The Daughter of a Conglomerate Family Has Debuted - Chapter 324
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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While the host was conducting the show, an incredible level of stage equipment was being set up behind the curtained stage.
I was blankly watching the staff’s perfectly coordinated movements – they must have rehearsed countless times – when the sound of approaching footsteps suddenly began moving in an irregular rhythm.
When I glanced back, I saw Cael Arden fidgeting and subtly practicing his dance moves.
“…What.”
When I glared at him, Cael Arden stopped moving and awkwardly lifted his chin.
“What do you mean what?”
I responded while looking at him with exasperated eyes.
So he was worried about making mistakes on stage after all.
Then he should have just practiced when I suggested it earlier, but he acted all relaxed then and now he’s practicing with an anxious face right before going on stage.
Thanks to that, I was already worried and now I’m starting to feel anxious too.
“If you’re going to practice, you need to practice dancing and singing together. You’re already good at doing them separately.”
“….”
Cael Arden ignored my words and started practicing his dance again.
As I watched quietly, it seemed like his lips were moving slightly too.
The venue was so noisy that I couldn’t hear well, but he was probably quietly singing while practicing the dance.
“I’m never doing this again. I’m sure my fans will hate it too.”
“The newly gained fans will like it though.”
“….”
Cael Arden ignored my words again and started practicing while staring into space.
It roughly meant he couldn’t argue with what I said.
Whatever came before, the biggest hit among Cael Arden’s songs is 【Rising】, which he sang with me.
Anyone who likes this song wouldn’t hate seeing Cael Arden dancing and performing live to the music.
“Stop thinking it’s embarrassing and just enjoy it. Didn’t you feel it when filming the musical movie? It’s actually more ridiculous when you dance awkwardly while being shy.”
“Still, dancing isn’t my style. I’m only doing it this time because I’m with you. They said it would be a waste not to dance when performing with a K-pop star.”
Just as Cael Arden was being stubborn and bickering again, a staff member approached and frantically pointed to the stage.
“Go up now! Quickly!”
The stage set was already completed. We were pushed along by the staff’s urging as we grabbed our microphones and went up on stage.
My position was on top of the circular stairs installed on the stage. It was a set that looked like part of Rapunzel’s castle had been brought here.
I would hide here and then open the door and come out when Cael Arden’s part ended.
Maybe because I had already been on stage once earlier? I wasn’t nervous at all.
Cael Arden was standing stiffly below with the dancers.
He was still muttering and fidgeting, brainstorming… He seemed to be the one who was really nervous.
I covered the microphone with my hand, held back my laughter, and hid behind the castle-shaped set.
“My most beloved friend and my most favorite and respected K-pop star on the same stage. I don’t know which light stick I should wave. Oh wait, my friend doesn’t have a light stick so I don’t need to worry!”
Meanwhile, from outside the stage came the host’s cheeky words along with the audience’s laughter.
“Like this! How’s that? Oh right, I’ll turn on the light too. I wave it pretty well like a Flora fan, don’t I? Haha.”
Though I couldn’t see the host because of the curtain, from what he was saying, he seemed to be waving Flora’s light stick.
“Now that we’re ready to watch the stage, shall we call them? One of this year’s biggest hits! Cael Arden, and Ji-ye of Flora!”
Along with the host’s shout came the fans’ cheers.
And with the intro of 【Rising】, the curtain slowly began to rise.
***
“Oh, I know this intro. No, I know the song. So this was Cael Arden’s song.”
A man in a beret with a bushy white beard raised his champagne glass and spoke, and the woman in a suit sitting right next to him nodded.
“Yes, Cael Arden and… a K-pop singer.”
The woman, who was the man’s secretary, answered briefly. She didn’t bother to add information about the singer other than Cael Arden – the other artist the man hadn’t mentioned.
Because it would be information he wouldn’t be curious about at all.
In fact, he had shown no interest while Flora was performing earlier.
No, he only watched briefly at the very beginning, then turned his back completely during the performance and conversed with officials and artists who came to greet him.
For Dominic Sterling, a master who had nurtured countless legendary singers and an authoritative producer, K-pop seemed quite not to his taste.
He hates having useless conversations. He also hates useless information entering his head.
The secretary, who had adapted to his picky personality, naturally excluded information about Ryu Ji-ye from Flora, who was outside Dominic’s interest.
If he brought up Cael Arden, her job was to answer only about Cael Arden.
A capable secretary who always perfectly understood what he wanted and maintained her position.
But this time, her answer of staying within bounds didn’t seem to satisfy Dominic.
“No, that’s not the information I’m curious about. Why are you making me say things twice?”
“…Yes?”
Dominic frowned deeply and scolded her.
“You just repeated exactly what I said. Why do you do such useless things? Do you think I wouldn’t know Cael Arden? He’s terrible as a singer but his song producing ability is amazing.”
“Then…. Ah.”
Knowing Cael Arden and being interested in the song while bothering to have a conversation with his secretary meant he wanted to know who the other protagonist of the song was – the female singer who sang with Cael Arden.
“I’m sorry.”
It would be much simpler to just ask who sang with him. The secretary grumbled internally while producing a skilled answer.
“The singer who sang with him is a Korean named Ryu Ji-ye from the K-pop girl group Flora.”
“A group?”
“Yes, the one who was on stage earlier….”
“Those dancers?”
“…Yes, that K-pop group.”
“Hmm….”
Dominic stroked his beard as if displeased.
“Not even a new singer from a K-pop group. They didn’t have such good voices in their own songs.”
A member of a dancer group, not even an American singer, and an already discovered singer who had already lost his interest.
Dominic looked at the stage with a clearly disappointed expression.
When he first heard Cael Arden’s new song, he was quite satisfied.
The vocals that simply followed trends, the melody, and above all, the fresh voice that captivated Dominic’s ears.
A voice that focused Dominic’s attention with more immersive emotional lines than even Cael Arden, who had been an actor.
It was a voice he had never heard before, so he was curious about what kind of new singer it was, but he didn’t bother to look it up.
Dominic was already too busy to pay attention to a new singer whose face he didn’t even know.
Even while repeatedly hearing Cael Arden’s song from all directions, he only had momentary curiosity.
He was quite pleased to see the existence he had been curious about here… but.
His curiosity completely cooled when he heard that she was a member of the team that had performed that bland stage earlier.
Of course, that stage had good response like a recently popular K-pop group and the songs weren’t bad either.
However, it was too performance-focused, so it didn’t give even a speck of impact to Dominic, who focused on vocals.
He barely listened because he was having conversations with other people.
He evaluated it as ‘I guess they’re a team that can’t do live performances.’
Therefore, he had no interest in singers belonging to that team.
No matter how good their tone and technique, he had no interest in singers who couldn’t perform live.
It would be great if he could discover a rough gem, but at least when Dominic heard it, Flora’s performance wasn’t from a team that put on interesting shows.
“Dominic! It’s been a while!”
“Shelly? I’ve been waiting after hearing you were coming. Sit here.”
The curtain on stage was rising. The song’s intro flowed through the speakers and soon Cael Arden began to sing.
When Dominic, who had completely lost interest, turned his back to the stage while conversing with Shelly, a singer he had discovered.
“Kyaaaah!!!”
“Aaaaah!!!”
At the sudden thunderous cheers, Dominic instinctively covered his ears and looked at the stage.
And his gaze naturally flowed to the protagonist of the cheers who seemed to have just appeared on stage – a figure in a pastel-toned dress.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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