Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 114

Two days later, Jamie contacted me early in the morning, practically right before I was set to leave Las Vegas. If she hadn’t called that day, I was planning to go looking for her myself.

“Why are you calling me now?” I asked, the joy of finally hearing from her quickly fading as I voiced my frustration. She replied in a subdued voice.

“Well, you see…”

As she explained, I understood her situation but was also left dumbfounded.

She said she’d wanted to contact me as soon as she realized who I was. However, the problem was that the moment she took out her phone to call, she was reminded of her past actions towards me.

Her actions toward the superstar YC had become a dark history, tormenting her. Whether it was her vivid imagination or absurd delusion, she even thought the reason I gave her my business card was to reprimand her for her past rudeness.

“…Sigh.”

Hearing that, I sighed. It wasn’t intentional, but it was partly my fault for not revealing my identity.

“That’s not true at all. First, tell me your address. I’ll send someone over.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay.”

“I’m not okay with it.”

“Okay.”

Jamie eventually gave me her address in a daze, and I ended the call, telling her I would send someone soon.

After hanging up, I called one of the managers who was available to come up.

The manager who arrived was Tom, the local manager who had brought me the pear juice last time.

“Please take the car and pick someone up.”

“Yes, I understand,” he said, as if he were still in the military, even when suddenly asked to pick someone up.

I nodded, pleased with his attitude, and told him about the person he was picking up.

“Her name is Jamie. This is her Instagram.”

“Yes… Oh? Oh! Could it be? Sir?”

However, even he couldn’t hide his bewilderment when he saw Jamie’s Instagram photo.

I guessed what he was thinking and shook my head emphatically. “It’s not a scandal or anything like that. I think she has talent, so don’t misunderstand.”

“Ah… Yes, I understand.”

But Tom didn’t seem to believe me. He looked at me as if he knew everything, nodding slowly. I was dumbfounded but didn’t say anything more.

After all, unlike Korea, America was a country that was lenient with such scandals. Rather, it was a country that intentionally created scandals to generate buzz, so the scandal-free Black Tiger seemed strange.

‘Come to think of it, there were rumors about me being gay…’

When I heard this rumor circulating among paparazzi recently, I was so dumbfounded that I considered filing a lawsuit. But I shook my head.

Paparazzi were always like that, and more than anything, I was also strange.

Unlike the promiscuous me in my memories, I was becoming more of a sage than a magician. It would be different if I had debuted as an idol at a young age, but even though that wasn’t the case, there was no particular reason for this.

If I had to make a reason, it would be that I had too many other things to worry about to care about such things.

The music I made while thinking about creating Black Tiger and YC Entertainment in my world was so enjoyable.

I used to dread the coming of morning, falling asleep only in the early hours, and forcing myself to leave the house for work. Then, I had to continue the mentally and physically exhausting factory work in a repetitive routine.

Breaking away from that routine and making music was like heaven to me.

Another reason was, of course, my father’s issue. The shock was immense when I found out that my father was actually the victim, not the perpetrator, of the accident.

I had to distance myself from this matter.

But now that the matter and the revenge related to it were over.

Therefore, that was no longer a reason.

‘Well, if I had to say, it’s probably because I don’t feel the need to.’

In addition, I might have become too picky because there are so many beautiful women around me.

While I was having these useless thoughts, Tom left the room with a somewhat excited face.

‘Come to think of it, that guy has a loose mouth.’ I even thought that the reason he left the military might have been because of his unnecessarily loose mouth.

“Ah, hello. I’m Jamie,” Jamie said, looking haggard as if she hadn’t slept well. She swallowed hard and introduced herself. She was clearly nervous, but it wasn’t because of me.

“You look better in person than in the photos.”

“So, your grandmother is Korean?”

“Oh, she’s so pretty. I wondered why Youngchan was bringing a woman.”

“You look tired. You must not have slept well. Here, hold this.”

“Have you eaten? Food is important for Koreans.”

It was because of my uncles, who had made a fuss and barged in upon hearing the news that I was bringing a woman. They pushed photos of Jamie, which they had received from Tom, towards me, and grilled me, asking if I had been going out to meet this girl all this time.

“That’s true, but it’s for a different reason than you think, uncles!”

“Wow! Did you hear that? Youngchan is finally starting to be interested in women.”

“Phew~ I actually thought this guy might be impotent a few times. I’m glad.”

“Me too, I was really worried.”

“Huh? Impotent?”

I was dumbfounded to hear the word “impotent” after “gay,” but the uncles who said it were confident.

“Then what else would he be? Those amazing beauties flirt with him so openly, and he just stands there like a stone. Is he even a man?”

“Right. I could understand if he was just shy. You know? He always gets away with it like a slippery eel.”

