A Sea Embracing Stars
The title of the song was decided as A Sea Embracing Stars.
But Cheol-jun was pouting slightly.
"No matter how much I think about it, I still think Quantum Mechanics is a better title..."
Min Chan-woo shook his head with a firm expression.
"Absolutely not!"
"..."
Cheol-jun's pout grew even longer.
Min Chan-woo watched Cheol-jun's reaction warily before letting out a quiet sigh.
This was his first time working with someone else.
Composing, writing lyrics, and even arranging—he had always done everything entirely on his own.
In other words, he had no idea what collaboration actually entailed.
And as it turned out, it was quite difficult.
Especially when he had to walk on eggshells around someone who was practically the original creator.
This was a completely new experience for Min Chan-woo, who had never had to answer to anyone before.
"Uh, we haven't officially finalized the title yet. But Quantum Mechanics is just a bit..."
"And can't we just call this part a state function instead?"
Min Chan-woo stared blankly at the lyrics he had written down.
The sun rises indifferently, as if nothing happened, shining upon the sea.
And right next to it were the lyrics Cheol-jun had scribbled, wanting to make a correction.
The sun rises indifferently, just like a state function...
Cheol-jun's small finger tapped on that bizarre, outlandish term: "state function."
"Saying 'as if nothing happened' might sound like it's empty or meaningless! But a state function refers to a state where countless variables pull and push against each other to achieve perfect equilibrium. So wouldn't this fit much better?"
"..."
"A state function sounds more sophisticated, and it can contain so much more meaning implicitly..."
"Uh, Cheol-jun. Hearing you explain it like that, it really does sound cool. But there's one major problem."
"What's that?"
"Well... very few people actually know what a 'state function' means."
Cheol-jun's eyes widened.
"But it's in high school physics?"
"..."
"Surely all adults know it?"
Min Chan-woo swallowed hard before speaking.
"Uh... let me make a confession first. To be honest, I didn't have a clue what it was until you told me today."
"Ah..."
Cheol-jun nodded reluctantly, his face a picture of utter incomprehension.
Still, looking thoroughly disappointed, he pointed his finger at another word.
"Then what about this one?"
"Yeah, 'path function,' 'natural frequency,' and 'entropy' are also a bit... difficult to use in lyrics."
"..."
"Popular music needs to be intuitively understood first and foremost. We have to use words that everyone knows so that anyone can easily feel the emotion."
Cheol-jun glared at the lyric sheet with a deeply regretful expression.
Watching him, Min Chan-woo quickly offered a warm smile.
"But everything I felt from what you told me is still fully captured in here. Now that it's finished, it really is incredible."
Cheol-jun's ears twitched slightly.
"Without you, this song could never have been born!"
The corners of his mouth twitched as well.
"I just know this song is going to be a massive hit. It's all thanks to you!"
Cheol-jun's furrowed brow smoothed out, and his innocent eyes rolled over to look at Min Chan-woo.
He was trying his hardest to suppress a grin, but his eyes were already smiling.
Chan-woo couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
The boy was simply too adorable.
"I mean it!"
Only then did Cheol-jun's mouth stretch into a wide, unstoppable grin.
"Later, once this song does well, I'll even sing the version with your lyrics!"
"Oh! Thank you!"
Cheol-jun nodded eagerly with a bright smile.
"Alright, let me sing it again. Listen closely!"
"Okay!"
Chan-woo looked at the completed lyrics and began to sing.
The melody, which he had improvised purely by following his instincts, hadn't even been properly refined, and the lyrics had been rushed together with a child.
In the past, when his perfectionism bordered on obsessive-compulsive, such a thing would have been utterly unimaginable.
Yet, singing it now after putting it all together, it felt incredibly right.
Come to think of it, this was exactly how I used to write songs when I was young.
Back then, he didn't even know how to read sheet music.
And the words he had just spoken to Cheol-jun weren't empty praise.
It truly was a song that could never have existed without Cheol-jun.
The lyrics—though the difficult scientific terms had to be cut—and even the inspiration for the melody had all stemmed from his conversations with Cheol-jun.
In that sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Cheol-jun was the true owner of this song.
He hadn't practiced properly, and this certainly wasn't a proper stage, but Min Chan-woo felt a surge of confidence.
As long as this song settled over this beach, everyone would undoubtedly fall in love with it.
Never in his career of composing had he felt this level of absolute certainty.
So, even though this was in many ways a worst-case scenario, Min Chan-woo's voice carried more confidence than ever.
-Clap, clap, clap, clap!
"Wow, Hyung, you're an amazing singer!"
A bright, innocent compliment from the composer.
