A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 126

Dohyun departed the Philippines with a heartfelt farewell.

Upon his return to Korea, he received an official message of gratitude from the Presidential Office.

They conveyed that Dohyun’s efforts had significantly strengthened diplomatic relations with the Philippines.

The government offered him a plaque of appreciation, which Dohyun respectfully declined.

He believed that his actions were best kept out of the public eye.

Thus, Dohyun resumed his primary career as a singer.

He busied himself with preparations for his upcoming live hall performances and the collaborative stage with Adion at the Lollapalooza concert in the US, scheduled for August.

It was during this period that he received a call from Yejin after a considerable time.

Yejin had been the DJ for the preceding time slot on KBC’s late-night radio show.

They occasionally exchanged messages, usually simple greetings.

They had never met in person outside of work.

“So… you’re suggesting we meet for drinks tonight?”

[Yes! Some other celebrity friends are coming too! It’s my birthday party! I’d really love for you to come, *sunbae* [senior/respected colleague]!]

The venue was a hotel lounge in Gangnam, Seoul.

Attendance was complimentary. Yejin had explicitly stated that Dohyun, being the hottest star at the moment, wouldn’t have to pay, which made Dohyun slightly uneasy.

“Come on… I should still cover the entrance fee. It’s a birthday celebration.”

[No! Really, *sunbae*, you just need to show up!]

“Yejin, I can’t arrive empty-handed at a birthday celebration. Is there a particular cake you’d like or something?”

[Hmm… I do enjoy the cheesecake from the F Hotel in Gwanghwamun. But all my friends are aware of that, so they might all bring the same thing.]

“Okay. Then I’ll see you at the birthday party.”

Dohyun immediately contacted the F Hotel in Gwanghwamun.

He discovered that the regular cheesecake was sold out, but they had one blueberry cheesecake remaining.

“I’ll come to pick it up. Please reserve it for me.”

[Yes, please provide your name and contact number.]

“The name is Na Dohyun… and the contact number is…”

* * *

After collecting the blueberry cheesecake from the Gwanghwamun hotel, Dohyun made his way to the hotel hosting the birthday party.

It was the ideal season to appreciate the sunset.

The hotel’s outdoor lounge was beautifully decorated.

[H-DAY YEJIN!]

He noticed the balloon letters.

Dohyun photographed the cake with the balloon letters as a backdrop.

“*Sunbae*! You’re here!”

Yejin, who had been conversing with her friends with her back to Dohyun, approached him.

“Yejin, here. This is a gift. I heard you like cheesecake. It’s not just any cheesecake, it’s blueberry cheesecake… I thought this would be a good alternative, so I bought it.”

“Wow! Really? I love this too! When I’m watching my weight, I can’t even think about eating this! Fortunately, I’m free from that today! *Sunbae*, come this way! I’ll introduce you to my *hoobaes* [juniors/less experienced colleagues]!”

The birthday party appeared to be a lavish event.

Dohyun recognized many of the *hoobaes*.

Yejin escorted Dohyun around, introducing him to everyone. It felt a bit awkward for Dohyun, who was in his 11th year since his debut.

He was accustomed to gathering for drinks in smaller groups, but this large-scale birthday party with so many people was a new experience.

“*Sunbae*, I aspire to be like you! Could I get your contact information?”

While the female *hoobaes* left Dohyun alone, the male *hoobaes* actively approached him, seeking his contact information.

Dohyun, deciding it would be better to connect with the male *hoobaes* than to become entangled with the female *hoobaes* and risk rumors, quickly dropped the honorifics and treated them casually.

“If you guys are facing any difficulties, feel free to contact me. I might not be skilled at everything, but I’m always willing to listen to your stories and offer advice on your work.”

“My favorite song is ‘Letter.’ The video of you visiting a village in Ganghwa Island. I genuinely cried while watching it.”

At the *hoobae*’s words, Dohyun’s eyes widened.

“No way… you actually cried?”

“I also dreamed of becoming a singer while living in a remote mountain village. A place where TV reception was barely possible. You probably think places like that don’t exist anymore, right? But they still do. That’s where my family still lives. Anyway… I watched senior singers from such places and hoped to become a singer, and later I came to Seoul and seriously pursued my dream, eventually debuting.”

“What did you feel after debuting? Did you feel like it was just the beginning, or did you think the hard work was over?”

In response to Dohyun’s question, the *hoobae* replied that he felt the latter.

“I thought the hard work was over. Honestly, I believed everything would fall into place once I debuted. But it wasn’t like that? Just to debut, I had to endure daily, weekly, and monthly training and evaluations, and I was constantly in and out of the debut team, reaching a point where I couldn’t even imagine debuting, but then I got back into the debut team… that was the real hard work. I thought it was over when that ended, but it wasn’t really. After debuting, there were dozens of teams debuting every year, and it was incredibly hard to stand out. Then I saw ‘The 4th Debut.’ I saw you challenging yourself for the fourth time.”

