James was extremely flustered.
“I seriously can’t take this anymore!”
“Why now, again.”
“I just want to drink one bottle of beer.”
“Just hold it in.”
He had thought he would be able to capture the dramatic work process on camera…
But instead?
The moment he arrived, Daniel and HS carried on arguing with grim expressions.
‘Can I even include this…?’
The camera was already rolling, its red light glowing.
But James still wasn’t sure whether he could include this situation as part of the documentary.
And that was because….
Daniel’s tone was steadily growing more heated.
“I can’t stay sane without drinking beer!”
“Why can’t you?”
Daniel, who looked even more gaunt than at the last meeting, shouted as if bursting out with all the resentment that had built up inside him.
“You’re seriously asking why? That damn ‘again, again, again’! I’m sick to death of it! What kind of feeling do you even want?”
“You said it was an album that would contain your personas, didn’t you? Then you should figure that out yourself. What are you expecting me to do by asking me?”
“What? Can a director really say something that irresponsible?”
“Is that my fault? No matter how much I try to tune it, what am I supposed to do if I just don’t like the sound the instrument is making?”
As the situation kept escalating, James stood by the entrance, carefully reading the room.
“Forget it. Let’s just act like there never was an album, or a documentary, or a concert.”
“What?”
“What’s the point of any of that if I die anyway? Even now, I’m dying little by little every second.”
Daniel had only raised his voice for a few lines, but already his breathing had turned labored, and he sucked in rough breaths.
A moment ago, the words he had hurled out were partly spoken in a burst of temper…
But on the other hand, they were sincere too.
Daniel really was running toward death day by day. His condition yesterday was different from today.
And his voice no longer cooperated the way it used to.
As if HS didn’t understand his condition, he kept making him repeat the recordings.
“This won’t do at all.”
He would look at him with what seemed like disappointment and postpone the work altogether.
The more that happened, the more Daniel’s passion for the “final work” cooled.
No.
The truth was, he was too frustrated to bear it.
‘Damn it.’
If only he were just a little younger, if only he hadn’t gotten sick.
‘I could’ve finished a little recording like this in no time.’
Daniel met the eyes of HS, who was staring at him without any expression. Looking at those bright golden eyes, he suddenly felt envious.
Those sharp, vividly sparkling eyes.
That extraordinary talent.
And the abundance of time given to him.
Yes.
In truth, at some point Daniel had begun to get caught up in wistful longing whenever he looked at HS.
He knew it was pathetic to feel that way at his age.
But what could he do?
People are bound to yearn most for and cherish most what they can never return to and can never recover.
Daniel envied HS’s youth, vitality, and healthy body.
‘I definitely had a time like that too.’
There had once been days like that.
Days when his eyes sparkled brilliantly, and he raged madly over music like a man who feared nothing…
He had thought, ‘Isn’t this still young enough?’
But in front of real youth, it was nothing more than an unbearably pitiful memory.
And on top of that, Daniel’s body was gradually withering under the disease.
Even Daniel, who had once been simple enough to seem like he knew nothing but alcohol, women, and music, was growing sharper and harsher in the face of death.
“Have you said everything you wanted to say?”
Before long, HS asked in a flat tone, as if he could see straight through everything inside him.
But Daniel didn’t answer.
It was too late now to try to take back what he had said. He had already said far too much.
More than anything, he knew he had revealed the ugliest part of himself, and that made it even harder to speak.
Then HS wrapped up the situation with a single sentence.
“If you’ve still got enough strength left to talk nonsense, get in the booth.”
At those words, Daniel obediently walked into the booth.
Yes, even in the middle of all this…
The song HS had made was good enough that he wanted to sing it.
In truth, even if it killed him, he wanted to complete it perfectly.
Meanwhile, James, who had been anxiously reading the sudden situation…
“By the way, aren’t you going to collect the cameras?”
“Ah, I… I was just about to. Please just pretend I’m not here and work comfortably.”
He couldn’t help thinking that maybe today he might capture a pretty impressive “trailer.”
As soon as the work was fully completed, Daniel went to see the agency CEO he had been with for a long time.
“You worked hard, you worked hard.”
The moment Lions saw Daniel, he immediately pulled him into an embrace and patted his back.
Pat, pat.
Even if their relationship was technically that of a CEO and his signed artist.
The two of them had been on easy, familiar terms with each other for a very long time.
And that was because Lions was actually Daniel’s childhood friend, and his manager.
And when Daniel found massive success, he gave Lions a huge amount of money, and that was what gave birth to…
The record company now known as INVT.
It wasn’t a world-famous label, nor one with a long and prestigious history, but simply because Daniel belonged to it, INVT Records held a firm position in the United States.
In fact, many musicians had come to the label because of Daniel, and it had grown at a frightening pace.
Even though Daniel was now preparing for retirement.
“It was hard, wasn’t it?”
Still, Lions’s mind was full of concern for Daniel.
“It was fine.”
“Yeah, right.”
Daniel’s cheeks were even more hollow than when he’d seen him not long ago, and that made Lions realize the “rumor” he had heard must have been true.
“I looked into it a bit, and apparently HS is so harsh when he directs that it makes people want to curse.”
“He’s a little persistent, but not harsh enough to call it that.”
