Chapter 17. Lee Hyerin (5)

"Do you think she would be able to sing it well this time?"

The sound engineer asked Lee Hyun while looking at Lee Hyerin who was inside the booth.

"I think she would do well."

Lee Hyun replied confidently.

He had a feeling that Lee Hyerin would sing it perfectly this time.

"You seem confident. Is there a reason behind it?"

"Well, I talked with her for sometime and she is calm now. It's not like she's a newbie anyway."

The sound engineer sheepishly nodded his head.

"Yeah. You two were out for sometime. What do you two talk about?"

"Uh, just some motivational stuff."

Lee Hyun halfheartedly replied while scratching his cheek and the sound engineer didn't bother to ask more questions.

He instead focused on Lee Hyerin.

"Hyerin, are you ready?"

"Yes!"

Lee Hyerin said in a cheerful voice. She still seemed nervous, but it looks like she would be able to sing well this time.

'I hope she does it right this time.'

Lee Hyun thought and hoped that the recording would progress well.

In the end, it all depended on Lee Hyerin and how well she could push out her emotions.

---

"Huuh."

Lee Hyerin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Slowly, the music started flowing in her headphones.

She put a hand on her chest and imagined the face of her daughter, just like Lee Hyun had told her to.

The cute and slight chubby face of her daughter flashed in her mind. She immediately calmed down and began recalling the lyrics.

Then, she opened her lips.

"Cry. I'm crying tonight…"

"Under the moonlight…"

"There's no one else, but me here…"

She started the intro with the same pitch and resonance as before, but there was something different in it.

It was like she was singing with more emotions.

If her singing earlier was a dim light, then this time, it was a bright light illuminating the whole world.

Gradually, she even began imagining herself walking on a street under the moonlight.

Her daughter was holding her hand as they both walked with smiles on their pretty faces.

It was a beautiful sight.

"Even though I'm crying…"

"I won't give up, Never give up…"

"No matter what happens, my heart will go on…"

She incorporated a bright feeling in her voice as she raised her notes high. Even after that, her timbre was constant and there were no unusual noises.

Lee Hyerin was singing with conviction, pouring everything into this song.

The reactions of the listeners were enough to know how well she was doing. Exclamations were breaking out from everywhere.

Still, Lee Hyerin didn't notice any of them.

She was in her old world. Her eyes were closed and she was imagining herself with her daughter, with no one else in their small world.

"I'm down, but I'm not defeated…"

"I would rise up again like a phoenix…"

"Ready to take on the world again…"

Lee Hyerin ended the third verse with a slight low voice. Her voice was low but elegant.

Then, she suddenly lowered her breath and her notes shot up to F4 in an instant.

Still, her timbre remained constant and it easily showed her years of experience as an idol.

The notes, resonance, ringing, breath and… emotions. She was taking care of all of them while singing. It was not an easy thing to do.

She was also successful as the sound engineer hadn't once told her to stop or go over a part again.

He was even listening to her singing with wide eyes.

'It's the end now!'

Lee Hyerin thought as she reached the ending of the song. Her voice suddenly got stronger and the bright feeling resonated highly.

Her notes just got higher and higher.

"Never give up, even when you are in trouble…"

"Just stand up again, push through your difficulties…"

"Never give uppp…"

Her high notes gradually lowered, one step at a time, like they were coming down from the stairs.

Lee Hyerin breathing calmed down and the song finally ended.

'I didn't mess up, right?'

That was the first question in her mind after she stopped singing. As she was too infatuated in singing, she didn't even notice how her singing was.

She just sang without worrying about anything.

'Why is everyone shocked?'

Lee Hyerin tilted her head as she came out of the booth. She was quick to notice the shock on the faces of everyone.

From the corner of her eye, she can also see Lee Hyun smiling slightly.

When both of their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head. She was still feeling the embarrassment from before.

"Hyerin, you did great!"

At that moment, the sound engineer came towards her.

"Huh? I did great?"

"Yeah. When I had heard the guide version, I was still sceptical whether you would be able to sing it well or not? But, I guess I was wrong."

The sound engineer scratched his head and said.

Lee Hyerin was still confused about his words, but she understood everything when she heard the recording.

At the same time, she was stupefied.

'This is my singing?'

Her singing felt completely different to her. For a moment, she was not even able to believe that she can sing like this.

But the voice was definitely hers.

"It looks like this type of song really suits you."

The sound engineer said and Lee Hyerin just gave him a nod.

Her focus was on someone else. She looked towards Lee Hyun who was sitting in a corner, quietly listening to the recording.

Lee Hyerin walked towards him.

"Thank you for everything."

That was the first thing she said. She was really thankful to Lee Hyun. If not for him, she would surely mess up the recording.

"I should say the same thing to you. Thank you for singing my song well. I really liked it."

"But you-"

Lee Hyun shook his head before she could say anything more.

He didn't want to listen to more 'thank yous'. Lee Hyerin also didn't talked more about it

But she still wanted to thank him in some manner.

"How about this? Why don't we have dinner together today? I want to treat you at least."

Lee Hyerin asked him with a bright smile. No men would reject her after seeing that smile, but Lee Hyun's expression crumbled.

"Um, I have to refuse."

"You don't have time?"

She asked with a disappointed expression.

'It's not like I don't have time but...'

Lee Hyun thought in his mind, but he didn't say it out loud. He can't say that he was being careful of women after his wife betrayed him.

"I'm working on a song and I wanted to complete it today."

"Is that so?"

"Sorry!"

Lee Hyun's excuse worked and at the same time, a sad expression appeared on Lee Hyerin's face.

Her face was bright just a moment ago, but now, it was filled with sadness and disappointment.

Lee Hyun felt bad for her, but it was not like he could do anything here.

'I wanted to have dinner with him.'

Lee Hyerin frowned thinking that.

The disappointment she felt this time was way more than the last time Lee Hyun had rejected her.