How many Westerners would know the four-character idiom “samgochoryeo” (three visits to the thatched cottage)?
And how many would go seek someone with the spirit of that “samgochoryeo”?
Austin….
He could be sure he was the first.
“We’ve revised it according to the terms you requested.”
Austin visited the hotel where HS was staying once again. Of course, with the revised contract in hand.
“…”
Only awkward silence flowed.
“…”
Forcing down his nerves, Austin crossed his legs and sat with an air of leisure. No matter how much more impatient he got, there was nothing more he could do.
He had come thinking this would be the last time.
HS, who had been examining the contract with sharp eyes, opened his mouth.
“Good.”
The longed-for answer came back.
Right. It was the moment the footsteps taken with the “samgochoryeo” spirit bore fruit.
Rustle, rustle.
Seeing the contract bearing HS’s signature, a nameless sense of pride welled up.
When was the last time he had worked this hard for something, then felt fulfilled seeing the result?
‘It really is refreshing.’
The moment Austin had secured the outcome, he brushed off his seat and stood.
Of course, there were things he wanted to say, topics he wanted to broach…
But he chose to retreat for now and promise the future.
When HS asked to change the condition from “limited to HS” to “the entirety of LS Entertainment,” he had judged that, at least for now, no matter what terms he presented, it would be hard to draw HS over to his side.
That didn’t mean he would give up.
Austin was a man who had never once failed to get what he wanted; he resolved that someday he would surely make HS “his,” and offered his farewell.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave….”
The one who grabbed his ankle first, unexpectedly, was HS.
“I have one extra request.”
What could it be this time…
“Yes, please, go ahead.”
Austin stopped in his tracks and turned his whole body toward HS.
Also, he wanted to hear how fresh a request this would be.
Soon after, HS’s lips parted.
“Before I go back, would it be possible to tour Unice Music Group? If that’s impossible due to issues like copyright protection, that’s fine.”
An inexplicable brightness colored Austin’s face.
“As much as you like, whenever you like, you’re welcome to look around.”
Ever since Hyunseung left for America, Kim Woohyun kept picking up his phone whenever he had a moment.
‘It’s taking too long…’
Even accounting for the distance and the travel time back and forth, far too much time had passed.
— The customer is not answering. After the beep, you will be connected to voicemail.
On top of that, he wasn’t picking up. A creeping fear that something might have happened slowly started to eat away at his mind.
No way, he wasn’t being held captive, was he?
Meanwhile, the higher-ups kept sending repeated requests to confirm how the distribution-contract revision was being handled.
Come on.
Shouldn’t they be worrying first about whether the kid was in trouble?
Seeing things like this, the industry really felt like a jungle made of cold, hard concrete.
Well, even so….
It wasn’t as if he didn’t know the way the industry ran and Kim Woohyun himself was probably someone who made others feel that way at times.
But there are always exceptions.
“That brat… if he sent even a text, would his fingers break….”
For Kim Woohyun, Hyunseung was the exception.
Tap, tap-tap.
Even while attending an executive meeting, clutching his phone, Kim Woohyun typed out a text to Hyunseung.
[Min Hyunseung, behold. How is it that you go so far and send not a single word? Do you truly not know the heart of this father, who cranes his neck worrying for your well-being?]
Ah, overdid it, didn’t he? Again, again.
[Hyunseung, I drew today’s fortune tarot, and it said a new relationship will come to you… Did you perhaps find a truly new connection over there?]
Ah, that sounds too much like an ex-boyfriend.
[Hyunseung, since the new dietitian came to the cafeteria, the food tastes better and the menu’s more varied. Hurry and come eat.]
Not bad… but it sounds childishly like he’s luring him with food.
[Hyunseung, I’m worried. If you see this, please give me a call.]
Simple is best after all.
Just as Kim Woohyun, satisfied, was about to send the text…
[Min Geumdong]
A call came from Min Geumdong, the long-awaited Min Geumdong… no, from Hyunseung.
“You little punk!”
Contrary to his intention to answer calmly, all his pent-up worry rushed out at once, and he found himself shouting without meaning to.
— Your voice seems to be getting stronger by the day.
On the other end, as always, came Hyunseung’s smooth yet nonchalant voice.
— Have you been sneaking something good without telling me lately?
“Enough. Where are you right now?”
— In Unice Music Group’s headquarters, in the engineering room.
“Are you perhaps being coerced right now, or being held captive by them? If it’s hard to say, tap the receiver twice.”
— I think you’ve been watching too many crime thrillers and noir films, Director.
“If not that, then don’t tell me you’re transferring to Unice Music Group….”
— Huh?
“Was the tarot’s ‘a new relationship is coming’ line true after all?”
From beyond the receiver, he heard Hyunseung’s sigh-laced, “Here we go again,” for a moment.
— We’ve completed the distribution-contract revision, and I’ll head home after looking around a bit.
To stop Kim Woohyun from saying weird things, he delivered only the facts, cleanly.
