episode_0080

Currently, Kim Yi-seo’s mind was in complete chaos.

What kind of person is Ham Ah-yoon?

Winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition.

She’s on a completely different level from the fakes who arbitrarily borrow the name of ‘competition’ just to hold events. She conquered the dream stage held once every three years in Leeds, in the UK itself.

‘…This is a headache; the situation is so different from what I thought.’

Go Tae-min mentioned Ham Ah-yoon before, but I thought he’d drawn a line in advance with Ham Ah-yoon’s side. But I didn’t expect that Ham Ah-yoon’s side would want the Kim So-hee role this much.

The problem is that Ham Ah-yoon is too big a figure.

The reason why Ham Ah-yoon has a one-person agency in the first place is a little different.

Ordinary one-person agencies lack three things:

Money, power, and connections.

But they gradually acquire these three things, and then, as they grow bigger, they go through the process of leaving the one-person agency. For everyone, a one-person agency is meant to be a temporary stop along the way.

But Ham Ah-yoon’s one-person agency was a different concept.

‘She’s practically on the same level as Director Go Tae-min.’

Ham Ah-yoon had already reached the peak of her field.

If a variety show were to organize a and Go Tae-min was seated in the director section, it wouldn’t be awkward at all for Ham Ah-yoon to be seated in the piano section right next to him.

So, Ham Ah-yoon was a walking corporation in herself, and she only realized she needed an agency when she belatedly tried to start acting, so she just started one herself.

This agency, AWA Entertainment, doesn’t need to grow any stronger.

It’s already too strong. At the same time, there’s no reason to recruit anyone else. Ham Ah-yoon alone is enough.

‘The situation isn’t good…. No, a crisis is an opportunity.’

She put aside her panic for the time being. As a representative, Kim Yi-seo began to frantically devise a clever plan to turn even this situation into something helpful for Soo-ah.

It wasn’t difficult. She had her own standards.

What had allowed Kim Yi-seo to survive in this industry.

That was ‘order’.

Even in complicated situations, if she established a few orders, there was always a way out. Kim Yi-seo’s brain was soon spinning intensely.

‘Anyway, Director Go Tae-min has sided with Soo-ah. That’s significant. So, the best thing to do right now is….’

To take a step back here.

‘The moment I back down here, I’ll look like a humble rookie to the hostile forces, and then Director Go, who likes Soo-ah, will suggest another role. If that happens….’

A lightbulb flashed in Kim Yi-seo’s head.

‘…A crisis becomes an opportunity. By participating in Director Go’s work, without making enemies, I’ll have a filmography like Ham Ah-yoon’s? That’s an unbelievable profit?’

From tomorrow onwards, there are many roles in Crescendo. In other words, the moment I let go of the Kim So-hee role, Soo-ah can very safely take away all kinds of benefits. There was no reason not to do it.

‘This is why order is important.’

If you try to get what you want unconditionally, you have to endure all sorts of injuries or risk your life. But if you give up what you can give up, you can eventually get what you want, right?

At the same time, this was the secret to silently embracing Seo Yeon-ju and Kim Seon-il, and it was the reason why I survived in this industry.

Yes, that’s why I tried to stop Soo-ah.

I was going to go back to the van first and explain it step by step, but….

An unexpected variable intervened immediately.

“I want the Kim So-hee role too.”

Soo-ah’s words struck my ears like a thunderbolt.

Soo-ah declared that it had to be the Kim So-hee role. It was accompanied by Kim Yi-seo’s plan collapsing without any warning. No, is she going to go there like that?

“…!”

Kim Yi-seo stared at Soo-ah with wide eyes.

But the situation flowed without even a chance to intervene. A sharp war of words came and went, like spears clashing.

“Even when it’s your turn, you can’t perform this well. Do you know that? Ah-yoon is a competition winner. There’s no reason to try. You don’t have to compare lengths to know.”

“The director said that he didn’t give a definite answer. Isn’t all you have the support from the production team? Why don’t we compare lengths once. Fairly.”

It was already something completely different from Kim Yi-seo’s plan.

It was also quite different from Kim Yi-seo’s theory.

Kim Yi-seo believed that flexibility was better than firmness.

If you’re flexible, you can endure the storms while bending appropriately, but if you maintain firmness, you’ll suffer more damage. More than anything, there’s a risk of breaking when you face a big danger.

‘This is troublesome…!’

However.

Soo-ah, whom Kim Yi-seo glanced at, looked firmer than anything else. I immediately understood. She would rather break than bend.

Kim Yi-seo thought busily.

‘What should I do? Should I step in and stop her now?’

No matter how strong Soo-ah’s will is, breaking through head-on didn’t feel like a good choice. It’s not just a problem that people will have antipathy towards Soo-ah.

‘No, it’s obvious. I have to stop her now.’

Piano skills.

So far, Soo-ah has only competed with others based on acting skills, so it’s okay, but arguing with Ham Ah-yoon on the subject of music is too disadvantageous, isn’t it?

But soon, some thought grabbed Kim Yi-seo’s ankle.

‘…Scent.’

It was short but intense and unforgettable.

The scent that Kim Yi-seo was captivated by.

Wasn’t that Soo-ah’s firm scent too? So Kim Yi-seo temporarily stopped the brain that coldly judges the situation. And she began to repeat only what Soo-ah was to her.

‘Soo-ah always had her own reasons when she acted like this. And it never led to bad results.’

After that, a few more clues came to mind.

