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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Amulet Bracelet
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"Really pretty. So pretty."
On the way back to school, Lee Cheong-ha kept caressing the bracelet, her smile never fading from her face.
I hadn't expected her to like it this much, but since the plan worked, I felt pretty good about it deep down.
"It's your grandma's talisman, right? Is it really okay for me to take it?"
Of course, of course. Take it by all means.
Truth be told, it wasn't actually her grandma's talisman.
"Yeah, it's fine."
I just hoped she wouldn't spot the exact same one on the street somewhere.
I felt a little bad for Lee Cheong-ha, who thought it was some amazing talisman, but whatever.
For her, it would become the real deal.
A talisman brings blessings to those who believe in it.
If she believed it was a talisman, then it would truly be one for her.
"What do I do? I don't have anything to give you."
Lee Cheong-ha spent a while admiring it before suddenly muttering with a troubled look.
This wasn't the development I'd hoped for when I gave it to her.
Now I was the one in a bind.
All I'd wanted was for our duet stage to go well.
For now, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
Anything I said might just burden her, so I stayed silent.
"Then let's do this."
Lee Cheong-ha stared at the ground as she walked, thinking hard for a bit, then turned to me like she'd made a big decision.
Gulp.
Her intensely serious gaze had even me feeling tense.
"A wish voucher. I'll give you one wish voucher."
A wish voucher, huh.
I thought it was a cute but kinda pointless gift, but I couldn't say that to a blooming teenage girl.
"Why go that far with a wish voucher?"
"It's not enough as a wish voucher. If... just if this bracelet really helps me overcome my stage fright."
I'd been about to say she didn't need to give me such a pointless gift, but I decided to beat around the bush instead.
Come to think of it, it wasn't entirely wrong.
If she could overcome her stage fright, I'd actually be the grateful one.
It'd be a great deal—helping launch the career of a future musical star who'll dominate Korea and the world.
Lee Cheong-ha was walking while staring at me instead of ahead, like she was demanding a quick answer.
She was gonna trip at this rate.
I had to reply fast.
"Alright. If you overcome your stage fright, I'll claim that wish voucher then. So look ahead while you walk. You'll get hurt."
At my firm answer, Lee Cheong-ha beamed and nodded.
***
At that very moment, while Lee Do-hyun and Lee Cheong-ha were on Tancheon Street, Moon Woo-hyuk stood frozen in the school practice room with a dark expression.
His eyes gleamed with malice or sorrow—he was glaring at his phone like he wanted to devour it.
Vrrr—vrrrr—
The phone rang, unanswered.
The screen glowed brightly with [Dad].
Moon Woo-hyuk stared at it for a long time before finally taking a deep breath and answering.
"Yes, Dad."
"I heard from Han Hyo-jin."
The voice of Moon Woo-hyuk's father, Moon Kang-hyun—the man who could call Korea's top actress Han Hyo-jin by name—came heavily through the receiver.
"Yes..."
"Not only did you lose to Sun-woo, but fourth place? You're not seriously planning to tarnish my name, are you?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't disappoint me twice."
"...Yes."
Click.
The call ended, full of pressure and devoid of any comfort or warm encouragement.
The breath he'd been holding burst out.
That's why Song Ha-na's sharp nagging felt like mere tickles in comparison.
Compared to this, her scoldings felt warm.
He'd been told not to disappoint again.
Meaning he'd already disappointed his father once.
Moon Woo-hyuk's hand trembled violently as he gripped the phone.
From childhood, he'd never once acted spoiled, racing like a thoroughbred to earn his father's approval.
And now, after making it to Cheongyeom Arts High, he faced the crisis of falling out of favor.
"Argh!"
Unable to swallow his surging emotions, Moon Woo-hyuk hurled his phone to the practice room floor.
It shattered with a loud crash.
Still not satisfied, he huffed and puffed—then the practice room door opened, and Han Hyo-jin entered.
"You think that'll calm you down?"
Leaning against the door, she scanned Moon Woo-hyuk up and down with a mocking look at the scattered phone wreckage.
Moon Woo-hyuk turned to her at the sound.
"You were talking to your dad, right?"
Moon Woo-hyuk leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor.
He hugged his knees, dropped his head, and avoided Han Hyo-jin's gaze.
"Yeah."
"It's the same as what we talked about. No need to rush, Woo-hyuk."
Han Hyo-jin crossed her legs on the piano stool in front of him.
Her tone was warm, like a true mentor's, but her eyes looking down at him lacked that same warmth.
***
That morning, during the 1:1 mentor matching, after Lee Do-hyun rejected her and left the consultation room, a small laugh echoed.
"Unbelievable. Just unbelievable."
Even thinking back, it was so absurd she let out a hollow chuckle.
Fanning her face to cool the heat of embarrassment,
Creak—
"Hello."
Moon Woo-hyuk entered.
With the top three already chosen, fourth-place Moon Woo-hyuk had come to Han Hyo-jin's consultation room.
Han Hyo-jin quickly composed a poker face.
Moon Woo-hyuk glanced at her and slouched into the chair.
Han Hyo-jin observed him with interest.
'He seems even angrier than me?'
Moon Woo-hyuk probably thought he was hiding it, but his face and aura screamed it.
Seeing him like that, he was just a kid after all.
"Moon Woo-hyuk."
