Chapter 9.9 - Act 9: Whimsically 9 (1/2)

Act 9: Whimsically 9

There was a time I went around singing carols at weddings.

I used to do it back in my university days and the reason for doing it was of course to earn enough money to keep me going. After entering a music university, I was old enough to have an idea about my family’s financial situation.

In any case, although it might seem easy to find these wedding song singing requests considering the amount of weddings held, it was actually quite a difficult job to get.

From the bride and the groom’s perspective, it was the one and only wedding ceremony of their lives so even minor details like the singer of the wedding song would undergo close inspection on things like their work experience.

Besides, organisations would take videos of previous wedding songs of their singers to show the customers and put a lot of effort into marketing. Because first and foremost, there had to be results to persuade customers that they were good at singing.

So the fact that mere high schoolers like us were able to find a job of singing a wedding song would have been difficult even with the help of Director Han Seungjoo’s connections.

“Ah? Hello! You came to sing the wedding song right?”

Within the wedding hall with busy guests, I barely held in my laughter while looking at Lee Suh-ah who was throwing sneaky glances around, seemingly being intrigued by her first visit at a wedding venue when a person reached out to us.

Turning around, I could see a dressed-up male. With a tidy tuxedo and light makeup, he had organised hair.

It was our employer, the groom.

Immediately after recognising him, I entered hospitality mode and lowered my head.

“Hello, I am Jo Yunjae, who will be singing the wedding song.”

“Hello.”

From the side of my eyes, I saw Lee Suh-ah giving an apathetic bow when the groom replied with a smile.

“Hello~ I saw you during the rehearsal but didn’t have the time to greet. I am Song Minchul. I will be counting on you for the song.”

“Yes. If you allow us to, we will sing to the best of our ability.”

After that, I had a short conversation with him.

We had small talks like how he enjoyed the song during the rehearsal and how the venue looked as well as how he was nervous from the first marriage he was having in his life… I mean, if he had lots of marrying experiences at that age, wouldn’t that be more weird?

It was then when the groom’s eyes moved towards Lee Suh-ah who had been listening to our talks with boredom.

“This here is Miss Suh-ah right? Lee Suh-ah.”

“? Yes.”

“Haven’t we met before?”

What… a pick-up line?

Lee Suh-ah seemed to be dumbfounded as well and frowned when the male opened his mouth with a smile.

“Last year, you sang at the concert hall of Future Middle School right? Was it the High-achievers concert? Something like that.”

“Ah, yes I did.”

While she gave an uninterested nod, the male continued with a wink.

“Come on. We greeted each other as well, don’t you remember? I’m the guy that was next to Song Mirae.”

“…?”

She glared at the groom for a bit before visibly widening her eyes, evidently having remembered it.

“Ah, her cousin…”

“Yes. I actually called you here today as well because you were good at singing back then. I asked that little Song Mirae to sing but she said she didn’t want to so~”

Only after hearing up to that point did I nod in understanding. I was surprised that we received a job of singing at a wedding venue so this was the reason huh.

Although we went around singing a lot, it had only been two weeks. There were some rumours floating around but that was limited to the ones involved in the industry and no matter how well the companies knew us, the opinions of the employers; the groom and the bride were more important.

In that case, I guess this time is like Lee Suh-ah’s acquaintance directly requesting us for a job since I had close to no fame right now… While I was deep in contemplation, the two had a short conversation and the groom smiled after looking into Lee Suh-ah’s eyes.

“I think I need to go now. I’ll count on you for the song then.”

“Yes.”

Leaving those words behind, the groom immediately started talking with other guests with smiles. Beneath the bright, sparkling lights, his friends shoved his shoulders giving congratulations and elders gave smiles at him as the little kids bowed without even knowing what was happening.

Wedding huh…

While staring at that scene, I opened my mouth as an abrupt thought popped up in my head.

“He is a relative of Song Mirae?”

“That’s what he’s saying.”

Glancing at her face, I found an uninterested expression. She was best friends with Song Mirae but seemed to be not as friendly with her family. While thinking that that wasn’t an impossible story, a thought regarding Song Mirae flashed.

“Then maybe Song Mirae will be coming today as well? I guess yeah? Since it is her cousin’s wedding ceremony.”

“…What?”

Lee Suh-ah stiffened.

*

Restlessly, Lee Suh-ah bit on her lips. She could see the wedding venue packed with people. The hall which looked spacious just a few minutes ago now appeared small due to the overflowing guests.

It meant that the invitees were almost all here, and that in turn meant that the start of the ceremony was nearing.

‘After it starts, there will be the officiate’s greeting…’

She racked her brains and thought back to the order of the ceremony. After some declarations and the officiant’s message, there would be the wedding song. Since that was based on her memory of the rehearsal they had, it was almost certain.

The wedding song itself couldn’t suit wedding ceremonies any better and was a warm love song – a love song sung together with Jo Yunjae in a duet.

“…Ah.”

Suddenly she remembered the messages Song Mirae sent her.

[Song: Lee Suh-ah!!!!!]

[Lee: ?]

[Song: R u free tomorrow? Let’s meet up!!!!

(an emoji of a running bear)]

[Lee: Sorry, I have something to do tomorrow.]

[Song: Ah…

I see!! Then next time!]

Pulling out her hair, Lee Suh-ah thought.

So that sudden question about meeting was… to come to the wedding ceremony together, huh.

‘What should I do…?’

Lee Suh-ah quickly racked her brain.

What would the current situation appear like to Song Mirae?

The guy she liked suddenly appeared with her friend and sang a love song together. And besides, they had been taking casual jobs with just the two of them throughout holidays without saying a word to her?

‘…No.’

Her face blanched.

It was a situation that could definitely be misunderstood and if she was Song Mirae, she definitely would.