Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: After First Album Activities End, Second Album Prep Begins (5)
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Kim Kwang-myeong's signature crooked handwriting was scribbled all over the notebook in a messy frenzy.
[Red: bright red, crimson, scarlet
Emergency siren, fear, death, fire extinguisher, fire truck
Blood, heart
Apple, poisoned apple, Snow White, witch, prince, white horse? Dwarves, ivy, rascal, frog……
Red lips, lipstick? High heels……
Red flowers, rose, tulip, globe amaranth, camellia, salvia
Centipede, ladybug, spider, red fox
Red…… Redby sunbae?
Red Bed Bad Jet Web Map Pad Sad Ted (Teddy?)
Things that go with red!!!
No idea……]
Words grouped haphazardly here and there, or jotted down anywhere, like a stream of consciousness.
He'd even written down several English words, probably trying to find rhymes.
But it hadn't gone well—question marks and doodles filled every blank space on the page.
The sight of it made me chuckle involuntarily.
"Why're you laughing? You think it's funny that I'm writing lyrics?"
"Yeah, kinda. Your method……"
"……"
"Even if you grabbed passing Tae-hee hyung and asked, he'd laugh."
"Tae-hee hyung isn't the only one. Go Eun-young and Su-rim hyung would too."
"Jae-oh hyung would laugh at this."
"Man, you hip-hop illiterates. This is how everyone writes lyrics and brainstorms ideas, okay?"
Kim Kwang-myeong snapped the notebook shut, embarrassed for no reason.
Sometimes he had these unexpectedly cute sides.
Anyway, all the words were related to "Red," so red stuff.
I picked up an apple from the desk and took a bite as I asked,
"But the song's about red?"
"Yeah. Wanna hear it? Not that you'll get it just from listening……"
"Sure thing."
With that snide remark, Kim Kwang-myeong handed me the headphones.
It felt oddly similar to the time we were filming the Planet Log.
As I put on the headphones, he hit play, and the track he'd made started flowing.
The intro was a melody built around mechanical sounds mixed with siren effects.
It had a strangely mystical vibe, but it was catchy too.
Then came a heavy beat repeating without a big melody line, until the hook brought back that melody.
In the brief gaps where the melody dropped out, a robotic female voice repeated "Red."
'Something's eerie about this.'
It was dreamy yet trendy.
The beat, the melody, and "Red"—those seemed to be the three core elements running through the track.
After listening to the full MR, I took off the headphones and said,
"It's got a weird vibe. Super addictive."
"Of course. Who made it?"
"You wrote this whole thing yourself?"
"Obviously."
Looking at his smug face, I was quietly impressed.
Truth be told, it was rare for someone his age to produce a track this polished.
This guy really was a genius. I stuck out my tongue behind his back.
Because…… I didn't want to hype him up by calling him a genius to his face.
"Anyway, it's good. But 'Savvy Red' keeps repeating in the lyrics?"
"Yeah. Working title's Red."
"But whose voice is that?"
"Oh, that? It's mine."
"What?"
"Pitched it."
"……"
He could pitch-shift his voice to sound like that?
I was newly amazed by modern tech.
Anyway, red. Red, huh.
"Red makes me think of *The Secret Color*."
I muttered, recalling a novel I'd read a few days ago.
At that, Kim Kwang-myeong perked up his ears and looked up at me.
"What'd you say?"
"Hm? *The Secret Color*."
"What's that?"
His face lit up like he'd found a lost key.
What's with him? Blinking, I answered,
"Oh. *The Secret Color*. It's a book I read a few days ago. Mystery novel…… The key clues in the case were all hidden in red objects. So the title's *The Secret Color*."
"The secret color is red…… The secret color is red……?"
I'd tossed it out casually.
But the moment he heard it, Kim Kwang-myeong's expression turned strange.
The secret color is red…… Like someone infected with zombie virus, he kept repeating it, then suddenly flipped between his notebook and computer screen with nimble glances.
Without taking his eyes off the notebook, he said to me,
"……Jae hyung. Come sit next to me."
"What's up all of a sudden?"
"Just sit, okay?"
"Need a chair to sit."
"Oh, right. Hold on."
At the mention of no chair, he bolted out, grabbed a dining chair, and dragged it back.
"Now sit."
"……."
The sudden shift threw me off completely.
……What the hell? What's he planning? No clue.
I eyed him suspiciously as I sat.
The second I did, he flipped to the next page, grabbed a pen, and asked,
"Explain what you just said in detail."
"What I just said?"
"That secret color thing."
