Translator: Chamber

  Editor: Illidan

  Jung MinAh’s showcase ended successfully at XT Hall.

  2 weeks.

  That was her entire period of activity. Many looked for her to scout her for various events and so her schedule was full. Although the fans were slightly disappointed that they only got to see MinAh, the center of Eddios, for such a short period of time, they didn’t voice it out loud since they now knew that Eddios was coming back.

  “…Hmph.”


  World Entertainment office.

  Lee HyunJi snorted while ending the call. Jung HyeJin, who was taking care of the receipts, carefully asked the director who rarely got so angry.

  “Director, did something happen?”


  “Not much. Where’s the president?”


  “He went to the studio. Oh, there he is.”


  Speak of the devil, KangYoon just entered the office. He was holding on to a guitar with a snapped string.

  “What’s up with the guitar?”


  “JiMin’s guitar snapped. She didn’t have any time to replace it so I’m doing it for her.”


  “How kind of you.”


  When KangYoon sat down on the sofa to replace the guitar string, Lee HyunJi sat in front of him. She started speaking about what she talked about on the phone just now.

  “Chief producer Kim ChooYeon of SBB called just now.”


  “Music Land’s CP, huh. He was so hard to find, too. What was it about?”


  “He wanted MinAh to appear on Music Land this weekend.”


  KangYoon was flabbergasted. He was denied meeting them when he went to them. He also had to invest a lot of money to break through the dilemma through another means. However, now that the general public had a good reaction and that the news was writing articles about abusing authority, they now came to him.

  “What are you going to do?”


  “She can’t do it anyway. She has a full schedule.”


  KangYoon shook his head. Although appearing on TV was important, it would be rude to cancel the schedule that they had already agreed on. Rather than prioritizing what’s big, he prioritized what he got first. This was one of World Entertainment’s rules.

  “Now we’re boycotting the TV stations. Although I do feel good about it. There’s nothing good to go separate ways with the chief producer of a TV program.”


  “So that’s what the picture looks like from their side. I’ll call him up myself. I’ll definitely make both sides happy.”


  KangYoon called the number that Lee HyunJi had given him. Seemingly urgent, the opponent picked up the call very shortly after he called. KangYoon did his usual greetings before getting into the topic.

  “…I must apologize. MinAh’s schedule is full so I don’t think she can make it to the show.”


  – Can’t you do something about it? Please consider our situation here….

  Chief producer Kim ChooYeon carefully talked about the media. Although it would soon die down due to the nature of the media, they undoubtedly bring the topic up at a later time if World and CableTV were mentioned again. They wanted to clean this mess up properly in one go.

  KangYoon replied calmly.

  “It would have been possible if you called me a few days earlier… I’m sorry but we have our deals with others. Please understand.”


  – Is that so? This is a big problem….

  Before chief producer Kim ChooYeon could voice his disappointment, KangYoon spoke again.

  “Instead, we shall do an interview as a company. That we’ve focused on live streaming through the internet and that it was an executive choice to exclude TV activities and not the Cable companies’ choice.”


  KangYoon spoke what they most needed. The voice from the other side became a lot brighter.

  – If that happens, we’ll be thankful. I’ll definitely repay you for this matter.

  “It’s not like we’re going to see each other for a day or two. I hope good things happen in the future.”


  – Don’t worry about that. I shall treat you to a meal sometime. I know that there are a lot of good singers at World Entertainment.

  “Thank you for considering us in a good light. I shall see you at a later date.”


  Chief producer Kim ChooYeon indirectly mentioned that he would be more considerate of World Entertainment in the future.

  The call ended on a good note.

  When KangYoon spoke about what happened on the phone, Lee HyunJi voiced her slight disappointment.

  “It’ll be better if they got the worst of it. It’s a little pity.”


  Lee HyunJi seemed a little angered by this as her eyebrows twitched. KangYoon laughed at her reaction.

  “That sounds good to me, but we do have to keep working with them in the future.”


  “That’s true, but… Ah, I still get angry if I just think about the money spent on doing that.”


  Lee HyunJi heaved a deep sigh, and then shrugged it off.

  She then seemed to have thought up of something as she clapped her hands.

