Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 177

177. It’s My First Time at an Amusement Park (1)

Behind a small makeshift stage, a sign read: “Hopeful and Loving Music Festival.”

People had gathered in front of it, clapping and cheering.

[Alright, is there anyone else who wants to take on the challenge?]

The host on stage looked around and asked.

“Ah, it’s an in-house event they’re running here. Looks like it’s for visitors to participate.”

[Come on, folks! There are great prizes to be won! We still have prizes from 3rd place to the grand prize! We’ll give generous prizes to those who sing well!]

On one side of the stage, some prizes were piled up.

From mascot dolls of the amusement park to dining vouchers for restaurants within the park, and small, cute items like annual passes.

[No one? Come on, only the brave can seize the prize!]

The host skillfully tried to get a reaction.

These kinds of events tend to lose momentum once the flow is broken.

The host, well aware of this, began to gleam like a hyena.

[Oh? That gentleman over there?]

One person caught the host’s eye.

The surrounding atmosphere was chaotic, but even to him, with X years of event experience, this person was eye-catching.

There was something about their aura.

Though they tried to hide with glasses and a hat, they couldn’t escape his keen eye.

‘That’s the kind of person you need to get on stage!’

Once someone like that gets on stage, things really start to heat up.

‘I was already having a tough time because there were strangely few people today.’

It seemed the world hadn’t abandoned the host yet.

Dragging a stage with no response for hours was a very difficult task for a host.

‘Me?’

Yeon-woo tilted his head.

[Sir with the glasses and hat over there, can you hear me?]

Yeon-woo raised his hand and pointed at himself.

Yeon-woo’s attire was exactly as the host described.

A deeply pulled-down bucket hat and thick horn-rimmed glasses.

This was entirely the coordination Kwon Seong-hyun had picked out, after he heard that they were going to the amusement park, of all places.

-Amusement park?

-Yes.

-Then absolutely do not take off your hat and glasses.

-Pardon?

-We are managing things, and that crazy guy will cover for you, so there’s not much to worry about… but if *sasaengs* [obsessive fans who stalk or invade the privacy of celebrities] follow you, it’ll be a headache.

Ah.

He had heard of it once, about the type of fans called *sasaengs*, who are fans but not really.

-So even if the people that crazy guy attached to you bother you, just leave them be for now. He said he’s being careful this time, so they shouldn’t be too noticeable…

It was a voice with zero credibility, but that’s what he said anyway.

Fitted slacks that revealed his ankles, a light pink inner sweater, and on top of that, a well-tailored coat and a muffler with a soft texture.

-To put a hat and glasses like that on top of this… this is an assault on my aesthetic sense…

Kwon Seong-hyun muttered as if in pain.

In any case, he completed Yeon-woo’s coordination and urged him to never take off these glasses and hat.

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was the only one wearing a hat and glasses around.

As expected, the host shouted as if he was right.

[Yep! That’s right! Since it’s you, you don’t have to look around anymore!]

The host shouted as if telling him to come out quickly.

Yeon-woo glanced back and saw the production team looking at him with great interest.

‘Should I go out there? Or not?’

“Can I go out there?”

He asked since they were filming.

Even in the midst of all this, the camera was diligently rolling.

“Of course, you can! You can do whatever you want, Yeon-woo!”

“We’ll take care of getting the cooperation request. Don’t worry.”

Yeon-woo shrugged his shoulders as he watched them answer with shining eyes.

The opportunity was good.

[Come on up! You’re very handsome!]

As the host pointed him out in succession, the eyes staring at Yeon-woo increased one by one.

Among them,

“Wow. Amazing.”

“Huh? What’s so handsome…? No, he *is* handsome…? Who is he? Is he a celebrity?”

“He’s covering up so much, is he a celebrity? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…? Where did I see him?”

There were people who didn’t recognize Yeon-woo.

“Crazy. Could that be Kang Yeon-woo?”

“Looking at what he’s wearing, it seems like our Yeon-woo… I’ve seen that on Seong-hyun-nim’s X app [formerly Twitter] before.”

“Wow. Who said you can’t be a successful fan? I felt like I wanted to come here today for some reason…!”

“He’s filming a reality show right now? That’s right. There’s a camera over there!”

Among them, there were people who recognized Yeon-woo, who was all covered up.

Yeon-woo organized his thoughts and nodded.

[Oh, a handsome man is coming out. Let’s welcome him with applause!]

He hadn’t even thought about this kind of opportunity.

‘Well, this is good.’

Since they’ve prepared a stage for me, shouldn’t I make good use of it?

The sound of people’s enthusiastic applause was heard.

[No, he’s even more handsome up close. He was shining from afar, but I can’t even open my eyes up close! An aura that can’t be hidden no matter how much you cover it up!]

The host’s eyes widened as he saw Yeon-woo up close.

The glasses and hat obstructed his view, but the clear features and atmosphere visible beyond them could not be hidden.

Thanks to that, the host’s voice tone rose naturally.

It wasn’t the usual pleasant flattery, but a sincere exclamation.

How did he know that for sure?

[Truth]

Because intention detection sometimes revealed TMI [Too Much Information] that he didn’t need to know.

[Oh, I almost forgot where I was for a second. You must hear that you’re handsome a lot?!]

“No.”

[Aww, come on. That can’t be true. Are you a celebrity? A trainee? Seeing the camera with you, I don’t think you’re a regular person~?]

“Well……”

Yeon-woo gave an ambiguous smile instead of a definite answer.

