Chapter 53
In fact, the world of this life and the world of my previous life weren't parallel universes that diverged in every way.
Rather, there were many points where the flow of history and famous figures overlapped in subtle ways, and it wasn't uncommon to find beloved hit songs from my previous life being played in exactly the same way in this world.
That was why, whenever I wrote a song using memories from my previous life, I compulsively made a habit of checking whether the song already existed.
Otherwise, I could end up becoming a plagiarist composer.
In any case, perhaps because of those similarities between the two worlds, it wasn't all that surprising that the child I had personally scouted from the lower grades of elementary school and raised into Korea's top star in my previous life also existed in this world.
“I’m Lee Hanan.”
“I’m Choi Hakyung! Nice to meet you!”
“I’m Yoo Ina! Let’s be friends from now on!”
“…Yes. Hello. Nice to meet you.”
Yoo Ina, the girl standing on the far left among the three girls before me.
She had the large, clear eyes of a typical rabbit-faced beauty, a slender jawline with the soft baby fat that had yet to disappear, and skin so transparent it looked as though I could see through it.
‘She’s a complete carbon copy. Even her voice is similar enough to give me chills.’
Of course, there were differences if I examined her closely.
She didn’t have the small mole beneath her left eye that had been a major charm point for the girl from my previous life, and she lacked the subtle madness peculiar to that age.
Her name had been different from the start, so she couldn’t be the exact same person.
But her aura was exactly the same as that star’s during her promising rookie days.
“You’re all really pretty!”
The other two girls, not just Yoo Ina, also had looks that were more than good enough for idols.
Honestly, I was amazed that a small entertainment company on the verge of collapse had somehow gathered gems like these.
‘But why are there only three of them?’
I had definitely heard that they were a group scheduled to debut, but it was difficult to compete in this era of large idol groups with only three members.
These days, a group needed at least five members to look properly balanced.
“Actually… there was one more member, but she left a little while ago.”
“Ah.”
She ran away.
Well, how many trainees would be willing to stake their lives on a company with no visible future?
But Blue Sky Entertainment’s acquisition had completely turned the situation around.
It wasn’t only that I had the entire list of hit songs from my previous life stored in my head; more importantly, the scale of the capital being invested would be completely different.
The investment money that might be pocket change to Chairman Yoo could become a tremendous force capable of working miracles in this industry.
We would still need to come up with a plan, whether that meant filling the remaining two spots through street casting or bringing trainees in from elsewhere…
‘It’s not something I need to lose sleep over right now.’
My priorities were clear. I had to focus on what I did best in this industry and what needed to be done first.
“For now, I’m going to get started on preparing my full-length album right away. I already have a rough picture of it in my head.”
Write songs, release them, and take the stage.
Once I had decided to walk the path of a singer, the standard procedure was to put out new material before the public’s interest cooled, then establish my position through concerts and events.
But I had overlooked one important fact. I had temporarily forgotten how to row in the entertainment industry.
“An album is good too, Miss Siyeon. But shouldn’t we appear on some shows first?”
CEO Lee Hajun’s proposal snapped me back to reality.
That was right. This was the moment when the heat from my Singerstar victory was sweeping across the entire country.
Rowing when the tide came in didn’t simply mean releasing songs. It meant appearing on all kinds of variety shows and broadcasts while my market value was at its peak, and cementing my public image.
‘We’ll have to go with something that involves a long filming schedule, no matter what.’
That way, I could legally skip school.
* * *
“Aw, damn. Not again.”
I muttered a curse under my breath and fled into the private room prepared for me in the annex.
The truth was, I hadn’t insisted on a variety show with a long schedule simply because I wanted to skip school.
More than that, I wanted to put some physical distance between myself and the people rushing to sink their teeth into me from every direction.
Aside from people I already knew, like Park Hansu and the owner of the PC café, there were complete strangers—from reporters to perverts with disgusting looks—loitering around the walls of the school and orphanage, and it was making me so uncomfortable I could barely stand it.
A lunatic had stuck to me all the way to school today as well, but fortunately, a group of high schoolers from the orphanage who happened to be smoking in an alley near the orphanage appeared and drove him away.
Normally, I hated seeing them in their uniforms while spitting on the ground, but today, their delinquent backs looked strangely reassuring and even welcome.
