“…….”
Kwon Isoo furrowed his brow and suddenly began glaring fiercely at Do Yeonjae.
That terrifying gaze only left Do Yeonjae puzzled. Why is he suddenly glaring at me?
With a face full of displeasure as if something had greatly upset him, Kwon Isoo abruptly let go of Yeonjae’s hand and began walking briskly on his own. Hey, before the string could pull taut, Yeonjae quickly moved his feet and muttered in bewilderment.
What’s with him? He was the one who wanted to hold hands in the first place.
Anyway, he’s an impossible guy to figure out. If Kwon Isoo’s moods were represented by weather, the meteorological office employees would have had quite a hard time—thinking such useless thoughts, he looked down at his now-empty hand with a touch of regret.
It was actually kind of comfortable… Well, I guess it would be a bit weird for two guys to keep holding hands the whole time anyway.
Finding the team leader’s seat in the design team area wasn’t difficult. A female employee wearing glasses was extremely tense, constantly glancing at the camera self-consciously. As if she’d received some critical mission or something.
“…Ahem.”
As soon as their eyes met, he approached the employee who was managing her expression and carefully said,
“Team leader-nim, I… please buy me something delicious.”
The moment Do Yeonjae’s violent face made that gentle request, her cold expression crumbled in an instant. Right, something delicious… I should buy it for him. As if bewitched, she took out her card and handed it over.
“Thank you.”
When Yeonjae smiled brightly, the employee smiled along with him, then belatedly let out a sigh. Ah, the staff asked me to stall for time. Realizing she’d given up the card immediately at one word from Yeonjae, she coughed awkwardly. Kwon Isoo watched this scene from the side with disbelief.
The ‘For Rhythm Card’ was exactly the size of a credit card. When Yeonjae peeled off the sticker attached to the card, letters appeared.
[Drums]
Drums!
Thank goodness, I got the most important one. Do Yeonjae’s lips curved up pleasantly. The actual composer, Kwon Isoo, seemed indifferent either way.
Having gained momentum from obtaining the first card, Yeonjae came down to the 9th floor with Isoo. Since the recording studio floor was mainly used by artists, they could open the security door with facial recognition.
He usually came to this floor after scheduling time with the engineer when recording songs, but in Kwon Isoo’s case, he knew the company had set up a personal studio for him on this floor. As they walked, Yeonjae suddenly asked,
“Do you use the company studio often, besides at home?”
“I mainly work at home, and I only come here occasionally when I have time between schedules or when I can’t work at home.”
I see… After thinking for a moment, Yeonjae suggested,
“Then should we check there first? They might have hidden a card there.”
“…….”
The suggestion didn’t seem to resonate much, as Kwon Isoo grimaced and answered,
“I think it’d be faster to find the person wearing the mask.”
That’s true. Rather than rummaging through all the rooms, it would be more efficient to find the NPC who gives the crucial hint first. Based on what they discovered on the 12th floor, it seemed like interaction with NPCs was key rather than just searching blindly.
However, even with Kwon Isoo’s point, Yeonjae didn’t back down from his opinion.
“Whatever we’re looking for, we’ll have to look through the rooms one by one anyway. Right now, your studio has the highest possibility of having something hidden there.”
Kwon Isoo, who had been quietly listening to that persuasion, turned his gaze to Yeonjae’s face. Normally he would have just nodded along, but he’s rarely being stubborn…
“You just want to check it out, don’t you?”
At Kwon Isoo’s sharp words, Do Yeonjae’s eyes rolled for a moment before he smiled smoothly as if caught.
“…How did you know?”
“…….”
At the face smiling gently, Kwon Isoo frowned and immediately turned his head sharply away. Yeonjae watched with puzzlement as Isoo suddenly began walking ahead with large strides, then quickly followed behind him.
“Kwon Isoo, let’s go together.”
Arriving in front of the studio, Kwon Isoo opened the door familiarly.
Do Yeonjae’s eyes sparkled brightly as he entered. Since he had no talent for composition, the space itself called a studio was fascinating, and his curiosity was further piqued because it was where Kwon Isoo created music.
Inside the studio were professional audio equipment including monitor speakers and an audio interface, along with a desktop. It wasn’t spacious, but it was a moderately comfortable space for working alone.
The masked staff member wasn’t here, but when Yeonjae said he’d look around briefly to search for cards since they were already here, Kwon Isoo waved his hand dismissively.
Once permission was granted, Do Yeonjae began looking around in earnest. As Yeonjae wandered around here and there, Isoo followed lazily behind and said bluntly,
“There’s not much to see.”