“Really? I casually asked Austin, and he said HS locks people up in the booth for days at a time…”
At that, Daniel repeated, “Locks them up?” before trailing off for a moment.
“That must just be a rumor.”
He snorted as if certain there was no way that could be true.
Even while working with him, HS had kept saying “Again” over and over, but never once had it gone past a single day.
More than anything.
Did it even make sense to say someone got locked in a booth for days?
How was it that even the rumors about HS were anything but ordinary?
Heh.
Daniel lightly laughed behind the hand covering his mouth, and then.
“Here, take this first.”
He pulled out a USB stick from his pocket.
“It’s the album track files. Please take good care of it this time too.”
Then he pressed it into Lions’s hand and added.
“No, this time, take even better care of it.”
“Of course.”
Lions clenched the USB tightly in his hand as if it went without saying.
“By the way, are you leaving right away?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are you going?”
“To have fun.”
“You’re going to drink with women again, aren’t you?”
Just as Lions was about to begin nagging, Daniel swiftly got to his feet and started walking.
“You’ve got to drink as much as you can while you still can.”
He gave a playful wink with one eye, then.
“Ah!”
As if something had just come to mind, he snapped his fingers and added.
“Before you listen to that, don’t forget to take a deep breath.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m worried you’ll be so shocked you’ll go before I do.”
Lions stared blankly at Daniel’s smiling face for a moment, then let out a disbelieving laugh and rubbed his lean face.
“You really do say terrifying things when you mean the song is good.”
“I’m not the only one who’s gotten older, am I? I’m telling you to be careful too.”
Daniel smiled faintly along with him, then waved his hand and left the CEO’s office.
Soon, after making sure the door had shut firmly behind him, he placed a call to someone.
“This is Daniel. About what we discussed before, I’d like to come see you today. Would that be alright?”
Lions stared at the door Daniel had walked out of for a long while before finally pulling his gaze away.
“Honestly…”
The corners of his mouth were tilted upward, but he didn’t look happy.
If anything, he looked lonely.
It made sense. His longtime friend Daniel was preparing his final retirement album, and there was nothing he could do for him.
To Lions, the misfortune that had come upon Daniel felt like it was his fault.
Back when they were young, he shouldn’t have shared the whiskey from the house with him.
He should have stopped him more forcefully and told him to smoke less.
Whenever Daniel looked tired, he should have nagged him into going to the hospital.
He had been his friend, his manager, and his CEO.
But looking back, he had never properly taken care of him.
Because he knew Daniel’s circumstances…
Even when Daniel went around spending money recklessly and drinking himself senseless, or created scandals with women every day, or smoked marijuana, Lions had always thought he would stop sooner or later.
Those days he had dismissed so complacently had led to this day.
When his thoughts reached that point…
Lions clenched his fist tightly as guilt surged up inside him.
But then, he immediately opened his hand, worried the USB inside his fist might break.
It was the USB Daniel had left him.
The one containing what could be called the result of his final work.
Yes, he had to listen to it.
Even if, for Lions, even Daniel’s music had become a sorrow too heavy to bear.
Still, he knew it was something he had to endure.
Click, click.
Sitting down at the desk in his office, Lions immediately plugged the USB into the computer and checked the saved files.
- childhood.wav
- shine bright.wav
- it gets dark.wav
- (title)And again.wav
There were a total of four tracks on it, and it looked like the last one was the title track for this album.
Without caring about that, he was just about to play the first track right away when.
“Ah, right. Don’t forget to take a deep breath before you listen to it.”
Daniel’s added warning came back to him.
“I’m worried you’ll be so shocked you’ll go before I do.”
Lions let out a small laugh. Sometimes that guy really did exaggerate.
Of course.
Daniel’s songs had always made his heart race, but they had been together for over forty years.
That was more than enough time to grow used to it, to become dulled to it.
That didn’t mean he was tired of it.
But it did mean there was nothing left that could surprise him.
Click.
Resting his chin on one hand, Lions played the first track.
♫ ♬ ♬
For a brief moment, he was flustered by a song that somehow felt sacred.
“Hm?”
He listened closely to the unfamiliar voice.
It was definitely Daniel’s voice, and yet hearing that beautiful tone brushing at his ears made him doubt whether it was really Daniel’s voice.
“W-wait a second.”
As soon as the first verse ended, Lions immediately played the second track.
Click.
This time, along with a dreamlike intro that seemed as if it could split the sky, Daniel’s voice came in.
♫ ♬ ♬
The melody, joined with Daniel’s unique pronunciation, quickly pulled him in.
For a moment, he was overtaken by the feeling that a dazzling light, just like the song title, was pouring down over him, but soon afterward a wistfulness washed over him, as if it were a light he could never catch no matter how wildly he reached for it.
“Hoo….”
Lions drew in a rough breath and straightened his back.
The second track, whose atmosphere was completely different from any pop song he knew, ended so quickly that even its 3 minutes and 29 seconds felt regrettably short.
Click.
Forgetting even to draw another breath, Lions played the next track.
♫ ♬ ♬
In that hand was a trace of disbelief.
Yes.
The thought, ‘Surely it can’t be better than this?’
He had expected to find himself saying, ‘Of course.’
But instead, with trembling fingertips, Lions played the next track.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Like that, he listened to the four tracks over and over again several times.
And before long, Lions finally understood what Daniel had meant by that warning.
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