As promised, I will post 2 chapters to make up for missing today’s post.
Thanks to Revenant (for the Kofi!), 2 more chapters will be released!
Total chapter update for this weekend is 4! (1/4)
Hyunseung stopped eating his lunch and narrowed his eyes at the phone screen that had filled his view.
“What are you doing while I’m trying to eat?”
As if this wasn’t the time for that, Kim Woohyun shook his head and said,
“Most of the articles have been taken down for now, but Unice put out a vague statement.”
Just as he said, the headline on the screen was taking a very ambiguous stance.
[ Unice Music Group releases official statement on Sarah Stewart dating rumors: “Cannot confirm as it’s a private matter.” ]
Scratching his head, Hyunseung muttered, “Cannot confirm….” So they wouldn’t deny or affirm it?
Well…
It didn’t matter either way. It wasn’t true to begin with.
It was just going to be a bit of a hassle.
“Things are complicated enough already, so please don’t start in on me too, Mom.”
Frowning, Hyunseung pushed his phone far away.
Right.
Even without Woohyun piling on, he already had more than enough to deal with.
Texts were pouring in….
(*HS has nicknames for his contacts)
[ Kang Hajwi: Con.gra.tu.la.tions.on.start.ing.a.beau.ti.ful.ro.man.ce..^^ The.only.thing.I.can.do.for.you.is.sing.at.the.wed.ding..^^ lol ]
Why is he always three steps ahead?
[ Mang.A.Jiho: You sure have skills in more ways than one lmao Not that I’m jealous lol ]
This punk sounds like he’s crying?
[ Hyoji Reporter: Hul are you really dating Sarah Stewart? ]
[ Tin-Can Robot: I’ll put together a list of gifts women like and send it to you hehe I’m rooting for you! ]
[ Jae Reporter: I saw the news about your dating rumor, Composer..! From the bottom of my heart.. congratulations..! You two really, really suit each other..! ]
[ Pointy Witch: grats ]
Anyway, it looked like everyone had thoroughly gotten the wrong idea.
And on top of that—
[ O!ppa! To-day for sure! Come home ear-ly and let’s have a family meeting about a significant matter (★the dating rumor★)! ]
Even his kid sister was adding to it, so this was a headache from multiple angles.
“But you really aren’t in a relationship, right?”
“She’s absolutely not my type.”
“Then let’s put out a denial from our side.”
“Mm, let’s just leave it.”
At that, Woohyun started and asked, “Why?”
“Just because.”
All Hyunseung offered was a short, ambiguous answer.
It was definitely true this had become a nuisance. And yet the reason he wasn’t taking the initiative to announce it was false…
He judged that, aesthetically speaking, it would look better if the woman, Sarah Stewart, issued the denial first.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
Looked at a certain way, Unice’s stance might be a strategic performance.
Right.
The current Billboard chart would be supporting evidence of that.
[ Billboard Hot 100 ]
- Look at me — Sarah Stewart
- Black angel — Sarah Stewart
- More than just music — Vincent Mah
“Look at me,” which had suddenly retaken No. 1, was extending its reign like a lone wolf who brooks no rivals.
Most likely…
Since the song was made by the dating-rumor protagonist “HS,” the public would be curious and give it a listen, even just to check.
Maybe there’s some kind of private “sign” between the two? — that kind of thing.
For the same reason, “Black angel” was holding firm at No. 2.
“Vincent must be a little sore.”
For reasons like that, Hyunseung chose to remain silent for the moment.
“Umm… let’s call it a consideration for a lady?”
“Why are you talking like that?”
“If I’m going global, I should make English a habit.”
“That’s really bad.”
“I am in full agreement.”
Shaking his head as if fed up with Hyunseung’s fooling around, Kim Woohyun wondered how he could be so carefree about everything.
It was a fairly serious matter.
With his name now widely known and even his face out there, a dating rumor was a rather sensitive issue…
Did he still not get it?
Right.
That was possible. Clearly, with his face newly public, Hyunseung didn’t yet have a feel for what it’s like to be embroiled in dating rumors or gossip.
Especially with a face, body, and ability like that, now even a single offhand remark could put him in the crosshairs.
“I’ll have to teach him step by step.”
Woohyun had just made up his mind and was about to speak when—
“Oh, right. I’m going to move.”
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
“Yeah. Now that my face is out there, I should move my nest to somewhere with tighter security.”
“Then I’ll look into places for—”
Cutting him off with a raised hand, Hyunseung said firmly,
“I already picked one.”
“Really? Where?”
“Signature.”
“Huh? Where did you say?”
He gave the stack of contracts spread on the table a casual shake.
“Signature Penthouse. The contract’s already done, and I’m moving next week, Mom.”
The “Signature” that just came out of his mouth was a high-end branded residential complex where not only top stars but also famous businesspeople and politicians lived.
And he’d reportedly contracted the penthouse, the very top floor of such a building….
“He’s fully prepared to be public.”
Muttering under his breath, Woohyun stared at the flapping contract in front of his eyes.
“Guy who has everything, but a cool guy…”
His expression looked nothing short of dumbfounded.
These past few days, Sarah Stewart hadn’t gotten any work done; she’d holed up at home trying to sort out her tangled thoughts.
“Phew…”
She’d been instructed to stay quiet and keep her head down, given the dating rumor and the fact that she really had skipped a scheduled event.
They were probably giving her space so she could pull herself together.
Clang!
Sarah Stewart grabbed the mug in front of her and threw it; the instant it hit the wall it shattered into glass shards and fell to the floor.
