Chapter 156
Modern Farmer was hugely popular to the point that it wasn’t just contending for the first spot in its time slot but amongst all general entertainment programs . There were numerous episodes that featured old sirs and madams in the fields, and the general opinion was that the program brought out the theme of being self-sufficient in the countryside quite well . Also, the characters in the program played a role in the popularity as well .
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At its center was Lee SamSoon .
The small, feeble-looking girl caught chicken like swatting flies, drove tractors like a regular car, and was very friendly towards the elderly in the neighborhood as well which attracted the people’s hearts . Lee SamSoon was especially loved by all to the point that she had almost no anti-fans .
Lee HyunJi read the report about Lee SamSoon’s activities and signed the document .
“There’s nothing more for me to say here . You’re doing well . People’s reactions are good, and your screen time on TV is the longest as well .
Lee SamSoon nodded her head after listening to her words . Due to being popular nowadays, her expression was very bright . She blinked several times and looked around and saw that KangYoon’s seat was empty, which made her curious .
“Did the president go somewhere?”
“He’s down at Changwon with White Moonlight . He said he’ll be there for a few days . ”
“Oh… . ”
When Lee SamSoon nodded her head in disappointment, Lee HyunJi asked with a sly grin on her face .
“What? You have something good to report, but are disappointed because the president isn’t here?”
“Huh? How did you know that?”
“I read your mind . Fufu . ”
Lee SamSoon replied jokingly as well . With good results, both ladies had a good time talking to each other .
Having nothing more to say, Lee HyunJi put away the papers .
“I have nothing more to say to you, SamSoon, since you’re doing so well . There’s nothing special that the president has told me to tell you either . ”
“Okay . ”
“Please keep up the good work . You can’t develop a princess complex just because you became popular, okay?”
“Hahaha, that won’t happen . ”
Lee SamSoon said that such a thing wouldn’t happen .
The two talked joyfully .
‘Hmm… . ’
KangYoon frowned while looking at the reactions of the audience . Lee HyunAh’s singing brought out mediocre reactions from the audience .
‘It’s not like the light is weak…’
Lee HyunAh’s song combined with the instrumental accompaniment was generating white light which shone down on the people . However, there were no passionate reactions like they would usually have so KangYoon felt bewildered by this .
“I call you — and you don’t answer –”
Lee HyunAh’s song continued . The white light glowed more intensely as well . Perhaps due to the power of the light, people kept gathering, but all they did was applaud once in a while or react very weakly .
KangYoon had a hint after seeing more people gathering around .
‘The personalities of people here, in general, aren’t that passionate . ’
He could see glimpses of people who were about to passionately shout but looked around to see everyone else who stayed quiet . Usually white light would make the people cheer out loud, so this was very different from what they had experienced before .
‘I wonder what would happen if the light was silver . ’
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Despite everything, people that came once did not really go away . Thanks to that, the number of people kept rising .
While KangYoon was imagining different scenarios, Lee HyunAh’s song ended .
“Thank you for listening . ”
Some people applauded . This was a big change compared to when they began singing . Lee HyunAh continued with her commentary while realizing the importance of audience reactions .
“Our next song is a song from another country that was popular a while back, titled ‘Brovo’ . It’s a song that was also used in a commercial once, so you should recognize it once you hear it . ”
The audience encouraged Lee HyunAh with small claps .
Soon, the song began with Kim JinDae’s djembe and Jung ChanGyu’s guitar . Lee HyunAh closed her eyes and immersed herself in the song before generating a musical note .
After around an hour of street performance, Lee HyunAh trembled after everything was finished .
“Uuugh, it’s so tiring…”
It wasn’t easy performing in front of quiet people after having performed in proper stages all this time .
Kim JinDae didn’t seem that different from her as he sighed .
“My words exactly… Did you see the lady at the front? She was practically glaring at us…”
“That fat woman? I did see her! Urgh, and her kids were so…”
Just then, KangYoon quietly interrupted while tidying up the mixer .
“You shouldn’t talk bad about them . ”
Hearing those words, Kim JinDae flinched before going away to clean up his guitar, and Lee HyunAh became dejected . She wanted to relieve her stress at least with her words, but she became downtrodden .
