Chapter 28
“A TV appearance?”
“Yes. In my opinion, your daughter seems perfectly capable of appearing on a show like that.”
Ms. Lee Hyein’s voice brightened considerably, and the employee answered her. Myeongjeon sensed something ominous. What was this talk of appearing on a show and auditioning? He needed to say he’d never thought about anything like that…
“Really~ My daughter does have talent, but she’s never said anything about that sort of thing, so I never considered it at all.”
“You should think about it! One of my friends works in broadcasting, so I can pass along information about opportunities like that to you, CEO.”
‘Mom’ listened with a beaming smile, then glanced at Myeongjeon. He shook his head vehemently, gathered his things, and went outside.
“What do you think about what you heard earlier?”
“…About what?”
“The TV appearance.”
Is she really going to keep talking about that?
Myeongjeon turned his head and looked outside for a moment. The sun had long since set. The road was lit only by the headlights of cars and the orange streetlamps along its edges.
While he stared blankly outside, Hyein said,
“Mom thinks it would be good for Suyeon to try appearing on a show like that.”
“In what way?”
At Myeongjeon’s question, Hyein began choosing her words. But whatever her answer was, Myeongjeon already viewed appearing on television negatively. Because…
‘It’d be cheating if I went.’
Think about it. Would anyone capable of matching him musically… appear on an audition show? Even if someone did, they’d probably be sitting in the judges’ seats.
If he didn’t enter some unfamiliar field—for example, dance or idol entertainment—but instead appeared on a program related to his own field, then it would be fair to say the winner had been decided before it even began.
And Myeongjeon didn’t want that.
He was too old for that sort of embarrassing behavior, for one thing, and besides, shouldn’t opportunities like that be given to other people?
There was also the opinion that “music should be judged on its own merits.”
Of course, that opinion wasn’t very credible coming from Myeongjeon himself, seeing as he was running a YouTube channel, but there was nothing to be done. Humanity’s basic stance was, ‘It’s romance when I do it and adultery when you do it.’
“It’s an age when self-promotion is important. Mom thinks making music is great, but if you want people to listen to your music, it’s also important to make them aware of you.
Business is the same way, really. Good quality, a good product… Even if you have those things, they’re useless if no one pays attention.”
“Is that so?”
While Myeongjeon thought that, Hyein finished choosing her words and opened her mouth. Faced with a rather business-oriented argument, he chose silence instead of rebutting her.
Because it wasn’t really the kind of thing he could argue against… and even if he did, it didn’t seem like ‘Mom’ would change her mind.
No matter how logically he tried to persuade her, ‘Ha Suyeon’ was her daughter. Whatever he said, it would clearly be dismissed as “the childish opinion of a daughter who hadn’t lived enough of life yet.”
“And Mom wants Suyeon to have lots of different experiences. Until now… I don’t know what Suyeon thinks, but Mom believes she was definitely a little off track.
Of course, it’s not too late. You never know what life has in store. Mom never imagined, when she was a student, that she’d go into business either. But if there’s a path that can make use of Suyeon’s talent, wouldn’t it be okay for her to try going that way?”
At Hyein’s words, Myeongjeon thought for a moment, then replied that he’d think about it.
‘Mom’ probably wasn’t expecting an immediate “Okay! I’ll try out for an audition!” And if things remained like this, she might forget all about it tomorrow or the day after.
Then it would simply go away as though it had never happened.
This woman probably wasn’t seriously thinking it through and telling Myeongjeon, “Try out for an audition~.” She probably just thought her daughter seemed to have finally come to her senses, so maybe getting her on TV while she was at it would help her find her own path and look good… something like that.
But Myeongjeon withdrew that assumption after only a few days. Ms. Lee Hyein literally asked him, “What do you think about appearing on TV?” every time she saw his face.
“Are you thinking of trying out?”
“Mom’s been thinking…”
“That employee mentioned it before…”
“It would be a great opportunity for you to try it.”
She went on about it until he was sick of hearing it, and Myeongjeon wanted to let out an actual shriek. Just as the old ‘Ha Suyeon’ used to do every day, he even considered yelling something like, “Oh, just leave me alone already!”, slamming his door, and practicing guitar.
But how could he do that? In any case, this person was his ‘Mom,’ and she was saying it because she was worried about him.
But even as he thought, “I suppose I should understand her…,” another thought suddenly occurred to him:
‘Does this woman not even remember that her daughter used to be a delinquent?’
And then his head would start hurting all over again…
* * *
In the end, worn down by Ms. Lee Hyein’s relentless offensive, Myeongjeon ended up saying, “I’ll give it a try if I get the chance.” The reason was that during the second group lesson, the company employees had all asked him, “Why don’t you try going on an audition show or something?”
‘Are they really going this far?’
Myeongjeon let his imagination run wild.
A CEO telling the company employees, “Please ask questions so my daughter can try going on an audition program!” and the employees, after hearing that, carrying it out while thinking, What on earth am I doing…?
