Producer Jack P hurriedly raised a microphone.
“Wait a moment, Code 4 trainee.”
Even the tone of the producer's voice had changed.
“Did you say you could compose music?”
“No. I hadn't mentioned it.”
Yu Seong-woo smiled shyly.
“I wanted to show you through a performance if I got the chance.”
Beyond the mirror, Go Jae-seong and Yu Seong-woo's eyes met briefly.
Go Jae-seong was far from pleased. He hadn't expected a newcomer to land a blow on him like this.
Someone had encroached on his territory, and it wasn't Han Sang-yun or Juhan, but a trainee who hadn't even been here a month?
“What? Didn't you say he was in the rap position?”
“That's what Jae-seong said…….”
At that, Go Jae-seong gave a short laugh. It sounded more like a scoff.
“I didn't say he was in the rap position.”
His mouth smiled, but his eyes didn't.
“I just said he was making a rap.”
“Ah…… right.”
“Sorry, I misunderstood.”
Go Jae-seong bit his lip lightly.
‘He tricked me?’
The newcomer had deliberately kept it hidden. Even the reaction he was getting now seemed calculated.
What bothered Go Jae-seong most was something else.
The newcomer wasn't intimidated in the slightest. He didn't look away when their eyes met beyond the mirror. He looked right back at him instead.
‘Interesting.’
Go Jae-seong forced his expression to relax. The cameras were still rolling.
Inside, though, he was already seething.
“Then let's hear it. What's the title?”
“‘Yu Seong-woo.’”
The judges' expressions froze at once.
“……Huh?”
In a survival show where everyone was called only by Code Number, he had boldly announced his real name.
Noticing the judges' confusion, Yu Seong-woo added with an innocent smile,
“I wrote it after being moved by the sight of a meteor shower falling from the sky.”
“……Ah, that meteor shower~”
“Meteor showers are beautiful, aren't they? Ha ha…….”
Awkward laughter spread through the room. A mere trainee was controlling the atmosphere on set.
“I haven't finished working on the backing track yet.”
He plucked a guitar string with his fingertips.
TING- A clear note spread through the practice room.
“Today, I'll play it with guitar accompaniment.”
Seeing him tune the instrument with practiced hands, the vocal trainer asked with interest,
“You can play guitar too?”
“Yes. I've played since I was young.”
“We're learning a lot about you today. Why so many secrets?”
Yu Seong-woo smiled as though he were at a loss.
“I wasn't trying to hide anything…….”
The smile showed off his gleaming braces even more.
“I think it's because I haven't been here very long.”
“It hasn't even been a month yet, right?”
“Yes. It'll be exactly one month next week.”
In truth, no one had ever asked. It wasn't easy to expect much from a new trainee who'd only just arrived. Even this change in their response was thanks to the signal song.
“Then, Code 4 trainee, show us what you've prepared.”
“Yes!”
He gave the guitar one last light strum to check the sound. Everything was ready.
“Code 4 trainee, your first mission interim evaluation begins now.”
With those words, the red light blinked on the camera pointed straight at Yu Seong-woo.
It was the moment the course of the survival show would change.
* * *
Clear guitar notes spread softly through the room.
One note, then another. Those simple sounds alone filled the space.
Tousled black hair, clunky horn-rimmed glasses, and braces that showed a little whenever he smiled. He had the youthful face of someone still recognizably a student, rather than an idol onstage.
And yet, it was hard to look away.
Even his unfashionable appearance only served to make his performance stand out.
[I used to look up to
The shining stars]
“……?”
Vocal trainer Park Jae-hun's eyebrow moved slightly.
The first line.
That brief line alone changed the atmosphere.
[A light still too faint
To brighten the dark night]
‘What is this?’
Park Jae-hun straightened in his seat without realizing it.
[Will I someday shine
As brightly as those stars?]
It felt less like listening to a song than overhearing someone's story.
At that moment, he understood.
