IJLMT 59

Chapter 59

“Fury” is a song Lee Hyung-yeop wrote during his youth when he couldn’t take the stage due to a dispute with an agency controlled by gangsters. It’s about the anger and frustration of being in a powerless situation against unreasonable oppression…

How could Yuju, at 25 this year, possibly understand that feeling? On the stage of ‘Singer of Singers,’ it’s impossible to compete solely with technique without understanding the core of the song. So, at first, she was at a loss…

‘Now I understand. I understand it intimately.’

Standing on the final stage, Yuju thought to herself. Then she opened her mouth.

• All I had was a single small pebble.

What expressions were the audience wearing as they watched this stage? Right now, Yuju was only looking at her own heart.

Imagine someone asking in an elementary school classroom, ‘What does it take to become a singer?’ How would the teacher answer? Probably like this: ‘You have to be really good at singing.’

That’s a lie, to a large extent.

To become a singer, you have to catch the eye of the powers-that-be in the entertainment industry. Those who are at the center of this industry’s flow of money. You have to please them by only doing what they want. Isn’t that how the world is? It’s the same everywhere. The mood of those in power is more important than the results of someone’s years of blood, sweat, and tears.

‘Even after coming this far, it’s the same.’

It’s the same even after receiving a Platinum Disk award and topping the music charts. The feelings of those who invest money in the ‘Singer of Singers’ program are more important than Yuju’s skills or the effort she puts into her performances. Is that natural? No, if that’s the case, they shouldn’t have called it a competition of skill.

In the past, Yuju failed auditions at agencies five times. When reporters would ask, ‘How could they have missed your talent?’ Yuju would answer, ‘I lacked skill back then.’ But what she really wanted to say was:

‘Are you really asking because you don’t know? With all the corruption in Korea’s university entrance exams and corporate hiring that everyone knows about, what do you think goes on in entertainment auditions that people don’t even understand?’

She felt anger when people criticized Hyunjae. She felt anger when she saw the rigged voting box. She tried to go on stage angry, but Hyunjae stopped her. ‘Is that your real emotion?’

People sometimes misunderstand. They think they feel only one emotion at a time. But humans are much smarter than you think, capable of feeling dozens of emotions simultaneously.

What lies on the other side of anger?

There is helplessness.

‘I’m powerless. The only thing I can do is sing.’

She wished she had more powerful influence. She wished she had an immense background. Someone so great, even greater than the president, who could scold everyone, ‘Hyunjae oppa is right, isn’t he? Why are you all cursing him without reason? I won’t let you get away with this!’

Yuju is a successful singer. People recognize her when she walks down the street, she earns a lot of money, and she has many fans. But she lacks the power to become a shield when someone precious to her is attacked.

‘I hate feeling powerless. I… won’t just take this lying down.’

Yuju’s hand holding the microphone trembled.

• Even if I don’t have a single crack in an iron plate, I will throw my pebble again.

Hyung-yeop listened to Yuju’s song and thought back to those days.

• What else can you do? It’s not your fault.

A wife with swollen hands, skinny children, and himself, doing nothing.

When he wrote ‘Fury,’ he wasn’t filled with anger. He was depressed and helpless, unable to bear it. He hated himself more than the people who drove him to that state.

‘Why am I so utterly powerless?’

‘Fury’ was a song expressing that feeling.

He wondered if Lim Yuju, who reached the top of the singer world at the age of 25, could know that. Had she ever experienced such helplessness? He thought someone who succeeded so young would be trapped in a sense of omnipotence and arrogance. But…

‘That… can only be sung by someone who knows it perfectly.’

What kind of conversations does Yoo Hyunjae have with Lim Yuju? What effect do those conversations have on her thoughts and heart, that a mere 25-year-old can perceive the helplessness buried deep within the heart of a middle-aged singer?

‘Singer of Singers’ is a program that gathers legendary veteran singers for a battle royale. But looking at it now, it’s embarrassing to even say it. Legendary veteran singers? Who are these legendary singers? Those who can’t accept the audience’s results and stubbornly insist they’re better? Who calls them legendary?

In Hyung-yeop’s eyes, among the cast members here, there was only one person worthy of being called a legendary veteran singer.

The numbers on the display board started to rise. 10, 20, 30…

Then it stopped.

[ Lim Yuju 40 : Lee Hyung-yeop 40 ]

At that moment, the entire audience and staff held their breath.

I swallowed hard too. I knew about this stage, that Yuju would win. It was a fact you could know without even seeing the future. Because Yuju performed better. Because while listening, my heart moved along with it.

Even Hyung-yeop seemed to accept defeat immediately. Even before the numbers rose, he wore a smile that seemed resigned.

But when the numbers on the display stopped at 40, Hyung-yeop couldn’t maintain his calm expression.

“That… that is…”

I didn’t expect it to be to this extent either.

‘How were you planning to hide this, you KBC bastards?’

