Chapter 143 : The Composer Rolls It Himself
Chapter 143: The Composer Rolls It Himself
I had written, erased, and released many songs so far.
But this was the first time I felt the urge—“I want to sing this myself.”
<Velvet Trigger>.
I didn’t know why.
It was a feeling like the song was beckoning me.
I did a guide recording for The Kids Who Escaped From Us’s <Ancora>.
I covered <Crossing Tomorrow> by Doubline.
Even though I made and sang them myself, I had no desire to be the main character.
Because the song already had its rightful owner.
I just did the guide to clearly show the tone of the track.
And I only prepared a composer version cover to give a firepower boost at a critical moment.
Just like this YouTube video.
[<Crossing Tomorrow> Rolled Directly by the Composer]
[Am I the only one who wants the full version? ㄷㄷ Legend]
[2.61 million views]
[Original Creator of <Crossing Tomorrow>! Legendary Cover]
[Lyrics, composition, arrangement! How good is Stay’s singing when he does it all himself?]
[1.27 million views]
The view count was skyrocketing.
But… my heart was beating even faster than the rising numbers.
What the hell was happening?
I was scared...
Checking the reaction to a song I sang was surprisingly hard to do.
It was totally different from uploading a behind-the-scenes recording video or DJing as Seo Rabbit.
Now that I had uploaded this with full intent, it made sense that I should check the response—but still...
I couldn’t do it.
Seriously, I couldn’t.
My smartphone kept buzzing, oblivious.
A quick glance showed a flood of message alerts.
I checked the one from CEO Kim Minsoo first.
[CEO Kim Minsoo of KIM Entertainment: Taeyoon, I always knew you'd eventually get this kind of attention for your singing ability…… (snip) ……I always believe in you.]
It was too long for me to read properly.
A bucketload of text had poured in.
When would I ever get a three-line summary?
I started checking the messages one by one.
[Teacher Oh Jisoo: Really enjoying the song^^ Looking forward to your next work too^^]
[Han Yujin noona: Oooh, Stay's finally gearing up to debut as a singer? I’m working on a <Crossing Tomorrow> cover too! (video) (video)]
[Producer Nam Seonghyun: Stay, improving day by day!!!]
[Singer Tae Sihyun: Ballads suit you too! I got invited to a Japanese con guest slot!! Thank you!! It’s all thanks to you, writer-nim (cute emoji)]
If it were before, I would've just skimmed and moved on.
But now, I kept going back and rereading them, smiling.
Until recently, I believed all this was just socially-masked small talk.
That thing where people say hello now and then to keep the illusion of “we’re still in touch.”
Maintaining connections not out of sincerity but because “they might be useful someday.”
But now… my thoughts have shifted a bit.
Both when receiving and sending messages.
They make me feel good, and I genuinely wonder how the other person’s doing.
And… I miss them.
I want to eat together, drink Coke together.
[Me: Come hang out at the studio! Or should I come to you?]
I sent a heartfelt reply and checked the last message.
It was from a group chat with Junhyun, Do Gibong, and me.
Every time I opened it, the group chat title got to me.
- Day 14 of Wishing Stay Becomes a Singer
Gibong-hyung made the title.
Amazingly, that “xx days” part gets updated daily. Diligent, isn’t he?
[Junhyun of Doubline: A composer more famous than a singer ㄷㄷ]
[Gibong-hyung of Doubline: Ask Minsoo-hyung to change the video title. “Composer Hiding His Singing Talent” lol how about that? lolol]
[Junhyun of Doubline: Seo Taeyoon, have you seen the comments? lolol it’s hilarious.]
[Gibong-hyung of Doubline: Please let me be reborn as Stay in my next life.]
…Ha. What was wrong with these people, seriously.
[Me: Stop overreacting ㄴㄴ]
Wait, were they waiting for my reply?
As soon as I responded, the read count vanished.
[Junhyun of Doubline: Did you see the comments?]
