DLMS 43

chapter 43

[Hmm…….]

I went straight into practice as soon as I arrived at the studio.

For over an hour, I moved without stopping.

I kept playing the songs loudly and moving, and before I knew it, I had almost memorized all the lyrics.

[Um…….]

“Hey, why have you been reacting so weird since earlier?”

The devil’s vague interjections were draining my energy.

[Can’t you move a bit more stylishly?]

“I-I’m doing my best….”

[Wouldn’t it be nice if I could give you abilities like this too, huh?]

“That’s not possible, right?”

[Ah, definitely not.]

“So I have to practice.”

[Yeah, right now it’s really at a level I can’t tolerate, but work hard. You can do it.]

Whether it was encouragement or teasing, I wasn’t sure.

Anyway, I started practicing again.

I had narrowed the songs I would perform to four.

One of them was my first self-composed song, Imagine.

It was also the song that helped me pass the Groovy Nation audition.

It was a deeply meaningful song that carried my hopes and dreams.

So far, only Seolhee, Taehun, and Groovy Nation had heard it, so I wanted more people to hear it.

Thanks to Seolhee’s help, the song was already somewhat ready for performance, saving practice time.

The remaining three songs were recent compositions.

One of them was the song I had uploaded today.

While taking a short water break in the center of the studio, I checked Cloud Sound.

“Wow, this is unreal.”

The reason I came to this site was to check the comments.

• “Whoa… insane, this is amazing!”

• “Wow, really good.”

• “Just curious… why would someone like this leave Hong Laebang?”

• “Is this an original song?”

• “Almost professional, the song is really good ㅠㅠㅠㅠ”

• “Thank you so much for uploading your song, Jaehee ㅠㅠ”

• “Wow, lyrics by Yu Jaehee, composition by Yu Jaehee, arrangement by Yu Jaehee… so cool”

I felt like a celebrity.

[They really like it, huh?]

“Of course they would.”

[You’re amazing.]

“What’s so amazing?”

[You’ve always been someone unambitious and calm, but when it comes to performing or gaining popularity, you enjoy it more than anyone.]

“Really? Isn’t that normal?”

[You’re inconsistent. And the intensity of your enjoyment is huge.]

“Hmm, I can’t really know how big other people’s emotions are, so I don’t know about yours.”

[Even that emotion suddenly appears like you’ve become a different person.]

“Huh, I thought I wasn’t the only one. Guess it’s a bit unusual?”

[Yes, a lot….]

“Well, it’s not bad. Alright, I get it. Time to practice again.”

The devil said my emotions were amazing, but I didn’t see it as a problem.

It didn’t seem like something to marvel at so much.

After a short break, I resumed practice.

Imagine was already well-practiced, so I moved on to the other song.

The song I uploaded earlier.

I checked the comments and felt good, so I decided to practice that song.

The title was Drive.

In the credits for Drive, not only was my name listed, but also Lee Jongin’s.

Lyrics: Yu Jaehee
Composition: Yu Jaehee
Arrangement: Lee Jongin, Yu Jaehee

Once, I had gone on a drive in the nearby suburbs.

Drive was built from the inspiration I had at that time.

Like Imagine, it emphasized rhythm to match its title.

It had a slightly faster, upbeat tempo than Imagine, with synths as highlights.

But the vocal line was delicate, emphasizing melody.

The biggest feature of this song was the subtle interplay between the slow melodic rhythm of the vocals and the fast beat of the drums.

I played the prepared MR and picked up the microphone.

Through the high-output speakers, Drive flowed out.

The intro was decorated with two types of wet electric guitars and pluck bass, creating an intriguing atmosphere.

After the short intro, I began singing and sensed unease.

Of course, it was expected.

“Ha…. Can I really make this work live?”

The brief section I just sang didn’t feel right compared to the recorded version.

[Hey, sing more delicately. What was that?]

“I get it in my head, but executing it is really hard.”

[Again.]

“Yes!”

I stopped the song and played it from the beginning.

-Why I driving to somewhere-

“Ah! This isn’t the feeling!”

[Uh-huh….]

The part I was struggling with wasn’t about vocal tone or range.

“The rhythm is really tricky.”

[That’s understandable. Let’s try again slowly.]

Drive had fast, impactful drums appearing in steady beats.

In between, I had to sing the slow melodic lines in falsetto.

I had to time each note perfectly between the drum hits, creating a subtle tension that would give the listener a thrill.

The recorded version executed this perfectly, but live it was difficult.

[You’ve lived as a producer all your life. You don’t have much live experience.]

“Yeah, I get it in my head. But it’s harder than I thought.”

I stopped the song again and replayed it from the start.

This time, I focused, recalling the recording in my head.

Kick and snare.

Exactly when and what lyrics to sing.

The flow and tempo.

How loud the falsetto should be to not be drowned by the drums.

The short intro meant this simulation ended quickly.

I started singing again.

[Hey!]

“Damn it!”

Even though I still couldn’t capture that subtle feeling, I kept going without stopping.

All my attention was on the rhythm.

