Chapter 98: Want to Sign a Contract?

I haven’t really had many company dinners in my life.

I did go to university, but I wasn’t the type to hang out with others that much.

With that thought in mind, I arrived at the barbecue restaurant we had reserved.

“You’re here!!”

“Oh, you came.”

Some of the staff who helped with the concert had already arrived.

Well, I wasn’t in a position to greet everyone first, so I just stuck behind Seolhwa and gave a small nod.

“Ah, hello everyone!”

Seolhwa smiled brightly and walked around the restaurant, greeting people here and there.

Maybe because it was her first time organizing a concert, she looked very busy, going back and forth. It made sense.

After all, it was the first concert held under the name “Rage.”

She was probably trying to leave a good impression on everyone by moving around so diligently.

After saying our greetings, we sat down in some empty seats nearby.

“I thought it’d never end, but I guess it’s finally over…”

“Preparing for it was a bit tough.”

“It really was.”

Even Seolhwa, who normally doesn’t show when she’s tired, admitted it was hard, so it must have really been tough.

She’s the type to blame everything on herself, no matter what.

So then, while we were chatting.

“Ms. Seolhwa?”

A woman I’d never seen before cautiously approached our table and sat down.
What the…

I’ve never seen her in my life.

As I wondered who she was, the woman soon began introducing herself.

“I’m Lee Sua, a producer at MG. My producer name is Sua.”

“Oh…! Hello.”

As soon as Seolhwa heard her name, she jumped up in surprise.

She must be someone famous.

So I also stood up slightly and greeted her.

“Hello.”

“Oh, are you Gutt?”

“Yes.”

Being called by my alias by someone else felt pretty awkward.

I’m just someone who makes music as a hobby in my room.

“I really enjoyed the concert, Ms. Seolhwa. The stage production was truly beautiful.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“So actually, do you happen to belong to a company?”

A sudden question out of nowhere.

Belong to a company?

Usually, a question like that is meant to scout someone.

“I don’t.”

“Then would you be interested in joining our company? I’ve been meaning to reach out, but couldn’t get through, so I decided to come in person.”

Lee Sua said that as she stared directly at Seolhwa.

Then Seolhwa looked like she was thinking for a moment.

“Hmm… then, would it be okay if I signed a contract together with this oppa here?”

She said something completely unexpected.

“With me?”

“Yeah.”

Not with someone else—but with me?

Does that even make sense?

I’ve never professionally made music before.

Just as I was feeling a bit flustered.

“Oh, we’d absolutely welcome that. We actually heard that Gutt produced Seolhwa’s album, so we were planning to reach out soon.”

“Ah…”

Judging from what she said, it did sound like she was interested in me, but before anything else, there was something I wanted to ask.

“By the way, is this company MG well-known? It’s my first time hearing about it.”

I couldn’t just sign with a company I’d never heard of before.

Not that I was thinking of signing in the first place.

“Oh, I forgot to explain. I assumed you’d know. To give a brief summary, we mainly focus on idols. But we also look for artists in other fields when there’s an opportunity.”

“Ah, I see…”

So they mainly focus on idols.

That probably means they’ve got a lot of money.

Just as I was thinking that.

“Do you happen to know a group called Recursion? They’re signed under our company.”

“Recursion?”

“Yes, yes.”

I remembered.

“Aren’t they the group that mentioned Seolhwa’s song the other day? I think I kinda remember.”

“Yep, that’s right.”

Ah, no wonder.

It did sound familiar.

And just as our conversation was continuing.

“Alright then, shall we start drinking now?!”

Once everyone had arrived, they suddenly began raising their glasses together.

At the same time, all the ongoing conversations came to a halt.

“If you’re interested, please contact us, okay? We’ll be waiting.”

With those words, the woman who claimed to be a producer gracefully left the barbecue restaurant.

‘I’ve never even considered being affiliated with a company.’

As I started sipping my drink, I thought it might actually be kind of interesting.

*

[Author: Pepe]

[Title: Story from Rage’s recent concert (Long post)]

[Content: (Photo) First of all, Rage sings insanely well, so it was really worth listening to lol
(Photo) Even when it started to feel a little dull, the band exploded at just the right time, so it got exciting again.]

