Translator: Synopsis

  White Moonlight’s stage was successful.

  Midnight that day.

  They released the music file and created reservations for the album.

  They gave out sample albums to CD stores across the country and released the concert video on their homepage as well to advertise them.

  Lee HyunJi’s expression stiffened after looking at the current state of the album from Jung HyeJin.

  “Looks like we’ll definitely need a concert venue.”


  Lee HyunJi grumbled as the sales and the concert income was not satisfactory. KangYoon was no different in his opinion and spoke while crossing his arms.

  “The album sales are proportionate to the concert income.”


  “Yes. Seeing as how the fans are buying the album, it appears the number of concerts they do is important.”


  “So, it all comes down to publicity. Looks like the clubs know this well. That’s why the rent is so high.”


  Doing business required smarts. KangYoon exclaimed at the meticulous calculations of those club owners and sighed. Lee HyunJi put down the papers and continued to speak.

  “It looks like we’ll need to do at least two concerts a week. However, there are many indie bands and not enough concert venues. The other bands should also know about that as well. Even if we want to do a street performance, bands need permission as well…. It’s quite complicated.”


  “So, it all comes down to our own exclusive concert venue.”


  “Yes. Do you still not like any of them?”


  KangYoon shook his head at Lee HyunJi’s question.

  “I think it will be better to buy one even if I don’t think we should. If we miss the opportunity, it might come to nothing.

  “Yes. Next….”


  At that moment, Lee HyunJi’s phone started ringing. She apologized and took the call.

  “Oh, producer Oh. It’s been a while.”


  The call was from producer Oh JiWan. She expressed joy from listening to a voice she hadn’t heard for quite some time. After catching up with each other about normal stuff, Lee HyunJi’s expression turned strange for the rest of the cal.

  “Did something happen?”


  “It’s producer Oh.”


  “Really? What happened?”


  It was rare to see Lee HyunJi at a loss about what to do. KangYoon was curious.

  “It sounds like he has something to talk to me about, but he didn’t go any further about it. From what I got, he seemed to want to ask me a favor….”


  “A favor, huh? Is it a personal one?”


  “I don’t think so. We owe a lot to producer Oh, so let’s meet him.”


  When KangYoon asked about the schedule, Lee HyunJi said that it was tomorrow evening. KangYoon returned to his seat after telling her that she should tell him about it if it was related to the company.

  The same evening.

  Only after Kim JiMin finished her practice and left did KangYoon’s business day finish. Just as KangYoon was about to leave the office after locking down, he saw someone familiar near the entrance.

  “HyunAh.”


  “Pre….ppa?” (President + Oppa)

  “…What the heck does that mean now….”


  She seemed to have resentments about what happened last time. KangYoon laughed. Lee HyunAh said that she had someone to meet after separating with the rest of the band.

  “Don’t play around too late.”


  “Do you want to go together?”


  Just as KangYoon was about to go, Lee HyunAh held him back.

  “Me? Nah. It’s fine.”


  “I’m meeting up with SoYoung. You’re close to her, aren’t you?”


  She was referring to HeeYoon’s friend, Park SoYoung. There was no way KangYoon wouldn’t know about her.

  “Is it just the two of you?”


  “Yes, that’s good. Treat us to something good.”


  “…….”


  In the end, KangYoon had to wait for Park SoYoung with Lee HyunAh due to her clinging. He also treated this as a reward for the successful concert this time. After he waited for a little, Park SoYoung left the bus and ran up to them.

  “Unni!”


  “SoYoung~~!”


  The two seemed to be delighted as they held hands and hopped around.

  “Unni, you’re so pretty. How do you do your makeup?”


  “You too, you too. What tint do you use?”


  “…….”


  KangYoon couldn’t say anything as the girls were flattering each other. He never understood how women thought. Without a clue of what he was thinking, the two looked at KangYoon and Park SoYoung looked delighted to see him.

  “Oppa, hello.”


  “Yes. How have you been?”


  “I’m doing fine. Hey, you look good? You were totally burnt black when you were in America.”


  KangYoon tapped her shoulders after hearing that light prank.

  The three-headed to a nearby bar. Although they wanted to head to a café, none of them were open as it was late. Having arrived at a bar, the three found a table at a corner.

  “Is HeeYoon doing well?”


