Chapter 54: Yerin, The Matchmaker
Sarah looked at me thoughtfully, gesturing toward the door. "Would you like a guided tour of the construction site and production facilities, Seth? I can have our head engineer show you around."
"Thanks, Sarah, but don’t worry about it," I replied with a polite wave. "You guys have a massive farewell concert to organize in less than forty-eight hours. I don’t want to pull your staff away from more important work. I’ll just wander around the building and check out the rehearsals on my own."
Sarah nodded, stepping over to a locked wooden cabinet near her desk. "In that case, take this with you."
She pulled out a sleek silver access card with executive runes embossed on the surface and handed it to me. "This is my personal Master Command Card. As long as you carry it, every security guard, venue staff member, and stage director in this building will grant you unrestricted access without asking questions."
"Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate it," I said, slipping the card into my wallet.
While Sarah turned to file away a few documents on the shelf, Yerin suddenly rose onto her tiptoes and leaned close to my ear.
"Hey, Seth..." Yerin whispered, her voice dropping into a wicked murmur. "...do you want to fuck Sarah?"
I nearly choked, my mind completely short-circuiting as I stared down at her with wide, bewildered eyes. ’Excuse me?’
Yerin just flashed me a mischievous, highly intelligent grin behind her mask, leaning even closer to whisper in my ear. "Don’t act innocent, babe! I saw the way your eyes lingered on her curves when we walked in! If you want to taste what a mature, experienced woman feels like, I can totally help you set it up."
She gave my waist a playful nudge, winking. "Besides, you’re in luck! Sarah is actually divorced and has been single for two years now. She’s a gorgeous, lone woman who definitely needs a good man in her life."
I stared at my chaotic pop-star girlfriend, my lips twitching as I slowly saw through her little scheme. "Yerin... are you just trying to get Sarah so distracted by me that she completely forgets to scold you for cancelling the world tour?"
Yerin’s grin widened into an utterly shameless smirk as she squeezed my arm. "Hey! Multiple strategic objectives can be accomplished at the same time, boss!"
I took a quick, subtle glance at Sarah’s figure as she stood near the filing cabinet. She wasn’t lean or athletic like Val, but she had a delightfully plush, voluptuous figure that filled out her professional blazer and skirt in all the right places, giving her a warm, mature magnetism.
I leaned down slightly, whispering into Yerin’s ear. "Look, I’ll admit I find her attractive, but Sarah seems like a genuinely good person who’s worked hard for you. Don’t go overboard or make things awkward for her."
Yerin nodded earnestly, her dark eyes shining with genuine affection behind her glasses. "I know, Seth! Sarah really is an amazing woman. She’s taken care of me for years like an older sister. That’s why I want to help her, a good woman deserves a good man in her life."
I couldn’t help chuckling. I reached over and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Alright, matchmaker. Good luck with the setlist meetings."
"Hehe! See you later, babe!" Yerin beamed.
Leaving Yerin and Sarah to dive into their mountain of production schedules, I pulled open the heavy double doors and stepped into the bustling hallway.
Carrying Sarah’s Master Command Card in my pocket, I spent the next twenty minutes casually wandering through the sprawling administrative complex.
It was genuinely fascinating to witness the scale of effort being poured into a single event. Everywhere I looked, people worked with intense dedication, lighting technicians tweaking holographic arrays, sound engineers testing frequency limits, and stage crew members organizing equipment.
As I strolled down a long glass corridor on the second floor, a fast-paced rhythm echoed through a pair of open double doors ahead.
Curious, I slowed my steps and peeked inside.
It was a massive, mirror-lined choreography studio. About twenty professional background dancers were in the middle of a high-energy routine set to one of Nova’s hit songs. Standing at the front of the room, watching them with a sharp, critical gaze, was a tall woman in sleek dancewear holding a clipboard, the head choreographer probably, beside a young male assistant.
Background dancers were an essential part of any massive pop concert. Their movements gave life, scale, and visual impact to the performance.
I stood near the open doorway, leaning casually against the frame as I watched them perform. Even to my untrained eyes, the dancers looked incredible. Their synchronization was tight, their energy was high, and their movements matched the thumping beat perfectly.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
The head choreographer clapped her hands sharply, bringing the music to an abrupt halt.
"Stop! Stop! Reset from eight-count three!" she called out, shaking her head. "The transition into the chorus feels too flat. It lacks emotional impact. Let’s adjust the arm extension and try it again."
The dancers let out tired, collective sighs, wiping sweat from their foreheads as they shuffled back to their starting positions. They reset the track and ran the sequence again, modifying their arm movements as instructed.
"No, no, no... still not right,’ the head choreographer muttered, tapping her pen against her clipboard. "It’s still missing that spark."
Her assistant, standing beside her with a tablet, winced and spoke up. "Ma’am... with all due respect, the dancers have already run this section twelve times. The routine is sharp, and the synchronization is nearly ninety-nine percent. Is it really necessary to keep tweaking it? They’re getting exhausted."
I glanced over at the dancers. The assistant wasn’t wrong, frustration, heavy breathing, and fatigue were clearly visible as they stood beneath the bright studio lights.
"It’s not about synchronization, Marcus," the head choreographer replied, staring at the mirror wall. "This is Nova’s grand farewell concert. Millions of people across the planet are going to watch this live. ’Good enough’ isn’t acceptable. We need something... something that elevates the music into a visual masterpiece. I just can’t pinpoint what’s missing."