The Sun Beneath the Sky
I paused. Wait, could this also be…?
A singer’s true duty is to sing.
Then what is a composer’s true duty?
Obviously, it’s to compose.
“So you want to avoid all public activities entirely and focus solely on composing?”
“Yes. And if possible, I’d like to use a pen name instead of my real one.”
When I said that, Kang Beom-jun looked at me with an expression that clearly said he didn’t understand, then opened his mouth.
“What’s the reason? Are you that burdened by the thought of your face being revealed?”
“That’s definitely part of it. But there’s a more fundamental reason than that.”
Kang Beom-jun’s business plan had probably looked something like this.
1. An unknown rookie singer and composer appearing under the name of Kang Beom-jun.
2. Heavily promoting this duo to simultaneously build anticipation and backlash from the public.
3. The song is eventually released in that state, and the overwhelming quality normalizes people’s reactions.
4. Then, the fact that this duo consists of middle schoolers is naturally revealed, creating a literal massive stir.
It was a simple plan even a child could come up with, assuming Baek Yerin and I existed, and anyone would have been certain of its success.
That’s why this question arose.
Is the fact that I’m a middle schooler really necessary for my songs to be considered good?
“You definitely praised my songs as good, sir.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Then what if we remove the fact that I’m a middle schooler from that? Are my songs good because a middle schooler made them? Or are they genuinely good on their own?”
Kang Beom-jun’s eyes widened slightly at my question, as if surprised.
He stayed silent for a moment, seriously contemplating how to answer.
Eventually, he replied like this.
“The songs you made are purely, truly good songs. But it’s an undeniable fact that they become even more special because you’re a middle schooler.”
It was such an obvious answer that it made me smile bitterly.
Of course the world loves a young genius.
Even if they don’t know them personally, people shower them with tremendous interest, watching their every move and feeling vicarious satisfaction from their miraculous achievements.
Sometimes, their very existence alone can bring great joy.
In that case, even people who’ve never heard my songs would probably like me, and those who have heard them would like me even more.
Ironically, that frightened me a little.
If people evaluated my songs favorably simply because of the “genius” image, even when the songs themselves weren’t that great, wouldn’t that be the real contradiction?
…That couldn’t happen.
To walk side by side with Baek Yerin, to keep creating songs she would want to sing, I simply had to move forward.
What I needed right now wasn’t some contradictory praise aimed at a genius, but the cold, honest judgment of the world.
Of course, from Kang Beom-jun’s perspective, my thoughts probably didn’t make much sense.
I was seriously pondering how to persuade him when—
“Wait a second. Don’t tell me this is because of Yerin too?”
“?”
Suddenly, Kang Beom-jun asked me a question that made no sense at first.
That the reason I didn’t want to appear in public was because of Baek Yerin?
For a moment, a possibility from his point of view flashed through my mind.
1. The appearance of two genius middle schoolers would divide the attention.
2. Therefore, only expose Baek Yerin to the public and focus all the spotlight on her.
3. The one and only genius middle schooler appears amid tremendous interest and anticipation.
Oh…
This way, I would definitely be overshadowed by the impact Baek Yerin created and receive relatively less attention.
At the same time, her popularity would grow even more.
But from anyone else’s perspective, it would look like I was deliberately sacrificing myself for her.
And from Kang Beom-jun’s view, who already knew how special my feelings for Baek Yerin were, wouldn’t he misunderstand even more?
Well… thinking about it, it wasn’t exactly a bad situation.
I shrugged my shoulders and answered with the most shameless expression I could manage.
“That’s right. There can’t be two suns under the same sky, can there? I’d rather that sun be Baek Yerin.”
“You’d give up the popularity and rights you could enjoy just for that? Seriously?”
“If I weren’t serious, I wouldn’t have started composing in the first place.”
At my firm declaration, Kang Beom-jun made a thoroughly fed-up face and let out a sigh.
“Hah, I knew you were crazy in all sorts of ways, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. Is this what they call pure love or something?”
“Something like that, I suppose?”
“What do you mean, ‘something like that’…”
At Kang Beom-jun’s muttered complaint, a bitter smile formed on my lips without me realizing it.
It was true that I liked Baek Yerin.
But it was by no means in the sense of “romantic love.”
I couldn’t define it precisely, but it was probably closer to “admiration.”
That’s why I could willingly make any sacrifice for her.
Though this time, I was only pretending for the sake of my own personal greed.
“Sigh… Fine. Anyway, I understand what you want.”
“You’ll go along with it?”
“How could I stop your stubbornness? To borrow your words, this whole thing started because of you in the first place.”
“…Thank you.”
“If you’re thankful, repay me with music. That’s how we’ll do things from now on.”
Well, that was…
Simple.
It was the same as before, unchanging, and exactly the kind of way I liked.
While Ryu Won was talking with Kang Beom-jun about wanting to avoid public exposure, there was one part that felt a bit strange.
“By the way, why have you been checking the clock this whole time?”
It was because of Kang Beom-jun’s suspicious behavior.
He kept glancing back and forth between the clock on the wall and me.
Finding it slightly off-putting, Ryu Won asked for the reason right away, and the answer that came back was this.
