Hyunseung sat blankly in the studio after everyone had left.
“Because I want to be by your side.”
“Because I want to be by your side.”
“Because I want to be by your side.”
Sarah Stewart’s words kept making a mess of his head. What on earth did she mean?
He could not understand it at all.
But one thing was certain. Sarah Stewart wanted to join VINCIS.
However, he could not accept that.
If Austin treated Sarah Stewart as nothing more than a product, and she was saying she would come out on her own two feet, then there would be no reason to stop her.
But that was not the case.
Austin was someone who understood and respected the artist that was Sarah Stewart herself.
In truth, as the representative leading the global Unice Music Group, he could have chased the company’s prosperity and profits.
That must be proof of how much he valued Sarah Stewart.
But…
How could he bring Sarah Stewart over from someone like that?
After seeing Sung Wooyoung’s old, fluttering suit sleeves….
He could not do it.
Of course, Sung Wooyoung and Austin’s situations were different.
Very different.
For Sung Wooyoung, 4WAY was probably everything.
Something he could give everything to, even when he had nothing.
On the other hand, Sarah Stewart was not everything to Austin.
The Unice Music Group he led had famous artists under its banner, of course.
And even artists who were not affiliated with it distributed their songs through Unice Music Group.
In truth, one Sarah Stewart leaving probably would not be a major blow.
However, the fact that he had personally discovered her and raised her was no different from Sung Wooyoung. He must have put that much heart into her.
“Hoo, this is complicated.”
Hyunseung’s head was already aching over how he should properly persuade Sarah Stewart.
People had suddenly rushed in, so he had sent her off by saying they would talk again later.
But he could not easily think of what to say to her.
“Because I want to be by your side.”
“Because I want to be by your side.”
“Because I want to be by your side.”
But why did those words keep coming to mind?
Knock, knock.
At the familiar knocking sound that suddenly came, he kept his gaze fixed ahead and answered for the person to come in.
“CEO.”
It had to be Michelle.
“An urgent call came in. May I connect it to your office now?”
At Michelle’s question, Hyunseung nodded without asking anything. His head was too complicated right now, and he had no room to think about anything else.
“Then I’ll connect it right away.”
“Yes, please do.”
Just as Hyunseung was raising his body from where he had been sprawled over his office desk,
“Representative, forgive my presumption, but may I say one thing?”
“Yes, please do.”
Michelle stopped as she was about to leave and looked at Hyunseung as she asked.
Since Hyunseung was already out of it, he casually nodded for her to go ahead.
“Don’t make women cry.”
“Pardon?”
“And don’t make them wait too long.”
“What does that…”
Michelle’s face as she said that had softened considerably.
She always wore the same expression, to the point that he wondered whether she might be a robot in human form.
Had he ever seen a face like that from her before?
“I said I would offer only one word, but it became somewhat long. I’ll step out now and connect the call.”
Soon, Michelle returned to her usual businesslike appearance and left the representative’s office.
What on earth did she mean?
Was she talking about Sarah Stewart?
Had Michelle ever interfered in his personal affairs before?
Ring, ring.
If not for the phone ringing, he might have stood there blankly for a long time.
Click.
Before long, Hyunseung brought the receiver to his ear.
— It’s been a while.
A voice that was quite familiar reached him.
— I couldn’t reach you on your mobile phone, so I was wondering if I might visit you sometime soon. Would your schedule allow it?
Austin David.
“Yes, it has been a while.”
He was the representative of Unice Music Group, the company Sarah Stewart belonged to.
After receiving Austin’s call, Hyunseung suggested they meet immediately. He could understand why Austin had suddenly contacted him to meet.
Sarah Stewart.
He must have heard from her that she wanted to transfer.
Hyunseung had told her they would talk again later, but with her impatient personality, it seemed she had ultimately failed to hold back and told him.
“Ahem, hmm.”
It was not as if he had coaxed her, nor had he committed a crime.
So why did this seat feel so uncomfortable?
“It has been a long time.”
As always, Austin was wearing a suit so flashy it could be seen from far away.
A glossy blue suit, with a tie that shimmered faintly gray.
‘It’s blinding.’
It was not an easy outfit to pull off at his age.
Of course, even at Hyunseung’s age, it would take some courage.
Spray, spray.
When Hyunseung told him to sit, Austin suddenly took out a small spray bottle, sprayed the sofa, then wiped it down with a handkerchief, repeating the process.
Ah.
He had forgotten. Austin was a severe germaphobe.
Instead of the scent of perfume, the smell of alcohol always wafted from him.
It was to the point that Hyunseung had saved his number as “Alcohol.”
“I should have disinfected it in advance.”
Hyunseung said as he looked at Austin.
It was not sarcasm. He meant it sincerely.
It had been that long since they had met, so he had completely forgotten that Austin was a germaphobe.
“No. I feel more comfortable doing it myself.”
Soon, after finishing the disinfection, Austin sat down on the sofa.
They had not yet had a proper conversation, but unlike before, he carried a little more weight.
No.
He had probably always been someone with weight to him, but perhaps he had only treated Hyunseung somewhat lightly.
Back then, he had been in a position where he needed something from Hyunseung.
