CH33
The handwriting, made with evident effort to be as neat and clear as possible, was visible.
– Black gospel.
It's considered mainstream music beyond Christian music.
It's hard to replicate without the unique intonation and talent that is the essence of Black music.
Next to the section filled with information about the gospel, there were post-it notes attached.
– Was Ian non-religious? I'm curious. I'll have to ask him later.
– Intonation? Even for Ian, this would be hard to mimic, right? That's disappointing.
Black intonation?
Of course, he could mimic that.
But he wasn't confident in bringing it to life in song.
Ian looked away from the notebook.
It would have been embarrassing and annoying if he was caught looking at it.
Before Rachel, who had gone to get drinks, returned, he scanned her room.
The room was filled with music-related books and a mini guitar and piano next to the bed, suitable for a child to play.
"It seems she wakes up from sleep to compose."
On a small table next to the bed, there was a notebook filled with various scribbles, rolling around with a pen.
'Those people come to mind.'
He thought of the homeless people who taught him to compose, those who would wake up suddenly at dawn with a new idea and start singing loudly.
They probably would have been shot dead at night if they had been wandering separately.
As Ian was looking around, curious about what song she was preparing, the door suddenly opened, and he frowned.
"Where did Rae go, and why did Ben come up?"
"Isn't it too much? I stepped aside for a while to give the girls time to talk."
"You were kicked out, weren't you?"
"This is why I don't like guys who catch on too fast."
Ben, laughing, sat down heavily in a chair.
A large adult man cramming himself into a small child's chair was honestly funny.
"What exactly did you talk about with Underhill? What do you have to do to get her to call you a crazy friend?"
"People Lotti calls friends are seen as crazy by others."
"Well, that's true. But wait, how did you get to nicknames?"
Nicknames, as if they mattered.
Ian picked up the guitar and plucked the strings.
The thin strings dug into his tender, callus-free fingers, and a bouncing rhythm was heard.
The shuffle rhythm is expressed in simple chords.
"Wow."
Listening to the blues created by the shuffle rhythm, Ben briefly admired it.
Was he good at it?
Not really.
His fingers looked awkward as if he hadn't held a guitar much, and Ian frowned as his hands didn't move as he wished.
Yet, strangely, it caught his attention.
-You don't need to sing well or play the guitar well, but if you can't grab a passerby with your song, you're not a blues singer.
He understood why that was said.
After a brief performance, Ian asked Ben,
"Just in case I'm asking, have you caused any trouble while hanging out with women? Like sexual harassment or something?"
"Huh? I'm Ben Roberts. I've had enough women without doing such things!"
He had asked just in case.
Ben, despite his notorious womanizing, was known to have his principles.
Ian teased Ben playfully.
"Then what's up with Ayla? There's been no progress."
"…Shut up."
At the harsh reaction, Ian laughed lightly and warned him,
"Be careful for a while, at least. Don't get involved with someone with a bad reputation. Got it?"
"Sounds ominous?"
"There's something to it. Just keep it to yourself."
Ben looked like he wanted to ask more, but he closed his mouth at the sound of approaching footsteps.
The door opened with lively steps, and the room owner entered.
"Ian! What have you been doing?!"
"Just talking with Ben for a bit. What took you so long downstairs?"
"Uh? Oh, it's nothing."
Whatever the conversation had been downstairs, Rachel's face was slightly flushed as she waved her hands and addressed the intruder.
"Mom says to come down."
"Oh, is that so? Have fun."
Watching Ben leave without any reluctance, Ian let out a hollow laugh.
It didn't seem like he was so infatuated with Ayla that he'd be swept away by the coming wave.
"You've been working hard on composing, haven't you?"
"Yeah, Mom said there are a lot of people waiting for Rai's next song. So, I'm working hard on it."
"Really? What kind of song are you planning next?"
After hesitating for a moment, Rachel spoke as if she had made up her mind.
"Even though it'll probably be uploaded to YouTube, I want to make it in the form of an album next."
An album?
Ian was surprised by her bigger-than-expected dream.
"Why all of a sudden?"
"There's something I want to say to people through music, and one song isn't enough for that."
A concept album.
It means she wants to make an album where all the songs are unified under one theme.
"What exactly do you want to say?"
"Umm… It's a secret for now. I'll tell you once it's all complete."
The girl smiled shyly.
***
The hiatus that felt as long as winter had ended, and the season of ratings competition began anew.
This meant the start of the rivalry between mid-season dramas that began in January and the existing dramas that survived.
-2010! Mid-season dramas to watch out for!
-Invisible Children remains strong in ratings even after the hiatus!
-Top 5 disappointing drama starts!
As the regular season raced to its end, the summer season when Beverly Hills Moms airs quickly approached.
Today, the residential area of Beverly Hills was crowded with staff carrying cameras.
"I've marked all the locations we need to cover today."
Anna, Eugene's mother, placed a pile of workbooks in front of Eugene.
A cool scent wafted from the fluttering hem of her mother's dress, a perfume that had become stronger recently.
"Work on this for a bit. Mommy will be back after stepping out for a while, okay?"
Anna left with a bright expression as if she were going on a date, leaving Eugene alone to take out his workbook and start writing.
– No sound of a car. It must be within walking distance.
– It's strange that they're not worried about being caught by neighbors. Are they careless?
– Someone who is at home during the day has flexible working hours. There are six such people in the neighborhood.
– Among them, two men's wives are not home at this time.
The scratching of the pencil stopped, and Eugene lifted his head with a cold expression.
"Which one of the two?"
