T/N: This touches chapter 35 of the manhwa. Another 100 chapters to catch up to the manhwa then? Currently 64 chapters are translated.
Hyun-a began the first “fan-life” of her whole existence.
Because her family’s finances had always been tight, she had never allowed herself any luxuries and had lived only to study obsessively so she could get into a good university. She had had no room to chase celebrities.
Then, in a flash, her older brother Hyunseung became a successful composer and their family situation turned completely around.
Now she could buy brand-new textbooks instead of used ones, she could eat without worrying about tomorrow’s meals, and she even had enough breathing room to meet friends for the odd cup of coffee.
Along with that came the leisure to cheer for the entertainers who sang her brother’s songs.
Above all, spring breezes began to blow inside her heart.
While she watched K-Singer Star, the first show her brother had ever appeared on, every day without fail, she fell for one man.
“Kyaaah, it’s Kang Hajun!”
The girlish fans sitting nearby screamed the name at the tops of their lungs, and it was none other than Kang Hajun.
Hajun oppa…
His handsome looks, gentlemanly manners and ever-improving stages drew her in more and more.
When she finally looked up, she had already joined his fan club and been promoted to a core member, and now every night she fell asleep after combing through the latest articles and photos of him.
She had even dreamed about him the night before.
Now he was right in front of her eyes, standing on the stage she was looking down at.
She was seeing—in reality—the very Kang Hajun who had appeared only in dreams.
This is crazy, absolutely crazy.
Stealing glances at her father beside her, she squealed inwardly.
Before the competition began, Lee Young-ah and Won Jin-seop were giving a special duet stage, but her gaze slid back to Hajun waiting in the wings.
His face could vanish, it was so good-looking.
She forced herself to look at the stage yet her eyes kept returning to Hajun in the holding seats.
Oppa…
She savored his face for a while when—tap tap—someone patted her shoulder and she jerked her head around.
Dad signed: Daughter, what song did those two just sing?
Snapped back to reality, Hyun-a glanced around and saw that the duet had finished; the audience was applauding with moved expressions.
Shoot.
Because she had been staring at Hajun she had not watched Lee Young-ah and Won Jin-seop at all.
She signed back: They sang a song called “A Story Only We Know.”
Father: What sort of song is that?
She signed: It holds the feelings of a couple after breaking up.
She hastily ended her answer and faced forward again; the only thing she remembered was the title.
Thunderous standing ovations continued, so it must have been a fine performance. In truth, a duet between Korea’s representative female vocalist Lee Young-ah and R&B emperor Won Jin-seop would have been enchanting even if they had sung casually.
I should have paid attention, she regretted, clicking her tongue.
She had boasted that she would describe each stage to her dad because his ears could not hear, and she had brought him to give him that emotion.
From now on I will focus, she resolved, straightening in her seat.
“The final between the Top 2 starts right now,” the MC announced in an excited voice.
“Let’s watch the teaser video of the first finalist,” he said, and a clip appeared on the screen showing Hajun practicing with Jayble in the latter’s studio.
Though it was filler while the stage was set, Hyunseung watched it quite seriously.
Nice equipment, he mused.
What caught his eye were the expensive pieces lining the studio. His own private room was also filled with top-class gear, but this video drew his gaze to a single guitar displayed in a cabinet.
That is…
It was a famous brand’s 1968 model, once owned by a guitar legend and reportedly sold at auction for an enormous price.
So Jayble was the buyer. With so many hit songs, he could certainly afford a guitar worth billions of won.
I would love to play it once…
While he was coveting the instrument, the teaser ended and the MC took the mic.
“The song Kang Hajun will sing in the final is ‘The Reason I Sing,’ composed by J-able.”
The host stepped back and Hajun strode forward.
The house lights went down and Won Jin-seop murmured, “I feel nervous myself.”
“Me too,” Lee Young-ah agreed.
Kim Gwang-jin, watching them, added, “Oddly enough, I feel free to look forward to these two stages tonight,” and smiled his gentle smile at Jayble and Hyunseung.
A quiet piano signaled the start.
—I will tell you why I first picked up a microphone.
The good mood continued into the verse.
—I sing carrying the promise I made long ago.
Hajun’s earnest voice spread like a surge.
—Though I am small now, someday everyone will listen.
Each judge responded differently.
“Wow, the song is wonderful.”
“Ha…”
“I hear a new color again.”
Some frowned as if sharing the emotion, others nodded with a smile, some were blank with awe, still others closed their eyes to immerse themselves.
