Haon, Listen Up
"Me?"
"With two people away, the house feels especially quiet even on a Sunday."
"But our young master is still here, isn't he?"
"Sure... if you can call someone with zero cuteness a young master."
"He makes up for it with great filial piety, so cut him some slack."
My confident reply made both Mom and Dad burst into laughter at the same time.
They didn't exactly deny it.
In fact, the brand-new TV we were watching together had been bought entirely with my money.
I rarely watch television, but my parents do it often.
And maybe because of that influence, I get treated like a full-fledged young master at home.
"Speaking of which, Yerin has always been pretty, but she looks especially beautiful today…"
While I was thinking that, Mom gazed at a girl on the TV screen and spoke in open admiration.
Baek Yerin.
She had gone all out with her makeup for the awards ceremony, and the camera caught her for a brief moment.
Until now, the Korean Pop Music Awards had only ever been broadcast live online.
Unlike traditional TV, online platforms cut production costs and let far more people watch without any limits of time or space, which allowed for a more open and accessible event.
It felt perfectly in tune with the awards' core purpose of judging purely on musicality and artistic merit.
But this time the broadcasting station offered to provide the venue and all the equipment, so there was no reason to turn them down.
Of course they were still streaming live at the same time, so watching alone in a room would have been fine, but…
The difference in picture quality made watching on TV the natural choice.
"She really is even prettier in person."
Well… though even that can't compare to seeing her with my own eyes.
But then.
When I casually complimented Baek Yerin's looks to match the mood, a sudden silence fell over the living room.
"I'm glad you at least know that much."
The silence was broken by Mom's single sentence, laced with a sigh.
Yeah. Of course I know.
It was something I'd felt ever since the first time I attended her concert in my previous life.
"The Pop Music Awards really does have a calmer vibe than the other ceremonies."
"It does, doesn't it?"
Baek Yerin and Ryu Se-a, attending the Korean Pop Music Awards together, sat side by side chatting comfortably.
The atmosphere inside the venue was noticeably quieter compared to other award shows.
It was the kind of event where people exchanged light greetings with familiar faces before the ceremony began and that was about it.
"It would've been so much more fun if our idiot little brother had come with us."
Ryu Se-a thought of the person who was probably watching the ceremony at home right now and let out a small sigh.
In truth, Ryu Se-a didn't know the full story.
She didn't know exactly why Ryu Won chose to work while hiding his identity.
She understood it as a mix of his personality—he didn't want too much attention from the world—and his desire to be judged solely on his songs.
But to Ryu Se-a, that was nothing more than her brother's naïve wish.
If that's what you want, you should have been born with moderate talent.
Even in her eyes, her brother's talent shone brilliantly.
There was no way the world would leave such talent alone.
They would find some excuse to expose him eventually, and he would be the only one who suffered.
As his older sister, her small hope was that he would just reveal everything and work openly.
Of course he wouldn't listen to a word she said.
Which was why—
"Yerin, why don't you talk to him?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. That guy will listen to anything you say."
Her brother was a cold-hearted guy who wouldn't even pretend to listen to his sister's words, but Baek Yerin was different.
Her brother…
likes Yerin a lot.
No one knew exactly what kind of emotion lay behind it.
Even the person himself didn't seem to realize it.
But it was clear he held affection for her.
If that weren't the case, every action he'd taken toward Baek Yerin so far would have been full of contradictions.
"It's not like I haven't thought about it."
On the contrary, Baek Yerin had the exact same thought as Ryu Se-a.
No—she had no choice but to think it.
After all, the reason Ryu Won hid his identity was because of her and no one else.
That gave her the right to ask.
The right to appeal to him and ask why he was going so far for her sake.
So.
"Unnie."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Will you leave this to me?"
"Leave it to you?"
Ryu Se-a looked puzzled at Baek Yerin's words.
Then she quickly nodded in agreement.
Her brother's feelings toward Yerin were still unclear, but…
On the other side, everything was far too obvious.
Exactly five minutes before the ceremony began.
All the nominees had entered the hall and taken their assigned seats.
And in the seat beside Baek Yerin that had been empty until now…
"Hello."
Someone greeted her first.
