I'm Going to Become a Singer
People obsess over a singer’s vocal ability—more precisely, their live performances.
And there was one eternal, unchanging answer to that question.
Mountains are mountains, and water is water. In other words, the person who sings well is the singer.
But not every singer people loved was a vocal master.
There were definitely artists who, despite shortcomings in singing or live performance, brought joy to people through beautiful lyrics, their unique aura, and performances that inspired admiration.
Yet once Baek Yerin’s stage was revealed to the world, people realized it all over again.
In the face of overwhelming vocal power and live delivery, everything else inevitably became meaningless.
Thanks to her, the world was once again set ablaze.
The internet was currently flooded with every kind of conversation imaginable. Fortunately, the majority were simply expressions of shock and curiosity about Baek Yerin.
And as all the attention gathered completely around her, interest in me slowly began to die down.
Still, every now and then my name would pop up like in that last comment…
“Kwaaaack! Baek Yerin! Even if the whole world loves you, I hate you!!!”
Is this guy for real…?
Kim Tae-hwan let out a dramatic wail along with that ridiculous nonsense.
It was the reaction of a villainess who had just witnessed the male lead falling for the female lead in a romance fantasy novel.
In simpler terms, his appeal was off the charts.
I let out a sigh and played along with his antics.
“Are you throwing a fit because your beloved Haon is getting buried because of Baek Yerin?”
“Buried? The pros are still talking about him nonstop, you know?”
“Anyway, Haon must have his own thoughts on the matter. It’s not like we can just ask him directly.”
“Who says we can’t? I’m gonna ask him myself.”
“?”
The conversation had been flowing naturally, but the content suddenly felt off.
Ask Haon directly?
How?
Don’t tell me this guy…
‘Did he figure out my identity?’
A chill ran down my spine.
Kim Tae-hwan had always been ridiculously perceptive.
But this wasn’t the kind of thing you could just brush off as good intuition.
If he really had figured out who I was…
Hm. Come to think of it, nothing would really change.
I smiled faintly and spoke again.
“How exactly are you going to ask Haon directly?”
“I’m going to become a singer, you know.”
“Ah, I see. A singer…?”
A brief silence fell.
And right on cue, Kim Tae-hwan continued as if it were the most casual thing in the world.
“I’ll become famous enough that Haon will want to reach out to me first, then I’ll get a song from him. Simple, right? Mm-hmm.”
He nodded as though it were a perfectly reasonable plan.
How should I put it?
It felt like we had definitely had this conversation before…
And it wasn’t just my imagination.
“Hey, I’m gonna become a composer.”
“Oh, this bit is actually fresh.”
“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”
“Well… when you say it with that straight face it doesn’t sound like a joke. So let me ask—why the sudden decision? You’ve never even properly studied music before.”
“I just want Baek Yerin to sing my songs.”
“Wait. Is that seriously the only reason?”
“Yeah. That’s literally it.”
“Wow… you’re actually insane.”
Only our positions had been swapped, but I too had once told Kim Tae-hwan about my dream.
And instead of laughing at me, he had simply called me crazy.
‘In fact, he helped me a lot.’
Giving feedback on my songs from an ordinary person’s perspective.
Buying me breakfast, lunch, or dinner while I was grinding as an unknown composer.
Hm. No matter how I thought about it, he really was a good guy.
So of course I wouldn’t laugh at his dream either.
I was simply…
“Could you even sing well?”
Curious about his actual singing ability.
Whenever I suggested going to karaoke, he would say “Why would two guys go to karaoke?” and drag me somewhere else. During music class he would half-ass his singing while claiming he was “holding back for the sake of his friends’ self-esteem.”
But as his longtime friend, I knew one thing for certain.
Kim Tae-hwan was not the kind of guy who would casually declare he was going to become a singer without any basis.
“Wow… you really didn’t know?”
For some reason Kim Tae-hwan let out a sigh at my question.
Then he casually handed me his phone.
His screen was already open to someone’s YouTube channel.
I actually knew this YouTuber.
Because in my previous life there had been a YouTuber who operated under that same name.
A famous cover specialist who currently had three hundred thousand subscribers but was destined to reach five million in the future.
Tae-E
A high-pitched, clear voice. An incredibly wide range that could comfortably handle most female-key songs, and above all, a voice that didn’t discriminate by genre. Those were his strengths.
And ironically, almost no one knew what Tae-E actually looked like.
Because he only covered songs as a light hobby, he had no intention of revealing his face. Just listen to the singing—that had been his direction.
But now.
“That Tae-E is me.”
“Excuse me?”
“If you don’t believe me, just click on the latest video. The Rewind cover is getting pretty good views.”
In this life, it seemed Tae-E had completely changed his direction for the sake of his goal.
Just as he said, his latest video was the first one where he had shown his face.
And inside that video, Kim Tae-hwan was singing with the exact voice of Tae-E that I remembered.
Some people’s speaking voice and singing voice differ drastically, and it turned out my friend right beside me was a perfect example.
“Whoa, three-hundred-thousand-subscriber YouTuber! I’ve subscribed to your channel, you know?”
“Kiya~ As expected of Teacher Choi, the student’s biggest fan! Thank you!”
At that moment Kim Tae-hwan exchanged friendly greetings with a passing teacher.
Come to think of it, Kim Tae-hwan had recently become popular enough at school to win awards. I had been too busy with the Baek Yerin situation to notice, but now it felt like I had swallowed a whole bowl of enlightenment.
Now I understood why he had been so interested in music-related news lately.
—There’s a slight gap in the melody here, don’t you think? If you fix just this part, it might become a song I’d actually want to sing.
And I finally realized why his feedback had been so useful in my previous life.
It was because, even if it was just a hobby, he had already immersed himself in the life of a musician to some degree.
Now that I knew the whole truth, my head throbbed a little.
The Tae-E who had refused to show his face had now revealed it to gain fame…
—I’m going to attend Seolhwa Arts High School.
My older sister, who had given up on music, had started walking that path again.
It was probably all the butterfly effect caused by my return to the past.
But it was fine.
“Welcome!”
Because returning to the past had allowed me to stand face-to-face with Baek Yerin’s smile like this.
When I visited the CEO’s office at RT Entertainment, she greeted me with the same welcoming expression as always. The moment I saw that smile, every stray thought vanished in an instant.
Yeah… that’s right.
It would all work out somehow.
Because right now, I had decided to only think about moving forward together with Baek Yerin.
In that spirit, the immediate thing I needed to do was…
“Would you like to come over to my house tomorrow?”
…?