“Well, you both seem busy so I’ll go first. Hyung, see you next time.”
“Yeah, sure. Get inside!”
As soon as Baek Hanje left, General Manager Park called the road manager. And he observed Go Won’s mood.
Since he wasn’t a kid who usually insisted stubbornly, he wanted to do as he wished as much as possible, but time was only getting tighter.
Then.
Beep!
A foreign car that suddenly approached right in front of them honked its horn. General Manager Park, who had reflexively stood to shield Go Won, recognized the car owner and relaxed his expression.
“What, Hanje, you said you were leaving.”
“My intuition is working hard again.”
The driver’s expression beyond the window was somewhat sullen. He also looked somewhat upset.
“Ha… I have really good premonition for bad things. If I leave you like this and go home, I feel like I’ll get indigestion while eating, so get in.”
“……?”
“Hyung, where should I take this kid?”
“Apgujeong shop! Manager Yun! The place you went to during your solo days!”
Before Go Won could say anything, General Manager Park made the first move. Baek Hanje looked at Go Won and tilted his smooth jawline.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Get in.”
That gaze reminded him of when he’d suddenly declared he’d take on the song work in the <DRIFT> countermeasure meeting room. As if seeing through the problem he had….
Even if not because he was stabbed by the gaze, Go Won couldn’t refuse this lifeline that had come down to him.
“…Thank you.”
“Hanje-ya, please take good care of Won.”
“Yeah.”
When Go Won carefully got in the car and fastened his seatbelt, the belt shortened once more to fit his body. Go Won’s eyes widened at the technology he was seeing for the first time in his life.
Regardless, the car quickly exited in front of the K-dum building.
Go Won only then realized snow was stuck all over his padding sleeves. So he quietly gathered the snow and melted it in his palm, holding it until the moisture dried.
“Go Won.”
“Yes, sunbae-nim.”
“Play some music. Press media to connect.”
Go Won touched the media button on the panel. The screen changed but he didn’t know what to do. That said, he also didn’t have the confidence to press here and there on this expensive car.
Baek Hanje chuckled as he smoothly changed lanes.
“You’re showing it’s your first time in the passenger seat. Didn’t the general manager raise you too preciously in the back seat?”
“Sor…”
“I told you not to say ‘sorry’ carelessly.”
“……”
Beep beep. The speeding camera alert broke the uncomfortable silence, but only for a moment.
“Can’t be helped. Fill the empty audio yourself.”
“…Pardon?”
“Try talking to me. Whether you talk about yourself or ask something you’re curious about.”
“……”
Go Won’s gaze turned to the navigation screen. Time remaining to destination, 35 minutes.
And in this situation, he had to squeeze out conversational skills he didn’t have.
Actually, there was exactly one thing he wanted to ask.
“Um, I finished the first week of music shows well.”
“Yeah. I know. You’ve done six stages now, right?”
“Ah…, yes.”
You knew.
He wanted to ask how it was. Whether he’d done a stage that pleased him with the song he’d made….
“Done?”
At the urging, Go Won snapped to attention and recalled questions he’d seen in interviews and such.
“Uh, Unlimited… how did you think of it?”
“You’re trying hard.”
His voice, about to crack, nearly broke at the voice that twisted and turned like a whistle.
Contrary to Go Won’s agitation, Baek Hanje laughed leisurely while moving the steering wheel.
“Yes, hoobae-nim. The song I gave you. First, it was a song I’d worked on 5 years ago and shelved. Second, your F1 racer concept suited it quite well to break it out. Third, I thought you’d receive that song well if I gave it to you. That’s all.”
“…What about me reminded you of that song?”
“Mm.”
The lane change blinker sound clicked as if announcing a time limit. Baek Hanje soon leaned his elbow on the window frame and rested his head.
“Should I say I felt obsession. Not common wishes like wanting to succeed, wanting to become a star, but it seemed like you’d express well the desire to live more desperately. Even without saying it out loud, your eyes are pretty fierce.”
“……”
“I’m not saying it’s bad, so relax. Rather, keep that mindset as is and just learn how to hide it well.”
“…Yes.”
“If it ends with ‘yes’ the audio goes empty again.”
“How, how did you start composing?”
At the question that came out quickly, laughter reacted first again.
“I had a lot of scribbles from before debut, but from yACE’s 3rd album I started seriously pushing to put in my songs. Back then we were really one step away from disbanding.”
“……”
“Looking at the songs the company gave us, I insisted we’d self-produce rather than comeback with songs like that. The company said what could they trust to use songs written by a kid who wasn’t even an adult, and my hyungs took turns fighting with the company… it was absolute chaos.”
Baek Hanje’s cheek rose slightly as he suddenly smiled.
