The Road To Glory [EN]: Chapter 241

# 24 Don’t Be Complacent

When they arrived at the ENS broadcasting station in Mapo-gu.

Not all those who got off the bus were granted interviews. Those confirmed to be rejected, lacking broadcastable material, were promptly sent back.

So, this is how society works.

Jang Jin-soo shuddered, realizing he could have been one of them. He felt no pity; he was too far from being able to afford such a sentiment.

Don’t be complacent.

He repeated the mantra to himself.

Fortunately, he was surrounded by formidable individuals.

Noh Hae-il, whose true nature remained a mystery.

Applicants with single-digit numbers, names recognized by everyone.

And, most concerning of all, number 27, his same-age rival.

‘At least the seating here is comfortable,’ he thought.

Waiting for his interview in numerical order, Jang Jin-soo quietly rested his fists on his knees.

Once the interview concludes, the initial filming phase will be complete. Soon, he’d see himself on TV. Or perhaps the second filming would come first?

“Number 56, JJ, please come in.”

“Yes.”

The interview unfolded as he’d seen on TV.

The camera tracked him as he walked toward the interview room.

Jang Jin-soo walked deliberately, careful not to appear foolish.

He soon reached a small, private room.

A chair for the interviewee faced a camera.

“We will now begin the interview.”

The first question was predictable.

Reason for applying to Show Your Show, followed by a self-introduction.

He answered smoothly, just as he had rehearsed.

“JJ is one of the youngest applicants to Show Your Show. Yet, he confidently passed the first round, surpassing older competitors. What do you attribute this to?”

He believed his answer flowed well, as he’d anticipated this question from previous seasons.

“And, of course, we must ask JJ about his original song. Could you share the story of how you created the original song that garnered positive feedback from all the judges?”

“Uh… it might be a bit lengthy.”

“The longer, the better for us. We can always edit it down, right?”

The VJ [Video Journalist], sitting beside the camera, made a scissor gesture. Jang Jin-soo chuckled, recalling the day the song came to life.

Where should he begin?

“Actually, my first original song, ‘Show by Show,’ was completely different.”

“Completely different? Could you elaborate?”

“The initial version was rather rough and unpolished.”

“Really? It didn’t come across that way at all.”

So far, so good.

The VJ smiled warmly and responded favorably to Jang Jin-soo’s words. But the flow halted when Jang Jin-soo mentioned ‘a friend’.

“He refined the song—”

“Wait a minute.”

Especially when he mentioned that his friend refined and completed the song, the VJ interrupted him. The conversation stalled.

‘What’s wrong?’

Jang Jin-soo waited innocently for the VJ’s question, but instead, the VJ abruptly stood and switched off the camera.

“?”

Only now did he sense something amiss.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

The VJ exited the interview room.

Jang Jin-soo’s mind raced with possibilities as he waited. Did I make a mistake? Why is this happening?

I told the truth.

Twenty minutes later.

The main writer, who had been beside the PD [Producer], stood before him. Jang Jin-soo’s pupils dilated as he faced a one-on-one interview with the main writer, someone he never imagined speaking to.

“How much did your friend refine it? Just feedback? Or actual production?”

“He extracted the beat from my original song and developed it.”

“So, he produced it?”

“No, he did the arrangement and producing…”

“And you wrote the lyrics, JJ?”

“Yes, I wrote the lyrics.”

Kim, the writer with sharp glasses, exuded a pointed and intimidating aura. Her tone was stiff, and Jang Jin-soo sat rigidly, feeling interrogated.

After a long pause, Kim, the writer, spoke.

“We can’t use that on the show if that’s the case.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s change the answer, cleanly.”

“H-How…?”

“Let’s say JJ wrote all the lyrics and composed the music.”

“Yes?”

Jang Jin-soo was so startled he jumped.

He sat back down when the writer glared at him, but he shook his head.

“I didn’t actually compose it.”

“No. The base was JJ’s original song, wasn’t it?”

“Still—”

“Sigh.”

Jang Jin-soo fell silent as the writer sighed deeply.

“I’ll be frank with you, JJ, or rather, our Jin-soo, regarding your friend’s situation.”

“Yes.”

Jang Jin-soo felt intimidated by the overbearing voice, the informal address, and the use of his real name.

“Originally, we planned to eliminate your friend in the first round.”

“Yes?”

