Chapter 33: A Pleasant Company

“Oh, goodness, that startled me.”

Today, I discovered something that people from ToMe Entertainment have in common.

Han Yujin and Kwak Youngho both had incredibly loud voices. They also got worked up easily.

What exactly were they trying to do for me, and where were they telling me not to go?

I had no idea.

Slide—

The sliding door flung open in a rush.

“Sir, are you all right? Did something happen…?”

“Ahem. Ah, no. Just something surprising, that’s all.”

“My apologies. We’ll have your meal ready soon.”

It must have been quite a scene for the dignified maître d’ to rush in like that.

Kwak Youngho let out a few hesitant filler sounds—“Hm, uh, well…”—before finally speaking in a calmer tone.

“Surprised, right? Sorry. Hold on a second.”

He gulped down the green tea in front of him.

That thing was really hot.

I just watched him for a moment and waited.

He clearly had something to say, and something to give me, but he was hesitating.

Was he trying to invite me somewhere, like Han Yujin had?

I liked invitations. Just hand it over already. A concert or something would be fun…

While I was thinking this, he suddenly placed something on the table.

“Here, take this.”

Three keys.

To be precise—one car remote key, and two door lock card keys.

“They’re keys. But why…?”

“I was going to use these to lure Writer Seo in. Ah—does that sound bad? I just wanted to keep you close. No, that sounds too sleazy. Persuade? Yes, persuade sounds better. I’ll be honest with you.”

I tucked my lips in and nodded.

“I want to support you. So you can focus only on music.”

So that’s what he meant.

Han Yujin had hinted at something like this before.

She said CEO Kwak Youngho might soon come by, carrying something.

When she said carrying something, I’d only thought of food.

Or maybe clothes, like CEO Kim from KIM Entertainment had given me.

But this was unexpected.

It was obvious at a glance.

The three-pointed star was the car, the one marked XI must be the house, and the last one… maybe a studio?

“Do you know what these are?”

“Um…”

I couldn’t say anything.

I was like that sometimes.

When I was really shocked and happy, I didn’t smile—I just froze.

Was it clumsy expression? Or was I hiding my feelings?

Either way, I was genuinely happy.

Other thoughts? I didn’t need them.

What kind of people worked in the entertainment industry?

The sort who constantly nagged about performance and squeezed people dry to achieve their goals.

But this—this was recognition.

There was no clearer acknowledgment than this.

ToMe Entertainment was openly expressing the value of me, my music, and my potential.

“Is it… too much of a burden?”

CEO Kwak Youngho seemed to be gauging my reaction.

Oh—my expression must have been too stiff.

I pulled the corners of my mouth up as high as I could and gave him a bright smile.

It’s only proper to show appreciation for good treatment!

And burden? What burden?

They were the ones offering, not me asking.

If anything, the burden should be on ToMe Entertainment.

Those things must cost a fortune. Not just a few bucks.

For a rookie composer like me, that kind of investment was definitely on the company.

“A burden… I suppose it could be.”

Kwak Youngho nodded at my reply.

As expected, he understood immediately.

I didn’t want to burden them. If they felt burdened, things would become awkward.

And I absolutely refused to be in an awkward relationship with anyone.

Still, I couldn’t deny I was tempted.

If ToMe had prepared it, it wouldn’t be anything ordinary. Pretending I wasn’t interested would be a lie.

It’s not like I didn’t know what was good. Why else would people work themselves to the bone for money? So they could live in a nice house, drive a nice car, and work in a great office.

I hesitated for a moment… but quickly regained my composure.

I made my decision.

I lightly pushed the keys back toward Kwak Youngho.

“Being a burden is the last thing I want.”

I hated it—being someone else’s burden.

If these three keys were worth a billion won, then they would be carrying a billion won’s worth of burden.

That was tactful enough, right?

Would he be disappointed?

I hadn’t even let him get to the main point before refusing.

That’s the thing with CEO Kwak Youngho—he was surprisingly delicate and soft-hearted.

I worried he might take it to heart, but then…

Why was he flaring his nostrils? Surely it wasn’t because he thought it was a waste.

Kwak Youngho asked,

“You’re not going to stop working with us because of the burden, right?”

Why would I?

I answered immediately.

“This kind of thing is just secondary. I just hope we can be people who make music together without any sense of burden. That’s what music is about, right? Feeling it without having to put it into words. Sharing emotions through a song. That’s all I need. And it doesn’t matter who it is.”

I had spoken quite seriously.

Then CEO Kwak Youngho shouted again,

“Good! Very good!”

“…Sorry?”

“Writer Seo. I knew it. You get it right away. As expected…”

Thankfully, the maître d’ didn’t rush in this time.

I asked carefully,

“Can we eat now?”

It was torture having a feast in front of me and just watching it.

Once fried food goes soggy, it tastes awful!

“Go ahead. Do you like sashimi?”

“I prefer meat…”

I wasn’t great with raw food.

“Ah, sorry. How about Korean or Chinese food next time? What should we do for today, though?”

“It’s fine. I love fried food.”

“Really? Maître d’!”

A moment later—

A platter of assorted tempura, coated in crisp white batter blooming like flowers, was swiftly served.

“Thank you for the food.”

It was an enjoyable meal.

CEO Kwak took care of all the sashimi meant for me, while I demolished all the tempura.

We also talked about the showcase.

He said I could look forward to it.

Well, of course—Han Yujin was no ordinary person. She’d do well for sure.

“Don’t you get sick of eating only fried food? Should I order something refreshing?”

