Chapter 96: The Leopard That Lost Its FangsSon Lin heard the news and tried to send Byeongjoon on a mission. However, feeling sorry for Byeongjoon, who would be alone at home all day while she was away for practice, she declined the mission, citing the reason of feeling sorry for him. Eventually, Fantagio agreed to handle the role of scheduling interviews for journalists. In return, Son Lin was greatly satisfied as they informally agreed to sign a contract with Fantagio exclusively for Northeast Asia if she debutster.


    Three days passed quickly, and finally, the autumn semester at Juilliard began. Geon Kim, carrying a simple set of writing tools in a hard case, headed to school. The journalists had all left, but when Geon arrived at the school, he saw that the majority of female fans surrounding the school were shouting.


    "Kyaaaah!"


    "K! K! Look here!"


    "K! K! K!"


    Unlike Asian fans, mature American girl fans did not block Geon''s path. They simply lined up near the school gate, shouting and looking at Geon. Grateful for such fan culture, Geon stopped and posed for various pictures, shaking hands and entering the school after about five minutes of posing.


    Inside the school, the situation was the same. As Geon, who was just a student at the school, and everyone else, who were considered geniuses in instruments,position, etc., were not openly asking for autographs or photos, but they all looked at Geon with admiration. The first day of Juilliard''s fall semester for the guitar department started with all students gathering in the auditorium to listen to the professor''s lecture, unlike the usual one-on-one lessons and individual practice that usually make up department life.


    As Geon opened the ssroom door, feeling the excitement of the first semester again, he noticed that students who had be friends during the summer were gathered, chatting with each other. However, when Geon entered through the back door, everyone quieted down. All eyes were on Geon, and he scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.


    "Uh... How''s everyone doing?"


    Awkwardly raising one hand to greet, some students unconsciously shook hands before retracting them in surprise. Feeling embarrassed by the continued attention, Geon quietly took a seat at the back. Even though he was alone, it became difficult to sit there when everyone was whispering about him. At that moment, a man with ck long hair sat next to Geon. Geon looked at him."Pavio! Long time no see."


    The man with ck long hair was Pavio Marchetti, who yed the guitar for Asperatu when they performed in the studio ss. Smiling as if he was d to see Geon, Pavio spoke.


    "Hehe, I knew you were an extraordinary person, but I didn''t expect you to be this famous in just three months of vacation, K."


    Geonughed, turning his head slightly while lying on the desk.


    "Yeah, I never thought it would turn out like this. Thanks for pretending to know me, Pavio. It was actually a very awkward situation."


    While Geon and Pavio were exchanging various stories during the vacation, Professor Sharon entered as the front door opened. Sharon, upon entering, looked around at the students gathered in the ssroom. When her eyes met Geon''s, Sharon subtly smiled and stood at the front of the ssroom.


    "How was your vacation, everyone?"


    "Yes~~~"


    "Vacation is too short, right?"


    "Yes~~~Woo~~~"


    Laughing, Sharon adjusted the remote control, and therge screen behind her lit up, revealing the presentation screen. Stepping away from the podium to stand in front of the screen, Sharon spoke.


    "Since the beginning ofst semester, some of you may have noticed that I threw a mission to you at the beginning of the semester."


    "Woo~~~"


    Perhaps because it was the second semester, the students were expressing themselves more yfully than the tense atmosphere of the first semester. Sharonughed at the students'' natural change and adjusted the remote control again.


    ''Second Mission''


    Pointing to the words on the screen, Sharon spoke to the students.


    "I''ve seen many students who worked hard on practice during the semester and vacation. I''ve also seen students who practically lived in the school practice room during vacation. Now is the time to bear the fruit of your efforts. Moreover, it''s the moment when your career begins."


    When Sharon adjusted the remote control again, new words appeared on the screen.


    ''Prove Your Skills.''


    When the students looked puzzled at the ambiguous statement, Sharon spoke.


    "To put it simply, it''s about proving the skills you''ve been practicing for the past six months. It''s not a mission among students. I''ll introduce teams suitable for each student''s skills to participate as session members. Of course, bing a member depends on your own abilities because you''ll have to audition."


    Sharon exined as she moved back and forth in front of the screen.


    "Whether it''s an orchestra, opera, or pop music, it doesn''t matter. The task for this semester is to create the first career for students within their capabilities, whether it''s getting their name as a session member on a record or appearing in a tour concert."


    The students, hearing Sharon''s words, were confused and murmured.


    To the bewildered students, Sharon added an exnation.


    "Don''t be confused. I don''t mean you have to find and audition on your own. I will introduce you to ces where you can get cooperation from various professors. If you fail the audition, I will introduce you to another ce. However, your grades will be affected each time you fail the audition, of course."


    A student raised their hand. When Sharon pointed, another student stood up and asked.


    "Do you recognize sessions in pop musician''s tour concerts?"


    It was a rtively easy question since participation in a pop musician''s session for a student at Juilliard.


    Sharon nodded and said, "Yes. Of course. However, the score will vary depending on the role you y."


    The student who asked the question continued, "So, does participating in album production give a higher score than a tour?"


    Sharon shook her head.


    "Not necessarily. Even if you participate in a tour, if you y a significant role, you can get a higher score than in album production. For example, there are guitars used in orchestras that are over ten, right? If you get the lead guitar among them, you will get a higher scorepared to chorus guitar."


    "Even if you participate in album work, it won''t keep up with the proportion of ying lead guitar in a tour, right? In other words, the score will be divided ording to the participation ratio."


