At the time when Hyunseung visited the newly built office building and vowed to start…
[ The person who requested the “Happy birthday, HS” that was hung on the Times Square billboard and became a hot topic is Sarah Stewart. ]
A famous American media outlet dropped an article.
It was an article saying they had secured testimony from a related source that it was true Sarah Stewart requested the billboard to celebrate HS’s birthday.
“This is bad.”
If it were just a simple speculative tabloid like a “dating rumor,” he would have ignored it since it would not be the first or second time…
No.
But can’t close friends celebrate for someone?
You can celebrate someone’s birthday on a Times Square billboard too.
“I don’t know.”
Sarah Stewart lay down on the bed as if giving up.
Well, what can she do?
The article is already out, it’s true, and time can’t be turned back.
Bzz, bzz, bzz.
The phone she had tossed by her pillow kept ringing, but she shoved her face deeper into the pillow and pretended not to notice.
It’s obvious.
They’re going to be trying to confirm whether it’s true because of the article.
Why is everyone making such a fuss over something that happened a whole month ago?
Bzz, bzz, bzz.
It rang so relentlessly that Sarah Stewart muttered a curse and picked up her phone, then paused.
“Huh?”
When she realized the caller was HS, she snapped her upper body upright.
“Hello?”
Then she cleared her throat and answered the call.
“Hey.”
A very halfhearted voice came through the receiver.
“What are you doing?”
He’s not the type to call and ask what you’re doing because he has nothing to do.
Did he already see the article?
Is he the type to call because he saw an article?
“I’m at home.”
Sarah Stewart’s chest swelled with some kind of expectation, but she answered as if calm.
Right.
It has been a month since he said he would come soon, so maybe he actually came to America by now.
Then from the other end, she suddenly heard, “Come out.”
Telling her to come out with no explanation, no lead in, just like that…
As expected, he’s not normal.
“Where to?”
“The headquarters.”
“Unice?”
“No.”
“Then where?”
After her question, HS left a brief pause.
“VINCIS.”
He answered with a voice that carried a hint of laughter.
“Send me the address by text.”
Sarah Stewart ended the call there, then immediately rushed into the shower booth.
“Mhm, mhmm.”
She finished showering quickly, with a hum that came out on its own.
Then after getting dressed, Sarah Stewart sat at her vanity and carefully chose a lipstick.
“This one.”
Today’s lip color was apple red.
Like the color of a girl’s lips when she has fallen in love.
When Sarah Stewart arrived at the newly built VINCIS headquarters, she ran around blurting out “Oh” again and again. Exclamations burst out of her without her meaning to.
But her face, which had been so excited, soon hardened coldly.
“Ah…”
Behind Hyunseung’s face, who came out to meet her, she could see a face she was not happy to see at all.
“Vincent…”
Sarah Stewart ground her teeth quietly and glared at Vincent.
The last time they met, he did not just mock her, he even lied and said he was the “CEO,” didn’t he?
Seriously.
The memory of being fooled by him and treating Vincent with great respect while calling him “CEO” came back, and shame washed over her.
But she couldn’t openly scold him. No matter what, it was true he started a label with HS.
If she becomes part of VINCIS, she will have to run into him even if she doesn’t want to, like back at Unice.
Even so, she has no intention of getting along, laughing and chatting like friends.
“So there’s a face I’m not glad to see.”
“And what are you doing at my headquarters.”
“Seriously, your headquarters? It’s HS’s headquarters.”
Sarah Stewart snorted and sneered.
“Do you know how much I personally designed, inspected the construction, checked every single interior material, and ran around trying to get equipment?”
Vincent bristled and rattled off his words without even breathing for a moment.
“Strictly speaking, it’s the headquarters I made.”
He added, thumping his chest loudly.
“Hoo.”
At that moment, HS, who had been watching the two of them, sighed.
“Stop being childish, both of you.”
Standing between them, he continued as if mediating.
“How about we go in like adults and talk slowly over a cup of tea?”
At that, the two of them nodded very readily.
Even though they were glaring at each other like they wanted to kill the other.
“Let’s go!”
“Yeah!”
At least their answers were energetic.
“What are you going to do about the contract issue?”
“Th-that is…”
Sarah looked like she had hit a real wall.
“This isn’t something you can do just by throwing a tantrum.”
Vincent continued, pressing Sarah Stewart harder.
“Contracts exist to be followed. More than anything, barging in like this and saying you’re coming is basically betraying the affection you received from Austin.”
“You’re the same.”
“Do you know how much money I made Unice?”
Then, with his legs crossed, he looked down at her and added.
“More than anything, I’m different, because instead of just leaving, I made a deal to give Unice an exclusive distribution line.”
When Sarah trailed off with, “Th-then,” the others sitting around, acting like they didn’t care, also glanced at her face.
To be honest, from Kim Woohyun and Executive Park’s perspective, if someone on Sarah Stewart’s level came, they would welcome her with open arms.
But they couldn’t give their opinion.
At a glance, Vincent looked like he was against it, and Hyunseung showed no particular reaction either.
They could only watch how things were going.
Then Sarah Stewart released the lip she had been biting down on and said.
“If I also make a deal with Austin and leave properly, you’ll accept me?”
