Life is always like that—variables pile upon variables.
It was like that when I suffered a last-minute reversal and lost a game I thought I had won as a child.
It was like that during my school days when the top student in the entire school, whom I thought I could never beat, made a marking mistake, and I, the perpetual second place, suddenly became number one.
Who could have known that I, who entered engineering school dreaming of becoming a researcher, would end up as an engineer burning the midnight oil every day on mastering work?
Thus, the outcome of any matter remains unknown until it reaches its conclusion.
And the situation unfolding now was similarly unpredictable.
First, in the composition industry, the fact that Mateo—a figure who could be called a legend—had personally mentioned Choi Jihyun on his SNS, praising him and acknowledging him as a competitor, was causing a huge stir.
[ Who is ‘Choi Jihyun’, the composer Mateo named as his rival? ]
[ Choi Jihyun, the Composer the World Should Watch! The Birth of a Second Mateo? ]
Signs pointed to another ‘Choi Jihyun’ craze sweeping Korea, while the entire US also grew curious about this composer named ‘Choi Jihyun’. This alone was enough to be a massive topic…
Hyunseung’s other name, HS, was also at the center of attention.
[ HS Holds Unique Fan Meeting ‘Five Senses Fan Meeting’ First Round Applications Open This Month on the 19th ]
[ Composer HS Sparks Buzz by Setting ‘Deaf Participation’ as First Round Fan Meeting Application Condition ]
[ HS, This Fan Meeting Will Be One Where Everyone Can Enjoy Without Discrimination or Prejudice… ]
Instead of boos calling the unusual qualification condition unreasonable, people continued to praise it.
This is probably thanks to the image HS has quietly built.
Songs that comfort someone, songs that make someone laugh, songs that can embrace oneself.
Yes.
It’s the image crafted alongside those songs.
Moreover, though I don’t know what algorithm it rode…
Suddenly, a video of Sarah Stewart performing sign-language choreography to ‘Black angel’—a song HS arranged—on the final day of her US tour became a hot topic.
As more people joined in, the sign-language performance spread like a challenge, becoming a trend.
Ah. Of course, people speculated this was Sarah Stewart being influenced by HS.
All of this… People unanimously praised it as the positive influence of HS.
Thanks to that, perhaps?
Changes appeared on the charts too. While Billboard remained unchanged, the domestic scene was gradually shifting.
[ Real-time Music Chart Top 100 ]
- Black angel – Sarah Stewart
- more than just music – Vincent Mah
- Look at me – Sarah Stewart
- Villain Daddy – Moon Beomjae (prod. HS)
- out to sea – Choi Jihyun (with NY Phil & Lee Gahee)
“more than just music”, created under the pen name Choi Jihyun, dropped to 2nd place. The songs arranged and composed under the HS pen name climbed to 1st and 3rd place respectively, closing in on the 2nd place song sandwiched between them.
“Out to sea”, which had been falling down the charts, was also closing in on Villain Daddy, which had long dominated the top ranks, with terrifying momentum.
Even this wasn’t final. Just before the chart was updated again, “more than just music” was #1 and “out to sea” was #3.
In short… A fierce battle was raging at the top of the music charts between Choi Jihyun and HS.
In the end, no one in the venue could predict who would claim the number one spot.
No. Even a fortune teller wouldn’t know.
“Wow….”
Gi Yeonseon, oblivious to the morning sun rising, stared at the monitor screen and let out a gasp.
Of course, he wasn’t alone.
“Did he know all this would happen and say it beforehand?”
“If he knew that much, he’s not a composer; he’s channeling the gods.”
“Or maybe he predicted it to some extent?”
Their heated topic stemmed from a single remark Hyunseung had made when he visited them not long ago.
“They say a game isn’t over until it’s over, right?”
It was Hyunseung’s counterargument to their own prediction that Vincent would overtake Sarah Stewart and stake his claim at number one on the Billboard charts.
Or was it foresight?
Some engineers insisted Hyunseung had foreseen it, while others argued he hadn’t.
“Hmm…”
Gi Yeonseon remained silent, letting out a low hum.
Maybe….
Could it be that HS neither predicted this situation nor was caught off guard?
Yeah.
They might have already set everything up, just waiting for the right moment.
Why do you think that?
If it was simply a matter of saying it wouldn’t be over until the game ended, it could have been a lucky coincidence…
“Besides, someone with conditions attached is usually more desperate than someone without.”
“Conditions?”
“Yes, someone with a clear desire is desperate to achieve it.”
Judging by the way he added those unsettling words, it couldn’t have been something he just blurted out.
Yeah.
It’s entirely possible that person had calculated every aspect of this entire situation in their head.
Because they always surpass expectations!
Gi Yeonseon clasped his hands tightly and spoke.
“Maybe all of this is a game HS designed.”
