Meanwhile, Team Leader Kwak sat in a dark corner of the office, where sunlight hadn’t yet reached, and opened his laptop. He intended to prepare promotional articles for the upcoming fan meeting and post the application form on the fan café.
“Haa…”
He decided it would be best to handle this individually before morning broke and the employees started pouring in.
Right.
Otherwise, they’d inevitably start praising HS and asking if they could get in on the lottery too.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
As that thought crossed his mind, Team Leader Kwak’s hands sped up rapidly.
“This can be passed on to the desk later…”
After finishing the promo copy, he moved on to input the details for the fan-meeting announcement, step by step.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
[ HS’s Five-Senses Fan Meeting ]
Location: Stadium within Seoul Olympic Park
Date & Time: 1:00 PM, 00th of 00, 20XX
Capacity: 5,000 people
1st Round Application: (00:00, 00th of 00) Individuals with deaf family members or acquaintances who can attend together. (*Bring documentation and registration certificate)
2nd Round Application: (00:00, 00th of 00) Remaining seats after 1st round will be drawn via live broadcast (*Conducted on LS Entertainment’s official Byeolstar channel)
This should be sufficient.
Thump, thump.
Team Leader Kwak vigorously cracked each knuckle to get ready for seriously crafting the fan-meeting announcement poster. He knew it was a terrible habit for his finger joints, but it was deeply ingrained.
How should I put it…
It felt like things only went well when he did it this way—his own little superstition. Like athletes who absolutely must wear red underwear on the day of an important game.
Swish, swish.
Just as Team Leader Kwak finished his preparations, flicked his fingers lightly, and was about to rest his hands on the keyboard—
Beep!
Startled by the sudden notification sound in the empty office, he jumped and patted his chest.
“Whoa, you scared me.”
He immediately checked the screen to find a new text message had arrived.
[ Seok Woojin ]
He was the information hub even within the PR department—knew everything, network incredibly wide. In short: extremely useful.
“That guy… he seemed drunk yesterday. Is this him saying he can’t come in today because of a hangover?”
If that was the case, he’d sober him up by force. He unlocked his phone at that very moment.
“Huh?”
Team Leader Kwak nearly dropped the phone, catching it at the last second.
“No way.”
Then he composed himself. Maybe he’d misread it; better read again.
Swish.
He slowly took in the text Seok Woojin had sent.
— Mateo mentioned Choi Jihyun on his personal SNS. Let’s use it for our promotional materials immediately. Here’s the link first. https://switter.com/Mateo
He desperately wanted to tap the link, but for a moment he just stared blankly, muttering, “Mateo, Mateo, Mateo.”
Mateo was…
Wasn’t he the most famous composer in the entire world—and the one who’d maintained that fame the longest? The godfather of the composer industry?
Yes.
For someone like that to mention Choi Jihyun on his personal SNS was huge.
Moreover, he wasn’t the type to post anything on SNS except for song releases. He rarely mentioned the singers he worked with, either.
Then Team Leader Kwak clicked the link with trembling hands.
We must focus not on Vincent, but on the song ‘more than just music’—a piece that reveals every ounce of his charm. I’m not saying to focus on the New York Philharmonic’s fantastic playing. I mean we should focus on the creator who made this song, the person named Choi Jihyun.
After confirming that Mateo had explicitly mentioned Choi Jihyun, he swallowed hard.
Gulp.
Yes, no matter how you looked at it, the post centered on Choi Jihyun, not Vincent or the New York Philharmonic.
We should look forward to Choi Jihyun’s future endeavors.
In that moment, Team Leader Kwak felt a strange excitement.
Choi Jihyun—no, Min Hyunseung.
While it was true that his extraordinary talent had carried him this far, as the person leading the PR team that had quietly supported him all along, Kwak felt a deep pride.
This is why I do this job.
Moreover, Kwak was of the generation that grew up on Mateo’s music—a die-hard fan who’d stop whatever he was doing when a Mateo piece came on.
Seeing someone he could call a mentor acknowledge the person he supported brought immense vicarious satisfaction and catharsis.
If I were to look into the mirror of my innermost thoughts, perhaps it was this sharp sense of vigilance that made me write this piece.
Perfect—like a short novel, right down to the last sentence.
If it were him, he couldn’t honestly reveal such inner wariness alongside praise for a “competitor.” That was truly something only Mateo could say.
And it was also something only Choi Jihyun could fully hear.
Thump, thump, thump.
Team Leader Kwak cracked his knuckles again, hard enough to make anyone worry they’d break.
“Alright, let’s start with this.”
Fan meetings were fan meetings, but as PR team leader, he couldn’t tolerate letting something like this sit.
Right.
You don’t let a big fish like this slip away.
