When they arrived at the ENS Broadcasting Station located in Mapo-gu, not everyone who got off the bus proceeded to the interviews. It was clear that those confirmed to have failed would be firmly turned away if there was no source for them to be shown on the broadcast.

'So this is society.'

Jang Jinsoo shuddered at the realization that he could have been one of them. He didn't pity them though - he had a long way still to go.

'Don't be arrogant.'

He repeated to himself.

Fortunately, there were formidable things around him.

The completely unknown No Haeil.

A contestant with a single-digit number that anyone would recognize by name alone.

But most worryingly, #27 - his same-age competitor.

'At least my butt doesn't hurt here.'

Waiting for the interviews in numerical order, Jang Jinsoo obediently placed his fists on his knees.

Once the interviews were over, the first filming would be completely finished. And soon, he would be able to see himself on TV. Or would the second filming come first?

"Contestant #56, JJ-ssi, please come in."

"Yes."

Just as they had seen on TV, the interview proceeded.

A camera followed Jang Jinsoo as he walked into the interview room.

Jang Jinsoo walked steadily, careful not to look foolish.

The place he soon arrived at was a small private room.

A chair was prepared for the interviewee, with a camera set up opposite.

"We'll start the interview now."

The first question came as expected - his motivation for auditioning for Soyou and a self-introduction.

He answered smoothly as prepared.

"JJ-ssi, you're one of the youngest applicants to audition for Show by Show. Yet you passed the first round ahead of many adult competitors. What do you think is the reason for that?"

This was also a question he had heard in previous seasons, so he thought he answered properly.

"And, we can't avoid asking about your song, JJ-ssi. Your song that received positive reviews from all the judges - can you share the story of how you created it?"

"Well... it might be a bit long."

"The longer the better for us. Of course, if it's too long we'll edit it."

The VJ sitting beside the camera mimed a pair of scissors. Jang Jinsoo smiled along as he recalled the day he made that song.

Where should he start from?

"Actually, my song 'Show by Show' was completely different at first."

"Completely different? Can you elaborate a bit more?"

"The initial version was a bit rough and amateurish."

"Really? It didn't feel that way at all."

Up to this point, it was going well.

The VJ responded positively to Jang Jinsoo's words with a fatherly smile. But the conversation stopped when Jang Jinsoo mentioned a "friend."

"He refined the song for me-"

"Hold on a moment."

Particularly when he said a friend had refined and completed the song, the VJ cut him off. The conversation didn't continue further.

'What's going on?'

With an innocent look, Jang Jinsoo waited for the VJ's question, but instead of asking, the VJ suddenly stood up and turned off the camera.

"?"

Now he realized something was wrong.

"Please wait here for a moment."

The VJ left the interview room.

Waiting for the VJ's return, Jang Jinsoo imagined all sorts of scenarios. Had he misspoken somehow? Why was the VJ acting like this?

He had only told the truth.

And twenty minutes later,

The one in front of him was the main writer who had been beside the PD. Having a one-on-one meeting with the main writer, someone he thought he'd never have to talk to, Jang Jinsoo's pupils shook.

"When you say your friend refined it, how much did he work on it? Just simple feedback? Or did he, you know, produce it?"

"He took the beat from the song I had made and created this one."

"So he produced it for you?"

"No, not quite producing, more like arranging..."

"And you wrote the lyrics, JJ-ssi?"

"Yes, I wrote the lyrics."

The sharp-eyed writer Kim had a pointed, intimidating look. His tone was blunt, and Jang Jinsoo sat upright uncomfortably, feeling like he was being interrogated.

After a long pause for thought, Writer Kim spoke.

"If you say it like that, it can't be used for broadcast."

"Pardon?"

"Let's make it clear. Change your answer."

"H-how…?"

"That you, JJ-ssi, did all the writing and composing yourself."

"Pardon?"

Jang Jinsoo stood up in shock.

The writer's glare made him sit back down, but he shook his head vehemently.

"But realistically, I didn't compose it myself."

"Well, your song was the base, right?"

"Even so-"

"Huh."

The writer let out a long sigh, and Jang Jinsoo closed his mouth.

"Let me be honest with you. JJ-ssi, or should I say Jang Jinsoo, about your friend's situation."

"Yes."

The writer's overbearing tone and use of the informal name made Jinsoo's spirit shrink.

"We originally intended to eliminate you in the first round."