“Still, it’s interesting…”
Do Yeonjae was examining the desk when he said “Just a moment” and bent down. He was trying to check if a card was hidden underneath the desk, when he discovered an unexpected item in the corner. Yeonjae’s eyes widened.
“Oh, this…”
On the floor tangled messily with various cables, an old laptop was rolling around. Do Yeonjae carefully picked up the dust-covered laptop. The flying white powder brought back old memories.
This is definitely what Kwon Isoo used when he was a trainee, when he first started composing…
“Don’t touch it.”
At that moment, a cold hand snatched the laptop away. Yeonjae turned his head in surprise and was momentarily speechless. Kwon Isoo’s face had turned cold as ice. A twisted voice flew at him mercilessly.
“Why are you looking at that? What does it have to do with you?”
“…….”
What do you mean it has nothing to do with me? I watched from beside you every time you worked on this. I even remember you struggling because you couldn’t properly use the free composition program. I vividly remember us putting our heads together in front of the laptop for ages, trying to help you solve problems even though I knew nothing about it…
All the words that rose to his lips lost their strength before Kwon Isoo’s coldly changed gaze. Suddenly, the voice from that day pierced into his ears.
‘I deleted all that shit ages ago.’
‘So don’t even dream about it, Do Yeonjae.’
It was the same chilling face as back then. An emotionless expression that made his heart drop. A face drawing a line as if to say you don’t have the right.
Last time, he’d been quite shocked by that face. His mood had sunk for several days, and he’d even ruined the live performance in the end.
And in this moment, Do Yeonjae realizes once again. Perhaps for Kwon Isoo, memories with him are like that old laptop shoved under the desk and forgotten—a past he wants to just leave discarded like that.
For Kwon Isoo, there isn’t even the will left to dust off the layers of accumulated dust.
But…
Doesn’t it not matter who dusts it off?
Whatever feelings he had when accepting this program offer, Do Yeonjae wanted to take this opportunity to fix his relationship with Kwon Isoo. That thought hadn’t changed even after facing Kwon Isoo’s disgusted face several times.
Because he’d decided to start over from the beginning.
So from now on, he decided not to get hurt every time by his coldly cooled face.
Do Yeonjae no longer looked at the laptop and calmly stood up.
“…Fine.”
When their eyes met directly, Kwon Isoo’s eyes flinched and twitched. Even if he hated facing him, it couldn’t be helped. Having accepted the program, this much was what he had to bear.
“Like you said, it doesn’t seem to be here. Let’s go to another room now.”
“…….”
At the calm voice, Kwon Isoo’s lips stiffened rigidly. Kwon Isoo stared intently at Do Yeonjae’s back as he walked ahead without lingering, then ground his teeth distantly.
…Fuck.
After seeing Do Yeonjae’s composed face, his stomach churned with some inexplicable revulsion. No matter how much he forcibly swallowed it down, this emotion surging up was surely hatred. His eyes flashed sharply as he looked down at the string connecting him to Do Yeonjae.
It was annoying and grating. To the point where he wanted to just cut it off…
“Kwon Isoo.”
…But at just that one word.
At the neat voice calling his name, all the emotions boiling up inside collapsed pathetically. In an instant, Kwon Isoo lost his bearings and distorted his face. He couldn’t tell. Whether he wanted to cut that string, or…
Do Yeonjae, who had been quietly watching the face tinged with coldness, spoke slowly.
“Should we check out that room?”
“…….”
Kwon Isoo stared at Do Yeonjae for a long while without answering. Just when Yeonjae was about to wonder at that blatant stare, he naturally turned his head and glanced through the window of the door.
“They’re recording inside.”
“Ah… Then let’s go somewhere else.”
It was the moment Do Yeonjae nodded and was about to take a step first.
Someone opened the door wide from inside and came out.
“Isoo?”
“…….”
“Ah, it is Isoo!”
At the voice calling Kwon Isoo cheerfully, Yeonjae turned his gaze.
Oh, that person is… it was Kang Heejeong.
Kang Heejeong was a popular 10-year veteran solo singer who performed under the name ‘Kanghee’. Last year when she made a comeback with a jazz-style concept, she’d made headlines by taking trainee Kwon Isoo, who had just turned twenty, as her partner dancer.
To me she’s just a difficult senior… A bit startled by the sudden encounter, Do Yeonjae politely bowed at the waist.
“Hello, sunbae-nim.”
“Yes, nice to see you.”
After receiving Do Yeonjae’s greeting, Kang Heejeong glanced at the camera once, then tapped Kwon Isoo’s shoulder.
“Are you filming? What kind of filming?”