‘It's his voice.’
Like an old song playing on an old radio, the voice was plain, yet it touched some strange corner of his heart.
His heart began to beat slowly.
The delight of discovering an uncut gem. The fact that it hadn't been polished yet only made the thrill of anticipation stronger.
‘I want to teach him.’
‘I want to help him grow.’
Without thinking, his fingers tensed.
The judges seated beside him wore much the same expressions now.
[I'm still afraid
But I have a feeling
It'll be a wonderful journey]
He had leaned forward before he knew it.
He wanted to be even a little closer, so he wouldn't miss a thing.
[The moment I give up
I lose the game]
There were no dazzling vocal tricks or explosive high notes.
[I look forward
To my tomorrow
The size of my dream
Changes day by day]
Instead, there was a story.
[Watch
My song
Look forward to
My tomorrow
Come along on
My journey]
The song wasn't flashy. The lyrics were simple too. But that made them all the clearer.
A song that wouldn't seem shabby even after all the froth had disappeared.
[If you believe in me
I'll give everything I have
And shine
I'll become
The brightest star
And run to you!]
A trainee had made that. One who hadn't even been here a full month.
“That doesn't make sense…….”
Katin murmured under his breath. Jack P nodded instead of answering.
They couldn't remember a thing about the performances that had shaken the practice room with their impressive display. Only this performance filled their minds now.
At that moment, the main producer of Boys Code felt it in his bones.
“We've got it.”
The producer clenched both fists without realizing it.
“We're saved. We're saved.”
It was such a moving moment that it almost felt like a reward from heaven for taking on a program no one else had wanted.
Three minutes. A short time, perhaps, but more than enough.
“That's all.”
More than enough to show a meteor shower pouring down.
The judges all reached for their microphones at once.
“How long have you studied composition?”
But Kang Se-jun got the question in a step ahead of them.
“……Just under six months.”
“Wow—”
Sharp intakes of breath sounded around the room.
“And this song isn't even finished yet?”
“No.”
“Huh…….”
Kang Se-jun let out a hollow laugh. He hadn't expected a program he'd taken on through a personal connection to stir him like this.
He thought he might have to head to the studio after work today. It had been a long time since he'd felt this kind of competitive drive.
“How much better is it going to be…… when it's finished?”
The admiration was sincere. Yu Seong-woo beamed and bowed his head.
“Thank you!”
Even though it was only the interim evaluation, praise was pouring out so quickly that a writer hurriedly raised a sketchpad.
[Too much praise X. The main performance is still ahead!]
Only then did the interim evaluation finally come to an end. No one had expected that performance, which made it linger all the more vividly.
He was no longer the Code 4 trainee.
He was simply Yu Seong-woo.
* * *
Go Jae-seong came over as soon as filming ended.
‘Go away already.’
I'd been in such a good mood, but seeing that bastard's face ruined it.
“I was sure you were making a rap.”
Go Jae-seong spoke with a friendly smile.
“Was it supposed to be a surprise?”
I moved my lips for a moment, then scratched my head.
“……Actually.”
I smiled as though a little embarrassed.
“I was going to do a rap at first.”
“Yeah.”
“But—”
I let out a short sigh.
“It was just so terrible.”
Go Jae-seong's eyes wavered ever so slightly.
“I had no idea I was that bad at rapping…….”
“Ah…….”
The smile he'd kept up all this time cracked. He couldn't hide his bewilderment.
I didn't stop there.
“I really wanted to make it cool, you know? Like—”
I waved my hands through the air.
“The beat explodes! I go rat-a-tat-tat with the rap! People go, ‘Whoa!’ And—”
As my gestures grew more exaggerated, he instinctively leaned back.
“No, but still—”
Go Jae-seong tried to say something, but—
“So I thought it over.”
I cut him off. I didn't need to listen to him for long.
I raised a hand solemnly.
“Do I do that and fail?”
Then I let it fall limply.
