The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 17

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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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My Hit Song in This Life Is Revenge
Episode 17
Clink.
The ice in the cafe latte made a sound as it melted.
At that noise, Hyun-joo stopped spinning her swivel chair.
She tapped her desk lightly, staring at the seat where Jae-i had just been sitting.
Honestly, when the girl had stood up from that spot earlier, a sigh had escaped her lips first.
It was just too cliché.
“But what was that exactly?”
Hyun-joo’s voice leaked out unconsciously.
Passionate trainees were a dime a dozen.
Among them, there were plenty whose skills were impressive enough to make heads turn.
She thought she had seen it all by now.
‘She’s definitely different…’
Just a single syllable.
In that moment, it had taken her a few seconds just to close her wide-open mouth.
She felt relieved that Jae-i hadn’t been looking at her then.
That wasn’t the only surprising thing.
She possessed a charm that dominated the room—bold, yet not at all unpleasant.
It was undeniable star quality.
A mega-star, born and raised right inside her own program.
A pure thrill stirred her heart.
‘I have a feeling.’
If she couldn’t even notice this, she had no business being a variety show producer.
Hyun-joo tapped the darkened screen of her tablet.
[I’m Your Singer Season 3]
Because she wanted to do this right, she had been involved in every single casting choice.
This was her first time running a show as the main producer after breaking free from assistant director duties, so how could she not be ambitious?
Reality television was a design of perfect predictability.
Characters who could pull off intended scenarios.
The variables and solutions when unexpected situations arose.
She took all of that into consideration.
The only thing missing was a script that actually had to be memorized.
“Sigh…”
Hyun-joo pressed her throbbing temples.
There was one headache that remained useless no matter how thoroughly she prepared.
“YU Entertainment is the biggest problem.”
They had shoved a trainee in by attaching a massive advertising deal.
When a corporate employee protested a decision made from above, the only response they got was contempt.
‘If the monk hates the temple, the monk should leave. What else can you do?’
‘Producer Son. If you want to make art that badly, why don’t you change careers?’
Hyun-joo exhaled a harsh breath.
“I should just quit. Dammit.”
She hated the temple, but she loved the work too much.
So, swallowing her rising temper, she prepared once again.
A framing setup that could offer an appealing competition against the child the higher-ups wanted.
A mission that would allow someone to stumble before brilliantly standing out.
She threw her tablet across the room several times a day.
Yet, she had no choice but to pick it back up.
The moment she stepped down voluntarily, there was no telling when she would ever be entrusted with such a massive program again.
‘Look what it took to get this spot.’
No matter how garbage the situation was, it was a show being broadcasted with her name on the line.
If she truly wanted to leave for another temple, she needed to make this an even bigger success.
Just then, an email notification popped up at the bottom of the screen.
“Star Entertainment?”
Along with the email arriving from CEO Kang, a pristine photo appeared.
It was the profile of the girl who had just dominated this meeting room.
When she had first received the contact from CEO Kang Ki-baek, she hadn’t given it much thought.
Maintaining a decent networking relationship.
That was where she drew the line.
But now, she felt a newfound sense of trust toward Star Entertainment.
“CEO Kang. He really knows how to handle his business.”
Hyun-joo scrolled through Jae-i’s profile, her mind racing quickly.
Either way, the structure strictly required viewer voting to take place.
What if Jae-i’s votes from the viewers turned out to be overwhelming?
“Even so, reaching first place will be tough…”
Hyun-joo shook her head abruptly.
‘What am I thinking right now?’
Her mind, which had been momentarily entranced, snapped back to reality.
Coldly, she recalled the instructions passed down from management once more.
‘Would they push a kid who completely lacks potential? YU only asked us to keep her score high. They said they’d take care of first place themselves. Just do it moderately, without making it obvious, okay? You get it?’
Hyun-joo stared at the face displayed on the tablet before picking up her cell phone.
“Yeah, it’s me. Let’s add just one more person to our cast.”
She resolved to orchestrate a real drama.
* * *
Haze shimmered over the pavement heated by the midsummer sun.
Ki-baek closed the distance toward Jae-i after pressing the send button on the email.
Jae-i pulled open the cafe door a beat faster than him.
“Phew…!”
