In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 39

I sent my siblings back to their dorm and stayed in the studio.

It was to finish the remaining work.

I’m the type who has to go all out once I get inspired, so I can’t sleep if I end it like this.

Just like the day I prepared the arrangement for the year-end evaluation, I stayed alone and devoted myself to the work.

I roughly grasped our musical tendencies.

I turned on the laptop’s notepad and wrote them down.

-Theme: Love (general)

-Mood: Warmth

-Emotion: Joy

-Current song’s concept: Refreshing summer season song

I wrote down the facts I already knew and wondered what I missed.

-Message I want to convey to the fans: ???

The most important listener for an idol is the fan.

Unlike popular music like Something, the biggest consumer of idol music is the fandom.

Fans are the reason why idols exist.

Then, what message should I convey to our fans who are registered in the fan cafe now, and those who will become our fans in the future?

I tapped the keyboard as I thought for a moment.

-Invitation(?)

Idols and fans are in a relationship that shares the same dream.

So I invited them to the dream we have… I pressed the backspace to erase what I wrote.

It’s too burdensome.

This song is our first meeting with the fans.

This message is too heavy.

It’s like going on a blind date and the other person suddenly says, ‘Mr./Ms. Who, won’t you dream of the future with me?’

Burden spoils the fun.

If you meet someone who’s too pushy on a blind date, the pasta will go in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Let’s go lightly.

Instead of keeping the meaning of inviting them to join us, I changed the content from dreaming the same dream, which is burdensome, to having fun together.

Come here and let’s have fun together, that kind of message.

When I thought about it, it matched well with the refreshing concept of summer and the image of the sea.

Let’s summarize.

In a warm atmosphere where we laugh and chat together, we meet strangers and have fun, and friendship sprouts among the people we met at the travel destination.

Then, the play would be the main material.

What would be a good title to symbolize the play?

What do you do when you go to the beach?

The thought that flowed like water stopped.

An unexpected setback, shall I say.

When was the last time I went to the sea and played?

I think it was the last time I went to the sea in front of Gunsan for a field trip in the second grade of elementary school.

After that, I moved to Seoul and continued my trainee life, and I only practiced on my days off.

Of course, I’ve been to the sea a lot.

There was a sea 30 minutes away from home, and I had a lot of opportunities to go to the sea during my trainee days.

I also got a lot of suggestions to go to the sea together on vacation.

The latter was obviously a dubious purpose, so I refused.

That aside, it’s a bit shocking.

What have I been doing until now?

I don’t even know what to do at the sea.

Keywords like grilled clams and swimming came to mind, but that was only what I heard from others, not my experience.

I shook my head as I thought about posting a question on the internet, ‘What do you do when you go to the sea?’

I wanted to put my own experience in the song I made.

I think I used to play a lot at the beach when I was a kid.

As I drank chocolate milk and thought for a long time, I remembered a very faint memory.

Was it when I was five?

It was a memory like a very old and worn-out book.

***

“Fireworks?”

The next day, I told my siblings the title of the song.

“I want to make a song with the atmosphere of playing together at the beach, and I thought fireworks would be a good material to symbolize that. Besides, fireworks have various meanings, right? Like celebrating something new or commemorating something by shooting them. It also fits the meaning of our debut album.”

“You’re making sense for once.”

Ri-hyuk expressed the best positive he could. If the most picky Ri-hyuk was okay, the other kids didn’t need to ask.

Jung-hyun stroked his chin and asked.

“How did you come up with the title? It seems fine.”

“I remembered something from my childhood.”

It was a memory of being at some beach with my parents when I was about five years old.

Strangely, I don’t remember their faces, but the fireworks I saw then are vivid in my mind.

A streak of fire that soared into the bright and sunny sky.

The kids smiled oddly at my explanation.

Why are they like that?

Bi-ju said with a smile.

“I think it’s good. It suits the mood of the song.”

I was about to thank him when the youngest one chimed in.

“Hyung, are you going to use Korean for the song title?”

“I thought about using English at first, but Firework doesn’t sound very good. My grandmother finds English hard. She always calls Something Samssing, so how unfamiliar would Firework be?”

The siblings who were sitting on the sofa in the studio nodded.

Especially Jung-hyun, who had lived in a village with a lot of elderly people since he was young, seemed to sympathize.

That’s how I finished explaining the title I chose, and Ri-hyuk raised his hand as if he had a question.

“How are you going to write the lyrics?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you that. I’m going to leave it to you guys.”

“What?”

I smiled kindly at the siblings who blinked in confusion.

“It’s our song. I did the composing, so you guys should do the lyrics.”

Now it’s your turn to suffer.

***

Time flew by without a trace.

It was no exaggeration to say that a month of April melted away. Every time I came to my senses, a few days had passed.

