# Chapter 65
“I think it would be good if hyung took on the role. That’s what I told the senior as well.”
So it was true that Irun had spoken to Ki Hyunshin first.
However, he hadn’t acted unilaterally; he had first asked the other members for their opinions and even called Sijin to ask what he thought.
This happened right after I had thoroughly embarrassed myself by fanboying over Ki Hyunshin in front of Sijin.
So Sijin thought it would make a good gift for me and conspired with Seo Irun to make it happen.
Grand Tamer, with Crop Five already there, was more than capable of accepting Ki Hyunshin, and it seemed the members had made the proposal to him with that in mind.
Since Ki Hyunshin was known for being reclusive, it must have been difficult to approach him first to ask his opinion before proceeding.
Moreover, there was something Sijin had told them, so they wanted to confirm Ki Hyunshin’s intentions first before relaying the information.
Outside forces are trying to shake up Crop Five and pull them away from Grand Tamer.
And while hyung was worried about that and asked me to take charge of Crop Five, Crop Five themselves were carrying out an operation to recruit Ki Hyunshin to Grand Tamer.
I was grateful to the members, but also curious about why they wanted to recruit Ki Hyunshin.
When I asked for the reason, Seo Irun thought for a moment before answering.
“I heard Senior Hyunshin had gone through something bad. And I felt like I could understand that sense of loss. If it weren’t for hyung, I probably wouldn’t have understood those emotions. But after learning about those feelings from hyung, it really resonated with me.”
Seo Irun looked at the others as if to suggest he wasn’t the only one who thought this way.
“I was thinking the same thing. Also, I liked that Senior Hyunshin is older than hyung. I thought it would be good for hyung to have an older hyung too. Then maybe hyung could open up and rely on someone as well.”
Cha Yeonwoo said, and the other members also honestly shared their thoughts.
“Does Hyunshin hyung know about this too?”
“He probably doesn’t. For now, I just suggested that he might want to start making music again slowly by building a new nest at Grand Tamer. From what I heard, it seemed like he had conflicts with his previous agencies. When I told him that Grand Tamer could definitely take care of those kinds of problems, he seemed interested. After all, ordinary people find it difficult to handle such issues. That would be especially true for someone like the senior. To pour so much of your soul into every song, it would be hard to focus on many other things… Anyway, when I mentioned that, he showed unexpected interest.”
So Seo Irun was actually quite intelligent.
That was something I hadn’t known.
“And when we heard that hyung was coming back to Grand Tamer, we thought that visible achievements would become important for you from now on. Of course we’ll work hard too, but it’s like diversifying investments. We thought it might be too much pressure if we were the only artists you managed. We didn’t want hyung to go down with us if we failed, so we thought it would be good to have at least one more artist under you.”
I hadn’t expected those words to come from Sijin, but he surprised me with this unexpected perspective. Moreover, the other members even nodded in agreement.
I felt apologetic thinking that everyone had been worrying about this in their own ways, and then Jeong Chan added:
“I have those reasons too, but I also wanted to be close to Senior Hyunshin so I could learn a lot of musical skills and techniques from him. He hasn’t offered to teach me, but I thought being close to him might still help a little. I really like and respect Senior Hyunshin. I think I’d be happy if I could even follow in his footsteps.”
That was completely understandable.
“I don’t think it will be easy. He must have thought about wanting to sing again many times. He probably made a decision and strengthened his resolve. But even so, he kept taking steps backward. In my opinion, hyung seems to be the one who could help rekindle that resolve for Senior Hyunshin.”
“Why?”
I didn’t ask because I didn’t believe him. I was grateful that Irun thought of me that way, and I wanted to hear his reasoning so that I too could have conviction and confidence.
For such a meaningful question, his answer was surprisingly simple.
“Just because. It just comes to mind. The thought that if it’s hyung, you could do it.”
The members nodded as if they agreed with his statement.
