Translator: Chamber

  Editor: Illidan

  Kim JaeHoon returned home first since he preferred to write his lyrics there.

  KangYoon, who was left alone, pulled his chair towards the computer in order to start working on the song.

  At that time, his phone rang.

  – Sir, did you have a safe trip?

  Min JinSeo’s sweet voice could be heard on the phone.

  She had called since she was worried if he had arrived properly.

  ‘Sheesh…’


  This was the first time that someone other than HeeYoon was worried so much about him, so it made him feel a little awkward. However, it did feel very good.

  “Oh, I’m in the studio right now. I should have called first. My dear… I mean, JinSeo, did you have a good day?”


  – I’m at the airport right now.

  “Oh my. Aren’t you going back too late?”
-

  Fufu. Not at all. Thanks to that…


  After a dramatic pause, Min JinSeo spoke with a thin voice as though she was embarrassed.

  – I got what I want.

  “…The one you want… is perhaps, me?”


  – Well, who knows? I’m not sure.

  KangYoon chuckled seeing that Min JinSeo was playing a prank.

  “What, you aren’t going to feed the fish you just caught? You’re distancing from me now?”
-

  Hahaha, are you going to get caught if I do feed you?

  The two had a sweet mood.

  The relationship between the two had breezed through all the ‘progress’ and sweetness could be felt from their conversation.

  – It’s almost time for my flight now. Sir, I’ll call you later.

  “Okay. Have a safe trip back. Do call me when you arrive.”


  – You didn’t call me though.

  “Haha, sorry about that. I was too busy.”


  KangYoon spoke with an awkward voice.

  Min JinSeo didn’t say anything about it anymore.

  – I’ll let you go this time. Haven’t you forgotten something though?

  “I forgot something?”


  When KangYoon sounded confused, the voice that came back seemed a little pouty.

  – Yes, it’s not fun to do everything from the get-go, so I’ll stop here for now. I can’t be full after just the first spoonful. I can just take my time with it. Then, see you in Korea.

  After the call, KangYoon tilted his head.

  ‘What does she mean?’


  KangYoon, who thought about her words a lot, eventually shrugged his shoulders and opened the music program.

  ‘I’m a little short on time, but it would be no good if I ruin the song in my haste.’


  He inputted the notes that HeeYoon sent him into the program and fell into contemplation about how to rearrange the music. The two monitors already had complex effectors and complicated lines that represented the frequencies.

  ???-? ?-?-

  When KangYoon played it back, the music started creating white light.

  ‘I should make it sound plentiful for the beginning. But these girls… they put a lot of effort into the bass. This is more SoYoung’s style than HeeYoon’s, isn’t it? It’s definitely not eye-catching, but it is definitely easy on the ears.’


  KangYoon was surprised after hearing the bass part of the first bit. This was unlike HeeYoon’s work where she emphasized the mids and the highs.

  ‘To bring this piece to life, I should make the bass a little more plentiful and change the type of piano to something else. Something more classical-sounding…’


  KangYoon looked for the piano sound that was in the head and adjusted the effectors.

  He put a lot of time into adjusting the piano sounds and he finally moved onto the next bit.

  ‘Let’s put something other than a drum kit. Let’s just go with an overall classical feel. Should I put in an instrumental solo? How about an oboe? Or maybe a clarinet?’


  As the song progressed, KangYoon added more and more sounds.

  The 30-second long intro was made like that.

  He wanted to progress a little further, but there was a problem.

  ‘I want to see the lyrics first… I want to see what kind of message the lyrics have at least.’


  After tampering with the music, KangYoon only finished the intro and put the file into a USB drive. He decided to do the rest once he had his hands on the lyrics.

  By the time he had finished cleaning up the studio, it was already in the evening.

  “President. Hello.”


  “Welcome.”


  “How was your trip to China?”


  In MoonHee, who had come here from school, entered the studio while sounds from her heels made crisp sounds. She was wearing a suit as well.

  “Nice clothes.”


  “Today was open house day at school. I usually don’t wear heels… ugh, my feet hurt….”


  (T/N: On ‘open house days’ in Korea, parent(s) attend school with the children to see what kind of environment their child learns in. I’m not sure if other countries have this kind of thing.)

  In MoonHee took off her heels and started massaging her soles.

  Seeing that, KangYoon playfully spoke.

  “You’ll have to wear heels every day once you become a singer.”


  “What!? Oh, yeah, you’re right…”


  “You can’t go on stage wearing sneakers.”


  “Ugh… I hate wearing heels though…”


  In MoonHee looked down in dejection and KangYoon laughed.

