Chapter 44
The year 2013 passed, and the dawn of 2014 arrived.
Unlike the eventful end of last year, this year's end was surprisingly quiet.
Last year's end was busy with Girls Memorial's offline collaboration and special video shooting, but this year...
The only thing that stood out this holiday season was, once again, the Christmas special video shoot for Girls Memorial.
Originally, I was supposed to participate in the shoot this year too, but for some reason, Myung-hoon volunteered to go instead.
It seemed like the right time to let the Girls Memorial fandom know about the change in director, so I readily agreed, but...
On the day of the shoot, I handed a nervous-looking Myung-hoon a packet of Woo Hwang Chung Sim Won (a traditional Korean medicine for anxiety).
Even as he left for the airport, still tense, I felt a twinge of pity, but well...
He made his choice.
Apart from these minor issues, we wrapped up the year without any major incidents.
As the old year faded and the new one began, what was I up to?
I was visiting the recording studio at Chae-young's request.
"What's up?"
"I finished it. The new song for the trailer."
"Already? Didn't we just get the trailer storyboard last month?"
Chae-young nodded in response to my question.
Glancing around, I saw empty beer cans and scattered sheet music.
I can guess how she managed to finish the song in just a month...
"Can I hear it now?"
"Just a sec."
As Chae-young was about to play the song on the computer connected to massive speakers, she suddenly paused and looked at me.
"Did you close both studio doors?"
"Huh? Hold on."
Not remembering, I checked and found the outer door wasn't fully closed.
It was open.
When I came back after closing all the doors, I could see Chae-young giving me a look that said, "I knew it."
"You're still as scatterbrained as ever."
I felt wronged by her reaction, but I couldn't argue. I had forgotten, after all.
"Shall we start then?"
As the song began, the sound from the large speakers on either side of the computer filled the recording studio.
It started with an intentionally subdued, quiet dubstep.
As the quiet dubstep gradually increased in volume, reaching its peak,
A scratching bass sound, as if announcing the start of the story, cut through, leading the song along with the drums.
As the bass and drums, which had been leading the song at a steady BPM, reached the highlight, an electric guitar joined in.
These three instruments—bass, drums, and electric guitar—met to create an overwhelming explosion of sound.
It felt like a representation of the riot theme that would be used in the trailer.
After the overwhelming highlight ended and entered a lull, the electric guitar that had led the highlight faded out, and the bass and drums took the lead once again.
Simultaneously, an avant-garde accompaniment underneath raised the BPM, leading the song to its final highlight.
In this final highlight, the electric guitar rejoined.
At the very end, even the piano joined in harmony, unleashing a final burst of energy as the song concluded.
"...What do you think?"
After listening to the entire song, I had only one thought.
A perfect song that embodied the concept of this trailer.
It was truly avant-garde.
"It's good."
"Don't just brush it off like that. Is there anything you want to change or adjust?"
After pondering Chae-young's question for a moment, I spoke up.
"You know the dubstep intro part?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"How about increasing the drop a bit more? But slightly reducing the volume."
"Hmm... give me a second."
Chae-young, hearing my request, started manipulating the synthesizer in front of the monitor.
"I'll play it again, so listen and tell me right away if anything sounds off."
As soon as Chae-young finished speaking, the intro started again.
The increased drop definitely heightened the tension, making it sound considerably better.
"It's perfect now."
"Any other parts?"
"Hmm..."
After that, we made a few more tweaks based on my feedback, and after about three rounds of confirmation, the OST was finally completed.
"...That was faster than I expected."
"Yeah, I thought the confirmation alone would take at least a day."
"It's because you composed such a great track, Senior. What inspired you?"
To be honest, I never imagined she'd be able to produce a song of this quality in just a month's time.
I knew Chae-young was a genius since she became the youngest music director at a major broadcasting station, but...
Seeing her like this, after usually seeing her worn down by work and alcohol, gave me a different kind of appreciation.
"After looking at the trailer storyboard and scenario, it felt like the song was playing in my head."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. If only my usual work went this smoothly, I'd have no complaints."
Chae-young shook her head regretfully and approached the fridge, asking,
"It's a special occasion. Want a drink?"
If I said yes, she'd definitely hand me a beer, not a soft drink.
I was dumbfounded by her offering beer in broad daylight.
"It's work hours. You're not seriously drinking, are you?"
"I am, though?"
Ignoring my incredulous expression, Chae-young drank her beer while saving the audio file.
"So, when is the trailer video expected to be finished?"
"Well, the basic storyboard has been sent to the art team, so they'll start working on it. It should be done by summer, I think?"
As we chatted, the audio file was slowly being saved.
It seemed to be taking a while, probably because it was a 3-minute long track.
As our conversation lulled, Chae-young started humming the new song.
