Chapter 86. The Princess of World (1)

Translator: Synopsis

“Please, sit comfortably.”

KangYoon offered a seat to Kim JiMin on one of the benches. When she sat, KangYoon bought a canned coffee from a vending machine and held it out to her.

“Thank you.”

Kim JiMin expressed her thanks to KangYoon receiving the hot coffee. Although it was spring, warmth was still precious as the winds were still cold outside. KangYoon spoke of his mind while warming his hands up with the coffee.

“I found it slightly disappointing that I couldn’t listen to your song for long enough.”

“What?”

Kim JiMin suddenly panicked due to the unexpected words.

“You didn’t even see my results and just left.”

“That’s….”

Regardless of KangYoon’s results, there was no next time. If she stayed here any longer then it would just become a more painful injury. So, she didn’t want to stay there. But this guy, he was quite strange.

“I thought differently to the two people.”

“…I failed anyway. There’s no use in staying here any longer.”

Kim JiMin was feeling down. She had gone to several auditions. However, the taste of failure was just as bitter as the first time.

“You may have failed the audition, but it might be an opportunity for me.”

“What?”

KangYoon took out a small card and handed it to Kim JiMin.

It was a business card.

“World… Entertainment, Lee KangYoon? You were a CEO?”

“If you have any thoughts, then come for an audition later. There’s my contact number as well as the address, so you can just use those.”

KangYoon stood up right away. He had to go inside for the filming.

“W, wait!”

Kim JiMin grabbed him.

“What is it?”

“This, uh… so….”

Kim JiMin was confused. She felt as though she received salvation from the depths of the abyss. It was hard to express her feelings of having been chosen after being abandoned for so long. Although she saw this person for the first time today, the fact that he was an audition judge added credibility to his words.

“You should have school too, so come around this Saturday. 2 pm should be good. As for the song, come with anything you’re comfortable with. It’s fine if you make mistakes like today, so relax and don’t get too nervous about it. You’ll be showing me a lot of things then.”

“Yes! I’ll definitely be there!”

Kim JiMin shouted with hope as KangYoon turned around. This was the first person that acknowledged her.

“Oops, I’m late.”

KangYoon left Kim JiMin and headed to the studio.

“World Entertainment? Well, whether it’s big or small…. I’m okay with it!”

She gripped her fists. She resolved to herself that she would definitely pass this time.

***

T&T were on a roll with their title song, ‘Good Feelings’, by the day.

Ranked 7th on one website was just the beginning. Various other music websites also ranked them as 6th and 8th. On top of that, they became more popular with various events. They became a hot potato on social networks as well. As people started talking about them, articles about them started rising, and eventually, they were called by a TV station.

“…Where are we going again?”

“Shooting, duh.”

“…You think I don’t know? I’m just emotional.”

Lee Min stiffly replied to Joo JungHyun’s words. The two quarreled for quite a while.

During their 2 years of activity, never have they appeared on a weekend 7 pm programme, and with all 5 of them together, and now, they did. In the flood of girl group idols, it was an amazing feat to appear on a weekend evening program. Especially for groups like them who were usually bottom-of-the-rung.

“*Sob*….”

“HyoRin-unni’s crying again.”

Jin SeAh teased the emotional Kim HyoRin. Then, she denied it and the two started quarreling as well.

With the song turning out good, everyone was happy. Although they were busy, their hearts were filled with joy.

“But the President’s expression wasn’t that good….”

Kim SeSol muttered as though she remembered something.”

“Apparently, he used too much money on the song. That’s why he doesn’t look good nowadays.”

“Oh, really? But isn’t becoming popular a good thing?”

Kim SeSol was still confused with Joo JungHyun’s reply. Then, Kim HyoRin wiped her face and answered.

“I heard from the secretary-unni, and apparently, they had to pay a lot of money this time. The president even had to use his emergency funds.”

“Even the emergency funds?”

“Yeah, apparently, it was something about the contract. I don’t know the details either. Well, we just need to run a lot of events and earn a lot of money, don’t we?”

“Yup yup.”

Everyone replied in unison to Kim HyoRin’s words.

Their president had long since lost their trust, so whatever happened to him was out of their interest.

***

“An audition?”

Lee HyunJi doubted her ears. During the past few days, she was rarely at the office because of business matters, and now that she came, she heard a surprising news from KangYoon.