"Yes."
"Why are you so angry?"
"..."
Han Hyo-jin stared silently at Moon Woo-hyuk, who didn't answer, lost in thought for a moment.
She easily guessed the reason.
"Lee Do-hyun?"
Moon Woo-hyuk's eyes flashed at the name.
Just as she'd thought.
Han Hyo-jin leisurely crossed her legs and continued.
"Yeah. You have every right to be mad. An unexpected dark horse pops up and snatches the top-three spot you thought was yours, all in just a week."
"Snatches? Who got—!"
"I'll make you win."
Han Hyo-jin cut off Moon Woo-hyuk's indignant outburst with firm resolve.
Her voice carried the charisma of a lead actress who graced major theaters.
Moon Woo-hyuk couldn't easily speak under that overwhelming presence.
"Not Sun-woo, not Ha-na—just losing to some rookie from a regular middle school and dropping to fourth? That can't happen twice, right?"
At her words, Moon Woo-hyuk's eyes filled with venom.
But they trembled slightly, sensing the pressure in her statement.
"So?"
"Sun-woo, Ha-na, and Lee Do-hyun—all of them. I'll make you beat them and take first. I'm confident. You're not just any Moon Woo-hyuk."
"...?"
"You're Korea's top musical actress's son—no, the great Moon Kang-hyun's son."
That's right.
Moon Woo-hyuk's father was the famous actor Moon Kang-hyun.
Moon Kang-hyun.
One of Korea's undisputed musical theater titans.
From a non-arts family, he'd risen on his own to spark the musical boom.
With a thousand faces that shifted freely and innate singing prowess, he embodied the most diverse male leads—the pinnacle of musical actors.
Still active, he'd founded the KH Foundation in his name, serving as chairman and building a massive empire in the industry.
"If you want to win, just follow my lead from now on."
That day, Moon Woo-hyuk took Han Hyo-jin's hand as she smiled enigmatically.
Now seated on the piano stool, Han Hyo-jin slowly glanced at the shattered remnants of Moon Woo-hyuk's phone and spoke.
"The moment I got matched with you, your dad called right away."
Moon Kang-hyun was indeed remarkable.
From Moon Woo-hyuk's demeanor, he didn't seem the type to report to his dad constantly.
Yet somehow, he'd known immediately about the mentor matching and called.
Han Hyo-jin had dined at a fancy Japanese restaurant that evening, treated to a meal while they talked.
"Your dad's love for you is something else, huh?"
At her words, Moon Woo-hyuk clenched his fist slightly.
"Love? Whatever."
Han Hyo-jin smiled at the prickly Moon Woo-hyuk.
"Yeah. Father's love puts food on the table. What matters to us is getting the highest rank. That's it."
Moon Woo-hyuk looked at her in slight surprise at her reaction.
She was the first adult to respond this way knowing about his relationship with his father.
"Don't worry too much. You've got real potential. Father's love doesn't feed you, but father's talent sure will."
"Potential..."
Moon Woo-hyuk slowly straightened up from the wall as he spoke.
"What?"
"Who's got it? Moon Woo-hyuk, or the son of Moon Kang-hyun?"
Han Hyo-jin burst out laughing at that.
Kids are kids.
"You little punk. Why the wordplay now?"
Han Hyo-jin approached Moon Woo-hyuk, now fully standing.
"You're Moon Woo-hyuk, son of Moon Kang-hyun. Don't forget it."
Moon Woo-hyuk stepped back under the pressure, despite her beaming smile.
"Musical theater is fair. It shows exactly what you can do. Everything you know, it shines through. But,"
"What I can't do, what I don't know—it all shows too."
"See? Son of Moon Kang-hyun for sure."
Han Hyo-jin smiled brightly at the student who'd finished her sentence.
Moon Woo-hyuk, now regaining his composure, shut his mouth with a calm expression.
***
Time flew by, and the duet vocal evaluation was now just ten days away.
Over the past few days, Lee Cheong-ha and I met daily, trading songs in practice rooms or wherever.
It was working—at least in front of me, she no longer hesitated to sing.
"Do-hyunie is late."
Lee Cheong-ha had reserved a private practice room to meet me today as well.
Arriving first, she warmed up her throat lightly and glanced at the wall clock.
She fiddled with her hair in selfie mode for no reason, checked the bracelet on her wrist.
Since that day, she'd only taken it off to shower—even slept with it on.
"He's here..."
Then, Lee Do-hyun entered the practice room, looking utterly drained and slumping in.
He plopped into a chair, his complexion worse than usual from exhaustion.
"You okay...?"
No way he was.
He'd just done 500 weird core exercises Huh Ji-woong assigned, plus his self-imposed routine.
Even after showering, he felt sticky and gross, so he rolled his shoulders and spoke.
"I'm fine, obviously."
"You look sick though..."
Seeing her worried face, I knew I had to prove it.
He stopped rubbing his arms, stood, and swung them in big circles.
See?
Grinning triumphantly at Lee Cheong-ha, her expression finally softened.
"You're really okay? Good."
"I'm better than okay."
He nodded emphatically to say not to worry and sat back down.
Oof, my poor body. He could barely stand.
Lee Cheong-ha tilted her head, not getting what "better than okay" meant.
No need to explain—it'd click during practice.
He grinned at her.
"Shall we start practice?"