Hyunseung returned to the company building after the company dinner ended.
Normally, he would have headed home because he had to take Hyuna and his father back.
But he left that task to Kang Hajun (*Hyuna liked that more) and followed Vincent to the company building.
The reason was…
“What was with today’s stage all of a sudden?”
It was to ask about the finals opening stage.
“What is this? Why does that question sound like you’re scolding me?”
Vincent added that as if objecting to the sudden question.
“Still, I think I did pretty well on stage today, didn’t I? The audience reaction was good too.”
Then he kept adding explanations defensively.
“I absolutely didn’t change the song you made. I just tried adding some performance on top of it.”
Because Hyunseung had strong pride in the songs he made, Vincent had guessed that Hyunseung’s mood had soured because he had arranged it however he wanted.
“I’m not saying you did anything wrong.”
But Hyunseung only stared at him blankly, as if asking why he was overreacting so much, and asked casually.
“I was just curious.”
At those words, Vincent scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“That’s….”
Then he moved his lips for a moment as if trying to say something.
“No, it’s annoying. There are so many people saying the video was better.”
“Huh?”
“They keep saying things like the video devoured the song, or that the quality of the video was crazier than the song. There are more compliments about the MV, so of course it pisses me off.”
Hyunseung looked at Vincent, seemingly quite surprised by the unexpected answer that had come from his mouth.
“I just properly showed them how good the song you made really is.”
Perhaps Vincent felt awkward saying something like this, because both his ears were flushed red, but the words that had already burst out continued pouring out.
“And I wanted to properly show people just how amazing VINCIS is.”
Hyunseung let out a small laugh at those words.
It was because he had not thought Vincent would have gone on stage with that kind of thought.
Looking at him….
He seemed to have stronger loyalty to the company than Hyunseung himself, the CEO. He also seemed to have strong pride in their label, VINCIS.
‘I should do something as CEO too.’
Hyunseung spoke to Vincent, who was burning with strong resolve, with a rather benevolent smile.
“I do think you properly showed them and let them know, just as you wanted.”
“Did you forget who I am? I’m the emperor of Billboard.”
At that, Vincent immediately shrugged, as if he had never been huffing with anger.
“I was right to start a label with you, wasn’t I?”
The sight of him looked just like a puppy wanting to be praised by its owner.
“But…”
However, no more praise came from Hyunseung’s mouth.
“You should have done it like that during the recording too.”
“Huh?”
“Since the topic came up, let’s do it again.”
Right, because he had decided to do something as CEO.
“No, wh-what are you suddenly talking about?”
“I’m saying let’s record it again with today’s stage version.”
“No, to prepare for that stage, I stayed up all night for a week….”
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going in?”
“First, we have to arrange the song. I also have to call back the session musicians who helped with today’s stage…”
“We don’t need sessions. It’s all intact in my head, so I can create it with electronic sounds.”
Vincent looked at Hyunseung and thought:
‘That bastard is serious’
He could tell just by the gleaming light in his eyes.
And he sensed it.
Right now, there was no escaping this situation.
“No, wait a second.”
“I said hurry up and go in.”
“Do you have no blood or tears?”
Vincent asked Hyunseung as if appealing to his emotions.
“Mm.”
At that question, Hyunseung seriously thought for a moment.
“Yeah, it has been a while since I shed either.”
He answered with a bright smile.
Before long, as Vincent entered the booth as if being dragged into a slaughterhouse, the smile he saw on Hyunseung’s face was….
“Psychopath…”
Truly.
It looked chillingly beautiful and cruel.
Sarah Stewart was replaying the video of the Worlds finals opening stage over and over.
— again, again.
The song began with Vincent’s beautiful voice.
— Boom, boom, boom!
Percussion with not even the slightest margin of error.
— Even if I cover my eyes and grab my ankles, I’ll never fall down.
Vincent’s voice and singing style changed little by little according to the song’s progression.
— I’ll climb to the top.
And then, even the ending.
“Ugh.”
She hated to admit it, but it could be called the most legendary stage she had ever seen from Vincent.
A stage no one would dare make even a single criticism of.
A stage where the amount of effort poured into it, his firm inner depth, and his vocal ability were clearly revealed.
Perhaps because of that, the public reaction was also heated.
[ Vincent considered the fact that the two teams in the finals were Korean and included “Korean sentiment.” ]
[ Vincent presents a historic stage at Worlds… ]
[ Worlds theme song records 4 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart for the first time… ]
↳ This was never the time to fight over whether the song was better or the video was better. This is a song you have to see performed live.
↳ I hope they don’t just use this song as a one-time thing or a commemorative piece, but continue showing it on stage.
↳ How amazing would it be if they made an animated series with this kind of video and this kind of song?
↳ I’m a time traveler, and that’s actually going to happen.
↳ I’m HS, and if I make one prophecy, I’ll be participating.
↳ Don’t make jokes like that. Godchis won’t let that slide.
Not only that.
This Worlds theme song had the song, the video, and the stage all at their best.
Even the story of the player contained within it was perfect.
‘I’m certain there will never again be a song, video, or stage that surpasses this theme song.’
League of Legion….
Even the person who first developed the game known simply as “LoL” had left a post like that on his personal Switter.
— Boom, boom, boom!
— Boom, boom, boom!
Soon, Sarah Stewart struck the table with her fist.
At the same time, it overlapped with the percussion sound coming from the video and created a fairly loud roar. It had not been intentional.
She was simply jealous and frustrated.
