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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: A Difficult Encounter
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“What kind of person is Danha, sunbaenim?”
The next morning.
We woke up early in the dawn and headed to the recording studio.
I was rubbing my sleepy eyes, trying to catch a quick nap, but an interesting question made everyone perk up.
Jo Hui-on had asked Seo Baek-yeong about Danha.
Since Seo Baek-yeong had been with the agency the longest, it seemed like Jo Hui-on assumed she would know him well.
“I don’t really know him either.”
“Huh?”
“He’s someone who doesn’t really interact with others…”
That was true.
His shyness was famous in the entertainment industry.
“He absolutely refuses private contact with anyone outside his members, only accepting greetings… I heard he basically never goes anywhere except his own studio and practice room.”
“…So you have to be like that to make it big.”
“Exactly. We should learn from him.”
These kids sure can draw conclusions, and admirable ones at that.
“Reporters followed him around right after his debut, trying to find something, but there was truly nothing.”
“It got so bad that there were even rumors of discord because he didn’t even hang out with his own members…”
Lee Gyeong-a added, seemingly having heard something similar.
“Wow.”
Yeon Ju-hong let out an exclamation of wonder.
“I don’t really want to emulate that. I want to be closest with my members!”
“Debut first.”
Kim Geum poured cold water on Yeon Ju-hong’s excited words.
As the furious Yeon Ju-hong huffed, Kim Geum subtly added,
“But well, it does seem like you’ll debut.”
“Really? Really?”
“I don’t know, kid. Just work hard!”
…They sure know how to have fun.
***
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
At the recording studio, two members of Burn Ash were waiting for us.
Danha and Han Jae-yi.
Han Jae-yi was Burn Ash’s Main Vocal and a member who participated heavily in lyric writing.
Their skills were solid.
He was, quite literally, a member who continued Colors’ lineage of ‘visual Main Vocals.’
…Colors’ luck with talent…
If my former agency CEO had even half of Colors’ luck with talent, I wouldn’t have had to suffer so much in my past life.
“Hello, everyone!”
Han Jae-yi seemed to have a brighter personality.
Danha… didn’t seem to have such a gentle personality.
Of course, he was polite since the cameras were on.
But he didn’t seem bright or actively welcoming towards us.
He was the embodiment of stoicism.
He was exactly as I remembered him from my past life.
“Hello!”
But our side was completely stiff too, so there wasn’t much to say.
“I heard you’ve all completed the part distribution. Before we officially start recording, I’ll explain the concept, and we’ll listen to your interpretations. If anyone has arrangement ideas, please speak up. If we think the idea is good, we’ll actively incorporate it.”
‘If we think it’s good.’
Just hearing that, I knew his standards would be strict and his judgment cold.
The mention of listening to our interpretations also made us quite nervous.
However, it was good to see that he was serious about his own song.
It was much better than someone who approached it half-heartedly.
The more sincere the person who created the song and the person who sings it, the better the result.
“First, we’ll start with the vocal positions.”
The trainees, excluding us, moved to another room.
Danha and Han Jae-yi sat opposite the four of us.
“You chose .”
Danha, having apparently been informed by the production team beforehand, immediately got to the point.
“Yes.”
“Who chose it?”
“I did.”
I cautiously raised my hand.
Surely, he wouldn’t be angry that we, the dance positions, chose it.
“…I was hoping the vocal positions would do it, so that’s a relief.”
Oh, he wasn’t.
That’s a relief.
“Show me the part distribution sheet.”
Lee Gyeong-a handed a part distribution sheet to Danha and Han Jae-yi.
The two of them examined the sheet very carefully, then exchanged glances.
“You’ve divided it very fairly. You also made sure each of you could sing the chorus part once in rotation. Why did you do it this way?”
Honestly, the question itself was perfectly reasonable.
It was also a question I had prepared for.
But…
He’s just too intimidating!
He was a different version of the tiger instructor, unlike Kim Geum.
Because of this, all the trainees were too intimidated to speak properly.
“We wanted to maximize and showcase the charm of all of us.”
In the end, I had to step forward.
“Hmm.”
Danha’s eyes were indifferent.
“You’re the one who chose this song. Your name?”
“Yun Cheong.”
“What’s your part?”
“My part is ‘Ra’.”
“I see. Why did you choose this song?”
A pressure… interview…?
I suddenly felt like a job applicant.
“I liked that this song had its own unique narrative. I believe that for someone who sings, it’s not just about having good technique, but also about being able to draw out the emotions dormant within the song.”
“…What did you interpret as the emotion of this song?”
That’s a difficult question.
“I didn’t think it was just one thing. First, the emotion I felt most strongly was—”
I glanced at the lyric sheet.
“—a person blossoming even amidst oppression.”
Surprisingly, the expression that changed was Han Jae-yi’s, not Danha’s.
“A person, not love?”
“Yes. Love was definitely there, but… ‘person’ resonated more with me.”
“Interesting.”
Han Jae-yi grinned.
“This is the only one of the five songs that I didn’t write the lyrics for.”
“!”
“Danha wrote and composed this entire song. From beginning to end.”
I didn’t know that.
“I interpreted it as love. But Danha interpreted it as not just love. In that sense—”
“There’s no right answer. It’s a song I made, but your interpretation is also correct.”
