The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 78

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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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This Life’s Hit Song Is Revenge
78
Silence fell inside the car.
Confusion clouded Kang Ki-baek’s face.
“What do you mean by that?”
Lee Jae-i, meanwhile, shook her head with measured calm.
If she dug into this matter right now, Park Seong-ho’s name would surface.
But the real puppet master was someone else.
When the accomplice’s tail was stepped on, there was no need to guess how Yoo Young-jae would react.
Lee Jae-i opened her mouth slowly, cutting through the tension.
“It’s too meticulous to be a solo act.”
This wasn’t the kind of thing that could end as a lone crime.
At that, the CEO’s voice pitch dropped sharply.
“You’re saying there could be someone else involved. I understand. But simply watching without taking action seems like a dangerous choice.”
Lee Jae-i didn’t answer, lost in thought for a moment.
Yoo Young-jae and Baek Song-ha would both know about the concert.
But she knew too.
‘Baek Song-ha’s making her comeback soon.’
Right now, things should be frantically hectic as they were.
Still, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
This scheme was as daring as it was malicious.
Likely, those two wanted to turn her concert into a laughingstock.
But she had a countermeasure prepared.
And.
‘Only the CEO and I know.’
As only the sound of breathing passed between them, Lee Jae-i spoke first.
“Once you see this concert, you’ll understand.”
The faint current of air stilled.
* * *
Time moved swiftly.
The evening of the mini concert.
Lee Jae-i, in the Waiting Room, felt the murmur of the audience spilling through the door.
Since the tickets were free, they were being admitted on a first-come, first-served basis at the venue.
Remarkably, the Audience Seating filled quickly.
Lee Jae-i closed her eyes briefly, mentally running through the order.
New song introduction. Then announcement.
As she exhaled slowly, the CEO’s voice layered over hers.
“Lee Jae-i. Let’s begin now. As always, just do what you’ve prepared.”
“Yes.”
Lee Jae-i rose and turned the Waiting Room door handle.
The first thing that caught her eye was the Stand Microphone standing alone on the Stage.
The warmth of the Audience Seating, felt through her skin, already reached the front of the Stage.
Lee Jae-i moved forward along the side passage toward center.
Three steps remained before reaching the Stage.
Click.
The lights on the Stage brightened, signaling the beginning.
In that moment, all eyes in the Audience Seating converged on a single point.
Lee Jae-i accelerated and climbed onto the Stage in one fluid motion.
And as she reached for the Stand Microphone, countless Cell Phones rose above the Audience Seating.
She naturally touched the Microphone with her index finger.
Tap. Tap.
After confirming the speaker was working, she brought the Microphone to her lips.
“Hello. I’m singer Lee Jae-i.”
The response was subdued.
Her heart gave a sharp twinge, but Lee Jae-i continued calmly.
“Meeting on a Friday evening feels even more special. I’m truly grateful you came.”
There was no response as she bowed and straightened.
Her voice simply disappeared into the Audience Seating.
It was the coldest temperature she’d ever felt on a Stage.
Even without seeing clearly through the lights, she could tell.
Cold gazes were chilling the light temperature.
But Lee Jae-i tightened her voice further.
“It was cold outside, wasn’t it? Let me warm you up first with the new Mini Album Memories.”
The moment the words ended, more than half the Cell Phones lowered.
The new song introduction must not have been stimulating at all.
Lee Jae-i kept her voice bright despite the effort and brought the Microphone to life.
“As announced, there are no filming restrictions, so feel free to share the live moment on Social Media. The free Wi-Fi password is written on the back of your Ticket, so please use it comfortably.”
A rustling naturally began mixing in.
She caught the sound of liquid crystal screens being touched one, two, three times across the Audience Seating.
Lee Jae-i slowly dampened her breathing.
The situation is flowing forward.
Now was the time to focus only on the song.
Lee Jae-i picked up the Ukulele that lay beside the Stand Microphone.
As she slipped the shoulder strap over her head and cradled the instrument, the stage lighting slowly dimmed.
She drew a deep breath, released it, and plucked one string.
By the time the string’s vibration had settled, a single beam of light on her broadened.
“The title track of Memories, ‘Now.'”
The words fell like a whisper, and a soft tone laid underneath.
The CEO’s Self-composed song.
In this life and the last, it was the song she’d sung for the audition.
