The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 64
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
This life’s hit song is revenge.
Episode 64
Lee Jae-i’s pace quickened as she recognized Son Hyun-joo.
Though it was the same Studio Set, the presence of one person had transformed the very air itself.
The brisk movements remained unchanged, yet everything felt more ordered somehow.
Lee Jae-i lifted the corners of her mouth slowly and faced Son Hyun-joo.
“How have you been?”
“And you, Lee Jae-i? Your hand is fully healed now, isn’t it?”
Son Hyun-joo’s voice, always clipped and businesslike, had softened considerably.
Concern laced through her words, and Lee Jae-i felt her rigid posture begin to ease.
She deliberately spread her fingers wide to show them off.
“Yes. It’s completely better.”
“That’s a relief. I’m saying this just to be sure, but there won’t be any reversal of the championship. Don’t worry yourself over it.”
There was certainty in her words, and Lee Jae-i listened carefully.
“You’re talking about YU’s statement, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Well… there were various circumstances internally, you see.”
When Son Hyun-joo trailed off after broaching the subject, Lee Jae-i simply nodded without pressing further.
She could sense what had happened without asking.
The winner had been predetermined from the start, and the Broadcasting Station too had surely noticed the irregularities as this situation unfolded.
Since there had been no official announcement yet, no disciplinary decision had been reached.
Lee Jae-i smoothly changed the subject.
“Once the program ends, I’d like to showcase some other self-composed songs. I was thinking it might be nice to work together with you on that.”
“Lee Jae-i, you’re already preparing an album? Are you debuting right away?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Lee Jae-i stepped closer and leaned in to listen.
Before coming to the Studio Set, she’d been thinking about something.
Moving forward, the appeal of entertainment on television would diminish.
Videos easily accessible through a cell phone would become more popular.
The Broadcasting Stations hadn’t yet begun in earnest, but an era was about to open.
Before she died, she’d often watched videos of singers singing softly to themselves.
What if Son Hyun-joo’s planning ability were added to that kind of content?
She had no doubt it could touch the public’s heart.
Personally, she also wanted to create an opportunity to sing together with Kim Se-jin.
When her explanation finished, Son Hyun-joo crossed her arms and nodded slowly.
“Oh… that’s a really fresh idea.”
Then she suddenly pulled something out of her back jeans pocket and showed it.
“And here I’ve been carrying this around, and you’re igniting a spark in me.”
Written on the thin envelope were the words:
“Resignation Letter.”
The moment Lee Jae-i’s gaze fixed on the envelope, a low voice cut in from behind.
“Are you quitting, Son Hyun-joo?”
It was Director Kang.
Surprised by his sudden appearance, Son Hyun-joo tilted her head.
“Were you here, Director?”
“I am. But is that resignation letter for real?”
“Everyone in the office carries one of these around.”
Son Hyun-joo shoved the resignation letter back into her pocket with a playful tone.
“We can talk more about what I just mentioned after the broadcast wraps. Seriously! Since Director is here too, we can move things faster.”
At Son Hyun-joo’s laughter, Director Kang tilted his head.
“First, we need to get through this. Director, if you’re going to stay, please sit over there. Lee Jae-i, let’s begin Rehearsal.”
“Yes!”
With a light step, she followed Son Hyun-joo.
But Director Kang’s presence didn’t recede into the distance—it touched her heart directly.
The moment Lee Jae-i took her place for the Rehearsal, the Staff moved with even greater urgency.
The Microphone test sound, short directives about adjusting the lights.
Two days ago, it hadn’t felt like this.
A completely different sensation flowed through her skin.
“Hmm…”
Lee Jae-i took a slow, deep breath.
And just before the lights came down, her gaze naturally drifted toward the end of the Studio Set.
He was far away, yet her eyes found him easily.
A brief meeting of gazes.
Director Kang nodded—barely perceptibly.
That small gesture alone made her grip on the Microphone firm.
She steadied her breathing through her nose and relaxed her shoulders lightly.
