Chapter 43: My Singer (8)
8 p.m.
As the darkness of winter settles heavily over the city, the van heading toward Hongdae is silent, as if a mouse might squeak and be heard.
Even the usually noisy three members of Lilac sit quietly with their earphones in, mouthing lyrics soundlessly.
They’re not dressed in their stage outfits now but in casual clothing more suited for a busking performance.
All three of them look flawless—nothing to critique.
“Producer-nim.”
Just as I’m silently admiring them, Kim Yoo-jung, sitting beside me, speaks up.
“Yeah? What is it?”
Though she was the one who called me, she just stared at me for a moment without answering.
“…I just felt like talking to you.”
She cuts it off with a shrug, almost sheepishly.
“What the—”
“It’s just… the acoustic versions are really good too.”
“…Thanks.”
“The parts are the same, right?”
“Yeah, nothing has changed.”
As I’m talking with Kim Yoo-jung, a head suddenly pops up from the side of my seat.
It’s Yoo Ah-ra.
“……”
She glares at me and Kim Yoo-jung in turn with her signature flounder eyes.
But instead of saying anything, she just clicked her tongue for no reason and turned her head back forward again.
“What’s your problem?”
Just as I’m about to say something to call out that weird little mood she’s giving off, the van comes to a stop.
Manager Kim Yu-shin turns around from the front seat and says—
“We’ve arrived.”
All three members of Lilac simultaneously pulled out their earphones and let out a collective sigh.
The manager stepped out first.
Then Lee Yeon-ji turned to me and asked,
“You’re staying with us, right, oppa?”
“Of course.”
Her face brightened at my answer before she stepped out.
I followed her outside.
And… we were literally in the middle of the street.
Right in the heart of Hongdae, bustling with people on a Saturday night.
Lilac seemed a bit awkward too—this was clearly outside their comfort zone.
Thankfully, we weren’t attracting too much attention just yet.
“I think it’s over there. You guys go ahead. I’ll park and come back.”
The manager said, pointing to one direction.
Sure enough, a simple setup was already there: amps, a mixer, and other basic gear.
I’d seen enough busking setups to know this was a prime spot—practically gold-tier.
I spoke firmly.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
“Ahhh… I’m so nervous!”
As the van drove off, we made our way toward the stage.
Not long after, the murmuring started.
—Wait, isn’t that Lilac?
—Whoa, it is them!
—No way. Why are they here? Is that their manager?
—OMG I need to post this on Instagram. Yoo Ah-ra’s head is so small in real life.
At first, people noticed us and just kept walking.
But then they turned back, trailing behind like curious cats.
That cycle repeated until we reached the stage—and by then, we had a crowd.
“Don’t be nervous.”
The three members of Lilac took their seats on the small stage.
A staff member, already waiting, walked over and helped them with their in-ears.
The makeshift stage had become a focal point, with more and more people gathering.
Phones were already out, recording everything.
Yoo Ah-ra scanned the crowd for a moment, then picked up the mic.
She took a deep breath without saying anything, then glanced at me.
I gave her a wide smile on purpose.
She smiled back—and then raised her voice confidently.
“Hi everyone! We’re Lilac!”
Kim Yoo-jung and Lee Yeon-ji followed their unnie and gave a greeting of their own.
“We’ve got a surprise schedule today. A little something called street busking!”
“Yeah. This is something I’ve always wanted to try since I was a kid, you know? Performing on the street. It just feels… so cool.”
Lee Yeon-ji chimed in at just the right moment to support Yoo Ah-ra’s comments.
Even Kim Yoo-jung, who usually stayed in the background, stepped forward and helped lift the mood.
Their playful banter continued for about ten minutes, keeping the atmosphere light and engaging.
“Alright! Enough talking—time to play you a song! Our first one is an acoustic rearrangement of Idol.”
Yoo Ah-ra gave a quick signal to the staff.
A moment later, the soft strumming of an acoustic MR filled the air.
And just like that, their busking began.
The first track: Idol.
Sure, it was a bit embarrassing that the guitar was pre recorded instead of live—this was supposed to be busking, after all—but their vocals were absolutely real.
Their voices were so pure and lovely, it honestly felt—maybe I’m exaggerating a bit—but it felt like the whole of Hongdae was getting swept up in the sound.
I was so caught up in it that the song ended before I even realized.
Of course, this was Hongdae, always bursting with energy—so the crowd’s reaction was explosive.
And watching it all, that old saying suddenly came to mind:
‘People will curse you to death behind your back, then ask for your autograph to your face.’
“How was it? Our song’s pretty good, right?”
Yoo Ah-ra gathered her courage and asked the crowd a question.
The audience responded with a thunderous roar.
Buoyed by the energy, she even had the room to tease Kim Yoo-jung.
“Yoo-jung-ssi, how was it? You messed up the lyrics back there.”
“…I’m sorry. I was just so nervous.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd.
“Um, Producer-nim.”
As I was watching with quiet satisfaction, the manager suddenly tapped me on the shoulder and thrust his smartphone toward me.
The Naver real-time search rankings had changed.
#1 Lilac
#2 Lilac Hongdae Busking
#3 Yoo Ah-ra
…
…
#11 Idol
It was the signal that the plan had worked.
I couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“I already had the article denying the dating rumors published.”
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice next to me.
I didn’t even need to look at the face.
It was Lee Ha-yeon.
“Team Leader-nim, you came too?”
“Well, it’s an emergency. I rushed right over.”
Lee Ha-yeon chuckled quietly while watching the stage.
At some point, the second song had ended, and now the third and final song, On a Snowy Day, was beginning.
—On a day when the snow falls like today…
Yoo Ah-ra’s soft, snow-like voice murmured the opening lines.
As the Lilac girls slowly built their stage, piece by piece, Lee Ha-yeon spoke again.
“Our girls… They’re amazing singers, aren’t they?”
Her voice brimmed with unmistakable pride.
I chose not to respond.
“…They’re number one. Back at number one again from fourth.”
Yoo Min-sang’s blood pressure spiked, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Lilac had suddenly staged a street performance.
That unexpected move drew massive attention, and Idol had climbed its way back to the top of the charts.
And it wasn’t just Idol.
Album tracks like Flower Scent and On a Snowy Day had all broken into the Top 20 as well…
That alone was enough to give him a heart attack, but the real bombshell came from a source hand-delivered and filtered by someone at the EN desk.
[Chan-hyeok displayed behavior toward a fellow trainee bordering on criminal obsession. Nearly faced a lawsuit, but settled with hush money…]
Yoo Min-sang let out a heavy sigh.
A sense of existential dread crept in.
Maybe he should’ve just turned the offer down back then.
“…This bastard had something like that in his past?”
Chan-hyeok had such a bad reputation that he’d been kicked out of nearly every agency he joined.
At first, Yoo Min-sang had no intention of taking him on either.
But Chan-hyeok’s mother had made an offer too good to refuse.
Back then, KAN was bleeding money.
But with the money saved from that deal—and the sudden breakout of Romeo—they’d managed to overtake JM and claw their way to the top of the second-tier agencies, if not the first.
It had been poison—but poison they absolutely had to drink.
“This goddamn maniac…”
But now that everything had gone up in flames, Yoo Min-sang conveniently forgot all the past favors and focused only on the damage done.
“Have you verified the facts?”
The secretary standing before him, trembling under the weight of his seething rage, managed to answer.
“Y-Yes. Everyone knows Chan-hyeok’s real name is Kim Yoo-chan, but just in case, I checked with the director at JM.”
“What did he say?”
“…He said it’s true.”
“Son of a bitch… Don’t tell me those JM bastards were the ones who spread the rumor?”
“We’re still trying to confirm that.”
“Those little shits… Haah.”
This kind of scandal was on a whole different level from a dating rumor.
A male idol dating?
Just deny it, and it blows over quickly enough.
But a moral failing like this—if it spread, it wouldn’t just blow up the group, it’d splatter filth all over the agency too.
Even if EN hadn’t been the one to break the story, with this much attention on the matter, it was only a matter of time before another reporter caught the scent and came running.
“We have no choice. Get Chan-hyeok here.”
“Yes, understood.”
Time to end this before it got any worse.
It was a shame it would only end up helping Lilac in the process, but there was no way around it.
“Contact with Ji Hyun-wook, too. Something along the lines of ‘our sincerest apologies’—make it sound formal. I’ll be heading out now to meet with Chan-hyeok and his mother.”
What is this, a house call?
Yoo Min-sang sighed as he threw on his jacket.
At that same moment.
Chan-hyeok was talking to his manager.
His leg bounced nervously, and he kept biting his lip.
“Ugh, this is getting way too big……”
“What the hell did you even say to those reporters?”
The manager demanded, clearly irritated.
“I swear I just said I liked her a lot.”
“If that’s all you said, then why is the article blowing up like this? Do you even remember how drunk you were that night?”
“No… I was a bit drunk.”
“Well… yeah, I was pretty drunk.”
‘I want to stay by Yoo Ah-ra’s side, but I don’t think I’ll get the chance anymore.’
That was the general vibe he was going for.
Of course, it was entirely possible he’d said something more direct—he was extremely drunk at the time.
But he never imagined it would blow up like this.
He just thought that, with rumors and speculation floating around about why he left the show, maybe she’d understand how he felt.
Maybe it would give them a chance to meet again.
At the very least, he thought he’d get a chance to express his feelings.
“This is driving me crazy!”
“Fuck! I told you I didn’t want to leave Travel Log! Since when does the agency decide everything on their own?”
“I’ve told you over and over—we’re about to start promotions. You’re flying to Japan soon. What variety show would even make sense right now? There was no choice!”
The manager raised his voice in frustration, too.
“Yeah? And who decided there was no choice? It wasn’t just Travel Log! This kind of thing’s happened again and again! I told you back then, didn’t I?! Why am I not allowed to do what I want—?!”
Bzzzz.
Just as their shouting was about to escalate, a call came in.
It was CEO Yoo Min-sang.
Silence immediately fell between the two of them.
Chan-hyeok cleared his throat and answered.
“…This is Chan-hyeok.”
—”Chan-hyeok-ah. Did you ever stalk a fellow trainee back in the day?”
