Pen and Paper Translations

Hyunseung’s work continued until the sun set, until a pitch-black night arrived, and until it became the blue edge of dawn.

It was work that started as a joke, but he had no intention of doing it halfheartedly.

Tap, tadadadak, tap!

He didn’t know exactly what those soft-soft and fluffy-fluffy feelings were.

But anyway, the dice had already been thrown, and no one knew what result would come out.

Of course, making a good song was a given.

Tap, tadadadak, tap!

Hyunseung rubbed his reddened eyes as he layered various melodies over the beat they had made together, building up colorful music.

Repeating that several times over.

It was only after he saw the message from Executive Director Park asking if he wasn’t coming to work out that he realized morning had broken.

“Haa… I should go work out.”

Hyunseung straightened his stiff, heavy body, stretched, then picked up his workout clothes.

“Damn, but seriously, where did my underwear go?”

And then he left the studio.

As soon as Hyunseung was gone, an unknown noise arose in the room that had fallen into silence.

Tap, shuuuk, tap, shuuuk.

For a moment, there was the sound of something being braced, and then something being dragged along.

“Gghh….”

Jung Arin groaned as she crawled out of the recording booth.

Because she had been curled up for a long time without even being able to breathe properly, her whole body had stiffened up.

“Ugh, I’m dying…”

Jung Arin looked at the underwear tightly clenched in her hand and thought.

From now on, she would never stick her nose into things like this again.

“Aigoo, aigoo.”

Having barely managed to get her body up, Jung Arin moved toward the laundry pile.

Whip!

Just as she was about to throw the underwear that caused this whole mess back onto the laundry pile—

“Ah.”

Looking at the underwear in her hand, she remembered the conversation she had heard yesterday.

“Can I see the underwear you’re wearing right now, just once?”

“That is suspecting me.”

“No, it’s not like that. We’re just making sure.”

Not only did Kim Woohyun get falsely accused because of her.

“I can show you, but if it’s not, what are you going to do then?”

“High-end brand suit provision.”

“Deal. Don’t regret it.”

“Yes, go ahead and take it off.”

In the end, he even took his pants off.

And that wasn’t all.

She even learned details about Kim Woohyun’s underwear situation, which she never wanted to know.

“I’m wearing underwear my mom bought me too, you know?”

To think she would ever hear that coming out of a man in his thirties.

It was the moment her fantasies about men shattered into pieces.

‘Ha…’

And on top of it all, the thing she started to help caused a misunderstanding, and Hyunseung, who lost the bet, was now going to end up buying a high-end brand suit too, wasn’t he?

Because of this damned underwear, everything had gotten tangled up.

“I have to untangle everything.”

Jung Arin checked the time. Since Hyunseung seemed to be going to work out, it would usually take about an hour, right?

“Good. There’s plenty of time.”

Jung Arin immediately grabbed the laundry pile and Hyunseung’s favorite underwear, and left the studio.

---

After finishing their workout, Hyunseung headed to the studio with Executive Director Park.

“So who is that guy Kim Woohyun’s hung up on?”

Executive Director Park kept poking Hyunseung in the side, urging him to talk, since he was stubbornly staying silent.

“Over there, you can see him. Ask him yourself.”

At the end of the hallway Hyunseung indicated with his chin, Kim Woohyun was walking as usual with coffee in both hands.

“He came in early?”

Executive Park looked once at the watch on his wrist and asked with his eyebrows twitching.

Because it wasn’t even 7 o’clock yet.

“He comes at this time every day, drops off coffee, and leaves.”

“That’s devotion. I told you, you can’t keep coddling him.”

“Aren’t you the one who coddles the kids the most, Executive Director Park?”

At that, Executive Park lifted his shoulders and asked back as if protesting, “Me?”

“The person who came to butter me up saying ‘Please take good care of Kang Hajun’ and the person standing next to me right now must be two different people.”

“Seriously, why are you bringing up something from ages ago?”

And as he started losing, he spoke slyly and walked ahead. Hyunseung gave a quiet snort at Executive Director Park and matched his pace again.

Soon, with the gap closed and Kim Woohyun’s back clearly in view, Hyunseung opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Seems like lately he’s preparing for handover.”

“That guy’s been stuck there a long time, so he probably has a lot to organize.”

Executive Director Park looked at Kim Woohyun along with Hyunseung, then added in a tone with bitterness mixed in.

“Work, and people too.”

Hyunseung quietly nodded. He had guessed it would be a different situation from his own.

Familiar work, things he accomplished, things he regretted having to stop, ambition, dreams, position, responsibilities, the people he had been responsible for.

Letting go of all of it would not be easy.

And organizing it would be difficult too.

Even so, he felt newly grateful that Kim Woohyun had readily taken his hand, saying he would share his purpose.

To Kim Woohyun, and to Executive Director Park as well.

“But that applies to you too, Executive Director Park.”

At that, Executive Director Park met Hyunseung’s eyes and answered right away.

“Of course. Even more.”

For a moment, time that couldn’t be put into words flickered across his eyes.

“But when a man decides he’s going to accomplish something and takes ambition into his heart, he walks forward without looking back.”

He smiled without a sound and put more strength into his steps.

Hyunseung followed him in silence for a bit, then lifted the corner of his mouth and asked, “Really?”

And then he shouted with all his might toward Kim Woohyun walking ahead.

“Mom!”

Kim Woohyun spun around, spotted him, and waved the hand holding the coffee.

“Looks like the Head of Division doesn’t have ambition after all.”

Executive Director Park looked at Hyunseung speaking with a playful grin, then let out a sigh mixed with laughter.

