By Zephyria 
“Who requested this song?”
After his song ended, Min Si-hu asked cheerfully into the microphone, and my left hand, which was munching on snacks, paused. Due to the tightly packed schedule of reservations, the karaoke machine immediately played the next song.
A very familiar intro began. A slow piano melody.
‘Is this the song I know?’
I quickly turned my head to check the singer’s name and song title on the screen.
“Oh…”
It was indeed the song I used to listen to often. I had heard it from a friend who liked old songs and had come to like it myself.
‘To hear this masterpiece here.’
Although familiar songs had played occasionally until now, this was the first time a song I truly loved came on, so I was very pleased.
“Did this singer release songs like this too?”
“You didn’t know?”
Seong Hae-min, who was sitting next to me, mumbled. Seong Hae-min looked at me, seeking agreement, and I shrugged. I knew this song too, and he didn’t. My mood lifted as a favorite song played. They wouldn’t know that after this album, the singer would have a long hiatus.
“Someday—.”
After the intro ended, a calm voice was sweetly layered over the gentle melody. Jeon Jae-hyung was holding the microphone.
It wasn’t surprising that Jeon Jae-hyung had chosen this song. What was surprising was the fact that he, who usually slept soundly and was taciturn, was actually singing.
Looking at the song list earlier, Jeon Jae-hyung’s musical taste was very similar to mine. The songs he chose were all to my liking, and I hadn’t expected him to pick a song I originally loved. I used to listen to it often while studying in my third year of high school, and it was wonderful to hear it again after so long.
I hummed along softly, shaking a tambourine with genuine enthusiasm. My body swayed from side to side with the rhythm, like an audience member lost in a concert.
“I recognized you at first glance—.”
Jeon Jae-hyung wasn’t a bad singer either. If Min Si-hu was a genius who could handle any song, Jeon Jae-hyung was a talented individual who knew songs that suited his voice. Jeon Jae-hyung’s calm voice, which I rarely had the chance to hear, blended perfectly with the current song.
Thump.
As I was humming along, completely engrossed, I was startled by a cold, metallic touch on my side and quickly pulled my hand away. Seong Hae-min was holding out a microphone he wasn’t using and smiling at me.
He has good ears. He heard me humming so softly, like a ghost.
Should I take the microphone? The hesitation was brief. I had forgotten about singing for a while, and hearing a song I truly loved after so long made my heart flutter. I had been sitting by like an observer, but surely I could sing a song like this? I cautiously took the microphone.
Jeon Jae-hyung, holding his microphone, looked at me and matched the beat.
“Love—.”
It had been a long time since I sang like this. For some reason, my mood soared. It turned out to be a good decision to come to the karaoke room today… The fact that I couldn’t sneak out halfway through wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in the end.
It felt strange. In this internet novel world that I had cursed so much, I found myself singing a song I loved normally in a karaoke room.
Jeon Jae-hyung, whose eyes met mine, smiled faintly. It was the first time I had seen him smile, as he usually looked drowsy and listless, but he was handsome, so it wasn’t unpleasant to look at.
While singing enthusiastically, I briefly took the microphone away during the instrumental break to look around. Jeon Jae-hyung seemed lost in the song, his eyes closed. Ban Pyo-ran was enthusiastically swaying his arms from side to side, and Seong Hae-min was watching me with a pleased expression.
Min Si-hu, who had pestered me so much to pick a song earlier, expecting him to be the most playful, was surprisingly spaced out. His expression was funny. But Min Si-hu’s strange behavior wasn’t new.
I casually ignored him and shifted my gaze, only to meet Lee Beom’s eyes directly. In the dim karaoke room, with only the colorful lights spinning, Lee Beom stared at me without even blinking.
Is something on my face? Feeling awkward, I wiped my mouth.
As the instrumental ended and I was about to focus on singing again, Min Si-hu took the microphone from Jeon Jae-hyung. I wondered why he looked so spaced out, but it seemed he wanted to sing this song. Taking the microphone from Jeon Jae-hyung, not me, showed Min Si-hu had at least some sense.
“It’s all in the past—.”
But I was startled by the sudden harmony and almost dropped the microphone. Min Si-hu, with his eyes slightly lowered, was adding harmony with a very serious expression.
Is this dual-personality person also dual-personality here? His skills were incredible. He could win first place on an audition program. I had to admit that.
The problem was me. With such professional-level harmony, I lost the confidence to sing. It was even more so because the person was Min Si-hu, who usually acted like an idiot.