“Using that experience, our hyung became a director and is wielding power coolly.”
“…It must be really nice to have members like that.”
“Yeah, it’s nice. When we were young fighting and brawling, there were times I thought an ambulance would come and we’d be on entertainment news, but I wouldn’t have made it this far without my hyungs.”
“……”
“Any follow-up questions?”
“Ah, no.”
“Then it’s a bit funny to change the subject but let me focus on driving for a moment. Damn, the road’s slippery.”
“…Understood.”
“If we get in a car accident and you can’t go to the music show, the Korean entertainment industry is ruined.”
“……?”
“No one has emerged to replace Cha Yeonsu yet….”
He had no idea what that meant, but perhaps because the road was slippery as Baek Hanje said, the surrounding cars’ speed began to slow down.
If they’d waited for the car to be fully repaired in front of the company, they definitely would have been late.
Along with self-blame and relief about the stupid stubbornness, he found himself ruminating on the conversation with Baek Hanje.
‘Um, I finished the first week of music shows well.’
‘Yeah. I know. You’ve done six stages now, right?’
‘…How did he view my stage?’
No, what does it matter? A sunbae of that level wouldn’t even pay attention to me. Even thinking that, he found himself inwardly ruminating on past stages.
I could have done better.
…Then I just need to do better.
His hands that had been cold also became warm from the cozily circulating heater. Instead of the cold wind, only things like the breath of the person beside him, the occasional sigh while looking at the road, and the sound of fingertips tapping the steering wheel pricked him.
***
“Why on earth did I?!”
“Phew, I can finally breathe now. I couldn’t breathe since earlier.”
“Why on earth….”
With my soul thoroughly shaken out, I trudged out.
Looking like the typical disheveled artist who came out while working, as soon as I arrived at the shop I heard the general manager’s shocked scream, and while Go Won was getting dolled up, I was left in others’ hands. Even if not makeup, my hair and skin were neatly tidied up.
“Hanje, just let me see you in that beggar state again.”
“Hey, beggar state is a bit much….”
“Absolutely not!”
Even leaving the indifferent party aside, the shop manager who’d had schedules with yACE many times didn’t budge in her stubbornness.
“No, the one going on stage is him, not me.”
“You’re a celebrity too! This place became famous as yACE’s shop! If you wander around looking like that, what does that make me!”
“Haa….”
In the midst of this, Go Won’s stylist who arrived late sneakily held out an extra shirt and pants. Because of that, even my comfortable sweatshirt and training pants were taken away.
I plopped down on the sofa.
‘What kind of situation is this when I just came to see what was going on?’
Achievement Condition: Music show appearances (6/15)
Before dragging Go Won here, I was spending time as usual in the workshop when the Quest Window floated up on its own. All the other text was the same as before, but only the achievement condition suddenly changed to red letters.
‘Ah, show this in front of Kwon Taeyoung! What can I do about music shows!’
I tried to ignore it thinking that, but the warning window kept blocking my view like a flying insect, and eventually I had no choice but to get up from my seat.
That’s how I escorted Go Won all the way here.
“The kid who usually arrives 20-30 minutes early, I wondered why he wasn’t coming until just before today. So it was because he came with Hanje?”
“…Ah….”
No. From what I briefly heard earlier, it seemed like he was whining that he didn’t want to go alone.
But no matter how twisted my mood was, my cognitive ability hadn’t declined enough to criticize an affiliated singer outside the company.
The damn warning window stopped popping up sporadically once I brought Go Won to the shop on time. But the achievement condition still hadn’t returned to its original color.
What, do I have to prettily dress him up and even hand him over to the manager here?
If it’s going to be like this, I wish they’d change the name. Not Quest Scenario, but Go Won’s Childcare Diary.
The large-bodied kid being raised with cooing had his hair grabbed by no less than three people over there, glancing at me through the mirror.
He’s wearing stage makeup himself, so what’s with that expression of wonder again?
There was no reason to avoid eye contact, so I also stared at the kid. Then, as if realizing his gaze was caught, he inhaled and turned his head.
“Hey, Won-ah, you can’t move.”
“Ah, sor…ry….”
But why are you watching my reaction while apologizing?
Following that, the manager and van and such arrived one after another. Everyone let out a sigh of relief saying at this rate there’d be room before arriving at the broadcasting station.
My job should be done now, right? I captured in my eyes even Go Won going to change into his outfit and got up from my seat. General Manager Park, who roughly organized the situation, approached me.
“Hanje, are you heading back now?”
“Yeah, I’ll go home and lie do…, damn it!”
Achievement Condition: Music show appearances (6/15)
Are you insane?
Before Cha Yeonsu retires, I’m going to retire first from a heart attack.
