Recording
"..."
The top floor of the HS Entertainment headquarters.
Bae Sol tapped her index finger on her desk as she listened to the music.
It was the music of the band Haeyul, which Jeong Jisul had mentioned before.
"Some of them are wearing hoodies, but..."
Behind them, she could see school uniform shirts and ties.
This confirmed another fact: Haeyul was a high school band.
"And..."
The guitarist, who even had a solo part, was incredibly skilled.
"...This looks like Jisul."
The player's physique... was far from that of an ordinary person.
"The broad shoulders, the leg length... and above all, that guitar. I was the one who gave it to him."
It was a body that would easily overshadow most idols or actors standing next to him.
"It really is something."
Doesn't Jisul not even work out?
I guess good looks really are genetic.
Bae Sol finished listening to the song, letting the music wash over her.
"The song is definitely composed by Jisul, too."
She was certain it was his work.
Others probably wouldn't realize this was a song by Fuzz.
After all, Jeong Jisul's musical spectrum surpassed even that of seasoned veterans.
Most composers had signature chord progressions or a distinct, recurring atmosphere in their songs.
But Jisul possessed a range so vast that every song made people wonder, Wait, did someone else write this?
So, how did Bae Sol recognize it as his?
"I feel like I've heard it before... and the quality itself is far beyond anything an amateur could write."
The reason was simple: she had already heard it once.
Indeed, this song was part of the portfolio Jeong Jisul had previously submitted to HS Entertainment.
"Hmm..."
Right, she knew for sure that was Jeong Jisul.
But why did he shout himself out?
Of course, it would have been awkward for him to ask, I'm in a band, do you mind if I do some subtle self-promotion while pretending it's not me?
Bae Sol tapped her index finger against her cheek this time.
"I don't get it."
She couldn't quite figure it out.
But that was fine.
Jisul wasn't the type to cause trouble.
He was mature beyond his years, navigated social situations well, and was exceptionally talented.
He was bound to become one of the pillars of HS Entertainment in the future, so she had no intention of micromanaging this.
However...
"I'm curious, so I might as well ask."
She was simply curious about his reasons for the self-shoutout.
Bae Sol opened their chat window.
"Geez, I just asked because it was funny."
Sometimes, Jeong Jisul was far too mature.
He overthought things occasionally.
"It's a good trait, but..."
It was certainly better than being immature and rude.
Still, she wished he would act a bit more like his age.
"Then again, I suppose it wouldn't make sense for him to act like a typical high schooler in front of me."
She was the CEO of HS Entertainment and his boss.
It was only natural for him to maintain a formal boundary.
So, Bae Sol softened her tone first.
Their relationship wasn't close enough yet to jump straight to the point without some pleasantries.
"Well... since he's active under a pseudonym."
It made sense that he might want more attention.
After all, artists thrived on attention.
"The vocalist?"
The girl wearing the hoodie?
"She certainly sings well."
Even by the standards of a debut-ready trainee group, she was practically flawless.
Only professional singers would be able to offer her any real feedback.
With that kind of talent, she should have already been scouted by one of the Big Three agencies.
"Ah, solo."
A solo artist... that changed things.
Auditions for solo singers were on the decline.
Since the demand was overwhelmingly for idols, it was only natural.
"She'd probably apply right away if we held one."
As it happened, HS Entertainment was planning a solo artist audition before the end of the year.
"She sings well, so there's no reason to hesitate."
Moreover, her live performance—the most crucial aspect for a singer—was excellent.
A singing style that only employed vocal techniques where necessary.
It could easily sound plain, but when executed that well, it became a clean, refined style.
"The biggest concern is her appearance."
Even if she wasn't an idol, looks still mattered. Standing in front of a camera made a striking appearance almost mandatory.
"I'll have to check during the video screening later."
But she was probably pretty, right?
After all, attractive people tended to gather around other attractive people.
A few days later, on the weekend.
Today was the day of their scheduled plans.
