God of Music Chapter 66-69

"HyunJi, can I really trust this?"
"Oppa, believe in me this once. It's definitely effective."

President Lee HyunJi was currently doing business in a bar in Gangnam. The opponent was her senior from university, Gu YoungSoo. He was the owner of a big shoe store in Gangnam.

"Sheesh. Does changing music really affect the customers?"
"Times are changing. And like I said, there's a guy who's ghastly good at music in my company. You know JooAh, don't you?"
"I do. I'm a complete fan of her. And thanks for her signature by the way."

Gu YoungSoo blushed slightly.

"The one who sent JooAh to Japan is magical at music. I heard you were worried that your sales have been dropping lately. Why don't you just try my idea? I heard your sales dropped because of the other stores. You need to give a change at a time like this."
"Would changing music really affect the customers though?"
"I said believe in me this once."

Gu YoungSoo was slightly doubtful but was eventually persuaded by President Lee HyunJi.

'How effective could it possibly be?'

Even while accepting her offer, he was still skeptical.

"She was the heroine of television show, Whispers of the Stars. Let's start the second part with a collaboration between Miss Min JinSeo and Eddios!"

Along with the presenter's excited voice, the curtains to part 2 rose. Along with the curtains, the cameras all started flashing with a red light.
Writer Song TaeJin also posed upright from her usual crossed-legged seating. Her colleagues were surprised by her actions.
The stage began and the girls of Eddios started dancing around Min JinSeo as the center. It was the title song of Eddios, 'Together'. However, it was re-arranged and had more power in the dance routine.
Eddios all matched their moves with Min JinSeo. Thanks to that, Min JinSeo didn't look out of place or anything.
When KangYoon came back to his seat, Song TaeJin greeted him.

"Wow, KangYoon. Did JinSeo dance so well?"
"She was originally a singer trainee after all."
"Oh yeah. Its MG isn't it."

Writer Song TaeJin honestly expressed her surprise at Min JinSeo's dancing abilities. Her dance was way above what any amateurs could do.

"What's JinSeo doing next?"
"I don't know. Apparently, she's doing something right now."
"I'll do one right after that. I thought of a good plot after seeing her dance like that."

Writer Song TaeJin, who asked KangYoon a question, suddenly took out some pen and paper before writing down some things. It was the 'idea notes' that writers used a lot. The collaboration stage was no longer important to her. Once she was inspired, the pen in her hand danced wildly.
The stage was nearing its climax. Seo HanYu and Min JinSeo snapped their bodies together and heightened the atmosphere. Even the calmer actors voiced out in excitement and the younger actors or the fans straight up cheered.

"Eddios!"
"JinSeo!"

…They couldn't be compared to the people in the audience though.

'Not too bad.'

As KangYoon had thought, the stage was going well. Although the Award Ceremony was quite a serious one, the stage collaboration between Eddios and Min JinSeo presented them with a moment of a light mood.
The performance ended with Min JinSeo's v gesture and Eddios around her. When the girls exited among the cheers of the audience, KangYoon also stood up and headed to the back of the stage.

"Good work."
"Thank you for your work!"

Everyone voiced out in unison. Min JinSeo was slightly surprised.

"Get changed and let's go home quickly. JinSeo is coming after the ceremony is over, aren't you?"
"…Yes."
"Manager Yoon will take care of JinSeo and the girls of Eddios will go back. Let's talk about the specifics while going back to the dorms. Questions?"
"None!"

KangYoon was worried about Min JinSeo's dark expression. However, he left her to the manager thinking that she was jealous of the girls who went home early.
KangYoon left along with the girls. He quickly led the girls to the parking lot and left the TV station while avoiding the fans who were waiting outside.
Inside the van, Jung MinAh grumbled.

"Their reactions were quite unlike the other stages."

KangYoon thought differently though.

"It's strange to scream like little girls in a place like that, though. Don't you think?"
"That's true, but…."

Wouldn't they have wanted to enjoy as well? The gazes and cameras around them were scary.
KangYoon spoke while turning around.

"Good work. There, there. You know that tomorrow's a holiday, right?"
"Yes!"

Holidays were always sweet.
Everyone shouted energetically when KangYoon mentioned holiday.

"Tomorrow is 2009."
"Team leader. It's 2009 already."

The girls giggled at Lee SamSoon's comment. It was already past midnight and it was nearing 1 a.m. KangYoon felt slightly awkward.

"Ehem, anyway! It's 2009 now. Isn't it?"
"Yes, yes."

The girls were now close enough to KangYoon so that they could joke around with him. He spoke seriously while switching topics.

"We got our foundation, but there's still a long way to go. But I believe in you. Rest well tomorrow and do your best in the future as well, okay?"
"Yes!"

The van that headed to the dorms was filled with the energetic voices of girls.

"JinSeo, you don't look so well. Are you unwell?"

Manager Yoon HeeSeon asked Min JinSeo worriedly. However, she shook her head.

"No. I'm just a little tired."
"Really? Should I get you some medicine?"
"Where can you find medicine at this time in the night? It will be alright after a little bit of rest."

Min JinSeo declined. Manager Yoon HeeSeon distanced herself even while looking at her with worried eyes.

'Tch….'

Min JinSeo kept remembering about how KangYoon took care of Eddios more than her. Naturally, she didn't like what she didn't like.

The new year's sun rose.
KangYoon, who received a paid holiday of 3 days, could rest comfortably for a few days. It was a privilege that was only given to him. Thanks to that, KangYoon could enjoy his rest with HeeYoon while traveling around the country.
It was right before the Sunday, so he got a total of 4 days of rest.
On Monday.
KangYoon headed to the president's office as soon as he came to the company.

"Welcome, Team leader Lee."
"Hello."
"We haven't seen each other for a week now, did we? I feel like it's been a while since we've seen each other."

She ordered the secretary for some tea and lead KangYoon to the sofa. There were already many things prepared for him. KangYoon looked at the top one.

"Triangle? Isn't this a movie manuscript?"
"It is."
"A movie? Is this about JinSeo?"

President Lee HyunJi shook her head. She gestured that that wasn't the case and gave KangYoon some papers titled 'General Music Consulting'. When KangYoon flipped over the document and looked at it for a while, he was colored with confusion. He gulped while turning each page slowly. The contents weren't light at all.
KangYoon spoke his mind after reading all of the document.

"A general business related to music…. Working with many music-related things and not just concerts…. I think the motivation is good."
"Focusing on the concert team is good, but I had a feeling that it won't be so bad to take part in many more things. We have a lot of budget, and have the advantage that we can utilize this budget. I'm thinking of making a specialized team and do this kind of work."
"For a business like this, the role of the control tower is crucial. But as for us, we do not have such a…."
"You'll do it."

When President Lee HyunJi admitted that so easily, KangYoon blinked a few times. KangYoon silently asked 'Why am I the one?' with his expression. President Lee HyunJi answered his question.