"What more is there to explain?"
"Anything. Just say whatever comes to mind."
Right then, ding! An alert window popped up.
[SUB QUEST generated. View? Y/N]
Huh? A quest out of nowhere? I tilted my head and checked it.
[SUB QUEST generated!
▶EverPlanet's main rapper and producer, B-light, is starting to draw inspiration from your conversation. Help B-light create a new track for the next album!
Rank: E
Quest completion conditions:
1) Help B-light finish a track of sufficient quality
Rewards on completion: EXP, increased intimacy with Kim Kwang-myeong
Penalties on failure: Decreased next album quality, decreased intimacy with Kim Kwang-myeong]
[Accept quest? Y/N]
Unlike usual quests, this was a true "sub quest."
So…… he got inspired from what I said? That's good.
But help him make a track for the next album?
'How the hell am I supposed to do that?'
I'd spent years as a trainee at TL, learning pretty much everything.
Singing, dancing, acting—even rapping.
But producing? That was the exception. TL didn't teach producing to trainees.
Unless they showed special interest.
Back then, I was obsessed with improving my vocals and dance, so no chance to learn producing anyway.
'Still, he's already got the MR mostly done…… So if I just chat and spark his inspiration?'
That seemed doable.
I accepted the quest, then started recounting the book's plot.
"Alright, I'll start with the summary. Cool?"
"Go for it."
"The protagonist's Jane Sting. Lawyer, super competent—clients line up. One day, while hustling as usual, she's invited to a famous rich guy's mansion. She'd won his trial, see."
"And?"
"So she goes. Then a murder happens there. And Jane's the prime suspect."
"Why?"
"The guy dies after drinking the white wine she brought as a gift."
"Whoa."
Kim Kwang-myeong listened intently, scribbling notes furiously.
Lawyer, mansion, wine, suspect, murder……
Keywords from what I was saying.
This was fun. His engagement made storytelling enjoyable.
Lost track of time as I spilled the whole tale.
"……So that red lipstick, apple, rose, and ruby were all the clues. Jane pieces it together, proves she's innocent, catches the killer. End of story."
"Cool. Classic masterpiece or something?"
"Yeah. Pretty famous."
"I see……"
Kim Kwang-myeong stared at his notes, deep in thought.
Then, in a low voice, he asked me,
"Jae hyung. What if we use this for lyrics?"
"Huh?"
"Secret color, red. Make it the song's concept. Title it that? *The Secret Color is Red*. Or in English, *Secret is Red*? *Red Secret*? *Red Secret* sounds better?"
Oh. Good idea? Secret and red.
It matched perfectly with his working title Red and the track's dreamy vibe.
His words lit a spark in me too.
"Nice. Make the singer a detective, the subject a mysterious suspect. Lyrics from that angle could be fun."
"……Singer? Why talk like a lit teacher?"
"……."
That was…… because I actually majored in Korean Language Education. Slipped out.
……Couldn't say that, so I let it flow naturally.
"More importantly, the title. *Red Secret* like you said is good…… But feels too plain. 'Red' vs. 'crimson'—crimson has better nuance, right?"
"Crimson it is. *The Secret Color is Crimson*?"
"But that's too close to the book title. You okay with that?"
"Yeah, kinda."
I watched him scratch his cheek with the pen, lost in thought, and joined in.
Something softer, more natural than "color," but similar meaning?
'Recall the story again.'
I replayed the book's details in my head.
Then one of the protagonist's lines hit me.
*"The clues to solving the case were hidden, like this, in red objects all along. Who knew secrets had a color."*
She'd said it while nailing the culprit.
Always red. The color of secrets.
"Secrets Are Always Crimson?"
"Huh?"
"How's *Secrets Are Always Crimson*?"
"Love it. Locked in."
Kim Kwang-myeong's eyes gleamed as he scrawled the phrase big on the notebook.
*Secrets Are Always Crimson*. That became the track's title.
"While we're at it, let's jot some lyrics. I haven't touched them yet, but now I think I can."
"How do you even write lyrics?"
Never done it myself. When I asked, he tilted his head like what a question.
"How? You just write what comes to mind."
"Sure thing."
"Basically…… uh, match the rhythm to the melody. Like, intro's da-dan, da-ra-ran, da-dan da-ra-ran. Write lyrics to fit that. Got it?"
"Sorta."
So that's how lyric-writing worked. News to me.
"Say anything off the top of your head."
Hardest thing is "anything."
But hey, he said do it.
I recalled images from the book and let stream-of-consciousness mutterings flow.