🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 1
Spotlights poured down from the ceiling and the trusses above.
On the massive stage, seven backup dancers heated up the arena with a dazzling performance.
Then, in an instant.
A man dressed in a tight, pure-white outfit appeared at the center of the stage.
The charisma radiating from his intense eyes. The relaxed way he brushed back his hair with his fingertips.
As he stepped rhythmically toward the audience, he raised the microphone to his lips and unleashed a powerful vocal performance.
- Your traces log out, my stage logs in
- Love is over, vibe is on
- Even without you, I glow up, spotlight on me
- Delete your name, save my fame
- Coldly shut down, passionately start now
The audience exploded.
Screams and cheers crashed over the arena like waves.
Standing at center stage, he began a bold and confident dance routine.
Perfectly synchronized with the backup dancers, he moved in time with the explosive rhythm of the drums.
After taking a step, he rolled across the floor and launched himself into the air.
Even while doing so, his powerful vocals continued to blast through the arena’s speakers like a storm.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
The cheers of thirty thousand fans shook the entire arena.
Fans in the standing section jumped up and down, unable to control their emotions, some even bursting into tears.
“Shin Yeon-ho! Shin Yeon-ho! Shin Yeon-ho!”
Just before the chorus, the vocals suddenly stopped.
Instead of the song, the arena was filled with a frenzy of chants.
Rubbing his lips slowly with his thumb, the man overwhelmed the audience with a sexy and provocative dance move.
Then he grabbed the microphone again and took a fierce step forward.
Like a leopard beginning its hunt, he leaped powerfully into the air.
- Stay mad, keep being angry
- Delete your drama, erase your pathetic traces
At that moment, while performing an acrobatic move that looked like a backward tumble, the microphone slipped from his hand.
As if time had slowed down, he watched the microphone flying through the air.
The microphone betrayed the desperately reaching hand of the singer, grazed the back of a backup dancer’s head, and rolled across the floor.
Yet despite that, his explosive vocals continued through the speakers.
- Upgrade my life, toward a better life
- Break the chains, I’m unstoppable now!
“…!!!”
A strange chill instantly settled over the arena.
The man threw himself toward the microphone, but collided with a backup dancer and sprawled across the floor.
He desperately stretched out his hand, but the microphone remained just out of reach, sparkling mockingly under the stage lights.
Even so, the powerful singing continued.
The difficult bridge section echoed throughout the arena without interruption.
A look of utter despair appeared on the giant screen in a close-up shot.
His tightly pressed lips.
His twisted expression, as though he wanted to bite through something.
The voices of fans shouting, “It’s okay!”
And the mocking laughter from a rival singer’s fan section.
Both shook the arena at the same time.
***
After the performance ended, Shin Yeon-ho walked down a hallway.
He slightly bowed his head to a middle-aged stage director approaching him.
“…Yeah. Good work.”
Despite his stiff expression, the director patted Yeon-ho’s shoulder and walked away.
Shin Yeon-ho immediately threw open the door to his waiting room.
“…Ha, fuck!”
A curse burst from his lips.
Unable to contain his anger, he grabbed his jacket with both hands and yanked it.
Rip!
Buttons scattered across the floor.
Just then, the door opened again, and a masked man in his mid-thirties was shoved inside.
Two muscular men followed him into the room.
Shin Yeon-ho’s eyes flashed.
He glared at the masked man with a murderous look filled with rage.
“…Fuuuck. Seriously…”
His clenched jaw looked ready to shatter his teeth.
The masked man frowned.
“But that’s not my fault. You’re the one who dropped the microphone.”
“Hey! Fuck! You didn’t monitor things properly! Don’t try to pin this on me!”
Shin Yeon-ho shouted and threw his jacket.
“Hey, Yeon-ho! Relax!”
“Calm down. People outside will hear.”
The two men hurriedly stepped between them.
One was Yeon-ho’s manager.
The other was the security team leader assigned by the agency.
Blocked from view, Shin Yeon-ho glared at them.
“You were supposed to read my lips while singing! You couldn’t even do that right!”
“…!”
Shoving the manager aside, he leaned forward and yelled at the masked man again.
