The next day.
Having wrapped up an outside schedule, Manager Kim returned and took Hyunseung to the company cafeteria.
“Hyunseung.”
“What.”
“Please, think it over just once more.”
“No.”
By now the two of them had repeated this exchange dozens of times. Hyunseung showed no sign of yielding, and the more obstinate he became, the more Manager Kim’s stomach burned.
“The higher-ups are bound to oppose it.”
“Then at least you can take my side.”
“Of course I’m on your side, but …”
“Why not persuade them with next year’s renewal as leverage?”
Manager Kim was sipping a spoonful of soup when the word “renewal” made him choke and cough.
“Hey, I can’t threaten the higher-ups.”
“It’s not a threat, it’s persuasion.”
“Isn’t there any way I can coax you instead?”
Rather than reply, Hyunseung scooped up a large bite of rice and chewed.
“Then at least tell me why it has to be Choi Jihyun.”
“That’s a secret.”
“Please, just that much.”
“I said it’s a secret.”
“Who on earth is Choi Jihyun that it has to be a secret?”
Just then a tray dropped lightly onto the seat next to Manager Kim with a Bang!.
“I-I’m sorry!”
The tray’s owner was Yoon Jaeyi.
“My hand suddenly went weak …”
Luckily, she had almost set it down, so no food spilled.
“Jaeyi, sit.”
In the midst of the attention already drawn by the loud noise, Manager Kim pulled the still-standing Yoon Jaeyi into her seat.
“Um, excuse me—”
Yoon Jaeyi stared blankly at the tray for a moment.
“Who is Choi Jihyun?”
Both Hyunseung and Manager Kim turned toward her at the same time.
“I really wasn’t trying to eavesdrop!”
Chief Kim motioned for her to lower her voice with a quiet “Shh.”
“Hyunseung’s next album won’t be under HS. He’s releasing it under the name Choi Jihyun. Of course, that’s a secret.”
“Ah…”
“But when I ask why it has to be Choi Jihyun, he won’t tell me.”
He added in a whisper:
“The engineers say it might be his first love’s name.”
At that, Yoon Jaeyi muttered “First love …” in a daze.
Scrape-
Just then the chair beside Hyunseung slid back across the floor.
“Composer, how have you been?”
Looking even more handsome than before, Kang Hajun slid into the seat next to Hyunseung.
“I thought you were in Japan.”
“I heard you were back, so I came to say hello.”
Shaking his head, Hyunseung muttered, “You have too much free time,” stuffed his last bite of rice into his mouth, brushed himself off, and stood.
“Hyunseung, where are you going?”
“I get tired around these guys.”
Manager Kim hurriedly grabbed his tray and followed.
Meanwhile, left at the table, Yoon Jaeyi still hadn’t lifted her spoon and let out a deep sigh.
“Phew.”
Watching her face, Kang Hajun asked in a worried tone:
“Is it because the composer said he was tired?”
“No, that’s not it …”
“Then why the long face in front of your tray?”
“Who on earth is Choi Jihyun?”
“Huh? Choi Jihyun all of a sudden? What are you talking about?”
“The engineers think it’s his first love’s name …”
“You mean the composer’s first love?”
“Right. But knowing his personality, I think it might be his mother’s name rather than a first love.”
When Kang Hajun echoed “Mother?”
Yoon Jae-yi nodded.
“Men usually can’t forget their first love.”
“Sigh…”
“But if it’s him, it could really be his mother’s name.”
“Right?”
“Still, not forgetting a first love’s name sounds rather romantic.”
“Ah…”
“Since he cares deeply about family, maybe it’s his mother.”
“Exactly.”
“First lo—”
“Enough.”
Their talk ended when Yoon Jaeyi collapsed forward onto the table.
I am curious, though.
Kang Hajun, too, began wondering about “Choi Jihyun.” Even he—who would likely ace a national Hyunseung quiz—knew nothing.
First love or mother—both were mere guesses.
Fine.
If he was curious, he would find out.
Kang Hajun spread open a notebook and clicked his pen.
First, he had gone to Hyunseung’s studio to ask and been flatly refused. All he learned was that “Choi Jihyun” would be the pen name for the next album.
If it meant nothing, there’d be no need for secrecy, so Choi Jihyun must be a real person’s name.
First candidate: a first love.
Not impossible, but knowing the composer, he wouldn’t put a past lover’s name on an album.
Second candidate: his mother.
But had the composer ever mentioned his mother? He’d heard that his younger sister and father came to see K-Sings in person, but…
Ah.
Maybe it was to honor a mother with a story behind her?
Maybe Yoon Jaeyi’s guess is right.
He turned the page. It was filled with brief info on every LS Entertainment employee named “Choi Jihyun.”
Right.
Time to drop the preconception that it had to be a woman and widen the field.
Choi Jihyun, manager in the Planning Strategy Office …
Forty-seven years old, confirmed bachelor, half-bald.
