Siblings Work in Business (84)
Since I had already said it, I figured I had nothing to lose and blurted out,
“It’s ‘JohnMoteunho’ (Very Cool Eunho) in English!”
Lee Eun-ji looked at me as if I was an idiot.
I can’t believe I actually said that email address out loud in front of her.
“Ah… JohnMoteunho… okay.”
It seemed like her voice cracked, and as expected…
“That’s why you didn’t want to say it, hahahahaha!!!”
Ugh, I knew it.
Lee Eun-ji burst out laughing.
I rubbed my burning face, trying to cool it down, but my hands just got hotter.
“Damn it. That’s why I offered to type it… crap.”
This was so embarrassing.
“Hahahahahahaha!!! Cough! Cough! Cough!”
“Stop laughing! You’re choking! Seriously…”
My ears were ringing, perhaps because the blood rushed to my face from her laughter.
Lee Eun-ji continued laughing, her laughter turning into a strange mix of laughter and crying, her body curling up on the chair like a dried squid.
“Ha… ha… ha… I’m tired.”
“Of course you are, after laughing like that, dummy.”
Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
After a few minutes, Lee Eun-ji finally stopped laughing, and I could finally cool my face down.
Then, we finally listened to the songs Ji Ye-chan sent.
♩♩♩♩
The intro started with a slow cymbal sound.
The following keyboard, similar to a Rhodes piano, created a dreamy atmosphere.
‘But it’s lighter than a Rhodes. A Wurlitzer, maybe?’
After the dreamy yet light intro, just before the Wurlitzer piano faded…
A reverberating sound filled the empty space, followed by an 808 bass, and the song entered the first verse.
The familiar, heavy 808 bass layered over the rhythm led by an unfamiliar cymbal.
The 808 bassline was reminiscent of the hook in “DUO,” but with a new twist.
Ji Ye-chan’s seasoned voice was added to the clean track, creating a melody.
Although it was mostly gibberish, it was a great hint for a lyricist.
Lee Eun-ji, visible on the black screen, was staring intently, without even blinking.
I checked the black screen, wondering if there was something there that she was so focused on, but it was just a black screen.
After the song ended, Lee Eun-ji and I were lost in thought.
I was thinking…
‘What should the theme be?’
‘What kind of lyrics would fit this melody?’
Lee Eun-ji also seemed to be contemplating the song. We remained silent even after the first song ended.
A moment later, Lee Eun-ji asked,
“He said there were two songs, right?”
“Yeah. Should I play it?”
“Yeah.”
The second song was a calm ballad, different from the first.
This one also used the familiar 808 bass and snare as its base.
The distinctive feature was the addition of a playful cowbell sound in the hook.
And the moment we heard the melody in the verse…
Lee Eun-ji and I looked at each other.
“Oh, this!”
“This. This is definitely his style.”
“This would be perfect for a collaboration, right?”
“Yeah! I was planning to use two of our wishes to ask for featuring collaborations, so this is perfect.”
Two wishes for featuring collaborations?
I tilted my head, having never heard about that before.
“Is that really necessary?”
“Why?”
“You can just use one wish to ask for a collaboration with Toxin.”
“Oh?”
“And if they refuse, you can use more wishes, and if that still doesn’t work, you can each use one wish.”
“Oh, you’re a genius!”
“Ha! That’s your brother for you.”
“Happy to receive a compliment? Very Cool Eunho.”
“Stop teasing me about my email address.”
“Okay, okay.”
Annoyed by her condescending pat, I swatted her hand away and stood up.
“Should we tell him we’ve chosen the songs?”
“We should send them to the CEO first.”
“Ah, right.”
Right. I forgot about the CEO.
The final decision for the album tracks rested with the CEO, the producer.
Although our preferences heavily influenced his decision, his approval was necessary.
“I’ll call him.”
“Wait!”
Just as I was about to call the CEO, Lee Eun-ji jumped up from her chair.
“Why?”
“I have a fun idea.”
“What?”
“Let’s not tell the CEO who wrote the songs.”
“Hey, that’s illegal.”
“Listen to me, you idiot!”
“What?”
“Let’s just send them to him on KakaoTalk like we usually do.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“We’re not stealing the songs, we’re pranking the CEO!”
“Ah… hmm.”
I was about to refuse, but I was also curious about the CEO’s reaction, so I agreed.
[Me — CEO, please check these songs.]
[E-UNG Version1.mp3]
[E-UNG Version2.mp3]
After sending the files and the ‘read’ notification disappeared, we waited for his reply.
3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes…
Time passed, and our anticipation turned into boredom.
Lee Eun-ji, who had been staring at her phone, lost interest and returned to working on her music.
