I Decided to Become a Perfect Girl

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Sometimes I think.

Why on earth should I give a song to my older sister?

“Don’t talk nonsense. You told me to go solo.”

“Yeah…”

I averted my gaze from Kim Seo-yoon, who looked at me as if I were stupid, and discreetly glanced at Director So-hyun next to me.

Director So-hyun, still lost in thought, kept absentmindedly sipping from a now empty coffee cup.

“If the Chairman had just provided more manpower, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I should just assign the song to the director, right?”

It’s all the Chairman’s fault for Director So-hyun’s struggles.

I nodded positively.

“But you know, maybe the director has a really great song stashed away, right?”

I brightened the mood with a big smile.

“Maybe the director feels a bit left out too. I mean, being the considerate person I am, I just want to gently ask…”

“……”

“Hmm, I guess there isn’t a song. Hmm, you’ve been busy lately. Okay.”

I am Do-hee Lee, the producer of Debonaire.

Someone who always fulfills my duties.

“But… seriously, could I ask if there are any leftover songs from Warner Records?”

Come on, everyone.

Don’t look at me like that.

How would we know if Warner Records has a masterpiece they desperately want to give us?

“Stop mumbling and just tell me what your song is already. Quit making me annoyed.”

“Okay…”

The only reason I hesitated to give my sister a song was that there was only this one song I had completed.

“This is the song I was going to use for my solo…”

“What?! Is that what it was?”

Whether she knew my feelings or not, Seo-yoon unni’s face lit up at my reassurance of the song’s quality.

“I’ve been refining it bit by bit since early this year, making time whenever I could.”

“It can’t help but be good! Come on, let’s take a look quickly!”

“Ugh…”

I pushed away Kim Seo-yoon, who was pinching my cheeks playfully, and touched my laptop that was set aside.

* * *

“Since everyone is listening, I’ll say this, but this song is the intro for this album.”

The meeting room erupted into chaos again upon hearing that it was a song meant for myself.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s my song for the intro!”

“Seo-yoon is lucky~”

“Ugh, Seo-yoon unni, you’re totally on fire.”

Woo-ah quietly approached Do-hee and placed a hand on her shoulder, speaking calmly.

“But now that you mention it, excluding the singles that only had titles, all the intro songs so far have been Do-hee’s solo songs?”

“…Huh?”

A hint to stir up some drama.

Just for fun, but as expected, the meeting room quickly escalated from commotion to outright noise.

“Wait, that’s true, right? When we debuted and during the Same album, they were all Do-hee’s?”

“Really? What? I just realized that now!”

It was usually Chiyo who was the most vocal in moments like this.

“That foolish Do-hee! Here you go, getting caught! I was wondering where that selfish, strong-willed heart of yours comes from!!”

“Why do you keep obsessing over my heart?”

“I have a pair too! When it’s that time of the month, it’s no joke! Like, I can become a D-cup!! Eek, it’s tight but definitely there! It’s from Japanese blood! Everyone online says I’m glamorous!”

“I’m not interested in that. Not at all.”

“Look at this! Even so, just because I’m smaller than you doesn’t mean you should look down on me… Actually, I agree. We should rank by breast size.”

“What?”

“Pfft, Kim Seo-yoon.”

And as predicted, Do-hee seemed to escape the noise, turning her head away and clicking away at her laptop with busy fingers.

“Ahhh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Even while making excuses.

“I just happened to be thinking about how to start arranging the album, and it accidentally became my song; I didn’t mean it that way!”

Seeing Do-hee, who looked oddly cute with a frown, Woo-ah covered her ear and nodded positively as if to silence the noise.

“Right, Do-hee would never do that. She always thinks of us.”

“Ah, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Ahhh! Seo-yoon unni, I got hit by a bone!”

“Can someone stop those two? Hold on, I’m trying to play my song here!”

Yet, the folder Do-hee clicked on was indeed labeled ‘Songs I’ll Use.’

Seems like it really was her song all along.

