Chapter 61

Recruiting members for a band .

Recruiting members

Drums

Bass

Guitar

Synthesizer

And up to 5 other people . (Im the vocalist . )

I have a song in mind . Ill consult you when the members are decided .

Not restricted by genre .

* Seoul residents welcome! (It doesnt matter where!)

* I hope that you can use an instrument and possibly own one too!

Please call 010-XXXX-XXXX for details~

***

Lee HyunAh put up flyers by herself on the streets of Hongdae . Some people received the posters from herself . She approached and handed out those flyers to some of the performers on the street and those who had instruments on their backs . She did her best to recruit members for a band .

She handed out flyers from dawn till eve, but at the end of the day, her phone was silent .

Lee HyunAh sat down absent-mindedly on one of the streets . Since she had to walk around all day, she felt pretty tired . There were some that wanted her signature, but she felt disappointed because she couldnt get them to react to the band recruitment .

When she was looking around the street performances, a burly man approached her .

Excuse me, youre the one that handed out these right?

In his hand was one of the flyers .

Yes, yes .

I play the bass . Can I have a listen to your song?

Of course!

Lee HyunAh immediately stood up with energy and lead the man to a nearby caf .

***

After over 10 hours of flight, KangYoon and the others finally arrived at LA international airport in America . Everyone seemed to be affected by the long hours of flight while they were going through the procedures for entry . Just as everyone left immigration, Ailee Jung saw someone and ran towards him .

Papa!

Before anyone could say to her, she was hugged by someone .

Ailee!

Papa!

The girls were surprised, but KangYoon knew who this man was . He was the father of Ailee Jung . He left the girls and approached the man to greet him . Following that, everyone introduced themselves and followed after him . From today onwards, everyone was going to stay at Ailees house .

KangYoon got onboard the car that Ailees father drove along with her . The other girls boarded a rental car .

It should have been a difficult request . Thanks for accepting it, Team leader .

Not at all . Rather, its us whos thankful for reducing the budget .

KangYoon declined his appreciation . The decisive reason they could come to America this time was due to this . Ailee Jungs father paid for all residential fees, and the budget for the stay went down considerably .

Papa, arent we using too much money?

Its fine . Its all to see Ailee once more .

Papa!

.

While a soap opera played out between the father and daughter, Jung MinAh was getting Han JooYeons heavy bag out .

Jung MinAh changed a lot .

Before, she was someone who only tried to win against others, but now, she started being considerate to her colleagues . KangYoon felt proud of her .

The group arrived at Ailees house after many hours of driving . Her house was at the edge of LA . Although it was relatively small, it was large enough for them to all stay in, it also had a garden as well, and even a pool . Everyone was flabbergasted after seeing the scale of the house rarely seen in Korea .

After they unpacked their luggage and washed up, it was nighttime already . The girls were full of excitement since it was the first day of the travel, but they all fell asleep without being able to win against jetlag .

Second day .

KangYoon headed to the theme park where characters from various animations walked around . It was one of the most well-known theme parks in the world .

Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Kyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Having gotten on a roller coaster for the first time in his life, KangYoon screamed his life out . Jung MinAh was in a similar situation by his side .

Theyre practically the same .

Below the roller coaster, Christie An was shaking her head .

Wasnt that great?

That was fun?

After around 2 minutes on the roller coaster, KangYoon had to stagger his way out being supported by Jung MinAh . Not only the girls, even the managers giggled after seeing him .

Rides were the best things in theme parks . Everyone enjoyed their preferred rides and leisure time . KangYoon never approached any ride after that roller coaster . Jung MinAh grumbled, saying he was so weak despite being a man, but he didnt care .

The day was passing by fast . When the energetic girls conquered almost all the rides, the sun was setting .

Should we go back then?

Everyone was disappointed, but the girls still followed him out .

Most of their schedule in America was leisure and travel . The girls were worried that they might have to study or perform, but there was nothing like that . Other than the fact that everyone had to be together, it was no different from touring . Everyone admired and enjoyed this life that was completely different from Korea .

One day before they had to go back to Korea .

KangYoon held out tickets to the girls .

What are these?

When Jung MinAh asked, it was instead Christie who answered for KangYoon .

Duh, theyre tickets . Cant you see?

Yes, I cant see . Wanna fight?

Jung MinAh and Christie An were about to quarrel again but KangYoon calmed them down with a smack on their heads .

