Beginning

Chapter Four

While inside the YG music studio, both Yoona and Ji Yong were sitting down, looking through music sheets and ideas.

"So, I was had some ideas about the song... and music video. You know, with this collaboration we're going to do together..." Ji Yong started off.

He handed her a couple of papers he took out of his book-bag.

Yoona took them from him and looked over them and she gasped.

"Did you work over these last night? Is that why you couldn't get enough sleep?" she asked in awe.

Ji Yong bit his bottom lip and averted his gaze down to his white hi-top sneakers.

"Yeah.."

Yoona gazed at him in amazement.

"This is amazing."

Ji Yong gave her a boyish grin.

"Thanks. But these are just my ideas, if you have anything you want to add in, feel free to do it. We're both working on this together."

Yoona nodded and smiled back.

"Thank you, I will."

Ji Yong placed his palms together and rubbed them.

"Let's get started. Now, we have to work on the beat first, the theme and lastly, the lyrics and music video."

Yoona tapped her bottom lip with her index finger.

"Well, I don't think we should use a lot of auto-tune in the song, it'll sound the same. And how about mixing our genres together?" she suggested.

Ji Yong nodded, indicating that he agreed.

"Yeah, I realized nowadays, people are using too much auto-tune. We should keep it down a notch."

Yoona clapped her hands.

"Yeah! And SNSD is mostly kpop and dance and YG is hip hop and rap, so how about adding pop, dance, rap all together?"

The Big Bang leader smiled at the idea.

"That's just what I was going for. I think the first song should be catchy. There can be a bit of SNSD influence and with a bit of Big Bang/G-dragon as well."

Yoona nodded to that idea. "I think it'll sound good."

Ji Yong gave her his trademark smile, showing how excited he was about the whole idea.

"Can I just say something?"

Yoona tilted her head.

Ji Yong grinned and bit his lip.

"I think SNSD songs are pretty catchy. I liked Gee so much, that I used it in one of my song lyrics."

Yoona laughed.

"I know, I felt so happy and honored that you did that. I didn't know you liked it so much."

Ji Yong laughed a long with her and ruffled the back of his head.

"Yeah, well it got me into a bit of trouble though..." he confessed in embarrassment.

"Well, you shouldn't think about it.. it's not a big deal for me. I didn't think you stole from us or anything.." she reassured.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you."

They both gave each other a genuine smile and Yoona averted her gaze for a bit.

"Now that we're talking about this, I just want to say I like some of your songs too.."

"Oh! Really?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I mostly like some of the Big Bang songs, but I like your 'A Boy' song. It was really inspiring."

"Ah, thank you." he bowed his head from the compliment.

After their small talk, they resumed to talking about the song.

"How about, in the beginning, I come say this part after the music starts?"

Ji Yong cleared his throat and looked down at his first draft of his idea on the paper.

He looked down at it, and started off,

"A yo! This is GD, and Yoona collaboration~ This the new thing right here, YGD. Let's start the music!"

Yoona laughed.

"Wooo~ I like it." she clapped her hands.

Ji Yong grinned.

"Hahaha, how about you? Do you rap?"

At that, she laughed out loud and waved her hands.

"Me? No, no! I'm terrible!"

"It can't be bad! Go ahead, try it."

"No, I really can't rap. It's embarrassing."

"C'mon Yoona, don't be shy."

Yoona bit her bottom lip to stifle her laughter.

"Well, okay." she took a deep breathe and started off.

"Ay! Check it, everybody come on! Woo!"

After that, Yoona couldn't finish her words and started to laugh uncontrollably.

Ji Yong laughed out loud with her.

The two let out a rambunctious laughter together.

"HAHAHAHA! I told you I was bad!"

He waved his hands.

"No, no! That was-- HAHAHA!"

Yoona motioned her hands and took deep breaths.

"Okay, okay. Let's go back to what we were doing."

The leader covered his smile with his hand and calmed himself down.

"Okay," he began. "So I go off with that and the music gets louder, then you start singing the chorus part, right?"

Yoona looked at her paper sheet and nodded.

"And after that, you start with the first verse. I start with the chorus part again and on the second we both sing together."

Ji Yong clapped his hands once.

"Yep, and that's when you come in with the third verse and right when you end it, I use the other half to rap, then leading back to the chorus, we end it off by singing the last part together."

The SNSD member nodded in agreement.

"I like that."

Ji Yong tucked his lips in and furrowed his eyes on his sheet.

"So, let's pratice the beat..."

He turned around his chair to start on the music equipment and switched on the lights.

Yoona sat down next to him.

"Wait, what should we call the song?"

Ji Yong pondered about this for a moment, then suddenly he snapped his fingers.

"How about the title, 'Like Dat'?"

Yoona pouted and scrunched her eyebrows together.

"Like that?"

"No, Like Dat. With a D for that. Like Dat. Cause in the lyrics, it repeats several times in the chorus."

"Ohhhh," Yoona nodded off her head. "Okay."

Ji Yong smiled and resumed back to the controls. He started making the beat.

"Let's use some fast tempo and a simple pace to the lyrics."

