“President.”
“What is it?”
“President, did you happen to know that Ye-rin is moving into our house?”
“Hmm? Wasn’t that something you already knew?”
Kang Beom-jun looked at me with a puzzled expression.
…Is this really something only I didn’t know about?
“Will it be alright?”
“With what?”
“From the agency’s perspective, it’s better for Ye-rin to live alone, right?”
“It might lead to unnecessary gossip, so you’re right. But since you’re there, it’ll be fine.”
“?”
“?”
On the contrary, isn’t this getting even less okay?
Both Kang Beom-jun and I seemed unable to understand each other’s reactions.
In any case, the reason I visited RT Entertainment today was because Kang Beom-jun had something to discuss with me.
“I’m planning a first audition that we didn’t hold before.”
“Holding an audition…”
Hearing those words, a thought crossed my mind.
If I hadn’t sent that email to Kang Beom-jun for feedback on my original compositions, RT Entertainment might have already introduced an artist who passed the audition to the world by now.
As far as I remember, the results exceeded expectations.
This served as proof that Kang Beom-jun’s judgment was not wrong.
Had that process not existed, there wouldn’t have been the time to take me along, who was an aspiring composer in my past life.
“Why? Is there any issue with that?”
“No. It’s not a bad idea. RT Entertainment’s current structure is a bit unconventional compared to regular companies.”
An entertainment agency that solely relies on Baek Ye-rin for operation.
The problem is that it works too well.
From music streaming and albums, to advertisements and sponsorships.
Regardless of size, RT Entertainment might be the company that has made the most money at this point.
And all of that is accomplished solely because of Baek Ye-rin’s presence.
This was definitive proof of how absurdly high Baek Ye-rin’s current recognition is. But where there’s positivity, there’s always negativity.
No celebrity can perform non-stop for 365 days a year.
Moreover, since Baek Ye-rin is still a student and restricted in activities.
In simpler terms, compared to other artists, she has less time to actively work as a singer.
…Well, she still manages to achieve impressive performances and profits even within these constraints.
“In any case, having a rest period is essential for artists. I don’t want to overburden our artists just for the sake of money.”
“It’s not like we haven’t already made more money than we could ever spend, right?”
Kang Beom-jun chuckled lightly, shrugging his shoulders.
It was a way of acknowledging the current overly lucrative situation we were in thanks to certain individuals.
He then continued.
“By the way, Ye-rin was very positive about this upcoming audition.”
“Is that so? Clearly, operating as RT Entertainment’s sole artist might be a bit burdensome.”
“Haha. You know Ye-rin well, but not entirely.”
“?”
“In any case, I’ll just say that things aren’t the way you’re imagining.”
Kang Beom-jun said this with a confident gaze for some reason.
It felt a bit unsettling, but another question came to mind.
Holding an audition seemed good enough.
But given how Kang Beom-jun is delivering this information face-to-face…
“There seems to be something you want from me.”
“Yes. I need your help with this audition.”
“Uh… You’re not asking me to judge the audition with you, are you?”
“Kia, sharp as ever.”
“?!”
As I gave him a puzzled look, Kang Beom-jun tilted his head.
Then, realizing something, he sighed heavily and said:
“Honestly, do I have to explain this again? Who is the only composer of our company?”
“Um… that would be me.”
“Right. And who is the person whose compositions all rank high in the music charts, who composed the masterpiece ‘Your Picture’ in just one day?”
“That’s… me too.”
“And, lastly, who was the person to first recognize and discover Baek Ye-rin, the genius singer?”
“…?”
…It was me.
I wanted to say, “What kind of ridiculous boasting is this?” but the real issue was that every word was true.
Taking that momentum, Kang Beom-jun continued:
“So, we need your exceptional talent and insight for this audition.”
“Alright… I don’t have any issues with that. We can conduct the audition while keeping my identity hidden, so it shouldn’t cause any serious problems.”
“Right. Thanks for understanding. And anyway, since we’ll need to create music with the audition winner, your opinions are ultimately the most important.”
“Wait a minute. Does that mean I’m the one to collaborate with the winner?”
“There’s no one else if you’re the only composer in our company.”
“But there’s you, the president.”
“Hah, thank you for the compliment, but I know my limits. And if I tried to do that while having you around, Ye-rin would likely accuse me of wasting her money on nonsense.”