The display board is set to stop once when the vote count results in a tie. There are 500 audience judges. Each has one vote, so the total number of votes is 500. But the fact it stopped at 40:40 now means…

• “A sh… shocking result. And the winner is…”

The host’s voice trembled. Everyone present could guess the outcome.

The number on Hyung-yeop’s side didn’t move. The number on Lim Yuju’s side began to rise. 100, 200, 300…

• “4… 460 to 40! Victory for Lim Yuju! An overwhelming margin…! The final survivor of ‘Singer of Singers Season 2’ is Lim Yuju!”

The result intended by the broadcasting station was Hyung-yeop 270 : Yuju 230. The actual result was Hyung-yeop 40 : Yuju 460.

• “Ms. Lim Yuju, please come forward!”

Yuju came back onto the stage. It was time to receive the trophy and give an acceptance speech.

• “A truly incredible result has come out. Ms. Lim Yuju, when you decided to appear on this program, did you anticipate a result like this?”
• “I did anticipate it.”
• “Ahaha… yes, yes? You anticipated it? Among such formidable seniors, how…”

The host’s eyes widened in surprise. It was probably a routine question. He likely expected a reaction like, ‘How could I dare anticipate such a result? I don’t know how to act in front of my seniors. Sob…’

But Yuju didn’t show that attitude. She didn’t seem overly touched or excited either.

• “I wouldn’t have achieved this result alone. I wouldn’t have been able to focus on delivering good songs to the audience. I would have been entangled in the Pale Moon gate and the messy attacks related to it, my mentality torn apart, right?”
• “……”

When Yuju mentioned Pale Moon, the host’s expression stiffened.

• “I respect my seniors, but I came here with the intention of winning. I think it would be disrespectful to the people who came on this stage and to the person who supported me so I could just sing if I didn’t make it clear that I approached it with that mindset.”

I felt proud. Yuju, who always spoke prettily on official occasions, was now staring at the camera with a grave expression.

‘That’s right. You don’t need to hold back at all.’

It felt like repaying, even a little, the frustration I felt at the UN International Day of Happiness event.

After the recording finished, Yuju spoke.

“Oppa, we promised before, right? If I won everything, you’d give me some time.”
“Sure. Want to get some meat? I know an amazing place.”

On a day like this, it’s Two Plus Hanwoo flower-grain ribeye. There is no other option. Isn’t that right?

But Yuju said,
“I’ll buy that.”
“Huh? Why would you buy? What are you talking about?”
“I’ve only received help from you. I even received a trophy thanks to you, how can I take more from you?”
“It’s not because of me. You’re the one who sang.”

Yuju shook her head vigorously.
“I’ll buy it. Give me time for something else.”
“Something else?”
“I wrote a song. I want you to be the first to listen to it before I let others hear it.”

I felt proud of her anew. Yuju had been preparing a new song amidst all this busyness. I wondered why she was making such a big deal, even requesting it, about something as simple as listening to a song. That was until I heard her next words.

“It’s a song about you, oppa.”
“Uh… huh? Really?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a bit embarrassing…”
“We promised.”

Saying that, Yuju smiled sweetly.

JM Entertainment’s MD team was bustling.

“For the cover image, Ms. Yuju has had consistent album art concepts so far, right? It’s better to commission the existing illustrator! If we just maintain consistency, we won’t get criticized!”
“Are we planning this just to avoid criticism now? We should plan to sell the most! For a ‘special’ album commemorating Lim Yuju’s ‘Singer of Singers’ win, shouldn’t the cover be special too? We need to emphasize the feeling of a special edition!”
“But if it doesn’t turn out well, the one who gets criticized is…”

Then the team leader spoke.
“Head of Department Yoo Hyunjae has obtained consent from the ‘Singer of Singers’ production team to use images from the broadcast for the cover. I think going that route would be good.”
“As expected!”

‘Head of Department Yoo Hyunjae’ – that title still felt unfamiliar to Assistant Manager Kim Yuhyun. While busily working, Assistant Kim Yuhyun would suddenly think, ‘Is this reality?’ Just half a year ago, Yoo Hyunjae was a subordinate who constantly had ‘I’m sorry, thank you, I’ll do it again’ on his lips…

But now, even the team leader had to use an honorific title. And that’s not all. All the MD team’s work revolved around Yoo Hyunjae. No, the entire company did.

“Ms. Minyoung, weren’t you close with Head of Department Yoo Hyunjae? How about it, can you arrange a casual meeting to network?”
“Close… I was the one pretending to be close. How could I, a low-level employee, dare contact the Head of Department first?”

Assistant Manager Kim Yuhyun no longer felt jealousy or a sense of defeat. He recently realized that feelings like jealousy and defeat are felt towards people you think you can somewhat compete with. A firefly doesn’t compete in brightness with the full moon, does it?

Looking at Hyunjae’s meteoric rise, Yuhyun even thought, ‘Will he take revenge on me for subtly tormenting him?’ But he soon realized that was also a presumptuous thought. Would Hyunjae even remember someone named Kim Yuhyun?

