Strangely enough, even though I insisted I needed more rest, the others all unanimously voted against me, leaving me no choice.
“You’re already back to full strength.”
“Didn’t you show miraculous recovery powers last time at the hospital?”
“You’re not gonna lie and say it’s different this time, are you?”
“If you keep denying it, we can just check by having you take your shirt off, hyung.”
With Ra Ho-yeon, Shin Tae-boem, Seo Yoon-chae, and Cha Si-yoon ganging up on me like that, even I couldn’t hold my ground.
“Why the hell would you need to take my shirt off when you’re not even Espers guiding with me?!”
“It’s just a figure of speech.”
“The world’s ending, I swear.”
Just to avoid the risk of having my shirt forcibly yanked off, I gave in with gritted teeth and agreed to tag along for the next schedule… but still…
[What are you gonna do now”]
“I dunno, whatever.”
Potato kept nagging at me.
[It’s your first schedule back, right? I heard it’s a cable TV music show?]
A cable music broadcast called <K-101>.
Billed as a global music show for K-pop artists, the program mainly featured idol groups, letting them showcase their title tracks, B-sides, and various solo performances. Sometimes they’d even duet with the MC.
To sum it up in one line: it was a platform built solely to highlight K-pop artists.
“Yeah, I know…”
I grumbled in frustration, and Potato rolled its eyes with a snort.
[You’re technically an idol now, you know. You’ll have to at least sing with them.]
“I was hoping I could just blend into the background…”
[That’s why the others drilled all the lyrics and sheet music into your head, remember? Just in case this happened. You already memorized it all, didn’t you?]
“Damn it. Having a good memory is such a curse!”
[ What if they call on you directly? ]
“Then I’ll be utterly humiliated, of course.”
And just as Secreti’s public image was starting to recover, it’d crash all over again—and the members would surely pin it on me.
I don’t even know where Je-ha is right now. It’s not like I can go find him.
The fact that I now had to worry about singing and dancing—things I’d never even imagined doing—was making my future look bleak.
“Ughhhh.”
As I groaned in despair, Potato gently patted my head.
[Just like when you used to fight in frontline war zones like your life depended on it. Try to pull through this too.]
“Try what, exactly…”
[Practice. And preferably, find a reliable teacher.]
“Don’t tell me… You want me to ask him?”
[Why not? You once grilled and ate sewer rats to survive.]
Let go of your pride.
[Pride doesn’t feed you. Dropping it won’t kill you.]
Potato left me with that cold, harsh wisdom.
I resisted and resisted, but in the end, I surrendered.
Just a few days before the shoot.
“Hey… Seo Yoon-chae.”
“What?”
“Uh, can you… teach me how to sing?”
“…What did you just say?”
Seo Yoon-chae. Secreti’s main vocalist.
He’s got a nasty temper, but his voice? A divine gift. A pure, angelic tone that could move anyone—a prodigy through and through.
And now, I was asking this guy to teach me how to sing.
“Nope. Why the hell would I? Like I’d waste my precious time on someone like you…”
Yeah, I knew you’d say that, you foul-tempered little gremlin in the shape of a baby tabby cat.
Fortunately, Seo Yoon-chae had a surprisingly simple weakness.
“You do realize if you don’t help, it’ll tank our group’s image too, right?”
If a clip aired of me butchering a song or screaming off-key, who’d suffer more heartbreak? Me or you?
I practically threatened him, and his face cycled through blue, pale white, and then back to normal.
Then, Seo Yoon-chae held out his hand to me.
“Let’s do it. No matter how hopeless your garbage skills are.”
“Shut it before I sew your mouth shut.”
“And keep that shitty attitude buried once we’re on camera. Think of yourself as a smiley, well-behaved business mascot.”
“Ugh, fine.”
***
And so, I found myself in a recording studio with Seo Yoon-chae.
In my previous life, I’d never sung much, so I had no real sense of whether I was good or bad at it.
Not like I ever had the chance anyway.
Maybe during my school years, but after that, I was always knee-deep in battlefields, covered in blood and bone. Singing wasn’t a luxury people had there.
Some guys who’d given up on life would get drunk and slur nonsense songs, but that was it.