"I think as long as you do exactly like this on stage without getting nervous, you'll be perfect!"
"Really?"
"Yes! You're really, really good, Hyung! You should be confident!"
"Thank you!"
"Hehe."
Min Chan-woo smiled warmly, trying to mimic the bright, innocent expression of his muse.
*
Cheol-jun smiled warmly as he watched Chan-woo practice over and over again.
With the lyrics added, the song felt far more intuitive and touched the heart much deeper than when it was just a hummed melody.
The more I hear it, the more I think 'Quantum Mechanics' is the perfect title, though...
In any case, Chan-woo had been incredible even when just humming, but hearing him sing with actual lyrics was astonishingly better.
So Cheol-jun found himself a bit puzzled.
He sang so much better than that idol group K-Max he had seen in a video before, yet he still hadn't made his debut.
Is looks really that important after all?
This made Cheol-jun look at Chan-woo with even greater pity.
To think that a hyung who could whip up such a beautiful song and sing so marvelously was being held back from shining just because of his ordinary looks.
Cheol-jun could now understand why Chan-woo had cried so hard yesterday.
It must have felt incredibly unfair.
Because of that, he was highly anticipating this debut stage.
Even to Cheol-jun's eyes, the stage was a bit small, but Chan-woo was finally getting to sing on a stage he had longed for so desperately.
Thinking that he had helped make this happen filled him with a warm sense of pride.
He loved this fuzzy, heartwarming feeling.
After giving a quick nod of farewell to the practicing Chan-woo, Cheol-jun opened the camper door, stepped outside, and dashed over to Aunt Yeon-mi and Uncle Hyeong-man, who were sitting in front of the raw fish restaurant.
And, he looked straight at Aunt Yeon-mi.
"But are you really not going to help us?"
Aunt Yeon-mi, whose face was completely concealed by sunglasses and a mask, shook her head firmly.
"No way. I don't have my makeup on, and my hair isn't done. You want me to go on stage looking like this? On that tiny booger of a stage? No. Absolutely not."
"No, I'm not saying you have to go up no matter what. I'm just asking you to help out in case Chan-woo Hyung gets nervous and makes a mistake. And besides, can't you just go up fully covered like that? No one will recognize you anyway?"
Behind her mask, Yeon-mi let out a scoff of disbelief.
Who on earth would get nervous on a tiny stage like that?
A mistake?
With Chan-woo performing, this beach is about to turn into a full-blown concert venue.
I can't even begin to imagine a kid who has been sweeping massive stages since he was fourteen getting nervous and messing up on a stage the size of a postage stamp.
She was barely holding herself back because Chan-woo had begged her never to reveal his true identity to Cheol-jun, but this was turning out to be highly entertaining.
In any case, the chances of her actually needing to step in and help were close to zero.
She could have just casually agreed to humor him, but Yeon-mi had an ulterior motive.
So she shook her head resolutely.
"No."
"They're giving out prizes too!"
"Don't need them."
"..."
Cheol-jun pouted.
Though hidden behind her sunglasses, Yeon-mi's eyes wavered slightly as she caught a glimpse of his face.
His sulking face was just too adorable.
With a grumpy expression, Cheol-jun mumbled softly.
"I was going to let you touch my face if you helped..."
Behind her sunglasses, one of Yeon-mi's eyebrows twitched.
Finally, the moment had come.
"What did you say?"
"Huh?"
"What were you going to let me do?"
"Uh, touch my face..."
"I'll do it."
"Pardon?"
"I said I'll do it."
Cheol-jun's eyes went wide.
"Whoa! Really?"
"You're going to let me touch your face, right?"
"Yes! If you help Chan-woo Hyung!"
"I'm in."
"Wow!"
"Ah... seriously..."
Yeon-mi grumbled inaudibly as she turned her head, a wide smirk spreading beneath her mask. At the same time, one corner of Cheol-jun's mouth twitched upward.
***
The event director looked out at the audience.
He had expected it to be completely empty, but about half the seats were filled.
Considering how scorching the sun was, this was a decent turnout for an event in such a remote corner.
Especially since it was the tail end of the summer vacation season.
Whew, at least we pulled our weight.
An obscure singer, drenched in sweat, stepped down from the stage.
The director quickly handed him a wet towel.
"Ah, great job out there!"
"Yes! Yes! Thank you so much!"
Seeing him give his absolute all despite the sweltering heat was admirable.
It was something the director felt every time—it was admirable, touching, yet a bit pitiful.
The summer festival season was wrapping up, and it was time to start booking autumn schedules.
He made a mental note to invite this obscure singer to the autumn events as well.
He was a truly diligent fellow.