“Oh, come on… no way…”
“Have you ever seen him succeed in a normal way?”
“Well, that’s true…”
“It seems like that’s how he’s always been. He sets up the whole game, then steps back and pretends he doesn’t care at all.”
“Hmph, is that really how it is…”
Then, with a tone full of conviction, he continued.
“You’ve worked with him. Don’t you get it? Every single one of his variables is planned.”
His faith, born from a strange misunderstanding, was only deepening.
Mateo forced himself out of bed early in the morning and headed to the café.
Then he ordered an espresso, its rich bean aroma filling the air, and was savoring it with his nose, not his mouth.
“Ugh…”
He took a sip, and sure enough, the taste that touched his tongue was bitter, almost unbearable.
Mateo endured it, using the espresso to moisten his dry mouth.
He rarely left the house and wasn’t even particularly fond of coffee. The reason he was doing this…
Simply to mimic Paul’s actions.
Yes.
Paul, as the captain and conductor leading a massive orchestra, was incredibly sensitive in every sense and always on edge.
He inevitably faced immense stress, and for such a man, there was one long-standing routine.
Namely…
Sitting on the quiet terrace of a café early in the morning, leisurely sipping a warm espresso.
“How can you not know this pleasure? You’re getting gray hair from stress because you don’t know this taste.”
Paul had always scolded him, saying he was vulnerable to stress because he didn’t know the luxury of a single espresso.
Is that really true?
Today, after tossing and turning all night from stress, Paul’s words suddenly came back to him, and he ended up coming out.
Clink.
But it was all for naught. The stress remained unchanged. No, it felt like it was gradually intensifying.
Why, why, why!
Finally, Mateo reached the point of silently screaming inside his head.
And no wonder—not only had he received no contact from Choi Jihyun, but he hadn’t even gotten any response at all.
Did that Paul guy actually pass it on?
No, but even if he hadn’t received it from Paul, his own SNS post had become quite a hot topic.
If he has a phone and lives in a house with internet, wouldn’t he have seen it?
Especially since it wasn’t just praise for his song; he’d even said he felt a sense of caution.
What kind of person is he?
Mateo roughly swept his messy, sticking-out hair aside and downed the last of his coffee in one gulp.
Bitter.
That was exactly how Mateo felt right now. Bitter as espresso.
“Hmm…”
But Mateo had no intention of giving up. Truthfully, even if he met him, he wasn’t a singer himself, so he wouldn’t ask for a song.
He was just curious.
How he came to write such a song, whether he’d composed it with Vincent in mind, what challenges arose when handling the New York Philharmonic as a session band.
Yes.
He wanted to have a discussion about music, just like he and Paul had done in their youth.
Clink.
Setting down his coffee cup, he picked up his phone.
He couldn’t help wondering if, just maybe, there was a response on his SNS.
As far as he knew, Choi Jihyun didn’t even have an SNS account, but you never knew.
Wait a minute…
Come to think of it, it was a bit odd for someone in this industry to have no personal SNS at all.
Of course, he himself barely had more than just an account.
At least his company used his account for promotional purposes.
But still, having no SNS account…
Was he perhaps much older than him? Or someone of an age who couldn’t even handle a phone?
“Hmm…”
The fact that he hadn’t responded to his push notification either, and despite the unfamiliar pen name, the song itself exuded a certain seasoned expertise.
Paul, who rarely had to watch his step in this industry, seemed reluctant to cross this person.
Right, that makes sense.
So that’s why he used the method of recording live sessions instead of just churning out tracks by code.
Reaching this point…
A thought flashed through his mind: perhaps Choi Jihyun wasn’t a pop songwriter at all.
What if…
…someone like a classical or orchestral maestro was attempting a new challenge?
Yeah, if the New York Philharmonic would do sessions twice…
Some might call it a huge leap, but it wasn’t entirely implausible.
Then just as he was about to get up to explore different angles about Choi Jihyun,
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
A sound pierced his ears, and he whipped his head around…
“Hey, have you seen this?”
“Of course.”
Before he knew it, two young women had taken seats at the table next to his.
“Wow, it’s insane even watching it again.”
They had placed a tablet on the table and were leaning in close together, intently watching something.
What on earth was it?
Judging by the chaotic, noisy audio, it seemed like they were watching some kind of performance video….
─ Come deep into the darkness.
The sound quality, shattered by static, was quite irritating, yet strangely, he kept wanting to hear more. He just wanted to confirm what song it was and quickly get back to his business….
Hah….
The women’s hair hung like curtains, blocking the tablet screen.
Swish.
Mateo lifted the brim of his deeply pulled-down hat slightly and peered left and right.
That is…
But only for a moment. He narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the screen.
Then he called out to the women and asked.
“Excuse me, is that woman in the video Sarah Stewart?”
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