First Recording
Kang Beom-jun greeted Baek Yerin warmly as she stepped into his office, then quickly moved on to the main topic.
His idea was simple.
“So as a little taste, how about having Baek Yerin record just one of my—”
“Baek Yerin?”
When I called her by her full name, Baek Yerin looked at me with a rather disappointed expression.
In relationships that aren’t particularly close, it’s common to use someone’s full name. Especially between people of the opposite sex, unless you’re really friendly, calling someone by just their first name is rare—at least that’s what I personally think.
From what I knew, Baek Yerin had excellent social skills.
In my previous life, she had mentioned it herself on a broadcast, and even just from her current demeanor, it was easy to tell.
But was that really her true self?
With that small question lingering in my mind, I continued speaking to Kang Beom-jun.
“Anyway, you’re suggesting that Yerin record one of my songs as a test, right?”
Kang Beom-jun didn’t answer right away. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle.
It seemed he found it quite amusing that I was calling Baek Yerin so casually by just her first name.
When I shot him a pointed glare that clearly said stop teasing me, he finally opened his mouth.
“That’s right. If you two perform a song you’ve worked on together at the regular meeting in three days, there couldn’t be a more impactful introduction. And it just so happens that tomorrow is the start of the weekend.”
“It’s not a bad idea, but…”
“Why? Does it look like there won’t be enough time?”
At Kang Beom-jun’s question, I paused to think for a moment.
The time it takes to record can vary wildly.
There are stories of famous bands finishing an entire album’s worth of tracks in just twelve hours, while in other cases, a single song can take several days.
And most tracks, regardless of time spent, probably aren’t completely perfect when they’re done.
After all, there’s no such thing as a perfect recording in this world.
Very occasionally, everything aligns just right and something like that is born… but it’s not common. So when it does happen, a deep sense of gratitude naturally wells up from the bottom of your heart.
That leads to this question: if a perfect recording is almost impossible, when exactly does the recording process end?
The answer is surprisingly realistic and simple.
And if there’s no set deadline?
Usually, it’s considered done once it passes the standards of the people involved.
Because of that, it’s fairly common for artists to go back and re-record songs even after they’ve been released.
Anyway, recording one song within three days, including today, was quite a generous timeframe by professional standards.
But the one who had to do the recording was none other than Baek Yerin.
She was a complete amateur who had never received proper vocal training and had never experienced recording before.
Amateurs, especially, often struggle during the recording process and take a long time.
I suspected it had something to do with how your own voice always sounds lower to you than it actually is.
So when you record, your voice comes out higher than you expected, and it feels unfamiliar and awkward.
And the only way to overcome that awkwardness is through experience.
Recording is something you get a feel for only by doing it a lot.
You try singing it this way, then that way, searching for the absolute best version of your voice.
So expecting a high-quality recording from an amateur right from the start, without any of that process, was a bit harsh.
Well…
So why had Kang Beom-jun specifically suggested recording to us?
It was because he knew exactly how absurdly talented the amateur middle school girl sitting next to me was.
And I knew it too.
I knew it all too well.
So when Kang Beom-jun asked if it seemed like there wouldn’t be enough time, my answer was already set.
“Three days will be more than enough. I’m in favor.”
“Really? Then what about you, Yerin?”
Kang Beom-jun smiled with satisfaction at my answer and then turned the question to Baek Yerin.
I was curious about what she would say too, so my head naturally turned toward her.
But something strange happened.
The moment I turned my head, my eyes met Baek Yerin’s directly. She had been sitting right beside me.
…Had she been staring at me the whole time?
If not, there was no way our eyes would have met the instant I turned.
But why had she been looking at me?
When I made a slightly puzzled face, a small change gradually appeared on Baek Yerin’s expression.
A faint smile bloomed on her previously blank face, and then she spoke.
“It sounds fun. I’m in favor too.”
…That was what she said.
Was she excited because it was her first time recording? Or was she simply that confident in her own talent?
I couldn’t tell what her smile meant.
One thing was clear: she looked full of confidence.
And ironically, I thought that look suited her perfectly.
It reminded me of the way she had shone so brilliantly on the festival stage that day.
It felt like I was facing that radiant Baek Yerin once again.
Before recording, there was one thing you absolutely had to know.
Obviously, you had to be familiar with the song you were about to record.
In that sense, Ryu Won asked Baek Yerin, who had entered the recording booth with him.
“How many times have you roughly listened to the songs I sent you?”
“So many times that I’ve memorized all the lyrics?”
