Presto (1)
After finishing a cozy dinner and enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee, Seol-ah dropped a bombshell.
"I'm going home today!"
"So suddenly?"
"Yeah. Even if you miss me, hang in there!"
"I'll say it again, but you can just stay here. You even ordered a computer, Manager."
"...U-Uh, that's for emergencies. It can't be a perfect replacement!"
"Are you worried you'll be in the way?"
"...No, Saebyeok, I know you'd do fine even if I'm here. It's just that I'm the problem."
"I think I have an idea of what you're thinking, but take it slow, okay? Don't push yourself. Got it?"
"...Okay."
Perhaps realizing she would never leave if she lingered any longer, Seol-ah began packing her things.
A corner of my heart already felt empty, but I couldn't hold her back when she was working toward her dreams.
We put on a whole dramatic show in the parking lot, acting as if we would never see each other again.
"Waaah... Don't cry! I'll be back soon..."
It was actually Seol-ah who was crying, but for the sake of domestic peace, I kept my mouth shut.
"Drive safely, and call me when you get there."
"T-Then, I'm off?"
"Yeah. See you on the stream later."
Right. We were acting like this, but we'd meet again on stream in three hours anyway.
"I'm r-really going! Bye!"
Vroooom—
After filming a farewell scene straight out of a third-rate movie, a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
They say life is a drama, and they certainly weren't lying.
"Sigh... I do miss her, though."
They say you don't notice someone's presence, but you certainly notice their absence. Returning to the house, it felt incredibly empty.
Is this a severe case of attachment?
"Ah, whatever! Let's stop moping and get back to practicing!"
There was only one way to get used to the new equipment: playing it.
For some reason, the music that came out was dark and bluesy, but hey.
Isn't this also great music?
I roughly scribbled down the melody floating in my head into my composition notebook.
"This is a total breakup song..."
When some time passed, I'd have to explain the origin of this song to Seol-ah.
Would she laugh or cry? That would be quite interesting to see.
To me, who had spent a significant portion of my life making music, she seemed to have become a sort of 'muse.'
After all, I had composed a whopping ten songs during the five days I spent with her.
Should I name the album 'Muse'?
Of course, they still needed more polishing.
[Open the doorrrrrrr!]
[A streamer who ghosts for a whole week actually exists?]
[Once again, I was the only one who was serious... Once again, I was the only one who was serious... Once again, I was the only one who was serious...]
[You're gonna get sooooo scolded today!]
After arriving home, Seol-ah burst into tears while on the phone with Saebyeok.
"Waaah... I miss you already."
After receiving Saebyeok's warm comfort, she gathered her strength and prepared for the broadcast.
No matter what anyone said, her duty right now was to be his manager.
Even though the stream hadn't started yet, malicious trolls were already causing a ruckus. They were like cockroaches, multiplying endlessly no matter how many times you killed them.
Without any warning or compromise, she ruthlessly swung her moderator sword to ban them.
"How dare they! Who are they saying those awful things to?! I'm the one crying tears of blood because I can't watch him from the front row anymore!"
Since he wasn't doing a webcam stream yet, she could have easily co-hosted with him inside the booth.
However, in that short span of time, Seol-ah had realized just how weak she was to him.
"I'll definitely fall for him all over again and squeal. And if my voice gets picked up by the mic, oh gosh..."
A streamer, who was no different from a celebrity, had to maintain a certain fantasy.
Hearing a woman's voice right next to him when he was turning on his stream for the first time in a week?
No matter how she looked at it, that was crossing a major line.
"Whew... Equipment is OK, recording setup is OK. I already went to the bathroom... Great!"
Just then, a message from Saebyeok arrived.
"Hello, Dalnimdan and viewers. It's been a while. Dawn's Music Radio starts now."
[He's hereeeee!]
[Oppa, why are you only coming now!]
[I almost got lost in the space-time continuum]
[Saebyeok is in the wrong here!]
"Ahaha... The preparation period was a bit long because I wanted to repay you with good music. As an apology, I'll start with a song."
[If you put it that way, we can easily for...give you.]
[Ghosting us for a week... is forgiven for a single song?]
[fr lol beat me up, you crazy bitches.]
[fr lol]
[fr lol]
"Here is the first song. I'll play Lionel Richie's 'Say You, Say Me' for you."
Today's start was the synthesizer.
Over the repeating, overlapping opening notes, Saebyeok's voice began with deep, soulful appeal.
Say you, say me; say it for always
That's the way it should be
Say you, say me; say it together
Naturally
The viewers were instantly captivated by his song, which felt like a quiet, whispering invitation.
As the drums filled in, his voice grew a bit stronger.
By the time the repeating lyrics became familiar, everyone in their own spaces began to sing along one by one.
[Say you~]
[Say me~]
[Singing togetherrrrr~]
As we go down life's lonesome highway
Seems the hardest thing to find is a friend or two
[Wow... the lyrics are so good.]
[Saebyeok's voice is so moist and emotional!]
Before they knew it, the song was rushing toward its climax, and his voice sang as if offering earnest advice.
It's time to start believing, oh yes
Believing who you are: you are a shining star
[Say you~]
[Say me~]
[Singing togetherrrrr~]
[🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟]
"Hoping that everyone becomes a shining star, that was Lionel Richie's 'Say You, Say Me' as our first song."