The moment I grabbed the mic, the nerves hit me like a tidal wave.
This is insane. What the hell am I doing trying to sing…
I wished I could at least access some of Yeon Yu-jin’s residual ability. But nope. Not a trace of it remained in this body.
What if I really suck and Seo Yoon-chae rips me apart with his usual snark?
Sadly, thanks to inflation, the hazard pay I earned as a life-risking ex-Guide barely amounted to anything anymore.
While I was on the verge of puking from stress, Seo Yoon-chae spoke up.
“Let’s start with a B-side track from our debut single Bodyguard.”
He adjusted the mic to a comfortable position, then spoke from behind the glass.
“Go ahead. Sing.”
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to explode.
Can I even do this?
The only things I’d ever been good at were shooting monsters and giving Espers combat orders while guiding them.
Sing? Are you serious?
Could I really pull this off?
For a few seconds, a thousand thoughts collided in my head.
The moment I opened my mouth, everything could fall apart. Even if Yeon Yu-jin had been a mess in other ways, the guy clearly loved music.
What if I ruined something he cherished so much with my half-assed singing? Could someone like me—who only knew how to fight—really do this?
Half-dizzy, I clutched the mic.
“Starting the song now.”
Seo Yoon-chae’s arrogant voice came through my headset.
“You’re not tense because you think you’ve gotta be amazing from the get-go, even with your memory gone, right?”
Crack.
I was nervous, but hearing that smug comment made me stubborn.
“Not at all.”
“Then you’re good to go. Just relax. Be chill.”
“…”
“I’m the team’s main vocalist, after all. Worst-case scenario, I’ll just sing all your parts for you.”
The hell’s up with him now?
Saying things he normally wouldn’t. Weird. But thanks to that, the turmoil in my chest settled a little.
The intro started.
Secreti’s debut B-side, I Save You.
I definitely memorized the lyrics.
I slowly brought my lips to the mic and began to sing.
I’ve been waiting for you all this time
The one person I was meant to protect—It’s You
The moment our eyes met, I knew
That our meeting was destiny
The second the door opened, I couldn’t stop myself
I ran to you, with hands that could only reach for you
Hold me tight with your warmth—Save My Life
Then I’ll give myself to you in return
I Will Save You
Grant me the honor of protecting you
I’ll give myself to you without hesitation
Even if it ends in ruin
I’ll offer myself to protect you
You, my universe
You, my tidal wave of love
I Will Always Be With You
…
Even if I lose myself in the end
I Will Always Love You
I’ll give myself to protect you
As I sang, a strange thought kept repeating in my head.
The lyrics… they really sounded like they were describing the relationship between an Esper and a Guide.
Like a vow between soul-bound partners.
They probably planned it that way. The group is literally themed around Esper-Guide teams, after all.
Yeah, it was kind of obvious and cheesy, but… when I thought about Je-ha, the lyrics hit harder. So I poured my entire soul into the song.
Whether I sang well or not stopped mattering at some point.
The moment I poured my emotions into the melody, the world faded away. All that remained was me, singing.
It felt clear. Liberating.
I didn’t know if it was leftover emotions from Yeon Yu-jin’s body, or if I was just releasing something that had built up inside me.
But for now, I just wanted to savor this moment.
“…I’ll give myself to protect you.”
As I finished the final line, the reality of the recording booth slowly came back into focus.
“Uh…”
Did I… finish?
The music had stopped, so I figured that was it.
Then I noticed Seo Yoon-chae staring at me with wide eyes—and the rest of the members had gathered outside, wearing equally stunned expressions.
“…Hey. Even if I was that bad, do you have to stare like that? You guys are basically insulting me with your eyes, y’know?”
I yanked off my headset and came out, grumbling, but the members stood frozen like stone statues, unable to say a word.
“You… youuu…”
Only Seo Yoon-chae managed to stammer something, his face twisted in a mess of emotions.
Which only made me wonder if I’d been that awful. I frowned.
“If you’re gonna talk, then talk. Was it that bad? If it was trash, just say it was the worst.”
“It’s the opposite, you idiot! That’s why we can’t even say anything!”
“…What?”
Why the hell is he yelling now?
