At sunrise, after finishing her work and waking up late in the afternoon, Lim Hyunsu dragged her tired body to the studio, sucking down red ginseng for strength.
“I’m here~.”
As soon as she pushed through the glass door, a staff member blocked her path.
“Composer-nim, you have a guest.”
“Kick them out.”
“There you go again. Today it’s Kim Heeyoung.”
“Ah.”
Everyone in the industry knew Cheongbeom practically lived in the studio. That’s why every sort of person barged in, and Hyunsu hated hearing the word “guest.”
“Well, if it’s Kim Heeyoung, then fine.”
Fate really was strange.
Among those “every sort of person” was Seo Hoyun, her continuing bad connection. And through a gathering that bonded over badmouthing him, she’d met Kim Heeyoung.
Their humor clicked, they got along well, and they’d been hanging out more often lately.
After telling the staff she understood, she stepped into the recording room. It was dark. Strange. As she peered into the shadows, something shifted on the sofa.
“Holy shit!”
She shrieked when it moved. A figure stirred and sat up sluggishly.
“Oh... Hyunsu, you’re here.”
It was Kim Heeyoung.
The glow of her open laptop showed she’d been buried in work.
Hyunsu quickly turned on the lights and shut the door.
“You scared the crap out of me. Isn’t this your vacation? Why are you still working?”
“I don’t get any time for my own stuff with all the shit I clean up for others... so I’m using vacation as an excuse to at least draft some plans.”
“Ah...”
Maybe all PDs lived like this.
Hyunsu, who had never once tied herself down to a company, couldn’t sympathize. She just scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Then, after pounding the enter key with a sour look, Heeyoung ruffled her hair and reached for a hidden ashtray—only to get caught.
“...Hey. You think this is a smoking room?”
Shrinking her shoulders, Heeyoung looked back with a sheepish grin.
“Fufu... Hyunsu. You still smoke e-cigs?”
“I quit.”
“Please. That’ll last, what, three days?”
“Don’t jinx it.”
Snatching the ashtray and tossing it far away, Hyunsu sighed as Heeyoung sulked and tapped the keyboard.
She looked so pitiful that Hyunsu offered another idea.
“Let’s just go for a drink.”
“Mm, after six then. That’s when The Dawn’s music video drops.”
“Music video?”
“Yeah, new song. Even the teaser’s made waves at the broadcast stations.”
Heeyoung didn’t lift her eyes from the screen.
It was late September now. The cicadas had quieted, and the sky was deeper blue.
‘Right...’
Hyunsu remembered hearing they’d have a new album around this time.
She hesitated, then booted her computer, searching for the sample track Kang Ichae had sent months ago.
She had avoided listening to it until now.
It wasn’t that she hated him.
On the contrary, she had cherished him enough to take a blow when the plagiarism scandal broke. When she’d found out he had entered a talent show just to win an album from her beloved band, she’d thought—exaggerating only slightly—that she could eat him up with love.
But, separate from all that—
‘I’m scared.’
—scared to confirm that Kang Ichae might have surpassed her.
Still, sooner or later, she had to face it.
“Huuu...”
Taking a deep breath, Hyunsu put on her headphones, pressed play, and closed her eyes.
The melody was catchy, easy for the public to sing along to. The arrangement didn’t twist the formula too much, yet it carved a unique rhythm, making it captivating.
‘Could I have made this?’
The answer: no.
She could’ve done something similar... but.
“...The song’s good.”
Different colors, different paths.
But the self-confidence she had just barely rebuilt crumbled again under the weight of the tune.
With her forehead pressed to the desk, she still listened to the end. Slowly, she removed the headphones.
Then her phone chimed.
[Kang Ichae: Composer-nim~~♡]
[Kang Ichae: How have you been?]
It was like he had been watching her—perfect timing.
“...Would you be fine if you heard this song, Ichae?”
[Kang Ichae: Thought I hadn’t contacted you much lately]
[Kang Ichae: I always respect you and am grateful, truly.]
[Kang Ichae: I’ll come see you soon with the album!]
His message, filled with both playfulness and sincerity, melted Hyunsu instantly.
“God, I’m such a pathetic teacher... sorry, Ichae...”
“What the hell’s wrong with you now?”
[Me: Ichae-ya, get number 1.]
She sent the reply with a sigh, then pulled out her cigarette pack, lighting one.
“Didn’t you say you quit...?”
“When did I?”
Heeyoung shook her head at her shameless retort, then quickly took one herself.
“Anyway, Hyunsu, you’re still in touch with The Dawn members.”
“They’re my true students. Seo Hoyun is a bastard though.”
“Why? Isn’t he nice?”
“...Are you serious, Heeyoung?”
“Well, he’s reckless sometimes, but he looks after people, doesn’t he?”
Hyunsu snorted in disbelief.
“You blind? If he’s nice, then all the good people in the world are dead. That guy’s darker than coal.”
“Why are you so worked up? Idols need to be calculating. Without that, do you think their group would’ve risen this far? People are even whispering about them getting Daesang this year.”
Hyunsu exhaled smoke, rolling her eyes.
