He had his own flow and he noticed this himself. He had his own way of producing music and he had his own way of delivering them. Yoongi was truly an original artist; it disappointed him to see other "aspired" artists to only copy others. Other artists were pretty bland in his eyes: a faded image of meaningless lyrics. This made him exhausted because those were not the characteristics of becoming an artist. He was afraid of becoming a solo artist for this reason: Seokjin, Namjoon, Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook were his inspirations that kept him focused on becoming a true artist; they were the reason why every track he produced were so widely loved. Yoongi was able to produce music because of their support; they were his motivation to be the best he could be.
It was almost 4 pm and Yoongi waited patiently in the small yet spacious recording studio. He sat on his chair, tapping a familiar rhythm on the table as he stared across in the empty box where the two artists should be recording. His company apparently contacted Loen entertainment for a certain someone because they believed this would have more people be aware of Yoongi's capabilities and talents of a true rapper. The mint-colored man sighed upon this and had no choice but to accept it. He didn't mind this, he just felt like collaborating with another artist wasn't really necessary. Nevertheless, it was his first time doing so, especially collaborating with one who was quite experienced. He felt a pang of nervousness and butterflies started fluttering around inside his stomach.
Knock knock.
A petite woman with long, faded brown hair came in with a large coat that covered her thin figure. As she made her way through the entrance, her boots continued to make "clopping" sounds. She waved her hand and smiled.
Oh, pretty. "Ah.. IU-sunbaenim!" The man looked up, stood up from his chair and bowed. He became more nervous as he flashed his infamous gummy smile.
"Ahh.. Suga-oppa. Sorry, there was traffic!!" The woman held her hair back to prevent it from covering her face and bowed.
"No, you're on time. Okay, let's begin."
She made her way towards the table and the two awkwardly sat across each other as Jieun prepared her paper and pen. She was a bit fidgety because she didnât know how to ease the tension between them.
She looked up at the man and mentioned, "Suga-oppa, I've listened to BTS' albums and I'm really impressed over the fact that you produced a majority of the tracks! They're really well done. I've wondered why they chose me to collaborate with you. Seems like you know better than me," Jieun smiled shyly as she pushed back her hair once more.
"Oh.." Yoongi scratched the back of his head as a sign of embarrassment and hid his smile. "Heh.. thank you!! I'm very proud of my work! I could say the same thing about your tracks as well. Ah, sunbaenim, it's okay if you just call me Yoongi," the rapper said with the words "Yeah-I-Proudly-Produced-Those-Tracks" plastered all over his face.
"Hm," Jieun scrunched up her face in thought and insisted, "then it's fine for you to call me Jieun. But I like sunbaenim more, just because."
The two smirked and continued onto their work. Yoongi hoped that she wouldnât become the same as the rest of the artists. Somewhere deep down, he felt like she would be different.
"I was thinking-" Both artists spoke up and stared at each other in awe for few seconds. They opened their mouths again and said the same thing again, "No, you first-"
Jieun and Yoongi chuckled although it was quite awkward. It took them for few seconds for them to wait until someone took the initiative. The woman voiced out first, "Yoongi-oppa, you go first. I'm sure your idea will be better than mine."
"Ladies first," he replied. "And for a talented and producer you are, I'm assuming your idea will be better than mine."
"Alright," she smiled and said with an eager tone, "You're an inspirational rapper who easily crafts words that can affect a person's heart. Not just one person but a whole group, crowd or even a whole population. That's how powerful of a rapper you are. Additionally, you are truly unique individual that doesn't lose what's important in your sight. That's a characteristic that many people don't have these days. It's the same for a majority of idols these days. They lack substance."
This perked up Yoongi. She really knew what she was talking about. Especially with this topic; seems like she, too, noticed this with the other idols. He had felt like this collaboration project would be boring and lifeless but now, this was an interesting theme to take on. He nodded as a sign that he understood her stance and Jieun continued, making constant hand motions.
"I was thinking that we should write up a song that delivers a theme to others to not lose what's important to them. To remind them to keep that important thing or their true motive within their sight. A theme that voices out, 'don't lose yourself.' In a way, it's kind of like a diss track by calling to those who have meaningless and emotionless lyrics, you know? But maybe not necessarily a diss. Just a track that makes people aware that what they're becoming is an empty shell. You see artists or people, in general, living without a cause. No motivation. No purpose. Iâm sure youâve seen it yourself: idols without a purpose."
