DPI-05

5. Ga Du-in (1)

My first vocal training session after returning to the past.

Out of the ten male Willow-is, six were in the vocal position including me, and four were in the rap position.

Taking vocal lessons again made the reality of being seventeen sink in once more. I really did get another chance.

Looking at all these teenagers practicing so hard felt a bit cute. And seeing the trainer—who was only in their mid-twenties—teaching with such sincerity made me want to work even harder.

It was during the peak of trainer Jo Yun-rim’s passionate lecture.

Knock, knock.

A thin man in his early thirties with a sharp impression poked his head in. It was Ryu Ga-eum, the A&R Director in charge of production and the younger brother of Willow Entertainment’s CEO, Ryu Hae-eum.

“Yun-rim, do you have a second?”

“Director, really? Interrupting in the middle of class?”

“Oh, is that so? Jeremy is arriving soon. I was going to introduce him to the kids, but if you’re busy, I guess I’ll just go.”

The Willow-is looked puzzled at Director Ryu’s words. Their faces clearly asked, “Who on earth is Jeremy?” But Jo Yun-rim seemed to know him and jumped up excitedly.

“He’s really here? Then the lesson doesn’t matter!”

“Of course. He’s busy. I heard his schedule is filling up lately. Soon, it might be hard to even see his face.”

Just then, Director Ryu’s phone started ringing. He stepped out of the practice room while answering the call.

“Teacher, who is Jeremy?”

At a trainee’s question, Jo Yun-rim answered with a smile.

“Jeremy Todd. He’s a singer-songwriter currently gaining attention as a rising star in the UK.”

“The… the UK?”

“Yeah. Director Ryu Ga-eum studied abroad in the UK, and they were friends back then.”

Jo Yun-rim searched for ‘Jeremy Todd’ on her phone and showed us. A man with messy light-gray hair and bright blue eyes was smiling radiantly.

“Has anyone heard the song ‘Glitters’? ‘Glitters like the Moon~’”

“Ah! Is it that singer?”

“No way! That song is so good!!”

As Jo Yun-rim hummed a bar, a few Willow-is recognized the song and reacted with shock. To think a singer who could be on the Billboard charts was visiting a Korean entertainment agency like this.

‘Ah, come to think of it, I think I saw this in my diary.’

I recalled what I had checked in my diary the night before. The diary had dryly noted: “A foreign singer came.”

I remembered him coming before the regression, but since we had only briefly greeted him, I didn’t remember much. I had regretted it later, thinking I should have at least gotten an autograph. Later on, Jeremy Todd grew to become one of the UK’s representative singer-songwriters.

While I was debating whether I should try to make a connection this time, the Willow-is who were in the rap class next door filed into our practice room. The rumor about Jeremy must have spread quickly. Among them, I found one face particularly full of anticipation.

“Jeremy Todd is here?”

Ga Du-in, a 1st-generation Willow-i and the most senior trainee.

His trademark was a chic way of speaking and an indifferent expression. Since he was the oldest, it used to be really hard to even strike up a conversation with him… To think he was such a fresh-faced 21-year-old kid back then.

“Ah, Du-in, you’ve really been looking forward to this, haven’t you? He’s arriving soon.”

“I want to meet him quickly. I have a mountain of questions to ask.”

“I think they said he’s staying for about a week?”

“A week? He’s leaving that soon?”

“A week is quite a long stay, isn’t it, Du-in…?”

“It would be better if he stayed for a month… Anyway, I hope he gets here soon.”

As expected of Ga Du-in, who was recognized for his composing skills even as a trainee. He had a great eye for songs… He must have recognized Jeremy Todd’s music early on.

For a musician, getting to meet a singer-songwriter who would have such a massive career in the future was a heart-fluttering event. The fact that Du-in recognized him this early proved he was quite the talented fellow himself.

Anyway, after a short while, Director Ryu Ga-eum returned with the man from the phone, Jeremy. Opening the door, the tall, gray-haired British man shouted cheerfully.

