The Double Life of a Genius Musician

Chapter 140: The Mind of an Idol Fanbase

Gifts were a burden.

But side dishes were a different story.

"……So I guess he was really grateful. Hey, Seo Taeyoon, are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Then why are you only staring at my hand?"

Ah—before I realized it, I must’ve been staring down at the gift in Junhyun’s hand.

At least five-tier lunchboxes.

The way it was neatly wrapped in a bojagi—this wasn’t just any ordinary side dish.

You couldn’t just leave a special guest standing out on the street.

Especially now that he was a well-known celebrity!

"Hey, hey, let’s go in."

"Nah. You’re busy. I can just drop this off and go."

Growl—

There was that sound again.

But this time, it wasn’t my stomach—it was his.

Why hadn’t he eaten when he had such precious food with him?

"You haven’t eaten either? Why?"

"Mom said it was for an important composer, told me not to touch it and to eat it later…"

"Liar."

"Huh?"

This punk. That lie was see-through.

His face turned red and his body squirmed as soon as he mentioned his mom—it must’ve been something embarrassing.

"The way you keep smiling to yourself… That’s the face of someone who got showered with praise this morning, right? Am I right?"

"……You’re a mind-reader. Yeah, you're right."

Junhyun wasn’t usually this talkative.

But now, he was rambling on like water flowing.

"To be honest, I didn’t sleep a wink last night."

"Why, too excited?"

"That too. But… it was the first time I got praised. They said I looked really cool on stage. Even my little brother and older brother said they loved my singing—I couldn’t even think straight."

"Because you were happy?"

"Exactly."

That big grin on his face made me feel happy too.

I knew the feeling.

Reading comments like "Stay writes great songs" or "Stay’s amazing" always felt good, of course.

But when it came from my brother, from my mom…

My dad… I wasn’t sure. Anyway.

Having my family listen to my music and share in my emotions—there was nothing more satisfying in the world.

Junhyun probably felt the same.

"Let’s hurry up and go in. My brother’s good at cooking. He’s a white rice expert."

"O-okay."

"Give that to me. I’ll carry it."

"Huh? It’s okay. I got it."

"Nope. You’re the guest. I should carry it."

I snatched the two lunchboxes from Junhyun’s hands like I was stealing them.

They were heavy. In a good way. I wanted to eat already.

……I wonder if there’s tonkatsu in there? Probably not?

Beep beep beep beep—

At the sound of the front door code being entered, Seo Dongyun sprang to his feet in shock.

Like someone caught doing something bad.

"Jesus!"

He even let out an unconscious exclamation.

The reason was simple.

He had confirmed Taeyoon had left, and was binge-watching YouTube videos on the TV.

Trying to act casual.

But he’d been watching Double Line’s debut videos over and over again.

Taeyoon, that punk.

Not only was he great at songwriting, his producing skills were insane too?

I was dying to watch it on the big screen.

But strangely, I couldn’t do it in front of my little brother.

I’d locked myself in my room with headphones on, watching busking videos, just waiting for Taeyoon to leave.

He said he’d be out for a bit, so I thought I was safe.

Who would’ve guessed he’d be back in five minutes?

Startled, I quickly turned off the TV.

I didn’t want to be caught drooling over Double Line videos.

I was about to pretend I wanted to eat or something—

"You’re back already. Thought you’d eat out… huh? Huh?!"

The person I’d just seen on the screen came walking into the house with my little brother.

What the heck was going on.

Seo Dongyun pointed excitedly at Baek Junhyun and shouted.

"Wow! Baek Junhyun! A real celebrity!"

I’d worked over five years at Tomorrow Entertainment and seen more celebrities than I could count.

So I thought I was numb to them.

But I was wrong.

Seeing someone step straight out of a video felt surreal.

Honestly… I became a fan.

How could a rookie sing that well?

Even if it was a Hongdae busking show, doing a live two-hour set without showing a hint of struggle was hard even for seasoned singers.

Only now did Seo Dongyun understand how idol fans felt when they camped out in front of Tomorrow Entertainment.

"Nice to meet you. I’m a fan."

But Taeyoon… had a hard time watching his brother like that.

‘What the heck is he doing?’

He thought he was being extra. Just doing it to make them feel good.

But he wasn’t. He was serious.

Before Taeyoon could say anything, Seo Dongyun disappeared into his room and came back out with something.

A sheet of A4 paper and a marker.

Seo Dongyun held the paper out to Baek Junhyun and said,

"Could I get your autograph?"