Listening to her humming, I felt like something was tickling the back of my mind.
It felt like I was missing something...
As I stared blankly at Chae-young, trying to grasp that elusive thought,
It hit me.
What I had been overlooking.
"Chae-young sunbae."
"Y-yeah? What is it?"
She turned to look at me with a surprised expression.
"This song we made."
"Yeah?"
"How about adding lyrics to the OST?"
"Lyrics?"
"Yeah, the drums and bass fill the sound, but it's still a bit plain until right before the highlight, isn't it?"
"I guess so...?"
"If we reinforce that part with a singer's voice, it might be perfect... What do you think?"
"Hmm... give me a moment."
Chae-young, seemingly caught off guard by my sudden suggestion, pondered for a moment before nodding and looking at me.
"...It might work. But how are you planning to handle the lyrics?"
"I was thinking of trying it myself."
"You?"
"Listening to this OST gave me some ideas."
"Isn't lyric writing difficult without experience?"
"I have some experience from college, so it should be fine. If the result isn't good, you can help out then. What do you think?"
After thinking for a moment, Chae-young nodded readily to my proposal.
"Sure, why not."
*
Balancing company work and lyric writing was no easy task, but I managed to complete the lyrics in just 10 days.
It's a good thing I had some experience writing lyrics for doujin songs with my club seniors back in college...
If I hadn't had any lyric-writing experience, I might not have even dared to try.
Chae-young carefully examined the lyrics I handed over.
Her expression was more serious than ever, though the beer she periodically sipped somewhat ruined the atmosphere.
"How are the lyrics?"
"They're better than I expected. Of course, there are a few phrases and things that need to be fixed, but that's something only a professional lyricist would notice."
"Really? Then..."
"I'll fix them up. It won't take long anyway. More importantly, have you found a singer?"
"About that... Can I ask for a favor?"
"A favor? What is it?"
"There's a singer I want, and I was hoping you could make the connection."
"A connection? Who do you have in mind?"
"Ishida Kei."
"What?"
Chae-young looked at me with an incredulous expression, as if the name I'd just mentioned was completely unexpected.
Ishida Kei.
Currently regarded as one of the most talented male vocalists in Japan, he's considered the most skilled among the top performers.
Normally, he'd be way out of our league for recording a game OST, but...
I knew from my memories before the regression that Chae-young had worked with him privately several times a few years ago.
To be honest, the song doesn't really require Ishida Kei's level of vocal power and skill, but he was still the best option available.
Plus, we could leverage Ishida Kei's name for additional promotional effect.
"...You want me to connect you with Ishida Kei? Are you crazy?"
"You can do it, Chae-young sunbae."
"Ishida Kei isn't even a Korean singer. Be reasonable."
As expected, Chae-young was playing dumb and trying to avoid the subject.
In that case...
"Dawn's Garden, 2 Liters of Tears."
"What?"
"Eden's Woman, Galileo... Should I continue?"
As I listed the titles of dramas and movies she had worked on privately with Ishida Kei, Chae-young visibly started to waver.
"H-how... how do you know all that...!"
"Honestly, if someone really looked into it, it's not information that's impossible to find. It's not like you went out of your way to hide it, Sunbae."
"......"
"I'll make sure it doesn't get picked up by the media and increase your workload. Okay?"
Hearing my confident voice, Chae-young roughly ruffled her fine ash-blue hair before responding.
"It's true that I have a connection with Ishida Kei, but it's still not possible. We're not even close enough for me to make such a demanding request..."
Chae-young refused with a stern expression.
However, having known her for nearly 10 years, I could tell.
This wasn't her angry face, but the look she got when she was flustered.
The real Chae-young didn't get emotional like this when angry; she became cold instead.
"I'm not expecting a definite answer. Let's do this instead."
"...What do you want?"
"Just reach out and see if he's available for collaboration. If it's possible, great. If not, I'll give up cleanly."
"...Why should I do that?"
"If you do this favor for me, I'll grant you one thing you've always wanted."
"Something I've always wanted?"
To that question from Chae-young, I replied in a casual voice.
"The Balvenie 30 Year Rare Marriage sleeping on my shelf. The one you've been eyeing every time you visit my place. How about it?"
"...You'll give me that? You always said it was a gift and absolutely off-limits."
"That's how serious I am about this."
Chae-young glared at me with a dissatisfied expression.
She seemed to be wrestling with the decision, but I wasn't particularly worried.
It was too tempting a bait for her to flatly refuse.
My senior, who already loved alcohol, wouldn't be able to turn down this offer.
As if proving my prediction right, Chae-young glanced at me sideways before sighing and opening her mouth.
"...I won't be responsible if it doesn't work out. Got it?"
"That's more than enough."