Translator: Chamber

  Editor: Illidan

  “Me, featuring?”


  When Seo HanYu asked back, Kim JaeHoon smiled as he replied.

  “Yeah, is that alright with you?”


  “Uhm, it’s… not that difficult…”


  “Oh, yeah? Then you’re okay with it, I take it?”


  Kim JaeHoon gave her the score and tried to go over it as though he had come to a decision already.

  ‘Haha….’


  Seo HanYu was in a difficult position.

  Today, she made a visit in order to watch music production. She wanted to watch how KangYoon worked and learn from him.

  It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in featuring, but she didn’t want to be dragged around like this.

  At that moment, KangYoon, who was watching the two, pointed at the hat inside the booth.

  “JaeHoon, you forgot your hat.”


  “Ah, my hat.”


  He was too absorbed in singing and forgot that his hat slipped off.

  Kim JaeHoon quickly covered his head with his hand and entered the booth. His hair was messy so his hat was a must.

  While he was away, KangYoon spoke in a soft voice.

  “JaeHoon’s a good man, but sometimes he gets reckless when he’s invested in something.”


  “Haha… I think so as well.”


  Seo HanYu smiled weakly and sighed.

  She did not know that Kim JaeHoon, who usually stayed quiet, had such a side to him.

  “If featuring is too much for you, you can just reject him. I’ll take care of it.”


  “President.”


  “You were here to watch music production, weren’t you? You don’t have many days to rest so you shouldn’t waste your time.”


  “……”


  Seo HanYu’s eyes sank.

  Just as Kim JaeHoon left the booth with his hat on, Seo HanYu spoke in a quiet voice.

  “President. If you’re fine with me… I’ll do it.”


  “Really?”


  When KangYoon asked back to confirm, Seo HanYu replied with a strong voice.

  “Yes. But this is the first time I’m featuring in something so I’m a little worried. Please take care of me.”


  When Seo HanYu gave her agreement, Kim JaeHoon’s expression brightened and grabbed her hand.

  “Thanks! Let’s do it right now then.”


  “Whoaaa? Oppa.”


  To strike the iron while it was hot, Kim JaeHoon immediately dragged Seo HanYu into the booth.

  ‘He’s really bold at times.’


  Watching Kim JaeHoon teach her about the song, KangYoon chuckled.

  – Aaah~

  After learning about what she was doing, Seo HanYu started humming and KangYoon started adjusting the mixer.

  KangYoon asked while adjusting the volume.

  “Is the monitor okay?”


  Checking the sound from her headset, Seo HanYu made a circle with her fingers to signal that it was okay.

  Like that, the setting was finished. KangYoon gave the start signal.

  “Then let’s start.”


  When the soundtrack flowed out, Kim JaeHoon started singing the chorus and Seo HanYu also started humming.

  – Aaah–


  The white light from before had become much stronger.

  The light was like a snowball and it became bigger and bigger after being empowered by Seo HanYu’s note.

  After the humming, KangYoon spoke into the mic.

  “Your voices fit each other well.”


  – I knew it, I was right.

  When Kim JaeHoon put his thumbs up, KangYoon smiled and continued to speak.

  “I’ll need to create a track, so JaeHoon, you can come out. HanYu, let’s just do it with you alone.”


  – Yes.

  Kim JaeHoon left the booth and Seo HanYu’s recording began.

  – Aaah–


  Listening to Seo HanYu’s voice, Kim JaeHoon closed his eyes with a smile while KangYoon put his hands around his chin while looking at the frequencies displayed on the monitor.

  ‘It’s good when I’m listening but I should tinker with it when I master it. It feels good but it feels a little sharp as well.’


  KangYoon felt that this could be better.

  After a few tries, Kim JaeHoon asked in curiosity.

  “Hyung, is it not good? I like it though…”


  “It’s not bad. I was just thinking about what to do when mixing and mastering the song.”


  “Really? I really like HanYu’s voice. Why don’t I just add extra lines for her and redo the lyrics? You know, a duet…”


  Kim JaeHoon was very proactive as he liked Seo HanYu’s voice.

