A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 142

In Korea, music is often released at 2 PM on Fridays, after daylight saving time ends, to strategically target the Billboard charts based on Korean time. Seokwon and Dohyun’s music followed this pattern, also dropping at 2 PM on a Friday. The collaboration between Dohyun, now a global artist, and Seokwon, a rising star, generated significant buzz among K-pop fans worldwide.

Ten minutes before the release…

Seokwon and Dohyun were together, anticipation hanging in the air.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], I’m so nervous. We specifically aimed this at the Billboard Hot 100… I’m really curious to see the reaction.”

“It’ll be great, don’t worry. I have a good feeling about it. Seriously, no need to stress.”

Dohyun offered reassuring words.

“Hyung, you’re good with tarot cards, right? Could you maybe check what the chart results will look like?”

“Hmm, should I?”

Dohyun pulled out his tarot deck from his bag and began shuffling the cards.

For context, the Billboard main charts are divided into two categories: the Hot 100, which focuses on singles, and the Billboard 200, which reflects physical album sales. As the name suggests, the Hot 100 is a singles chart, while the 200 tracks physical album sales in the United States. Dohyun and Seokwon were both excited and anxious, having released an English version of their single with the Hot 100 firmly in their sights.

Hoping for a positive reading, Dohyun asked Seokwon to choose a card. He then asked him to pick a second. The cards revealed were…

[Six of Wands]

[Knight of Wands]

“Uh… Hyung? You know tarot, and I watch a lot of tarot YouTube… From what I understand, the Wand suit represents work… So, the Knight of Wands and the Six of Wands… just looking at them, it seems good… right?”

“Well… First off, the Six of Wands is often called the ‘triumphant general’ card, which signifies victory. It also means receiving public recognition. And the Knight of Wands can be interpreted as proactively accomplishing tasks. So… we can anticipate some pretty successful news regarding our results.”

“Wow… I really hope that’s how it turns out.”

“Me too. Honestly, I’ve never worked on a song specifically targeting the Billboard Hot 100 before, especially not with you. I hope it goes well and becomes a great opportunity for you.”

Seokwon looked genuinely touched by Dohyun’s words. Ever since Dohyun reached out to him and the other juniors at Yejin’s birthday party, Seokwon’s life had taken a new direction. Before, his dream was simply to become a successful idol, but now he harbored deeper musical ambitions as an artist.

His fans had also begun to treat him differently. The more Seokwon pursued his artistic goals, the higher their expectations became. When news of this collaboration broke, Seokwon’s fans were even more enthusiastic in their promotion than Dohyun’s dedicated fandom, Honey.

“I get even more ambitious every time I see my fans so happy about my music. Hyung, you’re about twelve years into your career now. I hope I can build a discography as impressive as yours by the time I reach that point. You’re a real role model for me. I always say that.”

Dohyun felt a little embarrassed by Seokwon’s sincere praise. After navigating the difficult times during his Namoomyeong [relatively unknown/unsuccessful period] days, he had become the Dohyun he was today. It was surreal to think that his journey was now serving as an inspiration to his juniors.

He also felt a special connection to the juniors he’d met at Yejin’s birthday party during his radio DJ days, and that their relationships had endured this long. He especially cherished Seokwon and Hyunho.

“Thank you, really. I still think back to Yejin’s birthday party. I just wanted to connect with my juniors that day, so I made the offer. But… I never imagined the relationships would last this long.”

“Me too. Actually, when Hyung said he’d collaborate with all the juniors at that party, I was like, ‘Huh?’ I thought you were just joking. But you were serious! Working together has been amazing. And… I’m sorry to bring up the past, but you went through some tough times too, right? Seeing you become such a generous mentor to your juniors after overcoming those challenges makes me want to be like that too.”

“I’m flattered. I need to be a better senior.”

“Hyung, you’re already a great senior. I don’t know what others think, but I genuinely believe you’re a good person.”

“Thank you. For saying that.”

“I’m not joking, I mean it. You know how I feel, right, Hyung? Oh! I was talking and totally forgot it’s already been released….”

Caught up in their conversation, time had flown by.

They both pulled out their phones and played the song from the music streaming site, making sure to hit ‘Like.’ They also posted promotional messages on their respective social media accounts.

“…Haa. So, the Billboard Hot 100 rankings will be released next Wednesday morning?”

“Sometimes they come out on Tuesday morning, but… it looks like it’ll be Wednesday morning next week for sure.”

“Hyung, can I wait with you at your studio then? I’m so nervous. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep properly until Wednesday. I’ll be so bummed if we only make it onto the Bubbling Under chart [Billboard’s chart for songs that have not yet entered the Hot 100] without cracking the Hot 100… The tarot reading was good, but personally, I’m hoping for a Top 50 debut.”

“The Billboard Hot 100 is incredibly competitive these days! If we crack the Top 50, we should be incredibly grateful and bow to America. But before that… all the Korean charts will be out in an hour… I’m hoping for good results there too.”

