part 13

"What's the highest note in this song?"

Seung-rok, who had been quietly listening to Eui-jin's new song for the next album in the recording studio, asked.

"D-flat. Why, is it too high? I can lower the key if you want."

Seung-rok slightly furrowed his brows.

"That would ruin the song's vibe."

"True."

"I'll stick with the original key."

"Are you sure? This is a high note that even skilled singers struggle with. If it's too much, I can adjust the song."

Eui-jin said this, but he secretly hoped Seung-rok would keep the original key. 

The song he wrote was indeed very high-pitched. 

It was a song that even talented vocalists would find challenging. Normally, he wouldn't write such a song. 

But when it came to 'The ZERO,' Eui-jin placed no limits on himself. 

Seung-rok always grumbled, saying, "You're torturing me, hyung."

The truth was, Eui-jin wrote such demanding songs for 'The ZERO' because he trusted KROCK's vocal abilities. 

He had unwavering faith that Seung-rok could sing any song perfectly.

"Fine."

Seung-rok said curtly and walked straight into the recording booth. 

He knew that Eui-jin was deliberately provoking his pride to make him sing in the original key. 

But he decided to play along. 

He actually liked Eui-jin's song quite a bit. 

Besides, he always enjoyed a challenge when it came to singing.

A little while later, after finishing the song in the recording booth, Seung-rok asked quietly,

"Should I do it again?"

"No, it's fine. Come out."

Eui-jin said, then turned to the other staff who were staring blankly at Seung-rok.

"That's it for today's recording. Good job, everyone."

The staff finally left the studio with relieved expressions. 

As they exited, Eui-jin overheard their whispers.

"That was insane."

"Was that live? I thought it was recorded before. It's flawless."

"There's nothing to fix. His pitch and rhythm are more precise than the instruments."

"And the emotion? How can someone so cold transform when he sings?"

A smile involuntarily spread across Eui-jin's face. 

They couldn't help it. 

These were external staff responsible for drama OSTs who had never heard KROCK sing live before. 

People who heard him for the first time were always shocked. 

Initially, they were amazed by the difficulty of the song. 

They doubted a K-pop idol could sing such a challenging song. 

But as they listened to the end, their skepticism turned to astonishment. 

By the time the song ended, they were in awe of him.

Eui-jin had been composing ballads for 'The ZERO' for years. 

Yet, in the seven years of working together, he had never asked Seung-rok to sing a song more than three times. 

Normally, Eui-jin would spend at least two full sessions (eight hours) meticulously directing the recording. 

But working with Seung-rok was an exception.

No matter how much he scrutinized, there was nothing to criticize in Seung-rok's singing. 

The song Eui-jin had just sung was no different.

After singing just once and stepping out of the recording booth, Seung-rok looked around the studio and shook his head.

"Why did everyone leave?"

"Because the recording is done."

"Already? Then let's do one more. Track 8."

Eui-jin waved his hand dismissively.

"Come on. Are you planning to finish all the recording today? Let's rest and do it tomorrow."

"Seriously? What did you even do today? I did all the singing."

"You brat."

Eui-jin playfully furrowed his brows. 

But Seung-rok wasn't wrong. 

Usually, during recording sessions, the busiest person was Eui-jin, the A&R staff and the producer at the same time. 

He had to guide the singers on how to perform his compositions. 

During the recording, he would make them sing multiple times to pick the best parts and combine them. 

After the singer finished his work, Eui-jin would tweak the pitch and timing using the equipment. 

But on days like today, when Seung-rok was recording, Eui-jin had nothing to do. 

There was nothing to fix.

Feeling a bit guilty, Eui-jin pretended to work by fiddling with the computer keyboard.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. 

It opened, and a staff member came in to deliver a message.

"We have a visitor. For KROCK."

"A visitor? For him? Who?"

Eui-jin tilted his head in confusion. 

It was rare for anyone to visit Seung-rok at the company.

"She said her name is Mina Choi, and she's a golf coach."

"Let her in," Seung-rok immediately interrupted their conversation.

"A golf… coach?"

Eui-jin looked puzzled. 

He remembered Seung-rok mentioning recently that he had started taking golf lessons. 

But it still seemed odd. 

A guy with no hobbies other than music suddenly taking up golf? 

And Seung-rok wasn't the type to network. 

He even had dinner plans with the coach on a weekday evening. 

Something felt off.

"How obsessed with golf are you to bring your coach to the company? Or are you going out with her? You've been going to Jeju a lot lately. Dating a golf coach makes sense. Golf courses are private, no prying eyes. Smart move."

"Hyung."

Seung-rok cut off Eui-jin's excited rambling.

"What?"

"Isn't the title track due next week?"

He was warning Eui-jin to mind his own business. 

Understanding the hint, Eui-jin grumbled and left the room.

As he walked down the hallway, he encountered a mysterious woman.

At first, Eui-jin thought she might be a new K-pop idol. 

But her face was unfamiliar. 

With a height well over 170 cm and a solid lower body, she looked like an athlete to him. 

Yet, her large eyes and distinct, beautiful features, even without makeup, made her seem like a K-pop idol. 

The youthful roundness of her cheeks and her shy, small lips made it hard for him to guess her age. 

Idols are dancers, a kind of athlete, so they need to be strong. 

Was she a new idol the company was nurturing?

