Chapter 94 Chapter 94

The moment the phone was hung up, Yu Seung-ho stood there, motionless. He had just joined the set of "Miss You," and today was the script reading. Staff members were bustling back and forth, setting up the set. The director, screenwriter, and main actors took their seats around the table.

They chatted in low voices from time to time. He stood outside the door, like a slow-moving machine. The reading was about to begin, and he shouldn't have rushed out to answer the phone at this critical moment. But the moment he saw the caller ID, he was still instantly overwhelmed with joy.

He knew he was in a bad state. He knew what had happened to her recently. At a time like this, he should have been there to support and encourage her, not get angry, give her the cold shoulder, or argue with her. He had seen the news the night it was released.

During that time, he was promoting a film and participating in roadshows of all sizes. Every night when he returned to the hotel, exhausted and wanting nothing more than to close his eyes and rest, he would still scroll through the forums, clicking on every relevant topic.

He couldn't help but think: On wrap night, they'd walked side by side on the beach, yet her work had been stolen, and she hadn't said a word. He was like a fool, alone, recounting the fun of filming and the sentiments of farewell.

He also watched the controversial behind-the-scenes video. He watched it over and over again. The man sat on the set, casually playing the unreleased demo. It was a demo he had never heard before. He couldn't help but think,

How she played that melody for someone else, and how that person played it over and over again on his phone. He was jealous, wronged, uneasy, and a feeling of powerlessness seeped into every inch of his body like water.

It was a feeling of being excluded from her life. They had not seen each other much to begin with, and she had never truly relied on him from the beginning to now. There were so many things about her that he didn't know, so many decisions that he had to make.

She never discussed it with him... He was never able to intervene in her growth. He couldn't tell her where she had done wrong. She had done nothing wrong. He even thought darkly,

If her career was hindered from then on, would she stay away from that person and only rely on him? He was obviously happy when he received the call. But she was so calm, so calm that he just wanted to shatter that calm face.

Like him, just once, like him losing control, even going crazy. He couldn't even remember what he said, those vicious, cruel words. Seeing him made me feel at ease? But that wasn't enough.

He stood outside the door, his phone clutched tightly in his hand, his knuckles white, his throat clogged. Not far away, the director called his name. He took a deep breath, stuffed the phone back into his pocket, and walked into the room.

He covered the emotions on his face again, like a mask he had used over and over again. * A few days later, Ha Ji-hye officially took up her post.

Although she was new, she was a quick learner. Even though there were still many things she wasn't familiar with, she would always check things out privately before coming back to confirm.

She helped Lia confirm the recording schedule for "Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook" and also helped her set up her YouTube channel, which was named "Lia Kim".

Without YG's technical support or an official label, Lia kept things simple in the early stages. She personally designed the channel layout, wrote the introduction, and set keywords. Ha Ji-hye shortlisted several editors based on her requirements and compiled representative past work. She picked one with a style she liked and a price she could afford.

The channel is simply divided into three sections: music analysis, musician profiles, and sharing the creative process. The content plan isn't fixed yet; she's just beginning to explore this format, so it'll take time for trial and error.

In the first video, she chose a popular song that was at the top of the Billboard charts that week as material for analysis.

A few years ago, she analyzed Bigbang songs on a forum, but now she's just changed the format and the content. She goes into great detail, covering everything from sampling to instrumentation, from harmonies to emotions.

The video had no promotion, but the number of views was surprisingly good, with over 10,000 hits as soon as it was released. Part of it was due to the popularity of the original song, and the other part was due to the Korean audience who found her from nowhere and recognized her as the "Lia

Kim". She took advantage of the momentum and continued to update, one a week. Faster than she expected, the number of channel subscribers soon exceeded 100,000, and gradually gained a stable audience. ...... At the same time, "KPOP

STAR” is coming to an end. —Kim Woo-chan failed to make it to the top five.

His state of despair needed no further explanation. The cost of the theft was slowly eating away at him. Even more unbearable than the external doubts was the inner confusion.