However, KangYoon was firm in his attitude despite knowing what they felt like .
“She’s someone who watched our performance for almost the entirety of the hour . It’s not polite to talk bad about someone like that . ”
“But… . ”
“could you spend one hour watching someone you don’t even know?”
Lee HyunAh became speechless at those words . Even though all she did was sit down at the front, she was still an audience who used her precious time to listen to her singing .
“…It looks like I was in the wrong . I’m sorry . ”
“I would have interfered if she did anything rude, but if all she did was watch, I don’t think it’s right to say those words . Don’t do it next time . ”
“Yes . ”
KangYoon ended his scolding there and then turned away from her .
When they tidied up the instruments and got into the car, the streetlights started to turn on one by one .
When they started moving, Lee HyunAh asked .
“Are we going back to Seoul now?”
On the wheels, KangYoon replied with a calm tone .
“I’m planning to stay in the province for a few days . ”
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“Eh… . ”
Lee HyunAh showed a slight rejection to his words . Perhaps due to having so much fun at Lunas during the past few months, performing with such little reaction like they had today felt no fun to her .
‘If it’s busking, we can do them in Seoul too… . ’
Before she came down, she looked forward to busking in new places, but her fantasies shattered in an instant . Lee HyunAh nodded her head .
KangYoon stopped the van in front of the traffic lights and spoke .
“You’re going to feature in a program called ‘Music at Night’ at KBB . Until then, we’ll keep busking . ”
“KBB?”
Lee HyunAh tilted her head . She was familiar with SBB or HMC, but this was the first time she heard of KBB .
KangYoon knew what she was curious about and explained .
“It’s a provincial TV station for Gyeongsangnam-do . They mostly output programs produced by SBB, but they also produce their own programs . ”
“There are TV stations in each province?”
Lee HyunAh, who was born and raised in Seoul, didn’t know anything about this . KangYoon nodded his head and spoke on .
“Jeolldo, Gyeongsang-do, and Gangwon-do have their own TV stations . They operate by airing programs that are produced in the Seoul region and by producing their own set of TV programs . There are a few small-scale ones as well, but in the case of KBB, it’s very big . Their building should be similar in scale, if not bigger, to SBB . ”
“Oooh… this is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing . What’s Music at Night about?”
Stories like these were a new world to someone who was born and raised in Seoul like Lee HyunAh . This was the first time she heard that there were regional TV stations, and they turned out to have their own programs as well . She felt a little excited .
“Do you know about Han SoRa’s ‘Friday’?”
“Of course I do . It’s a music program over at DLE . Oh, I want to go there too . ”
For Lee HyunAh, it was a dream-like stage . ‘Friday’, the music program, held idols, singer-songwriters, as well as veteran singers on their stage and did some talk-shows as well . As the facilities and audiences were both top-notch, many top-tier musicians preferred to hold their stages there .
“You can consider Music at Night to be a regional equivalent of that . Although their budget isn’t that big, many famous artists appear on it, so you can’t be careless . It’s quite a long-running program . ”
“…Yes . ”
Lee HyunAh nodded her head full of excitement and nervousness .
KangYoon and the company parked the van at a lodging KangYoon booked beforehand and stayed the night there .
The next day .
They rested for the morning, and the company headed towards a nearby college near the station .
Inside the van, KangYoon told everyone
“Today, you will have to save up on stamina . We’ll be visiting many places . ”
“Yes . ”
Hearing the energetic responses from everyone, KangYoon accelerated the van .
When they arrived, KangYoon started looking for a suitable place to set the gear up .
“Let’s go over there . ”
KangYoon pointed towards a small lake placed at the center of the college . Everyone including Lee HyunAh carried various gears and instruments and started setting up in front of a large statue .
“Are they performing over there?”
“Oppa, shall we go over there?”
The students felt curious after seeing instruments being set up near the lake and started approaching them . They spoke in the Gyungsang-do dialect, which at first, sounded like they were quarreling . (T/N: which I am not going to, nor can, translate dialects…)
“Wow, that girl’s so pretty . ”
“She someone famous?”