“When we watched the acapella video, it was clear that Jin-soo was somewhat lacking compared to the applicants we wanted, and he should have failed. But—”

“…”

“The original song was good. The skills were lacking, and everything was disappointing, but the original song was so good that we kept you. You heard a lot of good things from the judges, right? It’s the same thing. We thought the same thing. One original song is enough. All the disappointments disappeared. That’s why we picked Jin-soo.”

Looking at his lowered head, Kim, the writer, continued.

“But when Jin-soo mentioned ‘a friend,’ everything went wrong. Ah, is that ‘friend’ a famous producer somewhere? Then things would be different.”

Jang Jin-soo shook his head.

Kim, the writer, continued as if she knew he would.

“Then just a regular person?”

“Yes.”

Kim, the writer, briefly wondered how a regular person could create such a song, but the immediate concern was a potential broadcasting mishap. As the main writer, she needed to steer the broadcast in the desired direction.

“Now, let’s consider it from your friend’s perspective. If your friend’s contributions are broadcast as they are, who will the viewers focus on?”

“Yes?”

“The spotlight should be on one person, but it’s shining on two. Viewers will be confused about who to watch, and your friend will be diluting the attention you should be receiving. Wouldn’t that be a broadcasting accident?”

“…Yes.”

Jang Jin-soo answered, not fully understanding but completely defeated.

“Fortunately, this isn’t a live broadcast. We have editing capabilities, and your friend also has a choice. Isn’t that fortunate? Now, I’ll give you two options. Let’s decide quickly, as we’re short on time.”

“Yes.”

“First, that ‘friend’ comes on our show instead of Jin-soo.”

“…Yes?”

“Why? He essentially created this song. We chose Jin-soo because of this song. So, wouldn’t it be fair for the ‘friend’ who refined the song to appear?”

Jang Jin-soo’s eyes flickered.

He was bewildered by the unexpected proposition.

“The… what’s the second option?”

“The second is—”

Kim, the writer, smirked, anticipating his question.

“To erase that ‘friend’ from the narrative of this song. Acknowledging his suggestion is fine. But ‘Show by Show’ is solely written and composed by our Jin-soo, or rather, JJ. Then we’re good, and JJ is good because he’s in the spotlight. How about it?”

“…”

His heart pounded.

Since Noh Hae-il claimed to have created it with four songs, it might be acceptable to claim it as his own.

But.

‘To say it’s my song…’

In reality, it was overhauled to the extent of the Creation of Adam [a reference to Michelangelo’s famous fresco, implying a complete transformation].

He borrowed the beat he wrote, but it didn’t truly feel like his.

‘Is this right?’

He pondered.

Kim, the writer, urged him to answer.

‘This… this doesn’t feel right.’

He struggled internally.

“You’re going to choose the second option, right? Of course.”

Kim, the writer, said as if reading his mind.

“Then go and redo the interview.”

She gestured for him to leave.

Jang Jin-soo stood on trembling legs.

Is this the right thing to do? Is this the proper course of action?

He had never agonized so intensely.

Even though Noh Hae-il is annoying, he’s not a bad guy. There’s no reason to lie.

He made a song for me.

The devil in his heart whispered, ‘It’s okay, Noh Hae-il will create great songs in the future anyway. Don’t worry about it.’

But his conscience, hidden deep within, countered.

‘Don’t try to justify it. This isn’t right.’

‘Even if Noh Hae-il doesn’t care. No. Let’s be honest.’

The VJ in the private room switched on the camera and asked if he was ready.

As if restarting the interview.

Like Doctor Strange facing Dormammu [a reference to the Marvel character’s time loop], he was back at the beginning.

“If it’s about JJ, we can’t help but ask about his original song. Can you tell us how you created the original song that garnered positive feedback from all the judges?”

“…”

His mouth felt dry.

The VJ patiently awaited his answer.

He seemed prepared to wait, given the circumstances.

Jang Jin-soo felt his heart pounding, swallowed hard, and opened his mouth.

“It might be a bit of a long story.”

The VJ’s eyebrows twitched.

“The longer, the better for us. We can always edit it down.”

This time, the VJ didn’t make a scissor gesture.

Jang Jin-soo didn’t laugh, and the atmosphere wasn’t as light as before.

He felt relieved.

The VJ was as concerned about the atmosphere as Jang Jin-soo was.

“Actually, my original song, ‘Show by Show,’ was completely different at first.”

“How so?”

“The initial version was rather rough and unpolished.”

