"Aren't you getting your priorities wrong here? Building our own concert venue…."

Lee HyunJi was skeptical about it.
Even a decent set of stage speakers would cost around a million won (1,000 USD).
Renting a building, modifying the internal layout, and installing various equipment would require them to use all their emergency funds. This was not a decision to be made lightly.

"I'd rather we not take a loan this early. One of our few advantages currently is that we have no debt…."

Money troubles really weren't that easy to deal with. However, KangYoon continued to try and persuade HyunJi.

"If we were to start advertising, the expenditure should slowly start coming back in from bands starting to hire the concert venue. From what I see, indie bands are suffering from high concert fees. If we rent out the venue cheaper than the other halls. Then we should be able to profit a lot."
"That sounds okay, but the existing venue owners will go mad."
"They're the bad guys for teaming up, not us."

KangYoon's words were right. The other owners practically extorted what little money indie bands had. They were the bad guys and not them who were trying to enable the small indie bands to operate on a smaller budget. Lee HyunJi thought about it for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"Ha. You know, President, you can be rather stubborn at times. However, you're right. If we succeed, then it will be good for PR later, and we would have gotten ourselves an exclusive concert venue at a cheap price. But I'm worried about the immediate future. We're gonna have a hard time, especially when those old a.s.ses start trying to pull us back."
"They won't do that right away. After all, they also have their own relations to consider. And by that point, our concert venue will be more of a charity than anything else. We don't need to stake our lives for this place after all. This, can all become material for marketing, no?"
"Hahahahahah!"

Lee HyunJi burst out laughing.

"Good, very good. Beautifying and cleaning up publicity issues like this are my specialty. My, our indie band may become an idol of sorts at this rate."
"That's a good thing. Looks like I'll need to teach manager DaeHyun acoustics as soon as possible as I'll be leaving the managing of the venue to him."
"Looks like he'll have a hard time. At this rate, he will become an expert."
"Didn't you know? Idol managers sometimes replace their singers in the dances. This is easy compared to that."
"Really? Looks like managers these days are quite multi-talented."

Saying things that would make others s.h.i.+ver in fear, the two signed a contract with the most popular concert venue in Hongdae. This was a decision from the conclusion that they required a concert venue to show the band to the popular ma.s.ses.
While signing the contract, KangYoon's insides boiled.

'It is really expensive….'

However, his will to build his own concert venue was fired up as well. He resolved that he would soon end contracts like this.

To teach the SLS vocal method, professor Choi ChanYang headed to World Entertainment. His new student, Kim JiMin, was still young, but was smart and absorbed his teachings like a sponge. He found it enjoyable to teach her.

"Lululu~"

When he opened the door to the office, KangYoon and Lee HyunJi couldn't be seen anywhere. Instead, one of their employees, Jung HyeJin, greeted him instead.

"Oh? h.e.l.lo, professor."
"h.e.l.lo. Looks like everyone's out."
"The President is away on a song, while the director went out for business. Would you like some coffee?"
"Please."

Jung HyeJin's coffee was very sweet and fragrant. It was just right for the rather picky Choi ChanYang's tastes.

"Nice coffee."
"Thanks."

Jung HyeJin had a lot of things to do but sat down in front of professor Choi ChanYang and accompanied him. Strictly speaking, professor Choi ChanYang was a guest. She humorously continued the conversation and even talked about KangYoon and Lee HyunJi, which made professor Choi ChanYang slowly fall for her words.

"…Wow. Professor, you look so young. You're in your forties?"
"You're quite the beauty too."
"I hear that a lot. Hahaha."

The two became closer. Although the disparity between their ages were quite large, their communication code seemed to match well with each other and they didn't stop talking. Jung HyeJin endlessly took out new topics to speak about, while professor Choi ChanYang kept up with her and talked to her about them. Jung HyeJin's eyes s.h.i.+ned at his diversity of knowledge.
After quite a long time, Kim JiMin, who was dressed in school uniform, arrived. She opened the door and found the two people talking to each other.

"h.e.l.lo, professor. You're early."
"Oh, I just woke up early today. Let's go down to the studio then."
"Yes, let's drink again sometime."

Jung HyeJin cleared away the coffee mugs and sent the two away.
Kim JiMin felt slightly strange while going down the stairs with professor Choi ChanYang.

"You were close with HyeJin-unni?"
"We just started getting close today. Why?"
"Is there… something going on between the two of you?"
"Hey, hey. Consider the age difference."

Professor Choi ChanYang pushed Kim JiMIn's back. He didn't exactly dislike the sound of that and giggled.

"Let's just put 'quietly sleep on the road'… sleep? Slept? Oh, this is hard."