Hmm…
Was she serious?
If that was true, then from Ryu Won’s perspective, he couldn’t help but feel good.
The fact that she had listened to the songs enough to memorize the lyrics meant she liked them that much.
And there wasn’t a trace of falsehood in Baek Yerin’s words.
She might have listened to the music files Ryu Won sent her hundreds… no, perhaps even thousands of times.
For one thing, the songs themselves were so good that they never got old no matter how many times you heard them. And it was also because of something Ryu Won had said during their first meeting.
“After all, these are all songs I wanted you to sing… songs made just for you.”
Songs made just for me.
To the current Baek Yerin, those words carried a weight and depth she couldn’t fully grasp.
How much effort must it have taken to create such incredible songs? How much agony?
And Ryu Won wanted no one else but her to sing those carefully crafted songs.
She was curious about the reason behind that wish, but right now, the stronger feeling was her desire to repay his sincerity.
“Then shall we try singing? Out of the five songs I sent, is there one you want to do first?”
“Can’t you choose for me?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It feels like there’s one song you’d want me to sing first.”
“Then let’s go with Rewind.”
Ryu Won answered without hesitation.
Rewind.
In a way, it was the song that held the most meaning for Ryu Won.
Baek Yerin had vaguely expected that Rewind would be the one to come out of his mouth.
It felt like… the song that carried the strongest color of Ryu Won as a composer.
“Huu…”
After taking a deep breath, Baek Yerin put on the headphones. Because her head was small, they kept slipping down. Ryu Won quickly reached over and adjusted them for her.
Then his gaze immediately moved to the microphone.
A little high?
With that muttered thought, he adjusted the microphone to the perfect height for her.
The moment he finished and turned around, the person greeting him was Kang Beom-jun, smiling with deep satisfaction.
“You really don’t have a single weakness, do you? Your composing skills, the way you handle equipment… Well, I’m not even surprised anymore.”
“Handling equipment is something you can learn pretty well from YouTube. I won’t deny that I catch on quickly, though.”
“Thanks to that, I’ve pretty much lost my job as a middle schooler’s mentor.”
Leaving Kang Beom-jun’s bittersweet expression behind, Ryu Won operated the computer and played the melody file. Sound began flowing through the headphones Baek Yerin was wearing.
And so, slowly.
With a melody that felt all too familiar, Baek Yerin closed her eyes.
With her eyes closed, she thought one last time.
About how she would sing this song from now on.
Then, perfectly in time with the intro, she slowly opened her mouth.
It was such flawless timing that it was hard to believe this was her first recording.
People often think that genius singers have one standout strength.
They can hit high notes easily, have a beautiful tone, deliver lyrics clearly, or possess strong emotional appeal.
Of course, all of those applied to Baek Yerin, but there was one ability that stood out the most.
In Ryu Won’s opinion, Baek Yerin’s greatest strength was immersion.
Singers usually become most immersed when singing about their own stories.
But for Baek Yerin, it didn’t have to be her own story.
She would completely lose herself in the emotions as if she had become the person in the song,
expressing those feelings so vividly while singing that even the listeners would be pulled into the same state.
Like sinking into a swamp… to the point where your emotions completely take over as you listen.
And Ryu Won was a composer who created honest songs.
Songs without a single lie—songs that elevated his own true stories and violently shook the hearts of those who listened.
Perhaps even the singer performing them…
“If only it had been a dream.”
“Your face is still so clear to me.”
‘…This is strange.’
Baek Yerin felt a sense of dissonance.
The moment she began singing, all random thoughts vanished in an instant, and she could focus solely on the song.
It felt so natural to sing, as if it had been her song from the very beginning.
In a way, that was an accurate description.
The Rewind that Baek Yerin was singing right now was a song made for no one else but her.
It was a song born from the regret that had bloomed inside Ryu Won after someone’s death. Ironically, it had been created with the wish that the dead person would sing it.
And that desperate wish of Ryu Won’s…
“Because I want to see your smile again.”
“I want to go back.”
…was being fulfilled in this very moment.
By none other than Baek Yerin singing his song.
Ryu Won clenched his fist tightly.
Honestly, there had been many difficult moments on the path of becoming a composer.
There was so much to learn, so much to memorize, and times when he simply had to endure.
Since he had chosen his career path so suddenly, it was only natural.
Even so, Ryu Won had never once voiced any weakness.
My youth, my effort, my dreams.
If the day ever came when Baek Yerin sang his songs, he believed he would finally be fully rewarded.
…Yes.
Just like right now.