Genius Manager Who Hears Voices - Chapter 79



Only Noblemtl

Episode 79

For a moment, Hee-sung blinks, wondering if he heard something wrong, and is unable to say anything.

Hayden chuckled as if he found Heeseong’s reaction amusing.

“Isn’t this reaction too shocking? Of course it’s a very unconventional suggestion, but with that face, it looks like you’re watching a horror movie. Smile a little, Heeseong. Okay?”

Only then did Heeseong open his mouth and speak.

“I think you already know, but how radical a proposal this is? It seems like it’s on a completely different level from what you first mentioned… … .”

It’s clear that up until just now, he had only been talking about the Asian region of his world tour.

I asked that you accompany me during my one month stay in Korea, even during my personal time outside of work.

Up until that point, it was the domain of thorough managers.

But what we’re talking about now is a problem of a completely different dimension.

Because having the members join her on her world tour schedule can only mean one thing.

“Of course. Karen has never had a guest performer before. I told you earlier, right? Karen is the singer who can hold a three-hour show on her own in front of hundreds of thousands of people. It would be a huge deal to accompany Karen on her tour. That in itself would be a huge symbol.”

“That’s not all,” Ravi added, raising his glass of whiskey.

“If he could stand on all those stages just once, all the worries Hee Sung has now would disappear in an instant. After all, it’s Karen’s world tour. If he were to be exposed to hundreds of millions of cumulative viewers, how much of a promotional effect would that have? Isn’t it? Especially if the group is a K-pop group that is popular worldwide, the effect would be even greater.”

Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps all over my body.

Of course, since he was the manager, he didn’t know what it felt like to stand on that stage, but at least he could tell without even having to look what the results of that stage would be.

As Hayden and Ravi said, it’s something that can have both symbolism and ripple effects in one breath.

Still finding it hard to believe, Heesung looked at Karen, the person involved, and asked.

“Are you really serious, Karen? If what you two are saying is true, this is unprecedented.”

“It’s true. I don’t really like inviting people to my fan meet-ups. They’ve come a long way to see me.”

“But why this time… … .”

“Of course, it’s partly to give back in my own way, but it was also something I had in mind while preparing for this performance. I wanted to provide a more unique and diverse entertainment to the fans who came to see my performance. And that’s when I heard Heeseong’s story.”

“So, is this a decision that was made on the spur of the moment? A decision this big… …?”

Karen raised the corners of her mouth as she looked at Heeseong whose eyes had widened even further.

“Half is improvisation and half is not. Those ideas were already set in stone, so we decided on who would be the main character here. Why is this so surprising? It’s my performance and I’m the planner?”

For a moment, I wanted to know Karen’s age.

I made a promise to myself that I would call her older sister for the rest of my life, no matter how old she was.

I think this is the first time I’ve felt this way since Yoo Joo-yeon.

As expected, the world is wide and there are many wonderful older sisters.

“Of course, it won’t be included in the actual performance. There will be about an hour of opening time before I appear, and I will be assigned some of that. How to decorate the stage is now a task that Heeseong and his friends have to prepare.”

“But since the group hasn’t even debuted yet, I’m worried that Karen might be affected. I think what the fans want is for a famous star to appear.”

“No, not at all. Whether they debuted or not doesn’t matter to them at all. Why do you think people all over the world know everything about Korean idols? What matters to them is that they’re a K-pop group, not whether they debuted or not. So you don’t have to worry about that at all, Heeseong.”

Karen parted her lips again, saying that she would ask of him just one thing.

“Just promise me this one thing. From the first performance to the last, you will cherish every single stage without exception. No matter how long it takes, you will give it your all for that one stage. With real effort and passion.”

That was something so obvious that it didn’t even require it.

Even if they debut in the future and the members reach a certain position, they will probably never stand on a stage like that again until they die.

Karen is a singer who is making unprecedented history and an artist who will be difficult to come by again in the future.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was hard to accept as reality that I would be accompanying her concert from beginning to end, not just for a one-time thing.

But this too was ultimately caused by Heesung’s hands.

I don’t know if it’s a dream or a dream-like thing, but I decided to accept it and not reject it.

Nodding, Heeseong promised Karen.

“I will make sure you are well prepared so you will not be disappointed, Karen. And thank you very much.”

The conversation that day ended with a handshake.

And that night, Heesung called the members in Korea individually.

