Chapter 176: Offline
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 176: Offline
[Unnie unnie unnie unnie!]
Murin spammed the chat.
She often made a fuss over nothing, so it didn't feel all that urgent.
The story of the boy who cried wolf wasn't popular for no reason.
[What is it what is it what is it!]
[Huge news! Huge news!]
What could Murin possibly consider huge news?
[I just got off the phone with Manager unnie!]
[Yeah.]
[So, for the two songs on our collaboration album, Ashblock is going to be the producer! Kyaaaaaaaaaa]
I... I was supposed to act surprised...
But since it wasn't surprising to me at all, I just gave an awkward smile and moved my fingers.
[Wow! That's amazing!]
[...You don't sound very sincere?]
No. It's because I already heard everything from Oppa.
He was the kind of boyfriend who'd excitedly offer to sort out the part distribution at home before it was even confirmed.
[No no. I'm totally sincere. So happy wwww]
Chatting was conveniently like a mask, allowing you to hide your true feelings.
[So, they said if we go to his studio in person, we can record there?]
[You're gonna do it...?]
[Of course, Unnie. When else would we get to visit the studio of a top-tier producer like him~]
She wasn't wrong.
Just a year ago, I was a VTuber who just streamed from my room in a tracksuit.
Getting my own studio, being able to do advertisements...
These were all privileges I enjoyed because I was able to debut with CLOSER.
And this privilege was temporary.
In a year, it would all melt away like snow.
[But... our faces... will that be okay...?]
[Ah, how would anyone know I'm Fumurin~ And besides, we can't really help showing our faces to industry staff, you know~]
Just like on her streams, Murin was positivity incarnate.
Or maybe... she's just a little dense.
[Lmaooooooooo, but aren't you just gonna go there and get wrecked?]
[That's why you have to come with me, Unnie. Please.]
So that was her real reason. This girl.
[Ahh~ So you don't want to die alone?]
[Let's slowly wither and die together. Okay, Luka?]
A smile crept onto my face as Murin quoted the famous drama line.
[Alright, when the official notice comes later, let's tell them a date and go together.]
[Okay okay. Yes! Then after we finish recording, wanna go on a date?]
[We'll be lucky if we finish recording in one day...]
Then again, maybe it was better that the two weakest members were sticking together.
If pros like Clover unnie or Leah came, they might just finish their parts and leave right away.
[Oh yeah! I'm down! Ah~ I'll look up some good restaurants nearby then~]
[Okay! Sounds good! Talk to you later!]
Good restaurants...
Oppa goes back and forth around there often, so I remember him mentioning something was good...
I'm sure I heard him talk about a bunch of places, so why can I only think of that one thing?
The only thing I could remember was him talking about the yuringi he was treated to on his first day.
“Are you serious? Is this right?”
The teacher let out a hearty laugh as he looked over the part distribution I'd arranged on his tablet.
“Uh... it's a little... like that, isn't it...?”
“Hey. Forget who has which part for a second. Isn't there way too much green here? That's Leah's color, isn't it? Of all people.”
“Well... as I was working on it, it just seemed like there were a lot of parts that would suit Leah-ssi.”
“And what did I tell you? If you just go by skill, it makes more sense for one person to sing the whole thing.”
We pulled up the screen, listened through the track again, and began making revisions.
“Now, right here. We'll put Jennifer in.”
The teacher suggested putting Jennifer in the chorus.
I found his decision somewhat hard to accept.
“But I don't think she'll be able to hit the high notes here.”
“She has to make it work. That's their job. And Taemin. Very few artists are happy singing the same kind of parts all the time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Imagine if someone asked you to make a song, but it always had to be the same genre with the same structure. Do you think that would be fun?”
His explanation made perfect sense.
“Challenge is a necessary virtue, for us producers and for the artists.”
“Of course, there are people who have one hit song and milk it until they die, but those are special cases. Everyone else needs to challenge themselves to move forward.”
The phrase "you need to challenge yourself to move forward" was a common one, but it still had a way of striking a chord.
Right. That was why I had come here, too.
“And look here. The parts you assigned to Luka.”
“Yes.”
“These are all perfectly within the realm of what Luka 'can do.' You only checked off the parts you knew she could handle.”