  “Yeah. It seems like she likes college. She sends me pictures all the time.”


  KangYoon showed them the photos that HeeYoon sent him. They were full of pictures of HeeYoon taking pictures of African-American professors to Asian, as well as Caucasian people.

  “I’m so envious. I want to study in America too….”


  Park SoYoung’s eyes shined. She was envious of HeeYoon, who was the same age as her and had the opportunity to study in America. Park SoYoung was stimulated from time to time when she thought about HeeYoon, who was a weak little girl before, doing so well.

  After talking about HeeYoon for a while, they talked about music. Park SoYoung was shocked after hearing that White Moonlight’s title song this time, named Walking on the Road, was composed by HeeYoon.

  “No way….”


  “What is?”


  “Is HeeYoon a genius? She’s already composing songs?”


  “The arrangement was done by HyunAh. She only made the melody.”


  KangYoon said that as though it was nothing, but that was not what it sounded like to Park SoYoung. She had heard that music was something innate, but HeeYoon seemed to be just that. HeeYoon used to be weak, so she also thought that God was fair.

  After talking about the song for some time, KangYoon stood up saying that he needed to go to the bathroom.

  “Ah… what have I been doing all this time?”


  When KangYoon left, Park SoYoung felt slightly dejected. Her friend was miles ahead of her, but she was merely so-so. Their difference in position was clear.

  Lee HyunAh consoled her junior.

  “It’s brother like sister. How much do you think KangYoon-oppa cares about her? I heard a bit from the director, but the two had a hard time in America, didn’t they?”


  “That’s true but…. I’m fine with hardships so I also want to become like HeeYoon.”


  “That’s not gonna happen in one day. For now, just focus on doing your homework.”


  “I know that…. But I’m still envious. HeeYoon turned out to be a genius!”


  “Honestly, I’m envious as well. A genius sister and a brother who knows that. Oh, how nice it would have been if I had a brother like that.”


  “Isn’t it like a movie? The brother is some cool handsome dude, too. Looks like HeeYoon will forever be single.”


  “Hahaha, why? Because she will have too high standards?”


  While the two were talking about HeeYoon, KangYoon came back.

  “What is it? Are you talking something interesting without me?”


  “Well, who knows?”


  KangYoon ended up laughing hearing Lee HyunAh’s joking words.

  After drinking, the three left the bar. As it was late, the women grabbed taxis

  “Then I’ll take my leave here.”


  “Be careful on your way home.”


  The two women headed to their homes in the taxi. Even inside the taxi, the two girls didn’t stop talking.

  “Unni. Can I bring you a song next time?”


  “Sure. If I listen to it and if it’s good, I’ll use it.”


  “Really? Promise?”


  When Park SoYoung got excited, Lee HyunAh poured cold water on her.

  “But you need to get KangYoon-oppa’s permission as well.”


  “Urgh…. It’ll be hard to get his permission.”


  Lee HyunAh burst out laughing after seeing Park SoYoung so unconfident.

  ***

  “Here it is.”


  “Thanks for your work.”


  President Kang ShiMyoung received the papers that a female secretary brought him. The title of the paper was ‘Recent state of affairs of World Entertainment and White Moonlight’. He flipped through each page while he corrected his glasses.

  ‘It’s been around 3 months since they’ve started acting for real. Their main income is from the songs from the composer called Muse…. Well, yes. Muse has been a hot potato recently.’


  After that episode of Korea ONE STAR, the composer Muse started spreading his name among the public as well. President Kang ShiMyoung also heard about Muse quite frequently during meetings. There were a lot of singers who wished to work with him, saying that his arrangement skills were very good. However, he put down that proposal saying that it was hard to judge him just on one song alone.

  ‘So, Muse was their exclusive composer. Are they a team or an individual? Is Lee KangYoon muse himself? No, no. That can’t be right. They have one trainee and one singer, that’s White Moonlight. The director… is Lee HyunJi. She’s good at doing business.’


  President Kang ShiMyoung kept flipping through the pages while sipping coffee. As they were a small company right now, the amount of material was few. The paper was mostly about their source of income, groups that belonged to them, and very little things about their private lives.

  “Ha, that’s interesting. Everyone’s so clean. Lee HyunAh, or their members, too. They are singers that only ate and sang, so that’s reasonable. But Lee KangYoon, this guy, just what….”