“An-nyeong-ha-se-yo!” (Hello!)

“Ah… hello.”

The intense Korean greeting rang out loudly. Director Ryu introduced the foreigner with the strong first impression.

“Jeremy Todd. A friend I met when I studied in the UK seven years ago. He’s got talent, but more importantly, his voice is so unique… He’s definitely going to be big. He’s not well-known in Korea yet, but getting to know him now will definitely help you later.”

“From what I hear, his voice is certainly something else,” Jo Yun-rim nodded, smiling as she translated for Jeremy.

Jeremy burst into laughter after hearing the translation and replied in English.

‘…’

Suddenly, I remembered. Why I had dryly written “A foreign singer came” in my diary and left it at that. It was because…

“Yes! ^^&*@#%@%…”

“Of course… #$^$&…”

At the time, I understood almost none of their conversation. And it wasn’t just me.

Communication with Jeremy basically went through Director Ryu as a translator, but Jeremy’s English was British English with a very strong accent. For Koreans accustomed to American English, it was hard to understand regardless of their English level.

“Hey, I can’t understand a single thing he’s saying…”

“Is that English? Isn’t it German?”

While the Willow-is were whispering and struggling to understand, Ga Du-in was busy firing off questions. It was as if he wouldn’t give Jeremy a moment to rest. Of course, these conversations also went through Director Ryu.

“…So, the meaning of the seagull in the song ‘Wandering’ is…”

“I felt the oral resonance was unique when he opens his mouth wide…”

“And the chord progression was very impressive. Please ask if he borrowed country chords.”

I don’t think I’d ever seen Ga Du-in talk that much. Jeremy seemed intrigued by the increasingly difficult questions and took his time to give detailed answers.

But…

Director Ryu was only human. Though he translated willingly at first, he looked visibly exhausted as time went on. Finally, he reached a limit.

“Du-in seems to have a lot to talk about with Jeremy! Right?”

“Yes, if it’s okay, I’d like to talk more.”

“I don’t have time because of work on Seren’s album… actually, this works out. Du-in, why don’t you guide Jeremy? It’s his first time in Korea.”

“…Wh-what?”

“I’ll give you a card, so take him to some good restaurants and Gyeongbokgung Palace. Okay?”

Suddenly being put in charge of a foreigner? Before Du-in could even respond, Director Ryu whispered something in English to Jeremy. Jeremy nodded readily and said, “Yes, yes!”

Just like that, Director Ryu left us like a gust of wind.

“Well, the baggage I brought is in front of the office, so shall I check in at the hotel and bring it to my room?”

“Wa… Wat…?”

Ga Du-in, who had been firing questions with sparkling eyes just a moment ago, looked devastated. He turned his desperate gaze toward vocal trainer Jo Yun-rim, but she also subtly avoided his eyes.

“Du-in, guide him well… I have to get to the vocal class now…”

Du-in’s tanned face turned pale in an instant. Glancing up, I saw the worry level above his head rising frantically. Whoops, it’s already past 30 and nearing 40.

I shouldn’t be happy that a colleague is struggling, but…

— Ding!

[Quest: Tell Me Your Worries!! (2)]
It would be good to solve a member’s worry, right?
Yeon-oh, step up as the problem solver!
▶ Lower the worry level of a member with a high worry level.
Deadline: By midnight, December 17, 20XX
Reward: Shield of the Heart (lv. 1)

A quest popped up at the perfect time.

‘I was going to step in anyway, so this is perfect.’

A smile naturally formed at the smooth turn of events.

****

After the vocal training session ended.

I found Ga Du-in and Jeremy still standing in the lobby of the building.

‘Even I feel the awkwardness.’

Jeremy was saying something very cheerfully, but Du-in’s expression was still dark. Well, obviously. Even standard British accents would be unfamiliar, but Jeremy’s accent was far from standard British English.

‘Even someone familiar with British English would struggle to understand him.’

