Chapter 93. The Appearance of The Formidables, White Moonlight (3)

Translator: Synopsis

JungMinAhFantasia: When is our MinAh coming back from America …. T_T

WhenSeoYuBlossoms: I want to see HanYu… T_T

MyGirlJennie: I wanna hear some savory dialects….

HanJooYeonFlower: Guys, give it up. MG went crazy so Eddios isn’t coming back.

That was the recent chat log in the Eddios official fan café, Aries. The fans chatted about what they wanted. The chat log scrolled down endlessly, and people gave their opinions about the members of Eddios.

WoofLilyBesto: When is our Eddios coming back to Korea? Anyone know? T_T

RisIsRinse: They aren’t coming back until they renew their contracts. AKA, never.

MinAhItsOppa: If it’s the MG of now, then they would happily do that. You all know how Eddios is being treated like by MG.

RisILoveYou: Urgh, you remind us of some bad memories. Even DiaTeen, who are relatively less-known than them, are doing solo concerts. But Eddios never got theirs. They go to events like hell…. And now they’re in America. Just how much pain must they go through?

SeoYouBeMine: Eddios is a sacrifice card…… they’re planning to throw them out after using them as experiments in America.

The fan club was bustling with Eddios’s lifestyle in America. Everyone sighed saying that they lost fans who dearly longed for them to come back, even though they spent one entire year in America without any results.

MarryMeLily: Last year there were 300 thousand members here, but right now there’s less than half of that. It will only keep decreasing. They will be forgotten.

Eddios4ever: No, that can’t be….

The chat log kept going down with worries about Eddios. However, there didn’t seem to be a proper course of action they could take. They could only wait for the members to individually upload news to their social networking accounts and spread those around.

***

‘The funds right now….’

KangYoon was in deep thought about money and the location of the concert venue. Although Yeonnam-dong was less expensive than Hongdae, it couldn’t be considered cheap. It was still in Seoul after all. Moreover, there was the price of equipment as well. Lee HyunJi wasn’t joking when she said that they’d need to spend all the emergency funds as well.

However, this investment was a necessary one. It may be hard in the short term, but in the long term, everything would get better including the public image of the band as well as their financial situation.

“There isn’t a suitable place.”

After a bout with the estate agents, KangYoon just stood up. He investigated private trades and even estate agents, but it was hard to find a good place. A reasonably priced one was too far away from the public, and a good location made the building more expensive. He needed a suitable place.

“Then why don’t we just sell this place and move our company near Hongdae?”

KangYoon shook his head at Lee HyunJi’s question.

“We just need a concert venue. We don’t need such a large building yet. If we want to maintain such a building, we’ll be making losses.”

“That’s true. Haa… this is hard.”

Lee HyunJi sighed as well. Whether it was for a home or a company, buying a house was a tough thing.

In the end, KangYoon closed the internet window. Although he even looked through some auctions, he couldn’t find a suitably priced building. He thought that he should delay this for a later date and started doing something else.

At that time, Lee HyunJi spoke to KangYoon.

“Don’t we need another singer?”

“A singer? Well, just White Moonlight is insufficient. I was thinking about it, but I don’t know if we have the luxury to raise another one.”

“How about an immediate fighting power?”

“I’m not sure if we can afford one like that.”

(T/N: Author is referring to ‘singer’ both as an individual singer (like Jay Han), and group idols (like Eddios))

KangYoon agreed to what Lee HyunJi said, but at the same time, he was worried. To do that, he would have to look for one in the contract renewal season, but it was obvious that singers would want better conditions and treatment than where they were before. Right now, when they had a lot of things to invest into, including the concert venue, KangYoon was skeptical about getting a new singer.

“Shouldn’t we be able to find one, president? I believe in you.”

“…….”

KangYoon ended up shrugging his shoulders at Lee HyunJi’s joking words.

After he finished a piece of work, KangYoon headed to the practice studio for White Moonlight. When he opened the door, Lee HyunAh was singing in a more refreshing-feeling voice than before. However, KangYoon still wasn’t satisfied.

‘The grey is still there.’

Although it was much fainter than before, there was still a tinge of grey in the light. Lee HyunAh’s note had turned from red to blue.

‘Her notes aren’t stable. Is it because she’s not used to it yet?’

Compared to the relatively stable and consistent notes from the instruments, Lee HyunAh’s notes weren’t that consistent. Although the song had become more natural and refreshing, there were still some ways to go.

After the song was over, the members of the band waved their hands towards KangYoon. Lee HyunAh immediately asked KangYoon about the song.

“I want it to feel more… refreshing. I think the vocals are still a bit stuffy.”