She smiled slyly as she concluded her description of a perfect theme. She pointed at the bewildered man with a pen and stated, raising an eyebrow up, "You were thinking the same thing, werenât you?"
"As expected," Yoongi returned the sly smile and replied, "I didn't know your company taught you to read minds." Amazing. Who knew we'd think of the same concept?
Jieun tilted her head back and slightly covered her mouth when she laughed. "Haha! You're really an interesting person. I like you a lot! I knew you would be different. Let's start working with the lyrics."
Upon hearing this, it made Yoongi's heart skip a beat. He stared at the beautiful woman he had instantly became interested in. This was actually the first idol, actress, artist and producer that really caught his attention. He then shook his head and thought, I should be focusing on this theme.
They brainstormed several hours later until they had finished writing their lyrics with many drafts scattered around the table. They concluded their day with the decision to meet up the next week to completely finish the song. Jieun had planned that they would text each other for the meantime to check for complications while they were apart. She and Yoongi reviewed the lyrics a couple of times before leaving; so when they finished today, they were quite proud of their progress.
"We might actually release this song sooner than expected!" Jieun clapped her hands together and wiggled in her chair. "This is really exciting! The lyrics are really well written, also! I haven't been this excited for awhile."
Yoongi seemed to be taken aback by this and said, "When you collaborated with other artists, it wasn't done quickly like today?"
"It's because the writers were iffy about everything. Some of them liked the lyrics I wrote, some didn't like it, so it didn't end so well. I always lost for some reason; it meant that others had to write lyrics for me instead of me doing it for myself. So it took them awhile to reach an agreement." Jieun stretched out her arms and swiveled around in the chair but continued talking, "I most certainly know how to write my own music and even produce music and I'm not saying that to sound cocky. It's because what I envisioned is never on the same page as them. But with you!"
She stopped swiveling and stopped to make eye contact with Yoongi. His eyes widened and Jieun spoke up once more. "Yoongi-oppa, you're a very unique artist. I'm very glad to be collaborating with you because we get to produce our own music and lyrics from ourselves, and nobody else. And I think it's amazing that it doesn't need to be edited by people who don't share the same idea as us. It's like writing for someone who will, guaranteed, reject it. But anyways, I'm really glad I got to work with you today! I learned a lot about you from these lyrics," she tapped on the paper the two had scribbled all over and continued, "and I do look forward to see what more you have in store for me and for everyone else."
She smiled widely and it made Yoongi want to smile too. He felt really happy hearing such words escape Jieun's mouth. She was truly a unique person. Yoongi stood speechless; he was still processing the words Jieun had said. He was completely happy that he had been praised by someone other than his own members or some random MC on a show. He was amazed that she shared the same values as him, and the fact that she understood the true nature of the music business and had the mindset to overcome those who trample over her originality. He felt that the two had some sort of spiritual connection, and it made him like her even more.
"Haha! Jieun-sunbaenim, I'll be sure not to disappoint you. No words can explain how amazing of an artist and producer you are. I'm glad to be collaborating with you, really." Yoongi laughed in embarrassment and Jieun smiled at him. "So we'll meet up next week to produce the tracks right? Then we should be able to record our voices the following week, or maybe same week."
"I think we'll be able to finish everything by next week!" Jieun said excitedly. "Let's trade phone numbers then." She looked up at the man in front of her and grinned. He noticed that she was only a bit shorter than him, and he found this somewhat quite cute. After giving each other their phone numbers, they talked for several minutes and said their goodbyes.
And so next week came, thus resulting in Jieun and Yoongi meeting up in the same recording studio at 11 in the morning. Jieun had brought snacks and beverages and Yoongi promised to order themselves chicken. The whole day, they had tried different sound effects, inputting them in the different segments. For hours they've been repeating the same phrases, "Let's move this here," or, "That sounds a bit wrong," and, "If we add this here, this would sound really nice." They often joked around here and there to make work more interesting and lively; Yoongi intentionally added weird sound effects that didn't fit in just so he could see Jieun smile and roar in laughter.
It was 6 in the evening when they decided to take a short break. They had finished producing the music and the only task left was to record their voices onto the track.
Jieun looked up as she sat across the table to see Yoongi stand up. She liked his outfit today; it was very simple and casual. He wore black jeans followed by a loose olive sweater; underneath the sweater was a denim colored collared top. She hid her tiny smile because Yoongi looked exceptionally cute.
"Jieun-sunbaenim," the mint-colored hair man spoke nonchalantly. "I'll be going to the restroom."