If he hadn't met her inside the company, he might have wanted to produce her, feeling a mysterious charm about her. 

But meeting her inside TYB meant she was likely already a singer assigned with the company.

'Is there a new singer I don't know about?'

Eui-jin wondered. 

Even though he was a senior executive with little interest outside of his own project 'The ZERO,' it seemed unlikely. 

He regretted not paying more attention in recent meetings.

Lost in these thoughts, Eui-jin turned his head to look back. 

The woman had disappeared somewhere.

***

"Hello."

I glanced around as I stepped into KROCK's studio. 

"You're here." 

KROCK, who had been jotting something down at his desk, turned to look at me. 

Unlike his usual neat attire, he was dressed in comfortable training clothes. 

Because of that, he looked completely different to me. 

His clothes clung to his body, revealing his sleek, panther-like physique.

"How's the kid?" 

He casually brought up Hayeon. 

I chuckled. 

"Disappointed. She wanted to go out with me tonight." 

"I thought she'd be happy to go out with her grandfather. Why?" 

"She wanted to go out with me like yesterday, as I told you" 

"Did she?" 

Seung-rok sighed softly. 

He had been worried when he let me into his house. 

Since Hayeon was born, no one had been invited to their home except for him and his grandfather.

He was concerned that Hayeon and I might have an awkward relationship. 

But in practice, we clicked.

The family welcomed me warmly. 

Seung-rok even felt a bit jealous of me.

It was a rare recording period for Seung-rok, so Hayeon could see her dad working at the Jeju recording studio even on weekdays. 

But she had little interest in Seung-rok.

Instead, she always asked me to play with her. 

I suddenly remembered what Seung-rok had told me. 

When he first told his family that Mina would be coming to their house, his grandfather and Hayeon were thrilled. 

His grandfather had questioned what kind of relationship we had, while Hayeon was excited to play with me. 

Seung-rok had firmly told his grandfather that we had no relationship and warned Hayeon not to call me 'mom' again.

Lost in these thoughts, I suddenly remembered what I needed to say.

"Hayeon really loves Macbeth." 

"Does she?" 

"I was worried if she could understand it. But she was completely absorbed in the story. She loved the acting." 

Seung-rok clicked his tongue slightly. 

Honestly, acting was something he knew well. 

He was a kind of actor himself. 

While preparing for interviews, I had watched all the interviews he had given about his job. 

Whether he wrote it or someone else did, he thought of singing as immersing himself in a script and expressing it. 

He saw himself as an actor, receiving the script of lyrics and melody and delivering it through his singing performance. 

He loved his job, but he didn't seem keen on pushing his daughter into it.

"At her age, it's natural to be interested in acting or the stage, isn't it?" 

I shook my head firmly. 

"Usually, kids watch animations or puppet shows. Being fascinated by Macbeth is on a whole different level. She might have a talent for it." 

Seung-rok cut me off softly but firmly. 

"Teacher, you were hired to coach me in golf." 

A moment of silence passed between us. 

I regretted it a little inside. 

Right.

I'm not Ha-yeon's babysitter, let alone mom. 

I'm just a teacher hired to teach golf. 

Why did I try to interfere? 

Noticing my slightly raised eyebrows, Seung-rok smiled and continued. 

"Shall we get to the point? How was the lesson with the child?" 

For a moment, I talked with Seung-rok about the golf lesson. 

Honestly, there wasn't much substance in what I said. 

From my perspective, Hayeon handled golf quite well, but that was all. 

The child showed neither a liking nor a disliking for golf. 

It just bothered me that the child was particularly enthusiastic about taking golf photos. 

My lesson story ended sooner than expected. 

Then Seung-rok said to me, "Shall we have dinner at home today?" 

"Do we have to?" 

"It's better than eating out." 

Come to think of it, he was right. 

This was Jeju Island, full of tourists. 

And Seung-rok was a world-famous idol singer. 

Naturally, if he walked around with a woman, it would cause a commotion. 

If the two of us were to eat, it would be safest to drive home and have a meal there. 

"Or is there something uncomfortable? You should get used to living in the same house anyway." 

I immediately asked Seung-rok, 

"Aren't you uncomfortable, Seung-rok?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"It's… uncomfortable, isn't it? With me living here. It must be hard to bring friends over." 

"Who brings friends home these days?" 

"Then what about women?" 

At the mention of 'women,' Seung-rok's lips twisted slightly. 

Was he mocking me? 

His smile, as wicked as a devil but shining like an angel, startled me. 

At that moment, Seung-rok spoke. 

"You mean whom I sleep with?"

Pfft! 

I almost spat out the water I was drinking. 

Seung-rok smiled at me as I barely avoided the crisis. 

"I'll handle that myself. I'm an adult. Why, are you worried that I'll interfere if you bring a man over?" 

"That's none of your business!" 

"That's exactly my point."

Seung-rok replied to my words with a blank expression. 

Realizing that I was the one who had invaded his privacy first, I sighed. 

Well, it wasn't my concern anyway. 

I just needed to enjoy the good facilities of Seung-rok's house. 

As I was thinking that, Seung-rok grabbed his jacket and continued. 

"Let's go. Tonight's dinner will be pasta. It's your biased, right?"

This guy.

He bugs me so much. 

Why do you remember my taste?