It wasn’t as if she’d calculated she’d have to clean it up and then thrown it.
It’s just her chest felt so stifled that she felt she had to do something, so she threw it.
“Haa…”
Deciding to clean up the shattered glass later, she flopped onto the sofa.
The sight of her father, faced for the first time in five years, kept scrambling her thoughts.
Thud, thud, thud!
Pummeling a random cushion with her fists, Sarah shouted,
“I’m so mad!”
The target was definitely her father, but there was also some other, nameless anger mixed in.
Maybe…
She was furious with herself for letting her heart go soft for that father all over again.
“This is something I’m allowed to ask as Sarah’s dad, right?”
Those were the words she’d heard in the CEO’s office, where she’d burst in despite Austin’s adamant insistence that they meet alone.
“Sarah’s dad.”
Did I really have a dad? All through school, even when I was with friends…
She felt she never had a father.
For some reason, he had always seemed to think it was awkward for that fact to become known, so she’d always lived keeping it hidden.
Even when she left home, he’d added that she shouldn’t say anywhere that he was her father, so it was clear enough.
And now he’s trying to play dad…
But then—
Why did her father call out to her with such aching tenderness?
“Sarah…”
Why had he worn such a sorrowful expression?
“I’m so mad!”
To show up out of the blue after five years of no contact and make that kind of face that makes a person’s heart go weak.
Why, why, why!
In just five years he’d dried up, his hair had gone entirely white. Why show up looking weak like that!
Bang!
The remote in Sarah’s hand struck the wall and bounced off, bringing down a huge framed picture.
Ching, ching, ching-clang!
At the same time, shards far greater than the mug’s fragments scattered all over the living room.
“Ha, damn….”
She immediately got up and walked over to where the frame had fallen. It was a precious frame that held a photo of her with her mother.
“Mom….”
In the picture on the floor, her mother was smiling brightly, cheek to cheek with her.
“Sarah!”
Her mother’s voice still sometimes circled her ear.
“If you keep not listening, then there’s no pastry today, none.”
She had always spoken kindly, with a lilt in her voice…
“Our girl must be a princess for sure.”
She had loved that voice. She regretted never thinking to record it, it was so lovely.
Back then, all she’d done was scold her for talking like some ahjumma, always putting a tune to her words.
Then her mother would always answer like this:
“You think only your dad is a composer?”
“Huh? Then what?”
“Mothers are all composers by nature.”
At the time, she couldn’t understand what that meant at all. It sounded like nonsense.
But as she grew older and watched mothers out on the street holding their children’s hands, she came to understand.
Right.
To meet their children at eye level, mothers were forced to become composers.
“Oh.”
Sarah Stewart flinched as if lightning struck over her head.
Then at once, she ran into the room she used as a studio and sat at the desk.
By habit she spread staff paper and took a well-sharpened pencil in hand.
For a moment, the pencil gripped in her long fingers flew nonstop across the page.
“Ah…”
Her hand halted on the staff paper with a sound.
“Mom….”
She realized that actually composing music that would make her think of her mother was an excruciating task.
She realized then that it was probably a kind of work she would never, ever be able to do until the day she died.
“Mom is a composer…”
All Sarah Stewart could do was stare for a long time at the staff paper with lyrics on it.
Meanwhile, with his work wrapped and the fan meeting successfully finished, Hyunseung had decided it was time to prepare in earnest for the move.
It was a resolution he made the instant he revealed his face.
Compared to before, it was a choice that would inevitably expose him to more gossip and to much more of his private life.
Likely not only himself but his whole family.
However, because this had been his own unilateral choice, the very first thing he did to minimize any harm to his family was…
Moving.
Signature—the very place where Hyunseung had lived in his previous life as well.
It was a place where only top-class entertainers lived even among celebrities, and many politicians and businesspeople resided there.
Which meant privacy protection was that much better.
Its sale prices ranked in the top three in Korea but compared to the royalties he would earn going forward, it was a well-suited residence.
Moreover, it was said to have excellent accessibility features for people with hearing and visual impairments, so it would be a perfect fit for his father as well.
“Good.”
He gathered the documents into his arms and was just about to leave the studio when—
Ping!
A text arrived from Paul of the New York Phil.
[ Mateo seems to have taken an interest in a composer named Choi Jihyun. If you think it might lead to an interesting project, get in touch. ]
Ah, right. Only after seeing Paul’s message did Hyunseung remember Mateo, whom he’d forgotten because of the fan meeting.
On his personal SNS, Mateo had posted that he considered him (*Choi Jihyun) a rival.
“Hm….”
It wasn’t as if he were an instrumentalist, so he didn’t know if it would be “fun,” but the fact that someone who had been a fated enemy in his previous life was now looking for him—well, that was very interesting.
“Maybe I should at least reach out…”
He was about to reply to Paul’s text when—
Ping!
Another message came in; this time it was from Austin at Unice Music Group. Did they all pick the same day?
“Hm?”
Reading it, Hyunseung tilted his head.
No wonder.
[ Matteo is looking for HS. If he reaches out, do not meet him under any circumstances. I’ll explain the situation later. ]
Judging from the content, it looked as if Matteo were seeking him (*HS) with ill intent.
So Choi Jihyun is fine, but HS is not…
Tap, tap, tap.
Hyunseung immediately sent a reply. The recipient was “Paul.”
[ You may give Mateo my contact information. ]
Now that makes me all the more curious.
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