards and random hits or misses.
“Huh.”
He took another bite of his bibimbap and muttered, “Damn, this cafeteria food is pretty good.”
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