"Team leader Lee. You have a good sense regarding music. Your views on the market are also great, but from what I've seen until now, your judgment in musical pieces is greater than anyone. If we look at the singers you've planned for until now, there were many cases where you switched songs or did re-arrangements of the original. Would that have been possible without your senses for music?"
"President, that is…."

KangYoon was scared for a moment. President Lee HyunJi had unknowingly mentioned his ability to see light from music. Of course, there's no way she would know about his ability, but it was enough to startle KangYoon. After all, not everyone is suited to become the president.

"I can be sure about it; that we'll be able to do many things and not just concerts if you're here, Team leader Lee. The concerts you have planned for until now caused sensations, but did not bring a lot of profit to the company. That's my fault for doing bad business… but it will be different now. Let's do this together."

President Lee HyunJi's words were reasonable. However, KangYoon was still cautious in his decisions. Planning was something he had dived in after meticulous preparation and because he wanted to. However, areas other than pop music was another problem altogether.

"Can you give me some time to think about it?"
"Is a day enough for you?"
"Not at all, I'll just need a moment."

KangYoon fell into thought for a moment.

'A general work related to music…. It is definitely attractive, but I don't have anything ready yet.'

Actually, it was a very attractive offer. There was the charm that he could do music that was not related to concerts. However, the problem was his lack of foundation. President Lee HyunJi spoke as though she knew about that.

"I spoke to seonbae already. Go listen to his lectures in holidays when you have the time. I'll take care of the fees."
"Thank you."
"It's an investment from the company."

President Lee HyunJi cleared that problem. Investing such a meager sum was nothing to excavate a talented employee.
KangYoon spoke his mind after a moment of thought.

"I'll try."
"Good decision. The basic work is the same as the concert team. I'm going to make a subordinate business team and get orders, and Team leader Lee just should focus on work. There were a few problems in the concert team, but let's do this well this time."
"Understood. Then what do we begin with?"

Since he had decided this, the work progressed very smoothly. President Lee HyunJi gave him another set of papers. The document was titled 'DRO mart retail music coordination'. KangYoon expressed his confusion.

"Isn't this done by music coordinators?"
"Yes. It requires the selection of songs that fit the retail store after analyzing the store. It's a field that isn't well known in Korea yet, but it's very active in places like America. Music is important in shopping."
"Hmm…."

KangYoon cautiously considered this. It wasn't simply just choosing some background music for a store. It wasn't just playing pop music one after the other. He would have to analyze the characteristics, sales, trends and various other elements and choose songs and test them as well. Not only that, he would even have to negotiate copyright if the store was big. It wasn't a simple issue.

"I think it's a good stage for Team leader Lee to shine. What do you think?"
"It's an unfamiliar field, but I think it will be interesting."
"Good. Then can I expect some good results?"
"I'll do my best."

President Lee HyunJi replied with a smile at KangYoon's acceptance.

Hallyeo Arts University department of composition was known to have difficult practical exams. While other universities had 300:1 competition rate, Hallyeo started at 500:1 minimum.
Park SoYoung challenged this difficult exam.
(T/N: Park SoYoung is from when KY and HY went on a trip and HY made friends with her at a beach. Also, some MG copycats appeared. Just in case you don't remember.)

"'I'm fine'? That's a good title. Can you play it for us?"

Professor Choi ChanYang gestured a short girl who handed him the score. The girl, Park SoYoung, started singing with a guitar that was just as big as her.

"Even if you don't acknowledge me - or find me - I'm fine –."

The professors along with Professor Choi ChanYang was surprised after listening to the folk-song-like music. Her music was at a considerable level. No, the song and her voice matched very well. Professor Choi ChanYang especially seemed to have taken a liking to it, as he let her continue into the second verse.

"Thank you."
"Well done."

When Park SoYoung left, he started talking with the other professors.

"I'll choose her."
"I also like her."

Under Professor Choi ChanYang's lead, a 'pass' seal was stamped on Park SoYoung's application.

KangYoon and a few other employees he had selected were headed to 'DRO mart' in Gangnam.

"It's huge."

Muttered vice-chief Yeon SooJin while looking at the large shoes retail store. 2 entire floors and being in Gangnam resulted in a lot of traffic. Not only her, everyone would be flabbergasted at the scale of the store and the population.

"Hello."
"Welcome."

When they went in, Owner Gu YoungSoo was waiting for them.
KangYoon and the others received the sales, customers per day, the floating population, and the music that was played at specific times from the owner before they walked around the store.
It was difficult to judge just from the music from the speakers. He could see various musical notes, but non-live, recorded music did not show him musical notes and light. It was the same as how light and musical notes disappears through media such as TV.
Since he couldn't utilize his greatest weapon, KangYoon panicked at first. However, he couldn't stay like that forever. He walked around the store among the customers that were looking at shoes and looked around.

"Chief Yoo, I don't think the customers are staying for long."

Chief Han SeYoung cautiously spoke. Chief Yoo GeunTae agreed.

"I think so too. Are all shoes retail stores like this?"
"They aren't this bad. Shouldn't they stay for at least 5 minutes to do anything?"

Chief Han SeYoung specifically observed one customer. However, she could see that the person left after two minutes of looking around the store. Just in case, she observed other customers, and they were all the same. Not every single customer was like that, but many left before even 5 minutes had passed.

"Team leader."

Chief Han SeYoung spoke out to KangYoon to tell him that.

"They aren't staying here for long. Even though there seems to be no problem with the employees' attitude…." (T/N: Spoken by KY)
"The employees are all very nice."

Chief Han SeYoung replied to KangYoon's words. Although they couldn't evaluate properly since this wasn't their field, the employees were mostly very nice in handling customers.
KangYoon and the others looked for a lot of things while walking around the store. They could observe a lot of things when they walked around the store for the entire peak-hours. KangYoon gathered everyone to sum up what they had found.

"To put it simply, I think the music is indeed a problem. I can't find any mistakes in other areas…."
"I think the same, Team leader."

Chief Han SeYoung added to KangYoon's words.

"We need to solve this from a musical vantage. The overall mood is very sunken and customers are leaving quickly…. The current selection of music is just ordinary pop music. Let's first analyze the characteristics around the store, trends, and the preferences of the customers, and make a list."
"Yes, Team leader."
"Let us return then."

Along with KangYoon's words, everyone hurriedly returned to their office. KangYoon was worried that he couldn't see any light, but he was still passionate.

'Let's believe in my senses. I can do this.'

KangYoon resolved himself while going over a bridge inside a company car. This wouldn't be easy for him, but he found it joyful that he may develop himself further.
The first work of 2009 began like that.

