The day after the TOP 11 round, three contestants were eliminated, but regret lasted only a moment.
[Kim Geun-yeong fails to pass the TOP 11 threshold and is eliminated.]
[[Photo] Lee Yuju comforts eliminated Ji Yeong-seon.]
[First dropout from the TOP 11, Lee Jae-jin, “I am upset and disappointed.”]
[Which contestants do music critics pick as favorites to win?]
[K-Singer Star, all TOP 11 tracks released exclusively on Apple Music.]
Swipe, swipe.
[[Video] K-Singer Star’s Yoon Jaeyi on the TOP 8 decision stage! Judge Lee Yeong-ah praises, “It is rapturous!”]
[“K-Singer Star” Yoon Jaeyi secures advancement in second place, sweeps to no. 1 on real-time charts, called “a strong candidate for the crown.”]
[Is this the power of K-Singer Star? Kang Hajun’s stage clip sets record views on YouTube in a short time.]
[[Video] ‘K-Singer Star’ Kang Hajun, the dignity of first place! More than three million views on YouTube overnight!]
News sites, YouTube and every social network were buzzing over K-Singer Star.
Tap.
Hyunseung put down the phone he had been staring at for ages. This was not the time for that.
Yes, now he really had to finish the competition song that would be unveiled in the final.
Kakao-talk!
He had to, but again that morning KakaoTalk arrived to disturb his schedule.
[04th_practice_recording.MP4]
[Monday-ting hello,,,!]
[Have you eaten?]
[I really want,,,]
[to treat you,.]
[Whenever you have time,,]
[call me anytime,,!]
[Night or day,,]
[I will run to you,,]
[If you call me,,]
[I will run unconditionally,,]
[No conditions,, unconditionally]
With his palm on his forehead, Hyunseung let out a deep sigh.
Please, please, send it all in one message.
After Chairman Lee Duseok’s “wise sayings” texts, he was now suffering daily Kakao-bombardment from Kang Hajun.
Ever since Hyunseung sent him the song, Hajun had been messaging every day with a practice recording file.
At first, he wondered why the kid was so intense, but there was a definite benefit: even when the timing was tight he could check practice progress and give feedback efficiently just through the files.
Most of all, in today’s recording the parts he pointed out yesterday were improved, so things were clearly moving in the right direction.
Yes, at this rate the recording could finish quickly, and they could release it within the target season.
Once everything was wrapped up…
After the show ended and the summer-season single dropped, he vowed to take a summer vacation with the family again this year.
And go home more often…
He was drifting into idle thoughts when
Ting-a-ling!
A message arrived from his sister Hyun-ah.
[Beloved brother, do you need any errands run again?]
She must want spending money.
[I also have something to ask, are you not coming home?]
Yes, she probably needed cash.
“Why not just ask for money, really.”
He immediately wired a large sum, one million won, to her account and replied.
[Use it sparingly.]
Just being able to send pocket money whenever she wanted made him feel good as a brother.
The moment Hyun-ah received his text telling her to be frugal,
[Web notice]
Bank of Korea
Deposit 1,000,000 KRW (~$700 USD)
From: Min Hyunseung
She got the deposit alert.
“Huh?”
Checking the number again, she frowned in disbelief.
Looks like he thought she contacted him because she needed allowance.
Actually, she had planned to ask whether he could help her attend K-Singer Star’s live show.
Wait. Since things turned out like this, maybe she could check the price of scalped tickets? She really wanted to see her second brother, Kang Hajun, in person.
“All right.”
She opened O-market, the site that sold everything, and frantically searched for tickets.
“Aw….”
Scalped tickets were hard to find. The ones listed required shipping, but she had once been scammed in a second-hand mail deal, so she looked only for face-to-face transactions.
Tap.
Sighing, she set down her phone. She was already paying tuition and living expenses almost entirely on her brother’s support, and now she had unintentionally extracted an even bigger allowance.
“No, no.”
