Because she had studied like her life depended on it for her family’s sake, Hyuna reached twenty without ever dating.
“Born single,” “mo-sol.”
That was the nickname her friends used for her.
But even for Hyuna, spring finally came.
“Minwoo!”
“Don’t run. You’ll get hurt.”
A boyfriend who was gentle, kind and even handsome had appeared. These days Hyuna was so absorbed in him that she no longer noticed Kang Hajun, whom she had once liked so much.
“Let’s go.”
“Mhm, okay.”
Hand in hand with her boyfriend Minwoo, she headed toward the library.
Since they were both med-school students, their dates were mostly at the library, but even that made her happy.
Was this what it felt like to be happy just from seeing his face?
She kept glancing back and forth between her books and her boyfriend’s face while they studied together.
Whenever their eyes met and he gave her that bright smile, she truly felt as though she owned the whole world.
Knock, knock.
Sitting opposite, he slid her a note.
[I’m hungry. Want to grab something?]
She shook her head vigorously and smiled. Snack time with him was her favorite time.
“I can pay, you know.”
“No, I want to treat you.”
Feeling sorry that he always paid first, she hurried to offer her card.
Of course, it was money her brother had given her, but still…
“Hyuna, shall we sit over there to eat?”
“Sure, sounds good.”
Following Minwoo, she sat by the sunny window and took out her earphones.
“Let’s listen to music while we eat.”
“Alright.”
She played le seul by The Moon, a song her brother had written, and asked,
“Minwoo, you know the composer HS, right? This is his song, isn’t it great?”
“I don’t listen to pop, so I don’t really know him.”
“Huh? Then what do you listen to?”
“Mom tells me to stick to classical, so usually Chopin or Mozart.”
“Oh, really… All HS songs are so good though…”
Disappointed, she removed the earphones.
Come to think of it, he was a real mama’s boy who obeyed his mother.
“Hm…”
Thinking it would be hard to share music with him, she opened her portal app out of habit to check entertainment news.
“Oh?”
Today’s hot topics caught her eye.
[Seo Jini to make another Korea-Japan joint comeback on the 23rd with an HS track.]
[HS × Seojini announce flashy return with song A.N.P.]
[Composer HS says, ‘My only rival is myself,’ comment creates buzz.]
He must have written another song already, even though he had just returned from his trip and hadn’t come home.
Scroll, scroll.
She narrowed her eyes at the next headlines.
[Is HS finally facing a rival? Another super rookie composer emerges at LS Entertainment.]
[Composer Choi Jihyun, heir to HS, to debut with first solo album on the 30th.]
[Composer Choi Jihyun draws attention with New York Philharmonic and Master Lee Ga-hui on his album sessions.]
Reading in order, she muttered without realizing,
“Choi Jihyun…?”
Tilting her head, she looked puzzled. Minwoo asked what was wrong.
“It’s nothing.”
She set down her phone and waved her hands.
“Then Hyuna, would you like to hear some classical pieces I like?”
“Um, not right now.”
He was a perfect boyfriend in every way, yet their musical tastes felt hopelessly mismatched.
Before Choi Jihyun’s album, Seo Jini’s A.N.P had been released simultaneously in Korea and Japan.
Naturally, because it was an HS track, the response was good.
But an unexpected variable appeared.
“Good grief…”
Public attention shifted entirely to the teaser for Choi Jihyun’s solo-album MV.
“Is LS Entertainment running a genius-composer project? How did they dig up someone like this? Every teaser track is infinite-stream worthy.”
“Give us the full MV already, how can you cut it there?”
“New York Philharmonic × gayageum master, that combo is unreal.”
“They stacked all my favorite singers, total gourmet restaurant lol.”
“I was shocked, same name as me lolol.”
“Guys!!! HS dropped a song too! Show some love!!!”
“Please don’t do that here.”
Even though he was a rookie, LS had signed him exclusively, and with such flashy feature and session lineups he naturally drew attention.
Above all, the music was genuinely good and the MV looked great, so even the teaser alone was bound to attract interest.
It wasn’t only the public. Judging from the steady columns, even pop-music critics seemed smitten with “Choi Jihyun.”
“Choi Jihyun’s music is too big for the Korean market to hold; I dare predict a legendary masterpiece.”
“Can a teaser alone amplify the listener’s feelings this much? Something near impossible is happening. I may go to sleep every night longing for the full track.”
