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Yoon Jiwoon immediately called somewhere when Speranza said she wanted to hear him sing.
“Yes, Jun. I’m going to stop by…… No, I’m not working on a song.… Yes, thank you.”
Yoon Jiwoon, who just finished the call, looked back at us and said,
“Let’s go.”
“What? Where are we going……?”
“There’s a recording studio nearby where I work on songs.”
Perhaps Yoon Jiwoon intended to take us to the recording studio. I replied with a slightly troubled look.
“I think it’s too rude. Singers have to take care of their throat thoroughly, so I heard it’s rude to suddenly ask them to sing.”
“Haha! That’s not wrong. Singing an unplanned song can be quite burdensome for a singer.”
He smiled and continued his explanation.
“But that’s only for singers with tight schedules. It doesn’t matter for someone like me who doesn’t go on stage often. Rather, I have to worry that I’m not singing often.”
“Is that so?”
When I glanced at Park Jaeyoung, he too nodded with a bitter smile. It really didn’t seem to matter much.
Yoon Jiwoon recommended it again with a comfortable smile.
“You made time for me, and it’s too bad to treat you to just a cup of coffee. So don’t feel too much pressure. You might be disappointed because I don’t sing as well as you think.”
Yoon Jiwoon humbly said, “It’s not a big deal.”
At first, I refused out of courtesy, but honestly, expectations were creeping up inside.
A singer I really liked when I was young will sing for me, who can refuse such an opportunity?
As Speranza expressed her expectations with her whole body, Yerin sent silent pressure with a glance.
And finally, I asked Yoon Jiwoon with an awkward smile.
“Then can I ask you to do it?”
“Of course. Follow me. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
The studio was really not far away. We arrived at the studio less than 10 minutes after departure from the cafe.
Yoon Jiwoon naturally pressed the entrance password and opened the door, and a voice was heard from inside.
“Hey, you came? Why are you suddenly in the studio……?!”
He was a man with a chubby impression who looked similar to me or a little older in age. He was surprised to see us following Yoon Jiwoon and froze.
“Oh, did you come with a guest?”
“Yeah. Didn’t I tell you when we talked on the phone earlier?”
“……you didn’t say that.”
The chubby-looking man looked at him with resentment and belatedly arranged his disheveled hair. Yoon Jiwoon began the introduction, taking the look with ease.
“This is a friend named Jun who works in this recording studio and helps me work on my songs.”
“Hello, I’m Seo Jun, an engineer.”
“Hello, I’m Lim Sihyeon.”
“I’m Seo Yerin.”
We greeted Seo Jun briefly. He exchanged a simple eye greeting with Park Jaeyoung as if they already know each other.
Seo Jun’s gaze, which roughly finished greeting us, turned downward.
“Oh? Jiwoon. Isn’t that girl you saw on YouTube?”
“That’s right. Her name is Speranza. She’s really pretty, right?
Seo Jun nodded as if possessed. He lowered his posture and greeted Speranza carefully, making eye contact with her.
“Hello… Hello? Speranza?”
“…….”
Unlike the time with Yoon Jiwoon, Speranza hid behind me, avoiding his gaze. Seo Jun’s face was filled with sadness in the cold response.
Yoon Jiwoon held back his laughter and patted him on the back.
“Hahaha, don’t be so disappointed. She’s normally very shy. I’d like to show them around the recording studio, is that okay?”
“Ugh……yes, follow me.”
We headed inside the recording studio under the guidance of Yoon Jiwoon and Seo Jun. I didn’t know when I saw it from the entrance, but when I went inside, it was bigger than I thought.
Various microphones, musical instruments, etc. were placed everywhere on complex equipment that was sometimes seen in TV or YouTube videos.
Seeing a recording studio for the first time, we kept looking around as if looking at something strange.
In particular, Speranza had a similar expression to the one she had when playing in the playground earlier.
“Are you making a song here?”
“Yes. It’s not my own studio, but I’ve been getting help lately. I wanted to make a song after a long time.”
“It must be very expensive to work in a place like this, right?”
“I guess so. These days, there are more recording studios that can be easily used by the general public, but here they only carry out professional recording. It’s pretty expensive.”
Yoon Jiwoon pointed to Seo Jun and said playfully.
But, since he works with Yoon Jiwoon, he was expected to have a high position in the industry.
As I was thinking like that, Yerin muttered while looking around the recording studio with Speranza.
“Speranza, I hope you can make a video of ‘Demon Girls’ in a place like this one day. Right?”
“Un.”
Recording studio…
If Speranza wants to sing seriously later, she needs a recording studio like this.
And, a penny or two won’t do it.….
Yerin and Speranza had a light conversation without much thought, but I felt responsible and vowed to make money to fulfill my little girl’s dreams.