“You finalized the new contract? Then why didn’t you tell me?”
— I was going to tell you in person when I got back.
“I’m about to go into an executive meeting anyway. Tell me quickly so I can report it. How did you close the negotiation?”
— No registration fee for track release, 3% fee.
At that short answer, Kim Woohyun clasped his hands over his mouth like a schoolgirl.
“Wow, three percent? Is that even possible?”
And no wonder.
Currently, domestic entertainment companies had to pay at least a twenty percent-plus fee to distribute through Unice Music Group, and even overseas famous producers or pop stars, no matter how low, were known to pay fees in the five-to-ten-percent range.
But three percent? At that level, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a merely formal fee.
Even if the name value of “HS” had been rising lately in Korea, he had never imagined Unice Music Group would come in that low.
“No, but if they were going to accommodate to that extent, why did they present such insulting terms at first?”
— That’s what I’m saying.
“In the end, they still can’t beat Geumdong.”
For a moment, Hyunseung chuckled at Kim Woohyun’s corny line.
— Still, it was fun. Oh, right. I almost forgot this.
As if something occurred to him, he quickly added,
— Apply the same terms to all overseas-distributed tracks for LS Entertainment.
At that, Kim Woohyun could only blink, speechless.
So this is when you use the phrase, “my lips froze.”
‘Am I dreaming?’ or ‘Did I mishear?’
He just kept shifting the poor phone from hand to hand, wiping sweat on his trouser front when…
— You said you’re going into the executive meeting, right? When you go in, square those shoulders and walk in strong.
Because of what Hyunseung added, Kim Woohyun’s thought circuits simply stopped.
— I’ll contact you when I get back.
Until the call cut off limply, Kim Woohyun couldn’t say a word.
Hyunseung roamed the Unice Music Group headquarters like a child at an amusement park for the first time.
‘Oh.’
From the cafeteria, on par with a hotel buffet, to sprinting around the engineering rooms outfitted with top-tier gear, before he knew it, fatigue was setting in.
He’d seen about all there was to see. It was time to head back to Korea.
[Geumdong-ah, since a new dietitian came to the cafeteria, the menu’s bigger and the taste is better. When you get back I’ll buy you a year’s worth of meal tickets.]
Above all, after checking the text from Kim Woohyun, a surge of “I want to hurry back to Korea” rose up.
Right. No matter how much the cafeteria had brunch on par with hotel buffets and sausages bursting with juice, for a Korean, you must mix spicy pork stir-fry into white rice and cleanse the palate with a savory doenjang soup.
Presently. Hyunseung spoke to Andrew, who was trailing him around like a shadow.
“I think the tour experience is sufficient at this point, so I’ll be heading back.”
“I’ll have the limousine and private jet prepared immediately. Please wait just a moment.”
After he finished a phone call to somewhere and kept hovering at Hyunseung’s side, Hyunseung looked at him and said,
“Are you not busy?”
“I should at least see you off on your way.”
“There’s no need.”
“No, still… you’re an important partner….”
“I’ll make my way to the lobby at the right time on my own. Just make sure the car and jet are prepared properly.”
When Hyunseung cut him off and answered firmly, Andrew, wearing a sheepish look, for a moment…
“Understood. Then I’ll take my leave here. If you head down to the lobby in about twenty minutes, that will be fine. I’ll see you later.”
He bowed politely and withdrew.
He did seem to have a decent sense of the mood.
‘Well…’
It was only natural for someone who held a chief manager post at Unice Music Group.
‘What to do for twenty minutes?’
As he walked toward the lobby, Hyunseung kept mulling how to kill time.
He was the type who was worst at waiting idly.
‘Let’s see…’
He had already sent the Nintendo ahead with his clothes to be loaded onto the jet before coming here.
He also didn’t have any extra staff paper on him for the moment.
“Hm…”
Just then, arms crossed and walking with a pensive look, Hyunseung bumped hard into a man’s shoulder. In a hallway this wide, how did they collide like that?
Above all, because he felt the sensation of a fairly solid forearm, Hyunseung turned his head to look at the man.
The other man was looking at Hyunseung for a similar reason.
Gym bros recognize gym bros.
“How do you even walk with your eyes like that?”
In truth, he was someone you couldn’t help but recognize even if you weren’t a gym bro.
Even if they hadn’t actually bumped into each other, you would have turned your head at least once.
Why?
Because the man standing before Hyunseung right now was a man known, without dispute, as the “King of Pop.”
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there was no one in the world who didn’t know him—or his songs.
A composer recognizes a fine instrument at a glance.
Also, was it because he was an instrument HS hadn’t gotten to “play” even in his previous life?
“Hi.”
“Wot?”
Hyunseung felt seared into his brain the thought that he must not miss this moment.
‘Right. When opportunity comes, you seize it.’
He addressed the man locked in a staring contest with him.
“You… be my instrument.”
Out of nowhere, a famous line from a cartoon he’d loved as a kid had popped into his head.
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