Zushi opens her eyes and tells him to fly on the fastest plane.

***

“Hyung! Heeseong is hyung!”

The four members arrived in the United States immediately after receiving Heesung’s call.

As soon as the gate opened, I saw Heeseong standing in the front row and ran over to him.

“How did you all get here? I was worried that you might not make it since it was your first time on a long-distance flight.”

“Huh? This isn’t our first time. We’ve all been to America together before, when we did an audition program.”

Heeseong nodded his head, wondering what she meant.

“Audition program? What audition?”

“Ah! We didn’t tell you that day. The original CEO brought us here because of that survival audition program. He saw it and thought it would be a good idea to get the four of us together like this.”

“Four? So you all have experience in survival auditions? But why are you here? If you’re going to America, doesn’t that mean you’re at least in the top ranks?”

Of course, it would have been a program hosted in Korea, and the fact that it was held in the US would have been one of the directing elements to increase the scale of the program at the end.

In Korea, they would have gone with only a small number of people to provide something special for the top members.

Being included in that small group means that all four of them have been recognized for their abilities.

The youngest, Lee Do-geun, answered Hee-sung’s question nonchalantly.

“Because we were eliminated as soon as we got there. There, they were selecting the final 11 people to go on the live broadcast, and the four of us made it to that cutoff line in that order. 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th place. And they were all in the same order of age.”

“… … Really? That’s something too.”

“Even when we were doing that program, we all got along well, and I think the boss noticed that. He said he would definitely let me debut, so I joined without asking any questions. After I joined, I realized that everyone was gathered like this.”

“Hmm, so that’s how it ended up like this. Right?”

“Well… … You can’t see even an inch ahead in life. If there’s one day like this, there’s another day like that. Life is like a blessing and a curse.”

I felt this way from the first time we met, but Lee Do-geun really doesn’t give off the feeling of being the youngest.

From the way he speaks to the way he mixes in idioms and famous quotes, just watching him speak makes him seem like an old man who you would trust even if he were the CEO of an agency rather than a leader.

You’re only twenty years old. Where on earth did you learn such innocence?

“Yeah, well… … Anyway, thank you for your hard work. Let’s go eat first. I’ll go straight to work after eating.”

“Company? What kind of… …? You’re not saying you’re going back to Korea right after you get here, are you?”

“No way. How much is the plane ticket? I paid for it all with my own money. Do you understand?”

“Aren’t you going to claim it from the company later anyway? Submit the receipt.”

This time again, it’s the youngest, Lee Do-geun.

I guess I’ll have to do some background checks on this guy sometime.

What kind of past did he have that made him mature so much faster than others?

Heeseong said as he walked towards the exit.

“Okay. I’ll charge you, but for now, I’m paying. I’ll eat and then go to GEM. You know? You’re part of GEM too.”

“GEM? Is there a GEM enter here?”

The members reacted with surprise, as if they had no idea about the GEM US branch.

Heeseong nodded while loading the members’ carriers into the rental car.

“Yeah. It’s GEM’s American corporation, so they have everything you need. You’ll be practicing there for about two months. You’ll be getting training and preparing for your debut.”

“Preparing for your debut… … ? Why in America… … ?”

“You’re already preparing for our debut? We don’t even have a song or choreography yet.”

“You’re not saying you’re going to debut in two months, are you, hyung? You’re saying you’re just going to practice here for two months and then go back to Korea?”

For a moment, I wondered how I should tell this to the members.

If I were to just tell you about it, it would be so unrealistic that you wouldn’t believe it, but if I were to explain it in a grand way, it would seem like I’m bragging too much.

If you want to explain how such an absurd thing happened, you can’t do it without mentioning what happened before.

Heeseong, who was scratching his head and thinking, told him to get in the car for now.

“Let’s talk about the details over a meal. How about Korean food? Sounds good?”

“Huh? We just got back from Korea? We had bibimbap as our in-flight meal… …?”

“I didn’t eat it. You don’t have to eat it, but I really miss Korean food right now. Stop talking and call me.”

“… … Call told me not to say anything… … .”

“Okay, bro. Let’s go. Right now, it’s not what you eat that matters, it’s what you listen to.”

With kimchi stew in Heeseong’s head and the two words ‘debut’ in the members’ heads, the car started off as if gliding.

Genius Manager Who Hears Voices