Because It Resembles Someone I Know
Ryu Won said he was going to quit being a composer.
"Whaaaaat?!"
Baek Yerin was shocked when she heard Ryu Won's answer.
She had no choice but to be shocked.
"Are you... serious?"
"Yeah. If I wasn't serious, I wouldn't have started at all."
Ryu Won answered with a faint smile.
Yerin could feel it instinctively.
There wasn't the slightest trace of a lie in what he had just said...
From the beginning, while he had avoided her questions, he had never once lied to her.
That was why it was all the more impossible to understand.
People called Baek Yerin a genius. But the one person she herself truly regarded as a genius and respected more than anyone was none other than the boy standing right in front of her.
Yes. Ryu Won was the real genius, and that was something literally everyone had no choice but to acknowledge.
And that genius had said this.
"If you won't sing my songs, then there's no reason for a composer like me to keep making music. To put it plainly, I'd have no choice but to quit."
Yerin clenched her fist tightly.
From a normal way of thinking, there were any number of solutions.
Just as the saying went that a song itself was innocent, if one singer refused to perform it, you simply gave it to another singer.
But he had never even considered any of that.
He couldn't be satisfied with anyone else. It had to be her and only her...
It was as if he were whispering those very words.
Just what...
What did he see in her that made him willing to throw away even his own brilliant talent?
Sometimes she wondered if he was mistaking her for someone else.
However.
"That time, I avoided answering because I was embarrassed, right? You asked what was so good about your song that I would go this far."
Ryu Won had never been mistaken.
He remembered.
The brilliantly shining figure of Baek Yerin he had first encountered at her concert.
And after returning to the past, he had met her once more.
The festival stage from November of last year—the Baek Yerin who had sent a thrill through every single person in the auditorium.
It was no different.
The Baek Yerin he ultimately could not reach in his previous life, and the Baek Yerin standing before him now.
To Ryu Won, she simply shone.
"Your song is like a bright star. The more I followed that light, the more I found myself completely captivated."
That was why Ryu Won had wanted to tell her this truth, and why he was now conveying the sincerity he had been unable to share that day.
"Especially your clear, pure voice—it feels like it comforts the heart, so I love it. Even when you're not singing sad lyrics, the way you press the emotion down and deliver it leaves such a strong aftertaste."
"......"
"Also, your tone color is so good that it suits bright, upbeat songs perfectly. It fits any genre you throw at it, so as a composer, I can't help but get greedy..."
Ryu Won kept explaining all the reasons he loved Baek Yerin's singing, like a boy head over heels.
In a way, it was a confession.
A pure, heartfelt confession that her songs were so good they had shaped him this way, that thanks to them he had found his dream.
Of course, from the perspective of the girl listening, it could only feel strange.
The person she respected more than anyone...
Even though she had run away because standing on stage terrified her, he still loved her singing.
And.
"You also bring out the song's feeling so well. To put it simply, you sing it deliciously."
For some reason, his confession showed no sign of ending.
Suddenly, Baek Yerin remembered what he had said that day when he avoided answering.
Because if I told you, it seems like you'd treat me like a pervert.
......Baek Yerin was gradually beginning to understand exactly what he had meant.
The longer his storm of sincere praise continued, the redder her face grew, until even her ears burned scarlet.
"S-stop telling me already!"
"Even if you say that, there's still so much left."
When Yerin finally managed to interrupt him, Ryu Won smacked his lips with a regretful expression.
A brief, awkward silence settled between them. Then, the moment their eyes naturally met...
Both of them burst into quiet laughter for some reason.
As if asking each other, Why are we even having this conversation right now?
But thanks to that, Yerin felt comforted.
Today had been truly special for her.
For the first time in her life she had caused a major accident, and while she sat there feeling utterly alone, he had found her like magic.
He had grabbed her hand that had stopped from the weight of pressure and pulled her forward without hesitation.
They had eaten shaved ice together, sung at karaoke...
The way he had tried so hard to win her a doll at the claw machine, despite clearly being unfamiliar with it, remained vividly in her memory.
Yes. It was safe to call it a short date.
......So.
"Is it still not too late?"
It was almost time to head back.
Ryu Won understood her meaning instantly.
