Chapter 33. Morning with music (3)
"Sorry, I was stuck in traffic. So, I was a little late."
Ham Choolsoo said as he bowed a little. His face looked bright, probably because of all the makeup on his face.
"It's okay. It's still ten minutes till the broadcast starts."
Writer Park said as she waved her hand. She seemingly glossed over his words, but Lee Hyun who was standing next to him thought otherwise.
'Traffic? Early in the morning.'
When he was coming to the broadcasting stations, the streets were mostly empty.
It was less likely that Ham Choolsoo was stuck in traffic. More probably, he was late because of doing makeup.
But Lee Hyun just stayed silent.
"Okay. The broadcast would be live and your mics would record every word you speak. So, think before speaking anything. Just go with the script and don't make mistakes."
Writer Park explained. Her tone was completely different this time. It was like she was a teacher instructing her students.
'She really seems like a veteran now.'
The whole image of Writer Park completely changed in an instant.
Lee Hyun focused on her words as she continued.
"Even if you made a mistake, it's fine. Senior Sungho will take care of it. Just don't shutter or stop in the middle of your sentence."
"Don't worry, I know all that!"
Ham Choolsoo said in a slightly raised voice. He seemed confident because of the entertainment shows he had featured in.
"I hope good results from the both of you."
Lee Hyun nodded his head and Writer Park went to talk with Producer Yoon.
After she had left, Ham Choolsoo mumbled something under his breath. Then, he turned around to face Lee Hyun.
"Hello. Let's help each other out in the broadcast."
Ham Choolsoo said with a smile. He looked like he was genuinely saying it, but Lee Hyun just replied vaguely.
"Sure."
'What's with him? Why is he so carefree?'
Ham Choolsoo thought and glanced at Lee Hyun's face.
He didn't know much about him, but he was told that Lee Hyun was a newbie who was appearing on a broadcast for the first time.
He had become confident because of that, but Lee Hyun was acting carefree.
'He's not the type of person I like.'
First of all, Lee Hyun was taller than him. Moreover, he was really handsome and he would probably attract more attention than him.
That tipped him off.
"Um, I heard that you are a new composer?"
Cursing inwardly, Ham Choolsoo asked.
"Yes, my first song was just released more than a month ago."
"Ah! What is it called and what was the ranking?"
"It's called Never give up and it's peak rankings was 3rd position in the music charts."
"Ah??"
Ham Choolsoo thought that Lee Hyun was just handsome.
He comforted himself thinking that he was more talented and accomplished than him who was just a newbie composer.
But hearing that, his eyes shook.
"What did you just say?"
"I said that the peak rankings was the 3rd position in the music charts."
Lee Hyun nonchalantly said, but Ham Choolsoo's eyes shook more.
A newbie composer song reached the top of the music charts? It was not like it can't happen, but it was really hard to believe.
"Hey, don't joke! Do I look like a-"
"I'm not joking."
"Eh?"
"You can check it on the internet if you don't believe me."
Lee Hyun lowered his head and started reading the script one last time after that, completely ignoring Ham Choolsoo.
He had already noticed that Ham Choolsoo seemed to dislike him for some reason.
'Looks like it won't be an easy broadcast.'
Lee Hyun thought and sighed.
On the other hand, Ham Choolsoo's eyes were shaking too much that it seemed like they would pop out any moment.
He was reading an article about Midas.
How his song Never give up had reached the top of the music charts and how Lee Hyerin had thanked Midas on several occasions.
It was all covered up in that single article.
'Shit!'
Ham Choolsoo could not help but curse after reading all that. He's been making songs for some time now and yet, he has never reached top 10.
But a newbie composer had beaten him.
He felt anger and immense jealousy, but he soon calmed himself down.
'I will beat him up in the broadcast.'
In the end, Lee Hyun was a newbie who was participating in his first broadcast.
There was no way he would do well while he was experienced in entertainment shows. There was no way he won't come out on the top.
Ham Choolsoo could not help but smirk thinking about it.
* * *
"There's 30 seconds left until we are on air."
Producer Yoon spoke through the microphone and Im Sungho put down the manuscript in front of him.
The manuscript has opening remarks and the title of the first segment.
"We will go on air in 3… 2… 1…"
Im Sungho took a deep breath hearing that and a loud and cheerful music burst out, indicating the start of the broadcast.
He steadily began to read out the opening remarks.
"There was once a small child who saw a mirror for the first time. He was fascinated by his reflection on it. 'Ah? Why am I there?'. He thought as he kept getting more fascinated by his reflection."
Another loud music burst happened.
"Like the small child, we all see our reflection in the mirror everyday before going to office, school and university. At that time we just have to say 'Let's do my best today too' and our day would be filled with energy."
Im Sungho's voice was rapid yet clear. It gave a very tranquil feeling, indicating his years of experience.
"Hello everyone. We are back with our show 'Morning with music'. Like we had promised, today is a bit special as we are holding a segment called 'The future of music'.
Comments filled the monitor as soon as Im Sungho's introduction ended. Lee Hyun glanced towards the monitor and read some comments.
"Who do you think the future of music is? Is it the singers? No, you are wrong. It's the composers who play with emotions to make beautiful songs. Today, our guest is two rising stars who are making hit songs regularly."
It was the time for Ham Choolsoo and Lee Hyun's introduction . Both of them opened their mouths one by one.
"Hello, I'm Ham Choolsoo. My last song 'Breath' was the title song of Artist Jaz's new album and I have also featured in some entertainment shows."
"Hello, many people won't know me well, but recently, I released my debut song 'Never give up'. Many people may have heard it already. I'm Midas."
Various comments filled the monitor after both of their introductions.
Lee Hyun had thought that most of the comments wouldn't be about him, but the majority of the comments were about him and Never give up.
Maybe, it was because Never give up was still on the music charts.
Ham Choolsoo appeared to be upset that comments about him were lower than he had expected, but he didn't show it on his face.
"Now, let's start with the quiz round."
Im Sungho said and the broadcast began for real.