Just Sing Like Yourself
Baek Yerin always took a moment to contemplate before she sang.
She would think about how to deliver the song from that point on, and what emotions she wanted to infuse into it.
But in the end, that was simply her own personal interpretation.
It might be the right approach, but sometimes it could be completely wrong.
In that sense, there was one surefire and simple way to find the real answer.
Ask the person who composed the song directly.
That was why Baek Yerin often asked Ryu Won how she should sing his songs.
And his answer was always the same.
Baek Yerin never quite understood what he meant.
It sounded no different from a composer simply telling the singer to do whatever she wanted with the track.
But there was a deeper meaning hidden in those words.
She didn't need to follow the composer's intentions perfectly.
She shouldn't try to fit into any rigid mold. Just sing it like herself… freely.
Because every song Ryu Won gave her had been written for her alone.
So however she chose to sing it, the choice belonged entirely to Baek Yerin.
But Rewind was a little different.
This was the song that had made Ryu Won famous in his previous life. In a way, it was the track that had cracked open the shell of his life as a composer.
Yet unlike the success it brought him, Rewind had been born from deeply negative emotions.
The emptiness and despair he felt after losing someone precious, realizing his dreams could never come true.
The heavy regret and sorrow for all the years he had lied to himself and drifted further from his aspirations.
Ironically, within that darkness he had prayed for a single ray of hope.
Like someone kneeling in prayer…
I want to turn back time.
Give me one more chance.
Clinging to that hope, Ryu Won had composed Rewind, and in the end his prayer was answered.
Well… it was still a work in progress, but still.
Anyway, Rewind could only be a special song to Ryu Won.
He didn't know exactly why, but he had a feeling.
Maybe this song was what had brought the miracle into his life.
And there was exactly one person who had noticed the special place this song held in his heart.
At Baek Yerin's question, Ryu Won made a slightly troubled face. Then he slowly nodded in confirmation.
In that moment, Baek Yerin remembered it clearly.
The faint, distant smile on Ryu Won's face.
And that smile had been directed at no one but her.
…She didn't know why.
What his regrets stemmed from, or why he had shown her that particular smile.
But one thing was certain.
The more she sang the song, the more naturally she came to realize it.
The person this song suited most wasn't her at all. It was someone else.
That was why she had decided not to sing this particular song freely.
She would simply follow someone else's version.
The way it had first sounded that day in Kang Beom-jun's car… exactly like the Rewind that Ryu Won had recorded himself.
Baek Yerin's voice, trembling as if on the verge of tears, blended with the heavy piano accompaniment. They wove together in perfect harmony.
The stage was filled with dry-ice smoke, and from its center Baek Yerin slowly reached her hand forward.
Because I want to face your smile once more
I want to turn back time
This time, I'll go first
I'll come to you
There's something I really want to tell you
Leaving all my regrets behind
I want to move forward with you
This time, I'll become your light
The image of her singing overlapped with the memory, and the audience instinctively shrank back as if something had tightened in their chests. They couldn't help but be drawn into the desperate emotion radiating from her.
But the first verse had only just ended.
Ryu Won hadn't wanted Rewind to be filled with nothing but sadness and regret.
So.
The melody began to shift.
Only slightly, but it grew brighter.
If the first part had been a story steeped in regret, this was the story of fixing that regret.
Because there was something… he absolutely wanted to tell her.
Perhaps it was already coming true beyond the song.
Because a miracle had happened.
And the person at the center of that miracle sat among the audience, eyes fixed on Baek Yerin standing on stage.
Ryu Won wore a bitter smile.
Just sing it like yourself…
He had given her that instruction.
But the Baek Yerin singing on stage right now clearly had no intention of doing so.
She was performing it in a style completely different from the recorded version.
And Ryu Won knew better than anyone whose style it was.
It was his own.
So it felt like she was whispering to him.
You were the answer.
Rewind was always meant to be sung like you.
So I'm simply singing your story to the world.
If that was the conclusion Baek Yerin had reached…
Ryu Won could only smile bitterly.
Because the moment she sang it that way, the owner of the song had changed.
Right now, the true owner of that song was him.
A song that contained the story of no one but the composer himself.
And through this song, he had wanted to tell her one thing.
Let's leave the regrets behind.
I want to move forward with you.
The song raced toward its finale.
The stage lights that had been focused on Baek Yerin began to dim one by one. The music grew softer, the instruments whispering. But it wasn't over yet.
