The KBB Music Save event takes place at the新手’s public hall.
For audience members, entry is available starting at 5 PM, but there are a few important notices.
Of course, taking photos and videos is restricted, and contact with the performers and idols is prohibited for safety reasons.
And most importantly, being late is forbidden. If you’re not there ahead of time, entry is not possible.
In my case, I would have been more than late – to the point of having mistaken the time entirely, making entry impossible.
“Having a friend who’s a company president sure is convenient.”
“He’s still new at being a company president though.”
“I doubt that’ll be true for much longer, don’t you think?”
“Haha. Thanks to some extraordinary middle schoolers.”
At the very back row of the audience seats sat Kang Beom-jun, smirking and continuing to speak.
“Hey, without my help, you wouldn’t be able to sit here in the audience, would you?”
“That’s obvious, isn’t it? What power do I have?”
“You can see the future though. You already anticipated this situation and asked me to come to the Music Save with you, right?”
…
Damn. How did he know?
With Kang Beom-jun’s question, I couldn’t help but look confused.
The truth is, I had expected something like this today. That’s why I suggested we come to the Music Save together.
Because the same event had occurred in my previous life.
Through festival stage videos, Baek Ye-rin had instantly become an SNS star. Naturally, casting offers from agencies came pouring in like a storm.
Among them, Baek Ye-rin chose an agency that aligned with her vision and successfully debuted at the age of sixteen.
From the start, she was under a lot of public attention, unlike now.
Not long after her debut, just two days later, she was supposed to perform on the same KBB Music Save.
That day, for some reason, she didn’t appear on stage.
Later, on a TV program, she explained…
“I think I felt a lot of pressure. I received so much love and attention even before my debut, which led to this compulsion to do well. Eventually, it all came out that day.”
“I heard you were sitting on a bench in a park near KBB until the evening… and someone spotted you, right?”
“Yes. I was told it caused quite a commotion. I was scolded heavily when I returned to the company.”
When explaining the situation that day, Baek Ye-rin had a slightly wistful smile.
It must not have been a good memory for her.
Certainly, overcoming that pressure alone wasn’t easy.
But now I’m by Baek Ye-rin’s side.
So she doesn’t need to face it alone.
“Therefore, considering the burden Baek Ye-rin might feel, today’s situation was almost inevitable. And because of me, the attention and love from people must have doubled. That’s why it’s my duty to alleviate that burden.”
“So, what words did you use to ease that burden?”
“Hmmm… Baek Ye-rin asked me something.”
“If you continue to feel burdened and don’t want to stand on stage anymore, and if that leads to you not being able to sing your songs, what would I do?”
“To that question, I immediately responded…”
“I said I would genuinely quit composing.”
“Whaaaat?!”
“Wow… Baek Ye-rin reacted exactly the same way. But why is it so surprising?”
“Is that even a proper thing to say!”
Kang Beom-jun exclaimed in shock, making my head instinctively tilt.
It was natural for him to react that way because it was a given for me.
As a composer, I was born because of Baek Ye-rin.
Even if I possessed talent that could surprise the world and someone else wanted my songs…
If she said she couldn’t sing my songs, it would be better for me to just disappear from this world.
“Haha. Still, since the situation you described hasn’t happened yet, let’s just consider it fortunate for now! Let’s think positively!”
“…I generally don’t say things like this easily, but Ryu Won, you really are insane.”
With that remark, Kang Beom-jun adopted an expression of enlightenment.
I simply ignored him and turned my gaze towards the stage.
No one was on the stage as the final act approached.
Probably, a pre-recorded video of a team is being aired live now.
Pre-recording has the advantage of allowing the agency to spend a lot of money to create a more impressive stage and compensate for any flaws that might appear in a live broadcast.
By recording multiple times, you can create the best scenes, meaning even if live skills are lacking, it’s possible to cover it sufficiently.
Therefore, we intentionally refused pre-recording.
The reason was simple.
The singer Baek Ye-rin has stronger advantages in live performances.
We… or rather, I, wanted to show those strengths to the people.
As I thought about that, Kang Beom-jun, as if something had occurred to him, asked me.
“By the way, Ryu Won. Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“I heard Baek Ye-rin has a new goal. Since you’d know the details, I thought you might know about it.”
“Goal?”
Baek Ye-rin’s goal?