"Is there going to be any dance routines as well after the song is finished?" Yoona asked.

Ji Yong turned his chair to face her and smiled.

"Of course, you're a SNSD. There has to be dancing involved."

Yoona laughed. "We can both come up with dance parts."

"Let's do this." Ji Yong said.

"Okay, Yoona. Sing the chorus part."

She was inside the booth, with headphones over her ears and a couple feet away from the mic. While Ji Yong was inside the studio room, and he the music, letting her know he gave her a thumbs up.

Yoona bit her lip and looked down at the music sheet that was in front of her, she read the lyrics and began to sing her part.

"Oh~ Oh~" she started off slowly, and listened as the music rushed into the booth.

As she began singing the lyrics as they planned, Ji Yong stopped the music.

Yoona stopped singing and looked up to see him giving her a serious look.

"At that last part I could barely hear your voice. Try again and this time, can you sing louder?" he asked.

Yoona bit her lip and nodded.

She raised her eyes up front and glanced at the young man before her.

'He seems so different now...' she thought to herself.

Instead of the friendly, shy and outgoing personality of the leader of Big Bang, Kwon Ji Yong. It seemed like she was facing a more serious, hardworking and strict person. Someone totally different than the person she was talking to not too long ago.

Yoona took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was nervous.

This was something new for her. Instead of singing with nine members like she is usually use to and having a small part in the songs, she is here, in the YG studio with a partner; who she is new to working with and has a big part all to herself.

"I'm going to turn on the music now, Yoona. Try again." Ji Yong spoke up, snapping Yoona out of her reverie.

"Okay." she answered back meekly.

And just like that, he pressed the on button and they started from the beginning all over again.

Yoona collapsed on her bed and let out a heavy sigh.

She was exhausted.

They spent the whole day together in the studio, and ate a small meal together. Then left, said their farewells and went home with little progress done.

Five hours of her messing up, having to sing her parts over and over and getting lectured by Ji Yong from time to time. She felt like she was a SM trainee all over again.

She groaned and buried her head into the pillow.

"Yoong~"

Yoona to her back and saw a few of her members coming in her shared bedroom.

Soo Young, Jessica and Hyo Yeon all came inside and rushed towards her, plopping down on her bed.

"So? How was your day?" Jessica asked first.

"Yeah, how did it go?" Soo Young asked second.

"What was he like? What did you two do?" Hyo Yeon finished last as she pressed on for details.

Yoona sighed.

"Well, at first it was nice... I went to their dorm, met the members, played with their dogs."

"Oh my gosh, they had dogs?"

"Aww~"

Yoona got up from her bed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and I found him asleep when I got there, so we all decided to wake him up. After, we went to the studio together and worked on our song."

The three nudged her, wanting to hear more.

"And? And? What then?"

Yoona looked at them and explained, motioning with her hands.

"Then we laughed, shared some small talk and things were great. He seemed really shy and nice. I kind of felt the same, since this was all new to us, but after talking we got along well... but...." she drifted off her sentence.

Jessica gasped. "Uh-oh.."

Soo Young blinked. "But? There's a but?"

"Hey, we're back~" another voice rang out.

"Where are you guys?" a second voice called out.

Hyo Yeon craned her head and yelled.

"We're in Yoona's room!"

Then they heard third voice.

"What?! Yoona finally came back?"

The four girls heard footsteps and bursting through the room came in, Tiffany, Sunny, Seo Hyun, Tae Yeon and Yuri.

The rest of the members came back from finishing their parts in various variety shows.

"Omo! Yoona-yah. How did it go?" Tae Yeon asked, as she sat down next to Yoona and Jessica.

The others tried to squeeze and sit down on the small bed altogether.

"Tell us! What was it like working with Kwon Ji Yong?" Yuri interviewed and extended out her arm, making it look like she was a reporter asking Yoona a question.

"Yeah, the two of you working together in the studio~" Tiffany giggled.

Soo Young shushed them.

"Shhhhh! She was just getting to that part until you guys came in."

"Go on, Yoona. But...?" Jessica said.

Tiffany frowned. "But? There's a but?"

Tae Yeon made a worried face.

"A bad but?"

"Did something happen?" Yuri asked, curious.

Yoona groaned.

"But, when I was singing my part, I guess my singing isn't that good and I was nervous to top it all off, so I kept messing up and he got all serious... it was kind of intimidating.." she finished her story and plopped herself onto her bed again.

After hearing that, all the girls felt sympathetic towards their young member.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwww~!"

The oldest, Tae Yeon patted the distressed girl's hair.

"Don't worry, Yoona-yah. You'll make it through."

Jessica nodded. "She's right. Don't let this get you down. It's only your first day."

Seo Hyun added softly. "Cheer up, unni."

The others chimed in and nodded.

"Yeah, be confident! Fighting!"

Yoona smiled lightly at their cheering and thanked them for their support.

As the girls prepared to sleep, Yoona, who was already in bed with her pajamas on, laid on her bed and went to sleep.

She let out a deep sigh and decided that she would try harder and hoped that tomorrow, would turn out to be a better day.