    This time, another student raised their hand. Sharon gestured, and the student stood up and asked, "So, does the score also vary depending on the poprity of the musician participating in the session?"


    Sharon nodded and said, "Of course. The difficulty of the audition will differ between sessions of a rookie band releasing their first album and sessions of a well-known musician."


    "Also, if you select a musician for audition and pass, you will receive extra points. Do you understand? Any more questions?"


    Sharon looked around at the students, giving them a moment. Although the students murmured, no one asked any more questions. Sharon picked up the documents she brought and said, "Okay. If any student wants to audition themselves,e to the professor''s office within a week. Other students will be designated audition locations by the assigned professor within two weeks. Well, everyone, I hope you do your best for your first career. That''s it for today''s information."


    After shaking hands with Sharon and leaving the lecture hall, the ssroom became noisy in an instant.


    "Oh, this is crazy. What is this again?"


    "Ugh, I couldn''t even practice because I went to the Dominican Republic during the break!"


    "I thought the first semester mission was crazy, but this semester is even worse, wow."


    Pavio, who was sitting next to Geon, also rubbed his temples with a headache while speaking.


    "Ah, this is something else. It doesn''t seem like they''ll give points for performing in a local band."


    Geonughed while putting his writing materials in Haku''s hard case. Pavio, seeing Geon smiling, said as if he remembered something.


    "By the way, K! K! You know famous musicians and hang out with them, right? Can you introduce me?"


    Geon looked at Pavio with a grin, and Pavio, making an awkward expression while touching his temples, said, "Ah... Santana... Marilyn Manson... Tim Burton... right? It''s not an area I can meddle in, haha. I''ll just go to the ce designated by the professor."


    Geonughed at Pavio''s realization and stood up from his seat. Watching Geon stand up, Pavio asked.


    "You''ll find it yourself, right? What direction of musician are you going to be? Opera? Or orchestra?"


    Geon, walking out of the ssroom, grinned.


    "Well, I''ll have to think about it from now on. See youter, Pavio."


    After stopping by Sharon''s office for a chat and having a cup of tea, Geon left the school. While passing through Dante Park on the way home, wearing a mask he had prepared just in case, Geon thought about various things regarding Professor Sharon''s mission.


    ''Ah, if I had worked with Tim Burton director now, I would have easily scored. What a shame.''


    Geon walked into the house, craving a snack. He took out Logan''s bread and milk from the fridge and headed to his bedroom, settling in front of the PC. As he bit into the bread and browsed the news, his phone rang.


    "Hey, Shihwa."


    "Oppa, where are you?"


    "At home, why?"


    "Can we video call?"


    "Yeah, sure."


    "I''ll call again, answer it."


    "Okay."


    Geon nced at the mirror on his desk, ran his fingers through his hair, and just as he was doing that, a video call request came in. Answering the call with his phone in hand, Shihwa''s face filled the screen.


    "Kiyaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!"


    Startled by the exuberant scream resonating from the phone, Geon opened his eyes wide, and Shihwa yfullyughed, illuminating her surroundings. The screen showed chaos – it seemed to be Shihwa''s school, with girls in uniforms going wild. As Geon waved andughed, a louder cheer erupted. Amidst the uproar, Shihwa said something, but it was too noisy for Geon to hear. He gestured that he couldn''t hear, and Shihwa, ending the video call, called back through a regr voice call.


    "Hello?"


    "Oppa!"


    "Yeah, what''s up? Isn''t it evening time at school now?"


    "I''m in high school now, it''s night self-study time."


    "Oh, really?"


    "Yeah, my friends wanted to see you, so I gave it a try."


    "Oh, you did well then."


    "Oppa, oppa, are you going to be a celebrity in the U.S. now?"


    "Huh? Who said that?"


    "Everyone! You''ve gained that much poprity, why bother going to school?"


    "Nah, I''ll keep going to school. I don''t have ns to be a celebrity yet."


    "Oh, really? The kids will be disappointed. Can I tell it to Joohee unnie?"


    "Yeah, it''s fine. I mentioned it in an interview too."


    "Got it. Oppa, I''ll call again!"


    "Sure."


    Geon chuckled at the nk screen. He finished the remaining milk, briefly visited a Korean news portal, and as he was searching the news, the doorbell rang.


    "Huh? Who could it be at this hour? Just a moment!"


    Geon rushed downstairs and opened the door.


    "Huh? Phillip?"


    >


    Unlock exclusive early ess to more than 100 Chapters before anyone else by bing a valued member of my <b>Patreon</b>munity.


    As a cherished member of our <b>Patreon</b>munity, here is what you''ll get:


    <b>For just $5, you''ll receive:</b><ul><li>Early ess to 100s of chapters before they go public. (You can find all the novels I''m tranting <b>HERE</b>.)</li><li>Your name will be prominently featured on the "<b>Wall of Gratitude</b>".</li><li>The power to vote on which novel I trante next.</li><li>You Get Ad-free Chapters.</li></ul>


    <b>If you decide to pledge $10, you''ll get all the perks from the $5 tier, plus:</b><ul><li>You get to suggest a Novel for me to trante.</li><li>Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in <b>gold</b>).</li></ul>


    <b>And if you''re feeling generous with a $20 pledge, you''ll unlock all the perks above:</b><ul><li>You get to rmend an abandoned Novel and I will immediately start tranting it.</li><li>Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in <b>blue)</b>.</li></ul>


    Don''t let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!