Was there any song more perfect for steadying one’s heart?
Lee Jae-i expanded her lungs, drawing in the air around the Microphone.
When the two-bar intro ended.
“I was shattered.”
A single line fell—not lyrics but confession.
Even without deliberately pouring emotion into it, the sentence carried more weight than expected.
The stirring air collapsed all at once.
The audience’s ears tilted toward the Stage.
As the texture of attention spread, Lee Jae-i sank deeper into the song.
“Remember the words that splintered me. But it’s all the past now.”
Lee Jae-i pushed the lyrics forward.
Yet their resonance touched something deep within the audience.
Without prompting, the Audience Seating followed the rising cadence precisely.
The moment her breath grew short.
The people understood exactly where her chest tightened, without explanation.
The climax of the first verse.
“I won’t be swayed anymore. Watch me. This is just the beginning.”
Steady but forceful, the lyrics pierced straight through their hearts.
The interlude.
Lee Jae-i stepped back from the Microphone and plucked the strings.
A Ukulele so worn it looked shabby.
It didn’t shine even under the stage lights.
Just as when she’d first played for her grandmother.
Lee Jae-i recalled that moment, layering her own lines over the music, one by one.
‘I won’t be swayed.’
The ripple spreading from the repeated lyric branched out beneath the Audience Seating.
The part climbing up in a major chord.
Lee Jae-i gently set down the Ukulele and gripped the Microphone with both hands.
The brightness of the stage lights lifted one notch higher.
The light illuminating the front rows reflected directly in the audience’s pupils.
Every eye was wide open.
“This path will shine too. Because I’m rising.”
As the high note burst forth, the entire hall resonated.
The breathing of everyone in that space halted in unison.
The moment the final lyric climbed all the way to the end.
“It will be dazzling.”
The spotlight exploded like a declaration.
The Stage sharpened, and a vivid chill raked across the Audience Seating.
It was the moment the wall those people had drawn as a boundary briefly crumbled.
‘This feeling.’
Lee Jae-i knew exactly.
Now the connecting rings were intertwined.
Every time she’d stood on a Stage, breathing together with the audience, she’d gained this sensation.
Before introducing the next song, there was prepared commentary.
But Lee Jae-i daringly skipped it.
She couldn’t let this moment slip while their hearts were open.
Three songs in succession.
Part of her wanted to stretch this atmosphere on and on.
But this Stage was not merely a space to showcase an album.
“So, have you warmed up a bit?”
“Yes!”
This time, there was a response to her gentle question.
Slowly, the intense stage lights also began settling into a softer glow.
As Lee Jae-i collected her breath, a Staff member approached and set down a chair.
As she unplugged the Microphone and took her seat, Cell Phones shot up busily toward the ceiling.
It was the promised moment.
She lifted the Microphone from her thigh to her mouth.
“I think you’ll be surprised when I start this story, so I want to ask permission first. Should I go ahead?”
The Microphone with reduced echo.
Behind the short, clipped sentences, the audience tangled with one another.
“Of course you should!”
“If you’re an adult, you should take responsibility for what you’ve done.”
The people released the resentment they’d momentarily forgotten in the afterglow of the song.
Scanning the Audience Seating, Lee Jae-i gripped the atmosphere firmly with an unwavering gaze.
“Abusive Fan Meeting. In-house Romance with the CEO. I won’t make excuses.”
It was a provocative statement.
“Instead, I prepared this venue to show you directly.”
And on the side of the Stage, a space.
Park Seong-ho, watching Lee Jae-i’s Stage, let his pupils drift slightly to the side.
The liquid crystal screens of the audience with Live Broadcast running.
Without even trying to peek, every screen in every other seat was the same.
And comments rapidly climbing upward.
In that moment, a single question erupted from the center of the Audience Seating.
“Do you feel guilty?!”
Like wildfire catching, questions rode that momentum and began pouring down.
“Did you curse because you hated Baek Song-ha’s question?”
“What about the relationship?!”
The atmosphere, transformed into a hearing, began shaking the space rapidly.
On the Stage, Lee Jae-i stared silently at the Audience Seating, then spoke.
“I—”
At that moment, a bizarre electronic sound cut off her words.
Crackle—
Cra-crackle—
At that instant, Lee Jae-i swung her arm wide and lowered the Microphone.

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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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