Producer with no Regrets - Chapter 581



Only Noblemtl

Episode 581

The K-pop cover dance contest has ended.

Rosa’s ‘Russian International League’ received a bronze medal. It was a remarkable achievement.

They were delighted, but soon something even more delightful happened.

“Kkaaaaaaaaaah!”

As Jang Ha-yang, Woo Hyo-min, and Yoo Bin came on stage at the same time, thousands of audience members screamed like pterosaurs.

Rosa was one of them.

“Keeeeeeeek!”

The propaganda office was one of them.

I was curious about what kind of performance the three of them could show. Their true identities were soon revealed.

Each of them covers each other’s songs.

First up was Waypercent’s ‘A Day I Want to Get Punked’.

My heart feels like it’s going to burst

Today is a day when I want to get a punk]

The three of them stepped forward together as if they were sliding, and Woo Hyo-min and Jang Ha-yang stepped back from the center.

Yubin, who took the center, showed off her popping skills with a captivating expression. This is her solo dance part.

Waypercent fans who saw it and those who decided to become fans after seeing his face cheered at the same time.

Yubin’s face turned slightly red and she danced more passionately.

[Ask me Ask me

Can you come right now?

The answer is YES!]

Woo Hyo-min’s ‘Love Rescue’ was incredibly lively. Rosa said she was dizzy looking at Jang Ha-yang, who was fluttering cutely.

[This is you, this is you!]

Woo Hyo-min extended the microphone toward the audience.

Then, surprisingly.

“I guess you might not hate it—!”

Hundreds of people responded.

Woo Hyo-min was so shocked that he missed the beat.

But soon they made up for the missed beats with a cuter and more adorable performance.

[Do you hear this cry!

The cheers spread!

Flickering flames!]

Girls’ League’s ‘Ani’ was a real madhouse. As expected, they were the most popular girl group in Russia (Twitter survey).

Plekhanov closed his eyes and listened to the shouts that were erupting here and there.

I heard a lot of things that weren’t Russian.

There were many people from other countries.

Suddenly, I remembered the crucifix that Major Axelrod always carried with him. The battalion commander used to look at it with an unmistakable contempt.

‘Do you think that saved your life?’

He was an atheist, even though he was a soldier during the Soviet era.

Whenever he was asked such a question, Major Axelrod just smiled.

Perhaps, Axellot was not praying to God to save him.

‘Someone else… … .’

Whether they were friends or foes, they might have prayed that they would not die.

Axelrod was human, so he hated his enemies. It would have been difficult for him to feel sympathy for those who killed his comrades.

But he is not God.

God has no human limitations. There are no limits to empathy. That is why Axelrod asked God to have pity on others instead of him.

Since I cannot do it myself, I will leave all the burden to you, the Almighty.

‘Probably so.’

Humans have long pondered ways to expand the limits of empathy.

There is something called Dunbar’s Law. The maximum number of people a human can have in a relationship is about 150. That is the limit of empathy that a human without tools can have.

To overcome this limitation, humans created a tool. A tool to love more than 150 people.

The names of those tools are nationalism, statism, democracy, socialism, cosmopolitanism, anarchism, humanism, and many others.

But no tool has yet been created that can love all of humanity. There have only been tools that seemed capable of doing so, but failed.

The best of the present was nationalism, statism, or religion.

The way to overcome human limitations. The way to get closer to God’s heart seems far away.

‘but…….’

Plekhanov stood before the stage, looking out at the thousands of people cheering.

He thought.

Perhaps, of all the tools created by humans, culture may be the closest thing to the name of God.

As he has already experienced, humans can become close to each other simply because they like the same things.

“fight!”

Jang Ha-yang, who finished her performance, shouted with a broad smile. The people responded in Korean.

“Liberation! Girls! League!”

victory!

* * *

The competition was declared over with fireworks.

Meyer watched the event from beginning to end. The moment the fireworks exploded, she bit her lip.

A sense of accomplishment enveloped my whole body.

‘no.’

It’s not over yet.

This is just the beginning.

‘It’s just a small festival now… … Of course, many more people came than expected.’

It’s a small festival now.

However, it can grow as much as possible through collaboration between the Russian Tourism Board and the Korea Tourism Organization.

The seeds of more Russians becoming interested in modern culture are being planted at this very moment.

I hope that one day it can become a festival that not only K-pop fans but also the general public can enjoy.

‘please.’

Meyer prayed.

‘Even one is fine.’

