Episode 60: Shooting Star
[Han Yujin – Shooting Star M/V Teaser]
Watching the likes climb in real-time on MyWay’s official YouTube channel, Ailee slumps in her chair.
“This actually worked…”
Muttering with a sigh, she recalls a video awaiting upload, the past ten days flashing through her mind like a montage.
“How soon do we need mixing and mastering for a December release?”
When Yujin asked, Ailee hadn’t imagined the hell that awaited.
She’d only marveled at his real-time tweaks during the instrumental recording, staring in disbelief.
Five days later, an email from him brought that hell.
[Shooting Star Final]
No message, just an attachment.
Ailee tilted her head at the sudden “final” label with no progress reports.
But listening to the file, she understood why.
‘No need for progress reports when there’s nothing to revise…’
The sources were near-perfect from recording.
The mixing blended tracks recorded separately as if done together.
The mastering highlighted the vocals flawlessly.
It was a masterpiece, so refined she doubted it was a first-time producer’s work.
“Seriously.”
She couldn’t admit it then, but now, presenting the result to the public and awaiting their verdict, she had to.
‘Outdone by a 23-year-old.’
Why was he so fixated on December?
He’d never say, but Ailee had a guess.
‘The lyrics… probably for his girlfriend.’
Yujin chose a harder path, forgoing easy fame by hiding his relationship.
‘Wanted to gift her something before the year ends, huh?’
That’s when Ailee got “scratched.”
In her mid-30s, leading a team at MyWay, she’d sacrificed her own romance.
Seeing young love sparked envy, but she channeled it differently.
‘December release? Fine. I’ll make it play all month.’
She poured her all into it, vicariously living through their romance.
‘Good thing we recorded the sources early.’
Luckily, Shooting Star’s music video, mostly shot outdoors, was done before the cold hit, though she hadn’t known it’d be used like this.
Still, finishing it in a week was no small feat.
Ailee and the A&R team didn’t edit it themselves—outsourced to a partner—but they controlled the pace.
MyWay cracked the whip like never before, and now—
The Shooting Star teaser drops on November’s last day, the full video on December’s first.
Ailee, having burned everything, feels like white ash piled like snow.
But she can’t stay slumped.
Her and A&R’s work isn’t done.
“Ugh.”
With a rare grunt, she forces herself up and addresses her team.
“I’m heading to a dinner with ‘Raccoon.’ Go home if you’re free, but keep monitoring. Call me if anything comes up.”
“Yes, Ailee. Take care.”
Not planning to cut ties with the video production company ‘Raccoon,’ she balances the whip with a carrot, dragging herself to the elevator.
Ding.
Her phone pings.
Half-lidded, she checks it and mutters—
“If he’s at a shoot, why’s he sending this?”
But her grumbling can’t hide the smile creeping up.
[Han Yujin: Ailee! Saw the teaser! It’s amazing! Thank you! You worked so hard!]
Stepping into the elevator, her steps feel lighter than ever.
***
Meanwhile, at a public hall in Yeouido, a music show was being filmed.
Midnight Café.
Despite changing names and hosts, it’s carried the “late-night music show” legacy for over 30 years.
With its calm, intimate stages, Midnight Café is a popular date spot.
Tonight, couples, budding romances, and a few friends fill the audience, satisfied with the smooth performances.
But one man sighs alone.
‘Guess it was too much…’
Song Junghoon glances at the woman beside him.
Her expression, like his, stands out from the crowd’s, but Ju Mirae’s stiff, blank face carries a different weight.
‘It’s over.’
Her emotionless demeanor confirms to Song Junghoon that their seven-year relationship is doomed.
They were like any couple—passionately in love at times, sharing joys, clashing occasionally.
They took each other’s presence for granted.
‘Was that the mistake?’
Fights grew rare.
Song Junghoon thought it was a good sign, but he was wrong.
As fights lessened, so did passion.
They found joy alone more than together.