[Gibong-hyung of Doubline: Of course he saw them. Stay secretly loves checking reactions. I’ve seen it—he checks and laughs every time lolol]
What are you talking about?
I’m too nervous to even look, I swear.
[Me: I can’t look. I’m too nervous……]
[Junhyun of Doubline: ???? What are you saying.]
[Gibong-hyung of Doubline: Lies.]
They reacted like they couldn’t believe it.
Understandable. Before, even when they did live comment-reading in front of me, I didn’t react much.
[Me: It’s true, trust me.]
[Junhyun of Doubline: Hmm? Well then……. lol wait]
[Junhyun of Doubline: (photo) (photo) (photo) At least look at the top comment, yeah?]
Gulp.
Why was I so nervous about this?
It’s not like it’d be a hate comment... right?
I carefully tapped the photo.
“Gasp…!”
You know how in comics, people cover their mouths when they’re super happy or shocked?
I was literally doing that.
[Top Comment]
Only letting Stay compose is basically a crime, imo.
↳ lolololol fr, what’s KIM Entertainment even doing?
↳ I liked the duet, but this solo version is on another level.
↳ Whoa, that voice is so deep……. Would kill it on radio.
↳ His tone is incredible ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
↳ I’m officially a Stay fan.
↳ Shouldn’t this be a trio instead of a duo???
↳ Even if you told me this was his own song, I’d believe it ㄷㄷㄷ He’s just like a real singer ㄷㄷㄷ
↳↳ Well, he did do the arrangement, so I guess he knew exactly how to convey the vibeㅠ the emotional flow is insane…….
↳ Okay but why is no one talking about the back of his head?
↳↳ Right??ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ You can smell the handsomeness from the back of his head…….
↳ At this point, please just reveal your face. Do variety shows, sing, do it all.
I loved it.
I was smiling because I loved it, but at the same time, I was a little scared.
I think I really...
...wanted to sing.
“Seo Taeyoon? He didn’t really have the face for it though...?”
“No, no, he’s the one who always hung around with that guy.”
Neither Taeyoon nor Baek Junhyun
had ever stood out much on campus.
“But the song’s seriously good. The one he did with Stay—wasn’t that legendary?”
“If they’re in the same company, he must’ve seen Lumière too, right? So lucky.”
“Must’ve saved a country in a past life or something?”
To summarize the situation simply:
“College classmate I thought was a nobody turns out to be an incredible singer?!”—that pretty much summed it up.
A group of students huddled close, heads together around a tablet PC.
On-screen, Doubline’s music video was playing.
“You knew that was Baek Junhyun?”
“Nope, had no idea. Doesn’t it look like he got plastic surgery? You don’t just change like that overnight.”
“Pretty sure it’s not surgery. He came to class last week, and he looked the same.”
It was fair to be surprised.
Celebrities could change dramatically with just a bit of treatment, makeup, and styling.
“That’s how it is with celebrities. Even just makeup changes everything.”
“Wow… Baek Junhyun, a celebrity. I seriously never imagined.”
“Lucky guy. Bet he’s making tons of money.”
“I bought Doubline’s album. Just to get it signed. My sister begged me to.”
“Han Yun University’s superstar!”
The students’ murmurs weren’t just idle excitement.
They were closer to feelings of pride and admiration.
Most of them just wanted to cheer him on.
Feelings rooted in pure longing—and awe.
To them, Doubline wasn’t an unreachable star.
He had walked the same campus, sat in the same classes, eaten the same cafeteria food.
Maybe that’s why—
This pride also sparked a faint sense of hope: “Maybe I can accomplish something too, someday.”
“But… is it really that impressive?”
Of course, not every student felt that way.
When it came to celebrities? They had to be knocked down a peg.
Whether they were classmates or not—that didn’t matter.
It was jealousy, flowing out like instinct.
Fortunately, there wasn’t deep malice in it.
Just the typical trash talk that comes from envy.
“Honestly, isn’t it all hype? The media push is insane.”