Seokwon nodded in agreement with Dohyun’s honest assessment.

“Hyung, how about we make a bet? Predict the charts.”

“How should we do it? I’m predicting 5th place on the Korean charts.”

Seokwon chuckled at Dohyun’s cautious prediction.

“Hyung, you can be surprisingly modest sometimes. I’m predicting 1st place. Maintaining the daily chart with a debut at 1st place. Hyung’s strong fandom combined with my growing fanbase, plus all the international attention we’re getting, right? We’re going to have a huge success on the Korean charts….”

Dohyun shot Seokwon a playful glare. He wasn’t sure if a debut at 1st place was truly realistic. Given that it was an English song, predicting 1st place on the Korean charts felt ambitious, even with strong overseas performance.

“Want a beer?”

Dohyun changed the subject. Dwelling on the new song ‘Blue’ was making him feel restless.

“Beer is the perfect way to unwind.”

“It’s more of an alcoholic beverage than just a drink. You have to be careful with beer, too. To live as a singer, no, to live as a celebrity….”

“That’s why I never got my driver’s license. I was worried I might make a mistake if I drank.”

“You were born to be a celebrity. I got a Class 1 license [Korean driver’s license] in case I failed and needed another career.”

“But Hyung, I think you would have become a celebrity no matter what you did. The face, the physique, the singing… and the musical talent. It’s a devilishly good combination, really.”

“Are you trying to drown me in compliments today?”

Dohyun said, handing Seokwon a can of beer. He felt as flustered as he did by the fans’ comments. No, even more so. He wondered if he truly deserved so much praise.

“Come to think of it, where’s Hyunho?”

“Icarus [Hyunho’s stage name] is busy these days. He probably hasn’t heard it yet. Didn’t Hyunho mention he had a schedule today? I think he said something in the group chat.”

At Dohyun’s words, Seokwon made an ‘ah’ sound and slapped his knee.

“I must have been half-asleep when I saw Hyunho’s message. I think he said he was filming some content in Jeju Island today.”

“Oh… that must be it. He mentioned filming in Jeju, so he probably went to Gimpo Airport this morning….”

“He’ll probably post about it on social media after he listens. Well, I’m not going to force him to promote it….”

“Hyung, you can totally pressure him! Shouldn’t Hyunho promote it out of loyalty?”

“He’ll do it after his schedule. It’s okay if he doesn’t….”

Even as he said that, Seokwon tagged Hyunho in their group chat and sent a message:

[@Hyunho If you see this, please listen to our song quickly]

Everyone else in the chat had read the message and was already sharing links to their social media posts, praising the song and tagging Dohyun and Seokwon. However, the unread message count next to Hyunho’s name remained at ‘1.’ He was likely busy with his filming schedule in Jeju Island.

“He must be really busy. Ah, but Hyung… the chart rankings will be released in five minutes, right? What should I do? I was relaxing with a beer, but now I’m so nervous. Our song really needs to do well. It would be perfect if we hit 1st place on the Korean charts and cracked the Top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100!”

Seeing Seokwon fidgeting made Dohyun feel even more anxious. Emotions were contagious. That was definitely the case.

“You’re nervous, so now I’m getting nervous too, Seokwon-ah. Let’s just aim for 5th place. I still think that’s a high expectation.”

“Hyung, you’re always so humble. You know you consistently hit 1st place on the Korean charts whenever you release music, right? How many of your songs are still in the Top 100 right now….”

As Seokwon pointed out, Dohyun was indeed humble. He had over ten songs in the Top 100, yet he remained grounded. Dohyun always kept the Korean proverb ‘the rice plant bows its head as it ripens’ close to his heart. He believed in avoiding arrogance and remaining flexible, unlike stiff bamboo.

“This is different… I honestly just hope we reach at least 5th place. Since it’s a song aimed at the international market, it might not perform as well on the Korean charts.”

“Hyung, sometimes I think you underestimate your own influence. You can do it. 1st place. Oh? Five minutes have passed. Time to refresh the chart.”

Seokwon’s fingers flew across the screen, refreshing the app faster than anyone else could.

And the result he saw…

Seokwon proudly held up his phone screen to Dohyun and declared:

[1st place – New Blue]

They did it! 1st place. They had even debuted at 1st place on the daily chart.

Seeing the result, Dohyun immediately checked social media to analyze the data that fans were posting.

150,273 initial listeners.

It was a record-breaking number.

“…Seokwon-ah.”

“Hyung, I told you we could do it, right? We made a bet, so I’m going to ask you for a lot of favors.”

“What kind of favor do you want? I’ll grant you anything.”

“Hyung, please help with the album work for the group I’m in.”

“I’d be happy to help with that even without you asking.”

Seokwon shook his head at Dohyun’s response.

“No. I mean, please be completely on our side. Exclusive producing. That’s what I’m asking for. As a 1st place gift, please become our exclusive producer.”