“What? What’s with you following me around like a kid desperate for a bathroom break since earlier…”
“Uh…”
“What?”
“Ah, never mind.”
“Come on, just spill it already. You’ve got me all curious.”
“Well, you know…”
“Yes, what?”
“I’ve got this… It’s not super huge, but it’s enough to catch someone’s eye…”
“This… Does it look… uh, hot? Like, big and stuff…?”
“Ah, are you just messing with me? Get lost before I smack you.”
“No, why? I’m serious…”
“Just scram already.”
I couldn’t get an answer from Seo-yoon Unni, who vaguely resembled my mother with her B-cup, looking a lot like an A-cup.
So I turned to the sweet Na-eun Unni.
However, judging from Seo-yoon Unni’s responses, it seemed pointless to ask verbally.
“Do-hee, what’s up?”
She tugged at her T-shirt a bit, revealing a glimpse of skin.
…Is it sexy?
“Huh? Did you get a pimple on your chest? A zit?”
“…Huh?”
“Doesn’t look like it. Oh, is it heat rash? With this heating on… it’s winter but it’s hot indoors, and dancing makes you sweat. Can’t help getting heat rash. Just wash up and change your underwear regularly. Oh, by the way! I have this powder I bought recently; it’s supposed to be good. I’ll get it for you, just a sec~”
“No, Unni, that’s not it…”
I watched Na-eun Unni head into her room looking for powder, holding back my words.
With larger assets than her, I should know better about managing heat rash from experience, right…?
Sigh…
“What’s bothering you so much…”
At this rate, this person isn’t going to solve my problem.
I just walked into the room…
“Hey, you cheeky brat! You should ask this Unni! I’ll sort you out…!”
Oh, Woo-ah Unni just came out of the bathroom!
“So… is it a problem if it’s big?”
“Are you saying that because I teased you about being a mind-blowing monster last time?”
Couldn’t be right.
“That was just a joke. You just look pretty, that’s all?”
Right? I know I’m pretty.
The size and shape are both ideal.
“So, Unni, I’m completely envious of Do-hee’s massive assets~”
But my identity is not just about being clever and full of humor; there’s an underlying cool and intellectual vibe, with a courteous and noble atmosphere. And yet, my visuals scream a glamorous, beautiful idol, while this unnecessary chunk of flesh steals the spotlight…
Kinda like Olivia Hussey, who was a legendary beauty, yet everyone’s eyes went to her chest.
“Stop talking nonsense. Ah, just overthinking. Anyway, I don’t like your expression.”
“Oh~ Chiyo finally gets to read Do-hee’s face?”
“Hehe, it takes three years for a dog to bark poetry. Chiyo, who learned from Seo-yoon Unni and Woo-ah for four years, woof woof.”
“Since you’re a Japanese breed, you must be a Shiba Inu?”
“Shiba Inu? Oh, that’s right, it’s a Japanese dog breed! Shiba.”
“Chiyo is a Shiba, huh~”
“…Woo-ah? I feel kinda weird. Like, I feel like I heard something offensive?”
Why do I not feel that embarrassed about the cleavage being exposed to Unnis? Instead, I just want to playfully tease them.
The reason I don’t feel too shy and just want to tease is…
“Just a joke, joke. A lighthearted joke.”
“Hmm… since we’re close, I’ll let it slide.”
Well, I guess sisters… are like family.
It’s unavoidable to feel embarrassed when showing something to someone distant or with whom you have no connection.
Especially when it comes to guys.
I still get confused about whether I’m mentally a girl or a boy.
‘So I am a girl, huh? I guess I’ve gotten used to calling her unni. Well, I am a girl… but I still sometimes call male fans hyung… ha-ah.’
It definitely feels like I was much more comfortable with boys by nature, but after being tormented since elementary school, I think I’ve developed a bit of an aversion without even realizing it.