His scenes became less and less, the program crew tacitly stopped mentioning the song, and the audience gradually turned their backs on him. On the day he left the program crew, he secretly watched Lia work backstage.

People have to pay the price for their mistakes. He didn't learn this as a child until he broke a priceless treasure with his own hands.

He arrived naive and ambitious, with a confidence that could pierce anything, but in just a few months, he lost the willpower he had built up over the past twenty years. Time is never measured simply in length.

These past few months may have felt longer than any other time before, as they compressed everything from growth, collapse, and awakening. And Lia is about to appear on "Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook."

As the contestants were eliminated one by one, the daily work of the production team finally relaxed a bit. She was able to take some time off and return to the recording studio to prepare the performance repertoire for the upcoming show.

The show was scheduled to be recorded at the end of March. The producer sent her an interview outline in advance and suggested that she perform a live performance.

Although she had gained some popularity due to the recent controversy, her fame was not enough to support the entire program on her own, so she was arranged to appear in the young musicians special, along with several other emerging singer-songwriters. This actually made her feel relieved.

On the day of the program recording, the scene of "Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook".

The studio was a small, long-standing black box theater in the old KBS building. The audience seats were directly in front of the stage, and the set was simple, maintaining its usual minimalist style: soft lighting, wooden floors, and a black grand piano at the back of the stage.

The lights came on and the camera zoomed in. "Hello everyone, I'm glad to see you all. Welcome to Sketchbook. I'm your host, Yoo Hee-yeol—"

Accompanied by cheerful opening music, host Yoo Hee-yeol stood in the center of the stage to greet the audience, and there was warm applause and slight booing from the audience.

"I'm in charge of Friday night's high-quality talk music show. Today, we're presenting a 2012 special episode of 'I Hear Your Voice.'"

"This special has a standard, if you ask what it is... Today's guests are all young musicians we are particularly looking forward to this year."

"Will they become widely known artists this year? With such expectations in mind, let's introduce them one by one!" ...

Lia wore a tailored black, below-the-knee dress and accessorized with a pair of vintage gold earrings.

The company didn't have a stylist for her, so she borrowed the show's makeup artist and applied a simple, clean, and appropriate makeup. Her facial features were beautiful, and she didn't need much modification to look camera-ready. Her fingers felt slightly cold.

Although she has started facing the camera again for the channel's content during this period, the recording of this show is still different - hundreds of viewers will sit in the audience and watch her.

She stood in the waiting area, gripping the microphone tightly, maintaining her composure as if by muscle memory. The production team had already provided the procedure and outline of questions in advance. She was scheduled to appear second, and all she had to do was answer the prepared questions one by one and then complete the performance.

Soon, the first guest left the stage, and the staff signaled her. She walked onto the stage and took a seat next to Yoo Hee-yeol. They had just greeted each other backstage. He was a veteran in the music industry, but he was friendly and unassuming.

Yoo Hee-yeol smiled and nodded at her, saying in a gentle tone, "The second guest may still be a little mysterious to the audience." There was a soft laugh from the audience. "But if you are the one who

STAR” loyal viewers or OST lovers may have heard her works. "She is a young behind-the-scenes producer of YG and also the founder of KPOP

STAR”. Let’s welcome Lia Kim! Lia stood up with a smile, bowed slightly to the audience and the camera, and sat down again.

Yoo Hee-yeol looked at her and joked with a smile, "Are you nervous about using a sketchbook for the first time?" Lia nodded and said frankly, "Yes, I am nervous."

"Actually, I'm nervous too," Yoo Hee-yeol laughed. "I'm a huge YG fan, so I haven't slept well for several days because of today's interview." The audience burst into laughter. "Lia xi, first of all, can you introduce yourself?"

"Hello everyone, I'm Lia Kim from YG Entertainment, currently working in music production." Lia greeted with a smile. "Is Lia Kim your real name?" Yoo Hee-yeol asked.

"Yes, that's my real name. I grew up in Los Angeles and came to Korea in 2006." "I was a trainee at first, right?" "Yes, I practiced with the unnies from 2NE1."

