I Want to Rewind Time
Music has the power to change a person.
For example, you might feel down all day, but then a song playing by chance on your way home from work suddenly lifts your spirits.
Or someone who lived a life completely unrelated to music might end up making it their career.
Oh, and just so you know, those examples are about me.
And then...
Click—click—
The sound of countless camera shutters began to echo through the press conference hall.
Seo Yu-hwa was a singer-songwriter who had risen to prominence after achieving outstanding results on a music survival program.
And there was one composer who had noticed her talent and skill and offered to work with her first.
Of course, that composer didn't think of himself as all that amazing.
Along with Seo Yu-hwa's bright laughter, the eyes of everyone in the room turned toward me.
This might sound a bit obvious, but talent plays an incredibly important role in music.
Simply put, there are walls that no amount of effort can overcome.
Among those, composing demands a slightly more special kind of talent.
An exceptional ear for music, the intuition to create good songs, and finally, an insatiable thirst for creation.
In that sense, I was second-rate.
I started music late, and I didn't have the kind of overwhelming talent that could shock the world.
But...
A bitter smile formed at the reporter's question.
Well... yeah.
I was twenty-seven years old.
Thanks to a song called Rewind, I'd luckily become a composer with a fairly well-known name.
Honestly, I still couldn't fully grasp that fact.
Well... of course, seeing the money flowing into my bank account made it very real.
A certain special person.
I figured everyone would be shocked if they heard her name.
Normally, that would have brought warm smiles and softened the atmosphere in the hall, but at this moment, things were different.
Incidentally, the reason I walked the path of music was also because of that same special person I'd just mentioned.
She had debuted as a singer at the young age of sixteen, shining with talent and a beautiful face.
After that, with her overwhelming performances and career moves, she had continued to reign at the top of the entertainment industry.
......Baek Yerin.
Back in high school, when I first encountered the songs of Baek Yerin—who was the same age as me—I became her fan in an instant. Before I knew it, I had stepped into the world of music.
And from that moment on, one dream was born.
The day would come when Baek Yerin would sing a song I had composed.
But there was no way a top star like her would readily take on a song from some nobody composer, right?
So my top priority became becoming a named composer, and now I had finally achieved that.
But...
Artist Baek Yerin was found dead in her home. The cause of death has been determined to be acute drug poisoning. It has been confirmed that she had been suffering from depression...
Just six months ago.
She had suddenly left this world.
I had been too late.
The smile that had comforted me in hard times was something I would never see again, and my one and only dream could never come true in this lifetime.
Ironically, the moment I realized that, what remained in me wasn't emptiness or sorrow—it was simply regret.
And it was through that regret that the song Rewind was born.
If I could go back to the past and try just a little harder...
What if I had somehow made a name for myself as a composer much sooner?
Of course, I knew full well that such a dreamlike thing could never happen in reality.
At the same time, I thought that sad truth was already enough in the real world.
At least within music, couldn't I fill it with a bright star called hope instead of regret?
Just like how Rewind, which begins with a sad melody, eventually ends with a bright one.
Click—
At the following reporter's question, I gave a bitter smile.
It was a question I had somewhat expected ever since I explained the song.
In truth, while composing Rewind, I had vaguely realized the answer to this question.
The pure age when one still didn't know the world.
The age when you could fearlessly challenge anything and do anything...
If it were that time, maybe I could turn back this regret I was feeling.
Click—
With that bittersweet thought, I closed my eyes for a moment.
.
.
.
But you know what?
Now that I think about it, I really do need to turn it back.
Because...
A dreamlike opportunity like that had come to me.
Ryu Won first sensed something was wrong right after answering one of the reporters' questions and closing his eyes for a moment. The continuous sound of camera shutters that had been clicking suddenly cut off with a click—.
Finding it strange, he immediately opened his eyes, only to find that instead of the press conference hall, an entirely different scene was unfolding before him.
It was the familiar sight of students walking home along the street after school.
To his left stood the middle school he had attended, and right beside him, his old friend was staring at him with a puzzled expression.
Seeing Kim Tae-hwan looking exactly like he had back in their student days, Ryu Won couldn't even answer.
He simply pulled out the phone from his pocket in a hurry and checked the calendar.
After confirming today's date, he asked his friend beside him just to be sure.
At Kim Tae-hwan's answer, Ryu Won let out a laugh that sounded utterly dumbfounded.
And realizing that a miracle had happened to him, his legs seemed to give out. He dropped to his knees on the sidewalk and murmured softly.
Thank you...
There wasn't a trace of falsehood in those words of gratitude.
Of course, he had no idea who exactly he should be thanking.
But whether it was a miracle or not, that was just the perspective of the person experiencing it.
From his old friend's point of view, he probably just looked like a crazy person.
"The genius composer Ryu Won, according to the reporters. Has returned to his middle school days? This can't be stopped, lol."
Along with my somewhat excited mutter, a deep sigh came from beside me.
Time had rewound, and I had returned to the past.
If anyone experienced a miracle commonly called regression, it would be hard for them to stay sane.
The way my friend Kim Tae-hwan—who was looking at me with a slightly embarrassed face—was giving me that sharp glare was, in a way, only natural.
After all, I'd been acting like a lunatic just a moment ago...
However, I didn't deny what he said.
At Kim Tae-hwan's question, I smiled brightly.
If I returned to the past, there were things I wanted to set right no matter what.
And for some reason, that opportunity had suddenly come to me.
But right now, I didn't have the luxury of worrying about the reasons.
There were so many things I had to do from now on if I wanted to achieve the dream I couldn't fulfill in my previous life.
In that sense, there was one thing I needed to do right away.