Chapter 29: Big Brother of a Top Star

"Yunseong, Yuna."

"Hey? Dad!"

"Ah! President."

As President Jung Young-hoon entered the studio, the PDs all stood up from their seats.

"Oh, right. Everyone, you've all been working hard. Can I take Yunseong and Yuna with me?"

"Of course."

"Huh? Are you leaving early today?"

"Your mom said she wants to eat ribs. We need to go and buy them."

Is this what they mean by a doting husband?

He was the kind of person who would jump out of bed at a moment's notice if his wife said anything.

President Jung Young-hoon's love for his wife was already quite famous in the company.

"Alright, everyone, go ahead and leave."

"Have a good day~!"

"I'll go in, guys."

"Sure. Be careful. See you tomorrow, President."

"You should all finish up and go home soon too."

"Yes, sir."

After the President and the children left, the PDs slumped back into their seats.

And they all sighed simultaneously.

"......"

A heavy silence fell for a moment.

The first to break the silence was PD Kim's laughter.

"Haha, why is the atmosphere so heavy?"

"It would be strange if it weren't. Ah, I feel like smoking. No, this isn't about smoking, it's about drinking. Yeah, I need to drink."

"Shut up. Last time you said if you drank again, you wouldn't be a man."

An awkward silence fell again.

"......Wasn't the melody really good?"

"Is that even a question?"

"I felt a sense of doubt for the first time in my career as a producer. I wondered if I, someone like me, should even be making songs for others."

That's right.

The mood had become so down because they were all experiencing a crisis of confidence.

"Yunseong just started learning composition, right? How did he......"

The melody that Yunseong composed was still echoing in the PDs' minds.

A melody that they would have had to work on for days, staying up all night, to barely produce one, Yunseong had created five of them.

What was even more astonishing was that he had created these melodies without spending much time.

"Which one did you like the most?"

"Hmm, the first one?"

"What? I liked the fifth one the most."

"What's the point? They were all good anyway."

Everyone nodded at PD Kim's words.

"Right, they were all good. That's the problem."

"How can all five be good?"

"Isn't it a waste to use just one of them?"

It was a waste for a producer to pick just one from such a collection.

"But what genre is this?"

"All five seemed to be different genres."

"Right? Some had a lively feel, and some had a sweet feel."

Then, PD Kim picked up a memo that Jung Yunseong had left behind.

"I was just asking if he had written the lyrics. So, he wrote this down."

If President Jung hadn't suddenly shown up, Jung Yunseong would have shown all the lyrics today.

But even this was a relief.

At least they could tell what the song was about.

However,

"Huh?"

"What?"

When they saw the title on the memo, their brains froze.

"Am I seeing this wrong?"

"Is this really what Yunseong wrote?"

And when they read the lyrics below the title, their brains froze again.

"......"

A moment of silence.

But soon, it turned into a sea of laughter.

"Ha!"

"Ha-ha! Jung Yunseong, this is really something."

"Wow, I never thought of this. Jung Yunseong, you're the best, the best."

The song's title was "Chicken Cravings."

# # #

Knock, knock.

- Big brother.

"Hey, come in."

After all the fuss, he's now a well-behaved kid who knows how to knock.

But Yuna looked like she was struggling to open the door.

"Phew, I'm so full. I must have eaten like a pig."

I remember she ate the cold noodles and ribs really well earlier.

"Yeah, you did eat like a pig."

Yuna glared at me for a moment.

She was holding her textbook as usual.

"What are you doing? Are you busy?"

"No, I was just checking our song."

Yuna blinked at the notes densely written on the sheet music.

"Wow, it looks like you're making an orchestra piece. Why are the notes so packed?"

"I've been making a lot of revisions, so the notes overlap."

It was a bit extreme.

Probably no one but me could play this score.

The score had become messy as I kept adding things while revising.

"Have you decided on the melody? Which one from the ones you played in the studio?"

"No, I'm still thinking. And since we're both singing, it's not right for me to decide alone. Didn't you hear the melodies in the studio?"

"Yeah."

"You probably don't remember, right?"

"Hey, that's insulting. Of course, I remember!"

......I think she probably only remembers the first note and not much else.

"I did record all the melodies. They're not fully completed, just the melodies. Want to listen?"

"Sure, I'd love to."

Yuna nodded solemnly, like a professional judge.

I pressed the play button and played the five melodies for Yuna.

"As I listen to them again, I remember them all."

I could tell Yuna was listening seriously from the aura she was giving off.

I didn't say anything and quietly watched her focus on the melodies.

"But, big brother—"

After listening to all the songs, Yuna looked at me with a meaningful expression.

"Are you really a genius?"

"Huh?"

"No, how did you create all of these alone? The professor didn't help you, right?"

I don't know how to react to such praise.