Author's notes
Music coordination is a business that selects songs through the analysis of general data such as the mood of the store, the products sold in the store, the traits of customers and other various analysis of the market. Normally, it's large enough that there are specialized companies for it. However, I'm planning to use this element for a quick, clear progression and fun. It may differ from reality, so please excuse me if it is. (If I talk about the reality of it… it might be over 30 chapters of that alone…….^^;;)

After returning to his office, KangYoon gathered the materials he had collected from DRO mart. Then, he organized them one by one to think about the elements that were needed to select a song. Since he couldn't use his eyes, he put more mind into the objective information more than usual.

'Selling shoes from many brands in one store. It can be considered as a department store of shoes. Its location is in one of the most popular places in Gangnam street. However, there are two more shoe stores right next to it. There are many people that go by due to the floating population, but the period of time they stay for is very little. As for eye shopping….'

Although this time, it was a store, the market analysis was similar to when planning for a singer. The difference in work field was large, but there were definitely some similarities as well. Thanks to that, KangYoon could proceed with his work quite smoothly.
However, there was a surprise. It was the general preferences of the people that came to look for shoes.

'Many different people visit DRO mart. It's hard to look for their shared preferences. The age is very spread out, and the ratio of genders is relatively equal, while I don't know their general income. To compare it to a real department store, the store is too small. How can I choose the songs?'

He was worried in many ways. It was extremely easy if he just selected songs at random, but it was extremely difficult to do it properly. Since the song selection was the icing on the cake for the shoes retail store, it may lead to increase in sales, so it was even more pressure.
However, KangYoon kept analyzing DRO mart and looked for their strengths and weaknesses. Since he had experience in analyzing singers, it was quite doable if he excluded the technical terms that came up here and there.
Having worked for a while, KangYoon headed to the rest area to cool his head off a little.

"Huh? Oppa."

There was someone else there already. It was Kim JinGyung from TheACE.

"JinGyung."
"It's been a while. How have you been?"

Kim JinGyung seemed to be delighted to see KangYoon as her expression brightened. After they worked with KangYoon, they were doing well in whatever they did, so it was no wonder. The two sat down after a light greeting.

"It's hard to see you at the company."
"That's true. You should come over to play sometime."
"Don't have the time. I always think about going, but when all schedule is over, it's past midnight."

Kim JinGyung looked happy as she talked about her busy life. She said that her life had been completely flipped over and boasted about what happened at some TV stations. KangYoon was also happy to see that she was doing well. He also talked about what he was doing nowadays. Kim JinGyung found the unfamiliar music coordination quite curious.

"Wow. Song selection affects sales? That's interesting."
"Right? The song sets the mood after all. I think of it as the same as a stage."
"Aah, that's true. Well, I heard that the song played in department stores are different at night than at day. I also don't ever get tired when I shop at a department store."
"Really? I feel my energy draining whenever I see a department store."
"That's because you're weak."
"What was that?"

When KangYoon was about to get angry at her retort, Kim JinGyung burst out laughing. KangYoon also accepted her words before switching to another topic.

"I thought about choosing songs similar to a department store, but I decided against it since it's smaller than a department store. A department store has a resting zone, but the store I've looked at doesn't have such a thing. Ah… it's so hard."
"It must be hard to think about many things. From what I heard just now, it's not just choosing random songs. Well, if I think about it like that, then I guess you would have chosen a random song for us as well. We would have been doomed if it was like that."
"Lol, I guess that's true."

Kim JinGyung bought KangYoon some chocolate to relieve some stress before she left. KangYoon also headed to the roof after seeing her out. He felt like he had to smoke some before working again.
He lighted his smoke on the rooftop. He felt like he relaxed a little after scattering some smoke.

'Fuu. JinGyung found her place as well.'

He could still see Kim JinGyung's face lingering in front of him. Her expression was very bright. The worried expression from before had completely disappeared without a trace. He got a little excited thinking about how he, KangYoon, was the one to make TheACE succeed like that.

'When I think about it, TheACE also went with a completely different theme from the existing ones. Wait.'

However, a thought flashed through KangYoon's head. TheACE went on the offensive with jazz, something that was not done in the past. To express it, it was a new type of weapon. If he could select a song that could be exclusively heard in that store alone….

'Yes, that's it!"

KangYoon put off his smoke and immediately went to his office.

The biggest issue in the first directors meeting in 2009 was Eddios.
As KangYoon went to work beyond the existing concert team and into the general music team, they judged that it would be difficult for him to work with Eddios simultaneously, so the hot topic in the directors meeting was about who would take charge of Eddios after him.

"Isn't Director Kang busy with raising the rookies right now? The work with Eddios must be immense. I don't think it will be easy for you to do it at the same time."
"Doesn't Director Yoon have no experience in taking charge of a girl idol group?"

The directors were all on the offensive. In their view, Eddios was a golden egg-laying duck. They considered that Eddios would become the greatest cash cow since the rise of TheACE. Everyone wanted to increase their voice in the company by showing achievements from Eddios.
There was no way Chairman Won JinMoon didn't know their intentions.

'Sheesh, your greed….'

Chairman Won JinMoon shook his head. This was also why he couldn't let them take care of JooAh or Min JinSeo. A basic amount of desire was fine, but once it turned into greed, it would be no good. But that didn't mean that President Lee HyunJi was good either. She had to take care of the general music team along with KangYoon. However, the directors' gazes would pressure him if he took Eddios for himself as well. Even though he was the top of the food chain here, he had to consider the general opinion.
At that time, someone entered his eyes. It was director Lee HanSeo who hadn't shown up in directors meetings in a long time.

"Director Lee. Isn't TheACE preparing their album nowadays?"
"Yes. We're preparing a proper mini album this time."
"You participated despite being busy. How is it? Don't you want to take Eddios as well?"

All the directors shot gazes to Director Lee HanSeo when Chairman Won JinMoon said that.

"They are the product of Team leader Lee KangYoon's hard work. It's too much pressure for me. I wish to decline."

The other directors signed in relief when Director Lee HanSeo said that. He wasn't a greedy person and didn't have much presence either. Everyone knew that he wasn't just being polite. However, Chairman Won JinMoon gave him the hot potato.

"Good. You'll take them."
"What?"

The other directors' gazes all turned.

"You know Team leader Lee's burden. You should be able to maintain them well without doing irrational things."
"But Chairman, Director Lee is currently in charge of TheACE. If you let him work with Eddios as well, then…."

Along with Chairman Won JinMoon's words, the other directors all started objecting, but they were all put down. Director Lee HanSeo eventually accepted the Chairman's offer since his will was firm. He was quite relaxed in the company without interfering much of the work, but he had to dive into work now that he had to take care of Eddios on top of TheACE.

'….Out of all things, it's work.'

Being glared at by the other directors, he only sighed thinking that his tea time will decrease.

