Chapter 21: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

“Dad’s here.”

Father, who was supposed to come yesterday, finally returned late at night today.

“Dad!!”

Yuna, who was watching her favorite drama, immediately threw it aside and ran to hug her father tightly.

“Haha. Kid, how have you been?”

Just by looking at his expression, I could tell.

Right now, Father is the happiest man in the world.

Every time he comes home from work, he is greeted by such a cute daughter.

“Mm. Why are you so late? I was waiting.”

“Why do you think I was late?~”

Father said meaningfully, looking back and forth between me and Yuna.

“Welcome home, Father.”

“You’re here?”

“Yeah. Here, this is a gift.”

Father seems to faithfully follow the Korean tradition of bringing gifts whenever he returns from abroad.

“This is the wine you like. Remember the one you mentioned last time?”

“Huh? The one I mentioned last time?”

“Yeah. Don’t you remember? A few weeks ago, when we went out to eat, you saw the wine pamphlet and said you wanted to try it. They started selling it this time, so I bought it right away.”

“Oh, really?”

He remembered something I mentioned in passing a few weeks ago.

Is this what married life is like?

Or is it that our father has an exceptionally good memory?

Whatever it is, the effect of the gift seems to be working well.

Mother, who seems to be trying not to show it, is clearly very happy, as her lips keep twitching.

“Ooh, Dad. You look so cool?”

“Of course! Who do you think you resemble to be so pretty and handsome?”

“What about our gifts? Did you bring gifts for us too?”

“Of course.”

I thought he was only busy with work, but he even took the time to get gifts for his children.

“Dad, don’t tell me you brought dried mangoes again like last time?!”

“Hmm. What do you take me for? This time, I brought famous chocolates from there.”

“Wow!”

...I actually prefer mangoes.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older.

“But when you go to Southeast Asia, you can’t not bring mangoes, right? I also bought a few for Dad to have with his drinks.”

Thank goodness. They’re here.

“I’m fine with this. Hehe.”

Yuna carefully took the chocolates.

And now it was my turn.

“Here. This is for you, Yunsung.”

“...?”

The shopping bag was filled with men’s cosmetics.

I just stared at it blankly for a moment, and Father tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Huh? Ah, no.”

What is this?

“I always bring what you ask for. Do you need anything else?”

For some reason, I noticed that there were different types of skin lotions in my room.

Well, if I had a face like this, I’d want to take good care of it too.

Wait. Does that mean I need to start taking care of myself?

I don’t really know about these things.

“And can we talk for a moment? Yuna, come over here too.”

I had a pretty good idea what the conversation would be about.

“Dad saw the video too. The one where you guys were singing in Hongdae. You saw it too, right?”

“Yeah. I got so many calls today because of it. Everyone was praising our kids so much. Haha. Thanks to you guys, I felt really proud all day.”

Father and Mother both smiled at the same time.

“Dad’s office was in an uproar today too. The employees were all talking about it. The funniest part is that our company’s stock price went up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it amazing? The stock price, which only went down no matter how hard I tried, went up thanks to our son and daughter. I’m really blessed. Haha.”

He was smiling so widely that his gums were showing.

I couldn’t help but smile too.

“And on the other hand, I felt a bit embarrassed. Our kids have such amazing talents, and as their father, and the CEO of a talent agency, I didn’t even notice.”

“No, Father. It was just luck. Plus, Yuna sings really well.”

“Well, I knew Yuna had a unique voice. But Dad was really surprised by you, Yunsung.”

Not Yuna, but me?

“Our son’s guitar skills are top-notch, right? I’ve heard from the agency staff a few times that you seem to have a lot of musical talent. But I didn’t realize it was to this extent. And you can even handle ‘MIDI’?”

Father continued, sounding interested.

“Where did you learn all this? PD Kim said you learned it on your own. Is that true?”

“Ah, yes.”

Since I learned it through aura, I’m not sure if it counts as self-study.

“Really... I didn’t know you were nurturing your dreams on your own.”

“Huh?”

“If you wanted to pursue music, you should have told me. I thought you had no interest in that. But it’s good to know now.”

The conversation was going this way.

Father probably didn’t know.

From what I saw, Jung Yunsung had a guitar that he never touched, so he really had no interest in music.

“Dad will support whatever you and Yuna do. Because...”

Father pointed to himself with his thumb.

“I have a lot of money. Enough to let you two do whatever you want for the rest of your lives.”

Suddenly, Father looked incredibly cool.

Is this what wealth is?

“Plus, our kids have talent in music? Well, I’ll even break into my savings to support you. That’s how much I’ll support you.”

With Father offering such solid support, who would refuse?

“What can Dad do for you?”

This was a happy dilemma I had never experienced before.

Hearing someone say they would give you money to do whatever you want was just a fantasy.

So, I decided not to refuse and to accept it.

The support from my parents that I never received before.

“I want to learn music in more detail.”

Last time, when Yuna and I went on stage, I realized something.

