Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 141

The Music Monster Overnight! 132

“Oh my god! It’s really YC!”

“Wow~ It’s my first time seeing YC! I heard he looks amazing in person… but this is beyond that!”

“Ugh~ Am I dreaming right now?!”

“Ugh. My heart. My heart hurts……”

I couldn’t hide my slight embarrassment at the commotion around me, even though I had only been at the broadcasting station for a short time.

Still, I didn’t expect the staff at a terrestrial broadcasting station, where countless celebrities come and go, to act like the fans who usually shower me with such exaggerated praise.

“Ah, hello! I’ll escort you.”

Fortunately, I was able to escape from that kind of fuss by meeting the ‘Return to Spring Days’ production team early.

Or, at least, I thought I could escape.

However, when I actually arrived on set, the reaction around me wasn’t much different from outside.

“Huh? Uh… what? Are my eyes deceiving me?”

“What is it? It’s like suddenly going from SD quality to 4K quality!”

“Wow~ Did you see that? Lee Hyun is famous for not being overshadowed by anyone in terms of looks… but suddenly he looks like an average person?”

“This is really strange? Lee Hyun definitely has more defined features, though?”

“It’s not about looks. Look at that. That crazy aura. He’s just standing there doing nothing, but suddenly reality turns into a noir film.”

“Sp, spacetime is distorting!”

As expected of drama set staff, their reactions were quite fresh.

In any case, the surroundings became noisy, so the set couldn’t function properly, and filming was soon halted.

Only then did the PD [Production Director] seem to realize I had arrived, but I didn’t find his behavior amusing.

‘This guy is playing games.’

There’s no way he didn’t know I was coming at this time.

If that were the case, he wouldn’t have sent an FD [Floor Director] to guide me in the first place. So, his current actions are clearly calculated.

‘Well, I can understand it.’

In any case, the PD is the captain of the ‘Return to Spring Days’ drama.

His authority is important, and if that authority collapses, the drama could go off the rails.

In the midst of this, even though it’s just a cameo appearance, the drama’s biggest investor and a global star has visited the set.

Unless you’re at the level of the broadcasting station’s president, you can’t hold your head high in front of him.

In short, the PD is trying to establish his authority, even if just a little, by treating me this way. If he succeeds, he’ll likely be able to boast absolute authority on this set afterward.

‘What’s the best way to handle this?’

Realizing the PD’s petty trick, I pondered for a moment before shaking my head.

It wasn’t before the drama started, but rather when filming was already heading towards the second half, and, more than anything, there were more than one or two of our actors involved in this project.

Besides Kang Ah-young, there were six actors from agencies under YC Entertainment.

For their sake, the representative’s authority had to be established.

‘I happen to have learned something from Director Hong Ui-chan recently……’

He seemed to have warned me to refrain from using it in reality, saying there might be some side effects, but I didn’t think it would matter much.

He’s always been one to exaggerate.

So, intending to make the PD pay for his playful antics and to see how the surroundings would react, I took out the ‘Presence’ that had been about 90% completed through the directing of both Director Bell and Director Hong Ui-chan.

The ‘Presence’ I unleashed created an even greater impact than I had anticipated.

The PD, who had been approaching with a slick attitude to greet me, froze about 10 steps away.

His face, which had been particularly red as if he had been drinking the night before, turned pale, looking like someone suffering from acute indigestion.

He wasn’t the only one who changed.

-…….-

The atmosphere around me, which had been noisy with chatter, also changed.

A suffocating silence settled in, and the expressions on the faces of the people who had been showing curiosity and excitement also changed.

‘Fear?’

For some reason, their faces were filled with fear and dread.

It was as if they were facing an object of terror that they couldn’t dare to resist in a horror movie.

“……It’s not complete yet. It’s best not to use it in reality, as the side effects will be significant.”

Only then did I realize why Director Hong Ui-chan had told me to refrain from using it, unlike before.

Not only the drama set staff but also the manager and bodyguards who had come with me were showing similar signs.

“Rep… Representative.”

Still, not everyone was unable to approach me, who was wearing the shell of ‘Presence’.

Kang Ah-young, who had now fully become an actress, approached me with slightly dazed eyes, but her face was flushed, and her breathing was rough, as if she were in pain.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“……Gulp.”

Rushing over, I placed my hand on her forehead and found that she had a slight fever, though not serious.

Should I send her to the hospital? As I was pondering, Song Eun-i, Kang Ah-young’s longtime friend and loyal manager, approached.

“Sh, she’s okay. She’ll be fine with a short rest.”

“Hmm…… Then, will you be okay?”

“Yes? Yes. Yes…… Yes.”

“……Okay, I understand.”

No matter how I looked at it, she didn’t seem okay, but since she answered so firmly, I had no choice but to believe her.

‘She’ll take care of it.’

If the manager, who takes care of her more meticulously than she takes care of herself, said so, then she must be okay.

Afterward, I made eye contact with Lee Hyun, who was playing the male lead and was looking at me from afar with a somewhat hostile gaze, and then approached the PD, whose face was still pale.

-Tap. Tap.-

With each step I took, the PD flinched and cowered.

And when I was three steps away, he buried his head in the ground, looking as if he would kneel at any moment.

‘That’s enough.’

I decided that I shouldn’t test the ‘Presence’ any further and withdrew the ‘Presence’ I had put on.

-……Haa.-

-Huh……Huu.-

Only then did I hear breaths breaking the silence from here and there, and the PD in front of me was no different.

