Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 80

80.

Lee Hyun-jae had recently developed a hobby of reading poetry. He never thought he would have such a refined hobby, but it’s all thanks to Dong-hwa hyung’s tutoring.

“…Why is this fun?”

Reading poetry became enjoyable from the moment things he hadn’t noticed when reading poems in school started to catch his eye.

‘…How did Dong-hwa hyung know I would like poetry?’

Muttering to himself, he lay down, reading a collection of poems titled ‘Love in This Era.’ It was a book he had bought yesterday on Dong-hwa hyung’s recommendation. Self-deprecation and self-loathing, along with the loneliness felt within them, were described in self-mocking and harsh language.

He pondered over a single poem called ‘Self-Portrait’ for a long time before getting up.

‘Anyway, Jun-sung hyung’s song is incredibly popular.’

Of course, Jun-sung’s popularity is also an important factor, but the fact that the song itself is of high quality cannot be denied.

As a result, for quite a while, comments questioning or admiring Dong-hwa hyung’s songwriting ability have been appearing in online communities.

Dong-hwa hyung isn’t the type to be swayed by the mindless chatter of people who don’t know anything, whether malicious or not, but I can’t help but feel angry myself.

‘…Besides, this time’s song too.’

Every time he tutored, Lee Hyun-jae would glance at Ji Dong-hwa composing and check the quality.

It felt like a snake crawling, but instead of being unpleasant, it had a liberating, exhilarating feeling.

Like a snake that had been feeling cramped before shedding its skin, now moving its body with a refreshing feeling after shedding. At the same time, it felt like the snake was coiling around something, giving off an atmosphere similar to obsession.

Thinking that, Lee Hyun-jae suddenly realized.

‘…I feel like my vocabulary is starting to resemble Dong-hwa hyung’s.’

Lee Hyun-jae seriously began to worry if he would start speaking in a difficult way in everyday life.

“Hyun-jae, come and eat.”

Ha-min hyung, who knocked on the door and came in, called him to eat.

“…Who made it?”

And Lee Hyun-jae, like a threatened small animal, hugged the book on the bed and asked with a wary voice.

Cha Ha-min tilted his head once at the reaction, then accepted it and replied.

“Dong-hwa did today!”

The moment he heard that, a sigh of relief burst from Lee Hyun-jae’s mouth. All his wariness crumbled, filled with relief.

‘…Thank goodness, really.’

To be able to eat Dong-hwa hyung’s cooking after so long, he began to feel excited, as if smelling the fragrance of a flower blooming for only one day.

* * *

Next album production meeting. The completed song has already been delivered to the A&R [Artists and Repertoire] team.

“First of all… the concept will be elegant like last time. However, last time it was summer, so the overall atmosphere was cool, but this time we’re going to try something a little different.”

That’s right.

“So, after listening to the opinions of the A&R team this time, they said that the song has a strong, somewhat suggestive atmosphere, right?”

…The wording. I never intended a ‘suggestive atmosphere’ even once.

“We’re trying to match the album’s atmosphere to the intention of the song, so what kind of song is it?”

The atmosphere… it feels like the title track has already been decided.

I organized my thoughts and opened my mouth.

“The working title is ‘Ouroboros,’ and… it’s about being reborn at the end.”

Satisfied with the accurate expression, I continued.

“That’s the main intention of the song.”

And silence.

Jang Hae-jin smiles as if used to it.

“As expected, it’s hard to understand with words, right? Should we all listen to the song first and then talk about it?”

And the finished version is played. A song with only my humming and nonsense marking the flow of the melody, without any lyrics yet.

Everyone is used to hearing the word ‘Wiener Schnitzel’ violently reverberating.

“…The fans would love it if we released this too.”

Ryoo Yi-deun’s muttering. Crazy talk.

When all the songs are finished, everyone nods.

“The song is really good? We just need to write good lyrics.”