Turning his head, he saw the MC on stage working hard to keep the crowd engaged.
The director quickly sent a text message on his phone.
After texting the trot singer, Jo Ha-yang, the director looked back at the stage.
Looking at the vibe, I don't think we can even stretch this out for thirty minutes...
In situations like this, the first participant was crucial.
They needed to pump up the crowd from the very first song so that others would get excited and want to come up, keeping the momentum going.
If that failed, the MC would have to resort to desperate, embarrassing antics to kill time.
Seeing a few magic props set up beside the stage, it seemed the MC was prepared to use them as a last resort.
Still, a pro was a pro.
As he monitored the situation, one of the director's eyebrows shot up.
Oh...
Just as the MC was trying to drum up excitement, someone in the audience stood up.
It was a young man wearing sunglasses who had been sitting in the very front row since midway through the event. Looking closely at the kid standing next to him and clapping enthusiastically, the director recognized him as the boy from this morning.
Did he really bring his brother?
In any case, young people rarely volunteered for stages like this, so it was quite intriguing.
But his face looks familiar from somewhere...
Although his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, his jawline and mouth looked strangely familiar.
The director furrowed his brow while fiddling with the MR machine.
Please, just don't sing a ballad...
Most of the audience members were elderly locals in their sixties and seventies from the nearby beach village.
There were a few scattered families with young children, but that was the extent of the thirty-and-forty-somethings.
There were a few elementary school kids, but they would sit for a moment, run off to play in the water, and then wander back.
It was impossible to keep those kids entertained for long, even if they offered them snacks.
Regardless, the first act was absolutely critical.
If the mood plummeted right from the start, the singing contest segment would be dead in the water.
Please, let it be trot or dance music...
The MC and the young man who stepped onto the stage began to converse.
-Haha! I didn't expect such a young gentleman to step up! This is a rare treat! Alright, please introduce yourself!
-Hello! I'm Min Chan-woo, and I came from Seoul!
-Clap, clap, clap, clap!
-My, what a spirited young man! Huh? But your face looks so familiar... By any chance, do you know me?
-Haha. I just have one of those common faces.
The director's eyebrow twitched.
It seemed the MC also thought the face was familiar.
Yet, the young man didn't seem nervous at all, holding the microphone perfectly to his mouth.
Even at a glance, he looked like he had plenty of stage experience.
Was there an event coordinator who looked like that?
For both the MC and himself to recognize him, the entertainment industry was the only logical place.
-Alright! What song will our first contestant be performing? Since you're the trailblazer, as long as you do the bare minimum, I'll make sure you get a generous prize! You can at least manage the basics, right?
The young man looked around the stage and pointed to an acoustic guitar standing in the corner.
-Could I borrow that, by any chance?
-Haha, of course! Wow, we have a real musician here! Wait, don't tell me you're performing with just that, without an MR backing track?
-Ah, there won't be an MR track for this.
-Oh, come on. See that scary-looking guy over there? Ah, he's not a criminal, he's our director! If you just name the song, he can conjure up a non-existent MR track out of thin air and play it for you!
The director chuckled and nodded quickly, but the contestant just scratched his head.
-Well, it's my own original song...
The director's face instantly fell.
He felt like the very first act was going to ruin everything.
Occasionally, there were guys like this.
Amateurs who thought they were musicians and tried to showcase their own songs at local festivals.
And without fail, every single one of them ended up freezing the atmosphere completely.
The MC also sensed the impending disaster and kept glancing toward the director.
The director took a quick sweep of the audience.
Judging by the vibe, it didn't seem like another volunteer would step up anytime soon.
Whatever the case, they had to kill time until Jo Ha-yang arrived.
Well, if the mood dragged too much, the MC would cut him off and do some clownish antics to save the show.
The director caught the MC's eye and gave a small nod, signaling him to proceed for now.
-Haha! An original song! That is truly wonderful! Shall we have a listen then?
-Ah. Thank you!
-But hey, if the mood gets too depressing, I'm cutting you off without mercy! I'm a very strict man, you know!
-Haha...
Laughing awkwardly, the young man checked the guitar's tuning and stepped to the center of the stage.
And, he took off his sunglasses and slipped them into his pocket.
The young man's face was fully revealed, and the director blinked in surprise.
Huh? I definitely know that face...
Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw that the MC, who had also just recognized the young man's face, was frozen in place.
Who is he? Where have I seen him?
While the director was deeply furrowing his brow, trying to place the face,
the guitar began to play, and the moment the young man opened his mouth and the very first line of the song rang out—
"Holy shit!"
A startled curse flew out of the director's mouth completely unbidden.