Chapter 75. In a Widening Stage! (2)

Translator: Synopsis

***

“Such nice weather today.”

HeeYoon walked on the grass under the warm sun. By her side was her friend, Park SoYoung, who was holding hands with her. The two were embracing the warmth of spring.

“The weather today is awesome, isn’t it?”

“Yup, yup. It’s so good.”

“On a day like this, you should be outside. You shouldn’t stay home all the time.”

“You’re right.”

Park SoYoung invited HeeYoon, who insisted on staying at home, to her university. She passed her exams to Hallyeo Arts University and was now living in Seoul.

The two became hungry after enjoying the warmth of spring, so they headed to the student cafeteria. Since lunch hours have passed, the cafeteria was relatively empty. After buying some food to eat, they sat down at a table when they found some people giving glances at them.

“I think those guys are staring over here.”

“HeeYoon, don’t look at them. They aren’t good people.”

“Why?”

“They’re the kind of people that want to show off in front of freshmen girls. HyunAh-unni said so.”

Park SoYoung shivered. Like what she said, those group of men were actually approaching a woman they thought was ‘fine’. Though, they were rejected immediately…. Watching them, HeeYoon and Park SoYoung giggled.

“Pfft. I think they did that on purpose to make us laugh.”

“SoYoung. Don’t be so harsh. But you know…. It’s fun.”

“HeeYoon, do you know that you are even scarier?”

The two continued chatting while eating tteokbokki. Since both of them lived in Seoul, the two met quite often. The more they talked, the more they got along. Thanks to that, they had reached a point where they could talk about sensitive topics.

“HeeYoon, aren’t you going to go to university?”

“I do…. But my brother wants me to wait a little more.”

“KangYoon-oppa did? Why?”

“Apparently, he’s preparing something in America. If everything goes well, he said that we would be going to America, so he told me to wait on going to college in Korea. Instead, I am learning music from a private academy. I’m also learning English too.”

“Oh, so you aren’t taking CSAT(College Scholastic Ability Exam, uni entrance exams)?”

“I might if I have to later, but right now, I don’t.”

HeeYoon wasn’t walking on what was considered a ‘normal’ path by the others. From the moment she decided to do music, her path had strayed from the ‘normal’ path. Park SoYoung was the same. Perhaps that contributed to why the two got along so well.

“When are you going to America then?”

“I don’t know yet. But my brother said it won’t take too—— long.”

“Really? Are you going to stay there for long?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t say.”

“Your brother has a lot of secrets. Looks like he needs some scolding.”

“My words exactly.”

The two girls kept chatting on about KangYoon. Though, HeeYoon cut the conversation off once it went too far….

***

After it was decided that JooAh was going to appear on the breakdancing stage, KangYoon hurried to prepare the other things that he had to do for that. If JooAh appeared even for a little bit, it was very likely that her fans would come to the concert as well. Moreover, there were also the fans from the street performances. There was no way the small theater would be able to host them all.

“The large theater?”

The deputy head of the Bucheon Art Center, Lee HyunShik, immediately narrowed his head after looking at the documents.

“Fortunately, there are no reservations for the 16th of May. However, there are two performances that are currently being evaluated. If you wish to apply, you’ll have to give up on the small theater as well. Is that fine with you?”

In one word, it was a gamble. Deputy Head Lee HyunShik said that this wasn’t something he decided alone but with the center owners and other personnel.

“How long does it take to decide?”

“Around 3 days. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this. Thanks to our facilities being relatively good compared to the others, there’s quite a lot of competition.”

“3 days…. Understood. Let’s do it.”

KangYoon didn’t look backward. Although it did scare him a little to think that he would have to give up on the small theater, he definitely needs a larger theater.

“Then I’ll tell you the results via phone call.”

As expected of a civil servant belonging to the city, he was very stiff. KangYoon finished his work and left the Bucheon Art Center.

‘But just in case….’

Just in case, he inquired into a few more theaters before coming back to the studio in Onsu-dong.

“One, two. One, two.”

In the studio, Bang SanHyuk and the other team members were in the middle of practice. They were practicing high-difficulty moves alongside rhythmical music and were sweating bullets. They greeted KangYoon before going back to practice.

After a long period of time, it became time to rest. Bang SanHyuk approached KangYoon, who was looking through the paperwork in the office.

“What happened to the B-girl I talked about with you last time?”

“I got one.”

“Oh, really?”

His expression, which was stiff all the time when he was working with KangYoon, became a little brighter. B-girls were that important.

“What kind of a person is she?”

“It’s uh….”

However, KangYoon had a hard time saying it.

“You didn’t just pick anyone, right?”

“How could I?”

“The song we are doing with the B-girl will be very important. That’s why I left it to you…”

Bang SanHyuk growled at KangYoon every time he saw him. He didn’t like him from the first day the two met. Like always, KangYoon tried to just smooth it over, but it didn’t seem to be that easy. Bang SanHyuk was about to nitpick that problem with him.

