After finishing even the post work for the MaSarahte father and daughter, Hyunseung hurried back to Korea.
Excluding flight time, he stayed in the U.S. for only about three days.
It was an extremely brutal schedule, but Hyunseung looked fairly energetic.
“Eat something, and rest a bit before you go…”
Sarah Stewart told him to take it easy and go slowly, but he could not.
Knock, knock.
There was still work left to do, and something urgent had come up.
“Come in.”
From beyond the door came a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice.
When Hyunseung opened the door, he saw Kim Woohyun sitting at the office desk, reviewing documents.
Judging by the dark shadow beneath his eyes, he probably had not slept properly.
“Oh, Geumdong is here?”
Woohyun brightened and waved. Then he pointed at the sofa, telling him to sit and wait a moment.
Rustle, rustle.
Maybe there were a lot of documents to approve, because one of his hands kept flipping pages without rest, and the other was busy signing.
‘Hmm….’
Hyunseung studied his complexion through the glasses perched on his nose.
At first, he thought Woohyun was dressing up in a way that did not suit him, but with him seated there at a desk that had a placard reading “Head of Division,” he definitely looked the part.
Of course.
It was still a sight he could not get used to, no matter how many times he saw it….
Thud!
Just as Kim Woohyun closed the last approval folder and took a breath.
“Billboard’s male god, Min Geumdong!”
Leaving the stack of approval folders behind, he hurried over and fired off questions.
“You waited a long time, right? Did the work go well? Of course it did. Yeah, obviously. Since you made it, this one’s another high speed train straight to Billboard, right? But how was it working with Mateo? He’s definitely good, right? But aren’t you tired? You haven’t been gone that long. Did you come straight from America? You should’ve rested a bit before coming.”
At the barrage of questions, like a serial killer of question marks, Hyunseung felt himself getting tired at an accelerating pace, but…
“Look at how rough your face is….”
Since it was all coming from worry, he decided it was annoying, but he would not scold him for it.
“Look in the mirror before you talk. See who’s rougher.”
Kim Woohyun paused while touching his stubbly jaw, then let out a small laugh. He felt oddly embarrassed.
“If we’re talking rough personality, then Min Geumdong wins, obviously.”
“Me? No way. I’m pretty warm and affectionate, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, you’ve gotten a lot better now. If I think about when I first met you…, ugh.”
Kim Woohyun trailed off, shuddered, then let out a deep sigh.
Hmm, did I really act so badly he’d get that sick of it?
‘What was I like at the start?’
Hyunseung traced his memory back and recalled the first time he met Kim Woohyun.
“Please prepare it again as a contract filled with sincerity.”
The first meeting.
“If that was allowed, you should’ve told me from the beginning. Why are we both going through this hassle?”
The second meeting.
“Either way, in a year my market price will be way higher, so let’s just negotiate the terms then, when we get there.”
And only at the last meeting did they finally form a connection, right.
He sighed. Looking back, it made sense.
But back then, it had not been long since he returned from the brink of death, so it could not be helped. Like a wild beast living out in the open, he had been on edge.
Even though he had turned back time, the only place he could trust and rely on was his family, and he did not want to repeat the same future.
‘And I had to succeed again, and fast.’
A house that was collapsing, a father who could not sleep because of overdue bills, a younger sister who had gotten into college but had to look for job ads first because of tuition.
He had to resolve all of it.
Now, three years had already passed since his return, and even those memories had grown hazy.
Lately, he even forgot sometimes that he had “returned” at all.
‘Come to think of it….’
Hyunseung found something puzzling and looked at Kim Woohyun. He had confidence because he knew his own skill.
But this man had only heard a few of his songs. Why had he clung so desperately to land the contract?
It was not like LS Entertainment lacked talent.
Of course, he was an irreplaceable talent, but that was not something you could know until you opened the lid….
Does he really have good instincts? Or maybe, physiognomy-wise, he looks like someone blessed with good fortune.
“What, is my face too rough?”
Kim Woohyun seemed burdened by the persistent gaze and asked while awkwardly rubbing his cheek.
Shake, shake.
Hyunseung shook his head and rose, gripping the armrest.
“I just came to say hello, so I’ll get going.”
Then, just as he started to move, he stopped short and asked,
“You’ll keep trusting me and staying with me, right?”
Since his back was turned, he could not see Kim Woohyun’s expression.
In this slightly embarrassing situation, he did not want to confirm it either.
“…”
Silence flowed through the room for a moment.
“Of course I trust you, but I might not stay with you.”
An unexpected answer came back. Even so, Hyunseung did not turn around.
“Why?”
Even though he told himself not to, Hyunseung asked back in a sulky voice, like a child throwing a tantrum.
“In the wide world you’re heading toward, I might not be of any help.”
But the answer that returned was gentle, yet firm.