“Ah, being this good-looking is so troublesome… so troubling…”
“I knew it would be like this. I was just overthinking.”
Amid all this, Na-eun unni came out of the living room, shaking a product.
“Do-hee, I found the powder! You have to put this on~?”
It was a product I also had in my room, but I pretended it was my first time seeing it and gratefully accepted it.
Anyway, it was still difficult for me to come to a conclusion about myself.
And as always, the one who helps solve my worries is our Topist’s producer, Director So-hyun.
“Do-hee, from this day on, we have a schedule.”
She threw a lot of work at me without leaving any room for stray thoughts.
“A song camp…?”
“Yeah, take this with you.”
“Aren’t there any other schedules? There should have been… many.”
“I cleared it intentionally. Hurry up and go.”
“Eh…?”
*
It was early February, a chilly winter.
A man returning from a nearby café with a warm Americano drew his clothes tighter against the cold.
‘Korea… Seoul is really great, but I just can’t get used to the cold.’
This man with green eyes, in other words, a Hispanic-looking man, moved his feet and entered a building.
Ding-dong
As he opened the door to the fifth floor, a spot for musicians was revealed.
All kinds of producing equipment, recording booths, and instruments.
[Pedro, is that you? Where’s my coffee?]
Above all, there were familiar faces.
This Black woman was a jazz artist majoring in cello.
The so-called topliner, Jada from California, USA.
[Where’s my waffle?]
Demanding snacks quite shamelessly was a mixed-race man in the back, who was also a topliner, Lucas, a singer-songwriter from Canada.
[Hey, look who’s here.]
And the face he’d only seen in video calls, a pleasantly familiar face—Erhan, the bearded man.
[But seeing you like this, Pedro, you don’t look so bad.]
[Erhan! I’m usually quite handsome. It’s just that the camera lens distorts things.]
Erhan, from the Netherlands, was a track maker in charge of accompaniment and post-production, meaning mixing and mastering.
‘Well, to be precise, he’s more specialized in hip-hop, so calling him a beat maker would be accurate.’
Anyway, these three had been working together with me on K-pop tracks for several years.
And now, there was just one person left.
[Why hasn’t Yosef shown up yet?]
Why is he taking so long?
A few years ago, the renowned Kpop producer Jeon Yo-seob hosted this song camp.
[He might be busy? I heard he’s running more camps.]
Jeon Yo-seob, despite being a well-known songwriter, has spent the last few years just connecting with other songwriters to establish song camps and facilitating the songs created for the agencies.
He’s like a middleman, taking his cut on the side.
‘Of course, he also handles mixing and mastering, so I have no complaints.’
There’s no creation happening, but the post-production is also a skill.
Right now, there are awards at the US ceremonies for producers who excel in mixing and mastering.
‘Honestly, connecting songs is a hassle too.’
Anyway, the Brazilian singer-songwriter Pedro set his coffee down and sat in front of his workspace: the laptop and electronic piano.
Then, about an hour later, the doorbell rang simultaneously.
—Ding-dong—
[Ah, someone’s here.]
Pedro, listening to the work that Erhan brought, stood up to greet the latecomer, Jeon Yo-seob, and left the room.
“Manager Young-ho, is this the right place?”
But the person he faced wasn’t the familiar figure of a man in his late thirties with glasses—Jeon Yo-seob.
“That’s right, that’s right. Say hello.”
But it was somewhat familiar.
As someone who works on Kpop idol tracks, there’s no way he wouldn’t know this super hot idol star of the last few years.
“But do I have to speak in English?”
“I don’t think Korean will work?”
“Guess that’s right?”
[Ah, hello. I don’t know if you know me, but I’m Do-hee Lee from Debonaire. I heard I’d be joining as a member for this entire song camp to compose together. Yo-seob said he’d contact you… Looking forward to it.]
“Wow, our Do-hee really is something. You speak English well?”
“Ahem.”
The cheerful girl wearing a black beanie that accentuated her small head and a hoodie had a bright smile.