Tap, tap, tap.
Soon after, Team Leader Kwak typed a message in the PR department KakaoTalk group chat.
[Urgent! Please come in early]
A phrase guaranteed to be hated.
[ World-renowned composer Mateo mentions “I feel a sense of rivalry toward composer Choi Jihyun” on personal SNS… Trending ]
The news that Mateo had mentioned Korean composer Choi Jihyun on his personal SNS was spreading not just across Korea, but throughout the U.S.
Meanwhile, the momentum was already firmly behind Vincent, who sang Choi Jihyun’s song, and it didn’t look like it would be easily broken.
[ Billboard Hot 100 ]
- more than just music — Vincent Mah
- Black angel — Sarah Stewart
- Look at me — Sarah Stewart
Billboard, of course…
[ Real-time Music Chart Top 100 ]
- more than just music — Vincent Mah
- Black angel — Sarah Stewart
- Villain Daddy — Moon Beomjae (prod. HS)
Even on domestic music platforms, Vincent Mah sat at number one. Black angel was hot on his heels, but an overturn seemed unlikely.
“Misu Saru, you’re cooked.”
Hyunseung muttered, scratching the back of his head. Not that it mattered much to him personally.
But still, the fact that Mateo had mentioned him was surprising.
“That old man… didn’t he hate me?”
According to Hyunseung’s memories from his past life, Mateo had disliked him.
Yeah.
Back then, when he was at his peak, dominating the Billboard charts, an article titled “Min Hyunseung, the Birth of the Second Mateo!” exploded nationwide…
At that time, Hyunseung immediately countered with “I am not the second Mateo. I am the first Min Hyunseung.” And so, their bitter rivalry began.
What did old man Mateo say back then?
Ah.
He called him a young composer obsessed with commercialism. He said even the comparison was offensive.
Back then, Hyunseung scoffed, thinking the old man was just talking big. After all, to him, composers were basically cottage industries churning out commercially viable songs.
Above all, by then Mateo was already an old man on the verge of retirement. As expected, his hearing gradually deteriorated with age; he wore a hearing aid and eventually left composing—ultimately without ever beating Hyunseung on the Billboard charts.
That old man…
What changed in this life? He couldn’t stop praising him, even going so far as to declare rivalry publicly. How could Hyunseung not be surprised?
“Hmm…”
He stared at Mateo’s post for a moment.
“Ah… somehow I’m not interested.”
He set his phone down. Nothing fun came to mind, nothing appealed.
If…
If fate brought them together, he’d just tell him to take good care of his ears.
“Right now…”
Preparing for the imminent fan meeting was more than enough.
Swish.
At that very moment, Hyunseung’s gaze was fixed on the family photo sitting on the table.
Gu Mingi had somehow become a member of Godchis (God+HS).
No wonder.
Not only was HS the one who created “Dear my Beethoven,” the theme song of Mingi’s life, but when he checked the fan-meeting notice…
1st Application: (0 Month 00 Day 19:00) Individuals with deaf family members or acquaintances who can attend together. (*Bring documentation and registration certificate)
That’s what it said.
“Min Hyunseung…”
Was his statement about wanting to learn sign-language performance because there was someone he really wanted to show it to… genuine? They’d set a condition never before applied to fan meetings.
Since Gu Mingi also had a deaf family member, the very fact that this group was prioritized made him feel grateful.
Yeah.
He’d created sign-language performances for his mother, who lost both her hearing and her smile at the same time.
Of course, for regular fans, being bumped from priority wouldn’t exactly be welcome news.
Clatter, clatter.
But that was a misconception.
[Godchis is Godchis, after all. Could he be a god? No. An angel. A fallen angel.]
Since it’s a five-senses fan meeting, he must want deaf people to feel the music through other senses. He’s smart and so warm-hearted.I think I should marry this guy.
Fans instead showered HS with praise.
⤷ Did you ask HS’s opinion? He’s probably not working this hard just to marry you.
⤷ Comments spicy, spicy lol. The kid’s gonna cry—go easy.
⤷ Seriously, I think HS is unlike any other composer. It’s not just making songs; it feels like he creates music to heal people.
⤷ He’s a god!!!!! That’s why I can’t escape Godchis…
The deeper he dug through the fan café, the more heart-warming stories he found—enough to make him think Min Hyunseung might be a better person than he’d thought.
No.
He might actually be a really good person.
During the final rehearsal, Gu Mingi took out the business card Hyunseung had given him and stared at it.
“Hmm…”
He fell into thought for a moment.
“No.”
He slipped the card back into his pocket.
Right.
As someone who also has deaf family, it felt right to apply for the fan meeting like everyone else.
Leave a Reply to SaiCancel reply