Chapter 101
Chapter 101
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Double Title
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Park Ji-ham fidgeted, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists.
It was clear just how nervous he was.
―Everything about me
Is nothing but my own choice
My thoughts
Belong only to me
The staff's eyes sparkled.
They looked like children who had just discovered a treasure.
*‘See, I knew this would be a hit.’*
I gave a slight nod toward the staff's faces, as if telling Park Ji-ham to look.
Park Ji-ham, who had been looking down the whole time, finally raised his head and met the staff's reactions head-on.
The corners of his eyes curved gently.
The members looked at Park Ji-ham with expressions of wonder.
It seemed none of them had known he could compose music.
―Even if they spit words here and there
I won't be swayed
“Did you write all the lyrics yourself, Ji-ham?”
“Yes.”
Hearing Park Ji-ham's answer, the manager stroked his chin and let out a short, impressed "Hoh."
He seemed to be contemplating how best to utilize this song.
―Throwing myself away
Such a foolish act
I will not do
The other staff members were the same.
They began busily jotting things down in their notebooks.
―No matter what anyone says
I will still be me
As the song ended, the staff burst into applause.
“This is amazing, isn't it?”
The manager's voice had gone up a notch, a clear sign of his genuine excitement.
“You really composed this all by yourself? Self-taught?”
“Yes.”
“What about the lyrics? Self-taught as well?”
“Yes, I read poetry collections and books on songwriting and gave it a try.”
“How did you go about composing?”
“I wrote the lyrics first, then added the melody. I used a free app on my laptop and bought a microphone to record it myself.”
“When did you compose this?”
The staff member peppered Park Ji-ham with questions.
Park Ji-ham answered calmly.
“That was probably about a year ago, three months after I was diagnosed with vocal cord nodules.”
“What's the title?”
“‘OWN’.”
As if the most important questions had been asked, the staff began whispering among themselves.
It didn't seem like the right time for us to interject, so I didn't ask what they were talking about.
“Was this what you two were talking about so late last night?”
“Haru, you were awake?”
Haru shook his head at my question.
“I just woke up for a moment and thought I heard voices from the living room.”
“Did we wake you?”
“No, that's not it. I just woke up thirsty.”
I could immediately tell it was just an excuse.
If he had woken up thirsty, he would have come out to the living room for water.
It seemed that even though we tried to keep our voices down, it wasn't enough.
“I wondered why you were talking for so long without coming back in.”
“I had no idea.”
“Me neither.”
At least Lee Ho-jun and Jung Eun-woo seemed to have slept soundly, not hearing our voices.
It was a huge relief that we hadn't woken everyone up.
“But if you’re this good, why didn’t you say anything during RED CUBE? You would’ve gotten some spotlight if you’d said you could arrange music.”
At Jung Eun-woo's question, Park Ji-ham hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Because I thought my skills were terrible.”
“Huh?!”
Jung Eun-woo reacted with surprise at Park Ji-ham's reply.
“You mean you weren’t just being humble?”
“No. There’s nothing to be humble about. I’m still lacking in many ways.”
“Hyung. Being too humble can actually be a bad thing.”
Jung Eun-woo said, patting Park Ji-ham's shoulder.
“Eun-woo is right.”
The manager joined the conversation, their brief meeting seemingly over.
“With this level of skill, you can afford to be proud.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
A look of pride and satisfaction spread across Park Ji-ham’s face.
“So, we just had a little discussion among ourselves.”
What would come next was obvious.
Though, of course, Park Ji-ham didn't seem to expect it.
“We’d like to push the song you made as a double title track.”
“A double title track?”
“Yes.”
I had expected they might make his song the title track, but I hadn't anticipated a double title.
*‘A double title track...’*
Double title tracks had clear pros and cons.
If utilized well, both songs could chart, but if handled poorly, it could split the attention.
“We were thinking of releasing the second song we were pushing earlier as a pre-release, and then releasing your song later.”
A pre-release.
That didn't sound bad.
A pre-release would extend the promotion period, but the fans would enjoy it.
On the other hand, preparations would be more demanding.
*‘Recording two title tracks, shooting music videos, and preparing for the stages… it's going to be chaotic.’*
“What do you think, Ji-ham?”
“It would be a joyous thing for my song to become a title track, but I think it would be best to have it checked by a professional composer.”
“Then how about we ask Leon to give it a listen, as a sort of evaluation?”
“To Leon?”
“He’s in the same company, and he seems to have a good impression of RE-V. I mean, isn’t that why he suggested Yoon-seul join him for the recent OST offer?”
“But isn’t he busy with the OST work right now?”
“Listening to a song and giving feedback won't take that long, he’ll do it. You don't need to worry about that. I'll ask Leon for his opinion. If he says it's good, we'll go with it as a title track, okay?”
