Chapter 56

Sometimes in life, you encounter really absurd situations.

Just like now.

A person who hadn't spoken to me for almost ten days since my debut, and who I didn't even get along with, came up to me and handed me 100,000 won.

How am I supposed to interpret this?

For a moment, I stood there like a computer that had frozen, with a blank expression, then I looked back and forth between the gentleman and the person.

“Do you want me to take it?”

“Yes.”

Hanjo tilted his head and asked.

“Didn’t you lose this?”

I was about to ask what he was talking about when I finally started to see something.

It was the wallet that had been lying under the banknotes.

A very familiar old wallet.

Feeling a bit dazed, I took it, and the person explained.

“I went down to the basement to greet the seniors, and I found it in the hallway. When I checked the contents, I saw the ID with ‘Kim Jung-hyun’ written on it… I went to the waiting room to return it, but he wasn’t there.”

“Oh… thank you.”

“Should I check if anything is missing? I brought it as it was, worried that the money might be lost.”

“No need.”

I thanked him.

While introducing our main vocalist, who still had a cold expression.

“We’re appearing together.”

Silent nods were exchanged as greetings.

That was the end of the conversation.

We only spoke because of the wallet, but we weren’t close enough to chat warmly.

Hanjo and the other person exchanged glances and then returned to the table where the members were.

I watched them for a moment, then turned to my younger siblings.

That's when I remembered something I had forgotten.

Oh, right. Jung-hyun.

I was about to call him when I realized Ji-ho was already on the phone.

A relieved voice came from the other end.

During this time, my gaze drifted to Ri-hyuk, who was staring blankly out the window.

“Ri-hyuk, what’s wrong?”

“There’s someone, you know.”

“Who?”

“The kid we just greeted, Yun Gi-won.”

Ri-hyuk, who had been watching the youngest member chatting excitedly, lowered his voice.

“I just remembered who he is.”

* * *

That day, as soon as we returned to the company, I had a brief meeting with Manager Jo Gyu-hwan.

It was about the radio schedule.

Usually, there wouldn’t be a need for a meeting, but this time I wanted to show something to the audience during the radio.

So I asked for a consultation just in case.

“I’m here.”

At 10 PM in the studio.

Ri-hyuk, who had been lying on the sofa listening to music, took out his earphones and sat up.

“What’s up?”

“Manager said I can do what I want. He said it’s not a bad plan and will let the A&R team know in advance.”

“Wow, that’s great.”

Ri-hyuk opened his laptop and took a seat at the studio table.

“Shall we pick a song then?”

The plan I told the manager was simple.

-There’s a live segment in this radio program. Can I perform a song I composed?

When the manager asked for the reason, I told him about an interview I had with Entertainment IN’s Oh So-hee reporter earlier that day.

The side effect of the fireworks' success.

People think the song is too good to have been written by an idol member.

Someday, those doubts will fade.

But if I have a chance to show my abilities, why should I refuse?

The manager, who had been thinking for a moment, readily agreed.

With one condition.

“Why are you turning on the self-cam?”

“Manager said to. He said he’ll allow us to go on the radio with our original song if we record the process of our work.”

“I don’t like being filmed.”

“You’re an entertainer, Ri-hyuk. If you’re afraid of being filmed, why did you become one?”

“Who’s afraid? No, wait. Why do you keep avoiding the camera?”

Caught.

I had adjusted the laptop angle to focus on Ri-hyuk, and the quick-witted kid had noticed.

I said with a guilty look.

“I lost confidence after taking off my makeup…”

“Where’s the person who always said, ‘I don’t care about appearances’?”

“I don’t want our fans to be disappointed if they see my bare face.”

“Hey. Your bare face looks just like when you’re made up. You keep making people angry at this late hour.”

“Pretending to be surprised, but you’ve always been good with words.”

Hmph, Ri-hyuk chuckled and rummaged through his hoodie pocket, then handed me a black mask.

“Put this on.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t look so moved. Just put it on before I take it back.”

“I’ll use it carefully and return it clean.”

“Keep it.”

Right. He doesn’t share things with others.

Wearing the baseball cap that Jung-hyun had left behind and the mask, I looked at the self-cam, and it seemed pretty professional.

It looks like a real pro idol.

Ri-hyuk, who was sitting next to me, watched me with a pitying gaze, and I cleared my throat to change the subject.

“Let’s pick a song.”

We had only a week left until the live radio broadcast.

There wasn’t enough time to create a song, let alone a proper beat.

But the reason I could confidently suggest it was…

“Why are you not a songwriting old man? How many sources and melodies have you prepared?”

The folder was full of song files.

I explained to Ri-hyuk, who was overwhelmed by the sight.

“I was under a lot of stress while making the fireworks. I made all sorts of things to relieve it. It’s like when you’re studying for an exam, everything else seems interesting. I made these for the same reason.”

“Amazing. Really amazing.”

“Right?”

“That’s why your eyes were so sunken back then.”

“…”

Ri-hyuk blinked and paused.

His eyes, which flickered like a mouse cursor spinning during buffering, seemed to show a sense of obligation to say something nice.

The problem was that giving compliments wasn’t his strong suit.

“Somehow, the, um, heart, is, um…”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about it. Let’s decide to perform ‘Night Sea’ live. From now on, let’s work on something together.”

“…Work? What kind of work?”

“Didn’t you have a gut feeling when I suggested performing an original song?”

“What? I didn’t have any such feeling.”

Sensing something ominous, he slowly pushed his wheeled chair away, and I handed him an A4 sheet.

“We need to write the lyrics, Ri-hyuk.”

“This is a scam. I never agreed to this.”

“Do you know how much money you can make from writing lyrics? This is all to make our younger siblings rich.”

He looked like someone who had just realized the company he joined was a pyramid scheme, and I smiled.

Sorry.

I’m not very talented at writing lyrics.

* * *

At first, Ri-hyuk sighed deeply and sent me resentful glances, but once we started working, he did his part well.

No, he soared.

I had always thought he was talented, especially after the fireworks, but it was clear that he had a good sense of lyric writing, probably because he read a lot.

Of course, I wasn’t slacking off either.

Since the song was based on my personal experience with my grandmother, I laid out the framework of the lyrics, and Ri-hyuk’s role was to refine the important parts and polish the sentences I wrote.

I also had to coordinate with the A&R team during the process.

“Were you worried that our workload would decrease for the A&R team?”

“I’m sorry, I’m a sinner…”

The money spent on buying Americanos for the staff must have been around 100,000 won.

Fortunately, thanks to the success of the fireworks, the A&R team, though grumbling, happily worked with me.

Most importantly, for this song, the concept was to create something that, while a bit clumsy, clearly felt like it was made by us, rather than a song polished by professionals from start to finish.

Thus, [Composed by: Wooju], [Lyrics by: Wooju/Ri-hyuk] “Night Sea” took shape quickly.

It was possible because we already had a nearly completed song.

However, just when everything was going smoothly, an unexpected obstacle appeared.

“Hmm…”

Three days before the Wonderful Night guest appearance.

While practicing the live performance with Ri-hyuk in the studio, I felt a strange sense of disharmony in his singing.

“Ri-hyuk.”

“Yes?”

“Can you really sing this?”

“What do you mean, can I sing it?”

It was hard to pinpoint exactly.

But…

“It might just be my feeling, but this song seems a bit heavy for you.”

“What? Did I make a mistake?”

“No, I’m not talking about technical aspects. Vocal trainers always say that authenticity is important when singing. You need to feel the emotions in the song, empathize with them, and convey them.”

Authenticity.

Singing is a medium to share the emotions I feel, so I need to embody those emotions before I can convey them to the audience.

“I don’t feel that authenticity in your singing.”

“…”

“To be honest, you sing much better than I do. But there’s a 2% gap, I guess. We based ‘Night Sea’ on my experience. The memory of falling asleep on my grandmother’s lap as a child, the warm memories of my childhood… but I don’t feel that in your singing.”

It was a bit harsh, but I watched his reaction carefully.

Ri-hyuk answered calmly.

“You’re really like a ghost when it comes to work.”

“Tell me what the problem is. If you think it’s not working, be honest. We can prepare something else.”

If it were a pre-existing song with a clear guide on how to sing it, we could prepare it in three days.

“Honestly, it’s really hard to grasp the emotions.”

“In what way?”

“Night Sea is about recalling someone who treated me warmly in my childhood and longing for those times.”

“Right.”

“It might sound strange, but I don’t have those memories.”

I need to respond well here.

“I didn’t have much contact with my relatives. And, well, there were some personal issues within the family.”

“Hmm… I see.”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not asking for sympathy. I’m just stating the facts objectively.”

“Then, is there someone you relied on? Anyone?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“There was a good vocal teacher.”

But?

“A few years after I left, he was arrested for drunk driving. I can’t think of him while singing ‘beautiful night sea~’.”

“R, right.”

I thought for a moment and asked.

“Then, let’s think about it the other way. Imagine you’re that caregiver, and you’re taking care of someone else.”

“No.”

“You’re answering too quickly.”

“I really don’t have that experience.”

“You have a younger sister.”

“Hmm. That’s a different case.”

Feeling puzzled, I asked.

“I don’t like being taken care of, and I don’t like taking care of others either. I’ve never had a good experience with it.”

“I see.”

“Don’t you remember what I said last time?”

Ri-hyuk clicked his tongue and said.

“I told you that I was fired from the company for helping Yun Gi-won from Street Boys.”