Chapter 165: A Natural
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: A Natural
Delicious.
It was, quite literally, a beautiful taste.
“How is it, Taemin-ssi? Is it good?”
“Ah. The food is amazing.”
“I’ve been working here for four years, and there’s no place like it.”
The sight of him eating jajangmyeon with his legs crossed, wearing slippers, was...
Ironic, I suppose.
It was a far cry from the overwhelming presence I had felt from him at YM. The fact that he was acting like this in such an expensive neighborhood just seemed fascinating to me.
“Aww. Having a guest is a good excuse to order the yuringi.”
He popped a thick piece of the fried chicken into his mouth and chewed happily.
“Um... but...”
It was nice that he was treating me to a meal, and it was great that he was enjoying it, but...
“Yes.”
“So... what is it you want to do with me?”
He kept talking about VTubers.
And reviewing the Chinese restaurant's menu.
The conversation kept getting sidetracked, so I had to consciously remind myself why I was here today.
“Hmm. I’ll just be blunt.”
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he looked me straight in the eye.
“If you’ve really never studied music before, do you want to learn under me?”
“Uh...”
I had expected him to say something like that, but I had to hear the conditions before I could rashly agree.
Having experienced firsthand what kind of disaster a hasty contract at YM could lead to, I decided to stay quiet and listen for more details.
“Um... to be honest, I still don't quite understand why you're making this offer...”
“I mean, you made ‘Summer Records’ just by messing around on the piano, based on pure instinct, right?”
“Yes. A friend helped me, but...”
“But you came up with the melody and the basic chords yourself, didn’t you?”
“...That’s right.”
“There are tons of people who are good at arranging. To put it crudely, there are a fuckton of them. But.”
He picked up a fried dumpling, dipped it heartily in soy sauce, and enjoyed his food.
“People who can create good original work are rare. There are fewer than you’d think.”
“And you, Taemin-ssi.”
“If you’re really not lying and you can say, ‘I just tried it, and this was the result!’”
“Then you’re a natural!”
He had said he was about ten years older than me.
I don’t know if he just had a youthful spirit, but it really felt like I was talking to an older brother from the neighborhood. Of course, I’ve never actually hung out with a neighborhood hyung, so I wouldn't know for sure, but he seemed to be a perfect match for the image I had in my head.
“So you want to recruit me because I seem like a natural?”
“Hmm... ‘recruit’ is a bit of a strong word. Because you lack the professional skills to start working right away.”
With no theoretical background, the word ‘amateur’ fit me perfectly.
“That’s why I was wondering if you’d like to learn under me.”
“Then what about the cost and...”
“Umm...”
I honestly couldn't hide my bewilderment at his next words.
“I haven’t thought about it.”
“What...?”
Expecting a thick stack of documents filled with difficult terms, I just blinked with a foolish expression on my face.
“Ah. So, money. Wait a minute. Should I be paying you? No. But I'm the one teaching you, so you're asking for a salary?”
“No. Uh... well... I guess...?”
At this rate, it would be like going to an academy for lessons and having the teacher pay you.
“If I told you to pay to learn, would you do it?”
“That’s a bit...”
What kind of person invites someone over, offers to teach them, and then asks for money?
“Right? I thought that would be weird, too. So what should we do... Hmm...”
After thinking for a moment, he clapped his hands as if he’d figured it out.
“Alright. If you’re okay with it, Taemin-ssi, let’s have you properly learn composition under me. I won’t charge you any tuition.”
“So... you’re really just going to teach me with no strings attached?”
His words, like those of a philanthropist, were hard to believe.
“Hey, not exactly. It means that once you’ve grown and learned well, you should work as a composer for Bitdam Entertainment instead of running off to another company.”
For me, who had been seriously considering a path in music, it was an offer I had no reason to refuse.
A well-known, established composer was offering to teach me for free.
Wasn’t that a much better option than paying monthly fees to learn at some mediocre local academy?
“Ah. If you’d do that, I’d be incredibly grateful. I was actually thinking about where I could go to learn composition.”
“Kyah~ Then you’ve come to the right place! Guys like you, Taemin-ssi, need to be taught flexibly, not just have information crammed into them like a machine.”
He nodded, looking pleased.