  “Oh yes, president. I got called in for a job for you.”


  “For me?”


  “Yes. It’s a program called Away from Life, Story at Two. Its hosted by Lee SeYoung. It’s known for giving advice to listeners’ stories and selecting a good song for it.”


  “Isn’t that usually done by announcers?”


  “Yes. Usually, programs run by announcers are quite stiff, but Lee SeYoung broke the stereotype a lot. Thanks to that, the listening rates are quite high. They wanted Muse to star in their program. At first, they wanted both of you, but since Miss HeeYoon is in America, they said that they’re fine with you alone.”


  KangYoon heard about the date from Lee HyunJi before replying without hesitation.

  “That’s a good date. Okay, then.”


  “I’ll call them up then. It will be live, so you should prepare some materials for it.”


  KangYoon accepted the job before returning to his seat.

  ***

  BCM center, DLE TV station, Ilsan.

  Inside a studio located on the 17th floor, Fun with Kera’s first episode was being filmed.

  “Ah, it’s so hot! Zoa-unni! Summer is too hot!”


  Tayo, wearing a ribbon necktie fanned himself with his hands and grumbled. Then, Ailee, who was next to him, nodded his head.

  “You’re right. Oh, it’s so hot.”


  “Ah, Zoa-unni, shall we play fan with rock paper scissors?”


  “Shall we?”


  “Then, rock paper scissors!”


  Ailee had scissors, and Tayo had paper. Tayo became noticeably downtrodden and Ailee had a smile on her face.

  “Wow, I won.”


  “Eeek….”


  Tayo started fanning in a dejected manner, and Ailee happily stood there. Her face became a lot brighter.

  “Let’s do it again.”


  “Okay, again. Rock paper scissors!”


  Tayo suggested and they did another round. Although he was full of fighting spirit this time, Ailee won this round as well. Then, Tayo looked around a little before tapping his leg in realization.

  “Huh? Oh, our friends are waiting. Let’s go quickly! Hey! Wait for me!”


  Tayo shouted before running off. Then, Ailee shouted in panic.

  “Huh? Wait for me.”


  Ailee followed suit and disappeared from the camera.

  “Cut! Very good.”


  Producer Kim DukWoong replayed the footage. He was worried since this was the first time the two acted together and went through the footage several times. However, he nodded after seeing it as though he liked it.

  “Very good. Let’s go to the next scene.”


  The studio staff started moving around busily. While the studio was getting set, Ailee sat down on her seat and re-did her make-up.

  Tayo approached her.

  “Seonbae-nim.”


  “Sit down.”


  When Ailee was about to stand up, Tayo told her to stay seated.

  “I’m here to practice the script with you. Is that alright?”


  “Yes, of course.”


  Although children’s programs didn’t pay much, Tayo’s enthusiasm was great. Ailee took out the script.

  The first line was from Tayo.

  “Everyone! Are you ready!”


  “Yes, we are!”


  Ailee matched Tayo’s tone of voice. Although she felt really embarrassed speaking like a child, she didn’t show it on her face. This was work.

  “Stand in line with mommy and shake, shake, shake!”


  “Ready, then, abracadabra, let the music start!”


  When Ailee spoke as though she was doing it for real, putting in motions and everything, Tayo also clapped his hands and read the lines as though he was being filmed. Tayo praised her attitude and sometimes advised her as well.

  “Well done. Why don’t we tone it down a little.”


  “Okay.”


  Receiving Tayo’s advice, Ailee cleared her throat.

  Then the two practiced the lines again.

  “Stand in line with mommy and shake, shake, shake!”


  “Ready, then, abracadabra, let the music start!”


  When Ailee’s tone became a little lower, her voice became much more pleasing. She was like a teacher. Tayo nodded his head in satisfaction.

  “Good, well done. Remember this voice.”


  “Yes, seonbae-nim.”


  At that moment, the assistant director came.

  “We’re done setting up. Please get ready for shooting.”


  Tayo and Ailee stood up in understanding.

  That day, the two showed incredible harmony and ended the shoot on a good note.

  ***

  KangYoon’s radio appearance came faster than he had expected.

