Entertainment Life With A Camera

Am I okay with this?

“Hey, are you sure about this?”

Jo Tae-woong poked Kim Ju-young’s side. But Kim Ju-young was firm.

‘I’m still lacking. I’m still vague.’

Kim Ju-young thought that as he clenched his fist. He had been quite satisfied with his work so far, but his head went blank when Blue Mick offered him a sampling proposal.

He was sure that the other teams, especially the one led by Lee Joo-hyuk and Park Jin-hyuk, were sailing smoothly.

‘I should drop out of the title candidate.’

He felt no different from taking a bus. Kim Ju-young had his pride.

“I’m just uncomfortable with this. Are you okay? Did I decide too much on my own?”

“I don’t mind if you say so…”

Jo Tae-woong felt a bit regretful, but he decided to follow Kim Ju-young’s opinion. After all, Kim Ju-young had a large share in composing.

Lee Jong-soo PD smiled slyly.

‘Good. This is how it gets interesting.’

He clapped his hands and cleared the tense atmosphere.

“Good. Then let’s do it that way. Please go back to work.”

“Yes.”

On their way home, Ian stood next to Kim Ju-young.

“Hey, why did you do that?”

“I was… embarrassed…”

“Really?”

“I don’t want to be the only one left out. And I can’t just stick to one song.”

Sampling was a benefit that only his team had. He had no time to feel ashamed of the gap with the other teams. He had to finish two songs, and Kim Ju-young had no confidence to complete them perfectly in three nights and four days.

“I think this is the only way to do it properly.”

Kim Ju-young was different from when he whined about losing Ian in the team selection. He was determined.

He couldn’t care less who was in which team now. He wanted to try his best with the title candidate song after getting the feel from Blue Mick’s sample source.

[Wow. I respect your will.]

Ian whistled. Kim Ju-young might be the one who was growing the most right now.

Ian followed Lee Joo-hyuk’s back and suddenly stopped.

‘Am I okay with this?’

***

After Blue Mick gave Kim Ju-young a sample source and some appropriate advice, the next team was Park Jin-hyuk and Park Seo-dam.

“Hyung, isn’t this too long?”

“Isn’t it fun?”

Park Jin-hyuk and Park Seo-dam whispered to each other like they had a secret. Blue Mick approached them and looked at the monitor.

“Guys, what’s wrong?”

“Hyung, listen to this.”

Park Seo-dam flinched and snatched the microphone from Park Jin-hyuk’s hand and played the song. The music that started with dubstep changed abruptly and turned into a completely new genre with piano melodies.

“Wow… this.”

“How is it?”

“Is this all one song?”

“Yes.”

Park Seo-dam and Park Jin-hyuk nodded at the same time.

Blue Mick stroked his chin with interest. He felt like he had to take back what he said in the interview with the PD that Park Jin-hyuk was not innovative.

“It’s hard to understand… but strangely addictive.”

Park Jin-hyuk was trying something new. It was fresh to Blue Mick’s ears, but he wondered if it would appeal to the public.

“But do you have room for lyrics?”

“Don’t worry, hyung. This song is long.”

“How long is it?”

Park Jin-hyuk smiled and made a seven with his fingers.

“Seven minutes?”

Bluemix widened his eyes and asked. A seven-minute song was not unheard of, but it was not very common either.

“This song… It might be at a disadvantage for the title selection. You know why, right?”

“Yes.”

It was fine that they tried various things to avoid boredom in a long song, but people were used to songs that lasted between three and four minutes.

“So, you’re just saying you want to do whatever you want, right?”

“Yes. We just decided to have fun.”

Bluemix nodded. He had no reason to stop them from doing what they wanted without worrying about the competition or the title selection. He looked at Park Seo-dam, who was sitting quietly next to him, and said.

“Seo-dam, do you agree with this? You don’t have to bend to Jin-hyuk just because he’s your brother.”

“No, I’m fine with it. He said he would make the next song focused on me.”

“Really? You guys negotiated well.”

They both looked very happy. If he had to measure their satisfaction, it would be over 100% in terms of job satisfaction.

Park Jin-hyuk raised his arms and shouted.

“Let’s go with Park Seo-dam’s focus!”

“Yeah!”

Park Seo-dam also shouted.

Bluemix made a faint expression as if to say ‘Well, as long as you’re happy.’ Then he tilted his head back in confusion at Park Seo-dam’s next words.

“Oh, and please check the rap part.”

“Rap? Seo-dam, you want to try rap too?”

“Yes.”

Bluemix chuckled.

He thought that Park Seo-dam had a unique voice that stood out and that he could be a main vocal even without rap.

‘Did Jin-hyuk persuade him?’

But Park Seo-dam, who had never even tried rap before, suddenly wanted to rap. Bluemix looked back and forth between Park Jin-hyuk and Park Seo-dam, who were smiling brightly, and thought.

‘Is this Stockholm syndrome?’

***

The last team was Lee Joo-hyuk, Kim Hyun, and Ian’s team.

They had polished the improvised song they had shown to Choi Ji-min, and even added a vocal guide.

“Oh, you guys have a complete song here?”

“What do you think?”

They didn’t need headphones. The song they made was playing on repeat on the speakers. Bluemix sat down and closed his eyes. It was very easy to evaluate with the guide.

“As expected, it’s good.”

The three of them brightened up.

“How did you work on the song?”

“Joo-hyuk hyung set the overall direction and we made the rough rhythm and melody.”

