Chapter 42

42. Youth Song Festival

“What are those kids doing, already carrying their bags?”

Teacher Jung Soo-jin looked at the students with a playful glare, as if she couldn’t do anything about it.

“Kids, do you really like it that much?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, then have a good vacation. See you in the new year with a better face.”

Teacher Jung Soo-jin greeted the students with a happy smile, but there was a hint of regret in her eyes.

Jin-hyuk's heart was also filled with mixed emotions. His second life, the first year of high school in his 35-year-old life, had passed like this.

So much had happened in such a short time.

“President.”

Kim Min-young stood up.

“Attention. Salute.”

“Goodbye, teacher!”

As Teacher Jung Soo-jin left the classroom, the students cheered.

“Yay! It’s vacation!”

“Hooray!”

Seeing the students, Jin-hyuk's heart also lifted a little.

It felt like he had just woken up from a brief nap in the summer, and now it was already winter vacation.

Do Min-woo asked Jin-hyuk excitedly.

“Hehe. Jin-hyuk, what are you going to do during the vacation?”

“Study.”

“Oh. You boring guy.”

Jin-hyuk chuckled.

“Do something fun too.”

“Really? What are you going to do?”

“Theater practice, singing practice, acting practice.”

Preparing for the drama festival, practicing for the "Youth Song Festival" next week, and preparing for the shooting of "High School 2" according to the schedule.

On top of that, he had to manage his planned study and exercise schedule. In fact, Jin-hyuk had no real vacation.

But since it was all something Jin-hyuk wanted to do, it was indeed fun.

Do Min-woo, who had been looking forward to it, shook his head.

“Phew. You’re such a model student, Jin-hyuk. You know, I sometimes miss the old you.”

“What did the old me do during the vacation?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

But, what do you miss?

“But back then, you didn’t study or practice acting.”

“What?”

“At least I didn’t feel left out.”

Jin-hyuk put his arm around the dejected Do Min-woo.

“Let’s go. To the fun theater practice. Mr. Manager Do.”

***

“Hmm….”

After finishing the theater practice, Jin-hyuk approached Mr. Kim Jong-ho, who was lost in thought while looking at the script.

“Why, Mr. Teacher. Is there a problem with the practice?”

“Huh? No, no problem. You and Seo-yeon are doing so well, there can’t be any problems.”

“Then why…?”

Mr. Kim Jong-ho smiled awkwardly.

“I’m not satisfied with the script I adapted.”

“Why? It seems fine to me. It’s easy to act.”

“Of course, since you and Seo-yeon are leading the play and you’re such good actors, I think we’ll pass the preliminaries without any problem.”

“But?”

“It just feels too conventional for an adaptation. I can’t make big changes now, but I’m wondering if we can add a more impactful scene.”

A small impact… I do have one idea.

While Jin-hyuk was thinking, Do Min-woo suddenly appeared behind Kim Min-young.

“Kim Min-young, here, have a snack.”

“Mom!”

Kim Min-young, startled by Do Min-woo’s sudden appearance, shouted.

“Hey! Do Min-woo! You scared me to death!”

Do Min-woo said with a creepy face.

“Hehe. I’m not Do Min-woo.”

Do Min-woo laughed sinisterly, like a possessed doll.

Jin-hyuk, watching this, shook his head.

You. How childish. Would a girl-crush like Kim Min-young be scared of such a prank?

“Eek! I hate it. I hate it. I really hate it! Mom! Stop it!”

‘...’

Kim Min-young, who was usually so spirited, was really trembling.

Seeing her unexpected reaction, Do Min-woo seemed to be having a great time.

“Hehe. I’m not Do Min-woo. Hehe.”

“Eek!”

Kim Min-young’s fist flew out reflexively,

Smack!

and hit the face of the guy who claimed he wasn’t Do Min-woo.

“Eeeek! Oh, I’m dying!”

While Do Min-woo was making a fuss with a strange scream, Jin-hyuk smiled wryly.

‘With this guy.’

Lately, Do Min-woo’s pranks on Min-young have increased. He even got scolded by her yesterday.

Just then,

Huh?

Something brushed past Jin-hyuk’s head.

“Teacher.”

“Hmm?”

Jin-hyuk turned to Mr. Kim Jong-ho.

“What if we try this?”

“How?”

Mr. Kim Jong-ho, who was listening to Jin-hyuk, seemed surprised at first but then nodded.

“It might work… But, adding a song is one thing, changing the script like that would mean Jin-hyuk, you’d have to completely change your emotional line from the beginning. Are you okay with that?”

“I’m fine. We can keep most of the script, and I just need to change my character’s personality. Isn’t this the most practical variation we can make now?”

“Hmm… Alright, let’s try it.”

Mr. Kim Jong-ho said with a satisfied smile, like a student who had solved a difficult problem.

***

Christmas Eve, a day when sometimes magical things happen.

Even for grown-ups who no longer believe in Santa.

The excited streets were bustling with people heading somewhere, and the Christmas decorations hanging around were starting to shine brightly.

A building that didn’t exist until just a short while ago was now brightly lit, announcing its birth.

“Oh my, what’s this?”

“That’s right. It’s exactly like that.”

“Hey, what’s that?”

“Oh, Mom, I’ll be home late today.”

The packed auditorium was buzzing with people busy with their own affairs.

Even though the event had already started, the noise hadn’t subsided.

However, one person seemed to be unaffected by the noise, smiling warmly.

Mayor Sung-hyun raised his voice from the podium under the banner.

“Thank you all for attending the ‘Youth Song Festival’ held to commemorate the establishment of our district’s youth center!”

The mayor’s voice was so loud that the noise in the room momentarily subsided.

