Episode 56. Sunbaenim (6)
A while ago, Kang Dae-oh recalled that Kang Yera had said she really loved the sight of Harin performing alone on stage, playing an acoustic guitar and singing.
Harin also had experience being part of an idol group called Serbi for a long time, releasing many dance songs and promoting, just like other idols.
However, Kang Yera preferred Harin’s songs that felt more like a singer-songwriter.
So, the thought came to him: wouldn’t it be good to create a stage that Kang Yera likes and admires, together with her, while appearing on this ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’?
Harin herself had stated multiple times in interviews that she preferred songs that could be sung comfortably and calmly, rather than dance songs.
“I wish you would sing a song you like, 선배님.”
This was Kang Yera’s wish.
But Harin felt strong pressure to achieve good results in this round, as it was their first stage on ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’.
So she tried to win with an idol-style song that was popular these days.
Kang Dae-oh, who had heard the whole story from Kang Yera, asked further.
“Then, why don’t you talk to Harin? Instead of a dance song, that… what genre was it that Harin performed before?”
“It’s folk-rock.”
“Right, that. I think you should tell her to go with that kind of feeling. Harin isn’t the type to completely ignore your words and prepare the stage unilaterally.”
Just tell her.
The solution was very simple.
However, Kang Yera also had her own concerns.
“If I tell 선배님 something like that, and then the first stage results aren’t good… if we end up in last place and our elimination from the first appearance round is confirmed, then I feel like I won’t be able to face 선배님.”
“That’s also a problem.”
There is no absolute right answer or absolute formula for success in content.
Even if Kang Yera tells Harin to prepare the stage with a certain concept, there is no guarantee that the stage will necessarily receive a good response from the public.
Because of this, Kang Yera couldn’t rashly assert her thoughts to Harin.
Even though Kang Yera was a regressor.
In the previous world, there was no future where she would appear on a big music entertainment program like ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’ with Harin, so she couldn’t know the outcome.
This was why Kang Yera hesitated.
“Because there’s no certain outcome, I’m afraid to choose.”
Kang Yera honestly shared her thoughts.
However.
Kang Dae-oh’s thoughts were a little different from Kang Yera’s.
“Just because you don’t know the outcome, you can’t give up on even trying.”
The future is inherently full of uncertainties.
However, thanks to his daughters who regressed from the future to the past, Kang Dae-oh was able to overcome this uncertainty and choose only certain options to get to where he was.
But not all choices were certain.
“Rather than choosing something where the future is clearly set, I think choosing what I want to do, even if I don’t know how it will turn out, isn’t a bad choice. Why, when you watch a movie, if you already know the ending, your interest drops, right? But if you watch it without knowing the ending, how much more fun would it be?”
“……”
“How is it? Isn’t dad right?”
Kang Dae-oh lightly shrugged his shoulders and asked Kang Yera.
Kang Yera slowly nodded her head.
“Yes, you’re right.”
Was it because of one big failure?
Kang Yera, at some point, started to fear the outcome of failure itself.
Because of this, Kang Yera tended to rely absolutely on the future knowledge she possessed.
This was also true for Kang Yebin and Kang Yeyoung.
But as they gradually grew older, Kang Yebin and Kang Yeyoung began to step out of the future knowledge they knew and enter new territories they had never been to.
Now.
It was Kang Yera’s turn.
To go higher, she inevitably had to step into the unknown territory of the future.
Kang Yera had forgotten this until now.
Kang Dae-oh. Her dad had reminded her of this again.
“Dad.”
“Uh, why?”
“I think you would have been really good at being a counselor, not just business.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You always solve our worries so cleanly, don’t you?”
Kang Dae-oh replied with a bitter smile.
“When I retire later, I’ll try it as a second career.”
To participate in the second recording of ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’, Kang Yera went to Harin’s agency, not the studio, with her manager.
They came here to finally decide on the song to arrange for the stage and to concretely schedule recording dates.
The person who agreed to be Kang Yera and Harin’s temporary producer was Na Jun-tae, the CEO of Pureum Entertainment.
“Hello, CEO-nim!”
Kang Yera greeted Producer Na Jun-tae warmly, seeing him after a long time.
Na Jun-tae also smiled like a dad as soon as he saw Kang Yera.
“Yera seems to get prettier the more I see her, doesn’t she?”
“Oh my, you’re not intentionally complimenting me just because we’re on camera, are you?”
“Of course not!”
At that moment, Harin asked a mischievous question.
“CEO-nim. Then, between me and Yera, who looks the prettiest?”
“That’s almost… ‘Do you like mom or dad?’ level of question, that.”
At CEO Na Jun-tae’s words, both of them burst into laughter simultaneously.
In a friendly atmosphere, the three took their seats in the conference room where cameras were already set up.
“Which song did you decide on? Original? Or an existing one to arrange?”
At the word ‘original’, Kang Yera asked with a surprised expression.
