The reason Taeha was able to know so much about TT was thanks to the data Im Chan-hyung had thoroughly prepared.
Of course, Taeha also knew about TT to some extent. Many of the hit songs he had composed were well-known to the public. However, he didn’t know the songs well enough to call himself a fan.
But thanks to Im Chan-hyung’s materials, he had learned a lot about TT and had even listened to his hidden masterpieces, Star Road and Talk to. They were certainly songs worthy of being called masterpieces.
What was interesting was that they weren’t very fast-paced for girl group songs famous at that time. Instead, they felt more like the OSTs TT often wrote these days.
Thanks to Im Chan-hyung’s research, Taeha was able to ease the stiff atmosphere in the recording studio. TT, in particular, couldn’t help but be happy, as he didn’t know the circumstances of why Taeha knew so much about him.
‘So there are still people who like my songs.’
That was what he ended up thinking. Regardless, it was a good thing the mood had improved, and now it was time to record. TT looked toward Taeha as he entered the recording booth and spoke with a warm smile.
“You don’t have to sing perfectly, so just do your best. I’ll take care of the rest and touch it up for you.”
It was clear that his dissatisfaction with Taeha had completely vanished. Even if he didn’t have high expectations for the singing, his favorability toward Taeha had reached its peak. At this rate, it felt like he would forgive Taeha no matter what he did during the recording.
Thanks to that, Taeha was able to shake off the pressure.
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
And so, the intro to the song Taeha would sing today, Blue Moon, began.
Blue Moon was a song intended to be played during emotional scenes in Fight School. Specifically, it was planned to be used as Lee In-woo’s theme song. However, it wasn’t a track with very high utility, as emotional scenes didn’t appear that often in Fight School. Most of those scenes occurred when teachers, students, and parents showed change under Lee In-woo’s influence.
In fact, the core music of Fight School was the upbeat tracks played whenever Lee In-woo was in action. Because of that, the work for such songs was still ongoing, with several composers submitting tracks. This meant that neither the song nor the composer had been decided yet.
Considering that the opening and ending themes were already finished, it was clear how much Shin Seong-jin, Park Hee-jeong, and Lee Hyun-seung were focusing on this particular track.
‘It seemed like they wanted something with an All Time Low “Time Bomb” vibe, but it must be hard to find a song like that.’
While he was thinking that, the intro finished, and Taeha began to sing.
Naturally, he didn’t just sing. Right before he started, he set his target for immersion. The target Taeha chose was the person who had garnered a good reaction in the car last time: ‘The best singer in the Republic of Korea.’
Actually, after that positive reaction, he had been setting that target and practicing his singing continuously. Perhaps that was why the vocal trainer, Ahn Min-kyung, had praised Taeha and brought up a certain topic.
[Why don’t you try being a singer again, even now? It might be hard to be an idol at this point, but I think it would be fine to get some good songs and release a mini-album. Honestly, with your face and your singing skills, it would be weirder if you didn’t succeed as a singer.]
Of course, Taeha took such praise as mere lip service. The reason was simple. He knew that his immersion ability was not omnipotent. Immersion was about pulling out the maximum potential that the target possessed. Therefore, if the target’s talent or inherent abilities weren’t great, there were limits.
The reason he couldn’t become a literal superhero just by thinking he would immerse himself as one was for this very reason. And that was why Taeha viewed Ahn Min-kyung’s words as lip service.
While he wasn’t bad at singing, Taeha hadn’t been an amazing vocalist during his Freesia days either. There was a separate main vocal, and Taeha was at the level of a lead vocal who supported them. To put it nicely, he was a lead vocal, but in reality, he was more like a second lead or a sub-vocal who sang short, low-pitched parts.
Thus, even if he utilized his immersion ability, there was a set limit to the singing skill Taeha could demonstrate.
‘I probably just sound a bit better than the average actor. Like an actor who survives the first round of King of Masked Singer and then gets eliminated.’
That was the level Taeha believed he was at. And he was satisfied with that. It was enough to handle Blue Moon and provide a bit of promotional effect from an actor participating in the OST.
The lyrics of Blue Moon flowed from Taeha’s lips.
—Under the night sky where waves ripple
The quiet moonlight embraces my heart
Even the cold wind feels warm
I fall deep into thoughts of you
—Blue Moon, you are my lighthouse
Shining light into the darkness
Because of you, Blue Moon, I’m okay
I’m not lonely on this night alone
Taeha sang the entire song from beginning to end without any interruptions. As he sang, he fell into the mood and even forgot the fact that he was recording. When the song ended and he opened his eyes, he was greeted by TT’s unexpectedly moved expression.
