Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 165



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Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter Episode 165

165. A New Beginning

Whatever it is, the beginning of something new requires the ending of something old.

Let’s look at some simple examples.

Before your baby can wear panties for the first time, he or she must be potty trained.

It is natural to stumble or make mistakes during this unfamiliar process.

And through such repetition, the baby eventually gets used to the panties.

Conversely, if you continue to wear only diapers for fear that your baby might wet his/her pants, you will never be able to transition to pants.

The same thing applies to dating as another example.

If you start a new love without properly resolving your old relationship, you will become a two-timing criminal.

It is something that cannot be done to oneself, as well as to old relationships and new relationships.

So, even if it is a little difficult, you have to properly tie up the knot with your old relationship.

“Thank you for everything.”

Seol Hye-yoon bows and says goodbye to an old acquaintance.

Standing in front of her were her old acquaintances, the staff of Saehyang Cosmetics’ general affairs team.

“Our Seol manager is also resigning… It’s not like the team leader is really harassing you, is it?”

“No, not at all.”

“That’s what I meant, Vice President Kim. How many times does Deputy Director Seol say that the reason for his resignation was ‘personal reasons’?”

“I know. I was just asking. By the way, Manager Seol is a smart person, so he must have made a good decision after coming up with a plan B. He’ll do well wherever he goes. I’ll be rooting for him.”

Deputy Director Kim Ok-soon and the team leader, who cherished Seol Hye-yoon, each give a regretful farewell.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t become closer with you, sir.”

“I hope you will be successful in whatever you do once you go out there.”

Next, the combination of Manager Park and Assistant Manager Oh.

“Sir, do I have to go? If you go, who will I go for a walk after dinner with? Hehe.”

Her walking mate, MZ junior Jo Ah-young, also sheds tears.

Seol Hye-yoon’s eyes also get hot for no reason at Jo Ah-young’s tears.

Although it had only been a short period of time since she had transferred from the Marketing Team to the General Affairs Team, Seol Hye-yoon had become quite attached to them because they were all such good colleagues.

Looking back, it was probably the first company dinner that made her, who had been a cold beauty, gradually open up to her team members.

The karaoke room I was dragged to for the second time.

It seems that her heart opened up little by little after she sang a duet with an unexpected male employee there.

Although the man is no longer in the general affairs team.

And now he was trying to chase after the man who had left the general affairs department.

After saying goodbye to everyone.

He loaded his personal belongings, which he had packed in boxes, into the trunk of his beloved Mini Cooper Chili Red.

Seol Hye-yoon, who got into the driver’s seat, slowly takes off her familiar employee ID card.

Somehow my throat feels empty.

But the time has come to fill that emptiness with new things.

Seol Hye-yoon plays a YouTube video.

This is a video of Sungjun’s recent performance at Lollapalooza 2024 as a headliner.

In front of Sungjun, who was singing under the rainbow, there were so many fans cheering that Seol Hye-yoon couldn’t even imagine.

okay.

Seongjun has already climbed up to that high place.

In order to stand proudly by Seongjun’s side, from now on, I have to run at full speed behind him.

There was no time to be leisurely or lazy.

Because he is not the only one chasing after Seongjun.

There were some strong competitors.

Yuna, his younger sister and a top singer who rose to the top of South Korea at an early age.

And Ye-seon Ha, who recently rose to the ranks of top actresses.

There are also many beautiful idol group singers.

Since they were all ahead of him, it was only natural that a fierce effort would be needed to close the gap.

Seol Hye-yoon, who had gathered her courage, called someone.

After a few beeps, a still somewhat unfamiliar voice greets you.

– Hello, Shine.

“Hello, lyricist Choi Ha-na.”

The lyricist who is considered the best lyricist in Korea is Choi Ha Na.

This is Seol Hye-yoon, who worked on ‘Do You Like the Sea?’ by the girl group Sisters, the best in summer songs.

At the time, he had no other work besides ‘Cherry Blossom Road’ with Sung Jun, so he was surprised to receive an offer to work on a title song for a big idol. Then, he heard that Choi Ha Na had made a recommendation.

