Siblings Work in Business (48)
I was momentarily surprised by the unexpected state of her room, but that wasn’t the main point.
“Ah, this.”
As if she had been waiting, Lee Eun-ji played the track she had just made.
Lately, Eun-ji had been focusing on composing despite her busy schedule with various practices.
Thanks to Composer Bae Jin-soo, who was an engineer, she had been improving her arranging skills as well.
Thump—, thump-thump.
Thump—, thump-thump.
As Eun-ji played the music, the bass and bass drum created an addictive rhythm, intersecting with each other.
Along with a playful keyboard melody.
Eun-ji often used experimental chords.
But this song, unlike her usual style, was composed solely of a simple C major chord.
‘Oh?’
I was curious, but it wasn’t bad.
Despite its simplicity, there was a subtle melancholic undertone and an addictive bass rhythm.
And the following melody retained Lee Eun-ji’s distinct style.
Seuteu-reu-reos-seo
Neun haetda, mal-at-da
Ttat-tta-tta-ra
As if she had prepared the syllables in advance, Eun-ji’s voice was added as the song entered the verse.
It seemed like she had recorded the guide track early on, while working on the concrete composition.
The lyrics were gibberish, but it didn’t matter.
It was enough to distinguish the syllables and the key points.
“How is it?”
“It’s good.”
She asked with a nervous expression, so I answered nonchalantly, trying to ease her tension.
My answer didn’t seem to help, as Eun-ji asked again, even more worried than before.
“Isn’t it too… ordinary?”
“What’s wrong with being ordinary?”
“It feels too… common.”
“It’s common because many people like it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And your songs always have your distinct style, no matter how ordinary they seem. You did well with this one too.”
“Since when did you become so complimentary?”
Eun-ji’s sarcastic remark made me chuckle.
Although we often fought and teased each other, I always acknowledged Lee Eun-ji’s musical talent.
It must have taken a lot of effort and thought to create a song like this.
Eun-ji, not getting a proper response, pouted and focused on the monitor again.
Judging by the way she was clicking around, the song wasn’t finished yet.
“Ugh.”
Eun-ji groaned, repeatedly moving the green bar on the track back and forth.
She seemed to be struggling.
Since we hadn’t debuted yet, she didn’t know how people would react to “DUO,” and she lacked experience.
She seemed to be torn between appealing to the public and maintaining her own style.
Since this was something Eun-ji had to figure out herself, I chose to stay silent.
‘Then the only thing left is the lyrics.’
After the Payoff incident…
It had become difficult to find well-known composers or lyricists.
Payoff might have been a devil to us…
But his claim of having a wide network wasn’t a lie, as many writers were now avoiding us.
The CEO tried to hide it, but bad news travels faster than good news.
So we started…
‘Should I call this a blessing in disguise?’
When I wrote the lyrics for “Small Hands,” which was later renamed “Co-Sign”…
Composer Bae Jin-soo was so impressed that he immediately sent the guide track to the CEO.
The CEO’s eyes lit up, as if he had found a light in the darkness.
‘Having ‘in-house production’ would significantly reduce expenses.’
It was natural for him to be ambitious.
So now, Lee Eun-ji and I were doing in-house production along with practice.
Eun-ji was in charge of composing and arranging, and I was in charge of writing lyrics.
‘Damn it.’
But there was one problem.
Eun-ji was a monster who could churn out a song in as little as 15-20 minutes, or at most three days.
So lately, I had been buried in the songs she produced.
“Sent!”
Eun-ji’s newly completed demo was sent to the CEO.
I felt a mix of emotions.
‘This song is definitely good. With its familiar chords, it will probably appeal to the public…’
The song was good.
But I already had two songs waiting for lyrics.
And if this one was approved too?
‘Three…’
It took me at least a few days to write lyrics that fit one of Eun-ji’s songs.
I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore.
I hoped this song would be approved, yet at the same time, I hoped it would be rejected.
♬.
About 10 minutes later…
Eun-ji’s phone rang.
The caller ID showed ‘Our CEO,’ as expected.
“CEO!”
Eun-ji answered the phone calmly and turned on the speaker.
“Guys.”
“Yes! CEO, how’s the song?”
Eun-ji interrupted the CEO before he could say anything.
The CEO, seemingly deciding to answer first, sighed briefly and said,
“It’s not bad. Just needs some polishing in the climax, and then we just need the lyrics.”
“Okay!”
Lyrics.
My heart leaped at that single word.
‘Wow!’
It meant three songs were approved.
I was happy.
Really happy.
But it was a complicated kind of happiness.
‘Lee Eun-ji made ten songs in four days.’
