Hyunseung returned to Korea again with the others.
Now, really….
Once he wraps up everything about life in Korea properly, it will be over.
“I finished all the handover, and now all I have to do today is clean out my office.”
Kim Woohyun said that, and his face somehow looked both relieved and regretful.
“My house in the U.S. is all ready too. They said all the furniture is already moved in, so it seems like you can just pack your clothes and take your mother with you.”
Hyunseung spoke evenly as he fixed the top of his studio desk.
“Thank you, truly.”
At those words, Kim Woohyun answered just as evenly.
“Executive Director Park already finished the handover too, and he said he’s going to go to the U.S. first and get the kids’ transfer enrollment ready.”
“I see. He already prepared everything.”
At the tone of his voice, where a deep loneliness seemed to keep clinging, Hyunseung let out a quiet hum for a moment.
“Did a fan cafe open in Korea, so you’re starting to feel sad about leaving?”
He asked playfully.
In truth… inside that, there was a feeling that might be possible. Yeah, rather than his own will, maybe he was just following along because of Hyunseung’s wishes, feeling sorry and grateful.
“It’s absolutely not that.”
“Then what?”
“It’s just, it’s been bothering me.”
Kim Woohyun fell into thought for a moment.
“The fan cafe is the fan cafe, but leaving Danbi behind….”
As if even just saying her name felt good, a faint smile bloomed at the corner of his lips when he said, “Danbi.”
Seriously.
At that level, it is severe.
“Then go to America together and get married. The house is big enough, it seems more than enough as a newlywed home.”
Hyunseung replied as if he had lost interest, in a flat tone.
“That can’t happen.”
“Why?”
“I told her I’d become an even cooler man and come back for her.”
Kim Woohyun said proudly, spreading out shoulders that were already as big as a mountain.
“Yes, do that.”
But Hyunseung did not even look at him and opened a work window.
“Are you going to do nothing but work until you go to America?”
At that sight, Kim Woohyun asked as if he was truly sick of it.
“No.”
“You’re not going to work?”
“That’s true, but…”
“At that point, you’re a work addict.”
Then, with a face full of concern, he put a hand at his waist and continued.
“How about doing something you can only do in Korea before you go? Refresh a bit, too.”
To Kim Woohyun, Hyunseung did not seem very interested in other hobbies or leisure. Sometimes he fiddled with a game console, and he knew how to eat a lot.
Sometimes, he looked like a person who knew nothing except work, so it worried him.
“Hm.”
Hearing that, Hyunseung let out a thoughtful hum, like he was worried.
“Something you can only do in Korea…”
“Did something come to mind?”
“Yes. Something very good came to mind.”
He smiled, as if something had occurred to him.
“What is it?”
But people do not change easily, they say.
“First, before that.”
Hyunseung turned his body, looked at the work window, and added.
“I’ll make the song we’re going to release for the Christmas season first. My head feels itchy.”
Seriously.
“That music pervert…”
It really looked like work addiction.
Before Hyunseung moved to the U.S. for good, he made one plan.
To do something he could only do in Korea, and to do what he liked most.
That was….
[ Nationwide famous restaurant stamp project ]
The name sounded quite grand, but in a way, it really just meant he was going to eat and go around.
But there were foods you could only taste in Korea, and he liked eating, so he chose it as something he could happily do.
In his past life, he did not really travel around the country, and he did not go out of his way to seek out famous restaurants.
So…
Hyunseung, with only a car key and a wallet casually taken along, went to Jeolla Province, a city of taste, and three full days passed.
Bibimbap, bulgogi, kalguksu, jukkumi, gukbap, hanjeongsik, and so on….
He ate countless things.
And to eat the last morning meal in Jeolla Province, he moved his steps.
The place he would “stamp” today was….
< Jiri Arrowroot Cold Noodles >
A place with a very long history, a perfect restaurant for hikers of Jirisan to cool their sweat as they pass through.
The outside was a bit run down, but it truly gave off the feeling of a real famous spot.
“One person.”
Even this early, the inside was crowded with people.
Just in case, he pulled a cap down deep, but.
Fortunately, most of the customers were quite old, so no one recognized him.
“One large arrowroot cold noodles, please.”
After finishing his order with the auntie who looked simple and down to earth, Hyunseung took a seat in a tucked away corner.
“What, why are there so many people?”
Looking around the restaurant from under the brim of his cap, it seemed that today, not only customers but also a filming crew had come to the restaurant.
“Could we possibly do a short one line interview?”
He could see a woman who looked like a reporter asking a middle aged man who was eating at another table for an interview.
“Ah, it’s chewy and cool, so it feels like it releases all the anger that’s piled up inside, you know?”
The middle aged man who got the interview request ended up slurping up the noodles with a loud sound.
Gulp.
Watching that, Hyunseung’s mouth watered.
‘I want to eat quickly.’
Hyunseung’s head was filled with that one thought.
And without even realizing the reporter was interviewing people one by one and approaching him, he stared blankly at people eating around him.
“Excuse me, could you say a word for an interview?”
Right then, Hyunseung, sitting alone, got caught in the reporter’s radar.
“Ah, I’m okay.”
“We thought it’d be good to get interviews from younger people too. You haven’t started eating yet, so you can just tell us how you found out about this place, just that much and that’s fine!”
“No, I don’t want to.”
Coming back to his senses, Hyunseung pulled his cap down even deeper and refused.