By the time Song Junghoon realized Ju Mirae’s expression lacked color, their relationship was already riddled with irreparable cracks.
Still, he wanted to fix it.
That’s why he went through such lengths to secure tickets to Midnight Café.
Seven years ago, this place—then a different late-night music show, but still a renowned date spot—sparked their shift from flirtation to love.
Mirae’s smile that day remains vivid in his memory.
He hoped coming here might change things.
But—
“I have something to tell you.”
The moment they met to come here, Mirae’s cold words hit him.
He barely stopped her from saying more and got her here, but those words linger, overlaying her warm smile in his memory with her current stony expression.
Once they leave, she’ll likely voice the end.
So, Song Junghoon wished this stage would never close.
“And now, our final guest!”
Cruelly, only one performer remains.
Biting his lip, oblivious to the MC’s excited tone, Song Junghoon listens.
“You know we keep our guests secret. But our writer said no one’s gotten this much effort!”
A small cheer ripples through the crowd, startling him.
“I think we’ve got someone special. As far as I know, this is their first terrestrial broadcast, including HBS!”
The MC’s hyped voice continues, whispers guessing the guest’s identity rising around them.
Smiling, the MC presses on.
“On TV, we’d cut to commercial here, but you’re lucky to be live. You’ll know who it is just from the song. Let’s bring them out!”
The audience dims, and a gentle guitar melody pairs with a soft voice.
“Where is this train taking me?
The scenery outside the window blurs.”
Brief murmurs follow.
“Is that Ko Yo-han?”
“It’s Han Yujin!”
“Han Yujin?!”
As the singer appears, cheers clash with the song’s calm, sweeping the stage.
Han Yujin flashes a small, wry smile, raising his free hand in greeting, quieting the crowd.
Glancing at Ju Mirae, Song Junghoon is stunned.
Her ironclad expression seems to crack slightly.
Then he realizes why.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Mirae smile since Blind Singer.’
That smile was for this singer, Han Yujin.
No jealousy stirs.
‘He’s been with his partner for seven years too. Compared to me…’
Despite sharing the same length of time, Yujin’s steadfast devotion, unlike Song Junghoon’s faltering bond, sparks admiration for the younger man.
“This train pulls me along.
Where is it taking me?”
As Yujin’s ‘For You, A Moment’ ends—
“Here’s our final Midnight Café guest, the one you all know—Han Yujin!”
Cheers erupt, and Song Junghoon finds himself clapping along.
“Our writers worked hard to get you here. Why only now?”
“Well, after the… audition—”
“It’s fine to say it. Everyone knows you from Blind Singer. It’s late-night TV—no one cares.”
A short, lighthearted talk follows, the MC’s wit drawing chuckles.
Waiting for the laughter to fade, Yujin continues.
“The audition prep cut into time with my girlfriend. I needed to recharge that and work on a new song, so time slipped by.”
““Ooooh.””
The mostly coupled audience reacts with a low, teasing hum to his candid mention of his girlfriend.
“Ha, the new song’s why you’re here?”
The MC playfully glares.
“We don’t just hand out promo spots like that~”
““Boooo~!””
Real boos pour from the crowd this time.
The MC, unfazed, pushes back.
“Come on, hear me out. Let’s hear the song, talk about what’s changed since the audition win. That’s how we do it, right?”
““Boooooo~!!!””
The boos don’t stop, and the MC surrenders.
“Fine, fine. Midnight Café isn’t usually a promo stage, but since you all want it, we’ll save Yujin-ssi’s updates for later. I’m curious too. Let’s hear it—band ready?”
The band signals okay, and as the MC steps aside, Yujin scans the audience with a smile.
“Hoo.”
A small, wistful sigh escapes him before he smiles again.
“A star falls on the path home.
You, who made a wish, ask me,
‘Why don’t you make one?’
I just smile.
This moment with you
Is already my wish fulfilled.”
As Yujin’s love-filled voice fills the hall, Song Junghoon feels like he’s been struck.