The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart

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Jieun’s POV

            I kept quiet the rest of the car ride back to my school dorms. I wasn’t upset anymore after hearing what I did on TV, but there was still something that bothered me. I knew that most idols didn’t sing songs that they wrote themselves, especially not so near the time they’ve debuted, but I did have songs written that I wanted to share. They were songs I’ve worked on all my life, developed and changed as I aged and they were lyrics that I poured my heart and soul into. When we got off the car, my manager followed me up to the dorm as a sort of safety precaution—she was acting like a protective mother again—and turned to leave the moment I unlocked the door.

            “Wait, unnie,” I called out, biting my lip. I wasn’t sure if what I was about to say would be appropriate or acceptable, but it was worth suggesting.

            “What is it, Jieun?” She turned back, adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulders. Taking a huge breath, I looked her directly in the eyes and asked,

            “Would it be okay if I wrote the songs for my first album instead?” It was true that I wanted to become a singer, but I wanted my songs to stay true to myself. The songs I wrote were based off my own experiences, and so I would convey emotions better than if I just sang any random song that I company thought would reel in the most money.

            “Excuse me?” My manager coughed, unsure of what she just heard. This was probably one of the most absurd things she’s ever heard form a newly debuted idol. Again, I requested,

            “Can I write my own songs for my first album?” I never blinked when I spoke, and though I stood straight and strong on the outside my mind was yearning to hear a ‘yes’.

            “May I ask why?” She wondered, her gaze softening. I thought about it for a moment, the thoughts that I kept stuck in my head, jumbled in the mess that my life felt like. Placing a hand over my heart I answered,

            “I want what I sing to be from the heart—my heart. I want the stories I share through my music to be true to me, and relatable to my listeners. Everything about me is revealed through my music, and I want the fans to support me for the talent I possess, so that the company won’t be known as my clutch to fame.” The moment I finished, my manager nodded with a sincere smile plastered on her face.

            “I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’ll run it by the director tomorrow and get back to you. Go in and sleep now, okay?” Her voice grew softer with every word until it became no more than a whisper. I moved my hand to cover my escaping yawn and nodded, entering my dorm that seemed much too roomy for me. The extra desk that had once housed Eunjung’s belongings was moved out since I had no use for it, leaving a corner of my room empty. I opened the window, using slight force to break the frost that sealed it closed and let light winter winds dance between the warm currents inside. Tossing my pink guitar lightly onto my bed, I headed to my own desk and pulled out the pink folder that held all my past compositions.

            “This should be good enough, right?” I sighed, wondering if this was a good decision or not. I browsed through many of my unfinished work, realizing that my finished songs couldn’t amount to the size of an album. There were a few compositions I needed to finish for my courses and I could add those into my list. I blinked twice and then rubbed my eyes, releasing another yawn. My mind was excited and ready for this new challenge I placed on my shoulders, but right now I needed sleep more than anything.

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            I sat in my manager’s office, fiddling with my pencil as my notepad sat wide open in front of my face with the few lines I had written a few weeks ago at my picnic table. My manager was still discussing our proposal to the director, and I was anxiously waiting for the results in her office, my knees bouncing up and down in anticipation. I stared at the lines, reading them over and over with no new thoughts coming in. Suddenly, the door flew open and my manager stood at the entry-way with a wide grin. I jumped off my chair and stood in front of her, my eyes wide open and my ears waiting for an answer.

            “He said that a full album might be too much for a first release, so he’s willing to challenge you with a mini album.” She revealed, raising both her hands for a high five. I returned her gesture and began jumping wildly around her office as if I just had five cans of pop and a bag of sugar.

            “You’re a lucky girl, Jieun. He was really against it at first.” She sighed with relief as she headed to her chair, placing the back of her right hand dramatically over her forehead.

            “How did you convince him?” I asked curiously now.

