123 – Icons
“Dohee, good luck! Do well on the exam!”
What is this? Manager Dahong, who even prepared glutinous rice cakes.
“I’ll definitely get 100 points and call you. I’ll come back!”
After receiving the glutinous rice cake and pretending to make a phone call, I got out of the car.
I got off at the parking lot of a high school near Shock Entertainment.
It was the testing center where the qualification exam was administered.
It is administered every year in early April or early August, so you cannot take the test immediately after dropping out and have to wait for half a year.
Today is the day I finally graduate from middle school.
Of course, the results will come out in a month.
-hehehe… I graduated from elementary school.
I thought of the member who made fun of me for being an elementary school graduate, and I felt very petty.
“Huh!?”
There are students pointing at me with their hands.
Even though I’m covered in masks and hats, I can’t seem to hide my unique aura.
‘Well, this ratio. This atmosphere. ‘How can I hide it?’
Of course, pride is prohibited.
For the fans who always approach me, it is important to be humble.
“Yes, that’s right…”
“Hey, Hyunya! The cherry blossoms here are so pretty. Let’s take a picture!”
…Sakura?
I caught the naturally fluttering cherry blossoms with my hands floating in the air and looked vaguely at the cherry trees and pretended to be absorbed in the scenery.
‘Early April, when cherry blossoms are in full bloom. ‘The scenery is beautiful.’
But two students approached me.
“That… Photo…”
As expected.
“Ah~ Of course!”
I thought you would recognize it.
I’m trying to take off the mask.
“Ah, thank you! Hyun-ya, you took the picture! Stand quickly!”
After handing me the cell phone, the two of them went and stood in front of the cherry tree.
“Ah… The two of you are filming.”
“Yes?”
“No…”
Why do I feel ashamed of myself every time?
After taking pictures, I hurried into the exam room out of embarrassment.
At least for a moment, the unique smell of the classroom and the gentle spring breeze blowing through the window at the exam center calmed my mind.
‘Even though it’s only been half a year since I left school…’
There is something about the atmosphere of school that makes you find your innocence.
In fact, if you look at unchanging symbols such as cherry blossoms and schools.
A symbol that reminds me of a certain image.
I sometimes feel like I want to become a medium that reminds me of those symbols.
It may seem like a childish and immature idea, but…
It is also a pure inner desire.
Still, I was somewhat embarrassed to admit it, so I dismissed it as the scent of spring that made me emotional and handed over the test paper handed out by the proctor.
‘It’s been one year since I took the exam.’
I passed the exam smoothly until the 6th period.
I was worried that someone would recognize me at the test site, but I guess this was just pride.
I feel very ashamed of myself today.
‘Even if you wear a mask, you should try to be recognized…’
No matter what, it looks like the 100-point record will continue.
Perhaps because it is a qualification exam, the difficulty level of the test is not high.
When I returned to the dorm after the exam, I was greeted by a brightly smiling older sister, Sarah.
“Dohee~ Are you here after taking the test?”
Today is a day off. She
Most of the members would have gone out to play, but why is this girl alone in the dorm?
“Uh, what are you doing at the dorm?”
She tried to rest by herself, but when she thinks of her older sister, who insists that she play with her except during her free time, she feels that she is not good at resting.
“Harang and Seo-yoon went to a PC room… But I don’t know how to play games…”
“Those two seemed like it.”
These days, Seoyoon is into games.
That’s also in LoL, which is famous for being a game with a lot of people.
Harang, who loves games, taught this to Seo-yoon.
In fact, gaming was a hobby that was also recommended by her agency.
-Miss, what is this raccoon bastard?
From noble mtl dot com
For newbies, there is nothing more unique than games.
-aaah! Sister, this raccoon bastard keeps killing me!
Easy to relieve stress in a healthy way.
-Oh, I don’t!
You can enjoy it comfortably at home without worrying about scandals.
I think there is a reason why there are many idols who enjoy playing games.
However, I was so sick of working and playing games over and over again in my past life that I no longer wanted to do it in this life.
“And then Hana and Ye-eun went to meet a friend…”
“Yeeun unnie…?”
That’s a bit surprising.
As Sarah went into her room to put down her school bag while listening to her older sister, she could not see her older sister, Chae-rin, who would have stayed in bed and rested on holidays.
“Chaerin isn’t there either?”
“Chaerin went to work on a song…”
Chaerin, who is good at playing the guitar, was the only one among her members who could compose music.
She also learned composition as part of the company’s trainee curriculum.
“Oh, really?”
When I was a trainee, I was recommended to take lessons by her agency to learn how to compose, but at that time, I was lacking in both singing and dancing, so I wanted to focus more time on it.
Because she spent her life taking care of everything from school to piano, she did not have enough time to learn composition.
