20
## Chapter 20 — To Kim Bori, Be Happy
“Wait, he seriously just left? Even after winning the Grand Prize?”
The person most shocked among the audience was none other than Kim Bori.
Just as she had a discerning eye for art, she was equally picky when it came to music.
And the Tokki-Kking vocalist of <The Stretched Band> she encountered today was talented enough to completely captivate
her in a single performance.
How many years had it been since she found both a song and a singer she liked this much?
At least three years.
“Ah… haha. It really is unfortunate that the rabbit vocalist left already.”
“Yes… hehe. We’re disappointed too. We actually just came back after seeing him off.”
The moment Kim Bori heard they had *just* seen Tokki-Kking off, her eyes widened.
‘Then if I run right now… I might still catch him?’
Working as a reporter naturally sharpened a person’s initiative.
She couldn’t let a singer she liked this much for the first time in three years simply disappear like this.
Whoosh.
“Excuse me…! Please let me through…!”
And so, Kim Bori forcefully pushed through the crowd and started running recklessly in search of the Tokki-Kking
vocalist.
---
Five minutes earlier.
“Maknae, we’re seriously so sad. You’re really leaving already?”
I had already told the hyungs from <The Stretched Band> beforehand that I planned to leave immediately after the
festival ended.
But now that the time had actually come, the hyungs all looked visibly downcast.
Over the past week, we’d spent so much time practicing and performing together that we’d grown genuinely close.
Of course, I felt sad about parting with these warm-hearted hyungs too, but—
“Come on, let’s at least grab some soju tonight before you go…”
“I’m sorry. I already booked a ferry from Mokpo to Jeju. If I want to make it in time, I need to leave right now.”
That was precisely why I needed to leave quickly.
Because someone like me, still carrying wounds from the past, was especially weak against warmth from others.
If I spent even more time with these kind, good-natured hyungs, I’d no longer want to leave this place.
And then the rest of my nationwide journey would only grow heavier and heavier with attachment.
If I wanted to minimize regrets, I had to move on quickly to the next destination.
Ah, of course—
that didn’t mean I intended to completely cut ties or forget the hyungs from <The Stretched Band>.
“My journey will probably end in two or three months at most.”
“…!”
This nationwide journey held symbolic meaning for me.
It was a journey transforming the version of myself who spent over a decade locked inside a room into someone
entirely new.
So once this journey ended and I was reborn as a new person—
the kind grandfather from Dalsol-ri in Jangseong County.
The curry restaurant owner in Gwangju.
The live pub owner.
White Goose Grandpa in Suncheon.
And the hyungs from Haenam’s <The Stretched Band> standing before me now.
I planned to revisit every precious connection I made during this trip and greet them proudly.
“Hyungs, when that time comes, let’s definitely share a drink together.”
“……”
Maybe my sincerity finally reached them.
The members of <The Stretched Band> eventually shook off their sadness and lightly patted my shoulders with
small smiles.
“Yeah, kid. We’re definitely having drinks together then.”
“Haha! We’ll really have to catch up properly that day.”
“You better come back someday! We’ll be waiting.”
“Yes, hyungs. Thank you for all the wonderful memories. Then… I’ll get going now.”
And so, after happily finishing the festival in Haenam, I said goodbye to <The Stretched Band>, whom I had
grown attached to over the past week.
Step. Step.
After leaving them behind, I headed toward the bus stop located outside the concert grounds.
Normally there wouldn’t be buses running this late, but apparently the city specially extended the routes
today because of the festival.
My plan was to take the bus to the Seohaerang Trail and then continue on foot toward Mokpo.
“The internet says it arrives in one minute… oh, there it is.”
Right on time, I spotted a bus coming over the distant hill.
I picked up my luggage to board.
And then—
“W-Wait a second!! Tokki-Kking! Don’t go!!”
“…?”
Suddenly, a woman in the distance came sprinting toward me while waving her arms frantically.
“Me…? Is she calling me?”
There was nobody else at the bus stop, so she definitely meant me. But Tokki-Kking…? What was— ah.
Tilting my head in confusion, I finally realized I was still wearing the rabbit mask.
The favorite rabbit mask belonging to the bassist hyung’s youngest daughter.
“Tokki-Kking…! Wait a second…!”
Apparently the rabbit mask’s name really *was* Tokki-Kking.
Watching the woman—who looked to be in her late twenties—running toward me while repeatedly yelling
“Tokki-Kking,” I couldn’t help panicking.
‘…What’s going on? Why is she running at me so intensely?’
Since the bus was almost here too, I genuinely considered hopping on immediately and escaping.
But unfortunately(?) the woman reached me first.
“Huff… huff. T-Tokki-Kking.”
“……”
Already shy and terrible with strangers to begin with, I completely lost my words from the sudden appearance
of an unfamiliar woman.
But the first thing she said to me was entirely unexpected.
“Huff… huff… Your performance today was amazing, and your song was really beautiful.”
“…!”
“After today, I became a fan of Tokki-Kking Vocalist-nim…! Huff… I just really wanted to tell you that.”
A fan.
Back when I was known as a child genius in painting and piano, I’d had countless fans.
But this woman standing before me—
was my very first fan as a singer.
“……”
Because of that, I couldn’t help feeling both gratitude and something strangely emotional toward her.
But—
Screeech.
“You gettin’ on or not?”
Right then, the bus arrived, meaning I didn’t have time to talk properly with my very first fan in history.
More importantly, I intended to continue living as a faceless singer.
No matter how grateful I felt, I couldn’t form deep connections with people.
“…Thank you so much for becoming my fan. But I really have to go now.”
As I awkwardly struggled with what to do, the woman suddenly pulled something from her bag and handed it to
me.
A notebook and a pen.