“Then, Ashblock-nim...”
“Aish! Enough with that title!”
“Then what should I...”
“Hyung-nim? No, that’s too informal. Let’s just go with Teacher.”
“Teacher, then when did you start working in this field...”
Having decided to start lessons next week, we spent the rest of the day chatting until the sun went down.
*
The day Oppa came back from his meeting with Bitdam Entertainment.
I didn’t show it in front of him, but I couldn’t hide my anxiousness.
I don’t have children yet, but I felt like a mother sending her child out into the world for the first time.
Worried that he might get taken advantage of again, I immediately picked up my phone when he called.
[Hello.]
[Oh. Hello.]
[Did it go well? Where are you? Right now?]
[I'm on the bus home.]
I could hear something like a public announcement in the distance.
Why are you dodging the question of whether it went well, Han Taemin?
Why do you make me so anxious by leaving out the important part!
[So, I'm asking if it went well.]
[Umm...]
Seeing as he was trailing off, it seemed like something was up.
Aah... I should have gone with him!
If I was going to worry this much, I should have at least asked if I could tag along!
[The jajangmyeon was delicious.]
[What...?]
[Oh, the yuringi was really good too. Let's go together next time.]
My boyfriend was suddenly going on about a Chinese restaurant.
Since I’d never seen him praise a Chinese restaurant in his life, I couldn’t help but frown.
[...You went out for jajangmyeon?]
[Yeah. That teacher, Ashblock, treated me.]
[What about the contract?]
[Well, there's no contract, but I agreed to go and learn composition from him.]
[But there was no formal agreement or anything? You're just going to learn?]
Is that... even possible?
Even when I tried to just accept it, I couldn't quite understand.
[That's what he suggested.]
Feeling frustrated just holding the phone, I told Oppa to stop by my place before he went home.
-Beep beep beep beep-
By now, we were used to letting ourselves into each other's places with the passcode, so Oppa naturally took off his shoes and came inside.
“I’m home~”
His expression didn’t look too bad.
Just seeing his face, I could breathe a sigh of relief.
“You’re later than I expected.”
“Ah, yeah. We were talking about this and that.”
“What did you talk about?”
“...VTubers.”
I thought it would be about music or contracts.
I found it a little surprising.
“CLOSER?”
“Yeah. He talked about Leah for a whole hour.”
“But you don't even watch Leah's streams.”
“I just talked about the scenes from our collab stream. Phew. He’s really something else, isn’t he?”
“Really?”
Oppa chattered on, telling me all about his day.
I wasn’t sure about anything else, but he looked so excited, and it was wonderful to see.
It wasn’t a forced smile, but a pure, bright one.
“He called me a natural!”
“Isn’t that just something he said to be nice?”
“No way. Would the great Teacher Ashblock really go to the trouble of calling me all the way to his studio just to say that?”
Making such a fuss and calling him ‘Teacher’ when he hasn't even had a single lesson yet.
“Well, you are good at making songs, but.”
I pinched Oppa's cheek with one hand, stretching his soft skin.
“Isn’t this your number one talent?”
This face.
These features that capture everyone's attention at a single glance.
“...Doah. I think music is my number one talent.”
“I doubt that.”
In a country like South Korea, how easy do you think it is to get cast on the spot by someone from YM without even an audition? It’s a place countless people pray and bow to get into, but still can’t.
“Anyway, do your best. I'll be cheering for you.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Seeing him smile so wide that his teeth showed made my heart pound.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“Where do you think we'll be in a year?”
Until recently, I often wondered if he would become a famous star and leave my side.
When this summer passes and spring comes to us once more, blooming with flowers...
Where will we have arrived?
By then, I might not be a member of CLOSER anymore.
Because from the very beginning, CLOSER was a project designed to last for one year.
“You’re right. I really don't know either.”
Oppa placed a hand on my head, a thoughtful look on his face, then broke into a grin.
“But there's one thing I think I know.”
“What is it?”
“That we'll be together, don't you think?”
A smile spread across my face at his unexpected answer.
“Really?”
“Hey. Why are you asking that again? That’s scary. Are you going to dump me, Kim Doah?”
How could I ever dump such an adorable boyfriend?
“Don’t say such ridiculous things.”
I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.