Chapter 63: To You (5)
63. To You (5)
Hajin had his own reasons for arranging this song in a city pop style.
'First of all, the kids' vocals aren't strong enough.'
Dan Ha-ru was serviceable, but Seo Tae-hyun couldn't handle the original version of <To You>, and Park Jae-young was even worse. That Jayden kid was pushing for a rap position anyway.
If he tried to fully showcase the original song's overwhelming technical difficulty as Tae-hyun wanted, they'd be buried alive before even debuting.
'More like "To You I Can't Even Speak" rather than "To You"—we'd just get preserved in failure.'
And Hajin had absolutely zero intention of becoming another sacrificial lamb in Sarin's long list of victims. (Zero, as in his bank balance.)
'So we'll just do what we're good at.'
Guess this is how we part
Guess we really are parting now
As Jayden handled his sing-rap part, they all froze in unison. Each struck a pose representing their unique character, with only Jayden moving as he delivered his lines. Following the choreography, he paired up with each member one by one.
Just another ordinary day, sometimes,
Trying to grasp time that only flows slowly, sometimes,
The LED screen that once displayed a sunset now showed the dark city nightscape.
Another repeated highlight.
Though the key change made the high notes more challenging, Hajin sang with effortless ease.
'Feels like I could raise it a few more notes if I wanted.'
But excessive emotion would backfire on this stage. So Hajin restrained himself, adding just enough variation to keep it engaging without overdoing it.
Because...
'It's not time to explode yet.'
The next part began immediately. The section Tae-hyun had originally sung in falsetto.
Unlike the muted instrumentation of the first verse, this time a more lavish yet lonelier arrangement filled the space.
At the same time, Ha-ru and Tae-hyun stepped forward, facing each other at center stage.
Bye, Oh Bye!
The higher key made the falsetto even more demanding, but Ha-ru's clear, untrained voice—as if he'd never even heard of puberty—handled it flawlessly.
Bye, Oh Good Bye!
Yeah, this is finally our end
Over Ha-ru's crystalline voice, Tae-hyun's slightly husky lower harmony layered in. The bell sound from the intro returned, ringing out like a school bell.
♪♬♬♪♪―♪♪♩―
And then, the dance break began.
Seo Tae-il, who had been listening while tapping his pen to the rhythm, smiled.
"You kept what needed to be kept, huh."
The rhythmic brass solos backed by vibrant keyboard sounds.
This was the jazz-inspired arrangement that had earned him nothing but criticism during the interim evaluations. The trainees naturally blended into the song, stepping lightly in formation.
Same steps, same expressions, same movements.
But the feeling was different now. It wasn't just about avoiding the original—they had something they wanted to express.
"...Interesting."
Unlike the first verse, where they'd unified their look with school uniforms, now each had their own distinct styling.
Since stripping completely on stage wasn't an option, traces of the past remained.
But that only made it more effective.
"Like classmates meeting again after growing up, right?"
"Smart move. The outfit changes, the hair."
Bright faces and radiant smiles despite the sad lyrics, layered with the bittersweet melancholy of city pop.
The performance unfolded around Tae-hyun, who was born for emotional expression, and Ha-ru, brimming with youthful freshness.
'Too bad my face and style don't suit this genre at all.'
Hajin knew full well his striking features clashed with the concept of 'memories rising with the sunset.' Pushing Tae-hyun as the main focus while giving center stage to Ha-ru was a calculated compromise. But,
'Like hell this'll start and end with Seo Tae-hyun.'
Though the stage began as Tae-hyun's wish fulfillment, Hajin had no intention of letting it become the 'Seo Tae-hyun and Kids Show'—just like his nonexistent friendship with Han Seong-woo. (That's a negative, by the way.)
Or to put it another way:
Yeah, this is finally our end
'Just because I look fierce doesn't mean I plan to be a stage prop.'
As the dance break neared its end, Hajin took a small breath. The subdued backing track had grown richer with the jazz-infused dance.
For the final climax, Hajin began singing at the exact right moment.
At the end of all those special days, we—
At the end of all the time that's slipped away, we—
After delivering the chorus cleanly in a controlled falsetto, Hajin deliberately shifted to full voice, raising the pitch.
As if channeling the original song's explosive emotional peak.
So this is how we—
So this is really how we part
The end of the love we shared
Though his voice cracked slightly at the end, it felt intentional. The tempo slowed alongside the beautiful piano melody. As the trainees stood facing different directions, Tae-hyun moved gracefully among them.
Bye, Oh Bye!
Bye, Oh Good Bye!
Yeah, this is finally our end
With meticulously calculated ending poses, the stage slowly darkened.
Hmm― hmmm―
The humming from the intro returned, followed by the now-signature bell sound, chiming monotonously like a music box.
