Hyunseung was, at this very moment, deeply grateful to Kim Woohyun from the bottom of his heart. And for good reason…
Click, click!
Click, click!
Click, click!
The moment he arrived at the Korean airport, he ended up completely surrounded by people who recognized him.
And it was thanks to Kim Woohyun, who had prepared for any possible situation by arranging a mask and a hat.
And because he had even secured security personnel in advance, Hyunseung was able to make it safely through the crowd and get into the car.
“Haa….”
When he left America, he had even teased Kim Woohyun for overdoing it a little too much…
He should probably take that back.
It was not an official schedule, and he had not told anyone he was coming, so he had assumed no one would recognize him….
Seriously.
It was enough to make him think, ‘At this rate, am I going to end up trapped in the airport?’
Ah, is it because of this?
When he lowered his head, the T-shirt he had thrown on without much thought filled his view.
This was…
the flame-mark helmet T-shirt that had been made as merchandise for the fan meeting.
Apparently, that had ended up becoming the clue that gave him away.
Of course.
Part of it was probably also because his appearance had become known, at least a little, from the second fan meeting’s fancams.
Hyunseung decided he needed to change clothes first as soon as possible.
“If you would like to change clothes, shall we head to the hotel first?”
At that moment, Michelle, who had accompanied him as his secretary, asked.
As expected, she was very quick on the uptake.
“Hmm….”
At the question, Hyunseung looked back and forth between the T-shirt and the view outside the window for a moment.
“No, it’s fine.”
After saying that, he turned his gaze outside again.
The sun was still high overhead.
The sky was wide and clear, and even the wind was blowing softly….
Wasn’t it perfect weather for a game of baduk? (Go)
“Please proceed with the original schedule.”
He decided he would change the T-shirt later.
“And who might you be, again?”
When Hyunseung met Lee Duseok again after so long, the old man asked as if he were looking at a complete stranger.
Though if that were really true, he would not have come running out in a rush in his socks.
“I think I vaguely saw an article saying you went over to America, started a label, and became a CEO, but what brings such an important person here?”
“You do have a tendency to make ‘I missed you’ sound unnecessarily long.”
“Me? To you?”
“Yes. It seems you’re taking quite a long way around to say you were disappointed I never came by for a game.”
“And now you show up, knowing that?”
His tone was grumbling in a way unlike him, but not a trace of dislike showed on his face.
“Since I’ve come now, at least pour me a cup of tea.”
Hyunseung said that slyly to him.
“Have you practiced much in the meantime?”
“I was too busy to.”
“Then I suppose I’ll win today’s match.”
Lee Duseok smiled broadly and began walking toward the pavilion.
Hyunseung also followed slowly behind him.
As the afternoon wore on, the slanting sun kept casting the old man’s shadow down at his feet.
“Sit.”
At that, Hyunseung sat cross-legged across from Lee Duseok. No matter when he came, the well-kept garden was filled with a quiet atmosphere.
Pour.
And the fragrant scent of the tea, steam curling gently upward, put his mind at ease.
Maybe that was why he always felt peaceful whenever he came here.
As if all worries and all fatigue vanished.
“Choose your stones first.”
Without any idle chatter, Lee Duseok picked up the white stones.
Rattle.
Hyunseung, in turn, picked up the black stones.
Tap.
As a result, just like the day they had first played a match over a wager, Lee Duseok took white, and Hyunseung took black.
Rattle, tap.
Rattle, tap.
Rattle, tap.
The match that began with a brief nod continued for quite a long time.
Their playing styles seemed similar, yet were completely different, and their skills were evenly matched.
Rattle, tap.
Rattle, tap.
Rattle, tap.
For a while, they exchanged bold moves without either one showing any sign of backing down.
Tap!
Then, because of Hyunseung’s final clever move, the match came to an end.
“Hm…”
Wearing his thick magnifying glasses, Lee Duseok looked down over the whole board at a glance.
“Seriously, I got fooled again without being able to do a thing.”
Then, with just a glance, he instructed the butler standing nearby to record the game that had just been played.
“Now then, tell me what it is you’ve come to ask. A man at your level would not come all this way, even lying that he hadn’t practiced against an old man like me, unless there was something he wanted.”
Lee Duseok added that while sipping his tea. It seemed he thought Hyunseung had come because he had business with him.
Then again…
It was true that he had always come because he needed something. Though once in a while, he had taken the trouble to come only because of the old man’s check-in texts.
“A favor…”
Since this was the first time he had come with no real purpose at all, it was understandable that he would think that.
“There is something I’d like to ask of you.”
“What could it possibly be, for you to be acting with such weight?”
“I earnestly ask that…”
“‘Earnestly’? Hearing that alone is enough to make me a little afraid of what sort of favor you’re about to ask.”
Hyunseung quietly set down his teacup and continued calmly.
“Sir, please stay well for a long time.”
Perhaps because it was so unexpected, Lee Duseok fumbled the teacup he had been about to lift and let it slip.
Clatter.
As that small sound was followed by the old man’s low murmur,
“Please don’t fall ill, don’t collapse, don’t break down. Please keep living well like this, taking your time, enjoying tea and baduk like you always do.”
Hyunseung added that while looking him directly in the eye.
