Chapter 35: Who Cares Anyway

The music chart was a kind of report card.

A rather cruel report card.

Every day. And at every single hour, the rankings on that report card were made public for the whole world to see.

Even music made with the same number of notes could rank vastly differently on the charts depending on how it was expressed.

Just because it sounded good didn’t mean it would smash through the charts and climb to the top.

Trends, the singer performing it, the power of the fandom, the level of public interest—

And, most importantly, that invisible, mysterious force that could make people cry or laugh.

Of course, “mysterious force” didn’t mean some transcendent being was intervening, or that a belief-made, imaginary power was manipulating the charts.

We dressed up that mysterious force with the vague word “popularity.”

“Han Yujin’s fandom isn’t even that big.”

Sometimes, people would slander that mysterious force as “chart manipulation,” an unfounded rumor with no basis.

“My song being number one is natural, but their song being number one is manipulation! Oh, it’s not? Then forget it.”

The root cause was, naturally, ugly jealousy.

“Han Yujin must have manipulated itttttttt!”

A desperate cry echoed through Tomorrow Entertainment’s meeting room.

The source of it was none other than…

“Please calm down. Everyone outside can hear you.”

“Let them hear. Go look into it! How does it make sense for Han Yujin to hit number one the moment she enters the chart? I’ve got one week left until my comeback. What are you going to do about it? The whole world is about Han Yujin right now. Haah…”

“We got a good song too. You’re just being too sensitive lately.”

It was Lee Hyoeun, Han Yujin’s rival, driven to extreme sensitivity after eating nothing but chicken breast salad for a month straight.

Where there’s light, there’s also shadow.

If ToMe Entertainment was in a festive mood, Tomorrow Entertainment was a house of mourning.

Seo Dongyun, who had come in earlier than usual, sensed the strange air right away.

This… this… 100% had to be Lee Hyoeun.

He cautiously asked the team leader,

“Is something going on?”

“Oh, Dongyun Assistant Manager, you’re here? Don’t mind it.”

“How can I not mind it? She’s down here in our team, yelling at the top of her lungs.”

“It’s a sensitive time for her. And… never mind.”

At Seo Dongyun’s question, Team Leader Bang Hyunwoo only shook his head.

This wasn’t the first or second time Lee Hyoeun had thrown a fit.

There was no need to sour the mood of unrelated team members. It was the leader’s job to take that crap.

As Bang Hyunwoo let out a deep sigh, Seo Dongyun asked,

“She said something about manipulation, didn’t she? That’s not true, right?”

“She’s not eating carbs. She’s sensitive, that’s all.”

“No matter how sensitive you are, you can’t go around accusing people without evidence. What if rumors start? How embarrassing would that be…”

In the quiet office, only the voices of Seo Dongyun and Bang Hyunwoo could be heard.

The other employees only rolled their eyes around, tuning in to the conversation.

Listening to the sound leaking from the meeting room, and to the words coming from the team leader’s mouth—

They could use a hundred ears and still not have enough.

“If it were any other song, I might have thought something was off too, but you know. Once you hear it, you can’t help but agree. Fandom, buzz—it all comes down to the song in the end.”

Bang Hyunwoo delivered the reality in a calm tone.

The employees sitting in Tomorrow Entertainment’s office only gave discreet nods.

They had to give credit where it was due.

That was how everyone felt.

Fair competition was what advanced the industry.

No matter how much company loyalty you had, no matter how much you wanted to protect your artist—

Criticizing a dazzling new song that had burst onto the scene was nothing more than smearing your own face.

“Assistant Manager Seo, finish sorting those demos from yesterday. Manager Chun, check the meeting schedule with Busan Goblin and let me know. In thirty minutes…”

Seo Dongyun returned to his seat.

The heavy mood in the office was just beginning to return to normal when—

“…You know we don’t have much time, right?”

Lee Hyoeun swung the meeting room door wide open and added her words as she stepped out.

“Either find that composer, or expose their chart manipulation and humiliate them. Handle it somehow.”

Her way of speaking was rough, rude, impatient, and high-handed, but it wasn’t like they couldn’t understand her feelings.

Lee Hyoeun and Han Yujin—

They had been rivals since their girl group days.

