---

I once learned to dance.

Well, it wasn’t that long ago—less than a year, but still.

Even if I think back to the time I eagerly practiced for the year-end live performance, dancing felt rather distant for me.

It’s been quite a while since I last practiced, so I can’t even guarantee I’d be good at it now.

And since I stopped working on my physical fitness at some point, my body might be better than last year’s novice me, but compared to an average person, I’m still lagging behind.

“Actually, I won’t force you.”

“If you don’t want to, then….”

Seeing my reluctance, the two seemed to have given up on suggesting more.

Well… they say that, but the disappointment is pouring out of their eyes.

Do they really want to do the challenge that badly?

Alright, if they really want it, I could do it with just me and Hyeon-su, right?

“If you want it… I’ll do it.”

“Really?”

“But you have to participate too, Composer.”

“Huh? I don’t sing the track.”

Perhaps he never imagined he would be asked to join in the challenge, as the Composer looked rare flustered, but I wasn’t going to let that slide.

It has to be fair.

Just like in a democracy.

“You may not have to appear in the music video or concert, but at least you should participate in the challenge once.”

At my words, the Composer looked at me as if questioning my sincerity.

“Should a man in his forties be overworked?”

“Come on, you’re still in good health!”

A man in his forties isn’t even old, and the Composer doesn’t look too shabby for his age either.

He should be fine participating in the challenge.

“And you know the majority rules, right?”

“Oh dear….”

With a quick gesture of my finger, just like the Composer did earlier, he nods as if he has no choice.

Okay, that’s settled.

Clap.

I clapped lightly as I continued speaking.

“Alright then. Since a man in his forties is joining, let’s keep the dance simple.”

Honestly, if the dance is too complicated, I won’t be able to handle it.

By the time the song is ready and the choreographer has organized the dance, won’t it take forever?

By then, the concert would be just around the corner, so it’s better to keep it easy for practice.

“Right? To be honest, I’m not good at dancing either. Simple is better.”

Hyeon-su seemed to agree and nodded readily.

Besides…

“Three of us are terrible dancers, yet we’re boldly saying we’ll do the challenge?”

“Ahem.”

“No, I mean… it has great benefits.”

Yeah, I know the benefits are good.

But I can’t help but wonder if this will just turn out to be an embarrassing situation.

“We need to pick a good choreographer.”

“Right, does anyone know one?”

“Huh? Me? I don’t.”

Well, why would Hyeon-su even need to know? I didn’t expect him to.

The one I was hoping for…

I subtly glanced at the Composer.

“What about you, Composer?”

“I know many idols.”

“What about dancers?”

“If I get an introduction, I think it’ll be possible.”

…So basically, nobody knows a dancer.

Of course, with the Composer’s connections, he’d be able to find someone quickly.

But since I’ve often been in the background, maybe I should step up and help a bit in this matter?

“I actually know someone who could help. Should I ask them?”

“Is it Kim Soo-hyun?”

“Yeah, they taught me and are quite famous.”

Perfect, I happen to know someone!

I wonder if the dance instructor is still available?

“They might be busy, so don’t get your hopes up too much.”

I should reach out soon.

Or should I visit directly? I already know where they are.

Actually, my cousin is attending the academy run by the instructor, so it would be easy to go.

“Then I’ll leave that to you.”

“I’ll be asking quite suddenly, so it might not work out. If it doesn’t, Composer, you’ll have to help out.”

“Well, if it doesn’t work out, I can find someone, so feel free to proceed.”

With that, I decided to take charge of the challenge and continued our song-related meetings until dinner.

After the song meeting wrapped up…

As I was getting my coat to head out for dinner, the Composer suddenly spoke up.

“Oh right. Kim Soo-hyun, you can decide for yourself if you’ll come next week.”

There’s another meeting next week, but I can skip it?

What’s going on?

“Are you saying I’m not needed since I’ll just be utilized for featuring and the challenge video?”

“…It’s not that. There’s filming coming up.”

“Filming?”

Filming? Are we shooting a variety show?

“The seasonal episode was quite successful, so I received an offer for a separate variety show. This time, I plan to film it to promote the new song.”

“Oh….”

Would it be nice for Kim Soo-hyun to join, but if he doesn’t want to, it’s okay.

“Ah, I see.”

Was that kind of consideration for me?

After all, I’ve turned down all variety show offers until now, so from the Composer’s perspective, they might think I wouldn’t want to participate.

“Then I won’t be going.”

“Straightforward as always… understood.”

“Oh, were you secretly hoping I would come?”

“It would be nice if you did.”

Well… it would indeed be nice to participate, but appearing on variety shows again feels a bit much.

With Hyeon-su’s concert and movie release coming up, if I join variety shows too, I might flood the community with my pictures.

“Sadly, I’ll pass. I’ll just film with Hyeon-su.”

“Understood.”

Hyeon-su is naturally set to participate, it seems.

Then again, it was quite obvious that Hyeon-su has been on many variety shows over the past year.