“No, rather than something refreshing… um, by any chance…”

“Mm? Go on, say it.”

“Would they happen to have tonkatsu?”

“….”

Well… that wouldn’t be too much of a burden, right?

Special invitation seats for the showcase.

CEO Kwak Youngho and Taeyoon sat side by side, their hearts racing as they anticipated Han Yujin’s transformation.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Woooo!!”

The fans’ cheers filled the grand auditorium.

With a satisfied smile, Kwak Youngho leaned toward Taeyoon and asked quietly,

“Composers don’t usually come to showcases, you know that?”

“Really?”

“It’s mostly fans who attend.”

“Ah, well, I’m a fan of Han Yujin too.”

“Come on, you’re friends.”

“Friends can be fans too.”

Even as he spoke clearly, Taeyoon’s eyes sparkled, fixed on the stage.

He had promised to watch from start to finish.

Han Yujin could appear from anywhere, in any way, without warning.

If she came on stage and spotted him distracted while chatting with Kwak Youngho, she would be disappointed.

“Oh, it’s starting.”

With loud cheers, the lights went out.

The audience was still noisy.

At live events, fans never stayed quiet for long.

They shouted, sang along—

That was how singers and fans shared happiness.

But as the first song of the highlight medley and Han Yujin’s title track, Super Ride, began, the audience fell silent.

The stage revealed only Han Yujin’s silhouette.

A sleek shadow began to move slowly.

Taeyoon involuntarily held his breath.

Beep—

With the beep, the same pink lighting as the album jacket design poured down over Han Yujin’s head.

The stage was bathed in red.

The LED screen flashed FATAL in sequence.

Not sexy—fatal.

“She nailed it.”

Taeyoon couldn’t take his eyes off her for even a second.

Kwak Youngho also watched the stage in breathless focus.

Sexy could easily become vulgar, but fatal was different.

Han Yujin had achieved the perfect balance, exactly as Taeyoon had intended.

“Visuals are important too.”

The song he’d only heard in audio now came alive on stage.

The bell sound that tickled the ears became a vibration that shook the whole body, and the beat turned into dance that dominated the stage.

Then, when the part that had been revealed in the highlight medley began—

“Super Ride, ride, ride.”

Taeyoon, who had been humming along, froze.

The audience had started singing Super Ride in unison.

“Just thrill—live as the real me.”

He couldn’t believe his ears.

Even though the official track hadn’t been released yet, hundreds of voices blended perfectly with Han Yujin’s.

“I can’t control my emotions.”

What could possibly describe this feeling?

Taeyoon couldn’t blink, his eyes locked on the stage.

The voices of the fans crashed into his ears like waves.

…They’re singing my song.

When he had written it, he’d been alone.

The song he had crafted after tens, hundreds of rounds of agonizing work in his room was no longer his alone.

It wasn’t Han Yujin’s, nor was it the fans’.

It had become the song of everyone sharing this moment.

And when the entire highlight medley section ended—

A decisive kick. The bridge part began.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The audience fell silent again.

Han Yujin’s whispering voice drew the focus of hundreds of eyes and ears in an instant.

Everyone says it.

That the true star of a song is the singer.

Not the composer, not the lyricist, not the dozens of staff.

That they all “sacrifice” themselves to make the singer on stage shine.

But it was never truly a sacrifice, nor a doormat.

Taeyoon thought,

as he looked at Han Yujin through the waves of light from the cheering sticks—

Going together.

Yes.

The stage was a joyful companionship.

It was a path no one could walk alone.

He could vividly picture the expressions of all the staff backstage, fists clenched as they watched.

On stage, Han Yujin smiled brightly.

Just as Taeyoon had hoped, it was a perfect stage where sound and visuals blended seamlessly.

“Waaaaa!”

When the first song ended, everyone erupted into cheers.

The audience responded even louder to Han Yujin’s smile.

As the light sticks danced, Taeyoon lowered his head.

If nothing else, he wanted to hide his reddened eyes.

[Han Yujin, 2nd Single Showcase ‘FATAL’]

[Han Yujin as seen on the showcase stage.]

[Photo: Han Yujin, 2nd Single ‘FATAL’ Showcase. FATAL instead of SEXY.]

[Photo: Han Yujin, ‘I’d like to thank the people who made the perfect song for me.’]

[Han Yujin, title track Super Ride composer team STaY—who are they…?]

[Sudden ‘Find the Composer’ craze—Is STaY a foreign composing team?]

[Music critic Lee Junpyo says, “To dominate the charts, you must catch STaY.”]

[FATAL instead of SEXY? The hidden meaning of FATAL, set to lead the music trend…]

Han Yujin’s comeback stirred the entertainment news section of the portals for the first time in a while.

FATAL instead of SEXY.

It was true that most had tilted their heads at the unfamiliar word.

In an age where you had to be different to survive—

Even if it could have been a reckless challenge, Han Yujin trusted Taeyoon’s vision.

The result—

[ Today’s BEST Comments ]

↳ Isn’t that guy a professional nitpicker? What’s with the sudden praise? ㄷㄷ

↳ ToMe’s viral marketing is insane lol, it’s basically a press release drop.

↳↳ Go check the reactions properly. This one’s untouchable.

↳ No lie, if you criticize this you’re just proving you’ve got no ear.

↳ The track’s out, going to listen, brb.

↳ Han Yujin should’ve done this ages ago.

↳ She’s bewitching people without even showing any skin…

The moment the music video and track dropped—

“Huh?”

Han Yujin appeared on the charts in a way no one had imagined.

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