Chapter 46: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

Mumbling—

I quietly watched Yuna, who was stuffing her cheeks with a hamburger.

“Yuna.”

“Mmm.”

“Did you come here to see me, or did you come here for the hamburger place?”

This new unicorn hamburger franchise from the United States.

Coincidentally, its first branch opened right next to our school.

Yuna grinned and shook her head.

“Nope?”

It seemed like the truth when I saw her, who usually never came, suddenly show up.

When I looked at her with a cold eye, Yuna raised her voice even more.

“Really, no. I came to visit you and thought I might as well grab a delicious hamburger! Do you think I’m crazy about new hamburger places?”

For some reason, her words made me more suspicious.

I chuckled and pushed the tray piled high with fries toward Yuna.

“Alright, eat up. I have a lot to do today.”

“Mmm?”

Yuna took another big bite of the burger, chewed, and tilted her head.

“We should start preparing for the album soon.”

“Album?”

“Yeah. We can’t keep performing on NewTube forever. Not that we’re quitting NewTube, but it’s time to release a proper album and debut.”

We’ve released several songs through NewTube, but we haven’t officially debuted yet.

The atmosphere is such that you’re only recognized as a true debut when your official album is uploaded to all music sites in Korea and you perform on a debut stage.

Even if that’s not the case, it’s time for our sibling duo to release an album.

‘We’ve been putting it off for too long.’

It made sense since there weren’t many songs I liked back then.

But now, I guess I’ve gained some confidence.

No, it’s more accurate to say that I’ve created songs I’m satisfied with, rather than relying on others’ evaluations.

‘Am I really a perfectionist, as Professor Lee said?’

If it doesn’t sound good to my ears or doesn’t please me, no matter how much others praise it, I don’t feel like writing it.

Usually, if someone praises something to the point of drying their mouth, it might make you see it in a better light, but not in my case.

‘This is a kind of illness too.’

They say that once you start being bothered by small things in music, there’s no end to it.

Michael Jackson, known as the ultimate perfectionist, had so many unreleased songs because he couldn’t let go of even the smallest details.

While perfectionism can be a good thing for the public, it’s probably the most painful thing for the artists working with you.

‘Yuna will have to suffer a bit because of me too.’

Since we’re officially releasing the album, if there’s anything I don’t like, I’ll give immediate feedback.

We might not even finish recording one song today.

What if she suddenly decides to run away and not do it anymore...

“Why?”

Maybe I was staring at her too intently.

Yuna touched her face with her hand, checking if anything was stuck on it.

“What? I thought something was on my face.”

But the funny thing was that there was sauce on her face.

“Here, wipe it off.”

I took a wet tissue from my bag and handed it to Yuna.

“Huh? I’m sure there wasn’t anything.”

“Check in the mirror.”

So I also handed her a small pocket mirror.

“No way. Big brother, you have everything but nothing?”

“Isn’t this all the utmost care I have for my lacking little sister?”

Hearing that, Yuna rolled her eyes and soon nodded.

“Is that so...?”

“Hurry up and wipe it off.”

“Okay.”

After Yuna’s face was clean, I tried to clear the tray.

She had quickly finished the hamburger and fries.

“All done? Shall we get up now?”

“Ah, yeah. But, big brother.”

But Yuna was still looking at the menu board at the counter, seemingly reluctant to leave.

“You said you have a lot to do today, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then should we buy a few more hamburgers to go?”

“...”

This kid definitely came here today to eat hamburgers.

* * *

In the recording studio, Yuna was singing into the microphone with all her heart.

As usual, the PDs in the studio were smiling and enjoying Yuna’s singing, but—

Cut!

I immediately stopped the MR.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?”

“Why?”

Voices of dissatisfaction erupted from all around.

I ignored the sharp gazes of the PDs and said to Yuna,

“Yuna, that was good, but let’s do it again. The pitch at the end was a bit off.”

“Ah, really? Got it.”

The PDs, who initially let it slide, started to get annoyed,

“Yuna, this one was good too, but the low part in the middle sounds a bit off. Let’s do it again.”

Second time,

“The pitch was good, but the pronunciation was too muffled. Shall we try again?”

Third time.

“Yuna.”

Fourth time.

“Jung Yuna.”

After repeating this countless times, the PDs stopped looking at me with annoyance. Instead, they looked at me with fear.

“Hey, aren’t you being too harsh?”

“This one was really the best today.”

“Honestly, Yuna has never failed to sing once she’s in there. You’re being too strict.”

While Yuna was doing it without complaint, the PDs were in an uproar.

“I want to do it thoroughly since we’re doing it.”

“You didn’t do this when you uploaded to NewTube.”

“That’s because it’s a video. Repeatedly shooting videos is meaningless. This is more like a rehearsal before the actual release.”

“Is this what you call a rehearsal...? Ha. I can’t take it.”

The PDs shook their heads.

I know I’m being too strict, but—

‘I can’t just let it go.’

Yuna’s pink aura, filling the recording studio, seemed to shine and vibrate more with each repetition, as if telling me she could do better.

I was pushing her hard, influenced by that aura.

