"Hello, Junsu. We've met before, right?"

"Hello, I'm Jang 'Jinsoo'."

"Yeah, Jinsoo, come on in."

He knocks lightly on Jinsoo's back as if checking if he can really go in.

Such a timid guy.

As Halo puts his hands in his pockets and enters, Jang Jinsoo follows him in, fidgeting.

Jang Jinsoo felt that this might not be right.

He was sure that No Haeil's mother didn't like him. This feels like going to receive a death sentence. Unlike last time, she welcomed him with a smile, but still.

'I feel like I shouldn't have come.' Jang Jinsoo thought as he looked around No Haeil's serene home.

The house without a speck of dust felt as uncomfortable as wearing ill-fitting clothes.

He shouldn't have agreed when the mother asked him to come over to have a meal together.

Or at least, he should have used his wish coupon.

'Is this a wish?' He wonders.

He remembers No Haeil mocking him, 'Would that be a wish?'

He should have forcibly taken the wish coupon from him.

Jang Jinsoo was afraid of what wish No Haeil might make, but he was more afraid of No Haeil's mother.

"I didn't prepare a lot, but eat up."

'This... is not a lot?' Jang Jinsoo's eyes wavered.

It looked like the table might break. The side dishes were piled up without overlap, filling every inch of space.

Most of them were even meat dishes.

"Are you a vegetarian or have any allergies?"

"No, I can eat anything."

"That's good. I prepared mostly meat dishes since Haeil likes meat."

He thought that he was Sejong the Great.

Jang Jinsoo cursed inwardly, but maintained a smiling face outwardly.

Halo didn't bother telling him that his face looked like a Hahoe mask.

"I heard you appeared on TV."

"Yes, that's right."

As the mother piled more side dishes onto No Haeil's rice, he calmly accepted them.

On the other hand, Jang Jinsoo glanced around, unsure which dish to eat first since there were so many.

"What kind of program is it?"

"It's a music survival program called Show Your Show--"

"Show Your Show?"

"Yeah, it's like an audition program."

"Ah, like Superstar K?"

"Yes, exactly."

The mother's eyes sparkled as she looked at him, and Jang Jinsoo couldn't even take a single bite.

Meanwhile, No Haeil was calmly eating his ssam wraps.

"So how does it work?"

The mother seemed to be hearing about 'Show Your Show' for the first time.

Well, it's hard to imagine No Haeil chatting about these things with his parents. He doesn't seem like the type to gossip.

"Usually for survival programs, they hold auditions. They accept applicants, do an initial screening, and then start filming. Some have multiple rounds too."

"How did Show Your Show work?"

"For Soyou3, or Show Your Show, they accepted applicants until early November. You had to submit an acapella video and a stage video. Then the production team selects the initial passers and calls them with the filming dates."

"Aha, so it's not much different from university entrance exams."

"Right, exactly."

No Haeil is basically eating a full-on mukbang in front of them.

Jang Jinsoo, just watching, slowly felt hungry too.

He was about to pick up his chopsticks to eat when the mother spoke again.

"It must be tough."

"?"

Jang Jinsoo was puzzled when he heard this.

'Could it be that she doesn't know?'

He glanced at No Haeil, who was just eating his rice.

The mother seemed unaware.

He didn't talk about his friend, and apparently didn't even brag about himself either.

Should he say something or not?

After hesitating, Jang Jinsoo opened his mouth.

"No, it was manageable."

"I see, you must have prepared hard."

"Well, that too, but Haeil helped me a lot."

"...Our Haeil?"

The mother looked at No Haeil with a puzzled expression, realizing he hadn't said a word about it.

"How did Haeil help you?"

Until now, her interest seemed to be in the simple audition process for 'Show Your Show'. But as soon as Jang Jinsoo mentioned No Haeil's name, her eyes became intensely heated with curiosity.

Yeah, what parent doesn't like to hear their child praised? Jang Jinsoo could understand.

"Well-"

He paused, wondering where to start, when he remembered having talked about this before.

He had mentioned it at the broadcasting station in Mapo-gu too. Back then, everyone was negative about it, but this place would be different.