-Thud-

I grabbed the PD’s shoulder, who was about to collapse from the sudden release of tension, and helped him up before greeting him.

However, what came back in response to my greeting was something unexpected.

“I’m entrusting our children to you, and now I’m finally getting to greet you. Nice to meet you. I’m Park Young-chan, the representative of YC Entertainment.”

“……I’m so, so sorry.”

I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when a terrified apology came back in response to my greeting.

‘At this rate, I don’t know if filming will be possible today.’

Contrary to my worries, filming proceeded without a longer delay than expected.

The PD, who had seemed as if he would prostrate himself, quickly switched the set to the scene where I would be making a cameo appearance, as if he were being chased.

Unlike movies, it’s common for dramas to film the same scene multiple times, but the PD shouted OK after just one take and finished filming.

Thanks to that, I wanted to say, ‘Shouldn’t I, who came as a cameo, have to do a retake?’ but I couldn’t bring myself to say it because the surrounding atmosphere seemed terrified.

“Then, I’ll head out first. Take care of your health.”

“Yes? Yes! Thank you.”

I chuckled at the sight of him blushing again as he greeted me, and I finished my cameo appearance, which was faster than I had expected.

-The hit drama ‘Return to Spring Days’ achieves record-breaking viewership ratings!-

-Terrestrial dramas, which had been struggling against cable dramas, are also returning to spring days? A whopping 30.2% viewership rating!-

-YC appeared for 30 seconds? Viewers reveal that YC erased everything else from their minds!-

-The 10th episode featuring YC breaks download records.

-‘Return to Spring Days’ staff reveal that the filming atmosphere at the time was legendary!-

The aftermath of the episode that aired next week was more significant than I had imagined.

The viewership ratings, which had barely exceeded 20%, jumped by nearly 10%.

Furthermore, I felt much more at ease knowing that my acting, other than in music videos, was officially well-received.

Although experts like Director Bell and Director Hong Ui-chan had said that my acting was good, the public’s perception could be different.

However, the problem was the aftermath of the ‘Presence’ that I had jokingly unleashed to discipline the PD.

The articles vaguely stated that it was legendary, but the rumors circulating were legendary in a different sense.

-I had nightmares for three days.-

-Usually, when viewership ratings are that good, it’s supposed to be noisy, but no one even mentioned the viewership ratings.-

-The PD of ‘Return to Spring Days’ has lost a whopping 10㎏. There are rumors that he might die of exhaustion before filming is even finished.-

There may be some exaggeration…… but probably.

In any case, what I learned from this experience was that I shouldn’t unleash the ‘Presence’ carelessly.

However, the concern is that this ‘Presence’ is far from the ‘Presence’ of the ‘King of Arrogance’ that I saw.

So, worried about that, I called Director Hong Ui-chan, who was busy preparing for the movie, and told him about what had happened. Director Hong Ui-chan chuckled.

“Hehehe. That’s a shame. I wish I had been there on that set.”

“Ahem. Anyway, is it okay to proceed like this?”

As I hurriedly changed the subject, Director Hong Ui-chan tried to hide his laughter and said,

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll say it again, the current ‘Presence’ is an incomplete form. Right now, it’s more like a raw, untamed demon king, shall we say?”

Then, Director Hong Ui-chan explained the ‘Presence’ that he and Director Bell had defined after much deliberation.

“What do you think is necessary for a person to have manners? Fear must be the foundation.”

To be more precise, people have manners when fear is fundamentally present.

No matter how much you talk, if it’s not a threat, if it doesn’t cause harm to oneself, humans don’t follow the established order.

There’s no need to adhere to it, so they become rude, and respect for the other person disappears.

However, what happens if an unimaginable moment of terror comes when they don’t maintain order and don’t respect the other person?

Without being taught, they will instinctively understand respect and follow the order.

“However, if it’s just fear, the limitations are clear.”

Ruling with fear is certainly the most efficient way to seize the social atmosphere in a short period.

However, any emotion eventually becomes familiar.

Also, that memory fades, so without continuously experiencing increasingly greater fear, it’s impossible to lead a society stained with that fear.

The current Young-chan’s ‘Presence’ was at that stage.

The reason why Director Hong Ui-chan called it a demon king was precisely because of that.

“Then…… what do I need to add to become the ‘King of Arrogance’?”

“There must be respect.”

“Yes?”

To me, who didn’t understand, he spoke about a part of Machiavelli’s *The Prince*.

“Cruel and vile means and methods should be used out of necessity in situations where there is no other choice, but the ‘result’ of promoting the public good, such as the safety and freedom of the people, must follow, and the exercise of those means must be ‘temporary’.”

Rule based on fear, but conversely, look highly upon and respect the potential of those people.

This is because the king exerts strong authority when the people have ‘virtu’ [moral virtue or excellence].

Virtu is not only interpreted as competence but also as patriotism. In other words, when the people actively try to protect the king, their power unites and can accomplish great things.

“Ah!”

When the story got to that point, I could finally understand why the ‘Presence’ of the ‘King of Arrogance’ was so terrifying yet attractive.

I, too, was ultimately one of the people.

“The reason why the Dark Knight was able to defeat the ‘Presence’ was just because of the protagonist buff.”

Well, since the ‘Presence’ itself was an absurd existence from the beginning, if there hadn’t been such a buff, the Dark Knight would have collapsed as futilely as the enemies who had faced the ‘Presence’ in the past.