A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 165

“Dohyun, there’s a press conference tomorrow before Wembley. I think the foreign press will ask a lot of questions about Lily’s song. You need to be a little nervous and prepare for the questions in advance.”

“I should. I was hoping for a good reaction when I made the music, but now that the reaction is actually good, I feel dazed.”

“You’re a superstar, after all. You’re different, aren’t you? It’s an honor to work with someone like you, Dohyun.”

“Director, I love you.”

The sound director burst into laughter at Dohyun’s sudden confession. The team atmosphere was generally good, which was inevitable given the artist in charge was doing so well.

“It feels like a dream. I don’t know how long I’ve waited for these days to come. Every song I release gets a good response, and it’s not just mine, but the senior artists’ songs are doing well too. I don’t know how long I’ve waited for a day like this…”

“It’s all the result of your hard work, so enjoy this moment!”

Dohyun replied that he would, appreciating the encouraging words.

After a few hours of rehearsal, Dohyun headed back to the hotel. A large crowd had gathered to see him leave. Dohyun slightly opened the window and greeted the fans, promising them a great performance tomorrow, and then departed.

* * *

“Sunbae [senior colleague], aren’t I really lucky?”

A room in the hotel where the press corps was staying was a mess, shared by Yoon and Yoo.

The reason for the mess was that Yoon Min-hye had opened a lucky box and gotten Dohyun’s polaroid photo, which was the only one in the world. It could only be interpreted as pure luck.

“I’m jealous… But thank you for letting me see it. I wish I had some luck with the lucky boxes too. Even if it wasn’t Dohyun’s polaroid, how great would it be if a rare item came out?”

Yoo Hana said, her voice tinged with jealousy. She was envious, resentful, and felt a pang of jealousy… but she was also glad to even get a glimpse. If she didn’t know Yoon, she probably wouldn’t have even dreamed of seeing it.

“Sunbae, thank you for congratulating me. Dohyun’s signed polaroid, the only one in the world… I want to brag about it, but I can’t because my fellow fans would be too jealous. Many of them couldn’t come to Wembley because of their schedules, even if they had the money. They were so jealous when I said I was going to cover Wembley, so I can’t brag about it even more.”

“I know that feeling. My fellow fans around me are jealous too. They said they should have become reporters sooner… But how difficult is it to survive in this industry like I have? The pay is less than at entertainment companies, and if an exclusive breaks, that day is hell. I’ve come this far as a result of stubbornly surviving in this industry.”

Yoo Hana’s words rang true. Entertainment reporters seemed enviable, but they weren’t. If they wrote articles based on the desk’s [editorial department’s] SNS content, they became ‘garbage reporters,’ and if they wrote articles that the desk told them to write, they also became ‘garbage reporters.’

It’s impossible to only write good news. If you survive as a garbage reporter in that industry, you soon become accustomed to the term, and there comes a moment when you feel disillusioned with relationships and celebrities.

Yoon Min-hye became a fan of Dohyun just as that moment was about to come. Yoo Hana was fortunately well past that period and was about to become a team leader, so she was able to enjoy being a fan more comfortably.

“That’s right. It’s not like we want to write negative articles. We get criticized because of the number of views. We write what the desk tells us to write, or we don’t. Otherwise, we get criticized, right?”

“Right. I really feel disillusioned at times like this… whenever the desk is mentioned…”

“I heard your company is also in turmoil these days.”

“Yeah… if HU Entertainment hadn’t provided the Korean press corps with flights and accommodation for the Wembley coverage, I wouldn’t have been able to come.”

“I didn’t know what the number of views was before I became an entertainment reporter, but now that I’m working, I understand. I see why so few people last long in this industry.”

Yoo sympathized with Yoon’s grumbling. That’s how their night deepened.

* * *

Dohyun woke up early in the morning.

His condition was even better than yesterday. Even though he hadn’t slept much, his stamina was overflowing.

“…Oh, Dohyun. You’re awake?”

Kangho looked at Dohyun with a puffy face from the next bed and spoke.

“Yes, hyung [older brother/male friend]. You can sleep a little more. It’s not even breakfast time yet. I’m going to go work out.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? What if you get hurt…”

“Ah, I’m not going to do weights. I’m just going to do some cardio. My condition is so good, I think it would be good to go on stage with this state raised a little more. I’m just going to do about 30 minutes of cardio.”

“…Working out even after coming all the way here. You’re tough.”

“Then I’ll be back.”

Dohyun headed to the hotel gym. It was early in the morning, so there were hardly any people using it. That’s why he was able to use the treadmill with a comfortable mind. He started with a fast walk at first. Soon, he felt his stamina building up little by little, so he increased the speed even more.

