Chapter 17

Chapter 5: Creating the First Song

10 minutes later.

We arrived at the Hwa Entertainment building.

Although it was in the same Gangnam district, it was quite a distance from Lemon Entertainment.

The alley was filled with similar-looking buildings.

Unlike our company, which looked like a regular villa, the Hwa Entertainment building stood out at first glance.

“Wow.”

The youngest member exclaimed in admiration, and Lee Hyuk nodded.

“I told you it would look impressive.”

It felt like what a cutting-edge IT company from a Hollywood movie would look like if it set up a branch in Korea.

It was a clean building with white walls.

However, the admiration we felt outside quickly turned to shock when we entered the building.

What is this eerie atmosphere?

It reminded me of an old building I saw in Gunsan when I was in elementary school.

There was something eerie about it.

They must have made a lot of money with Sugarfish and Girls on Top. Where did all that money go?

“Are you coming with me to the office?”

When Manager Yun Seok-hwan asked, everyone shook their heads.

It was already uncomfortable being in someone else's company, and even more so in a place with employees.

He smiled and said,

“Alright. Go on up. Manager said to wait in the studio on the third floor if Song So-won is a bit late.”

“How late is she?”

“I don’t know. She had a schedule early this morning and is on her way now.”

We nodded and headed towards the stairs.

Manager Yun Seok-hwan, standing by the elevator, tilted his head at us.

“Aren’t you taking the elevator?”

“Ah, it feels like we should do it this way.”

“Whatever. Do what you want. I’ll contact you when I’m done. I’ll come to pick you up.”

Actually, there was no rule against taking the elevator.

But it felt like we should do it this way.

Not just me, but the others felt the same.

It was a kind of intuition that trainees share, similar to a new recruit being cautious about using the base facilities.

The five of us, being a bit timid, climbed the stairs to the third floor.

A quiet corridor.

We poked our heads out and exchanged whispers like a tactical briefing, keeping our voices low.

“Hey, where did he say to wait?”

“In the studio.”

“There are so many studios.”

About seven rooms.

Moreover, all the doors had no windows, making it awkward to check if anyone was inside.

“Should we ask the manager, hyung?”

“Yeah.”

Nodding at Biju’s suggestion, I soon noticed the other members just staring at me.

“What? You want me to ask?”

Nod, nod.

It seems the memory of being scolded still lingered.

“Hyung, you’re close to the manager. You even use the ‘ho-hyung’ system.”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, you guys.”

Shaking my head, I sent a message to Seok-hwan hyung.

While waiting for a reply, we quietly waited near the elevator.

There was no reply, probably because he was in a meeting.

At that moment, the most appealing door in the corridor opened.

Click—

Our first reaction was admiration.

The girls looked like dolls with delicate features.

Each one was dressed uniquely.

We didn’t need to be told who they were.

Girls on Top.

Seeing the faces we knew from TV in person was both strange and familiar.

There was no aura.

Just a really strange feeling?

“I’m so tired.”

“Manager oppa said the schedule got delayed, so hurry up and come down.”

“Why are you rushing me?”

They seemed exhausted, perhaps from a difficult recording session, and were chatting among themselves when they suddenly stopped.

They had noticed us.

Our eyes met, and there was a moment of mutual awkwardness.

“...”

We could hear them murmuring, “What’s this?” and “Who are they?”

They were on guard, being wary of strangers.

We, on the other hand, had missed the chance to greet the senior artists and were flustered.

One of them stepped forward.

“Excuse me.”

A member with porcelain skin and a look straight out of a pure romance manga.

Joo Hana.

The visual member who always made our seniors scream when she appeared on TV while I was in the military.

Her voice was a bit high-pitched when heard in person.

“I haven’t seen you before. Who are you?”

“Ah, hello.”

I bowed politely, and the others followed suit.

We would eventually meet them once we debut.

I smiled, hoping to make a good first impression.

“Song So-won hyung said we’re here to work on a song.”

We heard an awkward “Hello” from their side.

“Oh, you’re a singer. Are you a debutee?”

“We haven’t debuted yet.”

“...What?”

“We’re still trainees—”

“Oh. What?”

Joo Hana looked bewildered.

“You’re trainees?”

The atmosphere of cautiousness from the other side vanished instantly.

Their faces showed, “Why did we bother greeting them?”

I felt sorry for my siblings trying to manage their expressions.

I wasn’t particularly affected, but it was a bit disheartening to see the harsh reality of the entertainment industry, where attitudes change based on status.

Joo Hana ran her hand through her hair and nodded.

“Oh, well... good luck.”

With that, she walked past us, as if there was nothing more to say.

The others followed her, like a pride of lions following their leader.

But one remained.

What was her name again?

I couldn’t remember.

The remaining Girls on Top member’s gaze was fixed solely on Wang Ji-ho.

It was a bit strange.

Her eyes were burning with hostility.

“Hey, Ji-ho.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m talking about Gil Chae-kyung.”

Instantly, Ji-ho’s character in the game fell off a ladder due to a slip of her finger.