I lay down on the floor in her room, listening to the rhythm she was building, and my eyes started to droop.
—Ding.
It arrived!
I sat up abruptly.
Lee Eun-ji turned off the recording and looked at me.
“What did he say?”
“Haha.”
I chuckled.
[CEO — (Emoticon of a person with pursed lips, giving an OK sign)
— Featuring Toxin on this would be amazing.
— Ask Eun-ji
— if she can use
— the wishes she earned yesterday.]
He had the same thought as us.
“That’s what he said.”
“Now, tell him who wrote the songs.”
Just as I typed, “Actually, these songs—”
[CEO — But why does this reek of Ye-chan?]
His reply made further explanation unnecessary.
[Me — Because they’re his songs.]
[CEO — I thought so, the composition felt like his style.]
Composition?
To me, the senior seemed to have been inspired by “DUO.”
The first song was similar to Lee Eun-ji’s recent compositions.
The second one was a bit different, but…
Eun-ji’s song felt more… free-flowing?
That was the only difference.
[— Eun-ji doesn’t really differentiate the hook; she just writes good music.]
The CEO’s opinion was similar to mine.
[— Ye-chan’s music is as sly as he is.]
[Me — In what way?]
[CEO — Eun-ji usually builds her tracks by layering instruments and sounds as she feels them, right?]
[Me — Yes.]
[CEO — Ye-chan composes by deciding on the hook first and then building the lead around it, following his own recipe.]
[Me — Ah.]
I wasn’t particularly impressed.
I wasn’t good at composing, so…
It just felt like he was explaining the difference between a genius who got perfect scores by studying textbooks and a genius who just did things their own way.
Ji Ye-chan had also been composing since before his debut, so they were both undeniably talented.
Meanwhile, Eun-ji gasped, seemingly impressed.
“Why?”
I asked, curious, but she didn’t answer, lost in her own thoughts.
Meanwhile, I informed the CEO of our decision.
[Me — I heard about Eun-ji’s wishes.]
[CEO — Oh, really?]
[Me — Yes.
— Eun-ji said she’d use two of them for featuring collaborations even before listening to the songs.]
[CEO — Good. I’ll use two of mine and get the whole Toxin team on board.]
[Me — As expected of you, CEO lol
— Thank you.]
[CEO — Will you contact Ye-chan?]
[Me — Yes, I’ll let him know and say hello.]
[CEO — It’s your day off,
— so get some sleep and rest.]
Doing what you love is also a form of rest. So, listening to music and writing lyrics also counts as rest, right?
…Just as I thought that, the perceptive CEO, as if reading my mind, replied.
[— I’m saying, don’t open your lyric notebook.
— Eun-ji, no computer. Give your ears and your mind a break today.
— You need to rest sometimes
— so your mind can work better and your ears can—]
As I scrolled through his long message, I could almost hear his nagging voice.
[— You two don’t listen
— even when I’m typing this much
— with my sore thumbs
— you brats
— so—]
Message after message…
It was a long lecture, requiring several scrolls.
[— Eun-ji, I know you’re thinking
— ‘This is so boring~~’
— ‘Another lecture’
— Don’t look at me like that]
Wow, CEO.
He knew us too well.
Just then, Lee Eun-ji, seemingly startled by the continuous notifications, looked at my phone with an exasperated expression.
At least it wasn’t a call.
With messages, I could just ignore them.
♬My feelings warn me
Even before you arrive♬
Speak of the devil…
As if he knew what I was thinking, the CEO called.
“Do you want to answer?”
I looked at Lee Eun-ji pleadingly, but she shook her head without hesitation.
“It’s your phone.”
“…”
Why my phone?
“Hello, CEO.”
I answered.
And the lecture began.
CEO, please save me.
‘Please, stop…’
The call lasted for an hour.
It only ended after I showed him, through video call, that Lee Eun-ji had turned off her computer.
After the call, I was too drained to even think about composing or writing lyrics.
I mustered my remaining energy and called the senior to tell him about the confirmed collaboration, but he didn’t answer, perhaps because he was busy.
Naturally, I opened the E-FAN app.
To heal my lecture-addled mind and to check if everything was uploaded correctly, as promised.
I checked yesterday’s posts.
[I’m home! Ji-ji-nim! >< + Last broadcast review]
[I’m home too! Today was amazing ♥]
[I got a hug and a picture with Ji-ji-nim! Kyaa]
[Rangi-nim’s review ♥]
It seemed like everyone got home safely.
The cute messages from our fans were a much-needed mood booster.
‘Seul-gi also did this, but why do most of our fans call us ‘Rangi-nim’ and ‘Ji-ji-nim,’ adding ‘-nim’?’