Chapter 8: This Will Definitely Work
“I feel like I’ll die if I don’t write this down right now……”
Lyricist Oh Jisoo took a notebook out of her bag and opened it.
Memories tend to evaporate quickly.
Especially lyrics that come to mind suddenly.
Thinking longer doesn’t necessarily produce better lyrics.
She wrote down the feelings that came to her after hearing the song, just as they were.
Scratch scratch.
Only the sound of the fountain pen brushing against the paper filled the studio.
“This will definitely work.”
“Heh.”
Exactly 30 minutes later, Oh Jisoo had completed a set of lyrics.
Team Leader Park took the paper and plugged in his headphones.
He skimmed the lyrics with his eyes, focusing on the music.
He was indeed experienced.
She’d only heard the song once, but managed to produce lyrics that fit the rhythm perfectly.
“This part is good. ‘Checkmate, you’re in my hands.’ But……”
Team Leader Park gulped.
“What is it? Team Leader Park, you’re hesitating a little.”
“It’s not hesitation. It’s good. Really suits the song too.”
“Well, of course. Who do you think wrote it?”
Oh Jisoo swiftly packed her belongings and continued speaking.
“There’s nothing more to see. This is it. Wow… I haven’t found a song I liked this much in ages. This is definitely going to work.”
Even amid the lively atmosphere, Team Leader Park calmly stared at the lyrics.
“I’ll be going. Please contact me. Say hi to Yujin for me. And be sure to tell Writer Seo I really enjoyed the song.”
Even after Oh Jisoo left the conference room.
He remained seated, dazed.
It’s good, it’s really good, seriously good……
His head knew Oh Jisoo’s lyrics were better.
But his heart was saying something else.
When he read Taeyoon’s lyrics, he could clearly imagine Han Yujin standing on stage.
Han Yujin singing, dancing…… and smiling.
But Oh Jisoo’s lyrics didn’t do that.
He kept picturing another singer. An older, sexier concept artist rather than Han Yujin.
‘What’s wrong with me.’
He neatly folded the paper and slipped it into his diary, then made a phone call somewhere.
The call connected immediately.
“Hey, Writer Seo. Can we meet one more time? It’s nothing major… I just need to confirm something.”
Thirty minutes before the meeting time.
I waited for Team Leader Park at the café on the first floor of ToMe Entertainment.
I’d come out a little early on purpose.
This place……
‘Oh, they look even cooler in person.’
‘Why does everyone drink iced Americano 99% of the time?’
‘Wow, even male idols wear hair extensions?’
It was a different world.
Even when trying to act calm, I kept glancing around.
When else would I get to visit a place like this?
That was my honest feeling.
Whether in a city café, school, or on the street—
I like observing people.
Not just watching them, but observing while imagining things in my own way.
This place was even more interesting because the people were special.
For example… a snapback and hoodie. Probably a composer or sound engineer. Hip-hop beats would suit them well.
Tracksuits and tightly tied hair—maybe an idol trainee? Refreshing vibe. Tropical pop would work.
Dressed well, but why the gloomy expression? Looks like they just got dumped. Korean ballads are perfect for breakups.
That sort of thing?
There was something lyricist Oh Jisoo said yesterday that left an impression.
Creating a story by watching random people.
That, she said, was her secret to imagining characters even just from listening to a song.
Sounds a lot like me. Though I don’t really know all those professional terms like storyline or character.
Still, just sitting here gave me a small sense of what she meant by “character planning.”
Maybe it was because there were so many people who reminded me of Hyung.
Suddenly, I got curious about how Hyung works in this kind of environment.
I was people-watching, losing track of time, when—
“You’re early.”
“Hello, Team Leader.”
I quickly stood up.
“I came down early just in case, but didn’t expect you to already be here. You’re sharp with time, razor-sharp. Sit down. No need to jump up like that between us.”
Maybe because we’ve met a few times—
Team Leader Park didn’t feel unfamiliar anymore.
He’s always cheerful, which is nice. Today was no different. He looked relaxed and calm.
They say the A&R team is the busiest in any entertainment company.
