"..."

It was an unexpected event.

He had thought such a day would come eventually, but he didn't expect to meet so soon.

As soon as he opened the door and came in, he recognized the composed man from his appearance.

There was no disagreement that No Haeil resembled his mother more than his father, but his lips and thick eyebrows were clearly from his father.

No Haeil's father had returned.

"Oh, why are you back so early?"

Startled by the suddenly opened door, his mother went to the entrance. Seeing the suitcase he had brought, she realized it wasn't just a brief visit.

"I promised to come before Christmas."

"Still, I was surprised since it was earlier than I expected. You should have said something when you arrived at the airport."

The man's deep baritone voice rang out.

Jang Jinsoo felt like he knew where No Haeil's vocal tone came from.

"Hello. I'm Haeil's friend, Jang Jinsoo."

Jang Jinsoo stood up and bowed 90 degrees.

The authoritative yet restrained atmosphere made him bow his head reflexively.

The man's gaze landed on him.

Jang Jinsoo felt tense, as if being examined.

"Nice to meet you."

However, the soft tone and faint smile eased the tension.

Fortunately, unlike some adults who are prejudiced based on appearances, No Haeil's father showed a positive reaction to Jang Jinsoo.

"Hello."

Halo greeted him next.

His expression was calm, but his formal tone felt distant.

"Long time no see. Have you been well?"

"Yes."

Even though it had been a long time since his son saw his father, and the son seemed distant, the man greeted him as if it were nothing.

Instead of closing the gap, he just observed Halo with his eyes, as if examining something.

"You seem to have changed a bit."

"Is that so?"

He had certainly changed.

But it was hard to express how exactly he had changed.

At least his outward appearance was exactly the same as the son he remembered.

'I'll find out when we talk.'

For now, it was time to bring the luggage inside.

The man easily lifted the suitcase with one hand.

"Have you eaten?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I ate, but how about a cup of coffee?"

"Sure. What beans?"

"The ones you like."

Jang Jinsoo, who had been staring intently at Haeil's father as he went into the bedroom with his mother, put down his spoon. There was no way he could keep eating.

"I should get going-"

"Your name is Jinsoo?"

Unfortunately, he missed the timing to escape.

"Yes? Yes, yes."

"You're in the same class as Haeil?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Ah, I see. Stay good friends from now on."

"Yes..."

No Haeil's father came out of the room and sat next to Jang Jinsoo. Jang Jinsoo, who ended up sitting next to him, froze without being able to put down or pick up his spoon.

Fortunately, No Haeil's father didn't make Jang Jinsoo say anything more. He calmly sipped his coffee.

The kitchen was quiet for a while.

It's nothing special.

Watching carefully, Jang Jinsoo, who had been as stiff as a rock, gradually relaxed.

At that moment, No Haeil's father spoke.

"By the way, I recently saw an interesting video."

"Interesting?"

"Assistant Professor Kang showed me a video that's popular on NuTube these days. And you know what surprised me?"

No Haeil's father looked straight at Halo as he spoke, curling his lips in amusement. Everyone present knew what video he was referring to.

"You've been up to some interesting things lately."

"You must have seen Haeil busking!"

The father nodded and sipped his coffee again.

The rich aroma of the beans filled the house.

"What have you been doing?"

"..."

Was he getting angry? Or was he taking it positively?

Halo couldn't tell his father's reaction at all.

Well, his tone wasn't exactly positive, but it wasn't a tone forbidding him either. It was ambiguous.

In fact, if it were the old father he remembered, he would have argued right away.

However, Halo had become more composed after reconciling with his mother.

Instead of viewing the man as 'his father', he saw him as someone else, believing that even if he objected, he could be persuaded - unlike his real father who wouldn't listen no matter what was said.

"It's what I love most."

Halo replied matter-of-factly.

Father and son's gazes met in silence.

Caught between them, Jang Jinsoo felt like he was suffocating to death. He wasn't sure if he was even breathing.

"How are your studies going?"

"Dear, let’s talk fir-"

His mother tried to interject as tensions rose between father and son, but Halo answered first.

"It depends on what kind of 'studies' you mean."

"If you're being half-hearted, you won't get into the university you want."

"The university 'I' want?"

"Isn't that right?"

The father crossed his arms.

That was exactly like No Haeil.

After observing Halo for a while, the father spoke.

"You've certainly changed a lot since I last saw you."

#

Korean University Professor No Yuhyeon discovered his deathly pale wife and his son's friend. They seemed to think he was angry.

But he wasn't.

No Yuhyeon was curious about what had caused such a change in his son, and even found it a bit interesting.

He wanted to know what had happened to the indecisive son he remembered.