He was absolutely right, since Doah herself had been the one to mark the sections for Luka's part.
“I think it would be good to put Luka in the chorus once, too.”
“But what if she can't do it...”
“If she tries and it doesn't work, we can just change it. It won't take Leah long to learn this part at all. If we have to, we can swap them at the last minute. No problem.”
Is that how it works...
The colorful music sheet was once again being revised by the teacher's hand.
Even as I wondered if it would work, it was a lesson in the kind of mindset I needed to have.
“So~ what do you think? Look okay?”
“Yes. After hearing your explanation, I think so.”
“Alright, now if we send it like this, we're gonna get chewed out by the company.”
The teacher let out a booming laugh, as if he found his own words hilarious.
“No matter how much I insist this is right, if the company says no, that's the end of it. So when you send an ideal first draft, you have to be bold!”
“Anyway! It's not like you can do whatever you want! They won't let you!”
“Yes, sir!”
The teacher spun his chair around, sent the email, and then slumped over like a deflated balloon.
“Have you eaten?”
“No?”
“Wanna grab a bite before you go?”
“No.”
“Why not? Got somewhere to be?”
“I have to go see my girlfriend...”
The teacher shot me a look as if to say "how annoying," then waved his hand dismissively for me to go.
“Right~ It'd be weird if a guy with your face didn't have a girlfriend. Go have fun.”
“Thank you!”
“Ah! Taemin!”
My hand on the doorknob, I whipped my upper body around.
“Yes?”
“The next Summer Records song. We're going to send your version—the one you arrange entirely by yourself—to the company, so be ready for that, okay?”
If this were a chat window, it would've been proper to spam 'Gasp'.
“Ah. Understood. Thank you for your hard work.”
Still. Even if I'm just a student learning from him, telling me to do it all by myself like that... Wow.
I could feel my heart pounding.
Haa. I had to tell Doah this triumphant news.
That I wasn't just some lackey, but an amazing person who was actually taking the lead!
I called her the moment I left the building, told her I'd be there in about an hour, and quickly got on the subway.
Maybe because it was rush hour, I was barely allowed enough space to breathe.
The thought that I wanted to kill myself crossed my mind, but this was something I'd have to endure every day if I got a job and had to commute.
If I were to officially join Bitdam...
Do I have to go through this every day...?
Unable to even look at my phone, I finally managed to escape the crowd and headed for the samgyeopsal restaurant where I was meeting Doah.
“Oppa!”
Doah, who must have arrived early, came running toward me.
Just seeing her smiling face seemed to melt all my fatigue away.
“What? You're here early?”
“No, I'm not. You're the one who's late.”
I checked the time and saw that she was right.
“Let's go in.”
“Okay!”
After we ordered the meat and sat facing each other, Doah told me about her day.
“So the members who are coming are me! Murin! And Leah!”
Those were the names of the members who had decided to come to our studio to record.
“Are they all coming on the same day?”
“Umm... I'm not sure about that part. But I think Murin and I will coordinate our schedules. We agreed not to go home until we're both finished.”
“Why isn't Leah going with you?”
“Ah. She'll come with us if the day works, but she said she has something to do during the day, so it's hard for her to come then.”
So they'll be coming in two separate groups.
“So how did the part distribution turn out? Is it similar to the one we brought in?”
“Ah. Ha. Ha. Ha.”
She must be talking about that sheet that had been completely turned upside down.
“Nope. Well. It got completely rejected.”
“Huh? But I thought it was the best version.”
It was sad, but I had to tell her this too.
“Luka. You'll probably be singing a part of the chorus.”
“Pfft.”
Doah, who had been munching on some onion, barely managed to cover her mouth to stop the food from flying out.
“Whaat? Me?”
“Yep. You.”
“Why me, when there are all those other girls who are so much better?”
“He said if all the parts go to the best singers, then there's no reason for the rest of you to exist.”
They were harsh words, but I was just quoting him directly.
“It's a good chance to level up your singing skills all at once. It's a good thing.”
“Aah... That's insane...”
“Oh! And for your information, they're letting me decide the part distribution for the next song entirely, so let's use this as practice and do a good job. Okay?”
Doah, whose soul had already left her body, only regained her vitality after the samgyeopsal arrived.
Offline recording was harder than I thought.