Chapter 24 of "Becoming the Older Brother of a Top Star"

“I can see your face in the moon, too.”

Lailin stared blankly at her phone screen, listening to the soft voice coming from it.

"Under the Moon," the song she had written two years ago.

That song was now being sung anew by this boy.

“...”

She had no idea how many times she had replayed it.

It wasn’t just because these two sang well.

It was because this song, sung almost as a response, resonated deeply with her heart.

“I didn’t know it could be sung like this.”

While the song had been popular, no one had ever rearranged it.

The original was already so good that there was no need to tamper with it.

However, this brother and sister had elevated the song to a duet.

They had transformed "Under the Moon," a one-sided love song, into a song that could be sung by a couple together.

“Plus, their voices are so good.”

Not only were their visuals perfect and the arrangement excellent, but their voices were so moving that she couldn’t even remember what the original sounded like.

Usually, as the original creator, she would feel jealous when a better arrangement came out.

But,

“I can’t be jealous, can I?”

It was impossible to be jealous of this adorable and loving brother and sister.

The way they harmonized and sang sweetly, and the girl’s happy face as she sang brightly to her brother’s accompaniment, were too delightful.

“Did I ever look like that?”

Looking at their innocent and pure faces, Lailin recalled herself when she first started as a singer.

Back then, she simply loved singing.

She loved making music.

Standing on stage and touching people with her songs was the happiest thing for her.

But at some point, that happiness disappeared.

When everything became about work and money, the joy of making music was corrupted.

“I want to sing like this again.”

She wanted to return to those pure times, when she loved and burned with passion for music.

She wanted to make music that would make her as happy as these children.

“...”

She looked at the guitar that was placed like a decoration beside her.

When she first debuted, she had started with that guitar.

She had created new songs with it and shown them to people.

Once, it had been her alter ego, but now it was just an old, neglected instrument.

“It’s been a while.”

She thought it would be covered in dust from not being touched for so long,

“...But there’s not a speck of dust?”

The guitar was in perfect condition.

“Mom must have been taking care of it all this time.”

Even the old strings had been replaced with new ones.

Her mother had believed that one day her daughter would pick up this guitar again.

“Mom is really...”

Her nose tingled.

Before getting back into bed, she took out an old notebook and pen she used to use for composing.

“Ahem.”

Sitting on the bed with the notebook in front of her and the guitar in her hands, she felt a strange sensation.

The feeling of missing and awkwardness, the texture.

But after plucking the strings a few times, it started to fade.

“My fingers hurt from not playing for so long.”

But the pain didn’t matter.

A refreshing energy spread through her body, something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

It was like her dried-up emotions were blooming.

As she plucked the strings, Lailin wrote down the notes in her notebook.

Before she knew it, a lot of time had passed.

“It’s already this late...”

How long had it been since she was this engrossed in something?

Lailin chuckled.

It felt like she had finally found the exit after wandering in a maze.

“Oh, right.”

It was late, and she was about to put down the guitar and go to sleep when something came to mind.

She turned on the video she had watched earlier.

“The views are still so low?”

How could a video of such a lovely brother and sister have only a few thousand views?

And they were famous for busking in Hongdae?

Could it be that they didn’t promote it separately?

“Hmm. Even so, since they sang my song, I can’t let it be buried like this.”

Of course, the video would soon attract attention without her help.

But she wanted to be the first to mention it, even before it took off.

She went to her SNS account, managed by her manager, and left a comment.

There were many more things she wanted to say, but she kept it concise to avoid any issues, as her management had drilled that into her.

“This should do it.”

She wasn’t sure how much promotion this would bring, but she wanted to help in some way.

She put down her phone and lay down on the bed.

For the first time in a long time, she had a sweet dream.

A dream where the world, once filled with darkness, turned pink.

* * *

“So, now that the meta has changed, you need to play a new champion, right?”

Jae-won timidly followed me, seeking advice as usual.

I absorbed Jae-won’s aura and quickly understood what this kid needed.

“Well, I’m not saying you should change your main champion, but you should practice a new one. That way, you can adapt in all situations.”

“Oh...”

“And you’re really good at lane battles, right? So instead of just focusing on your lane, you should roam around and take control of the game.”

“Oh. So you mean I should roam top and bottom and make plays?”

“Exactly. To do that, you need to practice a new champion, one that can maximize your strengths.”

I recommended a few champions, and Jae-won nodded.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Yeah, you’ll do great.”

Jae-won’s aura was improving every day, even though he seemed to only play games after school. I was still just a beginner, but when I absorbed his aura, I became a near-pro.

“Bro, thanks. I think I might debut as a pro soon.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. The coach said he’ll use me as a starter from the next season. Of course, I need to perform well once I’m a starter.”

“You’ll do great. Believe me. I bet there won’t be many pros who can beat you.”

