Sin Jeong-Hyuk replays the song on the music app. He checks if there are any new song posted recently. "What is this fool up to?"
"Who is making you anxious?" Namgung Yeon-Sik walks toward him. The rice cakes on the plate are gone.
"Daydream." Sin Jeong-Hyuk sighs. "She hasn't posted any song yet."
"She must be good if she can make you anxious." Yeon-Sik takes a seat beside him and plugs the earpiece into his ear. He closes his eyes and listens to the sorrowful but infectious song.
"Her voice is clear," Yeon-Sik observes, "...reaches the heart."
"It's annoying," Jeong-Hyuk grumbles. "It has been half a year since she posted any new song. Anonymous stars like her come and go. She will disappear at this rate"
"You are worried about her." Yeon-Sik picks up the phone and glances at the screen. "You can send a message to the artist on this app. Maybe she will post a song if you request one."
"She hasn't responded to a single message." Jeong-Hyuk clicks his tongue. "I don't even know if she checks the messages."
"Is that why you are in a bad mood?" Yeon-Sik chuckles. He rarely sees his friend in a foul mood. Jeong-Hyuk must like this girl's voice a lot. "Show me what you wrote to her."
"Go ahead." Jeong-Hyuk waves his hand. He can't believe that he's missing someone's voice at the moment. He's been listening to Daydream for the last three years.
Judging by the emotions in her voice, she should be somewhere between mid-twenties and early thirties. She doesn't respond to anyone's message.
Even the top entertainment agency has been ignored by this creature. To be honest, her voice is perfect for a song that he wrote a long time ago. But the idiot never responds to his messages.
"Dear God!" Yeon-Sik shakes his head after reading the messages. "You are lucky that she didn't sue you."
"Why would she do that??" Sin Jeong-Hyuk creases his forehead.
"Are you dead? If you aren't dead, then you should sing." Yeon-Sik reads the last message. "Even if you are a ghost, you should sing. If you can't sing, then tell me where you are. I will help you find your voice."
"What's wrong with that message?" Sin Jeong-Hyuk glares at him.
"Nevermind." Yeon-Sik types a message to Voiceless Identity. "Let's see if she responds after this."
***
Wrapped inside the blanket, Chang Seol stares at the ceiling. She can't sleep. Her eyes are hurting, but she can't sleep at all. Mun Soyoon's snores are loud. She grabs her phone and walks to the window. Namgung Yeon-Sik's smiling face keeps appearing in her head.
She sits on the window's edge. The cold wind is stinging her skin. She touches her head. Does she have some kind of illness? She frowns hard. Why is that mister acting so nice to her?
Her phones buzz in her hand. She opens the app. There's a new message from someone. Who is it again? She taps on the message.
[Daydream, I can't rest unless I hear your voice again. Can you sing again, please?]
She sighs. It's been a long time indeed. Maybe she should announce it to everyone. She types a public message from her account.
[Everyone, Daydream is retiring because of personal reasons. She apologizes to everyone who has been looking forward to her new song.]
It's funny though. She has announced that she's not going to sing again, but a song is tugging her heart. If she doesn't write down the words, she won't be able to sleep. She types the first line of the lyrics on her phone: the warmth that melts the snow.
*****
"Wuwuwuwuwu~"
Chang Seol sits up when she hears the dark howls in the dead of the night. Is it a ghost crying in the middle of the night?
This house isn't haunted, is it?
She checks the time on her phone: 3:15 AM. Mun Soyoon is still snoring. It's impossible to sleep when there are snores and cries.
"Darn!" Chang Seol gets out of the room and climbs down the stairs. Ghost or not, she won't let anyone disturb her sleep.
Sitting on the chair, Sin Jeong-Hyuk is crying his eyes out while Yeon-Sik is patting his back in an attempt to calm him down. What the hell is happening here? Chang Seol hates seeing tears.
"Don't cry anymore." Yeon-Sik pours him a glass of water. "I am sure that she will change her mind."
"What would I do if she stops singing for real?" Jeong-Hyuk shakes Yeon-Sik. "All my hopes and dreams…"
Why is this fellow always overreacting? Yeon-Sik runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. He notices Chang Seol standing near the stairs. "Seol Ah, did we wake you up?"
She doesn't answer him. "Did something happen?"
"He is upset that his favourite singer is retiring from music." Yeon-Sik smiles at her apologetically. "We are sorry that we woke you up. This fellow is crazy about music."