Among those gathered here, there may be seeds that will shed light on Russian culture.

‘It’s going to be a tough road.’

The child who dreamed here today, Russia may not be a good enough soil to support your dreams.

Because it is not a country that is generous to dreams other than classical music, ballet, and opera.

There will be many trials.

The problem may be money, the eyes of those around you, or the contempt or opposition of your parents or siblings.

I hope you don’t give up though.

A country where success is impossible without a talent that comes once every ten years or connections to the rich, as one scholar put it.

In this stagnant Russia, I sincerely pray that your dreams will bloom.

‘A seed that will sprout from the strong roots of Russia and spread its branches.’

Future star players who will change the culture.

May the seeds of stars be born and bloom at this moment.

‘I sincerely hope so.’

Meyer Axelrod folded his hands.

A crucifix was folded in her hands.

The statue of Jesus hanging on the cross had a gentle smile on his face even in pain.

* * *

Plekhanov expressed his discomfort.

He was carrying a young girl on his back.

He was Rosa’s younger brother.

“You’re awesome, Unnie! You dance like that!”

As the girl shook her body, Plekhanov barely managed to regain his balance, saying, “Uh-huh.” The people following him were also surprised and rushed to him, holding him back from falling.

“Really? Was it cool, Unnie?”

Rosa felt elated.

She walked forward at a brisk pace, twirling the bag she held in one hand.

“I want to be like my sister!”

“Like your sister?”

“I’m going to be an idol too!”

Rosa laughed happily.

“Sister, you’re not an idol?”

“I want to be like you, sister!”

It seems like for this kid, the person dancing on stage is his idol.

Rosa approached her brother and patted him on the back. Plekhanov was carrying the horse, so she couldn’t reach his head.

“Don’t we want to be idols?”

“huh!”

“Anya will become a great idol.”

Anastasia smiled brightly at her sister’s compliment. And she sang the song she heard today in a rough manner.

“Do you hear this shout! Naming Bukutkwa!”

“Huh? Hey, he speaks Korean!”

“The K-pop idol of the future!”

The people sang along with Anastasia in excitement. People stood aside here and there on the side of the road, daunted by the people’s strange march.

* * *

[People, do you see it well?]

Jang Ha-yang on the screen came closer.

The setting was a dorm room.

With the lights out, only orange lights illuminated the surroundings.

[Did I turn it on too suddenly? I did give you a preview, but I’m sorry. I should have uploaded it to the fan cafe and SNS, but I remembered it later. Please hurry up and tell your friends, the people, that I turned on the broadcast.]

Jang Ha-yang kept his mouth shut and stared blankly at the screen.

[Hmm, it seems like all the people have arrived. Uh, but what day is it today? There seem to be fewer people than usual… … . Huh? You turned on the wrong broadcast?]

Jang Ha-yang tilted her head as she continued to look at the screen, wondering if something was wrong. At that moment, her personal phone on her bed spit out a notification.

Jang Ha-yang immediately checked her phone.

[The director… … Ah! He turned it on for membership-only! Is that right, people? The director said it’s a membership-only broadcast… … Oh, I see. The mark colors are different. Just a moment, people.]

The broadcast was cut off, and Zhang Haoyang appeared again in full view. There were far more people than before.

Only then did Jang Ha-yang smile, seemingly relieved.

[I’m sorry, people. Huh? The director also has to join the membership… …? Oh, yes, I think so. Since V Live isn’t our company’s… … Ahaha. That’s strange. The director joined our membership. In a way, it’s like pocket money. Money given to us by the director.]

Jang Ha-yang cleared his throat and straightened his posture.

[Usually I communicate with the people, but today I’m going to tell you my story. It might be a little boring. Oh, is that okay? Because I’m listening while studying? Hahaha, wouldn’t it be better to focus on studying? You can’t study while looking at my face, right?]

[Um, where should I start? Oh, okay. Listen. Um, ahaha. So… … .]

[I think I’ve lived very… selfishly. I guess I should say I’ve lived only for myself. I’ve only recently started thinking about this. I’ve been thinking about it since I saw the people cheering us on from the audience and reminiscing about those moments.]

[The people love us so much. I, yes. I have never had an experience of loving someone as passionately as the people do… …, of cheering for someone purely. Can a person cheer for another person so passionately? When I hear cheers on stage, I think about that.]

[Do I deserve that cheer?]