Now… he would have to protect what he had from being taken away.
Of course,
Hyunseung intended to tell him not to worry, because he would not take her away.
He would soothe Sarah Stewart properly by giving her a song and help her gather herself, so Austin did not need to worry at all.
That was what he had planned.
But then….
“Take Sarah with you.”
The first words Austin spoke were telling him to take Sarah.
“What do you mean by that?”
Hyunseung narrowed his eyes and asked back. He knew what kind of existence Sarah Stewart was to Austin.
But Austin had come here himself and was telling him to simply take her?
That meant it was one of two things.
One was…. that he intended to demand something in exchange for taking Sarah.
Or he was threatening that if Hyunseung took her, all ties with Unice Music Group would end afterward.
He would rather it be the former.
In the past, Hyunseung could have spoken boldly because he had nothing to regret.
But now that he was running a label in America, making an enemy of Unice Music Group was something that would require taking on considerable risk.
It was also the place that had continued the absurdly generous distribution contract ratio he had made when he was a composer.
In truth, there were many distributors that would accept him even if it was not Unice Music Group.
But there was likely no place that could match the power carried by the name Unice Music Group.
Now that he was the representative of a company, not an individual, he could not recklessly do things that carried risk.
He was not such a reckless fool that he could not calculate that much.
“I mean exactly what I said. I came to ask you to recruit Sarah Stewart into VINCIS.”
There was not even the slightest hint of a lie in Austin’s eyes as he said that. Rather, they were so clear that Hyunseung could not tell what was inside them.
“If anything, Sarah Stewart must be a help to Unice. She can’t be a burden.”
“That’s right. Sarah is one of the artists who gives our company a great deal of help and inspiration.”
“And yet you’re going so far as to ask me to take her.”
Hyunseung could not understand Austin.
“Is there something you want?”
Seeing no hostility in his eyes, it did not seem like he had come to threaten him.
“Something I want….”
Austin let the end of his sentence trail off for a moment.
“When Sarah works on a new album, she tends to become quite sensitive. Since she suddenly throws things and often breaks equipment, please set her up with cheaper things if possible.”
“Pardon?”
“She occasionally disappears. But she probably went to see her late mother, so please trust her and wait.”
As if he had been waiting for this, he explained smoothly.
Huh?
Hyunseung had seen this somewhere before.
“As you know, she sometimes fights directly with malicious commenters on SNS, so please keep a close eye on that.”
“Wait…”
“She likes directing her own concerts. Please reflect her opinions as much as possible.”
Hyunseung raised a hand and cut Austin off.
“Please wait a moment.”
Austin’s wishes had made his head complicated.
Were these truly the only things he wanted?
Was he wishing for the peace and good fortune of someone leaving the nest?
Wasn’t he showing a side that was too soft for the representative of the global Unice Music Group?
No.
In a way, maybe this was what a true representative looked like.
“I don’t know exactly what you’re talking about, but I understand how much you’ve cherished Sarah Stewart, Austin.”
When he lifted his head and looked at Austin, Representative Sung Wooyoung’s face suddenly overlapped with his.
“Yes, I cherished her a great deal. She’s a child I personally cast.”
Austin and Sung Wooyoung resembled the kind of representative Hyunseung had hoped for, and the kind he wanted to become.
“That’s exactly why. That is why I have even less intention of bringing Sarah Stewart here.”
“Please exclude me and think about it again. Sarah strongly hopes to come to VINCIS….”
“No. I’m not confident I can cherish her as much as you do, CEO.”
Because he did not think he could become that kind of representative, in his previous life, he had rejected investment offers dozens of times simply because he found them bothersome.
“You do not have to grant all the requests I mentioned just now. VINCIS must have its own rules. Sarah probably said she would go prepared to accept at least that much.”
But now that he had already established a label in this life and sat in the representative’s seat, what could he do?
“Yes, if I were considering our company’s prosperity or profits, then for an artist on the level of Sarah Stewart, it would be right to bring her in no matter what.”
Since he had decided to be a representative, he had to do it properly.
Yes.
A proper representative.
“But if I truly want the company to go down the right path, I don’t think I should take away a precious artist just because of the profit right in front of me.”
Perhaps surprised by his words, Austin’s pupils shook violently.
Why are you so surprised? You’re making the person who said it feel embarrassed.
“When I first saw you today, I thought you looked quite awkward sitting in the representative’s office.”
Soon, Austin added with a smile on his face, which had softened considerably.
“But now that I look at you, it suits you better than anyone.”
“Austin, your suit matches you well today too.”
Hyunseung extended his hand toward Austin, swept it from top to bottom, and raised his thumb.
Thanks to that, the heavy atmosphere became much lighter.
“Then may I tell you something else I want?”
“No matter what you say, I’m not taking Sarah Stewart….”
Hyunseung cut off Austin as he tried to continue with a playful smile.
Clink.
Just as he picked up the teacup on the table,
“How about ending the cooperative relationship you’ve had with Unice Music Group until now, and merging with us altogether?”
A truly unexpected proposal flowed from Austin’s mouth.
Crash.
The table was already dirtied by the overturned teacup.
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