Chapter 20 : I Messed Up. Why!

Chapter 20: I Messed Up. Why!

“Incredible. A pro really is different.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“What is?”

“I was worried you might not like it.”

“Oh come on, that’s not going to happen.”

Feeling good, I took off my headset.

The very last step in album production.

Mastering and mixing were complete.

They seemed similar, but they were slightly different.

Thanks to Hyung, I had memorized most of the album production process.

Once this stage was over, the work on the music was essentially done. Truly done.

“Both the mixing and mastering seem to have turned out well.”

“You can tell the difference?”

“Mm... they’re technically different domains.”

“Wow. You’ve mastered engineering too?”

“I do similar stuff at the club. Playing tracks raw sometimes makes them hard to hear.”

In a way, club DJing was a form of mixing and mastering too.

Adjusting frequency bands in real time to alter the sound was similar to EQ adjustments in mixing, and optimizing audio for the playback environment resembled mastering.

Even if the equipment and skill levels differed, weren’t they essentially the same?

Whatever. It’s all music in the end—debating over the details only gives you a headache.

“Wow, how’s my album…? Is it good?”

Why would she even ask?

Lyrics, composition, arrangement—all perfect. Vocals—perfect.

Thanks to ToMe Entertainment’s detailed post-production, the somewhat rough sound had been completely polished.

If I had sanded it down with coarse sandpaper... here, it felt like it had been finely finished with the softest touch.

Anyway, the conclusion was:

“It’s moving.”

It was great.

Even though there had been quite a few steps in making the album.

Thanks to everyone’s help, we’d made it through safely.

All the worries about looking like a newbie, being dismissed, or being scolded for not knowing things... felt pointless.

“Can I listen again?”

“As many times as you want.”

The song felt richer. Han Yujin’s tone was even clearer.

Her confident voice practically burst out of the headphones.

And what made me even happier was something else.

“But Han Yujin, you look really relaxed?”

“Saying I look relaxed means I gained weight, huh?”

“Ugh. No! Not at all!”

I flailed my arms in denial.

I meant it literally. If that was interpreted as saying she gained weight...

Scary.

I once asked my aunt if she gained weight and got a slap on the back.

My body flinched on its own. I could still feel the sting from that day.

Would Han Yujin hit me too?

“Why do you look so serious? I was just joking. You get really serious sometimes, don’t you, Taeyoon?”

“She’s so thin, and I asked if she gained weight… It was awkward. And since she’s a celebrity, I wondered if I hurt her feelings with something sensitive. And I got confused—does ‘relaxed’ mean ‘gained weight’ in this neighborhood?”

What was that. Why was I rambling?

Then Han Yujin chuckled.

I was serious, so why was she laughing...?

“I said it because I liked it. I really feel relaxed thanks to you, Taeyoon. Singing felt so freeing. Like, ‘You bastards, I’m this amazing! I’m this deadly!’ I got to express that officially.”

“Your self-awareness...”

“Is over the top, right? Yeah. But isn’t it better than having no confidence?”

Of course.

Compared to when I first met her, she felt like a different person.

Her expression, her tone.

Someone who used to be like a wilted chrysanthemum now felt fresh like a fully bloomed peony.

This must be the real Han Yujin.

“I meant it looks good. Truly.”

“I know. I just felt... touched. I didn’t know you could say things like that, Taeyoon.”

“Thank you... huh? Han Yujin, you’re really pretty, kind, great at singing, sweet…”

This kind of vibe was awkward.

We weren’t that close yet.

It felt like I had to keep complimenting her.

But compliment exchanges weren’t really my thing.

So I just said everything all at once.

Well, it wasn’t a lie, was it?

“Anyway, you’re a top-tier ultra-super amazing singer. I’ll be going now.”

As I gathered my stuff and stood up, Han Yujin suddenly grabbed my arm.

“Huh?”

“Geez. We haven’t even gotten to the main point. You have to see this first.”

There’s more?

I sat back down, awkwardly. Ready to stand right back up if it wasn’t a big deal.

There was no time to be chatting here.

I’d thought nothing was more important than album post-production.

But what Han Yujin handed me was a draft of the album jacket design.

“Whoaaaah.”

“Knew you’d love it.”

“Han Yujin, I need to add one more thing to what I said earlier. No—scratch all of it. You’re… amazing. Truly.”

It wasn’t finished yet—just a rough? Something like that.

It was crude, but even as-is, it looked good enough to release.

If you were to visualize the word “FATAL,” it would look just like this.

“It’s all thanks to the concept you suggested, Taeyoon.”

“All I did was write the song.”

“That’s the most important part. The company has high hopes. For the stage, the music video… You can look forward to it.”

Even while Han Yujin talked, I kept staring at the album.

You know what they say—see one, know ten.

Just from the rough design, I could tell.

How much effort had gone into it, how hard they tried to express the concept of “Fatal.”

ToMe Entertainment. When they say they’ll do something, they really do it, huh?

“I can feel it without even seeing.”

The contrast between vivid fuchsia pink and black drew the eye. It was intense.

Choosing fuchsia pink instead of red was a genius move.

On the glossy surface, my reflection showed faintly.

I slowly ran my finger along the album’s edge.

As I opened the album, Han Yujin’s photo appeared.

“Eek, don’t look too closely.”

“Why? It’s really captivating.”

“Ahem. If you say so, then good.”

Even for a top celebrity, it must be embarrassing to have someone stare at your concept photo.

So I skimmed past it.

Her intense gaze into the camera was no joke.

I wanted to look longer, but… whatever, I’ll hold back. I can see it again when the official album drops.

“…Wow, Super Ride.”

