The Good Guy
The voice trembled.
The pitch wavered, off-key.
Watching him start singing in such a shy, uncertain tone, Han Si-a let out a chuckle.
Hearing her laughter, Seon Woo-hyun immediately straightened up.
“Why are you laughing? What is it?”
His words were too brazen for the timid tone, so she shook her head in amusement.
“No, I suddenly thought of something funny and just wanted to keep going. Keep singing. Sing more.”
It was so entertaining that she continued chuckling.
…Just being around him made everything funnier.
His singing wasn’t bad like a tone-deaf or offbeat amateur, but it felt more like someone who rarely sang at all.
Unlike Si-a, who had always been surrounded by people who sang beautifully.
It wasn’t unpleasant; it was endearingly awkward.
…I had a similar time back then too.
At the very beginning, when she first started singing.
She hadn’t been particularly talented then either.
She still wasn’t overflowing with talent.
Her real strength had always been dance, so with her overwhelming looks, incredible dance moves, and youthful energy, she had passed the audition and begun vocal lessons.
That was during her upper elementary years.
A surprisingly long yet close time for her.
…He must have noticed I was paying attention.
Pretending not to care, she felt his gaze flicking toward her.
Everyone always checked what others could do in fields they weren’t skilled at.
Especially since she was an idol trainee; it might have been quite a burden for him.
Thinking back, other girls hadn’t said anything, but they had all hated coming to karaoke with her.
It made sense, since she would obviously outshine them.
…But he came anyway. For me.
If this was the vibe, he probably didn’t even like singing.
He didn’t seem to know any recent hits.
If he lacked singing sense, he probably didn’t listen to music much.
Still, he had clearly been considering her.
Since singing was his thing.
He had come to a place where he could play around with someone better than him.
‘He gets better every time I see him.’
He was different from the ordinary boys her age.
Most of them carried arrogance in their bones.
When it came to looking cool in front of girls, they didn’t mind doing silly things.
They often pretended to be tough.
Especially in front of a pretty girl like Si-a.
They had no idea how lame it looked.
Even if not, in this situation he probably wouldn’t try to do what he wasn’t good at.
He didn’t have time to show off his skills.
Yet it was rare to find a guy his age who chose to do what he wasn’t good at, just to drop his pride.
Especially for a friend like her?
Compared to his somewhat average looks, his actions were casual, yet every single one was thoughtful.
She didn’t know if he was aware.
‘This kind of point really resonates with girls.’
She knew as a woman that this small difference could create strong feelings.
Even right now, this Seon Woo-hyun looked quite handsome.
…With him like this now, I might fall for him soon.
The old Seon Woo-hyun had been unpopular.
But now, he could almost be considered a completely different person.
Looks, personality, sense, consideration, diligence.
No matter how she looked at it, there was nothing lacking.
If he set his mind to seducing someone, he would probably succeed quickly, Si-a thought.
No, even if he just stayed like this.
The girls who liked him would naturally appear one by one.
She clenched her fist.
Thinking about it made her feel oddly uncomfortable somewhere, but she couldn’t figure out why.
“Don’t move away. Wait there a little longer.”
While she was lost in thought, Seon Woo-hyun became noticeably more serious and started singing with passion.
A warm smile unconsciously formed on her face.
…It actually sounds pretty good?
His skill was lacking, but the emotion was rich.
What was it.
It felt like the years he had lived had brought a different kind of depth.
The vibe that trainee seniors and trainers got when they sang.
In the end, Si-a thought that singing was nothing more than a language for conveying feelings.
A little more beautiful, or not, that was all.
What mattered was how well the person singing conveyed their emotions.
In that sense, Seon Woo-hyun’s song wasn’t bad at all.
“Hmm~”
She hummed the melody, smiled, and half-closed her eyes.
Even if awkward, it was a song sung with everything he had.
She loved that kind of song too.
Among the trainees, there were some who put on a show and threw in fancy techniques.
Compared to those foolish girls’ songs, it was much more pleasant to listen to.
“The word ‘I love you’~”
“Why was it so hard to say to me. Why.”
Following the highlights with his breath.
She felt that the eyes checking on her were enjoying it, so she began singing with more confidence.