“Is it….”

Lee HyunAh became dejected. It was quite sad to hear KangYoon saying that outright.

“But it’s much better than before. Let’s practice it a little more.”

“Yes.”

The song resumed again. Lee HyunAh started humming along with the instruments.

“Aaaah— aaaaah——”

KangYoon focused his eyes. But then, he started seeing something else. Originally, there was a tinge of grey in the white, but the grey thinned out and he could see silver. The humming added strength to that silver and the silver became thicker.

However, after the humming was over, the silver disappeared, and when Lee HyunAh started singing, the white light had the original tinge of grey.

“Wait.”

KangYoon raised his hand to halt their practice. Everyone stopped in confusion.

“What is it?”

“Can you do the humming again with the instruments?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lee HyunAh understood and signaled with her hand. Along with the drum beats, they started playing again.

“Aaah— aaaah—–”

“!!!!!!”

He wasn’t wrong. This clear, refreshing feeling, it was definitely silver. The silver among the white light enlarged until the humming ended and disappeared when Lee HyunAh began singing.

‘This is it, this was the focal point.’

KangYoon halted the song.

“Did we do something wrong?”

“You know this part where the first verse comes in after the introduction. Why don’t we try changing it a little?”

“How?”

Lee HyunAh brought the score right away. KangYoon increased the humming by around 2 seconds and added a crescendo so that the sound would be louder. On top of that, he added more drum sounds and even added more bass line. He even switched the synthesizer strings to sound grander.

“Isn’t this too big for the intro? That’s a lot of power.”

“It’s a rock song. You will have to exert more power in the first verse as well.”

Lee HyunAh said okay and gave everyone the changed score. Then, they started playing again.

“Aaah— aaaah—–”

With the crescendo, the sound became more grand and hefty. Along with that, the silver part of the light started increasing until it reached around 1/3 of the total. Now he was able to see the silver at a glance. The low drums and the bass made the music very loud just as though the climax part would. And then the sounds faded out.

“Today – just like yesterday – I walk the same streets –”

However, the light fading was less than before. Lee HyunAh’s voice was much louder than before as well. The silver light that had disappeared also remained behind this time and added to the beauty.

‘This is it!’

KangYoon gripped his fists. Although it was a bit of a pity that the silver light didn’t extend to all the light, but this kind of refreshing feeling gave him satisfaction.

When the song reached its climax, the silver was around 1/2 of the light. This was thanks to Lee HyunAh’s voice. Thanks to the silver light, KangYoon had a smile on his face all the time.

After the song finished, Lee HyunAh asked KangYoon who was smiling.

“Oppa, why are you laughing like that?”

“Oh, it’s just that the song is good.”

“Pfft, really? Is this good enough?”

“Yeah, it was the best.”

“Yay!”

Everyone in White Moonlight cheered. Their hard discussions and arrangements had finally come to an end.

“Well, then. Let’s go record.”

“R… right now?”

Lee HyunAh asked in an exhausted voice. She thought that rest was finally here, but KangYoon was so Spartan….

KangYoon only laughed while looking at their expressions.

***

In Hongdae, there are 7 places, clubs, that are called the holy places of indie concerts. Derrace, Greenlight, Livestart, Sweetpins, Spothall. Hongdae Box, and Spareman. These 7 places had held concerts ever since indie bands was a thing.

Greenlight was the place that opened the earliest. And today, White Moonlight was here.

“This is the most expensive one out of all the clubs. Man, the president is quite generous.”

After finishing a round of rehearsal, Kim JinDae was tapping on the drum pads in one corner of the waiting room. He was getting warmed up. Beside him was Lee ChaHee with a 5-string bass doing chromatic exercise.

“I think he spends when he has to. I was worried that they might be stingy with spending.”

“Me too. Isn’t the company going to go down at this rate?”

“Looking at the director or the president, I don’t think so. Both work so well.”

Lee ChaHee shook her head at Kim JinDae’s question. The two were conversing while exercising their hands.

“Aah—aaaaaah—aaaaaaaah—”

Lee HyunAh was warming up her voice in front of them. From low to high, then back low again. She was loosening the tension in her neck. Jung ChanGyu was also doing chromatics by her side.

At that moment, a group of people came through the door. It was a lady around the same height as Lee HyunAh, as well as a group of men. The woman spoke in delight after looking at Lee HyunAh.

“HyunAh!”

“HyoJi-unni?”

The lady hopped around in delight while grabbing Lee HyunAh’s hand. Lee HyunAh also greeted her with a smile. However, the members of the band behind her didn’t seem to like her that much.

