A New Career Singer Who Can Read The Future [EN]: Chapter 89

Producer Lee Junhyuk was standing right there.

I was a little surprised.

Did he know I was coming?

“Oh, Producer, hello…”

“I heard from your manager that you were coming.”

“Ah, I see. I was a bit surprised, to be honest.”

I answered honestly.

I hadn’t expected the Producer to be here at all.

“Days like today make you think it’s best to just stay cooped up in the studio, right?”

The Producer seemed to be reading my mind.

Or maybe Hoya had told him.

“I felt stuffy at home and wanted to work it out somehow.”

“That’s why I was waiting here to work with you today. It might sound funny coming from me, who’s known for his harsh criticism, but I’m also here to help you keep your head on straight—protecting artists’ mental health.”

It was a somewhat unexpected thing to say.

I was surprised that someone who never praised during songwriting sessions was looking after artists’ mental health.

It didn’t quite fit with the Producer I knew.

“I can tell what you’re thinking just by looking at your face. You’re thinking it doesn’t suit me, right?”

I flinched.

“Yes, that’s right. I was thinking that, actually.”

“I figured. So, what kind of song do you want to make?”

I hadn’t really decided on anything.

I just chose the studio because it seemed better than being at home.

“I just don’t know what to do. Making a fan song in this situation? It feels a bit ridiculous… I didn’t even start the controversy myself.”

“That’s right. But fans are creating controversies to leave, and it feels like no one believes you. You must feel frustrated.”

“Yes, I’m really frustrated. More than words can say. I thought I showed my sincerity through my performances… I wonder if it didn’t come across.”

“Dohyun, let’s think about this rationally. You’re a 10-year veteran who successfully re-debuted through a survival show, right?” [Survival shows are reality TV competitions where contestants compete to debut as idols or artists.]

I nodded.

Seeing that, the Producer continued.

“It seems like you’re at the peak of your popularity right now, and you’re anxious about fans leaving, right?”

“…Yes.”

And with the tarot results like that… I was even more worried about how many fans would leave.

Well, I decided to skip that part, as it wasn’t something to tell the Producer.

“You need to get rid of that anxiety. Have you ever been a fan of someone?”

“No. I’ve respected people, but I don’t think I’ve ever been a fan.”

“I have. An artist’s anxiety shows in their music if they’re anxious while writing. You wouldn’t know how much it shows. So, I’m advising you to just do what you’ve always wanted to write.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, let’s think. What have you wanted to write about?”

Hmm…

What I wanted to do was release one digital single every month.

It was about putting my work out into the world.

I honestly shared this thought.

“Good idea. Just keep a poker face [an impassive expression that hides one’s true feelings]. You think people don’t know? They all know that you had a forced dating rumor because of that person. But they’re just using you for their gossip, through your popularity.”

“I kept thinking the world didn’t believe me. I felt wronged because they didn’t trust me enough… Like how my follower count dropped by 10,000…”

“Forget the idea that the fandom will always stay the same. It increases and decreases… You’re already doing a lot, aren’t you? You’re returning to your late-night radio DJ gig after a short break. And there will be more schedules. If you release one song every month as planned, then the songs will come out. That activity will also gain public attention. Our company will help with that.”

I had momentarily forgotten that Huentertainment was a large agency.

“That’s right… I didn’t consider the company’s position.”

“So, don’t be so withdrawn, be confident. Honestly, that handwritten apology you posted on social media? I don’t think it was necessary. You’re too nice. That’s why it doesn’t work. You have to be ruthless when you need to be. So, what I’m saying is… be ruthless, Dohyun.”

* * *

After meeting with Producer Lee Junhyuk, Dohyun began to focus solely on songwriting.

Social media uploads stopped, and Dohyun also stopped looking at his phone as often.

At first, it was difficult to resist checking real-time fan and hater reactions, but that only lasted once or twice.

As he tried to resist, it faded from his interest.

When the company suggested that Dohyun wanted to do a monthly project for a year, they supported him in doing so.

With the goal of releasing a song on the 13th of every month, Dohyun was constantly working with instruments and machines in the studio.

Meanwhile, Huentertainment pushed for a meeting with ‘Oknyeo’.

The PR team leader was concerned that Oknyeo, who had close connections with the press, might interfere.

So, they deliberately asked media outlets friendly to Huentertainment to provide live coverage.

Oknyeo seemed unaware of this.

“What’s that? If you’re a fan of Na Dohyun, wouldn’t you want to do something like that at least once?”

“Um, Okhee-nim [a respectful title in Korean], not all fans do that. I heard you deleted the photos on the spot that day. Why did you bother recovering and posting them? It’s bound to affect Dohyun’s popularity.”

“So… are you saying I did something wrong?”

