suho as a composer (1/2)
anonymous
July 23 2012, 06:42:04 UTC
Joonmyun receives the news over lunch - "I'm sorry, you didn't make the cut."
He blinks a few times before laughing and waving the whole thing off. "Seven years later and I'm still hearing the same thing," he says in between bites. "I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever debut." Junho, one of his fellow trainees, gives him a pat on the bat, and he just heaves a sigh.
"You don't have to debut, though."
"I don't have to what-"
"I'm just saying you don't have to debut to make it big here in SM."
"Well-" Joonmyun looks up from his food for the first time since the start of the conversation. Junho's right - he doesn't have to be a singer to be a successful person in the industry. He can be a manager, a vocal coach, a choreographer (albeit pretty farfetched), or even-
"Oh hey, Joonmyun, I forgot to tell you. You didn't get the spot, but they are offering you a different job. The president wants to see you at five."
Joonmyun smiles, then nods. "Roger."
"Take a seat, please. Don't be shy."
Joonmyun mumbles a small sound of approval as he bows to Lee Sooman and makes himself "comfortable" on the chair opposite the president's. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it earlier. The vocal coach had me do some extra runs and-"
"And for a good reason, if I may say so myself!"
It's time like these when Joonmyun figures he should be somewhere else and not in SM Entertainment. Lee Sooman's being cryptic is not helping, and if anything he's just toying around with Joonmyun's mind. Lee Sooman soon pushes a sheet of paper to his direction and gestures for him to read it.
"We are looking for composers who can create the next big hit-"
"Go on, go on."
"And we've picked you?" Joonmyun looks up and furrows his eyebrows a little. "Is this a joke, sonsaengnim? Because as far as I know, I'm not the best lyricist or pianist here."
"Spare me the trouble of telling you about Jongdae's inability to write good lyrics, please."
"But sonsaengnim, I don't get it. Why me?"
A bout of silence settles in the room and Lee Sooman pushes himself away from the desk, then slowly gets up from his seat. Joonmyun remains fixed in his position, the logic of the whole situation still escaping him.
It just doesn't make sense.
"We stumbled upon a notebook of yours a few months back. The tiny, black one with lyrics scribbled on it. I distinctly remember one line - My brain is dead and my heart is heavy. The broken down events have got me in a frenzy. So forgive me if I can barely sympathize with your stories, your lyrical lies."
Joonmyun scoffs. "That's hardly good."
"You're right, but forgive me, I can sympathize with the lyrics."
There's a smile punctuating the end of Lee Sooman's statement and while the connected dots still aren't making any sense to Joonmyun, he just takes it as a good sign, a green light that says go, go, take the necessary risk. Make that leap of faith. So he signs a three year contract with SM Entertainment as a composer.
He also signs up for a three-month long piano, guitar, and drums class for good measure.
suho as a composer (2/2)
anonymous
July 23 2012, 06:42:34 UTC
"You seriously suck at this."
Yixing, one of the trainees who will be debuting under the group 'EXO', has so graciously volunteered to teach him how to play the guitar whenever they're free. It meant staying around long enough to wait for the practice sessions to end. It also meant shorter breaks and longer work hours.
"Admit it, I'm getting better."
"Maybe at playing the piano, but not the guitar."
Baekhyun, who's on the other side of the room, does a curtsey and proceeds with running through the dance routine with Jongin a second time. Joonmyun laughs a little. Baekhyun has never been the most patient piano teacher, but he sure gets the job done.
Yixing clears his throat. "So, the chords?"
Joonmyun's never been known to take too much pride in his skills, he takes this time to show off a little, play some chords Yixing hasn't taught him yet and punctuate the short performance with a smirk. "You said something?" he comments when Yixing fails to mask that look of disbelief in his face. "Threatened, Zhang?"
Yixing returns the favor and smiles just a little. "You wish."
It's too early to be calling himself this, but on the off chance that EXO's vocal coach fails to show up for practice, he acts as the substitute.
It's not easy. Most people would think that it's easier being the vocal coach, the one giving all the orders and making the call, but it isn't. The difficulty lies in being able to inspire a good performance from the trainees and motivating them to do better next time. Complacency is not something to be tolerated; mediocrity should be out of the question.
