Chapter 204

The Olympic Sports Complex was one of the biggest indoor sports facilities in Korea .

It had 20,000 seats, was sufficiently wide for a concert, and the facilities were evenly spaced out through the building so it was loved by many singers .

However, it had been a long time since it was built, so the acoustics weren’t that great, and there was also the matter of light bleed as well .

Despite all these disadvantages, it was a place beloved by many singers for holding concerts .

“It’s been a long time since I last stood here . ”

Kim JaeHoon was standing on the floor beneath the stage and exclaimed as though he was joyful .

Behind him, Lee HyunJi, smiling awkwardly, felt apologetic .

“We wanted to do a concert in the Multipurpose Hall of the Central World Cup Stadium, but that was fully reserved . ”

“I don’t really mind the place . I really like it . ”

He had heard from KangYoon that he had contracted all the subcontractors for the concert before he went to America .

Since he had prepared meticulously as well, what was remaining was whether the tickets for the concert would sell out or not .

“So the ticketing begins in a few days . ”

“… . . ”

Kim JaeHoon gulped in nervousness when Lee HyunJi said that .

How many people would come and listen to his songs?

This wasn’t only a matter of profit . His pride as a singer was on the line as well .

Seeing him so stiff, Lee HyunJi tried to calm him down .

“Mr . JaeHoon . It will go well . don’t worry . You don’t need to be so nervous about it . ”

“Hahaha . Okay . ”

Kim JaeHoon nodded his head while feeling the warmth of Lee HyunJi’s hand on his back .

***

“Do you need anything else?”

A pretty stewardess asked KangYoon at the bar lounge, but he shook his head saying that it was okay .

“It’s fine . Thanks for telling me . ”

This was the first time in KangYoon’s life that he was using a first-class seat in a plane so he asked the stewardess some questions, and she answered like a professional .

Just as when KangYoon was about to turn around and go back to his seat, the stewardess carefully asked KangYoon .

“Uhm…”

“Is there anything you need?”

“Uhm… I’m sorry, but can I ask you for an autograph?”

“Okay . Do you have any paper?”

KangYoon took out a pen from his chest pocket, but she didn’t have a paper on hand . KangYoon contemplated a little before taking out a business card from his wallet and signed his name there before giving it to her .

“…Thank you . ”

Receiving the autograph, the stewardess’s eyes shone .

This was an incredible gain .

Regardless, KangYoon smiled as he spoke .

“Then, best of luck with your job . ”

After the conversation, KangYoon returned to his seat .

However, just as he sat down, JooAh started poking at him .

“Hey . ”

“What is it?”

“Ugh . ”

KangYoon didn’t understand why JooAh was doing this .

Was giving an autograph something bad?

KangYoon titled his head .

“Is it because of the autograph? The business card was because there was no paper . ”

“I know that, but… *sigh*, you’re clueless when it comes to things like this . ”

“What do you mean?”

Clueless?

KangYoon blinked several times dumbfoundedly, but JooAh did not answer .

“Something like that . ”

JooAh did not mention that the stewardess with KangYoon’s business card was taking glances at him .

‘Doesn’t he know that men that fly first class seats give business cards to stewardesses they’ve taken a liking to?’

From the look of that stewardess, she was definitely on cloud nine .

‘If JinSeo found out… urgh . ’

Just as JooAh shivered, KangYoon spoke in a nonchalant voice .

“It’s the company business card . ”

“What was that?”

“That business card doesn’t have my personal number . It’s just a business card that only contains the company number . ”

Only then did JooAh nod in acceptance .

Experiencing a few hiccups midway, the flight safely arrived at the airport .

KangYoon and JooAh quickly went through customs and stepped on American land .

HeeYoon naturally came to meet the two, and after a brief greeting, JooAh left saying that she had some business to attend to in MG Entertainment’s American branch .

KangYoon headed to HeeYoon’s house with a rental car .

Inside the car, HeeYoon talked to KangYoon about a lot of things joyfully . She talked about her college life as well as the songs, and KangYoon reacted to her suitably here and there .

“…So Reina has started her activities for real . ”

KangYoon’s eyes widened when he heard about one of HeeYoon’s friends, Reina . ”

“She’s still a minor role actor . But she did also say that she was rising fast . Apparently, it would usually take more than four years to get a minor character role . ”

“Reina should do well . ”

“Right?”

