Chapter 187
The day after the StarUs live to celebrate Song Hyung-bin's birthday.
"What, what is all this?"
"The fans sent it to you."
"Wow...."
Thanks to Seleves, we were able to enjoy the afterglow of a birthday party once again.
A lot of gifts came to the Sigma Entertainment building.
Song Hyung-bin looked speechless at the sight of the mountain of presents, ranging from fairly large gifts to cute letters.
"It's amazing. People from all over the world sent it here."
"I didn't know they would send this much...."
Song Hyung-bin was looking at the gifts piled up in the basement storage of the company building and thinking about where to start attacking this mountain.
However, he decided that he could never do it on his own, so he asked us for help.
"Hey guys, can you help me?"
"Okay! I was really curious to see what came out!"
Most of the things that came in the large box were clothes.
From hoodies to seriously expensive-looking coats.
I was inwardly very surprised at the sight I was seeing for the first time.
'They don't hesitate to send such expensive gifts....'
Even if it is the birthday of an idol you support, it is not easy to spend a lot of money to send a gift.
Moreover, you may not be sure whether you will hear that we are making good use of the gift you sent.
I was once again amazed and grateful for the passion and love of the fans.
"First, I'll have to take as many things as I can with me to our dorm. Hyung, can you send clothes or some larger gifts to my house?"
"Okay, I understand. I'll call your parents in advance. They'll be surprised if a surprise gift bomb is delivered to their doorstep."
Things to take to our dorm include a book of birthday wishes written by Seleves from around the world, letters with photos of Song Hyung-bin, and electronic devices that you can see here and there.
"They are even sending a new cell phone?"
"Isn't that the new thing that just came out?"
Heo Yu-bin and Yoo Min-ha were shaken by the appearance of expensive items, but Manager Hyung, who saw the cell phone, moved quickly.
"I'm sorry, Hyungbin. The company has to collect these electronic devices first."
"Ah."
Song Hyung-bin seemed to realize something as soon as he heard our manager's words.
He nodded obediently and handed over the electronic devices.
"Isn't that because something might have been touched in advance?"
"I appreciate the gift, but I guess there are a lot of people using unique methods these days...."
Cellphone. Ingenious way. Gift for idol.
I combined these three items to come up with what Manager Hyung was hinting at.
'A similar incident was reported on the news when I was an idol trainee named Han Ji-hyeok.'
News that a doll with a wiretapping device was discovered at a fan signing event for a female idol.
At the time, there were countless articles about malicious fans who invaded the privacy of idols as if it were a given and caused problems.
Perhaps the agencies always keep these incidents in mind and beat the stone bridge twice.
[The literal meaning, "Even a stone bridge should be tested by banging on it before crossing" is used to warn someone to be careful and to not take things for granted. Commonly used to remind people that you can never be too careful, always double check things, especially when something important is coming up. English equivalents would be, "Better safe than sorry," or "Look before you leap."]
It's a bit of a shame that expensive electronic devices have been seized.
However, Song Hyung-bin shook off such regrets after seeing the special gift prepared by his fans.
"Look here, kids. A message book!"
"Wow.... Did they write all of these by hand?"
"They scanned each one and grouped them together."
"What a gift full of sincerity!"
A gift of handwritten birthday messages scanned and bound into a book.
It seemed that gifts filled with sincerity and affection warmed Song Hyung-bin's heart more than gifts bought with money.
"It's hard to just stand here and look, so let's take it back to the dorms and look at it."
"Then I'll carry this box, Min-ha and Yu-bin, can you carry the boxes over there?"
"Karis and I will take the clothes."
We returned to our dorm carrying gifts of a size that we could carry together.
We left all the boxes in the living room until the owner, Song Hyung-bin, came.
"Hey, doesn't it feel like it's Christmas already?"
Kang Si-yoon tapped my shoulder and laughed heartily.
"Hmm. Certainly, just having a Christmas tree would create that atmosphere even stronger."
"Why do you agree with what I say?"
"I always agree with what makes sense."
"It definitely wasn't like that during the school trip."
"Siyoon."
"Huh?"
I stared at Kang Si-yoon with eyes that seemed to say, "Isn't that obvious?"
"During the school trip, you sold your soul to the entertainment god. Do you really think that the things you said in that state were things I could agree with?"
"If you answer so seriously, I'll have nothing to say."
"The operation was a success."
"Hey!"
* * *
In addition to the StarUs Live and filming of our own content, we were starting to actively prepare for a full-scale comeback.
At a previous meeting, we heard the overall concept of the title song.
A strategy to simultaneously achieve popularity and image transformation by expressing individuality through clothing such as techwear and melodies with a strong atmosphere different from before.
And there was one thing that the planning department emphasized here.
It was a direct message conveyed through lyrics.
