Chapter 89
The person who spoke to me at the apartment fitness center turned out to be a fairly famous actor.
He was an actor from a movie that had recently drawn ten million viewers, so his stock was soaring.
‘I feel a little bad for not recognizing him…’
I only watch dramas; I don't really watch movies.
I especially don't watch new movies that require you to go to a theater.
Anyway, after getting my permission, the man uploaded a photo of the two of us to Instagram.
Honestly, I hadn't thought much of it when I gave him permission, but trouble arose from a completely unexpected angle.
He posted that he had met me at the apartment fitness center along with the photo, and his home had already been revealed to the public through variety shows.
In other words, people found out that I had moved into an expensive apartment.
[Does Seo Siyeon really make that much money?]
Moving into Trimage is kind of surprising, yeah…
-How many songs has she turned into hits?
-Feeling jealous of an orphan girl? LOL, that's hilarious.
-She makes all of NOIRIS's and Blooming's songs, so of course she earns a shitload.
-You only figured that out now?
[I even donated to the orphanage and volunteered to help Siyeon do well…]
It feels kind of strange. So she was making several dozen times more than me…
-Why are there so many morons?
-No, isn't it obvious she makes good money?
ㄴI didn't know it was this much….
-Several dozen times? Probably several hundred.
[Seo Siyeon didn't exactly show off her money]
All she ever bought was albums and some weird otaku merchandise.
She even only traveled to Japan for a music video shoot, LOL.
-Apartment flex, LOL.
-But she could've just been visiting a friend's place.
ㄴOne or two of the Blooming girls could live here.
-Though she couldn't really spend money because of COVID.
[Here's a neat breakdown of Seo Siyeon's estimated income]
(Blooming's chart performance)
(NOIRIS's chart performance)
She's the producer for two top-tier girl groups, yeah.
At this point, excluding K-Sep, the RPS producer, she's about as successful as it gets in Korea.
She must be pulling in several billion won a year.
“What bullshit.”
I was browsing the community for the first time in ages, but got so pissed that I turned off my smartphone screen and reclined in my chair.
Several billion, my ass.
Neither group has made that much, since COVID kept them from going on even one tour.
Their revenue comes solely from streaming and album sales, plus a small amount of merchandise sales.
Naturally, as their producer, I don't get anywhere near that much.
The streaming royalties I receive as a composer aren't exactly small, but they aren't some astronomical sum like that post claims, either.
“Siyeon, what are you doing?”
“Oh. You're here?”
Though she was wearing a mask and had pulled her hood low over her face, it was obviously Yoo Seol-ha.
I cooled my simmering anger and greeted Yoo Seol-ha, who was standing in front of me.
We were in the park in front of the apartment.
The Han River ran alongside it, so looking to one side gave a clear view of the river, while the other side showed the apartments.
The weather was typical of winter, but the wind wasn't blowing much, so it didn't feel all that cold.
“Siyeon, aren't you cold? A hoodie alone seems like it would be a little chilly.”
“Wouldn't it be fine if we kept moving?”
That said, it was a little cold.
The reason Yoo Seol-ha and I were out here together was simple.
For one thing, Yoo Seol-ha lived here too.
More precisely, she lived nearby—close enough that the round trip took less than twenty minutes, anyway.
So, as soon as Yoo Seol-ha heard I'd been kicked out of the fitness center, she contacted me and suggested running along the riverside.
“…No, but how did you know about that?”
“Actor Ha Seonghun is a little loose-lipped… He contacted me because we're acquainted and told me he'd seen you.”
Wait.
She contacted a man?
“You aren't… dating…?”
“I'm not! I'm not… What kind of dating would I be doing right now?”
“Hmm. You don't have to, but… if you do, tell me first.”
That way, I could at least manage things properly.
If I forbade it completely, only for her to meet someone in secret and get caught, it would be a disaster beyond compare.
Honestly, every member of Blooming, including Yoo Seol-ha, was popular even among male celebrities.
They had looks, talent, and popularity, and they were also quite young.
They were only in their early twenties now, so it was the perfect time to date.
On top of that, all of them came from powerful families.
There was no way they could not be popular.
“…You must get a ton of DMs from celebrities.”
“Ah… haha. Well, that…”
“I'm jealous.”
“Whaaat? You're jealous?”
At the word jealous, which I had uttered without much thought, Yoo Seol-ha sprang up as if she had been jolted.