After that, while working on ‘Do You Like the Sea?’, I had a meeting with her at Choi Ha Na’s studio with the help of Hyo Ryun, the main vocalist, with whom I had become close.

Thanks to that, ‘Do you like the sea?’ reached number one on the charts, so the purpose of the event was to return the favor with a small gift and also to ask about various things related to the industry.

And at that place, Seol Hye-yoon asked Choi Ha-na one favor.

– Since you called me like this, I guess it must be about that courtesy.

“yes.”

To the last question, Seol Hye-yoon answers with emphasis.

“I want to learn how to write lyrics properly from the beginning.”

In fact, Choi Ha-na initially refused this offer when she first heard it.

From ‘Cherry Blossom Road’ to ‘Do you like the sea?’

And most recently, the title song ‘Bright’ by girl group ‘Breeze’.

Seol Hye-yoon has already released several chart-topping songs.

The lyrics she wrote had a unique personality and lyrical atmosphere that was unique to her.

Therefore, in Choi Ha Na’s view, Seol Hye Yoon is already a somewhat accomplished lyricist.

But even so, Seol Hye-yoon continued to learn.

“As I said, the only lyrics I can write right now are lyrics with similar emotions and genres. I want to write lyrics that fit a wider range of genres and moods.”

Seol Hye-yoon said the same thing when she found her own studio.

He brought an expensive designer bag to Sisters as a thank you for recommending him as a lyricist, but it turned out to be a bribe.

Anyway, Choi Ha Na felt sincerity in Seol Hye Yoon’s appearance of preparing a gift and asking for it.

Absolutely not because I was swayed by luxury bags.

And Choi Ha Na also had a rough idea of ​​where the earnest will that Seol Hye Yoon showed came from.

It’s my feeling as a lyricist and as a woman.

The featuring Avengers battle has been a hot topic in the industry recently.

‘Right after that, you asked me to learn-‘

The devilish man who brought the Avengers together in one place.

It must have something to do with that.

Love is the greatest driving force behind songwriting.

Her love for songwriting also began when she was in middle school, when she would write love letters to a boy she had a crush on.

And now, in Seol Hye-yoon’s appearance, it seemed like he was seeing himself back then.

After much thought, Choi Ha Na opened her mouth.

– To have such a great disciple as Shine… Is this my good fortune?

“That’s what I said.”

Seol Hye-yoon’s eyes widen at Choi Ha-na’s answer.

– Let’s study writing lyrics together. I was also interested in Shine’s ticklish emotions.

“Thank you! I look forward to working with you in the future!”

As Seol Hye-yoon shouts in joy, giggling can be heard from the other end of the phone.

Then Choi Ha Na asked.

– Well, while we’re at it, how about a beer tonight? To commemorate the priesthood? Oh, Mr. Shine, do you like beer? Do you like soju? Or do you like wine? Or do you like makgeolli?

“I’m a beer fan.”

– Hehe, that’s perfect. Rather than the grand expression of a priest, it’s probably just me having a drinking buddy. Then, I’ll see you at the studio later.

“yes!”

Seol Hye-yoon, who hung up the phone with Choi Ha-na, took the wheel.

Her eyes were shining with anticipation of a new beginning.

*

Incheon Airport Terminal 2 at that time.

Click click

Camera flashes continue to fire incessantly beyond the sunglasses Sungjun is wearing.

I went through a lot of hardships, changing flights several times to get in as quietly as possible.

As the news spread, the immigration office was paralyzed by the crowd of reporters and fans who came to see Sungjun.

“Seongjun, please look at the camera!”

“Oppa! I love you!”

The sight of them rushing towards each other, shouting and pushing each other while cheering for Sungjun’s name is reminiscent of a zombie apocalypse in a movie.

As I wave my hand gently and smile at them, the cheering and writhing become more intense.

“Brother, you shouldn’t provoke them at times like this. You should just smile and leave quietly.”

Oh, it seems I went against the rules of conduct in the apocalypse.

Heeding Oh Hae-soo’s words, I barely managed to escape the airport under the tight escort of security guards and boarded the prepared van.

This time again, it was Baek-seok who came out to greet us.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you, Director. I was barely able to get out thanks to the security guards who prepared it.”