KangYoon thought back to Reina from when she visited Korea with HeeYoon .

She had both the talent for singing and acting . Moreover, she was hardworking as well .

He believed that she was more than talented enough to become big .

He stepped on the brakes as he approached the traffic lights that had turned red .

“Reina sometimes talks about you . She wants to see you in Korea once she becomes big . ”

“Really? But how big is ‘big’?”

“Hmm… A main role at the Broadway Musical?”

“Then I guess I’ll have to wait ten years at least . ”

“Really?”

KangYoon accelerated after the lights turned green .

After driving for quite a long time, the two arrived at HeeYoon’s house .

Parking the car outside the house, KangYoon entered the house and unpacked his luggage .

“…Yes . Alright . Please take care of the company . ”

After calling Lee HyunJi, KangYoon lied down on the sofa .

‘Looks like I should hurry with JaeHoon’s concert once I get back . The special equipment team seemed worrying . ’

Fatigue overwhelmed him due to jet lag .

However, even though he had closed his eyes, thoughts about Kim JaeHoon’s concert swirled in his mind .

Thinking about how he put less effort into his concert due to the matters with Hidden Catch, the thoughts about the concert didn’t leave his mind .

‘That space needs special attention to acoustics . I’ll only be able to produce a good sound if I invest two days of time into acoustics at least . Also…’

***

“Take — me away–”

“Zzz…”

The sound of a knife hitting the chopping board as well as a beautiful voice woke KangYoon up .

“How– was — your day–”

“Your day—”

He heard familiar voices .

KangYoon opened his eyes hearing the familiar voice .

‘Hm?’

When he did, he saw two ladies with aprons on, HeeYoon and JooAh .

Doenjang-jjigae was boiling on the stove, while HeeYoon was chopping spring onions on the chopping board .

The notes the two girls created were producing bright white light .

‘How nice . ’

The refreshing sensation from the white light made KangYoon wake up .

Feeling movement behind her, HeeYoon turned around to see him .

“Huh? Oppa, you woke up?”

“Uh, yeah . JooAh’s here?”

“Sure I’m here . I’m going to sleep here as well . ”

“…Fine . ”

Since they were going to sleep in separate rooms, KangYoon allowed it .

Dinner was a doenjang-jjigae meal .

Giving JooAh, who was eating gluttonously, some water, HeeYoon showed off her maturity .

When their bowls of rice were almost empty, JooAh sighed with a serious expression .

“Oppa, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Is it the one you talked about last time?”

“…Yeah . ”

JooAh didn’t mention her ‘favor’ during the flight either .

A favor that required a first-class plane ticket?

KangYoon waited for her words with a likewise serious expression .

After hesitating a little, JooAh started speaking with a stiff expression .

“…I’m going to audition for Unite Music . ”

“Unite Music?”

KangYoon’s eyes widened .

Unite Music was a colossal entertainment company in America . It was one of the top four . They were a huge capital in the music market .

“I sent them a video of me half a year ago, and I was contacted a while back . They asked me whether I’m willing to participate in an audition . ”

“So you grabbed the opportunity . Congratulations . ”

“Yes, and so…”

JooAh paused for a moment before speaking with a firm tone .

“Can you watch me practice tomorrow? You know, everyone does it better when you watch them . ”

KangYoon’s eyes shook at JooAh’s words .

She didn’t know that KangYoon’s ability to see musical notes, but she was aware that KangYoon brought out the best of any artist .

Not seeming to notice his surprise, JooAh grabbed KangYoon’s hands desperately .

“Oppa…”

KangYoon sighed briefly .

She was practically saying that she wanted to succeed going to America, which they had failed last time .

‘It’s not that I don’t know her skills, but…’

In Korea, JooAh was the first one that came to mind when it came to dancing . Her dance just had that much charm .

However, would her dances work in America as well?

‘Silver? No, as an east-Asian, it needs to be gold at least . ’

That much was necessary in order to bridge the cultural gap and the bias that stemmed from it .

KangYoon believed so .

“When’s the audition?”

“In two days . ”

There wasn’t long left either .

KangYoon clutched his forehead .

