The System's Unexpected Reaction
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a vision blocked his vision, making Namhun jolt and nearly lose his grip on the steering wheel.
He snapped his attention back, stopped at the red light, and only then could he examine the vision in detail.
“This… even if it’s not my song, my ability activated?”
Namhun quickly grabbed his phone and turned on the radio app.
To check the reaction from “Choice’s In-Live.”
Fortunately, the signal was strong, so he could check it before restarting.
—The song sounds fine.
—We heard it! Candy Pop fighting!
Basically, unless you’re a DJ fan or a group fan, you don’t even bother looking up the radio app.
So there was no particularly bad reaction.
But it was strangely lukewarm.
Audience reaction: 66.
Overall score: 63.1. It strangely overlapped with the audience reaction.
Namhun recalled Seo Hayul’s score and began quick mental arithmetic.
“Adding them all up is 367. Six items, so 367 divided by six is about 61.17 rounded. But why is it 63.1?”
The difference wasn’t huge, yet it felt oddly irritating.
He arrived home and parked the car, then checked Candy Pop’s reactions.
On MusicPie’s streaming chart, it ranked eighty-ninth.
Not bad for such a short time.
However, the few internet reactions were very harsh.
—The audio and live are too different?
—How much correction did they do?
—Especially the sub-vocal is the problem. What is it?
—Please stop mumbling.
As he scanned the reactions, Namhun worried that Hayul would be hurt, yet doubts lingered.
“Is an audience reaction of sixty-six really this bad?”
He had thought it was just lukewarm, but this felt quite serious.
Even hearing it himself, sixty-six was low enough that the live felt disappointing.
Namhun’s heart grew complicated as he stared at his phone for a long time.
He knew what he needed to fix anyway.
But was it right to tell her?
He hadn’t contacted her after her training ended.
The only info he’d heard was vague from other students.
“Yeah… She’s already debuted, probably changed numbers too. I deleted mine.”
Even as teacher and student, they were lecturer and student.
A business relationship.
He taught her with care and she studied hard, but it was just a connection created by circumstance.
“Never mind.”
Zing.
Just as he gave up on contacting her, a call came in.
Startled, he looked at his phone—Kang Seokho.
“Hello?”
—Hey. It’s me? Did you check the envelope yet?
“No. I just got home.”
—Got it. Then open it right away.
“Yes, yes.”
Namhun pulled the envelope from his jacket pocket.
It was thin, so he checked without much thought—inside were three checks.
Two for one million won and one for another.
“Three million won?”
The amount shocked him; he asked with a trembling voice.
It was too much for just a congratulatory gift.
It exceeded his monthly income.
“…Hyung, what is this all for?”
—One hundred is the congratulatory gift. One hundred is return of the wedding gift.
“Ah…”
Yeah, that part he understood.
“Then what about the remaining one million won?”
Seokho laughed for a long time over the phone.
—Hahaha… I’m giving it to you to take on one job.
“A job?”
—I mainly shoot music videos, but our company is an advertising agency. We need narration for the ad we’re shooting now.
“Narration…?”
—It was hard finding a suitable voice actor, but your voice fits perfectly. The client’s representative was at the wedding today too. The contract is already confirmed, so just sign and you’re good. Let me know the recording schedule when it’s set, and we can sign then.
Namhun was left speechless by the sudden situation.
—Why? Not doing it?
One million won was a huge sum.
It was more than Yu Ryeon’s quarterly tuition at Hyeon Middle.
“No… I’ll do it. But is it okay for me to take it? I’ve never done narration before.”
—Never done it? You did it as Elixer.
A black scar suddenly resurfaced, making Namhun frown.
“That’s different from this.”
—No need to prepare separately. Don’t worry. It’s not that difficult. Even if it takes a whole day, it’ll be done.
He hadn’t even signed the contract yet, and he was being offered one million won?
And to sign a contract without even testing?
Namhun thought about how much he could give his siblings with this money, but when he realized it was Seokho’s goodwill, guilt hit him.
“Hyung, I think this isn’t right.”
Seokho answered casually.
—Ten years ago you bought me kimbap. Now I’m repaying you. I added proper interest.
Namhun was again left speechless.
The last eight years.
He had endured it in front of his siblings with a straight face, but…
—Why do I have to suffer this pain alone?
He had gritted his teeth and endured.
It must have felt like that non-regular cameraman period for Seokho—working nights and days with anxiety.
Namhun finally realized everyone had such painful times.
Only the degrees differed.
And a small gesture given at that time turned out to be a surprisingly large force.
People wound others…
But they also receive comfort.
Through Seokho’s goodwill, Namhun realized the truth and made up his mind.
He would call Hayul.