  It happened at 2 in the afternoon, and moreover, it was live on air, so KangYoon ate some bread for lunch and headed to HMC TV station.

  When KangYoon arrived at the studio, there was another radio program being recorded. In front of the studio were the producer of the program, Min HeeGyung, as well as the main host, Lee SeYoung.

  “Hello.”


  “Oh? Hello.”


  Producer Min HeeGyung stood up and greeted KangYoon. Lee SeYoung also put down her script and greeted KangYoon.

  “You’re early.”


  “This would be the first time I’m on the radio, so I thought I should prepare.”


  This was a rarely seen attitude among the guests. Moreover, he was the CEO of a company so they expected him to be a little arrogant, but he looked very humble. Producer Min HeeGyung was very surprised.

  “Oh, please sit. Well, then….”


  She showed him the script and explained about the radio program. What they expected from him, the guest, was the ability to read stories in a fun manner and choose a piece of suitable music that went well with it. KangYoon had a look at the stories and thought about what song would suit them best.

  He also talked with announcer Lee SeYoung about what they should talk about during the recording. She told him that she would ask about Muse, as well as how the composition process went. She also wanted to talk about the latest hot topic, Jung MinAh. KangYoon told her what he thought he should talk about and adjusted the overall outline.

  Talking about that, time flew by in a flash.

  Announcer Lee SeYoung and KangYoon entered the studio, and soon, the other guest, actress Hwang YoonHye arrived in a hurry. She seemed to have come after finishing a shoot as her face had thick make-up applied.

  Soon, the clock struck 2pm, and the ‘On Air’ sign lit up in red.

  “It’s starting.”


  Along with producer Min HeeGyung’s start signal, announcer Lee SeYoung started speaking in a comforting voice.

  “A team of psychologists at the University of New York found out that children with unique names are more creative than those that have common names. Their reasoning is that giving a child a unique name will make the child consider himself or herself as someone special and think outside the box more often. Even names that some may think as ordinary, have their deep meanings once you look into them. This means that we are all special beings. Do you know the meaning behind your names everyone? This is Away from Life, Story at Two, and I’m your host Lee SeYoung.”


  The intro song flowed out, and her mic volume went down. The show was now on air.

  When things got started, KangYoon gulped. Although this was only his voice being broadcasted, being live made him sweat a little.

  After the song and an ad, Lee SeYoung introduced KangYoon to the audience.

  “Today, we have a special guest with us. He’s known for his good songs. Please welcome Mr. Lee KangYoon of Muse. Hello?”


  “Hello. I’m Lee KangYoon.”


  KangYoon gulped before putting his mouth against the mic.

  Announcer Lee SeYoung asked him about many things with her comforting voice. From how he got into composing music to the information about the celebrities, especially about Jung MinAh, who was all the rage recently. Although the questions were simple, they hit the core.

  KangYoon replied to her questions in a relaxed manner. They had already talked about this beforehand so there were no problems there.

  Then, they went into the next part.

  “It’s time to introduce a story, then. Mr. KangYoon, would you please.”


  “Yes, this is from an anonymous person. Hello, Miss SeYoung. I’m a man in his 30s living in Mapo-gu, Seoul. 5 years of dating and I became a married man for 6 years now with my wife pregnant for 8 months. Wow. I’m jealous.”


  “Me too. Do you have a girlfriend, Mr. KangYoon?”


  “No, not yet. I guess I feel a little cold.”


  “Oh, my.”


  When Hwang YoonHye interjected saying that he should hold an audition for one, the studio burst into light laughter.

  KangYoon and Hwang YoonHye showed a good combination. As Hwang YoonHye was an actress, she had a very good voice, and the fact that she had seen the general outline before the show helped KangYoon out a lot.

  “Pfft! It’s good to hear that your misunderstanding was solved. Well, then. Mr. KangYoon. Please choose a song for us.”


  “…Ah, what a pity. I hope your wife approaches you now, and here’s a song for you. A song by Hans, titled Lies.”


  Along with announcer Lee SeYoung’s smooth progression, KangYoon also smoothly progressed the radio show as well.

  Like that, the radio show ended in a fun manner.