Chapter 22
The first day after the team was formed.
Each team scattered to prepare for the stage.
Our team did the same.
First, Juseon and Yeon Juhong disappeared, saying they would scour the internet for concept references.
Kim Geum and I rushed to the in-house studio for composition.
When I glanced at the ceiling of the studio, I could see a camera installed.
PD Oh said that the number of times the cameraman follows us would decrease.
Instead, cameras were installed all over the agency, and it was planned to be broadcast like an observational entertainment based on that.
The studio was one of them.
It might seem freer without a cameraman, but it was not at all.
Rather, it was a more suffocating way.
Even if it doesn’t show in my eyes, it meant that every single one of my actions was broadcast.
I couldn’t let my guard down.
“Geum-ah.”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to go somewhere without a camera?”
Of course, it didn’t mean that cameras were installed in all practice rooms and studios.
There were more trainees who did not participate in the musical. Those trainees also needed a practice space.
“Are you, by any chance, going to hit me?”
“…Why would I necessarily…”
“If it’s not that, let’s move. I like it too.”
So we moved to a practice room without a camera.
“Well, this place is better. I usually come here to write songs.”
“Have you made a lot of songs before?”
“Yes.”
Kim Geum turned on her laptop and showed it to me.
“Roughly this much.”
…Did you just eat and make songs?
I was a singer-songwriter, so I made a lot of songs.
Although not all songs could be released to the world.
If I had made songs for 10 years after my debut, I think it would have exceeded 500….
She hasn’t even debuted yet, but she seemed to have hundreds already.
“Not all of them are complete songs, most of them are just top lines.”
“That’s still amazing.”
I recalled Kim Geum from my previous life.
Kim Geum was successful as an artist, but also as a composer.
Because every song she gave to other singers was a hit, she always ranked high in copyright income.
Genius was different from the sprout.
I admired her anew.
“I originally wanted to use one of the songs I had made. So I asked PD Oh.”
“Did he say no?”
“Yes. He said it absolutely wouldn’t. It’s not fair.”
It was an expected answer.
Fairness is fairness, but if you use what you made in advance, the broadcast will be boring.
“I have to make it from scratch. To begin with, none of what I made perfectly matched our concept.”
“Hmm….”
I nodded my head.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Are you going to ask why I chose you?”
“Yeah.”
It’s good to accurately grasp the intention.
I need to know what they want from me so I can give it to them.
“To be honest… I was curious.”
Kim Geum straightened her posture and looked at me squarely.
Yeah, it would be curious.
A kid who didn’t show any talent in composition, brought a self-composed song from the self-introduction video.
For Kim Geum, who was deeply interested in composition, it would have been curious.
A rival has appeared.
“So, I have a favor to ask.”
What favor?
I was nervous.
Would she want to explore once with a rival next to her?
Would she want to see my work?
Is a check coming in?
“Save me!”
Huh?
“Please! Please debut with me! I don’t have the confidence to make a team album alone!”
Huh?
“The agency always trusts me and tells me to pick all twelve songs for the regular album, and everywhere they expect me to make all the songs because I’m Colors. No, how can I make all that alone?”
“That… that’s right.”
“The seniors didn’t make everything from the beginning. But they expect a lot from me and no one wants to help me! Even other trainees had no interest in composing or writing lyrics!”
Kim Geum exploded with pent-up frustration.
“Am I a machine that picks out songs, what am I? I’m just an 18-year-old high school student who doesn’t want to take the SAT!”
“Right, right….”
“I was thinking about running away, and you suddenly appeared!”
Uh…? Uh…?
“The moment I heard your self-composed song, I thought.”
What, what.
“It’s done.”
No, what’s done.
“Now I’m not alone.”
Kim Geum’s eyes, which had risen like a tiger, sparkled.
And she grabbed my two hands.
“Now, even if I can’t debut, you have to debut. Got it?”
“Huh?”
“Do you understand?”
“Ah, I understand….”
Why is my energy dying?
Kim Geum nodded her head as if she was finally satisfied with my answer, and pointed to the monitor.
“Then let’s cooperate and pick a song.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I will only trust and follow you.”
Weren’t you the composition position?
Wasn’t I in the lyricist position?
I was about to protest, but seeing Kim Geum’s face, which seemed to have already suffered a lot from Colors, I shut my mouth.
My debut days came to mind, and my heart felt heavy.
I was the eldest girl of a small and medium-sized agency.
From the standpoint of an agency debuting its first idol, every penny was precious and regrettable.
Director Seo, who didn’t have the strength to buy expensive songs, clung to me every night with tears.
‘Nokha-ya, I’m sorry I’m incompetent… I’m sorry I don’t even have the money to buy a song…’
Thanks to that, my composition skills were forcibly improved.
…Even now, when I think about it, my back hurts.
Having gone through such times, I completely understood Kim Geum’s feelings.
You were also becoming the eldest girl of this group.
“Geum-ah.”
“Yes.”
Alright.
Since it’s come to this.
“I understand how you feel. Let’s do this together until the end.”
“!”
“I’ll do everything I can.”
Let’s carry it hotly.
“Sister.”
“Huh?”
“My soul is now yours.”
That’s not necessary….
***
So, I formed an alliance, not an alliance, with Kim Geum.
In fact, somewhere in my heart, I wanted to moderately expect Kim Geum’s composition skills….
It was a thoughtless thought.
Instead of relying on a brat, I should have picked one more song.
I was thinking about it, and I remembered one of the songs I had composed before.
It was a song that I had thought of as a sub-title song for the next time, which I had never announced in my previous life.
The song that I had made as a title song in my previous life was a bit of a waste to use as a competition mission song.
Even after debuting, I have to keep making songs.
A song that is good enough to be picked as a title song needs to be saved.
Although the sub-title is a bit of a waste….
Let’s use it.
In this world, there is no such thing as me, what.
Let’s pick ourselves up and soar.
If I show the complete song from the beginning, it would be suspicious that it was made in advance.
So I only played a few lines of the chorus first.
“!”
Kim Geum listened to my song carefully and her eyes shone like crazy.
“Just a moment, sister.”
Kim Geum made something on her laptop by herself and played it for me.
“How about trying the next progression like this?”
“!”
This time, I was surprised.
It was a much more sophisticated and exciting melody than the original progression of my song.
This… is good. Really.
“Is it good?”
“Right? It’s okay, right?”
Kim Geum asked me with a very proud face.
Although she asked for help, she was basically a genius.
She probably didn’t think of leaving everything to me.
Two is much better than one in terms of mentality.
Whether it helps or not, it’s reassuring to have a colleague.
“Yeah. It’s really good. Then let’s think about the introduction part together.”
“No, sister.”
“Huh?”
Kim Geum had a serious expression.
As if going to a battlefield.
“From here on, I’ll take charge. When we debut, we’ll work on it together… but for now, it’s my responsibility. I believe I should handle it.”
“…Do you want to?”
“Yes. Just leave it to me.”
Can you really trust this much?
Kim Geum smiled like a gallant woman and gave me a thumbs up.
And she started to arrange the beats excitedly with her headset on.
Her concentration is amazing.
I could feel that she really liked composing.
Colors, you guys….
What the hell did you do to a kid who likes composing so much….
Seeing Kim Geum working hard, several thoughts overlapped.
The thought that I can’t lose, and the thought that I want to respond as much as this passion.
I checked the song that Kim Geum was making from time to time, and modified and refined the lyrics to match it.
The two of us cooperated and made a song.
As we did, time passed quickly.
“Geum-ah. It’s already 3 a.m. Let’s go back and sleep now.”
“Ah, no. Just one more hour….”
“I know how you feel, but the brain doesn’t answer if you torture it. You have to sleep when you’re tired. The efficiency increases. Let’s do it again tomorrow.”
“But just, just a little more….”
“Go to sleep.”
“Yes.”
Kim Geum left her laptop behind with a regretful heart.
“…Hing.”
Do you think I don’t know your heart?
I’ve been through all of this, too.
***
After dropping off Kim Geum, I returned to the goshiwon (apartment).
It’s been a long time since I’ve been so focused on writing lyrics.
At first, I was going to go with the song I originally composed, but seeing Kim Geum develop it, I somehow felt competitive.
It’s a strange self-esteem that I can’t lose to a much younger junior.
…The feeling was strange but good.
Living with friends who haven’t even debuted yet, it feels like going back to the beginning.
It wasn’t bad.
I washed up roughly and opened my cell phone.
It’s been almost 12 hours.
I was so busy today that I didn’t even open my cell phone once.
But something was strange.
“…12 missed calls, 39 texts?”
What’s going on again?
I hurriedly checked the call log first.
-Yeon Juhong (12)
All the missed calls were from Yeon Juhong.
Did something happen while I was out with Juseon?
I opened the text message with an anxious heart.
Yeon Juhong
Sister ㅠ
Sister, something big happened
Can you come here with Geum sister?
Juseon sister left…
Juseon sister got really angry and left during the shoot… What should we do??
Juseon sister must be crazy, no, she’s not talking
The contents of other texts were not much different from here.
At a glance, I felt like I knew what it was.
It seems like you and Lee Juseon had a big fight while discussing the concept.
Other texts were also a big deal, but this text was the worst.
Yeon Juhong
Juseon sister is leaving our teamㅠ
Something big happened.