“Really? It didn’t come across that way at all.”

The experienced VJ didn’t turn off the camera but changed the question.

“Then how did it evolve from the previous version?”

Preventing him from mentioning Noh Hae-il.

Their eyes met. Jang Jin-soo swallowed, facing the altered question.

“My friend—”

“!”

The VJ held his breath.

Oh dear. In the end.

He was about to be reprimanded for failing to properly manage a kid.

Jang Jin-soo, undeterred by potential scolding or editing, answered with shining eyes.

“Transformed it into the song it is now. The current ‘Show by Show’.”

#

Hailo tilted his head.

He leaned against the bed, legs stretched out on the floor, flicking his fingers. He had been wearing bandages on all his fingers for a long time.

Park Seung-ah, who had called him from outside, closed the door again and left, seeing him so engrossed.

The electric guitar, once wild, was now somewhat tamed and formed a decent partnership with him.

Hailo was pleased with the sound of the electric guitar and believed he could release a second album even better than the first.

However, one thing bothered him.

He wished the violin session featured an actual player instead of MIDI [Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a digital representation of instrument sounds]. The violin played a crucial role, as important as the electric guitar, in the second album, [Spring Again].

“Should I learn the violin?”

He had never considered it before.

It wouldn’t be bad to learn. He would pick it up quickly.

Hailo, postponing it to the near future due to his current workload, began drawing sheet music on the back of Noh Hae-il’s notebook. Now, Noh Hae-il’s secret notebook seemed entirely his.

Just then, his phone rang.

He wouldn’t have heard it if it had been a sound, but since it vibrated on the bed, Hailo slowly turned his head and grabbed his phone.

[Hey, Noh Hae-il.]

“Speak.”

[You really have to be grateful to me.]

What nonsense is this?

Hailo thought he misheard and checked the phone. Jang Jin-soo’s name was clearly displayed.

“I’m hanging up if you have nothing to say.”

He heard swearing from the other end of the line.

Bastard, this bastard, that bastard. He doesn’t even have a girlfriend, let alone a marriage, but I don’t know why he’s looking for so many bastards.

[If I knew it would be like this, I would have just lied.]

“What did you do?”

[…The writer told me to say that I composed that original song.]

“Hmm.”

Hailo paused.

He immediately understood Jang Jin-soo’s meaning.

“I don’t care.”

It was just a test song for Hailo. He didn’t care much about it, so he didn’t care what Jang Jin-soo said.

[How can I lie.]

“So you called to show off?”

[You annoying bastard.]

He muttered again over the phone.

It was obvious he was cursing him.

[Now that it’s like this, make me another good song.]

Hailo snorted.

He wondered why Jang Jin-soo called to brag, but the main point was different.

“I don’t want to.”

[Ah, why?]

“I’m busy.”

He made the last song on a whim, but he had a lot to do now. There were many things he wanted to do.

[You still have to make it, right?]

Why do I have to make it? He tilted his head, and a giggling sound came over the phone.

[I won the bet, didn’t I? You didn’t forget the wish, did you?]

“I was wondering what you were talking about.”

Hailo smirked.

He wondered why Jang Jin-soo was acting this way.

“Check again.”

[…What?]

Jang Jin-soo felt uneasy at his words.

Two days of filming. Before that, he was preparing for the stage, so he didn’t have time to check Noh Hae-il’s account. When calculating the increase in views, he thought it was impossible within the time limit.

But check again?

“I just happened to forget about it.”

[Hang up.]

Jang Jin-soo hated the giggling voice and hung up the phone with a thud, then hurriedly went to YouTube. He clicked on the subscription tab on the home channel where various videos are recommended by the algorithm.

“!!!”

Jang Jin-soo’s eyes widened more than ever.

He unknowingly covered his mouth and screamed inwardly.

“No, when I saw it last time, the number of views was only three thousand.”

He thought that was a lot too.

The current number of subscribers is 28,000.

Not the number of views, but the number of subscribers, 30,000 with only four videos.

This can’t be.

Jang Jin-soo trembled and clicked on the video.

Of course, the number of views is dozens of times higher than the number of subscribers.

Jang Jin-soo tried to find the cause of the change that occurred in a week. Then he stopped.

What’s the point?

He lost the bet, and his plan fell through.

‘My song…’

“No…”

He didn’t even think about what happened at the filming site. Jang Jin-soo, imagining Noh Hae-il laughing like a devil, despaired.