  Lee KangYoon was their CEO, and that was the person he was most curious about. The fact that he accepted the entire band tugged his mind. He may have done that to accept Lee HyunAh, but it appears the rest of the band were adapting quite well.

  “They’ll definitely become a hindrance to Jang HyoJi….”


  In the indie world, Lee HyunAh and Jang HyoJi were rivals. It was likely that that wouldn’t change even when the two came to major. Lee HyunAh was a bit of a pity, but the singer belonging to his company was Jang HyoJi. It was better to get rid of obstacles beforehand.

  “Attacking first is the best way.”


  President Kang ShiMyoung seemed to have come to a decision and pressed a bell to call the secretary. Then, he ordered the things he had in his mind.

  ***

  Just as always, KangYoon and Lee HyunJi started their mornings with the coffee that Jung HyeJin brought them. They looked at their daily schedule, and when they finished, Lee HyunJi spoke.

  “Producer Oh JiWan asked me something yesterday.”


  “Oh, did he?”


  “Yes. He wanted to introduce a singer to us.”


  So, it was about an audition. They needed a singer as well. When KangYoon’s expression lightened up in expectation, Lee HyunJi shook her head. KangYoon asked doubtfully.

  “What happened yesterday?”


  “The thing is… the singer he was talking about has a bit of a problem.”


  “A problem you say. Who is this person?”


  Lee HyunJi seemed to be thirsty and emptied her coffee in one go.

  “Do you know about Kim JaeHoon?”


  “Kim JaeHoon? I do. He’s called a god amongst men.”


  “Yes. He’s called the god of karaoke. Producer Oh JiWan introduced him. I said that you’ll be the one to judge and called him over.”


  KangYoon fell into thought for a moment. Kim JaeHoon was a very famous singer that almost everyone knew about.

  ‘Did Kim JaeHoon get out of military around this time? I heard that the conflict between him and his former company was very harsh. The story about how he had to pay several times his contract deposit and fell bottom-low was a hot topic. Unfortunately, he failed his lawsuit and never came back again. I don’t know what happened to him after that either.’


  KangYoon remembered back to his past. If Sedy was a singer who women fell for, Kim JaeHoon was the singer who made men go crazy. His unique voice and singing style seemed easy at a glance, but it was incredibly difficult to imitate and was loved by many. However, due to a conflict with his evil management company, he was also considered a tragic singer who lost everything from money and the right to his songs.

  “It seems like I’ll have to decide after I see him.”


  “Yes. But I’m in a tight spot too. Accepting a singer who’s in debt…. I did tell him to come for an audition since it was Producer Oh’s request but considering our financial situation, I want to reject him.”


  Lee HyunJi was skeptical. However, she said that to show gratitude to producer Oh JiWan. She didn’t think it was good to accept Kim JaeHoon right now.

  A bit after lunchtime, an ordinary man wearing jeans and a baseball cap visited World Entertainment.

  “Hello.”


  “Hello, I’m Kim JaeHoon.”


  Kim JaeHoon shook hands with KangYoon. He had an ordinary impression with a rather na?ve-sounding voice. They introduced themselves lightly and sat down.

  “I heard from producer Oh.”


  “Yes. I’ve heard a lot from hyung-nim (Oh PD) as well.”


  “Let’s talk after we listen to your song. Can you?”


  Kim JaeHoon was surprised to hear KangYoon being so direct. However, he stood up and exercised his voice. After warming up a bit, he started singing.

  “The day—- it rained— outside—-“


  Kim JaeHoon’s voice had depth. KangYoon was pleasantly surprised to see the musical notes producing white light. The light was very intense.

  ‘So, he practiced a lot while he was in the military.’


  KangYoon could tell that at a glance. There was a gap in time from going to the military, as well as the conflict with his previous company, but his voice was flawless.

  After his song ended, KangYoon applauded.

  “Splendid. It was the best.”


  “Thank you.”


  Kim JaeHoon became nervous and sat back down. No matter how good the song was, he didn’t know what KangYoon would say afterward. Most companies he went to for an audition were like that. He was tense because he didn’t know what this president would say to him.

  However, the man in front of him seemed to think very differently.

  “Let’s not drag this out. Should we sign the contract?

  “What?”


  Was this a new type of scam?

  Kim JaeHoon doubted his ears thinking that it was too easy.