It's the week before they debut and he's specifically told everyone to rest their voices for fear of sounding hoarse come d-day, but Baekhyun knows no limits. Joonmyun sees him staying behind, doing extra rounds until he can't feel his vocal chords anymore. And in that moment, everything becomes clear - why Baekhyun got the slot instead of him, why Baekhyun made the cut despite his meager training.
Three soft knocks on the door and Baekhyun's voice trails off.
"Isn't it a bit too late to be practicing?"
"Ah, well." Baekhyun laughs a little. "Shouldn't you be composing?"
Joonmyun takes a few steps forward, then ruffles Baekhyun's hair. "You're too young to be telling me what I should be doing. Now I, as your pseudo-vocal coach, am telling you to rest so that you can blow them away with your voice."
He feels Baekhyun flinch a little at the touch.
"I can blow them away even with a hoarse voice."
"Oh, but the members won't be happy about that."
A look of worry surfaces on Baekhyun's features. He's sure Baekhyun knows that Kyungsoo won't appreciate a poor performance from him, or from anyone for that matter. Baekhyun takes a deep breath and heaves a sigh, then proceeds to fixing his things.
"I'll take you home," Joonmyun calls out from outside the door. "You shouldn't be out late without elders."
He maintains a fair distance from Baekhyun when they walk. They don't talk about the previous encounter or anything, for that matter. They don't even give each other a second look when they arrive at EXO's dorms and Baekhyun disappears behind the door. "Blow them away," Joonmyun mumbles under his breath, because he knows Baekhyun doesn't need to hear it a second time.
You could blow them away even if you didn't try. You could. You could.
He shuns the lyrics running through his brain at the very back of his mind.
Re: suho as a composer (2/2)
anonymous
July 23 2012, 19:56:26 UTC
anon, this was great! i saw it last night, but my phone wouldn't let me comment :(
but honestly, when i prompted i was expecting angst upon angst upon angst, but i really liked this because joonmyun seemed so... casual about what was happening to him until the end. and then it stung, and that's what i wanted. so you did a great job. and yixing saying "you wish" and argh, my heart.
also, i'm really glad to see that tbc at the end because i'm looking forward to more. thanks for filling this, anon! you're the best!
Re: suho as a composer (2/2)
anonymous
July 24 2012, 03:31:50 UTC
omg i just re-read the fic and i never realized i made so many mistakes. sorry about that, anon! i'm glad you liked it, though. i'll definitely be continuing the fic. the idea is just too good to pass up. :)
thank you so much for that wonderful prompt, anon! i wouldn't have been able to do this without your help. :)
Re: suho as a composer (2/2)
anonymous
July 24 2012, 23:24:12 UTC
it's perfectly fine. :) and i'm glad to hear that you'll be continuing and that the prompt inspired you so much! i can't wait to see how you continue. good luck with writing~!
He blinks a few times before laughing and waving the whole thing off. "Seven years later and I'm still hearing the same thing," he says in between bites. "I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever debut." Junho, one of his fellow trainees, gives him a pat on the bat, and he just heaves a sigh.
"You don't have to debut, though."
"I don't have to what-"
"I'm just saying you don't have to debut to make it big here in SM."
"Well-" Joonmyun looks up from his food for the first time since the start of the conversation. Junho's right - he doesn't have to be a singer to be a successful person in the industry. He can be a manager, a vocal coach, a choreographer (albeit pretty farfetched), or even-
"Oh hey, Joonmyun, I forgot to tell you. You didn't get the spot, but they are offering you a different job. The president wants to see you at five."
Joonmyun smiles, then nods. "Roger."
"Take a seat, please. Don't be shy."
Joonmyun mumbles a small sound of approval as he bows to Lee Sooman and makes himself "comfortable" on the chair opposite the president's. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it earlier. The vocal coach had me do some extra runs and-"
"And for a good reason, if I may say so myself!"
It's time like these when Joonmyun figures he should be somewhere else and not in SM Entertainment. Lee Sooman's being cryptic is not helping, and if anything he's just toying around with Joonmyun's mind. Lee Sooman soon pushes a sheet of paper to his direction and gestures for him to read it.
"We are looking for composers who can create the next big hit-"
"Go on, go on."
"And we've picked you?" Joonmyun looks up and furrows his eyebrows a little. "Is this a joke, sonsaengnim? Because as far as I know, I'm not the best lyricist or pianist here."
"Spare me the trouble of telling you about Jongdae's inability to write good lyrics, please."
"But sonsaengnim, I don't get it. Why me?"