"No wonder you look familiar to me—I used to be a loyal fan of Project A." Liu Xiye looked at her carefully again and said with a smile, "Team Lia~"

The host's polite words came out of his mouth so easily. She couldn't help but smile and thank him. "Why did you give up debuting?" "I felt I was more suited to behind the scenes."

"So, these past few years, you've been working behind the scenes while getting into Seoul National University?" Yoo Hee-yeol teased. The audience gasped. "Yes, I studied very hard," Lia said without hesitation.

Yoo Hee-yeol frowned, uttered a "humph", crossed his arms and pretended to be angry, which caused the audience to laugh again.

"Let's not talk about that," he smiled and changed the subject, "Let's talk about your work behind the scenes. You also participated in G-Dragon's "Heartbreaker" album, right?"

"Yes, but he was the one who took the lead in his album, and I was just cooperating." "So are you close to G-Dragon?"

Lia paused: "Well, my senior took good care of me. I learned a lot from him during the cooperation, both in terms of professional knowledge and life." "Ah - I also want to work with G-

Dragon to study," Liu Xilie pretended to be envious with an exaggerated expression, "He hasn't been here for a long time and feels wronged." Lia glared. This senior... seems a little strange. The audience laughed again.

"You've been doing really well on 'KPOP STAR' lately." Yoo Hee-yeol flipped through the card in his hand. "Are you participating as a member of the show's music team?"

"Yes, at first I was only responsible for arranging the music, but later due to staff shortages, I also participated in coaching some of the contestants."

"There's a song that seems to be getting a lot of heated discussion," Yoo Hee-yeol said, slowing his pace. "Some online are saying it's a 'co-creation,' others are saying it's a 'copyright dispute.'" The audience fell silent. This was a topic that had been discussed in the outline.

She couldn't overturn the idea of ​​"co-creation," but she could respond in a different way. Lia smiled calmly and said:

"Well, I understand the outside discussion. Music creation is never absolute. It is a process of overlapping many sounds. Even if it is the same material, different people processing it may get completely different results."

"I think this is also the charm of music. This time, I came to let everyone hear what this song looks like in my eyes." Liu Xiye continued: "Today you will bring it-"

"I'll rewrite the version. Based on the original melody, I'll present my version to everyone." Liu Xiye nodded: "We are very much looking forward to it." ... The live lighting was slightly adjusted, and the accompaniment microphone was pushed onto the stage and moved in front of Lia.

She sat at the piano, her fingertips touching the keys. The light cast a shadow over her shoulders. She hadn't sung in a long time. She had taken two singing lessons specifically for this performance.

Vocal condition and technique deteriorate with laziness, but fortunately, today's focus isn't her voice. She opens her mouth, her voice calm, amplified by the microphone to every corner of the recording studio.

Her lyrics, her music, her performance, her voice—like some kind of pious sacrificial ritual, the believers and God, are all herself. The audience fell silent, as if drawn by some invisible emotion.

It took her two full days to recall the original form of this piece—it wasn't the "Lover" that had stirred up a storm online and been discussed repeatedly. It no longer belonged to the controversy, but instead belonged cleanly, clearly, and completely to her on stage.

The last note fell. Her fingertips rested on the keyboard for a few seconds, then slowly released. Applause erupted, warm and prolonged. The audience at "Sketchbook" has always been honest. They came for the music, and they cheered only for the music itself.

Lia stood up, bowed, and returned to her seat at the interview table. Yoo Hee-yeol clapped excitedly, the microphone clapping loudly. "If the audio source comes out, I'll be the first to buy it!" he praised sincerely.

Lia smiled and thanked him. Just as she settled into her chair, she heard a slight commotion in the audience seats near the right side of the stage. She subconsciously looked over.

A small group of people stood in the shadows of the side stage. Standing in the back row was a man wearing a hat, the brim pulled low, revealing only a pointed chin. She didn't react for a moment, until the man looked up, revealing a pair of smiling eyes.

She was stunned. It was Quan Zhilong.

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