Selecting music for the store.
The team members of the general music team experienced a lot of trial and error since this was their first time. They showed great know-how in analyzing the preferences of the masses and finding trends, but with the 'product sales' variable in the mix, it wasn't so easy.
KangYoon first started by getting the current song selection at DRO mart. When he analyzed the song selection, he discovered that the sales differed according to which song was played at which times. After that, KangYoon first test-picked a few songs that might help the current trend and sales using that data. Then, he had meetings with the team members before selecting songs again. This process was repeated.

Like that, the days passed and it came the day where they had to report to Owner Gu YoungSoo. KangYoon headed to DRO mart in Gangnam with President Lee HyunJi. It was just after lunchtime, and about the time when many people had coffee. KangYoon and President Lee HyunJi headed to a nearby café with Owner Gu YoungSoo.

"Oho."

Owner Gu Young exclaimed in a small voice after seeing the papers given to him by KangYoon. It was definitely different from when he randomly selected songs from a music streaming site before.

"There are recent songs and songs that are a year old…. Hey, isn't this a little too old?"

Even a song from three years ago was on the list. Owner Gu YoungSoo was worried that it was too behind the latest trend, but KangYoon answered his worries.

"Although it's a little old, I judged that there was no better song than this to switch the mood. The song list here was targeted towards workers who come at the evening peak time. I tried to make it as comfortable as possible for them while looking around the products."
"Comfort…. If that's the case, a slower song might be better, though…."

There were dance songs and songs that had easy rhythms. However, there were strangely no slow songs like a ballad, so Owner Gu YoungSoo expressed his doubts. KangYoon replied while showing him a graph.

"If you look at here, the number of customers is the highest at evening rush hour. However, the majority of these customers leave within 3 minutes. I have analyzed the songs that were played at this time. The first day, it was 'Spring Shower', second day, it was 'Spreading of dawn', the third day was 'ring', and the fourth day was 'Yes, it's here'. The first two days had slower songs while the third and fourth days had faster tempo songs.
"Do you mean that customers leave earlier when there's a slower song? I think there must be other variables though. This…."

On KangYoon's graph, the sales and the number of customers decreased when a slow-tempo song was being played. Although it was hard to see, it was quite considerable. Owner Gu YoungSoo never seemed to have imagined that he would see data like this, and could not hide his surprise. He didn't know music could have such power.
KangYoon added to his explanation.

"This value here is largely simplified. I have considered all the other variables, such as customer service, and other elements to be equal across all days. Please excuse us for only being able to speak in a musical vantage."
"That's true."
"This time, we're trying to reinforce this list and try it out for 3 days. If you would also like additional service, we are planning to rearrange some of the songs that will be played in the store."
"Rearrange? What's that?"
"It's the editing of music to be more comfortable to the ears. Of course, we'll do the negotiations with the original composer. It will be the same song, but it will be an exclusive version of the song for this store."
"Oho."

To put it simply, it was a specialized service. When it switched to about money, Owner Gu YoungSoo turned around to President Lee HyunJi.

"HyunJi. How much does it cost?"
"You're the first customer, oppa, so we are willing to discount 30%."
"Oho, that sounds good. I'll do it right away. Day, evening peak, and weekend peak time for a total of 3 songs."

Owner Gu YoungSoo didn't think about it anymore and immediately signed the contract.
After that, KangYoon and President Lee HyunJi talked about any additional things before leaving the café. Since Owner Gu YoungSoo said that there was no problem with the test trial of the songs list, they could move up their schedule a lot as well. KangYoon decided that they would start the trial from the next day before they scattered.
The next day.
Owner Gu YoungSoo played the music that MG Entertainment had sent them.

"Owner? This music. It has a good quality."

One male employee was pleasantly surprised after hearing the good quality music than the usual streaming service music.

"This was expensive you know? This much is natural."
"Is this some lossless music? Man, that audio quality is good."

The male employee, who always found it unfortunate that the expensive speakers weren't used to their full potential, talked about how the speakers finally found their right place. Hearing that, Owner Gu YoungSoo felt satisfied at MG Entertainment's service.

'It does its money's worth.'

He felt satisfied feeling that they put care into every single detail.
The store opened and the songs played. It started with the latest trending music, but the mood was heightened with the older songs. If it was the fun and exciting music that mainly composed the music before, there were much relaxing but still enjoyable music right now.

"Hey, this music is good. What is it?"
"This is from a few years ago. What was it again? I can't remember. I used to love this song."

Even the customers who just stopped by for a moment reacted to the song. There were many eye shoppers, but the period of time they stayed was definitely different than before.
On the first day, Owner Gu YoungSoo was definitely satisfied with the changed music.
On the second day and third day, their period of stay was even longer. The proof was that the customers per employee had increased. Also, the number of customers who went to purchase had increased as well.

'Whew…. All this happened because of a simple change in background music?'

Owner Gu YoungSoo was surprised even after seeing the results. However, it was too early to rejoice. It had only been three days.
On the fourth day, he could feel that the mood of the store had definitely changed. The actions of the employees were changing now.

"Welcome to DRO. How may I help you?"
"I came to look at some high-heels."
"This way please…."

Owner Gu YoungSoo felt that the employees had become nicer as well. Even the employee who was mostly expressionless before was now taking care of a customer with a smile. Not only that, the so-called 'nasty customers' had decreased in number as well for the past few days.
"Should we leave?"
"No, let's stay a little more."

Listening to the conversation between two lady customers who had been here for more than one hour, Owner Gu YoungSoo could definitely see the change. This had become the norm over the past few days. It seemed like people had called for more people, and the number of customers kept increasing.
After the fourth day, it became the fifth, the last day of the trial.
Just as Owner Gu YoungSoo was about to play the music after registering the employees, his phone started vibrating. It was a call from KangYoon. When he asked what was up, he heard that KangYoon would come to the store.

"Are you coming in the evening?"
– Yes. I need to see the results. Also, I'll bring you the songs we talked about last time."
"Oh, the song exclusive to the store? Are you talking about that?"
– Yes. You should be satisfied. Then I'll see you in the evening.

Owner Gu YoungSoo waited for the evening expectantly.
After lunchtime at around 4:30, KangYoon arrived at DRO mart. KangYoon immediately handed him a USB and looked around the store.

"There are a lot of people."
"The effects of the change in music is definitely showing. The period of time they are staying has definitely increased."
"That's very fortunate. By next week, we'll finish the rearrangement and give you the completed list."

Owner Gu YoungSoo was satisfied with the increase in customers and the better mood in the store. KangYoon was also surprised to see the change within the past week. Before, the store had fewer customers than the other rivals and there were many that left quickly, but right now, he had a hard time finding any of that.
When he was looking around the store, the clock tilted towards 6. The people in the store started increasing. It was peak time.

"Should we start?"

It became time. KangYoon played the store-exclusive song that was in the USB.

– I never thought I could live - without you - but day by—-

A song from the male idol group, 'Twain', who sung nightclub-style songs a lot, started flowing out into the store. However, it was different from the original's electric beat. An acoustic guitar, drums, and bass produced a rich sound and emphasized the voice.

