Translator: Chamber

  Editor: Illidan

  Modern Farmer was hugely popular to the point that it wasn’t just contending for the first spot in its time slot but amongst all general entertainment programs. There were numerous episodes that featured old sirs and madams in the fields, and the general opinion was that the program brought out the theme of being self-sufficient in the countryside quite well. Also, the characters in the program played a role in the popularity as well.

  At its center was Lee SamSoon.

  The small, feeble-looking girl caught chicken like swatting flies, drove tractors like a regular car, and was very friendly towards the elderly in the neighborhood as well which attracted the people’s hearts. Lee SamSoon was especially loved by all to the point that she had almost no anti-fans.

  Lee HyunJi read the report about Lee SamSoon’s activities and signed the document.

  “There’s nothing more for me to say here. You’re doing well. People’s reactions are good, and your screen time on TV is the longest as well.

  Lee SamSoon nodded her head after listening to her words. Due to being popular nowadays, her expression was very bright. She blinked several times and looked around and saw that KangYoon’s seat was empty, which made her curious.

  “Did the president go somewhere?”


  “He’s down at Changwon with White Moonlight. He said he’ll be there for a few days.”


  “Oh….”


  When Lee SamSoon nodded her head in disappointment, Lee HyunJi asked with a sly grin on her face.

  “What? You have something good to report, but are disappointed because the president isn’t here?”


  “Huh? How did you know that?”


  “I read your mind. Fufu.”


  Lee SamSoon replied jokingly as well. With good results, both ladies had a good time talking to each other.

  Having nothing more to say, Lee HyunJi put away the papers.

  “I have nothing more to say to you, SamSoon, since you’re doing so well. There’s nothing special that the president has told me to tell you either.”


  “Okay.”


  “Please keep up the good work. You can’t develop a princess complex just because you became popular, okay?”


  “Hahaha, that won’t happen.”


  Lee SamSoon said that such a thing wouldn’t happen.

  The two talked joyfully.

  ***

  ‘Hmm….’


  KangYoon frowned while looking at the reactions of the audience. Lee HyunAh’s singing brought out mediocre reactions from the audience.

  ‘It’s not like the light is weak…’


  Lee HyunAh’s song combined with the instrumental accompaniment was generating white light which shone down on the people. However, there were no passionate reactions like they would usually have so KangYoon felt bewildered by this.

  “I call you — and you don’t answer –”


  Lee HyunAh’s song continued. The white light glowed more intensely as well. Perhaps due to the power of the light, people kept gathering, but all they did was applaud once in a while or react very weakly.

  KangYoon had a hint after seeing more people gathering around.

  ‘The personalities of people here, in general, aren’t that passionate.’


  He could see glimpses of people who were about to passionately shout but looked around to see everyone else who stayed quiet. Usually white light would make the people cheer out loud, so this was very different from what they had experienced before.

  ‘I wonder what would happen if the light was silver.’


  Despite everything, people that came once did not really go away. Thanks to that, the number of people kept rising.

  While KangYoon was imagining different scenarios, Lee HyunAh’s song ended.

  “Thank you for listening.”


  Some people applauded. This was a big change compared to when they began singing. Lee HyunAh continued with her commentary while realizing the importance of audience reactions.

  “Our next song is a song from another country that was popular a while back, titled ‘Brovo’. It’s a song that was also used in a commercial once, so you should recognize it once you hear it.”


  The audience encouraged Lee HyunAh with small claps.

  Soon, the song began with Kim JinDae’s djembe and Jung ChanGyu’s guitar. Lee HyunAh closed her eyes and immersed herself in the song before generating a musical note.

  ***

  After around an hour of street performance, Lee HyunAh trembled after everything was finished.

  “Uuugh, it’s so tiring…”


  It wasn’t easy performing in front of quiet people after having performed in proper stages all this time.

  Kim JinDae didn’t seem that different from her as he sighed.

  “My words exactly… Did you see the lady at the front? She was practically glaring at us…”


  “That fat woman? I did see her! Urgh, and her kids were so…”


  Just then, KangYoon quietly interrupted while tidying up the mixer.

  “You shouldn’t talk bad about them.”


  Hearing those words, Kim JinDae flinched before going away to clean up his guitar, and Lee HyunAh became dejected. She wanted to relieve her stress at least with her words, but she became downtrodden.