"Pardon?"

"When we saw the acapella video, it was clear you fell a bit short of the contestant we wanted, and you should have obviously failed. But-"

"..."

"The song was so good. Your skills were lacking, everything was lacking. But that song was so good that we passed you. The judges gave you a lot of positive feedback too, right? We felt the exact same way. Your song alone was enough. It erased all our regrets. That's why we picked you, Jinsoo."

Looking at Jinsoo's bowed head, Writer Kim continued:

"But then you mentioned this 'friend', and everything fell apart. Oh, is this 'friend' perhaps some famous producer? Then the situation changes."

Jang Jinsoo shook his head vigorously.

Seeing this, Writer Kim continued as if she had expected it.

"Then he's just an ordinary person?"

"Yes."

For a moment, Writer Kim wondered how an ordinary person could create such a song, but in this situation, the more important issue was the potential broadcast mishap. As the main writer, he had to somehow steer the broadcast in the desired direction.

"Now, let's imagine we go with what your friend wants, Jinsoo. If we air exactly what your friend said on the broadcast, who will the viewers be watching?"

"Pardon?"

"The spotlight should be on one person, but instead it's shining on two. The viewers will be confused over who to watch, and your friend will be sharing the attention he should be receiving alone. Isn't that a broadcast mishap?"

"...Yes."

While he didn't fully understand, the completely deflated Jang Jinsoo answered.

"Fortunately though, this isn't a live broadcast. We have editing capabilities, and your friend also has a choice. Isn't that fortunate? Now, I'll give you two options. Since we're short on time, choose quickly."

"Yes."

"First option. Instead of you, Jinsoo, that 'friend' appears on our show."

"...Pardon?"

"Why? Since he basically created that song himself. We only picked you because of that song. So wouldn't it make sense for that 'friend' who refined the song to appear instead?"

Jang Jinsoo's eyes wavered.

He was flustered by this completely unexpected suggestion.

"And... the second option?"

"The second option-"

Writer Kim smirked as if she expected this.

"Is to remove that 'friend' from this song entirely. Let's say we make this proposal - it's fine, right? But for 'Show by Show', we'll treat it as if our Jinsoo, no, JJ-ssi, wrote and composed it himself. Then it works for us, and JJ-ssi gets the spotlight. How's that?"

"..."

His heart pounded.

Since No Haeil had said he used four of his songs as the base, it would be okay to claim it as his own song.

But...

'To say it's my song...'

It had essentially been overhauled to the level of a new creation.

Even though he said the base beat was his, it didn't really feel that way.

'Is this right?'

He couldn't help but wonder.

In front of him, Writer Kim urged him for an answer.

'This doesn't seem right.'

He was endlessly conflicted.

"You'll go with the second option, right? Obviously."

Writer Kim spoke as if reading his mind.

"Then go and re-do the interview."

He gestured for him to leave.

With trembling legs, Jang Jinsoo stood up.

'Is this right? Is this really going properly?'

He had never agonized like this before.

Sure, No Haeil was an unlucky guy, but he wasn't a bad person. There was no reason to lie.

He had made the song for his sake.

In his heart, a devilish voice said:

'It's fine, No Haeil will just make more good songs in the future anyway. Don't worry about it.'

But a hidden conscience whispered:

'Don't try to justify it in any way. This isn't right.'

'Even if No Haeil doesn't care, don't do it. Let's be honest.'

The VJ in the private room turned on the camera and asked if he was ready.

It was as if they were starting the interview over from the beginning again, like Doctor Strange had used the Time Stone against Dormammu.

"Speaking of JJ-ssi, we can't avoid asking about your song. The song that received positive reviews from all the judges - could you share how you created it?"

"..."

His mouth was completely dry.

The VJ patiently waited for his response, seemingly understanding the gravity of the situation.

Feeling his pounding heart, Jang Jinsoo swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

"It might be a bit of a long story."

The VJ's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"The longer the better for us, we can edit it."

This time, the VJ didn't mime scissors.

Jang Jinsoo didn't smile either, and the atmosphere wasn't as cheerful as before.

That was reassuring.

The VJ seemed to sense the changed mood just as Jang Jinsoo did.

"Actually, my song 'Show by Show' was completely different at first."

"How so?"

"The initial version was a bit rough and amateurish."

"Really? It didn't feel that way at all."

The experienced VJ didn't turn off the camera, but changed the question instead.