“And that’s not all. There were more than a few times when the girls who tried to seduce him ended up blushing in surprise. I thought he used to be a gigolo [a male escort or social companion] every time.”

Gigolo.

It’s a word that’s not used much these days, but it used to refer to vicious womanizers who cheated women by seducing them.

It made me realize that my uncles were old-fashioned, and I was busy making excuses.

Of course, I couldn’t tell the truth. Saying that I was just imitating the actions of the guy in my memories would be a sure way to be treated like a madman.

In any case, Jamie arrived while I was struggling to deal with the questioning uncles. Since I was the only one she could rely on in this situation, Jamie cautiously approached and asked.

“Um, YC… What is ‘bapsim’ [the strength or energy one gets from eating rice]?”

“Uh… um.”

I was momentarily at a loss for words at that simple question. How could I explain the unique Korean culture that has a special attachment to the word “rice”? But as I was explaining the related words to Jamie in a whisper, I had to stop. It was because my uncles, who were watching me explain to Jamie, had strangely unpleasant expressions on their faces.

“Ah~ I’m telling you, it’s not like that.”

“Ahem. Okay. I understand.”

“Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Ahem. Shall we? Then, it was nice meeting you, Jamie.”

“Yes, I hope to see you again.”

“Um… If Youngchan bullies you…”

“Get out of here quickly. Don’t say unnecessary things!”

“Okay, okay!”

The uncles left, acting foolishly, and Jamie was left with a dumbfounded expression.

I felt sorry for making Jamie misunderstand, so I quickly spoke up.

“Now that the troublemakers are gone, shall we talk about the reason I wanted to meet Jamie?”

“Yes.”

Although she was surprised by the foolishness of my uncles, she had regained her usual self, unlike before. I was glad because I was about to have an important conversation.

So I immediately got to the point.

“I want to bring Jamie into YC Entertainment.”

“Yes?!”

Jamie was so surprised that I quickly continued. “Ah~ To be exact, I want to accept you as a trainee.”

“A trainee?”

The word “trainee” is common in Korea, but since there is no such word in America, she tilted her head in confusion, so I quickly continued.

“Trainees usually refer to those who have talent in the entertainment industry but are still rough gems. Jamie, as I see it, is one of those gems.”

“Me?”

Jamie, who had just learned the concept of a trainee, still had a surprised expression.

However, the process of signing a contract was slow. Since the system for properly training her was in Korea, we had to talk about moving overseas first.

Although accommodation and pocket money were provided, it was too meager compared to the considerable amount of money she was earning here. It was not easy for her, who was still young, to make such a life-changing decision.

So I sighed inwardly at her hesitation.

‘Haa~ I didn’t want to go this far.’

But I had no choice because I wanted to take her with me no matter what.

-Swish-

I swallowed my embarrassment and started to activate my sincerity mode, as if I was worried about my disheveled hair.

It was a full-power sincerity mode that I usually only used in special situations.

Jamie, who was looking at me up close, blushed, not knowing what to do. But I didn’t rush.

Recalling Director Hong Euichan’s instructions, I stared at her with a relaxed attitude and said.

“Trust me. I’ll treat you well.”

“Yes…”

-Swish-

In the end, I succeeded in getting her to sign the contract I offered.

Of course, since I was going to make her a star beyond Karen Carpenter, the contract she signed was filled with unusually generous conditions for a trainee.

‘So I’m justified.’

I felt guilty for having to use my charm, which didn’t suit my personality, but I justified myself in that way.

Having succeeded in signing a contract with Jamie before leaving Las Vegas, I pushed her hard so that she wouldn’t have other thoughts. I took care of things so that she wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning up her surroundings and packing her luggage.

Watching Jamie, who had unexpectedly accompanied me to New York, where the American branch was located, I hummed happily and muttered.

“Hmm hmm hmm. If things go as planned, I’ll be able to put her on stage around next year.”

Of course, it would not be enough to grow to the level I wanted in just one year. She would have to study and grow diligently for at least 10 years to see the complete female vocalist that I saw in Karen Carpenter.

But apart from that, one year was enough to surprise the world.

With Korea’s systematic trainee system and my direct assignments and teaching, she would never hear anything like a Karen Carpenter knockoff.

No, she would definitely give the world a fresh shock no less than Karen Carpenter herself.

Jamie, who had joined, quickly became friends with my uncles. Originally, she had an outgoing and sociable personality, and my uncles liked her because of her age difference.

“Karen Carpenter?”

“It’s not wrong since you said it, but if it’s true, she’s amazing, right?”

“Yes. She’s really amazing.”

Since they had heard from me how talented she was, my uncles, who were interested, couldn’t help but pay attention.