I’m going to quit as a composer.
“Whaaat?!”
Upon hearing Ryu Won’s response, Baek Ye-rin was aghast.
There was no way she couldn’t be aghast.
“Y-You’re serious?”
“Yeah. If I weren’t serious, I wouldn’t have even started in the first place.”
Ryu Won replied with a faint smile.
Baek Ye-rin could instinctively feel that there was no falsehood in his reply just now…
He may have evaded her questions before, but he had never lied.
That’s why it was even harder for her to understand.
People think Baek Ye-rin is a genius. But the person Baek Ye-rin truly considers a genius and respects is the young man standing right in front of her.
That’s right. Ryu Won is the real genius, and this is something that literally everyone would have to agree with.
And this genius had said:
“If you won’t sing my songs, then I, as a composer, have no reason to create more music. More accurately, I have no choice but to quit.”
Baek Ye-rin tightly clenched her fists.
If you think about it logically, there are countless ways around this.
As the saying goes, “a song is not guilty.” If one singer says they won’t sing the song, simply let another singer take on the song, and that’s it.
But he didn’t seem to entertain thoughts like that at all.
He wasn’t satisfied with anyone else; you were the only one…
It was like he was whispering just this:
“Exactly what…?”
What has he seen in me that would make him abandon his brilliant talent?
Sometimes, I wonder if he’s mistaken me for someone else.
Still…
“At that time, I avoided answering you because I was embarrassed. I asked you where the appeal of my songs lay, why I was making you go to such lengths.”
Ryu Won hadn’t made any mistakes.
He remembers.
The radiant figure of Baek Ye-rin he first met at her concert.
And again, in the past when he traveled back, he encountered her again.
The figure of Baek Ye-rin from last November’s festival stage who had shaken everyone in the auditorium.
It wasn’t different.
For Ryu Won, both the Baek Ye-rin he could not reach from his previous life and the Baek Ye-rin right in front of him now simply shine with brilliance.
“Your songs are like bright stars. I followed that light, and before I knew it, I was completely drawn into it.”
That’s why Ryu Won wanted to let her know that fact and was willing to reveal the truths he hadn’t been able to express on that day.
“Your voice, especially the clear and simple tone, really consoles me. Even when you’re not singing a sad lyric, you still deeply deliver emotion—I feel like there’s always a lingering aftertaste.”
“…”
“Also, your voice is so good that it suits bright tunes very well. It works with any genre, and as a composer, this naturally ignites my desire…”
Ryu Won continued to describe why he loved Baek Ye-rin’s music, like a boy lost in love.
In a way, it was a confession.
Your songs are just that amazing, your songs have made me like this, and thanks to them, I found my dream—such was his pure confession.
From Baek Ye-rin’s point of view, however, it was inevitably an odd feeling to hear this from someone she deeply respected.
Even though she had run away from the stage because she was scared, he had continued to love her music.
And…
“You’re also great at bringing out the feelings of the songs. To put it in simpler terms, you sing it all so deliciously.”
For some reason, his heartfelt declaration seemed to have no end.
Suddenly, Baek Ye-rin remembered why he had evaded her question that day.
—I didn’t want you to think I’m some kind of creeper if I told you.
Baek Ye-rin was slowly beginning to understand the meaning of those words.
As she continued to listen to his ‘flood of sincerity,’ her face gradually turned red, and her ears flushed a bright red color.
“Th-That’s enough already!”
“There’s still more to say,” he replied with a disappointed look as she tried to intervene.
A somewhat awkward silence fell between them for a moment, and naturally, their eyes met.
For some reason, they both smirked.
Why are we even having this conversation right now? —it was the feeling they both shared.
But because of that, Baek Ye-rin was consoled.
Today had been especially meaningful for her.
For the first time in her life, she had made a big mistake, and when she was sitting there alone feeling lonely, he had magically appeared to find her.
Then he had firmly grabbed her hand, which had stopped out of nervousness, and boldly led her forward.
They had eaten bingsoo together, sung songs in the karaoke, …
And the image of him trying his best to win a stuffed toy from the claw machine, even though it wasn’t familiar to him, was firmly etched in her memory.
Yes, in all honesty, it was a date—there’s no other way to describe it.
…So then.
“Is it still not too late?”
