The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The air inside the recording booth settled into a quiet calm, as if a storm had just passed.
She felt satisfied.
She had been so completely immersed, the emotions rushing over her, that she couldn’t even remember the tempo.
As the song came to an end, she took a moment to catch her steadying breath.
With her emotions subsiding, the scene before her eyes slowly came into sharp focus.
Through the glass window, Kang Ki-baek was staring intently at her.
Lee Jae-i waited for his reaction, but he remained completely motionless.
‘Don’t tell me he didn’t like it?’
She shrank back a little.
After all, nothing was more subjective than raw emotion.
“Ahem… Cough!”
She cleared her throat softly, pretending to fix her voice.
At that, he finally moved toward the microphone.
“You can come out now.”
Lee Jae-i kept fretting over his response as she sat back down on the sofa.
She even kept her breathing shallow.
What on earth was he planning to say that required such a long pause?
He swiveled his chair around.
With a blunt, hardened expression, he opened his mouth.
“I’m not entirely sure how to put this.”
Thump.
Her expectations instantly shriveled.
Phrases that began that way rarely ended well.
Would he ask her to try a different song?
Just as that anxiety crept in,
“The detailed feedback might take too long, so I’ll condense it into a single sentence.”
Lee Jae-i inhaled sharply.
“It was flawless. Let’s sign the contract.”
At those words, fireworks exploded inside her chest.
‘Yes! Yes!’
The urge to cheer out loud was so overwhelming that the words couldn’t easily escape her throat.
Swallowing hard, Lee Jae-i opened her mouth to speak.
Grumble—
In the silent space, the alarm of her stomach clock rang out like thunder.
‘Are you crazy? Why is your ambition roaring from your stomach?’
Kang Ki-baek looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes.
“Let’s grab a bite to eat before signing that contract. It would be troublesome if you collapsed.”
Embarrassed, she squeezed her eyes shut.
* * *
The savory aroma of baked cheese and crispy dough filled the air.
Coupled with the salty scent wafting from the slightly charred pepperoni, her stomach reacted automatically.
Guided by the staff, they took their seats, and a cheerful server approached the table.
As the server took Kang Ki-baek’s order, she double-checked the menu.
“We have a couples event today, would you be interested? We can make the dough into a heart shape for you. There’s no extra charge.”
“Yes! Please do it that way.”
Lee Jae-i replied without a moment’s hesitation.
It was always a win to accept a special service that didn’t cost any extra.
Once the server left, Kang Ki-baek rubbed his chin.
“She said it was a couples event, is it really alright for us to do that?”
“Didn’t you call me ‘honey’ earlier?”
Kang Ki-baek pressed his temples lightly at her shameless attitude.
Yet a gentle smile spread across his lips.
As he sliced into the pizza sitting on the table, cheese cascaded from the slice like a waterfall.
‘Wow! A total cheese bomb.’
Lee Jae-i leaned a little closer to the pizza.
The warm heat rising from the thick, butter-infused dough tickled the tip of her nose.
It wasn’t a particularly large pizza, but perhaps due to its sheer thickness, she began to feel full rather quickly.
Even so, she couldn’t skip dessert. She requested the menu.
She really wanted some ice cream.
But the server recommended something else, explaining that they had unfortunately just run out of ice cream.
“No, that’s alright then. Thank you.”
Stepping outside, a scene far more vibrant than before unfolded.
People were walking at a slightly brisker pace, and the streets had grown bustling.
As her eyes scanned the surrounding scenery, Kang Ki-baek pointed toward a promenade.
“The weather is lovely today, shall we walk a bit?”
The sense of leisure she had felt earlier had left an impression, making her want to take a stroll too.
But they were supposed to go sign the contract.
That lingering worry vanished completely with Kang Ki-baek’s next words.
“The lawyer is bringing the prepared paperwork over. He said he’d be a bit late, so the timing should work out perfectly.”
“In that case, shall we?”
The two strolled side by side along the promenade, looking just like any ordinary couple.
Beyond the railing, the view stretched out endlessly.
Was it because her only experience with such a view had been the Hangang bridges?
She knew it was a river, but the scenery felt far more suited to the ocean, causing Lee Jae-i’s eyes to dart around restlessly.
She even took a deep breath.
Yet the blowing wind didn’t carry even a hint of saltiness.
If she were to dip her finger in and taste it, it felt like it might mysteriously taste a bit salty though.
Indulging in that childish thought as she followed the path leading to the park, a white truck caught her eye.
“Fortunately, it’s here today as well.”
“What kind of truck is it?”
“An ice cream truck. You wanted some earlier, didn’t you? Go ahead and choose.”
The timing was absolutely impeccable.
It was right around the time when the sun’s heat was starting to prickle her skin.
And her craving for ice cream hadn’t faded at all.
With an excited heart, Lee Jae-i stepped forward with a light bounce.
“Strawberry ice cream with coconut jelly for the topping, please!”
“That’s a unique combination.”
“It’s for you, Director.”
“Ah, is that so?”
His eyebrows, which had remained perfectly composed the entire time, shot upward.