He seemed very different from my Hyung, who’s like boiled spinach. I wonder if Hyung would be this relaxed once he becomes a team leader?
While I was lost in those thoughts, Team Leader Park came back with two coffees.
Ugh… Iced Americano.
“A true writer drinks iced Americano.”
“Huh? Not me. Coffee needs sugar, for sure.”
“Huh?”
I glanced around.
Ah, there it is.
“Excuse me for a second.”
I quickly carried my coffee over to the counter.
Dumped a ton of syrup in and returned to my seat.
“Syrup in iced Americano… Doesn’t that make it heavy?”
“It tastes like poison otherwise.”
“Poison?”
Team Leader Park laughed as if amused.
“Yeah. It’s super bitter. Ugh… I don’t get how people drink this like water.”
“You haven’t learned the true taste yet. You’re not a real writer.”
“Excuse me?”
“I was the same at first. I thought coffee was just something for people worn down by life, talking about it being like lifeblood or needing a coffee transfusion… but look at me now? I can’t live without it. I can’t wake up without it.”
“If you add sugar, it wakes you up even better. Try it once. Carbs to the brain—definitely better.”
“...Are you a scientist?”
With one sweet coffee and one bitter coffee between us.
We chatted about random personal stuff for a while.
He was a fun person.
Humble, yet confident in his work. Someone I wanted to resemble.
Thanks to that, I felt a sense of closeness and could speak comfortably.
When joking, his eyes would turn into crescents, but the moment we talked music, even his tone changed.
How should I put it—music nerd?
This guy was really sincere about music.
“CDs are the way to go if you want to really listen, right? Wow, I like Writer Seo more and more.”
“Streaming doesn’t quite cut it in terms of sound quality.”
“Speakers? What model do you use? Bookshelf?”
“I don’t really know the model name. It’s a 30-year-old console-type audio with speakers.”
“Must be a big old cabinet?”
“Yes.”
“Old speakers are classics. Be careful, though. The downstairs neighbor might complain.”
Before we knew it, our coffee cups were empty.
Crunch, crunch.
As he chewed the remaining ice, Team Leader Park spoke.
“By the way, about the lyrics.”
So this was the main topic.
See, his tone already changed.
Just hearing that low, drawn-out voice sent a chill down my spine.
“They were good.”
I barely stopped a sigh from escaping.
How should I describe it, it felt like I was a student getting my homework graded.
The first lyrics I’d ever written for the first song I’d ever composed.
It meant a lot to me.
Even in that short time, I’d grown attached.
It was also the moment when the brilliant melody I’d only heard about actually came to me.
Sure, it was something they did every day, but for me, it was special!
Still, I didn’t show it.
I’d already exposed my clumsiness with the suit incident—I couldn’t show another round of clumsiness.
“But songs aren’t that simple.”
“I know.”
“You do? How?”
How do I know?
That was Hyung’s go-to repertoire.
Every night after work, he’d rant about composers this, lyricists that, recordings this, engineers that, distribution this...
He ranted in the exact order albums are produced.
I could recite it from memory now.
“There’s so much info on the internet these days, right?”
“True. So, how far along is Writer Seo’s song?”
“Well, not much yet, really? If I had to say, maybe 10%? Only the song itself is done.”
“Exactly. The next step is lyrics… Have you ever thought about collaborating?”
Wait a sec.
He threw in a slightly difficult term.
Collaboration? Meaning, with someone else?
Was he saying someone else would write the lyrics?
In times like this, no need to make assumptions.
Otherwise, we might end up talking in circles and misinterpreting each other.
So I asked.
“Can I understand it as someone else writing the lyrics?”
“Yeeees… basically?”
“Hm…”
I organized my thoughts.
Honestly, I didn’t mind that much.
Sure, I’d racked my brain over them like my life depended on it.
But so what?
There’s a learning curve for everything.
If I threw a fit like, ‘How dare you disrespect my artistic vision?!’—that’s not pride, that’s arrogance.
I wanted to slowly learn ToMe Entertainment’s system.
The conclusions reached by people who’ve been doing this forever aren’t things I should dismiss lightly.
So I answered.
“I don’t mind.”
“You don’t mind? Why not?!”
