nycdaug Chapter 29:
Chapter 29:
Chapter 29:
Chapter 29
Ha Seung-ju, the host of Music Cafe, was sitting with his arms crossed.
His face was expressionless.
Its been a while since Ive seen an idol.
He looked at the young man who came up on the stage.
His first impression was that he was handsome.
He was unrivaled among the idols these days.
Usually, idols look good on stage, but their visuals drop when they appear in dramas or movies. But Seon Woojoo, who came up on the stage now, seemed to survive even on those screens.
A dazzling appearance.
Even from a distance, his features looked clear as if he had a different resolution.
The writers who were watching the rehearsal exchanged a few words.
Wow, hes handsome.
Sunbae, is this your first time seeing him?
Ive never seen him in person. Where did you see him?
I met him a while ago for a pre-interview.
That was him? Youre lucky. I got stuck with Jo Yu-ris band.
The writers laughed, imagining the indie band with piercings on their faces.
Is he the leader on the stage right now?
When I interviewed him, he said he co-composed the song with Jang So-won.
Oh, thats interesting.
Is he the visual member then?
I dont know.
Why dont you know?
The sub-writer asked, and the youngest writer said hesitantly.
Well, if you judge by looks alone, Woojoo is the most handsome, but when I actually interviewed him, it was vague.
Why was it vague?
Lemon Entertainment is an actor agency, so they all have visuals. How should I put it? Its like assorted sushi. They have all kinds of types. The one on the stage right now and the youngest are pretty boys, and theres also a macho guy named Jung-hyun, and two guys who have a boyish vibe.
Boyish? The two standing over there?
Yep.
Which one sang Something?
Oh, thats Ri-hyuk. The one who looks nice is the visual, and the one who looks cold is Ri-hyuk.
I see.
Ha Seung-ju listened to the stories around him with a sour expression.
What does the appearance matter?
The content is what matters.
He would admit to the visual aspect as the writers reacted, but he was doubtful about the singing.
Hes handsome, but will his skills match his face?
New Black was cast a while ago.
His close junior composer, Jo Gyu-hwan, called him and said he wanted to have the group he was producing on the show.
-Sunbae, I have a favor to ask you.
Do you think my show is for promoting rookies?
-Theyre not just rookies. Theyre the ones who topped the chart this time.
Whatever.
-Sunbae.
Just send me their practice video. Ill make the decision.
Music Cafe was a late-night show, but it gained its popularity thanks to Ha Seung-jus picky attitude.
Even if the CP from above told him to cast someone, he would refuse without hesitation if he thought they were not skilled enough.
As if he knew his temperament, Jo Gyu-hwan said with a smile.
-You wont regret it.
The Music Cafe production team, who saw the practice video of New Black sent by email, agreed to cast them.
-And theres a guy named Woojoo. Hes amazing. Im sure youll be interested in him too, Sunbae.
Ha Seung-ju snorted, recalling Jo Gyu-hwans boast.
No way.
He had been playing the piano since he was young, and he had composed countless songs and made connections with the entertainment industry.
He was a veteran who had been worn out.
Maybe if they were legendary singers.
But how could an idols piano playing, who hadnt even debuted properly, pique his interest
Huh?
He was surprised when Seon Woojoo started playing the piano.
It wasnt bad.
It was like a piano entrance exam student playing.
Considering that he was an idol, it was unbelievably good.
And he had a sense too.
He chose jazz.
It was a jazz song that suited the broadcast time.
It was a brilliant song choice.
But what caught his attention was not the playing skill or the song selection.
The way he played the keyboard on the stage.
His gaze, breathing, and finger movements.
It was a familiar playing style, for sure.
Who is he?'
Just as every person has a unique fingerprint, playing an instrument also has its own characteristics.
It's because each player has different finger lengths, breathing, and rhythm intensity.
Seon Woojoo's jazz piano was familiar to him.
And in a good way.
Ha Seung-joo rubbed his temples as he traced back his past memories.
Soon, he remembered someone.
"Myung Joo hyung?"
The PD next to him tilted his head at the sight of Ha Seung-joo's bewildered expression.
"What's wrong, Seung-joo-ssi?"
"Kim PD."
The MC pointed at the stage with his slender fingers.
"Did you find anything unusual about that guy?"
"Unusual?"
"Like his parents."
"Well, I didn't hear anything at the meeting."
I barely remembered my parents faces, let alone a stranger.
