episode 4.5 - OPPOSITE DIRECTION
Dark Horse
DARK HORSE
間違えている箇所もあります。
….
f o u r
Because of differences
We weren't able to meet each other
"Hey, where should we drink today?"
Wu Yifan looked at the person at the back of the car, he was able to reject it for the past two days, but today was an exception due to the big "FREE" on Arch's schedule.
"Answer" Kim Jongin never got bored of 'Answer' though it was farthest from their dorms. Maybe they should send a spy to see whether he has a connection with the bar.
"I'm not worried about Wu Yifan, he would let us go get drunk anyway, how about we ask the other person?" Though that phrase from Luhan was directed to Jongin his eyes turned to looked at the guitarist who never gives out opinions about drinking, and he knew fully that Park Chanyeol had heard it.
The image of a certain kept hunting him no matter how much he tried to shake it of. Wu Yifan's judgement went into his left ear and out his right, nothing could be compared to the feelings that he is carrying for the past two years, and Chanyeol didn't think that anyone would understand except himself.
"Hey Chanyeol"
Jongin poked him, waiting for an answer.
"Ahh.. Okay"
The two years didn't change anything, Baekhyun was still angry at him just like two years ago. Maybe he was hoping for too much when they met. Everything has changed, and there was no path to walk back. If the only path now was to walk forward, Chanyeol thinks that it is time that he should forget about his past self in Glay, the only place for him now was Chanyeol of Arch.
Let us just meet in the future.
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Glay rented the apartment for just almost two weeks because after signing the contract, Hestia decided to pay for their dorms at Seodaemun so they would be able to practice easily. Mr. Lee Sooman said that two hundred won was not so much, considering that they would work together for five whole years.
Of course the person who manages their schedules and take care of them would be Jongdae. Junmyeon and Kyungsoo doesn't really understand the city fashion - skinny jeans, colorful shirts, or glasses without lens, why would they even wear that!? But all of that was present within Kim Jongae.
"Here it is, these colorful pants look quite good, why don't you guys try it?" When practice finishes Jongdae would show them new fashion trends on the internet and advice them to dress up more and follow the trends. "Oh, and that striped polo shirts, stop wearing them."
Do Kyungsoo looked down at his comfortable polo shirt, confusion written all over his face. This morning Sehun told him that if his hair is dyed red, please choose a more suitable shirt. He was always in the practice room, no one would even glance at him so why should he?
"How about we talk about music?"
Baekhyun spoke up, after practicing for the last whole week they haven't had any songs of their own meaning -- Jongdae would let them practice songs of other bands because their debut song wasn't finished yet.
Jongdae smiled listening to the singing, he placed his chicken on the plate before opening his notebook. Many things were written in there, and at the last pages was no doubt, Glay's weaknesses and strength.
"Good, now let's talk about your strengths and on where you should improve... Starting from Baekhyun" The singer gulped, knowing that what they had practice would now be summarized into bullet points. " Your voice is very powerful,and you deliver emotions well.. But your techniques are not good enough"
The pen was pointed to the opposite side, the chicken drumstick still in each of their hands, thinking about what they were lacking in while listening to what Jongdae is going to say.
"Sometimes your voice is really powerful but sometimes, it's too soft. Your balance is still not good. When you hit high notes it looks like you're forcing it, try to practice without the music and from now on you should exercise in the morning everyday. Next-- Okay Junmyeon." The said member slowly lowered down his piece of chicken, why was he feeling so nervous? " I like your style of playing but on mid bass sometimes it's too much, practice more on that, but don't worry about it much because the guitar has to accompany the bass. Sehun, you play fairly well but sometimes it's feels like you're too excited, calm yourself and focus and the song's balance would improve."
Seems like Do Kyungsoo became the best in the eyes of the producer, his rhythm is really intact controlling the beat perfectly. Kyungsoo still think that that is not enough though, the thought of being praised did not make him want to practice lesser. It can be clearly seen on Baekhyun's face that he was conflicted, spending less than five minutes eating dinner, he quickly dashed into the practice room to practice while waiting for s.
He has to be better than this.
Glay has to go farther, or else they won't be able to reach Arch.
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“Hey”
Though Kim Junmyeon said that easily, his eyes were darting around. He decided to meet up after the latter called him yesterday, though he did not prevent him from telling anyone, Junmyeon knew really well that he was taking a risk because his heart was too soft to reject from coming.
Park Chanyeol wore a black hoodie and a hat, hoping that it would help him disguise from all the fans. They agreed to meet at a small bar at Chodaemun, Chanyeol coming by taxi, afraid that countryside-guy Junmyeon would get lost in the city. Seeing clearly with his own eyes, the elder really thought that Chanyeol became more handsome since the last time he saw him. Chanyeol sipped his beer, staring at Junmyeon, observing whether he was angry like Baekhyun or not.
The answer is Yes, but that was before.
