EP "Daughter. Time to Eat."
Lee Hyein knocked on the door. "Daughter. You need to eat." But the door didn't open. No sign of life inside. Ever since Suyeon had gone into her room last night, that door hadn't opened even once. Not even by the time to head to school.
What's going on?
Since her discharge from the hospital, Suyeon had never once slept in past her usual wake-up time. She'd always gotten up even earlier than necessary, folding the blankets, brewing coffee, handling little chores like that. Opening the windows for ventilation, sweeping here and there. Then, when Hyein woke up, they'd eat the breakfast Hyein prepared together. That had always been the routine.
And now it was broken?
She asked me not to open the door.
Had she stayed up late working on something last night? Was she still sleeping? But it was time to get up and go to school now. Hyein hesitated for a moment, then gripped the doorknob. If Suyeon was asleep, she'd call the school and say she was running late. Missing a day or being tardy once wouldn't be a big deal. Suyeon wasn't even planning on going to a regular university anyway...
Come to think of it, is Suyeon aiming for an arts college?
With that sudden thought crossing her mind, Hyein opened the door. And froze in shock.
"Suyeon!"
Suyeon was wearing headphones, completely absorbed in the laptop screen. The dark circles under her eyes—could it be?
Hyein rushed over and tapped her shoulder. Suyeon slowly turned to look at her.
"Oh, Mom. I asked you not to open the door..."
"Suyeon! It's morning! Did you pull an all-nighter!?"
"Huh?"
Suyeon stared blearily at the edge of the laptop screen, then her eyes flew wide open in sudden realization. She fiddled with the mouse, yanked off her headphones, and bolted into the bathroom.
"Suyeon, skip school today! You can't go after staying up all night. I'll call your teacher."
"No, I have to go. Can't miss attendance..."
A clatter came from the bathroom, followed by Suyeon's yelp: "Ow, too hot!"
The girl who'd been so calm and put-together since the accident—why was she like this today? But somehow, it felt like the behavior of someone her age, and Hyein couldn't help but smile.
Sehyeon had typed out a comment:
He hesitated over the send button. Would it come off as too cringey? But everyone else was doing the same thing.
The kids' voices in the background, with that fading effect as they go away—it sounds like a walk to or from school. "Gray days" probably means those boring childhood days we thought were dull back then. The melody and humming bring back those memories so vividly.
And here he was, theorizing about lyrics that didn't even exist yet. Compared to that, Sehyeon was tame. Living with his otaku sister had exposed him to all sorts of cringey fan behavior—ticket wars, merch hauls. I'll never end up like that, he'd sworn. Adults chasing celebrities instead of living their own lives? Worrying about idols was the most pointless thing in the world.
But that resolve had shattered spectacularly.
At Juhyeon's concert he'd gone to with his sister Seyoon, they'd sat where the girl high school band was clearly visible. Juhyeon was the main act, but...
They couldn't look away.
"Hey, you hear that track?"
His sister popped up out of nowhere while he agonized over the comment. She barged over, peeked at the comments, and burst out laughing.
"'Back in school I was so full of energy—why did I end up like this?' Puhaha lololol cough cough haha!"
"What're you laughing at?"
He smacked her shoulder hard. "Ow, that hurts!" Seyoon yelped, backing away.
Sehyeon deleted the comment and glared at her. "What?"
"You heard it too, huh? It's amazing, right? I legit teared up. Look, my eyes are all red."
"Why would I care about your eyes?"
The siblings bickered a bit before pausing to listen to the track again. To share their thoughts, figure out how to recommend it to others. But it wouldn't play.
"What the?"
A few more clicks, still nothing. Then a refresh...
And the video was set to private.
"What the hell??"
A few minutes later, they saw the community post.
Too late to regret not downloading it sooner.
"Like I mentioned before, I'm thinking of making an EP."
Regular practice for the Paradox gig. But for some reason, Suyeon wrapped up early and headed to a nearby café. The other three trailed after her curiously. There, she dropped that line and slurped her coffee.
"An EP?"
"You don't remember?"
"You mentioned it once before, but..."
What's an EP? Iseo muttered to herself. It rang a bell.
"An EP usually means an album with 4 to 7 tracks," Seoha explained to the puzzled Iseo.
"So it's not a full album?"
"Kinda different... Depends on the track count. 1 to 3 is a single. 4 to 7 is an EP—mini-album in Japan. 8 or more is a full album."
"Does the number really matter? It's all just albums, music, right?"
"It does."
Seoha pulled over a sheet of paper and started jotting notes: differences between singles, EPs, albums, and more.
"Overseas, only a full album counts as a proper career milestone. Complicated reasons, but basically, everything else is supplementary—like side stories."
"Isn't it different in Korea?"
"In Korea, singles and EPs count as career too. Extreme example: say we drop 2 EPs and a single. Here, we're a band that's released stuff. Overseas? Rookies with nothing."
"Why?"
"Doesn't matter much anyway. Point is, I'm planning to oversee this EP myself."
Suyeon explained her reasoning: time crunch, lack of cohesion with group input, etc. It made sense, so Iseo and the others had no complaints.
"And one track's already done. Wanna hear it?"
She offered her earphones. Iseo took them first and listened. Hit with two shocks.
First: This is...
It was perfectly her taste. Anime soundtrack vibes, kinda Japanese. The soft humming spread low, and the faint kids' voices in the bridges stirred some inexplicable nostalgia.
"No lyrics yet..."
"Yeah. Want you to write them."
"Sure!"
She must've liked Iseo's lyrics from before. Nodding eagerly, Iseo accepted.
And second: "Title feels kinda old-man-ish, no?"
"Huh?"
Suyeon startled for some reason. Iseo thought it odd but continued.
"Return, O Gray Days—like Come Back, My Youth or something."
"Really? I was going for a Japanese-style title. References are from there too."
Iseo conceded it had merit. Like Become a Myth, Boy or Come Back to Me, Boy. All "boy," but...
"But in Korean, it sounds like an old guy reminiscing. Kaere, Haiiro no Hibi has edge... but this? Feels like some geezer sighing over lost youth."
"Guess I'll change it then..."
Suyeon seemed flustered again, her voice glum. Maybe the title her mom suggested? Iseo figured it was something like that.
How to distribute the album?
Silly to worry about this before even finishing the songs, but it was crucial. Creation alone wasn't enough—you had to get it out there. Promotion was one thing, distribution another.
Not a digital single, but an EP? Physical CDs were standard. Which meant buying cases, burning discs, printing stickers, inserting booklets... Or negotiating directly with a manufacturer.
Who had time for that?
Leave it to a label. But joining one? Problems galore.
Making an EP brings all these headaches...
A real pain. Myeongjeon racked her brain.
Just join a label? Pros in production, promo, everything beyond the EP.
But then constraints on style, can't release whenever...
Still, the convenience was tempting. Tough call.
"Suyeon. Dinner time."
"Okay."
Better to focus on what she could do now, like eat. Myeongjeon sat at the table. Nicely grilled meat.
"Oh yeah, remember what I said before?"
"What?"
"About an album. You planning one?"
"Yeah."
"Still?"
"Mm... Yeah. Composing tracks for it. That's what the all-nighter was for."
Hyein's face lit up at Myeongjeon's answer. Before she could ask why, Hyein spoke.
"Perfect. I bought a label recently. What if we release through them?"
...What?!