Chapter 134

Chapter 134. Never Lets You Down

[Chain Brown: That pathetic little fight was getting pretty entertaining. Guess monkeys understand each other somehow, huh? Nick the Black coward running off to Korea just because his wall got a few bullet holes is pathetic, and Anderson dragging gangsters into the hip-hop scene because he got insulted on a variety show is pathetic too. If Blacks and yellow monkeys want to fight, go meet somewhere like India and do it there.]

The ultimate champion of the racism war had appeared.

A white rapper.

After reading the post, Nick Allen slapped a hand against his forehead.

Then he left a reply.

[Hiphop_nick: Listen, kid. You think those gold teeth can't be ripped out? America is a free country.]

┗[Chain Brown: Shut the fk up, nga.]

Chain Brown's immediate response made Nick's blood boil.

Apparently, the guy was only twenty-one.

The profile picture showing that he'd replaced all his teeth with gold ones somehow made him even more irritating.

"Damn it. I can't forgive this. I need to get my MSBS."

Nick said he was going to grab his gun, but never put down his phone.

He just kept arguing with Chain Brown.

[Hiphop_nick: Hey, Anderson. Take your friends to my house right now and start loading ammunition. (Deleted)]

┗[Anderson Lee: You should delete that comment unless you want the police investigating you as an accomplice to the cartel.]

In a way, maybe this was one of social media's positive functions.

...No, maybe not.

Either way, at least he was venting through a keyboard instead of spraying bullets.

More importantly, Nick Allen was currently in Korea.

And there was something more urgent than putting a bullet between Chain Brown's eyebrows.

He needed to appear on 〈Aran, Do You Know or Not?〉.

When the broadcast day arrived, I headed to the MVN studio with Nick.

We had even hired an interpreter, so the preparations were thorough.

There supposedly wasn't a script at all, but Nick seemed far more interested in imagining himself beating Chain Brown to a pulp than worrying about the show.

Until Nick appeared, Aran had been dancing around with bells in her hands.

The moment she saw how enormous he was, she stiffened and stopped dancing.

"W-What? Weren't you only doing 〈Mask Singer〉 and then leaving...?"

Aran asked.

The interpreter whispered her words to Nick.

"Oh, right. I'm supposed to go back to America now. But I have a problem. There's a guy waiting to fight me. I came because I'm trying to decide whether I should beat him down or forgive him."

Aran put down her bells and asked what had happened.

Nick couldn't adjust to Korea's spicy floor-sitting culture at all.

He couldn't sit properly and kept stretching his legs in different directions while complaining about the pain.

But what kind of fortune-teller's shop had Western-style chairs?

It was painful, but he'd have to endure it.

Nick briefly explained that he and Anderson had recently gotten into a major fight and made up.

Then some other white guy appeared and insulted both of them at once.

"So you want to fight that guy?"

"No, no, no. Not just a fight. He's not even my friend. I'm talking about a war where bullets are flying everywhere."

"Whoa..."

Aran looked around before pulling out a CD and handing it to the production staff.

When they played it, the completed recording of 〈Kim Serin〉 that Anna had further developed began flowing through the studio.

Nick looked confused when rap music suddenly started playing.

Still, he soon began quietly focusing on Anna's crisp flow.

"Don't fight with people so much. When you're angry, you need to learn how to calm down by looking at pretty things. It's in the lyrics. Translate it for him. Kim Serin never lets you down."

Moon Hee-jung sent me the locally mastered version of 〈Come Out of There〉.

She said they were now preparing the music video.

Around the time I returned to Korea, Nick had withdrawn from 〈I Got Talent〉, and Moon Hee-jung had entered his empty seat.

There had just been a racism controversy, so no one objected to her joining.

Nick returned to America after finishing his appearance on 〈Aran, Do You Know or Not?〉.

Aran repeatedly told him not to fight.

Exhausted by her relentless preaching, Nick finally promised he wouldn't.

He probably never truly intended to start another shootout anyway.

I knew very well how scared Nick was of guns.

Whenever Chain Brown provoked him on social media with racist remarks, Nick simply replied with the phrase,

[Kim Serin never gonna give you up.]

and linked Anna's 〈Kim Serin〉.

He did it so consistently that it became something of a meme among non-white American artists.

Some singers even began covering 〈Kim Serin〉 themselves.

"From what I've heard, you really went through a lot."

Moon Hee-jung said when she called me about releasing 〈Come Out of There〉.

"Me? Not at all. You must've had it much harder, President Moon."

"Not really. I was worried I'd be extremely busy, but the judges don't actually do much. As long as you mostly follow the script and say obvious things, that's about it. There's hardly anything to prepare."

I listened to 〈Come Out of There〉.

It had become much more pop-oriented.

But the lyrics were still Korean.

"It's in Korean?"

"Yes. Korean. An idol shows everything at once anyway: the song, choreography, concept, character. So I don't think whether the lyrics are Korean or English matters that much. It can actually become part of the song's identity. Still, I avoided things that might sound too unfamiliar, like strong double consonants, and used a lot of linked pronunciation."

Apparently, she'd been thinking that way ever since she first founded New Dimension.

Which meant the version of 〈Come Out of There〉 that succeeded in the future video had Korean lyrics.

Then I had no choice but to admit Moon Hee-jung's current judgment was correct.

Still, releasing a Korean-language song in America was unquestionably a handicap.

