Chapter 19

Time quickly came to early June, and Yoon Hyun's "Baby" promotion cycle was almost at its end. Although his song still firmly held the top spot on KBS, he had already won three consecutive first places and thus lost his eligibility for the other two major TV stations' music programs. Yoon Hyun felt it would be inappropriate not to show up, which inadvertently took up most of his week, making him somewhat irritable.

Moreover, according to the company, the remaining songs were a mix of praise and criticism. Promoting them might be more trouble than it was worth, and it would be better to quit while ahead, especially since "Baby" had dominated the charts for nearly a month.

However, Yoon Hyun still had a bit of stubbornness, as he had been practicing the guitar for two months to perform "Miss Dong" on stage. Although he wasn't a master, giving up the chance to showcase his efforts would be a great regret.

So, after his persistent requests, the company gave him permission. They negotiated with the various TV stations, and in four farewell stages, he would perform an additional song as a special performance. This way, he could sing all four of his other songs.

The first one was MCD, where he performed the rap currently ranking second on the music charts. The guitar performance of "Miss Dong," which he most wanted to showcase, was scheduled for the last SBS Popular Song Show.

On June 10, 2007, at the SBS Popular Song Show recording site.

Since SBS had been informed that this would be Yoon Hyun's last stage for this promotion and that he had no other album plans for the year, he received special treatment from SBS. He was scheduled to perform last.

Perhaps because of the near-dominant performance of "Baby," many companies with upcoming releases were seething with envy. So, during his customary visits to the seniors, their stiff smiles finally became more genuine.

Yoon Hyun found this amusing but continued to show his politeness, bowing and greeting them respectfully.

Even the singers who resented Yoon Hyun's sudden rise still had a good impression of him.

Moreover, most singers believed that LOEN's plan to release Yoon Hyun's album while he was hot had actually cooled him down.

In his waiting room, Yoon Hyun idly sketched in his notebook, jotting down some notes that played in his head, passing the time.

Before long, it was Yoon Hyun's turn for the farewell stage.

Even though he was the last to perform, there was no ranking competition.

After taking the stage, he naturally started with the lively "Baby."

Since this was likely to be Yoon Hyun's last stage of the year, fans from his café organized themselves to attend the recording. The fan group, which Yoon Hyun humorously named "Xiancai," held light green balloons and danced along with him.

After the song, Yoon Hyun returned to the backstage, changed into a black jacket, and took the stage again with his guitar.

The stage was set with a simple wooden chair and two microphones, one high and one low. A piano was placed on the other side, with Yoon Ji-hye sitting in a long dress.

The stage was dark, with a spotlight on the chair.

Yoon Hyun sat down and plucked the strings.

The piano prelude began, and the atmosphere became as quiet as a night. When the piano stopped, the guitar and vocals started simultaneously.

Yoon Hyun sang the entire song in a confessional tone.

The "Xiancai" fans swayed their balloons to the slow rhythm.

The recording site felt like Yoon Hyun's personal concert, with everyone listening quietly to his low, confessional voice.

When Yoon Hyun sang, "I fell in love with a wild horse, but my home has no grassland," his voice became hoarse.

This sudden change made everyone's hearts feel as if they were being squeezed.

Many people shed tears.

When Yoon Hyun's song ended, the final piano notes played and stopped.

The entire recording site was silent as night.

Only when Yoon Hyun stood up and bowed to the audience did the applause, like a belated breeze, sweep through the venue.

The first place at this Popular Song Show later received no attention; everyone's focus was on Yoon Hyun's guitar performance.

"Until now, what we in the Korean music industry have been most proud of is that our singers' live performances are more charming than their music videos, which is the foundation of K-pop's global appeal. However, we have been reluctant to admit that it is difficult to find singers whose live performances surpass their album recordings. Today, we are fortunate to have such a singer. Yoon Hyun's hoarse, almost growling voice moved almost all the audience to tears. I must retract my previous criticisms and pay my respects to this singer," a well-known music critic wrote in his newspaper column.

This unexpectedly successful stage further enhanced Yoon Hyun's image in the hearts of many fans.

However, the number of members in Yoon Hyun's fan café, which was initially established by fans and later taken over by LOEN, remained at an awkward 5,000 or so.

Due to the unsatisfactory number of fans, LOEN did not dare to hold a fan signing event even after the album's release. However, strangely, Yoon Hyun's album sales continued steadily without significant fluctuations.

Finally, at Yoon Hyun's request, LOEN mustered the courage to arrange a fan meeting and signing event.

Lacking confidence, to prevent any issues with popularity, the company chose the location to be Myeongdong, known for its high foot traffic. Although they boasted to the event organizers that 400-500 fans might attend, Kim Soo-yeon privately thought that 200 would be a cause for celebration.

It was a Saturday morning. After his usual morning routine, Yoon Hyun changed into a new outfit, got a simple makeover at a beauty salon, and arrived at the event site with his manager.

Yoon Hyun himself did not have high expectations for the number of attendees.

He insisted on holding this meeting because he had been under a lot of pressure from the fans on the café. Especially the early members who had become quite familiar with him, who would often ask him about it whenever they saw him on the forum, almost driving him away from the café.