"I'm glad everyone is interested in recording."
He had only mentioned the idea of recording in passing before.
But everyone had shown so much excitement, asking "When are we doing it?" and "What time?", that he had booked a studio as quickly as possible.
And so, the recording session was set for today.
There were four of us in total today.
Me, Yoon Seolah, Choi Saeron, and...
"Why is it Kwon Dain instead of the class president?"
It was Kwon Dain.
According to the class president, he had to catch up on his anime backlog over the weekend.
"It's obviously an excuse."
The lie was so transparent it was almost funny.
"Ngggh...!"
I stretched my body thoroughly.
"I feel incredibly refreshed."
Since my alarm hadn't gone off yet, I must have woken up earlier than scheduled.
My body felt remarkably light.
"Time to wash up."
After showering and blow-drying my hair,
I picked up my phone.
"It's 11:00. Hmm, 11... 11:00?"
...11:00 AM?
Our meeting time was 11:00 AM.
And I had definitely set my alarm for 9:30 AM.
"No way."
So the reason I felt so refreshed was just because I slept in?
I immediately checked my messages and DMs.
As expected, notifications were piled up.
Starting from the messages that arrived at 10:45 AM...
Messages had arrived at five-minute intervals.
That was the content of the last message.
I quickly typed out a reply.
Throwing on some clothes haphazardly,
I ran out to the street and hailed a taxi.
It takes about ten minutes by car from here to the studio...
I wouldn't be terribly late.
Checking my phone again, I saw another message from Dain.
She was worrying about the person who stood them up.
Kwon Dain really was a kind-hearted person.
Upon arriving at my destination, before heading straight to the studio,
"I should buy some drinks."
I stopped by a cafe and bought a cup of coffee for each of them, choosing their favorites.
Then, I made my way to the recording room.
"Sorry I'm late."
"It's only about twenty minutes, so it's fine. We didn't wait that long."
Kwon Dain was the first to greet me.
She forgave me easily.
"Oh, a caramel macchiato! Jeong Jisul, you've got the best sense!"
Choi Saeron, taking a big sip of the coffee I brought, gave me a thumbs-up.
As for the last person...
"Seolah said she wanted to lie down for a bit... and fell asleep in the meantime."
She was fast asleep.
Well, taking a rest was better than just waiting around.
The recording session was soon in full swing.
Since they weren't recording at the moment, Dain and Saeron...
...communicated via text messages.
This was a budget studio costing 9,000 won per hour, where the recording booth and the producer's desk weren't separated by a wall.
So they had to keep quiet.
"...?"
Kwon Dain glanced sideways at Choi Saeron.
Calling someone "cool" like that... wasn't that usually something you said when you had feelings for them?
Dain paused her typing and looked at Jeong Jisul.
"You're focusing too much on your breathing. It's fine if the breath sounds get picked up by the mic. We can clean it up in post-processing anyway, and even then, it's part of the song."
"...Okay."
With a complex music program that she couldn't make heads or tails of open on the monitor, he exuded the aura of a seasoned expert.
Anyone looking at him would see a professional.
So that's what it means to look cool.
He really did look cool.
Perhaps it was because he was a man completely absorbed in his work.
And since his looks were already in a league of their own, just a slight shift in his gaze made an immense difference.
Dain kept her eyes fixed on Jisul.
Because of that, her smartphone screen timed out and went black.
Her own face, staring blankly at Jisul, was reflected on the dark screen, but she didn't think to turn it back on.
She just wanted to watch him focus on his work a little longer.
She wanted to imprint the image of Jeong Jisul, completely absorbed in the recording, into her mind.
Suddenly, Dain's heart rate began to climb rapidly.
The thought of him being "cool" had completely taken over her mind.
But the moment she realized how fast her heart was beating,
her thoughts took a different turn.
She quickly covered her mouth in surprise.
She was utterly flustered.
Because, unlike before,
she felt like she could finally put a name to this emotion.