“I see… That’s why… This place is the messiest… You just went wild, huh?”

The three of them smiled awkwardly. The house was still a mess because they were immersed in their work.

“Let me listen to it again.”

Bluemix nodded his head and followed the rhythm. The addictive music and the catchy vocal, along with the lyrical lyrics, were perfect.

“Which parts did Ian and Hyun do?”

“This part is Ian’s… And this is Hyun’s.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Bluemix crossed his arms and thought deeply as he looked at the parts that Lee Joo-hyuk pointed out.

“You don’t need my opinion, right? It’s fine as it is.”

“Yes.”

He knew that Lee Joo-hyuk would answer like that. Everyone had their own taste and style, and he felt that he would only ruin the good points of the song if he interfered.

‘It’s strange that I’m evaluating this.’

Lee Joo-hyuk was already a complete producer. BlueMick snapped his fingers.

“Good. Now, let’s prepare for the next song?”

“The next song is a bit… I’m still thinking about it.”

“Yeah? Do you need any help from me?”

“Um… not yet.”

“Okay? Well, you’ll come back anyway, so let me know then.”

The three of them bowed politely to BlueMick and relaxed on the bed.

BlueMick was about to leave the house, but he turned around and looked at Lee Joo-hyuk.

“Joo-hyuk, can you come out with me for a second?”

“Me? Yes.”

Lee Joo-hyuk got up quickly and followed BlueMick outside. The PD watched them from the monitor.

“Don’t misunderstand and listen to me. The song is great. I think it can be a title track with this song alone. I’m serious.”

BlueMick said only nice things, but Lee Joo-hyuk had a feeling that something bad was coming next. He swallowed his saliva. He didn’t call him for this kind of talk.

“In my opinion, your personality and color are too strong…”

“Do I sound like a copycat?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s just… Ian and Hyun’s strengths seem to be diminished. This is teamwork, you know.”

Lee Joo-hyuk’s expression hardened as if he hit the mark.

“For the next song, try something different. Or think about how you three can harmonize better.”

“Actually, I was thinking about that too, hyung.”

“Yeah? You haven’t found the answer yet?”

“No.”

BlueMick patted Joo-hyuk’s shoulder. He couldn’t give him any advice. The answer had to be found by Joo-hyuk himself.

“But you have time to think since the first song came out quickly. Think carefully.”

“Yes, hyung. Thank you for your advice. Please go in.”

BlueMick was worried that he might have said something unnecessary, but he felt relieved that Joo-hyuk didn’t take it badly.

‘Joo-hyuk is good. But… having too strong a personality can be a problem.’

BlueMick headed to the center of the garden with a complicated expression.

‘I hope Joo-hyuk understands what I mean.’

No matter how much Ian and Kim Hyun contributed, Lee Joo-hyuk’s color was too strong in the arrangement.

‘If this continues, the meaning of teamwork will be blurred.’

But he had a feeling that the AWY members would find the solution.

“How was it?”

The PD woke up BlueMick from his thoughts.

“I don’t think I have to evaluate them anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yes, they are all good. I think they won’t need a mentor anymore after this survival is over.”

He unconsciously uttered a word that was a good teaser. The PD smiled and asked.

“Then, who do you think is the strongest candidate for the win?”

“Objectively speaking, it’s Joo-hyuk’s team, of course.”

“What about subjectively speaking?”

“Of course, it’s Ju-young. I even transferred the sample source to him. If he didn’t give up the title, how much would the royalties be?”

In the end, the PD couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

***

The remaining AWY members had dinner together at the outdoor table prepared for them after BlueMick left.

The PD smiled as he saw the noticeably relaxed members.

“We prepared a lavish feast for you, who must have worked hard.”

“Really?”

The staff kept bringing food. The members smiled brightly. It was the brightest smile they had seen while recording.

The production staff left to eat after the PD said to chat freely while having their meal.

“Hyung, you did a somersault in the air, right?”

“What? No, I didn’t do anything like that.”

Choi Jimin didn’t know what he was talking about, but a somersault was clearly an exaggeration. Ian looked at Park Seo-dam with a bewildered expression.

“Hyun, did your work go well?”

“We already finished one song. How about you guys?”

“We did too. We wrote a killer one.”

As Park Jin-hyuk and Kim Hyun were exchanging high-fives, Kim Ju-young, who had stuffed his mouth with food, suddenly got up.

“I’m done eating!”

The members were surprised and looked at Kim Ju-young. Kim Hyun, who was sitting next to him, also got up and grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey, you just sat down, why are you getting up already?”

“I have a lot of work left, I’m in a hurry.”

Park Jin-hyuk saw the food that was still on Kim Ju-young’s plate and opened his mouth wide.

“Wow, Kim Ju-young left all this? Our team’s pig Kim Ju-young?”

“Who’s a pig!”

Kim Ju-young shouted without thinking and covered his mouth with his hand. He quickly swallowed the food in his mouth.

“Ju-young-ah. You need some time to cool your head too. Sit down.”

“Yeah. Let me eat some more. What am I supposed to do if you go first?”

Jo Tae-woong whined and protested. Kim Ju-young reluctantly sat down and drank some water. Ian, who was sitting on Kim Ju-young’s left, asked casually.

“Did you find a good inspiration?”

“…Yeah. A little?”

He looked at his face and saw that it was much brighter than when they gathered in the middle. Ian chuckled and stared blankly at the air.

‘…I can’t stay like this either.’