They debuted around the same time, rose to popularity with a similar vibe, and even started solo activities in a similar way.

Until now, it had been Lee Hyoeun’s overwhelming victory.

A rare solo female singer. Among them, the top. She didn’t want to give up that title. Not after finally seizing the throne.

But now, thanks to a rookie composer who had suddenly appeared, she was on the verge of handing over her tiara.

“I’m counting on you, Director. Ah… I’m hungry.”

They thought it would end there for now, but—

“The whole A&R team, into the meeting room.”

“Who?”

“The Production Director.”

“Huh…”

“If we don’t find Writer STaY for Lee Hyoeun right now, she says she won’t practice or do anything, so we should at least come up with a plan. Hoo.”

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end—it was only the beginning.

“…And how are we supposed to do that?”

“Try contacting ToMe. See if there’s a similar stage name on their demos. A writer of this caliber couldn’t have gone unnoticed.”

“I subtly asked an old coworker from there.”

“And?”

“What do you think? Of course they didn’t tell me.”

The uproar wasn’t limited to Tomorrow Entertainment.

The hunt for STaY.

Han Yujin’s album was heralding a massive impact.

No—

It had already begun.

The moment the music was released, the entire industry was in an uproar.

In the middle of the chaos, only KIM Entertainment was quietly watching the situation.

Yoon Seonghan sat across from Kim Minsoo.

Seeing Kim Minsoo chuckling leisurely over brunch while the whole industry was turned upside down made Yoon feel like his insides were boiling.

“CEO.”

“What.”

“You can still eat French toast right now?”

“If you’re not eating it, I’ll have it. Leaving food is a sin.”

“Haa.”

Yoon shot him a half-laughing, half-disbelieving look.

But Kim Minsoo, unfazed, gently blew on his coffee before taking a sip.

“You know there’s a commotion, right?”

“What.”

“Han Yujin.”

“Yeah. The song’s good. Suits her well. Her first album didn’t do that well, so it’s a relief.”

Competition was competition, and acknowledgment was acknowledgment.

Envying or resenting someone’s success wouldn’t change a thing.

They just had to quietly keep doing what they did best in their own way.

That was Kim Minsoo’s approach to the industry.

“Right now, everyone’s going crazy trying to find STaY. Feels like we’re the only ones staying calm.”

“Really?”

This wasn’t calm.

It was indifference.

Yoon Seonghan hid his thoughts and asked,

“Aren’t you curious, CEO? You’re not even telling us to find them.”

“Of course I’m curious.”

“Should I look into it?”

“Leave it.”

Kim Minsoo lifted his cappuccino cup and added, with a sly smile,

“If we do find them, then what?”

“We should ask them for a song.”

“You think they’ll give us one?”

“Well…”

Yoon Seonghan was at a loss for words.

He was right.

It was hard enough to get a song from Busan Goblin.

STaY. STaY.

The very one who had put Han Yujin’s album straight to number one on the charts.

Even if the artist sang well and the company’s planning was strong, in the end, to win the public’s choice, the song itself had to be good.

The more he listened, the more amazed he became.

It kept the sophisticated rhythm and beat, yet still brought out that uniquely K-pop “ppong feel” in the melody.

That was really hard to pull off.

A melody with ppong feel could easily start sounding like trot.

But Writer STaY had maintained the perfect balance between lightness and ppong feel.

Would such a composer want to work with them? Or maybe STaY wasn’t even a rookie—

It could be an established composer, tired of their own mannerisms, rebranding under a new pen name.

Either way—

As Kim Minsoo said, getting a chance to work with them at KIM Entertainment would be as hard as picking a star from the sky.

“Our CEO’s honesty is nice, but sometimes you really take the wind out of people’s sails.”

“There’s a lot to be deflated about. And about Writer STaY… never mind.”

“Why’d you stop mid-sentence?”

“They’re good. I want them.”

“Should I look into it?”

“Were you even listening to me just now?”

Yoon Seonghan pouted.

Even if they were ordered to investigate, there was no guarantee they could find them… but still, giving up so easily felt empty.

He was the heir to a conglomerate, wasn’t he?