Two of them were approved by the CEO and confirmed for our mini-album after our debut single.
And I had barely finished writing lyrics for one song.
Haha, I felt like my head was about to explode.
Just then…
“But don’t work on it now.”
Lee Eun-ji and I looked at the phone, surprised by the CEO’s firm voice.
“Why?”
When Eun-ji asked, the CEO sighed deeply and said,
“Eun-ji, what time is it?”
“It’s only 1 am!”
“‘Only’ 1 am? Eun-ji, you have to wake up at 6 tomorrow…”
1 am already?
I hadn’t realized, completely absorbed in writing lyrics in my room since we came back from practice.
I checked the time on my phone in surprise.
‘He’s right.’
When did it get so late?
“Rest when you need to rest. Tomorrow is an important day.”
I understood the CEO’s earnest request after checking the time.
‘Tomorrow is an important day.’
For the past few days, we had been going to bed as early as 3 am, or as late as 5 am.
Now, to adjust to our promotion schedule, we had to wake up at 6 am, no matter what time we went to bed.
“Eun-ji, if you sleep in again tomorrow, I’m confiscating your keyboard after dinner.”
“But…”
“No ‘buts.’ You can’t have dark circles under your eyes during filming, can you?”
“That’s… true. Okay…”
Eun-ji pouted and replied obediently.
“Both of you, go to bed. Eun-ho, go back to your room.”
“Okay.”
“If I hear from Hyun-woo that you were late again tomorrow…”
The CEO then went on a 30-minute lecture about ‘the importance of sleep and what happens to your body at what time…’
It was a time that made me think, ‘I should go to bed early from now on.’
‘Two and a half hours…’
I now understood why Eun-ji, of all people, cleaned her room.
After escaping back to my room, I looked at the scattered notebooks on the floor, lost in thought.
‘Finally, tomorrow.’
It was truly a new beginning.
Although Hyun-woo sometimes checked on the O-Tube channel, it was mostly managed by CEO Park.
Even the video editing was his responsibility.
But lately, CEO Park had been incredibly busy with E-UNG’s PR, the mini-album production, and everything else Eun-ho and Eun-ji were doing.
He wished he had an extra pair of hands, even his cat’s.
And since E-UNG had been busy with practice and work recently, the number of videos naturally decreased.
Even when they did film, it was mostly them working, so there wasn’t much to edit.
At midnight, on the cusp of February 6th and 7th…
A new video was uploaded to the quiet NRY Entertainment O-Tube channel.
Bzz.
Joo-yeon, opening the refrigerator door, reached for her vibrating phone.
“What is it? Wow, a new E-UNG video… huh?”
As Joo-yeon casually reached for her phone and saw the notification…
“Gasp!”
She almost choked.
[E-UNG – ‘DUO’ M/V Teaser]
It was a teaser video, announcing the upcoming music video release.
Joo-yeon sat up straight on the sofa and played the short teaser with a reverent heart.
She was immediately drawn to the dreamy atmosphere created by the bright moonlight filling the screen.
—Splash.
The sound of something heavy falling into water followed.
Then, the screen turned black, ripples appearing on the surface, and the song began.
It was a simple beat with only bass and drums, but it created a sophisticated atmosphere.
Joo-yeon bobbed her head to the beat and thought, ‘It would be a bit disappointing if it ended like this.’
I thought it was a dream
I wished it were a dream
As if waiting for her thought…
Eun-ho and Eun-ji’s harmonious voices followed, as if melting her eardrums.
Meanwhile, the black ripples on the screen disappeared, and a white door appeared.
‘A door?’
As the white door slowly approached, it turned black.
The doorknob turned by itself, like a scene from a horror movie.
And as the door opened…
Why don’t you answer beyond the door
Eun-ho’s calm voice…
A subdued, almost dampened song, ended…
And white letters appeared on the black screen, accompanied by the scratching sound of a quill pen.
[E-UNG]
[DUO]
[2015. 2. 10. 6:00PM (KST)]
Is that it?
Joo-yeon wanted to see more, but unfortunately, the video ended.
‘The end? Seriously?’
After the video ended, O-Tube recommended E-UNG’s “Last Day” as the next video.
Reluctant to leave, Joo-yeon replayed the teaser several times.
After watching it more than ten times, she knew that the black water rippled four times to the beat of the bass drum.
‘I can’t wait!’
As Joo-yeon scrolled down, wondering if there was anything else written…
[We invite you to the sibling duo E-UNG’s showcase on February 8th, 2015, at 6:00 PM]
Show More
She immediately clicked ‘Show More’ to read the rest.
As she read the following text, Joo-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly reached for her laptop.