Jinsoo put down his chopsticks.

And he recalled the day he busked in Hongdae, going through the events of that day one by one.

The mother responded much more enthusiastically and actively than ever before. Occasionally looking at Haeil as if wondering why he didn't say anything, her eyes were full of pride.

It was such a nice sight of a mother and son that Jang Jinsoo could comfortably tell the story. A part of him even felt envious.

"He did the arrangement?"

"Yes, you'll be amazed when you hear it too, ma’am. No Hae... Haeil is really good at composing."

"I can imagine!"

The mother kept nodding continuously.

Her nods were filled with certainty.

'I wonder if she has heard No Haeil's songs separately?'

Jang Jinsoo brushed it off for now, thinking 'I guess so'.

"Thanks to Haeil, I was able to pass."

This is sincere.

It's a bit bittersweet, but he still thinks it will be an opportunity. How often will he get a chance to receive mentoring from famous singers and producers? He plans to make the most of this opportunity that No Haeil created, as if he had won the lottery.

"Is that so?"

The mother clapped her hands together in delight, like a young girl.

"When can we watch it?"

"The first preview is on the 6th, and the first episode airs next Friday."

"So soon!"

Jang Jinsoo nodded.

And when he turned his head to see if No Haeil had anything to say, he saw that Haeil had already finished eating.

'Tch.'

"Son, should mom give you another serving?"

"No, I'm okay."

'But I haven't taken a single bite yet.'

Jang Jinsoo lowered his head.

His bowl was still filled to the brim with rice, not a single empty spot.

'Well, I can eat now at least.'

No Haeil and his mother started conversing.

Now he could finally eat. Jang Jinsoo picked up his chopsticks and grabbed an egg roll.

"Come to think of it, the 6th is the high school entrance exam date. What are your plans for high school?"

"Um..."

As soon as he heard the mention of high school, Jang Jinsoo froze with his chopsticks in the air. She was clearly asking No Haeil, but Jang Jinsoo felt like he was getting scolded too.

"I heard that trainees usually apply to arts high schools."

"Arts high schools already finished their admission process in early November."

"Really?"

The mother's eyes widened at this unexpected fact.

The mother then turned to Jang Jinsoo again, seeming to see him as an expert.

"Then what should we do?"

"Well, if you want to go to an arts high school, you can transfer from a regular high school. Or you can just go to a regular high school."

"Ah, I see."

"There are some regular high schools that are more accommodating to arts and sports programs."

No Haeil's mother fell silent, deep in thought about something.

'Can I eat now?'

Just as Jang Jinsoo's hand twitched to eat, No Haeil's voice came.

"Mother."

"Yes, Haeil."

His hand reached for the egg roll.

No Haeil said in an ominous tone,

"You told me to do what I want to do, right?"

"That's right?"

The ketchup smile drawn on the egg roll seemed to beckon him to eat it.

"I want to continue doing music."

"Okay."

As the mother nodded, Halo continued speaking. Jang Jinsoo wondered why he was saying such things out of the blue when the mother already seemed like a diehard fan.

"So I don't plan on looking elsewhere."

"...?"

Wait a minute.

Jang Jinsoo held his breath.

Wait, what did he just say?

He remembers this guy saying before that he wasn't going to high school. Back then, Jang Jinsoo thought he was crazy and brushed it off, but he didn't expect him to seriously say that.

Surely not, right?

Jang Jinsoo looked back and forth between No Haeil and his mother. The mother still didn't seem to understand what No Haeil was saying.

"Hey, No Hae--"

His appetite was completely gone.

He was about to stop him right then and there.

"Instead of going to high school, I want to live for my music, Mother."

"What do you mean..."

Time seemed to slow down.

The puzzled mother slowly opened her mouth wider and her eyes grew bigger. Even Jang Jinsoo mouthed the words 'You crazy bastard, are you really saying this?' without a sound.

"I think the compulsory education designated by the nation is enough."

The guy who sometimes makes you doubt if he's even Korean really said something a Korean would never say.

Not even a high school graduate, but a middle school graduate!

There are so many parents who would faint if their child said they weren't going to college. Saying you're not going to high school, what can you even say about that?

