Yoon Suyeon was in a good mood for the first time in a while. She was finally working with her brother again. She had wanted to work together all this time, but Yoon Hajun had been way too busy. On top of that, Suyeon herself had to study for exams. So for an entire month, they couldn't properly work on anything.
Of course, they weren't going to start recording right away, but just coming to Haul Studio together made her happy. Happy enough to hum.
"They commented again."
"Hm?"
"That person named SomSom."
Suyeon said as she turned the laptop screen slightly toward her brother. On the screen were comments left by SomSom.
This song is seriously so good.Your voice, omgㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ ahㅠㅠ so emotional…You… you are truly… the star… of my heart…When are you debuting… debut right now…
Hajun let out a small laugh at SomSom's comments. They had only uploaded two songs so far, but SomSom had become a diehard fan of "Drop pop." They came every day to leave comments and beg for the next song.
Some might call it cringe, but to Hajun, it was just… thankful. After all, they genuinely liked their music.
"I want to hurry and work on the next song."
"We'll start right after the school trip."
"Really?"
Hajun nodded. Suyeon's face lit up. Working with her brother was pure joy to her.
"And during vacation, we're making up for all the practice we missed."
"I'm ready."
Seeing Suyeon's confident expression, Hajun nodded again. They had delayed practice because of the Freshman Concert, the major exam, and everything else, so during break he planned to go all out.
"So what's the next song we're doing?"
"You choose."
"From that song folder?"
Hajun nodded.
Originally, he had planned to work on "Return to Sender" next. But after receiving the offer for an official music release, his plans changed. Since they were offered a digital release, additional work was necessary.
'If it's going to be my first official release, two minutes is too short.'
While he was thinking that, Suyeon skillfully browsed through the songs. One by one, Hajun's compositions played through the laptop speakers. Listening, Suyeon smiled.
This folder was like a clothing boutique filled only with outfits perfectly in her style. Everything sounded good. She wanted this one—no, that one. She wanted them all.
While happily agonizing over the choices, she discovered a song she'd never seen before.
"Blame."
A new track?
Suyeon clicked it. At the same time, "Blame" began playing from the speakers.
The chilling sound of the waterphone and violin. Then the sound of rain. And when that ended—Han Goyo's voice flowed out.
Suyeon's body froze.
Then she slowly turned to look at her brother.
Hajun was lightly tapping the guitar, lost in thought.
Did he write this one too? But she'd never heard a song like this. More importantly—who was singing?
Even as someone who had only recently started music, Suyeon could tell Goyo's singing was incredible. Just listening gave her goosebumps.
Suyeon bit her lower lip.
"…Oppa."
"Hm?"
"Who sang this?"
"Oh, that? A student from my school. We worked on it together for the Freshman Concert."
The Freshman Concert…
Right—he had told her before, that he would work with another vocalist.
Suyeon bit her lip harder. To think he worked with someone this good…
She imagined it. If she sang this song… could she do it like this?
The answer came immediately. No. Not even close with her current level.
Suyeon stopped the song and said to Hajun, "I'm going to practice singing."
The excitement she'd felt moments ago vanished like a lie.
"Suddenly?"
"Yeah. Suddenly."
"You're not going to pick a song?"
"Ah."
Right—she was supposed to choose a song.
Suyeon went back to the folder. She deliberately ignored "Blame," listened to other songs, and picked one.
"I'll sing this one."
"Alright."
Hajun nodded. Then he handed her a notebook.
"You know I'm going on the school trip, right?"
"Yeah."
"This is homework. Write your own lyrics and sing it. There's a recorder in here."
She nodded.
But the sound of "Blame" kept echoing in her head. She shook her head hard to forget it.
A boutique full of clothes just for her—and an uninvited guest barged in.
She didn't like that.
§ §
Once finals ended, the atmosphere at school became lively. Everyone was excited for the upcoming school trip.
Of course, the brutal truth of report cards awaited them—but report cards only came out right before vacation, so who cared now?
Students chatted excitedly, wondering where they would go.
Tsk tsk, I clicked my tongue inwardly. The destination they were so excited about… was just Jeju Island.
And sure enough, when the homeroom teacher came in and said the word "Jeju-do," the class erupted in boos.
"Fine arts are going to Japan!"
"The acting department is going to Neverland!"
"Business track is going to Busan—so we're better off?"
"Dude, Korean traditional music is going to Jirisan."
"At least it's not Gyeongju."
But booing wasn't going to change anything.
And honestly, Jeju was pretty decent.
The quick realists started discussing plans. Seolwon's school trip was basically free-roaming. You could explore alone or with friends. You just had to keep in contact with the teachers regularly.
"We're going together, right?"
Taeyoung asked me like it was obvious.
Tsk.
"You don't have any friends?"