“Is there a song prepared?”
“Yes, there is. But after hearing what concept you two wanted for the stage from Harin, I decided to scrap it.”
“What song is it? Can’t I listen to it?”
CEO Na Jun-tae turned his head towards Harin.
Then Harin nodded and said.
“Yera is curious. I think you can let her hear it.”
“See, Yera? Our Pureum Entertainment, the CEO acts only after getting permission from the artist.”
“What are you talking about, really! Yera will misunderstand.”
Unlike the flustered Harin, CEO Na Jun-tae, who succeeded in teasing, just chuckled.
Kang Yera instinctively smiled at the sight of the two, who seemed to have a good relationship both in the past and now.
A moment later. The original song that CEO Na Jun-tae had prepared filled the small conference room.
As soon as she heard the song, Kang Yera listened intently without saying a word.
No, she couldn’t.
“This… it feels really similar to that solo song that Harin 선배님 played with a guitar before.”
“Right? I think Harin would be good at this kind of style. But you said this stage would be idol-style?”
“That’s…”
Kang Yera trailed off, showing a moment of hesitation.
Harin tilted her head at Kang Yera’s attitude.
“Is there something bothering you?”
“……”
Kang Yera recalled what Kang Dae-oh had said and gathered her courage again.
“선배님. I’m sorry. Actually, I have the same thoughts as CEO-nim.”
“Huh? Why? What we talked about then was…”
“I actually wanted to tell you then too. But honestly, I hesitated a lot. But after the recording that day, I went home and had a serious talk with my dad, and he said wouldn’t it be better to create the stage we want? So, I hope 선배님 doesn’t worry too much about the rankings and that we can create the stage we want.”
This was Kang Yera’s honest feeling.
Harin, finally understanding her true feelings, smiled faintly.
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier? I thought you were really looking forward to participating in ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’, so I was intentionally trying to prepare a stage that the public would like, thinking we shouldn’t get eliminated from the first appearance.”
“I think fans can enjoy it together only when the singer enjoys the stage.”
“Right. That’s true.”
Harin reached out first and held Kang Yera’s hand.
“Thank you, 선배님.”
“No, I should be thanking you. Alright, then let’s prepare the stage we want, and the stage we can do well, and show it to the viewers this time. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Watching the two women unite their efforts, Na Jun-tae pointed to his original song file that he had kept.
“We can start preparing this from today, right?”
“We look forward to working with you, CEO-nim!”
Compared to the first recording, the expressions of the two women were much brighter.
The day ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’, featuring Kang Yera’s first appearance, was broadcast on TV.
Kang Dae-oh took his seat in the living room early to watch the broadcast.
Min Seung-yeon, Kang Yebin, and Kang Yeyoung also gathered in one place to watch Kang Yera’s appearance on the TV program she had admired so much.
But Kang Yera, who was supposed to be the main character, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Yera?”
When Kang Dae-oh asked, Kang Yebin sighed softly and said.
“She suddenly had a schedule and left in a hurry.”
“What schedule?”
“She was supposed to hand over the recording file today. It seems something went wrong in the middle. So she went to the recording studio in a hurry.”
“Really? She said she doesn’t need to watch the broadcast?”
“Yes. unnie said, ‘I enjoyed it enough, so it’s fine~’”
Kang Yeyoung chuckled.
“Unnie. You’re good at imitating Yera unnie.”
“We’ve lived together for how many years now?”
She wasn’t an actress for nothing.
Kang Yera didn’t tell her family the results of the ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’ stage.
It was an action typical of Kang Yera, who liked surprise events.
Because of this, the family had to check the results directly through the broadcast.
After the ‘Gayo Yeoljeon’ opening ended.
Scenes of each team preparing their stages were summarized and broadcast.
And finally.
Kang Yera and Harin’s stage was revealed.
‘In the end, Yera got to go with the stage direction she wanted.’
The song they sang while looking at each other was enough to make Kang Dae-oh’s heart swell.
The dream stage with her 선배님.
Just by looking at their expressions, it was clear that they were enjoying the stage.
Kang Yebin and Kang Yeyoung, and even Min Seung-yeon. All three unconsciously swayed their shoulders.
The audience’s reaction was also very enthusiastic.
But everyone found it difficult to predict how the results would turn out.
A moment later. After all the teams’ stages ended,
The MC finally announced the results.
To heighten the tension, the MC intentionally announced from 6th place.
5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd place.
Until then, Kang Yera and Harin’s team had not been called.
“It’s either 1st place or elimination. One of the two.”
Kang Yebin swallowed dryly and said.
Along with the drum sound heightening the tension.
Finally, 1st place was revealed.
―The 1st place in this round is… Harin, Kang Yera team! Congratulations!
The two faced each other and shared a deep hug.
Kang Dae-oh and his family gave a warm round of applause.
With this, Kang Yera successfully stepped into the unknown territory towards her goal.
