Cherry Blossom's New Song (5)
"Mr. Lee, why don't we call it a day for now?"
Lee Dong-Min whined like a child with an excited expression. "Huh? But we've just started. Why stop now?"
"Hyung, let's do a bit more and then go."
Those in the entertainment industry always seemed to be obsessed with their jobs. It was already 11 PM and I had lost count of how many songs we had modified in just an hour.
"Look at yourselves in the mirror. You two don't even look human anymore."
Both of them had eye bags hanging down to their cheeks and bloodshot eyes.
Lee Dong-Min looked at himself in the mirror in the recording studio and laughed incredulously. "Who are you?"
Bang Seon-Woo only then realized his eyes were also bloodshot. "Yikes. Well, shall we stop here?"
"Yes, let's call it a day."
Lee Dong-Min and Bang Seon-Woo looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction.
"I'll drop Seon-Woo off on my way."
"Oh, really? Are you sure?"
"Of course. You drove everywhere today, Mr. Lee. You need to get some rest. And I also have something to talk to Seon-Woo about on the way."
"Alright, then. I appreciate it."
That was when we heard a lively voice from outside the recording studio.
"Mr. Lee~"
It was Sae-Ri.
"Oh? Yoon-Ho oppa is here too? Hi, oppa!"
A high-spirited Sae-Ri approached me for a high-five. "Hi~!"
Smack!
As our palms met, Sae-Ri made a strange sound.
"Sticky~~Rice!"
I didn't quite understand what she meant but responded in my own way.
"Buckwheat~~Jelly!"
"Huh? What's that~?"
Sae-Ri giggled and added another word—'Jjondeugi'[1].
'What's that now?'
I was confused but had no intention of delving deep into an unknown world.
'I'll just go along with it, I guess. It must be something like Marco Polo.'
"Jjondeugi~!"
Sae-Ri giggled at my response, seemingly content with my response.
Then, Han Myung-Ho brought in the rest of the Cherry Blossom members, herding them like sheep.
"Mr. Lee! I heard you found us a composer."
"I sure did. Here. This is Mr. Bang Seon-Woo. He'll be working with us starting today."
Han Myung-Ho extended a warm hand with a bright expression. "Hello, Mr. Bang! Please take good care of our Cherry Blossom girls!"
Bang Seon-Woo extended his hand like a statue, frozen stiff. "Oh, um, I, I'll do my best."
Bang Seon-Woo seemed like he didn't know how to react upon facing the celebrities up close for the first time in his life. He looked as if he had seen an alien.
'Ah, and he's not the only one.'
Yoo Eun-Ah had stepped into the recording studio but immediately backstepped and ran out when she saw Bang Seon-Woo.
Eun-Bi ran after Eun-Ah and dragged her back in. "Eun-Ah, what are you doing there? Come and greet our new composer!"
"Uh...o-okay."
Cherry Blossom struck a polite pose and gave their idol greeting to Bang Seon-Woo.
"Hello! We are Cherry Blossom hoping to bloom this spring~!"
Although they said it with a lively expression, that slogan really needed to be changed. When Cherry Blossom bowed in a 90-degree idol bow, Bang Seon-Woo bowed back just as deeply.
"Do you guys want to hear a nearly finished song?" Lee Dong-Min asked.
Sae-Ri was the most excited to hear Lee Dong-Min's suggestion. "Did we already get a song?"
"We did. Now, everyone. Take a seat on the sofa. The song turned out great."
The excited Cherry Blossom members gathered on the recording studio's sofa. Lee Dong-Min confidently pressed the play button. The moment the first note of the song flowed through the surround speakers of the recording studio, the Cherry Blossom members' faces lit up brightly.
"Wow! The intro is amazing!"
The song sounded even better the second time I heard it. The catchy hook seemed like it would stay in my mind for a long time.
When Sae-Ri started to tap her knees to the beat, Eun-Bi began to bob her shoulder. Yeon-Hee was grooving to the music and Eun-Ah was tapping her fingers in rhythm.
After 3 minutes and 50 seconds had passed, Lee Dong-Min turned his chair around joyfully. "How is it? Good, isn't it?"
Sae-Ri jumped up and gave two thumbs up. "It's so, so, so amazing! And I think I should be able to follow the choreography easily with this beat!"
Choreography usually followed the basic tempo of a song, which was why many idol songs were medium-tempo. Sae-Ri, who was not very good at dancing, was the happiest.
But Yeon-Hee asked skeptically, "Is this really our song? What if we end up losing it to Golden Road sunbaes or something?"
"No, that won't happen. Mr. Bang is exclusively a composer for us Singer Division 2."
Eun-Bi exclaimed in disbelief at Lee Dong-Min's answer, "Mr. Lee! Show us the contract!"
"What contract?"
"The contract that states that Mr. Bang is exclusively with the Singer Division 2!"
"Hey! I can't show you that!"
"Oh, right. There's a confidentiality issue... I forgot."
Even the usually composed Eun-Bi seemed a bit off.
Bang Seon-Woo seemed embarrassed and looked like he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole, awkwardly looking in the exact opposite direction of Eun-Ah.
Anyway, there was no opposition to the song from Cherry Blossom members.
"And Mr. Bang was scouted by Yoon-Ho. You guys should be really nice to Yoon-Ho."
Suddenly, all eyes in the recording studio turned to me. I looked away as I felt awkward.
Yeon-Hee was the first to speak up. "Yoon-Ho oppa is always like a fairy godfather."
"Yes! He totally is!"
When Sae-Ri agreed, the others also nodded vigorously.
"Oppa. If we succeed this time, it will be all thanks to you."
"Honestly, I agree. If we can't succeed with a great song like this, who can we blame? Let's practice hard, Sae-Ri."
"Yes, I got this, Eun-Bi unnie."
The first song was chosen easily with no disagreement.
But then, Lee Dong-Min, who had been smiling contentedly, suddenly laughed. "Yoon-Ho."
"Yes, sir?"
"Do you know any lyricists or choreographers by chance?"
There was anticipation in Lee Dong-Min's eyes. He seemed to really think I could do anything.
"Of course I do!"
Everyone's faces lit up once again.
***
It took a while for me to leave with Bang Seon-Woo because of the excited Cherry Blossom members who kept insisting that I sign an exclusive contract with Singer Division 2.
Woo Yeon-Hee blocked my way, Sae-Ri clung to my back like a cicada, while Eun-Ah and Eun-Bi grabbed my arms as they refused to let me leave without signing an exclusive contract.
Thanks to Han Myung-Ho's intervention, I was finally able to leave the recording studio. After coming down to the company's underground parking lot, I called Yoo-Jin. Hearing that Miso fell asleep after waiting for me for a long time made me feel guilty.
-Oppa. You're coming early tomorrow morning to pick me up, right?
"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow. Take a good rest. Maybe order some fried chicken for a late-night snack."
-Okay, I will. See you tomorrow.
But something was odd. Despite suggesting she order fried chicken, Yoo-Jin's voice sounded subdued. Normally, she would be ecstatic and almost shouting with joy.
'She must be upset because I disappointed Miso.'
I thought I should visit early tomorrow and put my phone back in my pocket.
"Seon-Woo, get in."
"Thank you."