It was almost certainly about stepping onto the stage for Music Save.
Only thirty minutes remained until the final stage of Music Save.
If they caught a taxi right now, they might just barely make it in time.
Still, Ryu Won was a little worried.
He wondered if she was pushing herself too hard.
"Will you be okay?"
"Yeah. You explained it so passionately—how good my singing is. When a genius composer says it with that much sincerity, it makes me feel like I can have some confidence."
No, honestly, she couldn't help but feel confident.
Baek Yerin gave Ryu Won a faint smile.
It was a comfortable, warm smile that looked completely different from the one she had worn when they met at the park.
At the change in her, Ryu Won scratched his cheek.
In truth, he didn't think he had done much at all.
He had simply taken her around to cheer her up a little and spoken honestly about her singing.
So.
"Don't worry about things like people's expectations or attention. Just sing as comfortably as possible. With the feeling that you're singing only for me in the entire world. You've experienced that a lot when we recorded together, right?"
He wanted to give her one last thing that might ease her burden.
But.
"Yeah! I'll try to do it that way."
The fact that this was the hardest request she could possibly receive...
Ryu Won had no idea.
Around the time when the Music Save broadcast was slowly drawing to a close.
"Are you sure she's really coming, CEO Kang?"
"Yes. The most reliable person I know went to pick her up, so she'll definitely be here."
Kang Beom-jun was trying to calm the Music Save PD.
However, the PD's face was still full of suspicion.
"The most reliable person? Who exactly?"
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you that."
"Sigh... You still haven't told me why Miss Baek Yerin suddenly disappeared, either. What exactly can you tell me?"
"......"
Kang Beom-jun had nothing to say.
Because every word the PD spoke was completely right.
That was why he was reaching his limit and could only pray earnestly to a certain boy.
I don't think I can hold on any longer, Ryu Won.
So please, won't you just appear already?
It was right when Kang Beom-jun was clinging to that hope.
Vrrrr—
Suddenly his phone began to vibrate.
A call was coming in.
It was from the very boy he had been waiting for so desperately.
Kang Beom-jun hurriedly answered.
"CEO, please let me inside. The public hall is currently not allowing entry."
The meaning was clear: the boy wanted to enter the hall and watch the Music Save recording.
As if nothing at all had happened until now.
"CEO!"
At that moment, he spotted Lee Ha-ri running toward them from far away, accompanied by the girl who would be today's main star.
Kang Beom-jun grinned and spoke into the phone.
"As expected, you're not the kind of guy who would give up on his dreams so easily."
"Well... it somehow turned out this way. Anyway, I kept my promise. You keep yours too, CEO."
The boy ended the call.
At the same time, the girl who had vanished from the broadcasting station for several hours without a word—Baek Yerin—stopped in front of Kang Beom-jun and the PD.
And then.
"I'm sorry!"
She bowed almost ninety degrees as she spoke.
The PD glanced at his watch and opened his mouth.
"Given the time, you'll need to change your outfit immediately and head straight to the stage. How's your condition?"
"No problem."
"Sigh... I'll treat it as a minor incident and go inform the staff first."
With that, the PD hurried away.
Watching him leave, Kang Beom-jun turned back to Baek Yerin.
In truth, he had prepared himself.
If she expressed the regretful decision he expected per his promise with Ryu Won, he would respect it as much as possible.
But the moment he saw her face—looking somehow refreshed and filled with resolve—he realized.
"Yerin, it seems you've found a goal."
"Pardon?"
"It's just that the look in your eyes right now resembles a lot like a certain guy I know."
"Is it... someone I know well too?"
"Yes. It's about a composer who loves the singer named you more than anyone else. So go finish it well. That guy and I will be cheering for you with everything we've got."
"...Yes!"
Kang Beom-jun watched with a bitter smile as Baek Yerin walked off energetically to change her clothes.
Perhaps...
That composer had fallen for more than just the singer—he had fallen for the person Baek Yerin herself...
"It might just be the case."
Kang Beom-jun let out a faint smile.
He recalled the clause that had been "mistakenly" omitted from the contract between Baek Yerin and Ryu Won.
Would the day that boy brought it up be in the near future, or the distant one?
With that curiosity, Kang Beom-jun hurried toward Ryu Won.