“If not them, then Hi-Five. My student’s track is incredible, but mine’s no joke either.”
Heeyoung stubbed out her cigarette, watching her.
“Come on, you’ve been in this game long enough to know songs aren’t everything.”
True.
Talent, looks, trends, timing, luck—they all mattered.
This year, it was almost guaranteed: The Dawn versus Hi-Five.
“But honestly, I think The Dawn might have a slight edge. They’re leading in something important.”
“What?”
“Buzz.”
Hyunsu frowned. Such a basic thing to bring up?
Heeyoung pulled her laptop onto her lap, opened YouTube, and typed in Seo Hoyun.
“Look.”
[Seo Hoyun personality]
[Seo Hoyun dance]
[Seo Hoyun singing]
[Seo Hoyun variety]
[Seo Hoyun funny videos]
[Seo Hoyun fancam]
“Let’s check personality.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
Ignoring her, Heeyoung clicked. At the top was the legendary Second Chance Japanese fancam, still revered among Noeul fans.
“What’s this?”
“My proof of Hoyun’s buzz.”
【Seo Hoyun Second Chance Japan Fancam】
Sweat-damp bangs clung to his forehead. His face was pale, his breath ragged, and sometimes his brows furrowed. Yet when the spotlight hit, when his part came, he forced control and nailed the live.
【Come to me, Come to me
Don't be afraid, come to me】
Hyunsu, chin in hand, tilted her head.
“And? What’s the big deal?”
‘That bastard went on stage while sick?’
The company’s insane.
Heeyoung scrolled, showing comments.
[Found my trash can...]
[Oppa.. sorry this is our kind of sunset..ㅜㅜ♡]
[Cursed them at debut, but now... nothing beats this performance]
[So fucking sensitive and venomous back then... sometimes I miss it]
“What the hell?! Are they all crazy?”
Hyunsu recoiled, horrified. Heeyoung, unbothered, explained.
“Check the views. Back then, Dawn was only just starting to get known through Shining Star S1, and Hoyun was just barely building personal recognition with Bring Me the Camera. Aside from his face—he had no overwhelming skill yet. But this one video proved it. He has something that pulls people in.”
She patted Hyunsu’s shoulder, then clicked another.
“Here’s more.”
It was the Shining Star S2 final stage.
“...Honestly, I was ready to edit him out if he didn’t go on. His family scandal had just leaked.”
Even with comments disabled, the view count was enormous. Reuploads with open comments and mashups of viral phrases from the comment sections were everywhere.
Hoyun had chosen, without hesitation, to perform. And he’d walked away with skyrocketing popularity.
Brushing her long bangs aside, Heeyoung sighed.
“...The timing was cinematic. Broadcasting his private life nationwide was rough though.”
“...You realize you sound like trash right now?”
“I know best... too well, actually. It eats me alive.”
Gripping her hair, she twisted, then muttered,
“But Seo Hoyun knows it too. He knows exactly how to grab attention.”
Staring into his eyes through the screen, she whispered,
“Maybe he knows too well. That’s what’s creepy....”
Her words trailed off.
Hyunsu took one last drag, then hit the spacebar to pause.
“Well, in the end, nothing beats the fundamentals. Songs matter most.”
“Sure, sure.”
Heeyoung only chuckled. She leaned back on the sofa, checked the clock—past 5:30.
“Hyunsu, want to watch Hoyun’s teaser first?”
“No thanks.”
Her curt reply meant nothing. Heeyoung pressed play anyway.
【THE DAWN – ‘Level S2’ Official Music Video Teaser】
It opened on a vast desert painted blue-gray by dawn.
【Our dawn that will never come again
I don’t care even if the sky falls
Before you change your ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) mind, come to me】
Faintly, the melody of Our Brilliant Dawn’s Song played.
The camera skimmed across the sand, following fading footsteps. It stopped at a neon-pink arcade with a semi-dome roof upheld by countless pillars. Above the entrance glowed “Level S2.”
【We promised under the Milky Way】
The back of a man in a red jacket appeared. He pushed through glass doors into the dim interior.
Inside, lined with game machines, it was strangely dark.
Perched atop one machine was Kang Ichae. Beside him, Jung Dajun froze with a giant toy gun. On a chair nearby, Sung Jiwon gripped a controller.
Kim Sunghyun glanced over from the claw machine, his eyes darting.
【How can I live without you?】
The man pulled a coin from his pocket and fed it into a slot.
【Always I—】
Thunk.
The music cut.
On the CRT screen, broken letters appeared:
【 WARNING 】
【―...THE D■■N IS COMING】
【T■E DA■N ■S CO■ING】
【TH■ ■AWN I■ COMI■G】
【THE DA■N IS CO■ING―...】
The man kicked the cabinet.
【THE DAWN IS COMING !】
The power roared back. Lights flared across the machines, illuminating each member’s face in a kaleidoscope of color.
Wooooong—
Wooooong—
Wooooong—
Sirens blared. A fierce, pounding beat surged.
Before even one full bar of melody could land, the music snapped off. Darkness again.
【This is our last.】
And Seo Hoyun’s low voice flowed out.