[Ah, could you take off your hat and glasses for a moment? Then I think I’d know who you are!]

“I’m afraid that’s difficult… I’m sorry.”

[Ah, I understand. We respect privacy! I’m very curious, but I can’t help it! So, what’s the title of the song you’re going to sing?]

“Um. I haven’t decided yet.”

[Oh? What do you mean you haven’t decided?]

“It’s a self-composed song.”

[Oh! A self-composed song! A bold move for such a handsome face! But if it’s a self-composed song, the sound source won’t be ready, is that okay?]

“Yes.”

There was no need to lay down an MR [music recorded without vocals] or anything.

After all, Yeon-woo’s voice was as good as an instrument.

[I’ve seen people come on stage to propose, people who perform, etc. But this is the first time I’ve seen someone sing a self-composed song! Personally, I’m very excited and curious. Alright, let’s start the stage! Everyone! Please give him a big round of applause!]

The host, who had induced a response until the end, went down the stage.

The lights on the ceiling shone on Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo closed his eyes.

Soon, his song began to take over the small stage.

*

It started calmly, as if confiding in someone, or as if making a confession. That’s how the song began.

“Snow fell overnight. All the past footprints were covered. I’ve lost my way, not knowing where to go……”

The voice calmly reciting was quiet, which made him fall deeper into the content of the lyrics.

‘I’m glad I arranged it in advance.’

The song Yeon-woo was singing now was none other than a vocal version of a drama OST [Original Sound Track] that had been arranged.

After sending the completed OST to the drama PD [Production Director] first, he created it through reworking.

He slightly rearranged the original song, inserted a hook, and added lyrics.

He split the large chunk in half, divided the verses, attached a bridge, and inserted a hook.

‘It wasn’t bad, surprisingly.’

The reason he bothered to add lyrics was because Jerry recommended it.

-Hyung-nim [term used to address an older brother or male friend], I definitely get a sense of what it’s like with this, but the best way to convey it is through lyrics. So, what do you think about trying to add lyrics?

-Lyrics?

Lyrics were something he had never thought about. He had no intention of singing a song either.

But.

-Yes! Lyrics definitely have a more direct, clear, and distinct part. It’s too good of a song to just leave as an instrumental version. Cut this part… fix this a little… like this…

The song that had been completed in the monitor began to change quickly.

The long straight lines were split, divided, and overlapped by Jerry, and the key parts were repeatedly inserted.

-If you do this like this, like that, like this…

Jerry explained something enthusiastically, but it was difficult to understand because so many unfamiliar technical terms were mixed in.

Well.

It was obvious that Jerry would only put question marks over his head if Yeon-woo explained the process of performing an exorcism or a *Gut* [Korean shamanistic ritual].

-What do you think about adding lyrics here?!

Even when Yeon-woo had eaten and exercised, Jerry was absorbed in arranging.

Then, around the evening, he gestured to the studio, looking like a dying zombie, telling him to listen.

‘Lyrics…….’

Yeon-woo thought calmly.

‘It would be good to be direct yet metaphorical.’

Sounds like a warm iced Americano at first glance.

However, thanks to watching Kang Yeo-sa’s eloquence right next to her for over twenty years, he had no hesitation in writing lyrical lyrics while capturing the theme as it was.

The result was now revealed right here.

“Footsteps wandering in the dark fog. The fingertips that brush past are only precarious.”

A straightforward and upright voice without any technique.

However, Yeon-woo’s song, which received the correction of additional stats, showed unexpected destructive power.

“I can’t let go, I followed to that place…… Only I am there, all alone……”

The lonely and calm atmosphere of the beginning gradually became more chaotic and desperate.

The appeal in Yeon-woo’s voice gradually dragged people’s emotions deeper and deeper.

It was the effect of the A-grade combination skill, an enchanting voice that was hard to escape once heard.

It wasn’t exactly intentional.

However, there was no one who could shake off the message delivered by an already attractive voice with a deep appeal.

“Ah……”

“Sniff……”

There, the destructive power was even greater because of the A-grade stat, Listen to my song!

Again, it wasn’t intentional.

However, it was natural that the message being conveyed became clearer as it was a song written and composed directly.

Just as the audience was about to be buried in dark emotions.

“Just one word. Tell me. With your one word, I can stand again.”

There was a twist.

“The path I am going is not wrong.”

The dark atmosphere began to change little by little.

“My choice was not wrong.”

Yeon-woo’s closed eyes slowly opened.

“This life of mine, walking this lonely path, is not wrong.”

The repeated chorus began to revive the atmosphere that was about to fall darkly again.

A sense of hopeless despair where you can’t see the future.

However, the speaker tries to grow a small seed of hope from the despair that is engulfing him.

The speaker knows that hardships and adversities await, but he sings, hoping that just one person will affirm his thorny path.

And.

‘I want to say something……’

‘I want to comfort him……’

The people who met Yeon-woo’s gaze all had the same thought.

It was as if they had become the object that the speaker of the song was craving.

The deep gaze that looked straight ahead made them feel as if they had become the main character of this story.

“This life of mine, walking this lonely path…… is not wrong……”

With the last chorus, Yeon-woo’s song ended.

A calm but sometimes passionate voice that captivated the small stage and the audience, even the message contained in the lyrics.

The aftermath of that lingering feeling was not small.

“……”

Yeon-woo looked at the quietly changed audience.

Silence fell on the small concert hall.

Something had to come out, but it was just quiet.