Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Album Cover Commission
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An underground studio in Gangnam.
Hyun-su had been holed up in the studio since Saturday morning, working on finishing the album, when a man approached him.
"Hey, Hyun-su, you're coming today?"
"Yeah, should be here soon."
The tall man with long hair tied back messily to his shoulders was Kang Hyeok, the owner of the guitar Suhyun had played last time.
"Thanks to you telling me, I checked it out, and damn, it was impressive."
"You think so?"
Kang Hyeok plopped down on the sofa behind the PC where Hyun-su was working and spoke.
"Whew, the comments, though—the wording."
Hyun-su had mentioned someone coming to discuss the album cover tomorrow, so Kang Hyeok had looked into it.
He'd even come to the studio alone on a weekend when he could've been crashing at someone else's place, worried the guy might say something weird to Hyun-su.
"Well, still, it's someone recommended by a reliable person."
"Reliable person? That woman doing the featuring?"
"Yeah, she seemed nice."
"Kang Ayoung said she's super cute. I should've come to the studio early that day."
"Haha, yeah."
After Suhyun left, Kang Ayoung had made a huge fuss to everyone else in the studio about her looks, showing off.
Teasing them by not even showing the photo she'd taken.
"Is she that pretty? Who does she look like in celebs?"
"Hmm... I don't know celebs well, so I can't say who. But she totally looks like one."
"That much? You're handsome yourself."
"Haha..."
Kang Hyeok hadn't thought much of it at the time, but with Ayoung bragging nonstop, his curiosity had naturally grown.
"Ugh... why'd she have to make me so curious..."
As Hyun-su and Kang Hyeok's conversation continued, someone knocked on the studio door.
"Oh, did I lock it? I'll get it."
Considerate of Hyun-su who was working, Kang Hyeok got up to open the door himself and headed to the entrance. Hyun-su, now curious about the person Suhyun had recommended and sent, belatedly stood and followed behind.
"Coming!"
The door opened, revealing a woman wearing a cap pulled low and a black mask.
She was tall and slender, with a large guitar case on her back. She pushed her cap up slightly, glancing at the man in front and Hyun-su behind, then spoke.
"Nice to meet you. I'm here about the album cover."
She gave a subtle wink toward Hyun-su while greeting, signaling to play along like they didn't know each other, but Hyun-su was already too shocked to react.
"Ah! You must be the one coming today. Come on in."
Surprisingly, Kang Hyeok, seeing her for the first time, was calmer than Hyun-su.
He hadn't expected someone this pretty, but pretty wasn't a bad thing, right?
"Come on in!"
He welcomed her warmly and guided her inside. Hyun-su, still processing, followed them in without knowing what else to do.
"Oh, you're the Slim Gold one..."
When Suhyun trailed off like that, Kang Hyeok immediately pointed at Hyun-su.
"This guy's Slim Gold! Young, huh?"
"Ah, nice to work with you."
"Ah... uh, yeah..."
Only when Suhyun greeted him as if seeing him for the first time did Hyun-su catch on to her act and decided to play along.
"Yeah, uh... first time meeting."
"Shall we head inside?"
As expected of a broadcaster, she had a playful side, Hyun-su thought, following her lead into the room.
***
The original plan was to surprise him the moment I walked in.
But since Kang Hyeok, the owner of the guitar I'd borrowed last time, acted like he was seeing me for the first time, I decided to have a little fun.
Just as Miro and Kim Suhyun are different, Kim Suhyun and ksh are different too, right?
More than that, Hyun-su hadn't even imagined it was me despite seeing the Bluebird ID.
He'd unwittingly played along with my prank, but it'd make a good memory.
Anyway, time to get to business properly.
I set down the guitar case and pulled out a notebook and pens from inside.
"But why'd you bring a guitar?"
Then, as I set it down, Kang Hyeok, who'd been watching, spoke up.
I'd planned to learn a bit if Ayoung was here... but she wasn't, so I just said the first thing that came to mind.
"Just, I'm interested, and it helps with visualizing the image."
"Oh... I see..."
Kang Hyeok's curiosity satisfied, he stepped back a bit.
It was clear he didn't want to interrupt work, so I appreciated it.
"So, how do you envision the album production?"
"Uh... um... one sec."
Hyun-su looked unsure if I was here to work or just mess around, but soon decided to proceed and explained the album.