“It’s a bit like an obsessive younger man. Like, ‘You can’t escape me, we’re the only ones for each other, no matter how much you wander around.'”

…No. It’s not that kind of song.

“Also, if you listen to the dance break in the middle… doesn’t it feel like something is coiling around you?”

“There’s something that makes you a little breathless. It’s an obsession, but an obsession with a bit of fantasy.”

…I don’t even understand what’s going on, so I just quietly watch the situation unfold.

“It feels like madness that keeps making you meet him by turning back time. When it ends, it goes back to the beginning.”

“Oh… that would be a good concept to go with, wouldn’t it?”

The story writer, who had been listening quietly, nods.

“Dong-hwa will write the lyrics, but it would be good to continue the story with a music video with that kind of feel.”

…I don’t know. What kind of concept will come out.

* * *

In an HBS PD’s [Producer’s] office, Lee Young-hwa PD, who is directing a music program that airs in the early hours of Saturday called ‘I’m Happy That I Still Want to Listen to the Song I Heard Around Last Fall This Summer,’ or ‘Composing Trip’ for short, is staring intently at the monitor.

The assistant director, who had been selecting the casting list and bringing it in, flinched at the look in her eyes and cautiously approached.

“Um… what are you looking at so intently, PD-nim?”

“Jun-sung’s music video.”

The assistant director, who was watching it, flinched. The assistant director, who muttered, ‘The PD-nim is watching an idol song…’ cautiously hinted.

“Oh, finally… are we going to start casting idols too?”

And then a firm declaration followed.

“I’m not changing my stance on only working with singer-songwriters. Even if we cast idols, they need to have members who can compose.”

‘Composing Trip’ is famous for featuring established singer-songwriters who discuss music arrangements or introduce unreleased original songs while conversing with the MC. Therefore, 출연자 [participants] are selected based on singers who are deemed to have a certain level of composing ability.

As a result, the same people often appear at different times, and it’s also true that the audience is quite fixed. A period with neither progress nor regression—that’s a good sentence to describe the current state of ‘Composing Trip.’

“Oh, I thought PD-nim [Producer] was finally facing reality.”

“It’s not that. Do you know ‘Momoji’ PD?”

“Yes, I heard they’re revamping the season these days.”

Lee Young-hwa smirked at that and nodded, muttering, “She’s been working hard to boost viewership these days.”

“Anyway, she recommended these guys.”

Lee Young-hwa pointed to a corner of the screen. There, in small letters, was the simple phrase: ‘Composer: Dong-hwa.’

“Who is Dong-hwa? A new singer-songwriter?”

‘I should know if that were the case,’ the assistant director muttered. It was confidence born from a past of frequenting the indie scene, always checking for new faces.

“An idol member.”

“…Finally, PD-nim, you’ve started thinking about viewership! I’m so happy, PD-nim!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. He’s a complete rookie, so we need to see more.”

Even if ‘Composing Trip’ is stagnant, it’s still a large platform, so even for a rookie, an idol’s appearance will still generate buzz.

“They’re releasing another self-composed song on their next album, right? Should we decide after listening to that?”

Idols who compose were common. However, in the process of investigation, it often turned out to be just for show, which is why they hadn’t been featured until now.

But Lee Young-hwa, following the words of her friend Kim So-young PD, did some research and realized something while watching him arrange all sorts of children’s songs in a pleasant but bizarre way.

‘…He was crazy.’

And such crazy tendencies cannot come out without solid skills to back them up.

* * *

Ji Dong-hwa’s fan was slowly examining the smear campaigns being posted on online communities and other sites.

“…These 개씨 [bastards], trash-like things.”

Since it became known that Ji Dong-hwa participated in composing and arranging Jun-sung’s solo song, which is currently moving within the top 10, petty attacks mocking ‘bundled sales’ have started to appear one by one. It feels like PTSD is coming. This kind of 돌림 [taunting, bullying].