It was about time to head back.
Ryu Won immediately understood her meaning.
Most likely, it was about stepping on the Music Save stage.
There was only 30 minutes left until Music Save’s final stage.
If they took a taxi right now, they might barely make it to the stage on time.
Ryu Won, however, was a bit worried.
Was she pushing herself too hard?
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, because you really told me so earnestly about how good my songs are. It made me feel like a genius composer like you believes in them so much, so maybe I can gain some confidence.”
No, if she was honest, she couldn’t help but gain confidence.
Baek Ye-rin gave Ryu Won a faint smile.
It was a smile that was incomparably more relaxed and warm compared to when they met in the park.
Seeing Baek Ye-rin’s change, Ryu Won scratched his cheek.
Personally, he thought he hadn’t really done much.
He just went around to try and cheer her up and honestly told her about her music.
So…
“Don’t worry about the expectations or attention of others. Just sing as comfortably as possible. Think of it as singing for only me, even if it’s the whole world. You’ve experienced that plenty during our private recordings, haven’t you?”
He wanted to give her advice that would alleviate her pressure.
However…
“Okay! I’ll try that!”
Ryu Won didn’t know that for Baek Ye-rin, that was the hardest request of all.
*
As the Music Save broadcast was drawing to a close,
“Are you really coming? Mr. Kang?”
“Yes. The most trustworthy person I know went to pick her up, so she’ll definitely come.”
Still, the Music Save PD’s face was full of suspicion.
“Most trustworthy person? Who are you talking about?”
“I apologize, but I can’t reveal that information.”
“Hmph… and you didn’t even tell us why Miss Baek disappeared so suddenly. Is there anything you can actually tell us?”
“…”
Kang Beom-jun had nothing to say.
Because the PD’s words were spot on.
Thus, he was slowly feeling his limits and found himself praying to a certain young man.
‘I can’t hold on much longer, Ryu Won.’
So, would he please show up already?
Kang Beom-jun was praying with such hope when—
Ziiing—
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
Someone was calling.
The call was from the young man he’d been anxiously waiting for.
Kang Beom-jun quickly answered the call.
And the first thing he heard from the young man was this:
“Boss, can you let me inside? The public hall is currently closed to visitors.”
A request to be let into the public hall where Music Save was in progress.
As if nothing unusual had happened.
“Director!”
At that moment, the silhouette of today’s leading lady and a harried Lee Ha-ri running towards them came into view.
Kang Beom-jun grinned and said to the young man on the phone:
“Of course, you’re not the type to give up on your dreams so easily.”
“Eh…it just turned out that way. Anyway, I kept my promise. Please keep yours, Director.”
The boy ended the call with those words.
At the same moment, the girl who had disappeared from the broadcasting station for no reason just hours ago, Baek Ye-rin, stopped in front of Kang Beom-jun and the PD.
And…
“I’m sorry!”
She bowed deeply almost at a 90-degree angle and said that to them.
The PD glanced at his watch and spoke:
“Time-wise, you should change into your costume and go straight to the stage. Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“Hmm… Just think of it as a minor hiccup, I’ll go ahead and inform the staff.”
The PD left in a hurry after saying that.
After watching him leave, Kang Beom-jun looked at Baek Ye-rin again.
He had resigned himself to something.
If she expressed regrettable intentions from her mouth, as promised to Ryu Won, he would respect it as much as possible.
But when he faced Baek Ye-rin’s face that seemed both relieved and full of determination, he realized.
“Ye-rin, I think you’ve found a new goal.”
“Huh?”
“Just that now your gaze looks so much like someone I know.”
“Is it someone I also know well?”
“Yes. A composer who loves you, the singer, more than anyone. So, finish it well, and I’ll cheer for you hard with that guy.”
“…Yes!”
Kang Beom-jun watched Baek Ye-rin spiritedly head off to change clothes and smiled faintly.
Perhaps…
That composer wasn’t just loving her as a singer, but as Baek Ye-rin, the person…
“That might be true after all.”
Kang Beom-jun smiled faintly.
He recalled a clause that had “accidentally” been left out of the contract between Baek Ye-rin and Ryu Won.
Will the boy mention that part in the near future, or far into the future?
Kang Beom-jun hurried toward Ryu Won with such curiosity.