At the edge of the stage, the desk and mailbox reappeared.
Now out of his school uniform, Ha-ru walked slowly through the lights, taking a letter from the drawer.
Hmm― hmmm―
Yeah, this is finally our...
With a voice like a whisper to someone, Ha-ru slipped the letter into the mailbox as the song ended.
Hajin, who had been staring straight ahead, glanced at Seo Tae-il's quiet smile and thought:
'It worked.'
If nothing else, he felt relieved. And it seemed his 'comrade' felt the same.
[System Alert: Comrade 'Seo Tae-hyun' has gained enlightenment! (Congratulations Reward ∥ 300 Cash)]
[System Alert: Comrade's enlightenment greatly aids quest progression!]
[System Alert: Comrade 'Seo Tae-hyun's Passed Timeline (1) has been unlocked!]
'Something... weird just activated again.'
[System Alert: The update was worth it, wasn't it?]
Yeah, you're damn right.
"Okay, Sad Ending Team. Great job. Come to center stage."
At Seo Tae-il's direction, the trainees who had frozen moved at once. Even Dan Ha-ru, who had been alone at the desk for the ending, turned around with a proud smile.
The stage for <To You> was over.
"Ah, this is fun."
"Kinda nervous too. The juniors did so well."
While the trainees took a breather and touched up their makeup, the mentors exchanged evaluations. Among them, one person sat quietly collecting her thoughts.
"......."
Sarin, the original singer of <To You>, blinked slowly as she stared at the stage. The trainees who had just reinterpreted her song were patting each other's shoulders, looking relieved.
The pride of having done their best, the ease that comes after pouring everything out.
'Ah... I envy that.'
It was everything she had missed so much.
"...Noona, you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Noticing her darkened expression, Tae-il asked quietly. Sarin startled slightly before nodding. She stared blankly at her untouched evaluation sheet.
"Hey, Tae-il."
"Yeah, noona. You're not feeling sick, are you?"
"Mm, I'm fine. It's just... the evaluations."
"Yeah."
With recording about to resume, the lighting adjusted and assistant staff climbed the stage with clappers.
Sarin kept her eyes fixed on the stage, gripping and releasing her pen before speaking.
"Can I go first? If it's not a problem..."
At her cautious request, Tae-il chuckled and nodded.
"Of course, you're the original artist. Got it. I'll call on you first."
"Thanks."
As Tae-il agreed readily, Sarin smiled slightly and steadied her breath. She desperately wanted to be the first to convey how precious this stage was.
"...Dan Ha-ru, what's with your face?"
After grabbing a drink from staff during the break, Hajin returned to find Ha-ru standing at center stage looking glum.
Just minutes ago, he'd been beaming like a bunny who'd achieved its goal—why the sudden change?
"Hungry?"
"No... Nobody cried."
"......?"
It took a second to realize he was lamenting the failure of Hajin's grand ambition to make at least one person cry.
"It's fine. Doesn't have to be the mentors."
"...Really?"
The goal was never literally about making someone cry anyway.
'It was about making them forget Sarin's original.'
If even for a moment, the audience could forget the original and fully receive the emotions they wanted to convey—that would've been enough.
This stage was more about beating Han Seong-woo than winning first place, so he wasn't hung up on scores.
"You did great, Dan Ha-ru."
Patting Ha-ru's back, Hajin watched as the boy instantly reverted to a happy bunny, grinning shyly. Wiggling with joy, he was the spitting image of a happy rabbit.
"Alright, Sad Ending Team. Line up at center stage."
"Yes."
"Recording starting! One, two—"
Finally, it was time for evaluations.
"Sad Ending Team's 'To You.' Let's hear the evaluations. First... Mentor Sarin, the original artist. What did you think?"
"Gasp."
When the original singer was called first, Park Jae-young choked beside him. Hajin discreetly elbowed him and put on his most polite face for the mentors.
"...Hmm."
Sarin took the mic as if she'd been waiting, but hesitated to speak. Probably choosing her words carefully. The silence didn't last long.
"I kept wondering how to start this."
"......."
"Thank you."
Huh?
"Thank you for reminding me that this song can be sung like this too."
He'd expected polite praise, but her voice held unexpected sincerity. He'd anticipated a proud smile at most—just a 'thanks for singing my song well' to the juniors.
No wonder Sarin's expression had seemed off earlier.
"Ah...."
"......."
"Ha, I really didn't mean to cry."
Her eyes reddened instantly as she fanned herself, tilting her head back. Seo Tae-il swiftly handed her tissues from below, and she openly dabbed her eyes. Wait, what?
"You gave me the courage to sing again. Thank you, Sad Ending Team."
Well... he hadn't planned to do this well.