The fortune felt heavy.
“Right, this is wrong.”
Her brother might think a million won was no big deal, but she could not spend money he had earned through hard work on her selfish desire.
“I’ll return it.”
She left the library at once and searched for an ATM.
The LS Entertainment building, which she was visiting for the second time, still stood imposingly.
“It is really huge….”
After craning her neck at the tower, she checked again that the envelope was safe in her bag and walked inside.
Yet she hit a wall at once.
“Why will he not answer….”
With her brother not picking up, she was stuck in the lobby, unable to step past the gate while the big envelope weighed on her.
Just then a familiar silhouette walked past her through the gate.
Kang… Hajun?
Her fan instinct knew instantly.
Why was he here…?
As if drawn by a magnet, she hurried after him toward the gate.
“Excuse me, miss?”
“Eh?”
“You cannot enter without a pass or visitor confirmation.”
Stopped at the threshold by security, she could only watch Hajun disappear inside.
Damn, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see him up close.
“I came to see my brother who works here as an in-house composer!”
“Entry is allowed only after confirming your brother’s employment.”
Groaning, she pulled out her phone again. Since when had it become so hard just to see her own brother?
Ring-ring-ring…
At last,
“Need more allowance?” he answered through the speaker.
“No, that’s not it!”
“Then what?”
“I’m in the lobby. They won’t let me in….”
“You came to the LS building?”
“Yeah, security stopped me.”
“I’ll tell them. Say you’re here to see HS and come up.”
“Okay! Should I go straight to the studio?”
He ended the call with a brief “Yeah.”
Soon confirmation was done and she passed the gate.
Knock, knock, click—
The door opened the moment she knocked on the studio.
“Dropping by without notice?”
Inside, Hyunseung scratched the back of his head, looking bored.
“I came to give something back.”
As if used to this, she sat on the sofa, pulled an envelope from her bag.
“I realized I don’t know your account number.”
“Of course. I never gave it.”
“Right, so I came to return the money in person.”
He peeked inside the envelope. “The allowance I sent? Why give it back?”
“I still have what you gave me.”
“Save it and use it later.”
“I’m still a student. That much money feels burdensome.”
He nodded. Yes, that was his sister. In his past life, she too insisted on refusing money and saved it all in the family account. Thrifty, caring, kind like their mother.
“Actually, I have a favor.”
Oh? Maybe not only that.
“Can you pull strings so I can watch K-Singer Star live?”
Because he was a judge, it should be possible?
He hesitated. The request was not hard: he could ask production to reserve seats. The hesitation came from a past memory.
“Oppa, can I bring Dad to the live show?”
Back in season seven, he had refused, embarrassed to call family to his workplace.
Maybe now he could show them. They were family.
“It’s fine if it’s difficult!” she said quickly.
“Who said it’s hard?”
“Eh?”
“I’ll keep two seats. Bring Dad to the final.”
Since his song would premiere in the final, that would be best.
“Yay! I’ll come with Dad! You’re the best!”
While she danced, she suddenly clapped her hands.
“By the way, I think I saw Kang Hajun in the lobby.”
“Kang Hajun?”
“Yes, the guy on K-Singer Star.”
“So?”
“He just walked through the gate, so…”
“Of course.”
She tilted her head.
“He’s an LS trainee.”
“Whoa.”
“Don’t spread it.”
His eyes sharpened. “You only want to attend because of Hajun, don’t you?”
“Uh? N, no! It’s also your program and, um, I wanted to see….”
Her flustered look said it all.
Should I cancel giving him the song?
Like any brother, he disliked men around his sister. But Hajun did not even know she existed, and canceling now was silly.
Well, Hajun is going to be a celebrity. It is normal for a girl to be his fan.
Maybe he would just… drop him in the ranking?
“Oppa, why that scary face?”
“Nothing. See you at the final.”
Secretly, Hyunseung wished that Kang Hajun would not survive to the final round.
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