Because Your Song Is Just That Good
I didn't cut her first recording into pieces.
More precisely, I didn't want to cut it.
Normally, there's no single correct way to record, but the standard approach is to break things down by section. You record each part separately, then cherry-pick the best takes and stitch them together.
When you're releasing something as an official track, it has to hold up under repeated listening without any awkward moments. That's why this method is usually the cleanest.
But I left Baek Yerin's first recording completely intact.
“So… how was it?”
Baek Yerin stepped out of the booth after finishing her first take. For some reason, she started watching my expression carefully.
Probably because neither Kang Beom-jun nor I had said a single word since the recording began.
In that sense, I glanced back at Kang Beom-jun, who was standing behind me.
Our eyes met naturally, and as if we understood each other perfectly, we both nodded at the same time.
Then I turned to Baek Yerin and said,
“What…?”
Baek Yerin’s eyes flew wide open like she’d been hit with a massive shock. Her eyes quickly turned red, almost frighteningly fast.
Wait…
What kind of misunderstanding is this?
Did she think I was saying we should stop because her singing was so terrible I couldn’t bear to listen anymore?
If I were in her shoes, I’d probably be devastated too.
Especially since it was me—the one who had pulled her into this world in this life—saying it.
But judging by her expression, it looked like that was exactly what she was thinking.
It was like a scene straight out of a drama: How could you do this to me?
“I meant your first take was so good that we don’t need to record anything more! Right, sir?”
I shot Kang Beom-jun a desperate SOS with my eyes. He let out a small chuckle and answered.
“That’s right. At this level, everyone’s going to be shocked. And even if we re-recorded it, getting anything better would take quite a while.”
“In simple terms, even though it was your first take, you sang that well.”
The moment I offered the compliment, Baek Yerin finally let out a sigh of relief.
Still, to pull off a performance like that on the first take—on a one-take, no less?
Baek Yerin really was on another level.
I’d thought she was incredible even when watching her from afar, but seeing it up close like this was downright astonishing.
I wondered what kind of emotions she’d felt during that first recording.
“By the way, how did the first recording feel for you?”
“It was amazing! So much fun!”
Baek Yerin nodded enthusiastically, looking a little excited.
The sight brought a faint smile to my face without me even realizing it.
And then—
“Can we record some of the other songs too?”
“The other songs?”
“Yeah! It feels a little disappointing to end it here.”
Baek Yerin was the one making the suggestion this time.
It wasn’t a proposal I had any reason to refuse.
These were songs we’d have to record eventually anyway. There was nothing but upside to gaining experience early.
“Is that okay? We still have two days left, including tomorrow.”
I asked Kang Beom-jun for permission.
He immediately responded with an OK sign using his fingers.
After all, Baek Yerin and I were now artists under RT Entertainment, and there weren’t any other artists besides us.
In other words, the recording studio had just become our personal playground to use however we wanted.
And so, our recording sessions with Baek Yerin continued throughout the weekend.
The weekend recordings proceeded in a completely different way from that first session.
This time, we worked as if we were recording real tracks for release, not just the introductory songs for the formal meeting.
It had been entirely my suggestion.
If we kept doing it like the first recording, the whole process would end way too quickly.
Baek Yerin accepted my proposal without much thought.
However…
“Let’s redo that last part. Not by dragging out the ‘ee’ sound, but cutting it off sharply and decisively.”
“This time, sing it with a bouncier, more playful feel.”
“Hmm… the breathing felt a little unnatural just now. If you focus on that part, it’ll be perfect.”
I was showing a very different side from the first recording.
The moment anything didn’t sit right with me or felt even slightly off, I would stop the recording immediately and give on-the-spot feedback.
There was even a part that, in Baek Yerin’s opinion, had been pretty decent, but I wouldn’t settle for “pretty decent.” I demanded literal perfection.
Thanks to that, we only managed to finish one song on Saturday.
And even that only wrapped up near the very end of the day.
Still, Baek Yerin didn’t dislike the process at all.
In fact, she trusted every piece of feedback I gave without the slightest doubt.
The reason was simple: she firmly believed that my talent far surpassed her own. From the beginning, even Kang Beom-jun had already declared that my talent was complete.