TT then mumbled something inaudible for a long time. When Taeha frowned while trying to read his lips to understand what he meant, TT finally realized the problem, pressed the button, and spoke.
“Ah. I was so excited that I kept talking without realizing you couldn’t hear me.”
“I see. What were you saying?”
“Why are you an actor?”
Taeha immediately questioned TT’s random inquiry.
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, why are you an actor instead of a singer?”
“Eh?”
“Wow! The song was really, truly so good! No, it’s not just normally good. You were better than any singer I’ve worked with recently. It was just… overwhelming.”
“Was there any part you wanted me to re-record?”
“None! There’s no way! You did so well! Ah… though, should we try singing it just one more time? Just in case something even better comes out?”
“Let’s do that.”
Taeha immersed himself and sang the song once more. And when he finished, he found TT’s expression to be quite different from before. He was observing Taeha with an incredibly serious face.
Then, he pressed the button with a look of resolve and spoke to Taeha.
“Actually, Salamander Studio asked me if I could make a song with a vibe like All Time Low’s “Time Bomb,” but I turned them down.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Yes. But my mind has changed now. To be honest, I have a place I call my ‘vault’ where I keep songs I cherish, and there’s a track in there with a similar feel to what Salamander Studio wants. I’m going to give that to them.”
“Oh. That’s a good idea.”
Taeha instinctively chimed in with TT’s words. It was a good thing if TT’s song was decent enough to relieve the worries about the upbeat music that Shin Seong-jin, Park Hee-jeong, and Lee Hyun-seung wanted.
But at the same time, a question naturally arose.
“But why are you telling me this…?”
He didn’t understand why TT was saying this right now, in this place, at this moment.
TT nodded as if he understood Taeha’s confusion and gave a bold answer.
And that answer was…
“Because I want you to sing that song.”
It was something completely unexpected.
“Pardon?”
Taeha had no choice but to ask back. However, TT didn’t mind and continued his explanation.
“No matter how much I think about it, I feel like that song was born to meet you. The overall tone of the song fits your voice perfectly. Instead of just talking, do you want to listen to it once?”
Before Taeha could even answer, TT approached his computer and started searching for something. It was as if the option of not listening to the song didn’t exist in the first place.
But a moment later.
The song by TT that Taeha heard, Rebel Anthem, was better than he had expected. The moment he heard it, it felt like it pierced straight into his ears. More than anything, even though he didn’t know much about music, he felt like this was the exact song Shin Seong-jin, Park Hee-jeong, and Lee Hyun-seung were looking for.
As Taeha stood lost in thought while listening to the song with a guide vocal track, TT pressed the button and spoke.
“How is it? The song is good, right? It feels like the song Salamander Studio is looking for, doesn’t it?”
Taeha pondered for a moment before giving a thumbs up instead of an answer.
***
In conclusion, the song TT played, Rebel Anthem, was confirmed as an OST for Fight School. It was a natural result, as Shin Seong-jin, Park Hee-jeong, and Lee Hyun-seung all wanted the song the moment they heard it.
However, one problem arose: TT declared that he wouldn’t hand over Rebel Anthem unless Taeha was the vocalist. For Taeha, who had planned to finish his OST work after singing Blue Moon, it was like a bolt from the blue.
He tried to convince TT that it would be better to use a more established singer as the vocalist, but it was no use. Even CEO Choi stepped in to try and change TT’s mind, but the result was the same. TT’s stance was too firm.
[I’m telling you clearly, Actor Kang must be the one to sing this song. If not, I can’t give you this song. My mindset is that if Actor Kang doesn’t sing it, I’ll just seal it away forever.]
Since he was being that stubborn, was there any other way?
Ultimately, Taeha had to visit the Sangsu-dong recording studio once more to sing Rebel Anthem. It wasn’t an easy task like Blue Moon, which had ended after singing it twice. TT was meticulous, making him sing the same parts over and over.
Sometimes, because of directing instructions whose meaning was hard to grasp, he had to sing a single section nearly twenty times. But he couldn’t even ask why TT was doing this. It was because TT was sweating as if his life depended on the recording.
Thanks to that, Taeha was finally able to leave the recording studio, feeling half-dead.
“You worked hard.”
He was so exhausted that the moment he got into the car after hearing Im Chan-hyung’s words, he fell fast asleep. At any rate, with this, the OST work for Fight School—which had been harder than expected—was finished.
This happened while the filming for episodes 5 to 8 of Fight School was in full swing.