“Didn't thought that you would call”
Chanyeol smiled, removing his hat when he knew that the bar was private enough and no fans were around. His ash grey hair made his face bright (though Junmyeon remembered that on the contest day,his hair was black) His right arm was covered in tattoos and his ring finger still has the same ring tattoo as two years ago.
"Took me a long time to decide, I was afraid ou would hang up on me."
"At first I would" Junmyeon answered with a pokerface before breaking into a smile "I was joking, how's life, long time no see."
"As you can see."
"Ah.. Popular Chanyeol Sunbaenim... I see.." Junmyeon said bitterly.
Ouch.. Though that did not hurt as much as he thought the other two would. Chanyeol lowered his eyes, filling his glass with beer before whispering, loud enough for the elder of course.
"Though I'm saying it now, but I'm sorry for what I did."
"Give me a reason for me to not be angry" Because they had to accompany each other while playing, the act of being angry is normal. The elder then sip his beer, waiting for an answer from the guitarist who left without a word.
"If the reason is popularity, then I'm really going to be angry"
"I thought you would know that"
Junmyeon went silent, lips forming a straight line "Is that really it?" When he saw that Chanyeol nodded, he chuckled before drinking his beer in one shot.
"Not surprising seeing that it's you."
Yes, going back then, there is no reason for the bass and guitar to not know the problem. The more they practiced together, the more Chanyeol became uneasy and did worse while tuning his skills with Glay. Everyone knows it's hard, especially him, but Junmyeon would still be the first to tell him that 'it's okay'.
Because if they eventually accept that fact, Glay would have to change their guitarist.
“Would it be okay if I punched you in the face right now?”
"Would you want to be on the news?" Chanyeol chuckled
"I'm busy nowadays, if I'm free I'll let you punch me."
Junmyeon was satisfied with his answer, although it seems like he was joking, if Chanyeol really let him, he would gladly swing his fist onto the latter's face.
"I heard that Glay signed the contract with Hestia" Chanyeol changed the subject, lowering down his empty glass of beer.
"News do spread fast here.. We weren't even introduced to the public yet." Junmyeon drank his beer once again. "Arch should stand strong, Glay's coming" He said, forming a gun with his hands using his thumb and index finger.
Scanning his eyes through the music notes, Byun Baekhyun passed the music sheet to each of the members. The song was composed by the well known composer of the company,Song Tong Il, Oh Sehun still remembered the song 'Believe' by the band called Flicker that smashed the charts last month.
"I think that this song would suit Glay the most"
"Are the lyrics not finished yet?" Baekhyun asked, seeing that there was not one word written on the paper.
"Ahh that.." The composer and the producer exchanged glances. "Jongdae wanted you guys to write your own lyrics"
“Huh?”
"Tong Il hyung really liked the song Decision and your other songs, so we thought that the first album should be able to scream GLAY"
After they were told so, the next week was filled with erasing and rewriting the lyrics, everytime Oh Sehun went into the room he would always be met with the piles of paper that were crumbled and thrown, Baekhyun didn't even know that the fact the he was not buried in the piles of crumbled paper was because Oh Sehun was there to clear up his trash"
"How's it going" Sehun walked behind the elder, who's sitting with his brows furrowed, murmuring something to himself, not knowing the close contact they were having now. Recieving no response, Oh Sehun sighed before putting down a glass of cool drink on the table.
Baekhyun took out his earphones "Sehun?"
"I brought you Coke, maybe sugar would help your brain work" Sehun answered before grabbing a chair and sitting beside the elder. Baekhyun returned his focus to writing the lyrics while Sehun could do nothing but move around, always ending up at the same place beside Baekhyun.
His eyes stopped at something.
"Hyung" Sehun pulled down Baekhyun's shirt's collar, pouting when he saw nothing on the elder's neck. "Where is my necklace?"
"In front of the mirror, you can take it if you want"
Sehun then realized that after the contest, he never saw the silver charm on the elder's neck -- Is Baekhyun that oblivious? Wahh.. Or did he purposely hurt him?
"No" Sehun moved closer to the elder, hands grabbing the desk "I won't take it back"
"What do you want now?"
"Baekhyun"
Sehun moved even closer to the elder, Baekhyun moving back from the kid that was always bothering him. Sehun sighed before pretending to leave but wasn't able really to so both of them stayed in the same pose.
"Are you really going to break my heart right now?"
“What are you talking about” Baekhyun furrowed his brows
“Baekhyun”
“What do you want now?”
Sehun didn't answer, his hands grabbed on the chair so the latter wouldn't be able to move away, although Baekhyun bend his back as far as possible, the kid would come even closer before planting a kiss on the elder's lips. "I like this"
Baekhyun was about to hit Sehun, but his hands were grabbed before kissing him for the second time. Baekhyun was getting used to this type of weird relationship. Sehun locked his legs with the latter's chair before hugging Baekhyun closer between his legs, although his lips were rejecting it, Baekhyun let it happen again, he didn't how he should reject the kiss for the third time.
