CHAPTER 01
Life doesn’t fall apart from a single bad choice.
It only starts to stagger when you keep flipping over one losing card after another.
Like me.
What was my first bad card?
Was it when I couldn’t stay by my mother’s side as she passed away?
When I quit piano and decided to pursue composition instead?
No.
It was the beginning of all of it.
The tinnitus that started one day out of nowhere. That was what led to me losing my hearing. That was when it all began.
At first, I thought it would pass.
But the ringing that suddenly appeared only grew worse. The hospital said they couldn’t find a clear cause and assumed it was sudden hearing loss.
I tried every treatment I could.
None of it worked.
And eventually, I lost all sound.
For someone who had been a pianist and an aspiring composer, it was like a bolt from the blue. It felt as if my world had collapsed.
‘And yet… I still couldn’t give up.’
Even after going deaf, I kept writing music. Whether it was lingering attachment or pure obsession, I don’t know.
I was clinging pathetically to life, surviving off a friend’s kindness. It was almost laughable.
When I looked around, the stylish living room came into view at once. Cozy indirect lighting, high ceilings, a luxurious marble countertop, bright curtains. It looked like something straight out of a magazine.
There was only one problem.
None of it was mine.
It had never been mine, and it never would be.
The owner of this house was Moon Arin.
A composer you could never leave out of K-pop history. A guaranteed hitmaker.
My proud and precious friend.
‘…Can I even call her a friend?’
Lately, I wasn’t so sure.
When I lost my hearing and all my motivation with it, Moon Arin reached out her hand to me. Thanks to her, I was staying in this house.
She told me I didn’t have to do anything. But I took care of the household chores on my own.
Sometimes she would say to me,
— I’m so lucky to have you. Thank you. What would I have done without you, Seol?
But in reality, I was closer to a housekeeper than a roommate.
‘Still, it’s better than a basement apartment.’
I shouldn’t complain. I should be grateful for this much.
“Right, Nuri?”
Meow—
I couldn’t hear the sound, but I could read her mouth. I knew Nuri had answered me.
“Looks like your owner’s late again today. She’s been even busier lately.”
A yellow tabby cat, Nuri.
Since Moon Arin was rarely home because of work, I was the one who mostly took care of her. By now, she felt like my cat.
Arin had adored Nuri when she was little, but once she grew up, she called her ugly and stopped paying attention to her.
‘…Well, she’s busy. She barely comes home.’
I made excuses for her.
Meow—
“Huh? Nuri. Where are you going?”
That was when it happened.
Nuri suddenly turned and darted into the room next door.
“Hey! You’re not supposed to go in there!”
Of all rooms, it was Moon Arin’s studio.
You little brat!
“Arin’s sensitive about her equipment, you know. She said anywhere else is fine, but absolutely no going into the studio. What are you doing, Nuri? Come out!”
I called desperately from outside, but Nuri didn’t come back on her own. I stamped my feet in frustration.
If she broke any of the expensive equipment, Arin might really throw her out.
“Ugh, seriously. Sorry, Arin. I’ll just step in for a second. Just a second!”
She usually kept the studio locked. Why was it open today?
Grumbling under my breath, I carefully opened the door.
“Nuri~ Where are you~”
Maybe she answered me with a meow. But since I couldn’t hear, I had to rely entirely on sight.
Without meaning to, my eyes swept across the studio.
“Wow.”
The space, packed with high-end equipment, looked like a dream.
The latest audio interface, synthesizers, pad controllers. Every single brand was outrageously expensive.
I hadn’t meant to look, but the computer screen was on, displaying a project she had been working on.
I tried to look away.
Then—
“…Huh?”
I stared at the screen.
The chord progression looked familiar. The track names, the chord markings, even the rhythm patterns…
They were far too familiar.
“This is… my song.”
With trembling hands, I moved the mouse.
When I clicked the audio clip, the waveform appeared. Even the length of the waveform and the placement of the rests matched mine exactly.
I had lost my hearing, but I could still read sheet music and waveforms with my eyes.
That’s how I knew.
This was my song.
Even after losing my hearing, I hadn’t given up on becoming a composer. I kept writing new pieces.
And I would often ask Moon Arin to evaluate them.
Every time, her reaction was the same.
Whenever I showed her a song, she would make an awkward face and say, “Hmm, it’s not bad, but…”
She was a successful composer. I couldn’t dare argue with her judgment.
But now, the MIDI tracks lined up on the monitor overturned everything.
‘Wait. What if it’s not just this one…?’
I looked away from the screen and saw a stack of scattered sheet music on the desk. The moment I picked up the first page, my eyes widened.
‘This one too. And this. The ones in the back as well!’
With every page I turned, more of my songs appeared. Only the titles and composer names had been changed. Copies of contracts and release schedules were attached to them.
My breathing quickened.
All the strength drained from my body. I staggered and leaned against the desk to keep from falling.
Crash!
Various items spilled onto the floor.
Among them, one thing stood out.
A white pill bottle.
The lid had come off, and yellow capsules rolled across the floor.
‘That’s the supplement Arin gave me.’
The very one she had said she struggled to obtain, the one she told me to take once a day.
A chill ran down my spine. I picked up the bottle.
Arin had always smiled and said,
— You’ve looked low on energy lately. This will help.
That was when I noticed the words printed next to the bottle.
Caution: Long-term use may cause damage to the inner ear and auditory nerve.
My heart dropped.
I stood there, unable to say a word.
My mind was a mess.
But within that chaos, the scattered puzzle pieces began to fit together one by one.
Moon Arin, my only friend since childhood.
Moon Arin, who used to watch me with concern as I gradually lost my hearing.
Moon Arin, who carefully handed me supplements while asking if my composing was going well.
And…
《Composer of the Year – PRISM》
Composed by: Moon Arin
— Thank you. To everyone who loved my song, thank you so much!
Her brightly smiling face filling the screen.
Arin.
Was it really you?
The question never left my lips.
I didn’t want to believe it. The smiles you gave me, the kind words, the way you whined about being tired. Was all of it a lie?
Meow—
Something soft brushed against my ankle. I flinched and looked down. Nuri was rubbing her head against my leg.
That wasn’t all.
A long shadow stretched across the floor. Not mine, but one cast from behind me.
“…”
Slowly, I turned around.
It was Moon Arin.
She was leaning against the doorway of the studio, looking at me. Her expression was calm, almost as if this were a dream.
Her eyes swept over the scattered sheets of music and the pill bottle in my hand. Then she smiled.
I swallowed hard.
The Moon Arin I had known until now crumbled away, and someone else stood in her place.
Moon Arin, who had secretly been giving me those pills.
Moon Arin, who watched me suffer as I lost my hearing and laughed behind my back.
Moon Arin, who stole my songs and built wealth and fame upon them.
My hands turned white as I clenched my fists.
How.
How could you do this to me?
I don’t remember whether I said it out loud.
The anger had already reached the top of my head.
I couldn’t hear her voice, but I could read her lips clearly.
With the corners of her mouth curling upward gently, Moon Arin replied:
You found out?
It felt like something was collapsing.
Even though my ears had long since stopped hearing anything at all, I could hear it clearly.
The sound of my life crashing down.
