Meanwhile, with Kim Tae-hyun’s wedding approaching, Lee Hyun-woo was in a state of panic.
“Oh no!”
Lee Hyun-woo, who was supposed to sing the congratulatory song, had originally planned to prepare his own song.
In fact, last time when he was a bit tipsy, he had promised Kim Tae-hyun that he would sing a song he had written himself.
“I got caught up in so many things and couldn’t do it.”
There was so much to do in such a short time, with the data center and Jamie Wang arriving, which further drained Lee Hyun-woo’s energy.
It was practically just an excuse.
Despite talking about work-life balance, he always ended up calling for more work when situations arose, which led to tasks piling up and getting entangled.
“Damn it!”
With only three days left, Lee Hyun-woo had no choice but to lock himself in the practice room of the company band ‘Pitch’ and work.
The fortunate part was that this place had all the equipment needed for composing.
“Still, composing a song in three days is too much…”
A song made in such a short time was likely to be poor quality.
Using such a song at his future brother-in-law’s wedding would be an insult.
“No choice. I’ll have to sing ‘that song’ used in a wedding in my past life as a one-time thing.”
The song that came to mind was ‘To the Bride,’ which a friend had sung at Lee Hyun-woo’s own wedding.
“Damn, this is outright plagiarism.”
Although he had tried to avoid it, he quickly started writing down the melody and lyrics that came to mind, since he wasn’t going to use it commercially anyway.
Then he played the song.
“As expected, I remember it perfectly.”
Was it because it was sung at his own wedding?
Or maybe it was because it was a song that was briefly popular at this time in his past life that it just flowed into his head?
It was 100% identical.
“Sorry, Glass Box.”
Expressing his apologies to the two singers of the song in his heart, Lee Hyun-woo immersed himself in practice.
He was busy playing and singing late into the night.
The next day, Saturday, was no different.
Kim Ah-young visited, which was a stroke of luck.
“It’s the song I’m going to sing at Tae-hyun hyung’s wedding. Can you listen to it?”
“Hmm?”
“I prepared it hastily, so I’m not sure if it’s okay.”
“Sure, I’ll listen.”
Lee Hyun-woo couldn’t perfectly match the original song by Glass Box.
It was too high-pitched for him.
So he slightly lowered it to fit his range and decided to have Kim Ah-young, who was right there, evaluate it.
“Okay, I’ll start.”
The song slowly started to resonate in the underground studio of Jungle along with the synthesizer.
“A white dress, shy steps, like dreaming excitement~”
Kim Ah-young found Lee Hyun-woo’s low voice very sweet.
“Trusting only me, standing by my side, precious you, when hard times stood before us, it was sad, but every time you wrapped me in love~”
It felt like the lyrics were telling her own story.
Naturally, scenes from her meeting with Lee Hyun-woo until now flashed through her mind.
When they first met at Seorabeol Hotel, he intrigued and flustered her.
Later, when she came for dinner with Woo Sang-won, she could observe Lee Hyun-woo seriously.
Though Lee Hyun-woo might not define it that way, their first date in Jongno.
Despite drinking quite a bit, she wasn’t very drunk.
Instead, the moment when she shared her heart with Lee Hyun-woo remained a sweet memory.
Also, meeting Lee Hyun-woo at the nightclub was different, and after that, in Jeju Island, Japan, and the U.S., their love grew.
Even at that moment, Lee Hyun-woo’s song was reaching her heart.
“Not because of you, not because of me, but because of something else, those times we were hurt~ But I promise you who always waited~ I will love you so you won’t shed tears anymore!”
There was no climax, but from beginning to end, it was calm, sweet, and touching.
Perhaps it was because it reminded her of the past.
When the song ended, she felt a strange warmth in her eyes.
However, holding it back, Kim Ah-young clapped like a seal.
Clap clap clap clap clap~
“Isn’t it bad?”
Nod nod.
“Really?”
Nod nod.
Kim Ah-young just nodded as she feared her voice might reveal her slight choking.
After taking a breath, she gave Lee Hyun-woo an accurate evaluation.
“The song tells a story, I think? Anyway, listening to it made me recall our past. If I were the bride, I would have felt the same way.”
“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”
“But it’s a song I’ve never heard before. Did you compose it?”
“Uh? Oh, more or less…”
“……”
“I heard it in a dream…”
“Hmm?”
“I heard it in a dream, and it was so good that I made it right away.”
“Wow, I’m jealous. To have such dreams. You can even compose a wedding song from a dream.”
“Haha…”
Lee Hyun-woo gave an awkward laugh.
“Well, my past life seemed like a fleeting dream anyway, so it’s basically the same.”
Thinking this to himself,
“Alright, I need to record it now. I need to make a backing track so I can sing it at the wedding.”
He quickly changed the subject.
Then, he started playing for the backing track recording.
Kim Ah-young’s eyes once again became dreamy as she listened.
“My boyfriend is a genius.”
They say love puts rose-colored glasses on your eyes, and that was Kim Ah-young’s view right now.
“He composes well, has a nice voice… He could have been a singer.”
Kim Tae-hyun’s wedding was held in the garden of Ho-Won Art Museum near Foreverland in Yongin.
Many leaders from various sectors, including presidents of both families’ affiliates, political, business, legal, and academic circles attended.
Even with careful selection, about 500 people were invited, and as Lee Hyun-woo prepared for the wedding song, he could see former and current ministers, confirming once again the network of Guseong.