His son, No Haeil, had always been like a sore little finger to him - without any distinct principles, indecisive, and only moderately talented. No matter how he looked at it, Haeil didn't seem cut out for anything besides academics.

But something must have changed in the time since he had last seen him.

'Did he finally hatch?'

No Yuhyeon liked people with strong principles. To be precise, he liked people with a clear sense of purpose and the diligence and drive to actively pursue it.

He believed only those people could succeed, and he wanted his son, who took after him, to be successful.

So he was inwardly quite pleased to see his son staring at him resolutely and saying what was on his mind, instead of being indecisive like before.

He had thought his son would never change.

As someone good at judging character, No Yuhyeon admitted he had been wrong.

And he was satisfied that it was his own son who proved him wrong.

Just like before, however, he did not intend to unconditionally accept and allow his son's current activities, simply because he found his son's newfound decisiveness pleasing.

He thought his son's singing sounded quite good.

He had even watched the NuTube channel that seemed to be his son's, and was quite surprised by the song [Confession] dedicated to his mother.

But that was it.

Professor No Yuhyeon was not the kind of parent who would let his son abruptly pursue music just because he showed an interest in it now, without any context for this change.

This sudden interest in music could just be a passing whim of his teenage son.

And even if it was sincere now, he could give it up later on.

Life is unpredictable that way.

As a father, he couldn't simply take an optimistic view.

But before that, he wanted to know just how sincere his son was.

"It seems you've forgotten something, so let me remind you."

Professor No Yuhyeon put down his coffee cup and looked at No Haeil.

His son's expression revealed displeasure - a simmering volcano ready to erupt at the slightest provocation.

Professor No Yuhyeon inwardly chuckled.

"I once promised you that on the day you got into Korea University, I would pass on my assets to you unconditionally. Not a huge amount, but enough that you wouldn't have to worry about starving - I said I'd give you 900 million won."

"!"

Jang Jinsoo's eyes widened.

900 million? Not 9,000 won, but 900 million? That was an eye-popping sum.

He knew No Haeil was well-off, but he didn't think he was that wealthy.

Seeing such an inheritance being passed around so casually, he really seemed like a golden spoon.

'...Lucky bastard.'

No Haeil's father waited for No Haeil's response as if to say, 'What now?'

'In that case, he has to go to Korea University,' Jang Jinsoo naturally thought.

No matter who it was, even No Haeil would be swayed by that amount of money.

Then, No Haeil's lips curled upwards.

And when he spoke...

Halo looked his father straight in the eye.

His father likely couldn't even imagine how much revenue Halo had earned from just one album.

Of course not - how could No Haeil's father know what he himself didn't?

"Do you need to think about it?"

No Haeil's father spoke as if it was a given that he would accept, confident that his son wouldn't pass up a mere 900 million won.

"I was just wondering, how much more it would be."

That's when Halo spoke up.

No Haeil’s father didn't seem to understand what he was saying yet.

"A few dozen times? A few hundred times, maybe?"

"?"

"What do you get when you divide ten billion by the endlessly growing number? I'm weak in math, you see."

"...!"

Finally understanding, his father let out a wry laugh.

"It seems you don't quite grasp the value of money. A government employee working for 31 years would only take home around 1.2 billion won."

"So how much do you think I could earn in 31 years?"

His father stared at him wordlessly, his gaze smoldering.

Even his mother couldn't interject amid the heated tension between them.

"So how much do you think you can make in the future?"

"Who knows?"

As his father laughed as if to say 'Is that so?', Halo laughed along.

"It's not like I'm keeping track of every single amount."

"!"

Just like before.

There would be someone else managing his wealth.

He would only roughly check and listen without paying close attention.

He wouldn't look into it again or dwell on it.

No matter how much he spent, more money would keep pouring in.

"I don't understand where this confidence is coming from. Is it because you're a clueless middle schooler? Or..."

His father's eyes gleamed sharply.

He had felt it from the start - it didn't seem like his father was outright opposed, even though his tone was clearly negative. He looked at Halo as if giving him a chance to persuade him, which was confusing.

"Is there something else I'm unaware of?"

"If you listen to Haeil's singing, you'll understand!"

His mother interjected.

She didn't know that No Yuhyeon had already heard Haeil's song [Confession]. No Yuhyeon shook his head slowly.

"I understand how you managed to persuade your mother, but I'm not swayed by emotional appeals. People usually resort to emotional appeals when they lack concrete evidence."

Halo didn't expect the same tactic to work twice. In fact, if he had encountered someone as rational as No Haeil's father from the beginning, that approach might not have worked at all.

But Halo considered this a positive.