“There will be an applicant in the afternoon. Come observe with me.”

“Okay, if it’s someone who caught your eye, then I’m curious.”

Lee HyunJi became interested. She already knew that KangYoon had good eyes for people as well as songs. However, while he was at MG, he only had to face a select few that were already selected through an audition. She was interested to see what kind of gem KangYoon had found from seeing all the people and not a select few, filtered set of people.

After eating with Lee HyunJi, it was 1 pm. KangYoon brushed his teeth and headed to the basement floor for the audition. There was a small studio in the basement floor. He turned on the lights and turned on the power.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have bought them used.”

Grumbled KangYoon as he saw the mixers and speakers. Although he wanted good equipment, the funds were insufficient, so he bought them second-hand. Thanks to that, he was able to get cheap and good quality equipment, but the feeling of disappointment remained inside him.

Normally, auditions are supposed to be done without any gear, but KangYoon was planning to do various tests today. For this, he had to prepare various instruments and set up the mic as well.

When he was just about done, the doors to the studio opened.

“Director, what is it- “

“LEE KANGYOON!!”

However, ‘something’ charged towards him. And then a heavy pain struck KangYoon’s body.

“Urgh!”

It was a strong body slam. With a shout, KangYoon was about to fall over, but he barely held on.

“What the!? Huh? HyunAh?”

“…Dammit, I thought you were just tall and had no power, but you are quite strong. I was planning to knock you over. And anyway, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Long hair that reached her shoulders, cute appearance as well as a tall stature. It was Lee HyunAh. Behind her were Lee HyunJi and the band that she belonged to, ‘The Formidables’.

“What is this?”

“Revenge.”

“Huh?”

KangYoon was confused. Never did he imagine that he would get body-slammed like this.

“…Well, I’ll let you go for now.”

“……”

Lee HyunAh spoke curtly and put her hand out.

“Hello, oppa. It’s been a while.”

“Y… yeah. But you… are quite weighty.”

“Are you picking a fight?”

Although he was ambushed, KangYoon didn’t lose out at all in words.

After a joyful reunion, everyone sat down around the sofa in the studio. They talked about what happened recently. When they were talking, Jung HyeJin entered through the door. Behind her was Kim JiMin who was still wearing a school uniform.

“Welcome.”

“Hello?”

Kim JiMin gasped at the studio as well as the people inside it. KangYoon offered her a seat as she was looking around.

KangYoon told Lee HyunAh that they should talk later and turned around to Kim JiMin.

“Have you prepared?”

“I did as much as possible.”

“Really? Then should we see?”

When Kim JiMin was about to take out her guitar, KangYoon gestured her not to.

“Let’s try singing first. We have a lot to try out today. Don’t be in a rush and just calm down; Okay?”

“Yes.”

In the previous auditions she had been to, she was allocated 3 minutes to 5 minutes at best. However, this person was a little different. Even while being confused, she exercised her voice and got ready to sing.

Then she closed her eyes and started making a half-whisper sound.

“– cause you – hold me— “

Kim JiMin’s voice was very clear when it was small and had a slight whisper-like effect on it when it was loud. And that had a charm to it. Moreover, she had a good vocal power. A pure voice, that did not go through any sort of tampering started to fill the studio.

‘This is it.’

The yellow note that came out of her was very distinct. White light was obvious. After listening to around a minute, KangYoon told her to stop.

“Stop.”

When Kim JiMin stopped, her eyes were filled with worry. KangYoon wordlessly pointed towards the guitar. Then, she took out the guitar. When she was about to sing, KangYoon spoke again.

“Can you sing the same song?”

“Sorry? Oh, okay.”

She didn’t know the reason for it, but she still proceeded to play the guitar. When she played the guitar, the blue notes from the guitar and the yellow notes from the voice inter-mixed and started making white light. However, the light was weaker than before.

‘Looks like her guitar skills need some working.’

When she did the two together, she lost focus on one thing. The blue notes were fainter than the yellow ones. In KangYoon’s eyes, the effects of the guitar did not compliment the voice.

KangYoon made her stop after the first verse again.

“This time, let’s do it in there.”

KangYoon pointed towards the studio booth. Then, Kim JiMin headed inside with nervousness.

‘Wow, KangYoon-oppa is being meticulous.’

Whispered Lee HyunAh from the back. Lee HyunJi added in.

‘She’s the first trainee candidate, so yeah.’

