Bonus 2 of 2. Thanks Tommykater2.0! <3
In the end, the recording began. Was it smooth?
How could it be?
“Again.”
Not only did she have nowhere near enough time to practice, she did not even like the lyrics she had been handed.
They were lyrics that, to anyone, sounded like a mother and daughter going back and forth in conversation.
“That’s not it. Again.”
But with HS glaring at her with catlike eyes and barking “again” over and over, she could not complain about anything.
“Um, could I have some water, just once…?”
That was all she managed to say after working up the courage.
She could not even say she wanted a break. Her mother, Jo Kyungmi, was watching from beyond the booth, and she had sworn that this time, she would show HS her skills properly.
“Ha…”
All she could do was drink water like a hippo and, for just a moment, soothe her trembling legs.
No!
Shouldn’t he at least give her more time to practice?
Grumbling inside, she shifted her gaze beyond the booth.
Slide.
Beyond the booth, she saw HS staring straight through her without moving an inch.
Flinch!
The moment their eyes met, Jo Yeri startled and quickly looked away.
HS…
He wore a languid, emotionless face, but his eyes alone were so filled with ferocity it was scary.
Seriously. If she let her attention slip even a little, it felt like he might pounce and devour her. It was the gaze of a beast.
Ah. Of course, at first, she had been boiling with spite too, like bubbling lava.
But if you added up all the time from when she arrived at the studio until now, had it not been well past half a day already?
It was more than enough time for anyone to cool off.
And yet, HS did not show the slightest sign of being tired or annoyed.
Not only that, he kept shouting “Again!” with eyes that gleamed.
Could it be… he’s not even human? How could he be like that?
She had felt it since the Peekomi work…
“Hey, scaredy-cat.”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to spend the whole day drinking water?”
That mercilessness made him seem even less human.
“We sing again. Go.”
Jo Yeri could only escape the booth after a full day had passed.
Of course, even then, it was not because the recording was finished.
“Your emotions are a mess. This won’t work. We’ll stop here and record Jo Kyungmi first.”
Because he did not like the highlight chorus section at all, she was kicked out.
“Scaredy-cat, face the wall and reflect.”
Before she could even enjoy the air of the outside world, she was made to stare at the studio wall and “reflect.”
“Ha…”
A wave of emptiness suddenly hit her, and she let out a sigh.
Because…
As an idol in a group with such high stock, it was rare for someone to look down on her, even if they were a famous composer.
Sure, there were old-fashioned composers who dismissed young idols on sight…
But still, this was her first time being called a scaredy-cat and forced to face the wall for “reflection time.”
Honestly, a line she had only ever heard in dramas popped into her head with painful clarity.
“The first man who’s ever treated me like this!”
“Hm?”
Just then, Jo Yeri sensed something off in the quiet room.
Slide.
When she carefully turned her head, she saw the back of HS’s head with a headset pulled on.
Which meant the sounds coming out of the booth could only be heard through that headset.
‘This punk…’
The speakers had insane sound quality, so why was he not using them?
‘I want to hear it too…’
Jo Yeri lifted her heels and moved carefully.
Tiptoe, tiptoe.
Her destination was the control booth where HS was. If she got closer, maybe she would be able to hear at least a little.
Separate from her resentment, she was too curious what a world-famous soprano would sound like live.
Of course, when recording Peekomi’s Family they had used one booth, but that was a children’s song where the lyrics had to be delivered clearly.
This was different. In pop music, the emotional line mattered even more than the lyrics.
Especially… she also wondered whether someone who had never been her “mom” would be able to capture the feelings of a “mom” properly.
No, to be honest, it was less curiosity and more petty spite, a desire to hear it for herself.
Then HS raised a hand, signaling to stop the singing. With a displeased face, he shook his head.
Even if she was a world-famous soprano, it seemed she still did not satisfy HS.
‘Well, classical and pop really do have completely different textures.’
A part of Jo Yeri even wanted HS to say he could not listen to it and cancel it.
Click.
HS pressed the talkback and continued.
“Your emotion is too excessive. Calm down a bit, and we’ll go again.”
At that, Jo Yeri looked beyond the booth.
‘Oh…’
Just as HS said, Jo Kyungmi looked worked up. She fanned her face as she exhaled, her breathing heaving so hard her heart seemed to rise and fall.
It was so different from the Jo Kyungmi she had seen in articles and on TV that it felt almost disorienting.
As someone called the Queen of Opera, Jo Kyungmi was a soprano who gave off a neat, unreachable aura.
And even the “mom” she had spoken to on the phone now and then as a child had been someone with a solid boundary, someone even her daughter could not easily approach.
Yeah.
Someone who felt like a queen living in an ice kingdom, like you could prick her and not a single drop of blood would come out.
And yet now she was unable to control even one emotion contained in the song, wavering like this.
Clench.
For some reason, that sight made Jo Yeri feel even more stubborn and contrarian.
Because it reminded her of the day she had deliberately tried to hurt the woman who only showed her face once she was in high school and acted like her mother.