At that question, Vincent snorted and asked back, “What are you going to use to make a deal?”
“I’ll tell him to terminate my contract, because I’ll let him bring in someone even greater than me.”
At Sarah Stewart’s words, everyone’s attention focused.
Even Hyunseung looked at her with a face that said, No way.
“Someone greater than you? Who?”
Vincent thought Sarah was just blurting out anything in her desperation.
He didn’t want to admit it, but unless it was a pop star who was doing extremely well, there was no way Austin would let Sarah go nicely.
Before long, Sarah Stewart opened her mouth carefully.
“M-Mateo…”
At that, the room fell into silence in an instant.
She’s saying something that will cause a disaster.
Hyunseung pressed his forehead as if he knew it would happen.
No matter how desperate she was, she was really going to try to use her dad as a bargaining chip…
No.
If it’s Mateo, he is the kind of person who would not even consider it a big deal to sign an exclusive deal with Unice Music Group for his daughter’s sake.
But he couldn’t just hand him over to Unice for that reason.
Mateo was one of the performers Hyunseung wanted.
“Is there really a need to go that far?”
Now that they had formed a label, they couldn’t bring only the instruments.
And if there were times Hyunseung couldn’t handle so many instruments, he would need a performer who could play together.
“Isn’t this something you can coordinate when your contract term is close to ending?”
When Hyunseung spoke up as if to stop her, Sarah Stewart stamped her feet like a mouse backed into a corner.
“B-but last time…!”
However, she had already half-convinced Mateo, and she couldn’t let Unice snatch him away.
“It’s not like you’re not in our label, so we won’t give you songs, and it won’t help us to pick a fight with Unice Music Group either, so let’s just leave you as the leftover.”
Hyunseung cut it off cleanly to end the situation.
“This is so meaaaan…”
Sarah Stewart, completely deflated, looked at Hyunseung with a face like she was about to cry.
“It can’t be helped.”
“Buuut…”
“Do you not want to drink misutgaru?”
“You jerk.”
Then she sprang up from her seat and shouted.
“The worst people are the ones who threaten you with food!”
Right now, in this moment, she was so upset it almost felt unfair, because Hyunseung was not on her side.
If you were going to be like this, why did you call me?
“What, threaten you…”
“It is a threat!”
“I bought it. I was going to give it to you.”
To calm Sarah Stewart down, Hyunseung shoved a box of misutgaru into her arms.
“This is enough, right?”
She snorted primly, but still hugged the misutgaru box tight.
What is this?
The others looked at Sarah Stewart and felt an odd sense of unfamiliarity they couldn’t place.
How should they put it?
Yeah, her expression, her way of speaking…
If she normally gave off a sharp, catlike feeling, right now she felt like a prim Pomeranian.
Then Sarah Stewart noticed the strange air, jumped up again, and shouted.
“You promised you’d give me a song!”
The way she hadn’t cursed once and kept dragging out her words…
Somehow…
It really looked like she had eaten something wrong.
Daniel, as if his work just wasn’t coming together, slammed his head onto the desk.
Thud.
As the impact hit his forehead, pain surged, but this level of pain was nothing.
“Hah…”
Is his head breaking down now too?
He stared at the back of his hand, dried out, with veins bulging out so much it was almost grotesque, then clenched his fist.
“Damn it.”
He lifted his head again and glared at the work monitor.
Time is precious.
Then he continued working again like he was fighting a war.
He wasn’t actually a composer.
He could compose to a certain extent, but his main profession was simply being a singer with a strong reputation in the UK.
And yet the reason he was making a song himself was just one thing.
Because it was his last album.
He decided to retire after the album he was preparing.
So….
Not just a simple album, but an album filled with tracks that would truly remain as legend.
But composing wasn’t some power that appears in a superhuman way.
Is it just unavoidable?
Daniel looked at the work that had made no real progress for a month, then, as if giving up, called someone.
Brrrrrr.
After a long ring tone continued for a moment.
“What is it?”
A gruff middle aged man’s voice came through from the other side.
“Teacher.”
Daniel called to the man warmly.
Yeah.
In a way, he was the person who helped make Daniel who he is now.
From his first album to his third album.
They were all born through this teacher’s hands.
It was one of the most influential and long-standing composers in America, and Daniel’s teacher, Mateo.
“Could you help me with the album production I mentioned last time?”
“I told you I can’t do that.”
“But there’s no one I can trust and leave it to as much as you, Teacher.”
“No matter what, how could I…!”
Mateo couldn’t finish his sentence, and let out an angry sigh.
“I’m telling you again, I can’t.”
“Teacher…”
“Instead, I’ll recommend someone else.”
At that, Daniel asked back, startled, “Someone else?”
If it’s someone Mateo would recommend, what kind of person could it be?
The Mateo Daniel knew…
Was famous for not acknowledging composers in the same industry easily.
If someone like that was recommending them, it must be a legendary composer with a similar career.
How many people like that even exist?
“I’ll send you the contact, so reach out.”
His curiosity continued for a moment.
“He may be a brat, but his skill is decent, and he’ll work without putting emotions into it, so don’t worry.”
He added calmly, then hung up.
Then a single contact arrived on Daniel’s phone.
[ thief ]
Thief…
Truly.
It was a stage name he had never heard of, never seen before.
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