He meant it.
That was why, the moment he returned to Korea, he had come to see Lee Duseok.
He wanted to make sure he said this.
There had already been one farewell, and that had given rise to all kinds of anxieties.
It had been a farewell he had seen coming, yes, but farewells were not the sort of thing you could ever prepare for just because you expected them.
Without realizing it, he had grown attached….
And affection that had lost the person meant to receive it could find nowhere to stay, drifting aimlessly through empty air.
Please.
He hoped nothing like that would happen again.
That wrinkled, kindly face looking at him.
That small, frail shadow stretched long beneath the sunset.
Even if it was greedy of him, he hoped the day would never come when he could no longer see them.
No.
He hoped that day would come very slowly, very late.
Sip.
In place of an answer, Lee Duseok simply closed his eyes leisurely and drank his tea.
There was no way to know what he was thinking at that moment.
Even though Hyunseung had come back after turning back twelve years, even all of that time put together was far shorter than the years the old man had lived.
And he could not dare imagine, or even guess, the heart of someone who had lived through so many things in all those years.
Still, there was one thing he was certain of.
The old man probably understood it all. Understood exactly what kind of heart had led him to say this.
“Teacher.”
That was why it made him even more uneasy. The sight of him saying nothing sent anxiety swirling through him.
“Sir…”
Just as Hyunseung called to him again, unable to settle his nerves,
“Very well. I’ll do that.”
“You’ve promised.”
“I lost the match, so I have to keep it.”
Lee Duseok answered with a smile as clear as a wildflower in early summer.
“I’ll come back again before too long.”
Only then did Hyunseung ease his stiff legs, rise to his feet, and promise him another game.
Their time together was always short, but they were people who exchanged style and emotion through the game itself.
So.
There was no need to pile on long-winded words.
“Don’t keep this old man waiting too long.”
He was surely of the same mind.
[ Waysun changes group name to ‘4WAY’! Single ‘luv, luv, luv’ to be released on the 23rd of this month…. ]
[ Newly transformed group 4WAY, single ‘luv, luv, luv’ featuring composer HS to be released soon… ]
[ The girl group chosen by HS? 4WAY to release single album ‘luv, luv, luv’ on domestic music sites this month… ]
Jin Miso stopped reading the articles and let out a low hum.
Scroll, scroll.
Even if she currently claimed she only dug into ‘HS,’ she still prided herself on being fairly knowledgeable about idols.
However.
She had never heard either the name Waysun or 4WAY in her life, so she could not help tilting her head.
Of course.
It was not as if HS had never given songs to unknown idols before. Even setting aside artists under LS Entertainment…
There had been The Moon, who had now firmly risen into the ranks of popular male idols.
But what puzzled her was the fact that HS was now in America, not Korea.
And had there not just recently been news that, after working on the late Daniel’s project, he had also taken part in the Worlds theme song?
No, come on, there’s only one body. How does this even make sense?
Along with worrying about HS’s well-being, Jin Miso began to doubt whether this was even humanly possible.
More than anything, everyone had been insisting that HS would never again work with Korean singers.
Jin Miso had thought the same.
That was why she once again began digging through the portal sites.
Grind.
If these people were just using ‘HS’ like an ad keyword to stir up attention, then as the president of the fan café, she was absolutely not going to let that slide, and she ground her teeth.
Scroll, scroll.
Surely they hadn’t just casually slapped his name on there, thinking that because HS was in America, he would never know….
It looked like some tiny agency too, so did they really have that kind of nerve…?
“Huh?”
But that suspicion melted away almost immediately.
[ Composer HS, reborn as CEO of American label ‘VINCIS,’ enters Korea this morning… ]
[ HS’s simple airport look becomes a hot topic… wearing merch T-shirt ]
[ Composer HS enters Korea ahead of group 4WAY’s release! ]
Because news that HS had entered Korea was going up in real time.
“Kyaa!”
As if she had never doubted a thing, Jin Miso leapt up from her seat in delight.
Just the fact that he was breathing on the same Korean soil made her feel as if they were sharing the very same air.
“Ah.”
This was no time to be sitting around.
Tap-tatatak, tap-tak!
She was happy that his career kept moving forward even after going to America, though there were parts that worried her too….
But as the president of HS’s fan club, Jin Miso was someone who had always supported and cheered on every single one of his activities.
Therefore, that included the “instruments” led by HS as well.
Signs are showing that God HS is about to drop another nuclear-level bomb
That title ought to be enough.
Tap-tatatak, tap-tak!
The content inside was simple too. It said that HS might be starting Korean activities again, that the first of those might be a girl group called 4WAY, and that their song ‘luv, luv, luv’ would be released on the 23rd of this month, so everyone should stream hard.
It might not seem like it would do much…
But posts written by Jin Miso, president of the fan café, had quite a bit of reach, and more than anything, considering that the fan café currently had close to one million members….
“Heh.”
Even if the ball she had launched was small, it would not be long before it swelled into something huge like a snowball.
“Hyup!”
Only after going around posting in the fan café, on her personal Switty, and across various communities did Jin Miso finally stretch.
Really.
As the fan café president, she felt nothing but pride that, for the first time in a long while, she had done something that might actually help HS.
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