“Alright, let’s go eat.”

Anyway, that day’s meeting ended, and as I had anticipated, we had a hearty meal at a high-end Korean restaurant.

***

Even while the song process with the Composer and Hyeon-su continued, the guitar competition kept moving forward.

And the long-awaited day has finally arrived.

It’s time to vote.

[Guitar Competition Candidate Selection Broadcast with Miro]

The judging process involves preparing several prizes, and once I select the candidates, fans vote on them in the café.

The final decision on who wins the awards is based on a 50% fan café vote, and the other half is my judgment as the host and judge.

It’s practically a 50/50 call between the viewers and me.

“Shall we start by selecting the minor award candidates first?”

-Minor LOL

-What if you call it minor?

“…Anyway, I’ll categorize the people you noted down in the memo.”

Since I initially listed way too many candidates, I would categorize them by award.

For instance….

“Alright, those with messy rooms will go over here.”

-Oh my LOL

-Clean up award LOL

-What’s the prize??

“Oh, the prize for this category is a cordless mini vacuum cleaner.”

It seems like those who would win in this category really need to clean, so I prepared quite a pricey prize for something considered minor.

-What a solid gift!

-Guitar competition award (vacuum)

-So the winner must clean their room before they can be unbanned LOL

“That’s actually a good idea.”

-LOLOLOLOL

“Miro is the only one who cares about the viewers’ rooms for real…”

“Now that we’ve set aside the messy room people, let’s deal with the clean room folks, well-dressed people, and those who decorated their guitars well, and….”

-So, is there no award for someone who plays guitar well? LOL

-So many awards, LOL

-Miro’s generosity never fails! ㅜㅡㅠ

-Long live Miro!

“Haha, this is what being a broadcaster is all about. The viewers and I exchanging gifts? I don’t think it’s that great.”

-Fact)True

-It’s not that great, true LOL

-Overdoing it here! LOL

-Your tone is going to get you a honey slap!;

“Is there only minor stuff at the end of the day?”

“Well, there is something important, you know?”

As I said this, I swiftly pulled up the memo.

[Guitar Competition Grand Prize]

In a way, this could be considered the championship award.

It’s given to the person who posts the best entry in the end.

“Shall we pick the prize candidates now?”

-Gogo

-Guitar姐! Guitar姐! Guitar姐!

-Oh~ (they’re saying it’ll be a win for Guitar姐 anyway)

“Everyone, please don’t say that. There are other candidates too, right?”

–<<< Other candidates

-You?

-Though, it’s true that Guitar姐 will win anyway.

Come on, they’re already making a fuss.

Of course, Loa made an impact, but just as much, some good players have emerged over the past few days.

"Alright, alright, the candidate you all love, Guitar姐, is candidate number one."

-Kyaa LOL

-I knew it!

-Should we even look at the other candidates? (I genuinely don’t know)

"I voted already."

"Oh come on."

First, I quickly put other people’s names into the runner-ups as well.

"This person and this one… Oh, and this person did well too, right?"

-Agreed

-They did well LOL

-But they're male…

-"We acknowledge them, but do we really have to look at male contestants?"

The viewers seemed to recognize everyone’s talent.

They were on the same level and deserving of recognition.

And so I selected the candidates for the grand prize.

At a glance, their guitar skills were superb and they seemed tidy; people who would fit perfectly as candidates for the grand prize, so I subtly checked the viewers' vibes.

So, everyone seems to agree with my selections?

Then…

"Now for the coveted title of the final grand prize candidate, we have this mystery guitarist. Wow, not only is the visual aspect of the video appealing, but their outfit looks splendid, and what’s more, their fit is on another level."

-Me

-Whaaat??

-Rock

"Where did the fairness go??"

-What? This outfit looks like pajamas!

…As I slipped these statements in, a flood of exclamations erupted.

Honestly, didn’t I have a point?

"Was it really that noteworthy?"

I mean, I didn’t think I was that bad! The reaction was over the top.

-That’s about it.

-Close your eyes and listen.

"Close my eyes? Just a moment."

The viewers' reactions seemed a bit more intense than I had imagined, so following their requests, I went back to the previous post of the competition entry and closed my eyes, focusing on the sound from the video I posted.

Ding— Ding, ding.

When I focused purely on the audio while not watching the video, I definitely sensed a bit of roughness.

In between, I missed notes and lost the beat… Honestly, calling it a perfect piece might be pushing it.

However.

Since I couldn’t see the video and had my eyes closed, the memories of all the effort I put in to upload this video flooded my mind.

Truth is, I still can’t play it perfectly.

I just happened to succeed once and posted it right then.

That one moment of luck could well be the product of many failures, rising to the surface.

As I reminisced about all that effort, tears welled up, stirred by emotion.

“Full point… Full point…."

-What is happening, LOL

-Ugh

Well.

What do you want me to do since I’m happy?

At any rate, the grand prize candidate was settled.

 

---