After staying up all night watching a compilation of popular solo OA live broadcasts, I rubbed my dry eyes and took out the sheet music.
I initially planned to watch for just an hour, then get to work and sleep, but somehow I ended up staying up all night.
Thanks to that, I got a good sense of how to conduct a solo OA live broadcast.
The task at hand was the distribution of parts for our upcoming recording.
This didn’t take much time. The parts had been clearly defined from the beginning.
I wrote the song with the members in mind, imagining us performing it.
The only unexpected variable was Ryu Jaehee’s terrible English pronunciation.
Because of that, I had to give the chorus lines with “right” and “night” to Gyeon Hajun and assigned Jaehee Hajun’s original killing part and the intro.
‘Damn, it would’ve been perfect if it stayed as it was.’
But since the clarity of the lyrics was important, I had no choice but to make the changes, albeit reluctantly.
It wasn’t much trouble since I only had to switch their parts.
Just enough effort to warrant some credit instead of annoyance towards Ryu Jaehee?
Before I came back, his English pronunciation wasn’t bad, so why on earth is it like “naight, raight” now?
After finishing the part distribution and adjustments, I informed the members of their parts.
Considering vocal range and clarity of lyrics, there was still one guy who didn’t accept it and challenged me.
“Why can’t I, the main vocalist of REVE, get the chorus? I’ve been practicing my pronunciation a lot!”
“Stop whining because it’s annoying. That’s why I gave you the intro and the killing part.”
I waved my hand to shoo him away, but Ryu Jaehee didn’t give up and clung to my arm like a monkey.
“Oh, hyung! Just one more time! Let me sing it once more! I can pronounce it correctly now!”
“Why are you so obsessed with the chorus? No matter how much Gyeon Hajun took your main vocalist position, he’s good. He’s not someone you can underestimate.”
As I rubbed my furrowed brow, sensitive to noise after staying up all night, Ryu Jaehee quickly let go of my arm and stepped back.
“Don’t misunderstand, hyung. I absolutely respect Hajun hyung’s skills. I’m not looking down on him.”
With his lips pouting, Ryu Jaehee defended himself.
Don’t act cute. When you hit your growth spurt and transform later, the habit will remain, and you’ll still do that. Do you know how gross it is for a big guy to puff his cheeks and pout like that?
Of course, fans inexplicably loved those antics of Ryu Jaehee, who had turned into a giant hamster before I came back. The only one suffering was me.
“This part fits my vocal range perfectly. I felt it was my part from the first time I sang it during the guide recording.”
What a sharp guy. I clicked my tongue, seeing how Ryu Jaehee had keenly picked up that the part was made with him in mind.
“Sing it.”
“What?”
“Sing a line of the chorus. The part where ‘right’ and ‘night’ come together. I want to see how much your pronunciation has improved.”
As soon as I gave the permission, Ryu Jaehee cleared his throat and immediately belted out the quite high-pitched chorus.
[Today, I won’t let anyone go home, what about you?
Then answer me now, All right or night?]
It wasn’t at a native level, but his pronunciation had improved quite a bit from a few days of intense practice. He must have been listening to English pronunciations with his earphones on all day.
“Get permission from Gyeon Hajun to switch parts first.”
With my half-granted permission to switch parts, Ryu Jaehee’s face lit up, and he ran over to Gyeon Hajun, calling out to him.
“Is it okay for me to have this many parts…?”
Seo Yehyun scratched his head, feeling awkward about the increased parts, and asked me if I had made a mistake in assigning Gyeon Hajun’s parts to him.
A short vocal line and a rap part that didn’t require much skill. Those were indeed the parts I assigned to Seo Yehyun.
“Is this a lot…?”
“It’s much more than before.”
Come to think of it, Seo Yehyun only had two lines during “Come Into My Universe.”
Since his skills hadn’t improved, and the debut album recording day was approaching, I had cut his parts instead of trying to push his abilities to the limit.
Before I came back, I had produced several times, and now I was confident in not only pushing him to his limits but also making his lacking skills seem quite good.
“You should have this much. You’re the face of our group.”
If his skills improved, I even considered giving him the intro part once.
I patted his shoulder, and Seo Yehyun nodded with a subtle expression.
I glanced at Kim Dobin, who surprisingly remained quiet instead of complaining about his parts.
Our eyes met, and Kim Dobin quickly looked away, startled.
That guy.
Ever since that serious counseling session, Kim Dobin had been avoiding me for some reason.
I felt sympathy and let it slide the first couple of times, but as it continued, my sympathy waned, and irritation grew.
If this went on, I might drag him to the agency and cause a scene.
Sigh, life before coming back, when we ignored each other, was simpler.
***
On the day of the title track recording.
The recording studio booked by our agency was surprisingly quite nice.
It was more spacious than Yongchul hyung’s studio, the equipment was more modern, and it even had a separate recording booth.
