The Things That Happened on the Weekend (2)
As they left the horror movie theater, a sudden thought crossed Ryu Won's mind.
Wait… what was the movie even about?
He couldn't remember the plot at all, mostly because Baek Yerin was clinging tightly to his arm the entire time, literally trembling beside him.
That was when it happened.
"Sorry. You couldn't focus on the movie because of me, right? So…"
Baek Yerin, walking right next to him, offered an apology with a slightly guilty expression. Ryu Won quickly shook his head and cut her off.
"Come on, why are you apologizing for something like that? I was the one who picked the wrong genre in the first place. Even if I'd watched it properly, I doubt it would've given me any real inspiration anyway. Let's just call it a day on the whole movie theater experience."
"Hmm. That's a little disappointing."
"Disappointing?"
"Just talking to myself. Now that I think about it, it's already evening."
They both looked up at the sky at the same time.
It was currently 6 p.m.
The sun was already setting.
"Then how about we grab a simple dinner before heading back?"
"Sounds good! Pick whatever you want to eat!"
"Well… no matter what I choose, it'll probably taste worse than anything you cook."
"Should I just make something for you at home then?"
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"
"Not at all?"
The joy Baek Yerin got from hearing Ryu Won say her cooking tasted good was genuine. That's why it could never be a hassle.
And for Ryu Won, it was actually pretty rare good news.
Baek Yerin usually cooked once a week in place of her mother.
To Ryu Won, those meals felt like the most anticipated dining-out experience of the entire week.
And then—
"Eating out is such a waste of money."
Ryu Won couldn't help but smile bitterly at her words.
Well… she wasn't wrong.
She wasn't wrong, but…
Both of us make more than enough that spending on eating out doesn't feel like a waste at all. Way more than your average middle schooler.
It might not even be "a little" anymore.
But Ryu Won didn't actually know exactly how much he was earning right now.
He'd simply handed his bank account over to his mother.
After all, how much money could a middle schooler possibly need?
As Ryu Won walked beside Baek Yerin while thinking that, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
In the time that's passed—
Your smile is slowly fading away.
A familiar melody was drifting through the air nearby.
There was no way Ryu Won wouldn't recognize the song filling the street.
After all, he'd composed it himself.
Misty Smile.
It proudly took the first track on Baek Yerin's debut album.
And now that very song was echoing through the streets in someone else's voice—not Baek Yerin's.
Curious, Ryu Won turned toward the source of the sound.
A large crowd had gathered around two men. One was passionately singing into a microphone while the other watched him with a shocked expression.
The moment he saw the familiar scene, it clicked.
Oh, that street karaoke thing that's popular these days…
It was exactly what it sounded like—a program where they set up right in the middle of the street, took volunteers on the spot, streamed their performances live, interacted with viewers, and judged them in real time.
The guy not singing but holding the mic was probably running the livestream.
In that sense, Ryu Won was genuinely impressed.
Misty Smile had been arranged specifically for Baek Yerin's voice.
In other words, it wasn't an easy song for an average person to sing.
Considering the guy was singing a song written in a woman's key, plus the poor acoustics of an outdoor street setting, his performance was actually pretty solid.
"Not bad."
But that was about it.
It was the kind of performance that would be considered good for an amateur.
Ryu Won's assessment was coldly objective.
And honestly, he couldn't help it.
The people around him right now were all monsters compared to normal singers. Calling them average would almost be rude.
Baek Yerin, Ryu Se-a, Kim Tae-hwan.
When you listened to them sing every day, your standards naturally rose to an absurd level.
His interest fading quickly, Ryu Won started to turn his head away.
But for some reason, his feet wouldn't move.
Baek Yerin had grabbed his arm.
As Ryu Won looked at her with a puzzled expression, she smiled brightly and said,
"You said everything we've done today was to get inspiration for composing, right?"
"Yeah…?"
"So, did you get any good inspiration?"
"No, unfortunately not."
"Then…"
How about this?
Leaving Ryu Won standing there, Baek Yerin began walking toward somewhere.
Straight toward the spot where the street karaoke had just been happening—the very place he'd been watching moments ago.
"With near-unanimous votes from our viewers shouting 'pass,' it's time for the important part. If you shout 'Go,' you'll advance to the next round. If you shout 'Stop,' we'll give you 100,000 won and call it a day."
At the host's words, the man who'd just finished singing immediately yelled "Go!"
Advancing meant competing against other advancers, and winning the next round would net a whopping 300,000 won.
Not many people would choose Stop here.
After all, they'd only volunteered because they had some confidence in their singing ability.
"Alright, let's take our next volunteer!"
The streamer usually announced the location in advance, so about half the people watching had come specifically after seeing the notice.
That meant there were bound to be plenty of volunteers.
But then—
"Me!"
Among them, one girl confidently raised her voice and volunteered.
She was wearing a hat pulled down so low it nearly covered her face, along with sunglasses.
She also gave off such a strong student vibe that the host couldn't help but notice her immediately.
"The student who just raised her hand? Could you come up here?"
The girl slowly walked up to the host.
As soon as the mysterious girl appeared, the chat window began scrolling faster and faster.
In the midst of those reactions, the host asked,
"Could you introduce yourself?"
"I'll do that after I sing."
"Oh, I like that. So what song will you be performing?"
"I'll be singing Misty Smile."
The host's eyes widened at her answer.
The previous male volunteer who'd received such an enthusiastic response had just sung that exact song.
What advantage could there possibly be in choosing the same song as the last performer?
There was only one.
If you sang it significantly better than the previous person, you'd get an even louder cheer from the crowd.
But the guy who'd just performed Misty Smile hadn't been half bad.
Unless you were at a professional singer's level, flipping the atmosphere like that wouldn't be easy.
The girl's bold declaration had thrown the live chat into complete chaos.
…Along with a strange sense of unease.
Just as the girl had requested, the instrumental for Misty Smile began playing through the street once again.
In that moment—
She smoothly took off the hat she'd been wearing.
As the hat came off, long black hair—like the night sky—fluttered in the air.
Only then did the crowd begin to sense that something extraordinary was happening.
When she removed her sunglasses as well, her hidden face was completely revealed.
The singer who'd burst onto the music scene like a comet, causing massive ripples, and was currently receiving the most attention and love in all of Korea.
…Baek Yerin.
Her sudden appearance left everyone present in absolute shock.
But Baek Yerin paid no attention to any of it and simply began singing the song she'd requested—her own song.
In the time that's passed—
Your smile is slowly fading away.
Misty Smile.
The song Ryu Won had written in his previous life while thinking of someone's smile that was gradually disappearing.
In fact, this track had been composed after Rewind.
And in the end, it was about remembering that smile once again…
A calm yet hopeful song.
But the truth was, Ryu Won had never once forgotten that smile.
More accurately, he couldn't forget it.
Standing among the crowd, Ryu Won suddenly realized that Baek Yerin, who was singing, had been looking at him for some time.
Their eyes met naturally, and she gave him a faint smile. Ryu Won returned the exact same smile.
Yeah…
How could I ever forget a smile like that?
But if there's one thing I'm certain of—
It's that your smile is beautiful.
That beautiful smile that made you feel good just by looking at it.
And in that moment, Ryu Won thought he finally understood why Baek Yerin had joined the street karaoke.
Why would I need to go far away to find inspiration for a song? When you're right here.
It felt like she was whispering that to him.
Man…
I really can't win against her.
Ryu Won slowly closed his eyes and simply listened to Baek Yerin's song.
…It really was.
The most perfect sound to give him inspiration.