"Haeil?"

The mother's eyes trembled.

Jang Jinsoo could understand her feelings.

Especially since No Haeil was originally a model student in the foreign language high school preparatory class. The gap between a foreign language high school student and a middle school graduate was quite large.

"Yes."

Halo answered calmly.

Because he was being sincere.

He has no intention of going to high school.

It was fun going back to school for a while, but he didn't think it was worth doing going forward. Middle school was enough for hanging out with kids.

"..."

The mother was speechless.

Even Jang Jinsoo felt a lump in his throat, so the mother's reaction was understandable.

Jang Jinsoo fidgeted, wondering what to do, and then opened his mouth.

"Oh, that's right. No Haeil, don't you need to tell your father too?"

"Suddenly?"

He received a glance as if asking 'what are you talking about?'.

"That, uh, your song! Your father needs to hear your song too. Didn't you say he was on a business trip?"

"You're right."

It wasn't No Haeil who answered, but his mother.

No Haeil's mother got up from her seat, her face brightening.

"I should let your father know when Show Your Show is airing. It'll air before he gets back. As a father, he must hear his son's song."

"..."

Even though it's none of his business, he intentionally brought it up so they could discuss it when the father wasn't around. It seemed like the mother had no intention of making a decision about his education here either. School admissions are an important matter that needs to be discussed when the whole family is present.

Only Halo was staring at the two of them with displeasure.

Their intention to change the subject was clear as day.

'But my decision isn't changing.'

#

In the U.S. state of California.

On a campus along the Pacific coast in San Diego.

A woman in a hoodie looked around cautiously as she walked down the hallway. The 'Fiat Lux' mark was repeatedly plastered on the walls.

Whenever she saw the motto meaning 'Let there be light', she thought they should at least fix the flickering lights first.

She soon stopped in front of a familiar nameplate and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Professor, you called for me?"

Her respected professor was wearing a classic suit as always. It was no different from what he wore yesterday. She and the lab mates occasionally debated the professor's fashion sense.

Like whether the professor never changes clothes, or if he just has multiple identical outfits.

Then she noticed her own attire.

Yale hoodie, jeans with holes at the knees, dirty white sneakers... She realized she was in no position to lecture others on fashion sense.

"About the research you presented at last week's seminar--"

"Last week? Ah."

She spent about an hour and a half discussing the seminar and research progress, gradually noticing the sun setting through the window. Time had passed so quickly.

"By the way, Professor."

She stopped as she was about to leave, remembering something. There was something she had lost the rock-paper-scissors to ask as the representative.

"What is it?"

"Do you watch NuTube by any chance?"

"NuTube?"

She showed him her phone.

The professor, who didn't seem to have any time to watch NuTube, nodded his head.

"It's a video that's been getting attention lately. I thought you might enjoy it too since you like old songs."

"The Beatles aren't that old--"

"They were a band that came out before I was born."

The professor closed his mouth with an 'hmm'.

He couldn't argue with that.

"Want to take a look? It's a busking video."

"...Alright."

Assistant Professor Kang quickly launched NuTube.

Since it was a video she had watched recently, she found it quickly.

"This place looks familiar."

"Yeah, it's Hongdae. A Korean kid is singing."

"A kid?"

"Yes, an actual kid."

The professor, imagining a 6-year-old when he heard 'kid', frowned. While cute, he could hardly picture a child singing old songs.

Then the sound started playing.

The noisy chatter of people.

The phone camera was pointed at a man and some children.

Then one of the kids stepped up to the mic--

And a melody began to play.

It wasn't the professor's favorite song, but it was always a great one whenever he heard it.

When I find myself in times of trouble

"Doesn't he have a great voice?"

"..."

Assistant Professor Kang had a blissful expression, as if mesmerized by the video.

But the professor didn't hear her voice at all. All he saw in his eyes was the 'kid' in the video.

Shaggy front bangs.

A small, skinny frame with porcelain skin.

Sitting on the street, using the passersby as his audience, turning Hongdae into a small concert venue. 

"What the--"

The child was undoubtedly someone the professor knew well.