Not long after Yooil finished filming the music video, March arrived.

Along with the slowly warming weather, there was something else that approached silently and swiftly.

Han Yooil woke up early in the morning to the sound of his alarm. On the phone screen, two clear characters were displayed.

[Start]

“…”

Yes. Today was, remarkably, the start of the semester.

Yooil declined Min Woojin’s offer to drive him to school and took the subway instead.

As he neared the entrance of the school, he could hear a familiar voice.

“Wow, look who it is! Actor Han Yooil!”

“…What are you talking about.”

Kim Jinwoo, who had called out playfully, burst into laughter upon seeing Han Yooil’s stern face.

“Why? You’re a celebrity now.”

“…”

Instead of responding, Han Yooil averted his gaze.

The winter break, short as it was, had made Han Yooil quite the celebrity.

– People Who Know Han Yooil

[He goes to our school, I didn’t even know.

Just in case someone doesn’t recognize him, here’s a photo lol

(Photo) ]

┗ Wow, he’s handsome

┗ Our school?! Really? Is it the Seoul campus?!

┗ I want to steal his schedule

– Wait, this actor attends our school?

[A friend said they saw him at school

(Photo) ]

┗ Yup

┗ He’s in the Department of Korean Language and Literature

┗┗ Huh, not the acting department?

┗┗ The output of the Korean Language and Literature department is crazy

Even before the semester had properly started, the school community was abuzz with talk about Han Yooil.

Kim Jinwoo glanced at Han Yooil and said.

“To be honest, I didn’t think you’d come back this semester.”

“I need to graduate.”

As Yooil replied with a face devoid of smiles, Kim Jinwoo looked at him with a peculiar expression.

“…As expected.”

People don’t change easily.

Shaking his head and murmuring to himself, Kim Jinwoo gave Yooil a sly smile.

To be honest, it had been a bit overwhelming until the day before.

A classmate from the same department had suddenly appeared in a play and even got a talent agency. Checking SNS, there were already fans.

In the major subject that Yooil had enrolled in following the recommendation of Kim Jinwoo and Brion, there were familiar faces.

‘I thought Kang Hana and Hwang Riu only took creative writing classes.’

【<Narrative Literature Creation> is a mandatory subject for your major, Mr. Yooil.】

‘…Ah.’

Seated Kang Hana and Hwang Riu greeted Yooil in turn.

“Yooil, long time no see!”

“It’s been a while.”

Right after exchanging greetings, Hwang Riu, who quickly grabbed his phone, lifted the camera.

“Yooil, is it okay if I take your picture?”

“…What?”

While Yooil blinked in confusion, the flash went off with a click. Hwang Riu, removing the camera from his face, raised his eyebrows in satisfaction.

“Thanks.”

“Why are you only taking Yooil’s picture, not a selfie?”

“My younger sibling asked me to take just one picture.”

“What? Riu, you have a sibling?”

“Yeah.”

“…Weren’t you an only child?”

“I have two younger brothers.”

“What?!”

“You?!”

Han Yooil sat down, watching his three friends chattering.

‘This semester won’t be boring, that’s for sure.’

As class time approached, the lecture hall gradually filled up. With the influx of students, curious glances from all around could be felt, a starkly different atmosphere from before.

At that moment, Kang Hana, engrossed in her phone, let out a short gasp.

“…Huh?”

Han Yooil turned his head at the tap on his shoulder from Kang Hana, who was blinking her round eyes at him.

“What’s this about?”

Kang Hana shoved her phone in front of Han Yooil. On the screen was a thumbnail of a video.

【It’s 2 PM. ‘Black Moon’s new song <Daydream> is about to be released.】

‘That’s right.’

It was today.

The time for the music video release.

Already, Kang Hana and Kim Jinwoo were glued to the phone screen.

“What! Han Yooil, you did a music video for Black Moon?”

“…Ah, yeah.”

“Man, why didn’t you say anything earlier?!”

As they bombarded Han Yooil with remarks, Hwang Riu’s long finger pressed the play button.

* * *

Ding.

Lee Hyejin, who heard the alarm from her phone, clapped her hand over her mouth and sprang up.

“Hey, Hyejin?!”

“Where are you going? Do you have back-to-back classes?”

“No.”

Something more important.

Lee Hyejin broke away from her group of friends and started running like the wind.

She wished she could go home immediately to watch it with a reverent heart, but she couldn’t wait that long.

Hyejin headed towards the lounge in the old main building, a place seldom visited by students.

Confirming she was alone, Lee Hyejin caught her breath and slowly turned her eyes to the thumbnail.

“…Wow.”

She couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight. Han Yooil was barefoot, wearing a black shirt, and somehow, his face was shimmering.

‘Did he… put glitter under his eyes?’

Even without makeup, Han Yooil’s natural appearance was so handsome that it would make passersby stop and stare. But seeing him in the thick and flamboyant makeup typically worn by idols on stage, it was almost breathtaking.

Lee Hyejin swallowed and moved her finger.

As she pressed the play button, the dark screen slowly started to brighten.

Soon, Yooil’s face appeared on the screen. It wasn’t the Han Yooil from the thumbnail with glamorous makeup. He had a plain face, not much different from his bare face.

As the video began, music slowly started to fill the air.

The heavy bass and calm guitar seeped into her ears, making her heart feel fluffy and warm.

Then, Han Yooil, who was lying pale on the ash-colored bed, slowly opened his eyes.

Han Yooil on the bed began to move slowly.

But as he rose from his position, his body kept shaking and fragmenting.