When Sungjun first heard about the number of security personnel, he wondered if it was too much.

I even changed my flight several times on purpose because I was worried that not many reporters or fans would come.

However, Baek-seok had anticipated the current situation and deployed bodyguards, and his judgment was correct.

‘As expected, the know-how developed while nurturing top star Yuna is different.’

Or maybe you’re really a ‘never-give-up manager’ user.

While he was imagining something trivial, Baek Seok said.

“I saw it on video. You turned Lollapalooza upside down. Thanks to you, we were very busy.”

Baek-seok then hands over a bundle of printed materials.

“What is this?”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

Seongjun’s eyes widen as he receives a piece of paper from Baekseok, who is smiling faintly.

It is filled with the names of various domestic and international music festivals and their holding dates.

“This is a list of all the offers that came to Seongjun.”

“You said you got a call from all the places listed here?”

‘Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival’ to be held in April next year.

The Glastonbury Festival in England, to be held in May next year.

Unlike this year, next year’s ‘Lolapalooza Festival’ will be held in August.

Including the world’s top three music festivals.

Summer Sonic is a Japanese summer festival held at the same time as Lollapalooza.

In Korea, there are the ‘Woodstock Rock Festival’ and the ‘Pentaport Rock Festival’.

This is just a list of the major festival names.

“The impact of this Lollapalooza was truly spectacular. Everyone was desperate to bring Sungjun along.”

With just one festival headliner performance, I got a flood of offers like this…

I can’t believe it, even though I did it myself.

While I was still speechless, Baek-seok handed me the second and third stacks of printed matter in succession.

This time, it is a document that organizes the love calls sent from various entertainment and advertising industries.

As expected, the scale is global.

While looking through the list, Sungjun’s eyes grow wide.

‘What??’JBS Newsdesk also asked if I wanted to appear?’

It was a corner where we invited popular figures in Korea and conducted interviews.

It is said that only the top class in each industry can appear.

The fact that they were trying to recruit Sungjun for such a corner meant that Sungjun was recognized not only in the music industry but also in the cultural industry of South Korea as a whole.

‘Haha. I can’t believe it.’

It’s been almost a year since I got my hands on Bangsingki.

So much has changed.

‘At first, I just wanted to be a singer.’

I’m still not sure what my ultimate goal is.

I’m just grateful to be able to make music, and for now I’m busy faithfully enjoying that time.

However, there were short-term goals set that I wanted to achieve within this year.

That’s exactly what was in the news a while ago.

‘Solo concert.’

Sungjun has been eagerly waiting for this day to come since his debut.

Originally, we were aiming to hold a concert in October, but we decided to postpone the schedule a bit.

Things changed drastically during Lollapalooza.

Originally, the plan was to hold a concert over the weekend.

The atmosphere going around in the community and elsewhere has become such that two days is not enough.

A complete revision is needed in concert hall rental and schedules, taking into account the number of attendees, etc.

We planned to convene the relevant officials for a meeting next week.

“So, are you going home today?”

“yes.”

But right now, rest is the top priority.

As short as one or two days.

It takes about a week to unpack and get rid of the aftereffects.

‘I need to meet some people for the first time in a while.’

I met my parents and treated them to a meal.

Another day, I’m planning to meet up with some of my band buddies before the concert.

After checking how much they have improved their skills in the practice room, we will decide whether or not to invite them as special guests at the concert.

During that period, I also planned to enjoy ‘Bangsingki Exploration Life’ for the first time in a long while.

‘Should I try turning on the gacha for the first time in a while?’

It seems like the cool time to feel the taste has come back.

It was when Seongjun was sneakily checking the number of coins.

“Oh, by the way, Seongjun.”

Baek-seok broke his thoughts.

“I, that…”

Lips that quiver as they sip wine.

On Baek-seok’s hesitant face was an embarrassed expression that I had never seen before.

“Phew.”

Baek-seok took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“At the last showcase. Among the family members who came, was there perhaps Seongjun’s older sister?”

“yes that’s right.”

“I see. That… actually…”

Baek-seok’s lips opened, and Seong-jun’s eyes, nose, and mouth also opened.

“Yes?! You want to meet Cha Seong-eun?!”