“Well, you both look busy, so I’ll get going first. See you later, Jonghyeok.”
“Yeah, sure. Get home safely!”
The moment Baek Hanje left, Chief Manager Park called the road manager and glanced at Gowon.
Gowon normally wasn’t stubborn, so Park wanted to let him have his way whenever possible. But time was growing tighter by the minute.
Then—
Honk!
A foreign car suddenly pulled up right in front of them and sounded its horn. Chief Manager Park had instinctively stepped in front of Gowon, but relaxed once he recognized the driver.
“What? Hanje, didn’t you say you were leaving?”
“My instincts decided to start working overtime again.”
The driver’s expression beyond the window was somewhat crooked. For some reason, he even looked annoyed.
“Ha... I’m seriously good at sensing bad things. I feel like I’ll get indigestion halfway through dinner if I leave you here and go home, so get in.”
“......?”
“Jonghyeok, where am I taking him?”
“The salon in Apgujeong! Manager Yoon’s place! The one you went to during your solo promotions!”
Chief Manager Park answered before Gowon could say anything. Baek Hanje tilted his smooth jaw toward Gowon.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Get in.”
That look reminded Gowon of the moment Baek Hanje had abruptly declared during the <DRIFT> crisis meeting that he would take charge of the song.
It felt as though he could see straight through Gowon’s problem....
Even without that piercing gaze, Gowon couldn’t refuse the lifeline that had been lowered to him.
“...Thank you.”
“Hanje, take good care of Gowon.”
“Yeah.”
Gowon carefully got into the car and fastened his seat belt. The belt automatically tightened once more around his body. His eyes widened at the technology he had never seen before.
Regardless, the car quickly pulled away from the front of the K-Dom building.
Only then did Gowon notice the snow scattered across the sleeves of his padded coat. He quietly gathered the flakes into his palm, melted them there, and kept his hand closed until the moisture dried.
“Gowon.”
“Yes, Senior.”
“Put on some music. Press Media and connect your phone.”
Gowon touched the Media button on the panel. The screen changed, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Nor did he have the courage to press random buttons in such an expensive car.
Baek Hanje smoothly changed lanes and let out a quiet laugh.
“You’re making it obvious you’ve never sat in the passenger seat before. Has your manager been raising you too delicately in the back?”
“I’m sor—”
“I told you not to apologize so carelessly.”
“.......”
Beep, beep. A speed-camera warning broke the uncomfortable silence, but only for a moment.
“Can’t be helped. Fill the empty audio yourself.”
“...Pardon?”
“Talk to me. Tell me about yourself or ask something you’re curious about.”
“.......”
Gowon looked toward the navigation screen.
Thirty-five minutes remained until their destination.
In this situation, he would have to squeeze out conversational skills he didn’t possess.
In truth, there was exactly one thing he wanted to ask.
“I finished my first week of music shows successfully.”
“Yeah. I know. You’ve done six stages now, right?”
“Ah... yes.”
So he knew.
Gowon wanted to ask what Baek Hanje had thought.
Whether he had managed to perform the song Baek Hanje had made for him in a way that satisfied him....
“That’s it?”
Startled by the prompting, Gowon searched his memory for questions he had seen on interview sheets.
“Um, <Unlimited(∞)>... how did you come up with it?”
“You’re really trying hard.”
The teasing lilt in Baek Hanje’s voice nearly shattered the words Gowon had struggled to get out.
Unlike the unsettled Gowon, Baek Hanje smiled leisurely as he turned the wheel.
“Yes, my dear junior. The song I gave you was, first, something I started working on five years ago and left sitting around. Second, your F1 driver concept suited it too well to let the whole thing fall apart. Third, I thought you’d know how to make the song yours if I gave it to you. The end.”
“...What about me made you think of that song?”
“Hmm.”
The clicking turn signal sounded like a countdown. After a moment, Baek Hanje rested his elbow against the window frame and propped up his head.
“I suppose I sensed obsession. Not some ordinary wish like wanting to succeed or become a star. I thought you’d be good at expressing something more desperate—the will to survive. Even when you don’t say anything, your eyes are pretty fierce.”
“.......”
“I’m not saying it’s bad, so relax. Keep that mindset exactly as it is. Just learn how to hide it properly.”
“...Yes.”
“If you end with ‘yes,’ the audio goes silent again.”
“H-how did you start composing?”
Baek Hanje laughed again at the question that came rushing out.
“I’d been scribbling things down since before debut, but starting with Young Ace’s third album, I seriously began pushing to get my own songs included. We were genuinely on the verge of disbanding back then.”
“.......”
“I looked at the song the company gave us and insisted that if we were going to make a comeback with garbage like that, we might as well produce it ourselves. The company asked how they were supposed to trust a song written by a kid who wasn’t even an adult yet, and my brothers took turns fighting the company for me.... It was complete chaos.”