Its always me .

Were going to see Samuel Johnsons concert today . I wont ask you to write a report, but I will ask for your opinions . Okay?

Yeeees .

Jung MinAh answered in a bland tone, but KangYoon simply ignored her . When she drew circles on the ground for being ignored, all the girls giggled .

Thats comical .

Even while playing around with the girls, KangYoon was watching the relationships between each of them . From the soft Seo HanYu to the funny yet considerate Lee SamSoon to the nagging, but sturdy Ailee Jung he was watching everyone .

The girls left the house with KangYoon and headed for the concert venue .

Wow, there are soooooo many people .

Han JooYeon shivered slightly after seeing the crowd that filled the giant concert hall . No, it was more appropriate to say that she was overwhelmed . The concert venue centered around a stage and every inch were filled with people .

It can apparently house 50 thousand people so yeah .

F, fifty thousand!?

Even Seo HanYu, who wasnt easily surprised, was shocked . When they looked around, they would see crowds upon crowds of people . She couldnt believe that all of these people came to see just one singer .

Everyone grabbed their seats . The girls were staring at the entrances as there was an endless stream of people coming in . They found it curious that such an enormous hall was going to be filled .

Team leader . What kind of singer are we going to watch today?

Asked Jung MinAh, who sat next to KangYoon .

Samuel Johnson . The greatest pop singer of the 80s . Of course, hes still one of the greatest singers . Havent you heard about him?

Oh, I did . The lean dance and the moonwalk! (T/N: We all know who this is now)

Correct . The reason that hes famous is because most singers at that time just danced according to the rhythm of the song while they sang . But Samuel Johnson was the first one to dance along with singing . Hes a pioneer, per se .

Oh, stages didnt have dances until now?

Jung MinAh perked her ears up after listening to something she hadnt known before . KangYoon found that cute and continued .

To be exact, dancing and singing were entirely separate . But with the appearance of Samuel Johnson, performance properly came onto the stage along with singing . Other than that, the current stage devices, music videos and stuff like that, which affected the music history as a whole, also came from him . Now you see why hes called the greatest singer right?

Wow, thats amazing . Oh, the lights are going off .

The stage was about to start and the lights went off . After that, numbers started appearing on the huge screen in front of the stage . It was decreasing from the number 10, and the audience all shouted out .

.

Five!

Four!

.

The audience was very dynamic . The girls also shouted the countdown as well . The number soon became 1, then 0 . And the cheers of the audience erupted along with a loud boom .

Woooooow!

Along with the cheers, the lights came on the stage . And on the stage .

Huh?

No one was there . The audience that was cheering and the girls all looked around to see what was happening .

Whats happening?

KangYoon wondered if there was an accident or something . Just as the 50,000 audience was about to fall into the same suspicion, a humanoid hologram appeared with a few beeps . It was the hologram of Samuel Johnson . The hologram extracted bits of the performances he had shown in the past and showed it to the audience . The music became faster and the mood was heightened, and the almost panic-stricken audience was instantly taken away by it .

The drum sounds became louder before the hologram vaporized into thin air . Just as the people were about to fall into panic again, pillars of fire rose from the surroundings before someone appeared from below the stage . Along with that figure, 2 more holograms of Samuel Johnson appeared .

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooow! Samuel! Samuel!

The one from below was the real Samuel . As the two holograms and he joined into one, he started taking away the attention of all the people there .

***

Its quiet without KangYoon here .

Chairman Won JinMoon was in KangYoons empty office . Behind him was President Lee HyunJi .

Definitely, his bold attitude isnt here .

Do you feel that way too?

It had been 4 days since KangYoon took the girls to America . He felt bored without the results from KangYoon .

Hows the concert team doing? Im worried since hes only focusing on the girl group right now .

Phew .

Although she shouldnt act like this in front of the chairman, President Lee HyunJi deeply sighed . Even though she wanted to take a big job, with KangYoon away, she couldnt do anything .

Please wait for a little . Ill send him your way as soon as they debut .

Understood . But I think the end-of-year concert will be difficult .

Oh well . Ill be considerate next time .

President Lee HyunJi emphasized that the matters like what happened with JooAh last time must not happen again . He added while signing the document .

But you know? Isnt it a pity to just leave KangYoon in the concert team? I think hell do well in other things too .

Hes learning music theory as well .

Thats not enough .