*
Pedro had his head tilted on the desk.
It’s true that Do-hee is a famous idol, but the discomfort he felt was also real.
[Lucas, stop jumping around. It’s so chaotic.]
[Why is Pedro so grumpy today?]
[Come on, Pedro! Isn’t he just ridiculously cute…? You don’t know who that kid is?]
Of course, Lucas and Jada too.
[You’re lucky… Really lucky! I came all the way from the Netherlands, and I even get to see that kid! The real thing is even better!]
Even the scruffy Erhan couldn’t help but get excited as he groomed his beard.
With a height that could compete with supermodels and a remarkably small face, the proportions were stunning.
And on top of that, a uniquely youthful face that doesn’t match his proportions.
She was extremely pretty.
To summarize, she could be counted among the beauties from both East and West.
Moreover, he knows exactly who she is.
[Don’t you get it? The song we composed is the title for her group.]
It’s a title, isn’t it?
Sure, even now if you walk the streets of Seoul, you can hear Debonaire’s debut title in the air.
Among them, the Latin disco genre song “[Debonair]” was exactly the song they created.
And the Latin flavor sprinkled onto that track was brought in by Pedro, the Brazilian singer-songwriter who grew up listening to Latin pop.
[Yeah, so he’s practically our muse. He’s the artist singing our track!]
[We bought the song, so muse or not…]
[Oh come on, friend. Why are you being so petty today?]
Of course, it was true that Pedro’s team was established thanks to Producer Jeon Yo-seob.
It was Jeon Yo-seob who brought together composers who didn’t even know each other in one spot in Korea.
But that doesn’t mean Pedro was someone completely unrelated to K-pop.
Rather, he was an early case of someone who jumped into K-pop as soon as he made contact with ZY Entertainment.
Compared to the other composers here, you could even say he was a first-generation figure.
In other words, even if it weren’t for Jeon Yo-seob, he would have ended up doing this work anyway.
Moreover, Jeon Yo-seob was a freelancer and wasn’t affiliated with any entertainment company.
Similarly, Pedro’s team wasn’t affiliated with any agency either; they were just a team that created and sold songs.
They were simply relying on Jeon Yo-seob for the intermediary work.
‘So not all these songs go to Topist… they could go to ZY, or to Lepro as well.’
The songs belong to whoever recognizes their value and makes contact first.
Naturally, since Debonaire was one of the rising teams among the recent girl groups, alongside Ailee, there was a high chance that if the songs turned out well, they would be bought.
That said, the sudden news that Do-hee was joining the song camp due to contacts with Topist Entertainment, which Jeon Yo-seob was close with, wasn’t exactly welcomed.
This place, their workspace, was somewhat commercial but also a space for musicians who burn their souls for the sake of art.
Pedro, who took pride in his creation, wanted to showcase art right now.
[Let’s just do that. Include that girl.]
[Stop talking nonsense, Amigo.]
[The term “Amigo” is racist. Even though I’m Hispanic, I’m not speaking Spanish, I’m Brazilian and I speak Portuguese.]
[Yeah, apologize Erhan. This white guy. As a black man, I won’t forgive you.]
[Sorry, it was a joke.]
[Forget it, let’s do some active listening. There’s nothing better to assess basic musical sense than this.]
Yeah, even if you’re a top idol star, to collaborate with his team on songs, you need to show some musical sense.
[If you’re not good enough, we won’t work together.]
And what he meant by active listening was an essential skill that anyone who studied music systematically, whether in classical, jazz, or similar genres, should have.
Especially in genres like jazz or composition that require improvisation.
So… you could say it’s like music transcription.
It was a test of the ability to analyze music right after listening to it.
*
“Manager Young-ho, that person keeps glaring at me.”
“Maybe they like you too much. Look at the people next to them, they’re super excited, saying Do-hee Do-hee.”
“Oh, is that it?”
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