I have the ability to acquire aura, but to use it, I need to receive aura from someone, and to maintain it, I need to be in the same space.

In other words, I had to keep relying on aura.

But,

‘Even if the aura disappears, the knowledge remains, right?’

This was already verified by the data I gathered at school.

The sensations, emotions, and knowledge I felt at that time.

The traces remain within me. They don’t just pass by once but accumulate and become mine.

So, I needed repetitive learning through aura acquisition.

Learning to make their auras completely mine.

“Composition, instruments, vocals, and more. As much as possible.”

Did I ask for too much all of a sudden?

“Hmm. I see.”

But Father nodded in agreement.

“I’ll find someone to teach you composition properly. For instruments, starting with the piano would be good. Knowing how to play the piano is very helpful when composing. I’ll also get you a vocal trainer. You can start with the piano and then try other instruments.”

Music is an art that requires a lot of money when you start learning it formally.

Especially for instruments, it can cost millions.

But Father was willing to spend whatever it took to support what I wanted.

Jung Yunsung, you really have a great father.

“You know, I’ve never forced you to do anything. I didn’t push you to go to cram schools like other kids to get into good universities.”

This was always a mystery to me.

All my school friends were obsessed with cram schools, but Yuna and I never went to any.

It’s probably because Jung Yunsung threw a fit and refused to study.

His textbooks were so clean that they looked brand new.

“It’s the same now. But our son is doing really well in studies, right? Your mother was the most surprised. Do you need anything for your studies?”

“Ah... I think I’m fine.”

I’m good with my current studies.

If I need more, I can learn by absorbing aura.

“Our Yuna...”

Father looked at Yuna,

Then rolled his eyes back to me.

Yuna, who had been sparkling, soon frowned.

“Wow. Dad, what was that?”

“Hmm?”

“I can do well if I study!”

“Haha. Yuna, I don’t usually say this, but... you don’t need to try hard at something you’re not good at.”

“...”

It was a powerful mix of fact and advice.

I couldn’t help but nod.

“Our Yuna just needs to grow up healthy and pretty. As for studies, just having basic knowledge is enough.”

“Ugh. I know I’m not good at studies, but I’m average, average. It’s my brother who’s abnormally good!”

Yuna is in a very ambiguous position, not quite at the bottom but not at the top either.

“Yuna, what about you? Is there anything you want to learn? Dad will support you.”

“Hmm...”

Yuna tapped her chin with her finger, thinking, and then answered.

“I have one thing.”

“Yeah. What is it? Tell me.”

“A studio for me and my brother!”

“Huh? A studio?”

“Yeah. We decided to make videos together. We need space and sound equipment, right? We’ll need a camera and a computer too...”

That’s not just one thing, Yuna.

You can make videos with just a phone and a cheap recording device.

But Yuna seems to want a professional producer’s studio.

This is not something that can be easily granted, even if Father is willing to support everything...

“I’ll do it.”

“...?”

“In a week, no, in two days. I’ll have it ready in two days. How about that?”

Father was even more generous than I thought.

Or maybe he’s just a pushover for his kids.

* * *

Two days later.

Father always keeps his word.

“Wow. This is our studio, Dad?”

“Yeah. Is it okay? I redecorated one of the rooms in our company building.”

“Wow. Dad, you’re the best. I love it.”

Yuna clung to Father, making a fuss.

Father laughed heartily, as if he had received all the rewards he could.

“Do whatever you want here. But promise me one thing. Don’t give up easily. Starting something is a good habit, but giving up quickly is not. Understand?”

“Yeah!”

“Good. You don’t need to decide what you ultimately want to be. Just do what you want to do now. That’s how you’ll decide your future. From my experience, that’s the best way.”

It was sincere advice from someone with a lot of experience.

“Yunsung, get ready for your lessons. I’m looking for someone to give you personal lessons. It’ll be decided soon.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Kid, you’re polite and kind, just like your father.”

Father patted my shoulder and then turned to the staff behind him.

“How long are you going to stand there gawking?”

“President, this is way better than our studio.”

“Hey, can I work here too?”

“Shh. You’re not allowed in.”

“Well, can we at least look around...”

“We want to see Yunsung and Yuna sing.”

The producers, who had heard the news, quickly gathered to check out the new studio Yuna and I would be using.

“Well, you can look around. Just don’t get in the way too much.”

“Yes! We’ll be careful.”

“I have a meeting, so I’ll see you when I get off work.”

“Mm~ Dad, thank you.”

After Father left, PD Kim looked at us enviously.

“Of course, the president. He’s amazing. To make such a studio just for you two...”

“But I think I would do the same if my kids were Yunsung and Yuna.”

“Yeah. After seeing the video, I thought the president had no choice but to make this. So, what are you going to do first?”

In response to the PD’s question, I took out the guitar I brought from home.

“Hmm~ Of course...”

Then, I opened the closed recording room door and said,

“I’ll start by making a video of Yuna and me singing.”

Chapter 22