Baek Yerin turned with a puzzled look and saw a girl sitting there who gave off a distinctly different aura.
Her features felt as cold as ice, but the soft pink bleached hair softened that impression a little.
For the record, Baek Yerin knew exactly who the girl was.
They had run into each other often during promotions, and among teenagers there was probably no one who didn't know her name.
Yun Se-hui.
The youngest member of the idol group Iris under Queen Entertainment, one of the top three agencies. She was the same age as Baek Yerin, though she had debuted about six months earlier.
And now this girl had greeted Baek Yerin first.
There was no reason for Baek Yerin not to return the greeting with a smile.
"Hello. This is our first time actually talking, isn't it?"
"Y-yeah…"
Baek Yerin immediately sensed something off.
The public image of the idol Yun Se-hui was exactly that of a cold ice princess.
She knew the nickname came from her usual frosty appearance and stiff public speech.
But talking to her now, she seemed…
"Um… you're entering Seolhwa Arts High School next year, right?"
"Yes. The practical music department."
"I-I'm in practical music too."
"Then should we be friends ahead of time?"
"Really? I'm actually a huge fan of yours, Yerin!"
She seemed completely different from her image.
If anything, she came across as quite shy.
If her fans saw this side of her, they would probably like her even more.
With that thought, Baek Yerin turned her attention back to the stage.
To get straight to the point, Baek Yerin took home both the Pop Song of the Year and Pop Album of the Year.
That only made everyone's expectations grow stronger.
At this rate, it seemed possible she wouldn't stop at two awards but could become the first artist to sweep four or more at the Korean Pop Music Awards.
All that remained now were the major prizes carrying the title of "of the Year" and the Achievement Award.
But surprisingly, there was one category where she had been excluded from consideration.
Rookie of the Year.
Amid thunderous applause and cheers, Ryu Se-a walked confidently onto the stage.
Once she reached the center, she brought the microphone to her lips and spoke slowly.
"I feel like I've stolen one of Yerin's awards. But unlike me, Yerin doesn't give off even the slightest rookie vibe, does she? With that in mind, I'll accept this with gratitude."
Her words drew quiet laughter from the audience.
It was something no one could really deny.
Although Baek Yerin and Ryu Se-a had debuted in the same year, the weight of their careers was on completely different levels.
The former had dominated from the moment of debut with overwhelming performances, instantly earning massive recognition and respect for her skill.
Calling a third-album artist a "rookie" had always felt strange—like the term somehow didn't apply even though it technically did.
That didn't mean Ryu Se-a's talent hadn't been recognized.
If it hadn't, she wouldn't be standing here receiving the Rookie of the Year award.
"First of all, I want to thank my family, who has always believed in me and supported me. When I realized I could no longer play the piano, I don't know what I would have done without them by my side."
Ryu Se-a smiled faintly as she continued her acceptance speech.
It was common to mention family during these moments.
People called it cliché, but there was no helping it.
Once you stood up here, the faces of those you were truly grateful for came to mind first.
And right now, there was one person in her mind who deserved even more thanks.
The person who had made it possible for her to stand on this stage.
"And I especially want to thank Haon, who helped me be reborn not as the pianist Ryu Se-a, but as the singer Ryu Se-a. If it weren't for the Cantabile he gave me, I wouldn't be here today."
Listening to those words in real time through the TV, Ryu Won found a bittersweet smile forming on his lips.
Well… sometimes.
Maybe it's not so bad to receive a sincere thank-you from my sister.
If it had ended there, it would have been truly heartwarming.
The moment those words left her mouth, the world seemed to freeze.
The atmosphere inside the hall, and probably most of the people who had heard her, could only react with stunned silence.
"That's all!"
With a satisfied smile, Ryu Se-a left the stage.
The person she had named could only think one thing as he watched.
She's insane…
He had a strong feeling he would be thinking those exact words to himself many more times this year.
After Rookie of the Year came the Achievement Award, which felt like a breather.
It was given to artists or industry figures who had played important roles in the history of Korean popular music.
At the announcement, every eye in the venue turned to Kang Beom-jun, who was sitting beside Ryu Se-a.
The problem was…
"Me?"