Chapter 24: You’re Listening to My Story

Backstage, run by Moon Jungbae.

There was only one reason Oh Jisoo came here.

Because she was curious about her senior? No.

Honestly, they weren't that close.

To help with the food business? No.

This was her own building, and the business was just a hobby.

To check out rare records?

Nope, wrong again. Oh Jisoo wasn’t as hardcore of an otaku as people might think.

The reason Oh Jisoo brought people here was simple.

“Senior, slow down a bit. I’m about to pass out. Just hear me out first.”

“Ha… Fine. But answer just this one thing first.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“That song from earlier.”

“Wait, hold on. You could hear it from the counter? I didn’t know that. That’s why I come here.”

Strict confidentiality.

That was the only reason.

Oh Jisoo asked with a teasing smile.

“You heard it all and just pretended not to, huh? I see how it is.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Of course it was audible.

The store wasn’t big. It wasn’t crowded with customers.

And he even turned off the music so they could talk comfortably.

But no matter what was discussed here, or who came in, nothing ever leaked outside.

Even if they held a shaman ritual in the room, danced, or sang.

Moon Jungbae never asked a thing.

That’s right. To Oh Jisoo, Backstage was a perfect hideout where no matter what kind of scheme she plotted with someone, it would never get out.

First meetings always happened here.

Once a project started to take shape, the next step was her studio.

That was Oh Jisoo’s rule.

“You couldn’t pretend not to hear it this time, could you? Interesting. Not long ago, you acted like you didn’t hear the Busan Goblin’s demo.”

“His song lacks sincerity. Sincerity.”

“Isn’t the Maron Chart basically the definition of sincerity?”

“Can’t argue with that, really.”

What did it mean if a song ranked high on the charts?

It meant a lot of people were listening to it.

Even if the beat was chaotic, even if the lyrics were full of English.

That didn’t matter.

If a song was played a lot, it meant some element of it resonated with the public.

And when writing a song, no one lacks sincerity.

Though their intentions may differ a bit.

“But it looks like Writer Seo’s song has that something, huh?”

“Talking about the charts just now and now this?”

“Aren’t you curious? Why you said something like that. What was it about Writer Seo’s song?”

“That’s…”

Moon Jungbae paused.

Even after deep thought, it was hard to clearly express the emotions he felt listening to Taeyoon’s song.

It wasn’t a simple matter of liking or disliking it.

Dry electronic sounds with no session.

A synth theme that poured out like a storm.

A bell sound straight out of a horror movie.

No matter how trendy the beat was.

He couldn’t just casually say, “It’s good.”

To be precise, it wasn’t his taste.

He preferred the sweet sound of an acoustic guitar, the harmony of a live band playing together.

But just one thing.

Taeyoon’s song had a power that made you listen.

He liked the clever way the lyrics were written too.

Why did he like it?

Why, exactly…?

After a long pause, he said,

“That’s it…”

He had found the texture of the song—something only Taeyoon could express.

Moon Jungbae spoke.

“We listen to songs, right?”

“Yeah. We listen to songs. Why?”

“But this song… hmm.”

“Senior, you’re really dragging things out as you get older. You’re going to burn the rice at this rate.”

Despite Oh Jisoo’s sarcastic remark,

He slowly conveyed what he felt today.

“It doesn’t feel like I’m listening to a song. It feels like the song is listening to me.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You know? Usually, a song is one-way. The listener just hears what the singer, lyricist, or composer wants to say. But this song… it listens to my story. Isn’t that amazing?”

At Moon Jungbae’s words, Oh Jisoo only nodded slowly.

Until the warm tea turned lukewarm.

How long had they been sitting there? Moon Jungbae asked,

“Did that young man write the lyrics too?”

“Yeah. You can tell right away, huh?”

“Like I haven’t heard your lyrics for years. It’s different. Very.”

“What’s so different? My lyrics just chase trends, and Writer Seo’s are fresh—is that what you’re saying? I’ll get pouty if you keep that up.”

“Good. So you won’t.”

“What did it sound like to you, Senior?”

“There was no smell of money. Your lyrics reek of it.”

Pfft.

Oh Jisoo burst out laughing.

She got it. She knew exactly what he meant.

“I get what you’re saying. But…”

“That’s its charm, right?”

“Exactly. Actually, the reason we met here today is…”

Oh Jisoo briefly shared the story.

Her first meeting with Taeyoon.

How she contacted him first to suggest co-writing.

How she came here today just to see what it was like.

“Cute, right?”

“He’s naive. That’s why he says stuff like that. Wow, you’ve changed a lot, Jisoo. Back in the day, you’d have chased him down and jabbed his collarbone, and we’d just say ‘figures.’”

Oh Jisoo replied, “It’s not that bad,” and awkwardly raised her glass.

But honestly, it wasn’t too far off.

Moon Jungbae asked with curiosity,

“So what did you say?”

“At first, I was going to say yes. I thought maybe this was my chance to try a sub-character or whatever.”

“It’s about time for that for you too.”

This time, Moon Jungbae raised his coffee cup.

Oh Jisoo’s faint expression behind the cup.

He’d known her a long time, but he still couldn’t read her.

“I turned him down.”

“Huh? You rejected him?”

An unexpected answer.

“Yeah. I couldn’t do it.”

“Your pride wouldn’t allow it?”

“Exactly.”

“Still the same Oh Jisoo.”

He didn’t bother calling her a tyrant or an ice queen.

It was always the same, no matter what.

People didn’t change.

Whether or not she knew what was on Moon Jungbae’s mind,

Oh Jisoo spoke, almost to herself.

“My pride really couldn’t let me do it… I mean, what’s so great about some sub-character?”

