Genius Composer Who’s a Dedicated Fan

After finishing the meal, I sat blankly on the living room sofa waiting for Baek Yerin.

I said I would do the dishes… but I was stopped, saying it would be rude to let a guest do that.

So with nothing particularly to do, I looked around the living room, and something immediately caught my eye.

Several photos were attached to one wall of the living room.

I got up from the sofa and headed there.

Precious memories of a family were spread out there, and my gaze naturally went to the photo at the very top.

It was a photo capturing a couple.

One side could be recognized at a glance.

A feeling of resembling Baek Yerin a lot somewhere.

Yes. This person was Baek Yerin’s mother, that is, Lee Yeon-hee in her younger days.

And the other side…

“That’s my dad.”

Baek Yerin, who had approached me quietly, informed me.

Putting aside my slightly surprised heart, I immediately opened my mouth.

“He’s tall and manly handsome. Seems to have a good body too.”

“He was a firefighter.”

“His job is cool too.”

I lowered my gaze a bit to look at other photos.

…And immediately felt a sense of dissonance.

As Baek Yerin grew up, only her mother, Lee Yeon-hee, was always by her side.

It meant there were no photos of her with her father except for her extremely early childhood.

I knew the reason for this to some extent, so I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Because.

“He died in the line of duty during a rescue operation. Probably when I was five years old.”

Baek Yerin said that nonchalantly.

Somehow I felt like I understood a bit now.

Why she invited me to her house today.

“Will you listen? The story of my family.”

* * *

The only memory that comes to mind related to dad.

It was quite an old memory.

That day, it snowed so much that the whole world was dyed white. And in such a snow-white world…

“Dad! Don’t go!”

I experienced separation for the first time.

A five-year-old child was too young to understand the concept of a funeral.

So I apologized instead.

Saying I wouldn’t be picky with food anymore and would eat well from now on.

That I would become a good child who listens well to dad’s words…

Young me said such things and cried endlessly, and the numerous people attending the funeral could only watch that heartbreaking scene.

And what stopped my crying was.

“Baek Yerin. Stop crying now.”

It was mom.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Because the person who always called me by my name gently suddenly spoke coldly, even using my surname.

“Dad is just in a slightly long sleep. So let’s wait quietly with mom until dad wakes up.”

Saying that, mom hugged me tightly.

But I could vaguely tell.

That mom’s hands hugging me tightly were trembling a lot.

Mom was suppressing a greater sadness than anyone else here.

For none other than me.

Perhaps she made a resolution at that place.

To not let her crying daughter waver…

To try not to feel the absence of dad’s existence.

After that, mom worked late every night to raise me alone.

“Yerin, is there anything you want?”

It was out of a desire to raise her daughter without feeling lacking.

And I always shook my head at that question.

Actually, there were many things I wanted.

Because I was young, I was always full of curiosity, and I wanted to have the same things that others had naturally.

But just because I was a young child didn’t mean I was tactless.

Always facing mom’s face tinged with fatigue,

The moment I saw mom sleeping on the sofa in the living room, not in her room, so as not to wake me… such thoughts couldn’t help but disappear instantly.

“Shall we go to the amusement park today?”

Also, mom always took me somewhere every weekend.

She must be very tired…

She must want to rest…

Mom didn’t show any sign of that at all, and played hard with me.

Thanks to that, my memory is still full of precious memories with mom.

Enough to not feel dad’s absence at those moments.

One day, I had this thought.

To do something for mom who was working so hard.

That was housework.

Starting from cooking, to laundry, cleaning, and so on.

Of course, at first, I wasn’t skilled at any of it.

Because if I asked mom to teach me, she would surely refuse, so I had no choice but to learn on my own.

And among them, cooking was the biggest wall.

At first, I followed cooking videos, but I accidentally put sugar instead of salt.

It was a situation where I could easily lose confidence in cooking, but…

“It’s delicious. Shall I look forward to the next one?”

Mom ate my first cooking deliciously, without lies, sincerely.

Thanks to that, I got a goal.

To make even more delicious food next time, as mom said.

“Wow… Now you could really sell this for money?”

“Hehe. If there’s anything you want to eat, please tell me anytime.”

Such goals continued every moment, and eventually, I reached a certain level.

So I was very happy.

Because it felt like I had reduced mom’s burden a little bit.

