A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 66

Minju barely managed to get permission from her parents and sat in front of the TV.

“Ah! It’s the final episode today! I can’t wait for my oppa’s [term of endearment for a male celebrity] album after this…”

Minju, a dedicated fan of Do-hyun, was eagerly awaiting the final episode of ‘White House,’ where Do-hyun was currently ranked second.

His main rival was Professor Park Ji-hoon, followed by the professional gamer Plasma.

Despite starting in jail at the beginning of the competition, Plasma had managed to catch up with Do-hyun by using his extraordinary intellect.

“Is this the program that Do-hyun guy is on?” Minju’s father asked. Minju nodded enthusiastically.

“Today’s the last episode! I can’t miss it!”

“I’ll let you watch it since you’re so excited…. Your mother’s the same; I wonder if you inherited the celebrity-loving gene…”

The biggest reason Minju got to watch TV was her mother. In her younger days, she had been so passionate that she served as the regional president of a fan club that had captivated Korea. Currently, Minju’s mother was into trot singers [a genre of Korean pop music].

That’s why she could understand Minju’s feelings, and she went into the living room to watch trot singers on TV. However, Minju’s father was the only one bored because he couldn’t watch his favorite sports channel.

“I’m going to sleep, so watch quietly without making too much noise!”

Minju’s father eventually fell asleep on the sofa.

Minju watched the caption indicating the broadcast would start in a few seconds and focused on the TV with a pounding heart.

She hadn’t been able to watch the live broadcast until last week’s episode, so she was thrilled to finally have the TV for the final episode!

“Ugh! My oppa has to win!”

Until last week, previews were shown, but there were none this week, making her even more curious about the ending. Minju hadn’t even engaged in online community or social media activities for a week to avoid spoilers from the production staff.

As the broadcast began, summaries of last week’s episodes were shown.

“Ah, come on! When is it starting!”

Minju muttered to herself.

“Dad’s trying to sleep,” Minju’s father mumbled.

Minju had to complete her mission of keeping the noise down to keep control of the TV. To do so, she brought a pillow from her room to hit when surprised.

“Oh, oppa’s coming out!”

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

On TV, Do-hyun’s impressive performance was being shown.

The sight of him moving three 칸 [kan, a Korean unit of measurement, here referring to spaces on a game board] a day as soon as he escaped from prison excited the fans.

It was a side of him that hadn’t been seen in ‘Are You My First Singer,’ showcasing Do-hyun’s charm.

Already, fans were joining Do-hyun’s fandom through the ‘White House’ online community.

“Haa… he’s really good. I thought he would just maintain a middle rank and come out.”

On the 11th day, he was two 칸 behind Professor Park. Professor Park had used all three 칸 of his moving opportunities for the day, but Do-hyun had one 칸 left.

But even moving one more 칸 didn’t guarantee anything. In the end, the situation would determine who arrived at room 30 first after midnight!

It was obvious that Professor Park, who was in room 29, only one 칸 away from room 30, had an advantage. Do-hyun seemed to be trying to move using his last chance to increase his odds, even a little.

Minju had forgotten what Do-hyun had obtained in room 2.

“Please! The security has become very strict, so I hope he doesn’t get caught and go to jail!”

If he goes to jail in this situation, it’s like guaranteeing last place.

It was then.

Do-hyun, who came out of room 27, boldly moved forward.

“Ah, please! Please! Please!”

“Minju, Dad’s trying to sleep.”

“Dad, just a moment! It’s really the last bit!”

At that, Minju’s father also opened his eyes and looked at the TV screen.

A thrilling scene was unfolding. The guy named Do-hyun on TV was surrounded by guards on all sides.

“Ah, damn. He’s going to jail…”

When Minju made a pitiful noise, Minju’s father clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, what’s so good about that guy.”

“Still, our Do-hyun did really well up to this point, you know?”

The moment Minju grumbled and turned her head back to the TV screen!

Do-hyun took out the note he had obtained from room 2 from his pocket.

“Waaaaaack!”

Minju screamed, unable to stop hitting the pillow!

Minju’s father, who had been watching TV in a crooked posture, straightened up.

“Did that guy win?”

“Of course! I forgot that there was that note! Wow, Na Do-hyun is really amazing.”

“Where can I watch this from the first episode?”

“Dad, I have a paid OTT [Over-The-Top media service, like Netflix], so I’ll tell you the ID!”

Minju replied enthusiastically.

It was pure joy!

“Na Do-hyun is the best, really! I’m so proud of Do-hyun!”

* * *

I was busy with a schedule after winning ‘Are You My First Singer’ and ‘White House.’

It mainly consisted of photo shoots and one-on-one interviews with reporters. Both programs ended with huge viewership and popularity, so I suddenly rose to stardom.

Every day was passing by in a flash.

Do-ha was busy taking care of my schedule.

“Hyung [term used by younger males to address older males], you know you have media interviews today.”

“How many places are there?”

“I think there are about five. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half for each media outlet….”

“Did you plan the route well?”

Sometimes, the manager plans the route strangely, causing the 담당 연예인 [dambang yeonyein, the celebrity they are in charge of] to suffer. I asked Do-ha just in case.

“Of course. I planned the schedule to go around Gangnam clockwise.”

