Chapter 125: Recording
Chapter 125: Recording
After that day, a group chat for the three of them was created.
The name of the group chat was:
[All-Day Project (3)]
It didn’t have any grand meaning. It was simply named that because they had hung out together all day.
Naturally, I didn’t come up with that tacky name.
It was Park Juwon’s work.
[Park Juwon Hyung: Design King Ryu Sunho ㄷㄷ]
[Ryu Sunho: ??]
[Park Juwon Hyung: (photo)]
Who knows where he found it.
He posted a meme screenshot from Episode 3 that aired the other day, showing me performing surgery.
The image had my line written across it.
—God’s blueprint, revision complete—
[Park Juwon Hyung: Can you design my career too?]
[Park Juwon Hyung: I’ll even buy you banana milk]
[Park Juwon Hyung: (photo)]
…Right.
The banana milk scene appeared in Episode 4, which aired on Thursday.
That scene was something I had suggested as an ad-lib on set.
Since it was my first ad-lib, I had been a little worried while monitoring the broadcast.
Fortunately, people’s reactions were good.
Especially the members of the fan café “Sunho Ideology.” They loved it.
—Banana milk lol this is so cute
—I already turned it into a meme ^^
└ Wow thank you!!!
—LOL calling it an emergency blood sugar supplement as an excuse is adorable
—The gap-moe of him mixing banana milk because he can’t handle bitter things is insaneㅠㅠ
—Han Jushin… you even possess cuteness…
—From today my favorite drink is banana milk
Anyway.
I thought for a moment about how to respond to Park Juwon’s teasing.
Then I simply posted a photo saved in my gallery.
[Ryu Sunho: (photo)]
It was a picture of Park Juwon’s forehead swollen from the arcade forehead-flick game.
[Park Juwon Hyung: …… ]
Park Juwon typed and erased messages several times.
Then he quickly changed the topic.
[Park Juwon Hyung: Also, Kanghyeok hyung’s presence was insane]
[Park Juwon Hyung: As expected, whenever hyung appears the screen feels completely filled]
[Park Juwon Hyung: I mean the atmosphere fills it, not literally]
The “1” disappeared.
There was no reply for a long time.
Then a notification sounded.
[Moon Ganghyeok Sunbae: Thanks~~ Juwon~~^^]
[Moon Ganghyeok Sunbae: I hope everyone has a day filled with happiness with nothing lacking^^@@]
It sounded like the kind of message that would be written in formal calligraphy on a floral background.
But—
Isn’t Park Juwon busy…?
It felt like he spent the entire day on KakaoTalk.
I turned off the notifications and focused on practicing my script again.
“…So open the operating room immediately.”
One hour into practicing lines.
Normally, by this point the heating would have made my throat dry and scratchy.
But now my vocal cords felt smoothly coated with moisture.
My gaze naturally shifted to the humidifier in the living room.
It really works well.
Not only was the design pretty, the performance was excellent too.
Thanks to it, even after long hours of rehearsing lines and pushing my voice, the fatigue was much lighter.
The wine and the humidifier.
Next time I meet them, I should at least treat them to a proper meal in return.
Just as I was about to look back at the script—
Buzz—buzz—
The phone on the table vibrated.
It was Team Leader Jo Sehun.
“Hello?”
—Hey, Sunho. Were you looking at the script?
“Yes. What’s up?”
Jo Sehun’s voice sounded strangely excited.
—I’ve got some interesting news.
“What is it?”
—You’re going to have to sing again.
“…What?”
What song all of a sudden?
Was he telling me to appear on Mystery Singer again?
But weren’t previous King of Singers winners banned from returning?
After a pause, Jo Sehun laughed.
—The production company of Doctor Princess contacted us. They want to record an OST.
A few days later.
A studio belonging to the OST production company Melodion in Gangnam, Seoul.
Producer Kim Cheolmin stared at the monitor while repeatedly listening to the MR for today’s recording.
He checked whether any part sounded off.
Whether any section needed further adjustment.
His attitude was extremely cautious.
For good reason.
This isn’t just about lowering the female key to a male key.
Lee Yuna’s “Bloom” had a bright piano-centered tone.
But Ryu Sunho’s version would use a cello-centered orchestral arrangement as the main foundation.
The tempo was slightly slower.
The arrangement was designed to feel like Han Jushin finally releasing emotions he had long suppressed.
In other words, the song Ryu Sunho would sing was not merely a male-version OST.
It was Han Jushin’s story.
Still, the song couldn’t become too plain.
Lowering the key could easily make it feel flat.
So he inserted an emotional bridge section that would explode with high notes.
Because it’s Ryu Sunho.
If he had been working with another actor, he would have removed the high notes entirely.
But considering the ability Sunho had shown on Mystery Singer, it might actually be possible.
Still, just in case, I’ll prepare two melody lines…
Behind the producer focusing on his computer, voices of Melodion staff could be heard.
“I’m really excited for today.”
“Me too! I listen to the extracted ‘Golden Retriever’ audio version every morning on my way to work.”
“MBS uploaded a whole Golden Retriever compilation on YouTube. Have you seen it? The comments already passed ten thousand.”
“Really? I’ll check it out after work.”
The staff were buzzing with excitement.
But not everyone was.
A man wearing rimless glasses folded his arms and spoke indifferently.
“But… honestly, is he really that good?”
“What? Why are you nitpicking?”
“I’m just being objective. I admit he made an impact when singing Kim Gwanggyun’s song. Their vocal tone was very similar. But that’s imitation territory. Singing your own song is different.”
“Wasn’t his performance of ‘When Spring Comes’ good too?”
“Ah, it wasn’t bad. But not as strong as when he sang Kim Gwanggyun’s song. And he didn’t really show high notes. Looking at this arrangement, it goes past the third octave near the end. Can he handle that?”