But happiness was never eternal.

“Cancer…?”

Mom’s body, which had been overworked for her daughter, became ill.

From that moment, my happiness ended.

At the same time, I got angry.

Why is the world so cold only to our family?

And that anger soon turned into sadness.

The deep loneliness of having to watch mom’s pain before my eyes and being left alone in the world.

That began to slowly eat away at my heart.

So for a while, I couldn’t even smile well. It wasn’t really a situation where I could smile either.

I just wanted to spend as much time as possible with mom during the remaining time.

Because that was my only sanctuary and warmth.

While spending each day preciously like that, I heard a certain proposal from a classmate.

“Perform on the festival stage this time!”

“Festival stage…?”

“Yes! Apparently, if you rank this time, the prizes are amazing. Yerin, you sing really well.”

Honestly, it was a bit tempting.

The prizes were one thing, but above all, I wanted to shake off the lump in my heart a little bit.

Actually, aren’t there many people like this?

They say they often go to karaoke and sing to relieve stress.

The choice of song to sing on stage was quickly made too.

It was a ballad called .

A song whispering apologies while missing a precious person.

It was a song that perfectly matched my current situation, and before I knew it, my first stage was over.

And the feeling when I checked the audience’s reaction after all the stages were over was really…

It was something hard to explain in words.

Should I say it felt amazing to a degree I had never experienced in my life so far?

But that was all.

There was still sadness tied up in my heart.

Actually, that hasn’t changed even now.

Just…

“Hey, have you ever thought about becoming a singer?”

Thanks to meeting you, I was able to realize that the world isn’t just cold.

You showed me a happy emotion enough to make me forget my sadness for a moment.

So…

So, you know.

“Won… What should I do about my mom…”

I had no choice but to pour out my sadness to you.

* * *

Seeing the droplets rolling down Baek Yerin’s cheeks, Ryu Won opened his eyes wide.

Baek Yerin, who had always attracted people’s hearts with her bright appearance and positive image.

That’s why it was the first time he had ever seen it.

Her crying face.

Baek Yerin continued speaking with a strained voice.

“Mom went through so much to raise me… I can’t properly repay even one thing…”

The love and sacrifice that her mother, Lee Yeon-hee, gave her. Baek Yerin knows all of that.

But she couldn’t give back any of it.

Because the time left to be together was woefully insufficient.

That’s why Baek Yerin fell into sadness, and honestly poured it out to Ryu Won.

Honestly, she knows well how shameless it is to pour out such facts to him.

She knows all too well that it’s selfish.

But for the current Baek Yerin, there was really only Ryu Won.

The only person to pour out her true feelings to, the only place to rely on…

And.

“Maybe your words might be right, or they might be wrong.”

“What…?”

“I have a good idea. So trust me.”

He reached out a hand of salvation to Baek Yerin again, as if it was only natural.

Suddenly, Baek Yerin had this thought.

If…

I grasp that hand you’ve reached out,

And you solve even this sadness of mine.

What will become of me then?

However, Baek Yerin grasped his outstretched hand without hesitation.

Anyway, she had no other choice but Ryu Won.

And after everything is resolved well, the person who should worry about what comes after…

Was not Baek Yerin’s role.

* * *

Sunday.

Kang Beom-joon welcomed a golden weekend after a really long time.

He had been forced to go to work even on weekends for a while due to the debut and activities of his agency’s artist, but finally, a period of stability had arrived.

So he brewed coffee familiarly, fully enjoying the leisure.

Ah. Just the coffee smell vibrating in the living room makes all the hardships…

“Not melt away.”

Meaning he had worked that hard, Kang Beom-joon smiled bitterly.

But well…

Thinking about the future schedule, wouldn’t it be relaxed for a while?

With such thoughts, Kang Beom-joon lifted his coffee cup.

And immediately his coffee cup started shaking a lot.

Bzzt-

Because someone called on a Sunday morning.

[Ryu Won]

From the craziest guy Kang Beom-joon could think of.

Thanks to that, some assumptions started to come up in his head.

This guy Ryu Won doesn’t usually call first.

This guy Ryu Won only calls when he needs something.

Especially if it’s on a weekend, it’s usually not an urgent matter.

Synthesizing these, Kang Beom-joon reached this conclusion.

“Hmm. I’m screwed.”