Chapter 198 : Footprints That Became a Star
Chapter 198: Footprints That Became a Star
I suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
All I had done was give him my tonkatsu lunchbox.
Was it really something worth being this moved over?
I glanced over at Yujin noona.
...She was smiling.
Not with her usual teasing expression.
She was smiling with satisfaction.
I wasn't really used to that.
The reason I handed Manager-hyung the lunchbox wasn't because I wanted to offer some grand comfort or encouragement.
It was just that when I looked at his face...
I honestly wondered if someone could look like that.
He had gone beyond looking exhausted.
He looked like he might collapse and die at any moment.
I figured someone was going to end up in serious trouble if this continued, so I gave him the lunchbox.
Mom always said that skipping even one meal was dangerous.
Either way.
I was glad to see he seemed to have regained some energy.
Judging by the fact that he could even joke around now.
"The lunchbox was really delicious too. Seriously, thanks to you, I finally came back to my senses."
"Ahaha. I'm glad."
"At first, I couldn't believe you were the one who wrote a song like that. But the more I thought about it... your songs have always been like this. The beats are flashy, but the melodies are always really beautiful."
Was the praise...
A little too much?
Even Yujin noona, who had been quietly listening beside us, joined in.
"He's right. I already liked Stay's songs, but this one felt different. Honestly, I'd love to sing it myself, but I think that'd just be me getting greedy."
"Yeah, I agree with that too. I think this song is much more touching with a man's voice."
"I knew Taeyoon could sing well, but I had no idea he was this good. Honestly, I'd vote that he's better than most male idols."
"Come on, don't compare him to them. He's way better than The Green's vocalist."
What was wrong with these people?
They were throwing compliments back and forth without even changing their expressions.
At this point...
It felt like they were teasing me.
"Wait, wait a second...!"
"Hm?"
"Something feels really strange."
"What's strange? Everything seems perfectly normal to me."
...Right.
I see.
Still, it didn't feel bad.
It meant my song had actually comforted someone.
I turned toward Manager-hyung.
"By the way... when you said you wanted to listen to it as an official release, were you serious?"
"It's already more than good enough as it is..."
Unlike before, he spoke much more calmly this time.
"It's just a shame for me to be the only one who gets to hear it."
A shame...
"I think there are a lot of people who feel the same way I do. These days, so many people have pets."
"Ah."
"They'll definitely find comfort in it. I even thought... maybe these were the exact words I'd always wanted to hear. That everything was okay. That I didn't need to feel sorry. That we were happy while we were together. It honestly felt like Ddoli was saying those words to me."
The end of Manager-hyung's sentence trembled slightly.
His eyes had reddened again too.
But I simply listened quietly without pointing it out.
"Just because it's popular music doesn't mean every song has to be about love, showing off yourself, or criticizing the world... does it? I listen to a lot of music too, and sometimes... you really need songs you can relate to like this."
Something people could relate to.
Maybe those were exactly the words I had wanted to hear.
My shoulders tingled.
"I'm glad it was able to comfort you."
Maybe he misunderstood and thought I was refusing.
He smacked his lips lightly before picking up his cola again.
"What a shame. It's really too good to keep to myself."
Hmm.
It wasn't that I disliked the idea.
I was just a little embarrassed.
It was a song I'd sung while immersed in late-night emotions.
It was like a letter written in the middle of the night.
The kind that makes you cringe for no reason when you read it again the next morning.
Even so...
I wanted to give it a try.
Creating something people could relate to.
Something that could comfort them.
Not just anyone could do that.
"I do feel a little pressured... but I actually think releasing it would be okay too."
"Yeah. It's understandable to feel pressured. Releasing a song is... Wait. Hold on. You're saying you'll actually release it?"
Manager-hyung suddenly leaned forward and grabbed my hand.
"That's exactly what I'd expect from Composer Stay. You're so decisive."
Why are you grabbing my hand?
I quietly pulled it away before answering.
"But I won't sing it alone."
"Huh? Then who are you planning to sing it with? Mr. Gibong has been doing really well lately, Junhyun would be great too, and if one of the Cheongseong teachers joined..."
"No, no."
Having someone else join in with these emotions would be unnecessary.
I held both hands out and pointed at Manager-hyung.
"The other person has to be you."
"...Excuse me?"
"I really liked the lyrics. They almost made me cry."
Wait.
Was it just my imagination, or was he glaring at Yujin noona?
Meanwhile, she pretended not to notice while staring down the hallway.
"Me... sing? I can't sing."
Oh.
