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"Hahaha... Yes. Yes, you can."
When I asked if it was okay for me to sing a song like this, the composer, unusually, let out a small laugh and replied like that.
"Honestly, I just wanted to find a proper owner for it."
"Is that so... But am I really the right owner?"
"Well, and if you're not, so what?"
"Huh?"
What does he mean so what if I'm not?
What's that supposed to mean?
"If it's you, Miro, you might not be the song's owner, but you could become its companion."
"Companion? What do you mean by that?"
"You'll find out later."
The composer, speaking unusually cryptically, then grew serious again.
"So, after hearing the song, what do you think? Will you sign the contract?"
That question truly made me hesitate.
Of course I wanted to, but could I handle it?
This wasn't just featuring.
It wasn't a group project song like the Heaven's Stage Project either.
It was a solo.
From beginning to end—four whole minutes filled only with my voice.
Could I really pull it off?
Not to mention the difficulty looked incredibly high...
Even so...
But still...
"...I'll do it."
Honestly, I couldn't resist.
How could I give up the chance to become the singer of this song?
I wasn't greedy for fame or money, but this was too good to let slip away.
"Good. Then let's make a contract."
"But, under what name do we sign? Soo-hyun? Or Miro?"
This was an important issue.
Would I do it as Soo-hyun, or as Miro?
I'd already said I wouldn't use Soo-hyun anymore, but in the end, that was just words, wasn't it?
It's not like I signed anything—so I could bend it a little.
"Which do you prefer?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes, honestly."
"Soo-hyun is easier. I don't have to think about viewers."
"If you do it as Miro, you'll gain more popularity, though. More people will come in."
"But then they'll expect things from me, won't they?"
Personally, streaming had been fun and easygoing for me.
If a bunch of regular people, drawn in just by the song, suddenly came pouring in, both I and my regular viewers would be in trouble. Honestly, my stream was kind of niche.
But thinking about it like this felt a bit...
"Haha, aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?"
"Hahaha... I thought the same thing."
Yeah, shouldn't worries like this come after things go well?
"Then let's sign it as Soo-hyun."
"Okay. But is it enough just to release the song? What about music show promotions?"
Don't most singers do that? It helps with promotion.
"Well, that's something to think about later. If you don't feel like it, you don't have to."
"Really?"
"The most important thing is that my song finds its owner."
Really? I really don't have to appear?
Because honestly, whether I did or didn't was a huge difference.
For him to declare that so firmly... did he truly only care about finding the right voice?
"Don't look at me like that. Of course I'd love to promote my song all over the country on music shows."
"Ah."
"But you don't want to, right? It's burdensome. That's why I said you didn't have to."
"You just admitted it though..."
"You're not the kind of person to back down just because of a few words."
"That's true."
"Then let's just sign the contract."
And so, the contract was signed without any obstacles.
I'd always been told never to sign anything carelessly, but... hey, I was 42 years old. I could make my own decisions.
"There's no rush. Just take your time with it while recording your second album."
The composer told me that with a relieved expression as we parted ways.
It felt like I'd accidentally taken on something huge... but well, it'd be fine.
Who was I?
The featuring artist on SlimGold's Fantasy album track Wonderland, which had dominated real-time charts.
And Miro, first generation Heaven's Stage Project member, with 100k YouTube subscribers.
Damn, looking at it like that—it's insane.
Yeah. I'd done well so far, so I could keep doing well.
With that thought, I headed home.
On the way home, I checked my phone and saw the group chat exploding.
Turned out the members were curious about what kind of conversation I'd had with the composer.
Everyone would be having their own one-on-one meeting within two weeks, but still, they were so curious. Since they wanted to know, I told them what questions he had asked me, why I'd given certain answers, and how we'd need to sort through ideas later.
But then my fingers froze.
The only things left unmentioned were about Hyunsoo and the fact that I'd become the owner of the composer's SSR-grade, ownerless song.
Should I tell them?
Eventually, they'd all find out anyway. Should I give them a head start?
Or should I keep it a secret for now and surprise them later?
Honestly, I hesitated.
...Maybe some of them would feel more emotional about my situation than I expected.
Even I could see how incredibly lucky I was.
So for now, I kept it hidden.
(Me): By the way, have you heard this one? It's really good. (link)
I left it as a small hint.
The ones who'd catch on would catch on.
But the reaction came faster than I thought.
(Mahohyun): What, Soo-hyun, you know this too? I've been listening to it a lot lately!
Listening to it often?
(Me): Really? What do you think?
(Mahohyun): I just like it. It's totally my style.
I probed a little further, but it didn't seem like he realized I was the featuring artist.
Maybe the composer was the amazing one here—for figuring it out just by hearing me.
(Mahohyun): By the way, do you know who the female featuring singer is? I searched but couldn't find anything.
For a moment, I wondered if he was testing me. But Mahohyun wasn't the type, so I just answered straightforwardly.
(Me): Just some part-timer.
(Mahohyun): No, that's the singer's name.