That is until he heard that the members outside the office were getting louder.

“What the hell….”

The studio just got loud all of a sudden. It wasn’t from just one or two people. Having missed his time to nitpick with KangYoon, Bang SanHyuk headed to the practice room while grumbling.

“Whoa!”

He went there without thinking much, but he shouted subconsciously after looking at the lady in front of her. No, it wasn’t just him. The rest of the team members were just the same. In the practice room was a lady wearing baggy clothes and a baseball cap, who had entered under Kim DoMin’s lead.

“Hello! I’m Yeon JooAh. I heard a lot from KangYoon-oppa. I came here for the B-girl appearance this time. I may be lacking, but please take care of me.”

“…….”

Even seeing someone for the first time, Bang SanHyuk became dumbfounded for a moment. The rest of the team were already giving glances at JooAh, who wore light makeup.

Bang SanHyuk felt prickled. JooAh was definitely fit for this job. However, what about her costs? Would that fit their budget? His head became very complex. However, the one who had to calculate that all, Kim DoMin, was just all smiles.

“Uuh? Bro, what’s up with you.”

“Shut up and follow me.”

Bang SanHyuk led Kim DoMin to the bathroom. He even locked the door and asked in seriousness.

“Hey, are you crazy? Let’s say that that KangYoon guy wanted more money, but why did you stay still? Are you insane?”

“What?”

Even when Bang SanHyuk said something serious, Kim DoMin didn’t have much of a reaction. Rather, he looked like he had done nothing wrong. That made Bang SanHyuk even angrier.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Hey, you piece of-!”

Bang SanHyuk grabbed Kim DoMin’s collar and pushed him into the wall. He was exploding. Even when he could get angry, Kim DoMin stayed calm.

“Oh that. You don’t need to worry about that. You’re talking about JooAh’s performance fees, right?”

“You think I can’t worry? If everything goes wrong, we may go bankrupt regardless of the concert!”

“Sheesh, don’t be in such a hurry. JooAh isn’t going to get any performance fees.”

“What?”

Bang SanHyuk was dumbfounded. How the hell did that work? He couldn’t understand how such an expensive singer like Yeon JooAh could forgo the performance fees. Kim DoMin put Bang SanHyuk’s arms on his shoulders away, since they had lost their strength.

“The condition is that we teach JooAh breakdancing. It’s like a guest appearance. Team Leader KangYoon even stamped it.”

“Teach breakdancing? To her? So, what do they get?”

“JooAh’s long-term development, as well as ties, or so they said. The company also permitted it.”

“Huh… Are they some charity? What do they see in us to give us so much?”

It was a continuation of dumbfounded-ness. He couldn’t understand why they were willing to go so far – it wasn’t like they profited a lot off this. Of course, it was good; it was the best. Once he factored in JooAh’s fans coming to the concert….

“It looks like Team Leader KangYoon’s influence is great in that company. We’re in the good since we get to profit….”

“What the…. Is he on our side or theirs?”

“I also found it absurd. We should help them big next time. But JooAh… it will be hard to repay that, won’t it?”

“Sheesh… Fine, I get it. I’ll teach her myself, so don’t worry about it. Should I be rejoicing or be sad….”

Although he said that, his attitude had already turned around. Before and after he went into the bathroom, was drastically different.

***

“On this part, like this….”

JooAh learned one difficult breakdancing move after another. She already topped out most people in regard to dancing anyway. She quickly learned what Bang SanHyuk taught her.

“Should I try doing a handstand too?”

“Can you do it?”

“I did it a lot when I was a trainee. Just hold me a little.”

JooAh was instead enthusiastic. She grooved along with the music before she did a handstand with just one hand.

“Good, very good! Wow! You’re the best!”

Bang SanHyuk didn’t hold back on his praises, which he rarely ever said normally. Even though she was a ‘superstar’, she didn’t act boastful, was enthusiastic during practice, and even became a mood maker for the rest of the team. There was no more perfect girl than her. She was quite humble to the point that he almost considered her his own team rather than a superstar.

“As for the swiping, you move your legs like this….”

Bang SanHyuk wasn’t the sort of guy who talked a lot, and acted a lot normally, and was normally on the quiet side, but this time, he was very enthusiastic in teaching JooAh.

‘Captain’s a guy too.’

‘Phew. Someone send him on a marriage.’(E/N: probably means that he should get married)

The team members only sighed while shaking their heads, but the overall atmosphere of the team was very bright. Adding a single woman too this man-cave lightened everything up.

“I still can’t believe that JooAh is here.”

Kim DoMin was still dumbfounded by the fact that JooAh was practicing in the same room as them. However, KangYoon just took it lightly.

“JooAh has some random moments. She can’t control herself once she’s into something.”

“Haha. That’s something I didn’t know. Even though she isn’t getting paid….”