The problem was that this sort of thing had become part of my daily life.
It was also common for clueless reporters to stake out the orphanage’s front gate every morning and thrust cameras into my face.
Compared to that, being at school, where crowds gathered and turned me into a zoo monkey during every break, was practically comfortable.
Naturally, I had reported it to the police, and the officers from the nearby precinct had been making their rounds every morning, but…
‘Seriously, what a nuisance.’
I felt sorry and self-conscious, so I desperately wanted to flee overseas for a while.
Now that I could earn enough money to let it burn, there were no financial limitations.
‘Ah, I should’ve just gone along when Seolha unnie’s family invited me to Hawaii.’
I regretted how my past self had refused their offer to cover all the expenses and simply show up, stubbornly bringing up schoolwork before returning to the orphanage.
Looking at the emerald-colored ocean and delicious food Blooming’s members were posting on Instagram made my stomach hurt so badly I could hardly stand it.
“Oh.”
While I was mindlessly scrolling through my Instagram feed, a message notification appeared at the top of the screen.
It was a message from CEO Lee Hajun. Inside was a list of variety shows worth appearing on, personally selected from among the countless offers we had received.
My finger kept scrolling for a long time before stopping at one particular point.
“Oh? Of course this one’s here.”
A vile… no, a satisfied smile spread across my lips.
The perfect plan I had been looking for was sitting there in the list, allowing me to solve both my escape and my television appearance at the same time.
* * *
[Official) Blue Sky Entertainment Recruits Seo Siyeon]
[A screenshot of an article reporting that Blue Sky Entertainment had recruited Seo Siyeon and Blooming]
The gallery’s main and Blooming are headed this way, as expected.
I’m a little worried about the agency’s capabilities, but their funding must be solid too, so I think Siyeon will handle things just fine on her own.
-?? Where is this?
ㄴ Winter Girl’s agency, and Yoo Seolha’s father acquired it this time.
ㄴ Huh? Who’s Yoo Seolha’s father?
ㄴ Yoo Sanghun. Yoo Seolha is the heiress of Yuseong Semiconductor, yeah.
-So this is how it ends up… I wanted her to go to one of the Big Three if possible.
ㄴ Rather, it was obvious that she’d lose her individuality if she went there, so I wanted her to go to a mid-sized company.
-Can Lee Hajun really handle Seo Siyeon?
-Looks like she’ll keep making songs for Blooming.
ㄴ Blooming doesn’t have a composing member, so yeah.
ㄴ They hated her like crazy over at the Korean Band Gallery lol.
ㄴ They’re just a handful of hipster types. You can ignore them.
-A company that’s a one-trick pony with Winter Girl lol. Is this really okay?
For now, the Seo Siyeon Minor Gallery was by far the largest fan community for Seo Siyeon.
Opinions were divided there over Seo Siyeon’s next move, but the moderators quickly brought things under control.
[We will block all conflict-inducing behavior]
We will consider bashing other artists or other galleries trolling and block all of it.
Let’s work to become a clean fandom like our cute Siyeon.
-Yes
-Yep
-(Not quite that much)
-(Hmm, is it really that much?)
Once the initial buzz had run its course, they immediately began discussing Seo Siyeon’s next move.
[So what is the gallery’s main doing now?]
Now that she’s made an Instagram account, I want her to post pictures of those soft, squishy cheeks.
-She’ll go on TV, right?
-Is she not doing YouTube?
ㄴ She needs idol-style self-produced content.
-Given how fast she works, it seems like she’ll put out an album soon.
ㄴ But she has to make songs for Blooming and attend school, so she seems busier than expected.
While they were exchanging nothing but discussions with little substance, official articles capable of shocking them began pouring out all at once.
[Exclusive) Stalkers Have Latched Onto Seo Siyeon? Police Say, ‘Protecting the Child’s Safety as Our Top Priority’]
[First Move After Singerstar? Little Musician to Descend on Baseball Stadium This Weekend]
[JBC’s music-travel variety show ‘Do You Happen to Like Music?’ reveals its Season 3 cast. Seo Siyeon and Baek Yuyeon are included, making headlines…]
[A Little Fairy Musician on ‘Do You Happen to Like Music?’ This Season? Hot Response to the Revealed Lineup]