‘Hey, it’s Jang HyoJi, that fiery fox.’

‘It’s that bitch again?’

Kim JinDae and Lee ChaHee shook their heads while looking at the woman called Jang HyoJi. They frowned as though they didn’t like her at all.

‘I heard she went to Yerang after disbanding her band.’

‘That’s a famous story. I heard that she didn’t bat an eyelid.’

‘That’s amazing in a way. How can she do that with a face like that?’

‘JinDae-oppa, get yourself together. Sheesh, men.’

Lee ChaHee poked Kim JinDae’s side. Kim JinDae twitched.

‘Why? She’s indeed pretty. She’s one of the goddesses of Hongdae.’

‘What goddess. HyunAh is much better than her.’

Lee ChaHee didn’t take her eyes off her bass guitar. After doing chromatics, she started relieving her stress with slapping techniques. The sound of her thumb striking the guitar neck was very loud, but she didn’t care at all.

“Unni, you had a concert today?”

“Yeah, today’s the last day here. Although it’s unfortunate, the company wants me to focus on TV programmes. What can I do? I can’t help it.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks. But I’m happy to do a last concert with you. HyunAh, I do wish to see you more often, after all. Oh, it will be hard, won’t it? We wouldn’t be able to see each other on TV programmes.”

“…….”

It was an indirect disdain. A.

“No way. We aren’t that small, you know?”

“Really? That’s good. I was worried you know? I thought that you sacrificed too much for the band members and went to a small company. I have a lot of deposit from the contract this time. Let’s eat together sometimes.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Lee HyunAh said that without a hint of her true feelings. However, Jang HyoJi seemingly didn’t realize and continued to speak.

“Call me anytime.”

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Quite proud, are you? I’m off then. See you later.”

Jang HyoJi gave Lee HyunAh a hug while smiling before leaving.

“Ah, dammit. Does she even care about her own former members? I should just crush her face….”

Lee ChaHee seemed frustrated and stood up after putting the bass down. At this rate, it appears she would follow suit and give her a beating. Kim JinDae was shocked and held her back.

“Stop it. You’ll get wrinkles.”

“I don’t have any.”

“I’m just saying you’ll get some.”

The two started quarreling again.

Meanwhile, Lee HyunAh was sighing in secret. She just found out that the person Yerang chose to replace her was Jang HyoJi. She was a long-time rival of hers. They debuted at Hongdae at similar times, and their popularity and even the band was like her own. But they parted ways and crossed parts here. Jang HyoJi chose to go by herself, while she chose the band.

‘I… did a good thing, right?’

She didn’t hesitate when she was deciding it. However, when she saw Jang HyoJi, her heart shook. Not knowing what she was thinking, the members of the band were all talking bad about her.

At that moment, KangYoon entered through the door.

“Are you guys ready?”

“Yes.”

The members of the band replied with intense vitality. Lee HyunAh also came to herself and replied. KangYoon was satisfied to hear that and spoke.

“Good, you know that you guys are the last, right?”

“Huh? Are we? Weren’t we going 4th?”

When Kim JinDae asked back, KangYoon shook his head and replied to him.

“I heard you guys were the top dogs in indie bands. I can’t let you guys drop out of that place. I used some of my power and influence.”

“Oooh.”

Everyone exclaimed at KangYoon’s skills. KangYoon continued to speak.

“Jang HyoJi? They were quite noisy, but I said that we brought a new song. When I asked which group they had more expectations for the staff here sided with us. Jang HyoJi’s up first, while we’re last. That’s how we negotiated.”

“Wasn’t Jang HyoJi persistent about it? She loves last place.”

When Lee HyunAh asked, KangYoon said while remembering what happened.

“Don’t even start. She talked about how she’s from Yerang and that this won’t do, and sheesh… like what she said, a guy from Yerang came to me and we had a fight. As you see, we won. I heard that she went to Yerang by herself. They should be managing her image when she had taken the risk to abandon her team. I mentioned that and this together, and the guy from Yerang became quiet.”

“Pfft.”

Lee HyunAh’s expression became brighter. The other members were giggling as well. In the end, the reason Jang HyoJi visited them was because of KangYoon. She only came to them to vent her frustration.

“I knew it….”

“Knew what?”

“O…. oresident is the best. The best!”

“What the hell is an oresident. Some kind of oreo?” (T/N: Oppa + president)

Seeing KangYoon do so much for them, Lee HyunAh decide that she would never regret going to World Entertainment ever again.

‘It was the best choice I’ve ever made.’

Her hesitation was relieved, and she delightfully prepared to go to the stage.