“She’s doing this for fun since it’s her resting period anyway. I judged that it wasn’t a necessity to produce profit no matter what. Instead, you need to show her what world-class really is.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Kim DoMin smiled at KangYoon’s words. With their worries about money gone, he felt a lot better. While he felt the power of a big entertainment company, the thought that KangYoon was very considerate and could be trusted also pervaded him.

The two finished their talk and headed to the practice room. The practice room was currently occupied by JooAh practicing with Bang SanHyuk and the rest of the team.

“Oppa!”

JooAh waved her hand at KangYoon. KangYoon also waved his hand and approached Bang SanHyuk.

“Rest!”

“Yes!”

A rather louder-than-usual shout filled the room and Bang SanHyuk, KangYoon, and Kim DoMin sat down together. JooAh said that there was a need to get closer to the team and learned from them. Everyone wanted to teach her.

“Miss JooAh’s personality is very good.”

Said Bang SanHyuk without thinking much after looking at JooAh who was being the mood maker for the rest of the team. However, Kim DoMin immediately realized what was happening after looking at his eyes.

‘He’s completely fallen for her.’

Kim DoMin only shrugged his shoulders.

KangYoon asked Bang SanHyuk whether JooAh was really fit for this performance. Bang SanHyuk non-committedly said she was alright, but Kim DoMin interjected.

“Bro, be honest. Isn’t she the best?”

“Not really the best….”

“Sheesh, our bro can’t be honest. He must be rea~~lly satisfied right now.”

“You little…..”

It was a bullseye, and Bang SanHyuk grumbled for a little before saying that he was worried about JooAh being surrounded by the team and stood up. He chased away all of them who were trying to show off their skills and took their place. Kim DoMin only giggled while looking at that.

“Lol, oh sorry. Our bro can’t be that honest.”

“It’s fine. This is fun. But how many songs do you need JooAh for?”

“From what I know, just one piece.”

“Just one piece?”

KangYoon turned his gaze to the order of events. That piece was placed nicely in the middle. However, he didn’t seem satisfied and tilted his head.

“Do you not like it?”

“We’re using JooAh, so it’s a little bit of a pity. JooAh’s fans will definitely be there, but if it’s just 5 minutes, I think the fans will be slightly disappointed as well.”

“Should we add another one?”

“Would that be fine with you?”

“I think 10 minutes should be fine. In fact, the others will rejoice as well. However, I need to look into a suitable song. We only have one piece that requires a B-girl.”

“Can I see it with you?”

KangYoon and Kim DoMin went to the office. After that was a war between them and the music and videos. They referred to various dance videos and looked for pieces that JooAh may be good in, but it wasn’t easy to find something so quickly.

The time was now evening.

Some of the team members left the studio for the street performance, and Kim Do Min, JooAh, and Bang SanHyuk entered the office where KangYoon was.

“Oppa, let’s eat. Ehk? You are still watching that?”

She was surprised to see KangYoon still watching videos. She could also see lots of traces of KangYoon’s notes. Even the nitpicky Bang SanHyuk was careful in his speech.

“Why don’t you have your meal first?”

“That’s right, oppa. You should eat first before you work.”

In the end, KangYoon paused the video and headed to a nearby restaurant for their dinner.

Their dinner was. KangYoon literally inhaled the food and started contemplating again. Even Kim DoMin had to say something.

“It’s the Team Leader who can’t stop once you’re into something.”

“He’s the guy I trust the most in the company. Only because he’s like that am I standing here now.”

“Oho, you worked together before?”

“When I first went to Japan, he was at the vanguard.”

Kim DoMin’s eyes widened at JooAh’s words. Bang SanHyuk was the same. JooAh kept speaking while giving out signatures to the fans who approached her.

“I don’t work with just anyone. That’s why I’m rumored to have a shitty personality. But when I work with him, I just leave everything to him without saying much. He does all the contemplating and solves all the problems. I only need to focus on my own work.”

Bang SanHyuk and Kim DoMin also knew the rumors about JooAh. Of course, most of them were straight-up guesses from random websites. However, it was quite interesting to hear about her from the person herself.

“Puppeteering?”

KangYoon kept his patience despite the slow internet speeds and kept looking for one video after the other. This video was about a theatrical play, and it was quite deep – a person was being manipulated with strings by another, and that controller was also being manipulated as well. KangYoon showed this video to the rest.

“Can we make a dance out of this?”

“What?”

Bang SanHyuk didn’t understand him. A dance from a play? Everyone else was the same. KangYoon continued his explanation.

“People are always bound by something. And there’s something that controls them. We’ll show that through a dance. It will be easier to do a razor-sharp precision sync as well. I think we can also show the drastic contrast between light and dark. What do you think?”

“Wait a moment. I think we did that once before.”

After hearing Kim DoMin’s words, KangYoon’s expression became a lot brighter.

“You did?”

“Yes, it’s called ‘Puppeteering’, and we took it to a competition before….”

“Why don’t we try that one?”

With his words, the stage preparation accelerated rapidly.

***