“Yeah, right? They’re not even idols. Male duos only last a season anyway.”
“The songs are kinda tacky. My mom would probably like them.”
“These days that’s how they blow people up. But it won’t last. No fandom, not really public-friendly either, you know?”
But the moment those words fell—
Someone who had been quietly listening nearby suddenly jumped in.
It was a small voice, but it echoed loudly.
“Wow, the more you talk, the more amazing this gets.”
All eyes turned at once.
At the end of those stares stood a small, skinny female student.
Under the cap pulled low over her face, her expression was steely as she continued speaking.
“I mean, instead of loafing around here, shouldn’t you be thinking about getting good grades? Aren’t you all gonna fail if you bomb finals?”
“...What? Lee Seoyoon, what did you just say?”
“You’ve never put any effort into anything, but you're quick to judge others. Honestly, if you have even a shred of conscience left, Baek Junhyun is the last person you should be tearing down.”
The hallway suddenly went silent.
Even students passing by stopped in their tracks, whispering.
Lee Seoyoon strode toward the ones who had been mocking Baek Junhyun.
She was short, but her presence was towering.
Locking eyes with each of them, she spoke clearly and firmly.
“You—you got help from Baek Junhyun with your report, remember? Borrowed his notes like a hundred times.”
“You—yeah, you. When you skipped your shift to go to Gangneung with your girlfriend, Junhyun filled in for you.”
“And you—seriously, grow a conscience. Didn’t you borrow money from him before…?”
Someone barely held back laughter.
Someone else raised a thumb, clearly satisfied.
The ones who had been trashing Junhyun slunk away, eyes darting nervously.
“What are you, Baek Junhyun’s spokesperson?”
“Whatever, let’s just go.”
Lee Seoyoon called out after their backs, unable to hold back her fury.
“If you’re jealous, just admit you’re jealous.”
A small ooooh of admiration slipped out from someone.
Seoyoon, with a cool-as-ice expression like it was no big deal, walked off nonchalantly.
Five minutes later—
“Phew… I thought I was gonna die from nerves.”
Sitting on a bench in a quiet corner of the campus, Lee Seoyoon let out a shaky breath.
Normally, she would’ve pretended not to hear anything.
But today, those words had seriously rubbed her the wrong way.
It was a very simple train of thought.
Insulting Baek Junhyun meant insulting Stay, the one who made the song—and insulting Stay meant insulting herself, basically.
“Ugh, that felt good. Who do they think they are, talking crap about Doubline.”
Thinking that, she pulled out her smartphone.
She opened the YouTube app and played the same video she always watched.
[<Crossing Tomorrow> Rolled Directly by the Composer]
No matter how many times she watched it, she never got tired of it.
Out of all the songs Stay had composed, this one was her favorite.
And the fact that the singer was a fellow student at her school? Her shoulders lifted without her realizing.
When the composer version cover came out, she’d nearly fainted.
“Wonder who he’ll work with next.”
As she daydreamed about different singers, she logged into her own YouTube channel.
[Doubline: Five Reasons Why Their Win Was Inevitable]
[17 views, 3 likes, 0 comments]
[Signum’s <Avalanche>: What’s the Secret Behind the Bass Line?]
[22 views, 5 likes, 0 comments]
[<More Than Time>: Acoustic Piano Arrangement of the Synth Theme]
[31 views, 6 likes, 0 comments]
Maybe it was because she hadn’t hit the algorithm yet.
She had just around 20 subscribers.
“Ugh, how does YouTube even work...?”
She let out a soft sigh and was about to stand up when an alert went off.
Her first comment.
↳ Oh… this is a great analysis. I especially liked the expression ‘the dreamy mood created by space.’
Then, a comment was posted on the <Avalanche> video too.
↳ Oh, it’s in 4/4 but feels like it’s in triplets! You’re spot on.
“Gasp! No way.”
Who had left such kind comments?
Lee Seoyoon sat back down on the bench and stared at the comments for a long while.