“If you’re trying to act like a mom now, don’t. I’m going to live like I don’t have a mom, so you should just live like you don’t have a daughter. Like you always have.”
So much so that it was ridiculous she had ever worried she might have said too much—her mother simply stood up and left without a word.
And years passed like that.
There were days when she suffered, thinking, “Was I too harsh?”
But the more she did, the more her resentment toward her mother only grew.
She had reached out once, just once, and then she left again like that.
She hated a mother she could only ever see through articles.
But now, why, why, why…
Why was she struggling with reddened eyes like someone who had lost her daughter overnight?
“This is ridiculous.”
The words slipped out of Jo Yeri before she realized it.
HS only glanced at her from the side, saying nothing. He simply spoke briefly through the talkback.
“We’ll go again.”
♪ ♬ ♬ ♬
This time, the MR flowed through the speakers, not the headset, filling the entire control booth.
“…”
With her arms crossed, Jo Yeri stared hard at her mother standing beyond the booth.
She had completely forgotten that HS had punished her with “reflection time.”
Before long, Jo Kyungmi closed her eyes softly, as if showing off her long eyelashes, and released each line with her breath as though every phrase mattered.
“I was afraid that if I held your tiny hand, it might crumble.”
Her voice was like jade beads rolling smoothly over the melody, enough to make you realize in an instant that “a voice bestowed by God” was not an empty phrase.
“The time I lived desperately, trying to become someone you would need.”
Her furrowed brow showed how deeply immersed she was in the music.
“In the end, when you needed me, I couldn’t stay by your side.”
Soon Jo Kyungmi’s eyelids trembled and lifted.
“If someone like me is okay, would you walk with me, hand in hand?”
Their eyes met in midair.
“Before it’s too late, may I hold your small hand just once?”
In that moment, it felt like only the two of them were left in the room.
“In a life where everything is new to me, will you give me one more chance?”
Suddenly goosebumps rose along Jo Yeri’s forearms. It was not the shiver you get from hearing good singing.
Yes, it was different from that.
“A chance… not to lose you, who are my very life…”
A shiver that made her nose sting in an instant.
A shiver like tears swelling up before she could stop them.
Click.
Then, with a sharp sound, the accompaniment stopped.
“Now it’s your turn.”
HS turned his chair to face her, then asked with a meaningful smile.
“You can do well now, right?”
Using the excuse that it would be good to record together from the bridge into the highlight chorus, Hyunseung shoved both of them into the booth at the same time.
Then he calmly took in the sight of the mother and daughter standing inside.
‘This really…’
Watching the two of them gauge each other awkwardly, he felt awkward too.
But he had no intention of forcing a reconciliation. From the start, this was not a misunderstanding that could be resolved by force.
He was simply laying down one stepping stone. A stepping stone of an “excuse” that would let two people, whose rift had grown deep, move toward each other.
“Alright, take care of your own parts, and we’ll go for one take.”
Hyunseung spoke indifferently through the talkback and looked at them.
The mother and daughter who would not look at each other.
“We took too long to come back around.”
The daughter stealing a cautious glance at her mother.
“There’s too much time we threw away.”
The mother looking at her daughter with aching longing.
“I hope only days we can smile are left for us.”
“I hope only days we can be happy are left for us.”
Their gazes, unable to meet, scattered in the air.
“From now on, I’ll stay by your side.”
“Will you hold both my hands tight?”
In the end, both of their hands hovered in empty air, then fell.
♪ ♬ ♬ ♬
Hyunseung listened to the outro drifting meaninglessly, then pressed the spacebar and stopped the track.
Then he raised one hand and clenched his fist.
It meant okay.
“Kya!”
Understanding at once, Jo Yeri squealed in excitement and started stomping her feet, then noticed her mother smiling gently at her and gave an awkward little cough.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
And then she bolted out of the booth like she was running away.
It seemed her mother was still awkward for her.
“So we’re done recording now, right?”
Jo Yeri asked in a bright, excited voice. Seeing that, Hyunseung suddenly felt like teasing her.
“No.”
“Not done?”
“Yeah. Since you’re already emotional, we’ll redo the first verse too.”
“N-no, but earlier you said it was okay…”
Hyunseung firmly shook his head.
“Looks like your reflection time wasn’t enough. Eat, and the moment you’re back, get into the booth again.”
“What?”
“And for the meal, not with me. Go get along with Jo Kyungmi.”
At that, Jo Yeri collapsed to the floor in despair.
“Oh my!”
Jo Kyungmi, who was only now coming out of the booth, supported Jo Yeri.
“A-are you okay, Yeri?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
Jo Yeri stiffened her expression and brushed herself off as she stood.
It probably would not be easy for things between them to improve all at once.
Yeah.
With how long it had been left unattended, those feelings had festered deep. If they were healed in an instant, that would be a miracle.
Just as Hyunseung was thinking that what he could do ended here…
“The composer said we should g-go eat together, then come back.”
Jo Yeri said as she put on sunglasses. It seemed they still needed an excuse between them.
“Okay, sure.”
And with just one excuse like that, the thing that can tear down a wall built so high is probably family, too.
“Let’s go eat together.”
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