"Wow, isn't this 'Monsoon'? Was there such a version?"
"The song is so good."

The female customers reacted first. Twain was very popular originally, but this kind of a song was a first. Normally, they would not think about a song they heard while shopping, but they noticed it when they heard such a characteristic song.
The reaction from the male customers wasn't so bad either.

"This is a decent song. Aren't these guys the ones that always hop around on stage?"
"I know, right?"

The reactions from couples were good as well. Of course, the man's side showed slight jealousy sometimes. The customers inside the store enjoyed their time picking shoes while listening to the music. Even the people who came in relaxed and closed their eyes to enjoy the music.

"The reactions are quite good."

When Owner Gu YoungSoo rejoiced at the reactions of customers, KangYoon also agreed, However, he was heaving a sigh of relief inwardly. He had a hard time because he couldn't see musical notes or light. However, he had brought about a good result through detailed information and trends analysis. This was worth his effort.
The list of songs completely finished, and Twain's song started being played again.

"Huh? There it is again."
"You're right."

The customers who were looking around for shoes for a long time reacted again. The long-time shoppers immediately realized the song. The store started being filled with new customers and the customers that didn't leave. Although the number of customers had increased over the past few days, it couldn't be compared to now.

"Excuse me."
"Yes! I'm on my way."

Thanks to that, the employees had a hard time. Even some of the customers who purchased some items didn't immediately leave and kept looking around. The employees sweated despite it being in the middle of winter, but they tried their best to provide good service.
Owner Gu YoungSoo couldn't hide his surprise after looking at this scene.

"It's the first time I see so many customers since the opening of the store…."

KangYoon only smiled while looking at the store that was becoming full.

Even when the store was nearing its closing hours, there was a considerable number of customers. In the end, only after the employees guided them out did they leave reluctantly.

"Let's clean up after eating."
"Thank you!"

Owner Gu YoungSoo treated the employees to some pizza as they had a hard time today. Today's sales were immense. Thanks to the treat, the employees also felt as though their fatigue was drained down.

"Please have some."
"Thank you."

KangYoon also had some pizza. He didn't even have time to eat dinner properly as he had to observe the store all the time. He could hear his stomach resenting him.
Owner Gu YoungSoo smiled after lifting the pizza and cola in his hand.

"It's the best day of my life. I wish it could be like this every day."
"It will only become better and better."
"Of course, of course."

Owner Gu YoungSoo was the type to get swept up by the mood. He toasted with the coke and raised the morale of the employees. He even gave them some bonus for today's work.
KangYoon fell into thought after looking at today's sales.

'So, it's time to advertise now; that the song can only be heard here.'

Seeing Owner Gu YoungSoo smiling at the profit, KangYoon's head spun around to calculate many things.

– What is this person - I can't stop - the love -

Professor Choi ChangYang was currently watching a band video on his phone. He put his earphones on and paid attention to each of the melodies.
The video ended, and he gave the phone back to Lee HyunAh.

"The song came out well. I like it."
"Thank you, professor."
"At this level, I think you can record it now. I feel good about it. It's very leisurely, but still, doesn't drag out."

Lee HyunAh felt good after hearing Professor Choi ChanYang's compliment. Although he was always gentle, he always spoke what had to be spoken.

"I'm planning to record soon. I still have some of the money from the prize, and the members also like the song."
"And there's someone to do the producing?"
"Not yet…. Would it be a bother for you to do it, professor?"
"Okay, if it's my student's request…. But not for free, okay?"
"Thank you."

Lee HyunAh rejoiced. The renting of a studio was a problem, but hiring an engineer was also incredibly expensive. Professor Choi ChanYang's help was a great deal.

"Invite Mr. KangYoon when you record."
"Yes. I was going to invite him anyway. It's my first work, of course, he has to be there."
"He'll probably like it."

Professor Choi ChanYang made a satisfied smile while looking at Lee HyunAh's music score.

KangYoon, Composer Loin, and another MG-exclusive composer Won HeeJin were currently sweating due to last-minute work.

"The feel isn't right…."

Composer Loin felt quite distant about Composer Won HeeJin's rearrangement and commented on it. Composer Won HeeJin deleted the original number 231 sound and added number 430 sound to mix it again, but the reaction was still the same.

"It doesn't come alive. HeeJin, why don't we go for a fancier sound?"
"To make it feel ampler?"
"You know, the song sounds like it's dragging out. The time this song will be played is at noon on weekends. We can't make them listen to such a slow beat in the middle of the day. Let's raise it a little more."
"Okay."

Composer Won HeeJin kept looking for a sound. However, she couldn't avoid being lectured by Composer Loin.
KangYoon watched the women's work quietly. Rearranging a perfectly good song to make it feel different wasn't easy. The perfectly white sound from before the rearrangement was turning into a gloomy gray.

"This is no good even to you, is it?"
"You're right…."

They were doing this for a few hours now. However, they were squeezing their brains since they couldn't find a satisfying song.

"What about this?"

Composer Won HeeJin eventually put sound number 500 and asked with a tired expression, and Composer Loin nodded saying this much was fine. However, the next boss was waiting for the two.

"Isn't there another sound? This sounds uselessly grand to me."
"……."

Composer Won HeeJin felt like crying. However, KangYoon also had his reasons.

'It's slightly gray.'

KangYoon thought that the bare minimum was bright white light. A song like this was doomed to fail.
Composer Won HeeJin felt her body lagging as more time had passed. She had heard that KangYoon's team had strict work standards. However, she didn't know that he would be so strict.

"Should we rest for a little?"

Even so, KangYoon declared rest at suitable times. It was the exact time when she thought that she needed some water. KangYoon went up to the rooftop, and the two composers were left on their own in the studio.

"I did hear the rumors, but it sure is tiring to work with Team leader Lee."

Composer Loin sighed while gulping down the cold coffee in one shot. She disagreed with her junior's words.

"It is indeed tiring, but this place is the greatest bonanza in MG."
"I know that…. But it's still hard."
"Where is easy work? But all of that feeling would go away once you see the money on your bank account at the end of the month."

Thinking about the upcoming salary, Composer Won HeeJin decided that she would put her best effort again.
KangYoon came back down from the rooftop and work began again. The process of looking for sound started again. Even Composer Loin, who had observed in order to educate her junior until now, participated in the work.

"How is this?"

KangYoon shook his head after listening to the organ-like sound that Composers Loin and Won HeeJin had arrived at. The two women kept looking for a new sound and eventually found a suitable one. At a glance, it sounded like a piano, but a splendid music came out when played with the rearranged music.

"Let's go with this."

KangYoon finally approved. It was way past work hours. The two composers hugged each other and rejoiced.
After the work was over and they made the music source file, their boring work had finally finished.