[Because, I practiced for myself rather than to please anyone else. It was the same when I was a trainee and also after becoming an idol.]

[I was far behind the other members. I still think so. So every day was a battle to overcome myself and a struggle to catch up with the members. I didn’t have the energy to worry about anything else. Yes, selfishly, it was a difficult life just to overcome myself.]

[That’s why my goal was to overcome myself every day. Your support and income as an idol were secondary things. In games, they call it a reward, right? If you pass this stage, there’s a reward. That’s what it felt like.]

[As I climbed the stairs one by one, at some point, the people were cheering me on. As the number of people increased, I felt proud, thinking, ‘I’ve worked this hard.’ That’s probably why I thought it was natural that you all loved me.]

[That’s why I thought, ‘I did this much, so people like me.’ So it’s an exchange. An exchange where my efforts are returned with your love. Um, so, so, I felt like I became something.]

[Huh? What actually happened? Ahaha, well, that’s a happy story, but it’s a little different from what I’m trying to say.]

[What I mean by feeling like something happened is that I was able to love myself. I posted about my family history on SNS a while ago. Those who saw it might have guessed, but I had a hard time loving myself. I couldn’t love myself.]

[I needed permission from others to love myself. The love of the people was that permission. If I receive this much love, then am I not worthy of being loved? So, isn’t it okay for me to love myself too? … … .]

[Yes, now you can love me.]

[But something happened to me recently, and it had nothing to do with idols. It was a conflict in interpersonal relationships. I don’t know if you could call it a conflict at work.]

[That’s because I experienced conflict in things unrelated to idols, I really was nothing.]

[Huh? Company bullying…? No, no! Isn’t that how it is with everyone you meet? No, not people, but friends. Friends fight and stuff too. That’s what it was. It’s all resolved now, but looking back, it was just a misunderstanding and it was embarrassing… … ]

[Anyway, I’m really nothing. It wasn’t the kind of ordeal where I got something in return for the effort I put in, like being an idol. Even though I stand on a famous fashion show, on a big stage, and many people love me, I’m just a person named Jang Ha-yang.]

[It was a realization. I was just a nobody on my own.]

[The people are what makes me special. I, a nobody, have been able to walk with my head held high until now… … thanks to the excessive love the people have given me.]

[A long time ago, a person sent me a DM with his worries. He was about to take the college entrance exam. He said he was upset, but I sent him some strange words of support. The college entrance exam is a fight. It’s a fight you can’t lose. Think of it as your last and challenge yourself with all your might… … .]

[Thinking back now, that person must have been miserable. Because of the pressure from those around him, because his grades weren’t what he wanted, he must have been miserable, and he sent me a DM because he wanted comfort. I was the one who yelled at him.]

[If you’re still watching, I want to tell you that I’m sorry. That person must have felt the same way I did in the past. Feeling like he was nothing, needing permission from others to love and affirm himself… ]

[I would tell you something different now.]

[You are a person who deserves to be loved, even if you don’t do anything special. Even if everyone else in the world doesn’t love you, you should love yourself. Because you are worth it. It’s not other people who decide your worth, it’s you.]

[Of course it’s hard. Loving yourself is hard. But that’s what I think. If you have a heart that loves, supports, and likes someone passionately, that heart is the key to loving yourself.]

[The ability to love others will lead to the path of loving yourself. The reason you love me is because you see a piece of yourself in me.]

[There is a saying in Buddhism. When you see someone and feel angry and hateful, it is because you see your own ugliness in that person.]

[In other words, those of you who love me love me because you see your beauty in me.]

[Thank you, people.]

[Thank you for seeing my beauty. Thank you for loving me.]

[Love yourself.]

[Ahaha, that’s such a famous saying? Thanks to the seniors who spoke at the UN.]

[So, what I mean is, how did this come to be? Ahaha, um, sorry. Just a moment.]

[… … .]

[Ahaha, I won’t cry. Yes, I’m sorry. What I want to say is that I am so, so, so grateful to the people. I love you, people. Thank you so much for liking me.]

[I always think that I want to repay you. But when I say something like that, the people always say, ‘Just the existence of Hayang is enough to repay you.’]

[What is that? I am happy, but my existence itself is a reward. So, I have always thought that I want to give back to the people in my own way.]

[Yes, I am preparing that reward.]

[Our producing season 3, the theme is love. Our love for you, our serenade to the people.]

[I love you, people.]

[And, thank you.]

[Thank you for loving me.]

Our producing season 3 begins.