In the past, cafes were perceived as a space exclusive to women.

  However, as coffee became more popular, the number of men visiting cafes rose rapidly. Following that trend, cafes turned into venues where both men and women visited to converse with others.

  Such a scene was happening in a cafe in Daehak-ro right now.

  “…So it happened. DiaTeen has finally ….”


  Unable to continue, Yang JoonHa sighed as he took a sip of the black coffee in front of him.

  Yang JoonHa was a salaryman in his 30s who went by the alias ‘MyGirlJennie’ in Eddios’s fan club, ‘Aries’. He was one of the first fans of Eddios and was also one of the managers of the fan club.

  Sympathizing with his words, Kang ChanSung spoke.

  “You’re right, hyung-nim. DiaTeen has robbed an empty house, and properly at that. More than half of our members left this time. Also, the increase in DiaTeen’s fan club is incomparable to before. While we… don’t even have 100 thousand left.”


  “100 thousand? I’d be thankful if we still had 50 thousand.”


  Kim Joon added. Kang ChanSung was a fan of Seo HanYu, going by the alias ‘WhenSeoYuBlossoms’ while he was a fan of Christie An, going by the alias ‘RisIsRinse’. They were in their 20s and teens respectively.

  “Aah, so this had to happen before Eddios came back. DiaTeen tried out something new after going with the same concept all this time. And that, right there, was a huge jackpot. That musician named Muse was a smack on the head. Their transformation worked perfectly.”


  Moon JiHeon shivered. He wasn’t a fan of a specific member of the team. However, he was a teenager who liked Eddios as a team. He went by the name ‘Eddios4ever’.

  “I’m surprised that ChanSoo-hyung switched over to DiaTeen this time.”


  “Oh, that’s the guy whose alias was ‘MinAhItsOppa’ isn’t he? I thought he would be with us to the end.”


  Kang ChanSung clicked his tongue when Kim Joon said that. One of the managers for the fan cafe switched over to DiaTeen. Eddios had lost a lot of their shares on the market, while DiaTeen was on the rise.

  Everyone felt dejected talking about the current status of the fan club. Originally, they would have more people in this meeting, but today, there were only four of them. There was no rule that prevented them to support both teams but support two at once, and you’d inevitably become negligent to one of them. Moreover, the two were considered rivals in the industry, so the members of the rival fan cafes were also considered opponents.

  “Aah. Those MG B*stards. I can do better than them with my feet.”


  Moon JiHeon said with his teenage spirit, but no one refuted him. Everyone here thought the same.

  ***

  Monday.

  After the meeting, Jung HyeJin returned to her seat to work, while Lee HyunJi told KangYoon about her meeting with Lee HanSeo.

  “That place is such a mess too. Director Lee HanSeo doesn’t have any power either.”


  Drinking green tea, KangYoon clicked his tongue after hearing about the conflicts between the directors at MG Entertainment. It all came down to the fact that Lee HanSeo didn’t have any power. Perhaps it was correct to say that he was incompetent.

  Lee HyunJi swirled her mug with a bitter expression.

  “MG has practically become a jungle. The presidential faction and the director’s faction are only concerned about earning money for themselves. Though, there’s no problem keeping up their company due to the strong arsenal of their musicians.”


  “It’s not called the no.1 entertainment company in Korea for nothing, so they won’t be going down any time soon. That’s why they can still fight among themselves. Though, that’s not the only thing they should be doing. Their so-called ‘conflicts’ should also benefit the company as a whole. That’s how the system was structured. Only with achievements would they retain their position.”


  “Despite that, if the conflicts get too heated, they may bring danger to the company. You know, like sending a completely fine team of musicians to America.”


  Lee HyunJi shook her head while mentioning Eddios. Sending them to America was stretching it too far. Their current achievement was a good indication of that. In the end, it came down to the fact that Eddios didn’t ‘belong’ to any of them. Personally, she found them very pitiful.