“I just couldn’t bring myself to collaborate on a song that Writer Seo worked so hard on just because I wanted to try something new.”

“The song is really good. The lyrics I added right now go perfectly with the atmosphere too. So…”

That soft sensitivity, rusted emotion, creeping in.

Trying to stick my name on that beautiful song.

“The fact that I even had a selfish thought for a moment—it’s shameful. I wasn’t that kind of person. Ah, I don’t even know anymore. What’s wrong with me? I must be aging.”

Moon Jungbae, after hearing her words, replied.

“I think the opposite.”

“Hmm?”

“I actually felt greedy.”

“Greedy?”

Oh Jisoo pulled her chair in close and sat up.

He wasn’t someone to say things carelessly.

Her instincts, honed over 20 years, kicked in.

That man—something must have changed in his heart.

“If it’s that guy’s song… No, never mind. Forget I said anything.”

Oh Jisoo thought,

Maybe something fun is about to happen.

I came home feeling empty.

A million thoughts tangled in my head.

What did I even do today?

Did I mess up? Was that a rejection?

I seriously have no idea.

Until she listened to the song, everything was going great.

The food was delicious.

The vibe of the place was good.

I even gave lots of compliments to the legendary rock band vocalist disguised as a tonkatsu shop owner.

Hyung once told me this.

That in an important negotiation, just getting the other person to show up at the meeting spot is already half the win.

I was confident.

In my strategy, in my song.

But then Writer Oh Jisoo told me something cryptic.

Writer Seo. Don’t take this the wrong way. I think it’s best if you stay in charge of this song until the end.

Huh?

Lyrics need to flow. Even if it feels a bit rough now, it’s right for you to stick with the feeling you had in mind.

So that means…

Yeah, exactly. Even if it sounds rough or feels hard, if you look at it again, you’ll find the way. Fighting.

Was that a compliment or a diss?

To make it worse, her expression changed after hearing the song.

Like someone weighed down with worry.

Her face suddenly darkened.

‘I really wanted to see Writer Oh’s real self…’

More than being rejected for a collaboration, more than being told my lyrics were rough—

What hurt most was not being able to see her true self.

But I definitely saw it.

Even if people called her picky, said she only cared about herself, judged her like she looked down on the world—

The advice and encouragement she gave me were never the hypocrisy of a selfish person.

That’s why I was curious.

About the things she talked about.

About the real world she wanted to show.

‘Let’s think simply. Maybe the song just didn’t match what she had in mind. Everyone has different tastes.’

Ugh, whatever.

Why make it complicated?

Just do what I’ve always done. Stick to my own path.

Let’s go back to the beginning.

Why did I get stuck on the lyrics?

Why did I send out an SOS to Oh Jisoo?

Why did I even write this song? Because of CEO Kim Minsoo… Wait, huh?

The premise was wrong from the start.

When I thought about it slowly, the answer became clear.

That’s it. That’s exactly it.

The answer to this problem lies with CEO Kim Minsoo!

The conclusion was simple.

I had assumed things about Kim Minsoo on my own.

Without even knowing him properly, I decided based on a hunch, ‘He must be this kind of person,’ and went with it—and that’s probably why things turned out like this.

Is there even anything to stress about?

I checked the time. There was still a little while before work started.

I picked up my phone. I was calling Manager Yoon Seonghan.

But my phone was full of new messages.

Better call first and check the messages after.

[ Manager-hyung ]

Before the ringtone even finished, Manager-hyung picked up and immediately called my name.

Hey hey hey hey hey. Taeyoon-ah. Seo Taeyoon.

“What the…? Hyung, yes, it’s me, Seo Taeyoon.”

You saw it too, right? Man, this is just… Taeyoon-ah. Hold on.

Manager-hyung whispered to someone mid-sentence.

Yeah, yeah. It’s Taeyoon. Don’t need to hand it over. Hold on.

“Is CEO Kim Minsoo with you?”

Yeah.

“Perfect. When’s he leaving? I’d like to talk to him briefly.”

Thank goodness.

They’re together.

CEO will be here all day. Taeyoon-ah.

“Huh? You sound busy.”

You don’t get it? Well, we didn’t think it’d blow up like this either.

“What do you mean?”

This is frustrating.

They’re freaking out over something I don’t know.

That’s not like him. What’s gotten into him today?

When you get to work later… actually no. Taeyoon-ah, you should come in early today. Can you?

“Should I come now?”

I’d appreciate that. Once the store opens, it’ll be hard to get in. Anyway, just grab a taxi now. I’ll cover the fare.

“Taxis are a waste of money…”

No backtalk!

“Okay.”

Actually, I’ll send a taxi to your house. I know you’ll refuse to take one otherwise. Just wait and get in when it arrives. Got it?

Exactly 20 minutes later.

A sleek black deluxe taxi stopped in front of our villa.

It was the taxi Manager-hyung sent.

“I’ll take you to Ilsan. Please fasten your seatbelt.”

For the first time in my life, I sat in the backseat of a deluxe taxi and pulled out my smartphone.

Why do I have so many messages?

Half of them were from Han Yujin.

Yeah, she does talk a lot.

I casually checked the messages.

[Han Yujin Singer: Writer Seo.]

[Han Yujin Singer: Writer Seo????? Answer me.]

[Han Yujin Singer: Writer Seo. Seo Taeyoon. Hey. Hello?]

What is this? How many times is she calling me?

[Han Yujin Singer: You saw this, right?]

Why is everyone asking me if I’ve seen something?

I casually opened the link.

It better not be something dumb.

But then…

“Waaaah!”

“You okay, student?”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.”

[Club Sierra DJing: DJ BLACKHOLE]

Seeing my face plastered huge on the YouTube thumbnail startled me so much I couldn’t help but scream.

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