…
That’s strangely convincing.
Still, I’m hesitating.
In this life, I had made a promise to write songs solely for Baek Ye-rin.
It could be my own greed. Maybe it’s a childish thought.
But I am that kind of stupid person. And because I am that stupid person, I believe I am where I am today.
At that moment, Kang Beom-jun spoke with a serious look on his face.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking. You’re probably imagining what Ye-rin would think, right? That’s just who you are.”
“…”
“But have you ever considered what Ye-rin herself thinks about this?”
“That’s…”
It’s something I haven’t actually thought about.
In fact, I don’t really know what Baek Ye-rin has been thinking recently.
Her moving to our house out of the blue or readily agreeing with the audition plans.
Then Kang Beom-jun gave a slight smile as he said to me:
“So, let’s do this. If there’s no one at the audition who you feel like writing songs for, we can pretend this never happened.”
“…Are you sure that’s alright?”
“Well, what choice do I have? I fully trust your musical judgment. If there’s no one you genuinely like, then that just means there’s no suitable talent. And you’re not the type to lie about something like this.”
…
I nodded at Kang Beom-jun’s words.
I was grateful for his consideration, and his words felt sincere.
Even if I had vowed to create music only for Baek Ye-rin, if someone really special came around, who knows?
…Although, I think that’s unlikely to happen.
But at this moment, I had no idea.
That someone would soon appear from a very close place.
And because of that, RT Entertainment’s historic first audition would once again be canceled…
This was something I had no way of predicting.
…
However, one realization struck me as I conversed with Kang Beom-jun today.
“President, if you’re thinking of recruiting other artists besides Ye-rin, does that mean you’re also planning to hire other composers someday?”
“Ho ho, Lee Won, your sense of humor is improving, isn’t it?”
“?!”
“First of all, how could we hire another composer when Ha-on is already here, firmly entrenched? I don’t even want to risk comparison—there’s no chance of bringing anyone in.”
Simply put:
If more artists join RT Entertainment in the future, I might be responsible for all of them…
What the hell?
Isn’t something going terribly wrong here?
*
Seolhwa Arts High School.
A place where talented students from all over the country gather. Many entertainers who have received love and popularity later on have come from this school.
And among such students, recently, one stood out.
“Se-ah, we’d like you to close the performance at this practical stage presentation.”
Seolhwa Arts High School has a practical performance event.
For the first year, it occurs once, and for others, it happens once per semester. It’s designed to give students actual performance experience.
But had it only been about that, it wouldn’t have been considered a “big event.”
One key feature of Seolhwa Arts High School’s practical performance is that it’s open to the public.
Anyone, not necessarily enrolled at Seolhwa Arts, can attend as long as they match the performance schedule.
And because of this, many entertainment agencies come to observe the performance.
Interest tends to heighten as the performances near the end of the lineup.
Traditionally, the order is set by the major teacher in charge, and students considered to have the highest “potential” are pushed to the later slots.
In short, the last performer is seen as the standout student of that grade.
Ryu Se-ah had confidently secured this final slot.
“So, who would you like to prepare for the performance with?”
The teacher responsible for this practical performance asked Ryu Se-ah.
The department Ryu Se-ah is part of, the Practical Music Department, has two specialties:
Vocal and composition.
When it comes to the practical performance evaluation, vocal students only have one option:
1. Collaborate on stage with composition students.
That’s it, purely.
However, this year, a problem arose.
One student from the Practical Music Department’s first year had resigned for personal reasons.
This student specialized in composition, which left one vocal student preparing the stage alone.
Under such circumstances, it’s common to either cover existing songs or utilize so-called “connection chances.”
Naturally, being in an arts school, chances are high you know someone in music.
Especially if someone is already signed to an agency.
Ryu Se-ah planned to use this strategy.
“Would it be okay if I used my connection chance?”
“Connection chance? Do you know someone who composes music?”
In response to the teacher’s question, Ryu Se-ah nodded.
And for some reason, she smiled.
Yes, exactly.
She happened to know an excellent songwriter.
One who is…
“I believe that, with your permission, I can deliver the best stage ever.”
…very renowned.
—
Note: The HTML snippet at the end appears irrelevant to the story content and has been excluded from this translation.