Baek Hanje’s cheek lifted slightly as he smiled at the memory.
“My brother is putting that experience to use now, wearing a director’s title and wielding power in style.”
“...It must be really nice to have members like that.”
“Yeah, it is. When we were young and beating the hell out of each other, there were times I thought an ambulance would show up and we’d end up on entertainment news. But I never would’ve made it this far without them.”
“.......”
“Any more questions?”
“Ah, no.”
“Then this is funny after telling you to talk, but let me focus on driving for a bit. Damn, the road’s slippery.”
“...Understood.”
“If we get into an accident and you miss your music show, the entire Korean entertainment industry will collapse.”
“......?”
“No one capable of replacing Cha Yensu has appeared yet....”
Gowon had no idea what that meant, but just as Baek Hanje said, the surrounding cars began slowing as the road grew more slippery.
If Gowon had waited in front of the company for the car to be repaired, he definitely would have been late.
Along with regret over his foolish stubbornness and relief that things had worked out, he found himself replaying his conversation with Baek Hanje.
I finished my first week of music shows successfully.
Yeah. I know. You’ve done six stages now, right?
...What did he think of my stages?
No. Why should it matter?
Someone that senior probably didn’t pay much attention to him at all.
Even as Gowon told himself that, he mentally reviewed his previous stages.
I could’ve done better.
...Then I’ll just do better next time.
The heater filled the car with warmth, and his chilled hands grew warm too. In place of the cold wind, the only things pricking at his awareness were the breathing of the person beside him, the occasional sigh he let out while watching the road, and the sound of his fingertips tapping the steering wheel.
***
“Why me?!”
“Good grief, now I can finally breathe. I’ve been suffocating since the moment I saw you.”
“Why, though...?”
With my soul completely wrung out, I trudged outside.
I had arrived looking like the classic image of an artist who had crawled out of a studio after working for days. The moment I entered the salon, its manager let out a horrified scream. While Gowon was being dressed up, I was handed over to the others.
They didn’t go as far as applying makeup, but they cleaned up my hair and skin.
“Hanje, let me catch you looking like a homeless man again.”
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad....”
“Absolutely not!”
Even though I, the person involved, couldn’t have cared less, the salon manager—who had worked with Young Ace on countless schedules—refused to budge.
“I’m telling you, he’s the one going onstage, not me.”
“You’re an entertainer too! This place became famous as Young Ace’s salon! What does it make me look like if you wander around in that state?”
“Haa....”
Meanwhile, Gowon’s stylist, who had arrived late, quietly held out a spare shirt and pair of pants.
Because of that, even my wonderfully comfortable sweatshirt and sweatpants were confiscated.
I dropped heavily onto the sofa.
I only came out to see what was going on. How did it turn into this?
Completion Requirement: Music show appearances (6/15)
I had been spending time in my studio as usual before bringing Gowon here when the quest window suddenly appeared on its own.
All the other text was the same as before, but the completion requirement had abruptly turned red.
Show that in front of Kwon Taeyoung! What the hell am I supposed to do about music shows?
I had tried to ignore it, but the warning window kept blocking my vision like a gnat, until I finally had no choice but to get up.
That was how I ended up personally delivering Gowon here.
“He usually arrives twenty or thirty minutes early. I was wondering why he hadn’t shown up until the last second today. So it was because he came with Hanje?”
“...Ah....”
No.
From what I had briefly overheard, it sounded like he had been whining because he didn’t want to go alone.
Still, no matter how twisted my mood was, I hadn’t lost enough social awareness to criticize one of the company’s artists outside the company.
The damned warning window stopped popping up once I got Gowon to the salon on time.
But the completion requirement still hadn’t returned to its normal color.
What now? Did I have to make sure he was dressed up nicely and personally hand him over to his manager?
At this point, they should rename it.
Not Quest Scenario.
Gowon’s Childcare Journal.
The giant child being doted on over there had his hair held by no fewer than three people while he glanced at me through the mirror.
He had already worn stage makeup before, so why was he looking at me with such fascination?
I had no reason to avoid his eyes, so I stared right back.
The moment he realized he had been caught looking, he inhaled sharply and turned his head away.
“Hey, Gowon, don’t move.”
“Ah, I’m sor... ry....”
Why are you checking my reaction while apologizing?
Soon afterward, his manager, the van, and the rest of the staff arrived one after another. Everyone sighed in relief, saying they now had enough time to reach the broadcasting station.
My job should be done now, right?
After watching Gowon leave to change into his outfit, I rose from my seat. Chief Manager Park, who had roughly sorted out the situation, approached me.
“Hanje, are you heading home now?”
“Yeah. I’m going home to lie d—holy shit!”
Completion Requirement: Music show appearances (6/15)
Was this thing insane?
At this rate, I was going to retire from a heart attack before Cha Yensu retired.
Footnote:
Spare.
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