Pen and Paper Translations

Even Hyunseung himself felt what he’d just said was absurd.

Yeah.

Asking Lee Hyoeun to be him for five minutes…

He’d hated it so much he’d lost his head for a moment.

No wonder.

Moon Beomjae’s condition was that… on the very last stop of his nationwide tour: Seoul.

Right. At that climactic final concert, Hyunseung had to appear onstage as a guest.

And on top of that… together with Jayble.

“Come on, how many months has it been since the fan meeting stage, and you’ve already forgotten your marks?”

So here was Hyunseung, the day before the concert, burning the night in the practice room running the set with Jayble.

“What creeps me out is that you remember all the blocking and choreography.”

“I’ve just got a good memory, that’s all.”

Jayble puffed up his shoulders and started giving pointers.

“We cross here on the diagonal.”

“Ah, right.”

“Take one step back.”

“Like this?”

“Weren’t I supposed to be on the left?”

Because he’d never imagined he’d be onstage with Jayble again for the song “letter,” Hyunseung had already erased the choreo and blocking from his head.

Screeeech—

A few missteps in a row.

Screeeech—

His sneakers scraped the practice room floor, making an awful squeal.

Side-eye.

Catching that, Jayble sneaked a look at Hyunseung, whose T-shirt was stuck to him with sweat.

Well, would you look at this punk.

He’d always thought the guy had good physical genetics, but it looked like his body had gotten even better since he’d last seen him.

Ask or don’t ask? Jayble hesitated a beat.

“Are you working out?”

He asked it like he didn’t care, eyes still on the mirror.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Kinda?”

“I’m doing PT these days.”

That piqued Jayble’s interest. He lifted his gaze to Hyunseung’s face and followed up.

“Yeah? Where? What kind of trainer?”

Jayble was now well into his mid-thirties. Naturally his top interests had become health and self-maintenance.

A guy who was handsome even to other guys… If he’d gotten noticeably fitter too, curiosity only doubled.

Right. He must be getting PT from some monster of a trainer.

But the answer that came out of Hyunseung’s mouth was nothing he expected.

“At the company gym. From Villain Daddy.”

I mean, given the size of LS Entertainment’s building, having an in-house gym wasn’t surprising.

But getting PT from Villain Daddy, what was that supposed to mean?

Was he bragging that his song was a hit?

Or… was that trainer’s stage name “Villain Daddy”?

Ah, right. Trainers, like singers, often use professional nicknames instead of their real names.

“By any chance…”

Having reached his own conclusion, Jayble stared at the firm chest showing through the T-shirt and asked,

“Think I could get PT from that Villain Daddy guy too?”

“Mm, probably hard.”

“Yeah, folks like that usually aren’t taking new clients.”

“More than that, he only comes to the gym around 5–6 a.m., and he only sees me then.”

Just how big a deal was this trainer, doing only a single time slot, at dawn no less?

And even then only taking that baby-faced composer as a sole client…

How much is he paying for PT, seriously?

Jayble decided Hyunseung must be paying some sum even he would balk at, to receive top-secret training.

“Tell him I’ll pay whatever, any time slot, just squeeze me in too. Can’t you?”

“Doubt it. He’s already earning more than enough.”

Which, of course, he was. The man was LS Entertainment’s executive director.

But Jayble had no way of knowing that, and his pride was badly pricked.

That kid gets PT and I can’t? Ridiculous.

Honestly, he hated to admit that lately the kid was doing better than him, but with way more registered tracks, their royalties should be in the same ballpark.

Plus Jayble had outside income from TV, radio, and YouTube, so his assets were substantial.

And still… Even if he paid through the nose, he couldn’t get in?

Then there was only one conclusion to draw.

Should I jump to LS Entertainment?

He decided he was being turned down roundabout because he wasn’t under LS.

Petty bastards.

He swore he’d make his own label, O&M, secure an exclusive trainer like that too.

“I think that’s enough. Mind if I head out?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to run it a few more times?”

“Like I said, it’s almost time for my PT.”

Seeing the second hand creeping toward 4 a.m., Jayble waved him off. “Go, go.”

But before long, he called out to Hyunseung as he gathered his things.

“Hey.”

“What.”

He jerked his chin at the helmet resting neatly on the floor and asked,

“You gonna take the helmet off at the end this time too?”

Hyunseung let out a quiet hum.

“What for? They’re not even my fans. No need.”

“Cold, aren’t you.”

“Can’t be helped. If I do, my fans will probably feel snubbed.”

At that, Jayble answered drily, “True enough.”

Come to think of it, the guy who didn’t seem like it apparently did have a decent amount of affection for his own fans.

---

Chae Yoojin was slogging through a boring day. She wasn’t in college, and she’d quit her part-time job, so sleeping in and then watching TV until night fell had become her routine.

“Ugh, there’s nothing left to watch.”

She yawned languidly, flipping through channels that were just re-runs, when—

—“Show! Music Core, here’s this week’s lineup!”

A live broadcast of Music Core, a show she’d loved in high school, happened to be on.

“Wow, it’s been a while.”

For time-killing, she decided she might as well watch Music Core and set the remote down.

Since becoming an adult, she’d spent more time out partying than at home, so half the performers were faces she didn’t recognize.

