1.

The practice room had quite a nice design.

The dimly lit corridor was illuminated by indirect lighting, creating an atmospheric interior.

There were 20 practice rooms up to Room 20, combined with 7 shared facilities, all managed by owner Lim Seong-tae on a 70-pyeong plot of land dedicated to instrument practice rooms.

Guests visiting the practice rooms usually fell head over heels for the atmosphere and scale, leading them to sign contracts.

However, today, Lim Seong-tae felt overwhelmed by the guests’ energy.

“Um… Are you the guest?”

“Hahaha, my sister isn’t a villain. I came along just in case, and it seems I’ve been misunderstood.”

[This is Hae Eung Eung, who reserved a monthly rental for a private practice room.]

She was a beautiful girl with outstanding looks, either a close friend or a follower from her school days.

Even dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, she had a model-like figure that made her look like she had just stepped out of a period drama filming.

Beside her, a girl acting as a follower seemed thrilled.

‘Wow, this is insane.’

I thought I had seen enough pretty women while working in this field.

But this one was on a different level.

Her beauty shone through even with half of her jaw hidden behind her hair.

No matter how beautiful a woman is, you get used to seeing her over time, but this was on a whole different scale.

Her looks surpassed even those of active A-list female celebrities I had randomly encountered at the practice rooms.

It was hard to suppress the blush creeping up my face.

“This is the key to Room 13. There are also shared facilities like bathrooms, showers, a water purifier, and a smoking area, so please keep that in mind.”

“Sis, let’s hurry to see the room!”

The girl in the white t-shirt, Joo Ahyoung, pulled my hand excitedly, taking the lead.

“How is it? Is it okay?”

The practice room had a chair and table, a music stand, a work computer, air conditioning, a charger, and Wi-Fi.

While it wasn’t a lot, it was sufficient for practicing.

Additional options were available for various instruments or equipment, and the recording studio could be used.

But I already had the necessary instruments, and I wasn’t particularly planning on recording an album.

[This is a nice place. Thank you.]

My sister seemed delighted.

As I smiled faintly and exchanged notes, Joo Ahyoung was overtaken by a shiver of excitement.

This feeling.

This thrill.

It was the strongest emotion I had ever felt in my life.

“Um, Sis.”

“???”

“Since I helped you this time, can you also help me just once next time? Okay?”

It was a bold proposal I could never have made in my usual self.

With my legs curled inward and my face restless, I pleaded as if I was begging.

‘What is this feeling?’

As I stared at her face, which was slowly heating up, Hae Eung Eung quietly nodded.

“Wow! Is it a promise? No going back on it!”

I wondered if I had played her heartstrings even more than the instruments.

Trying to calm myself, I took in her departing figure.

It took her a full 10 minutes to pick up the biwa.

2.

-A stunning beauty appeared in the practice room!

Though Hae Eung Eung hadn’t shown her face outside the practice room often, those who had seen her at least once wholeheartedly agreed with the rumor.

“Did you see the period drama girl in Room 13?”

“She was totally awesome. Isn’t she a star out doing some renovation for a celebrity agency?”

“Maybe she’s a model? Her figure is no joke.”

“No way, given the atmosphere, she’s more like an actress. There are movies where actors play instruments themselves, right?”

“But they say she can’t speak. Is that true?”

In the lounge, the tenants gathered and gossiped.

Jang Geon-young, a long-term tenant in Room 7, shook her head while sipping instant coffee.

‘These newcomers are hopeless. They’re aspiring idols, but they practice for hours every day?’

You can usually spot promising talent from a distance, but sometimes you also see those with yellowed sprouts from the start.

The trio from the lounge was just like that.

“Geon-young unni, have you seen the period drama girl in Room 13?”

“Not yet.”

“Ugh, you’re such a practice bug. You’re practicing for 15 hours again today, right? You should take it easy.”

“I wish.”

“Just take a break. What do you mean, ‘I wish’?”

It would be nice if I could be as carefree as you guys.

Suppressing the urge to speak my mind, Jang Geon-young headed back to Room 7, feeling a bit sorry for the trio.

Although she was lazy, she wasn’t a bad person, and seeing them motivated her to whip herself into shape.

‘Today, I’ll conquer it. The high-speed rapid-fire performance section.’

Jang Geon-young was a guitarist and composer.

She was a multi-player who could create melodies and play them herself.

While her structured performance skills were regarded as her strength, she had a weakness in maintaining high accuracy during rapid playing.

Unaware of her circumstances, her clients only requested her to compose songs suitable for their child based on her composition skills, and coincidentally, that child’s specialty was rapid picking, known as alternative picking.

Thanks to that, Jang Geon-young reduced her sleep time to practice rapid playing, which was not something she had anticipated.

Although she didn’t realize it, she secretly thought that she’d spent more time practicing than the kid she was composing for.

1 hour.

2 hours.

3 hours.

Before she knew it, it was already 2 a.m.

As she fiddled with her tingling fingers and stepped into the corridor, the lounge was empty.

Glancing back at Rooms 15, 16, and 17,

the panel information above the door showed no user.

 

It felt like I was hearing a voice telling me to eat a late-night snack and get energized.

