Devil’s Music

Chapter 399: The Song of the Wind (4)

Perhaps it was because of the conversation with Kevin and Clara last night, but Yoonjung and Jinyeon, fraught with an inexplicable tension and unease, arrived a bit earlier than the scheduled time at 10 AM. They cautiously pressed the button for the K floor.

Soon, the sound of the arriving elevator was heard, and a stylish corridor decorated with pictures of Geon unfolded before them.

As they nervously opened the automatic door, Geon, always with a warm expression and kind voice, greeted them with a bright face.

"Oh, Yoonjung, Jinyeon, you’re here?"

Normally, they would have rushed to him and clung to his arms, acting cutesy, but somehow today they felt compelled to be mindful of Geon's mood.

Geon, who seemed to be engrossed in his music work, handed them a sheet of music with lyrics without taking his eyes off the monitor.

"Here, this is 'Song of the Wind.' I want you to sing through it from beginning to end so we can find the parts that suit you best. You’ll have 20 minutes to practice."

Jinyeon, holding the sheet music with both hands, murmured in a trembling voice.

"It’s really… we’re actually going to sing a song by Brother Kay."

"I’d be grateful just to be used as a dancer, but to think he’d actually let us sing, too."

Yoonjung sat down on the sofa a bit later than Jinyeon, with a determined expression, and said,

"Let’s do our best. What does it matter if we get scolded? And knowing Brother’s personality, how harsh could his scolding possibly be? Let’s just do our best, Jinyeon."

"Okay! Let’s practice."

As the two began to practice, Geon’s ears perked up.

The difference between Yoonjung’s voice and Jinyeon’s was quite clear. Yoonjung's group, Black Girls, had been a girl group that pursued a boyish hip-hop style, while Jinyeon's B to C had been making music like the fresh first love of young girls.

Yoonjung had a slightly husky and attractive low tone, while Jinyeon boasted a clear and appealing high tone. Watching the monitor, Geon stroked his chin.

"Yoonjung’s voice would work better with the background music turned down, whereas Jinyeon should focus on harmonizing during high notes."

Unaware of the evaluation already taking place, the two girls continued singing passionately while looking at the music sheet. After giving them some time, Geon stood up and approached the sofa.

As soon as Geon stood up, the two girls stopped singing and looked at him with a slightly tense expression.

"Don’t be too nervous, Yoonjung, you come to the recording booth first."

Yoonjung glanced at Jinyeon, swallowed dryly, and stood up, followed by Jinyeon who also got up and lingered near the recording booth.

Inside the booth, Yoonjung put on the headphones, stood in front of the microphone stand, and placed the sheet music on the stand, closing her eyes. Geon’s voice echoed from the amplifier connected inside.

"Let’s start with Verse 1. It starts off quiet and then moves into a fast rhythm after eight bars, you know the score, right?"

Despite being a girl group, both had been properly trained to read music sheets and pinpoint the key points.

With her eyes fiercely set and a resolute expression, Yoonjung made eye contact with Geon through the booth’s window, and he started the music.

The quiet and slow introduction began, and Yoonjung, closing her eyes tightly, clasped her hands to her chest and started singing.

Someone once said,

To think if you love someone,

If you stop on your way, then you don’t love that person anymore.

Yoonjung’s voice, reciting Kiska's lyrics in a low and mid-tone, was so appealing that Jinyeon looked at her with a dreamy expression.

It was a kind of admiration born from not possessing such a voice herself, but her thoughts were soon interrupted as Geon stopped the music.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Yoonjung, your pronunciation is getting slurred at the first 'someday.' It seems unfamiliar because it’s in English, so practice it a few times alone before we record again."

Yoonjung nodded and continued practicing the same pronunciation, squinting her eyes and giving her best effort. Watching her, Geon smiled and said to Jinyeon,

"Jinyeon, you need to check the same part, so make sure you learn the feedback I’m giving now."

"Yes, brother."

"Good, Yoonjung.

Let’s try again."

*

Just past lunchtime.

Snap had been looking forward to lunchtime since morning, knowing that spicy pork would be served in the company cafeteria. He, along with Neminem and Dr. Dre, who had come to Fantagio after a long time, headed to the cafeteria for a late lunch.

"Come on, hurry up. Hey, Dr., you don’t know what spicy pork is, right? It’s killer, I’m drooling here."

Dr. Dre, who had never tried spicy pork before, laughed and shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked.

"Yeah, I get it. I haven’t tried it, but let’s see."

Neminem, with his hood pulled back, nodded in agreement.

"I tried it because this guy kept saying how delicious it was. It’s a bit spicy, but I liked it. You will too."

"Is it that good? Then why aren’t there any stores selling it in the US?"

Excited by Dr. Dre’s question, Snap exclaimed,

"That’s what I’m saying! Neminem, you wanna start a franchise with me? A spicy pork restaurant."

"Nah, I’m not interested in business, you do it."

"Ah, come on, this should be spread around... Oh, there’s Yoonjung."

As Snap spoke, Neminem peered over and saw Yoonjung and Jinyeon barely managing to put a few grains of rice on their chopsticks and into their mouths.

