Chapter 66

66. The Brightest Time

"Jinhyuk, come in. I'm really enjoying High School. It's amazing!"

"Yes, thank you."

The vocal trainer from WP Entertainment, who had agreed to listen to Jinhyuk's song for the final episode, greeted him warmly.

"It's an honor to meet you, writer Han."

"Hello."

Writer Han Yukyung didn't really need to come along, but she had joined Jinhyuk out of personal curiosity.

"Jinhyuk, your rap was really impressive. I mean, how can someone be so good-looking and have such great acting skills? If you look closely, you're totally a cheat character. Don't you think so, writer?"

"Hehe. Yes, Jinhyuk is a bit of a cheat."

"Your rapping skills are going to be revealed in the making-of video, and now the company is getting a flood of requests to debut Jinhyuk as a singer."

The vocal trainer said excitedly, smiling at Writer Han.

"Jinhyuk, I'm looking forward to your singing. But don't be too nervous. Just sing comfortably. You've already shown so much. Even if you can't sing well, I won't be too disappointed. Haha."

The vocal trainer and Writer Han Yukyung took their seats in one corner of the practice room, and Jinhyuk, with his prepared guitar, stood in front of them.

"I'll start now."

"Okay."

Jinhyuk quickly grabbed the guitar chords and began the intro.

Dang dang dang, tak da dang dang.

A skilled guitar stroke with appropriate muting.

"Wow!"

The vocal trainer and Writer Han Yukyung's eyes widened in surprise at Jinhyuk's guitar playing.

And the first verse.

Everyone has something like that.

A feeling that can't be expressed.

"Wow!"

The two of them were speechless.

Jinhyuk's voice, like it had swallowed a CD, smoothly stirred the air in the practice room.

As the soft waves turned into fierce storms and the strong wind struck their hearts before settling down,

The vocal trainer, who had been staring in amazement, blinked and said,

"Jinhyuk, wait a moment. I'll go get Manager Joo."

The trainer jumped up and quickly left the practice room to fetch the main producer of WP Entertainment.

Writer Han Yukyung, still in shock, looked at Jinhyuk, at a loss for words.

After a moment of silence, Writer Han Yukyung sighed.

"Wow, Jinhyuk. What are you...?"

***

High School 2, the final episode.

The drama had already surpassed a 27% viewership rating in the previous episode, setting a record for a teen drama since the current rating system was introduced. Now, the drama was taking its final steps towards a perfect ending.

"Would you like to visit your mom at the hospital?"

Jin's father, who had been eating breakfast, asked Jin cautiously.

Jin's father had divorced his wife five years ago. On the day Jin came to see his father, he had tried to contact his wife, but couldn't reach her.

When his father went to his wife's house, he found Jin's mother having a seizure and lying on the floor.

She had suffered a seizure due to extreme mental stress and had also been in a state of exhaustion from not eating properly after Jin left.

As a result, Jin's mother was admitted to the hospital.

"She's much better now, so it should be okay to meet her."

"..."

"Your mom is receiving psychiatric treatment."

Jin's chopsticks stopped. He looked at his father.

Psychiatric treatment, which Jin had refused no matter how much his father urged him. His father had given up and chosen divorce, while Jin had chosen to live with his mother despite his father's objections.

After looking at his father for a moment, Jin lowered his gaze and resumed eating.

"I'll go see her."

Jin's mother, who seemed unfocused, was sitting on a bench, and Jin sat beside her without a word.

"I'm going."

As Jin stood up, he seemed to be looking at his mother for a moment before slowly turning around.

"Jin."

At his mother's call, Jin's gaze returned to her. She was still staring straight ahead with unfocused eyes.

Her lips moved slightly,

"I'm sorry."

It was the first time Jin had heard his mother say "sorry" since his brother's death.

Jin swallowed the lump in his throat and said something different from what he felt.

"Take care of yourself. I'll come again."

Behind Jin's back as he turned to leave, his mother's gaze, which had been fixed straight ahead, finally met his.

"Please!"

The female lead, Kim Arin (played by An Yena), clasped her hands together.

The final of the President's Cup National Baseball Tournament.

Bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, bases loaded. The last chance for a comeback, and the ace and the fixed 4th batter of Donghwa High, Kang Hyuk, stepped up to the plate.

"Kang Hyuk! Kang Hyuk!"

The students of Donghwa High and the cheering audience began to chant Kang Hyuk's name.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, Kang Hyuk's powerful swing sent the ball soaring.

"Wow!"

The audience all stood up,

"Wow!"

The ball cleared the fence.

"Home run! Home run!"

The cheerleaders jumped up and down in excitement.

"..."

Jin Sejin (played by Woo Jinhyuk) was jumping up and down, and Kim Arin (played by An Yena) looked at him in surprise.

Realizing Kim Arin's gaze, Jin Sejin, who had unknowingly raised his fist, lowered it and looked embarrassed.

"Ha!"

Kim Arin burst out laughing and raised her hand for a high-five.

"Come on!"

Jin Sejin smiled and raised his hand.

Clap!

High-five!

***

In the auditorium of Donghwa High, where the school festival was being held, the drama was preparing for the final scene of its 20-episode journey.

The final touch to the dream-like story was to be given by Jinhyuk.

"The next item is a greeting and some words from Jin Sejin, who played the lead in the school festival drama."

"Wow!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The audience, moved by the short but impressive school festival drama, gave a heartfelt round of applause to Jin Sejin (played by Woo Jinhyuk), who had played the lead.

Jin Sejin, with his guitar slung over his shoulder, stood in front of the microphone at the center of the stage. The broadcasting club members tilted their heads in confusion at the sudden appearance of the guitar.

Originally, Jin Sejin was supposed to give a simple greeting and read a heartfelt letter to his friends.