Hyunseung, however, focused solely on Hajun’s voice. Although the broadcast would frame the final as a showdown between his and Jayble’s songs, strictly speaking the program judged singing ability. He listened to the tone and how well the singer inhabited the piece.
The battle of songs could wait until after the show, when the tracks were released.
—Sing as if you cough up blood.
Through the in-ear monitor Hajun’s voice came clearer still.
Oh. Hyunseung’s eyebrows twitched in surprise. The helmet was stuffy, but it hid his face on camera, so he did not need to manage his expression.
His tone keeps opening wider. The singer’s own powers shone even beyond the producer’s directing, a fine stage with no excess. At the end, Hyunseung nodded and wrote on the score sheet.
“Kyaaah!”
During the brief quiet after the song, a familiar voice pierced his ears.
What the—? He snapped his head around and saw, in the audience, a girl he knew.
Min… Hyun-a. His own little sister. Beside her their father was smiling brightly and applauding.
He had been too busy to confirm whether they had come, but clearly they were safely in their seats.
Seeing how happy they looked, he was glad he had invited them.
Hyun-a signed excitedly: Dad, that song brimmed with a mix of solemnity and longing.
Father signed: Hmm, did you like it?
She signed: Yes, his voice is wonderful.
Father: Do you perhaps like that man?
She signed rapidly: No, I just support him because he sings well.
Father: He is good-looking too.
She signed, flustered: Right? I like properly handsome people.
Father: Look at that, my daughter likes him.
Watching from afar, Hyunseung gave a mirthless snort. In his previous life, she had not had any celebrity crushes—at least he had not known. Maybe she had, or maybe she had hidden it because they had been estranged.
Well, there are still many things he does not know about his sister.
Even so, some things are unacceptable. Having a younger sister meant her relationships were sensitive. Hajun probably did not know she existed, but you never knew what could happen.
Better not let them meet by chance, he decided darkly.
While mulling this, he forced down his irritation, lifted the microphone and said, “Today Kang Hajun’s stage…”
Meanwhile, sitting in the holding seats, Yun Jaeyi was trembling like a broken machine.
Wow, he is really good…
In the last round, she had guessed HS’s song after hearing only fifteen seconds because it had been written for her. Therefore she had earned the chance to sing it under his direction and had arrived confident—until she saw Hajun’s performance live. Her hidden nerves swelled like a snowball.
“Today Kang Hajun’s stage,” HS began, “showed how his voice, which has opened more each round, finally blossomed. He made the song his own so it was easy to listen to. Good work.”
The other judges’ comments were also full of praise.
That made Jaeyi’s hands sweat. Everything would be decided by a single stage, winner and runner-up separated in an instant.
Time flew and her turn came.
“Next, let us see Yun Jaeyi’s teaser,” said the MC, and footage from her self-cam appeared while the crew hurried to reset the stage.
Taking a huge breath, she waited for her name.
With a standby signal she walked to center stage.
“The song Yun Jaeyi will sing in the final is ‘I Wish Time Would Stop,’ composed by HS. Please give her a big hand.”
The applause drilled into her ears and her heart pounded even harder. The judges’ table loomed like the heavens, and she felt so small on stage.
Drinking water to moisten cracked lips did not help; her throat felt like a desert. The burden of perfection, the duty not to tarnish HS’s reputation, the pressure not to waste the chance he had given—these tangled and tightened around her windpipe.
This will not do… She had thought she had become a bold person, but apparently it was a delusion. Her hands quivered, sweat chilled her skin, and the first beat was coming.
Lee Young-ah, seeing her distress, picked up the mic.
“Miss Yun Jae-yi?”
“Ye-yes?”
“Drink plenty and take a deep breath.”
“Ah, yes…”
“I admit when I first saw you I had no expectations. But round by round you made me look forward, and now I want to expect the most. It may add pressure, but please show us a great stage as always.”
She was truly grateful, so she answered bravely, “Yes.”
Then her eyes met HS. Though his helmet covered his face, he had lifted the front visor slightly. He stared at her with an indefinable look, then gave her a firm nod that seemed to say, I believe in you, sing all you want.
Composer…
He had quietly given her opportunities and courage, even a song. If she walked off stage without singing properly, she would betray him.
I wish, I wish time would stop.
She whispered the title to herself and chanted inwardly, You can do it, you will succeed.
A bright spotlight poured down the moment she snapped her head up.
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