            “I told him pretty much what you told me last night. I said that your album would still stand out, not because of flashy effects or a y dance, but because it was real and from the heart.” She reiterated the conversation she had earlier to me as I nodded.

            “After that, he agreed that ‘Real’ would be the title of your first mini album.” She concluded, folding her arms as if she was done telling a story. I smiled, giving her a quick squeeze of gratitude.

            “So you mentioned you already have some songs ready?” My manager reminded, fastening strands of her long hair behind her ears. I returned to my seat and nodded confidently, pulling out a baby blue folder that I had moved several of my chosen songs to. She gladly received the folder and opened it, pulling out each song and smiled as she read the titles. I chose “Say You Love Me”, my audition song, “Someday”, a song that I had never sung in public before, “Train Ride”, “Even If I Die I Can’t Let You Go”, “The Story Only I Didn’t Know”, and my favourite by a landslide, “Maybe”. My manager nodded, reading over the lyrics, occasionally shooting me glances. She placed them all back into the folder except for “Maybe” and held it up so I could see.

            “From the way the lyrics are highlighted in different colors, I would guess that this was originally a duet?” She asked, pointing to the chorus with a ball point pen. I nodded, unsure if she would approve of the duet.

            “Would you like to keep it a duet for your mini album?”

            “Yes,” I decided, hoping that maybe there would be a chance that Wooyoung could sing this with me again. She eyed me for a few more seconds and then nodded to herself.

            “I think I have a few ideas for your duet partner,” She began, in one cheek by habit as she thought, “Perhaps another 2AM member? Or maybe 2PM’s Changsung? I’ve heard he’s really into you.” She finished with a suggestive wink. I faked a smile but my eyes were twitching as I remembered Changsung nibbling on his banana from our brief encounter. I didn’t want to tell her that I wanted to sing it with Wooyoung until I spoke to him again, so I stayed quiet as she came up with more possibilities. I gave her a deaf ear and sighed, my eyes back on my unchanged notepad.

Wooyoung’s POV

            After five hours of intense acrobatic training, I was finally gifted with a break. Of course I spent it ‘productively’ watching television in our manager’s cozy office. From what I knew, Jieun should be performing on Inkigayo right now with Seulong. At the thought of his name I shuddered—allowing a jealous impulse to get the best of me for a few seconds. They sang beautifully together, but my ears could only hear Jieun. With every camera close up, I could see the sincere smile she had on her face and my heart melted at her little wink at the end of her high notes. It was as if she was born to stand on stage. In the middle of this performance, to put up a bit of an act, Seulong attempted to give Jieun a hug but she pushed him away, continuing her singing flawlessly. I let out a chuckle at his tiny rejection. When the song ended, I found myself clapping to the TV, alone in the office, but the program that followed immediately after was a short interview of Jieun.

            “IU-sshi, your company has revealed that you are currently preparing for your first mini album.” The interviewer began, the camera zooming in on Jieun’s small face. She didn’t look nervous at all, and nodded confidently at the claim.

            “What do you think will make this mini album stand out the most?” The interviewer asked. Jieun lifted the microphone up to her lips and smiled,

            “Each song in my upcoming mini album is written and composed by myself. The lyrics are from the heart and share my personal story of growing up from a kid to the person I am today.”

            “Wow! This mini album will be much anticipated by your new found fans. Everyone please keep an eye out for IU’s upcoming mini album, Real, which will be released in the spring.” The interviewer concluded. I turned the television off, giving myself some quiet space to think. If every single song in her mini album is written by herself, then she would most definitely include “Maybe”. Only this time, who will be lucky enough to record the duet with her?

A/N: Yay another update! The end is drawing near. The songs I chose to be in her mini album all have some sort of meaning to her character or her story that will be explained later on. They are not the actual songs in her album. Wooyoung and IU will meet again in the next chapter so look forward to it. I'll update very soon! THanks for reading ^^ Oh, and I lost all my quotes when I transfered files to my new laptop. ):