A bout of silence settles in the room and Lee Sooman pushes himself away from the desk, then slowly gets up from his seat. Joonmyun remains fixed in his position, the logic of the whole situation still escaping him.
It just doesn't make sense.
"We stumbled upon a notebook of yours a few months back. The tiny, black one with lyrics scribbled on it. I distinctly remember one line - My brain is dead and my heart is heavy. The broken down events have got me in a frenzy. So forgive me if I can barely sympathize with your stories, your lyrical lies."
Joonmyun scoffs. "That's hardly good."
"You're right, but forgive me, I can sympathize with the lyrics."
There's a smile punctuating the end of Lee Sooman's statement and while the connected dots still aren't making any sense to Joonmyun, he just takes it as a good sign, a green light that says go, go, take the necessary risk. Make that leap of faith. So he signs a three year contract with SM Entertainment as a composer.
He also signs up for a three-month long piano, guitar, and drums class for good measure.
Reply
Yixing, one of the trainees who will be debuting under the group 'EXO', has so graciously volunteered to teach him how to play the guitar whenever they're free. It meant staying around long enough to wait for the practice sessions to end. It also meant shorter breaks and longer work hours.
"Admit it, I'm getting better."
"Maybe at playing the piano, but not the guitar."
Baekhyun, who's on the other side of the room, does a curtsey and proceeds with running through the dance routine with Jongin a second time. Joonmyun laughs a little. Baekhyun has never been the most patient piano teacher, but he sure gets the job done.
Yixing clears his throat. "So, the chords?"
Joonmyun's never been known to take too much pride in his skills, he takes this time to show off a little, play some chords Yixing hasn't taught him yet and punctuate the short performance with a smirk. "You said something?" he comments when Yixing fails to mask that look of disbelief in his face. "Threatened, Zhang?"
Yixing returns the favor and smiles just a little. "You wish."
It's too early to be calling himself this, but on the off chance that EXO's vocal coach fails to show up for practice, he acts as the substitute.
It's not easy. Most people would think that it's easier being the vocal coach, the one giving all the orders and making the call, but it isn't. The difficulty lies in being able to inspire a good performance from the trainees and motivating them to do better next time. Complacency is not something to be tolerated; mediocrity should be out of the question.
It's the week before they debut and he's specifically told everyone to rest their voices for fear of sounding hoarse come d-day, but Baekhyun knows no limits. Joonmyun sees him staying behind, doing extra rounds until he can't feel his vocal chords anymore. And in that moment, everything becomes clear - why Baekhyun got the slot instead of him, why Baekhyun made the cut despite his meager training.
Three soft knocks on the door and Baekhyun's voice trails off.
"Isn't it a bit too late to be practicing?"
"Ah, well." Baekhyun laughs a little. "Shouldn't you be composing?"
Joonmyun takes a few steps forward, then ruffles Baekhyun's hair. "You're too young to be telling me what I should be doing. Now I, as your pseudo-vocal coach, am telling you to rest so that you can blow them away with your voice."
He feels Baekhyun flinch a little at the touch.
"I can blow them away even with a hoarse voice."
"Oh, but the members won't be happy about that."
A look of worry surfaces on Baekhyun's features. He's sure Baekhyun knows that Kyungsoo won't appreciate a poor performance from him, or from anyone for that matter. Baekhyun takes a deep breath and heaves a sigh, then proceeds to fixing his things.
"I'll take you home," Joonmyun calls out from outside the door. "You shouldn't be out late without elders."
He maintains a fair distance from Baekhyun when they walk. They don't talk about the previous encounter or anything, for that matter. They don't even give each other a second look when they arrive at EXO's dorms and Baekhyun disappears behind the door. "Blow them away," Joonmyun mumbles under his breath, because he knows Baekhyun doesn't need to hear it a second time.
You could blow them away even if you didn't try. You could. You could.
He shuns the lyrics running through his brain at the very back of his mind.
(TBC)
Reply
but honestly, when i prompted i was expecting angst upon angst upon angst, but i really liked this because joonmyun seemed so... casual about what was happening to him until the end. and then it stung, and that's what i wanted. so you did a great job. and yixing saying "you wish" and argh, my heart.
also, i'm really glad to see that tbc at the end because i'm looking forward to more. thanks for filling this, anon! you're the best!
Reply
thank you so much for that wonderful prompt, anon! i wouldn't have been able to do this without your help. :)
Reply
Reply
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