But these days, I often think about learning how to compose.
“Dohee, should we make scones with you…? She prepared the ingredients!”
She made her debut, but now her routine of going to school has disappeared.
During my inactive period, I was so relaxed that I had some spare time, except for days when I had a schedule.
“Okay. I’ll go to the studio and take a look.”
“Dohee’s favorite… Chocolate scone…”
I’m craving chocolate scones.
I have to buy it on the way out.
***
Shock Entertainment MIDI composition room.
As we enter, there is Chae-rin, leaning blankly on her chair.
And in front of her older sister Chaerin, a composition software program called DAW was on on her monitor.
Chaerin turned her chair to look at me, pretending to be popular with me.
I thought she would be surprised by her sudden visit, but she spoke in a surprisingly calm voice.
“What’s going on?”
“What is that reaction? Why aren’t you surprised?”
“You have to wander around here and there.”
…Me?
“I just came here to look… But I’m also curious about how they compose music.”
“There’s nothing to see right now. There’s nothing to work on.”
Chaerin looks frustrated as if she is stuck in composing.
“I tried to leave anyway. Nothing came out.”
“Then why don’t you just show me how to compose music?”
In fact, there was no special way in the meaning of the noun composition.
If you pick the notes you are humming and paste them, that is composition.
But of course, everyone knows that there is more to the composition process than that.
First of all, I heard that most songs these days are composed of beats first.
After constructing the basic framework with attractive bits.
Place the top line, or melody line, on top of it.
Also, raise the root note and main chord according to the melody and beat.
Sequencing and mixing skills and understanding were needed.
More than anything, making the beat, creating the melody line, and composing the root note were not easy tasks.
Kpop compositions these days are not just about humming.
‘That’s why more and more composers are forming teams and collaborating to create creative songs.’
Moreover, there is a saying like this in the Kpop scene.
The arrangement of a popular song depends on its arrangement.
A good song is captivating just by its melody line.
The song I listen to over and over again without getting tired of it is the beat and the root note.
And it can only become the best if it exudes a unique atmosphere and rich sound added through arrangement.
‘It’s not for nothing that composers from the hip-hop scene who are good at making beats are doing well these days.’
I lacked that ability.
I only play classical music, so I guess I’m illiterate when it comes to beats.
‘If I want to learn, I will have to work hard.’
Moreover, playing numerous classical piano pieces was by no means a guarantee of being able to write a good melody line.
I just have a high understanding of sound.
“Hmm… Then, shall I show you how to make a beat briefly?”
My current level of understanding of composition was not knowing how to use MIDI equipment or how to use a composition program.
“Yes. Show me. I was curious.”
Chaerin sat down in front of her desk, and she skillfully added virtual instruments by clicking buttons with her mouse.
Take the samples, attach them, cut them, and insert them.
I also cut out some synth sounds, copied some sounds, touched the graph, and adjusted the button labeled Detune.
Adjust the pitch and add points to the clear and pure sounds of the bell called chime.
“I can’t tell even if I look.”
“Actually, if you learn from experts, you can do this in just a few months. This is something you can do quickly because you are practicing what you have learned.”
They say that famous composers can create a song in one day when they are inspired.
I don’t know how that is possible.
“Dohee, you’re good at playing the piano, so if you learn it, you’ll do well right away, right? In fact, you can participate in composing music as long as you come up with a good melody.”
Even if she said that, it was clear that it would take her a long time to become proficient as there were more than one or two MIDI buttons to learn.
Of course, if you do learn, you will receive lessons from an expert, so you will learn faster than studying on your own.
Still, if you want to learn everything, after disbanding next year…
Wouldn’t it be possible only after all activities are over?
“Actually, I want to try composing music.”
Lyrics, composition, stage performance.
If all that becomes possible, I will also become a symbol that reminds me of Kpop.
In other words, wouldn’t it be possible to become an icon of Kpop?
‘Like GD in a past life?’
I guess it feels like I’m a celebrity among celebrities.
It would be cool to become that kind of person.
“But will I have time to learn?”
Chaerin laughed and took out her laptop.
“You can compose music with a laptop too. My sister will tell me often.”
Okay then.
“So what genre of song do you want to make? Classical? Ballad?”
Of course, I also want to write piano songs.
Sweet songs are also good.
But what song do you want to write the most?
Dynamic and energetic stage.
A stage full of excitement and thrill.
I never get tired of listening to it.
A song that brings a different energy even when walking the same street.
More than anything, the stage is fun.
“Dance song.”
Actually, the reason I quit playing the piano and became an idol was actually the dance song’s fault.
After hearing what I said, Chaerin nodded her head.
“Yes, I thought you would.”
I felt strangely bad.
These days, the members have become accustomed to responding by saying, ‘Because it’s Dohee.’
Why?