It didn't succeed because it was Korean.

It succeeded despite being Korean.

"You're right. Then let's use the Korean version for the music video. But just in case, let's record a separate English version and include that too. There's still time before the music video comes out, right?"

"Yes. There's no reason not to, so it'd be good to prepare one. Hahaha... I think I've gotten used to spending your money now, CEO Do Jun-hyeok. You even paid for this expensive hotel, so now I'm thinking one extra recording session isn't a big deal..."

"What an honor."

We'd earn the money back anyway.

There was no reason to be stingy about it.

"This may be a little sensitive, but Blue Moon seemed to be going through something. Did everything get resolved?"

Of course it did.

Anna had practically thrown herself around Serin as if someone who had died had suddenly come back to life.

That meant Anna's Serin diss track had become a song that would never exist in this world.

I'd welcome any song Anna made.

But we didn't need one like that.

"Yes. Everything's back to normal now. And here's something I'd recommend for your group too. If possible, set aside time at least once a week for everyone to drink together or just sit down and share what's going on in their lives."

"Ah... yes. I'll consider that once the members are adults."

Right.

Her members were still young.

"How's Blue Moon's new song coming along? We've already finished everything, including our music video."

Everything was a concern.

We'd already finished the storyboard.

The problem was finding the director.

And that was the most important decision.

Whenever fans heard a song, the music video would become the image that immediately appeared in their minds.

No matter how many stages we performed or how many legendary live videos we left behind, the music video would inevitably remain the representative visual.

That meant we needed a music video with colors and visual composition that perfectly matched the concept.

New Dimension was doing well.

So Blue Moon needed to do even better.

Now that the members had reconciled and strengthened their bond again, it was time to make a decision.

After ending the call with Moon Hee-jung, I was checking the PDs' program plans when Jung Tae-jin sent me a message.

The timing felt like future spam, so I got excited.

[You said you were going to acquire a company, but I haven't heard anything. I'd like to get in on it too. Is there anywhere you're considering? Or have you completely dropped the idea?]

I hadn't been thinking about it at all.

They all looked equally mediocre.

Still, there was no harm in keeping the possibility open, so I told him I was still considering my options.

Come to think of it, I hadn't told anyone I planned to acquire a company.

Yet everyone seemed to assume it was obvious.

It made me feel like I was somehow missing an opportunity by not doing it.

Then it happened.

Bzzzzt.

Speak of the spam and it appears.

The moment I thought about it, another message arrived.

It was the first spam after the upgrade.

[Title: 1/10]

[International Message]

[Customer Do Jun-hyeok, your requested payment of KRW 9,429,900 has been successfully processed.]

[How to cancel payment: www.zxmcnvb.org/0Ii772]

Wait.

Was this actual spam?

I examined the message from every angle.

No.

It had come from the same number.

But there was no attached video.

No Free Opt-Out number either.

All it had was a heart-stopping charge of 9.4 million won and a hyperlink that looked like the kind of website packed with viruses.

Judging by the circumstances, I was probably supposed to open the link.

Then maybe I'd be able to choose a video afterward.

I tapped it.

A page opened.

Dozens of pop-up windows immediately flooded the background.

In just that brief moment, it felt like my phone had been infected with adware.

Wait.

Was this actually real spam?

I bought an ad-blocking app and opened the link again.

This time, the page looked much cleaner.

The entire page was white.

Three video players were displayed one after another.

The upgrade had supposedly added more options.

Apparently, it had increased the number of videos!

I checked the thumbnails first.

The first showed a man who appeared to be giving an interview.

The second looked like an alley somewhere in Hyehwa-dong, judging from the theater posters pasted all over the walls.

A sign reading Elephant Theater Company blocked an entrance leading underground.

Apparently, they'd gone out of business.

The third thumbnail showed an old man watching television in what looked like a mountain lodge.

The vegetation outside was neatly maintained, so it seemed to be some kind of resort.

Could I watch all three?

Maybe not.

Just in case, I decided to start with the first interview video since it seemed likely to contain the most information.

"The total views on the music videos you've produced have exceeded one billion? Isn't that an incredible achievement?"

"Incredible? Oh, come on. Hahahaha!"

"Were there any major difficulties during production? I imagine there must have been quite a few complications."

"Of course. I'd dreamed of directing music videos for a long time, but I started much later than most people. My father runs a company, and I had to work there. I worked pretty hard, but once the company started doing badly, the stress became overwhelming. So I started making music videos I'd already planned as a way to clear my head, and they became huge hits... enough that I was actually able to help the company's finances."

It was an interview between an anchor and a young man.

The caption at the top read:

[Up-and-Coming Music Video Director Jo Tae-hyung]

"Wow, you even helped your family's company financially! Then I imagine the company and your family were very supportive?"

"Ah, no way. Absolutely not. My father hated the idea of me making music videos more than anyone. If he'd found out I was directing them, he would've stopped me no matter what. Whenever I thought about that, I wanted to run away. I worked hard because I genuinely loved making music videos, but the stress was enormous. I was really hurt and resentful toward my father. Honestly, that was the biggest obstacle I faced."

So what he was saying was...

Actually making music videos wasn't difficult for him at all?

That was a little annoying.

Still, he must genuinely be talented if he was giving an interview like this.

I exited the video to watch the next one.

But when I returned to the previous page, something unbelievable had happened.