"Thanks for your work."

KangYoon left the studio first. Composer Loin stayed behind in the studio saying she had to teach her junior a little more using the music they made today. Composer Won HeeJin grabbed on to KangYoon asking for help, but she immediately succumbed after seeing Composer Loin's glare.
When KangYoon left, it was already deep into the night. Just as he hurried to the station, he received a message. It was a message from Lee HyunAh.

– The song is finished. *^.^* Please give me your e-mail address.

She wanted to give him the score through e-mail. KangYoon sent her his e-mail address.
After returning home, KangYoon turned on the computer and had a look at his inbox. HeeYoon was next to him.

"A video?"

HeeYoon showed great curiosity and stuck next to KangYoon. When he played back the video, Lee HyunAh and the band started playing the song. Although the resolution wasn't that good, the audio was not that bad. HeeYoon showed interest at the girl's voice in the video.

"That's a nice song. What's it called?"
"It's titled 'Do you have some time?'. The girl that's singing made the song."
"That unni did? Hm? I think I saw her somewhere before. It's the unni from the College Pop Festival, isn't she?"
"Yup. She sent me a song she made herself. I helped her a little."
"Really? You helped her make that song?"

HeeYoon's eyes flashed. KangYoon was surprised to see her interest in composition but still replied.

"Yeah, why?"
"Nothing. Are you composing already, oppa? That's amazing."
"I only gave her a few pieces of advice. She practically did all the work. Is the song good?"
"It's really good. Are they making that into an album?"
"She'll probably send a recording to a management company or something if she wanted to make an album. I'm thinking that she'll probably act in 'Under'. You know, like Hongdae."
"Ooh." (T/N: Under is underside, basically where indie bands play their music)

HeeYoon seems to be incited by the video as she played the video repeatedly. When KangYoon stood up from his seat, she even sat down in his place and focused on the video.

'Was HeeYoon interested in things like this?'

KangYoon was surprised to see HeeYoon's intense concentration. However, he did know that his sister was showing interest in music lately. However, he seriously considered letting her sister do music properly since she was so interested in it.
The night flowed like that for the siblings.

The day finally came.
KangYoon headed to DRO mart with the final selection of his songs. Today, President Lee HyunJi was with him. When they arrived, Owner Gu YoungSoo even personally brought them coffee to greet them. His attitude was completely different to when they first brought the song selection.
In a small office inside the store, the three conversed lightly.

"It will start for real today."

Last week was just a test. Owner Gu YoungSoo looked at KangYoon expectantly after hearing that this was the real deal.

"The song that was only played in our store, it's included in there, right?"
"Yes. However, you must be cautious of one thing. Please play the music in the exact order, and educate the staff so that they don't touch the music program."
"Understood."

KangYoon told him a few other words of caution. He also told him to send him the sales in units of weeks, as well as any other request if there were any. Owner Gu YoungSoo said that he was worried about the discount sales period that would begin the next Friday, and KangYoon relieved him by saying that he put that into consideration.

"…That's it."
"Good, very good. This is enough."
"Then I'll have a look around the store."

When KangYoon left the office, President Lee HyunJi and Owner Gu YoungSoo were left on their own.

"HyunJi, that guy's work is no joke. I like how everything snaps into place."
"He's a rising star in our industry. Wait no, I guess it's too late to call him a 'rising' star now. Anyway, do you like it?"
"Such a young man, and he's so amazing. I can trust in him. Grab onto that guy, HyunJi."
"Of course I will."
"Oho, will I get an invitation soon?"
"What the hell are you saying. I'll kill you."

Perhaps he did it unintentionally, or maybe he did it intentionally, but either way, Owner Gu YoungSoo felt a threat to his life when President Lee HyunJi gripped her fist and backed out.
KangYoon looked around the store where the final song selection was being played and saw various things.
The reaction to the songs was very good. The number of visitors was increasing thanks to the fact that some bloggers had mentioned that this store had its exclusive song. Some of the nearby stores even put their own employees in disguise to feel them out.
Today was the day when all three of the exclusive songs would be played. Today was Saturday when it became peak hours after 2 p.m., the first exclusive song played.

"Huh? Isn't this that song?"
"I think it's slightly changed. But it sure sounds good."

The song that was played in the store was a song from 3 years ago. 'We are in love'. It was a very popular song sung by the three-member singer group, Sereny. However, it was rearranged a little, and it gave a slightly leisurely feeling than the fancy feeling from the original.

"Sereny, these girls sing well. Did they put out an album?"
"What are you saying? They disbanded ages ago."

People also sometimes talked about Sereny. All the people that visited the store talked about Sereny at least once. After a round of songs, the store-exclusive songs played again. And every time, at least a few people showed a reaction. There were even some people who stayed in the store to listen to the music.

"Oho."

President Lee HyunJi and Owner Gu YoungSoo came out as well. They were happy to see the store full of people at peak hours; especially more so when they saw a line at the checkout counter.

"Looks like I'll earn some pretty sum today."
"You're treating?"
"Of course."

Owner Gu YoungSoo put his thumbs up.
The staff had a hard time thanks to the onrush of customers at peak hours. Owner Gu YoungSoo handed out energy bars to encourage them. Like that, the second peak hours arrived.

"It looks like you need to be there too."
"……."

President Lee HyunJi playfully pushed Owner Gu YoungSoo's back. The store was so full of people that it was crowded. He even had the resting employees to work, but even they couldn't fill in the gaps, so it was his turn to do the work as well.
President Lee HyunJi headed to KangYoon who was at the counter.

"How is it?"
"I think the sales are alright. The song selection also doesn't feel bad."

Said KangYoon while comparing the current sales and the sales from last week. The graph KangYoon was holding on to showed that today's sales were higher than last weeks at the same hours. President Lee HyunJi switched the topic in satisfaction.

"Is it because of the song exclusive to the store? The people aren't showing signs of leaving."

President Lee HyunJi watched the people who were absorbed into the second store-exclusive song, 'Look at only one'. This was a song from a male hip-hop duo from half a year ago. However, adding a few sounds after changing the beat faster made it a completely new rhythmical and exciting song.
However, time still passed, and it passed very fast even while the customers called out to the staff here and there. The war zone like day had finally come to an end.

"Uerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrh……."

After locking the doors to the store, Owner Gu YoungSoo and the other staff all collapsed onto the ground.

"Hey…. Go home. Forget about cleaning…. Let's do it tomorrow…."
"Yeees……."

Today was the highest record for the number of customers they had, so it was impossible to do any cleaning. Owner Gu YoungSoo told the staff to go home after finishing off the work with the POS device. Then, he had a look at today's sales through the sales management table.

"Whoa!?"

And his jaws dropped. When KangYoon and President Lee HyunJi approached to see it, he hugged the two and shouted.

"It's…… the highest……. It's the highest profit since ever!"