Lee HyunAh was currently writing lyrics while practicing.
The arrangement of the song was split into parts where each team member would write their own line, then Lee HyunAh would look at them and add her own suggestions to it. Sometimes, it was hard since their opinions clashed, but the process of mediating their thoughts was very fun.
However, progress was slow. This was the fourth day already, but not even the first verse was done yet.

"Let's just rest, yeah? Rest up!"

Lee HyunAh gave up first after the long hours of practice that went on since early morning. With the leader being like this, the rest of the members didn't even need to be mentioned.

"I'm hungry…."
"Let's work on it after we eat."

When Jung ChanGyu muttered that, Lee ChaHee suggested they order food to Lee HyunAh. Lee HyunAh agreed with her suggestion.
Manager Kim DaeHyun received their request and they soon got delivery food. They all looked tired as they picked up their spoons. Kim JinDae's hair was all oily, while Lee ChaHee couldn't even put on powder makeup today. Jung ChanGyu's face was also very oily. They were too tired to even wash up. However, as the leader, Lee HyunAh was immaculate. She was wearing neat clothes and even had a light layer of makeup on.

"Shouldn't you rest a bit?"

Manager Kim DaeHyun asked while they were eating, but Lee HyunAh shook her head.

"We haven't done much. We should finish it by tomorrow."
"Everyone else looks exhausted though."

However, Lee HyunAh's stubbornness was not easy to snap. The other members looked as though they were about to die.
After the meal was over, manager Kim DaeHyun said that he would clean it up. The other members expressed their thanks and rested for a little bit. Everyone seemed to be lacking in sleep as they lied down on the floor of the studio and closed their eyes.
Manager Kim DaeHyun took the empty plates to outside the office. When he was putting those down, KangYoon was walking up the stairs.

(T/N: Ordering delivery food sometimes come in their own plates and dishes. Those are then wrapped up in a vinyl bag and put outside the door. The delivery man would take it back later.)

"Manager."
"Oh, President. You're here."

KangYoon was coming back from Hongdae after a contract. The contract had obviously gone well as he had a smile on his face.

"Oh, looks like you had a late lunch."
"Yes. The practice went on for some time."
"Next time, make sure they eat before 1 o'clock."
"Understood, sir."

Aside than that, KangYoon also asked a lot of things, including his studies in acoustics. Manager Kim DaeHyun replied that he was still lacking in that department and that he would learn it as soon as possible. KangYoon's words may have put some pressure on him, but he took it well.

"Are you going to the practice studio?"
"Yes. I'm curious as to how far they've come along with the song."

KangYoon headed to the practice studio on the 1st floor. When he went in, the members of White Moonlight were back at work again after their meal.

'The light is a little weak, maybe because it's not finished yet?"

The light produced by them was weak. The notes from the ba.s.s were especially very inconsistent. It was because the ba.s.s hadn't decided on how to play the chord progression. Despite that, the notes stabilized after she discussed it with the drummer.
The problem was the vocals.

'I think she arranged it into a rock-ballad, but the vocal power seems a little weak.'

KangYoon thought that this would sound better if Lee HyunAh could shout the phrases loudly and refres.h.i.+ngly, but Lee HyunAh wasn't exactly capable of doing that. Of course, her voice was very good, but it lacked that specific element. As though to reflect that, the light was becoming weak after her notes mixed in.
However, they hadn't finished their arrangement. It was unknown what kind of song they would produce. He only watched their progress and did not say anything.

A few days later.
KangYoon was notified that White Moonlight had finished their song and headed to the practice studio. He was planning to record it immediately once he judged that it was okay after hearing it live.
Lee HyunAh asked KangYoon in confidence after finis.h.i.+ng her preparations.

"Can we start?"
"Go ahead."

The drums leisurely gave a four-beat intro and the instruments all came in at once. The synthesizer played the strings while the drums chimed with the snare drums, and the tom-tom drums. The distortion of the electric guitar decorated the introduction.
Then the sound died down. And the song started with it.

"Today - just like yesterday - I walk the same streets -"

Lee HyunAh's deep voice decorated the first part. She had closed her eyes and the mic was on a stand and she sang in her unique ba.s.s tone.
Since the speakers were at the back, KangYoon was at the front near the mixer, where he was able to listen to the song clearly. KangYoon listened in and looked at the notes at the same time. The ba.s.s and the drums, guitar, and the synthesizer harmonized and created white light.
However….

'Grey? What's that?'

KangYoon doubted his eyes. Yes, the light was definitely white. However, a tinge of grey was inside that light. The song he was hearing was definitely alright. However, the stuffy feeling in his heart definitely reminded him that it was indeed grey amongst that white.