After running for about 30 minutes, Dohyun was pleased with his unusually good condition. He thought yesterday was the peak, but today he surpassed yesterday.

Dohyun went to have breakfast. The staff were there with puffy faces, eating breakfast.

“Hello, everyone!”

“Wow. Dohyun is full of energy from the morning.”

“I have to be! It’s the day of the performance! There’s a sound check from 3 PM, too. Rehearsal is from 11 AM.”

Before Dohyun’s Wembley Stadium performance, there was a sound check performance. It was literally the process of the artist checking the sound, and fans who purchased a ticket for this event got to enter the venue and watch the artist check the sound.

“We’re still so tired… When we go back to Korea, we should work out hard. Even if we can’t manage ourselves as thoroughly as Dohyun… I’m really feeling the lack of stamina.”

Dohyun could only laugh at the sound director’s grumbling.

“Director, would you like to work out with me?”

The sound director waved his hand dismissively at Dohyun’s suggestion.

“Oh… no, no! Absolutely not! I’m not a celebrity, and there’s no reason for me to work out that hard! Okay? I’m fine!”

“But working out is really good, you know? Look at me. I’m flying around because I have good stamina. As you get older, your stamina depletes… so it’s good to work out.”

The sound director deliberately ignored Dohyun’s suggestion and continued eating his meal. The hotel welcomed Dohyun’s team and prepared Korean food on purpose.

It was very different from the food eaten in Korea, but it had the form of Korean food, so everyone was eating it with effort.

“Everyone, enjoy your meal! I’m just going to eat a little and go up!”

Dohyun quickly finished his meal. He could have eaten more since he had worked out from the crack of dawn, but Dohyun didn’t. Eating less was more comfortable for him today, as he had to digest the choreography. It was Dohyun’s own know-how, accumulated from more than 10 years of experience as an artist, added to his idol experience.

Besides, there’s a press conference today! As a large-scale press conference with hundreds of reporters is scheduled to take place, Dohyun didn’t want to stand in front of the reporters with a swollen face and an unmanaged body.

When Dohyun entered the room, the makeup artist and stylist were already up.

“Oppa [term used by a female to address an older brother or male friend], are you ready?”

“Thank you! I’m ready. Everyone is working hard from the morning. You’re really working hard, coming to this faraway land and waking up early to work.”

The staff thanked Dohyun for even mentioning it and started styling him.

While getting styled, Dohyun held a camcorder and filmed himself. This was also part of the content to give to the fans.

“Oh… oppa, your makeup is looking good today? The foundation is sticking to your skin.”

Dohyun smiled at the makeup artist’s words.

“Is it because I worked out in the morning? My makeup seems to be working particularly well today. No, is it because your skills are good?”

“Oh, come on… my skills have always been good! You didn’t know that until now?”

“I always knew. I’m just pretending to know now.”

The staff burst into laughter at Dohyun’s playful tone. Sometimes, when Dohyun’s tension rose to its peak like this, the atmosphere of the staff also improved. Dohyun’s tension usually stayed at a certain level, but today he seemed to be in a particularly good mood.

“Oppa, you seem to be in a really good mood today.”

“Was I caught? I feel like the stage will be successful today too. I’m not nervous about anything from the sound check to the press conference. I think I can do really well today. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s performance too.”

“You know you’ll get hurt if you overdo it, right?”

Dohyun’s trainer, who was in the corner, threw in a word.

“…I know it well. I almost died from a stiff neck after being careless on the plane. I might have another incident if I get too excited on stage, so I have to control my tension even if it’s high. It’s good to liven up the audience atmosphere…”

“Don’t forget that and do it on stage. The priority is not to get hurt. You have to stay in the UK for this period, two days at Wembley and one day as the headliner at Glastonbury, so it’s best not to get hurt as much as possible. You know it’s even more upsetting to get hurt overseas, right? The medical system is very different from Korea. There’s a limit to what the staff can take responsibility for.”

“I know it well! You don’t have to worry. I’m really going to tear up the stage today! Without getting hurt! So you can put your worries away.”

The staff smiled again at Dohyun’s powerful voice.

“I’m more excited because you said you’re going to tear up the stage. Besides, you’re doing the songs with choreography on the extension stage, right? And it’s not just anything… you’re wearing a see-through outfit.”

Dohyun was so serious about the stage with choreography that he was even wearing a see-through outfit. Dohyun was excited at the thought of showing off the firmness of his well-managed body and performing the knife-like choreography.

“I’ll do well. Really. I’ll tear it up!”