“Hm, maybe I’ll watch something else.”

She quickly lost interest and reached for the remote again when—

[HOT debut, Lee Hyoeun]

splashed across the screen.

“Lee Hyoeun…”

There’d been a girl with that name in her middle school class.

“Should I at least listen?”

Of course there was no way it was her.

A flicker of curiosity, but she sprawled on the sofa with zero real expectations.

Then the shot cut, and on a stage that looked like a moonlit lake, a petite woman appeared.

— ♬ ♬ ♬

Gripping the mic in both hands, the woman kept her head bowed even as the intro played.

First-stage nerves?

Yoojin ran her eyes up and down the woman as if she were right in front of her, thinking, I’d look better than that.

That’s how much the silhouette looked more like an ordinary civilian than an entertainer.

Then the woman slowly raised her head and brought the mic to her lips.

— “Even if there’s no one, even if there’s no one, it’s okay.”

As the shadows slipped from her features, Yoojin’s face froze in an instant.

— “Isn’t that how everyone lives, really?”

It couldn’t be. There was no way.

— “They say you come alone and leave alone—that’s life.”

Why… why did the face of the woman singing onstage under the spotlight look like one she knew?

— “I looked in the mirror and tried a smile.”

Yoojin shot up and moved right up to the TV.

Getting closer wouldn’t zoom the picture, but…

No…

She needed to check. That her eyes were wrong.

— “You look prettier today than yesterday.”

But the more she peered, the more it looked exactly like the face in her memory.

Maybe she’d lost the baby fat and her face had slimmed a bit, but the overall roundness and the little mole centered on her left cheek. They were all identical.

— “Once I got free of what made me miserable, turns out I can smile this pretty.”

Yeah.

Unbelievable and unwilling to believe as it was, the Lee Hyoeun who’d graduated her middle school and the rookie singer “Lee Hyoeun” onstage now looked like the same person.

— “I’ve really neglected myself till now.”

In Yoojin’s memory, Hyoeun hadn’t seemed particularly talented; an average face, short, with a childlike frame.

Sure, she had liked to take charge. She was class president year after year.

— “It’s not my fault. So I should be the one to hold me.”

Don’t they say you never know where life will take people? Of all people, she hadn’t expected this girl to become a celebrity.

“Hah—.”

Yoojin kept letting out hollow little laughs.

What was this feeling? Was it the happiness of seeing an old classmate after so long?

No, it wasn’t that.

Right.

What Yoojin felt now was relative deprivation.

There was a time she’d wanted to be an idol too—sparkling onstage, soaking up attention and love.

But out of the countless trainees, actually debuting and succeeding was harder than finding a needle in a desert, so she gave up early.

In this wide world… there are so many women way prettier than her, with better figures, who dance and sing better.

She’d decided her innate talent and flair weren’t nearly enough.

And yet.

Now Lee Hyoeun, whom she’d thought was below her, was glittering onstage?

No, no.

She’s just a brand-new rookie. She’ll disappear.

Since when has the entertainment world been so kind?

Even as a civilian, she knew that much.

Skritch, skritch—

That’s what she thought, but her hands didn’t obey.

In the end

she grabbed her phone and typed “이효은” into the search bar.

[ [Official] Composer HS picks rookie singer Lee Hyoeun! First stage today on Music Core… ]

What is this article?

[ LS Entertainment artist Lee Hyoeun actually “not a rookie.” Revealed as the singer of Red Thread OST “The Old Man Under the Moon.” ]

What the hell.

[ Singer Lee Hyoeun co-wrote lyrics for HS-produced debut title track “to me”… ]

She’d figured it was some rinky-dink agency and a lucky fluke of a debut.

But… she’d debuted as an exclusive artist with LS Entertainment, with a song from composer HS?

Skritch, skritch—

Her hands moved faster. She started calling friends from her middle school.

Rrrring, rrrring—

It wasn’t more than a few seconds, but the ring felt endless; her mouth went dry.

Pick up, pick up.

Before long, a long-unheard voice came through.

— Hello?

“Hey, Hwaran!”

— Whoa, long time no talk! Everything okay?

“Do you remember a girl from our middle school class named Lee Hyoeun?”

— Lee Hyoeun? Ohhh, you mean the girl who was class president?

“Yeah, that’s her! By any chance do you have her number?”

— Mm, I don’t think so? Why?

Yoojin relayed what she’d just seen and learned.

— No way, really? Crazy! She’d be the first friend of mine to become a celebrity.

Worked up, Oh Hwaran added,

— I’ll ask around. Some of our friends went to the same high school as her—they might know.

“Right, it’s a small town—same schools, same friends.”

— Yup. Now that we’re talking, I remember. Hyoeun worked her butt off being class president with our rowdy class! Shouldn’t we throw a reunion to congratulate her?

Yoojin slowly nodded and answered,

“Yeah… I kind of want to see her too.”

She let out a light breath.

“If you find her contact, please tell me.”

With that, the call ended.

Honestly. I do want to see you, my old friend Hyoeun.

---

T/N: Yoojin saying Hyoeun was “beneath her” makes me doubt I’d like her in the next chapters. 🤔