[🌙]Saebyeok'sLoyalListener donated 100,000 KRW!
"Thank you for introducing such a great song, Saebyeok-nim!"
[🌙]Saebyeok'sFootstool donated 100,000 KRW!
"Heeeuuung... Hang in there, my eardrums!"
[🌙]Saebyeok'sMoon donated 100,000 KRW!
"Oppa... this is so good."
"Ahaha... Loyal Listener, Footstool, Moon, thank you all for the donations."
[Eardrum boyfriend]
[Agreed]
[Saebyeok's song selection is just too good to begin with]
"I put quite a bit of thought into selecting it, so I'm glad it resonated. Since it's such a famous masterpiece, it's a great song to ride the coattails of, right?"
[Ayy~]
[No way! That's cap!]
[No humility allowed, please]
"Oh, you caught me? Then let's move right on to the next song. Once you hear this one, someone might figure out my intention. I'll sing a requested song for the first person to guess it correctly."
[Brb, charging my balance! Wait for me!]
[This reward is mine!]
[Is Saebyeok a god? Is Saebyeok a god? Is Saebyeok a god?]
[Kukuku... Is the seal finally broken?]
[This young lady shall risk her entire musical life to guess it correctly!]
[🌙]Saebyeok'sRabbit donated 10,000 KRW!
"Rabbit is running. Current time 10:22. What's the delay?"
"You don't have to answer via donation. Just raise your hand and say 'Correct Answer'! I hope this becomes content that everyone can enjoy. Now, I'll play the second song, Richard Sanderson's 'Reality'."
A familiar melody flowed from the very beginning.
A few viewers were already letting out exclamations of awe.
They quickly quieted down at his emotional first verse, losing themselves in the music.
Met you by surprise
I didn't realize that my life would change forever
[Ahhhhh, I think I know it!]
[Shut up, you crazy jerk. Listening comes first right now.]
[ Shh! ]
Dreams are my reality, the only kind of real fantasy
Illusions are a common thing, I try to live in dreams
It seems as if it's meant to be
[Reality~]
[I'm melting, literally melting...]
[(⋆◗̑◡◗̑)⸝♡⃛⸜(◖̑◡◖̑⋆)]
The viewers, completely captivated by Saebyeok, forgot all about guessing the answer and drifted into nostalgic memories together.
His voice, exceptionally moist and emotional today, seemed to carry an irresistible magic.
Dreams are my reality, I like to dream of you close to me
To dream but loving through the night
To hold you seems to be quite right
Perhaps that's my reality
Even after the final verse ended, the viewers, lost in sweet fantasies, couldn't snap out of it for a long while.
After waiting for a moment, Saebyeok spoke.
"They say love starts unexpectedly, right? And by the time you realize it, it's already too late. Just like the song, I hope everyone's imagination becomes reality."
[🌙]Saebyeok'sFirstWife donated 100,000 KRW!
"I've already realized it, oppa!"
[🌙]Saebyeok'sLadyOfTheHouse donated 100,000 KRW!
"My Lord, please come to the guest room tonight."
[🌙]Saebyeok'sQueen donated 100,000 KRW!
"This queen's dream shall come true 🌟"
"Ah... haha."
[Saebyeok is flustered, lol]
[What did you expect? Honestly, is there any girl who wouldn't fall for you after hearing a song like that?]
[Seriously... this place is as good as the rumors say]
[I hate myself for only finding out about this today.]
"Um... everyone? What about the answer?"
[Ahhhhh]
[Oh, right]
[It was so sweet I lost my ability to think]
[Uh, uh...]
[🌙]Saebyeok'sRabbit donated 100,000 KRW!
"Rabbit has the answer! Both songs are OSTs!"
[Ah!]
[Is that so?]
[I knew Reality was, but Say You, Say Me too?]
[That's correct...]
"Rabbit-nim got it right! Lionel Richie's 'Say You, Say Me' is the theme song for the movie White Nights. Richard Sanderson's 'Reality' is the theme song for the movie La Boum. By the way, it's good to know that both songs reached number one on the Billboard charts!"
[Ah, La Boum!]
[That's the one where they put the headphones on her, right?]
[Yep, exactly.]
[Wow... Saebyeok knows so much]
"Since Rabbit-nim got the correct answer, everyone give her a round of applause!"
[🙏🙏🙏🙏]
[Clap clap clap... *gritting teeth*!]
[Rabbit again?]
[Must be nice...]
"Ahaha... There will be another chance next time, so don't be too upset. Rabbit-nim? Ah! You've already submitted your request through the Music Book. Shall we read it?"
When he pressed the play button, the text-to-speech voice began reading the story.
"Salute! This is Rabbit, a third-year reservist. I've been spending happy days listening to all the songs you've sung by adding them to my playlist. But then, the YouTube algorithm showed me a Hongdae busking video. At first, I watched it in awe, but then something felt familiar. After listening to that video over a hundred times, I realized the voice tone is just too similar to yours, Saebyeok-nim. It's you, right?"
Saebyeok was hit right where it hurt, leaving him speechless.
Oh no... My singing style was different, so how did she know?
Cold sweat ran down his back at Seol-ah's whisper.
Hyde... stop!