Hearing his own story from someone else’s mouth always felt a bit awkward and embarrassing.

Dohyun continued to listen, hoping that the *hoobae* would find success.

He hoped that by sharing his experiences, the *hoobae* would feel a little better.

“So, did you feel energized when you saw me?”

“A lot. Actually, our group’s image is somewhat ambiguous. We have hit songs, but not mega-hit songs, and people who hear our songs are at the level of ‘Oh, it’s them?’ but many people don’t know who the members are. Especially for rap members like me who have few parts.”

Listening to the story, Dohyun recalled the time when he was in a group and, despite being the main vocalist, he was pushed out of the center position by the visual member and had to sing only a few seconds of the song.

That time when he could only belt out a few seconds of difficult parts that the visual member couldn’t handle resonated with the *hoobae* in front of him.

“That’s right. If you’re a rap member, these days you mostly go for singing rap… or the parts are reduced to less than 10 seconds. So, if the agency invests to some extent in content, they also let the rap members do individual activities… what’s your friend’s company like?”

At Dohyun’s question, the *hoobae*, Seokwon’s, face darkened.

Just by looking at that expression, Dohyun could tell.

Seokwon’s company was no different from any other small and medium-sized agency.

In a corner of Dohyun’s mind, he wanted to hear this friend’s rap.

“Can I listen to your current song?”

“Of course! I have an unreleased mixtape, would you like to listen to it?”

“If our friend is going to let a *sunbae* he’s meeting for the first time listen to his unreleased mixtape, then of course I’ll say… okay!”

Seokwon handed Dohyun wireless earphones. After confirming that Dohyun was wearing them, Seokwon played his unreleased music.

‘Hoo, this friend’s voice has a quite attractive tone. There’s an appeal that makes me want to work with him at least once. It would be nice to work with him on Monthly Dohyun…’

After listening to only the first verse, Dohyun took the earphones out of his ears and handed them to Seokwon.

“I listened well.”

Seokwon looked as nervous as if he were on the monthly evaluation stage before his debut.

“*Sunbae*, how was the song?”

“Um. Can I make a suggestion?”

“…What is it?”

Seokwon’s expression changed in an instant.

‘This friend’s expression changes quickly. He’s the type who can’t hide his emotions well. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t experienced the harsh realities of the entertainment industry yet… he’s also pure. He also seems naive.’

“You know Monthly Dohyun, where I release songs every month, right? It doesn’t matter if you don’t know. Because it’s released on a free music platform.”

“Yes! I know it well! ‘Letter’ was also released through Monthly Dohyun!”

“I was wondering if you’d like to collaborate…”

Then the *hoobae*’s eyes widened even more. To the point where it seemed like they couldn’t get any bigger.

“Re, really? Me, featuring on your song?”

“Yeah. I like your voice. I think it would complement my voice well. The song I’m preparing is one of the songs that will be performed at Lollapalooza… I was wondering if we could consider standing on that stage together. It’s up to your agency to decide. How about working on about three songs with me through this opportunity?”

The other boy group members around were envious.

“Wow, Choi Seokwon is so lucky. It’s a collaboration with Dohyun, who is everyone’s hope…”

“I also want to collaborate with you, *sunbae*! Please consider me after Seokwon!”

“Do you think you have a chance? Huh?”

“The *sunbae* will choose directly, so it might be possible, why not!”

While the boy group members were bickering, Seokwon asked with a very serious expression.

“*Sunbae*, are you serious, not joking? Our TOP hasn’t even been on an overseas tour yet. But to be on the stage of a large festival called Lollapalooza… wow, I can’t believe it… and not just one song, but three songs?”

“If my existing songs had a lot of rock elements, this time I’m going to release songs with a bit of an EDM feel. If my voice and Seokwon’s voice are combined there, I’m sure that good music will be born without a doubt.”

“Da, *daebak* [amazing/incredible]!”

Seokwon’s eyes were getting moist. Dohyun noticed, but pretended not to.

Dohyun had a long period of obscurity, so he wanted to reach out and help someone if he could.

Especially if it was a friend like Seokwon who was always ready to share his mixtape, he thought it would be a good opportunity to work together.

“How is it? I want to make an official offer through the company. What do you think?”

“Of course, I’m okay with it! I don’t think I would ever refuse! It would be great to work with you, *sunbae*!”

“*Sunbae*, please consider our group next! I’ll strongly advocate for it to the company.”

Maybe it was because they had a drink or two, but everyone was actively approaching Dohyun.

Dohyun smiled brightly as he looked at the *hoobaes*.

He couldn’t have imagined this situation before.

It was because he was unknown, and he had almost no connections with *sunbaes* and *hoobaes* in the music industry.

But now…

It was completely different.

“Then, I’ll make a suggestion to the *hoobaes* who are here. Would you like to work with me on the Monthly Dohyun project that will be released every month?”

Then the *hoobaes* exclaimed.

“…Yes?! With all of us?”