It was the appearance she observed again when she visited the sound team. Come to think of it, Soo-ah had a musical talent, didn’t she? Could it be that she has a past related to piano…?

No, she’s also good at playing instruments here?

It was an absurd assumption, but when I thought that the subject was Soo-ah, it didn’t seem impossible again. Besides, people don’t expect Soo-ah to play as well as Ham Ah-yoon.

…If she handles it reasonably well? Maybe it’s okay?

Kim Yi-seo soon made a decision.

‘Yes, I should trust Soo-ah as much as I can. As much as I can.’

This opponent is a bigger tiger than ever, but I’ve already had the experience of riding on a tiger’s back after Soo-ah. So, there’s no reason why I can’t do it twice.

Kim Yi-seo clenched her fist tightly.

With the heart to believe in Soo-ah.

. . .

Ham Ah-yoon’s one-person agency, AWA Entertainment.

The manager, who was wearing a baseball cap pulled down low, was speechless.

He was worried about undervaluing, but Ham Ah-yoon said that Director Go Tae-min wasn’t the kind of person to do that. The manager honestly agreed with that statement. So he came all the way here with the intention of trusting him.

However.

‘This is definitely undervaluing, no matter how I think about it.’

Even if Director Go Tae-min didn’t intend to undervalue, there was a possibility that the people around him would try to do it. And as soon as he saw the scene, the manager was convinced that his thoughts were correct.

The decisive thing among them was Lee Soo-ah’s appearance and existence.

An appearance that appropriately intimidates the other party. But there was no reason to be intimidated by her appearance. This AWA has the master pianist Ham Ah-yoon, after all.

Rather, the manager’s gaze went to Soo-ah’s hands.

‘…Is this possible?’

Pretty. White and long fingers like glass crafts.

The problem is that there are no traces of calluses at all.

If you’ve ever practiced piano even once, your hands can’t be like that. Hands of glory and disgrace, stained with all kinds of scars and wounds. Those who try to dominate the piano must pay the price.

The remaining clues were easily pieced together.

The manager narrowed his eyes and looked at the small-framed representative.

‘Mystic’s Kim Yi-seo, is she the culprit behind this?’

AWA Entertainment’s manager knew Kim Yi-seo to some extent. He knew that she had never done a business that lost money in numerous negotiations, so it wasn’t difficult to guess.

‘This undervaluing, it looks like it was devised by Kim Yi-seo and the members of the production team who are working with her. There’s nothing to lose for them.’

The puzzle pieces fit together relatively neatly.

‘If we don’t get undervalued, Mystic will think of inserting Seo Yeon-ju as a replacement, right? If we get undervalued, they would have thought that it’s a profit for them….’

Haa, the manager sighed deeply.

It’s not the first time. It’s not the first time.

Since Ham Ah-yoon started acting, the opponents have always had a hard time. It’s because even the opponents didn’t know how much Ham Ah-yoon’s appearance fee should be.

Besides, this is a work by the master Go Tae-min. All kinds of meticulous calculations are being made under the surface, so it’s tiring. Turf wars are bound to be fierce in wide and high-quality land.

Still, the manager soon composed himself.

I can’t let this undervaluing happen this time.

‘…Hmm?’

Of course, he soon had to eat a lot of shock, though.

. . .

Other people’s heads were also busy for their own reasons.

The production team, who had not visited the Special Task Force 808 filming site, thought that there was no reason not to use Ham Ah-yoon, and those who had experienced Soo-ah’s acting were captivated by Soo-ah.

Therefore, currently.

Ta─ Ta─ Ta─

At the point when Ham Ah-yoon sequentially pressed three black keys.

Ham Ah-yoon was curious.

What was the expression Soo-ah made towards her performance? Perhaps she has a deep understanding of music, or maybe she saw something she didn’t know, like Ham Ah-yoon’s father.

Or.

Is it just that she’s too ignorant and I’m thinking too deeply? Am I trapped in the memories of the past?

In fact, Soo-ah was just looking at the special features.

001 ─ Kim So-hee (A Rank) 002 ─ Park Min-seo ( ??? ) 003 ─ Lee Seung-myung (F Rank)

I don’t know why Park Min-seo’s rank is a question mark, but all the roles other than Kim So-hee are F. It means that if I want to participate in ‘Crescendo from Tomorrow,’ I have no choice but to participate as Kim So-hee.

The master’s work is like a wide ship.

Since everyone’s intentions are colliding like this, it was a chaotic time.

If intentions don’t come together, the ship can’t move forward. It will only slowly dry up and die on the open sea. Or the only remaining destiny is to be broken by violent waves.

But then.

Bang─!

Ham Ah-yoon falls and presses the keyboard.

“…Sol sharp?”

When Soo-ah said that.

“I heard La, and Fa too…” “The last one. Was it Re?”

Everyone’s gaze, holding their own oars, gathered on Soo-ah.

Along with shocked expressions. It’s natural. At least, in their minds, there was a strong premise that Soo-ah had no musical understanding at all.

So, it was a moment when she broke everyone’s prejudice and showed a new possibility. The moment Soo-ah proved that she had musical talent.

It was very meaningful.

A sail suddenly appeared on the rowing boat rowing forward. If the boat becomes a sailing ship, there’s no need for oars anymore. It will only move forward while being left to the irresistible flow of the wind.

Crescendo from Tomorrow.

The shaking ship’s center of gravity was slowly being secured.