Chapter 156

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 .