They called him the Vocal Angel Prince.
It felt awkward to sing along.
I secretly lowered the microphone, but as soon as my singing stopped, Min Si-hu looked at me like a startled rabbit. His face clearly screamed, ‘Why aren’t you singing?’, so I reluctantly picked up the microphone again. Unlike my initial enthusiastic grip, Min Si-hu became dejected as the song progressed, like a wilting plant that hadn’t been watered.
After finishing the song, I quickly passed the microphone back to Seong Hae-min. Seong Hae-min, who had been watching me the whole time, smiled brightly like a sunflower and clapped his hands. Ugh. I felt blinded again.
“Si-hu… I’m going to get some water…”
Min Si-hu slowly got up and left the room. Unlike his usual cheerful self, he seemed quite dejected. His pathetic state made me feel like I had done something wrong.
“What do we do now that Si-hu is gone? Is there anyone else to sing? If not, I’ll cancel it for now.”
The next song booked was an upbeat band song, which Min Si-hu had reserved. Since no one stepped forward, Seong Hae-min started canceling the reserved songs, and then, before I knew it, a string of songs was canceled.
Did no one else book songs besides Min Si-hu…?
“Well, that’s the end.”
Seong Hae-min put down the karaoke remote with a sense of accomplishment, like someone who had finished cleaning. In the quiet room, no one picked it up again.
A chilling silence filled the dimly lit karaoke room, with only the monitor’s standby screen flickering. I hadn’t expected the atmosphere to die down so much after Min Si-hu left. Facing this unexpected turn of events, I finally realized how indispensable Min Si-hu was.
‘He was someone we couldn’t do without.’
In the middle of the quiet room, only the sound of an unknown person in the next room shouting at the top of their lungs, “Cruel! Woman! Don’t curse me!” echoed through the walls. I almost failed to suppress my laughter at the dolphin-like screams from the next room. Was it singing or screaming?
And then, I noticed Jeon Jae-hyung, who had already fallen asleep, hugging his stuffed toy in that short time. His ability to fall asleep like that must surely qualify him as a master.
“Um, I’ve been curious for a while…”
Ban Pyo-ran, fiddling with the tambourine in the quiet room, cautiously began.
“Beom, why aren’t you singing?”
His round eyes, looking intently at Lee Beom, sparkled innocently. Yes, this is how they get closer. The protagonist’s proactiveness was very welcome. Honestly, I was curious too. Did Lee Beom sing in the novel? I couldn’t remember. I also looked at Lee Beom, waiting for his answer.
But the answer I got was incredibly rude. It was like failing an exam spectacularly.
“Why? What do you need to know for?”
“Is it not okay to ask? Sorry.”
I was stunned by his unpleasant response. Has that rude kid lost his mind?
When Ban Pyo-ran apologized, the atmosphere, already quiet due to the lack of singing, became even stranger. Jeon Jae-hyung was sleeping soundly, and Seong Hae-min, who was pushing more snacks towards me, seemed completely uninterested in the conversation. It was baffling why Seong Hae-min was acting like this. If Lee Beom spoke like that, shouldn’t he defend Ban Pyo-ran? He missed a golden opportunity to score points.
Ban Pyo-ran seemed to shrink back from Lee Beom’s sharp reaction and fiddled with the tambourine awkwardly. I desperately called out to Ban Pyo-ran in my heart. Pyo-ran! I’ll apologize for you!
“I was curious too. Why aren’t you singing?”
I stepped in, unable to help myself, to salvage the situation. In the novel, Lee Beom was indeed a difficult character from the start. Since we hadn’t known each other long, he probably hadn’t yet accepted his feelings for Ban Pyo-ran. It’s like he’s only warm to ‘my woman,’ and only truly warms up once she becomes ‘my woman.’
Hang in there, Pyo-ran! He’s usually harsh to others, but once you two lock eyes, Lee Beom will become kinder! I secretly cheered for Ban Pyo-ran.
“Do you want me to sing?”
“Huh?”
“The song. Should I sing it for you?”
“Uh?”
“Sing it or not.”
“Uh? I just…”
As I stammered, Lee Beom stared at me intently.
‘This isn’t right.’
I just blinked. Lee Beom acted as if he were always the king, never avoiding anyone’s gaze. His excessively handsome face sometimes made me feel uncomfortable, and it was even more so when his pitch-black eyes stared at me. The thought of this prickly human continuing to gaze at me was extremely burdensome.
Why is he doing this?
Pay attention to Ban Pyo-ran!