Chapter 17
Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Zoo Day and Cold Night's Rise
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yeonwoo finished the arrangement right there where he was sitting that day and returned home.
And the next day.
Yeonwoo played the song he’d made yesterday on the piano in front of his grandmother.
“I haven’t heard the original, so I can’t say for sure, but even just on piano, I can tell it’s a great song.”
Heo Ok, who had been sitting side by side with Yeonwoo watching his performance, gently stroked his head.
Her touch felt so good that Yeonwoo grinned widely.
“Yeonwoo, it’s time to head out.”
Just then, Jihoon called to him from the bedroom.
“Yes.”
Yeonwoo got up from his seat and toddled over to his dad.
Today was the weekend, a rare day for father and son to head out together.
“We’ll be back.”
“Alright, have a good time.”
After bowing politely to his grandmother at the waist, Yeonwoo took Jihoon’s hand and left the house, climbing into the car.
“What do you want to see first when we get there, Yeonwoo?”
“Hmm… Lions!! And tigers!!”
“Oh, Dad likes lions and tigers too.”
“I saw a YouTube video of a tiger fighting a lion, and sometimes the tiger wins, sometimes the lion does. But I’m rooting for the tiger. Tigers used to live in our country, right? And lions fight dirty in groups, but tigers always fight alone. That’s why I’m team tiger.”
That’s right.
Today was zoo day.
Yeonwoo might seem totally immersed in music, but YouTube’s algorithm didn’t steer him there exclusively.
Yeonwoo was learning about the world through YouTube.
Of course, focusing on his own interests.
And what he loved most—[after music]—were dinosaurs and animals.
Yes, Yeonwoo was just a regular six-year-old boy after all.
“Dinosaurs are too big. Elephants are the strongest now, but even they couldn’t beat ones like T-Rex. That’s what YouTube said.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. But elephants are nice. They get along with people if not bothered, and they’re nice to each other too. Super smart.”
Maybe because he was out with Jihoon for once, Yeonwoo’s mouth wouldn’t stop.
Jihoon focused as much as he could on Yeonwoo’s chatter while driving, finally arriving at Seoul Grand Park.
After parking, he bought tickets for the elephant train and waited, lost in sentiment.
“It’s really been forever.”
“Huh? Have you been here before, Dad?”
“Of course. We came here together when you couldn’t even walk yet. Me, you, and your mom.”
Jihoon no longer deliberately hid or avoided mentioning his wife.
Just as Yeonwoo missed his mom and used her name Yuin as a pen name, Jihoon made an effort to share the few precious memories of the three of them with Yeonwoo.
“Your mom was the most excited the day before we came. She couldn’t wait to show you all the animals for the first time.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Yeah, you were too young. Even a smart kid like you couldn’t hold onto those memories.”
“Was it fun?”
“Of course. Anything’s fun with my son.”
“Hehe.”
Yeonwoo felt happy hearing about a memory he couldn’t recall.
In the meantime, they boarded the elephant train.
Come to think of it, Jihoon had been to the zoo longer ago than when Yeonwoo was a baby.
Exactly once.
With Jiyeong, Dad, and Mom—all four of them.
‘Was one of the few memories with Mother here too?’
The zoo… was also one of the rare places his music-obsessed mother had joined him.
‘Should I have brought Mother along?’
No, no.
Mother spent every day with Yeonwoo anyway.
Today was for just him and his son, father and boy alone.
Intimate time like this was rare.
“Alright, let’s get off!!”
No sooner had Jihoon spoken upon arriving at the zoo than Yeonwoo dashed out the open door toward the main entrance.
“Dad!! Hurry!! Hurry!!”
Jihoon smiled watching his excited son waving wildly.
* * *
“This… Yuin gave it to you?”
Kim Beomsin, at an age where he’d normally be wary of the young crowd’s eyes, had visited Ellis’s studio to encourage her, thinking he wouldn’t drop by again unless something major came up.
But today, just a day later, he had to return to Ellis’s studio.
Because of the song Yuin had given him.
“Yes, President. I played your guide for composer Yuin, and she said your voice was so good it inspired her to make this song.”
“Really? So you want me to sing it?”
Beomsin played the track again.
It was incredibly sleek and easy on the ears. Yet it carried a faint whiff of familiar ballad vibes.
Having spent his life singing, composing, and writing only ballads, he had a killer nose for that scent.
“Will it work…….”
“How about releasing it as a single? I heard fans are complaining about how little you’ve been active…….”
“Who said that?”
“Director Jeong.”
“That guy says all sorts of nonsense. Hmm… If I sing it, I’ll sing it, but…… what’s with this voice on the bass? It sticks out on its own.”
“That’s the guide.”
“What?”
“It’s an AI vocal guide recorded in your voice.”
“Oh… I’ve seen plenty of bass done with human voices in my day, but using AI to mimic it for a guide? First time for everything.”
“It’s common these days.”
“Guess I’m getting old.”
Kim Beomsin scratched his head but hummed along to the AI guide anyway.
“Soul shop? Yeah, right. They killed the sound to make it bass, huh? Alright. Shall I give it a shot?”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
Ellis opened the booth, and Beomsin stepped in, recording the bass by humming just like the guide.
Ellis layered his voice straight into the track.
“Let’s hear it.”
At Beomsin’s word, Ellis played it back.
Starting with Beomsin’s voice, electronic tones blended in as the song kicked off.
“Wow…….”
Who knew electronics meshing with a human voice could birth a melody like this.
Ellis now understood why the bass absolutely had to be in Kim Beomsin’s voice—and why he had to sing it.