Until we both, the aura and I, are satisfied with the recording.

“But what have you been doing all this time?”

“Ah, I have a school assignment to submit.”

While watching Yuna’s recording, I was also creating sheet music on the computer to submit to the teacher.

“No way. Yuna is singing her heart out in there, and you have the energy to do this too?”

“I’m fine. I’m listening with my ears.”

“So you can do both...”

I cut off the PD’s words, stopped the MR, and said to Yuna,

“Yuna, you made the same mistake again. Here, you need to lower the pitch, not raise it. Got it?”

“...”

The PD, who was about to say something, burst into a hollow laugh.

“Right. I shouldn’t have said anything. Who’s worrying about whom right now? But wait. This... isn’t this an orchestral piece?”

“Yeah, you’re sharp.”

“It’s because you’re creating multiple scores at once.”

“I’m just making piano, violin, viola, cello, and flute for now.”

To properly create an orchestral piece, you usually need to create scores for 16 instruments.

“I’ll make adjustments and listen to them multiple times for the other instruments.”

It’s my first time writing an orchestral piece, so it’s still very immature and difficult.

“No way. Did the teacher really ask a first-year to create an orchestral piece? Isn’t that too much? But you’re still listening to the singing, right?”

“Of course. Yuna is doing well this time without any mistakes.”

“No mistakes? Honestly, we didn’t hear any mistakes from Yuna at all.”

Is that so.

I wondered if I was pushing her too hard, but then I saw the aura around Yuna and calmed myself down.

“Yuna, come in and take a break.”

As soon as she heard me, Yuna took off her headphones and quickly came back to the studio.

“Ugh. Was this one not good either?”

“No, it was good. You just made a small mistake.”

Yuna hurriedly took out the hamburger and drink she had brought.

“I’m glad I brought them. I would have collapsed if I hadn’t.”

I’ve thought many times why Yuna eats so well. It’s probably because of her cheerful personality and high activity level, and the influence of the aura that constantly emanates from her.

Or maybe there’s a herd of pigs inside her.

“But, big brother. I suddenly had a thought.”

“Yeah?”

Did she have some inspiration?

If so, that’s great.

Yuna’s ideas have always been fresh and good.

But,

“Are you subtly getting revenge because I came to your school for the hamburgers?”

“...”

“What are you talking about?”

“Subtle revenge?”

“There is such a thing. I went to your school at the end of your class today...”

Hearing Yuna’s detailed explanation, the PDs burst into laughter.

“So this is a revenge play?”

“No, I never said it was a revenge play. Just in case...”

“Is that so? Yoon Seong, what do you think?”

Under the gaze of everyone, I shook my head in disbelief.

“What nonsense. It’s not like that. Stop saying useless things and get back in there. We’ll be up all night.”

“Eek. That’s too much.”

Yuna trudged back into the recording studio.

Subtle revenge, huh.

What a ridiculous idea...

Just before pressing the MR play button—

‘It’s not like it’s completely out of the question.’

I smiled and pressed the play button.

It doesn’t look like I’ll be going home early today.

* * *

After school ended—

“Teacher, the sheet music you mentioned last time.”

“Huh? Oh, the orchestral sheet music?”

“Yes, I’ve finished it.”

“Oh, already?”

It had only been a few days, and he had already finished the sheet music.

The thickness of the score book suggested he had done a thorough job.

Of course, I’d have to see the content to be sure.

“Yes. At first, I felt a bit overwhelmed, but it turned out to be fun once I started. So I was able to finish it quickly.”

“Got it.”

Teacher Park Mi-hye took the score book from Jung Yoon-seong and asked, just in case.

“Did anyone help you with this?”

“No.”

“Really? You’re learning under Professor Lee. He must have helped you.”

“I haven’t told him I’m making an orchestral score yet.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I really hate it when someone else touches and modifies my scores.”

Hearing that, Park Mi-hye laughed.

The pride a composer must have.

This young kid already had a strong sense of pride in his music.

“So I shouldn’t touch your scores either.”

“I’m still very inexperienced, so I’ll gladly accept your guidance.”

His tone was the most polite.

“Got it. I’ll take a careful look.”

“Thank you.”

Park Mi-hye returned to her personal office and carefully examined the score Yoon-seong had given her.

“It’s thicker than I thought.”

There were 16 scores in total.

That means—

“He really made a full orchestral score?”

I thought it would stop at about 6 instruments, but he made each one.

Just for that, I could give him a high score for effort.

“He said it was his first time, right?”

At that moment, he had transcribed the impromptu piece he had created.

The piece was very good, but if it had been a piano solo, it would have been different.

To arrange it for an orchestra, there would be many mistakes and shortcomings. Giving feedback on those—

Rustle—

Giving feedback—

Rustle—

“...”

At some point, Park Mi-hye stopped turning the pages.

“...What, what is this?”

She looked through the score from beginning to end without any hitches.

“Am I seeing things?”

She checked again, thinking she might have missed something.

Rustle—

Again, the pages turned smoothly to the last page.

“...What am I looking at?”

Her bewildered voice echoed emptily in the office.