“…You should have told me beforehand . ”

“The thing is… I tried to, but both you and I were busy . At first, I thought about doing it on my own, but no matter how hard I thought about it, I don’t think I could make it by myself . Hehe, I’m sorry . ”

JooAh stuck out her tongue in embarrassment .

She looked very cute, but he had plans tomorrow .

“Things aren’t looking good . ”

“…Yeah, a little . ”

“I don’t think I can help you…”

Hearing that, JooAh’s eyes widened .

“…What?”

“I have an important meeting tomorrow . There’s a company I have a meeting with due to some stage equipment tomorrow . ”

“Ah, okay…”

JooAh’s shoulders lowered in dejection .

KangYoon couldn’t hide his sorry feelings either .

“I’m sorry, but I think you’ll have to try this audition on your own this time . ”

“…Really? I guess there’s no helping it . ”

If she knew this was going to happen, she had to mention it beforehand .

JooAh regretted it . Hesitation led to this result .

Despite that, she did not make a big deal out of it .

“I guess I can’t help it . Haha . ”

“I’m sorry, there’s the flight as well… . ”

“That’s fine . We aren’t strangers . ”

JooAh waved her hand .

No one rejected anything she said . Although it had become strange, even MG Entertainment listened to her words .

However, KangYoon was…

“HeeYoon . I’m going to sleep first . ”

“Okay . I’ve laid the mattress out for you . ”

Dejected, JooAh left her food, and dejectedly walked into the room .

HeeYoon spoke to KangYoon after the two of them were left .

“Can’t you help her after your meeting?”

“This meeting will be a long one . Also, it won’t be easy for JooAh to get accepted in the audition . ”

“What?”

HeeYoon asked back as though KangYoon was speaking nonsense, but KangYoon shook his head .

“Cultural barriers are frightening . It’s incredibly thick and tall . As an east-Asian, the only thing that would work is overwhelming skills . Of course, JooAh indeed has incredible skills, but I don’t think…”

“You don’t think?”

“I don’t think she’s at the point where she could overcome that cultural difference . To be exact, her dancing skills alone should be fine, but it won’t be easy due to other physical factors . Her body figure, her atmosphere as well as her origins, etc . There are a lot of barriers she has to overcome . To win against people from America, only overwhelming skill could bridge that gap . ”

“Oh…”

Only then did HeeYoon accept KangYoon’s words .

She looked at the door JooAh just went in with pitying eyes .

***

Two days later .

[Then we’ll call you later . ]

[Thank you . ]

JooAh, who had danced in front of a white man who was twice, no three times as big as her, left Unite Music with sweat all over her body .

‘I knew it, but it’s still hard . ’

Although he said that they’ll call her later, his expression was full of disappointment .

She couldn’t forget the expression when he was surprised about her small stature, and when he smiled bitterly saying that she seemed to lack energy when she was dancing .

JooAh collapsed onto a sofa in the lobby of Unite Music .

“Dammit!”

Her loud cursing made the people around look at her with weird gazes, but she didn’t care .

The disappointment of having missed a great opportunity didn’t go away easily .

‘Let’s go…’

She was about to return after staring blankly for a long time, but just as she was about to, her phone started ringing .

“…Yes, oppa . ”

It was a call from KangYoon .

Unlike before, she accepted the call with a rather awkward voice .

– How did the audition go?

JooAh didn’t want to say that she failed .

She wanted to boldly say that she could pass without KangYoon’s help .

“Of course I did well . Who do you think I…”

– Really?

“……”

Silence pervaded the call for a long time .

I know it already . Be honest about it .

The silence seemed to say those words .

After the period of silence, JooAh snapped .

“Yeah, I failed . I failed, okay? Do you feel good now? Huh?”

– ……

“Why can’t you just let me be… is that so hard to do? You evil…”

JooAh sobbed .

He should’ve helped if he knew it was going to be like this . Just why…

Just as she was about to vent all of her frustration at him, a calm voice sounded over the phone .

– There’s another audition . How is it, wanna do it?

“An au…dition?”

JooAh stopped .

– Do you know who Carrie Cloudia is?

“Carrie Cloudia?”

– It’s an audition looking for her partner… how is it? Wanna do it?

A super popular singer who was ranked 5th on the Billboard Charts, that’s who Carrie Cloudia was . JooAh’s eyes started shaking .