A chilling silence followed, and then a bright voice was heard.
"Cut! That was good!"
With the director's shout, Ian relaxed the tension in his eyes.
At first glance, it seemed like a scene meant to convey Eugene's psychopathic tendencies through a chilling emotion.
'But in reality, it's a funny scene. Because Anna's affair is not with a man but a woman.'
It seemed like he saw through everything, but in reality, it was a complete misjudgment.
This misunderstanding was one of the major comedic elements in the drama.
"Great work, everyone."
After today's shooting ended, Ian greeted the staff warmly and got into the car with Chloe.
"We're going straight to Daniel's acting school, right?"
"Yes! We can go straight there. Larry's been going crazy asking when you'll arrive."
Ian looked at the flood of texts with a weary face.
If he didn't know Larry's personality, he might have thought he was a stalker.
"He's so happy you're coming over. Daniel's mom is thankful."
"It's not a big deal to visit. Honestly, I'm curious about what the acting school is like."
Unlike many actors who went through acting schools, Ian had to learn acting from the ground up on his own.
Because wherever he went, he was turned away just for his appearance.
'If even a money-hungry acting school kicks out students, that says it all.'
A stark contrast to now, when people were flooding him with requests just to have their name associated with his.
Shaking off the bitter memories that surfaced, Ian went online.
'It seems like things are starting to stir.'
Among the flood of Hollywood articles, some with a peculiar nuance caught his eye.
-Top 10 secret rumors that have been circulating in Hollywood for a long time!
-Is there a Hollywood mogul who silenced the major weekly magazine Timeless?
Hollywood's Bad Boy! Charlotte Underhill Throws a Secret Party for Women Only?
On its own, it seems like typical Hollywood gossip, but Ian saw fierce movements beneath the surface.
"At first, they were all reluctant."
It became apparent that, like any businessperson, they were quick to act when there was profit to be made, even going so far as to hold a disguised party.
While checking the news on his phone, the car took about 30 minutes from Beverly Hills to reach a building in Santa Monica.
"We're here."
Lifting his head, he saw a sign hanging on a four-story building: Brown's Acting Class.
Entering the neatly decorated building, photos of the academy's instructors and past actors adorned the lobby.
"Ian! You finally made it!"
Larry ran over and hugged him as if he had been waiting forever.
Dorothy grabbed Larry by the nape, looking disdainful as he wobbled.
"Idiot, what if he gets hurt doing that?"
"Sorry! Did it hurt a lot?!"
"No, it's nothing serious."
He had lived a life where falling over was the norm, confident he wouldn't be seriously hurt from a fall.
Pushing the concerned Larry away, he asked,
"Where's Daniel?"
"He's still in class upstairs. Let's go up together."
Taking the elevator to the fourth floor, they faintly heard yelling.
-It's fine to check the camera's position while acting. But why do you need to? I told you to always think about how you'll appear on camera. Try it again!
Following the sound, they saw a brightly lit room, and Larry boldly opened the door.
Sweat and heat rushed out through the open door.
"Teacher, Ian's here!"
Hearing Larry's bright voice, a middle-aged man turned around.
No need for a DNA test to see if Daniel had aged just like him.
"This is Eastern Brown. You're Ian Pryce, right? I've been enjoying the drama."
"I haven't seen it, but I'm glad you find it enjoyable. I'm Ian Pryce."
When will he ever get to watch it?
At this rate, it might be faster to wait until the drama ends.
Eastern, about to shake hands, hesitated seeing his sweaty palm.
"My hands are too dirty. Hang around. I'll be right back with some snacks after washing my hands."
His words and tone felt considerate.
It was hard to believe he was the same person who had just scolded someone, and Ian told Chloe,
"I'll go wash my hands too."
Ian followed Eastern to the restroom at the end of the hallway.
Approaching Eastern, who was thoroughly washing his hands, Ian started,
"You're teaching very passionately. What if Daniel gives up?"
"…Then there's nothing we can do. It's tough to pursue acting with that kind of mentality."
His words seemed too harsh for a father talking about his son.
After drying his hands, Ian asked,
"Do you want him to give up acting? Is that why you're teaching him this way?"
"…What?"
Ian and Eastern locked eyes, and Ian nodded,
'So, he didn't want it after all.'
Was he trying to protect not just himself but also his son's dreams from being crushed by a vile person?
Or was he worried about his son getting hurt in the process?
Ian turned on the tap.
"Did you see Daniel's face earlier? Despite being scolded, he didn't seem to give up. Right?"
The persistence in acting wasn't typical for someone his age.
'So, he must have been even more devastated when he didn't get cast, despite a great performance.'
Ian, empathizing deeply due to countless rejections because of his appearance, smirked.
"So, don't push him too hard. Daniel can become a successful actor without that. And the worries you have won't happen."
Leaving behind these meaningful words, Ian left, but Eastern remained, pondering their conversation.
Suddenly, he remembered what Daniel had said about Ian,
'Ian? He's kind of odd. No, more like strange.'
It was an apt description.
"Really strange kid. And I'm strange too."
An odd sense of anticipation crept in, as if a prophecy had been fulfilled, despite Herman Goldschmidt, the villain, being unlikely to disappear.
***
-Cute little friend, the day Hollywood turns upside down is almost here.
Whether Charlotte becomes a party freak or a revolutionary, her fate is about to be decided.
Ian's expression hardened at the text that followed.
-And a little gift for our little friend. Check it out for yourself tomorrow!
"Hey, wait a minute. You have to tell me what it is."
Answer the phone, you person!
Only a notification that the phone was turned off sounded.