To a star, a snowman, a letter and a teddy bear: n@di, the last musician at the Segok-dong playground

n@di (나디) is a singer-songwriter whose music so far has been mostly indie and folk built on acoustic guitar. The seventeenth NONOL Live was filmed on a weekday morning at Dodam Children's Park in Segok-dong, while people on their way to work hunched up against the cold. After Vidarae and SingersBB, n@di was the last musician NONOL met in this park. That day n@di played with a band, and a little snow had piled up around the park. Times follow the full version on the NONOL channel.

0:00 별아 (dear my star)

A song written for someone precious who shines like a star. The request that begins at 0:14 with '너 별이 돼줄래' ("will you be my star") turns at 2:00 into '넌 시가 돼줄래' ("will you be my poem"). The song starts without drums or bass; around 0:42 the bass slips in low, and at 1:14 the drums come in under '넌 꼭 나를 안아주고' ("you always hold me") at 1:15. From 3:15 the band plays on without vocals for more than 30 seconds, and then at 3:47, on '넌 다시 나에게 깊은숨을 주겠지' ("you'll give me a deep breath again"), the drums and bass drop out for about 11 seconds before coming back at 3:59. On May 29, 2023, 110 days after the video went up, the song became 'NONOL VOL 14'. Its English title on Apple Music is 'dear my star', and the single also includes the playground live version. That story is also in the October 10 list. Apple Music

5:31 눈사람 (Snowman)

A song about the thrill of seeing snow for the first time after moving to Seoul, and the snowman made back then. n@di said it carries a childlike heart, from loving snow and loving to build snowmen. The "I" in the lyrics is the snowman. In '처음 맞춘 두 눈이 / 마지막 눈이겠지요' at 6:19 ("the two eyes that first met mine / must be my last nun"), the word '눈' (nun) reads as both "eyes" and "snow". The snowman who says '나는 이러다 여름 와버려도 / 괜찮을 것 같아요' ("I think I'd be fine / even if summer came") at 6:55 goes on through '따듯한 그대의 온기에 / 난 녹아버리지만' ("in your warmth / I melt away") at 7:08 and ends the song at 7:56 with '내가 기억할게요' ("I'll remember").

8:43 편지 (Letter)

n@di brought it out as the song people would most likely think of first when they think of n@di. It weaves into a song the letters written to a whole group of people who had gathered and built up many memories together. In '두 밤 지나고 나면 / 우리 함께 하자던 / 약속 있고 두 달이 지나요' at 8:46 ("after two nights / we'd be together, we promised / and since that promise two months go by"), two nights become two months. The bass comes in around 9:15, and the chorus opens at 10:06 with '아아 사랑해요' ("ah, I love you"). It came out as a single on January 23, 2022, and its English title on Apple Music is 'Letter'. Apple Music

12:50 J

Released on December 8, 2022, it was n@di's most recent song at the time of filming. It was written for a teddy bear, the comfort toy that was always there in childhood. Before singing it, n@di said this was probably the first time performing outdoors like this, and that it felt both nerve-racking and exciting. Three lines begin with 'J': 'J 잊어가지 말아줘' ("J, don't go forgetting") at 13:03, 'J 지난날들을 기억해' ("J, remember the days gone by") at 13:57, and 'J 슬퍼하진 말아줘' ("J, don't be sad") at 15:46. Of the four songs, only 'dear my star' has drums, and this one has no bass either. The last line, at 16:14, is '우리의 추억 속에 있을게' ("I'll be there in our memories"). Apple Music

The video description says that with n@di, NONOL moves on to meet new musicians at a new playground, and it announced LeeYuKa as the next musician. The four songs LeeYuKa sang on a snow-covered playground are in the October 9 article. n@di's Instagram is @n_adi1124.