“It wouldn’t do for me to hold my son back.”
Just like that, Hyunseung left the office without a word.
Since this, too, came from his worry, he had decided not to scold him.
Thud!
Seriously, he worries too much.
When Hyunseung returned to the studio, his face was complicated.
But it did not last long.
After patting his cheeks a couple of times, he returned to his usual bland expression.
“Hoo…”
With the fatigue washing over him, he considered asking Kim Woohyun to go to a sauna, but now too many people recognized him, so even that was not easy.
Yeah.
Once I finish just this, I’ll eat something good with Dad and Hyuna and rest for the whole day.
Thinking that, Hyunseung immediately straightened his posture.
Rustle, rustle.
And he opened the notebook he had kept tightly shut.
Jojo mother and daughter
MaSaraTe father and daughter
.
.
Me
Now all that was left was the final “me.”
‘Let’s hurry and finish it.’
In truth, it was the work that ended for Jojo mother and daughter, and for the MaSarate father and daughter, not their stories.
But he could turn their old, rotten stories into songs, yet untangling the knot of misunderstandings was their responsibility.
Even if it was slow, very slowly, so it would not get tangled again.
He could only hope they could be happy. That was the absolute limit of what he could do as a composer.
And through this work, everyone he met was living fiercely, each carrying their own circumstances, in their own different timing, so they would surely become happy.
And “me,” as well.
Hyunseung drew a circle over the word “me” written in the notebook.
It was an act that signaled it was time to finally release his long-buried grudge, packed with old dust.
Tap, tataratak, tap.
After that, even while Kim Woohyun brought coffee, Kang Hajun brought snacks, and Executive Director Park came to nag, Hyunseung did not rest his hands.
To be honest, even now, he was happy enough.
Compared to his previous life, it was a life overflowing with happiness.
But he felt it was time to shake off that day he had pushed deep into one corner of his chest.
So he could be happier, himself.
Someone might say it is selfish, asking if it is enough for only him to be happy. But now, he really intended to throw everything away.
Tap, tataratak, tap.
Yes, with the thought of shaking it off, Hyunseung drove his fingers down onto the chords with all his strength. Until his fingers went numb, he plucked the guitar and hammered the keys.
Brushing aside the hair that stabbed at his eyes, glaring with manic eyes, at the moment he struck the final chord.
Tap!
A message from his father popped up on his phone screen.
[ Son, if you have time, should we go see Mom for the first time in a while? ]
Vincent could not hide his anxiousness as he bit his nails.
He said he would reply…
I should’ve made him promise with a pinky swear before I let him go.
1, 1, 1….
Even after HS left, Vincent shuddered in torment as he stared at the “1” that would not disappear.
At first, it was just something he tossed out.
“Start a label with me.”
Vincent had a rather impulsive side. In fact, becoming a singer and coming to Unice Music Group were decisions he made on a whim, depending on how he felt that day.
Even so, maybe God was helping him, because his choices were always right.
Yeah.
He struck it big as a singer, and he even slipped into Unice Music Group, said to be the best in America, as smoothly as an eel slipping over a wall.
So that choice he blurted out impulsively would definitely be right as well.
That was the conclusion Vincent reached.
From that day on, Vincent began sending HS messages of courtship.
Let’s do a label, yeah?
How about we conquer this pop market together?
A man should live with that kind of desire, you know.
You don’t have KakaoTalk installed?
Okay, then I’ll concede.
I’ll even allow you to recruit other singers besides me.
But not Sarah Stewart.
You didn’t change your number, right?
But he did not even read them, let alone respond.
For a brief moment, Vincent thought, Should I go to Korea? but the little scrap of pride he had left would not allow it.
Then he heard the news that HS was at Unice Music Group to work with Sarah Stewart, so he hurried to the studio.
And then, once again, he became certain.
When he saw HS sitting side by side with Mateo in the producer’s seat.
Yeah, it’s him.
He is the lifeline that will let me escape this boring Unice Music Group and move into a wider world.
‘I can’t let him go.’
Always at the center of attention, always at the very top.
He was tempting, like a limited edition release from a luxury high end brand, and Vincent wanted him in his hands.
As a rule, the harder something is to get, the more people want to buy it.
“Then you’ll read my texts now, right?”
Vincent threw away even that last scrap of pride and held onto HS. And he trusted him, because he nodded without a word, and let him go.
Yeah.
He trusted him, but…
“Ah, of course, I won’t complain even if you set up the internal staff with people you trust and can hand work to.”
Back then, his expression changed in a strange way, and Vincent had been sure this time he would definitely come around…
In the end, to shake off his emptiness, Vincent continued his monologue in the chat room where the “1” still had not disappeared.
You can run wild however you want. Just once, let’s start a real game together.
Tap, tododok, tap.
I need you…
Now he had no pride left at all.
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