"For starters, the album title is 'Illusion'..."
And so Hyun-su began explaining the album from start to finish, and I was impressed by how meticulously it was planned—more than I'd expected.
"So, I can build it around that?"
"Yeah, that subtle boundary between illusion and reality..."
Like with the song feedback, Hyun-su was giving tricky requests now too, but luckily, an image popped into my head right away.
Looks like the experience from the Wonderland work is helping here.
I lightly sketched on the notepad based on the image.
"Like this?"
In the notebook, a central boundary line divided it: one side had a realistic boy in a calm style, the other a fairy-tale character version of the boy.
Matching that, musical notes floated in the fairy-tale side's background where the character stood, while notebooks and pens floated around the real boy on the other.
"Uh... yeah, that's it... exactly the vibe..."
Hyun-su alternated between my quick sketch and me, nodding with an odd expression.
"You like it?"
It was just a sketch, but my drawings were intuitive enough to convey the feel perfectly.
"Yeah... I think it'll turn out just like I wanted once it's done."
"Shall we do the contract then?"
This was basically an interview right now. Unusual, but whatever.
Still, think about it—getting a good opportunity through someone I know?
If Hyun-su blows up later, my career gets a boost from doing his album art.
I have no plans to quit streaming, but a nice side income isn't bad.
"Yeah, sure... looking forward to working with you."
"Same here. Thanks."
And just like that, the contract was done. I'd be busy now, but my bank account would get a nice deposit.
"Ah, um..."
Afterward, as I was about to stand, Hyun-su checked that Kang Hyeok wasn't around, approached cautiously, and spoke.
"We need to credit you on that Wonderland track—what should I use? Are you registered on music sites?"
"Oh, the name?"
Name... Just Kim Suhyun's fine, right?
But would I be singing more as Kim Suhyun going forward?
"Not registered."
"Then..."
"Just put part-timer."
If needed, I could register, but for this one-off, why use my real name?
"Pardon?"
"Think of it as a short-term gig. One-time thing, so real name feels off, and no need for a stage name. Say the featuring was a part-timer—could be buzzworthy later if you get famous."
"You serious?"
He looked baffled at "part-timer," but I meant it. No plans to build a career as singer Kim Suhyun.
"Yeah, uh, but put my proper name on the album cover."
Featuring was a one-off gig, but the cover's my work—goes on my portfolio.
"Yeah, alright... but I never thought it'd be you."
"Not even a little?"
"No way."
"Never say never. Anyway, I'm off."
With that, I wrapped up and left the studio.
Oh right, I had some guitar questions... Guess I'll text Ayoung.
After leaving the studio and heading home.
Walking under the blazing sun, regretting the heavy guitar, my phone rang.
"Hello?"
[Good afternoon, Miro-nim.]
As expected, the manager.
Most calls to my phone were from Hyejeong or the manager anyway, so no surprise.
"What's up?"
[Can you talk now?]
"Yeah."
Hot sun was rough, but doable.
[It's about the new song—we're asking members for input.]
"Input?"
[Yes, didn't we say we'd actively take members' opinions this time? Planning to use your ideas from the initial planning stage.]
"Wow, different this time?"
Way beyond last time's just slapping voices on a finished track.
Asking for ideas from the start.
[Right. So, does Miro-nim have any hopes for the song? No rush—you can think it over. Just calling to let you know.]
"But you want it quick, right?"
[Haha... it'd be convenient schedule-wise.]
"Good. Two ideas just popped up."
Lucky for the manager who wanted to wrap it fast—ideas hit me the second he asked.
[What are they?]
"First, individuality."
[Individuality?]
"Yeah, played the last track for a friend, and they said members' unique traits weren't coming through. Been meaning to mention it."
Hyun-su's words. Gathering people with different styles and lives, but it sounded too mass-produced? He softened it, but yeah.
[Got it. Next?]
"Second one's... just hit me now..."
[Fine. It's all ideas.]
I wiped sweat and looked up at the sky.
Specifically, the scorching sun making me sweat just walking, not even mid-summer yet.
"Refreshing."
[Pardon?]
"I'd love some refreshing vibe."
With summer this hot, why not drop a seasonal song?
"That's the two for now."
[Understood.]
And so, I casually shared my off-the-cuff opinions.
With no clue what results they'd bring.