I had a pretty good idea already.
This was because, in my previous life, Baek Ye-rin had mentioned it herself.
“Maybe it’s about wanting to keep singing for the fans who love her?”
“Hmm… I have a premonition that it’s not something like that. There’s an odd way in which you and Baek Ye-rin are similar.”
“An odd way?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m so afraid. With you already being challenging, if Baek Ye-rin also causes an accident like today… Oh man, just thinking about it is terrible.”
Kang Beom-jun started trembling uncontrollably with a face that screamed he couldn’t handle it.
Could it be that ‘being similar’ means we’re both crazy?
I couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly.
Well… yeah.
[Now we only have the final stage remaining!]
[The overwhelming number one candidate is here. Let’s meet the act that will close out today’s performances!]
I can just ask Baek Ye-rin about this later separately.
Right now…
At this exact moment, there’s something I need to focus on.
That is…
“Baek Ye-rin! Fighting!!!”
Cheering with all my might.
Though my voice might not reach her through the loud noises in the venue, it doesn’t matter.
Fans are beings that offer unconditional love and support to the ones they like.
Meanwhile.
Clink-clink…
As she walked towards the center of the stage, Baek Ye-rin wore an awkward smile for some reason.
It was due to a certain thing Ryu Won had said earlier.
“Without worrying about the expectations or attention of others, sing as comfortably as possible. Imagine that you’re only singing for me in the whole world. We’ve tried that multiple times during our recordings, haven’t we?”
Upon hearing those words, Baek Ye-rin thought internally:
That’s the hardest request you could make of me.
Do you even understand why I felt so burdened?
The enormous attention and expectations from people, maybe they did affect me somewhat…
But the biggest reason was Ryu Won’s very presence.
To be honest, when I heard he’d come to watch today’s Music Save, my heart literally sank.
Baek Ye-rin knows how special she is in Ryu Won’s eyes as a composer.
So, if he’s disappointed in my performance today…
It might genuinely be something I can’t bear.
But…
“Your songs are like a bright star. Following that light, I realized I had become hopelessly immersed in it.”
Baek Ye-rin decided to believe.
To trust the words of the person who loved her songs more than anyone else.
She had to.
Since the moment she first met him, she had watched him closely without ever looking away.
When he was in the car with Kang Beom-jun, playing his own compositions while looking unusually tense…
The warm smile he gave after the first recording was completed…
And today, when he suddenly appeared as if by magic, confidently leading her forward…
The face he made, praising the reasons why her songs were good, smiling like a child…
Clink-clink…
Before she knew it, Baek Ye-rin was standing at the center of the stage.
And at that moment…
“Baek Ye-rin! Fighting!!!”
From far away.
Even amidst the cacophony of sounds, she could clearly hear the familiar voice cheering for her with all its might.
The moment she heard that voice, Baek Ye-rin realized that the burden she had felt inside herself had completely vanished.
Rather…
She was excited.
That only I, in this world, can move the heart of this remarkable composer.
So…
Even at this moment,
And in the future, I want to keep…
“Singing only for you.”
As long as you listen to my songs and are satisfied…
If you give me a bright smile, I feel truly happy.
With that thought, Baek Ye-rin slowly raised the microphone in her hand.
To achieve her new goal,
Which had just blossomed.
A little while after Baek Ye-rin ascended the stage alone, a melody from a certain song began to fill the venue.
The piano sounded somewhat sorrowful, and the violin conveyed a faint, lingering feeling.
“If it had been a dream, how wonderful would it have been?
I still see your face so vividly.”
Soon after, Baek Ye-rin began to sing in tune with the melody. As soon as she sang the first word, the expressions on the audience’s faces changed instantly.
They were astonished, or anticipatory.
They already knew.
They knew what Baek Ye-rin was singing now.
“Rewind.”
The title track from the first album and the current number one song on the music charts.
However, Ryu Won thought…
The more you listen to the song…
“The fact that I can no longer see your light,
Even your smile seems to fade.”
The audience’s expectant expressions will completely change.
The first verse of “Rewind” is an infinitely bitter song.
The sense of futility and sorrow over the death of someone precious, and regret.
Ryu Won had included it unembellished in the song,
And it was being sung live on stage by none other than Baek Ye-rin.
Perhaps…
An outcome beyond the audio file might unfold right before our eyes.