The man pushed up his rimless glasses.
“My guess? Nine times out of ten he’ll crack the note or switch to thin falsetto. Then they’ll fix it with processing or switch to the lower melody line.”
The senior beside him clicked his tongue.
“Hey. That’s just jealousy. Being overly harsh on actors who sing—it’s a disease.”
“….”
Apparently struck by the truth, the rimless-glasses man pouted.
At that moment—
The recording studio door opened.
“Hello.”
“Welcome! Sunho!”
It was Ryu Sunho.
He was dressed casually, but his proportions and visuals seemed to shine even under the dim lighting of the studio.
More importantly, his expression was completely relaxed.
The moment Producer Kim Cheolmin saw that face, he felt relieved.
No need to worry.
Before starting the recording, Producer Kim handed him a printed lyric sheet.
“Let’s listen to the guide version first.”
While listening with his eyes closed, Sunho noticed something odd.
“There are two choruses.”
“Ah, just in case we prepared two melody lines. One emphasizes high notes, and the other is slightly lowered. Let’s try the high-note version first.”
Sunho nodded.
Having a Plan B prepared was a work style he was familiar with as well.
“Alright. Is there anything else I should pay attention to?”
“This song focuses on the character Han Jushin. Rather than technique, it would be best if you sing it simply and focus on the emotions.”
That was actually perfect.
My singing skill was only B+, so technical flair was my weak point.
Expressing emotion was much easier.
In other words, it was an instruction that hid my weakness and emphasized my strength.
And besides.
The producer seemed worried about the high notes.
But producing clean high notes without elaborate technique was no problem.
Thanks to raising my Physical Acting Skill to A+, my diaphragm and abdominal pressure control had improved dramatically.
Meaning I could handle most high notes without difficulty.
“Shall we begin?”
With confidence, I entered the recording booth.
I put on the headphones and closed my eyes.
I recalled Han Jushin’s inner emotions and settled into the feeling.
Soon the intro played.
And I placed my voice on the incoming melody.
—Your name quietly spreads
My heart sways in the breeze
The moment the first line flowed through the speakers—
Producer Kim Cheolmin’s hand froze over the mouse in the control room.
“…Wow.”
The admiration escaped him unconsciously.
The rimless-glasses man sitting behind him slowly uncrossed his arms.
He leaned forward without realizing it.
“What…?”
“The sound got even better.”
“His vocal tone is seriously unfair.”
The song passed the middle section and rushed toward the climax.
The accompaniment swelled as emotion intensified.
—A dream that grows clearer as it fades
Every scene becomes colored by you
Then came the high-note bridge section.
—You spread within me
Quietly seeping in like a dream
Ryu Sunho’s voice pierced through.
A third-octave high note.
Not falsetto.
A full chest voice.
Not a strained scream either—solid and heavy.
The diaphragm and abdominal pressure trained through A+ physical acting ability supported the sound perfectly.
“…!”
Producer Kim Cheolmin stared with his mouth open.
Some staff behind him covered their mouths.
“Wow… he sang that in one breath?”
“He just hit a third-octave C like it was nothing.”
“…And it’s insanely clean. No bending, he hit it directly.”
“And the pitch didn’t drift at all. This is crazy.”
The most shocked person was the rimless-glasses man.
He stared blankly at Sunho, not even noticing his glasses slipping.
That’s possible? Without Auto-Tune? That cleanly?
At the same time, the staff exchanged glances.
Once this releases…
it’s going to blow the roof off the music charts.
The next day.
On the filming set of Doctor Princess.
Amid staff bustling around—
a familiar yet noticeably changed face appeared.
“Hello! Everyone’s working hard!”
“Oh! Writer Joo, long time no see!”
Unlike before, when she always looked exhausted with messy hair, today Writer Joo Hanbit looked radiant.
Her skin even glowed.
The greatest tonic of all—record-breaking ratings—had been nourishing her daily.
“Your face has really bloomed.”
“Well, it’s understandable. Hehe.”
“Of course. Your debut work passed 30% ratings and keeps setting new records every week. No way you’d look gloomy.”
Director Chae Wongi lowered his voice and whispered playfully.
“Be honest. It feels pretty satisfying to be doing much better than Writer Choi Jeongin, doesn’t it?”
Joo Hanbit’s lips curled upward uncontrollably.
The fact that she had completely crushed the pride of Choi Jeongin—who had once treated her like a slave—felt incredibly sweet.
“Hehe… it feels like all the suffering I went through has finally been repaid.”
“Good. Enjoy it. You deserve it.”
Director Chae Wongi straightened his seat.
“By the way, you haven’t shown your face on set for a while.”
“I’ve been busy developing the script.”
“Finished now?”
“Not yet… I want to perfect the ending a bit more, so I’m still revising it.”
“Then what brings you here today?”
“Today is the day you’re filming that scene.”
“The one created from Sunho’s idea.”
The scene tied to a Ministry of Health and Welfare campaign.
The very scene that would become the highlight of the drama.
“Ah, so that’s why you came.”
Director Chae Wongi nodded.
“I’m really looking forward to it too. Even when I first heard the idea, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s wild.’ Once it’s actually implemented, I have no idea how big the reaction will be.”
“Same here. That’s why I rushed over.”
“Haha, good choice. Writing all the time gives you headaches. Sometimes you need to come to set and clear your head.”
While Writer Joo Hanbit and Director Chae Wongi chatted excitedly—
a commotion arose near the entrance of the set.
“Oh, looks like the leads have arrived.”
The two men responsible for today’s filming.
Ryu Sunho and Moon Ganghyeok stepped out of their cars one after another and arrived on set.