Chapter 35: The Night Before (5)
– This song is amazing. I want to download it and listen to it on my phone.
– You could release this as an album. It feels so healing.”
February 3rd, an ordinary afternoon.
I, Kim So-ha, was scrolling through the comments on my YouTube channel, trying to distract myself from my unease.
My account, [alleyH], had been steadily gaining subscribers, reaching 2,000 just yesterday.
It was a small joy that helped me endure daily life, but I couldn’t fully celebrate—not with the real trial still lying ahead.
In just two days, Lilac’s album would be released.
I was only a half-baked producer at best, but this would still be the first album where I’d been involved in every song.
That meant I would now have to face the judgment of fans and the general public.
This wasn’t like Mountain Scenery, my drama OST, or Yoon Hyeok-pil’s ‘Alleyway’.
This would be on an entirely different level of exposure—more attention, more expectations, and absolutely no way to avoid criticism.
“…It’s already time.”
Having lost interest in games, I had been absentmindedly biting my nails to pass the time.
Before I knew it, it was 6:55 PM.
Our meeting was at 8 PM.
Even if I took a taxi, leaving now would barely get me there on time.
I checked my phone.
There was a message: ‘Are you ready?’
I sent back a short reply—’Heading out now.’—and grabbed my coat.
The air outside was still cold.
Obviously—winter wasn’t over yet.
[Class Reunion – Sangjun High School, 1st Year, Class 3. Location: Kaiser Soze, Sinchon.]
7:00 PM.
Yoon Seong-woo arrived at the designated venue—a cozy, unassuming bar with a modest exterior.
Inside, familiar faces had already begun filling the space.
“…I can’t believe I actually came here.”
Yoon Seong-woo let out a quiet sigh.
The class reunions had started around three years after graduation, with the driving force behind them being none other than their class president from ten years ago.
For the past three years, he had been too busy with work at JM Entertainment to attend, but this time, he finally had the chance.
“But seriously, is this already the eighth one?”
Their 1st-year, Class 3 had an unusually high number of reunions.
Part of it was because the organizer loved being in the spotlight, but the bigger reason was probably Jeong Ha-yeon.
Jeong Ha-yeon was the brightest star in South Korea.
There were people whose lifelong dream was simply to see her in person.
And the fact that she had been their classmate—and never declined a reunion invitation—made it impossible not to keep organizing these gatherings.
Most of the guys inside were probably fantasizing about some movie-like romance with her.
Ah, right.
For one person in particular, that fantasy might not be so far-fetched.
Of course, that guy wasn’t coming.
Yoon Seong-woo smirked and stepped into the bar.
The moment he opened the door, about forty pairs of eyes snapped toward him.
Immediately after, the room filled with sighs of disappointment.
He already knew who they had been hoping for, so he took his seat without complaint.
“What’s with that reaction? Shouldn’t you be happy to see an old friend?”
“Ah~ Seong-woo, you’re here.”
Feigning irritation, he joked, and one of his friends called out to him.
Kim Jeon-hyeok.
It had been a while since they last met, but his face was still recognizably familiar.
That said—he showed up to a casual reunion in a full suit.
Then again, he had passed the civil service exam this year.
“Yeah. I heard you passed the exam. Congrats. You worked your ass off studying, and now you’re moving up in the world.”
“Hehe, thanks. Come on, sit down.”
Smiling, Kim Jeon-hyeok gestured to the seat beside him.
Since it was the only spot left, Yoon Seong-woo sat down without hesitation.
He had never been the abrasive type, even back in school, so quite a few former classmates greeted him warmly.
“I heard you’ve been insanely busy. How’d you even manage to show up today?”
“Hey, hey, but seriously—how much does a JM Entertainment manager make?”
“Have you seen Park Joo-hyeok in person? What’s he like?”
Since working in entertainment was still considered somewhat special, the flood of curious questions was inevitable.