KangYoon didn't feel so great being hugged by a man, but for now, it was okay. He smiled in satisfaction of his work.

A holiday.
KangYoon had met up with Professor Choi ChanYang to learn harmonics.
It was thanks to Professor Choi saying that he would teach him even during the holidays.

"You've come quite far. Major, minor, and diminished…. It looks like there's no problem with your scales anymore."
"Thank you."

The lecture in the café was very fun. Professor Choi ChanYang smoothly led KangYoon on the right track. Thanks to that, KangYoon could learn music theory to his heart's content as though a sponge absorbing water.

"Should we rest for a little?"

When KangYoon raised his head, the sun was already setting. When he focused, time flew quickly. Using this rest time, Professor Choi ChanYang started talking about the recent news.

"You're like normal, Mr. KangYoon. Busy, and then busy again…."
"It's just that type of work. Don't you know that this industry requires a lot of hands?"
"I guess that's true. Especially if you're someone high like Mr. KangYoon."

KangYoon nodded his head.
The two had become quite close to each other and talked about many things. Professor Choi ChanYang said that he watched anime as a hobby. KangYoon felt as though he saw a new world to find out that Professor Choi liked something entirely different from what he looked like on the surface, a gentleman.
When they were about to start studying again, Professor Choi's phone started ringing. He left the café to get the call.
When KangYoon was going through his textbook, Professor Choi came back.

"HyunAh wants to come here. What should we do?"
"I'm okay with it."

He felt like he saw HyunAh quite frequently recently, but he was fine with it. Professor Choi told her through the phone and ended the call.
Not long after the two started studying again, Lee HyunAh came. On her back was a large guitar. After a simple exchange of greetings, Lee HyunAh took out a score.

"It's the score for the song last time."
"Oh, that one. That song was great."

KangYoon was honest. In his ears, the song wasn't bad at all. Professor Choi ChanYang also agreed to that.

"Didn't you say that you were going to record it?"
"Yes. It'll be this Wednesday. At seven in the evening."
"Okay."

Professor Choi ChanYang took out a memo and wrote the time on it. KangYoon also remembered the promise and wrote the time on his phone.

"Please come."

After getting an agreement from the two, Lee HyunAh took out her guitar. She tapped on the guitars saying she'll let them listen to a song she composed. Along with the clean guitar sounds, her voice started flowing out into the café.

"Whooo— I can't help but fall in love—all day - I — "

The musical note from the guitar and from Lee HyunAh herself combined to create white light. The light was very bright. KangYoon clapped lightly and reacted to her. She seemed to be encouraged by the claps as she put more power into playing the guitar.

"My heart is on that ticking clock— "

The few customers in the café also looked at KangYoon's trio. Everyone was showing interest at the sudden live-show. Professor Choi ChanYang was tapping his foot lightly to enjoy and KangYoon became a loyal audience by clapping. Their table was like a small stage.
The song ended, and Lee HyunAh shyly lowered her head.

"How was it?"
"It was good."

That was his honest opinion: It was a good song. He thought that the song fits her voice well.

"It's thanks to you that I could make this song, oppa."
"I don't remember doing much."
"You made the melody here at this part, though."

Lee HyunAh pointed at the score. When she pointed at the melody line and the bass line in the third and fourth bars, KangYoon smiled awkwardly.

"It's only because you helped out. I know nothing…."
"Creating melodies are extremely difficult you know? It's only thanks to you that I could compose a good song, oppa. I'm planning to put your name as the co-composer. Will that be alright with you?"

This was an official request. When KangYoon pondered seriously, Professor Choi ChanYang spoke to him.

"Mr. KangYoon. Is it because of your company?"
"No, it's not that. The company won't interfere with personal lives after all."
"Isn't it fine then?" Creating your own song isn't just doable by anyone."

KangYoon fell into thought after hearing that. His 'own song' provoked him a little.

"…Okay, put it in there then."
"Okay. I'll make it into a good song so that it won't tarnish your name."

She was full of resolve for some reason. KangYoon shook his hands saying that it was too pressuring for him, but she didn't change her attitude.

Having successfully finished his work with DRO Mart, KangYoon wrapped up his work and gave it to the business team. He made the important decisions, but things like analysis were now handled by a specialized team. With the success of this job, a new department was created in the company, and that leads to new profits.
KangYoon headed to the chairman's office to report about the DRO mart.

"I knew I could count on you for the new job. It must have been quite unfamiliar, were you okay with it?"
"I did it with the mindset that I will learn new things. It's fortunate that things went well."

Chairman Won JinMoon slowly sipped on the coffee. He felt his body relaxing as the warm coffee went down his throat. He asked KangYoon with a smile that was as comfortable as his body.

"Okay. What about your next work?"
"I have heard that it's still under progress."
"Hm…. President Lee still has some ways to go."
"I heard that it's hard to find suitable work even though there are many offers. After all, we need to do something that's profitable."

KangYoon stood up for President Lee HyunJi. Then, Chairman Won JinMoon agreed and switched topics.

"Hm… well, I'll find out in the next report. So, you'll be resting for a while?"
"The coordinator work keeps coming in so I'll be doing those."
"Okay then."

After the conversation with Chairman Won JinMoon, KangYoon left the chairman's office.

'I wonder what the next one would be?'

KangYoon was curious about it as well. President Lee HyunJi was currently working away from the office to get a good work offer, so it would be bad to call her now.
Before he returned to his own office, KangYoon headed to the resting room to cool off a little. However, there was someone already there. It was Jung MinAh.

"MinAh."
"Huh? Ahjussi."
"You really…."
"…Team leader."

When KangYoon was about to get angry, Jung MinAh lowered her tail. However, she immediately became full of vitality and approached KangYoon. She was the type that was hard to hate.
KangYoon bought her some snacks and sat down together.

"How is it nowadays?"
"Oh, it's hard. There's a lot of work, but no rest…. I wish there was a Jung MinAh-robot."
"Consider yourselves lucky. Celebrities without any schedules sometimes get suicidal thoughts."
"Sheesh, can't you even console me…."

Grumbled Jung MinAh. When KangYoon raised his fist, she immediately moved away.

"What are you doing nowadays, Team leader? Don't you feel great now that you don't have to take care of us anymore?"
"Yep."
"Hey, really?!"

KangYoon's joke made Jung MinAh's expression change immediately. When KangYoon said that it was a joke, she still got mad at him. Jung MinAh was the kind of girl that needed quite a bit of care, but precisely because of that, she was the closest to him out of all the girls of Eddios.

"Some people called DiaTeen debuted at Yoonseul. And I think they're always on guard against us."
"They're from a rival company after all. Perhaps they're feeling a sense of rivalry?"
"Who cares about rivalry nowadays? We're all singers. Anyway, I don't like them. They don't come around for a greeting and hand out albums, and… oh yeah, they do seem to have quite a few fans. At first, I thought they were some unknown twats…."
"What's a twat?"

