Sample Clearance (5): The Sleeping Artist
Maybe I thought the Tears of Courage sampling permission would really be tough, but it ended up resolving way more simply than expected.
"Anyway, I'll allow the sampling."
"Really?"
"Yeah. The song's good."
Because Yu Jeuni said so.
"Copyright and all that is under my name from the start, so there won't be any issues."
We double-checked the sole copyright ownership too. With the band blown up and no agency, there's no one else to claim rights anyway.
"All good?"
Clean as can be.
But Kang Saero still seemed hung up on something.
"What about the music, though? You're really quitting for good, unnie?"
A nod.
"Doesn't matter anyway, right?"
Yu Jeuni, now apparently drunk, sprawled on the sofa, wriggling around. She looked like she'd merged completely with the black menhera character cushion.
"But I'm kinda wasted...."
"My sleep schedule's all messed up, so now I'm sleepy...."
"Lemme just lie here and watch you guys work a bit longer before I go."
Just 15 minutes passed after that.
We discussed how to re-record the vocals with Kang Saero, checked the new song in progress again, tweaked details here and there, and suddenly it hit me—the side with Yu Jeuni had gone quiet.
Snore, snore.
Yu Jeuni was already deep asleep on the sofa in my studio.
* * *
Snore, snore.
Yu Jeuni curled up in one corner of the studio sofa, fast asleep. Watching her, Kang Saero felt a swirl of complicated emotions.
That's what I wanted to do.
Honestly, she wasn't immune to jealousy. Coming to Kim Seryeon's studio, hanging out alone, then dozing off oh-so-prettily on the sofa. Then Kim Seryeon would come over and...
"Hup."
She shook her head quickly to snap out of it.
Anyway, it's a total fantasy.
This should've pissed her off. When she first heard about Yu Jeuni from Kim Seryeon, she'd bitten her lip hard. Fan of Neon Blue or whatever, the thoughts that stuck were:
Unnie?
At the studio?
And drunk on top of that?
Who knows what could happen. Because this unnie was cute. She'd known it forever as a fan.
Kang Saero kept peering at the sleeping Yu Jeuni. She was pretty. Beyond just pretty, she had that one-of-a-kind artist aura. Great music, magnetic charm—that's why she loved her. Guys must go crazy for her too. Small, cute, the type you want to protect, but talented to boot. A sensitive soul like Kim Seryeon might get swept away by that intense character in a heartbeat.
Thinking that way sometimes stabbed at her heart.
But today's events made it clear. The way Kim Seryeon looked at Yu Jeuni.
It's like...
Like looking at a hopelessly pathetic big sis. He seemed to be sighing inwardly a ton.
Hmm. Kinship disdain? Her concept lately leaned that way, but Kim Seryeon was a menhera at heart too.
Anyway, that eased her mind once.
Now, a totally different feeling bubbled up.
Why am I not annoyed at all?
Kang Saero was baffled by her own emotions. Yu Jeuni slept oh-so-prettily on Kim Seryeon's studio sofa, snoring away. This is what I wanted to do.
But instead of jealousy, a strange protective instinct surged first.
Crying then laughing, drinking, seriously checking the music, crying again. After all that chaos, Yu Jeuni slept with the world's most harmless expression.
Her landmine fashion's flashy frills and lace. Twin tails. Tiny body and innocent childlike face. Faint breathing, tiny fluttering lashes. Hugging the black menhera cushion tight, curled up under the blanket.
Like a doll.
Where'd that decadent vibe from moments ago go? She almost reached out to fix the blanket.
I must be losing it.
Kang Saero muttered softly, tapping her cheek.
Kim Seryeon's side. And that studio sofa. She wanted them bad. But seeing Yu Jeuni like this, she couldn't muster rivalry.
That'd be too much. Instead, she hoped Kim Seryeon would take good care of this unnie and get her back to making music.
Pure fan greed taking over.
"Seryeon."
"Yeah?"
Kim Seryeon, busily clicking the mouse in front of his laptop, turned his head.
"Turn up the AC a bit."
"Why? Cold?"
"I'm fine, but unnie's sleeping—might get chilly."
Weird. She wanted to fuss over Yu Jeuni. Come to think of it, this artist had more female fans than male. Maybe she appealed more to women.