‘This is a bit much.’
There was only one way to preserve ‘Mom’s’ dignity in this situation: say he would do it.
‘But even if I say I’ll do it… I don’t know what I should enter.’
That’s what Myeongjeon thought. Ms. Lee Hyein didn’t seem to have any specific audition in mind that she wanted him to enter, either. From her perspective, it was probably enough simply for her daughter to appear on TV.
The problem was that the person urging him to go on a show didn’t need to give it much thought, while the person actually going on had to consider all those things.
Myeongjeon turned on his computer. First things first, he had to research the matter.
After several hours of research, Myeongjeon was able to reach a conclusion of sorts.
‘I can’t decide this on my own.’
Of all the many audition programs out there, only three were currently accepting contestants and open to Myeongjeon.
1. An idol survival program. There had been controversies over manipulation, and people said the program was becoming obsolete, but regardless, it had continued to survive, whether by changing its name or otherwise. At present, it was accepting contestants for what it called New Season 3.
There were no eligibility requirements. Contestants only needed to have no criminal record or restriction preventing them from traveling abroad, and the winner would have the chance to debut as an idol.
‘This one’s definitely out.’
First reason it was out: Myeongjeon had no intention of becoming an idol.
Of course, considering ‘Ha Suyeon’s’ looks, physical gifts, and the musical talent he possessed as Seo Myeongjeon, it wasn’t as though becoming an idol was impossible, but…
‘Are they telling me to strip halfway naked and wiggle my ass in front of men?’
Myeongjeon thought even having such thoughts was a kind of crime. No matter how thoroughly he’d taken up residence in a woman’s body, he was still a man. And he was supposed to do seductive dances and act cute in front of men…?
Myeongjeon suddenly felt like throwing up. No, he actually did throw up.
Second, Myeongjeon’s field had nothing to do with idols.
Of course, music could be said to be connected in some way, since all roads in music ultimately led to the same place, but Myeongjeon was a guitarist, plain and simple. His knowledge was limited enough that he’d never heard of a female idol who sang while playing guitar, and he doubted he ever would.
There had been a time when bands themselves were treated as idols, of course, but that was more than sixty years ago. Anyone from that era had become a grand old master of the music world by now.
Third, and most importantly… Ha Suyeon’s past was far too dangerous.
‘It’s gotten a little hazy, so I don’t remember it very well anymore…’
In any case, he had memories of bullying some kids and fighting with a senior. On top of that, she’d drunk alcohol and smoked, too… He had to assume she couldn’t become an idol even if someone offered her the chance.
‘No, come to think of it… isn’t that true of all the other shows too?’
Of course, the moral standards applied to idols were unusually strict. Kids planning to become idols weren’t allowed to drink or smoke while they were minors, and they weren’t allowed to date, either.
But although the idol industry took it to an extreme, other fields likewise demanded a morally clean past.
Even a trot-related program Myeongjeon had watched briefly in the past had immediately removed one of its cast members after it was revealed that the person had been a school bully… He’d think about that part later.
2. A general audition survival program. The kind that selected singers, singer-songwriters, and so on.
Nothing particularly problematic, just ordinary programs where contestants competed on skill, made it to the end, became stars, and debuted under some agency… that sort of thing.
There wasn’t really any problem with this option. He could simply crush the competition with his skill, and that would be the end of it. He did wonder whether it was appropriate at his age, but now that he’d decided to appear, was there any reason to be picky?
The only thing he was reluctant about was that, if he ended up debuting, he would most likely work as a solo artist. Myeongjeon had already formed a band, and barring some unforeseen event, he didn’t want to break it up.
And in that regard, there was an appealing kind of program.
3. A band-related survival program.
But programs of this type had problems too. Some brought contestants together to form bands and compete as those bands, while others had bands participate from the outset…
‘In the former case, I’d be stuck with whatever band they put me in, so it would be pointless. In the latter, the problem is that our band isn’t good enough to enter a program like that.’
Of course, as at their first performance, he could forcefully grab them by the collars and drag them along. That might even produce better results.
But… did he really have to go that far? Wouldn’t it be better simply not to participate? Whatever its origins, this was a band formed so they could enjoy themselves together.
Myeongjeon ran his hands through his hair.
No matter how things turned out, he would have to talk it over with the band members and with Ms. Lee Hyein.
Because the auditions overlapped slightly in timing, leaving him in a situation where he could participate in only one… and above all, this wasn’t something he could decide on his own.
‘And there’s something I need to do before that.’
Myeongjeon took out his phone and called someone. After a few seconds of ringing, the person on the other end picked up.
“Oh! Yeonsu! What’s up all of a sudden? What happened?”
“Hey, Dain. There’s something I need to talk to you about. Could you meet me tomorrow?”
Whatever program he participated in, and however he participated, there was one task that had to come first.
He needed to clean up his past.