  When she entered the booth, KangYoon spoke into the mic.

  “Have you practiced?”


  – A little?

  When In MoonHee made a sign in the air, KangYoon gave the okay signal and played the soundtrack.

  Soon, In MoonHee’s ample voice started filling the studio.

  – I cried so much in sadness — we were always —


  KangYoon crossed his arms and observed the light that her voice created.

  ‘She’s definitely good alright.’


  The strong white light surprised KangYoon.

  Unlike Kim JiMin during her practice where she produced white, grey, and even black light, In MoonHee was completely different.

  The problem lay with the soundtrack.

  It was just like how ragged shoes held the runner down. The soundtrack was dragging her skills down.

  He couldn’t downplay her singing with crappy music.

  Like that, the practice ended at 11 in the evening.

  “Thanks for your work.”


  “You too.”


  When KangYoon gave her a towel, In MoonHee wiped off her sweat and bowed towards KangYoon.

  She looked exhausted.

  “It must be hard being a teacher and a trainee at the same time, isn’t it?”


  “N, no. It’s fine.”


  In MoonHee waved her hand as she did not know what KangYoon was going to say.

  However, KangYoon spoke softly so as to calm her down.

  “You’ve been practicing every day until now without rest. You should be lacking stamina. It’s not like you’re in your teens either.”


  “…..”


  In MoonHee could not deny that.

  Actually, she had set up five different alarms in the morning because one wasn’t enough.

  “Let’s have a rest this Saturday. It’ll only be exhausting for you to keep running without rest.”


  “Can I… really do that?”


  “Of course.”


  When KangYoon declared a day of rest, In MoonHee’s expression became a lot brighter.

  “Thank you!”


  “Right now, the priority is to get used to this schedule rather than pushing yourself too hard. I thought that regaining your skill first was a priority, but you’re doing better than I expected so we can take some time with this. On Friday, go hang out with your friends or something and have a proper rest on Saturday.

  “Yes!”


  In MoonHee cheerfully got ready to go home as though she had never become exhausted in the first place.

  KangYoon left the company with her.

  Beautiful stars were strewn across the night sky. The two conversed as they slowly walked.

  “President, I’m the second trainee… right?”


  “Yeah, you’re right.”


  In MoonHee looked up into the skies for a moment before speaking.

  “Wow… This still feels unreal. I’m quite old and I even have a job, yet I’m still a trainee. No one would be able to imagine that.”


  KangYoon just smiled.

  Unlike how she stayed quiet during practice, In MoonHee was actually quite cheerful normally. Perhaps this was because she had just received a day off, but she did not stop speaking.

  While waiting for the bus, KangYoon spoke.

  “MoonHee, your age tugs on your mind a lot, doesn’t it?

  “…Actually… yes.”


  In MoonHee nodded slightly.

  She was too old to be a trainee, while her career was too short for her to be considered a veteran.

  Honestly, she did not have the confidence that she would be able to become a singer.

  “You also can’t accept the fact that you’re only practicing trot.”


  “……”


  Being hit on the mark again, she became silent.

  If she had not met other stars like Eddios and Kim JaeHoon during her audition, she may have taken KangYoon to be a con artist.

  KangYoon spoke while putting his hands on his chin.

  “You know, World’s history is quite short since you’re only the 2nd trainee, but I have my own iron rule.”


  “An iron rule?”


  “I will not pick trainees on a whim. If I do pick one, then that trainee….”


  KangYoon emphasized his voice.

  “…I’ll make him or her a singer no matter what. So have faith in me, and in yourself as well. I’ll definitely have you standing on stage again.”


  “…..”


  After that, she kept rolling around those words in her head on the bus home.

  ***

  Kim JaeHoon, who arrived home early, locked his door and went straight into writing the lyrics

  ‘Haa…’


  Listening to the melodies on the piano, again and again, he tried to calm himself down.

  The music that HeeYoon had sent him gave him one image.

  ‘…Winter, and vast plains of winter.’


  On the snowy plains, there was a young boy who had lost one of his legs.

  In front of him were the vast plains and the wind.

  There was no one that looked for him, and he looked at no one either.

  There was someone who grabbed his hand as he was dying. It was an old man with a kind expression who was just passing by.

  ‘They were the coldest days of my life. At that time, he found me. All of a sudden.’


  Listening to the song again, some imagery kept popping up in his head.

  The boy followed the old man and left the plains and grew up into an adult.

  ‘…My story.’


  The most difficult times when he could not sing.

  Listening to the melody, his situation back then naturally entered his head.

  ‘This is it.’