Images entirely different from the man’s moving face were interspersed in the editing. Hands cooking, a bright smile, a broken mirror, a figure running down the street – these scenes added to the confusion. It was a peculiar direction.

‘Wow…’

Lee Hyejin could only let out exclamations of amazement as she watched Yooil.

Now, the man in the video was slowly setting his feet on the ground.

Perhaps it was the low saturation and dark mood of the video, but the deep eyes of Han Yooil, the protagonist of the music video, made the melancholic yet mystical atmosphere of the video stand out even more.

Lee Hyejin was fully engrossed in the music video, her eyes wide open.

But something felt odd.

‘…What’s this…?’

The man moved unnaturally.

He wandered around the room lifelessly with empty eyes. There was almost no sign of vitality.

He seemed less like a person.

[When I open my eyes, the same darkness begins]

The male vocalist of Black Moon sang the introduction gently.

[No matter how much I run, I am still]

The man, creaking like a broken doll, wandered around the room as if searching for something. His hand, groping in the darkness, found the door.

[Today, too, wandering through the darkness,

searching for the traces you left]

However, the door did not open. Instead, as soon as the man’s hand touched the door, he collapsed as if he fell over. And again, confusing cuts were inserted through cross-editing.

[Believing only in the world beneath my eyelids]

“Wow…”

Lee Hyejin covered her mouth as she looked at the close-up of Han Yooil’s eyes.

As the music headed towards the climax, his pupils gradually grew distant until they were engulfed in complete darkness.

[Even if I shatter into pieces]

In the next scene, the man opened his eyes again. He was back on the same bed as the start.

Unlike the first verse sung by the male vocalist, the second verse was by a female vocalist.

[Today, too, the endless darkness begins]

As the camera slowly zoomed out from the close-up of the man’s face, colors started to fill the monochrome screen, transforming it vividly.

The ash-colored floor and walls crumbled, and dew-covered flowers and trees began to grow. It was a dreamlike and fantastical backdrop. Strong sunlight fell on the man’s face, making it beautifully sparkle.

‘That’s the makeup from the thumbnail.’

The man who had moved expressionlessly throughout the first verse now got out of bed with a bright face.

Lee Hyejin decided she would capture every second as soon as she got home, covering her mouth again.

The husky voice of the female vocalist sounded sweetly, yet somewhat anxiously.

[No matter how much you run, you are still]

The man ran through a beautiful field. He picked lemons among the fresh trees, and in the next cut, he was cooking in a large kitchen. In all the scenes, the man seemed truly happy.

[Today, too, wandering through dreams

Entering a room with no doors]

And then someone was seen watching the man from a distance.

[Into a world that disappears when I open my eyes]

In the next cut, a man with a peaceful face lay on the ash-colored bed. It seemed like he was having a happy dream, a faint smile on his face. And another man watching him slowly left the room and locked the door.

The camera slowly panned over the man’s face.

‘…!’

The man who locked the door was none other than Han Yooil.

He looked much more tired and haggard than when he first appeared, with deep dark circles under his eyes.

After locking the door, he turned around again.

In front of him was again a narrow room and a bed.

He slowly lay down and closed his eyes.

[Becoming a puzzle that can never be found]

The music intensified with the powerful blend of guitar, bass, and keyboard, and then… it stopped.

And the screen faded to black.

“…Ha.”

Lee Hyejin slowly removed the hand that covered her mouth. It was a completely different feeling from any music video she had seen before.

It was really good.

Really, really, really good…

Like someone deprived of speech, Hyejin murmured the same words repeatedly and pressed the replay button.

After diligently taking screenshots, she noticed that the view count had significantly increased in the meantime.

Being a band with a dedicated fanbase, there were already about a hundred comments.

┗ Tore it up

┗ Who said Black Moon was past its prime? This new song is amazing

┗ The song is great, but the music video is really something…

┗ Honestly, came for the thumbnail but stayed for the song, listening for the 23754324th time

┗┗ Dude, the song’s been out for 10 minutes lololololololol

┗ Love the track. I cleaned my glasses to enjoy it better.

┗ Who’s the actor? Super handsome

┗ I’m a fan of Black Moon and this track is really something, the music video is legendary;

Occasionally, there were comments from a handful of international fans who loved Korean indie bands.

┗ Hello from Brazil, I have been a fan of Black Moon for a long time. This song is now my favorite.

┗ I’m literally crying… This is so impressive

┗ OMG Black Moon did it!!! This is a piece of art!!!!!!!!!!

What caught Hyejin’s attention was a comment interpreting the music video in such a short time.

┗ I’m a fan of Black Moon’s music and music videos, and this one is quite intriguing. From Black Moon’s interviews and lyrics, this song seems to talk about ‘living in a dream’, and the protagonist of the music video also seems to be a character who wants to live in a dream.

At the beginning, the ash-colored room where the man falls asleep seems to represent reality. The man tries to escape reality with a lifeless demeanor. However, in the second verse, another character appears who puts the man, dreaming happily, into the room. That character is the man himself. This raises a question: What is reality and what is a dream?

At 1:49 and 2:35, you can see a clock in the man’s room. It’s clearly stopped. But at 3:12, the clock in the room of the other man who locked the man in is moving. The real reality is not the initial ash-colored room, but the last room where the man is asleep. This means that even the ash-colored room where the man first woke up was a dream. The man traps himself in a dream within a dream, escaping from reality…(Read more)

‘This is crazy.’

After reading the comment thoroughly, Hyejin shook her head and her finger reached out to press the play button again.

She simply couldn’t resist watching it again.

While Hyejin was so engrossed in the music video, Han Yooil was being tormented by his peers.