  KangYoon didn’t feel any different.

  “Their contract renewal season is coming, and I’m worried. What they are thinking, and what they will do thereafter. Fuu. I want to see them once.”


  “Is it that time already? Time sure flies.”


  “You’re right. And we’re just getting old.”


  Lee HyunJi lightly tapped on KangYoon’s shoulder. She implied that they shouldn’t talk about their ages. KangYoon only smiled. Thanks to that, the heavy atmosphere became lighter again.

  The two returned to their respective positions and started their office work. KangYoon was going through the files on his desk, but his head was busy thinking about Eddios.

  ‘Is MG planning not to renew their contract with Eddios? That should be enough experimentation in the US.’


  JooAh failed once, and Eddios also flew there in vain. The girls of Eddios should be reaching their limits right now as well. If MG had any thoughts about extending the contract, then they should bring them back and start activities in Korea. He was simply unable to understand why they went so far to make Eddios remain in the US. If it was up to him, he would rather send them to Japan, where they already had a foundation, or even China, a new, growing market.

  ‘Do they have any other plans for them? No matter how I think about it, they’re simply crippling the girls so that they won’t ever return to the stage. They’re so talented, so why?’


  KangYoon was unable to understand anything. What meaning was there in the return of a musician almost forgotten by the fans from going around in meaningless events? Even if they returned right now, they wouldn’t be able to guarantee that they win against DiaTeen. If they returned even later, then they would have to compete against other girl idols, and that wouldn’t be easy either. No, they would be even worse as they would be older than the other teams.

  They were simply unable to do anything. Unless they had some revolutionary plan.

  “I did all the work and somebody else was about to get the credit, only to throw it all away.”


  KangYoon heaved a deep sigh. He was proud of himself for having put Eddios on stage. However, their ending in MG turned out like this.

  ‘Let’s watch the situation for now. The girls should have their own thoughts as well.’


  KangYoon stopped thinking about them and started going through the files.

  After lunch, he decided to take a look at Kim JiMin’s practice and headed towards the practice studio to watch White Moonlight practicing.

  “I was shining– and I–”


  When he opened the door, He heard Lee HyunAh’s deep voice. Her purple notes created white light after being combined with the notes from the other instruments.

  Various colored notes danced around in front of KangYoon’s eyes.

  ‘It doesn’t feel bad at all.’


  The purple note from Lee HyunAh left a deep impression on him. The purple note especially went well with the yellow notes from Jung ChanGyu’s electric guitar.

  ‘The two sounds are definitely good. But ChaHee’s bass doesn’t work that well. The light is becoming dimmer.’


  The strong light immediately dimmed when Lee ChaHee’s notes were added to the mix. He could see a slight time gap when he saw how the notes were coming out of the bass and the electric guitar respectively. They felt slightly off-beat. Adding the drum on top of that, the light dimmed even more.

  The two instruments in charge of the rhythm still didn’t seem to be completely ready yet.

  After the song ended, Lee HyunAh discovered KangYoon and waved.

  “President!”


  “Hi.”


  After Lee HyunAh cheerfully waved her hand, KangYoon greeted the other members as well before turning his eyes to the score.

  “This is SoYoung’s piece, isn’t it?”


  “Yes. that is the one.”


  It’s the one that Park SoYoung brought for KangYoon to see.

  “This is a nice piece. You’re practicing for the festival, aren’t you?”


  “Yes. I’m planning to do this as an encore song.”


  Park SoYoung’s pieces had the charm of relaxing people that listened to it. That didn’t change at all. Though, there seemed to be plenty of room for improvement.

  “Oppa, it’s really good, isn’t it?”


  “Yeah.”


  When KangYOon praised her, Lee HyunAh shrugged her shoulders in pride.

  “You go girl!”


  KangYoon chuckled when he saw that. Then he added.

  “It’s comforting to the ear. It sounds like a song that people would have an easier time following. It sounds like a perfect song for an encore song or for an interval.”