Even Director Ryu, who studied with him, had to say “pardon?” several times during their talk. Let alone Ga Du-in, who wasn’t familiar with English at all…

It seemed like the right time for me to step in.

“Du-in Hyung!”

When I approached, Du-in’s face brightened instantly. He seemed glad to see someone he could speak Korean with, even for a moment.

“Ye-Yeon-oh. What’s up?”

But that was a separate matter. Du-in’s eyes clearly asked, “What do you want with me?” After all, we were trainees who never spoke more than necessary.

‘What do I want? I’m here to help you.’

I delivered my prepared line.

“If you’re okay with it, I’d like to talk with Jeremy too.”

“You want to talk to Jeremy?”

“Yeah. My vocal lesson just ended, and I have some free time.”

Du-in let out a small sigh.

“Well, it’s fine to talk, but… how? Do you know any English?”

“Um, a little?”

In modern Korea, “a little” has two meanings.

One is literally “a little.”

The other?

‘It means I’m pretty good.’

However, seeing my confident attitude, Du-in narrowed his eyes, finding it hard to believe. His face clearly said, “You?”

‘Well, back then, I really didn’t know much English.’

There’s a reason I only wrote “A foreign singer came” in my diary.

But that was then. I was truly confident now.

‘Call it… a regressor’s privilege.’

My professional sisters-in-law, who were extremely focused on education, strictly controlled what my nephews watched. The only thing they allowed for a set time was the famous British animation, Peppa Pig. My nephews, who weren’t allowed TV or phones, reacted passionately to Peppa Pig.

‘Especially Han-bin. He was so obsessive…’

My eldest nephew, Han-bin. While watching, he hated it if I even left his side for a moment. He would cry if I tried to do anything else. I was stuck sitting next to him watching Peppa Pig countless times. Plus, kids love watching things on repeat—one kid would watch one video at least five or six times. And there were eight of them.

By the time I was watching it with the youngest, Yeo-bin, I had reached the level where I could recite the lines in English.

Since Peppa Pig uses standard British English, I naturally became quite well-versed in it. Watching the same video dozens of times really drills it into your brain. Although it was a basic conversational level, it wasn’t something to be compared with other middle or high school trainees who couldn’t understand a thing.

When I spoke to Jeremy in British English, he looked at me with a bit of surprise. But he soon gave a bright smile and answered.

Du-in’s jaw dropped as he watched me converse naturally with Jeremy.

“Whoa… you really do know a bit? But since when were you this good at English?”

“Just… I’ve been watching a lot of cartoons and dramas lately, so I just know some conversation. I’m not good at reading or writing.”

“Really? You shouldn’t have that much time… hmph. Anyway, I’m seeing you in a new light, Song Yeon-oh. I didn’t know you were this good.”

The life of a trainee was a grueling schedule. Obviously, there shouldn’t be time to watch cartoons or dramas. Du-in seemed to want to point that out, but…

‘Well, we weren’t close enough to know each other’s private lives.’

No matter how busy it was, it wasn’t like there was zero personal time, and we were the kind of people who had no idea what the others did during that time.

Anyway.

As I spoke comfortably with Jeremy, Du-in’s tension seemed to gradually ease. His worry level above his head was slowly dropping to the 20s.

After finishing the conversation, I went to the support team, got the hotel address where Jeremy would be staying, and found a nearby hotel.

On the way, I chatted with Jeremy and translated the conversation for Du-in so he wouldn’t feel left out. Finally, we finished checking into the hotel and moved the suitcases and bags to Jeremy’s room.

Now, as per the standard for guiding foreigners, should I suggest a palace tour? Du-in, who had the same thought, poked my arm.

“Hey… ask him if there’s anything he wants to do now.”

“Okay, got it.”

I conveyed Du-in’s request to Jeremy.

<Jeremy, is there anything you want to do from now on? Please tell me.>

Jeremy thought deeply about my question for a moment, then pointed at Du-in and said:

<Huh? What did you say?>