Oknyeo showed a very confident attitude. No wonder she had been stirring up trouble in every corner of the industry.

There was no field untouched by Oknyeo’s hand. Not only the entertainment industry but also various other fields.

One of them was the corrupt internet media.

“Okhee-nim, you know, right? You’re a fan, so you know what process Dohyun went through to get where he is.”

“Ha, are you trying to lecture me now? After asking me to meet?”

“It’s not a lecture. It’s the truth. If you’re a fan of Dohyun, you should help him soar higher, not upload surprise skinship [intimate physical contact] photos on the internet.”

“So, what harm did Na Dohyun suffer? The articles? I’m the one who suffered, you know? Do you know how many hate comments I’m getting?”

“Then just delete the photos. If you delete the photos, we’ll compensate you financially and help you deal with the hate comments. Just take down the photos.”

The PR team leader exercised the utmost patience.

Oknyeo’s eyes changed when the tempting offer of monetary compensation came up.

As if she had been waiting for this moment.

“How much can you give me? I think I’ll need to receive treatment for a long time. At least a few months, I think. Can you cover those costs?”

The PR team leader barely suppressed a laugh from escaping his lips.

This person had a clear goal.

It felt like a dirty form of crony capitalism [a system where favors and advantages are given to friends and associates, often involving corruption].

“We will provide 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD].”

Even knowing that creating a dirty precedent could lead this person to continue doing so, Huentertainment was making this offer to resolve the situation.

“That’s not enough. Do you think I can get several months of treatment with just 10 million won? Do you know how much mental counseling costs?”

“Then how much do you want?”

The Huentertainment director next to him stepped in.

At the director’s words, Oknyeo demanded 50 million won [approximately $37,500 USD].

“We cannot provide that. We’re sorry. Let’s consider this meeting as if it never happened.”

“Oh, what? Are you playing with me after calling me here? Are you saying it never happened? Isn’t that person a reporter? Are you feeding me water at a meeting with a reporter?”

The director and PR team leader did not respond.

Oknyeo seemed furious and threw a cup.

Clang!

Even that was captured on camera.

Click, click, click!

The camcorder and recorder were running simultaneously.

“Ha, you’re so full of yourselves after taking some no-name and raising them. Just watch. Do you think anyone will be looking for Na Dohyun’s name in a friendly way in a year, or even in a month? I’m the one who got you so many articles.”

Oknyeo was seriously mistaken.

Even without Oknyeo, there would have been plenty of articles.

The director smiled wryly and delivered a blow to Oknyeo.

“Kim Okhee-ssi [a polite way to address someone in Korean], if you can’t delete the photos, there’s nothing we can do. We can sue you for spreading false information. We gave you a chance, and you rejected it. So, don’t blame us. We will take legal action for spreading false information.”

“What? Are you suing me now?”

“Didn’t Kim Okhee-ssi forcibly sexually harass the artist? And you recovered the deleted photos and uploaded them with hearts. The company will naturally protect the artist since the artist has been harmed. Do you understand?”

Oknyeo’s expression changed at the director’s lengthy speech.

“Fine! Go ahead and try! I won’t stay still either!”

* * *

[Exclusive] From “Go ahead and try” to “50 million won!”… Circumstances of Kim’s Threat to Na Dohyun

└Honey, did you see this article? Seriously, isn’t she crazy?

└After reading the article, I’m grateful that the company is protecting Hyuni [a cute nickname]. ㅠㅠ I feel like they’re handling things well ㅠㅠ Seriously, I hate her so much. Is it okay to hate someone this much?

└Poor Na Dohyun…

└Honestly, what crime did ㅇㄴ [initials used to refer to someone without explicitly naming them] commit? Na Dohyun took the pose anyway, right?

└ㅇㄴ appeared?

└ㅇㄴ is good at suing ordinary people, so everyone be careful with your words.

└Oknyeo is seriously persistent ㅋㅋ She’s been doing that in all sorts of places. I really wish she would disappear from the world.

└Hey, that’s a hate comment.

└└Do you know how many people have been harmed by her? Look at the article, she openly demanded money. Na Dohyun is the victim, and he was even sexually harassed ㅋㅋ Isn’t it okay to receive this much hate comment? ㅋㅋ

└Let’s not be too harsh.

└└Did I criticize Na Dohyun? Seriously? Dohyun is mentally broken and even uploaded an apology he didn’t need to, and we haven’t heard from him. Are you kidding me? The artist was harmed? Did you even read the article properly? Seriously?

The article spread to every online community, and fans continued to argue.

One side said to minimize harm to Dohyun, but the other side said it was okay to treat the other party as much as Dohyun was harmed.

Only extreme views could be seen.

And…

On this day, the number of views for Dohyun’s exclusive article exceeded 1 million.