Yoon Seong-woo answered them casually, keeping his responses vague—until suddenly, their class president from ten years ago stepped forward.
“Since Seong-woo’s here, how about a toast?”
At that, Yoon Seong-woo weakly gestured toward the beer in front of him.
“I’m not great with alcohol. But by the way—you dressed up too, huh?”
“Oh? Ah~ well, someone important is coming. Obviously, I had to put in the effort.”
“So, she is coming today too?”
“Of course. I scheduled this entire reunion around her availability.”
“Ahh.”
So that’s why the reunion dates had always been all over the place—no consistency at all.
“Alright, glasses up, glasses up!”
The group of men and women raised their drinks.
The class president clicked his tongue to mimic the sound of a toast.
Clink—
Yoon Seong-woo followed suit, taking a sip.
A gulp of bitter, golden liquid slid down his throat.
It was just one sip for him, but his already flushed, slightly drunk classmates still had plenty of questions.
This time, the class president spoke up first.
“Oh, right. I saw that guy on TV too.”
“That guy?”
“Kim So-ha. But damn, he gained a ton of weight. What the hell happened to him? He’s nothing like before. Back then, he was almost… wolf-like.”
“Oh. So-ha?”
At that, Kim Jeon-hyeok looked startled and repeated the name.
“What? That Kim So-ha was on TV?”
It wasn’t exactly common knowledge that Kim So-ha had made a TV appearance.
Travel Log never surpassed 10% viewership, and let’s be honest—Yoo Ah-ra was the real center of attention in that episode.
“He was on a Travel Log. Heli—that producer. He seemed super close with Lilac. I’m jealous, seriously.”
“…How the hell does he have so many celebrity connections?”
Kim Jeon-hyeok muttered, a hint of envy lacing his voice.
Actually, he had been looking a bit sulky for a while now.
Maybe because no one was congratulating him on passing the civil service exam?
Then again, it couldn’t be helped.
Sure, passing at 28 made him an elite—but compared to the guest they were expecting, it was like a firefly under the sun.
Shalang—
Suddenly, the door opened with a clear, crisp sound.
The cold wind carried in a scent—familiar, distinct.
There was no need to turn and check who it was.
Jeong Ha-yeon had arrived.
Yoon Seong-woo let out a silent sigh.
He was the only one still seated.
Nearly forty classmates had already sprung to their feet, flocking toward her.
Their excited chatter overlapped into a chaotic mess of voices.
If they were trainees, this would be the moment for some serious discipline.
As Yoon Seong-woo scratched the back of his neck alone, Jeong Ha-yeon suddenly appeared in front of him.
“…Hello.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
His indifferent response made her laugh, and she took a seat beside him.
Which, in turn, completely wrecked the class president’s face.
His face flushed deep red as he frantically shouted—
“Alright, alright, let’s do a toast. Ah, should Ha-yeon give the toast?”
“I’m good.”
With the star of the night now present, the alcohol started flowing freely, and every conversation naturally gravitated toward Jeong Ha-yeon.
“Ha-yeon, I heard you’re starting a new drama soon?”
“Huh? Oh, that’s not confirmed yet.”
“I loved You Who Came from the Stars! You should do something like that again…”
A wave of questions crashed down on her, but Jeong Ha-yeon answered each one patiently.
Everyone leaned in, hanging onto her every word, afraid to miss even a syllable.
No matter how much they tried to impress her, there always came a point in the night where the focus naturally shifted.
Once everyone had enough drinks and the atmosphere settled in, people would start talking amongst themselves, no longer fixated on her presence.
Of course, even then, they would sneak glances at her from time to time—that was inevitable.
“Ah, uh, Ha-yeon… I mean, Ha-yeon-ssi… Um, you don’t feel lonely these days?”
During the raucous conversation filled with stories that had been bottled up for a year, Kim Jeon-hyeok stammered out a question.
“Not really. I’m busy, and… I just haven’t met anyone who catches my interest.”