Whoa, that startled me.
Why was this guy suddenly yelling?
Team Leader Park gulped down the melted contents of his cup.
He stood up and asked.
“Should I get us another coffee?”
“No, no. It’s fine. Sit down. But why? I mean, it’s my song with my lyrics. Don’t you want to show that off? Gotta have some fire. Even if they say no, you should push for it.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Writers live off pride, you know?”
“I’m a bit… different. What’s the point of pride when you’ve got nothing? It just makes you look foolish. I trust you’ll match the lyrics well to the song.”
“Wow…”
This time, I drank the melted iced water.
I expected it to be lukewarm, but it was surprisingly still cool.
“I’m okay with everything. As long as it helps the song sell well. But.”
“But?”
“Just don’t change the singer. And even if you change the melody, the beat is non-negotiable.”
“You care a lot about the beat?”
“It’s the one thing I’m most confident in. You said to protect your pride, right? I’ll protect mine my way. Whoa—what are you doing?”
What the?
Suddenly, Team Leader Park grabbed my hand. What was with that look on his face?
“I really like Writer Seo. You’re exactly what I was waiting for. I’ve made up my mind. I’ll make sure everything works out so you won’t feel left out. Let’s charge ahead—why not?”
I had no idea what “charge ahead” meant in this context.
But his expression was so determined, I couldn’t bring myself to respond.
But hey, this was good for me.
Hyung said it—getting your song fixed is a matter of fate.
I just believed in my song and in Han Yujin’s expressive power.
At times like this, all I needed to do was spend time doing what I loved.
“Damn… that looks slick.”
The equipment I’d splurged on with a ten million won lump sum—either severance or a bonus—started arriving one by one.
They were secondhand, but well maintained.
Honestly, a lot of people pick up DJing just because it looks cool. At a glance, it even seems easy.
Strangely, those people also tend to have money to spare.
They buy all this expensive gear and then put it up for resale right away. Well, that’s a win for me.
Anyway. They think scratching the records and turning the knobs is all it takes… but they’re wrong.
The difference is in the tiny details.
Even breaking down the beats takes a certain technique.
Surprisingly, DJing isn’t all that fun as a casual hobby.
I’d tried teaching some club staff hyungs just for fun a few times… but weirdly, their skills didn’t improve no matter how much they practiced.
Why doesn’t this work?
“Man… expensive gear really is something else.”
I loaded the first track.
Then my hand naturally reached for the turntable.
I began beat-matching instinctively. The process of aligning everything bit by bit felt like solving a puzzle.
If even one piece was off, everything would fall apart.
The texture of the record under my fingertips.
The shift in sound flow every time I adjusted the fader.
Everything moved exactly the way I intended.
That’s why I loved DJing.
“Hold the Beat.”
Caught up in the rhythm, I even hummed my signature sound.
It was bedroom DJing, but I was quite pleased with it.
Busy days ahead. Less than ten days remained until Lunatic Beat’s first performance.
A few days later.
Taeyoon sought out Team Leader Park Minseok.
He’d gone on about how great the song was, how perfect it was, acting like they’d get to work right away—
Then started delaying things with excuses about internal meetings and schedules.
What’s the deal?
Either commit or don’t.
That was Taeyoon’s way.
So today, Taeyoon came to ToMe Entertainment with his own clever little solution.
“So what you’re saying is… we should record both versions? Without telling Han Yujin who wrote which lyrics?”
Nod, nod.
Taeyoon nodded enthusiastically.
Come on. What could be more accurate than hearing the person who’ll actually sing it perform?
“Recording studios don’t just magically become available, you know.”
“Oh, really?”
He had a rough idea. A&R included managing production schedules and all that.
“But, Writer Seo Taeyoon.”
“Yes?”
“I’m someone who can make the impossible possible.”
“Oh?”
“Who am I? Team Leader of ToMe Entertainment. I think I can free up one session.”
“It won’t even take that. With Han Yujin, I bet she can do both versions in under an hour.”
Clap!
Their palms met midair in a sharp high-five.
Team Leader Park Minseok made a call somewhere.
Everything progressed in a flash.