If I were an artist under VINCIS…
If I could have sung that theme song…
I would have done it better, and it would have been better.
Thoughts like that kept surging up inside her.
Click.
At that moment, the video naturally moved on to the next one.
The next video was the final concert stage, which could be called the highlight of Daniel’s documentary.
And the next video was HS’s interview from the documentary.
The next one too, and the one after that.
Somehow, every video was related to HS.
How on earth was my algorithm formed?
Just as Sarah hurriedly tried to close the NewTube window, like someone caught watching something she should not have been watching.
— ♪ ♪ ♪
A lousy melody that seemed to make her ears expand reached her.
“Ah.”
Sarah immediately frowned and glared at the video.
Why was a video by some unknown or amateur rapper showing up?
Right.
‘The algorithm has definitely gone crazy.’
Otherwise, there was no way only things related to HS would appear, and no way a shabby MV like this would come up.
— I’ve never been on a plane. I’ll be sick of riding those later anyway.
She did not know whether she should call this fortunate, but even within the lousy track, the voice lodged itself clearly in her ears.
Was his diction good?
Even so…
The video is way too bad, isn’t it?
Even though it looked like a video filmed with an old video camera, the views and comments were quite high in contrast.
Scroll, scroll.
Before she knew it, Sarah was scrolling down to check the comments on the video.
↳ I really think someone like this should make it big.
↳ I want to actually hear him spit rap on stage.
↳ His flow is crazy and his diction is good, so why isn’t he officially releasing music?
↳ It’s full of gangster vibes. He’s a real rapper.
Then, one comment caught Sara’s eye.
↳ But I heard this person is a hardcore fan of HS. It’s the HS we know, right?
Scroll, scroll!
↳ That’s right. Most of the lyrics in the songs this person uploads to SoundCloud have “HS” in them.
↳ This person is famous for liking HS.
↳ Then is he gay?
↳ I didn’t know that, but maybe it’s a concept he picked to try to get popular?
From the moment Sarah checked the comments, she started focusing on the lyrics in the lousy track she was hearing.
— I don’t need drugs anymore. You do them. HS’s music is my drug.
What, it’s true.
— If he hears my song, he’ll be soaked in ecstasy.
What’s with these lyrics?
— Following behind HS, before I knew it, I was on the stage.
Sarah stared blankly at the screen as it moved on, her expression horrified, as if her thoughts had stopped.
Clatter!
She knocked over her chair as she stood up and ran out.
— ♪ ♪ ♪
The next video that played after Sarah left was also a newly uploaded video with that title.
[ HS came to watch the Worlds finals? ]
The place Sarah Stewart headed to was none other than the VINCIS company building.
In her heart, she wanted to run straight up to Hyunseung’s studio, but…
“We will guide you after confirming.”
Because of the strict security and the sharp-looking woman’s powerful restraint, she was stuck in the lobby.
In truth, this was not the first time this had happened.
When she had recklessly gone to Korea, she had also been stopped in the lobby.
Why was Hyunseung always so difficult to meet?
‘If I were an artist under VINCIS, I could have met him easily…’
Just as greed welled up in her again and she was kicking the innocent floor with the toe of her shoe.
“Does your phone not work?”
She raised her head at the familiar voice and saw Hyunseung.
“You barely check your phone anyway.”
“That’s true. Anyway, why are you here?”
At that question, Sarah glanced at the people standing around them and whispered quietly.
“I don’t think this is something to talk about here. I’d like to go to your studio and talk with just the two of us.”
It was because the security agents kept glancing over, as if seeing Sarah Stewart in person was fascinating, which made her uncomfortable. More than anything, it was not something to talk about in a place with many listening ears.
“Sure.”
Perhaps Hyunseung had no particular schedule, because he readily agreed and headed to the studio.
Tap.
Sarah, who had followed Hyunseung into the studio, immediately found the video she had seen and showed it to him.
“Look at this.”
It was none other than the MV uploaded by the rapper known as an HS fanboy.
“This rapper is famous for liking you so much that he puts your name into most of the songs he films and makes himself, including this one. There are even comments saying he’s gay. I think it would be best for you to be careful.”
As if she had prepared a script, Sarah added the information she had learned in a short time.
“Ah.”
As expected, Hyunseung must have found it shocking too, because once he checked the video, his face crumpled like a sheet of paper.
“Officially request that the video or song be taken down under the company’s name.”
Sarah added those words to Hyunseung in a firm tone.
“I can’t stand by and watch him try to do well by exploiting your name.”
Then she was startled by what she herself had said and bit her lip slightly.
Did he hear that? He heard it, right?
Just as Sarah was carefully watching Hyunseung’s expression.
“Damn it, I didn’t know the view count had gotten this high.”
Hyunseung, as if he had not heard her at all, was checking the video’s view count with a serious expression.
“Hey, find his Billstar account and send him a DM.”
Then he gave Sarah an instruction.
“Me?”
Sarah gestured to herself in surprise and asked back.
For her, someone with no connection to this, to contact him and ask him to take down a song containing HS’s name….
Depending on how one looked at it, was that not like reigniting dating rumors that had quieted down?
Had he considered even that sort of ripple effect before saying it?
“Yeah. Tell him that if he’s going to be possessed by my name, he should do it properly.”
No matter how she looked at it….
“Tell him to stop embarrassing people with a lousy track and make it properly.”
Hyunseung seemed to be fixated only on the “lousy track” right now and did not seem to have thought that far at all.
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