"Nope."
…He answered without hesitation.
I made an awkward face.
Well… high schoolers should hang out with friends and stuff…
I glanced around. Everyone else was excitedly chatting in groups about the trip. Only me and Taeyoung felt… isolated.
Actually, not just felt. We were isolated.
…Now that I think about it, the only people I talk to are Taeyoung and Han Goyo. What the hell happened? I planned to socialize with future stars and build connections…
"Like you have friends."
Taeyoung grumbled.
I ignored him. No way I'm a loner. No way.
I clung to that thought desperately when the class president, Moon Seonggwang, approached us.
"You guys are joining the class battle, right?"
"Yeah. I'm going with him."
"Good. You two being in it is reassuring. The reward this time is pretty big."
"What's the reward?" I asked. I knew there was a prize, but couldn't remember what.
Moon Seonggwang smiled. "Festival stage time."
"Festival stage?"
"Yeah. The winning class gets to perform on the festival stage one more time. Oh, and the student with the highest individual score gets a separate chance to perform at the festival."
…What the hell, that's a huge prize.
The Seolwon festival isn't just a festival. For students, it's practically a major audition event. They were offering that opportunity.
Festival… right.
If I remember correctly, composition majors were allowed to bring in external vocalists for the festival…
I thought for a moment. Then I looked at Taeyoung.
"Hey. Let's meet in the practice room today and plan the class battle."
At first, I was going to take it lightly. But my mind had changed.
Taeyoung's face lit up. "You're finally motivated?!"
"Yeah."
Homeroom ended, and we headed to the practice room. Since major exams were over, it was completely empty. We didn't even need Goyo's help to reserve it.
"So what song are you giving me?"
The moment we entered, Taeyoung whispered like it was top secret.
I stared at him, incredulous. "Why would I give you a song?"
"Huh? You're not? But you said meeting?"
He looked betrayed.
This idiot…
"The trip is in a week. How the hell would I have time to write a new song, you moron?"
What am I, a song-producing machine? I'm a human, damn it.
"Wait—you're not trying to do a stage like Goyo's?"
"How would we even do that there?"
The Freshman Concert had staff support. Lighting, staging—if you told them in advance, staff would sync everything perfectly. But during the school trip? Impossible.
"They'll probably use the dorm hall. You think we can set all that up there?"
"…True."
"See? You know."
"Ugh, whatever! I still want a stage! Give me a song! Song!!"
Taeyoung threw a tantrum. It was so pathetic I just ignored him.
After being ignored long enough, he sighed.
"…Then what song are you using?"
"Do you know how to win the class battle?"
"If you sing well?"
"Sure, but the problem is what you sing."
"Huh?"
He looked confused.
I sighed. "They give scores to the students who perform, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then who gives the scores?"
"The students?"
"Then bias can happen. Same with teachers."
"So?"
"Recruit judges on-site."
It was basically a school trip tradition. They would recruit random people from the location to serve as judges. So the judges changed every time. Sometimes women in their thirties. Sometimes older folks in their fifties. Sometimes other teenagers like them.
"The point is—you need to pick a song that appeals to whoever the judges are."
"Oh! …But we don't know who the judges will be."
"Well, since it's late-night festival time, they'll probably invite people working at the lodging. And since it's peak part-time season for college students, there's a high chance the judges will be men in their early to mid twenties."
"Wow, you're smart."
Taeyoung looked impressed.
He survived this long because he's dense.
What I just said sounded logical, but it was mostly nonsense. If you think about it, it's guessy at best. But the part about the judges being men in their early twenties? That part was true. Because I saw it in my previous life.
"But if they're guys in their twenties, isn't that bad for us?"
"Nope."
You might think so, but absolutely not.
I know exactly what guys in their twenties like. And I know someone who can execute it perfectly.
I looked at Taeyoung and said, "Do you know the song 'flyaway'?"
"No, never heard of it."
"Then what about the band 'Fun Real'?"
"Aren't they that really old band?"
"Yeah."
A rock band active ten years ago, called a national band up until six years ago. They disbanded when the vocalist enlisted, but before that, they left a huge mark on pop music.
Their second album? Every single track was in the Top 100 karaoke charts among guys in their twenties. They were so popular that when the vocalist performed at a military concert, the soldiers sang along in unison.
And "flyaway" is the title track of that second album—a fast, exhilarating rock ballad. Perfect for Taeyoung.
"So basically—you want us to perform 'flyaway'?"
"Yeah."
"As is?"
"No, I'll arrange it."
"You're arranging it?"
I shook my head. "Doing it alone in a week would be impossible."
"Then is there someone who'll help?"
"Yeah."
A late-twenties senior from Seolwon. An absolute monster on guitar. And someone who loves being relied on.
I smirked.
Perfect.
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