“Or do I at least do something I know how to do?”
After a brief, hollow laugh, Go Jae-seong stared at me.
The look in his eyes said it all.
‘What's with this guy?’
He had to be starting to wonder whether this was an act or whether I meant it.
“……Hah.”
I didn't let the opening pass.
“No, seriously, I was so jealous.”
“Of what?”
This time, Go Jae-seong asked.
“You!”
Go Jae-seong blinked.
“You rapped and put on a performance—”
I deliberately made a face as though I was dying of envy.
“It was exactly the kind of stage I wanted.”
I paused for a beat.
“But I couldn't pull it off…….”
I ended with a look of despair.
“…….”
Go Jae-seong looked at me again.
He was completely confused.
‘Of course he is. This is the face I made when Impacter's performance was cut.’
What could have filled me with more despair than that?
“Still, there are only two of us who can produce music.”
I smiled brightly and held out my hand.
“Let's work well together from now on!”
“……Uh.”
Leaving Go Jae-seong, who'd taken my hand without thinking, behind, I turned away.
“……He's just a loser?”
I heard him mutter softly behind me.
* * *
“It's got everything I need.”
Until now, I'd deliberately stayed nowhere near the studio. I'd had to keep my producing skills hidden.
The studio at Nix Entertainment, which I could finally enter, was well stocked with the latest equipment.
Being in the place most familiar to me put me at ease.
“Let's get this done quickly.”
I rolled my neck out of habit and sat down. It was eight in the evening, and my goal was to finish mixing before midnight.
With a keyboard, bass, and drums added, the sound grew much fuller. As tracks piled up on the screen, my confidence grew with them.
I stepped up to the microphone myself to record harmonies.
“Done.”
I checked the clock: 11:59. Right on time. It was a small thing, but it put me in a good mood anyway.
“I'll just check it before I head in.”
In the dark studio, my voice rang out amid the glow of the monitors.
[Not a fall
But a meteor shower
Pouring down to where you are]
It felt strange. I was sitting in the place I knew best, listening to my own voice, which felt utterly unfamiliar.
I listened to the song in silence for a while.
All the preparation was done.
Only one thing remained: Item Creation.
‘That's why I saved up and didn't use it.’
I'd thought about which item would be most effective right up until I fell asleep.
‘That one should work…….’
The next day, as soon as I opened my eyes, I spoke.
“Status window.”
A translucent window appeared.
‘Five hundred points should be enough.’
The most important point in this mission was to highlight my strengths and conceal my weaknesses. I had to create an item with that in mind too.
“Item Creation.”
▶Item Name: _______
▶Effect: _______
“A perfume that leaves only my strengths in their memory.”
The instant someone smelled it, only the ‘good parts’ of my performance would be etched into their memory. Nothing would activate an item more naturally than a scent.
‘It's not winter, so no one should have a nose blocked by a cold, either.’
‘I wonder how it'll turn out this time.’
As I waited with quiet anticipation, an unexpected red screen appeared.
[※Creation Failed – Insufficient SP]
“What?”
Wait. That didn't make sense.
“How difficult can this item be……? Five hundred isn't enough?”
It wasn't that the item name was lousy. I didn't have enough SP.
‘It must be an error.’
I hurriedly checked my status window.
And I couldn't say a word.
“…….”
[SP 31]
I blinked. That wasn't enough, so I rubbed my eyes hard.
But it still read 31.
“……Why?”
My voice cracked miserably.
‘No, I definitely had over five hundred yesterday.’
I wondered if I wasn't fully awake yet, but the number didn't change.
Then the status window quietly answered.
[S: SP points are a resource derived from people's ‘attention.’]
“You already told me that.”
That was why I'd saved them, why I hadn't spent them.
“Where did all the points I worked so hard to save go?”
Instead of an answer, another sentence appeared.
[S: Does people's attention last forever?]
“Ah…….”
Those words alone made my breath catch.