Hyunjae is great. Being in the MD team, Yuhyun felt that fact keenly every day. Just doing the current work is proof enough. They’re compiling an album of Lim Yuju’s ‘Singer of Singers’ songs, and JM is doing it now, isn’t it?

The copyrights for the broadcast songs belonged to KBC per the contract, but in exchange for not filing a damages claim for the production team’s misconduct, the album production and sales rights were brought to JM.

I heard a storm is about to hit tonight, as the ‘Singer of Singers’ final recording is broadcast… How could a single person bend a broadcaster like KBC to his will?

“Head Yoo will be stopping by the office briefly soon!”

Hearing that, Yuhyun’s heart skipped a beat. Even if you don’t feel vengeful towards a mayfly, if it’s a nuisance in your sight, wouldn’t you just swat it dead? In Hyunjae’s eyes now, wouldn’t Yuhyun seem like a mayfly?

A moment later, the office door opened and Hyunjae entered. Assistant Manager Kim Yuhyun bowed as deeply as possible.

“You’ve arrived.”

Hoping his face wouldn’t be seen, and even if it was, that Hyunjae would pass by without a second thought.

Hyunjae, as if he didn’t know who he was, simply said, ‘Yes, hello,’ and went into the meeting room.

[ Shock! 460:40, Singer Lim Yuju’s ‘Overwhelming’ Victory Against Lee Hyung-yeop! ]
[ Lim Yuju, “I entered the match thinking only of this result.” ]
[ “It would be disrespectful to the person who let me just sing” – What was Lim Yuju’s determination for joining ‘Singer of Singers’? ]
? Looking just at the result, 460:40 seems unbelievable, so I went to watch the replay… It makes sense ;;
? What is this? The moment I heard it, I felt a tightness around my heart and a surge of tension… what phenomenon is this?
? Hyung-yeop did well too, but Yuju was just too good. Seriously a legendary stage. Seems I made the right choice binge-watching this season.
? ‘The person who let me just sing’ is 100% Manager Yoo Hyunjae. It feels less like a male-female relationship and more like a true friendship. Feels like Hyunjae drew out 200% of Yuju’s skills?
? Mentioning Pale Moon must be about that, Park Bong-won trying to harm her and Hyunjae stopping it.
? Seriously, if it weren’t for Yoo Hyunjae, we wouldn’t have been able to hear such a masterpiece, right?

As soon as the broadcast ended, articles were posted and comments poured in.

While I thought it was a natural reaction, I also felt my blood boiling. Did KBC try to tarnish even the opportunity for the public to listen to a song and be moved?

People still don’t know about the fraud that happened on ‘Singer of Singers.’ That needs to be revealed very efficiently. I spoke into the phone.

“Reporter Jung Sun-woo, the angle is roughly set, right?”
[ It’s done, it’s done. Thanks to our Head of Department Yoo, life has been worth living lately. Hahaha! ]
“I’m worried I might be bothering you too much.”
[ What are you talking about? I’m a person who lives waiting for calls from Head of Department Yoo. Even if I’m about to soil my pants, I would stop to answer a call from Head of Department Yoo. ]
“…In that case, please prioritize the restroom first.]

It’s just a figure of speech, I guess?

I finished the call with Reporter Jung Sun-woo and hung up. Then I contacted Producer Noh Seok-hoon.

• It’s time now.

Hanwoon Ilbo Editor-in-Chief Jo Won-ho was grinding his teeth while watching the ‘Singer of Singers’ final scene.

“So, this is how you’re going to do it? You don’t need our sponsorship anymore?”

From his perspective, the broadcast was outrageous. A growth drama starring Lim Yuju and Yoo Hyunjae.

Why should the side that provided the money feel this way? You can’t control the broadcast content just by investing, but in a capitalist society, aren’t there unspoken rules?

It was unbearably irritating.

“Manager Kim, that Yoo Hyunjae guy. Doesn’t he have some dirty stuff? Like dating?”
“Huh? I don’t know the details… but wasn’t that a case where the other side was publicly shamed and it ended?”
“That’s from Yoo Hyunjae’s perspective. Doesn’t the world look different depending on your position?”
“…Shall we take Shin Sora’s side and try to tarnish Yoo Hyunjae’s image?”

Just as he was thinking, ‘As expected, Manager Kim is good because he understands well…’

The office door burst open.

“Who is it at this hour…”

Saying that, he turned around… Jo Won-ho couldn’t speak further. Several men in black suits. And among them, the blue box often seen on TV with ‘Prosecution’ written on it…

“We are prosecutors and investigators from the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office. We will now proceed with a seizure and search related to the investigation into illegal fund receipt by Hanwoon Ilbo.”

The prosecutor presented a warrant.

‘Why is there a warrant? What… how did they know…’

Jo Won-ho wore a dazed expression as if dreaming.