“You punk, that’s not what I meant…”

Executive Director Park felt grim, thinking somehow Hyunseung wouldn’t change even if he became CEO.

---

Hyunseung, Executive Director Park, and Kim Woohyun, the three men matched their pace and headed to Hyunseung’s studio.

Kim Woohyun was thinking he’d listen to the song that Hyunseung insisted on making.

Executive Park had anticipation that he could finally hear the finished version he had been waiting for.

“No, so who is it?”

“I-It’s a secret.”

“I’ll consult for you.”

Executive Director Park pressed Kim Woohyun for answers, then whispered quietly while pointing with his chin at Hyunseung entering the password at the studio door.

“That guy only looks like that. He doesn’t know anything about women.”

“Leave it to me. Leave it to me.”

Then he patted his broad chest and gave a wink.

‘Ugh.’

Kim Woohyun thought it was extremely grotesque, but couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Beep-beep-beep-beep-!

The studio door opened, and Kim Woohyun pushed Executive Park’s back, telling him they should talk inside.

Click!

Hyunseung felt along the wall and turned on the light.

“Wh-What is that?”

He flinched, trembling, because he saw a human-shaped figure in one corner of the studio.

“A… robber?”

“Get him!”

Then Kim Woohyun and Executive Director Park, who had followed in, charged at the unknown person.

“Ah, no.”

With a single cry, that person nimbly broke through them and bolted out of the studio.

“Chase!”

“Yes!”

Hyunseung reached out to stop Kim Woohyun and Executive Director Park from chasing the intruder, but they rushed out of the studio in an instant.

“They don’t even need to chase….”

Hyunseung clicked his tongue and looked toward where the intruder had been.

A neatly sorted laundry pile was there, and on top of it, a note.

[ Underwear… I’m sorry. ]

It was scrawled roughly, clearly trying not to be identifiable.

“Nice effort.”

But Hyunseung already knew exactly who the owner of that note was.

---

Jung Arin thought.

‘I’m screwed.’

This situation she created with her meddling was so miserable.

“It’s an intruder, get her!”

“A sasaeng fan who broke in!”

She didn’t even know why she had become an intruder or a sasaeng fan.

But one thing was sure.

There was no hole to escape through.

“Kneel, hands up.”

Trying to shake off Executive Park and Kim Woohyun, she ran wherever her feet took her, and of all places it was the lobby, and even the security guards standing there joined in and surrounded her.

“Now!”

Since she had her face buried under a mask and cap, they didn’t recognize who she was.

Jung Arin curled up, avoiding them as they advanced threateningly.

‘Please let this be a dream….’

With her eyes squeezed shut, she prayed for all of this to end.

Please, please.

But as if to prove it wasn’t a dream, Executive Park’s thick hand grabbed her shoulder.

“Let’s see your face.”

Just as he raised his hand like he was about to rip her cap off in one go—

“Wait.”

An unfamiliar voice came from somewhere.

“Stop.”

As he appeared, the crowd surrounding her split into two.

Jung Arin lifted her head and looked at the man standing in front of her.

He was wearing a helmet, but she could tell.

Yeah.

Flame Mask Man— no, Composer-nim came to save her!

Then Kim Woohyun stepped in as if to stop Hyunseung.

“No, even so, it’s an intruder who snuck into your studio without fear, we need to find out why they came.”

But Hyunseung, as if it was fine, held up his palm toward him.

“It’s okay. I know him.”

“You know him?”

“Yes. Someone we all know.”

It wasn’t only the others who were surprised at that. Jung Arin also stared at Hyunseung in shock.

It was only a moment, but did he realize who she was?

As expected.

‘Composer-nim isn’t just sharp in making songs, he’s sharp-eyed too.’

Jung Arin praised Hyunseung in her mind.

Of course, if you really think about it, it was still humiliating that Hyunseung had found her out.

But it was far better than having her identity exposed in front of all these people.

Then Hyunseung helped her up from where she was crouched on the floor and said,

“Since there are a lot of eyes on us, should we go back to the studio and talk?”

I will follow you for the rest of my life, God-tchis.

.

.

.

I rescind the decision I just made about following him for life.

“Now, want to tell me?”

Looking at Hyunseung staring down at her with a blank face that radiated pressure, she thought that this was even more like hell.

“Why you stole my underwear.”

“Th-that is….”

“And why you put it back.”

Hyunseung continued in a flat tone.

“Can’t you say it?”

He asked sharply, then like he had no choice, pulled out his phone.

“Then I’ll turn on the group Face Talk again and show what you did—”

“Ah, wait, wait! I’ll talk, so please, not that…!”

Really, this is more hell.

“That bastard.”

“That vicious bastard.”

As if agreeing with her feelings, Executive Director Park and Kim Woohyun added from behind. But they didn’t look like they intended to help.

They were just giving her pitiful looks.

“Fine, then let’s do this.”

Then Hyunseung spoke again.

“You’re going to sing the song I’m about to play.”

For once, it sounded like good news. Meaning, he was telling her to sing the song Hyunseung made, wasn’t he?

He should be punishing her, and he’s giving her a reward like this.

As expected.

I should follow him for life. Pure light, my savior.

‘God-tchis!’

Jung Arin nodded with sparkling eyes, without a moment of hesitation.

But that resolve didn’t last long either.

“Only, make it so I can be satisfied in one day.”

That was basically telling her to do the impossible.

“If you can’t, I’ll execute you through the group Face Talk.”

At those words, Jung Arin finally lowered her head. Executive Director Park and Kim Woohyun looked at her with sympathy and added again.

“That bastard.”

“That vicious bastard.”

Jung Arin wanted to say it too, along with them.

‘That wicked bastard.’