Her voice grew stronger, and the song became relaxed.
It was proof that tension had melted away.
And just like that, the song ended after the highlights.
“Without you right here with me now.”
He finished the last verse and pulled the mic from his lips.
The instrumental outro flowed out, and Seon Woo-hyun turned his head slightly.
He said in a very soft, small voice.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I sang. I’m not used to it anymore.”
His awkward excuse made her laugh again.
And then she said.
“Why, it was good though.”
“…Really? Was it good? I thought it was a bit off. The pitch was weird.”
“You’re not a singer. This is good enough, right.”
“What? Why are you giving me fake praise when I suddenly sing? That’s weird.”
“It’s not fake praise?”
“If I said I couldn’t do it, you’d get hurt and run away, that’s why, right?”
“No no. It really was good. Did you see? I closed my eyes from the middle and listened.”
“Yeah? Well then. Heh.”
He scratched his head as if embarrassed.
He pretended not to care, but the corners of his mouth were smiling because he had received praise.
And the satisfied eyebrow movement showed he was shy.
She looked at such Seon Woo-hyun and unconsciously thought.
…Seeing something like this is really cute.
Where had she seen it on the internet.
What did it mean for a man to be lewd.
Only now did she feel she had truly understood.
---
“‘I’ll say I love you to you~’”
Unlike the calm ballad atmosphere she had created, she started with a cool female singer-songwriter rock ballad.
When she heard the first verse, chills ran through her entire body.
In the middle, goosebumps rose on her arms.
In the latter part, she could only stare blankly with admiration.
It captivated.
What on earth did that word mean.
It was an emotion she had never felt in her life.
Just from one coin karaoke song, she could now understand why she was an idol trainee.
She couldn’t tell how much training had come after, but.
She simply dominated the stage without effort, and singing itself felt as natural as breathing.
She sang a song that seemed like no big deal.
Just one song, and even in a rational, unbiased way she had fallen for her as a singer.
…So this is what an idol is.
She had only ever watched them on TV or the internet her whole life.
Idol performances or events.
Since she had never actually met them, she could now understand why people were so obsessed with them.
…She had only seen them in novels as text. She hadn’t heard them sing live like this.
She had thought Si-a was simply a good singer, but hearing her sing live went beyond that concept.
“Phew. How was it? Did I do well?”
After the song ended, Si-a asked with a confident face.
The moment she picked up the mic, her attitude completely transformed into that of a real idol.
He nodded in a trance, staring at her.
“What? That dumb expression? It’s cute.”
Seeing him look surprised and foolish, she laughed.
It wasn’t unpleasant at all; she just felt it was pretty.
“Honestly, you’re terrifyingly good.”
“Yeah?”
“Mm. It’s the best song I’ve heard in my life.”
“Oh ho. That’s an honor~”
“If it wasn’t you, I would have fallen for you right there.”
“What’s so great about me. That’s unbelievable. Really.”
When he clapped and nodded, recognizing her, she pulled the mic away from her mouth and sat down with a satisfied look.
…She was such a great girl. Si-a.
I had thought the slightly foolish girl next to me was just that.
From this moment on, it was impossible for her to look the same.
It had to be charisma. The aura she gave off that ordinary people couldn’t feel.
“Haa. It feels so good coming to karaoke like this for the first time in a while.”
She was thrilled, humming a tune with a happy expression.
Her eyes, widened from excitement, were adorable.
Slightly excited, she soon leaned her body toward him.
“Seon Woo-hyun.”
“Hm?”
“I wanted to try something. When I go to karaoke with friends.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a duet right away! You sing a duet with me.”
He didn’t want to kill her bouncy energy, and it wasn’t a difficult request, so he nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s do it. Do whatever you want.”
“Awesome. Then let’s do this. You’ll probably know it.”
And she quickly selected and reserved a duet song.
That song was…
A bit of a ballad, but quite an old track, so he knew it.
“I know it.”
“Right? When I heard the first song earlier, I thought this one would be it.”
“…But this is a love song.”
“Yeah. A love song.”
We’re supposed to sing this together, you and me? Right here, now?
Looking at Si-a staring at him as if questioning what the problem was, he felt flustered.