HAINA MAIKA PUANA's 'Nareul Chajajwo': folk that gently reassures you

Wednesday, 5 p.m. — a song has arrived at the playground

It's Wednesday, 5 p.m. again. Right at the middle of the week, just as your shoulders start to feel heavy, a song has been set down at the playground. The one I pressed play on today is HAINA MAIKA PUANA's 'Nareul Chajajwo (나를 찾아줘)'.

NONOL is the playground that sings. There's no judging here, no rankings, no elimination. Instead of lining people up by who did better, it's a place where a skilled musician sings their own song all the way through and then goes. NONOL STAGE sets the stage in full-length, and NONOL LIVE captures that moment just as it was. Songs gathered this way pile up, season by season. 'Nareul Chajajwo' isn't a song chasing a chart either — it's a song that says everything it has to say from its own spot and then leaves, which puts the listener's mind at ease too.

Lines of self-care, laid over a plain guitar

The subtitle the channel gave this stage is 'a message of self-care, carried on a folk sound.' Just as the title says, the song faces inward rather than outward. Lines that tell you not to lose yourself get layered, one over another, on top of a plain guitar. That's just how folk is, isn't it. Instead of pushing hard with the arrangement, it's a genre that quietly steps closer with only a voice and a few harmonies. So it fits well for holding words you say to yourself. Even watching it through the screen, it sounds like something really being said to someone.

'Nareul Chajajwo (NONOL Live ver.)' is also included on the EP NONOL VOL. 89. It's a version that carries the warmth of the live take just as it was, so even when you put on the recording after watching the stage, the feeling of sitting right there quietly carries over. Going back and forth between the stage and the recording is one way to enjoy this song, too.

It doesn't console you loudly — it just sits beside you

On an especially hard day, I end up playing this stage again. And then my shoulders loosen up a little. NONOL stages are often like that. Rather than saying 'you'll be okay' out loud, it's closer to someone beside you singing the same song, low and soft. If anything, that distance is what stays with you. Because it doesn't push, you play it again and again without pressure, and before you know it, it's become something you're saying to yourself.

Listening prep checklist

• Listen for how the plain guitar wraps around the voice.
• Notice which moment the line 'don't lose yourself' reaches you.
• After watching the stage, keep listening with the recording on the EP NONOL VOL. 89, too.

In three lines

• HAINA MAIKA PUANA's 'Nareul Chajajwo' is a stage that sings self-care over a folk sound.
• A plain guitar and the line 'don't lose yourself' are the heart of the stage.
• The 'NONOL Live ver.' is one you can meet again on the EP NONOL VOL. 89.

A new song has arrived at the playground today. At the end of an overwhelming day, I hope this one song sits beside you for a little while.