Of course, this was just my encouragement.

I hadn’t felt the auras of other pros, so I didn’t know how well Jae-won would do compared to them. But the passion I felt from his aura was top-notch.

“Yeah, I’ll become a great pro and win the championship.”

“Haha. Yeah, I’m counting on you.”

Jae-won wasn’t the only one seeking my advice.

Kim Tae-young, who had messed up when he challenged me the other day, was also there.

“Tae-young, you’re strong, so once you grab someone, don’t let go. If you give them time to struggle, it’s dangerous for you. You’re not very strong in terms of stamina.”

I actually enjoyed this time.

Because when I absorbed Kim Tae-young’s aura, I felt like I turned into the Hulk, with strength surging through my body.

I grabbed this guy, who looked twice my size, and flipped him onto the ground.

“Ugh!”

Of course, I pulled my strength at the last moment to minimize the impact.

But Kim Tae-young’s face was filled with shock and amazement.

“Are you okay? Did it hurt?”

“No, it didn’t hurt... How did you flip me so easily? Even our coach can’t do that.”

Kim Tae-young’s dream was to be a fighter.

Look at his build and size.

If it were a chaotic era, he would have become a general.

With proper training, he could really make it big.

“Well, size and strength don’t always go hand in hand.”

Without Kim Tae-young’s aura, I was incredibly weak.

That’s why I was working out every day to build myself up.

“Have you thought about training? With this, you could dominate your weight class.”

“Me? No way. You should train and become a pro.”

Even though I had done martial arts and judo for a long time, I didn’t want to become a pro.

I didn’t like getting hit, and I didn’t like hitting others to knock them down.

“Aww, that’s a waste.”

“Waste? What if I really debut and become your rival?”

“Well... then I’ll have to be satisfied with second place. I don’t think I can beat you, no matter how many times I think about it.”

“Just focus on being number one. I won’t compete.”

I thought we would remain awkward after the last incident, but surprisingly, Kim Tae-young started talking to me first, and we became friends.

Since then, we occasionally talked about fighting.

Maybe because I had been interested in it in my previous life, I didn’t feel any resistance.

Buzz!

My phone kept vibrating in my pocket.

Checking it, I saw that I had over ten messages from Yuna.

“What’s going on?”

I opened the messages and read them.

- Bro

- Bro!!

- Ah, Jung Yun-seong, come out. Over.

-╰། ᵒ̌ д ᵒ̌ །╯

-You’re not even reading to the end.

I chuckled and replied.

-What?

-It’s almost the end of break, so I’m sending it now.

-What’s up?

-Nothing. Bro, did you see our channel’s video?

-Huh? No, I didn’t.

-Then go check it out quickly.

If she meant our channel, she was talking about NewTube.

Why?

I tilted my head and went to NewTube.

But,

“Huh? The views...”

The video that had barely reached 1,200 views yesterday was now over 200,000.

“Suddenly?”

I hadn’t left any comments on the Hongdae karaoke video.

Even if I had, they would have been buried quickly due to the many real-time comments.

But without any promotion, just by uploading two videos, the views were exploding.

The number of subscribers had already surpassed 10,000, showing a significant upward trend.

- Came here after seeing Lailin’s SNS. Is this the brother and sister from Hongdae karaoke? Their singing is really good.

- It’s been a long time since I felt so healed by a song. I’ll keep watching. Please keep uploading videos.

- I subscribed as soon as I heard the first note. You gave such a moving performance in Hongdae, and you’re doing it again here.

- I subscribed as soon as I saw the thumbnail. The brother and sister are so good-looking. Just looking at them makes me happy.

There were already thousands of comments.

The most noticeable were the ones about singer Lailin.

Especially, the comment left by Lailin herself had the most likes and was at the top.

- Thank you for singing my song so beautifully. The arrangement was also great. With this level of skill, I’m sure you can create great original songs. Looking forward to more good songs.

Before the emotional impact of Lailin’s comment, something caught my eye.

“Original songs...”

It was good that the video was doing well, but I was also worried about what to do for the next song.

I hadn’t expected such a positive reaction so quickly.

I wanted to show people our original song as soon as possible, as Lailin suggested.

“Come to think of it, we were supposed to meet today.”

Thanks to my father’s recommendation, I was meeting someone today who would teach me composition and piano.

I didn’t know who it was, but since my father recommended them, they must be someone special.

If they were just going to teach me normally, they could have had the PDs at the agency do it.

“I need to learn well.”

I wanted to create the best song for Yuna and me, one that wouldn’t be embarrassing to show anywhere.

I texted Yuna again.

- Just saw the video. What’s with the views?

-Right! We can’t just let this go. Let’s celebrate with chicken tonight!

“...”

Suddenly, I felt like I was going to be hungry for dinner.

Chapter 25