  However, KangYoon was firm in his attitude despite knowing what they felt like.

  “She’s someone who watched our performance for almost the entirety of the hour. It’s not polite to talk bad about someone like that.”


  “But….”


  “could you spend one hour watching someone you don’t even know?”


  Lee HyunAh became speechless at those words. Even though all she did was sit down at the front, she was still an audience who used her precious time to listen to her singing.

  “…It looks like I was in the wrong. I’m sorry.”


  “I would have interfered if she did anything rude, but if all she did was watch, I don’t think it’s right to say those words. Don’t do it next time.”


  “Yes.”


  KangYoon ended his scolding there and then turned away from her.

  When they tidied up the instruments and got into the car, the streetlights started to turn on one by one.

  When they started moving, Lee HyunAh asked.

  “Are we going back to Seoul now?”


  On the wheels, KangYoon replied with a calm tone.

  “I’m planning to stay in the province for a few days.”


  “Eh….”


  Lee HyunAh showed a slight rejection to his words. Perhaps due to having so much fun at Lunas during the past few months, performing with such little reaction like they had today felt no fun to her.

  ‘If it’s busking, we can do them in Seoul too….’


  Before she came down, she looked forward to busking in new places, but her fantasies shattered in an instant. Lee HyunAh nodded her head.

  KangYoon stopped the van in front of the traffic lights and spoke.

  “You’re going to feature in a program called ‘Music at Night’ at KBB. Until then, we’ll keep busking.”


  “KBB?”


  Lee HyunAh tilted her head. She was familiar with SBB or HMC, but this was the first time she heard of KBB.

  KangYoon knew what she was curious about and explained.

  “It’s a provincial TV station for Gyeongsangnam-do. They mostly output programs produced by SBB, but they also produce their own programs.”


  “There are TV stations in each province?”


  Lee HyunAh, who was born and raised in Seoul, didn’t know anything about this. KangYoon nodded his head and spoke on.

  “Jeolla-do, Gyeongsang-do, and Gangwon-do have their own TV stations. They operate by airing programs that are produced in the Seoul region and by producing their own set of TV programs. There are a few small-scale ones as well, but in the case of KBB, it’s very big. Their building should be similar in scale, if not bigger, to SBB.”


  “Oooh… this is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing. What’s Music at Night about?”


  Stories like these were a new world to someone who was born and raised in Seoul like Lee HyunAh. This was the first time she heard that there were regional TV stations, and they turned out to have their own programs as well. She felt a little excited.

  “Do you know about Han SoRa’s ‘Friday’?”


  “Of course I do. It’s a music program over at DLE. Oh, I want to go there too.”


  For Lee HyunAh, it was a dream-like stage. ‘Friday’, the music program, held idols, singer-songwriters, as well as veteran singers on their stage and did some talk-shows as well. As the facilities and audiences were both top-notch, many top-tier musicians preferred to hold their stages there.

  “You can consider Music at Night to be a regional equivalent of that. Although their budget isn’t that big, many famous artists appear on it, so you can’t be careless. It’s quite a long-running program.”


  “…Yes.”


  Lee HyunAh nodded her head full of excitement and nervousness.

  KangYoon and the company parked the van at a lodging KangYoon booked beforehand and stayed the night there.

  The next day.

  They rested for the morning, and the company headed towards a nearby college near the station.

  Inside the van, KangYoon told everyone

  “Today, you will have to save up on stamina. We’ll be visiting many places.”


  “Yes.”


  Hearing the energetic responses from everyone, KangYoon accelerated the van.

  When they arrived, KangYoon started looking for a suitable place to set the gear up.

  “Let’s go over there.”


  KangYoon pointed towards a small lake placed at the center of the college. Everyone including Lee HyunAh carried various gears and instruments and started setting up in front of a large statue.

  “Are they performing over there?”


  “Oppa, shall we go over there?”


  The students felt curious after seeing instruments being set up near the lake and started approaching them. They spoke in the Gyungsang-do dialect, which at first, sounded like they were quarreling. (T/N: which I am not going to, nor can, translate dialects…)

  “Wow, that girl’s so pretty.”


  “She someone famous?”


  “Nah, no way. She’s an ordinary girl no matter how you look at it.”


