Chapter 3

003. Why are you suddenly being so nice?

As the timeline at the bottom of the window surpassed four hours,

Do-woong felt his throat was about to hurt, so he pressed the X at the top.

“Cough, cough. My throat hurts. I can’t do this anymore. Let’s stop and go out now.”

-Beep!

Do-woong came out with a pleasant sound effect.

He stretched his arms wide and yawned.

“Ah, so refreshing!”

Living in a single room and rushing around for deliveries,

he had hardly ever practiced singing out loud so freely.

After singing without any restrictions, his stress was completely relieved.

Checking the time, he found that four hours had indeed passed here as well.

“But why does my throat feel so light?”

Do-woong placed his hand on his throat and stretched his neck left and right.

His previously rough throat now felt smooth.

As if answering his question, a notification window appeared on the app.

“Wow... this is really a cheat.”

Do-woong was amazed by the special privilege given to him.

Vocal nodules were something every singer had to be concerned about.

If you practiced too hard or had bad vocal habits, your voice could be damaged.

But in there, no matter how intensely he practiced, he didn’t have to worry about his vocal cords.

Now he could practice as much as he wanted.

And in a very special way.

That night, after investing a few more hours in training, Do-woong finally met his mother, who looked much younger and healthier.

‘That accident happened the day before graduation...’

The accident where his mother tumbled down the stairs and was left with severe injuries.

After that, his mother, who had been laid off from her job, became unable to do anything,

and they were forced to move into a single room, leaving Do-woong to take responsibility for medical bills and living expenses.

His mother, always feeling guilty and both physically and mentally shriveled,

was what pained Do-woong the most.

‘Yeah, that’s right. This is what my mother used to be like. Confident and full of energy.’

Seeing his mother as he remembered, Do-woong burst into tears.

Seeing this, his mother immediately slapped his back.

“Why are you crying, boy? What happened today?”

Do-woong clenched his teeth instead of answering.

‘Yeah, Mom. I like this side of you.’

This time, he was determined to prevent that accident,

and to make sure his mother could live confidently and comfortably for the rest of her life.

On a holiday, Do-woong helped with household chores enthusiastically. Of course, he didn’t neglect his training.

**

The first day back at school.

Do-woong woke up early on his own, ironed his school uniform, and put on his backpack.

“I’m off.”

Do-woong went to school early with a happy heart.

Although he wasn’t particularly school-friendly during his school days,

the situation was different now.

‘Ah, this refreshing air.’

He realized how precious youth was.

As he got older, the doors of opportunity narrowed,

and the fences of reality grew higher.

Life had been like spinning in circles within an ever-shrinking space.

But now, it was as if all those locks had been broken.

Do-woong could now step out into any part of the wide world,

and the obstacles in front of him would be manageable.

Suddenly young again, Do-woong enjoyed his energy and arrived at the classroom first.

“Great, I’m first!”

It was a manifestation of his desire to cherish every moment.

The classroom gradually became noisy as more students arrived.

But as usual, no one paid attention to Do-woong.

Sitting at his desk, Do-woong happily turned on his phone.

The Mega Play app, which made him smile just by looking at it.

Do-woong, who had been immersed in joy, became serious when he noticed the number of remaining stars.

“But how do I collect stars? Do I have to buy them with money?”

At that moment, Mega Play answered Do-woong’s question.

“Collect them from people?”

Although it didn’t make much sense yet, Do-woong was relieved that he didn’t have to buy them.

At this point, their financial situation wasn’t dire, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either,

so it was better to try this way regardless of the difficulty.

And he wanted to use as much time as possible for training.

Just then, something flew and hit Do-woong’s head.

-Puck

It was a soccer ball from Yoon Jeong-ho, who was playing nearby.

Tall and handsome,

he was the guy who debuted as an idol in their senior year.

Despite his somewhat delinquent appearance, he was a remarkable guy who had a dream from an early age.

“Sorry, sorry.”

Yoon Jeong-ho ran over to Do-woong, but only to pick up the ball.

He stood awkwardly, apologized half-heartedly, and started to walk back.

Then he paused. As if something came to mind, he turned and looked at Do-woong.

‘Is he going to apologize properly?’

But as expected,

“Who are you...”

Do-woong smiled at the familiar situation.

He finally remembered how insignificant he had been during his school days.

He answered with a strong voice.

“Nam Do-woong.”

“Huh?”

“My name is Nam Do-woong.”

There was a sense of confidence in his voice.

He was confident that his days of being insignificant were over.

‘Soon, you’ll remember this name.’

**

After all the classes ended, Hyung-sik, who had finished earlier, was waiting for Do-woong.

Hyung-sik, who had lived a normal office worker’s life, hadn’t seen each other for a long time after being transferred to a different region.