“Fuck, know your place and stay quiet. Without me, you’re absolutely nothing, idiot!”
His jaw muscles bulged.
His clenched fist trembled.
At that moment, the waiting room door flew open.
A short man in his mid-fifties entered.
The agency’s CEO.
“CEO sir!”
“Welcome, sir!”
Ignoring the greetings, the CEO looked at Shin Yeon-ho.
A crooked smile appeared on his lips.
“Anyone can make a mistake once. If it happens again, that’s another story. Anyway, shouldn’t you apologize properly to the concert director?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Lowering his head, Yeon-ho picked up his jacket and put it back on.
“You stay right here until I come back.”
The CEO’s cold eyes turned toward the masked man.
The room instantly became tense.
“You two make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go.”
The CEO gestured toward the door.
“Yes, sir.”
After the CEO left, the manager and security team leader bowed deeply.
“Take care, sir!”
Once they were gone, both men sighed in relief.
The short-haired manager looked at the masked man.
“But seriously, are you saying you really didn’t see him drop the microphone? You weren’t trying to screw him over on purpose?”
“Come on. There’s no way he did it on purpose.”
The security team leader smiled faintly while watching the masked man’s reaction.
“N-No, really. I didn’t see it.”
The masked man waved his hands.
The manager frowned.
“How could you not see it? You were singing while looking straight at a giant monitor showing Yeon-ho’s face. What, did the camera suddenly point somewhere else?”
The security team leader’s lips twitched.
“You think it was a camera problem? Han Jeong-gu was operating the main camera. He’s filmed documentaries for fifteen years. The guy once stared at ants through a camera for fifteen hours straight.”
“…Exactly.”
The masked man sighed and removed his mask.
Burn scars covered his mouth and jaw.
“There has to be variation in the vocals. The vocal tone has to match Yeon-ho’s dance moves. If the voice sounds exactly the same while he’s doing intense choreography, that would be strange. He’s shaking his head around and doing backflips.”
“…So?”
“So I imitate his choreography while singing. I did the same thing during rehearsals. We practiced it countless times. How was I supposed to know he’d drop the microphone?”
Despite the reasonable explanation, the manager smirked.
“It sounded exactly the same.”
“…What did?”
“You said you follow his choreography while singing. But to me, it sounded just like the studio recording.”
“It’s slightly different.”
The manager laughed.
The security team leader nodded.
“Actually, it did sound a little different. More alive and powerful.”
“Oh, come on, hyung.”
The manager frowned.
The security team leader smiled awkwardly.
“Still, you must’ve noticed the microphone eventually. Why didn’t you stop singing?”
The manager looked triumphant.
The masked man sighed.
“If I stopped midway, things would’ve become much worse. The microphone was already gone, but vocals were still coming out. If they suddenly stopped afterward, wouldn’t that be even stranger?”
“…Ah!”
Both men nodded.
He was right.
If the singing had stopped halfway, sharp-eyed people would immediately become suspicious.
Rumors would spread that the real singer wasn’t Shin Yeon-ho at all.
And there would be no way for Yeon-ho to prove otherwise by singing live.
This bizarre “substitute vocalist” project had started three years ago.
Since then, every song released under Shin Yeon-ho’s name had become a massive hit.
The movie OST he released last month had already spent four consecutive weeks at number one on music shows.
As long as the secret remained hidden, they could maintain his popularity for years and earn enormous amounts of money.
“That’s why the stage director suggested using in-ear monitors from the beginning.”
“Ah, hyung, you don’t understand. For some reason, whenever Shin Yeon-ho does intense choreography, the in-ear monitors fall right out of his ears. That’s why he uses a handheld microphone.”
The security team leader smiled bitterly.
***
Outside Sangam World Cup Stadium.
It was already well past 12:30 a.m.
Mixed among the crowd leaving the concert, I walked down the street.
I had long given up on catching a bus or taxi.
The image of Shin Yeon-ho stumbling around on stage flashed through my mind.
What an idiot.
If he had at least focused on dancing, people could have assumed the vocals were pre-recorded because of the choreography.
But instead, he handled it awkwardly.
As they say, if you’re stupid, your body suffers.
