Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: READY TO COMEBACK?(2)
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Now that we had the concept locked in, all that was left was to practice hard until comeback day.
It was possible only because our schedules weren't packed.
At the same time, there was one thing we absolutely had to do as idols.
"Who's posting on the fan cafe today?"
"I'll do it."
"Okay, then Jae will handle the fan cafe. What about Flitter?"
"I'll take that one."
"Yeah, Tae-hee hyung. Thanks."
That was fan service.
Idols could only take the stage because of the fans who loved them.
Idols existed because of the fans.
That was why we could never forget to offer these little bits of fan service for our Sunlights, anytime, anywhere—the ones who loved us.
During a break in practice, I logged into the official fan cafe for that very reason.
Thanks to the cover videos from Planet Studio we'd uploaded to L-Tube not long ago, traffic had spiked, and posts were regenerating at a much faster rate.
'Just a little while back, there weren't many posts at all.'
Now it felt pretty active.
I scrolled through the posts left by the Sunlights.
Stuff like "Did you eat lunch okay?", "I dreamed about you guys last night," "Seeing you on stage makes me happy," "Can't wait for the comeback"... all sorts of things.
After browsing the Sunlights' posts, I headed to the board labeled 'FROM. EverPlanet' to fulfill my actual purpose.
Not just me—posts from the other members came pouring in.
'What should I write today?'
I pondered for a moment, then started tapping away with my thumbs: tap tap tap...
Once I'd finished writing and hit post, it uploaded smoothly.
[Lee Jae] A Lunchtime Greeting to You All.
Author: EverPlanet Lee Jae
Hello, Sunlights. It's Lee Jae.
It's already 12:30.
Blink, and the sun's high in the sky.
Why does time fly by so fast?
No idea.
Anyway, have you all eaten?
We're just wrapping up choreography practice, waiting for delivery food.
An agonizing wait coloring this 12:30 afternoon.
Are you waiting for us just as anxiously?
If so, we'll hurry over.
Waiting's always boring, after all.
Can't wait to see you.
See you soon.
- From Lee Jae
'This should do it.'
Something felt missing, but after checking it over multiple times, there were no grammar slips or awkward phrases.
I set my phone down with a sigh of relief.
That's when Go Eun-young, lying next to me scrolling on her phone, spoke up.
"Jae hyung."
"Yeah? What's up."
"It's great you're writing letters and all, but... you sound like some Enlightenment-era poet."
"..."
Enlightenment-era poet?
I just wrote what felt right...
Feeling oddly embarrassed, I scratched my head.
"And where's the photo? Did you forget to eat it or something?"
"Oh, right."
Come to think of it, I forgot the picture.
That must've been the nagging emptiness.
"Can you snap one for me?"
"No problem. Strike a pose."
Go Eun-young twisted her body slightly while lying down and aimed the camera lens at me.
Pose... what pose should I do?
After a quick think, I went with a simple hand wave. It matched the post's closing line: "See you soon."
Click, click. After several shutter sounds, Go Eun-young yelled "Okay!"
"Nice, it came out great. Sending it over Kakao now."
With that, she immediately sent me the photo. Checking it out, it perfectly captured my Ha Jae vibe.
I added the photo to the post.
"Thanks, Eun-young."
"Psh, don't get all mushy over something like this."
Go Eun-young waved it off dismissively.
Right then, a call came in—our Chinese food delivery had arrived.
Lunchtime, as usual.
'Gotta eat well and practice even harder.'
For our first comeback, I wanted to show so much more.
The Sunlights must be expecting big things too.
And so a day passed, then two. Comeback day drew ever closer.
* * *
Comeback was right around the corner, but as always, there was something unavoidable.
Kim Kwang-myeong's composition lessons.
To build real skill, you had to touch the program consistently at least twice a week—that was his creed.
'President Oh teaches it this way too, so I can't argue.'
If it weren't for this guy, I'd be learning from President Oh anyway.
Still, he had some conscience; the schedule was looser than before.
Including Lee Jae-oh's training, the every-other-day sessions had dropped to twice weekly.
Anyway, even the day before final recording, I finished practice and headed to the studio with him as usual.
Today's assignment from him was simple: express a given word in about a minute.
It was practice in visualizing an image and turning it into melody.
"But really, having me express 'President Oh' is crossing a line, isn't it?"
"Why? It's fun."
I groaned, clutching my head as ideas refused to come.
Kim Kwang-myeong chuckled beside me while reviewing the title track file.
His laughter grated so much I shot him a sharp glare.