He expected about 80-90 people to come specifically for him.

However, the scene at the site shocked Yoon Hyun.

The signing event was scheduled to start at 10:00 AM, but by 9:30 AM, the area was already crowded with people.

"Are all these people here for me?" Yoon Hyun was stunned, looking at his manager, who was beaming.

"Of course, who else would they be here for?" Kim Soo-yeon rolled her eyes.

"Signing so many names, my hand might not survive..." Yoon Hyun's first thought was about the signatures...

"Even if your hand breaks, you have to finish signing!" Kim Soo-yeon said fiercely, "This was your idea, and I tried to talk you out of it!"

"I'll sue you for labor abuse!" Yoon Hyun shouted in vain and despair.

Despite his concern about his hand, Yoon Hyun was in high spirits.

At 10:00 AM, Yoon Hyun went on stage, thanked the fans, and performed "Miss Dong," which moved many to tears.

However, Kim Soo-yeon felt the atmosphere was too heavy and forced Yoon Hyun to perform "Baby" again before starting the signing event.

The first in line was a girl named Park Jung-won, whom Yoon Hyun recognized as the founder of his fan café.

"You're here so early!" Yoon Hyun had a good impression of her, a loyal but not overly enthusiastic fan, which he considered the best type.

"I've been queuing since 6:00 AM!" Park Jung-won said proudly.

"Wow! Do you have a light school schedule? You didn't sleep well last night?" Yoon Hyun knew it was a weekend and wouldn't bring up skipping school.

"I've been waiting for months, so getting up early once is nothing." Park Jung-won smiled, took the signed album, and Yoon Hyun wrote "No.1" on it. She then moved aside, holding the signed album and bouncing away.

The subsequent signing process was more formal. Yoon Hyun asked for the names of the fans, wrote them on the albums or posters, and signed his name. He was grateful that his name had only two characters...

During the signing, Yoon Hyun noticed an interesting phenomenon. Unlike other idol singers, the gender ratio of the people seeking signatures was surprisingly balanced, almost 1:1, which was almost unimaginable for other singers.

Moreover, the age range of the attendees was quite polarized, with one group being middle school girls and the other being men in their forties.

Compared to the typical "OPPA, I love you" heard at other idol signing events, Yoon Hyun heard more "Thank you for your songs, I really like them," which left him pleasantly surprised.

However, the guilt from the plagiarism weighed heavily on his heart.

The signing event lasted from 10:00 AM to nearly 2:00 PM, ending only with the intervention of the organizers. Facing the many fans who still hadn't received signatures, Yoon Hyun felt apologetic. After promising to sign for them at a future opportunity, he performed his rap song to conclude the enthusiastic event.

Yoon Hyun's popularity rose quickly but faded just as fast. Just a week after his farewell stage, another hit song appeared on the music charts.

The song was called "Lie."

However, these matters were no longer of great concern to Yoon Hyun.

Because, after stopping his promotions, he received an unexpected invitation.

The invitation came from the director of the MV he had shot, Lee Yoon-jeong.

She invited Yoon Hyun to audition for a drama she was directing, titled "Coffee Prince."

This name was familiar to Yoon Hyun. After reading the script sent by the director, he became even more confident that the drama would be a success.

Then, with his usual determination to be involved in every important matter, Yoon Hyun prepared seriously for the drama.

The director offered him the lead role, which, in the context of the novels he had read in his previous life, was a classic "dominant CEO falls in love" story.

So, as the lead, the character was quite straightforward.

Yoon Hyun then understood why Lee Yoon-jeong thought of him for this role.

The MV shoot had given her the impression that he was a reserved and deep man, not good at expressing emotions.

In short, he was "cool."

This was the perfect embodiment of the "dominant CEO" archetype!

To Yoon Hyun's relief, he also saw himself as a "cool" man...

Yoon Hyun went to the audition with Jeon Bo-ram, Lee Ji-hye, and Ham Eun-jeong. Unlike Yoon Hyun, who was auditioning for the lead, the other three were auditioning for smaller roles...

The director's invitation was based on her impression that Yoon Hyun was good, but it was far from a guarantee that he would get the role.

When Yoon Hyun entered the audition room, the screenwriter looked at him with a scrutinizing eye.

However, Yoon Hyun, well-prepared, immediately entered his character upon entering the room.

His characterization was quite stereotypical, but some genuine aspects of Yoon Hyun, such as occasional fear or indifference, made the stereotype rich and full.

When these elements combined to form a complete and three-dimensional character, even the screenwriter, who had been scrutinizing him, had to admit that Yoon Hyun's interpretation of the character was even more substantial and complete than what she had envisioned while writing the script.

Thus, Yoon Hyun's first drama role was confirmed.

The day after the role was confirmed, Yoon Hyun returned to his university with his doctoral dissertation from his previous life, submitted it to his advisor, and applied for his master's degree.

The advisor carefully read Yoon Hyun's dissertation, then fell silent for a long time before saying, "I can grant you your master's degree, but I also hope you will apply for a Ph.D. When you graduate is up to you, but you must stay enrolled. It would be a waste for someone like you not to pursue academia."

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