"Huh?"

The one who was surprised was Baek Junhyun.

It was the first time someone had recognized him and asked for his autograph.

His heart was pounding.

He felt like a real celebrity.

And the one asking for the autograph? The producer’s older brother (presumably).

He just stared down at the A4 paper blankly. Google seaʀᴄh novel·fıre·net

Taeyoon, who had been silently watching, glared at his brother like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and jumped in.

"Hey, Baek Junhyun. You have an autograph, don’t you? You practiced it a hundred times."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I did. Practice."

"If a fan asks for your autograph, are you gonna just stand there like that?"

"He’s not just a fan though."

"Then what is he?"

"Your hyung."

Taeyoon answered like it was ridiculous.

"Hyung, huh. What are we, gangsters? He’s just my older brother."

"Still… he looks at least ten years older than us."

Oh no.

His brother had been pretty sensitive about age since he hit his thirties.

Taeyoon sneaked a glance at Seo Dongyun.

Luckily, he didn’t seem too bothered.

Scratch scratch—

Baek Junhyun stylishly finished his autograph and shyly handed it over.

Unable to bear it any longer, Taeyoon jumped in again.

"Hyung, I’m disappointed."

"What, where’d that come from?"

"No, listen. Why didn’t you ask me for an autograph?"

"Are you a celebrity?"

"Well… not exactly. But I’m Stay, right?"

“What’s that? You go debut as a singer with your face out there and then come back. Get an autograph or take a photo then. Right, Junhyun?”

“Just wait. I’m definitely going to release an album and make you ask me for an autograph.”

Taeyoon narrowed his eyes.

Dongyun stuck his tongue out and smiled teasingly.

Baek Junhyun felt envious of the way the brothers acted.

He didn’t think he’d played around that comfortably with his own older brother since elementary school.

Without meaning to, his thoughts slipped out.

“I’m jealous.”

To that, Taeyoon responded with his signature Tibetan fox expression.

“Of this?”

After the whole autograph incident finally settled.

Only then did Seo Dongyun notice the lunchboxes in Taeyoon’s hands.

“What’s this?”

Taeyoon gave a little nod toward Baek Junhyun.

As if telling him to answer instead.

Baek Junhyun scratched his cheek and replied in his place.

“Ah, my parents made this. Just a small... gift?”

“For him? Why on earth...?”

“They told me to give it to composer Stay.”

“Ah, right, sir. Composer. Sir.”

Taeyoon was still glaring at them both with that Tibetan fox face.

Seriously, that Seo Taeyoon—he had a surprising amount of impact sometimes.

With that thought, Dongyun led Baek Junhyun over to the dining table.

“If I knew we had such an important guest, I would’ve tidied up a bit. Have a seat. Have you eaten?”

While the two were exchanging pleasantries,

Taeyoon swiftly unwrapped the bundle.

Inside were a variety of long-lasting side dishes: braised quail eggs, shredded dried squid, salted squid, chili salad, and stir-fried anchovies.

The dishes were just his type.

He wanted to dig in with his hands right away.

There were also short-term side dishes like assorted namul greens, stir-fried fish cakes, and stir-fried potatoes.

And of course, you couldn’t leave out meat.

Spicy pork stir-fry and grilled pollack. And on top of that...!

“Woooow! This is insane! Tonkatsu! There’s tonkatsu too!”

“I told your mom that was your favorite.”

Homemade tonkatsu and even the sauce.

There wasn’t a single dish that didn’t show effort.

Thinking maybe he was overreacting to such ordinary side dishes, Baek Junhyun asked,

“Do you like it?”

“Your parents must’ve worked really hard. I’ll be sure to thank them.”

“Eh, thank them? Tell my mom? How?”

“Huh? She didn’t tell you? She came all the way to KIM Entertainment.”

“What...?”

Junhyun’s pupils trembled.

When Taeyoon told him the story, he’d only said he ran into his parents by chance.

He figured they’d tell Junhyun the rest themselves.

Taeyoon scrolled through his smartphone and showed him the screen.

There was a text message from Junhyun’s mother.

[Thanks to you, Taeyoon, I got to see KIM Entertainment from afar and hear my second son sing. Thank you.]

Junhyun’s pupils shook like an earthquake.

“You mean... it wasn’t just a coincidence you ran into them...”

Taeyoon smiled faintly at the sight.

“Really, your mom... You must take after her a lot.”

Anxious not to burden his parents, the son who didn’t tell them about his debut stage.

