A single day had barely passed since the K-Singer Star final, yet the whole world was already in an uproar.
“Look at this!”
Yoon Jaeyi, who had come to Hyunseung’s studio to talk about her future schedule, chattered excitedly.
“My name is in the real-time search rankings!”
“Figures.”
[ Real-Time Trending Searches ]
1 – Yoon Jaeyi HS
2 – Yoon Jaeyi Moon Beom-jae
3 – Yoon Jaeyi champion
4 – K-Singer champion
5 – Yoon Jaeyi Kang Ha-jun
“There are loads of articles about me, too!”
“Right.”
[Official] ‘K-Singer Star’ Miracle contestant Yoon Jaeyi beats Kang Ha-jun in popularity vote, takes crown
[Yoon Jaeyi sets record judge score, wins final…]
[Video] ‘K-Singer Star’ surprise guest Moon Beom-jae, flawless duet with Yoon Jaeyi …
“And they have already opened a fan club called ‘Yun-vely’!”
“I get it.”
[ YUN-VELY – Because Yoon Jaeyi is the loveliest ]
When Hyunseung only nodded, looking bothered, Manager Kim scolded him.
“She is this happy, can’t you at least act interested?”
“She has been going on for half an hour.”
“She just won. How do you think she feels?”
“Well, in the end she won because I wrote a good song and asked Master Moon Beom-jae to help …”
Manager Kim shook his head. Annoying as he sounded, Hyunseung was not wrong.
Yoon Jaeyi’s victory owed a great deal to him.
His song had unlocked her full potential, bringing nearly perfect scores from every judge.
Eyewitness reports of her stage exploded online, making her skyrocket in popularity and lifting viewer votes.
Fans of both Jayble and Hyunseung threw their weight behind the voting too, and memberships in HS’s fan cafés had surged, boosting the totals.
The deciding blow was Moon Beom-jae’s surprise appearance.
“So why didn’t you tell Jaeyi in advance that Moon Beom-jae would back her up?”
“If she relied on that, she might slack off. Even I would relax in that case.”
“You are ruthless, you know.”
Yet the best possible result had come, so none of it mattered now. If Hyunseung had not used the super-pass in the prelims, she would have been cut.
“Anyway, congratulations, Jaeyi.”
“Thank you so much, Manager!”
While Yoon Jaeyi kept bowing with gratitude, Hyunseung glanced at her and spoke firmly.
“Jaeyi, you still have a long road, don’t get carried away.”
“Hyunseung!” Manager Kim poked his side. But he continued.
“The title ‘audition-program winner’ cuts both ways.”
“A double-edged sword?”
“You said signing the exclusive contract felt like your life flipped overnight?”
“Yes, I did …”
“It really will. There is no going back.”
“What do you mean …?”
He tossed his phone on the table.
“The more people like and admire you, the more will hate and envy you.”
She looked down at the screen and let out a faint “Ah …” Seeing a so-called rumor article:
[K-Singer Star biased judging? Rumor sparks that HS and Yoon Jaeyi are dating]
He scrolled; the comments were ugly.
Another new article:
[Requests flood in to revoke Yoon Jaeyi’s win, call Moon Beom-jae’s feature “rule violation”; production says “No such rule.”]
He shoved the phone toward her.
“Can you handle this kind of malice and misunderstanding?”
“I have to.”
Her pupils trembled, but her voice stayed solid.
“I came this far. It is my burden; I will bear it.”
Hyunseung sighed. After a moment he turned to Manager Kim.
“Let’s release that article we talked about.”
Manager Kim nodded.
“Right, we’ll do it.”
Yoon Jaeyi listened, puzzled.
“You don’t have to shoulder everything yourself,” Hyunseung said softly.
“What?”
“That is what an agency is for. We will have LS’s legal team handle these rumors.”
“And tomorrow we announce that you have signed your exclusive contract with LS Entertainment.”
“That could stir things up even more …”
“Company will deal with it. You just practice.”
Tears welled but she bowed again and again.
“Thank you, really, I will work so hard.”
“Don’t cry. Crying can become a habit,” he told her coldly. “This world won’t go easy on you for tears.”
Manager Kim thought: sometimes HS spoke like a veteran who had battled ten years in this industry.
Just then Hyunseung tapped a key; the monitor lit, showing dozens of fresh tracks.
Manager Kim muttered, eyes wide, “When did he write all these …?”
Hyunseung ignored him.
“A wind is blowing. Time to row hard, right, Manager?”
“Absolutely.”
He was already eager to see which way he would play this limitless instrument called Yoon Jaeyi next.
The phone kept buzzing.
You must come tonight.
All judges promised to attend!
Seven o’clock at Dana, the Korean set-menu place. Don’t be late!
Messages from Lee Young-ah.
Hyunseung had skipped the big wrap-up party, and now the judges were holding a small private one. He intended to skip again.
Another vibration:
Kim Gwang-jin: I heard you will be at tonight’s judges’ party~~ Honored to swap musical ideas with you^^ See you later, in good spirits!
“Well, that’s awkward,” he muttered. It was hard to ignore a senior like Kim Gwang-jin, who had shown him respect throughout the show.
He glanced at the helmet resting in the corner.
“All right, I’ll just show my face for a moment.”
He texted back: Yes, sir. See you then.
“‘See you then’—?” Lee Young-ah read the reply aloud, shocked.
“That really came from him?”
“Told you,” Kim Gwang-jin said.
“Then he ghosted my messages on purpose …!” She bit her tongue; CP Go Hyun-deok, PD Kim Young-ho and three judges were already in the private room.
In truth, she desperately wanted to work with HS and had tried everything to befriend him, only to be ignored.
But Lee Young-ah never gave up once she set her mind. Tonight, she decided, would be the night.
PD Kim checked his watch. “He should be here soon …”
Just then an old cartoon theme echoed in the hall. Three steady knocks.
The door swung open and everyone inside stared in surprise at the man in the doorway.
T/N: Is this the big face reveal?! Kyaaa
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