‘The first? Oh….’

Hearing those words, Lee HyunAh started observing carefully again.

KangYoon had no idea what was happening back there, so he turned on the mixer and set the microphone to the standard settings and told Kim JiMin to connect the guitar to the line input. The line input was connected, and her voice started ringing out the studio along with the guitar.

“Can you try the same song again?”

After they were ready, Kim JiMin started singing on KangYoon’s signal. The speakers started producing musical notes as well as white light. However, the light was stronger than last time.

‘The sound quality becomes better through the microphone. Now, that’s something innate.’

KangYoon was ensured. His eyes weren’t wrong.

Kim JiMin thought that they would end on the first verse as well this time, but KangYoon gestured her to continue. Then, she sang all the way to the end and exited the booth after leaving the guitar to the side.

“Well done.”

“Fuah.”

This was the first time she sang inside a booth. Although it was nerve-wracking, it was also fun. Seeing Kim JiMin’s lively expression, KangYoon also smiled.

“Well, then. Welcome to World Entertainment.”

“Yes, President.”

“Pfft, just call me sir.”

“Okay.”

No more words were necessary. KangYoon noticed Kim JiMin’s talents, and Kim JiMin grabbed KangYoon’s hands.

Like that, she became the first trainee of World Entertainment.

***

Kim JiMin greeted with Lee HyunJi as well as the families of World Entertainment. KangYoon told them to treat her well as she would be the new addition to the family. Lee HyunJi said that that was natural as she approached her, and Jung HyeJin told KangYoon to relax as she would treat her well, saying that Kim JiMin looked cute in her uniform.

‘Did I just give fish to a cat?’

KangYoon sweated cold sweat at their dangerous(?) words.

“Miss JiMin. Then should we go somewhere else?”

Lee HyunJi headed to the office with Kim JiMin to talk about the contract. Left inside the studio were KangYoon, Lee HyunAh as well as the rest of the band.

“She sings quite well.”

“This is just the start. She’s a source stone that needs polishing.”

KangYoon shook his head at Lee HyunAh’s words. In his view, this was just the start. He was planning to polish her well before her debut.

KangYoon cleaned up the studio, he turned off the power and cleaned up the cables. Lee HyunAh approached him as he did so. She was now about to speak to him about the real reason why she was here. KangYoon stretched out his back while cleaning the cables.

“Oppa, can you accept us too?”

“The entire band?”

“…Yes.”

Seeing Lee HyunAh carefully speaking about it, KangYoon quietly put down the cables. He did foresee this from the moment she stayed here during the audition. KangYoon felt that the talk was going to be long and asked all of them to sit down.

“I’ve heard that you were contacted by Yerang last time.”

“I’ve refused that for sure. I don’t want to be separated from my team.”

Lee HyunAh’s opinion was firm. The rest of the team seemed to feel sorry, as they had complicated expressions. KangYoon looked around at everyone and spoke calmly.

“Is there a reason you want to come here?”

“There’s that we’re close to you, oppa… but it’s more so to do with the fact that you were famous at MG, I guess.”

“I’m famous?”

“You’re the planner for Eddios, aren’t you?”

Lee HyunAh had found out about that as well. While KangYoon was shrugging his shoulders, she went into the topic.

“Oppa, please accept us.”

Not only her, KangYoon could feel desperation from all the members. However, KangYoon couldn’t nod his head so easily. It was very hard to succeed as a band in Korea. He couldn’t just accept them just because he knew them.

“Do you know why bands are hard to succeed?”

“No.”

There was no way Lee HyunAh would know details like that. KangYoon calmly explained.

“These days, the major source of income for singers is not from selling songs. It’s events. For example, let’s say you earn 10 million won (10,000 USD) every time you go to an event, and there’s another singer for the same price. To call you, however, the event manager would have to take care of instrument loans as well as the price to all you. Wouldn’t it be much better to call the other option instead?”

“……”

“If this was overseas, then it might work. However, we live in Korea, and in Korea, we need a strategy that fits Korea. There’s a reason why Yerang wanted to scout you alone.”

Lee HyunAh had nothing to say. Being told the logical reason made her run out of any reasons. He was right, but she was still very sad to hear that from him since this was their first meeting in 3 years.

‘Though it might be difficult, if they do succeed, it would be a huge jackpot…’

KangYoon fell into thought as he looked at Lee HyunAh.