But that was just a moment, as the time for the wedding song approached, and he grabbed the microphone with a bit of nervousness.
Then, the host’s voice was heard.
“The title is ‘To the Bride,’ a song personally composed by Lee Hyun-woo for the groom, Kim Tae-hyun.”
Feeling guilty because it was a song from his past life rather than something he composed himself,
“I really need to make an amazing song someday and dedicate it to the original composer.”
Whether that day would come or not, for now, it was time to focus on the wedding song.
The recorded backing track started, and Lee Hyun-woo’s voice slowly reached the ears of the wedding guests.
As Kim Ah-young felt, the sweet low voice filled the garden of Ho-Won Art Museum.
Someone whispered,
“He composed this himself?”
“It’s really good.”
“CEO Lee can really compose.”
“Not only does he compose well, but his voice is amazing.”
These were the conversations of the older guests.
The young relatives of both families, especially the women, clasped their hands, touched by the song.
“He’s really charming.”
“Kim Ah-young is so lucky.”
“I’m jealous.”
“I wish I could meet a guy like him.”
These reactions didn’t escape the ears of Kim Sung-moo and Jang Hee-jin, who were sitting in the front row.
Although he was still just her boyfriend, they had decided to welcome him as a son-in-law, and their expressions were pleased.
But the faces of the bride and groom, Kim Tae-hyun and his bride, were exceptional.
As Kim Ah-young had said, it seemed they were reminiscing about their stories with dreamy eyes, taking in Lee Hyun-woo’s song in their hearts.
Kim Tae-hyun was honestly moved.
“This guy, even with his busy schedule, made a wedding song for me.”
Moreover, anyone could tell from listening once how much effort Lee Hyun-woo had put into the wedding song, making him even more grateful.
But that thought was brief, as Kim Tae-hyun smiled at his bride.
Although their match was practically an arranged marriage, he expressed his determination to be a good husband from now on.
Was the bride the same?
She smiled back at Kim Tae-hyun.
At that moment, the song finally ended.
A mysterious sense of regret and lingering feelings enveloped both of them.
But only for a moment, as thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the guests.
“Wow!”
“Great!”
Whether it was to congratulate the couple or because they enjoyed Lee Hyun-woo’s song, it surely elevated the wedding’s atmosphere.
After the ceremony, when they were taking photos, the requests for Lee Hyun-woo’s wedding song kept coming.
“My son is getting married next week, could I ask for a wedding song?”
“My daughter is getting married next month, it would be great if CEO Lee could come and sing.”
“Can he do it when he’s so busy?”
“Right. He must be busy with business. He probably only sang today because it’s the wedding of the eldest son of this family.”
“Even if we offer a lot of money, he wouldn’t do it, right?”
“Hey, do you have more money than Lee Hyun-woo?”
“Is Lee Hyun-woo that rich?”
“Of course. The company’s market cap is over 5 trillion won.”
“That’s an old story. Recently, the amount traded off-exchange suggests it’s around 10 trillion won.”
“That’s a bit too much.”
“Anyway, it’s hard to compete with Lee Hyun-woo in terms of money.”
“True, I heard he owns almost 70% of Jungle shares.”
“Not that much, just a bit over 50%.”
As expected at a Guseong family wedding, the conversation drifted to shares.
But Lee Hyun-woo didn’t hear any of it.
Instead, he was internally fired up with creative enthusiasm from the wedding song.
“I have to compose a truly amazing song.”
Even though it was a different world, he didn’t like the idea of plagiarizing someone else’s song.
But after the wedding and taking all the photos, while having a meal, people started recognizing him and asking about the wedding song.
“Hyun-woo, can I ask you to sing a wedding song too?”
“Oppa, please sing a wedding song for me too…”
Looking around, he saw people he had met at the aristocratic meeting invited by Kim Tae-hyun in the past.
Back then, they had treated Lee Hyun-woo as a ‘nobody,’ but now they were acting friendly, making Lee Hyun-woo chuckle.
“I’m sorry, but I have no plans to sing more wedding songs. I’m too busy.”
“Oh… I see…”
“That’s too bad.”
As he firmly declined, those who were about to ask gave up.
Seeing that, Lee Hyun-woo thought,
“Seems like the wedding song wasn’t bad.”
Indeed, there was a reason why this song by Glass Box was so frequently sung at weddings in his past life.
“I should sing it at various occasions.”
However, apart from being busy, he didn’t like how people’s attitudes had changed 180 degrees, so he decided to refuse for now.
Humming the song he had sung earlier,
“I’ll share the joys and sorrows of the world with you~”
Strangely, he thought of Kim Ah-young and smiled.
The next day, somehow having heard about it, Woo Sang-won came to Lee Hyun-woo and talked about the wedding song.
“CEO, I heard the wedding song was no joke?”
“Sorry?”
“Someone who attended the wedding seems to have posted about it on their blog.”
“Oh…”
“So, I was wondering, our online shopping team leader Lee Won-jong is about to get married. Would you consider singing a wedding song for him…”
“Of course. He’s our employee.”
Unlike the previous day, Lee Hyun-woo nodded immediately.
It seemed Woo Sang-won had subtly mentioned it because Lee Won-jong was too hesitant to ask directly.
“I didn’t want to make such a request, but I thought it would be meaningful if the CEO sang at an employee’s wedding…”
Seeing Woo Sang-won hesitate, Lee Hyun-woo spoke again,
“For such requests, feel free to ask anytime. I can handle singing at our employees’ weddings.”