"Well, they're not completed yet. Once you choose a melody, we'll add more to it."

"Hmm, you said this is a song about chicken, right?"

"Right. Doesn't it fit us as siblings?"

"Hehe, yeah. I can't wait to sing it."

"So, which one do you want to use?"

Yuna didn't take long to decide.

It seemed she had a clear favorite from the moment she heard the melodies.

"The first one."

"Is that your favorite?"

"Yeah. When I listened to the melodies, I imagined chicken."

Yuna spoke with a happy expression.

"The first one seemed to fit the crispy, juicy chicken the best. The fifth one was also good, but it felt more like a spicy chicken rather than a fried chicken."

It was a unique and crispy musical perspective.

"You like soy sauce chicken the most, don't you?"

"I like fried chicken too. I just crave different things on different days. And for this song, I want a simple, fried chicken feel."

I had been struggling to decide on a melody for a long time, but Yuna made her decision quickly.

Being able to quickly identify a melody that fits the song's theme and her taste is a great talent.

Maybe in her previous life, Yuna had excelled at choosing songs, which contributed to her success as a singer.

"Alright, let's go with the first one."

I decided to follow Yuna's instinct.

"What about the lyrics?"

"I did write some rough lyrics."

"Can't I write them too?"

"Of course. I was planning to write them together anyway."

Studying had already taken a back seat.

Yuna put away her textbook and opened a notebook.

"This will be fun."

And as she picked up her pen to write, a stronger aura started emanating from her.

# # #

President Jung Young-hoon is once again relying on antacids today.

He's been suffering from indigestion as he's gotten older, and taking medicine has become a daily routine.

"Should I go to the hospital?"

Chronic indigestion is no joke.

Should I quit drinking?

He swallowed the medicine in one go and asked his subordinate.

"Manager Lee, is this all for today's schedule?"

"Yes, sir. This is the end of today's schedule."

Manager Lee also looked exhausted.

It's understandable, given that he's been following the schedule non-stop since morning.

Usually, there would be some breaks to relax, but today, there was a reason to finish the schedule quickly.

"I'm sorry, but I have a very important dinner tonight."

"Uh...... It's not listed in today's schedule. I'll go with you."

"It's not for work. Just finish up and get some rest."

"Alright, sir. Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do."

After Manager Lee left, President Jung quickly finished the remaining work.

It was already 4:50 PM.

"Phew, I'm late."

He quickly gathered his things and left the office.

He called out to the employees still working.

"Everyone, go home early today. Don't overwork yourselves."

"Alright, sir. Have a good day!"

He headed to the children's studio, which was set up in the company.

The reason he finished the schedule early today was to come here.

President Jung carefully opened the studio door, worried about disturbing them.

"Hey? President......"

"Shh."

He raised his hand to signal the PD to sit back down.

Then, he whispered,

"Have they started yet?"

"No, sir. They're about to start the first recording."

Today was the second recording session for Yunseong and Yuna.

He had finished the busy schedule quickly to watch this.

"But why are you all gathered here? Just let the kids do it."

"Well...... We're all curious about what song they're recording today."

The PDs had a lot to do, but they couldn't resist their curiosity about what the two kids were recording today.

President Jung was the same.

"I heard they're doing an original song."

"Really? Have you heard what it is?"

"No, I haven't heard anything."

"Then you don't know that it's related to chicken, right?"

"Huh? Chicken?"

"Yes, the song's title is 'Chicken Cravings.'"

He was momentarily stunned.

Chicken, out of nowhere?

But that didn't last long.

"Yunseong, let's start the recording."

As PD Kim, who was wearing a headset, spoke, President Jung held his breath.

The two children, who were always a delight to look at, were sitting together in the recording room.

Yunseong was holding his guitar as usual, and Yuna was tapping her foot to the rhythm.

'I hope it goes well.'

It was their first original song, and the theme was chicken.

They were definitely going to post this as a video, but he was worried that people might criticize it.

If they had chosen a more common theme, he wouldn't have been this worried.

"One, two."

As Yunseong gave the signal, the guitar started playing.

President Jung's body tensed.

"!?"

The lively guitar strings and provocative note composition captured his attention from the first note.

As he got lost in the melody, he felt something strange.

'Is it because I heard about the chicken first?'

The melody really felt crispy.

Yuna, who had received the intro, brought the microphone to her lips.

"Today, you're tempting me, chi-kin! My mind is filled with thoughts of you~"

Yuna's lively and bouncy voice echoed through the microphone, fitting the crispy melody.

Then, Yunseong's voice joined in.

"Today, I can't resist that temptation."

"Maybe it's for the best~ Today, I'm thinking. What, what kind of—"

"Chicken to eat~."

The charming voices of the two children made the listeners smile.

Chapter 30