  The men showed interest in Lee HyunAh. Highlighted by her big earrings, Lee HyunAh caught the attention of the male audience.

  After they finished setting up, KangYoon gave Lee HyunAh the OK sign.

  “Hello, everyone!”


  “Oooh–”


  Albeit little, the people’s reactions were still more vigorous than yesterday. Lee HyunAh, who realized the importance of the audience’s reactions yesterday, spoke with a smile on her face.

  “We’re a band named White Moonlight. Have you all heard of the drama ‘His Hospital’?”


  Lee HyunAh introduced the band proficiently and tried to bring out the reactions from the audience. The male audience especially had good reactions. They, in their dialect, urged her to sing already.

  Re-sitting the mic, Lee HyunAh signaled KangYoon. When KangYoon nodded his head, Lee HyunAh adjusted herself to the tone, before singing in a loud voice.

  “I have something to say –”


  When they heard the first line, most of the people that gathered around realized what the song was. Moreover, the voice they were hearing right now was extremely similar to the one that sang in the drama. After a while, someone started whispering after looking it up on the internet.

  “They’re the original singers!”


  “Wow, really?”


  It started off small, but it spread around like wildfire. Now that they knew, their gaze towards the band was different. ‘His Hospital’ was a hot issue among the younger generation as well. The scandal with the OST switch also made them know more about this song.

  “If I call your – name.”


  “Oooh.”


  “Nice song.”


  Lee HyunAh’s voice penetrated people’s hearts. The audience started showing reactions, albeit slowly. It definitely wasn’t a passionate reaction like when they performed at Lunas. It was just a wave of the hand or small exclamations.

  However, having realized the importance of audience reactions yesterday, Lee HyunAh was very thankful for what little she got right now. When her voice became more energetic, more people started waving their hands.

  Lee HyunAh seemed empowered by their reactions and her voice started having more depth.

  ‘She’s completely immersed now.’


  KangYoon also adjusted the mixer accordingly. When he did, Lee HyunAh’s voice was brought out more and the white light intensified.

  Like yesterday, there were no over-the-top reactions. However, their little gestures gave Lee HyunAh strength. Moreover, more and more people were gathering around to watch.

  “My two hands are always –”


  Even with small gestures from the audience, Lee HyunAh’s voice became more powerful as time passed.

  ***

  President Kang ShiMyoung was in a discussion with the planning team. The meeting also included the target of the planning, Jang HyoJi as well.

  (T/N: Lee HyunAh’s former rival in Hongdae.)

  “Not bad.”


  When president Kang ShiMyoung expressed his approval while looking at the final results, the planning team all sighed in relief.

  Min ChulGoo, the team leader, asked.

  “Then shall we have a one month countdown?”


  President Kang ShiMyoung nodded.

  “You may. Miss HyoJi too, you should listen to his words well.”


  “Yes.”


  Jang HyoJi replied with a nervous expression. President Kang ShiMyoung had an air about him that made it hard to talk to him.

  Having received the final approval, the planning team all greeted the president out and left.

  Jang HyoJi was also about to walk out but turned around to Kang ShiMyoung instead.

  “Is there anything?”


  “Uhm… please take care of me in the upcoming month.”


  President Kang ShiMyoung grinned and replied.

  “Likewise.”


  She left and president Kang ShiMyoung started his work as well.

  ***

  For the past few days, KangYoon and company were running around the Changwon area doing street performances.

  Promoting themselves through the social network using the OST, people started gathering as soon as they set up instruments.

  However, there was a problem – there just weren’t that many places to perform. KangYoon decided on a few points – college, train stations, crowded areas, and plazas.

  Almost no people jumped around in passion. However, they all clapped, and cheered out for her in small voices, which made everyone get used to this atmosphere.

  Prior to singing the final song, Lee HyunAh spoke to the audience.

  “Tomorrow, we’ll be going over to KBB to record Music at Night.”


  “Ooh.”


  Some people exclaimed.

  “This is the first time we’ll be appearing on TV… so it’s making us very nervous. I’ll be thankful if anyone here comes to the public hall, I guess?”


  “Hahaha.”


  When people laughed lightly, Lee HyunAh gave the signal. Soon, the instruments played and she started singing.

  ***

  Next day at 3 p.m.

  KangYoon and the company headed to KBB where they would be recording today.