Chapter 33: The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails

After hanging up the phone with Park Hee-taek, I immediately started working with Yang Eui-hyung.

We worked so intensely that we lost track of time, and when we got hungry, we ordered and ate jajangmyeon. As he picked up his chopsticks, Yang Eui-hyung said,

"Hey, I started composing when I was eighteen."

"Really? I know."

"When did you start?"

"Early this year."

"Damn brat, I hope you fail."

I don't understand how this guy gives compliments. Yang Eui-hyung said,

"Play the first track again."

"Do you like it so much that you want to listen to it even while eating?"

"You'd be so much prettier if you just shut up."

"Any prettier and I'd feel uncomfortable."

As I stood up, Yang Eui-hyung got really angry. Ah, he's a fun guy to tease.

When I played the first track I made, Yang Eui-hyung said,

"Everything else is good. Yeah, I guess our sensibilities are different, so I can accept that. But the arrangement, damn it, it's just you copying what I did behind my back."

"I just set the framework and did it this way. In the end, you had to do everything for me."

"That's why being able to set the framework itself... I'll keep getting angry if you keep talking, so just shut up."

After getting the composer team's approval through the A&R team, I remixed the last four bars of the outro from the previous First Light's title track, "First Proposal," to create the first track of the regular album.

This was because the concept of the title track I thought of this time was a prequel to the "First Proposal."

There were two other songs, one written by An Ju-won and another about baseball.

The working title of the song written by An Ju-won was "I've Only Waited for Morning," but we decided to change the title during a meeting.

[I've only waited for morning to tell you, I'm sorry for being irritable yesterday

When you asked if we won the game, I said yes. I should have told you the score and the weather!

I was bad, I couldn't stop thinking about it all night. It's not that I'm indifferent, I'm just nervous.

I can't speak when I'm in front of you. It's because I like you, really.

I prepared Q&A, please ask me here. I've practiced.

I like the little things, I'll answer enthusiastically. I need to prepare for our conversations.]

While eating sweet and sour pork, Yang Eui-hyung said,

"I can't understand how Ju-won can think like this with that face."

"Me neither."

"You must have been popular too, right?"

"Not really. They just thought I was cute."

"That's popularity, man. Do you think girls find just anyone cute?"

"Ah, really? But I just played the piano all the time, and after that, I was busy with training... The kids I went to school with probably don't even remember me."

As I said this, I finished the remaining jajangmyeon and urged Yang Eui-hyung,

"Hey, eat faster. We don't have time."

"Ha, this brat treats me like a slave. Hey, even slaves need to eat."

"Eat faster. We don't have time, we don't."

While I was urging Yang Eui-hyung, An Ju-won, who had finished his personal schedule, arrived.

After finishing his makeup and putting on a baseball cap, An Ju-won appeared, and I said,

"Hey, you really are handsome."

"Out of the blue?"

An Ju-won looked puzzled, so I pointed to the lyrics and said,

"Earlier, this hyung said it was strange that someone who looks like you could think of such lyrics. But now I see your face, it makes sense."

"Is that so?"

An Ju-won, who had probably heard "you're handsome" more often than greetings in his life, said awkwardly,

"But, you know, the feeling of not being able to speak in front of someone you like is the same for everyone."

His embarrassed face was really like something out of a drama. The real person was the best way to convince those who couldn't accept An Ju-won's debut from the drama "National Selection A."

With the lyricist now here, we immediately continued working on "I've Only Waited for Morning."

Since I had come up with the melody and lyrics almost simultaneously, it was incredibly difficult to create a song that matched the lyrics.

"Ah, it's hard, so hard."

As I leaned back in my chair, Yang Eui-hyung, who was lying on the sofa, said,

"This is hard."

"But it's also fun in a way."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Yang Eui-hyung found such an answer incredibly absurd, but he couldn't resist taking a nap again due to fatigue.

* * *

When An Ju-won woke up from his nap on the sofa, Yang Eui-hyung was sleeping on the opposite sofa, and Jung Hae-won was still working.

It seemed difficult to modify the song with the lyrics already in place. Every time he modified the song, he would fold his fingers one by one to recheck the number of characters in the empty parts of the lyrics. Then he would try to fit the lyrics to the song again.

An Ju-won took a photo of Jung Hae-won's back and said,

"Aren't you tired?"

"Damn it."

Jung Hae-won, who was taking off his headphones, was startled and swore. He seemed to be very jumpy lately, probably due to constant tension.

Jung Hae-won put his headphones aside and said,

"We don't have much time. Seriously, how can that company set such a tight schedule?"

"That's true. Ah, I took a photo of you, can I post it on Instagram?"

At this, Jung Hae-won glanced at the photo on An Ju-won's phone and said,

"Blur out anything that will spoil it."

"Of course."

"Post it with your photo too."

"Of course, take it."

Jung Hae-won took An Ju-won's phone, took a photo, and handed it back. An Ju-won grumbled,

"You take photos so casually."

"You look good even in casual photos. Wake up and come here and change this line. Change seven characters to nine."

"Okay. I'll post this first."

"Still, it's convenient to have a lyricist. This is why we form teams."