...?
Singer's name?
I mean, technically yes, but...
(Me): Who would name themselves "Part-Timer"?
(Mahohyun): Don't lots of singers have names like that? Old groups used to have quirky names, like Firetruck. Maybe they're just old-fashioned.
No! That's not it!
How could such a misunderstanding happen?
Well, when I thought about it again, it kind of made sense.
Who would assume someone just featured as a literal part-timer? They'd just think it was a quirky stage name.
I'd have to talk to Hyunsoo about this.
Featuring once as a nameless master called "Part-Timer" was cool. But being permanently stuck with the nickname "Part-Timer" wasn't cool at all...
I'd said it was just a one-time thing, that "Part-Timer" drew more attention—that kind of excuse. But secretly, I really did like the idea of being that mysterious, nameless master.
So I resolved to do something about it.
And just as I was nearly home—
Near the entrance of my apartment building, I spotted a man smoking a cigarette.
"...That's the guy from downstairs, right?"
The same guy who came up last time when I drunkenly did a singing stream.
I'd apologized the very next day, but running into him like this—what were the chances?
Well, it was a coincidence, but I had no intention of starting a conversation or anything.
I just hurried into the building, forcing myself to erase that embarrassing memory from the past.
These days, the weather had been unbearably hot. Most of the time I spent outside was either in the air-conditioned subway or the composer's studio, but even just walking a few minutes had me sweating like rain.
Back home, I went straight to shower off the sticky feeling, then collapsed onto my bed.
The room was much smaller than the composer's studio, but lying there under the cool air of the AC felt more refreshing than anything.
If I stayed like this, I'd probably fall asleep soon, so I picked up the phone I'd left lying around.
I had something I needed to take care of before I dozed off.
That was...
"Hello?"
[Ah, yes, Soo-hyun noona, what's up?]
Before I got stuck with that weird stage name, I had to fix it.
"Hey, Hyun-soo, I saw you got on the charts. Congratulations."
First things first—congratulations.
Etiquette matters.
[You saw that?]
"A composer I know showed me. He noticed it was me doing the featuring."
[That composer from the Heaven's Stage Project song?]
"Yeah, the one you trashed as 'mass-produced.'"
Well, since I had him on the line, I might as well tease him a little.
[W-when did I ever say that?]
"You said something close enough. When I told him exactly that, he got seriously mad."
[H-he got seriously mad? Wait, you actually told him that? That's something to get really angry about... Are you okay?]
"Me? I don't care. You're the one who said it."
[Huh?]
"I only said it was from a singer I know. He guessed right away it was you."
[What??]
"You know the industry's small. Just a few steps and he could find your address. So make sure you send him a gift on the holidays."
[Wait—are you serious?]
Hyun-soo's voice cracked with rare panic.
So even geniuses feared their seniors. Especially a big senior—twice his age.
"Hahaha... I'm joking."
[Right...?]
"Half-joking."
[Right? You were the one who got scolded, weren't you?]
"No, the part about him being angry was the lie."
[Ahhh—!]
"Don't worry too much. It was just scheduling issues. That's probably why he let it slide without saying anything."
[Still... what if he thinks it was really me...]
"Sorry... but it ended up sounding like I was the one badmouthing the song, so I just told the truth..."
[So you threw me under the bus because of the atmosphere...?]
To notice that instantly?
For a high school kid who's never worked a day in his life, his perception was pretty sharp.
"Anyway, that's not why I called."
[I don't think I can just let that go... but fine. What's the reason?]
Hyun-soo's voice dropped a little, like he was sulking.
"It's good news, so cheer up."
[Good news?]
"Yeah. But first, the bad news."
I told him that people thought I wasn't just an anonymous one-time featuring artist working part-time, but that my actual stage name was "Part-Timer."
Hyun-soo's reaction was… ambiguous.
[...And?]
"What do you mean and? Don't you get how serious this is?"
[But you're only doing it once, right? Then who cares how people evaluate it?]
Damn it... he had a point.
Complaining that it "wasn't cool" would only make me sound pathetic as an adult.
Luckily, I still had one card left.
"Actually... the truth is, that composer gave me a song."
[What? A solo? Not part of Heaven's Stage Project?]
"Yeah. He said it suited me perfectly, so we decided to work together."
[But how... He usually only gives songs to top-tier idols...]
"Anyway, I'm going to do it as Soo-hyun, not Miro. But if the name's 'Part-Timer,' wouldn't that be kind of embarrassing?"
That line of reasoning must have been persuasive, because finally Hyun-soo seemed to agree.
[Hmm... yeah, that makes sense.]
"Right? So I should change it, right?"
[Do you have something in mind?]
"Actually, I do."
I had just thought of it.
What I wanted was the vibe of a nameless master.
So why not just be that?
"Let's just leave it blank."
[Huh?]
"Erase the name. Just go with nothing."
If there was no name, then that's exactly what I'd be.
From now on—I'd be the Unnamed (True).