When I saw the words “SUPER RIDE” written at the top of the tracklist, it finally felt real.

This really was the song I made.

Melodies that once couldn’t be seen or touched had returned as a tangible image.

And what moved me most...

Composition: Seo Taeyoon

Lyrics: Seo Taeyoon

Arrangement: Seo Taeyoon

Was seeing my full name proudly listed in the album credits.

Goodness.

How many times is Seo Taeyoon’s name written here...?

I touched the part where my name was written with my fingertips.

“They said they’ll emboss it later.”

“That’s a bit much…”

“The credit is the most important part of the album, right? Oh, and. You need to check this!”

“Yes?”

“We’re still at the album design stage, so your name is written in for now. Do you have a stage name you want to use?”

I’d never thought about that.

But hearing Han Yujin say it made me want a cool stage name of my own.

Now that I think about it, famous composers often have unique stage names. Easy to remember once you hear them.

As I was thinking about what would be good, Han Yujin suddenly said:

“Blackhole!”

“Huh?”

“Why are you hesitating? You’ve already got a great stage name—Blackhole!”

“Ah?”

Well, that’s true.

“Written in Korean as 블.랙.홀. It looks really good, don’t you think? Look.”

Han Yujin rummaged through her bag.

She quickly pulled out paper and a pen.

Blackhole. BLACK HOLE. Black Hole.

She wrote it in various styles, thinking it over.

...She wrote “Blackhole” as “black hall” at first, but I corrected her silently in my head.

“It looks best in Korean.”

“How about this? Kara delik.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s Turkish for Blackhole.”

“Whoa, you know Turkish too, Han Yujin?”

“Nope. I just looked it up.”

Hmm...

I guess celebrities need to be a little shameless.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s a good tip, actually.”

“What is?”

“When you’re naming something—a title, a name, or even a killing part in a song—try translating it into different languages and pick the one that sounds best. It adds flair. Helps avoid duplicates too.”

“Oh?”

“Nice, right? Stage name: Kara Delik Cole?”

“No, I’d rather not have it related to Blackhole.”

I wanted my composer stage name to be completely different. I’d use DJ Blackhole only at Club Sierra.

I wanted to keep them separate.

The person who mixes someone else’s track.

The person who composes a track after watching someone.

Clearly two different roles.

What would be good...

I decided to think about it more and let them know later.

“By the way, you haven’t been in touch with PD Nam since then, right?”

“Why?”

I asked first why she was bringing that up.

Producer Nam Seonghyeon.

I owed him a lot, and there was much to learn from him.

When I said we should grab a meal, he readily agreed.

I thought something like pork belly would be fine.

But after hearing the final post-production today, pork didn’t seem enough anymore.

“I saw PD Nam again.”

“Why?”

“He got into a huge fight with the art team over the album.”

“Huh?”

“The art team wanted to go for a cute concept with a twist. But PD Nam convinced their team leader. He said, ‘We put in so much effort to nail the mood of the song—how can the art team ruin it? Do composer opinions mean nothing to you?’ He really said that.”

“Ah…”

That stubborn guy even fought on my behalf?

This is... something I should be touched by, right?

“PD Nam can be really surprising sometimes. When the art team was calling me a newbie, he told them to go find another composer who could write like this. Then he’d accept their plan… I was terrified.”

“Producer Nam Seonghyeon is amazing.”

“Right? I’d never seen that side of him before.”

I changed my mind.

Entertaining Producer Nam Seonghyeon.

Pork is upgraded to beef.

“Everyone here is just… really cool.”

“That’s all thanks to you, Writer Seo. Sorry for taking up so much of your time today. I’ll contact you again with updates. Shall we head down?”

I carefully packed the rough cover design into my planner.

I’d probably stare at it a hundred times when I got home.

“Seo Taeyoooooooon!”

Ah, geez.

What time is it?

I’d fallen asleep on the couch.

As I gathered the earbuds still in my ears, I spoke.

“What. Didn’t you go to work today?”

“It’s Saturday.”

“Didn’t you say your company works Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Mon-Mon?”

“Later in the afternoon. More importantly, you… sit up for a second.”

I was sleepy as hell—why was he acting like this first thing in the morning?

I looked up at Hyung with one eye half open.

He was holding a mop, so he must have been cleaning.

Well, I guess I’d be annoyed too if I were cleaning and my little brother was passed out on the couch.

“Okay, I’ll help too. Did you vacuum? What about the dust? Let me wash my face and brush my teeth first. Just a second.”

As I staggered toward the bathroom...

“No, no. Come here.”

Hyung suddenly yanked me by the scruff of my neck.

He’s not usually this rough—what’s with the strength? It’s superhuman.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“Stop talking and come here.”

I glanced at him, hearing the serious tone.

This...

Was exactly the expression he had when I read the love letter he wrote in high school to his girlfriend—in front of our parents.

...Yeah. That was terrifying.

“I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry for all of it. Please forgive your inadequate little brother with your boundless mercy… Huh? Wait, why are you snooping through my room?”

I shouted without realizing it.

Even for brothers, some lines shouldn’t be crossed, right?

Wandering into my room like it’s his own...

...Is what I wanted to say.

But then.

“Forget snooping, what is this?”

Hyung—Hyung...

“Isn’t this Han Yujin’s face?”

He was holding Han Yujin’s album jacket.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing? Then why does it say Seo Taeyoon on the back?”

...This is the problem with my Hyung.

He has unnecessarily sharp observation skills.

“Not going to explain?”

As he pressed me, I wondered what to say.

Then I decided to own it.

So I just said it outright.

“Your little brother messed up. Why!”