Every day was busy with preparations for our debut.

There were also changes in our joint work.

The siblings who had pulled their hair out for a few days and poured out their creativity came up with lyrics for their own parts.

A few more days passed.

The source that was once ‘Untitled’ transformed into <Fireworks> by [Composed / Woojoo], [Lyrics / New Black].

The recording work also went smoothly.

Ji-ho, who had been scolded by our main vocal as if he was being directed, had tears in his eyes, but well.

It was an experience that had already happened once, so it was smooth.

When ‘New Black – Fireworks’ was completed, we felt a sense of accomplishment as we listened to it together.

It was the same feeling as when we first heard the finished version of Something.

“I didn’t expect it to turn out so well.”

Jung-hyun licked his tongue as if he was impressed.

“Hyung, sometimes I wonder if you’re not an alien who came to help us. But… this is too good to be a b-side track.”

“Right. This could be a digital single later.”

“Thanks for the compliments, but let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. We have to hear the opinions of the CEO and the A&R team first.”

“But it’s good, so we’re saying it’s good. You know I’m not very generous with compliments, right?”

I know very well.

I turned my gaze to the youngest one, who was smiling brightly, as I responded to Ri-hyuk’s words.

I wanted to hear something else, not just that the song was good.

Maybe it’s not what I really wanted to hear.

What was he imagining, smiling so innocently?

“Ji-ho, how do you feel? Do you think our color is alive?”

“Um, I don’t really know about color and stuff. I just feel good when I listen to this song. I didn’t feel like this when I listened to Something, but this one makes me feel like I’m really watching fireworks.”

Ji-ho continued.

“It feels like I’m watching fireworks at the beach with you guys. I remember the hard times we had as trainees, and the times we went to the year-end evaluation and music shows after meeting Woojoo hyung. And what should I say? I think of the memories, but I also feel like a good future is ahead of us…”

I finally relaxed when Ji-ho caught exactly what I intended.

I think I did a good job, but making a good song and making a song that fits the intention are different issues.

Then, did I capture the color well?

Bi-ju nodded and said.

“I like this song too, hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“It feels good. It’s like a perfect fit for our body. I can’t say it too soon, but when I listen to it, I feel like…”

He trailed off and smiled.

“It feels like our song, so I like it.”

****

At the end of April.

The conference room on the third floor of Lemon Entertainment was busy with a group of people.

The ones who had more freedom in their dress code than other departments were the staff of the A&R team.

Artist & Repertoire.

It was one of the three most important departments in an idol agency, along with rookie development and management. It was in charge of overseeing all the work related to the artists’ albums.

They decided what kind of concept suited the singers, solicited or composed songs for them.

Depending on the company, the characteristics and tasks varied, but in the case of Lemon Entertainment, there were many professional composers under the influence of the producer Jo Kyu-hwan.

That’s why the topic of conversation naturally flowed to music.

“Did you hear the song that Woojoo wrote himself? He brought it today.”

“I heard that even the director hasn’t heard it yet. I only know the title. Fireworks.”

“Fireworks?”

The staff tilted their heads.

“Isn’t that too common? There must be at least five songs with the same title that we know of.”

“Well, it’s just a filler song anyway.”

“It doesn’t matter what the title is, as long as the song is a hit. Who would have thought that a song called Something would be successful?”

“That’s true. I was shocked too.”

They reminisced about the success of Something.

When they heard that a rookie boy group that was launching in their company was working with Jang So-won, their reaction was ‘Oh, really?’.

It was not their area of responsibility anyway, since the trainees were handled by the rookie development team.

They thought positively that Jang So-won was a talented singer-songwriter, and if the song came out, it would be free publicity for them.

And when they had completely forgotten about that news.

Suddenly, a unprecedented song appeared that dominated the charts on all sites.

“I was really surprised then. I came to the office in the morning and the phone was ringing, the PR team people were running around like crazy. That day was Ji-ho’s graduation ceremony, and by chance, there was someone from Girls On Top there, so there were a lot of reporters.”

“Director Yoon also ran to stop the kids from being interviewed.”

“Well, the whole company was in chaos then. Scarlet also reached the top of the music chart pretty quickly, but it took a year. Who would have expected that kids who haven’t debuted yet would have their names on the top of the music chart.”

They recalled that memory and one of them said.

“I hope he did a good job this time, since he took charge of composing himself.”

“Well, it would be nice if it went well, but it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t.”

“But shouldn’t we have helped him? I heard that Jang So-won helped him a lot with Something. I’m afraid the quality won’t be good if he does it alone…”

“We can fix it for him, right?”

They nodded their heads at someone’s casual remark.

They all knew about the success of Something, but the overall expectation of the A&R team staff was very low.