"Yes, Yoongi-oppa," Jieun mimicked the man. "Okay, you do that. I'll be waiting here."
He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him carefully. Jieun sighed and rested her head on the table. She was pretty beat down, but she was still excited to finish the song by the end of the day. As she continued to stare off into space, she noticed that the scent of their leftover chicken and flavored snacks filled up the recording studio. Jieun recalled several moments that had happened today: Yoongi constantly made her laugh and smile as they worked on their track. She smiled upon remembering his focused expression because it was attractive. She liked the fact that they had similar views on producing music; and finding a person like Yoongi was terribly hard to find. Jieun thought about the man the whole time until she slowly fell asleep.
Yoongi came back to see a sleeping Jieun softly breathing with her head down on the table. Her arms dangled loosely on the sides of her body and her hair fell on one side of her head, exposing her calm, sleeping face.
Yoongi walked closer to the sleeping woman until their faces were several centimeters apart. He kneeled down beside her so he could get a good look of Jieun. He found her tiny nose and the mole on the center of her right cheek adorable; he smiled upon the sight of this and pushed several strands of hair away that fell slowly on face as she continued to softly breathe. He noticed that she barely wore makeup; only a thin line of eyeliner was applied. Yoongi liked this; she was naturally beautiful and she didn't need to wear too much makeup. He then left her side to fetch his jacket to place on top of Jieun so she could stay warm. He didn't want to wake her up although both had wanted to finish the song quickly; he found this moment precious and didn't want for it to end. He sat besides the sleeping Jieun and continued to observe her. Yoongi then leaned closer to her; he supported his head with his palm and with his elbow resting on the table so he could admire the female producer.
And before he realized it, Yoongi understood why Jungkook fell in love with Jieun. He understood why he respected her so much, why he admired her and why he longed to collaborate with her. This artist truly knew what she was doing and she obviously had the characteristics of not only an artist, but as a true producer as well. As an expected of an artist who has been in the business since she was 15; it's no wonder she knew so much about music. She was not only beautiful, but absolutely smart especially in terms with music.
After Yoongi widened his eyes in realization, Jieun had batted her eyes open and he immediately left his seat, hiding the fact that he had been staring at her the whole time.
"G-good morning," Yoongi said nervously.
"Heh," Jieun said lazily in a soft voice. "Good morning to you too." It took her awhile to fully wake up and realize that Yoongi's jacket was on top of her back. She hid her face so he wouldn't see her smiling; she loved the scent on his jacket and hoped it would linger on her clothes.
"Oh, Yoongi-oppa, thanks for covering me with your jacket! How thoughtful. Hehe," Deep inside, Yoongi fainted when Jieun had smiled towards him.
"It's no problem. You were sleeping peacefully so, ya know.."
He felt so awkward; he didn't know how to react. Jieun smiled as usual and after an awkward silence, they decided to go back to work. She could see his cheeks shine from the light as Yoongi smiled and it made her think, Wow, he must take good care of his skin.
Yoongi was up in the recording box first and Jieun pressed a button to begin their song. She bobbed her head as she listened to his rap; she watched Yoongi feel the rhythm as he delivered his powerful lyrics with constant hand motions. Jieun found this very act quite attractive; she often rose up her eyebrows and smiled at Yoongi whenever they made eye contact. The recording had progressed smoothly after about two or three attempts. At one point, Jieun had stopped him.
She pressed the button to talk on the mic to voice out her opinion, "Oppa. I'm no rapper but could you try this technique? I'm not sure if it'll be of use to you but it's something I learned after observing the rappers I had collaborated with."
Yoongi tilted his head in confusion because Jieun had no experience as a rapper. Heck, when she tried to rap, it didn't even sound like a rap. But he didn't hesitate to hear what she had to say. He nodded as a sign that he understood and said, "Yeah, go ahead."
"Okay so this verse, where you sped up, slow it down on the next part then make it a bit choppy, as if you're pronouncing each syllable. You're not breathing correctly; your breathing is irregular and it goes off track with the rhythm. So, I figured that might be helpful. When you make the lyrics choppy, you could make quick breaths to make up the time when you're not breathing on the verse where you're speeding up from the previous rapping segments."
"Ah," Yoongi eyes widened as he found this very advice quite interesting. "Let's try then." He didn't know how important this piece was, but Yoongi did realize that breathing was harder for him whenever he tried to rap on the next verse, just like what Jieun had pointed out. He decided to try it out the next run and when he had redone the verse that Jieun had suggested, it sounded much better.
