As a result of hastily retracing his memory, he was barely able to reach a conclusion before Moon Sunwoo’s expression became completely vicious. Ah, meddling. If it’s meddling.
Telling the photographer to try changing the composition?
“I think you misunderstood, that was just as a manager…”
“Don’t say it was just doing your job as a manager. Our manager hyungs have never said anything like that before.”
Then shouldn’t you be grateful? Just as that thought was raising its head, Moon Sunwoo’s face contorted with misery.
“Did I look pitiful being hidden behind Kwon Isoo hyung? But, you know what’s even more disgusting? For sunbae it ends after stepping in once like charity and feeling proud, but the same thing will happen next time anyway. Continuously from now on, endlessly…”
His breathing gradually began to wheeze. The rapidly blinking eyes swelled up pitifully for a moment. Do Yeonjae just silently watched. Because that gaze that seemed crushed by something didn’t seem to have been created just from yesterday or today’s events alone.
“Just pretend not to know like other managers. I know well enough that it can’t be helped.”
“……”
“Anyway, sunbae thinks similarly too. Don’t say you don’t. I saw your face when Juwon hyung said background character earlier. The NEOS songs Kwon Isoo hyung made until now too, if sunbae had sung them instead of me, they would’ve been much better…!”
Wait, what is he saying?
“Sunwoo-ssi.”
At the firm voice, Moon Sunwoo flinched for a moment. A disgruntled sound flowed from his protruding lips.
“…It’s true you two were really close during trainee days.”
“I don’t know what that has to do with the current situation.”
At first he stayed still, but the more he listened, the more frustrated he became. This tiny head is completely packed with misunderstandings, so where should I start correcting this?
Haa, first… I should say this.
“It was Juwon-ssi who expressed himself as a background character, so why are you like this to me… I didn’t say anything. You know that’s an inferiority complex, right?”
“……”
“I never thought you were pitiful, and I never stepped in like charity. I just suggested it because I thought Sunwoo-ssi’s strengths would show well in that composition. I was proud because the cut came out better than expected… Didn’t you like that cut, Sunwoo-ssi?”
Even though you liked it. So much so that you can’t even hide your expression now. Because his emotions were so transparently visible, he wasn’t even that angry. However, one thing that bothered him a bit… He thought Moon Sunwoo seemed somewhat accustomed to this kind of situation, but that wasn’t it.
Moments of being hidden and erased by someone must have piled up one by one, gradually cracking his heart.
“And about the NEOS songs.”
Even so, connecting Kwon Isoo’s songs to himself was definitely out of the blue. It wasn’t a problem that could be understood just by being close with Kwon Isoo in the past.
Do Yeonjae asked calmly.
“Tell me why you came to think that way. I won’t say anything.”
“Well, Kwon Isoo hyung…”
Moon Sunwoo opened and closed his mouth as if to say something, then shut it tight. After a brief awkward silence, subtly avoiding his gaze was an action anyone could see as changing his words.
“…Anyway, it’s true that I’m less skilled than sunbae. With my voice, I can’t even get acknowledged by Kwon Isoo hyung.”
“You can’t get acknowledged?”
“You thought our group’s relationship was bad today, right?”
Rambling on felt exactly like someone who had been waiting for a chance to pour it all out to someone. So for now, he quietly listened to his words.
“Actually, I don’t dislike Kwon Isoo hyung. He’s the number one contributor to making the group successful, I’m not an idiot… Ah, there is one idiot though. At least that’s not me.”
“……”
“I just don’t talk to him tactfully because he dislikes me.”
“Kwon Isoo said he dislikes you, Sunwoo-ssi?”
“It’s obvious just by looking. Earlier too, when you came into the waiting room together with sunbae, he said something…”
That was probably to bother me. Should I appeal that you and I are in the same boat? No, actually Moon Sunwoo might be in a much better position.
“Other than Sunwoo-ssi jumping to conclusions. Has he ever directly said he dislikes you, that he can’t acknowledge your voice?”
“……”
Moon Sunwoo shook his head from side to side. See… Swallowing a sigh, Do Yeonjae explained in a gentle tone.
“Sunwoo-ssi’s vocals have their strengths most highlighted when hitting high notes. They go up cleanly without any noise and capture the listener’s ear. Your appeal is also excellent compared to your years of experience.”
“…What’s that supposed to…”
At the sudden praise, Moon Sunwoo was startled. But even so, he could clearly see him perking up his ears.