The mood of the song and the costumes are enough to express the concept we have, but the lyrics can convey the message even more clearly.
Based on the content of the lyrics, you can explain directly what kind of song it is.
It can help members figure out how to express their emotions in their parts.
That is why all the staff, including us, are working very carefully.
One important matter was addressed last night in the recording studio.
"... So, at this point, when the song is in full swing, I wanted to ask for your opinions. I'm a person who believes that a good song needs to be discussed with the artist at least three times. If there's anything you'd like to add after listening to the song and lyrics, or if you have any ideas to share with us, please let us know at our next meeting."
Park Seung-joo, a face we've seen since
Even though it was our first time meeting, lyricist Yoo Se-na was very friendly and explained various things to us.
She said that what she considers most important is communication with artists and asked us to tell her immediately if we have any ideas.
Although the composer and lyricist create the songs, it is the artist who sings the songs.
They say that a song of high quality cannot be made without the artist's input.
'Here's something to add....'
I looked at the lyrics sheet carefully.
Even during the survival show, we would discuss things with our team members and add additional stage sets or choreography points.
So, if something brilliant comes to mind, I thought it would definitely be a good idea to include it in our comeback song.
No matter how I looked at it, I felt that the current divided parts and song composition were perfect.
'Am I lacking creativity?'
I looked at the other members to see if I was the only one who didn't have any thoughts, but most of them didn't show any noticeable change in expression.
If something unique comes to mind, it will definitely show on your face.
But that night, after returning from the meeting.
"Guys, Min-ha said there's something he wants to discuss with us?"
"Min-ha?"
"Suddenly? What's going on?"
Song Hyung-bin came to the room that I, Kang Si-yoon, and Heo Yu-bin shared and told us this news.
"I don't know. He just suddenly asked me if I could tell the others to gather everyone in the living room."
"What is it?"
"I don't get it either."
Song Hyung-bin, Kang Si-yoon, and Heo Yu-bin all seemed to have no idea what was going on.
As I headed to the living room, I suddenly remembered what happened at the meeting today.
At this late hour, you're calling all the members together without anything special going on?
If it's something that can be handled alone, but you insist on having everyone gather together...
'Have you come up with an idea to use in our song writing?'
When we gathered in the living room and listened to Yoo Min-ha's words, my prediction was right on the mark.
"The lyricist said something today; if we have any ideas related to songwriting, please let her know."
"Yeah."
"Did something come to mind?"
"Yes!"
Yoo Minha nodded vigorously to Chae Eun-gyu's question.
Then he cleared his throat and began to explain.
"Actually, I've always wanted to try writing lyrics. I've been dabbling in rap making on my own since the survival show, but I haven't had a chance to do anything properly since debuting as Seleste. But after hearing what the lyricist said today, I got the feeling right away!"
"Do you want to try making rap this time?"
"Yes! Since the rap verses are both in the first and second verses, I think I can do it freely!"
"I see."
Song Hyung-bin nodded as if he understood, then asked a key question.
"But if that's the case, why don't you just discuss it with the lyricist? I wonder if it's really necessary to call us all in and talk about it now."
"Hey, now let's get to the main point!"
Yoo Minha swallowed hard and coughed again.
"I thought, what if we added some rap to the bridge part? I thought it would be better if two people rapped in a tiki-taka style here."
"Just a minute. Let me go."
Chae Eun-gyu quickly went into his room and came out holding a sheet of lyrics.
All the members looked at the sheet music together and checked the bridge part.
"If it's Bridge, Siyoon and I will simply sing the melody line."
"Yes. So I wanted to ask you guys if it's okay if I change this part to a tiki-taka format."
"Hmm...."
"I feel like if I just say it like this, you won't get the feeling, so I'll show you what I wrote down in advance!"
When Yoo Min-ha lifted his notebook with a confident look in his eyes, everyone was surprised.
In particular, Heo Yu-bin, who has experience composing his own songs, was even more surprised.
"You already changed the bridge part? In just a few hours?"
"I tend to write down an idea right away, hehe. I quickly did it when I got back to my room."
"Amazing."
"It's definitely great."
Song Hyung-bin picked up his cell phone in admiration.
He briefly scrolled down the screen and found the music source, then spoke to Yoo Min-ha.
"Can I just turn it over to the bridge?"
"Yes!"
"Well then, let's hear it."
We fixed our eyes on Yoo Minha, who was opening his mouth.
The chorus of the second verse is over, and the bridge section follows.
Yoo Minha looked at the notebook he had written his lyrics in without hesitation and inserted a rap.
The sound source that Song Hyung-bin played had a melody that was not suitable for rap.
There was no beat that the bridge or rap verse used as the original melody line could fit onto, only a quiet reverse cymbal.
'This....'
I instinctively felt all the members' eyes widen.
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