Click.
The lights came on, flooding her vision white.
“Intro coming in. Cue!”
The person I want to see. And—
‘The person beside me…’
She felt she could focus entirely on the song.
At least for this moment.
* * *
The final broadcast day of I’m Your Singer Season 3.
Lee Jae-i sat on the edge of her bed with only a small lamp on in the Lodging.
On the cell phone screen, a moving opening and the familiar logo played.
But today was different.
Rather than standing on stage, watching through the screen like this squeezed her heart far more forcefully.
‘Baek Song-ha must be watching too.’
This was different from the last time she’d watched a program in the past.
The past few months of her journey were compressing and flowing past as video.
The beginning had proceeded as expected.
Faces laughing and joking at the Lodging.
Trainees shedding tears without noticing the Camera.
But in the next scene, Lee Jae-i’s eyes fixed.
‘Did this really air?’
The video was honest.
It had almost perfectly restored that day’s atmosphere.
Baek Song-ha’s voice raised sharply.
Breath cut short, breaking free at the end of words.
And a glass on the table.
Shattered fragments caught the light, then reflected off an injured hand.
And a subtitle inserted at the bottom of the screen.
[An accident through carelessness, and an injury.]
From that subtitle, it felt like seeing Baek Song-ha herself laid bare.
Denying everything with tedious persistence.
Yet that personality that casually scratched others without a care.
Baek Song-ha’s flustered expression overlaid itself, and the video kept rolling.
‘You thought it was all in the past, didn’t you?’
She threw the words silently at the screen.
Since this scene hadn’t appeared in the previous broadcast, how relieved she must have felt.
It was obvious she’d be unhappy to see footage that contradicted her victim act.
Baek Song-ha’s distorted expression flashed through Lee Jae-i’s mind.
But Lee Jae-i was certain.
Somewhere, Baek Song-ha was wearing that very same face.
The tension in her chest released into a surge of satisfaction.
This wasn’t revenge, nor was it a choice.
It was simply a record.
The final stage footage passed quickly.
Cheers, lights, applause.
The video was gleaming as it reached its conclusion.
Color gradually drained away, and soon the background faded to pure black.
Only the subtitles filled the screen.
[I’m Your Singer Season 3. Your singer is born.]
Lee Jae-i pulled the cell phone closer.
A sense that she couldn’t bear to miss anything moved her hand first.
The background music changed.
The calm melody stopped as if catching its breath, then swelled dramatically a beat late.
At the same moment, the screen brightened again.
Light spread and filled the display, a face blooming across it.
A person holding a Microphone.
The familiar yet strange face of singer Lee Jae-i.
And letter by letter, a subtitle typed itself across the screen.
[Final Champion. Lee Jae-i.]
The moment those letters appeared, her heart plummeted first.
Then immediately burst from within.
Though she’d known it, the overwhelming emotion was indescribable.
Because of one vivid fragment from her past memory.
In this scene, the champion’s name had been Baek Song-ha.
‘I did it. The name changed.’
Emotion, not sound, caught in her throat first.
‘Not Baek Song-ha…’
Lee Jae-i stared straight at the screen and finished the sentence silently in her mind.
‘It’s me.’
The subtitle scattered widely as the video began to move again.
The intro to the winning song flowed out.
Her own song, passing through speakers, filled the room.
The time spent enduring with bowed head.
The injustice that wasn’t even permitted explanation.
All of it shattered at once beneath the two letters: “1st.”
This was a moment worthy of more than dignified joy—it was allowed to be exhilarating.
It was a result that rightfully deserved laughter and relief.
‘Song-ha. No matter what you did, I won.’
She felt certain that this much satisfaction needed no punishment.
Lee Jae-i watched the screen where the song was playing and exhaled very softly.
Right after the broadcast ended.
It was when she touched the screen with lingering fingertips.
Among the posts in the open community window.
A different name, not her own, captured Lee Jae-i’s attention.
[Kim Cho-a Full Video Link.]
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————