“Maybe that’s why, in Sunwoo-ssi’s parts there are particularly many sections that empty the accompaniment and emphasize the vocals. On top of that, giving it a sense of space in the mixing really heightened the immersion, which was good.”
“……”
“Um, and… In dance songs, you cut the pronunciation short and use your voice refreshingly like a rhythm instrument. It also brought out Sunwoo-ssi’s tone well. The bridge part of the debut song, it even caught the algorithm on Shorts, right?”
He could roughly tell what parts he lacked confidence in. Being a main vocal with a sweet voice, he’d feel his vocal power was insufficient. He might think there’s no impact. Do Yeonjae had a somewhat lower range and was the style to vocalize more roughly and powerfully.
But comparing two people with completely different characteristics would be bitter…
He didn’t know how Kwon Isoo thought of the members, but as a third party who had listened to NEOS songs countless times, he could be certain of this one thing. If Kwon Isoo truly disliked Moon Sunwoo, if he had no interest in his voice, he absolutely couldn’t have done that kind of directing.
“In short, I felt that Kwon Isoo did producing that maximized Sunwoo-ssi’s vocal strengths. In all of NEOS’s songs.”
Do Yeonjae’s words were expressionless, as if just conveying what he felt as it was. However, it was words from none other than RAYEON’s main vocal. Those weighty words couldn’t help but shake the heart of a barely second-year rookie.
Moon Sunwoo, who had been dazed for a moment, flushed his face red and spoke stumblingly.
“I didn’t… know that Isoo hyung did that…”
“You might not know as the person involved.”
Kwon Isoo especially doesn’t show such things, and basically his expression is kind of like that too…
But it was an obvious fact even without examining it closely. Originally, you have to know a singer well for recording to come out well. If the recording had been a mess, there wouldn’t have been a Daesang win either.
Moon Sunwoo’s cheek, lost in thought, kept twitching slightly. The sharply glaring eyes had already become gentle. So cute… Do Yeonjae held back laughter once more. No matter how sharp the edge, he thought twenty years old is twenty years old.
“Actually, I was immediately eliminated from that singing competition program where sunbae won. So I became even more… lacking in confidence. I kept remembering how the trainer teachers praised until their mouths were dry about how good the vocal harmony was between Kwon Isoo hyung and sunbae before. Thinking that I’m replacing that…”
Vocal harmony, what era is he even talking about? Letting out an empty breath, Do Yeonjae appropriately changed the topic.
“I watched that program, but the song selection was a miss. If you’d just chosen the song well, you could’ve won.”
“Really? You watched me on it?”
“Of course.”
“…But, why.”
Then when Moon Sunwoo opened his eyes pointedly again, he became tense without realizing it. Why, what else is left?
“Why did you act like you were seeing me for the first time today?”
“What?”
What is this about? He couldn’t grasp the flow of the conversation at all.
Of course, it wasn’t his first time seeing Moon Sunwoo today. Since their trainee periods overlapped. However, unless you were hired at the same time, it was difficult to build friendships with all trainees, and in such cases, it was normal to greet with appropriate courtesy even when meeting after debut.
Still, he didn’t treat him like a complete stranger this morning… Just as he was wondering, a grumbling sound flowed from Moon Sunwoo.
“You used to speak informally to me before.”
“…When?”
“I was depressed because I caught a cold before the weekly evaluation, and sunbae gave me yujacha and left… Don’t you remember?”
“…Ah.”
As soon as he heard Moon Sunwoo’s words, buried memories sharply rose up. So, it was a cold winter. At that time, he himself was on the verge of catching a cold too, so he bought a hot drink at the convenience store on the way to the company, and coincidentally saw a younger trainee who had caught a bad cold. So…
‘Sunwoo-ya, does your throat hurt? Want to drink this?’
‘……’
‘You’re shivering… You must be really cold. I’ll ask them to turn up the heat.’
‘…Thank you.’
‘Yeah. If it’s too hard, tell me. I’ll go to the hospital with you.’
That was all it was, wasn’t it…? As he still wore a puzzled expression, Moon Sunwoo said in a small voice.
“When practicing you sweat so they don’t turn the heat up strong. Even though I was shivering from the cold, I was conscious of the hyungs so I couldn’t say anything… But when sunbae raised the temperature, everyone just laughed it off. I was really grateful then.”
Was that so? His memory was hazy, but somehow he felt like he knew this one thing.
“You must’ve been cute back then too, Sunwoo-ssi.”
“…I’m not cute though?”