I thought it was just a joke.

“Calm down, everyone.”

For a moment, Director So-hyun, exchanging pained glances with Na-eun unni, quieted everyone down.

“First, the title I’ve come up with is roughly Ash Boy. It’s a bit sad, regretful—you get the feeling. Now, listen…”

As Do-hee lightly explained and pressed the space bar.

“But hey, sweetheart, I totally love this title?”

“…Really?”

The music abruptly stopped.

Despite always pretending to be serious, if someone showed even the slightest interest, Do-hee’s excitement showed as her lips curled into a smile.

“Ash is some slang, right? Like on Instagram, as shit, as hell, those kinds of meanings, but if you think about it, it can also be an abbreviation for Ashamed. So, in the end, the context is important, so I don’t need to worry about that… I thought about writing some ambiguous lyrics, but the vibe of the song is comforting…”

Woo-ah eagerly waited for the space bar to be pressed again, watching as Do-hee, absorbed in her explanation of fine details to Seo-yoon unni.

And a moment later.

Finally, a strange melody flowed out.

♩♫♪♬

Considering that the band is the main title, the intro of this song had an indie band vibe, with an electric guitar riff riding on the keys.

It never fails to amaze me, although I don’t usually play the guitar, how Do-hee can come up with such riffs.

Of course, the arrangement programs had a variety of samples, so I knew the guitar riff samples were diverse too, but…

‘Even if they are samples, it’s still about selecting something that matches what she envisioned; that’s why I’m confident in Do-hee.’

I can be confident because I have seen her create her own sounds many times when she wasn’t satisfied with the samples.

Whether she produced them on an electric keyboard herself or asked a professional musician.

“Hey, sweetheart, my song is good.”

“Why is it your song?”

“Your song?”

“Shh, shh, lyrics are coming!”

After that, the guide that was drawn through Do-hee’s voice was nearly perfect, with most of the lyrics already wrapped up.

[I’m lady, floating through this moment

…

Warm and emotional synth sounds add a relaxed feel starting from the first verse:

[Look at me now, Ash boy

‘Cause your eyes fixed on that burning screen

…

Aligning with the upcoming autumn, the lyrics flow into a sophisticated yet vintage-feeling upbeat but lonely chorus.

“Do-hee, it’s amazing! Really?”

“Right? Right, teacher? Right?”

Even Director So-hyun was clapping by the end of the song.

I finally understood why I wasn’t inclined to give this song to my sister.

“Right? Right? It’s just too precious. Like it would be a necklace of jewels on a pig’s neck… Well, of course, if I sing it, it would be that good. You know, Kim Seo-yoon?”

“I only say it’s good because I genuinely like it, don’t think too much of it.”

It wasn’t just that the song was good, but the mood itself was an embodiment of what Do-hee was striving for.

Free and sophisticated, yet sarcastic on the other hand.

In other words, the ‘coolness’ she had been preaching about all along.

“But isn’t it really cool? Since this is an intro song, the music video has a bit of that concept. You know, emotionally singing in front of someone invited to our band rehearsal…”

“Eh? Who’s invited?”

“Boyfriend?”

“Eek! Here we go again getting caught! Since the unnis aren’t even dating, where do you get that selfish heart to seduce someone─”

Chiyo’s exuberant voice reverberated again, but Woo-ah, used to it, felt sorry for Na-eun unni, who kept patting Director So-hyun, while laughing at Do-hee swaying back and forth in Chiyo’s grip.

Seo-yoon unni, who had been deep in thought pondering over the melody, even complained that her ears hurt from too much noise today and talked to me.

“Hey, Woo-ah, why’s Chiyo so hyper today? Is it because the activities are over?”

“Today’s her time of the month.”

“Ah~?”

Even so, getting hyped on such a day was a good thing.

“Guys, now that we’ve heard the song and settled everything, shall we head out for a party right now?”

“Let’s go, let’s go! I’ll make sure to knock Chiyo out first today.”

