Hana seemed familiar with the devices in the multi-room, indicating that this was not her first time in a place like this, while going over to key in her song choice in the Karaoke machine.
As she did so, Daniel had some mixed feelings about possibly singing in front of her. It was a secret that he never shared with anyone, but he actually really liked to sing. But, he had never before sang infront of an audience before, not even his own mother had heard him sing before. He only ever sang in the shower by himself.
This was naturally because he had zero confidence to sing in front other people. Years of being bullied had already knocked his self-esteem into the ground, so there was no way he would have the confidence to actually do what might possibly be social suicide infront of his peers.
Besides, he didn't think his singing would actually sound good anyways. So why risk potential humiliation?
But now that he was in a new body, his self-esteem had actually been gradually rising. Daniel no longer feared being shunned or socially excluded, especially not because of his singing. While he was not very comfortable with Hana yet, seeing as they were still barely acquaintances at this point, it was also because they were not that close that he didn't care as much what she might think of his singing.
So what if he sang badly and she laughed at him? He wasn't perfect, and just because he wasn't good at one thing didn't mean he had any less value as a human being…
While Daniel monologued to himself internally, Hana picked up the microphone as the music started playing.
"Test, test, 1, 2, 3." Her voice reverberated from the sound system in the room. She grinned and turned to Daniel, "Oppa do you know this song? Sing along if you do, okay?"
He nodded, but in truth did not recognize the tune. The TV that was now showing the music video for the song showed the titled of Hana's choice, "Celebrity by IU".
(I'm not a Kpop fan. I just googled popular karaoke songs in Korea.)
Hana began to sing. "The world's edge. Sharply Angled. A troubled outsider…"
Daniel awkwardly bobbed his head to the beat, while he mouthed along to the lyrics shown on the TV. He didn't recognize the song, but thought it was pleasant sounding.
When the chorus hit, Hana increased her volume as though getting into the song, "Don't forget among the cloudy dark, you're a star painted with a left hand."
'Wow, she is really good… is it because this is her favourite song, or because she is good at singing? Her voice is really, melodic? Is that the right word?' He thought to himself with a slight tinge of red on his cheeks as he listened to Hana singing.
After the chorus, there was a post-chorus that was just the melody and beat of the music without any lyrics, and Hana danced along with the artist and her backup dancers in the music video. She moved with a practiced ease, swaying her hips and swinging her arms.
Hana turned back to see Daniel watching her with an open mouth and she smiled sweetly. She turned to face him fully, and continued singing the next verse without needing to look at the TV. It seemed she had fully memorized the lyrics of her favourite song. Hana also danced while singing, like the artist would during a concert.
He thought she looked incredibly cute singing while dancing only for him to see.
And as the song came to a close with the final verse, she winked at him while blowing a kiss.
Daniel felt his heart skip a beat at the sight, certain that his appearance right now would definitely be like a fool, with his mouth open and eyes wide while blushing.
"A-amazing! Wow, you're really good at singing, Hana!" He complimented sincerely. This was his first experience going out to sing at a karaoke, and naturally also his first time hearing another person sing in front of him as well, but he was sure that Hana was definitely good at singing.
"Hehe, thank you oppa! Did you like the dance as well? I learned it from online videos." She said while going through some of the moves again, especially the swaying hips that attracted his gaze.
"Totally, you looked really, uh, good…" He didn't know why he was being so bashful now when he had done so much more naughty things with other girls, but for some reason he thought that listening and watching Hana sing and dance felt a lot more emotionally intimate. Especially when they were the only ones in the room.
She grinned at his praise, while wiping away a bead of sweat from dancing. She then handed the microphone over to him, "Your turn, oppa!"
"Eh!? R-really? Do I have to?" He asked hesitantly. Though he had a grand monologue before about not caring about what Hana might think of him, his thoughts changed after hearing her sing. She sang really well, and it would be twice as embarrassing if he did so badly after she did such an amazing job.
"Of course! You can't just watch me sing the whole time right?" She insisted, giggling at his shyness. "I showed you mine, so now you show me yours."
The double entendre flew over his head while Daniel still hesitated over it, "I've never sang in front of anyone before. So I am worried I will sound like a fool. Please don't laugh if I do."
Hana chuckled at his sincere request, "I won't oppa! Singing well takes practice, and I practiced singing a lot too."
Inwardly, she was actually a little relieved. Daniel was so good looking that she had in fact been a little nervous the entire time since the start of their date. She had only been very good at suppressing and not letting her anxiety been shown. Even singing and dancing in front of Daniel had been more nerve-wracking than any other time she had sung in front of other people.
Knowing that he wasn't a perfect human being after all did more to appease her nerves.