"The cold winds - distract us - from sleep -"

Lee HyunAh's voice rose higher and she exerted more power into her voice. The light became stronger as well. However, the grey tinge in the light showed no signs of disappearing. It was like a flaw in high-cla.s.s jade. The white had a tinge of grey.

'This is a first.'

KangYoon slightly panicked. The entire song had a tinge of grey to it. KangYoon turned his gaze around to the musical notes. They were all consistent. He turned around to see Lee HyunAh to see if there was anything up with her, but she had no problems either. All the notes were stable and consistent, and the song wasn't flawed either.
At the climax part, Lee HyunAh raised her voice to her limits. It was a very high-pitched tone. Her charming voice that her fans liked, rang out in the studio. However, the grey light did not disappear.
KangYoon alternated his gaze between the score and the band members. The cause of the grey light could not be found very easily.

'Is the arrangement done wrong? Or is it the singing style? No, the combination of the instruments is not bad at all. It's the vocals.'

Fortunately, he would soon discover that the problem lay in Lee HyunAh. After the climax, the song went into the chorus again, but there was a short instrumental part before that. It was when Lee HyunAh was not singing that the grey light weakened. The overall light became weaker, but the grey light had disappeared as well.

'The vocal's singing method doesn't match the instruments. Well, this is a rock-ballad and I feel like the voice isn't powerful enough. The initial deep tone is good, but she slowly loses power over time.'

KangYoon came to a conclusion. Then he recorded what he saw into a memo.

"How was it?"

After the song finished, Lee HyunAh heaved a deep breath before asking KangYoon.

"Let's try one more time."
"Eh? One more time?"
"It just feels off for some reason. I'm sorry but can you just play it one more time?"

Just in case, KangYoon asked for one more try. White Moonlight heeded his words.
The song began again, but the results weren't different from before. The red musical notes created a strong white light but with a tinge of grey.

"Oppa?"
"Huh? Oh…."

When KangYoon didn't say anything even after the song was over, Lee HyunAh called out to KangYoon.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking about something."

Lee HyunAh felt as though KangYoon didn't like the song. She came to him and asked.

"Is the song that bad?"
"Rather than that, there's something that tugs at my mind."

The tinge of grey light among the strong white light kept tugging at KangYoon's mind. Until now, it was either grey or white, not a mix of both. This was the first time such a thing has happened.

'What could the problem be?'

There were no problems from what he was hearing. The members of the band should have called for KangYoon since they thought this was good enough. Lee HyunAh included.

"Which part is strange?"
"Why don't you try changing your singing style?"
"My singing style?"

Lee HyunAh tilted her head. KangYoon spoke of the reason calmly.

"In my opinion, the instruments are powerful, but the vocals are relatively weak in comparison. You did well for the arrangement though."
"Okay. Should I try growling?"
"No, the deeper parts are fine. There's no reason to scratch your voice to try and create a deeper sound. In my opinion, I think you should exert more power on the higher parts. Let's go with shouting."
"I'm not very good at shouting though…."

Lee HyunAh was worried. Singers had their own styles of singing. Lee HyunAh was talented in the lower tones and was freely able to use growling to create a thicker voice, but things like shouting, where she had to shout with practically all her might, was not her forte. However, she hesitated after seeing KangYoon requesting that of her.

"Think of it as learning another skill. If you can't do it by yourself, I'll get you a trainer."
"Ooh, you're the best, oppa!"

However, Lee HyunAh became brighter after hearing that she would even get a trainer. KangYoon felt that this emotional girl was quite cute.

"I appreciate that. So, let's delay the recording for another week. Is that fine?"
"Yes. I'll tell you once I don't seem to be able to do it by myself."
"Okay."

KangYoon finished his words and left the studio. Then, he thought of something and called Lee HyunAh out.

"Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Not much, it's just the way you call me."
"The way I call you?"

While Lee HyunAh tilted her head, KangYoon spoke.

"This is a company. You might find it rather disappointing, but I think I need to set this straight. I'm the President, and you're a celebrity belonging to the company. If you keep calling me oppa like this, then it might make us sound close, but once the company grows, then it will be bad for the morale. I want you to keep that in mind."
"Oh, yeah. I didn't think about that. I'm sorry."
"No, just be careful from now on. Then once you're done, tell me."
"Yes."

After this business, KangYoon went downstairs. He was going to take a look at Kim JiMin's practice.

"I did that on purpose though. Did I push it too far? Tch."

Looking at KangYoon going down the stairs, Lee HyunAh pouted.