“…Hyung, really thank you. When the recording schedule is set, contact me right away.”
Thank you carried many meanings.
—Huh? Okay.
“I’m on the line right now, sorry. I’ll hang up first.”
—Got it. Call me after you talk and we’ll decide.
“Yes.”
Namhun quickly hung up and called back.
He might not answer if he deleted the number, or the number might have changed.
Then there was nothing to be done.
But it was worth one last try.
Just in case.
“PANG! PANG! I’ll stuff my heart with all my might until it bursts! For You!”
—…Teacher?
Namhun’s heart dropped at the gloomy voice contrasting the bright, cheerful song.
He was glad he called.
Namhun calmed his emotions as much as possible and spoke softly.
“Um, hello. Hayul-ah. How have you been? Did you hear the radio live?”
—…Sob!
Hayul suddenly burst into tears at Namhun’s words.
The sobbing lasted a full thirty minutes.
Sitting in the car, Namhun listened until it ended, then continued only after the sobs stopped.
“Hayul-ah. When you have time, call me night or morning and come to the academy. I’ll handle the correction properly.”
The reply came much later.
—Yes… Teacher.
“Good. Call me for sure.”
Namhun hung up only after hearing her answer.
He felt he had done the right thing by calling.
* * *
Entering home with a complicated heart, Namhun met Yoo Ryeon’s smile.
“What’s with the smile?”
His younger sister silently circled him once.
‘Perfume scent.’
Thanks to Seong Yujin’s hug, the scent clung to her clothes, making Yoo Ryeon grin mischievously.
Left at six-thirty in the morning and back after six with perfume?
The wedding attendance was clearly an excuse.
‘I guess he really got a girlfriend.’
But he didn’t show it.
The older brother had the right to be happy too.
He couldn’t stay attached to them forever.
“Did you have a good time at the wedding?”
“Uh? Uh.”
At Namhun’s voice, the two kids ran out from the room.
“Oppa! Feed me!”
“Hyung! Feed me!”
Yoo Ryeon immediately opened her eyes wide and shouted.
“You two are asking for food the second your brother comes?”
“It’s fine. It’s okay.”
Namhun stopped Yoo Ryeon, lifted the twins into his arms.
“Our cute babies~ Were you hungry?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Uh-huh~!”
“Sigh.”
Even though Yoo Ryeon sighed, Namhun pretended not to hear and kissed the twins on the cheek.
They were children who never saw their parents’ faces because an accident happened before they could even walk.
Plus, they had been in terrible pain as babies, so he spoiled the twins.
But he was strict above them.
Their education naturally fell to Yoo Ryeon.
“Yoo Ryeon. It’s time for dinner, so watch the kids.”
“Come here. What kind of food is your brother making?”
Namhun quickly took off his jacket, washed his hands, and started cooking skillfully.
He had never been in the kitchen until twenty, but he was now as good at childcare as a professional.
A man in his twenties raising three children alone.
In the meantime, his household skills had been honed to the extreme.
Thinking back, it had been a hard life.
But somehow… he felt things would turn out well from now on.
* * *
After Kang Seokho and Seong Yujin’s wedding, countless things happened.
But Monday came as usual.
“Ugh.”
He had done this job for years, but lately there were so many things to worry about that his body felt heavy today.
Thanks to Seokho’s help, his wallet was full again after a long time.
His heart was light.
“Ugh… When will the cafeteria be finished?”
He realized his thoughts had slipped out too late and quickly listened.
Even his sensitive hearing inherited from his parents couldn’t pick up any footsteps.
‘Still, it’s good I moved here.’
How uncomfortable would it be for a pubescent girl to live in the same room as her big brother?
When Yoo Ryeon started middle school, they had moved into a two-room apartment they had long planned to. It was clearly better than the one-room they lived in before.
He had used to doze off in the car after late shifts at the logistics center to make sure the kids didn’t wake…
But now he could sleep in another room.
‘Well, Yoo Ryeon was always tired too.’
The half-basement building where the four of them lived was near the elementary school the twins attended.
Because of that, the art middle school Yoo Ryeon attended was farther than when they lived in the one-room.
A bus ride for thirty minutes one way.
Plus early school start and lessons after dismissal.
It was physically exhausting.
Because he felt sorry for it, he had tried to drive them to school in the car every morning.
But the truth was, it was easier now that Yoo Ryeon was in middle school.
When she got home, she could watch the twins.
Happiness was relative, maybe?
The three of them used to find leaving the house difficult when they were small.
“…Good. Yesterday I fed them dinner roughly, so today I’ll try to give them more strength.”
Recalling the harder times, Namhun opened the fridge energetically.
“Yeah. Yoo Ryeon liked this bento box.”