And the mom who stayed silent, afraid her visit might get her son in trouble at work.

They both hid their hearts for each other.

Junhyun answered with a faint, awkward smile, full of complex emotions.

And just then—

“Wow. This is seriously no joke.”

Seo Dongyun approached, eyeing the side dishes.

“Even making one side dish takes a ton of work, but this... Wow, they even made tonkatsu by hand. Taeyoon, you really need to treat Junhyun right.”

“Ugh... Can you stop with the Mr. Junhyun thing? It’s so cringe I might die.”

Agreeing with him, Baek Junhyun nodded toward Dongyun.

“He’s right, hyung. I’m Taeyoon’s friend. Feel free to speak casually.”

“Alright. You call me hyung too. Come by often. It’s been ten years since Taeyoon brought a friend home. It’s nice.”

In that warm, friendly atmosphere,

along with the lightly seasoned soybean paste soup Dongyun brought out,

Taeyoon and Baek Junhyun each devoured three bowls of rice.

It was like a swarm of locusts had passed through.

Half of the mountain of side dishes disappeared in an instant.

‘These punks. So cute.’

From the way they looked in the Hongdae busking video yesterday—

To the way they looked now, right before his eyes.

Double Line was just different from all the other singers he’d seen at Tomorrow Entertainment.

His five years of experience told him that much.

KIM Entertainment, really was a great company. So much so it was hard to believe it was an entertainment agency.

Having seen Taeyoon and Baek Junhyun in person, Seo Dongyun wanted even more desperately... to join KIM Entertainment.

After Double Line’s successful debut stage,

the already good atmosphere at KIM Entertainment became even better.

Bonuses were flowing, company vehicles turned into SUVs with the three-point star, and weekly hotel buffet dinners were the norm.

But it wasn’t just those worldly perks.

Double Line’s success brought increased attention to KIM Entertainment.

“Hmmm...”

“There are more applications than I expected.”

“Ah, is this the ‘Stay effect’?”

That attention was now being poured onto the new label ‘Track Race’.

A rising entertainment company’s fresh new label.

To industry job changers and aspiring rookies alike, it was a tempting recruitment post.

A new label always went one of two ways:

Either it fumbled along for a few years, burned cash, and fizzled out with a, “Guys, we’re done here. But oops, we’re broke,” followed by severance drama and unemployment benefits...

Or it hit big, made founding members, turned first-year employees into team leaders, and had them flashing executive titles in five years on a golden career path.

But to the applicants of ‘Track Race,’ there was faith.

At least if it was under KIM Entertainment, they wouldn’t end up broke and booted out.

Everyone in the industry knew that Kim Minsoo’s solid backing was the pillar of that trust.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get started if we’re all here.”

At Kim Minsoo’s cue, Director Yoon Seonghan stood up and said,

“We received 173 resumes just for the planning department.”

“What’s the cause?”

It was certainly an unusual figure.

“I believe the chance to work with Stay generated a lot of excitement. With UTAR and Double Line both involving him, the industry atmosphere is shifting. And...”

Picking up his coffee, Yoon Seonghan took a sip to stretch out time.

Anxious, Kim Minsoo urged him on.

“And?”

Yoon Seonghan smiled slightly and answered.

“It’s probably thanks to the press release about Busan Goblin signing as the first composer. Music Ward is also considering a deal. Lastly... rumors about us being absorbed as a KW Group affiliate have sparked active interest from those hoping to move to major agencies.”

At the mention of KW Group, a small wrinkle formed on Kim Minsoo’s brow—then smoothed out.

Only Yoon Seonghan noticed the subtle shift in expression.

‘...Shouldn’t have said that last part.’

But Kim Minsoo wasn’t the type to show displeasure outright.

He quickly composed himself and checked the progress.

“Good work. Let’s go over the top twenty proposals for interviews together.”

Rustle, rustle—

The meeting room filled with the sound of turning pages.

Too novel a proposal? Rejected.

Too expensive? Rejected.

No matter how well-funded the company might be—

The most important thing in planning was ‘feasibility.’

Yoon Seonghan, fiddling with the proposal on top of the stack, said,

“Especially number 17. I’d like you to pay special attention to this one.”

“Oh? Why?”

“It’s creative. And it’ll likely cost a lot. But... it’s the kind of proposal that’s worth trying.”

“Is that so?”

The title was simple.

[ Idol ‘Lumière’ Branding & Marketing Strategy Proposal ]

With eager eyes, Kim Minsoo picked up the proposal.