Baek Yerin lifted her head and gazed somewhere into the audience seats. Feeling as though their eyes had naturally met, she took one last steadying breath.
And then…
This time, I'll become your light.
The stage ended.
Baek Yerin's performance was over.
It was time for all the artists who had appeared on today's Music Save to gather on stage for the announcement of first place.
But it didn't happen.
It was a truly unusual sight.
Not a single sound could be heard. The Music Save studio was deathly silent.
Still lost in the lingering emotion, they simply stared at the now-empty stage.
As if they couldn't quite process what they had just seen and heard.
And within that atmosphere…
Kang Beom-jun smiled faintly to himself.
That was the perfect word for the performance he had just witnessed.
Rewind was a song that wished for hope at the end of regret.
It was the perfect choice to close out the final stage.
And Baek Yerin had proven something with this live performance.
Why the composer named Haon had chosen her.
It was that perfect, that memorable. Far more so than her festival performance last year.
…In that case.
It was time to check the kid's reaction.
The self-proclaimed fan who loved the singer Baek Yerin more than anyone.
Kang Beom-jun turned his head.
And there was Ryu Won, smiling with deep satisfaction.
Kang Beom-jun spoke with a slightly disappointed expression.
"Hmm. That's a pretty boring reaction."
"Sorry? Was I supposed to be crying or something?"
"I really thought you would."
"CEO… I'm not a crybaby."
"You say that, but you were straight-up sobbing in the car that day."
Kang Beom-jun let out a small chuckle.
Ryu Won sighed deeply at the sight.
It felt like he was being trapped in a weird narrative.
"Still, I was incredibly moved. In a way, it was the moment my dream came true."
Ryu Won thought back to his dream.
It was for Baek Yerin to sing his songs. More than that, to watch her perform his music on stage with his own eyes.
It was by no means a small dream. It had been his long-cherished wish for years.
And in this very moment, it had come true.
But.
"It seems a person's dreams don't end that easily."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"The end of one dream is the beginning of a new one."
Kang Beom-jun still looked confused.
Ryu Won grinned and continued.
"I want to hear Yerin sing on a much bigger stage now."
"Like… for example?"
"Jamsil Olympic Stadium. Let's start by aiming for the biggest venue in Korea, right?"
With those words, Ryu Won held out his fist toward Kang Beom-jun. It was a promise to keep working well together moving forward.
Without hesitation, Kang Beom-jun bumped fists with him and flashed the same grin. Then he spoke to the boy who had found a new dream.
"Yeah. Out of everything you've said so far, that might be the most reasonable one yet."
As expected, Baek Yerin's Rewind took first place on Music Save by an overwhelming margin.
After her acceptance speech and encore performance wrapped up safely, exactly one hour later.
"Alright, today I'm treating everyone to celebrate Yerin's first music show win!"
RT Entertainment held a commemorative dinner.
Since it was a free meal, there was no reason to refuse. I attended as well, and naturally ended up sitting right next to Baek Yerin.
She looked a bit tired.
She had been at the music show filming since morning, and apparently Manager Lee Ha-ri had given her a serious scolding on the way to the restaurant.
Though that was only natural.
After all, she had ignored her manager's calls and run off from the set.
Still, everything had ended safely, and the atmosphere lightened when Baek Yerin promised over and over that she would never do it again. They decided to treat it as a minor incident.
Yeah… up to that point, there were no problems.
"How was it? My stage today."
"It was so perfect I feel like we need to re-record the studio version."
"Really? That's a relief…"
Baek Yerin gave a small, reassured smile at my answer.
In fact, even up to this point there had been no issues at all.
"Eat this too."
"Hehe. It's nice watching you eat so happily."
"Want me to make you another wrap?"
Until, at some point, Baek Yerin began taking care of me with absolute devotion.
…What is going on?
I naturally accepted the wrap she made and popped it into my mouth, thinking hard.
She had always been good to me.
She was such a genuinely kind person that it came naturally to her.
But this time, something felt a little different.
When I glanced sideways, there was Baek Yerin staring at me with a blissful smile.
It was the kind of look where you might say honey was dripping from her eyes.
Feeling another gaze from the front, I turned that way.
There were the RT Entertainment staff, including Kang Beom-jun, pretending to enjoy the meal while secretly watching us.
…?
What the hell is this really?