Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 133: Recruiting Kang Ha-Na (3)

I got to hear Kang Ha-Na's story as I picked her up at the empty parking lot. Kang Ha-Na, left alone, was planning to walk a distance of nearly 20 km.

I couldn't understand how someone could leave a woman alone at 10 p.m. without a wallet or a phone.

'That would be scary even for a man!'

Kang Ha-Na made an embarrassed expression.

"I ended up bad-mouthing my company. How embarrassing."

Lee Dong-Min, who had been listening silently to our exchange, suddenly got angry.

"It's okay to bad-mouth such a company. I understand there are only six months left in the contract, but what if something happened to you?"

When Kang Ha-Na fidgeted with her hair, Lee Dong-Min spoke as if he had made up his mind.

"Miss Ha-Na."

"Yes?"

"Would you be interested in taking a vocal test today?"

"Today? But it's already past 10 p.m."

Lee Dong-Min pointed at me. "Yeah. This guy here mentioned that there's a trainee named Kang Ha-Na in Eyestone who's really good at singing."

"Really? How do you know about me?"

I was stumped at Kang Ha-Na's question as I couldn't say that I knew her from my past life.

Fortunately, Lee Dong-Min answered it for me.

"Entertainment companies usually keep tabs on promising trainees from other companies. What do you think talent agents talk about on their days off? The talk is all about celebrities. They also look into which trainees from other companies they should keep an eye on."

Kang Ha-Na nodded. "Ah, I see."

"So we came to see you today, Miss Ha-Na. Since your dorm in Sinsa-dong is close to our company, let's just do a vocal test in the recording studio. I'll take you to the dorm after the test."

"Um, about the test...could it be that..."

"Yes. If you do well, we might scout you."

Kang Ha-Na, who was seated in the back seat, covered her mouth with her hands, unable to believe this sudden stroke of luck.

***

It was already past 11 p.m. by the time we arrived at Hoop Entertainment.

"Aren't you tired?"

"A poor trainee's only boast is their stamina. I can stay up all night starting now."

I offered her a phone to contact her company in case they were worried, but Kang Ha-Na shook her head.

"I appreciate your concern, but it's really not necessary. This isn't the first time something like this has happened."

'What? This is not the first time?'

In my past life, Kang Ha-Na rarely talked about her past—and now I could finally understand why. She didn't want to talk about her past because there were no good memories.

Looking at Ha-Na, I thought to myself, 'Don't worry, Ha-Na. I'll make sure only good things happen to you from now on.'

I suppressed my rising anger and put my phone away.

As we went down to the basement recording studio, a familiar sound was heard as always.

"Seon-Woo! Let's upload it now that the first revision is done."

"Huh? What's there to upload without a guide singer?"

"I can do the guide myself."

"Noona, please! Your voice isn't that impressive. And I haven't slept a wink since yesterday, so let's take a break now."

It was the sound of genius composer Bang Seon-Woo and lyricist Jang Ye-Bin bickering. The synergy between the two exceeded my expectations, with over 30 new songs completed. I verified them myself, and each song was capable of achieving an all-kill on the music charts.

Since Cherry Blossom couldn't even cover all these profitable songs, the Singer Division 2 was striking it rich.

Knock knock knock.

As we entered after knocking on the door, the faces of the bickering duo lit up.

"Mr. Lee! Yoon-Ho hyung!" Bang Seon-Woo exclaimed brightly.

"Oh, my! What brings you two here at this hour?" said Jang Ye-Bin with a surprise look on her face.

Both greeted us with familiar smiles but soon tilted their heads in curiosity upon seeing Kang Ha-Na following behind.

"Hm, I don't remember meeting her before. Who might this be?"

"A singer who will be working with us from now on."

Instantly, Bang Seon-Woo and Jang Ye-Bin's eyes curled into crescents.

"Yoon-Ho hyung! Then could you find someone to sing guides for our songs? We have the songs ready but we have no available singers now. Sae-Ri said she's too busy to come."

"Sae-Ri's gotten a bit too full of herself now that she's popular," grumbled Jang Ye-Bin.

Bang Seon-Woo and Jang Ye-Bin grumbled about not having a guide singer for their songs.

I calmed the excited duo and replied, "I hope you guys can understand her situation. Sae-Ri says she's in her growth spurt and needs to sleep a lot, so it can't be helped."

Bang Seon-Woo chuckled. "Sae-Ri seems past her growth spurt, doesn't she?"