At that moment, Danha cut off Han Jae-yi’s explanation.
How anticlimactic.
I subtly glanced at the camera.
It was one of those opportunities to make a good impression.
And he just cut it off like that.
“As you might have guessed from the lyrics, this is the story of two people.”
Danha explained in a low, toneless voice.
“I’ll leave the nature of their relationship to your interpretation. Please express what you felt through the song.”
…He’s not telling us his own interpretation until the end.
“You said it was inspired by a classic novel, so which novel inspired this song?”
It was Ryu Bo-ra.
As expected of someone from an acting background, she’s good at in-depth analysis.
“That’s—”
“A secret.”
Han Jae-yi was about to speak, but Danha stopped him.
“Rather than you knowing it, I’d prefer you sing it without knowing. Or perhaps you’ll find out after you’ve finished singing it all.”
“Is there a reason?”
“I just think it’d be more fun that way.”
“….”
…He really didn’t seem like just any ordinary crazy person.
People say artists are a bit unhinged, but he was beyond that.
He had many fans but also a lot of anti-fans, and I could see why.
It’s one thing in private, but to be so unyielding in front of cameras, that’s tough.
“In that vein, I’d like to make a few part changes.”
Danha quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper.
“For this chorus, instead of one person singing at a time, I’d like two people to sing it together. Two people twice. However, even if it’s the same chorus, it’s better if you sing it with different feelings rather than the same. The first verse and second verse are also different developments.”
“What kind of feeling…?”
“That’s up to you.”
Ugh.
We could all feel a slight tension in the back of our necks.
His demands continued for a very long time after that.
He would listen to our voices and then change parts, or ambiguously describe the feeling of each part.
However, a significant portion of his criticisms made sense.
And many of his ideas were better than ours.
After much feedback back and forth, the actual recording began.
“We’ll do one rehearsal, and then we’ll go into recording.”
“Yes!”
“Part ‘Ga,’ starting with trainee Ryu Bo-ra.”
“Yes.”
Danha and Han Jae-yi were both members with producing experience.
“Don’t just sing your own part; let’s go through the whole song first.”
“Yes.”
Ryu Bo-ra put on her headphones, got into the rhythm, and began to sing.
“…Her face is as small as the headphones.”
Lee Gyeong-a murmured quietly beside me.
I actually had the same thought, so I had nothing to say.
It was a moment that somehow felt unfair.
“You hit a wrong note there. Again.”
Even for a scratch recording, it was incredibly strict.
The two of them made Ryu Bo-ra sing again even if she was off by just a tiny bit.
The problem was, from the very beginning.
“Do they… usually make you sing everything again from the start like that?”
“No, not usually.”
Jo Hui-on whispered to Lee Gyeong-a.
Right.
Not usually.
“Trainee Ryu Bo-ra.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t try to act. This isn’t a drama set.”
Gasp.
The two beside me let out startled sounds.
Ryu Bo-ra herself didn’t seem very affected.
Judging by how calm she was.
“Yes. I apologize. I’ll do it again.”
“It’s true that each part has a different emotional line. But don’t force yourself to pretend it’s different; I hope you truly understand that it’s different. We explain it in a difficult way, but Trainee Ryu Bo-ra is experienced.”
Han Jae-yi also looked a little apologetic.
“Yes, I’ll incorporate that.”
She really wouldn’t bleed even if someone stabbed her with a knife.
I somehow thought it was a little cool.
“Now that the scratch recording is done, let’s go from the first part.”
“Yes.”
The official recording is starting.
Jo Hui-on and Lee Gyeong-a looked relieved, as if saying, “Finally.”
However, I wasn’t relieved at all.
This is just the beginning. This is…
“Let’s go again.”
“Yes.”
“Again.”
“I apologize.”
“Let’s go again. There, don’t raise the end.”
“Yes.”
“Pay attention to your breathing.”
“Yes.”
As expected.
Infinitely repeating… feedback hell…
We were starting to worry about Ryu Bo-ra.
It wasn’t just about her mental state; we thought she must be physically exhausted.
“Trainee Ryu Bo-ra.”
“Yes.”
“To be honest. Your vocalization, pitch, pronunciation, they’re all good. Not bad.”
“Yes.”
“But it’s not good. You know why, right?”
Danha said with eyes devoid of emotion.
“Yes, I know.”
It truly felt like ice talking to ice.
“I’m more hurt just listening to this… Bora isn’t fazed, but I’m taking a hit…”
“Me too…”
I sighed at Lee Gyeong-a and Jo Hui-on’s words.
Recording truly wouldn’t be easy.
“Trainee Yun Cheong.”
At that moment, Han Jae-yi called my name.
“In my opinion, since Trainee Yun Cheong chose the song, how about you try it first, and then Trainee Ryu Bo-ra goes?”
“That’s fine with me.”
I preferred that too.
I had been wondering if I was making the others suffer by choosing something difficult.
“Trainee Ryu Bo-ra, please come out.”
“…Yes.”
Ryu Bo-ra came out of the recording studio.
And I entered the recording studio next.
At that moment, I saw it.
Ryu Bo-ra’s hand, which had seemed so unaffected,
“….”
was trembling.
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