That's when the file he was looking at caught my eye.
'My part in the bridge.'
The connector leading into Go Eun-young's high note.
It built tension after Park Su-rim's vocals.
And personally, it was my favorite part of the song.
The melody and lyrics there just hit my taste perfectly.
'Hmm, but...'
I'd never thought much of it before, but suddenly something clicked.
I stared blankly at Kim Kwang-myeong's screen, then spoke.
"Hey, Kwang-myeong."
"What."
"Is it tough to change already-set lyrics?"
He clicked his mouse absentmindedly.
"If we'd done final recording, yeah. But we haven't, so no issue. Why?"
"Just... one thing I wanna tweak."
"What is it? Spill."
I explained the idea that had suddenly popped into my head.
Kim Kwang-myeong stroked his chin thoughtfully, nodding more seriously than expected.
"Hmm. Not bad at all...?"
"Right? Even swapping one word makes it more meaningful."
"Exactly. Every word in lyrics matters that much."
He tapped the lyrics I'd suggested like it was obvious, then added:
"But this isn't something I can greenlight alone. It's the title track. Tell President Oh and Ji-Hyung hyung yourself tomorrow during recording. I'm good with it, though."
"Got it."
"That all? Now get to it."
"...You're ruthless."
He was really making me write a song about President Oh.
I sighed deeply and turned back to the program.
Yeah... the path of art was this unforgiving.
* * *
The next day, we headed to the same studio where we'd recorded the last album and the Planet Studio covers.
Now everyone had a bit more experience, showing a whole new level of comfort compared to last time.
I chuckled seeing Go Eun-young sprawled on the rack rack behind the workspace, playing phone games. I sidled up, crouched down a bit, and met her eyes.
"Might as well move into the dorm bed. Comfy?"
"Wanna lie down too, hyung?"
"Nah. You're hogging it enough."
"It's comfy, though."
Go Eun-young shrugged, like she couldn't fathom rejecting comfort.
Meanwhile, Han Tae-hee, already prone beside her peeking at the recording, chimed in.
"Why not lie down?"
"My turn's next anyway."
"Oh, right. Lie down after?"
"I'm good. You two enjoy."
"You're so stiff."
Han Tae-hee smirked amusedly and stretched his long arm to ruffle my hair roughly.
If this were an official schedule, he'd catch hell from my stylist noona, Sun-ah.
Not that Han Tae-hee would pull this during a real gig.
Just then, Lee Jae-oh's recording—right before mine—wrapped up.
He emerged from the booth looking a tad worn and headed our way.
"Jae-ya, you're up next."
"Yeah. Good job, Jae-oh hyung?"
"Eh, decent. Just normal."
"That's the best."
I patted Lee Jae-oh's back a few times, got fighting from the members, and entered the booth.
Through the full-glass window, I saw President Oh directing recording, Ji-Hyung hyung, and Kim Kwang-myeong.
President Oh cleared his throat once, then pressed the red button to speak.
-Lee Jae, ready? Shall we start?
"Yeah. All set."
-Okay. Let's go straight in. Title track first, <Dye>. We've got some prerecorded, so relax and sing your best.
"Got it. Oh, President Oh—one thing I wanna say."
-Hm? What?
To the questioning President Oh, I started explaining the idea I'd shared with Kim Kwang-myeong last night.
"Here, my part in the bridge. 'Form-fitting Spotlight, that's you'—that section."
-Yeah. Problem? Not working?
I shook my head.
"No, it's fine. Just wondering if we could tweak the lyrics."
-Lyrics? How?
"Swap 'Spotlight' for 'Sunlight.'"
-Hmm...
"Sure, 'Spotlight' fits the overall flow better, but 'Sunlight' doesn't derail it much. Might even be better—emphasizing our fandom that way..."
At my pitch, Ji-Hyung hyung on President Oh's right—who'd been listening quietly—stroked his chin and let out an impressed "Oh."
-Good idea?
"Yeah?"
-I like it way more. Fans'll love it. Wow, Lee Jae—nice one. Learning producing from Kwang-myeong, huh? You've got instincts.
"Thanks. What do you think, President Oh?"
-Well, it shifts the context a tad... but yeah, fandom's still fresh—fans'll eat it up. ...Approved. Your call, Lee Jae.
"Yes! Thank you."
-Nice one, hyung.
Kim Kwang-myeong flashed me a thumbs-up.
I smirked, quirking my lip.
Kim Kwang-myeong was top-tier annoying among the members, but impossible to hate.