Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Hyun-su's Album Demos
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As soon as I agreed, Hyun-su grinned from ear to ear, looking thrilled, and said,
"For now, we'll listen to that later. Right now, we're going through the tracks for the album one by one. Sis, give it a listen and tell me what you think."
"My ears are pretty picky, though."
"Doesn't matter."
Look at that confidence. Who'd ever guess he's a high school senior?
But come to think of it... isn't this kid still a student?
Doesn't he go to school?
"You're not going to school?"
"Huh?"
My question caught Hyun-su off guard, shattering his smile.
This little punk... acting all grown up when he's just a student.
"How long have you been skipping school?"
"Huh? Uh... about a week."
His words carried a hint of regret.
Thinking back now, high school memories are truly priceless.
"If you're a student, skipping school is a waste. You should go every single day to soak in that atmosphere."
My old-man lecture made everyone's expressions turn weird.
Come to think of it, I'm the second youngest here after Hyun-su?
"Uh... how was it for you, Sis?"
"Me?"
"Yeah."
My school days?
I was about to give a vague answer, but Hyun-su's face was unexpectedly serious.
"That's something I'm curious about too."
Even Ayoung chimed in.
The other band members perked up their ears, clearly interested.
Well, yeah, I was a bit of a standout, right? But that's for the male Suhyun fused with female Suhyun into Omega Suhyun. As I told Tenshi-san, female Suhyun was pretty ordinary.
"Just quiet, you know? Sleeping in class all the time and stuff."
"Really? You?"
Ayoung stared at me in surprise.
Yeah, it doesn't match my current image much.
I couldn't exactly say here that my male self was this and that, or that back then female Suhyun was a total otaku more into 2D than reality...
Based on my experience living as female Kim Suhyun so far, in times like this, just drop two lines.
"I'm pretty, aren't I? Just sitting there made me the center of attention, so why bother?"
Ayoung's jaw dropped at my words, and the guys around cleared their throats awkwardly.
"Wow."
Hyun-su looked at me with deep admiration.
"I just got some inspiration."
"If it's narcissism as the theme, can you drop it?"
"That's inspiration too."
This crazy inspiration machine... Why does Hyun-su remind me of Moon Chang-sik?
Their fields are totally different, but people who succeed young definitely have a screw loose mentally.
"Anyway, about school... I'll go tomorrow."
"Yeah, you might find inspiration there too."
"True."
At least Hyun-su didn't seem to hate school or anything. That's a relief.
You never know, he could be getting bullied.
Hard to imagine looking at him now, though.
"But graduation's not far off, right?"
"Yeah? Including winter break, it's really just around the corner."
"High school seniors don't even have classes after the college entrance exam anyway. So you're basically done."
My own senior year suddenly came to mind.
Not the female side—the male side, when I was guaranteed entry into a top engineering program at a prestigious university.
Back then, I was a god...
I remember blowing through infinite pocket money with the duplication bug, partying hard.
But here Hyun-su is, working on an album in a basement studio at that age.
Thinking about it that way, as a life senior, I couldn't help but advise him.
"Working's good, but play around too. You're young, right? Everything's an experience at that age."
"...How old are you again, Sis?"
"About 700 days older than you."
Hyun-su gave me a look like I was ridiculous.
"Everyone says to row when the tide's coming in."
"That's true too."
Hmm... that is solid advice.
It might even be better for Hyun-su.
He seems to have the drive to keep going, that massive talent as fuel.
"But you're not gonna row forever, right? Take it easy."
Hmm... Am I just spreading lazy adult vibes here?
"Forever... Got it."
Well, at least it seemed to help a little.
"Now, play me a song."
Anyway, enough chit-chat. Time for the main event: listening to the album candidates.
"These are all songs?"
But there were a ton of candidates.
Didn't he say just a few?
This was way more.
Like twenty songs?
...Wouldn't these alone make two albums?
"A bit many, but take your time listening."
"Sure."
Twenty songs—at three minutes each shortest—that's an hour straight.
Gonna need to settle in and focus.
"I'll just play them one by one."
With that, Hyun-su connected his phone to the speaker and started playing.
The first track was upbeat tempo.
True to band style, lively drums and guitar hooked my ears right away, with bass scratching deep underneath.
Then, before I could get used to the sound, Hyun-su's vocals punched in—pure awe.
Sounds way better than before?
Plus, since he wrote it himself, his vocals nailed the song's intent perfectly.
I could ramble with my limited knowledge, but bottom line: the song slaps.
Really slaps.
"Damn, this is good. Gotta include it."
I thought that and said it to Hyun-su, but Ayoung chuckled.
"There are 19 more good ones."
"Huh?"
"Listen to them."
This one's top three material, though? Even compared to his last album, it hit my ears perfectly.
Not saying the others suck.
This felt like shallower depth but broader appeal.
In simple terms, more mainstream.
But Ayoung wouldn't bluff, so I shut up and listened to the rest.
After about four songs, I knew she wasn't kidding.
And now I got why the featuring list was so long.
It wasn't just Hyun-su picking favorites.
They knew.
No—being industry pros, they knew even better.
They were dead sure Hyun-su was about to blow up, so they wanted their names on it.
Anyone would wanna ride that guaranteed success and rack up credits.
Ugh... looking at him now, Hyun-su's glowing.
His light blond hair even sparkled under the lights.
"What's the album title?"
"This album?"
Hyun-su gave a wry smile, glanced at the track list, then said,
"'Reality.'"
"Ah."
Last one was fantasy.
This one's reality.
Next up, future?
Anyway, hearing these great songs made me wanna share one too.
My phone already has "Branch Point," the ambitious new track with the composer.
"Wanna hear my song?"
"A song? Oh, the one with Kang Woo-hyun composer?"
Hyun-su got it right away. He remembered what I mentioned last time?
"Yeah, it's finished."
The composer said it's fine to share with acquaintances, so okay.
I even sang it on set? Guess he doesn't care about leaks.
Might even see it as marketing.
"You made a song, Suhyun?"
"Not made— I just did vocals."
"O... Play it quick."
"I'm looking forward to it too."
Well, if you're that hyped... gotta deliver.
No pressure.
It's a great song.
I connected my phone to the speaker and hit play.
Huh, feels like a song swap session.
My hand's one card, his is twenty.
And so, my song filled the basement studio.
The melody—familiar and comfy after endless listens and practices—filled the space, and the band folks took it in their own ways.
Hyun-su...
Eyes closed, hard to tell.
But he's enjoying it, probably.
Song ends, and eyes turn to me.
That look... like, "Wait, was she this good?" Shoulders tense up.
Hyun-su's eyes especially seemed to shine weirdly.
"You've improved a ton, huh?"
His first words praised me, not the song.
"Recorded with tons of feedback."
Pre- and post-"Branch Point" recording, I'm a whole different person.
All that time and effort poured in!
"Then... I can tweak the featuring track a bit."
"What?"
"Thanks. Got some inspiration. Kang Woo-hyun composer's on another level. Depth us normies can't touch."
Wait, what? Tweak?
Feeling uneasy, I asked,
"Can I ask how you'll tweak it?"
"Sure? It'll be way harder to sing, but sound even better."
Ah...
Of course.
But what can I do? I brought this on myself.
...And if the song gets better, that's good, right?
Yeah, yeah...
Shockingly, I'm buying my own hardship....