  “Right? I knew it was the right thing to do to have it as the encore song. Aren’t I good?”


  HyunAh smiled brightly. KangYoon also smiled with her.

  “If it goes well, let’s consider putting it in your album this time.”


  “Wow, SoYoung would be happy to hear that.”


  “For that to happen, you should sing it well, right?”


  “Urgh, the pressure’s on me now.”


  HyunAh pouted cheekily.

  “I wish you luck with the rearrangement. Also, tell SoYoung not to push herself too far.”


  “No way, she should be working hard. Who do you think she’s writing this for?”


  “Only you need to be working hard.”


  “Huh? What’s that about?”


  Leaving the chuckling White Moonlight members behind, KangYoon left the studio with a score in hand after patting Lee HyunAh’s back.

  ***

  “I told you to wait, I told you I’d come back –”


  In KangYoon’s room, Kim JaeHoon was singing along with the song. The heart-shaking melody and the sad lyrics made his voice tremble as well.

  “Hmm…”


  KangYoon watched the harmony of Kim JaeHoon’s voice and the notes from the speaker. The volume wasn’t balanced, and the equipment wasn’t set properly so he couldn’t see the notes properly. However, he was able to predict it. Kim JaeHoon’s vibrato was accentuated from the sad ballad song.

  ‘Hm, he should use less of his techniques and use more of his voice.’


  There was too much vibrato so the note coming out at the end was slightly twisted at the end. That note added to the light made the light shake a little. However, it wasn’t influenced that much and the light kept going strong.

  KangYoon wrote down the things that needed to be changed and kept on watching.

  “Hyung, this song sounds good.”


  After the song, Kim JaeHoon smiled brightly towards KangYoon. He liked this song. Although he was pushed back due to DiaTeen’s matters and other things, he still persisted through to the end.

  Hearing that, KangYoon also answered with a relieved face.

  “It’s good to hear that. Anything else you want to say?”


  “It’s a little too high at the end….”


  After the climax part of the song, at the final part, it went as high as E5. It was no wonder Kim JaeHoon shivered just thinking about it. KangYoon experimented with other notes, but the effect on the white light was the best when it was E5.

  “I have to sing this with my voice… What if my throat goes bad?”


  “We should avoid doing it on a live stage. This is also why there are different tones in the same part. On the usual stages, you should go with the lower note, and sing the higher note in special events like concerts.”


  “So it comes down to that after all.”


  His insane last schedule made him tired, but it didn’t leave any aftereffects on his body. Kim JaeHoon believed in KangYoon. He could see KangYoon’s consideration in everything he did.

  “So I’m the man of autumn?”


  “Let’s see.”


  KangYoon planned the schedule in his mind.

  “After matters with White Moonlight and JiMin are done with, we’ll get some room after September. How about mid-October when the leaves fall down? You are our main musician at World Entertainment. So shouldn’t I put some more effort into you?”


  “That’s good. The leaves will fall, so there’s that autumn mood.”


  Kim JaeHoon was filled with expectation. It had been 4, no 5 years since he released a new album. He couldn’t help but get excited.

  “Let’s end all your schedules in August and start putting all your efforts into the album. If you need, I can get you a practice room.”


  “It’s fine. Pros aren’t restricted by locations.”


  “Whooo.”


  KangYoon tapped Kim JaeHoon’s back. The practice room was taken over by White Moonlight, while the recording studio was taken over by Kim JiMin, so it wasn’t easy to give him a room. KangYoon was thinking about renting a proper practice room if need be.

  “This place is fine. Can I practice in your room? I think it’s better than most practice rooms.”


  “Go ahead. Hey, since you’re at it. Choose some songs you want to sing.”


  “Okay. How many songs do you have right now?”


  “There should be around 7. It will be a mini album so you can choose around 4.”


  Kim JaeHoon’s heart pounded in expectation for the new songs.