“Crop Five and him have definitely different styles, and he’ll be harder to take care of, and it might be a slump, but still, give it a try, hyung. Other agencies would consider profits and losses, but I expect that you will approach him sincerely, thinking about his life and truly cherishing his music. I think it will be beneficial for both Senior Hyunshin and you. His songs might have been what supported you when you were going through a hard time. And he’s the one who sang those songs. If he learns that his songs meant that much to someone, he might want to sing again.”
I nodded as I listened to Sijin’s words.
Crop Five and Ki Hyunshin.
Even managing just one of them would be challenging enough, but I felt a tingling in my chest at the prospect of this new challenge.
* * *
Before the contract with Ki Hyunshin, hyung visited me several times. Each time, he asked with a worried face:
“How confident are you about this?”
or,
“I’m not sure if this is really the right move. Ki Hyunshin has changed agencies several times, you know. None of them ended well. So maybe it’s not just the agencies we should blame. His singing is truly phenomenal. But there might be problems in other areas. Maybe he doesn’t take binding promises seriously, or he takes his obligations lightly. Plus, he has so many die-hard fans. The saying ‘star of stars’ isn’t just for show. If things don’t end well with us, all those people could become our anti-fans.”
Everything hyung said had valid reasons behind it.
I appreciated hyung talking to me like this. By pointing out potential trouble spots in advance, he allowed me to double-check those areas beforehand.
I didn’t always need to respond when hyung spoke.
I could understand perfectly well that hyung wasn’t really saying he didn’t want to sign Ki Hyunshin. If I had said in a stronger tone than hyung that we should forget about the contract with Ki Hyunshin, hyung probably would have stopped me.
If Ki Hyunshin expressed interest in joining a company, probably every agency in South Korea would have the same concerns as hyung. And I was certain they would all conclude: “Nevertheless, we can’t let go of Ki Hyunshin.”
Besides Ki Hyunshin, there were almost no artists in South Korea who could undisputedly be called “the star of stars.”
Perhaps anticipating our reaction, Ki Hyunshin approached us first and proposed his contract terms.
“First, I wanted to express my gratitude for Grand Tamer extending an offer to someone like me. I also understand that you must have had many concerns, thinking I’m not an easy artist to work with. So I have one proposal. Through my activities so far, I’ve realized that I can’t function when I feel pressured by time. I don’t think I can commit to something like a set number of albums or performances within a specified period.”
Hyung glanced at me discreetly. He seemed to think this indeed wasn’t going to be an easy negotiation.
“That doesn’t mean I plan to be deliberately lazy. If you arrange broadcasts for me, I’ll appear on ones that I find reasonably convincing as beneficial for my image. I won’t take an advance payment, and I suggest we split the income from broadcast appearances and performances according to conventional ratios. I have my own house and car, so you don’t need to provide accommodation or vehicles, but it would be good if you could provide staff for broadcasts and performances…”
He listed the conditions he had in mind.
His refusal to accept an advance payment wasn’t necessarily advantageous only for us. It could be his way of loosening the constraints, so I asked him directly about that point.
“Is there a possibility that you might leave for another place if you find Grand Tamer doesn’t suit you?”
“Ah…”
“I would appreciate if you could speak freely. We are truly delighted and honored just by the fact that you’re considering our company. However, if your intention is just to dip your toes in the water, it would be difficult for us to invest. Starting something new and not knowing each other well is the same for both parties. I think at times like this, we need to show some trust in each other and share the risk.”
“Yes… that’s right.”
He seemed to be deep in thought, and I waited for him.
After some time, he said:
“Alright. You’re right. But I still think it’s better not to take an advance payment. I’ve thought about my issues, and I think it might be good to set a short contract period. I can promise you one thing for certain: I won’t leave Grand Tamer because another place offers better contract terms. If I don’t want to renew the contract, it will be because I no longer want to make music. Since we need to anticipate such a case, I think it’s better to leave that option open.”
I thought that was a reason we should definitely accept.