“…Why?”
“Siyeon isn't allowed to date, you know? If a male celebrity DMs her, she blocks every one of them.”
“…Start by blocking yourself. If you get caught dating, your contract will be terminated, you know.”
“No way.”
She couldn't even block them herself, yet she was making a fuss at me.
Not that I had any thoughts of dating, anyway.
Anyway, we finished our small talk and jogged lightly along the Han River.
Then, after running for about thirty minutes, I collapsed onto a bench.
“…You're really out of shape, Siyeon. Kids your age are usually bursting with energy.”
“Because I spend all day holed up in my room…”
Anyway, running wasn't unpleasant.
It felt like I'd aired out my mood and cleared my head, somehow.
“If you're going to do it, you have to do it every day! I usually run in the afternoon after school because I got into the habit of doing that… Want to keep doing it together?”
“Yes. I really do need to.”
If I was going to be a singer, shouldn't I at least go on tour once?
Building up ordinary human stamina was a goal I needed to achieve within roughly two years.
“Let's call Seol-i too, right? She's holed up at home all day, too.”
“She'd never come out. I hear she's busy writing a novel these days?”
“I guess you can't fool genetics.”
I shrugged and draped a towel around my neck.
As I took off my hoodie for a moment, gazes from the surrounding area flooded over me.
But they soon disappeared.
“I'm going to get my picture taken.”
“You have to put up with that much.”
My everyday life wasn't being interrupted, but people did take pictures.
It was practically the fate of being a celebrity.
* * *
“Does she really think I won't figure it out?”
After parting ways with Seo Siyeon, Yoo Seol-ha ran alone along the Han River, muttering to herself.
Mikansei.
She was an artist currently setting the subculture scene ablaze.
A monster rookie who had appeared out of nowhere and instantly achieved top-tier results among faceless singers.
At first, many people thought she would vanish as a one-hit wonder, but after receiving widespread acclaim for the opening of Empress of the Ice, she had put those concerns to rest.
Naturally, every member of Blooming, including Yoo Seol-ha, had realized long ago that Mikansei was Seo Siyeon.
Her songwriting style was similar to glassy sky's, and above all, her voice sounded similar.
They had become even more certain after she uploaded a Short of herself singing while revealing her lower face this time.
The reason they hadn't said anything was that they were waiting for Seo Siyeon to tell them herself…
But she showed no sign of doing so.
“She's at the perfect age for playing ‘secretly overpowered.’”
Back then, Yoo Seol-ha had also indulged in fantasies like Superband Hides a Chaebol Family?
She was a little embarrassed by that past now, but back when she had been in her chuunibyou phase, she hadn't felt any of that shame.
Maybe Seo Siyeon was doing this for roughly the same reason?
Otherwise, there was no reason to hide it even from the people around her.
“Is it because she hit her growth spurt early?”
Thinking that maybe her chuunibyou had arrived a little early, Yoo Seol-ha stopped for a moment and opened her smartphone.
Then, with somewhat practiced fingers, she searched Google for Billboard Japan and checked the chart.
“…Where is it? I don't see it.”
Her goal was to see what rank Edge over—Seo Siyeon's song… no, Mikansei's—occupied on the updated chart.
But it wasn't there.
Not in the lower ranks.
Not in the middle ranks.
Not in the upper ranks around twentieth place.
That left only the lower teens and the top ranks in the single digits.
Could it be? Seo Siyeon…
If this was a song by a girl so talented that I couldn't even bring myself to envy her, maybe it was above this.
“Why am I getting so nervous over this?”
Yoo Seol-ha scrolled through her smartphone a little more slowly.
“Whoa.”
And there, lodged almost at the very top of the chart,
3- Edge over- MIKANSEI
she found Seo Siyeon's song.
* * *
In truth, Korean singers succeeding in Japan was something that had happened quite often.
For instance, FYG, the Korean-affiliated idol group Saki belonged to, was popular enough to sell out both of its 80,000-seat dates at Nissan Stadium.
However, most of them had essentially entered Japan on the strength of their popularity in Korea.
If not, they had gained popularity with Japanese members at the forefront.
As for Koreans who had achieved some measure of success in Japan by charging in from scratch, with nothing to their name…
There weren't many examples.
And after seeing the updated chart, I was certain.
Mikansei would achieve complete success in Japan, in defiance of the meaning of its name.