It was easier to persuade logical, rational people - they would agree if shown reasonable evidence. The man before him was incomparable to his real father, who wouldn't listen no matter what was said.

"Still..."

Halo thought No Haeil's father was like the boss of a record label. No matter what he did, he had approached him pragmatically. He too was as rational as the father, where anything could be justified as long as there was tangible benefit.

"It's the first time you've insisted on wanting to do something."

So Halo forgot one crucial fact.

"I'm much more inclined to agree."

That No Yuhyeon was No Haeil's 'father'.

The father looked at him with pride.

#

"You, as soon as you got back, you went after our son...!"

As soon as she entered the bedroom, Park Seungah smacked No Yuhyeon's back. The slapping sound rang out, but No Yuhyeon didn't even flinch.

"What on earth happened?"

Instead, he asked in puzzlement.

No Yuhyeon wondered what could have changed his son so much.

"It's a long story."

"Our night is long too."

Park Seungah rolled her eyes and glared at him.

She was displeased that instead of reconnecting with their son whom he hadn't seen in a long time, her husband had pressed him instead.

"There were some other things I needed to discuss, but let's postpone that until tomorrow."

"What is it? Is it important?"

"Yes."

He also needed to discuss Haeil's academic plans, but the atmosphere wasn't conducive to bringing that up.

"Did you know Haeil made a song for me? If you listen to it..."

"I already did. It was easy to find."

"And even after that, you told him to just study?"

"I need to understand what he's thinking and how he lives his life. And I still believe that without exceptional talent, it's better to just focus on academics."

"How can you say that after listening to that song?"

It wasn't an incorrect view.

Park Seung-ah herself believed that without any particular talents, studying was the right path - which was why Korea University became the goal. But after hearing Haeil's song, her mind changed.

There may be many sons who get into Korea University, but none who compose music for their mothers.

"When will you start believing in and supporting Haeil's talents?"

"That's for him to prove going forward."

"You said you were inclined to agree."

His assertiveness had been appealing.

But that was separate from this issue.

No Yuhyeon spoke arrogantly.

"Isn't that just the natural expectation for my son?"

That expression was eerily reminiscent of No Haeil's, leaving Park Seungah unable to truly dislike it.

#

"Dude, never call or invite me over again. I'm never coming back to your house."

Jang Jinsoo's face was pale.

He didn't know why, but he had hiccupped violently and couldn't breathe. Halo handed him the first aid kit, and Jang Jinsoo found an antacid tablet to take.

"Your dad is seriously scary. Was he mad or not?"

"He didn't seem angry."

"That wasn't anger? Then how terrifying must he be when he's actually mad? And by the way, what makes you so confident against 900 million won - no, 1 billion won? Is that just pocket change to you?"

Jang Jinsoo felt pathetic lamenting over an amount that was life-changing wealth for most.

And on the other hand, he was miffed at being compared unfavorably to No Haeil.

"As for pocket change..." Halo considered it for a moment. "That's a bit stingy."

How could pocket change be a billion?

Jang Jinsoo agreed with a laugh at Halo's words.

"And No Haeil."

"?"

"Make sure to watch episodes 1 and 2 of 'Soyou'."

After a long laugh, Jang Jinsoo almost left before saying one last thing - he had already eagerly told Halo's mother to watch episodes 1 and 2, so he didn't expect to repeat himself.

"My mother was going to watch it anyway."

"No, not your mother - you. You absolutely have to watch it. I'll even edit it in preparation for how well I spoke."

Halo snorted derisively.

It hadn't been edited at all, but he was bragging.

Episode 1 aired on December 13th, and episode 2 on the 20th. There was still quite some time left, yet Jang Jinsoo insisted on making him promise right away.

"If I have time."

"What do you mean, 'if you have time'? We're on break, so how could you not have time? Are you filming or something? And your song is featured too, so you have to watch."

He would know that even without watching the broadcast. These days, TV shows get uploaded to NuTube - a recent realization for him.

"Do you have anything else going on?"

Halo responded to the questioning gaze.

"I think I'll record the second album."

"! Already?"

It hadn't been that long since the first album came out.

It was amazing how songs can come out so quickly.

It felt like it hadn't even been a month since the last one was released.

It was amazing how he could mechanically churn out songs like this.

"But still, you can see Soyou. Plus, recording will be quick!"

Jang Jinsoo marveled at what kind of song would come out. He suddenly remembered that No Haeil had finished recording in just one take. So he wasn't really busy, he was just making excuses because he didn't want to watch it. His voice rose in annoyance as he spoke.

But Halo didn't even pretend to listen and just smoothed down his messy bangs.

"I'm busy."