That was because of the purpose of giving Woojoo the task of composing in the first place.

In a situation where more external composers offered to give them songs after Something and Music Cafe, there was no need to waste one filler song on a beginner’s self-composed song.

The reason was simple.

Image making.

They wanted to use the ‘composer idol’ image to promote the debut album.

That’s why they didn’t care much about the song in the first place. It was a business, regardless of their musical curiosity.

“Besides, the source that Woojoo used as a base, that’s really hard. Is there anyone here who hasn’t tried it?”

They shivered at the thought of the notorious source.

It was a source that no composer in the A&R team could ignore. It looked easy on the surface, but everyone who tried it lost their soul.

If you cut this, that pops out, and if you cut that, this pops out.

They had no idea how to handle it, so they all gave up.

Professional composers all gave up and cried out, how well could an idol who just started composing do?

They nodded their heads as their thoughts reached that far.

“Yeah, it’s definitely going to be hard this time.”

“Let’s just cheer him up a lot. He’s done a lot for us, the company and us. We ate a lot of meat thanks to him, right? He’s a good kid. He knows how to take care of people.”

Every time Something set a new record, Woojoo treated the staff of Lemon Entertainment to a dinner.

He also gave them small gifts.

The staff liked and cared for the leader of New Black for that reason.

That’s why the A&R team staff prepared in advance what kind of words or reactions they would have.

So that Woojoo wouldn’t get hurt, or lose his confidence.

“The director and the team leader are coming.”

At the youngest staff’s words, they all stopped talking and organized the documents on their desks.

Soon, the producer Jo Kyu-hwan, the A&R team leader, and the New Black manager Yoon Seok-hwan came in through the door.

Behind them, the New Black members followed like chicks.

“Hello!”

The staff greeted the energetic members with a warm smile.

They only exchanged greetings for a moment.

Before starting the meeting, there was a time for Woojoo to present the results of his work so far.

“…So that’s why we chose that title. We targeted our fans or potential fans as the main listeners of the song. We focused on creating a cheerful atmosphere, and we decided on the deep house genre… But after making it, it felt a bit tropical, so the boundary is vague.”

Woojoo smiled and nodded his head.

“We know it’s not perfect, but we hope you’ll like it since it’s our first work.”

Of course. We’ll like it.

That’s what they thought as they exchanged glances with the A&R team members. Even if they were disappointed, they agreed not to show it in front of them.

Soon, the song started playing from the speakers.

‘Huh?’

They tilted their heads when they heard the intro.

The beginning was good.

The rhythm was unique.

It was like the stars in the night sky were twinkling in the beat. And a joyful melody adorned it.

They didn’t need to describe the background to imagine a clear night sky.

‘Not bad. There’s not much to fix.’

They enjoyed the flowing intro with satisfaction. It seemed like there was not much to touch on the song.

They were happy for a moment, thinking that their work was reduced.

Their eyes changed when Kim Jung-hyun’s rap came in.

‘Jung-hyun is good at rapping. He definitely has talent for rap making.’

The rapper’s voice flowed under the upbeat melody. His voice was strong, so it sounded clear even without much effort.

They exchanged looks.

But until then, they just thought that Jung-hyun was good at making raps, and didn’t think much of it.

The problem started from then on.

From the part where Bi-ju’s voice was heard to the part where Ri-hyuk sang.

The rhythm and melody that were gradually rising changed explosively at the chorus.

Like fireworks.

Instead of flames, a refreshing melody soaked their ears.

‘…Did he make this?’

They were amazed not because of the quality of the song.

To be honest, they studied every day listening to foreign or domestic hits, so they wouldn’t be surprised by this level of song.

They were surprised not by the quality of the song, but by the color.

The strength of this song was the harmony with the members.

The musical color, if you will. Anyone who heard it would say, ‘Oh, this is their song.’ 

The members’ personalities stood out while blending well.

Like the group name New Black, different colors came together to form a beautiful black.

No matter how good a song is, it’s not a good song if it doesn’t suit the singer.

Even if a big agency has a lot of money, it’s hard to succeed if they can’t give the singer a suitable concept. 

On the other hand, even if a small agency has little money, they can succeed if they give the singer a good song that fits them.

That’s why they say that idols are a fight between A&R and planning.

In that sense, Fireworks was more than passing in terms of planning, not just pure musical aspects.

The A&R team members’ minds were tangled.

They thought it would be mediocre, so they prepared reactions and feedback, but they didn’t expect the song to be this good.

‘What should we do with this?’

They felt a dilemma while admiring the good song.

It was like trying to cast an extra actor in a movie that had already finished casting the main and supporting roles, but suddenly a more suitable actor for the lead role appeared.

“…”

When the song finally ended, silence filled the room.