Just as Jo Yeri, upon hearing the news that Hyunseung was going to push them through a forced march, could neither bring herself to be happy nor cry.
“What are you doing?”
Hyunseung crooked a finger at her to come closer.
“There isn’t much time.”
He hadn’t come here, carving time out of a busy schedule, simply to help the Jo-jo mother and daughter make up.
A few days ago, he recalled the two pieces of news he learned when he contacted Jo Kyungmi to ask about her promotion schedule.
That their first stage together would be on the famous live music talk show, “Seonyul’s Staff Lines.”
And that they would be going on stage without even a single rehearsal.
When Hyunseung heard that, the first thought he had was that it was ridiculous.
Because that place required you to present a one hundred percent live stage to direct section performance, instead of MR.
That was the program’s unspoken rule and long-standing tradition.
But then going up without even one proper rehearsal? Even more so, with a duet song, not a solo? Without matching even once?
Just syncing up through one or two rehearsals would absolutely not produce the level of quality Hyunseung wanted.
But he couldn’t tell Jo Kyungmi to contact her daughter first and meet immediately. He knew how heavy her heart was when it came to her daughter.
She was someone who would feel cautious, and guilty, even about contacting first.
In the end, Hyunseung immediately said that he would go to the site that day as well.
“First, each of you sing it once solo, and then we’ll immediately match the duet section.”
Keeping that promise, he had even brought the MR here now.
This song was like a difficult problem for Hyunseung.
Even if the recording is completed fairly perfectly, if it gets messed up on stage live, the quality of the song will ultimately suffer.
As long as his eyes were wide open, he couldn’t stand to watch that happen.
Of course.
Even if he forced a rapid-fire directing session like this right now, if the emotional throughline got twisted on the real stage, it would be useless anyway….
But their first step, the mother and daughter’s act of courage, couldn’t be a total mess.
“Scaredy cat first.”
Hyunseung pointed his chin at Jo Yeri and operated his phone.
Soon.
The MR started playing, and Jo Yeri had no choice but to begin singing with no preparation and no microphone.
─ Not knowing anything, I only missed you.
So there was no way she could sing it properly.
“Stop.”
The moment one line ended, Hyunseung raised his hand and stopped the song. Then, staring at her with sharp eyes, he snapped,
“Didn’t even warm up your voice before coming?”
Jo Yeri nodded, shoulders drawn up tight.
Then Hyunseung leaned back and continued.
“Face the wall, shout ‘I’m a scaredy cat!’ and do a three-cheer manse while you warm up your voice, then come back.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t really like saying things twice.”
At his words, Jo Yeri hesitated on the spot.
“Th- that, um….”
Jo Kyungmi called out to him as if to stop him.
“Scaredy cat.”
But Hyunseung had no intention of going easy even if Jo Yeri’s great-great-grandmother showed up.
“If you’re embarrassed by just this, how are you going to stand on stage?”
In the end, Jo Yeri trudged toward the wall.
“I’m a scaredy cat! I’m a scaredy cat! I’m a scaredy caaaaat—!”
She yelled loudly enough to blow the waiting room away. No, she warmed up her voice.
If there was someone using the waiting room next door, they would probably wonder what on earth that sound was.
‘Well, it’s not my problem.’
Only then, as if satisfied, Hyunseung worked his phone again and said,
“Alright, come back, tighten your core, and start again.”
Jo Yeri ran over and snapped to attention like a private whose discipline had suddenly been hammered into shape.
It seemed whatever she had said earlier, snickering at her, had become a stimulant.
Soon, the MR flowed through the room again.
Tap, tap, tap.
Jo Yeri stomped lightly to the MR, keeping the beat.
─ Not knowing anything, I only missed you.
With her eyes gently closed, she let out the first line.
─ Not knowing anything, I only grew my hatred.
Seeing that her tone was more stable than during recording, it seemed she had practiced quite a lot, at least.
Ah.
That doesn’t mean it’s admirable. It’s only natural.
─ Not knowing anything, I only grew my hatred.
Just as Hyunseung, not at a full hundred percent but thinking it was better than expected, was nodding.
─ And so, not knowing anything at all, I ended up growing up so abruptly.
Jo Kyungmi was looking at Jo Yeri with warm eyes, as if she were the proudest thing in the world.
Honestly even a hedgehog must find its own baby especially cute.
Lights pouring down so strongly it was hard to open your eyes properly.
Under them, Jo Yeri and Jo Kyungmi sat side by side to the right of the main MC, Yoo Jaewoo.
“When I found out I’d be doing a duet with Jo Kyungmi, I really couldn’t believe.”
With a bright, beaming smile, Jo Yeri continued the prepared lines in response to the MC’s question.
Even though, because there wasn’t enough time, they couldn’t perfectly match the duet parts.
That didn’t mean she could ruin the entire talk show, did it?
More than anything, she was an active idol. Managing her expression on stage was already a habit ingrained into her.
In contrast, Jo Kyungmi was awkward somehow. She was clearly a veteran who had stood on far more stages than Jo Yeri.
Not only that.
Her experience also included press conferences, solo interviews, and all kinds of talk show appearances.
“I, I was really surprised, I mean… it was fascinating.”
Yet she was rambling, and even her gaze was unsteady.
Glance.
Yes, like now, because she was watching Jo Yeri’s mood.
‘This won’t do.’
As if resolved, Jo Yeri began to steer the flow of the talk show in earnest, smoothly and skillfully.
Cutting it off at her end as much as possible so questions wouldn’t go to Jo Kyungmi.
“With this song, ‘It’s Late, But Once Again,’ some people interpret it as a song that contains a mother and daughter’s story….”