Gyeon Hajun, who was in charge of the intro, was the first to enter the booth.
The remaining members, waiting for their turn, were busy memorizing the lyrics on the sofa.
As the producer, I sat in front of the booth, lightly tapping the keyboard.
As soon as Gyeon Hajun put on the headset and stood in front of the microphone, I played the instrumental. I stopped and rewound it right after the intro.
“Again.”
This attempt was definitely better than the first, but it was still 2% lacking.
“Again.”
It was good, but it lacked that gripping impact. Feeling a bit bland, I changed my approach and instructed him.
“Jun, put more power into the beginning. Don’t sing with a relaxed voice.”
The intro needed to grab attention just as much as the killing part and the chorus, so I was particularly meticulous about it.
It took about five attempts to get the desired result. But it only took five tries because it was Gyeon Hajun.
“Wow, that was tough. Didn’t Hajun hyung get an okay on the first try before?”
“Do you think the guide recording and the main recording are the same?”
I nonchalantly replied to Kim Dobin, who was whispering with Ryu Jaehee, causing Dobin to flinch in surprise.
I put the headset back on and resumed the recording.
For the other parts, it went smoothly with just one or two attempts. It wasn’t until the killing part, after five “again” commands, that Gyeon Hajun’s recording was completed successfully.
Gyeon Hajun, staggering out of the recording booth, slumped onto the sofa, and I gestured for the next person.
“Yehyun hyung, come in.”
Having only seen the mild version of my work, Seo Yehyun entered the booth with a face as if he were being dragged to hell.
“Again.”
“It’s not a high note. Relax your throat. Again.”
“Keep the rhythm. Again.”
“The rhythm is off. Again.”
“Match it to ‘da-da da-da-dan da-da-da-dan.’ Got it? Let’s do it again.”
“Don’t elongate the end, move straight to the next line. The rhythm is off because of that habit. Again.”
“No, hyung. Don’t add any flair. This part needs to be delivered quickly, not trying to do hip-hop. Again.”
[Detected speech promoting conflict with members.]
[Initial Intention -1]
Despite the decrease in my Initial Intention, I firmly kept saying “again.”
Completing the music was important, and I couldn’t be swayed by something like Initial Intention.
When the okay sign was finally given, Seo Yehyun’s previously grim face brightened a little.
Laughing, I spoke into the microphone.
“Alright, let’s move on to the next part.”
You think you’re the only one having a hard time? I’m struggling too. We’ve only finished two lines; when will we get through all of this?
“Hey, can I have a 10-minute break…?”
“We’ll record Jaehee and Dobin first, so take a rest during that time.”
I hadn’t expected this to take so long.
It seemed I’d have to set a separate day just for working on Seo Yehyun’s parts.
* * *
After finally getting a break, Seo Yehyun staggered out of the recording booth and collapsed onto the sofa.
Groaning, he accepted the water bottle offered by Gyeon Hajun and gulped it down.
“Wow, I’m dying… Recording ‘Come Into My Universe’ wasn’t this tough.”
“That’s because the producer didn’t care much back then, right? As long as the pitch was somewhat correct and the timing wasn’t off, it was okay.”
“…True.”
Recalling that time, Seo Yehyun reluctantly agreed.
I can’t even describe how much I squirmed in embarrassment listening to my parts afterward.
Although this recording was mentally and physically exhausting, I was confident that we wouldn’t end up with a terrible result like that time.
“At least that’s a relief… I was really nervous that you’d fight with Eden hyung again.”
Kim Dobin, who was perched precariously on the armrest of the sofa due to Seo Yehyun’s position, sighed in relief and murmured.
Even seeing Eden relentlessly shout “again” at Ryu Jaehee, whose skills were top-notch, Seo Yehyun scratched the back of his head.
“At least I understand that this time, he’s not doing it to torment us. It just pisses me off when he says not to do crappy hip-hop.”
“I get it, hyung. He came from the underground scene, right? They say underground artists look down on idol rappers a lot. Just be glad he didn’t bring some hardcore real hip-hop song, criticizing idol music.”
Making a statement close to the truth of our pre-reincarnation days, Kim Dobin chuckled.
Listening quietly, Gyeon Hajun finally spoke up.
“To be fair, Eden isn’t trying to torment us or pick fights. The problem is he doesn’t think before he speaks and has no tact, so he easily gets misunderstood.”
“Are you defending him or criticizing him?”
Laughing bitterly at the sharp remark, Gyeon Hajun quietly smiled and spoke in a low voice, inaudible to Yoon Eden.
“Don’t hate him too much, hyung. He’s a good guy.”
“Are you his parent or something?”
Seo Yehyun chuckled and leaned back on the sofa, recalling Yoon Eden’s efforts to temper his words while still complaining.
He wasn’t that annoying yet. Just a little more irritating than usual.
***
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