Although the feeling of loneliness made him enjoy this act, after the third time he slightly push his shoulder away from the latter, warning Sehun that he had enough for today. After getting what he wanted, Sehun then shifted his attention in writing the lyrics on the table.
"I like this verse 'If eternity were declare as non- existent, wouldn't it be just lonesome, and painful to bare?' You only wrote up till here?"
“I'm stuck here, before the hook" Baekhyun turned his chair around, passing the pen to the latter, Sehun picked up a small piece of paper before writing something down, humming along to the melody.
“How's this, I was able to think of it after readin yours"
After passing the paper to Baekhyun, he hugged his chest, knowing that he would recieve a praise or a smile from Baekhyun. That was more than enough for him. After Sehun wrote that verse, more ideas flooded through and the song was finished within a few hours, everything was easier after the guitar was played for the singer to sing along.
Although some parts need to be fixed it was like the song projected the English alphabet that formed into a title.
“Clock Strike, what do you thinking that?”
Sehun thought about it before nodding and smiling after he understood the meaning.
One thing that they couldn't get used to was how their image were changed. Starting from Junmyeon's hair color, Kyungsoo's glasses,to Baekhyun's hairstyle. Oh Sehun was the only one who was happy, being told that he was handsome and so on.
The song received finishing touches from Jongdae and Tong il before it was recorded. Starting from the drums, then the bass, guitar, vocal, and lastly the chorus. The members tense up everytime a camera focused on them for the behind the scenes of album making.
Oh Sehun was despised everytime he laughed at the members when the director used effects to stretch the other three members legs for them to look taller. They became even more handsome after their eyes were fixed to the same size. He request for the original picture and the final picture printed so he would stick at each of the member's wall above the bed.
After waiting for the feedback after their first band picture was released to the public, many people was interested and would look forward to their music although they were also compared with the Blanchett, the winner of the Rock Rising Contest, who signed a contract with Neighbor Records.
“Show them what you got" That was Jongdae's motto
The meeting was interrupted when a staff handed them a set of papers that was printed, one for each of the members, one for Jongdae, for the creative staffs, marketing staffs, and one for president Lee Soo Man.
Everyone in the room tensed up like lightning struck them, it was a picture of four people including Park Chanyeol of Glay. Though it was not really clear, the public could still start a controversy with this.
"Is it really true?" Jongdae asked, seeing that each of the member's faces were not good. "Is it really that Park Chanyeol?"
Kyungsoo was the first one to admit the fact, they didn't need to see the staffs stressed face to know that this debut won't be as easy as they thought.
“Do you guys know Arch privately?” One of the staffs asked. If it was true and the public knew, then Glay could be viewed as using Arch's fame in the contest.
"Only Chanyeol, but it's not like that, we don't have any connection with Arch"
Sehun elbowed Junmyeon softly, showing him the article at the middle of the page 'Park Chanyeol (Arch) was once a member of Glay' It would not be a big deal of not for the incident that happened on the contest day, Jongdae removed his glasses, thinking of a way to avoid the press and clear all the misunderstanding, if they could just tell them that they were just friends and brush it of it would be really easy.
Only the incident was preventing them to do so.
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"We don't really need to hold a press conference"
Wu Yifan said, receiving the phone that was returned to him. Park Chanyeol just sat there with a scowl on his face, angry at himself that he did not think before he did something that could start a problem. The solution was not really hard, they could just stay silent and everything would eventually quite down. But the problem is that Glay was now the talk of the town between the insiders.
"It's not a big deal, just tell them that you're old friends and just happen to meet each other"
“Old friends” Yifan repeated, glancing at Chanyeol. “Do old friends drag each other to talk in a secluded place?”
“Wah” Luhan added, his eyes wide. “Don't let the paparazzis hear that or the fangirls would go crazy."
Chanyeol glared at their main singer who would always say things that aren't necessary. Before both of them were scolded, their lives were saved by Minseok who just came in, phone still next to his ear, walking in and sitting on the sofa next to the guitarist.
“Hestia contacted us about the news”
“What did they say?”
“Glay's facing a lot of criticism because the other six bands said that they were there when the incident happened, they wanted Arch to help." That was not unexpected, if Glay would speak up the truth no one would really believe them, they were being bashed and all eyes were on them right now since the news was released. If Arch didn't step up, then this controversy would continue until Glay's debut.
Wu Yifan thought about it for a while before speaking up "What would Arch get for helping them?"
Hearing that Chanyeol stood up, a scowl still on his face, though his eyes were determined and dark, thinking about what would happen if Arch stayed quite.
“You get to help me not become a person who left his band just because he was hungry for fame”
Because less than a day later, a picture of Park Chanyeol before he became a member of Arch surfaced the Internet.
Just like what he said.
TBC
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