He kept expressing his joy.
Should I call it admiration?
There was a tender emotion in his eyes.
Ha Seung-joo looked at me wistfully, and he was putting off the rehearsal to look at me.
By the way.
He coughed and changed the subject, as if he thought he was staring too much.
Are you keeping your father a secret on purpose?
No. Its not really a secret, but It feels kind of funny to say it with my own mouth.
I guess so.
He nodded as if he understood.
How long is your broadcast?
I heard it would be about 10 minutes or so after editing.
Are you trying to get your name out there with this appearance?
Yes.
The more attention you get from the public, the better.
Ha Seung-joo stroked his chin and said.
How about this? I owe a lot to Myungjoo hyung. In that sense, I have a proposal for you.
What kind of proposal?
Ill give you more time for your group. Its possible if I adjust one minute from each other team.
It was a tremendous favor.
In this industry, people lobby to get even 10 seconds more on the broadcast, and he was offering to increase our time significantly.
Usually, there is a condition for such an offer.
Right.
He nodded.
Anyway, your repertoire has a limit even if you increase your time. You probably dont have anything else prepared. And you have to think about the talk time too
I had a guess what he was going to say next.
How about talking about Myungjoo hyung?
It was a troubling suggestion.
The entertainment world is a place where people would sell their distant relatives to get one second more on the air.
And there was no guarantee that it would pay off even if they did.
But this person was willing to give us a special favor by cutting down other peoples time.
The problem was that the condition was quite awkward.
What do you think?
The producer who raised the ratings of Music Cafe from lower than the national anthem to its current position was waiting for my answer.
Looking at Ha-seung-ju, I opened my lips.
***
7 p.m.
It was time to record Music Cafe.
The audience filled the seats and the hall was buzzing with peoples voices.
They all looked excited and anticipated the soon-to-start Music Cafe.
After the pre-MCs progress, the FD finally climbed on the stage and clapped the slate.
Well start recording!
Soon, a calm BGM started playing.
The audience applauded as Ha-seung-ju in a tuxedo came out.
On the TV screen, it was a scene where PBSs open hall was captured in a full shot with a cool caption of [Ha-seung-jus Music Cafe].
-Welcome, everyone. Thank you for coming to Ha-seung-jus Music Cafe.
The audience liked the MCs sweet voice.
-Todays weather makes me feel like spring has finally come to our side. Its much warmer, right?
A yes answer is heard.
-I see more couples in the audience than in winter. Nice to meet you. You chose a really good place for a date.
People laughed lightly at the self-praise.
-These days, people describe spring as the season of flirting, right? To convey the warmth of such a spring day, we have some very special guests today.
The first guests performance began.
A hot indie band from Hongdae decorated the first stage.
We admired the camera screen that was broadcasted from the waiting room.
Theyre strong from the start.
The lineup was not easy.
Buster was a rising star who recently entered the music chart as an indie band.
We warmed up as the sweet spring songs continued.
Our turn was the fifth, right before the last.
We expected to wait for a long time, but time passed faster than we thought, and we heard the call from the production team.
Jang So-won team! Please get ready!
We followed the FD who ran quickly to the back stage.
We could see the stage behind the stairs.
It was the same lighting, the same stage as the rehearsal, but the air was different.
The audience outside filled the open hall and waited for our stage.
It was a different tension than when we were on music shows.
It reminds me of the end-of-year evaluation, right?
It was a similar feeling at the end-of-year evaluation last year.
We had improved our skills and confidence so much that we couldnt compare to then, but when we got on such a huge stage, we remembered our humble attitude.
The members nodded.
Jang So-won sunbae looked at us as we huddled together like penguins and smiled.
You worked hard for a month. Now, if we finish Music Cafe well, our activities are over. So
We looked into each others eyes.
Lets enjoy it.
I reached out my hand and the other guys put their hands on it.
We watched the FD gesture to wait and whispered fighting and raised our hands.
-Now, lets introduce a new team. These days, if you dont know them, youre a spy, right? They are a collaboration team that is flirting with the whole nation of Korea.
We took a deep breath as we heard the cheers mixed with anticipation.
Then we stepped onto the stage.
Thud.
My heart raced as I heard the sound of our feet on the wooden stairs.
It felt like the air had stopped.
I smiled as I felt the spotlight and the gaze pouring on us.
We were going to show them.
The stage that would adorn the end of our activity.