Chairman Won JinMoon wasnt satisfied . He fidgeted with his pen for a moment before clapping as though he had come to a realization .

The word concert team sounds fine, but I think it will be better for him to do various work about music and not just concerts . Well raise KangYoon in the process, and itll profit the company in the long run too . Isnt that two birds with one stone?

Are you referring to a general business team related to music?

Something like that . Well create a team with professional members, too . I knew I could count on you .

Ill look into it .

Replied President Lee HyunJi with confidence .

She judged that this had potential after evaluating KangYoons sense in music as well as his ability to gather peoples opinions together .

***

Samuels stage kept going .

Even Jung MinAh and Lee SamSoon, who were clueless about English, started being absorbed by the performances that contained a story . Samuels stage contained extremes of magnificence, but also, each song had their stories as well . Not just his lyrics, his performance, and his light were portraying those stories .

Seeing numerous musical notes combining into one blinding white light, KangYoon couldnt hide his exclamation . The scene of that light seeping into the audience was a spectacle . The machine-like precision of 30 people dancing and the harmony was a beautiful scene that he may not be able to see again .

.

Jung MinAh was already captivated . It didnt matter if she spoke a different language . She couldnt forget the 30-people dancing completely in sync . 30 people of both genders doing one action was a piece of art .

[This, will be the final song . ]

Samuel Johnson wiped the sweat on his forehead . Everyone expressed their disappointment, but he only made his soft smile unique to him .

[I wish everyone could be with me on this one . ]

He calmed himself down and took off the headset . Then, he grabbed the microphone that the staff gave him . Behind the stage, a house band music flossed out and a childrens choir humming started emphasizing the instruments .

Make our world a better place

And it harmonized with Samuel Johnsons unique voice . The audience, who was cheering until now, reacted by waving their hands in midair this time . KangYoon and the girls also did the same .

Samuel Johnson closed his eyes and fell into the music . The song was sung comfortably as though telling a story . The bold melody quietly flowed out, but there was the amazing message of you are one that heals the world .

Perhaps due to that message, an amazing scene started unfolding in KangYoons vision .

Gold light!?

The musical notes from the instruments and the choir were emitting white light, and with Samuels voice added into it, it started turning into gold . At first, the white light was tinged with gold, but by now, no white could be seen . Unlike white light which seeped into people, gold light poured into people . Unlike the calm atmosphere of the song, its power was tremendous .

Whats all this!? The greatest singing is at such a level!?

He felt like he had seen a new world . Performance and staging were both alright . But to bring out such an influence with just songs . KangYoon was shocked at the worlds greatest singers grandeur . The girls were already absorbed into his song while they waved their hands .

Not only that, there was a video of suffering people, whether it was due to war, or other causes . That was the icing on the cake . The golden light went to its climax . The song was calm until the very end, but the people were violently shaken . There were even people who were crying or were making a resolve . It was even affecting their emotions .

Heal

The light also dimmed along with his fading voice . While the music faded out, Samuels figure disappeared into the darkness .

Woooooooooooooooow!

The song completely ended, and when darkness pervaded, the cheers of the people decorated the stage one last time .

***

Awesome . Its the first time Ive been to such a concert .

Me too . I dont think Ill ever forget it .

Like what Han JooYeon and Seo HanYu were saying, the concert today left a deep impression on them . They even put some money into charity for African children on their way out . That was the level of influence of the song .

Everyone got on the car . While the girls were busily talking about the concert, KangYoon was also thinking about the concert on the window seat .

If I could bring the greatest singer to such a stage .

A parade of golden light .

The concert that colored everyone with smiles and tears was unforgettable for KangYoon .

So, this is the world .

The world contained people that did such concerts . If he didnt know that, he might have rotten away as a frog in a well . Although he was doing well until now with the knowledge of his previous life, the world was vast . KangYoon was happy to have found an objective .

Ahjussi! She keeps hitting me!

What!? It was you who hit me first .

Jung MinAh sat next to KangYoon and pointed to Christie An . Thanks to that, KangYoon had to exit his thoughts . Christie An was fuming at the back . KangYoon silently gave a smack to both of them .

Ouch!

Ack!

Who told you to run around in the vehicle .

Its always me .

When Jung MinAh grumbled, KangYoon wordlessly gripped his fist . Jung MinAh quickly fled next to Christies side in surprise and all the others giggled at her .

The peaceful days passed on like that .

***