But the reporter did not seem willing to back off easily. She came right up close and threw out an offer that could tempt him.
“For those who cooperate with our interview, we’re paying for their meal, so could you do it just once? It’s really fine even if it’s just one short line.”
It started as an offer, and ended as the reporter’s plea.
In the end, Hyunseung answered without realizing it, “Sure.”
“Thank you!”
Belatedly, he regretted it with an Oh no, but the camera had already focused on Hyunseung.
“Is it okay if I do it with my cap on?”
At that question, the reporter clearly looked a bit disappointed, but…
‘I can’t miss this.’
Even if half his face was covered, she wanted to capture the young man who gave off a warm, handsome atmosphere.
“Of course!”
She nodded vigorously, like it did not matter.
“If I ask one question, just answer comfortably like you’re talking to a friend.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, how did you end up learning about this place and coming here?”
“I was planning a nationwide famous restaurant stamp project, and I heard this place is a really old famous spot, so I thought I had to stop by and came to find it.”
Hyunseung spoke easily, really like he was talking to a friend.
“That’s enough, right? My food is here now, so could you put the camera away?”
As soon as the cold noodles were set in front of him, he waved a hand as if he was annoyed.
“Ah, yes!”
The reporter was about to step back, putting her regret behind her, when.
“And you really will pay, okay.”
After adding that, Hyunseung immediately picked up his chopsticks.
Then after confirming the filming crew had moved to another table, he immediately pulled a big mouthful of chewy arrowroot noodles into his mouth.
“Hah…”
It was truly a taste that made an exclamation burst out on its own.
Thinking he did well to come early in the morning, Hyunseung shoved his face down toward the bowl and ate.
Slurp, slurp.
Without knowing that sight was being caught on the camera angle.
Before going to stamp other regions, Hyunseung came back up to Seoul after exactly three days, to reset.
Still.
Maybe home really was comfortable, because the moment he lay down on the bed, fatigue surged over him.
“Mmm….”
Hyunseung, lying on the bed, was just about to fall asleep.
Bzzz!
Startled by his phone suddenly ringing, he opened his eyes.
[ I have something to tell you. ]
A text arrived from a number he did not recognize.
[ No, I have a song I want you to hear. ]
And since it was an English text, he judged it might be some new kind of scam and was about to ignore it, when.
Bzzz!
Another text arrived right after.
[ No, I have something I want to ask of you. ]
Before he could even reply asking who they were, the unknown person sent one message after another.
[ First, can you tell me your email address just once? ]
[ I want you to listen first, and then I want you to accept my request. ]
At the tone that sounded like they knew he would accept it, Hyunseung’s interest was piqued, and he immediately replied with his email address.
Rumble.
Then he sat down at his computer desk right away and waited for the email to arrive.
Ding.
Before long, a new email arrived.
“Hm?”
When he clicked the email, there was no content at all, and only five attached files.
“Ah.”
Recalling the text that said, [ I want you to listen first, and then I want you to accept my request, ] Hyunseung immediately played the attached audio file.
“Mmm.”
It was not as bad as he expected. If it were a complete mess, he planned to shut it off right away and block the number.
Of course.
To Hyunseung’s ears, it was still far from enough, but it was a song that still had a composer’s grain living in it.
More than anything, the guide vocal’s voice was good, so he also wanted to keep listening.
Yeah.
If it went through a proper mastering process and got completed, it felt like it could become a decent album.
Is he an aspiring composer?
But….
How did he get my contact?
Just as that question rose.
‘But I’ve heard this somewhere before…’
Another question took over his whole body.
‘Yeah, definitely…’
Listening to the song for a while, Hyunseung got wrapped in a strange sense of familiarity.
A melody and a voice that felt like he had heard them somewhere.
‘Where did I hear it?’
Just as Hyunseung tried to dig through his memory.
Bzzzzzz!
A call came in from the number that had just been texting him.
“Hello.”
To solve the questions that were filling him, Hyunseung answered right away.
“Could you help me?”
It was the unknown man’s first line.
But it was also a voice he recognized.
The guide vocal voice he had just heard in the audio file.
And a legendary musician in the U.K., remembered for a long time as a historical figure even after his death…
“Daniel Parker?”
“How did you know?”
“Are you really Daniel Parker?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Hyunseung, startled, could not continue speaking, and just stared blankly at his phone screen.
How would I know?
In his previous life, Hyunseung started composing after listening to Daniel Parker’s songs.
It started from curiosity, thinking, Could I make a song like that too?
In a way…
You could say he was the person who influenced Hyunseung the most in his previous life.
That kind of person, that legendary figure….
Hyunseung, without letting down his guard, asked.
Because he could not believe it at all.
“How did you know me, and why did you contact me?”
“Mateo said if I contacted you, you would help.”
At that, Hyunseung muttered, “Ah.”
Right.
Mateo produced Daniel’s debut album.
Come to think of it, that old man really is an incredible person.
‘Which makes me want him to join me even more.’
Thinking that soon, he should use helping Daniel as an excuse to tempt Mateo one more time, Hyunseung adjusted his grip on the receiver.
“But it’s already plenty good, so what are you asking for?”
“It’s a truly important album to me, so I want you to handle everything, from arrangement to director work.”
“I’m fine with that, but are you retiring?”
“No.”
Daniel answered firmly, then let out a small laugh on his own and corrected himself.
“No, I am retiring.”
Then he added in a calm voice.
“I’m going to die soon.”
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