“Then…! Could I at least get an autograph?!”
‘…An autograph?’
“If you sign it, I’ll treasure it forever!”
I planned to stay anonymous and become a faceless singer… but surely giving one autograph was okay, right?
Scratch, scratch.
“…What’s your name?”
“Kim Bori! My name’s Kim Bori! Wow! Thank you so much!”
I quickly signed the notebook she handed me before boarding the bus.
As she hurriedly accepted the signed notebook, my fan asked one last question.
“T-Tokki-Kking-nim! You’ll keep singing in the future too, right?!”
“……”
Nod.
The moment I silently nodded, her face instantly brightened into a genuinely radiant smile.
“Tokki-Kking-nim, you’re definitely going to become an amazing singer someday! I’ll always support you!”
Thunk.
With those words, the bus doors closed, ending the conversation with my first fan.
But even as the bus pulled away, she continued waving goodbye to me.
Watching her, I couldn’t help smiling softly myself.
Once again, I thought I was truly glad I participated in the Haenam Festival as the bus carried me toward my
next destination—Mokpo.
---
Vroooom—
Watching the bus gradually disappear into the distance, Kim Bori let out a small laugh.
“He’s unbelievably shy.”
Because their meeting had been so brief, she hadn’t learned his name, age, or where she could hear his songs
again.
But that was okay.
Because Tokki-Kking’s music was special.
Soon enough, people addicted to that sweet voice would naturally begin searching for him themselves.
Kim Bori was certain Tokki-Kking would someday become a famous singer.
And when that happened, she’d be able to hear his songs anywhere.
As the bus disappeared from sight, Kim Bori stretched contentedly.
“Ah…! Today was seriously so much fun…!”
It felt as though all the exhaustion piled up inside her had melted away.
Coming to the festival today had been absolutely worth it.
Starting tomorrow, she’d return to focusing on her real job again—
finding the faceless painter creep.
And with renewed determination, Kim Bori finally checked the autograph Tokki-Kking gave her before leaving.
[To Kim Bori — Be happy]
“Oh, his handwriting’s really pretty.”
At first, she simply admired the elegant handwriting—beautiful enough to mistake for a woman’s.
And then—
[creep]
“…Huh?”
The moment she saw the signature written beneath the message telling her to be happy, she froze.
“……”
creep.
The instant she saw that name, she immediately denied reality.
“H-Haha… I guess creep’s becoming a trendy stage name lately? There’s a painter named creep and now a singer
too… but wait…”
With trembling hands, Kim Bori pulled out her phone and opened her gallery.
Inside were the photos she personally took of creep’s first and second murals.
And—
creep.
[creep]
The autograph Tokki-Kking gave her was *identical* to the signature left on the murals of the faceless
painter creep she had been desperately searching for.
“W-Wow… there’s no way a coincidence this ridiculous could actually exi— …THERE’S NO WAY THIS IS A
COINCIDENCE, DAMN IT!!!”
Whoosh.
The moment realization hit, Kim Bori instantly transformed into Usain Bolt and began sprinting like mad.
“STOOOOOOOP!!! DRIVER, STOOOOOOOOP!!!”
Her target was the bus disappearing in the distance.
Reporters naturally had strong stamina.
Combining the iron endurance earned through years of journalism with every ounce of strength left in her
body, Kim Bori desperately chased after the bus.
But—
Vroooooom—
“AAAAAAAHHHH!! NOOOOOOO!! Huff… huff…!”
All she learned was the undeniable truth that no matter how hard humans ran—
they could never outrun a bus.
“Huff…! Huff… Kim Bori, you crazy idiot…! Huff…! At the very least, you should’ve asked his real name
first…!”
The Tokki-Kking vocalist who enchanted her at the Haenam Festival with a comforting, beautiful song—
was actually the faceless painter creep she had been desperately searching for all along.
Overwhelmed with regret for letting creep escape right before her eyes, Kim Bori hurriedly called someone.
Her senior reporter.
“Sunbae…!”
[…Hey. Why’re you calling this late at night? What happened?]
After sprinting after the bus like a madwoman, Kim Bori was practically oxygen-deprived.
Clutching her dizzy head, she began explaining incoherently.
“I-I came to Haenam to find creep, right…?! B-But today I met Tokki-Kking and…! Th-that means…!”
[…Tokki-Kking? That children’s toy? What about it.]
“That Tokki-Kking was actually creep…!”
[…Have you been drinking?]
“N-No, listen—”
At her senior’s utterly baffled response, Kim Bori took a deep breath and slowly reorganized her thoughts.
“…I actually met creep in Haenam.”
[Seriously?! Really?! What’s creep’s real name? How old is he? Is he Korean? Was he originally involved in
the art world?!]
As her senior bombarded her with excited questions, Kim Bori could only stammer helplessly.
“Well… about that…”
She *had* met creep by chance while visiting the festival.
But she failed to ask his name, age, or basically anything else.
She didn’t even know what his real face looked like.
And now creep was somewhere on a bus heading off into the night.
Ah, and apparently creep sang incredibly well too.
She even got his autograph.
…That was what Kim Bori somehow needed to explain coherently to her senior reporter now.
“N-No… wait… ah, this is seriously driving me insane…!”
What kind of absurd situation even *was* this?
In four years of journalism, Kim Bori had never experienced anything this bizarre before.
“…No, seriously, sunbae…! I really *did* meet creep, but…!”
[How many times are you gonna say “but”?! You met creep, so what happened?!]
“N-No, but…! AAAAAAAAHHHH!!”
She met creep—
yet learned absolutely nothing about him.
Right now, she genuinely felt like crying.
Vroooom—
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the chaos he’d caused behind him, creep continued riding the bus toward his
next destination.