(T/N: Okay, that's the closest I can get to in English, in the original text, it's an acronym of 'Random trash that's unheard and unseen of'. Rttuauo doesn't sound like it's a word…)

KangYoon didn't know the slang word and tilted his head. Jung MinAh explained to him that it was a derogatory term. He warned her to never use the word in public and Jung MinAh told him that there's no way she would. They were actually on good terms with each other.

"…Anyway, they're nagging my mind nowadays. They're always there when we try to appear on TV."
"It's just in the TV station, right?"
"Yes. Hey, they would be stalkers if they followed us to events…."

Jung MinAh shivered saying that it was frightening to just think about it.
While they were talking, Jung MinAh stood up saying that it was time to go.

"Then I'll be going to another event then."
"Be careful on your way."

After sending her off, KangYoon headed to his office as well. Although he had much more time than before, he still had some work to do.

The day of Lee HyunAh's recording came.
KangYoon finished off his work and headed to a recording studio nearby Hongdae where Lee HyunAh would be recording today. Since he only had the address, it took him some time to find it.

"Hello."

When KangYoon entered a shabby basement, Lee HyunAh and the other members all greeted him. At a glance, they exuded the aura of 'musicians'. KangYoon also took out some meals after greeting them. Among everyone's cheers, KangYoon left an impression on them as the 'snack uncle'.
After a simple meal, the recording began. Professor Choi ChanYang adjusted the instrumental sounds, as well as Lee HyunAh's microphone. Although this took a considerable amount of time, he did this properly.

"Studio renting is expensive though…."
"It's fine. This is all an investment."
"That's true, but still…."

Kim JinDae, the drums, spoke worriedly, but Lee HyunAh was actually cool with it. She told everyone that investment was a must for a good song, and got an agreement from all of them.

"Okay, let's begin."

Along with Professor Choi ChanYan'gs words, everyone including Lee HyunAh gave him the OK signal. With four beats from the drumsticks, the recording began.

"Perhaps I might be busy today - and tomorrow's no good either -."

When the song began, musical notes started appearing in front of KangYoon as well.

'Not bad.'

The musical notes from the electric guitar and the synthesizer were added to the drums and the bass. When Lee HyunAh's voice was added to it, a white light was released. It wasn't a bad light. KangYoon could imagine Lee HyunAh's playing of the acoustic guitar at the café overlapping her.

'It feels similar to that time.'

The song was definitely good, but he felt like it lacked impact. The song progressed from the introduction to the middle part, but not the climax. It had to reach the peak, but KangYoon felt that it fell down before it could go up and shook his head.

"How is it?"

When Professor Choi ChanYang asked that, KangYoon shook his head instead of answering. Professor Choi also seemed to think the same and didn't say much about it. He gave a glance to KangYoon though. KangYoon immediately voiced out his opinion.

"I think you don't have any impact. The instrumental-kind of feeling is good, but there's no ups and downs in the song."
– Oh, really? Should we raise the volume in the 'weekend' part?
"Why don't we go with another tone for the guitar? Right now, it's the clean tone. Let's go with another sound."

When Lee HyunAh asked as the representative, KangYoon talked about the necessary things. Jung ChanKyu, the electric guitar player, controlled the effector to change the tone.

"Would you like to sit here?"

Professor Choi ChanYang yielded the center seat of the mixer to KangYoon. KangYoon shook his hand saying that he couldn't do this, but Professor Choi ChanYang still urged him on anyway.

"I'll teach you. Just try it once. I heard you can do the basics."
"I don't have any experience doing it for a real recording though."
"You have a knack for it so you'll do well."

KangYoon eventually sat in front of the mixer instead of Professor Choi ChanYang. There was nothing easy since there were 48 channels on the mixer and the program on the computer was in English. However, Professor Choi ChanYang explained each one of them and encouraged KangYoon.
When everyone inside the booth gave the ok signal, KangYoon gave them the signal to start.

– Perhaps I might be busy today - and tomorrow's no good either -

Seeing musical notes coming out of everyone, he started adjusting the machine. The first thing he adjusted was the drums. When he isolated the drums with the headset, it was quite sharp. KangYoon started decreasing the high tone from the microphone that was placed in front of the cymbals.

"Mr. KangYoon, you decreased it too much."
"Ah…."

However, Professor Choi ChanYang spoke to him the next moment. The machine was sensitive so it changed drastically even from a little tweaking. KangYoon minutely adjusted the sounds.

"You see the effector here, right?"
"Yes. It's the echo and the delay. What is this?"

KangYoon tweaked on the mixer while listening to the sounds and the advice from Professor Choi ChanYang.
Like that, the second recording ended.

– How was it this time?

When Lee HyunAh asked for his opinion, KangYoon shook his head, saying that it wasn't time yet.

"I'm sorry, it's my first time on the mixer."
– If it's you, well… we'll do it again.

Lee HyunAh didn't say anything anymore as she trusted in KangYoon. The other members also didn't say anything since she didn't. This time, KangYoon recorded verse by verse.

– Perhaps I might be busy today -

KangYoon was busy. He had to look at the musical notes and tweak the machine as well. However, he also found it more comfortable since he could do everything now without telling someone else to do it. When he saw that Lee HyunAh's musical note dimmed the light a little instead, KangYoon stopped the song.

"Let's do that again, the sound was too weak."
– Yes.

In the retry, a strong white light came out. He tried it one more time just in case, and the results were the same. KangYoon went on to the next verse in satisfaction.

"I want to give this part a slight echoing effect here, what do I need to do?"
"To do that, you…."

Professor Choi ChanYang put his best effort to advise KangYoon.
Like that, Lee HyunAh and KangYoon's song was being completed bit by bit.

The recording ended and when they left the studio, it was way past midnight. Everyone had to get a taxi because there was no public transport.

"Thank you for your work."

The members each took a taxi. Today's recording went well so everyone was in great spirits.

"Bye."
"See you at practice."

Lee HyunAh sent the members away first. She told them that the leader had to go last and made everyone laugh as well.
When the members and Professor Choi ChanYang left, only KangYoon and Lee HyunAh were left.

"We should go too."
"Yes."

KangYoon came to the roadside to hail a taxi, but strangely, none came. Lee HyunAh approached him.

"I can't see any taxi."
"It will come soon."

Unlike his words, no taxis stopped by. It was strange. While KangYoon was looking out for a taxi, Lee HyunAh approached KangYoon.

"Oppa."
"What is it?"
"Uh… can I ask you something?"

KangYoon nodded his head without any word. Lee HyunAh, unlike her usual self, asked him very cautiously and shyly.

"Uhm…. Do you perhaps… have a girlfriend?"

KangYoon was stunned by the sudden question from HyunAh.

Translator's notes
CLIFFFFFFFFFFHANNNNNGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter end