Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 290
Page by page.
The speed at which Tom turned the pages gradually increased.
I started to wonder if he disliked the lyrics I had written so much, given how intently he was staring at the paper.
After quite some time had passed, Tom finally lifted his head and spoke.
"(Are you going to release a full album this time?)"
"(Pardon?)"
"(How many songs are you planning to release? You didn’t write this many just for a single, did you?)"
"(…?)"
What did he mean by that?
Perplexed, I asked.
"(To release an album, you need at least five songs, right?)"
"(Exactly. Look at the number of lyrics you’ve written. It’s enough for fifty songs, not just five.)"
"(I just wrote a lot because I wasn't sure what would be needed.)"
It wasn’t even that much to exaggerate about.
Tom let out a sigh at my indifferent response.
"(You really are... strange. Sigh, I’ve truly met a peculiar one.)"
Tom clutched his head in frustration.
I had no idea why he was acting like that, so I couldn't say anything.
'Maybe he thinks they're all bad.'
I thought they weren't too bad for a first attempt.
Despite mixed feelings, I decided to speak up.
"(Tom, you don’t have to worry about me.)"
"(What?)"
"(I didn't write these thinking I’d release an album. I had no such expectations, so just be honest with me.)"
If they were bad, he should just say so.
Even as I said this, I felt a bit bitter.
‘What a shame.’
Even though it was a short time, I had been quite immersed in writing these lyrics.
Not a single line was written hastily just to increase the quantity.
I had prepared myself for the possibility that my first attempt would be a mess, but the thought of having to discard all these lyrics still made me feel bitter.
"(What are you talking about?)"
However, an unexpected reaction came back.
Tom looked at me with a baffled expression.
"(What do you mean, bad? How far are you jumping ahead? If they were bad, I wouldn’t even be talking about an album.)"
"(Does that mean...?)"
"(The lyrics are good. Not just good, they’re damn good.)"
Tom clicked his tongue.
"(I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s amazing. I would believe it if you told me a professional lyricist wrote these. Did you really write these?)"
"(If you’re just being considerate―.)"
"(Ah, I’m not considerate. I can’t be. Who am I to consider? I’ve got my own problems to deal with.)"
His voice was full of irritation.
"(Just stick to writing lyrics. Don’t touch composing or producing. Don’t even try. Got it?)"
Tom growled, as if telling me not to mess with his livelihood.
'He has a unique way of complimenting.'
Though it was awkward, it didn’t feel bad.
"(It’s still amazing to me.)"
Tom muttered.
"(Usually, when someone writes lyrics for the first time, they’re a complete mess. That’s just how it is. But why do these feel different?)"
"(What kind of feeling?)"
"(They feel like they were written by someone who’s been in the industry for years. Like they’ve been through numerous failures.)"
Responding to his disbelief, I said calmly.
"(It hasn’t been years, but I’ve certainly been through numerous failures.)"
"(What?)"
Raising an eyebrow, he asked what I meant.
"(The paper you’re holding contains only the final drafts completed yesterday. I discarded the dozens of pages I wrote before that.)"
Before seriously starting on the lyrics, I had listened to the songs Tom produced.
The genres of the songs varied, but after listening for a while, I noticed a common trait.
'They are light.'
Despite dealing with heavy emotions like sadness and suffering, the songs never sounded heavy.
I spent several days pondering what made the difference, and then I realized.
'You shouldn’t put too much content into a song.'
If you try to pour all your thoughts into one song, the lyrics become jumbled, and the song inevitably feels heavy.
The most important thing in songwriting was to let go of greed.
"(I learned for the first time that discarding sentences is harder than writing them. I kept wanting to explain more, to add more.)"
But songs were not meant to be read, they were meant to be heard.
If people wanted to read, they would turn to novels, not songs.
Keeping this difference in mind, I dismantled the lyrics I had first written.
That was just two days ago.
"(First, I divided the initial lyrics by theme and revised the emotional expressions accordingly. Not knowing what melody they’d be used for, I prepared several versions of the chorus.)"
"(…….)"
"(I also added figurative expressions. And just in case, I tried converting them into hook songs. Doing all that increased the number of lyrics.)"
After calmly finishing my explanation, I closed my mouth.
Only then did I feel the silence that filled the recording studio.
Tom and his team members wore strange expressions.
"(You...)"
After a long time, Tom finally muttered.
"(You’re really a strange one. Really strange.)"
"(I’m confused, so let me ask. Is that a compliment? Or are you insulting me, and I’m just too clueless to understand?)"
"(I don’t know either.)"
How could you not know that?
Tom shook his head, ignoring my bewilderment.
"(I see now why your fans are so fanatical. Since you're strange, your fans are strange too...)"
The moment I heard that, I involuntarily frowned.
"(Why do you say such things about my fans?)"
My voice came out sharper than I had intended.
Tom stuttered with a flustered expression.
"(Ah, that's not what I meant... Sorry, it was a joke.)"
"(I don't mind you joking with me, but why do you say that about my fans?)"
"(Sorry, sorry. I won't do it again.)"
I was so upset that I forgot about being polite to an elder.
Tom hurriedly explained, possibly because it was the first time he had seen me irritated.
"(I didn’t mean it that way. I meant, um, unique, special. You and your fans, uh? You’re special. The best.)"
Tom gave a thumbs up.
After taking a short deep breath, I spoke calmly.
"(Please don't speak carelessly about my fans. They don't deserve to be treated like that.)"
Seeing my serious face, Tom apologized once again.
Only after he promised never to say such things again did my expression soften.
Tom wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered quietly.
"(So you really did write these. Now I’m sure.)"
"(You’re only sure now?)"
"(Honestly, I wasn’t sure. You could have hired a lyricist and claimed you wrote them. I’ve seen a few people like that before.)"
Tom mentioned that there were many who proudly called themselves singer-songwriters but didn’t even know what a treble clef was.
"(But seeing you get angry just now, I know for sure. You really wrote these.)"
Tom let out a small laugh.
"(How much must you care about your fans to write such lyrics? It’s amazing. It’s desperate and earnest...)"
Trailing off, Tom suddenly looked up.
"(But are you okay with this? Won’t your fans be sad if they read these lyrics?)"
"(Sigh.)"
I sighed involuntarily at the worry that had been on my mind all along.
Si-hyun hyung had told me to stop worrying about others and focus on myself.
I thought this might be a good opportunity and gave it a try.
'The problem is that pessimistic lyrics keep coming out.'
When I thought of Byeon, countless sentences flowed out without much thought.
Thank you for being by my side. Thank you for looking at me. Thank you for liking me.
'But when I put myself in it...'
The sentences changed instantly.
Why are you by my side? Why do you look at me? Why do you like me?
How long can I see those sparkling eyes?
'I must really be greedy.'
The more I received undeserved love, the greedier I became.
I was happy because of Byeon, but I was also anxious that Byeon might disappear.
Contradictory emotions.
These were my honest feelings when I thought of my fans.
"Bambi" was the song that encapsulated these feelings in the simplest lyrics possible.
"(After writing the lyrics, I worried that my fans might be upset when they heard them.)"
Bambi was a nickname my fans had given me.
Could I dare to express that nickname through such lyrics?
Could I dare to do that?
"(I also thought it might be better to write a simple, feel-good fan song.)"
After a brief hesitation, I continued.
"(But this feels like me.)"
Si-hyun hyung was right.
"(I wanted to show my fans that this is also a part of me. And...)"
There was something I realized while writing lyrics.
Something I learned while focusing solely on myself, not on others.
'I’m really...'
Incredibly greedy.
"(I hope they will love this side of me too.)"
"(…….)"
I finally discovered my true self.
I let out a small laugh, feeling both absurd and relieved.
"(It sounds even more shameless when I say it out loud.)"
Tom watched me laugh without saying anything.
He seemed to be pondering something, and after a while, he spoke.
"(Then how about this? For the song—)"
* * *
[(Exclusive) Lee Yeon-jae Spotted Meeting Famous U.S. Producer. Debuting as a Singer?]
[Lee Yeon-jae’s Singer Debut Rumors: "Cannot Confirm" Says Wu Yeon Entertainment.]
[Appearing in a Famous Pop Star’s Music Video and Preparing for an Album. How Far Can the MZ Generation Star’s Potential Go?]
“Ugh, you crazy people. Stop publishing articles already!!!”
Kwon In-ah, the president of Lee Yeon-jae’s fan club, lost her temper.
As she angrily slammed the keyboard, her younger brother muttered while watching her.
“That keyboard costs over five hundred thousand won...”
“I can buy a new one! Do you need my card now?”
“...I’ll be quiet.”
Despite not being short on money, she never bought her own computer.
Her younger brother, who had grown accustomed to having his computer taken by his sister, grumbled internally.
In truth, he received a generous allowance from his sister, so he couldn't complain out loud.
Whether her brother grumbled behind her or not, the president continued to vent her anger.
“Why do they sneak around and follow him even when he has no schedule? Do they think they can do anything because they’re reporters? Why do they care who he meets?”
Of course, her body flinched at the news that Bambi had met with a producer.
She was currently listening to the song Bambi had sung during his live broadcast.
‘How can an acappella live performance sound this good?’
How amazing would it be if he released a proper track with such a voice?
Such posts had been appearing on the fan cafe.
However, most of Byeons were cautious about this topic.
There were even some who insisted on not discussing it at all.
And with good reason….
‘Bambi would do anything if we wanted him to.’
It was a well-known fact among all Byeons.
As someone who had actually met Bambi a few times, the fan club president knew this all too well.
There was even a time when he changed his hair color just because the fans wanted it.
And that was just for a single day at a fan meeting.
‘We don’t even know if Bambi wants to sing.’
The worry was that these articles might push Bambi into doing something he didn’t want to do.
The reaction was especially intense because the producer Bambi had met was very famous.
And that evening.
As if aware of the president’s anxiety, a post appeared on the fan cafe.
[Hello, this is Lee Yeon-jae.]
Lee Yeon-jae had written the post himself.
As always, it was an incredibly long post.
But this time, it wasn't the usual type of post recommending cleaning products or tips for removing dust.
The post contained something no one had expected.