“Then I’ll order yours, Lee Jae-i. Vanilla ice cream with Cheetos on top, please.”
She gently grabbed Kang Ki-baek’s wrist.
“……You’re terrible.”
He simply shrugged his shoulders and changed the topping to chocolate chips.
The texture was chewy, closer to gelato than regular ice cream, matching the toppings perfectly.
Click—.
At the distant sound of a camera, Lee Jae-i whipped her head around.
“Is there something over there?”
“No. I just thought I heard a sound.”
Kang Ki-baek scanned the surroundings, then smiled as if everything was fine.
“Since it’s summer, it might have just been a bug flying past.”
That could be true.
And yet, it had unmistakably sounded like a camera shutter clicking.
Even as she looked around, nobody holding a camera was anywhere in sight.
It was certainly a landscape worth capturing in a photo, but that shutter sound had been peculiar.
“Let’s head out now.”
Though she followed after Kang Ki-baek and tried her best to shake off the unpleasant sensation, it lingered like a sticker stuck to her side.
* * *
She had wanted to sign the contract right then and there, but it ended at just reviewing the terms.
‘You shouldn’t rush into a contract. We are fully prepared on our end. If there are better terms you’d like to propose, please let me know.’
The conditions were already exceptionally good for a rookie.
‘Take your time to review it, and if nothing catches your eye, we can sign the next time we meet.’
He even added a reminder that his staff would be at the festival venue, so she should take a look at the overall picture before deciding.
A man who delays the signing even while holding the contract out.
Strangely, it made him seem even more trustworthy.
There wasn’t any specific content that required revision, but Lee Jae-i nodded her head regardless.
Considering his cautious nature, she figured it would be better to show her trust in return.
Lee Jae-i twirled her pen in a circle as she looked over the files Kang Ki-baek had sent.
Because the song she sang in the Recording Room wasn’t suitable for a festival performance, she had received a different track.
‘It would be better if this part was changed.’
If she just altered the bass line in the dragging sections of the melody, the sound would likely become much richer.
Yoo Young-jae, who had recognized her talent, used to record Lee Jae-i’s voice and frequently pass it along to the in-house composers.
‘I should have asked him to teach me composition back then.’
Those songs ended up being released under other composers’ names.
In the past, she had been happy just knowing that the music she helped create was being loved, completely blind to how foolish her actions truly were.
Among those tracks was a massive hit song for A-two, the group Baek Song-ha belonged to.
‘I was completely insane.’
As Baek Song-ha’s face crossed her mind, Lee Jae-i resolved that she must absolutely include ‘composition lessons’ in her contract.
A singer who could also compose was far more compelling, after all.
“For now, let’s just focus on practicing!”
* * *
A few days later.
The festival began.
While the other teams had finished their sound checks long ago, Lee Jae-i was only able to join for the final rehearsal.
Lee Jae-i arrived at the festival venue.
“Over here, Lee Jae-i.”
Standing beside Kang Ki-baek, who was welcoming her, was a man who looked thoroughly exhausted by fatigue.
“This is Producer Han Myeong-geun from Star Entertainment. I was quite surprised when I heard the Director had personally cast you.”
“Hello.”
Producer Han laid out the schedule with a somewhat hyperactive energy.
“We plan to run the rehearsals in the order of the actual stage performances, and you will be the fourth act, Lee Jae-i. There are fireworks prepared during the chorus, so don’t let them startle you.”
The one who stepped in to stop Producer Han, who seemed incapable of silencing his lips, was Kang Ki-baek.
“Producer Han. Please explain things to her step by step. And Lee Jae-i, an urgent matter has suddenly come up that I must attend to, so I don’t think I’ll be able to watch your rehearsal.”
He was a busy man, so she completely understood.
“I will still be checking the live broadcast feed from the venue in real time. We can discuss the contract once I return.”
“Yes, see you later!”
Perhaps he had barely managed to squeeze even this much time out of his schedule, as his long legs moved rapidly away.
Producer Han, who resembled a walking guidebook, explained every nook and cranny of the venue to her.
There wasn’t even a spare moment to ask questions.
As Lee Jae-i’s turn approached, Producer Han pressed close to her side and whispered.
“Only give about seventy percent for the rehearsal. There’s no need to pour everything out. This is just to check the audio and your positioning.”
She understood exactly what he meant.
She offered a small smile and nodded.
Even though it was a massive stage, she didn’t feel very nervous, perhaps because the audience seats were empty.
As she stepped down from the stage after finishing her rehearsal, she could feel the gazes of the other performers locking onto her.
“I told you to only give seventy percent! The next team is going to be grinding their teeth!”
She hadn’t even given fifty percent.
Producer Han wore a troubled expression, murmuring that he would have to add even more fireworks now.
At that exact moment, a voice echoed from behind the backstage area.
“Please check this for me!”
Despite it being a perfectly ordinary phrase, Lee Jae-i’s body jolted with a shock, as if she had just been electrocuted.
‘This is the title track and concept for the group scheduled to debut this time.’
It aligned perfectly with a memory buried deep in the past. This was something she could absolutely never mistake……
‘It’s that voice.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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