“Ah-ha… So does that mean you prefer dating regular people?”
“I don’t really know. But why are you suddenly speaking so formally? You don’t have to.”
“Oh, uh, right~? But still, if you were to date someone, wouldn’t it be easier with a regular person?”
His face was flushed red as he awkwardly tried to flirt.
But judging by how red he was, he was definitely not going to last much longer.
As expected, their conversation didn’t last long before it fizzled out.
At that point, Jeong Ha-yeon’s gaze shifted toward Yoon Seong-woo.
“Seong-woo, I heard you’re getting married?”
“…How did you know?”
Jeong Ha-yeon only smiled mysteriously, offering no reply.
Yoon Seong-woo simply nodded in response.
Though they worked in different areas, it was still the same industry—an industry where rumors spread faster than anything else in the world.
Of course, she would know.
“Aren’t you going to give me a wedding invitation?”
“This isn’t exactly the place for that. If I hand them out here, I’ll end up footing the entire bill.”
“I’ll pay. Just say you covered it.”
“No thanks. Why would you? And why would I?”
Jeong Ha-yeon let out a bitter smile.
“…You sound just like him. Are you still seeing him?”
“Who?”
“So-ha.”
“…Is that a snack brand or something?”
Yoon Seong-woo’s dry joke made Jeong Ha-yeon laugh—a clear, effortless laugh.
She never covered her mouth when she laughed.
She was simply beautiful as she was.
For a moment, Yoon Seong-woo felt dazed.
How had Kim So-ha dated and broken up with someone like her?
Ah, well.
Back then, he could hold his own.
“That’s not what I meant, I just—”
Just then, the bar door swung open.
Out of all the people in the room, only Jeong Ha-yeon stopped talking and turned toward the entrance.
Yoon Seong-woo, however, watched her reaction instead.
Her previously calm and composed eyes wavered just slightly.
Then, that flicker of emotion quickly turned into disappointment.
Yoon Seong-woo spoke flatly.
“So-ha is not coming today either.”
“Huh? Ah… I see.”
Her murmured response was heavier than usual, sinking into the air between us.
8:00 PM.
Right on time, I arrived at a small Japanese restaurant near Yongsan.
The moment I stepped inside, a familiar voice called out eagerly—
“Over here~!”
It was Kim Ji-in.
Sitting beside her was Yoon Seong-han, and across from them, Yoon Woo-in.
The meeting was scheduled for eight, yet all three of them already had a slight flush on their faces.
I chuckled as I approached.
“You guys already started drinking without me? That’s a little cold, don’t you think?”
“Haha, well, we got caught up in celebrating. Come on, have a drink too.”
Travel Log had wrapped up with solid reviews.
Yoo Ah-ra’s acting had been well received, and even critics who trashed the drama itself admitted that the OST was phenomenal—some even called it ‘a drama with a great OST’.
The results spoke for themselves.
Not only did the soundtrack feature Mountain Scenery, but other songs also made it onto the charts successfully.
“Alright, cheers!”
The moment I sat down, Kim Ji-in poured me a drink.
Then, with her speech slightly slurred, she asked—
“Don’t you think… we work really well together?”
“What do you mean?”
“As a lyricist and a composer. I think we make a great team. Why don’t we just stick together for life~?”
She grinned as she said it.
Her face was, as always, completely free of makeup.
Her demeanor was natural, unfiltered—never putting on a show.
Kim Ji-in was someone who simply existed as she was.
A genuinely good person.
Still, I pretended to stroke my chin thoughtfully, tilting my head with mock seriousness.
“Hmm… I think that depends. You’ll have to step up your game as a lyricist. I’m about to become a #1 composer, after all.”
“Oh, please. That just means I’ll be a #1 lyricist too!”
“Ahh, that’s true.”
I tilted my head as if the realization had just dawned on me, and in that moment—
Three different shades of laughter filled the air at once.
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