"Even in summer, sleeping drunk with cold air blasting'll give you a cold."
"Got it. Let's do that."
Kim Seryeon grabbed the remote and adjusted the temperature.
But that was just an excuse. The real point was elsewhere.
"Hey, Seryeon."
She knew what she was about to say was tough. How hard it is for someone whose heart's broken to get back up—she got that.
But if it was Kim Seryeon... maybe possible.
She took a deep breath in and out. Steel herself and spoke.
"Wouldn't it be a shame to just let unnie quit music like this?"
* * *
Kang Saero's plea to look after Yu Jeuni and help her make a comeback. I had to stifle a laugh for a sec.
Not because Yu Jeuni quitting music was funny. That's psycho.
It was Kang Saero going full mama bird in this setup—that was hilarious.
Perched carefully on the sofa edge, gazing at blanket-buried Yu Jeuni like a precious egg in a nest.
You a mom or what?
Yu Jeuni was no kid—she was a full seven years older. This dynamic was straight-up violent.
How scatterbrained was this woman?
"Dunno. Forcing someone whose heart's broken probably won't work."
"Still..."
"But one thing's for sure."
My thoughts aligned with hers, though. Too talented to quit like this. Not one-sided greed—Yu Jeuni probably thought so too.
Because.
"There are people who can't live without music, and Yu Jeuni's one."
You could tell at a glance.
"She needs time, but quitting for good? No way."
"How do you know..."
"You just see it."
She just loves music that much. Kang Saero seemed super worried, but I wasn't. These types keep at it no matter what.
I turned back to the monitor.
The four-bar loop sampled from Yu Jeuni's Tears of Courage. Varied it, laid down 808 bass—solid skeleton right there.
But calling it done? Nah. Gotta layer vocals on top.
Human voice is the key instrument here.
Final song check—play it once more. No keyboard melody from earlier this time.
"Putting rap here now."
"Not keeping that keyboard bit?"
"Rap's taking that role. Melody rap treated like an instrument with autotune."
"What about keys?"
"Just used keys for intro and hook melody outline."
"Yeah. Don't scrap it. It's good."
Anyway, add rapper's verse to finish.
"Whole track gets heavy autotune."
I played the unfinished track, spitting a guide vocal.
"Taking care of grandma and grandpa. Raising the second kid."
"Wait, that's the lyrics?"
"Can't write rap lyrics for shit."
Guide's just for rhythm and pitch.
"Anyway, hook's melodic like this, verse similar."
Unique part: entire progression's melodic. No "rap" as people think.
"What? No rap?"
"This is rap."
"With melody? How's that rap?"
The exact critique I'd waited for—I snapped my fingers.
"That's the truly trendy part."
"Huh?"
Too ahead, no one gets it. Too on-trend, copycat flood. Trendy means pulling the next big thing just a tad early.
The emotional hip-hop singing-rap wave from Show Me 7 in a few months. My strategy: snag it early.
"Sicha and Boongboong have rap parts too—cutting those?"
"Yep."
"Then it's R&B or pop. Why hip-hop?"
"Hip-hop's cool 'cause it has no roots—always evolving, absorbing."
"Autotune it, just use a singer."
"Autotune's whole different from vocals in feel and use."
"Cheating pitch."
"Nah, texture's what we're after."
"Real rappers do this?"
"Drake."
I wouldn't budge an inch, and Kang Saero suffered.
"This isn't hip-hop!!! "
"But you don't even listen to hip-hop much."
"Arghhh."
Wouldn't yield, so she suffered more. Regressor knows the future flow—what can ya do?
Lucky she caught on quick. No hip-hop ties helped.
Real hurdle: 100-min hip-hop debate with actual rappers.
Anyway, composed Kang Saero checked the schedule.
"Neon Blue original re-record vocals: me."
"Right. Do it."
"Sessions: Yu Jeuni unnie ideal, but others work."
"Bass, guitar, drums—band sessions. Post-Neon Blue boom, can't go there, so other players probably."
"Got it."
Now the final piece.
"Rapper left—the most crucial."
Kang Saero voiced some prejudice, big-data worry.
"Most of 'em seem kinda weird. Worried."
"What what what?!"