❝ I KNOW WE GOT ISSUES ( TRUE TRUE TRUE ) BUT I’D RATHER WORK ON THIS WITH YOU THAN TO GO AHEAD AND START WITH SOMEONE NEW ♡
her first thought is that of all the justin beiber songs she would want to work with, that she would want to cover — well, no, she wouldn’t really want to in the first place considering there’s just about one song she still likes by jb and that’s love yourself. still, the recommendation by their trainees isn’t something ariel overlooks easily, especially on a project that’s involving someone else. the fact that it’s haseul almost makes her feel more pressured.
( the truth is, working with any of them makes her feel a little pressured now. there’s no room for mistakes, not this close to debut, not when she’s the leader of all things )
working on the songs had been difficult at first. she’d thought the songs didn’t work well together. how could they combine them, ariel struggled with the concept of it for hours when the lyrics themselves seemed so . . . different for lack of a better word. different messages, different vibes, but a commonality was necessary to make this work. it wasn’t as if they were running the melodies over each other, nor mixing the lyrics into one. but it was the transition, about making it from one to the next smoothly.
it’s only when she gives up on that idea that she realizes it’s better not to focus too much on that. it’s only when she thinks of just singing with haseul the way they used to that everything seems to perfectly fall into place, the way it just does when it’s the two of them. in a way, it almost felt like the journey they took together. the closer they get to the filming date, she understands that the songs suit their feelings for each other. how it started, how it grew, and how, in the long run, they have issues but working on it is worth it. that’s how they got here, to moments ariel could look at haseul as they strummed and sang and smile without prompt.
sweet, natural, easy — put your records on ♫
when they first met, ariel remembers thinking haseul was still young. so young for how much talent she already had, so young for being pulled into everything haunting her mind back then. but haseul stuck by her and even when they did fade away for a while, the hope was still there. they just had to find themselves, somewhere, somehow.
bittersweet, passionate, hopeful — as long as you love me ♫
the vibe changes, haseul slides the capo down the neck of the guitar, and ariel’s focus is more on singing, on the quick part coming up in the song and even she almost stumbles on a few takes, a pause too long, or a word not enunciated enough for clarity. she asks for retakes nearly as often as when recording their debut album. looking at haseul, she thinks she can get through it no matter what. they all could. as long as they all have each other, as long as they all have love, and she hopes anyone who listens to their debut album believes that too. she hopes people take a chance on six young hearts with more than enough love to give.