  However, KangYoon shook his head.

  “That’s another matter altogether. If you do that, I’ll have to redo the arrangement from scratch, and we also need her permission as well. Moreover, you will have to change the lyrics from the beginning to fit a duet. Right now, the song is more of a soliloquy so the duet doesn’t fit the genre.”


  “That’s true but… Ah, HanYu’s voice is too good though…”


  Kim JaeHoon didn’t try to back down, but KangYoon was firm about this.

  “Let’s leave the duet with HanYu for later. Restarting this song from scratch is too much work and time.”


  “…I thought it would be okay since HanYu isn’t doing anything right now…”


  In the end, Kim JaeHoon nodded his head in acceptance.

  However, his expression was full of disappointment.

  KangYoon added as though he knew what he was thinking.

  “…Let’s make a proper duet like the time with JunYeol and JooYeon, okay?”


  “Yes, hyung.”


  Kim JaeHoon got a promise while looking at Seo HanYu in the booth.

  Like that, the song recording continued.

  ***

  The Wednesday & Thursday drama titled ‘Romance of the Witch’ aired in the 2nd quarter of 2012 created a superstar known as Lee MinHye.

  She acted the female lead that was a successful CEO but was awkward when it came to romance, named ‘Na Manyeo’, and became an idol for both men and women alike, entering stardom.

  (T/N: “Na Manyeo” literally translates to ‘I’m a witch’, hence the title.)

  Her long legs, young face, and quiet voice with a hot temper was enough to grab the attention of the general public.

  Usually, the rise of a star meant a busy schedule for the company as well.

  Keyode Entertainment was having a busy time with many interview requests and liaisons for various TV programs…


  “MinHye, what do you mean? You want to break the contract!?”


  …Or so it should have been, but it was noisy for a completely different reason.

  The CEO of Keyode Entertainment, Kang GiJoon looked at Lee MinHye, who had her arms crossed, with a shocked expression, but she only looked at somewhere else with a cold expression.

  “You heard that right.”


  “MinHye, this isn’t right. There are still 3 years left of the contract…”


  “Mere contract penalty fee. I’ll give it to you. How much is it?”


  To think he’d hear such words from a star he had raised…


  President Kang GiJoon felt his heart collapse.

  It took four whole years to raise Lee MinHye into a star. The funds, the tears, and the effort he put into her all this time was turning into dust.

  He trembled.

  “Y, you became famous through your own efforts, you say? You can’t do this. How long have we been together until now! It was four years! We’ve been through thick and thin for four years! You want to betray those four years just like that?”


  President Kang GiJoon was crying blood on the inside, but he suppressed it as much as possible and tried to persuade her.

  However, Lee MinHye turned around coldly as though she had set her mind.

  “…I’ll send you the penalty fee to your account. This is my last day here.”


  “MinHye!”


  He couldn’t send her like this.

  President Kang GiJoon desperately grabbed her arms. However, she shook him off immediately and spoke coldly.

  “…In the last 4 years, I don’t know how you think about this, but for me, it was like I was in hell without being able to see anything in front of me. If I keep staying here, I might have to experience more of this hell in the future, no? I’m sorry, I’ll pay you back as much as possible.”


  “Ha… Mi, MinHye. Do you think I’m doing this because of money? Rather than that…”


  “Goodbye.”


  She left the office as though she didn’t have anything to do with this place anymore.

  “MinHye! MinHye!”


  President Kang GiJoon followed her out with his chubby body.

  However, when he caught up, Lee MinHye was boarding a random van!

  “MinHye! Lee MinHye!”


  President Kang GiJoon shouted while chasing the van, but the van quickly left his sight.

  He ran for a long time, but a man simply couldn’t catch up to a vehicle.

  “Hahaha, this must be a dream… right?”


  In the middle of the street, president Kang GiJoon collapsed on the spot in despair.

  The reality of having lost a star in one day was cruel.

  The next day.

  An article that Lee MinHye had entered a contract with VVIP Entertainment filled the internet.

  ***

  ‘I’ve balanced HanYu and JaeHoon’s voices and next…’


  KangYoon was sweating hard as he was doing the final adjustments of the mixing process.