“Ah, I’ll leave that as no comment. So each listener can interpret it differently.”
“Then, Yeri, could you tell us how you interpreted it?”
Jo Yeri, who had been carrying the conversation well, suddenly darkened her expression and hesitated with, “I…,” for a moment.
“I sang it thinking of it as a conversation between my past self and my present self.”
She answered with a fresh, bright smile.
“Oh, you really could interpret it that way. Then, Kyungmi?”
At that, the MC asked Jo Kyungmi.
“I think I really did sing it thinking it was a story of a daughter and a mother.”
The woman who had been watching and worrying this whole time answered immediately, without the slightest hesitation, just for this question.
At that answer, Jo Yeri flinched as if startled, but soon added with a sly face,
“Maybe because there’s a bit of an age gap, our breathing matched perfectly, like a mom and daughter!”
Only then did the MC nod as if satisfied, and after flipping the cue card, continued with the prepared lines.
“Alright, then we can’t not listen to ‘It’s Late, But Once Again.’”
At the perfect timing, it was finally time to show the stage.
“I’ve heard that, very honorably, you two are showing your first stage since release….”
“Yes, as you know, since Jo Kyungmi is so busy, she couldn’t appear on every broadcast.”
Looking at the audience with sparkling eyes, Jo Yeri added,
“But we were ambitious about showing a live stage at least once. The song is so good, too.”
“Ah, and there’s nowhere better than Seonyul’s Staff Lines for showing a live stage.”
“Yes, that’s why I absolutely wanted to appear on Seonyul’s Staff Lines.”
Then she sent the MC a signal to start the stage quickly. If she talked any more, she felt like her voice would go hoarse before she even sang.
‘Even the rapid-fire directing was hard enough…’
Honestly, Jo Yeri’s worries surged that she might lose her voice on stage at this rate.
Soon, with the MC’s line, the stage went dark.
─ Clap clap clap clap clap!
Just as applause filled with anticipation echoed along the studio ceiling—
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
With a gentle melody, a pure white spotlight dropped onto the stage.
─ Not knowing anything, I only missed you.
Holding the microphone carefully in both hands, Jo Yeri began to sing.
─ Not knowing anything, I only grew my hatred.
Her beige hair sparkled under the lights.
─ Not knowing anything, I only grew my hatred.
As her confidence grew, her delicate fingers traced the melody line, stirring the air.
Yes.
Even though it had been exhausting, perhaps because she had received HS’s rapid-fire directing once, confidence surged that she could do it perfectly.
─ And so, not knowing anything at all, I ended up growing up so abruptly.
Finishing the intro splendidly, Jo Yeri’s lips curled into a smile, as if she felt proud of herself.
Before long, the lights that had been on gradually faded, and another light poured down onto the stage.
─ I was afraid if I held your tiny hand, it might crumble.
Under it stood the Queen of Sopranos, Jo Kyungmi, showing off a composed, refined presence.
─ The time I lived desperately, to become someone you needed.
Without realizing it, Jo Yeri looked toward where she stood.
Maybe because her natural projection itself was different, it was clearly different from what Jo Yeri had heard beyond the booth before.
‘Oh…’
But the moment she turned her head, her eyes locked with Jo Kyungmi’s exactly.
─ In the end, when you needed me, I couldn’t be there by your side.
Jo Kyungmi continued singing without avoiding her gaze.
─ If even someone like me is okay, would you walk hand in hand with me?
No, rather, as if she wanted to look even more clearly, she narrowed her eyes and persistently pursued Jo Yeri standing in the darkness.
─ Before it’s too late, may I hold your small hand just once?
Jo Kyungmi’s fingertips stirred the air elegantly, leading the song toward its climax.
─ In a life where everything is the first, would you give me just one more chance?
Then, with a mournful gaze that looked as if her breath might go out at any moment, she reached out her thin fingers toward Jo Yeri.
─ A chance not to lose you, who is like my life….
At the same time, light poured down again over Jo Yeri’s head.
─ Because we’ve come back too far around.
Jo Kyungmi stepped briskly toward her as she continued singing. For a moment, Jo Yeri almost got bewitched by the sight and nearly lost the beat.
─ Because there are too many abandoned times.
She couldn’t do that. This was their first live stage.
Jo Yeri, too, moved hurriedly like the song rushing toward its peak, and faced Jo Kyungmi.
─ May we only have days left to smile.
─ May only happy days remain for us.
Jo Yeri and Jo Kyungmi faced each other at a distance so close their breath could touch.
And the two of them traded lines, one by one, as if whispering not to the public, but to each other.
─ From now on, I’ll be with you by your side.
In the surging emotion, Jo Kyungmi finished her part while tightly grasping Jo Yeri’s small, delicate hand.
─ I will hold both your hands tightly.
Without even having time to be surprised, Jo Yeri continued into the next part, turning the held hand slightly and gripping Jo Kyungmi’s hand firmly.
The hand she had thought would be nothing but soft, perhaps because of the title Queen of Sopranos… held quite a trace of time.
─ Clap clap clap clap clap—!
Only after the shadows lifted from the stage and all the lights came on did Jo Yeri notice the two hands they were holding.
‘It’s okay if I hold on a little longer, right?’
In the flood of applause, Jo Yeri kept holding Jo Kyungmi’s hand as she greeted the audience.
And then, she spotted HS standing down below, in a secluded corner, and gave him a bright smile.
Then Jo Yeri mouthed words, just enough for him to see.
‘Thank you.’
She meant it. Truly.
Because thanks to HS, even if late, she could breathe in harmony with her mother, meet her eyes and hold her hands.
Even if it was forced, she wanted to tell him she was truly thankful for this chance.
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