“Nah, no way . She’s an ordinary girl no matter how you look at it . ”
The men showed interest in Lee HyunAh . Highlighted by her big earrings, Lee HyunAh caught the attention of the male audience .
After they finished setting up, KangYoon gave Lee HyunAh the OK sign .
“Hello, everyone!”
“Oooh–”
Albeit little, the people’s reactions were still more vigorous than yesterday . Lee HyunAh, who realized the importance of the audience’s reactions yesterday, spoke with a smile on her face .
“We’re a band named White Moonlight . Have you all heard of the drama ‘His Hospital’?”
Lee HyunAh introduced the band proficiently and tried to bring out the reactions from the audience . The male audience especially had good reactions . They, in their dialect, urged her to sing already .
Re-sitting the mic, Lee HyunAh signaled KangYoon . When KangYoon nodded his head, Lee HyunAh adjusted herself to the tone, before singing in a loud voice .
“I have something to say –”
When they heard the first line, most of the people that gathered around realized what the song was . Moreover, the voice they were hearing right now was extremely similar to the one that sang in the drama . After a while, someone started whispering after looking it up on the internet .
“They’re the original singers!”
“Wow, really?”
It started off small, but it spread around like wildfire . Now that they knew, their gaze towards the band was different . ‘His Hospital’ was a hot issue among the younger generation as well . The scandal with the OST switch also made them know more about this song .
“If I call your – name . ”
“Oooh . ”
“Nice song . ”
Lee HyunAh’s voice penetrated people’s hearts . The audience started showing reactions, albeit slowly . It definitely wasn’t a passionate reaction like when they performed at Lunas . It was just a wave of the hand or small exclamations .
However, having realized the importance of audience reactions yesterday, Lee HyunAh was very thankful for what little she got right now . When her voice became more energetic, more people started waving their hands .
Lee HyunAh seemed empowered by their reactions and her voice started having more depth .
‘She’s completely immersed now . ’
KangYoon also adjusted the mixer accordingly . When he did, Lee HyunAh’s voice was brought out more and the white light intensified .
Like yesterday, there were no over-the-top reactions . However, their little gestures gave Lee HyunAh strength . Moreover, more and more people were gathering around to watch .
“My two hands are always –”
Even with small gestures from the audience, Lee HyunAh’s voice became more powerful as time passed .
President Kang ShiMyoung was in a discussion with the planning team . The meeting also included the target of the planning, Jang HyoJi as well .
(T/N: Lee HyunAh’s former rival in Hongdae . )
“Not bad . ”
When president Kang ShiMyoung expressed his approval while looking at the final results, the planning team all sighed in relief .
Min ChulGoo, the team leader, asked .
“Then shall we have a one month countdown?”
President Kang ShiMyoung nodded .
“You may . Miss HyoJi too, you should listen to his words well . ”
“Yes . ”
Jang HyoJi replied with a nervous expression . President Kang ShiMyoung had an air about him that made it hard to talk to him .
Having received the final approval, the planning team all greeted the president out and left .
Jang HyoJi was also about to walk out but turned around to Kang ShiMyoung instead .
“Is there anything?”
“Uhm… please take care of me in the upcoming month . ”
President Kang ShiMyoung grinned and replied .
“Likewise . ”
She left and president Kang ShiMyoung started his work as well .
For the past few days, KangYoon and company were running around the Changwon area doing street performances .
Promoting themselves through the social network using the OST, people started gathering as soon as they set up instruments .
However, there was a problem – there just weren’t that many places to perform . KangYoon decided on a few points – college, train stations, crowded areas, and plazas .
Almost no people jumped around in passion . However, they all clapped, and cheered out for her in small voices, which made everyone get used to this atmosphere .
Prior to singing the final song, Lee HyunAh spoke to the audience .
“Tomorrow, we’ll be going over to KBB to record Music at Night . ”
“Ooh . ”
Some people exclaimed .
“This is the first time we’ll be appearing on TV… so it’s making us very nervous . I’ll be thankful if anyone here comes to the public hall, I guess?”
“Hahaha . ”
When people laughed lightly, Lee HyunAh gave the signal . Soon, the instruments played and she started singing .
Next day at 3 p . m .
KangYoon and the company headed to KBB where they would be recording today .