“Genius recognizes genius.”
“Huh? Who? Me? Yeah, I’m a genius.”
Beomsin emerged from the booth chuckling, and Ellis shrugged.
Not wrong.
But having tasted true genius, your average genius like Beomsin didn’t catch her eye anymore.
“Now I gotta write the lyrics. Been a while since I did any lyric writing?”
As Beomsin showed enthusiasm for lyrics amid it all, Ellis startled and tried to dissuade him.
“President. I don’t think you should do the lyrics.”
“Huh? Why? What’s wrong with me?”
“…The song’s so sleek and trendy. Might as well go all-in on lyrics that are… you know, MZ-style, right?”
Beomsin, ever sensitive about MZ at his age, flinched at Ellis’s words.
Come to think of it, yeah.
What was the reason he hadn’t released an album since that single six years ago?
-Old fogey trying to act young is fine, but it shows too much and makes you even more outdated.
It was all because of comments like that one.
No, back then, most reviews of his bold new album attempt were like that.
Hearing trendy young music, imitating it in composition, and straining to play young in lyrics—only to get slammed like that—left him thinking, “Am I old now?” and fearing album releases.
Same now, really.
But this song made for him by Yuin… was too good to let go.
“Yeah, guess you’re right.”
“Leave it to me. I’ll do my best.”
“Alright. I’ll trust you, Ellis.”
Past Kim Beomsin couldn’t have accepted that proposal.
Back when his overwhelming vocals and tone devoured the music scene.
But now, that vocal power had softened a bit with age, his tone endured but didn’t connect.
His confidence bordering on arrogance was broken, and his “I’m not dead yet” mindset had slid past “Am I a has-been?” into “I’m total washed-up.”
“Text me when the lyrics are done. We’ll record that day and upload right away.”
“That fast?”
“It’s a digital single—what prep do we need? Promo on YouTube and Shorts, low risk high return.”
“Smart strategy. But I think… this’ll do well.”
“You think so?”
“The song’s amazing, and it suits you perfectly.”
Kim Beomsin grinned, buoyed by the prediction from a hotshot producer leading trends.
“Yeah… Even cracking the top 50 on Mango would be nice.”
He mentioned the nation’s top streaming chart Mango but wasn’t expecting much.
His last album hadn’t even cracked the top 100.
A few days later.
Beomsin rushed to record the fully lyric-ed track from Ellis.
“Sounds good? Any parts you want to redo?”
The session didn’t take long.
Whether they’d captured his style, habits, and breathing perfectly, he nailed even limit-pushing high notes with ease.
He only had to watch one thing.
Avoiding outdated, maudlin emotional delivery.
He focused on conveying feeling purely through song and lyrics, as flatly as possible.
“I’m thrilled. Wrap it up quick. Let’s upload now.”
“Yes!!”
Ellis, now comfortable with Beomsin after a few meetings, beamed and hurried to finalize per his request.
She had mountains of work, so couldn’t devote full time here.
BSK’s new idol team launch meant finishing their songs for rushed recording, passing to the choreography team for dance, and handling styling for the album concept.
Maybe Beomsin knew that, pushing to hurry.
He was more CEO than singer these days anyway.
And so, the track went live.
[Cold Night]
Kim Beomsin
Producer Ellis
Composer/Arranger Yuin
Lyricist Ellis
Unintentionally, the first song released under Yeonwoo—no, Yuin’s name to the world wasn’t Ellis’s idol track, but Kim Beomsin’s.
Reactions poured in immediately for his song.
Even as a faded singer, it was Kim Beomsin.
Decades of unwavering concrete-solid fans remained.
He even still had a fan club.
Kim BeomGOD, fans nicknamed GOD Fans.
Seemed tacky, but inevitably so—the club originated way back on Hitel, the granddaddy of PC comms.
Now barely maintained via Kakao open chats sans cafe, they reacted first.
-Our oppa dropped a new album!!
-Really??
-Not an album, digital single.
-Can’t buy it then, guess I’ll stream.
-Wow, how many years ㅠㅠㅠ
-Heading to hear our oppa’s voice
-Just listened. So good ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Not a ballad?
-Not ballad but still hits just right lol
-Wasn’t this oppa the one who tried trendy MZ stuff 6 yrs ago and flopped? Why try again?
-Different from then ㅠ This one’s legit good, sleek and trendy ㅠ
-Thought it was pop ;;
-Fr real good tho?
-Played for my son, he loves the song!! But doesn’t know Kim Beomsin lol ㅠㅠ Sad ㅠ
-Lol my daughter likes it too
-Ah… Memories of camping out front of dorm to see you, oppa ㅠ
-Those were the days. Anyone in Yongin?
-Why? I live in Yongin.
-Trying to send my daughter to English academy, recommendations? ^^;;
As these real-life fan club members showed positivity, their kids and daughters hearing Mom’s fave Cold Night from Beomsin started buzzing word-of-mouth.
That Korean-yet-pop vibe hooked them, and searches for Kim Beomsin’s new track spiked fast.
Two days later.
[Jiyeong,,,,Yuin,,,,composer,,,,address plz lol]
[? Why?]
Beomsin messaged Jiyeong for Yuin’s address.
Why?
[Thx so much,,,,wanna send gift,,,^^//]
He was grateful for such a song. Because…
[I’m 20th on Mango,,,,^^// Omg,,,,first top ranks in forever,,,,tears streaming @ㅅ@]
[…Senior, call instead of Kakao from now on.]
…Anyway, dying Kim Beomsin fired the revival shot.
No one expected it to blast through the roof yet, though.