Seeing his chubby face again, Do-woong couldn’t help but smile.

However, Hyung-sik’s reaction was lukewarm.

“Are you crazy? We have a test coming up, and you want to go to a karaoke room?”

This was Hyung-sik’s response to Do-woong’s sudden suggestion to go to a karaoke room.

“I’m suggesting this because I know you don’t study.”

“Kid, you know me too well.”

‘Of course, we’ve been friends for 28 years.’

Without further ado, Hyung-sik took the lead.

Do-woong wanted to experiment with how to collect stars.

To do that, he needed to sing in front of someone, and Hyung-sik, his closest friend, was the perfect candidate.

‘But will stars appear if Hyung-sik listens to my singing?’

Do-woong had trained hard for a few days and completed 23%, but

he couldn’t be sure of the outcome.

In any case, he needed to experiment for a while.

Unaware of this, Hyung-sik was heading to the karaoke room with his large frame.

“Are you going to go first?”

“Sure.”

In the small, stuffy underground room,

Do-woong naturally received the remote and pressed the start button for the song he had been practicing for days.

-♬ When this time passes, you’ll know~

His voice, definitely more stable and pleasant than before, echoed.

Although it was still around 20%, it was a miraculous improvement from his talentless self.

And he had achieved this in just a few days.

Do-woong focused on the song, recalling the sensation he had practiced.

After the soulful song ended,

Hyung-sik was strangely quiet.

Do-woong turned his head slightly to look at him.

Hyung-sik was staring at Do-woong, dazed.

He had forgotten to reserve the next song with the remote in his hand.

“Who are you...?”

Hyung-sik looked at Do-woong as if he were a different person.

‘Did he notice the change in me?’

Despite his dull appearance, Hyung-sik had a keen side.

Do-woong was about to prepare an excuse, thinking he had been caught.

But then,

“Why are you suddenly so good?”

At that moment, a sparkling yellow star appeared above Hyung-sik’s head.

Hyung-sik was simply surprised by Do-woong’s improved singing skills.

‘Bingo.’

The yellow star flew toward Do-woong in a parabolic arc.

-Ching

**

Do-woong was satisfied with the experimental result.

Now he had a sense of how to collect stars.

He urged the dazed Hyung-sik.

“Hurry up and reserve the next song.”

“Ah, you’re crazy. Okay.”

Hyung-sik finally understood what the silence in the karaoke room meant,

and hurriedly searched for the next song.

After that, their songs alternated, filling the karaoke room.

Sometimes they sang together,

and occasionally, Hyung-sik would miss the timing while listening to Do-woong’s singing.

Each time, the corners of Do-woong’s mouth would rise slightly.

‘Well, if I feel this different, others must feel even more so.’

After singing for two hours, including the bonus time,

the room was warm, and sweat began to form.

It had been a while since he had played so freely and without worry.

Do-woong put down the microphone and adjusted his sliding glasses.

Hyung-sik, who had already stood up and put on his backpack, said,

“Do-woong, are you not interested in music?”

A calm tone, without a hint of a smile.

It was a somewhat out-of-the-blue question, given that Hyung-sik didn’t know Do-woong’s current interest in music.

“Why?”

“You seem to have a talent for music.”

It felt sincere.

It was the first time in his life he had heard such a comment.

Especially, he had never received praise for his music.

Do-woong felt a surge of emotion.

Currently, Do-woong was training in the vocal techniques of a top idol main vocalist,

and even if it was just half of what the trainee had, he might have already surpassed the average level.

Hyung-sik continued dryly,

“Why didn’t I know this before? With this level, you could give any average idol a run for their money. Of course, in terms of looks, you’d be at a disadvantage.”

Praise from men often came with a thorn.

Hyung-sik added a pinch of fact at the end.

Still, Do-woong couldn’t hide his happiness.

Today, he had harvested only one star from Hyung-sik.

A good result from a little practice.

‘It said you can only collect one star per emotion. So this is all I can get from Hyung-sik. How should I collect the rest?’

While packing his things and thinking about how to collect stars,

Do-woong’s eyes met someone’s through the small window in the door.

But Hyung-sik, who didn’t know who was there, opened the door forcefully.

-Creak.

Immediately, he froze like a snowman.

Do-woong also paused at the unexpected person.

“Huh? You’re...”

“Hi.”

Black hair, a tiny face.

A girl from the same class, but in a different category from Do-woong.

Ma Eun-yul greeted Do-woong with an interested look.

Her unreal appearance, which he still found hard to get used to, made Do-woong awkwardly wave back.

Hyung-sik, who always froze in front of girls, remained frozen.

At that moment,

-Ching.

A star appeared above her head.