"How was it?" Jieun looked eager for Yoongi's reply. It seemed like she really hoped that her advice would be helpful. She waited for his reply with sparkling eyes and Yoongi could see this clearly as they made eye contact through the recording box's window.
"Actually," Yoongi exposed his gummy smile. "I found it really useful. In fact, it was much better than the previous attempts. I noticed that it's easier to breathe after doing so. It was," He stopped his sentence midway to flash his two thumbs up and continued, "Really, really good advice."
Jieun laughed in excitement and Yoongi could see how cute she was laughing. When her eyes smiled, he smiled too. "Glad that worked out well!"
An hour had passed after recording Yoongi's part of the song and it Jieun's turn. She cleared her voice and warmed up before entering the box. Yoongi had never listened to her voice anywhere except for music shows; so hearing her voice up close and personal was quite a new experience.
"Ready?" Yoongi leaned his body closer to the mic as he readily placed his finger on top of the button.
Jieun pushed her hair back behind her hair and nodded. Yoongi then tapped the button to begin recording and he leaned back on his chair and relaxed as he listened to Jieun's soothing voice. Her voice was low, husky, and in a way, it seemed so mysterious. Yoongi watched as she closed her eyes and swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the song; she continued to sing and when Jieun made eye contact with him, she raised an eyebrow and smirked. That very action made his heart beat faster than normal.
During one point of their recording, they had a segment where their voices met each others. In a way, it was a bit like a duet. Yoongi loved this; being besides Jieun, hearing her sing along with his voice.
It was almost 11 in the evening when they had finished countless trials of editing their voices and sound effects. Soon after, they had officially produced a track that they had become proud of. The two were exhausted but they were very excited. Jieun and Yoongi discussed for awhile what to do with their track next and planned to meet again next week for a final review. They made copies of their track and downloaded it onto their USB and agreed to have it only critiqued by their trusted friends. They came to the conclusion that they didn't want to release it within the next several days or weeks; whenever the time was right, they would officially do so.
Before they had departed, Yoongi called a cab for Jieun and paid for the ride. Since his dorm was relatively close to the studio, he felt that it was unfair for her to pay. Jieun insisted that she should pay but Yoongi refused to accept it. She eventually gave up; Jieun said that in return, she would repay the favor someday.
He opened the cab's door for Jieun and she bowed as a form in thanks and soon walked in. She waved goodbye as the cab drove away and Yoongi, too, waved until she had disappeared. He turned to the direction of his dorm and smiled at the thought of being with Jieun today. Sorry Jungkook but I think I've fallen for her for her, too.
Yoongi arrived several minutes later and it seemed that his members waited until he got home to eat dinner. He figured they would be asleep by the time he got home but they were surprisingly awake.
Seokjin had finished making soup on time for everyone since they were all sniffling. He got annoyed when they had emptied out all the tissues inside the tissue box because he needed them for himself. He poured an equal amount of soup in seven bowls and Namjoon helped distribute them on the dinner table. He looked around the see everyone but Yoongi at the table; he had just arrived inside the dorm. Everyone could tell he was in a good mood; they didn't dare ask him because it might have ruined the atmosphere. Deep inside, Yoongi was excited to have Jieun's scent on his jacket; he thought it might be creepy but having her scent on him when they were apart made him feel like she was always beside him.
The group had greeted Yoongi and he did the same. Before he started eating, he quickly took out his laptop from his room, set it down on the kitchen counter and played the music he and Jieun collaborated on.
"This is the final product Jieun-sunbaenim and I have made. Tell me what you guys think of it," Yoongi said proudly.
The men at the table smirked at him and chuckled. Jungkook, Hoseok and Taehyung looked at each other then at Yoongi in awe because after working together, he and Jieun unexpectedly became closer since they were now on first name basis. Nevertheless, they knew that whatever Yoongi had produced, it would always exceed their expectations. They continued to slurp their soup with some of them raising their eyebrows and nodding their head in either excitement or in approval as they listened to the track.
The song's beat was mysterious although it had a jazzy, soulful tune to it. A pinch of hip hop was added to it along with a variety of sounds to accompany it. There weren't too many sound effects; just a small amount so the song wouldn't be too much. Since Yoongi knew how to play classical and jazz pieces on the piano, Jieun suggested that inserting some samples would fit in the song; and she was right.
