Ex-Idol's Role Afterwards

Chapter 2: You Were an Idol?

"Taejin, how did it go?"

Damin asked as Taejin past her and walked to his desk. He sat down and leaned back and sighed.  Lifting his fingers, he gave a thumbs up. Damin's face turned to surprise and Taejin slowly lifted the corners of his lips.

"All done. He's happy, their company's happy, Team 2 assigned to the project is happy, and it will all start next week."

Damin clapped her quietly with a huge smile. "Wow, congrats on that! It was only a week. I tell you that you're really fit for this job, but you never believe me, so I won't say it again, but your results speak for themselves."

"Yeah, I can have a small break." Taejin smiled before reaching for his water and unscrewing the cap. "Since I have nothing to do today, I think I'll be leaving an hour earlier."

"Hm? Do you have special plans for tonight?" She asked.

"Something like that." He gulped down his water and his Adam's apple moved along with it.

"Something like that...? Mm... keeping it secretive and all... Have fun then. I'll be at my desk then." She smiled before turning around to leave.

"Yeah, fighting!" He said cheerfully with a deadpan look, wiping the excess water off his lips with his thumb.

As the sunlight dimmed and red shadows tinted Taejin's face, he looked at his phone, reading the address aloud, before looking at the buildings in front of him. In a very suburban feel, there weren't many large buildings and he often had to step aside for passing people walking. Many also just crossed the narrow streets. He passed by a park where he heard the laughter of children and the resounding cracking sound of a baseball bat before hitting the fence, letting out a rattle.

Taejin's life always revolved around music. His mother's strong dances, his father's vibrant oboe melodies, his grandparents' enjoyment of traditional plays, and his cousins' love for K-Pop. Though, it was his parents' push to him singing the moment he started liking it that brought him into the world of music. He enjoyed it, however it was quite lonely. It was when he was with his debut members when he realized just what he missed out on in his youth. But, the only thing he regretted is working as hard as he did for no results. All of his tears, sweat, and loneliness working for this goal added up to nothing and now he wastes his useless life away.

Looking away, he scanned for the building with the name Jackbox TUNES. Reading the addresses of the other buildings nearby, he turned around and looked to the building behind him. Reading the address, he had to admit that this was the place he was looking for. He had initially crossed it off because of its looks.

A small building, it had the look of a small kid's toy store with two large windows indented as if to display products while a door stood between with a roof above.

When he approached the door, he saw an outdated poster with the name "Jackbox TUNES" written in a very stylized colorful font commonly used a decade ago. A sign was flipped over, saying it was closed, however the text he received from Yuseom said the door was unlocked for him.

Taejin was at the very least grateful that this was a real place and not a scam. He pulled the door open and the bells above jingled slightly. The interior was bland and the room was dimly lit. In front of him was a staircase leading down and when he turned to the right, there was a reception desk. Standing behind the counter was Kim Yuseom.

As they made eye contact, Yuseom's eyes creased as he smiled widely at Taejin.

"You really came! I'll have you meet with my father, he's the audio tech guy and he's also a vocal coach. I'm learning from him about a few things, but he's the master. Follow me." He walked in towards Taejin before quickly walking down the stairs. "I told him about you, so he listened to the song you're covering and the footage I got from you when you sang the first time. Ah, don't worry, I will never release that video without your permission. But my dad wanted a sense of your voice beforehand. He's listening to it now."