Jung Hae-won said and continued working, while An Ju-won uploaded the photo to Instagram.

Soon, a photo of Jung Hae-won working alone after An Ju-won and Yang Eui-hyung fell asleep was uploaded to An Ju-won's Instagram.

[Jung Hae-won was still working alone after Ju-won and Eui-hyung fell asleep. I hope you get the recognition you deserve for your dedication.]

As soon as the post went up, comments started pouring in.

[Ju-won, stop using Instagram... There are other girls...]

[He's really a god...]

[Love you!!]

[What are you making? Spoil it!]

[Did you see what he wrote on Instagram? Ju-won is so affectionate...]

[An Ju-won is guilty...]

[Are you working on the regular album with Jung Hae-won?]

[Will Jung Hae-won's song be included in the next regular album?]

[I'm honestly glad.]

[Compared to National Selection A, things have changed a lot.]

[But you can really feel how hard they're working.]

[If they don't work hard, fans will be disappointed...]

[It's impossible to go on with six members without Jung Hae-won.]

[Just accept it...]

[But since the fanbase is good, VMC is jumping on the bandwagon.]

[I want to see a joint performance...]

[Remove the fake member.]

[It's not confirmed yet. They can't remove him.]

[Is Perla just a solid group?]

[Some people really believe this rumor.]

[Is it a rumor? I thought it was real...]

[The nine-member harmony was great, but it's a shame we didn't see them perform properly.]

[I didn't see National Selection A, but what will they perform in a joint stage? They barely performed.]

[The King.]

[100% The King. It's the main song of National Selection A.]

[Even though they were real kids back then, it gave me chills. Thinking about them performing it after two years is so exciting...]

[I really want to see The King stage one more time...]

[I really want to feel that again when I first heard The King. It gave me chills from the intro...]

[But I don't want them to use this as a stepping stone to perform as a nine-member group again.]

[Me too. One special stage is enough.]

[But from TRV's perspective, it's a bit unfair. They have seven members, and they're only missing one.]

[To me, Perla still has six members...]

[But Jung Hae-won has really changed a lot since National Selection A. From today's Instagram, it seems he's working really hard.]

[He seems more mature.]

[Just creating 'Turn On the Light' and the nickname for the fans, he's worked like a cow.]

[Did Jung Hae-won give the nickname 'Sunshine'? I thought it was cute.]

[Not just 'Sunshine,' but also the nicknames for Min-jo, Hyo-sik, and An-ju were given by Jung Hae-won.]

[Surprising. I only watched National Selection A, so I thought the relationship between Jung Hae-won and Perla was bad.]

The news that the nine members of National Selection A might perform together again, along with An Ju-won's Instagram post, made some communities very active overnight.

When the topic gained some traction, a video was uploaded to YouTube two days later.

It was a video by a YouTuber who was once a trainee of National Selection A and is now independent.

* * *

I woke up from my nap on the sofa when the door burst open. It was the maknae.

"Why are you here, Maknae?"

"Ah, to help with the guide. But more importantly!"

I didn't even ask, and he came to help with the guide... I'm grateful.

"But why did you come so urgently?"

"Hyung, did you see the YouTube video?"

"No."

"Hyung Shin-hyeop uploaded a video... It's... kind of noisy."

What? My heart sank.

But it seemed to be about me, so I had to watch it.

"Should I watch it?"

When I said this, Park Seon-jae found the YouTube video and handed it to me. As soon as I saw the thumbnail, I squinted and said to Park Seon-jae,

"Hyung Shin-hyeop is doing a makeup tutorial?"

"Yeah. Doesn't it suit him? He was always very interested in it."

"Is that so? I guess."

Shin Hyeop was setting up new cosmetics on a white table and recording a haul live stream. The number of views exploded, ten times more than his other videos, so he must have attracted a lot of attention.

Shin Hyeop was tearing open the packaging of the new cosmetics. As he struggled with the multiple layers of packaging, he said,

-Really, it's so hard to open. Ah, I'm so annoyed. I'll open it later.

Shin Hyeop pushed the box aside and continued,

-Is there anything to calm me down? Ah, I've been getting a lot of questions about Hae-won in the comments lately? Like, hate comments. But... it's true. It's a compilation.

What the hell. What is this hyung doing? It seems like he's going a bit wild since he quit being an idol...

-What about Hae-won? Thinking about it, it's ridiculous. Ah, one thing that comes to mind from the compilation. He used to sleep in the practice room when others were practicing. I didn't expect it to come out like this. In my opinion, no, it's not an opinion, he definitely stayed up all night practicing and fell asleep. It's really ridiculous. I'm a bit stiff too. When Hae-won and I were in the same group, he would help me by splitting his sleep time. He's not the type to help with sweet words. He's basically a pianist. He gets sensitive and prickly when teaching, which is really annoying. But... he's not lazy at all. Absolutely not. Ah, are you not scared of VMC? Well, I'm not going to be an entertainer, so what can they do?

I covered my face with both hands. This is going to cause some backlash.

"Ah, I'm going crazy..."

As expected, calls and messages from the company started pouring in.