GAME OVER.

She pressed the restart button and spoke, her eyes still on the screen.

“What about her?”

“She was pretty harsh to you. What’s your relationship with her?”

“She’s from the same school.”

“She doesn’t seem like just a classmate.”

“...”

Another GAME OVER appeared, and Ji-ho spoke.

“This is a bit of a dark history...”

“It’s okay.”

“Why is it okay, hyung? It’s not okay for me.”

I said, noticing her unusually sarcastic tone,

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“She confessed to me before.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted to a confession.

There was a mix of sympathy and curiosity on the faces of the others.

Ji-ho turned off the game and said,

“We were in the same class in elementary school. We lived close by and played a lot. I think it was when she was in fifth grade. She confessed to me on the way home from a karaoke session.”

“So what happened?”

“I rejected her.”

“...”

“She’s been picking fights with me ever since. She always comes to me when no one’s around and starts trouble. It’s really...”

So that was the story.

But to become enemies over a rejected confession seemed extreme. Just as I was thinking her personality was strange,

Wait.

Something seemed off.

“Hold on, how did you reject her?”

Ji-ho’s expression showed discomfort.

“Well, you know... that...”

“Exactly what did you say?”

“I was young and immature back then.”

“Did you say something harsh?”

“...I told her she was ugly.”

Biju sighed, and Lee Hyuk clicked his tongue. Joon-hyun stopped eating his snack and sighed.

“I thought what happened earlier was harsh, but this is really something.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I would go and bow my head in apology right now.”

The youngest member waved her hands in response to the seniors’ scolding.

“No, I actually didn’t like her personality. You’d know if you spent five minutes with her. She always sent texts asking what I was doing, and when she gave me snacks, she’d say, ‘Your family doesn’t eat this, right?’ in a way that made me uncomfortable.”

“That’s exactly you.”

“Yeah, what do you call that, Woo-ju hyung?”

“Self-hate.”

The youngest member looked indignant as the others chuckled.

I said gently,

“But that was a bit harsh.”

“No...”

“Apologize when you see her again.”

“I don’t know. I tried to apologize before, but she just walked away. Then she suddenly lost weight and became a member of a girl group. It would be awkward to apologize now.”

“Still, you should. Got it?”

“...Got it. If I get the chance.”

Seeing the youngest member nod reluctantly, I smiled.

Anyway.

Even now, I think she’s immature. Thinking about what elementary school Wang Ji-ho was like makes me shudder.

But it’s interesting.

I don’t remember having any romantic relationships in elementary school.

These days, kids seem to already have that... what do they call it?

That tingling, embarrassing feeling between boys and girls, not quite dating but something like that.

I’ll remember it eventually.

After a long wait, the main character finally appeared after about 40 minutes.

She entered with her hair flying.

Her sharp eyes and charming smile greeted us.

“Hello!”

We all stood up.

“Hello, hyungnim.”

“Why are you all standing?”

Song So-won smiled brightly and gestured.

“Sit down, sit down.”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, you guys waited a long time, right? Did you have breakfast?”

“Yes, what about hyungnim?”

“I just finished a schedule. I usually skip breakfast anyway.”

She took off her wine-colored coat and looked around at us.

“I’m going to have coffee. What would you like to drink?”

The others turned to me simultaneously, asking if it was okay to accept.

I nodded, and Song So-won laughed.

“Wow, the leader has you all under control, huh?”

“That’s not it.”

They were still cautious after being scolded this morning.

Song So-won made a call.

“Hello, yes. It’s me, Kyo-hyun. Are you still in the office? Sorry, can you get me some coffee?”

She looked at us as if waiting for our orders.

One hot chocolate, two Americanos.

And one large iced caramel macchiato with whipped cream.

“Why, hyung?”

“...It’s nothing.”

Soon, a man in a hoodie, who seemed to be a manager, entered and handed us a box of coffee.

The atmosphere became more relaxed as we drank our coffee.

Song So-won took out her laptop and started connecting it to the equipment in the studio.

“Are we working here?”

“Yeah.”

She answered as if it was obvious.

“Isn’t it a bit cramped?”

“No.”

“The good rooms are all taken by others. Well...”

Although she trailed off, her intention was clear.

This was the treatment for unpopular artists in the company.

If Girls on Top were working here, the company would probably give them a dedicated studio.

“Let’s start by listening to this.”

She clicked on a folder on her desktop and opened a file labeled [Main Theme Ver.1].

“I’ve been working on this melody for a few days. I wanted to play it for you before we start.”

There are two types of melodies.

The main theme, which we usually think of as accompaniment, and the top line, which is a sequence of vocal notes.

She had created the main theme.

A fresh and light melody.

It might have seemed like a simple sequence of notes, but the moment I heard the beginning, I felt something special.

A chill ran up from my toes.

Even the fine hairs in my ears stood up.

The others were either indifferent or focused, but none of them showed the same reaction.

Oh my.

I rubbed my goosebumps and opened my mouth.

This is really amazing.

It felt like a miner discovering gold in the darkness.