“Ah, the appointment time is getting close.”
“Hm? What appointment?”
“Actually, Yerin is supposed to come today. As you know, not many people in the company are aware that we’re pushing the two of you as our main acts. It’s entirely my decision as CEO.”
“That was only just finalized because I signed a moment ago.”
“Right. So I plan to officially introduce you two at the regular meeting in three days.”
The moment he heard that, Ryu Won roughly understood the situation.
“So you want to introduce us to the company staff with as much impact as possible, and you want the three of us to come up with a plan together?”
“Exactly.”
“Then you should have told me in advance. If Baek Yerin had heard the conversation we just had…”
Ryu Won felt dizzy just thinking about it.
From her perspective, quite a few parts of their conversation could easily be misunderstood.
“Haha. The soundproofing in this room definitely isn’t great… but don’t worry too much. There’s still twenty minutes until the time she’s supposed to arrive at the headquarters.”
“Phew… that’s a relief. I need time to mentally prepare too.”
“But why are you so embarrassed? This is the perfect chance to confess your feelings to her outright—”
“Ugh, that’s not it at all!”
Ryu Won hurriedly denied it, and Kang Beom-jun’s face was full of mischief.
However.
While the two of them were noisily chatting away in the CEO’s office, there was one fact they had overlooked…
“……”
A girl was quietly eavesdropping on their conversation, her hand resting on the doorknob of the CEO’s office.
The girl had come to the headquarters today at the CEO’s summons.
It had simply been a while since she last spoke with the boy named Ryu Won after that day.
So she had walked over a little earlier than the appointed time, her heart fluttering with excitement.
And because of that, she ended up hearing it.
—So you want to avoid all public activities entirely and focus solely on composing?
…And so on.
—Wait a second. Don’t tell me this is because of Yerin too?
……And so on.
—There can’t be two suns under the same sky, can there? I’d rather that sun be Baek Yerin.
…….
Baek Yerin mulled over the words she had clearly heard, then hurriedly pulled her hand away from the doorknob.
She turned and walked out of the building.
She didn’t know why,
but she wanted to cool down her face, which felt strangely warm.
“…Why am I even doing this here?”
Late November.
The outdoor temperature was chilly enough to be in the single digits.
And there I was, waiting for someone in that cold.
[When are you coming?]
[I’m right in front!]
I had texted Baek Yerin, and the reply came back frighteningly fast.
That’s right.
I was currently waiting outside to greet Baek Yerin.
And all of this had happened because of Kang Beom-jun.
—Ryu Won, it’s about time for Yerin to arrive.
—So?
—Go meet her.
—…?
—What’s with that dumbfounded look? It means the two of you can talk a little on the way. There are definitely things you can’t say if I’m around.
Kang Beom-jun had practically kicked me out of the office with an uncle-like laugh.
Still, what exactly was I supposed to talk about with her…?
I was sighing while thinking that when I felt a strange sensation on my shoulder.
It felt like someone had placed their hand there.
I quickly turned my head, and there was a delicate girl’s hand resting on my shoulder.
“Why are you sighing like that?”
Baek Yerin.
She was looking at me with a puzzled expression.
To be honest, I still couldn’t get used to it.
The fact that I could have a casual conversation with her from this close distance was nothing short of a miracle to the old me.
So I was incredibly nervous.
Making eye contact with her, talking to her so naturally—as her longtime fan, both felt impossibly difficult.
But I knew.
If I stayed that pathetic, there would be no progress.
And that would mean growing further from my dream.
So, to avoid repeating the regrets inside me…
I answered Baek Yerin’s question with a nonchalant expression.
“I just have something on my mind.”
“Something on your mind?”
“Yeah. There’s no one in the world without at least one worry, right? But it’s not serious enough to be concerned about.”
Baek Yerin fell silent for a moment after hearing my answer.
Then, not long after, she slowly opened her mouth.
“You know, worries are called worries because you can share them with others. Do you know what you call a worry you can’t tell anyone else?”
“…What?”
“A secret.”
Baek Yerin looked straight into my eyes as she said it.
It was as if she was asking whether the problem currently in my head was a “worry” or a “secret.”
From that perspective, the issue I was carrying really was a secret I couldn’t tell anyone, just like she said…
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense. Anyway, it’s cold, so let’s head inside. The CEO is waiting for us.”
I deliberately changed the subject and started walking toward the building.
But I immediately felt something was off.
Baek Yerin wasn’t following me. She was still standing in the same spot.
“Baek Yerin?”
“Are you going to keep calling me by my full name with the surname?”
“Uh… then, Yerin?”
When I called her without the surname, she gave a rather satisfied smile and stepped up beside me.
And then.
“Yeah, Won-ah. It’s cold, so let’s go inside quickly.”
“I… you can keep using my surname if you want. It’s a single syllable anyway.”
“That feels a bit cold, doesn’t it? Does it sound uncomfortable? Then I guess I have no choice…”
“It doesn’t sound uncomfortable at all.”
“Really? Then we can just keep calling each other comfortably like this.”
In the blink of an eye, we had started calling each other by our first names with comfortable familiarity.