Meanwhile, Yoon Jiwoon stood in front of the microphone with a serious expression while we sat on the sofa in the corner of the studio and watched it.
After a while, a familiar melody began to flow out in the recording studio.
It was a song called [Memories of Meeting] sung by Speranza in the second video.
Yoon Jiwoon, who coughed a few times, immediately started singing.
As if he had warmed up his voice properly, a very clean and clear voice came out.
It was the [Memories of Meeting] from Yoon Jiwoon’s second album.
When I was young, I liked this song as much as Speranza, so I listened to it a lot…… and I felt uneasy hearing Yoon Jiwoon’s song so closely.
At first, I thought it was foreign to his voice, which was different from the sound source, but as the song continued, the thought disappeared shortly after.
“Wow…”
What should I say?
It was a feeling where you can feel deeper and more detailed emotions than just listening to the song in a speaker or headphones. It was really hard to explain, just admiration kept flowing out.
Speranza, Yerin, and Park Jaeyoung also fell in love with the song and smiled comfortably.
The song gradually reached the climax. Yoon Jiwoon sang enthusiastically, raising his emotions further. The breathtaking immersion sent chills down my spine.
I can’t believe you can shake a person’s heart like this just by singing a song……
I realized the great presence of a really outstanding singer.
After the song, we applauded frantically with a bewitched look. Yoon Jiwoon, who smiled slightly at the enthusiastic response, gestured to Seo Jun. Then a different melody came out of the recording studio.
After that, Yoon Jiwoon sang his hit songs one after another. We were soaked in the song as if we were at a concert.
Despite singing in a row, Yoon Jiwoon’s expression did not show any signs of hardship.
Suddenly, it occurred to me that if I were a big fan of Yoon Jiwoon, I would have to pay dozens of times the price of a concert ticket to hear him singing like this.
After finishing the song, Yoon Jiwoon drank a glass of water that he had left next to him and stood on the microphone again. He suggested to us with a rather serious look on his face.
“If you don’t mind. Is it okay if I play the new song that I’m working on? It’s an unfinished song, but I want to play it for you guys.”
A new song?
It’s the new song of the singer who hasn’t been active for a long time.
Of course, there was no reason to reject the proposal. On the contrary, I wanted to bow to him and thank him.
Others also nodded in unison, as if they felt similar to me.
Yoon Jiwoon once again sent a signal to Seo Jun.
There was a melody in the recording room that I had never heard before. Yoon Jiwoon started singing slowly with a more nervous look than before.
Uh…….
My expression became more and more subtle when I heard the new song.
The melody was definitely attractive enough, and Yoon Jiwoon also showed amazing singing skills.
But something…… I couldn’t erase the feeling of emptiness.
When I looked at other people’s reactions with a sidelong glance, it too didn’t seem that different from mine.
And after the song ended, Yoon Jiwoon himself seemed very disappointed. He too seemed to have felt something was missing.
“How was it?”
“Uh, well…… It was good.”
“You can be honest with me. I know that this song is not good.”
I wondered what was important about my opinion, someone without any professional knowledge of music, but I was forced to open my mouth at Yoon Jiwoon’s repeated requests.
“Hmm… All of the songs I heard in the beginning felt full because Yoon Jiwoon’s voice fit perfectly. The last song however felt kind of empty. It’s hard to explain it well, but it felt like that.”
Yoon Jiwoon nodded heavily at my words. And he expressed his regret by scratching his head.
“That’s true. I thought the same thing, but I didn’t know what to do. There’s something in my heart that I want to express with this song, but I don’t know what it is.”
Yoon Jiwoon muttered at the end, ‘I must have rested for too long,’ and smiled helplessly.
There was a moment of silence in the recording studio due to the heavy atmosphere.
And at that moment…
“Mister, mister! Can I try singing that song, too?”
Speranza suddenly raised her hand. Yoon Jiwoon asked back, opening his eyes wide.
“The last song I sang?”
“Yes! I want to sing that song, too.”
“Will you?”
Yoon Jiwoon turned his head and asked permission with his eyes on me, her guardian. I sent Speranza to Yoon Jiwoon, nodding my head as a sign of permission.
“Jun, please set the mic…”
“Yes.”
Seo Jun quickly adjusted the microphone to fit Speranza’s height. Even with the lowest possible microphone, it was slightly short of height, so Speranza had to step on a box underneath.
Yoon Jiwoon taught Speranza the lyrics and notes of the introduction. Except for the difficult pronunciation of some words, the rest of the lyrics and notes were memorized in an instant.
Yoon Jiwoon was surprised by Speranza’s sponge-like absorption.
And when Speranza officially started singing.
Yoon Jiwoon’s eyes opened wide enough to tear.