Dr. Dre, seeing them for the first time but having seen their pictures in numerous articles, decided to initiate a conversation.

"Hey, are you Yoonjung, Jinyeon? Nice to meet you, you know who I am, right?"

Caught off guard by Dr. Dre’s sudden approach, Jinyeon stared at him for a while.

It took a few seconds for strength to return to her lifeless eyes, and as her eyes widened, she suddenly stood up and bowed ninety degrees.

"Ah! Ah, ah, hello!"

Yoonjung, too caught up to notice Dr.'s words initially, was startled by Jinyeon’s loud greeting and looked up to see Dr. Dre and quickly stood up to join in the greeting.

"Hello! Hello! I’m Yoonjung!"

Surprised by the unfamiliar Eastern-style greeting, Dr. Dre patted their shoulders and said,

"Nice to meet you. I know that Kay is producing the song you're recording, but I'll be handling the mastering and mixing, so I look forward to working with you."

"Yes, yes! Thank you, it’s an honor!"

Snap, who had already received his tray of food, sat opposite Yoonjung and Jinyeon and said,

"Hey, Dr., go and get your food."

"Yeah, I got it. I’ll go get it."

As Neminem and Dr. Dre went to get their food, Snap, unaccustomed to using chopsticks, grabbed a spoon and began shoveling the spicy pork onto his rice and eating voraciously.

The sight of a large African American man eating spicy pork was unusual for Yoonjung and Jinyeon, who glanced at him intermittently. Snap, with rice stuck around his mouth, licked his lips and said,

"Why do you guys look so drained?"

Although they had undergone a month and a half of English training, the intense schedule of over ten hours a day, along with the tremendous amount of homework, had kept them studying even in their accommodations.

However, both held their tongues in front of Snap, fearing that their complaints about the recording difficulties might reach Geon’s ears.

Seeing the two girls sitting silently, Snap, who had just sat down with his food, glanced at Neminem and Dr. Dre, who had returned to their seats. Dr. Dre, curious, tried a piece of the spicy pork and his face lit up.

"Excellent!! Wow!! I didn’t know about this! Hey, Snap, call me when they have spicy pork. I’ll come here to eat."

"See? I told you it was killer."

"It really is delicious, haha."

Dr. Dre, who had been silently shoveling food, glanced at Neminem, who was picking at his food, and asked,

"What, you don’t like it?"

Neminem, removing his hood, put down his chopsticks and sighed.

"Yeah, I just don’t have an appetite."

Dr. Dre, seeing his face for the first time without the hood, exclaimed in surprise,

"What’s with that look on your face? Check out the dark circles. Are you sick?"

Snap chuckled and said,

"No, he’s like this because of the recording session with Kay yesterday."

Snap’s words made Yoonjung and Jinyeon perk up. Dr. Dre, finding their reaction strange, asked,

"Why, what’s wrong with recording with Kay?"

Snap pointed teasingly at Nemin

em.

"He spent ten hours recording with Kay and still couldn’t finish. Haha, this guy, it’s the first time in his life he’s been nagged about music so much, haha."

Neminem glared at Snap and said,

"Are you done?"

"Haha, I’m done!! Hahaha."

Neminem pointed and shouted,

"I saw you crying alone in your room for three days! A guy crying over being nagged during recording! You should be embarrassed, mocking others!"

Yoonjung and Jinyeon, who had turned their heads at the sound, saw Snap’s face turn red as he yelled,

"Who cried! You jerk!!! Ah, I didn’t cry!"

"Liar! And I only recorded for one day, you’ve been at it for three!"

"That’s because I wasn’t satisfied and wanted to redo it!"

"Don’t make me laugh, I heard everything Kay said! You were guided through every single word!"

"You little brat, in front of the kids!! Be quiet!!"

As the two shouted, the cafeteria workers focused their attention on them. Dr. Dre clapped his hands to calm the situation.

"Alright, calm down. So, Kay is being meticulous with the producing, even with a veteran like you, Snap?"

Snap, stirring his rice mixed with spicy pork, replied,

"Yeah, but everything he says is spot-on, so I can’t even argue. The guy is relentless."

Dr. Dre turned to Neminem and said,

"So that’s why you look like this?"

Neminem, pulling his hood back on and crossing his arms, nodded as Dr. Dre pointed at Yoonjung and Jinyeon.

"These two look a bit like you, don’t they?"

The three of them simultaneously turned their heads towards Yoonjung and Jinyeon, who, feeling a kinship, vigorously nodded in agreement.

"That’s right! We’ve been hassled all morning!! Whaaa!"

"We recorded for three hours and only got three words down, what do we do! Waaah!!!"

Finding common ground, the two girls began chattering non-stop, airing their grievances. Dr. Dre, listening quietly, finally said,

"People who’ve been in music for 20 years took three days, so how long will it take you two?"

At his words, Yoonjung and Jinyeon clammed up, their expressions completely changing. A sweating Yoonjung dropped her spoon and muttered,

"Jinyeon… we’re doomed……"

>

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