But instead of the letter, Jin Sejin (played by Woo Jinhyuk) bowed to the audience and held his guitar.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"First, I want to thank everyone who came to the school festival today."

A relaxed smile, different from his usual demeanor, appeared on Jin's face.

"And there's something I really want to say to the audience and my friends."

Jin slowly looked around the quiet auditorium.

"I'm not good with words, so I'll sing instead."

A song filled with Jin's feelings for his friends.

The spotlight shone on Jin (Jinhyuk), and all the audience members in the auditorium focused their attention on him.

Real-time comments started to appear.

- What, Woo Jinhyuk is singing?

- Is he really singing?

- Surely he's not lip-syncing someone else's song in this situation.

- Squeal♡

"Huh."

Jinhyuk's breath echoed through the auditorium and TV speakers, and the audience and viewers held their breath even more.

Dang dang dang, tak da dang dang.

In the quiet auditorium, Jinhyuk, illuminated by the spotlight, played the guitar, a different side from what he had shown in the drama.

The aura of a singer ready to tell his story to the world through his song captivated everyone's attention.

And the first verse.

"Everyone has something like that.

A feeling that can't be expressed."

Jinhyuk's charming baritone voice captured not only the viewers' eyes but also their ears.

The drama didn't show the audience's reaction in the auditorium, but in front of TV monitors, households were in an uproar.

- Squeal♡

- Oh my. Oh my. Jinhyuk, what are you...

- Ah, why are my eyes watering already?

- What do I do? What do I do?

Jinhyuk's smooth, well-breathed voice swept through the auditorium and the screen.

That's right. It's not that I can't speak.

It's not that there are no words.

After such a long time,

I had forgotten how to express it,

Until you reached out and held my hand.

Jinhyuk's voice grew more intense, rising to the sky, and the heart-wrenching high notes shook the viewers' hearts.

...

The real-time bulletin board was quiet. No one could bring themselves to type anything.

The scenes from the past 20 episodes of High School 2, like memories of their own lives, flashed through the viewers' minds.

Jinhyuk's calm singing, his intense yet nostalgic voice, was pulling something out of everyone's hearts,

"Like that, for such a long time—trapped in the shadows of my heart—."

The first person to burst into tears at Jinhyuk's soaring high notes was

"Sniff."

Surprisingly, the emotional PD Jung Doo-il of High School.

The first time he heard Jinhyuk's song on set was a shock in itself.

But the song echoing in the final scene he directed had a different meaning, shaking PD Jung Doo-il's heart.

This was his life's work.

PD Jung Doo-il boldly claimed that he would never have a work like this again, before or after.

He didn't know how many more works he would direct in the rest of his life.

But even if he directed more amazing works or achieved more impressive results in the future, it didn't matter.

From the audition to the filming and broadcasting period, every moment was like a dream, and this time would remain the brightest in his life.

Through Jinhyuk, he had rediscovered himself as a human being and experienced the joy of directing, as if he had picked up a megaphone for the first time.

Thank you, Jinhyuk!

PD Jung Doo-il sincerely thanked Jinhyuk on the screen.

For the final broadcast, he had anticipated this situation and insisted on being alone.

"Sniff."

PD Jung Doo-il cried like a child, without caring about anyone's gaze.

***

While everyone was amazed and shocked by Jinhyuk's vocals, there was one person who was clutching his heart in pain.

"Sigh..."

The one sighing deeply was NTN's producer Jang Dong-soo.

"I should have done everything to keep him."

Jang Dong-soo tasted the bitterness in his mouth. When he heard that the CEO of WP Entertainment, Lee Seung-soo, had moved personally, Jang Dong-soo slapped his knee.

Why didn't I think of that?

How could someone who claims to work in the performing arts be so rigid in their thinking?

It was unprecedented for the CEO of NTN to move to secure an unsigned newcomer.

But what does precedent matter for a performing artist? His own frustration at not even considering it was ridiculous.

If he had thought about it, he would have dragged Woo Jinhyuk to NTN by holding the CEO's pants.

The bold move by WP's CEO Lee Seung-soo, who broke precedent, showed that he had maintained his sense of the times even at the age of 60.

He learned a big lesson, but the price he paid for that lesson was too high—Woo Jinhyuk.

"Like that, for such a long time—trapped in the shadows of my heart—."

C3, E3. To Jang Dong-soo, who had perfect pitch, Jinhyuk's vocals, effortlessly moving through the third octave, sounded like an orchestra with just one guitar.

Woo Jinhyuk. Yeon Se-rin.

A chance to produce the top male and female vocalists who could lead the future of the music industry.

As a producer, the more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt, but Jang Dong-soo swept away his pain by thinking of Yeon Se-rin.

'Right, I have Se-rin.'

There was nothing he could do now.

Woo Jinhyuk was now a competitor.

The only way to ease the regret of losing Jinhyuk was to elevate Yeon Se-rin to a high position.

The pride of NTN, Producer Jang Dong-soo's eyes burned with determination.

At the same time.

Another person burning with intense passion, just like Jang Dong-soo.

WP Entertainment's producer, Manager Joo Hee-tae.

A while ago, the vocal trainer had called him urgently with a dazed look.

"Manager, you need to come and see this right now."

"Why, what is it?"

The shocking vocals of Jinhyuk that he had met then. His heart, still pounding, reacted roughly to Jinhyuk's song on the screen.

To think that the gem he had been searching for would shine so brightly among the company's actors!

He knew nothing about acting, but there was something he was sure of.

This kid needs to sing.

He was born to sing.

Manager Joo Hee-tae's gaze turned to his laptop screen. The internet bulletin boards were in an uproar due to Jinhyuk's song, which had just ended.

A burning passion was rising in his chest, ready to ignite the stagnant WP Music division.