The air-conditioned breeze filling the interior poured out like a waterfall.
Her mind, which had been scorched by tension and heat, cooled down for a moment.
The moment she received her ordered drink and leaned her back against the chair, her breath escaped all at once.
Ki-baek’s gaze naturally lingered on her flushed cheeks.
“How was Producer Hyun-joo?”
“If nothing else, she seemed to prefer things quick and definitive.”
He nodded with an inscrutable smile.
“The cafe is close by, so why did you come back so late? Especially when you even bought a drink for the producer?”
“Jae-i, you just said it yourself. She prefers things quick and definitive.”
Jae-i’s lips puckered slightly.
Then shouldn’t he have bought it quickly and come back?
Her question had been asking where he was resting by himself while she was fighting a lonely battle.
The completely different nature of his response took the wind out of her sails a bit.
At her subtle expression, Ki-baek finally laughed out loud.
“Because if I had been there, Producer Hyun-joo wouldn’t have been able to ask the questions she truly wanted to ask you.”
Jae-i gave a small nod.
Since he mentioned they were already close acquaintances, he must have figured out what kind of person she was.
Shifting his gaze, he corrected himself, saying, “Though if it’s Producer Hyun-joo, she might have done it anyway.”
Ki-baek was confident.
He knew exactly how much passion Producer Hyun-joo poured into that program.
That was why he wanted to show her more.
Because a powerful shock was far more effective than a stale, conventional appeal.
He had been certain when he heard the voice drifting from the meeting room and saw the back of the man standing in the hallway.
Filming would begin soon.
Tracing back through his own impressions, Ki-baek opened his mouth.
“There was also the fact that I wanted to step out and drink with you privately, Jae-i.”
“Do you have something to say to me?”
Taking a beat to catch his breath, he continued.
“I am going to give you your composition lessons myself.”
It was purely out of personal ambition.
Leaving it to the training team would be more than enough, but he wanted to do it directly.
A singer who perfectly executed a song embedded with his own color.
He couldn’t help but feel that desire as a composer, not just as the CEO of an entertainment agency.
“Pardon?!”
Inside Jae-i’s widened eyes, surprise rippled out entirely.
‘Himself?’
She couldn’t help but be flustered, considering the CEO was becoming her teacher.
This was a man who didn’t even sleep a wink on the airplane, doing nothing but work.
Did he even have time for that?
“Aren’t you busy?”
“My job is to nurture artists.”
“Ah. That’s… true, I suppose.”
It wasn’t a wrong statement, but it felt slightly off somehow.
“If a singer is someone showing off a house, a composer is the one building it.”
His relaxed demeanor tightened instantly, and his firm tone prompted Jae-i to straighten her posture as well.
“Yes.”
“And I’m telling you this in advance: there will be no half-hearted cutting corners.”
His words were not a simple lecture; they were a clear standard.
Just then, the bell above the cafe door rang, and a sliver of heat seeped in very faintly before being blocked out again.
Outside the cafe, the cicadas cried like a torrential downpour, while the air conditioner was cold enough to make her ears tingle.
Much like that stark temperature difference, Jae-i felt tense yet thrilled at the same time.
“Of course!”
She answered boldly.
She liked the piece he composed, and the CEO would teach her as a strict mentor.
For the first time in a while, her passion for learning ignited.
As new emotions built up, a worry buried underneath slithered up to raise its head.
“CEO. Normally after an interview like this, how long does it take to hear back?”
“Usually it takes about a week or two, but since this program has an upcoming filming date, three days at the latest…”
Before he could even finish his sentence, the phone vibration buzzed briefly on top of the table.
“Hold on a moment.”
While Ki-baek checked the screen, Jae-i’s gaze was drawn completely toward him.
Was it because they happened to be sharing this exact conversation at this very moment?
A strange anticipation fluttered within her.
His pupils, moving along the text, wavered left and right.
Jae-i’s breathing also trembled minutely according to that rhythm.
Ki-baek’s eyes turned toward her.
“Jae-i.”
He had merely called her name, but the air instantly pulled taut.
Gulp. The moment Jae-i swallowed hard, a bright smile spread across CEO Kang’s lips.
“We should start preparing for the shoot.”

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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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