“If only… our album had been good, there wouldn’t have been a problem.”

If that were the case, the fans would have just applauded.

When participating in a song for a label senior, especially when that senior was making a solo debut, and coincidentally a wide-area aggro-꾼 [aggro-attractor, someone who intentionally provokes], the internet squabble started thanks to the flavorful composition and arrangement.

[Jun-sung is pitiful, honestly]

I can’t even imagine how he feels, releasing his solo album but being reduced to a junior’s promotional tool… If I were a TIMER [Jun-sung’s fanclub name], I’d be so sad…

They even bundled him into the music video…

Comments:

―Would you shut up?

└Dong-hwa lololololol

―Why ㅅㅂ [fuck] mention it and 광역 어그로 [attract widespread aggro] to the people passing by, you 개 [dog] 같네 [like]?

―No… ㅅㅂ [fuck], if it was even for promotion, I wouldn’t feel so wronged, but at this point, it’s not even used for promotion…

└If you look at the articles, there wasn’t even one for the label’s distribution, so why are you acting like that?

―TIMERs have nothing to do with this post~

└Thank you for receiving a good song~~ Sad my ass ㅎㅎ

―Ha… The rookie award season is slowly coming, so they’re just beating him up first, and if I lose my hair again, are you going to pay for my hospital bills?

―It’s so unfair to call it music video bundling, go watch the behind-the-scenes cuts from the filming location

└Do you believe that~~~~~ Of course, it’s all directed~~~~~~~

└I’m really sorry, but can you die because you’re wasting oxygen?

She checks the next post.

[Has it even been verified that Ji Dong-hwa ㅅㅂ [fuck] is good at composing?]

No, sorry, I admit the song is good lololololol But it’s disgusting how he’s grabbing a composing genius gimmick just because he wrote one song… No comments like, ‘He also wrote Club L’~

Comments:

―Eban but…

―ㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋ Ah, seriously, let’s stop… Why are only our 꽃돌이 [pretty boys, flower boys] getting their heads grabbed since the first album?

―Ah… I feel like I’m going crazy thinking about Dong-hwa reading this… He must have stayed up all night working in the studio, and he’s hearing this kind of thing

―Who ㅅㅂ [fuck] is asking to be treated like a genius? He just kept the promise he made since the survival show

She reads each and every one of those comments, trying to suppress the 천불 [thousand fires, extreme anger] boiling inside.

“…Ah, 개XX [son of a bitch]s, I need to XXX [censor] their 머릿가죽 [scalp] in XXX XX [censor] and XXX [censor], then spit 가래침 [phlegm] on it.”

Whenever she’s 덕질 [fangirling, obsessively supporting] over idols, the curses she learned from her grandmother, who lived in Jeolla-do when she was young, linger in her mouth.

Ji Dong-hwa, who kept the promise made since the survival show by gifting an exceptionally good song, is 자랑스럽고 [proud] and 블뽕 [BloScent pride, pride in BloScent] is filling her up, but at times like this, she wants to research whether there’s a causal relationship between idol 덕질 [fangirling] and lifespan.

While she was raging in the comment war, she casually checks the notification that came on.

―Surprise live start! BloScent: Muscle Puppy is waiting for his birthday.

The moment the anger collapses. Joy fills the void in an instant.

“…Ah, 씨 [shit], really.”

Why are the 광대 [cheekbones] that rise on their own so light [Why am I smiling so easily]?

She hurriedly touches her phone to turn on the W app.

And the deep darkness unfolds. At first, she thought the screen was loading, but it wasn’t. It was just darkness.

‘Where is Dong-hwa!’

Just as she was thinking that, a voice came from beyond the earphones.

“Hello, everyone.”

In the darkness, four men wearing black hoodies revealed themselves. Although their faces were illuminated by a slight light, she could clearly confirm Ji Dong-hwa’s 용안 [handsome face, literally ‘dragon face’].

It was like… a secret gathering.