"Then how did it evolve from that previous version?"

Preventing any mention of No Haeil altogether.

Their eyes met. Jang Jinsoo swallowed at the changed question.

"My friend-"

"!"

The VJ held his breath.

Oh no. In the end...

It seemed he couldn't guide this kid properly, and it would all unravel.

But instead of being afraid of getting reprimanded or edited out, Jang Jinsoo's eyes shone as he answered.

"Turned it into the current song. The current 'Show by Show'."

#

Halo tilted his head slightly.

Leaning against the headboard with his legs stretched out on the floor, he idly snapped his fingers. He had worn fingerbands over his entire hand for a long time now.

Park Seungah, who had called out to him from outside, closed the door again upon seeing his focused state.

The wild electric guitar that had been completely untamed when they first met had now been trained to an extent, forming a decent pair with him.

Satisfied with the electric guitar's sound, Halo felt he could produce an even better second album than his first, [Spring Again].

Well, if there was one thing he wanted, it would be to have an actual violinist record the violin session instead of using MIDI. On the second album, the violin played an equally important role as the electric guitar.

"Should I learn to play the violin?"

He had never considered learning it before, but it didn't seem like a bad idea. He could probably pick it up quickly.

For now, with many things left to do, Halo set it aside for the near future and notated some musical scores on the back pages of No Haeil's notebook. It seemed No Haeil's secret notebook had become completely his now.

Then, his phone rang.

If it had just been a ringtone he might not have heard it, but since it vibrated on the bed, Halo slowly turned his head and picked up the phone.

[Hey, No Haeil.]

"Speak."

[You should really be thanking me, you know.]

What kind of nonsense was this?

Thinking he had misheard, Halo pulled the phone away to check. The name 'Jang Jinsoo' was clearly displayed.

"If you have nothing to say, I'm hanging up."

Curses came through from the other end of the line.

An unlucky brat, this brat that brat - for someone with no romantic partner, let alone a spouse, he sure loved using that word.

[If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have lied to you.]

"What did you do?"

[...The writer told me to say that I composed the song.]

"Hmm."

Halo paused his hand motions.

He immediately understood what Jang Jinsoo was saying.

"I don't care either way."

To Halo, it had only been a test song. A song he didn't particularly care about, so he didn't mind what Jinsoo said about it.

[How can I lie like that?]

"So you called to show off?"

[Unlucky bastard.]

He muttered through the phone again.

He was obviously cursing at him.

[Since it's come to this, make me another good song at least.]

Halo let out a mocking laugh.

So that's why he had called to show off - of course, there was an ulterior motive.

"I don't want to."

[Why not?]

"I'm busy."

The last time was just a whim, but he had a lot to work on right now. And many things he wanted to do.

[But you have to make one, right?]

Why did he have to? As Halo tilted his head, a sly laugh came through the phone.

[Remember our bet? I won, didn't I. Don't tell me you've forgotten about my wish already.]

"Oh, now that you said that."

Halo raised the corner of his mouth.

So that's why he was being so audacious.

"Check again."

[...What?]

Jang Jinsoo sensed something ominous at those words.

Throughout the two days of filming, and even before that during the stage preparations, he hadn't had time to check No Haeil's account. When checking the view count increase rate, it had seemed impossible within that timeframe.

But to check again?

"I just happened to forget about it."

[I’m hanging up then-]

Jang Jinsoo abruptly hung up, not wanting to hear that mocking tone, and hurriedly opened NuTube. On the home channel recommending various videos based on the algorithm, he clicked the "Subscriptions" tab.

"!!!"

Jang Jinsoo's eyes widened more than ever before.

Unknowingly, he covered his mouth and let out a silent scream.

"But the last time I checked, the view count was only around three thousand."

And even that had seemed like a lot.

The number of subscribers currently displaying was 28,000.

Not view count, but subscriber count - reaching 30,000 with just four videos.

It was impossible.

Trembling, Jang Jinsoo clicked on a video.

Naturally, the view count was dozens of times higher than the subscriber count.

Unable to comprehend the changes that had occurred over a single week, Jang Jinsoo tried to find the cause and reason. But at some point, he stopped.

What was the point?

He had lost the bet, and his plans had been dashed.

'My song...'

"No..."

He didn't even recall what had happened at the filming site. Jang Jinsoo, imagining No Haeil laughing like a devil, felt despair.