“Yes.”
Only then did Park Ji-ham give an affirmative answer.
“Excellent.”
“Looks like we’re going to be very busy.”
* * *
Another behind-the-scenes video of RE-V in America was uploaded.
[RE-V California Tour Video - Final Part]
Seeing the words "Final Part" when only two behind-the-scenes videos had been released, the BRAVE fan pouted.
“Ah. Why is it the last one already? I want to see more. Just watching our boys sit there and do nothing is entertaining enough with those faces.”
The BRAVE fan grumbled and played the video.
This time, the video started in front of a snack shop.
[Should we buy some snacks for our BRAVE?]
Haru asked the members after spotting the snacks.
[That's a great idea. It's a long way home from the airport, so it would be nice for them to have something to eat.]
The members responded positively.
RE-V went straight into the store and began filling a basket with snacks.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they practically cleared the shelves.
[Is this too much?]
Seeing the two baskets filled to the brim with snacks, Park Ji-ham furrowed his brow slightly, as if in thought.
[A lot of BRAVE will come, so shouldn't it be fine? There were quite a few when we departed. And if there are any left over, we can give them to the security guards. They've worked hard too.]
Park Ji-ham nodded at Haru’s words.
And so, they headed to the checkout counter with two baskets full of snacks.
“So those are the snacks the fans at the airport received. I’m so jealous.”
The BRAVE fan already knew about it through social media, but they were still dying of envy for the fans who got the snacks.
“Why do I have to live so far from the city that the airport is this far away?”
They let out a deep sigh along with the self-pitying remark.
[Guys.]
As they were about to pay, their manager called out to them.
[What is it?]
The manager pulled a wallet from his pocket.
[How about paying with the company card? You guys haven't been paid yet.]
At the manager's words, the RE-V members all shook their heads vigorously at the same time.
[If the five of us chip in, it’s not that burdensome of a price. So we want to do this ourselves. If the company pays for it, it’s not really from us, is it?]
RE-V was firm.
Their desire to give a gift to their fans with their own money was so touching that the BRAVE fan covered their mouth.
“Where did such angels come from?”
After buying the snacks, RE-V left the store with bright faces.
[BRAVE, just you wait. We’re bringing you snacks!]
Haru said, shaking the bag of snacks at the camera.
“Hah. So cute.”
The screen faded to black, then the scene changed to an amusement park.
“Oh? They’re continuing the amusement park segment.”
The BRAVE fan’s heart pounded like crazy at the thought of seeing more of RE-V wearing headbands.
[Oh? Let's ride that.]
The tip of Haru’s finger was pointing at none other than a roller coaster.
Even at a glance, it looked considerably high.
[C-count me out. I really can't do that.]
Seo Yoon-seul said, his face pale.
[You came all this way and you’re not going to ride it?]
Seo Yoon-seul nodded vigorously at Haru's question.
[Our youngest is such a kid, right? He can’t handle bitter things, so he doesn’t drink coffee or alcohol. Can’t ride amusement park rides either.]
Lee Ho-jun said, drawing out his words as if to tease Seo Yoon-seul.
[He drank with me at the hotel yesterday, though?]
At Park Ji-ham's words, the BRAVE fan let out a confused "Huh?"
It was because they remembered the live stream where Seo Yoon-seul, intending to apologize, ended up spilling everything about his situation, claiming he didn't touch coffee or alcohol.
[Of course, he only tried a lime-flavored beer out of curiosity and fell asleep before he could even finish half of it.]
Park Ji-ham said this and let out a small laugh.
“Ah. So cute. He’s really the youngest of the group.”
In the end, the other members, excluding Seo Yoon-seul, rode the thrill ride.
They looked like they were having a great time.
The manager stayed by Seo Yoon-seul’s side as he waited for the members alone.
[Yoon-seul, do you want to go ride something else?]
Seo Yoon-seul declined the manager’s offer.
Time passed, and as the sun began to set, RE-V boarded a train that went around the amusement park.
The screen, capturing RE-V under the sunset, slowly faded to black.
It meant the video was over.
“Ah. No.”
The BRAVE fan couldn't hide their disappointment.
Just then, a post-credits scene appeared on the black screen.
“Huh?”
The screen brightened to show a practice room before fading to black again.
↳They said it was the last one, but I guess they'll give us a practice video.
↳LOL, I was wondering what that was for a second.
↳Thanks for the post-credits scene teaser.
↳Imagining Yoon-seul drinking with Ji-ham is so cute. And Ji-ham suddenly has major big-brother vibes.
↳I love that there's a constant stream of videos of our boys.
↳JR, please never change. We believe in you