First, no connection to HS at all, so …
Swish, swish—
He drew an X over the name in red pen.
Next, exclusive choreographer Choi Jihyun.
A twenty-six-year-old woman. Plausible—except she was married and on maternity leave.
Swish, swish—
Another X.
Lastly, the most likely …
A twenty-year-old woman: member Choi Jihyun of girl group “Lovblic,” under Management Team 1. Team 1 made it less likely, but they could have fallen in love.
Except she was away on an East-Asian concert tour.
Swish, swish—
He drew a triangle over that name.
For now, the mother still seemed the strongest candidate.
Executive Director Park headed for the directors’ office.
“Director Choi, HS is back, right?”
“You came just to ask that?”
“I hear his personal-project album is penciled in for the latter half of the year.”
“You heard it already—why come?”
Park pressed his lips together. Demanding to know why he hadn’t been told immediately would just look petty.
“Anyway, why is he changing his pen name?”
“How would I know.”
“Then why’d you okay it?”
“Same as always—he said he’d make it a success.”
Park muttered, “What a cocky kid …”
“He’s delivered so far—how could I just say no?”
If it were up to him, he’d have persuaded the kid to stick with the original name, but Choi was the sort who trusted his own people. Knowing that, Park held his tongue.
Instead, he asked sarcastically:
“Isn’t Team 2 getting a bit too soft?”
“They do have more humanity than Team 1.”
“I didn’t mean that nicely.”
“I was bad-mouthing Team 1, roundabout.”
Park bristled. “What’s wrong with our Team 1!” But watching Choi sip his tea without reaction drained his energy.
Always the same.
Relaxed, composed. Those gentle eyes behind silver-rimmed glasses hid their thoughts.
“So why Choi Jihyun, of all names?”
Park raised a question he wasn’t really curious about.
“I didn’t ask that far.”
“Is the kid seeing someone?”
“No idea.”
“Maybe it’s his girlfriend’s name?”
“How should I know?”
“Don’t you care a bit too little about your own people?”
Choi set down his teacup and answered calmly.
“These days, if you pry into that stuff, they call you a boomer behind your back. Ease off.”
Stung, Park clicked his tongue. “Tsk.” Leaning back, he muttered, “Ah, youth.”
“It’s the age for that. But listen—he’ll kick himself later, blanket and all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Young folks tattoo their lovers’ names and such. Maybe he’s doing something like that—dropping a track under his girlfriend’s name.”
It sounded plausible enough for Choi to nod.
After all…
Wasn’t Hyunseung a hot-blooded youth in his early twenties? Maybe he was blazing with a love they didn’t know.
Just as he was mad for music—who knew if he was mad for love?
“If he shows signs of a breakup, tell him to release the album under HS right away.” Park added, rising. “So he won’t regret it.”
With that, he strolled out.
“Mmm.”
Choi, gazing at the closed door, smiled faintly and murmured:
“Meddling—so unlike him …”
Truly, a rare sight.
Meanwhile.
A café in the heart of Seoul.
Click, click.
Influencer Lee Yeon-ji had claimed the prettiest seat in the house and was snapping selfie after selfie.
She needed photos of five new shades of sponsored lipstick, so for an hour straight she applied, wiped, and photographed.
Lately, her Byulstar follower count had stalled and she hated her photos, so she was touchy. Irritated, she flicked a standing lipstick with her finger and toppled it.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted …”
Her lips were parched from so much remover, so she gulped her coffee.
“I need a sponsorship that really grabs attention …”
Just as she was about to flop onto the table—
“Isn’t that The Moon over there?”
“The Moon? Huh? I think so.”
“Looks like they’re here for an interview.”
“And they’re way better-looking in person …”
At the chatter from the next table, she lifted her head. In a glass-partitioned room sat four strikingly handsome men.
Oh, handsome.
Interest stirred, she turned fully toward them. Though she wasn’t big on celebrities, she knew they were a hot mid-career rookie group.
Wait …
An idea flashed. She grinned and picked up her phone.
Soon, she started a live stream with the brightest smile in the world.
“Yeon-ha—!”
She chattered to herself while viewer numbers climbed.
— Yeon-ha! Unnie is as pretty as ever ㅠㅠ
— Isn’t this the wrong time for a live?
— Seriously, your beauty is insane again.
— Which café do I go to to see you?
When the count was high enough, she flipped the camera and added:
“Actually, I went live so we could all indulge our eyes together!”
The chat that had been flooding in went still.
— Eye candy? Your face is enough.
— Huh, who are those guys?
— Wait! Isn’t that The Moon??? Pretty sure!!!
— Dunno who The Moon is but they’re hot,,,,
— Which café???????????????
— Someone drop the location, pleaseㅠ
— Looks like The Concept café?
— Bless the comment aboveㅠ I’m getting a taxi.
After a beat, the numbers shot up like crazy.
This live stream of hers was only the flutter of a small butterfly’s wings.
Yet before long, it would summon a massive typhoon.
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