“Thank you. You must be busy adjusting the schedule too.”

When I praised Do-ha, Do-ha shrugged his shoulders and said as if it was nothing.

“It’s best for the manager to collaborate with the PR team like this to make it easier for the 담당 연예인 [dambang yeonyein, the celebrity they are in charge of]. Hyung, just trust me! It won’t be hard from now on.”

“Thank you, Do-ha.”

“Then, get some sleep while moving. You’ve already done your makeup and hair at the shop, so you have to stay in a straight posture even if it’s uncomfortable, you know?”

“Of course.”

I put a neck pillow behind my neck and sat up straight.

After winning ‘White House,’ I was so busy that I was exhausted. It had become a habit to take a nap whenever I moved.

In the past, I was tired of going to 지방 [jibang, rural areas] for events that were absurd and didn’t make money, but now it was different because I was going with a different status, so I could cheer up.

How long had I been asleep? I heard Do-ha waking me up.

“…Hyung, wake up. We’ve arrived at Daily Sports.”

“…Oh, has it already been that long?”

My throat was a little hoarse because I had just woken up.

“You should have a sip of water before going in. I packed a drink in a cooler bag just in case.”

“Thank you, Do-ha. I’ve never seen a manager as meticulous as you. It wouldn’t have been cool if I had just left it in the car, but you even kept it in a cooler bag.”

“I’m a fan of Hyung, so I have to do what I have to do to keep Hyung in top condition!”

Do-ha said in a cheerful voice. The more I see him, the more I like him. I liked that such a good manager was next to me.

“Shall we go up then?”

* * *

Do-hyun’s schedule ended only after going through interviews with five media outlets.

But even the next day and the day after that, Do-hyun had to handle an average of five schedules a day. Hyu Entertainment’s idea was to strike while the iron was hot.

In addition, Do-hyun’s gentle attitude towards reporters, based on his past experience, became a rumor among reporters, and most media outlets wanted Do-hyun to visit them even once.

“Haaahm… am I going straight home after this?”

Do-hyun yawned and asked Do-ha. Then Do-ha shook his head.

“You have to go work on the song. The company must be waiting right now.”

“Oh, right. I haven’t even shown PD [Producer] Lee the lyrics I wrote for Serendipity because I’ve been so busy since the broadcast ended.”

“Are you all ready?”

“Yeah. The lyrics are almost finished. I’ve been thinking about the lyrics a lot while doing ‘White House.’”

“I saw you taking notes on the lyrics in the middle while monitoring the program. The production team was very curious, so I was curious too.”

“You can look forward to it. I wrote it, but I think I wrote these lyrics very sweetly.”

When Do-hyun showed confidence, Do-ha smiled.

“When Hyung’s album comes out, I’ll buy about 100 copies and give them to people around me.”

“Hey, anyway, the company has to sign hundreds of non-sale albums to give to the people involved, so why buy them with money.”

At Do-hyun’s words, Do-ha shook his head.

“No! As a manager, you have to show the sense of buying and distributing Hyung’s album as soon as it’s released! Of course, I have to get Hyung’s autograph!”

“I’ll do it as much as you want. I hope PD Lee likes the lyrics. Once the title song is worked on and the rest of the songs are properly recorded…. About when is the company planning to release the album?”

“I know that the song mastering was finished while you were in ‘White House.’ PD Lee Joon-hyuk adjusted Hyung’s voice tone well. So once the recording is over… they said it would take about three months at most.”

“It’s really progressing quickly.”

Do-hyun felt anew that the company was doing a good job. It was a sight he couldn’t see in previous companies.

In previous companies, the hiatus was long.

In order to recoup the money invested in the group during the long hiatus, they went to all kinds of events, and they continued to hold fan signing events with insufficient numbers of people.

It was a meaningless move. It was nothing more than a waste of time for Do-hyun.

At Hyu Entertainment, they said they would push him from ‘Are You My First Singer,’ and I could feel that they were giving strength to Do-hyun’s move.

‘…Is it because I suppressed the energy with tarot cards? Things are going well. If this album comes out in three months, I should get a tarot reading soon.’

Do-hyun thought so. Just in time, the car arrived in front of the company.

When Do-hyun got off, the fans who were waiting shouted and welcomed Do-hyun. Do-hyun bowed and thanked the fans.

In his heart, he wanted to buy drinks for the fans like before, but he couldn’t do that anymore. It was because the company had issued a policy.

The instruction was not to treat fans who invaded private areas by chasing them to the company as well as before.

Do-hyun expressed his opposition to this, but the company did not accept it.

“Thank you all. Go in carefully!”

Do-hyun said only those words and entered the company with Do-ha.

Do-hyun headed straight to PD Lee Joon-hyuk’s studio on the 3rd floor.

Do-hyun was a little nervous at the thought of seeing PD Lee after a long time. He was also excited about the song that would have been completed during that time.

When he rang the bell, the door opened, and Do-hyun went inside.

“PD, it’s been a while!”

“It’s been a while. I heard you’ve completed the song title and lyrics?”

“Yes. Here it is!”

Do-hyun handed PD Lee a neatly printed copy of the lyrics.

PD Lee read the printed paper. A subtle expression crossed PD Lee’s face.

‘Could it be… he doesn’t like it?’