  Kim JaeHoon turned on the lamp and picked up his pen.

  His notepad started being filled with lyrics.

  ***

  The day after KangYoon came back from China.

  He was eating some bread in the living room when Kim JaeHoon came out of his room with dark eyes.

  “Hyung, can you spare some time right now?”


  “JaeHoon, did you stay up all night?”


  The dark circles under his eyes obviously meant that he had pulled an all-nighter. When KangYoon clicked his tongue, Kim JaeHoon smiled.

  “…It’s morning already, huh? Time flies when you are absorbed.”


  Kim JaeHoon gave KangYoon a piece of A4 paper. When KangYoon had a look at it, they seemed to be lyrics.

  “You’re done with your lyrics?”


  “Yes, please have a look at it and tell me if anything needs to be changed later.”


  KangYoon nodded his head and turned around to the lyrics.

  ‘On the endless snowy desert, the boy with a flushed face cries while reminiscing about the past’


  Reading the lyrics, something flashed in KangYoon’s head.

  “Isn’t this about your past?”


  “You noticed it already?”


  Kim JaeHoon scratched his head awkwardly. He turned around to look elsewhere in embarrassment.

  ‘The frosty winds blow without any light from the sun, and at that time the light approaches me.’


  KangYoon felt that he could get some good lyrics if it was cleaned up a little.

  He folded the A4 paper and put it into his pocket.

  “Nice lyrics. I now have a grasp on how I should do the arrangement.”


  “What does it feel like?”


  “It feels like winter, I guess? I’m not sure about anything else, but this feels like I can make the best of your voice, so you can look forward to it.”


  KangYoon waved his hand and immediately went to work.

  As he had a lot of work piled up, his day at the office was very busy.

  Kim DaeHyun, the manager team leader, talked to him about the schedules of the celebrities here, Lee HyunJi came to him about the marketing for Kim JaeHoon’s new album. Moreover, he also had to discuss what would come after Eddios’s period of activities so his day passed by in a flash.

  He was talking with Lee HyunJi over a cup of coffee when she brought up an interesting topic.

  “I want to create a promotional video.”


  “Something for marketing?”


  At KangYoon’s question, Lee HyunJi shook her head while drinking a sip.

  “These days, many groups are uploading videos from their practice on Tune. I’m wondering what it would be like if we also film some practice or other fun things.”


  “That’s a good idea. White Moonlight’s jamming session or JiMin’s practice should work well.

  KangYoon found this to be a good idea.

  However, Lee HyunJi took a step further.

  “Doesn’t it sound a little boring to separate Eddios and Euna like that? Why don’t we try different combinations like Eunha + JooYeon; or Christie + HyunAh?”


  “That sounds nice. Our motto is ‘World Family’, so I think it would be fun to create a suitable video like that. Oh, the video company that you talked about last time, right? I think we should do this properly and ask them to film us.”


  With KangYoon’s approval, things progressed at a fast pace.

  Jung HyeJin and Yoo JungMin were given instructions and started preparing for it by calling various places, and manager Kim DaeHyun also checked on everyone’s schedules to find a suitable time.

  Like that, it soon became evening.

  KangYoon headed to the studio for In MoonHee’s practice.

  “Hello.”


  In MoonHee was already exercising her voice at the studio.

  Usually, KangYoon would have talked about their topic of practice for the day, but today, there were no instructions.

  In MoonHee asked curiously.

  “What kind of practice are we doing today?”


  “Oh, there’s a new teacher for you today.”


  “A teacher?”


  In MoonHee was confused since this was the first time she had heard of this.

  However, KangYoon didn’t talk a lot about this teacher.

  Not long later, the door to the studio opened and a dandy looking middle-aged man entered along with Lee HyunJi.

  “So this is the place. Thank you for guiding me all the way here.”


  He greeted Lee HyunJi out before waving his hand at KangYoon.

  “Oh, President Lee.”


  “Hello there. MoonHee, you should greet him… But, is there a need to introduce him to you?”


  Hearing KangYoon’s words, In MoonHee, turned around to the middle-aged man.

  But then, someone she had seen before, no, someone rather familiar was standing before her. Her eyes turned round with surprise.

  “Sheesh, you should introduce me properly. So it’s this lady. Hello there. I’m Namhoon.”


  The middle-aged man scolded KangYoon and greeted In MoonHee.

  He was one of the top trot singers in the country, who was popular amongst the younger generation despite being over 60 years old, Namhoon.

  ‘Ha, haha…. hahaha…’


  In MoonHee’s hands suddenly started shaking due to the appearance of a superstar.