At this level, I actually had a good chance.
Lately, I'd started understanding the hidden meanings behind what people said.
Especially the phrase, 'I can't sing.'
It definitely didn't mean they refused.
It meant, 'I'm not good at singing, but if you ask me, I'll do my best.'
The people who truly didn't want to sing usually frowned and said,
'How could I possibly sing?'
How did I know?
Because I'd answered the same way before.
If someone really didn't want to do something, they'd simply say no.
Beating around the bush meant they were considering it.
"So what if you can't sing? What's important is conveying your sincerity. You said you wanted this song to comfort people, didn't you? Then sing it yourself."
"Uh..."
"The reply you sent me... we'll use that as the second verse."
I briefly explained my plan—
No, my strategy.
After reading Manager-hyung's reply,
the idea had immediately come to me.
The song I'd originally sent only had a simple structure—
a first verse and a chorus.
It was just a quiet piece built around the melody and riff that had come to me in that moment.
But then...
Once another set of lyrics was added,
the song became so much richer.
If the first verse were told from Ddoli's perspective,
and the second verse from Manager-hyung's perspective,
I felt like the overall picture would turn out beautifully.
"So, what do you think, hyung? Want to try singing it now?"
"...Right now?"
"Yep. We even have a recording studio here."
"I did hear there was one..."
So what?
A song didn't have to be some grand production.
You didn't need to sing perfectly or decorate it with tricks.
Without unnecessary techniques.
With confidence.
Simply place your current feelings—
the message you want to convey—
into the lyrics and sing them honestly.
That was what a song was.
After hearing what I thought...
"...You're right."
It looked like I'd already won him over halfway.
And what was needed at a moment like this?
Yujin noona!
Her specialty was charming people with words.
One strong push now...
Game over.
When I gave her a subtle look,
she blinked rapidly and gave me an okay sign.
Good.
I knew I could count on you.
"Oppa. Why are you saying you can't sing? You're good. Remember when you sang 'Confession'? Everyone was amazed."
"You pretended your phone rang and walked out..."
"That was because I was so touched I had to go wipe my tears. Oh! Right! You even won the grand prize at our company talent show."
"That was decided by lottery."
"Ah... Anyway!"
Huh?
The grand prize was decided by lottery...?
Was that really right?
The next day.
Even though they hadn't been able to record immediately yesterday,
they had at least managed to get Hwang Woohyun standing in front of a microphone.
Mission accomplished.
During that single day,
Taeyoon polished the accompaniment a little more.
Even calmer.
He added only a guitar alongside the piano.
He also raised the pitch of the hi-hat just slightly to make the tiny sound of footsteps stand out more clearly.
Even for people who couldn't play instruments.
He wanted anyone to be able to comfortably follow along, even if only clumsily.
The arrangement couldn't become too excessive.
With songs like this,
too much emotion became poison.
Hwang Woohyun asked with an uneasy expression.
"We're not actually releasing this as an album, right? I was only thinking it'd be nice if we just released it digitally..."
Taeyoon answered as though it were no big deal.
"Maybe not an album... but I'll handle the mixing and mastering, then make you a CD."
"Wow! Then... would it be okay if I made something like a music video? Using Ddoli's photos?"
"Oh, if you did that, I'd honestly be really grateful."
"Ahem. I don't know if I'll be any good at it, though."
Standing in front of the microphone,
Hwang Woohyun awkwardly cleared his throat.
His face showed neither confidence nor expectation.
But that was okay.
"Don't make fun of me if I'm terrible."
"If I direct you properly, you'll sound completely different."
Taeyoon confidently gave a double thumbs-up.
Beyond the recording room window,
Han Yujin made finger hearts toward the two of them.
With both hands, no less.
Pretending not to notice,
Hwang Woohyun turned his head away.
Maybe because he wasn't a singer,
he simply felt embarrassed.
"We'll start from Part B."
After finishing his directing,
Taeyoon stepped out of the recording booth.
Moon Jungbae, who had been peeking in from outside, walked over.
He had no idea what Taeyoon was plotting this time.
If he had been working with singer Han Yujin,
he would've gone to ToMe Entertainment.
But there hadn't been any sign of that.
"What are you doing? Why are you recording? Isn't that Yujin's manager?"
"Yeah. Well, here's what happened..."
Taeyoon briefly explained everything.
Moon Jungbae patted Taeyoon's shoulder proudly.
"Comforting someone... that's good. But can that young man actually sing?"
"What does it matter whether he sings well or not? Ah, by the way, the engineer-hyung comes in later, right?"