In dramas, they’d throw documents and bark, “Find them!” and even locate lovers who had separated thirty years ago.

Sensing his thoughts, Kim Minsoo said soothingly,

“We just need to do our work. It’s up to the composer who they give their songs to. Instead of clinging to them, it’s better to nurture an artist they’ll want to give a song to.”

“That’s true.”

Still… he couldn’t say it out loud.

“By the way, what time is Taeyoon coming later?”

“I told him to come two hours early.”

“Okay. Make sure he gets proper overtime pay.”

“But why’d you suddenly call him in?”

“Feels like it’s been a while since I bought him a meal.”

“There’s no hidden agenda?”

Yoon Seonghan narrowed his eyes.

Since releasing the DJ Blackhole video, their subscriber count had quickly climbed to nearly 200,000.

It was unprecedented.

Club sales? Needless to say.

Every day was a sold-out ticket.

Club Sierra was opening a new chapter in club culture.

Thanks to Taeyoon’s DJing, it had become a place to enjoy ‘real’ music.

Day by day, the music was becoming richer and more refined.

“What do you take me for?”

“CEO, you never just buy a meal for nothing. And… it’s beef today, isn’t it? They say goodwill only extends to pork. But Hanwoo? There’s definitely something going on. Hmm.”

“You’re not coming along.”

“…I must’ve misspoken. What time did you say again?”

There’s a movie called The Truman Show.

In that movie, the whole world knows that the main character’s life is broadcast live 24 hours a day. Everyone except one person—himself.

Today, I wondered—

Could I be the main character of The Truman Show?

“Ah…”

On my way to the bus stop,

I heard Super Ride three whole times.

Once in a phone store.

Once in a cosmetics shop.

Once in a stationery store.

And that wasn’t all.

Even in my regular neighborhood café, my song was playing.

“Oh? This song…”

The usually reserved owner was even singing along. Super Ride, ride, ride.

There was something so strange about seeing an owner old enough to be my mom humming along.

“Oh, you’re here early today. Iced café mocha with extra syrup, right?”

“Yep. But, boss, this song.”

I calmly continued,

“Whose song is it?”

Then the part-timer behind her chimed in.

“It’s Han Yujin’s new song. You didn’t know?”

“Ahaha, I see. It’s really…”

“Refreshing, right? You should definitely listen to Han Yujin’s Super Ride again.”

I knew she was outgoing, but—

She was chatting away so excitedly, as if it were her own song.

No wonder I couldn’t help thinking maybe the whole world was in on some prank against me.

Who cares, anyway.

The sky was clear, the wind was cool, and my steps were light.

I downed my coffee in one go and quickened my pace.

Then I put my AirPods in.

Heading to the club while listening to Han Yujin’s song, pinned right at the top of my playlist.

Maybe it was the music, but the bus seemed to arrive at the meeting place in no time.

“Taeyoon.”

“What’s with the sudden dinner?”

“You like meat, right? You can’t eat sashimi. I’m the same. For good news, meat is the way to go.”

I didn’t know what the good news was, but for me, it was a total win.

Sirloin, tenderloin—

The smell alone was heavenly.

While I was watching the employee’s skilled movements, CEO Kim Minsoo asked,

“What’ve you been listening to lately? No, what were you listening to on your way here today?”

What should I say?

Feeling oddly awkward, I gave a vague answer.

“Just… the usual stuff. A bit of this and that.”

Right then, the meat finished grilling.

The employee evenly portioned it onto our plates.

At times like this, you just eat naturally.

I smiled slightly and picked up a piece of meat—

“I’ve been listening to Han Yujin’s new song lately. It’s good.”

“Oh, really?”

I nodded, hiding the smile tugging at my lips.

“I knew about it, but… I didn’t expect it to be this much.”

“That’s true. Who would’ve thought that genre would suit Han Yujin so well?”

“No, I don’t mean Han Yujin.”

Hm…?

There was a chill in his tone.

I opened my mouth to put in the meat—but froze.

CEO Kim Minsoo’s calm voice came.

“I’ve been enjoying the song.”

I jerked my head up in surprise.

Our eyes met, and he nodded with a pleased smile, as if he knew everything.

I glanced around.

I was certain there had to be a camera somewhere.

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