“Puhaha, you’ll be in trouble.”

As always, the day they finish activities was a day to have fun.

“Can I join you guys for a drink today~?”

“What? Isn’t that for high schoolers?”

“Do-hee’s lips~ Puhahat.”

Woo-ah, who rarely laughed out loud at the members, finally invited Director So-hyun too.

“Teacher, do you want to go with us? We were just going to ask you.”

“No, the teacher is too tired…”

She nodded.

It’s impressive how Na-eun unni manages to hold out.

The cheerful atmosphere continued until we bought food and, returning to the dorm, were getting ready to change into pajamas to wash up.

“Unni, unni… come here for a sec.”

“Yeah?”

Do-hee, who had washed up first, secretly approached me.

Taking my hand, Do-hee led me to her room, then slowly walked backward and pointed to a big case lying beside the bed.

“Since I’ll be on vacation, your birthday is coming up.”

“…Wait, is that my present?”

Nodding, Do-hee’s fingers pointed to the case, and I recognized the brand Collins.

One of the expensive high-end brands you inevitably learn about if you play the guitar.

“Do-hee, this must be really expensive.”

“No, it’s like around a million won, but I’m not trying to throw money around. You have enough to buy one yourself. Look at that, the piano cost two hundred million won.”

Of course, Do-hee said it casually.

“And it’s just a birthday gift, too. It’s because I’ll be learning electric guitar because of you, so I was originally thinking about ordering a nice electric guitar again. By the way, I already ordered an electric bass on the way, for Na-eun unni.”

Do-hee’s tone, trying to downplay her own thoughtfulness so the other person wouldn’t feel too grateful or apologetic, has always been the same, both back then and now.

“Buying a good electric guitar will also require quite a bit of money. So it’s nothing much~”

She’d worry I’d feel too guilty.

And even now, the way she dressed it up made me feel a warm knot in my heart, but for the moment, I decided to act all excited like a child receiving a gift.

“I really wanted this! Look at this, the headstock is super clean.”

This way, Do-hee would surely feel relieved.

As expected, she smiled easily again.

“I was worried because you already have a guitar and I didn’t want to buy one for no reason. You’ve been wanting to write a song on your guitar, right?”

“Ah, yeah…”

Of course, there was no way she could say something like that without genuine interest in me, so the warm feeling kept hitting me repeatedly.

“Acoustic guitars are easier to write songs on than electric ones. The sound of your guitar now is more direct and strong like pop songs, and this one, after I heard it, has a softer sound. I thought maybe it would inspire something different.”

So I tried to force a smile, not wanting to show how I was torn between crying and laughing, and hugged her tightly to calm my heart.

“Ah, but unni, don’t tell anyone about this. Just say you bought it, okay?”

“Got it, of course.”

So while other members washed up hurriedly, I sneakily moved the guitar to my room, pouted my lips a bit, and gently rubbed my reddening nose.

* * *

That night, after chatting and sharing serious discussions while joyfully drinking at the party, I returned to the room for a moment to grab a board game with Chiyo.

“Woo-ah-chan, did you get a new guitar?”

“It’s a birthday present from Do-hee, heehee.”

“Eh!? Really!? How much? It looks expensive.”

“About a million won, heh.”

“A million??”

Seeing Chiyo dart out from the room made my head spin slightly.

“Hey, why didn’t Do-hee buy me a present!!”

Having already bragged while drunk.

“What? A million? Woo-ah’s birthday present? What’s this? Why didn’t Do-hee buy me one!? Hey, get me one, too! Is there favoritism?”

“Ah, unni, you have plenty of money!”

“So what? I have less than you! I don’t care, I’m sulking about it!”

“Me too, me too! I’m sulking, Seo-yoon-style! Hurry and show me Do-hee’s sincerity!”

“Do-hee, unni’s fine… fine… but Woo-ah must be so happy… No, but really unni’s okay… Woo-ah must be feeling really good…”

Outside, the three of us were getting louder with excitement from the drinks.