From A Producer To A Chapter 297: Back to Work

Chapter 297: Back to Work

Dayo woke up before the alarm as usual but the morning was off.

For a few seconds, he stayed still, staring at the ceiling, his mind slow and heavy, like it hadn’t fully returned to his body yet. The room was quiet. Too quiet. Morning light crept through the curtains, soft and indifferent.

He exhaled slowly.

On a normal morning he would jump up active ready to start the day.

But today was different-

Every part of him wanted to stay there.

Just lie down. Do nothing. Let the day pass without him.

It wasn’t physical tiredness. His body was fine. Trained. Used to pressure. Used to pushing forward even when it hurt. This was different. This was the kind of weight that sat in his chest and made movent feel unnecessary.

Emotional fatigue.

He thought of Luna without aning to.

The news. The silence. The unanswered call.

He had lived two lives and in one he never found love until now and screwed it.

In his first life, love had been a distraction. In this one, it had been a choice. A conscious decision. And that sohow made it worse.

He closed his eyes for a mont, then opened them again.

"No," he muttered. "Get up."

There was one thing he had learned pain didn’t excuse weakness. If anything, the days you felt weakest were the days discipline mattered the most.

He took a deep breath and he knew he had to get up.

He forced himself out of bed.

After rising his face he dragged his heavy body and wore his jogging kits and jogged out.

The jog was harder than usual.

Not because his legs failed him, but because his mind refused to stay in one place. His thoughts kept drifting fragnts of mories, unanswered questions, things he didn’t allow himself to fully think about.

Why didn’t she wait?

Why didn’t she tell ?

Was I ever ant to know?

He clenched his jaw and increased his pace.

By the ti he finished his routine, sweat clung to his skin, lungs burning slightly. The physical strain helped. It didn’t fix anything, but it quieted the noise enough for him to breathe.

Back ho, he stood in the kitchen, staring at food he had no appetite for. He settled for sothing small bread, water just enough to keep himself functional.

That was all he needed today.

The office felt the sa as always.

People passed by. So greeted him casually, unaware. Others didn’t realize who he was at all cause he choose to keep his identity hidden for now. Dayo preferred it that way. No attention. No unnecessary concern.

He went straight to Min-Jae’s office.

Min-Jae looked up the mont Dario walked in—and froze.

"You good?" Min-Jae asked slowly.

Dayo nodded. "I’m fine."

Min-Jae leaned back, studying him. "You say that every ti sothing is clearly wrong."

Dayo didn’t respond.

Min-Jae sighed. "Your eyes. You think I don’t notice?"

"Notice what?"

"That sothing’s broken."

Dayo’s expression didn’t change, but his shoulders stiffened slightly.

"It’s nothing."

Min-Jae stood up. "I’m not letting you leave until you talk."

Dayo exhaled through his nose. "You’re annoying."

"And you’re bad at lying at least today you dont seem to be able to hide it aning its sothing about emotions."

Silence stretched between them.

Finally, Dayo spoke.

"Rember the global competition?" he asked.

Min-Jae blinked. "Yeah. Why?"

"That night I left the hotel," Dario continued. "I told you I had sowhere to be."

Min-Jae frowned. "Yeah...?"

"It was Luna."

Min-Jae’s eyes widened. "What?"

"She was staying in the sa hotel," Dario said calmly. Too calmly. "We t."

Min-Jae ran a hand through his hair. "That’s insane."

"We were together back then," Dayo added. "Long before all of this."

Min-Jae stared at him. "You’re serious."

"Yes."

"And now?" Min-Jae asked carefully already guessing where this was heading to after all he had know Dayo for more than Five years he was a strong person when it cos to abilities but his weaknesses was glaring when it ca to handling things emotionally je processed it okay but sothing to hard.

Dayo looked away. "You’ve seen the news."

Min-Jae’s expression shifted. "Yeah about the pregnancy?"

"Yes."

A heavy silence settled.

"So... you broke up?" Min-Jae asked.

Dayo nodded once. "Four years ago."

"Why?"

"You already know why," Dayo replied quietly. "I don’t fight hard enough when I should."

Min-Jae swore under his breath. "Damn."

"I tried calling her," Dario continued. "She didn’t answer."

Min-Jae sat back down slowly. "That’s rough."

"I don’t bla her," Dario said. "She moved on."

Min-Jae studied him. "And you?"

Dayo didn’t answer imdiately.

"I’ll manage."

Min-Jae leaned forward. "Listen to . Loving soone deeply is hard. Losing them is worse. But don’t let this stop you."

"I won’t."

"You better not," Min-Jae said firmly. "You have too much on your shoulders. Too many people depending on you."

Dayo nodded.

Min-Jae smirked slightly. "Also, don’t think I forgot—you still owe

vocals."

Dayo scoffed. "I already accepted my fate."

"Good," Min-Jae said. "Now get to work."

The studio buzzed quietly as they stepped inside.

Yura was already there, headphones on, practicing with focus. She looked up when she saw them.

"Director," she said, bowing slightly. "Is everything okay?"

Dayo gave a small nod. "Yes. Keep going."

She smiled and returned to her work.

Dayo watched her for a mont—her determination, her discipline. It grounded him.

After giving final instructions, he stepped out with Min-Jae.

"All the artists you requested are in the eting hall," Min-Jae said. "You said you wanted to select a few today."

Dario nodded. "Let’s go."

As they walked, his mind settled into sothing familiar evaluation, instinct, calculation. The emotional weight didn’t disappear, but it stopped controlling him.

Work always did that.

The eting hall doors opened.

Artists looked up. So nervous. So confident. So hiding ambition behind calm faces.

Dayo scanned the room quietly.

This was the future.

And whatever pain he carried, it wouldn’t stop him from moving forward.

Not this ti.