"I see." Chang Seol glances at Sin Jeong-Hyuk. The man looks like he has lost everything. She shrugs and turns around. This has nothing to do with her. She needs to sleep.
"Daydream."
Chang Seol's foot halts in the air. What?
"You broke my heart." Sin Jeong-Hyuk looks at his phone with tears in his eyes. "How could you do this to me?"
She looks over her head. Are they talking about her?
"We will beg her not to give up." Yeon-Sik pushes the glass of water toward his friend. "We will start a petition. Don't cry, my friend. This is not the end of the world."
"..." Chang Seol hasn't expected this. A grown man is crying because she gave up on singing.
"What are you looking at?" Sin Jeong-Hyuk grimaces at her. "Do I look pathetic to you?"
She nods quietly. Just because she gave up on singing, he's howling like a sad dog. It's not like someone died. Besides, it's her decision whether she sings or not. Why is he bothering other people's sleep?
"You!" Sin Jeong-Hyuk takes long strides toward her. "You are something, little girl."
"Oii, Jeong-Hyuk," Yeon-Sik calls him. "You are scaring her."
He's looking at her with storms raging in his eyes. Chang Seol gulps. However, she folds her fingers into a fist, ready to punch him as an act of self-defence if she must.
What is he going to do? The rising burst of adrenaline goes flat in her body. She squeezes her eyes when he raises his hands. His cold fingers brush her ears for a moment. When the familiar song plays in her ears, she opens her eyes and looks up at him in a daze.
"Listen to that song." Sin Jeong-Hyuk tells her calmly, "Her voice can move anyone's heart. If someone like her gives up on singing, people like me become sad."
"People like me…" She murmurs, "People like me who are nothing but white noise…"
"You have heard that song?" He bends closer to her. "People like me who are nothing but forgotten dreams."
She looks away, feeling empty for some reasons. "Yeah, I have heard of that song."
"She tried rapping for the first time." Sin Jeong-Hyuk's eyes smile. "She is failing here and there, but she can become better with practice."
This person is knowledgeable about music. She pulls out the earpieces. "Do you like her that much?"
"I admire her voice." Sin Jeong-Hyuk looks into her eyes. "You are speaking louder now. You also have a nice voice, Little girl. Are you interested in singing?"
"No." She climbs the stairs, literally running away from him. She can't risk being found out. She must find a new place as soon as possible.
***
Seeing her fleeing figure, Sin Jeong-Hyuk knits his brows. "What's wrong with her?"
"What do you think?" Namgung Yeon-Sik crosses his arms. "Do you know how late is it? I have a lecture tomorrow morning."
Sin Jeong-Hyuk puts his phone in his pocket. "Is this going to be okay? You are a lecturer and they are students at the same university."
"I didn't expect Mr Park to give the empty room to students." Namgung Yeon-Sik scratches his chin. "It can't be helped. They are likely to move away next semester."
"How are you sure?" Sin Jeong-Hyuk can't sleep after seeing the announcement by Voiceless Identity. He walks to the refrigerator and looks for Soju*.
(*Some sort of Korean's Alcohol.)
"Because you live here, you insomniac creature." Namgung Yeon-Sik sits back on the chair. It's four in the morning. If he sleeps now, he won't wake up in time. "I am sure that you will scare them away."
"Eun Bi will be angry if she finds out that the two girls are living here with you." Sin Jeong-Hyuk brings two bottles of Soju. "You should keep a distance from them. You are already popular in university. If they also have a crush on you, it will be a mess."
"Eun Bi isn't here and I am not that popular." Namgung Yeon-Sik shakes his head when Jeong-Hyuk pours him a drink. "I am not drinking."
"Sure, sure." Sin Jeong-Hyuk empties the glass. He stares hard at the phone. "Yeon-Sik, I have decided."
"What?" Namgung Yeon-Sik closes his eyes to get some rest.
"I am going to look for Daydream" Sin Jeong-Hyuk squints his eyes. "Even if she's hiding in hell, I will find her and convince her to sing the song that I wrote years ago."
He's gone crazy again. Namgung Yeon-Sik sighs. "There are plenty of singers in the world, Jeong-Hyuk. Pick anyone. They are dying to work with you while you come here to hide."
"I only work with the voices I like." Sin Jeong-Hyuk opens the Voiceless Identity's page. "And I like this person's voice."
That's why they call him eccentric and moody. Namgung Yeon-Sik watches his friend solemnly. Can this crazy person find a person who doesn't want to be found? It's not impossible if it's Sin Jeong-Hyuk.