Please Stay By His Side
When Ryu Won was calmly waiting for news, Kang Beom-jun was fulfilling his duties as the CEO of an entertainment agency.
These days, the first thing on his daily agenda was dressing neatly and heading out to visit someone.
Kang Beom-jun stepped out of the car and looked up at the slightly worn-down villa.
This was where Baek Yerin currently lived with her mother.
That's right.
At this moment, Kang Beom-jun was personally going the extra mile to persuade Baek Yerin to sign with his company.
He could have sent one of his staff, but he felt that wouldn't convey the sincerity of his intentions.
After all, wouldn't a personal visit from the CEO himself make the other party more likely to waver?
Kang Beom-jun had entered the villa with exactly that mindset at first.
But the moment he visited Baek Yerin's home and learned the truth, his steps inevitably grew heavier.
That was why, for once, he genuinely wanted to ask Ryu Won what he was thinking.
Kang Beom-jun let out a deep sigh and pressed the doorbell.
And just like that, the worried expression on his face brightened in an instant.
Or rather, he was doing his best to pretend it had brightened.
Kang Beom-jun smiled warmly at the woman as he spoke.
The woman was none other than Baek Yerin's mother.
And from their very first meeting, he had realized she was suffering from an illness.
Her complexion was poor, and her frame was gaunt.
Still, knowing it would be rude, Kang Beom-jun had no intention of prying deeper into the matter.
It was simply that Yerin's mother had brought it up first.
She had spoken matter-of-factly.
That she had cancer and wouldn't live much longer.
That was why, when she first heard about her daughter's casting opportunity, she had felt both flustered and, at the same time, that it was a chance.
If her daughter succeeded as a singer, they would finally be financially secure.
Moreover, Kang Beom-jun—who had once been a famous singer-songwriter—had boldly declared it.
That her daughter would definitely succeed.
If not for that, he probably wouldn't have come to visit in person like this.
Yet she hadn't forced anything.
Her daughter, who had realized her mother was slowly dying, had matured noticeably in recent days.
...It was heartbreaking.
In her current state, the girl would follow her mother's words without question.
Without any resistance or resentment.
That was precisely why she wanted her daughter to choose her own future.
Because in just a year, she would have to face the world with only her own choices.
Kang Beom-jun asked Baek Yerin, who sat across from him.
On his first visit, he had explained just how extraordinary her talent was.
On the second visit, he had described the company's direction. At that time, Baek Yerin had said she needed a little more time to think before deciding.
Today would likely be the third meeting, where he would hear her final answer.
At Kang Beom-jun's question, Baek Yerin remained silent for a moment.
Ironically, what came to her mind right then was the festival stage from a few days ago.
The emotions she had felt after safely finishing the song she had prepared and before stepping down from the stage.
It was difficult to put into words.
The only thing she could clearly describe was the scene that had unfolded before her eyes in that moment.
It was still vivid in her memory.
The expressions of people listening to her song, looking completely entranced...
The most accurate description would probably be that they were lost in the afterglow.
That was why Baek Yerin had found it fascinating.
The fact that she—not anyone else—had created such a phenomenon with her own song.
In that sense, Baek Yerin had vaguely realized something.
If she stepped onto another dazzling stage with an audience watching, and experienced those same emotions again...
She might never be able to turn back.
That truth had frightened her a little, and it became the direct reason for her hesitation.
But she had still listened.
The song composed by that boy named Ryu Won.
Including the track Rewind that Kang Beom-jun had played for her in the car that first day, she had listened to every song file Ryu Won had sent.
While walking outside, while studying, even right before falling asleep.
Before she knew it, she had been humming the songs Ryu Won gave her all by herself.
It was as if she had become addicted.
Baek Yerin wasn't particularly surprised by that fact.
It wasn't limited to just her—anyone who heard the boy's compositions would probably react the same way.
But Ryu Won wanted no one else but her to sing those incredible songs.
That was why she ended up wanting to ask the man sitting in front of her.
Kang Beom-jun answered without hesitation.
As someone who had once composed like Ryu Won, and as a fellow musician, he could say it with confidence.
Baek Yerin nodded as if she fully understood the meaning behind those words.
Then she asked again.
Ryu Won was a genius whom even Kang Beom-jun—who had once made a name for himself as a musician—acknowledged.
Moreover, when Kang Beom-jun had described Baek Yerin's talent, he had spoken in a similar tone to how he had just evaluated Ryu Won.
But Baek Yerin didn't think their talents were even remotely similar.
Rather...
Just as Kang Beom-jun said, Ryu Won's talent was superior.
To Baek Yerin, that felt like an obvious truth. And then a question suddenly occurred to her.
Was it really okay for someone like her to sing the songs that boy had poured his heart into?
No matter how she thought about it, it felt far too much.
And for some reason, she felt like she might disappoint him...
That worried her the most.
But recently, she had come to realize something about herself.
That she was quite a curious girl.
Ironically, even as she worried, Baek Yerin was also curious.
If she stood on a grand stage with countless audience members watching and sang Ryu Won's songs...
What kind of feeling would she have? What kind of scene would unfold before her eyes?
That curiosity was stronger than the fear that she might never be able to turn back.
Baek Yerin asked cautiously.
At her question, Kang Beom-jun gave a faint smile.
He imagined what that boy would have answered if he had been here.
Well... it was such an obvious answer that he didn't need to imagine for long.
Kang Beom-jun briefly explained everything that had happened so far.
At the center of it all was a boy named Ryu Won, and he was the one who had noticed Baek Yerin's talent before anyone else.
And through his meetings with Baek Yerin, Kang Beom-jun had realized one thing.
It was that Ryu Won knew her unilaterally. Almost as if he were thinking of a past lover he had once parted ways with.
But he didn't think that was a bad thing.
There was no impure motive, and it wasn't causing her any harm.
Therefore...
Kang Beom-jun smiled bitterly.
Yes. That role wasn't his.
For some reason.
Because the person who seemed to mean more to that boy than anyone else was right in front of him.
......
With those words, Kang Beom-jun returned to the company.
Along with an exclusive contract bearing Baek Yerin's signature.
.
.
.
The next day.
At Kang Beom-jun's summons, Ryu Won visited the CEO's office at RT Entertainment.
Seeing the somewhat proud look on Kang Beom-jun's face, Ryu Won immediately knew why he had been called here.
Unlike before, when he had politely called her "Yerin" because she wasn't yet signed to the agency, he now referred to her affectionately by name.
It really seemed like the contract with Baek Yerin had gone through successfully.
Of course, parental consent was absolutely required for a minor's contract.
In that sense, Ryu Won clearly remembered the shocked expressions on his parents' faces when Kang Beom-jun had visited their house a few days ago.
After all, he had just declared that he would walk the path of a composer and immediately received recognition from the musician Kang Beom-jun...
With that memory in mind, Ryu Won skimmed through the contract one last time.
As expected, there didn't seem to be any particular issues.
Except for one thing.
"...What?"
There were just a few things he wanted to discuss regarding his future activities as a composer for RT Entertainment.