Even Kim Do-gyun, a critic famous for harsh reviews, wrote on his personal SNS,
“They say geniuses are born in clusters once a century. HS and Choi Jihyun are the example. Yet they differ clearly: if HS is the front-runner, Choi Ji-hyun is the innovator.”
Manager Kim, walking with eyes fixed on his phone, stopped when someone bumped him.
“Oh, sorry—”
Looking up, he saw
“You shouldn’t walk while staring at your phone.”
It was Oh Young-hun, head of Management Team 1, Kim’s direct rival.
“With a hallway this wide you had to crash into me?”
“You weren’t looking, how is it my fault?”
“Your acting skills still haven’t improved.”
Kim shook his head and tried to pass, but Oh spoke again.
“I hear you scouted another composer, Choi Jihyun.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I wondered if A&R is your real job.”
Smiling faintly, Kim replied,
“If I bring in talent that helps the company, do team lines matter?”
“No one said you were wrong.”
Oh snorted.
“So Team 2’s throwing full power behind Choi Jihyun now, not HS? No wonder praise is pouring in.”
“He writes good songs, simple as that.”
“Still, team-killing your own family is rough, no? Looks like once it drops it’ll push every HS track off the chart.”
He studied Kim’s face and asked meaningfully,
“Woohyun, do you think someone can roll dice forever and always get six?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying HS has just been lucky. Maybe this roll is only a three.”
Grinning, he added,
“Even Seo Jini’s comeback song is overshadowed by one rookie teaser, see?”
Hearing praise for Choi Jihyun and mockery of HS together, Kim felt strange.
After all, both were Hyunseung; he couldn’t tell if the words were meant to offend or please him.
One thing was clear.
“Done worrying yet?”
He couldn’t calmly listen to someone belittle HS.
“I’m busy.”
Leaving one short sentence,
wham—
he shoved past Oh’s shoulder.
Time passed and the solo-album release day approached.
Scroll, scroll.
In his studio, Hyunseung read every article tagged “Choi Jihyun.”
[Composer Choi Jihyun’s MV teaser tops five million views.]
[Battle of two genius composers HS vs. Choi Jihyun begins.]
[Who is the meteoric composer ‘Choi Jihyun’?]
Reactions to the short preview were good, and the MV teaser for Blue Spring, which he had helped plan, was also well received.
Once the full MV dropped, it would surely create a stir.
“Hmm.”
Reading left him pleased, like a well-grown alt character backing him up.
Knock, knock.
A knock he’d never heard snapped him out of thought.
“Huh?”
Manager Kim entered.
“The knock sounds different.”
“Knock?”
“No venti, either. What brings you here…?”
Geez, Kim muttered, and held out a tablet.
“I have questions and thought we could monitor the release together. You hate conference rooms, right?”
“What’s the question?”
Playing a video, Kim asked softly,
“Did you tell her to do this?”
On screen Seo Jini was repeating the silly arm-flapping dance she’d shown during recording.
“Wow, she actually posted it…”
Chic expression, thin arms flailing—it looked pretty ridiculous.
“So you didn’t ask for that?”
“Would I ask for that?”
“She isn’t the type to do it herself…”
“And the company didn’t order it?”
When Kim said no, Hyunseung grew serious.
“She must have eaten something weird in Japan.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, last session she even thanked me.”
Kim covered his mouth in surprise.
Wow…
He had changed over a year, but Seo Jini even more. She used to dig in her heels against anything she disliked; now she filmed a goofy clip herself. His song must be important and precious to her.
“I hope it does well…”
Unfortunately, chatter about Choi Jihyun’s teaser made her effort seem pitiful.
Though, that sad situation was one he had made himself.
“Manager.”
Before they knew it,
“Release time is near.”
“Yeah.”
“Which track will do best?”
After a breath he said,
“The double title out to sea.”
“Really?”
“But the MV will be Blue Spring.”
“Greedy.”
At that moment the alarm buzzed.
“One minute left.”
Feigning calm, Kim turned on the monitor.
“Time for the world to get noisy?”
They shared a grin.
Words do become reality.
Ping.
Just as Kim had joked,
“Manager Kim, the server just crashed. We can’t monitor.”
It seemed the world really had gone noisy in an instant.
T/N: Hahaha! He jinxed it!
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