The first to criticize their work was their leader. "Hey Yoongi, the way you deliver the lyrics, I really liked it. It's like a new, interesting style. Where did you learn that from?"
"Heh, thanks. It's a new technique that I've learned today. Actually, Jieun-sunbaenim taught me. After years of collaborating and observing other artists, she figured out that doing that technique makes it seem better; my lyrics were able to flow easily thanks to her."
"Wow, amazing!!" Hoseok voiced out excitedly. "Not only can she only sing and produce music, but she really knows how to listen and observe. Good for you!"
Yoongi blushed and continued to drink his soup. He felt very proud with his work. He additionally felt like he wouldn't have improved without the help of Jieun; so he decided to text her later.
"My favorite part was when IU was singing. I loved it so much." Jungkook closed his eyes and bobbed his head from side to side. He obviously loved her voice and when he heard that Yoongi and IU were to collaborate for a song, he was really pumped up for his friend. "I especially loved the part where you two also blended in your voices. It was really nice and creative!!"
Jimin nodded in agreement and said, "Yoongi-hyung's rapping skills are always great. This time, it sounds somewhat better. Seems like you improved by the help of someone who doesn't rap. That's pretty cool."
Taehyung couldn't wait to input his comment on the unreleased song. "Yes! That too!" He pointed at Jimin excitedly and he replied with a smirk. "But IU's voice. It's so amazing. It fits the theme so well. It's low, it's husky, and it's so befitting! The rhythm and beat is also catchy. This song will be a hit."
"It will most definitely be a hit. Judging from your experience with her, it seems like I could learn a thing or two about vocal practices. I should've been the one to collaborate with her!" Seokjin pouted and Jungkook tilted his head at the eldest member with his menacing eyes enlarged.
They continued to critique Yoongi's and Jieun's collaboration but it was mostly full of proud remarks and praises.
Yoongi stopped drinking his soup for a moment and looked up as if he suddenly forgot something. "Oh! I needa text her if she got home safely."
The group members looked confused and exchanged glances at each other. A woman? Why does he seem excited? This is so odd.
The members stared at Yoongi as he licked his lips and took out his phone excitedly to text a woman. After doing so, he continued to drink his soup. Everyone shrugged it off but it seemed like the once emotionless man looked happy yet nervous.
After they had finished their dinner minutes later, they all hung out around the living room. Everyone was either watching T.V. or playing cards. As for Yoongi, he sat silently with his arms crossed on the couch, waiting for his phone to ring. He stared at the phone that was set quietly on the table.
Ping!
Yoongi's eyes widened and he became jittery. "Ah, ah!!!" He looked around his members and they looked at him as if he was crazy, but they still found him funny. Jungkook and Taehyung were the first to take Yoongi's phone away before he could read the message.
"F-from IU!!!" Taehyung looked shocked as he dropped his jaws.
"WhAAaaAaAt?!?" Jungkook looked disappointed and furrowed his eyebrows. "Yoongi-hyung, you're cheating on me."
"W-what, no.. what the heck Jungkook.â Yoongi looked at the youngest member with discerning eyes.âWhat did she say?!? Give me my phone back too!!"
"S-she!!" Jungkook looked like he was about to cry. "She said, 'Yoongi-oppa, I got home safely! Sorry for such a late reply. I finished eating!' HYuuuUuuNg, how could you do this to me!! What happened to you guys to be on first name basis??" Jungkook continued to extend the "uh" sound in the word 'hyung' for awhile as everyone gathered around Yoongi to interrogate him.
"What's this? Suddenly you're interested in an idol?"
"IU is an exception! She's not like the rest!"
"Hyuuuuuung!!!!! HYUUUUNG!!"
"You hurt poor Jungkook. You know he loves IU."
"Something tells me you guys are gonna go out soon."
"Oh my gosh, HYUUUUNG YOU CAN'T!! HYUUUUNG!!"
Yoongi shrugged and laughed. "Well, I haven't even asked her out yet."
"SO YOU ARE GONNA ASK HER!!"
"See, you're making our baby cry."
At this point, everyone was talking all at once and Yoongi simply shrugged them off. He continued to text the person that piqued his interests.
"It's fine. Jieun-sunbaenim, if you want to return the favor from today, let's go out for coffee tomorrow in the morning."
He sent the message and a whooshing sound was made. They knew Yoongi had sent something.
"Oh my God you're gonna make Jungkook cry again!!"
"What'd you send now huh, you player?"
"Wow !! Yoongi and a girl !! I can't imagine this!!"