After eating, I must have fallen asleep at home since I was drowsy.

‘It’s not my body, so it doesn’t really matter.’

I’m not sure what will come from effort without desperation.

Still, my personality and looks aren’t bad, so I’ll find a way to survive, even if it’s not in this industry.

With a light step, I headed not to the instant coffee machine in the lounge, but to the smoking room located deeper in the hallway.

‘Being indifferent feels good in times like this.’

There’s a trio of lounge addicts who, if they hear a rumor, spread it to at least three others, showing signs of attention deficit.

If they hear I’m smoking, it’s obvious their mouths will start running like motors.

It’s not like I’m a singer who relies heavily on my throat, so it shouldn’t be a problem if a fully grown adult smokes.

‘But I don’t want to run into someone I dislike here.’

The long-term resident of Room 12, Park Ji-o.

He’s a guitarist and composer like me, but ever since he lost a job to me, he’s been harboring petty feelings.

He’s someone I definitely don’t want to get close to.

He’s a man with a frivolous nature, casually flirting with various women.

I have no desire to be entangled with him, either as a guitarist or as a woman.

‘What a bother.’

Of all people, Park Ji-o is in the smoking room.

Going up there seems bothersome.

Just when I started thinking I might end up being forced to quit smoking,

I sensed something odd in Park Ji-o’s demeanor.

‘Park Ji-o is acting cautious around others…’

Sitting upright in his chair, smoking a pipe, was a woman who couldn’t be seen from the outside.

‘Ah. So that’s why they call her the historical drama girl.’

The woman from Room 13, who’s been the talk of the town.

She was here.

Clank.

As I impulsively entered the smoking room, our eyes met.

Park Ji-o, with emotions in his eyes, caught me off guard.

That pathetic playboy is feeling shy in front of a woman?

“Your expression is something else.”

“Shut up.”

“Shut up” isn’t exactly the same as “be quiet.”

I smirked at his incongruous expression, realizing he was aware of how different he seemed.

He quickly bowed his head and hurriedly left the smoking room.

His demeanor was almost like a pubescent boy, making me even more curious.

“Is this our first meeting? I’m Jang Geon-young, a long-term resident of Room 7. I play guitar and compose.”

The historical drama girl paused for a moment at my casual greeting.

Does she not want to return the greeting?

As my disappointment grew with the delay, she set down her pipe, took out a notebook and pen, and I wondered for a moment.

[I’m Hae Eung Eung, a long-term resident of Room 13. I practice the biwa and the bamboo flute.]

“Sorry, if I knew you were uncomfortable, I wouldn’t have bothered you.”

[It’s alright. The advantage of pipe smoking is that it allows for enough leisure time while smoking.]

A peculiar name.

If it were a different situation, in a different place, I might have laughed.

But at 2 AM, when one’s sensitivity is at its peak,

It felt too risky to even chuckle in front of this beautiful woman who was jotting down notes on her portable stand while holding her pipe.

‘I wasn’t this nervous even when meeting with agency representatives.’

Even her smoking posture was different.

Unlike someone desperately trying to refill their vitality with filtered cigarettes,

Her demeanor felt like that of a connoisseur.

She seemed to exist in an entirely different world, leaving a deep impression on me.

“Are you an entertainer by any chance?”

[No.]

“Then do you have any interest in working in that field?”

My confident suggestion sounded like I could easily get her a spot if she just wanted it.

I actually had the connections to do so.

If I were to recommend someone outlandish, I’d be the one getting criticized.

But someone like Hae Eung Eung would earn me praises for bringing such a gem along.

‘Just looking at her looks and vibe, she’s top-star level. It’s rare to see someone with this kind of visual appeal.’

However, the recipient of the suggestion remained expressionless.

Unlike other girls her age, who might be thrilled at the thought of becoming an idol trainee or become wary, wondering if it was a scam, she showed no signs of any emotional shift.

[Thank you for the offer, but I’ll pass.]

“What do you do, then?”

A pause as if she was contemplating whether it was okay to share what she does.

Just how impressive is her work?

With expectations rising, she replied to my gaze.

[I play games.]

“Pardon?”

I was momentarily taken aback.

Hae Eung Eung turned and left the smoking room without me.

In her wake was a scent stronger than the lingering smoke.

I snapped back to reality after being lost in the fragrant aroma.

‘Games? Surely she doesn’t just play games with that face. Could she be one of those streamers who are trending these days? I can’t underestimate this.’

After all, streamers are ultimately less than entertainers.

With that thought in mind, my perception began to shift significantly.

With top-star-level looks,

A mature vibe,

A refined taste in pipe smoking, and

A work ethic that keeps her up until 2 AM.

The threshold I had for streamers elevated from those lucky ones who happen to get popular playing games to diligent workers on par with entertainers.

‘Once I finish working on this track, maybe I should appear as a guest on one of those streamers’ shows.’

I pondered my future seriously.

Then suddenly, a question popped into my head.

‘So, why was she practicing an instrument? Biwa and bamboo flute, of all things?’

The peculiar first meeting between the guitarist-composer Jang Geon-young and Hae Eung Eung left a lasting impression.

It was a rare moment to connect with a current A-level idol group’s composer.