  He adjusted the balance of the voices and the instruments in the computer and observed the changes as he added various other effects.

  ‘HanYu’s voice is influencing the light a lot.’


  KangYoon adjusted the equalizer for Seo HanYu’s voice.’


  As the general mood of the song leaned towards classical music rather than pop music, he amplified the mids a little more.

  When he adjusted the equalizer, the light became minutely stronger.

  ‘Is the Hz value too high on the highs? Let’s adjust that then.’


  However when he did that, the light became weaker instead.

  He was trying to do minute adjustments, but he made a mistake and tampered with the graph and all of the sounds were affected.

  ‘Oh no.’


  KangYoon undid his equalizer adjustment and started adjusting it again.

  While he was absorbed in his work, his phone suddenly rang.

  When he had a look at the phone screen, he saw Lee HyunJi’s name.

  “Yes, Lee KangYoon speaking.”


  – It’s me. I’m sorry to disturb you when you must be working. Can we have a talk in the office?

  KangYoon told her that he would be there and headed to the office immediately.

  When he arrived, Lee HyunJi was waiting for him with drinks prepared.

  “Something important happened. Please sit down.”


  When KangYoon sat on the sofa, Lee HyunJi sat down as well.

  She pulled up an internet article on her phone and showed it to KangYoon.

  – VVIP Entertainment and Lee MinHye enter an exclusive 5-year contract. VVIP claims Lee MinHye has the potential to become a great actress.

  “They’re quite good at sugarcoating.”


  KangYoon spoke badly about it, which was rare.

  Due to the fact that VVIP tried to poach Kim JiMin last time, he didn’t feel that good about them.

  “Well, they can just buy those journalists with money. We’re in such an era after all.”


  Lee HyunJi snorted as well. She didn’t like those people either.

  However, there was a reason she was showing him this.

  “This Lee MinHye also seems like a bad person for switching companies as soon as she became big, but that’s not the important part. You know what you told me about JinSeo last time, right?”


  “Is this related to that?”


  Lee HyunJi nodded her head and continued to speak.

  “We, as a company, don’t have any knowledge of raising and marketing actors and actresses. That’s why we’re in need of someone experienced in regards to that. Moreover, we need someone that can take care of Min JinSeo… If that’s the case, this person looks like he’s the best fit. Kang GiJoon, he’s the CEO of Keyode entertainment.”


  “So, the company that Lee MinHye used to be in.”


  “Indeed.”


  KangYoon saw the matter at hand immediately.

  Lee HyunJi put down the coffee mug in her hand and continued.

  “Keyode Entertainment. It’s more-or-less a 1 man company since Lee MinHye was the only one they had. This Kang GiJoon supported Lee MinHye all this time.”


  “Hm, doesn’t that mean he doesn’t have the skills? He was betrayed after going all-in for one person… I think this means that he has a bad eye for people.”


  KangYoon expressed his opinion.

  Regarding this incident, yes, the star was doing the bad deed.

  However, the one responsible for it, in the end, was the CEO. This was why one had to be careful when picking out new people.

  This was also the reason why KangYoon didn’t have a good opinion.

  However, Lee HyunJi’s opinion was different from his.

  “You’re right, president. However, I believe that his efforts for the star and his skills in raising that actress into her position are worth our attention. Of course, the fact that his celebrity betrayed him is a minus… we can fill that part, can’t we?”


  “Hm…”


  KangYoon fell into thought.

  It is not easy to invest in one person for four years. How much profit would an actor without a name to herself bring to the company? Moreover, she became big in the end.

  ‘I should meet him before I come to a decision.’


  “Does that person have intentions to come to World?”


  Lee HyunJi replied to KangYoon’s question.

  “He also told us that he wished to meet us. However, he doesn’t seem that motivated.”


  “Is that so? But I think you’ve taken a liking to that man.”


  “It’s hard to find someone so devoted to one person, you know? I do lean towards him.”


  KangYoon told her that he would meet him before coming to a decision and asked her to schedule an appointment.

  ***