Hearing that, Jang Ye-Bin's face lit up with a smile. "I should tell Sae-Ri everything. That Seon-Woo said her growth spurt is over~."

"Ah, Ye-Bin noona, don't. Do you know how much it hurts to get pinched by Sae-Ri?"

Sae-Ri often filled in as the guide vocalist for the duo's compositions. But lately, her busy schedule made it impossible to do so.

"Let's handle the guide later," I replied.

Right now, it was more important to showcase Kang Ha-Na's skills to Lee Dong-Min.

"First, let's proceed with Miss Ha-Na's test using a song she's most comfortable with."

At that moment, Kang Ha-Na spoke up. "I'm confident about doing guides too."

I tried to dissuade the confident Kang Ha-Na. "Miss Ha-Na, this is a formal test. Use a song you're most familiar with and have practiced extensively."

I barely stopped myself from suggesting that she use one of her original songs. People who were desperate to seize opportunities to prove themselves often end up overestimating themselves and taking on too much.

I was worried about what might happen if Kang Ha-Na were to make a mistake in front of Lee Dong-Min after I had said every good thing I could think of to recruit her.

However, Lee Dong-Min reassured me.

"Don't worry. I'll take into account that it's her first time singing this song."

I took a bottle of water from the table and handed it to Kang Ha-Na.

"Miss Ha-Na, please moisten your throat first before singing."

Kang Ha-Na took the water bottle and bowed her head in gratitude. "Thank you."

Lee Dong-Min chuckled at my instinctive action.

"What would you have done if you hadn't become a talent agent?"

'Is that why I'm still working as a talent agent even after traveling back in time?' I wondered to myself.

Jang Ye-Bin turned on the memo app with the lyrics and handed it to Kang Ha-Na.

"Please use this for the lyrics."

Kang Ha-Na nodded. "Okay."

"Seon-Woo, play the song first."

"Got it, noona."

At Jang Ye-Bin's signal, Bang Seon-Woo played his composition, 'The Pain of Separation,' through the recording studio speakers.

The serene and lyrical melody line that started with a violin prelude made my heart flutter.

'As expected of Bang Seon-Woo's composition.'

At that moment, Kang Ha-Na hummed with her eyes closed and enjoyed the music. The violin sounds from the speakers and Kang Ha-Na's humming began to harmonize.

In the blink of an eye, 3 minutes and 50 seconds passed. As the song ended, Kang Ha-Na slowly opened her eyes.

She mumbled the lyrics a few more times and then stood up.

"Okay. I'll start now."

"Miss Ha-Na, wouldn't it be better to familiarize yourself with the lyrics more before singing?" I asked.

Then suddenly, Lee Dong-Min intervened.

"We're looking at vocal tone and emotion rather than singing ability right now, so let's hear it right away."

Eventually, I had no choice but to agree.

Kang Ha-Na entered the recording booth.

"Seon-Woo, let's start," cued Lee Dong-Min.

"Yes, sir."

As Bang Seon-Woo played the recorded track, 'The Pain of Separation' filled the recording studio once again.

Then the unique timbre of Kang Ha-Na's voice, which I had heard before the regression, began to flow through the recording studio speakers.

『The empty heart won't fill, as if it's always been this way...』

'Could this be what it feels like to have one's heart gently sanded by fine sandpaper?'

A tingling sensation, starting from the heart, seemed to ripple through my body as if I were gently electrified. Glancing sideways, I saw Lee Dong-Min and Bang Seon-Woo completely absorbed in Kang Ha-Na's song with lyricist Jang Ye-Bin also looking impressed.

"Wow~ this is incredible. It's like she's a master of breakups who's been dumped hundreds of times."

Jang Ye-Bin mentioned those who have been dumped know the feelings of the dumped the best.

'I'm pretty sure someone who's been single her whole life shouldn't be saying that about her own lyrics...'

I suppressed the thought that crossed my mind and immersed myself in Kang Ha-Na's singing.

After 3 minutes and 50 seconds, the [Play] button on the control panel popped up and marked the end of the song.

Click!

Inside the booth, Kang Ha-Na, who had finished singing, looked at us. But everyone was so immersed in the afterglow that no one could speak.

Among us four, Bang Seon-Woo was the first to snap back to reality.

"Wow! That was amazing! There's absolutely nothing to critique. It's not the voice color I expected, but I think this is even better than I had imagined!"