On top of that, the more she actively accepted my feedback and applied it, the more she could feel the recorded songs naturally improving.
And then Baek Yerin saw it.
The final part of the song she’d recorded on Saturday.
The moment that part was finished, she saw my face through the glass wall of the booth—smiling brightly.
That smile was so pure…
It looked genuinely happy.
So much so that even Baek Yerin, watching it, felt a surge of pride.
And then the next day, Sunday.
“Is your throat okay?”
During a short break, I asked Baek Yerin with a slightly worried expression.
She answered with a puzzled look.
“Why? Does it sound weird?”
“It doesn’t sound weird. I’m just wondering if you’ve been pushing yourself too hard these past two days.”
“Hmm… I hadn’t really thought about that.”
Just to be safe, Baek Yerin cleared her throat and checked the condition of her voice.
Then, as if realizing something, she spoke carefully.
“It does feel a little scratchy…?”
“Then let’s stop here.”
“What?! There’s only one song left!”
“Even so, I have zero intention of making you record by overworking your throat.”
I spoke firmly.
Faced with my stubborn reaction that showed no sign of backing down, Baek Yerin had no choice but to give up.
Still, she didn’t seem upset about it at all.
Because she could tell his reaction came purely from concern for her well-being.
So—
“Why are you so good to me?”
Baek Yerin took the opportunity to finally voice the question she’d been carrying in her heart all this time.
The way he worried about her physical condition, and how he had treated her with nothing but kindness from the very first moment they met.
It was as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
She wanted to hear the answer now.
It just so happened that I had suggested to Kang Beom-jun that we take it easy on Sunday, and she knew the studio would run fine without her, so she readily agreed.
In other words, right now, there were only the two of us in the recording studio. For Baek Yerin, there couldn’t be a better chance than this.
From my perspective, on the other hand, I had basically dug my own grave.
But I had known this was coming.
That someday, Baek Yerin would ask me a question that would be difficult to answer.
This was exactly that moment.
Why have you been so good to me from the first time we met when we didn’t even know each other?
It was a question even I could easily anticipate.
That’s why I had been thinking about how to answer it, but I still hadn’t come up with a clear response.
Because explaining the real reason would require revealing an absurd truth.
Things like regression, or that in my previous life I had been your ultimate superfan.
Would the current Baek Yerin believe everything I said?
She’d probably just see me as someone with an overactive imagination…
On the other hand, giving an answer mixed with lies wasn’t a good option either.
Lies eventually pile up and inevitably destroy trust.
Worse, you might lose the ability to tell what’s real inside the false world you created.
Just like how, in my previous life, I had avoided meeting her by using the excuse of being a top-tier composer.
I didn’t want to repeat the regrets of my past.
So—
I told her my honest feelings without any embellishment.
Of course, since I’d left out a lot of context, it might have sounded a bit shameless.
But it was still better than revealing an absurd truth or telling a lie.
And that turned out to be the perfectly right decision.
“What exactly is so good about my singing that you’d go this far?”
“Um… I’m going to pass on that question.”
“Huh? Why?!”
“It’s kind of embarrassing, and I feel like you’d think I’m a pervert if I told you.”
“Come on, I’m not that narrow-minded! So tell me already.”
“Oh? Sir?”
Kang Beom-jun, the CEO of RT Entertainment, was finally getting a rare day off.
Still, he was a responsible person. He was the type who would willingly give up his holiday to check on the recording process and visit the company.
Because of that possibility, Baek Yerin instinctively turned her head in the direction I was pointing.
And then…
“?”
There was nothing there.
Just a wall.
Baek Yerin turned back to me with a puzzled expression. That’s when she saw me hurriedly leaving the recording studio.
Anyone could tell I was running away because I didn’t want to answer her question.
But all Baek Yerin did was smile softly as she watched me go.
Because she had received an answer without a trace of falsehood—one that left her quite satisfied.
“Guess that’s it for today.”
Just as Baek Yerin said, the moment I fled, today’s question time had come to an end.
Still, someday…
It would be nice to hear the answer I missed earlier, along with everything else.
With that small hope in her heart, Baek Yerin followed me out of the recording studio.