"Taewook? Yeah. He'll be here soon."
After saying that,
Moon Jungbae folded his arms and looked toward the recording booth.
Most ordinary people would've been nervous standing in front of a microphone.
But maybe because he'd spent so many years as a manager—
or maybe because he was naturally suited to being a singer—
he actually looked surprisingly convincing standing there.
Even the way he handled the microphone was pretty decent.
Anyone who didn't know better would've mistaken him for a professional singer.
"Shall we begin?"
"Yes. I'll give you the cue."
Click.
The sound of the recording button echoed softly.
After a brief silence...
Hwang Woohyun carefully began singing the first line with a trembling voice.
There were no techniques in his voice.
No excessive emotion.
Only a pain and sincerity that even Moon Jungbae—
considered one of the greatest vocalists—
could never imitate.
"Oh."
A quiet exclamation escaped Moon Jungbae.
"It's simple, but incredibly heartfelt. Singing like this isn't easy."
He certainly wasn't technically good.
His pitch wavered slightly,
and his voice trembled.
But that faint trembling had the power to make people listen more closely.
Did he really need to sing perfectly?
This song was Hwang Woohyun's letter to Ddoli.
And it was also part of his own healing process.
"He wrote the lyrics himself."
"Oh, really? Let me see."
Moon Jungbae picked up the lyric sheet.
"The emotions in the first and second verses are different."
"Oh, that's right. As expected, you noticed immediately."
"The narrator changes. It's like they're answering each other. Who sings the first verse?"
"I do."
"Huh?"
Moon Jungbae suddenly lifted his head and stared at Taeyoon.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm just amazed our youngest can sing this kind of song too."
"That looks more like suspicion."
"My eyes droop a little now that I'm getting older."
"Ugh."
Moon Jungbae smiled.
So this kid could even write songs like this.
Was there anything Taeyoon couldn't do?
On the day we meet again, will you come running first when you hear my voice?
As Hwang Woohyun's voice echoed through the recording studio,
it almost sounded as though Ddoli's footsteps could be heard faintly.
The sound of Ddoli running toward Hwang Woohyun.
At the same time,
the sound of Hwang Woohyun moving forward beyond his pain.
"This is really good. You're seriously not going to release it?"
"I don't know. Maybe just on YouTube? Stay's under an exclusive contract, so I have to discuss it with CEO Kim Minsoo first."
Hwang Woohyun gradually overcame his initial awkwardness and became immersed in the recording.
Taeyoon patiently waited for him the entire time.
By the time they finished recording,
it was already evening.
"Great work today, hyung."
"No, you're the one who worked hard, Taeyoon."
That night,
Taeyoon saved the completed audio file on his laptop and thought for a while.
What should he do with this song?
Could it go beyond simply being Manager-hyung's personal keepsake and truly comfort many people?
Suddenly,
he remembered the music video Hwang Woohyun had talked about making.
'Yeah. Let's do that.'
After thinking it over,
he contacted CEO Kim Minsoo.
The response was exactly what he had expected.
Taeyoon! What is this? What did I just listen to?
"Was it okay?"
Okay? It's way beyond okay!
When did you even write a song like this?
Who would've imagined Han Yujin's manager would sing?
As expected, Taeyoon's voice is incredible.
If it's a Stay song, I'd welcome ten thousand of them.
Let our Taeyoon do everything he wants...
After a brief conversation,
CEO Kim Minsoo gladly approved releasing the song.
Even CEO Kwak Youngho of ToMe Entertainment, whom Taeyoon had been worried about, welcomed the unusual collaboration with open arms.
One way or another.
He had even said that working with Stay in any form was an honor.
One week later.
The simple music video was uploaded through KIM Entertainment's official YouTube channel.
[ 'Footprints That Became a Star' - STaY, Hwang Woohyun M/V ]
[ KIM ENT. official ]
[ Composed, Arranged - STaY ]
[ Lyrics - STaY, Hwang Woohyun ]
"...Wait. Why is this on the Maron Chart?"
Contrary to everyone's expectations,
it quickly overtook the new releases from major idol groups and stormed into the Maron Chart Top 10.
"Take a look at this. Did this really have to become such a huge topic?"
[ What? Hwang Woohyun from Footprints That Became a Star?? Who's that? A rookie singer? ]
[ His singing skills are a little... if he's a singer. ]
[ Stay's new song is insane. I didn't know he could write songs like this. ㄷㄷㄷㄷ ]
For several days,music communities buzzed with discussions about <Footprints That Became a Star>.