Stay - Stray Kids Han Jisung FF (RESQ SAGA PART 3)

27.

JYP really had problems with timings and decided he would meet us to check out the songs we had created for the duets literally the day of the boy's showcase. They had told us to not worry about it too much since it was work, but we still were feeling pretty bad about it.

Since we kept thinking about a way to make it to the showcase but came up with nothing, we decided that Mika and Soojin would go while Leah, Lin and I stayed to show JYP the songs. Neither of them had to show him anything and two was better than none, so we just went along with that plan and prayed that the meeting would end quickly so we could go to the showcase too even if we could only watch them perform one song if any.

"Who helped you record the tracks?" JYP said as he plugged the pen drive with the songs onto his speaker system so he could listen to them.

"Changbin helped Leah, Jisung helped Alix and Minho helped me," Lin answered. "None of them were because of a particular reason, but rather because they had time and were willing to help."

"The friendship you all have really is admirable," he said. "Let's listen to the songs now, shall we?"

He then pressed play and 'Dinner', the song Lin had written, played through the speakers.

The song really was unlike what I had heard Lin perform before but that didn't mean that it was bad at all. On the contrary, I found the song rather addictive, which was surprising taking into account how laid-back it was as well as my usual music preferences.

When the song came to an end, JYP stopped it and stayed silent for a few seconds to organise his thoughts before finally speaking up.

"I think this song will fit the duet theme very well. It also showcases a different side of you, so that is also a plus," he said and I saw Lin letting out a breath relieved. "I think you should do it with Minho. He already sang it with you for the demo and your voices seem to blend together well, so you should just do it together. If you both are okay with that, of course."

"I'll let him now later when they come back from their showcase," Lin told him.

"Oh, that's right," JYP said checking the time. "The showcase is about to begin. Don't worry, I'll be quick so you can all go to see them. I'm not that heartless, I just had no other time to do it since I seem to be managing a thousand comebacks these days."

We then all chuckled, completely understanding his situation. JYP truly was like the cool uncle and he showed it at very strange times with very little things he did or comments he made.

After that, he pressed play again and this time we got to listen to Leah's track. As it was my instrumental, I was very excited to see it being released, so I really hoped JYP would give it a yes.

"Okay, yes. It's a yes," he said just after the intro. "I don't need to listen to anything else. It's a complete yes."

We were all shocked by that because he always listened to the full songs and analyzed them to make sure he didn't miss a single note, so him saying that so quickly meant he really loved it.

"Who wrote this?" JYP asked us while the music still played.

"Soojin and I wrote the lyrics, but the instrumental is Alix's," Leah answered. 

"Well, tell Soojin on my behalf that I loved it," he told us. "Leah, why don't you show off those sexy vocals more?! You really sound amazing in this track!"

"We are working on that, sir," I told him. "For the next comeback, Lin, Soojin and I are working on some songs that can really showcase these type of aspects."

"That's good," he told me with a smile. "Leah, you will sing it with Changbin too. The demo sounded amazing and I think his voice really compliments yours."

"I will tell him, then," she said happily. "I'm glad you liked the song that much. Since I wrote my part of the lyrics I was worried about it not being good enough."

"It was amazing and I don't say that lightly," JYP told her. "Let's listen to the last one, then. Alix and Jisung with... Run."

Once again, he was quiet as he listened to it. He even stood up and paced around the room following the rhythm of the music and I even saw him closing his eyes from time to time.

When the song finished, he leaned on his table and thought about what to say for a few seconds that almost seemed like hours to me.

"How on earth was I able to literally hear you smile as you sang?" JYP finally said leaving us confused. "When we sing or speak, the position of our mouth and our expressions translate to the way our voice sounds. That's why you should always smile even if you are talking to someone over the phone.

"What I am trying to say is that I could basically hear both of you smiling throughout the whole demo. I'm not saying it doesn't sound good that way, because it does, but rather that it shows complicity. It shows meaning," he continued. "Basically, I don't know if this was meant as a love song, but if you had recorded it that way in a professional studio, everyone would instantly be captivated by it because the emotions feel truly real. To put a practical example, a normal planned duet song would normally sound like Lin with Minho's or perhaps like Leah with Changbin's -although they both were really good-, but a heartfelt duet sounds more like the ones Mika and Soojin did with Chan and Hyunjin for that program. You could also hear them smile as they sang."

"Thank you, then... I guess..." I said with an awkward smile.

"You will sing it with Jisung. If Minho or Changbin refuse then I will have to deal with it but with Jisung it is mandatory. I won't take no as an answer under any circumstance," he said shocking us. "There are only two quick ways to fame in the industry that aren't hard work: either you basically sell your body or you sell a platonic romance. If you truly want that first win, which I'm sure you will get soon if you really do what you told me, sing that song with Jisung looking like the two worst lovebirds in the entire world. Raise the glucose levels of the public so much that they end up with diabetes. Make people talk about you."