[Content: A guy came out as a featuring artist, and Rㅇ was insanely handsome… We weren’t allowed to take photos, so I didn’t get any, but just from a glance, he looked ridiculously good-looking lol. Anyway, it was super fun]

L: Dude, how the hell is this a long post?

L: Seriously

N: We live in a short-form era, so this is long ㅇㅇ

L: How good-looking was he that you had to say it like five times lololol

L: Seriously

N: Must’ve been ridiculously handsome

L: I heard that guy produced the entire album

N-Pepe: He is seriously a talent monster

[Title: I went to the Rage concert and found something seriously confusing]

[Content: I heard that someone named Gutt did the album jacket design for Rage’s first album, but didn’t the manager draw that? What’s going on—is this made up or what?]

L: Seriously? They said they did it?

N: Yeah, they said it themselves, but since cameras were banned, I couldn’t get a picture

N: What’s going on

L: Isn’t that Gutt guy Yotthu?

N: Would it be? lol

N: No seriously, there’s a chance

N: Statistically speaking, there is a chance

L: That Gutt guy was insanely handsome

N: Rㅇ probably already did all sorts of things with Rage by now…

N: No?

[Author: HurryAndLeave]

[Title: Deleted all those ridiculous speculation posts ]

[Content: Take that trash to those forums, not here]

L: Kyaa

L: This is it ssss

L: As expected, normalization means Dai and Ttu escape together

L: Truly the stock GOAT lol

N: Daisla lol
N: Daividia lol

*

And just like that, the company dinner ended and the next day came.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

I was lazing around in my room.

The reason was simple.

I had nothing to do.

So I lay around wasting time—until I eventually got up and sat in front of my computer.

‘Should I just start streaming right away?’

I was bored anyway, and it felt like a good time to go live.

Just as I was debating alone about what to do.

Ding!

[Seolhwa-oppa]

[Seolhwa: Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?]

[Seolhwa: About the contract]

Seolhwa brought up the memory I had completely forgotten.

“Oh, right.”

Now that I thought about it, she did ask what I thought about signing a contract.

At the time, I was so caught off guard that I couldn’t give a proper answer.

I’d never even imagined myself joining any kind of company before.

Feeling a bit awkward, I replied.

[Me: Ah, the contract]

[Me: It’s a good offer, but]

[Me: I’ve never really thought about doing something like that]

[Me: And honestly, I don’t really know what I’d gain by joining a company]

The part about not knowing what I’d gain was the biggest reason.

It’s not like I’ve committed to doing this kind of thing full-time, and if I signed something strange, it’d only restrict my activity.

Just as I was thinking that.

[Seolhwa: Aha]

[Seolhwa: Got it~]

Seolhwa replied briefly, then ended the conversation.

‘Maybe I should’ve just said I’d sign it.’

She seemed a little upset.

Maybe it was just my imagination.

Still, the fact that I’d even received a contract made me feel kind of good, so I quickly turned on my stream.

[The stream has started!]

With the notification that the stream had begun, viewers began flooding in.

“Hello.”

I greeted them cheerfully.

But then.

[Saw you at the concert~~~~~~~~~~~]

You have been temporarily removed!

[You sing really well lol]

You have been temporarily removed!

[Pepe: Hello]

[+HurryAndLeave: Hello Hello]

[Really enjoyed your singing, lol]

You have been temporarily removed!

[Uh, what’s going on with the chat?]

[The chat is going completely off the rails lololololol]

[Ugh, what’s wrong with the chat?]

Suddenly, the chat started acting weird.

It felt like someone had dropped coordinates somewhere and people had swarmed in.

“Hm…”

I had somewhat expected something like this.

Just appearing as a special guest at Seolhwa’s concert came with this kind of risk.

But there was a way to handle it.

“What are you all even talking about?”

Just deny it.

It’s not like I committed a crime, and when something like this stirs up, if I just stay quiet for a bit, people usually move on.

If the drama gets reignited later?

Then I’ll just ignore it again.

Thinking that, I continued with the stream.