The trickiest parts were the early section I kept messing up and the pre-chorus before the chorus.

Since there were only two difficult parts, I practiced the rest repeatedly.

Singing, failing, singing, feeling satisfied—over and over.

[A tiny bit better.]

“Th-thank you.”

After constant practice, I took another water break.

[But you’re really improving.]

“Really? Or did I just get lucky a few times?”

[That’s how improvement works.]

“Is that so?”

-Thunk.

“Huh?”
“Uh, hello.”
“Oh, hello.”

[Oh? I think I’ve seen him before.]

‘Where?’

I must have been practicing for two hours already.

Ten minutes earlier.

While Yu Jaehee was deeply into practice, Groovy Nation’s rapper Baek Kyunghwan arrived at the studio.

Baek Kyunghwan had been a judge when Yu Jaehee auditioned for Groovy Nation.

He had commented that Jaehee’s sense of rhythm was a bit lacking.

Looking at the schedule outside the studio, it seemed someone was inside.

“Hmm, I should have come later.”

Removing his earphones, he heard singing from inside the studio.

“Huh, what’s this?”

He quickly pulled out his phone and accessed Cloud Sound.

“Ah, this is it.”

It was the link sent earlier by a club member, connecting to Yu Jaehee’s Cloud Sound account.

“The recording was amazing…”

He focused on the live sound from inside.

“Hmm……”

Yu Jaehee’s live practice could be heard.

His expectation was confirmed.

He had thought Jaehee’s live was okay before, but the rhythm needed slight improvement.

From outside the door, the live sounded just like before.

Jaehee’s vocal and range were excellent, but the rhythm left a little to be desired.

Not bad, but slightly lacking.

If he added just a bit of finesse, it could look dozens of times better.

As a producer and performer, Yu Jaehee was impressive.

[Oh? I think I’ve seen him before.]

‘Where?’

[He was a judge when you auditioned for the club.]

‘Ah! Now I remember.’

Still, they were practically strangers.

“Hello. I’m Yu Jaehee, recently joined.”
“Hello. I remember you from the audition. Well done.”
“Ah, thank you. Practice hard.”
“Yes, goodbye.”

After exchanging greetings, he left the studio.

As soon as I left, a heavy hip-hop beat filled the room.

The forceful rap echoed outside the studio.

‘Wow, they could hear me singing too.’

The club studio was in a rather secluded part of the school, so the walk to the parking lot was quiet.

[It carries that far?]

‘Yeah, really.’

Music from the studio traveled surprisingly far.

The rapper seemed skilled.

Though the message of the song was unclear from the distance, the rhythm came through perfectly.

‘Should I try rapping?’

[It’s good to experiment with different methods.]

‘Ugh, this is stressful.’

[I know the feeling. Many musicians before you have hit this wall. Rhythm is never easy.]

-Thunk.

I finally reached the parking lot, opened the car door, and got in the driver’s seat.

“Ugh, why do I feel so stifled?”

[It’s been a while since you’ve hit a wall like this.]

“Oh, that’s why.”

It was hard to perform the recorded song live.

The stress from hitting that wall was intense.

[Even when you were worse at making songs, you felt just as stressed.]

“Practice will make it better, right?”

[Yes. Rhythm may seem trivial, but it isn’t.]

“I know that too….”

As I had discussed with the devil before, mastering rhythm wasn’t easy.

In music, the first thrill to listeners often comes from range or vocal tone.

But I wanted to go beyond that and deliver greater emotion and excitement to the audience.

To achieve that, I needed more delicate live skills.

“Next ability….”

[Not much longer. Want it for rhythm?]

“…….”

[What? Not interested? Why?]

I remained silent, lost in thought, and the devil was puzzled.

“I’ll think about it more.”

[You’re funny. You could just take the ability I give and enjoy music easily….]

“I’ll practice alone for now.”

[Okay, do as you like.]

“Alright.”

[But if your improvement is slow, I’ll take control.]

“…….”

Imagine and Drive were the same.

The audience wouldn’t notice any wrong rhythm, but to capture the image in my head, people would feel immense thrill.

Yet I couldn’t execute it instinctively yet.

And now that the recordings existed, the public could judge my live skills easily.

I had to be more cautious and devote more time.

“Let’s just compromise a little on grades.”

I stepped on the gas and left school.

As soon as I got home, I sat in front of the mic without washing up.

It was 6:30 when I arrived, now approaching 9.

A 2-liter empty water bottle had fallen beside me, and the next one was half empty, waiting its turn.

My throat felt like it was about to fall off.

I lost count of how many times I sang the 3-minute Drive.

I counted up to ten, but after that, I forgot.

-Why I driving to somewhere-

The first line of Drive.

Even waking up from sleep, I wanted to sing every beat perfectly.

My top skill in music had always been analytical thinking.

I listened, studied, and repeated this process endlessly.

That gave me my current producing ability.

But now that I had decided to become a singer, instinctual, animal-like sense was needed too.

-Ding dong!

“Huh? What’s that?”

The doorbell rang while I was deep in practice.