The mayor, looking satisfied, continued.

“Well, it was a difficult process from securing the budget to completion. But as a servant of the residents, I worked tirelessly for the welfare of the residents and the future of our beloved youth…”

While looking at the mayor,

‘To be able to praise himself so casually. No wonder he’s a mayor.’

The person who thought this and made a bored expression was

Producer Jang Dong-soo from the renowned agency NTN.

He was invited as a judge for today’s ‘Youth Song Festival’.

If it were a district youth song festival, it would just be a local event. The amateurish stage design and lighting only made it more annoying.

NTN Entertainment was one of the top three agencies in the country, and Jang Dong-soo was a main producer at such a company.

In other words, this event was far below his level to be a judge.

“Well, let’s welcome Mr. Jang Dong-soo, the producer of NTN, who has come to judge today’s song festival.”

The eyes of the participating teenagers sparkled. The mayor, looking at the teenagers with a proud expression, continued.

“What’s his name? The national singer. ‘Bap’. No, he’s an international singer now? The ‘Bap’ was produced by our Mr. Jang Dong-soo. Yes.”

Some teenagers’ faces contorted. ‘Bap’? B.O.B!

But the mayor, unaware of the teenagers’ thoughts, kept saying ‘Bap, Bap’.

If you’re looking for Bap, why don’t you just eat some rice at home?

“Mayor, it’s not Bap. It’s B.O.B! B! O! B! The Best of Boys!”

A passionate fan couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“Oh? Is that so? Ahaha! I made a mistake. I’m sorry. Haha!”

The mayor laughed heartily, as if trying to brush off his embarrassment.

‘Can’t be helped. Really.’

Jang Dong-soo shook his head.

But despite the fan’s anger, the mention of B.O.B’s name filled many teenagers with anticipation.

“How did such a distinguished person come here? Our Mr. Jang Dong-soo is my younger brother. Haha. No fee! I told him to come to serve our nation. Let’s give him a round of applause.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

That was the reason. The reason Jang Dong-soo was dragged here.

‘Brother, I don’t have time for such things. It’s the end of the year, and I’m so busy. I don’t have time.’

‘Yeah, do as you please. I, after our father passed away, took care of our sick mother and carried you, who was sniffling and crying…’

The familiar lecture started again. Jang Dong-soo couldn’t do anything about it.

It was true. His brother Jang Myung-soo, despite being a politician who could boast about himself so casually, was somewhat pure and dedicated to his family.

If he were a bit more selfish, he might have aimed for mayor or even governor.

‘Is this for my own good? For the welfare of the residents and the future of the youth…’

Well, some politicians are busy giving special treatment to their families. Should I say it’s okay to make a politician who gives unpaid service?

Of course, he’s doing it to get votes. But thinking about what his brother has done for him, he should help with something that could get votes.

‘What kind of times are we in? With the subprime mortgage crisis still fresh. How desperately our people are…’

‘I get it. I get it. Brother, just one verse. I’ll go. Okay?’

While Jang Dong-soo was shaking his head, a clear voice echoed through the auditorium.

“Yes! Thank you, Mayor, for setting up such a distinguished event. Now, let’s finally start the main event of the ‘Sung-hyun District Youth Center Establishment Commemorative 1st Youth Song Festival’!”

The mayor’s opening remarks, or personal speech, were over, and the host announced the start of the main event.

“Wow!”

The auditorium was filled with cheers, whether they were happy that the boring opening was over or that the event was starting.

“Let me introduce the judges who will be evaluating today….”

A school music teacher, a parent representative, a district councilor…

Jang Dong-soo wiped his face.

‘I shouldn’t have come.’

After rejecting an invitation to be a judge on a popular audition show, how could he be a judge with a district councilor?

While Jang Dong-soo’s face was turning sour, the host’s voice was full of enthusiasm.

“And lastly, as the mayor already introduced, Mr. Jang Dong-soo, the producer of NTN.”

With thunderous applause, Jang Dong-soo had no choice but to stand up and give a business smile.

“Our producer will be watching closely. If our students do well, who knows, they might get a chance to join NTN. Haha.”

No. What do you think you’re saying, sir!

After finishing his greeting and sitting down, Jang Dong-soo almost jumped up again.

‘What a joke!’

Whether he knew or not,

“Wow!”

The audience erupted in cheers.

Jang Dong-soo was flabbergasted. Do they think the NTN trainee title is a badge you get for a neighborhood errand?

The NTN trainee auditions, where talented kids from all over the country, and even abroad, are rejected by the truckload every year.

What kind of neighborhood Christmas event would produce someone who could aim for NTN?

It would be more likely to find a gold bar on the way home today.

‘If you ask me to come again next year, I’ll refuse for sure.’

As Jang Dong-soo was making a firm decision to reject his brother’s request next time, the judges started looking at their score sheets.

Jang Dong-soo, though not particularly enthusiastic, had to pretend to be serious since he was here.

He picked up the score sheet in front of him and started checking the performance order.

His expression remained neutral as he scanned the list, but his eyes stopped at one point.

‘Huh?’

It must be a coincidence.

Jang Dong-soo quickly checked the original singer’s name. Then, his body stiffened as if he had received an electric shock.

Song Ha.

The name of the singer he couldn’t forget even in his dreams.

‘Is this possible?’

Jang Dong-soo rubbed his eyes several times and checked the list again. But no matter how many times he checked,

Song Ha’s “Let’s Meet on Christmas”

The song of the hidden, unknown singer he had searched for desperately but couldn’t find a trace of.

‘Who, who knows this song?’

He quickly checked the name of the participant who would be singing it.

Jin-hyuk's heart was pounding wildly.