Bang Seon-Woo might be timid, but he never compromised on music. Hence, his compliments spoke volumes about Kang Ha-Na's impressive vocals.

Lee Dong-Min, who had been listening with crossed arms, was now smiling endlessly.

"There's nothing to take away nor anything to add. We could release the recording as is."

Unable to hear us inside the booth, Kang Ha-Na tilted her head and looked puzzled.

"I told you so," I said.

Lee Dong-Min scratched the tip of his nose, looking a bit embarrassed. "Where on earth did you find such a golden calf?"

With Lee Dong-Min's approval for the recruitment, I looked at Kang Ha-Na and made a big 'O' with my hands.

At that moment, tears started streaming down Kang Ha-Na's face inside the booth. Kang Ha-Na tried to wipe away her tears. But as she did, more tears followed, smearing her face with mascara.

I opened the door to the recording booth and handed her a handkerchief.

"Sniff. The makeup will be hard to remove..."

"It's a spare, so don't worry. Go on, wipe your tears. Don't cry."

Taking my handkerchief, Kang Ha-Na forgot to wipe her tears and just kept bowing repeatedly.

"Thank you, Mr. Jung. I'll really do my best."

Having passed the test, it was time to recruit her.

I had no intention of waiting another six months and Lee Dong-Min felt the same.

***

Lee Dong-Min immediately called Chief Yang Eun-Cheol from Eyestone. Despite being busy with audition strategies, the folks at Eyestone agreed to meet and discuss the matter.

"Let's meet right away without delay. We might be able to bring her over immediately if we can come to an agreement since I personally know Yang Eun-Cheol."

Prompted by Lee Dong-Min's words, we headed straight to Eyestone Entertainment located in Sinsa-dong.

On the way to Eyestone, Kang Ha-Na started to reveal her family background. Her mother, Kim Hyun-Ji, was a copy singer of the famous trot singer Kim Hyun-Ja from her generation, and her father was her talent agent.

Although I already knew this fact from before my past life, I pretended to be surprised.

Lee Dong-Min nodded while looking at the rearview mirror.

"It seems like you inherited your parents' genes."

Kang Ha-Na lowered her head with a shy expression.

"The company said they'd release an album right away if I sang trot, but my mom was strongly against it."

"Why? Trot is quite good these days. To be honest, trot makes more money. You can keep it all to yourself."

But Kang Ha-Na shook her head.

"She's worried the company might make me perform at night stages. She says she can't bear to see her only daughter live like that even if she's buried in the ground."

Times have changed, and being a trot singer didn't necessarily mean performing at night stages anymore. There were many local events and trot music itself could generate significant revenue.

However, it was true that the company might make a singer with a hit song tour night stages throughout the contract period when they prioritized money over the singer's image.

Having seen all sorts of hardships at night stage events, Kang Ha-Na's mother was adamantly against her becoming a singer from the start. She had only permitted it because Kang Ha-Na said she would be an idol.

As we continued our conversation, we arrived at Eyestone Music Entertainment in Sinsa-dong. The moment we parked the car, someone was running toward us urgently.

"Ha-Na!"

It was Chief Yang Eun-Cheol, with whom we had spoken before leaving.

"Mr. Lee, thank you for bringing Ha-Na with you despite the late hour."

Simultaneously, Yang Eun-Cheol hurriedly apologized to Kang Ha-Na as well.

"Ha-Na, I'm sorry about earlier. We had to move quickly because of Ye-Seul's urgent lesson schedule."

"I understand the situation was urgent, but still..."

"We were waiting for you but you didn't come. And I couldn't contact you either because you left your phone in the car. Are you okay?"

Yang Eun-Cheol looked Kang Ha-Na up and down, checking if she was hurt.

But knowing the kind of person Yang Eun-Cheol was, I had to struggle to contain my anger. He always acted in the company's interest but pretended to be nice only in front of Kang Ha-Na.

When Kang Ha-Na didn't answer and remained silent, Yang Eun-Cheol cleared his throat and gestured toward the company.

"Alright. Let's go inside. Let's talk inside, Mr. Lee."

Being acquainted with Yang Eun-Cheol, Lee Dong-Min responded casually. "Sure, Eun-Cheol."

"Mr. Jung, please join us."

"Yes, sir."

Yang Eun-Cheol led the way into the company and I took a deep breath as I watched his back.

Now, it was time to wage a war to bring Kang Ha-Na with us.