Why try choreography you can’t even handle?
According to the original schedule, I should’ve been home by now, relaxing and watching Netflix.
Instead, because of his stupid mistake, all the blame was dumped on me, and I got yelled at by the agency CEO.
A former gangster CEO.
And an arrogant idol-turned-solo singer who couldn’t actually sing.
What a perfect combination.
Before I realized it, I had reached the intersection near Mapo District Office.
While waiting at the traffic light, my eyes landed on a small bar sign.
Silver Moon Book Tavern.
The old sign was covered in dust, making the letters difficult to read.
“…!!”
Had this place always been here?
I tilted my head.
The sign seemed to whisper:
“Come in and have a drink.”
As if it were telling me I had worked hard today and deserved to relieve some stress.
“No. It’s too late.”
I shook my head.
But the countdown on the traffic light quickly reached zero.
The light turned red.
“…Then.”
“This must be a sign from heaven telling me to have one quick drink.”
Touching my mask, I slowly walked toward the tavern.
Jingle.
A small bell rang as the door opened.
“Welcome.”
Inside was a long counter stretching across the room.
The wall behind it was filled with bottles of alcohol.
A middle-aged man greeted me with a warm smile.
There were only two four-person tables in the dining area.
“I’ll seat you over here.”
His voice reached my ears.
He pointed toward a stool at the counter.
I sat down.
Looking around, every bottle and glass had strange designs I had never seen before.
They all looked expensive.
My latest paycheck had already gone toward paying debts, and the money from my side jobs was nearly gone as well.
“Um… do you have draft beer?”
The man smiled.
His gray hair covered most of his head.
He looked at least in his mid-sixties.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have draft beer, but…”
His voice remained gentle.
“How about trying our signature cocktail?”
“…Ah.”
No beer?
“Well…”
How expensive could one cocktail be?
Then a recent news story flashed through my mind.
People drinking in Gangnam, waking up in hotel rooms, and discovering everything they owned had been stolen.
While I hesitated—
“Sir, I’d like another drink too.”
A strange voice came from nearby.
I turned my head.
A man at the far end of the counter slowly stood up.
“…!”
I was sure nobody had been there when I entered.
Maybe the room had simply been too dark.
The man approached me.
“Then I’ll prepare one drink for each of you.”
As the owner disappeared behind the bar, the man casually sat beside me.
Setting down his empty cocktail glass, he smiled.
His large eyes sparkled with mischief.
His sharp nose and full red lips were strangely attractive.
Brushing back his wavy bangs, he looked at me.
“…Ah!”
I recognized him.
No wonder he was so handsome.
“Han Seo-jun?”
It was definitely him.
An actor famous for his unreal looks.
And equally famous for his terrible acting.
He had debuted amid tremendous attention but, after only two projects, even supporting roles had become difficult for him to get.
His future looked uncertain.
“I’m honored. Senior Do Hyun-woo recognizes me.”
“…!”
“Even with the mask, you can’t fool me. You debuted at eighteen as a member of the five-person idol group Day First. People called you a vocal genius. It’s just that your looks held you back. After the group disbanded, you became an actor and finally started receiving attention. Then one fire accident took everything away. You really have terrible luck, Senior.”
After saying all that, he smiled again.
“Haa…”
The guy had absolutely no sense of tact.
He looked about twenty-three.
A whole twelve years younger than me.
Yet he confidently stared me in the face after saying all that.
More importantly, how did he know so much about me?
“No, wait…”
Just as I was about to ask him—
“Here are your cocktails.”
The middle-aged owner appeared.
In front of me sat a blood-red cocktail.
The crimson liquid shimmered softly inside a transparent martini glass.
“‘Blood in Hell.’ The finest cocktail you’ll ever drink. If you’re lucky, it may bring incredible fortune. Or equally great misfortune.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
Cocktails always had strange names.
It sounded like another marketing gimmick.
Just as I was thinking that—
“Senior.”
Han Seo-jun looked directly at me.
“How about making a bet with me today?”
His tone was bold.
“Let’s wager all of our luck.”
Curving his red lips into a smile,
he stared straight through me with challenging eyes.
