Author's Note: Just a quick shout out to one of my favorite readers! Jayjayzek! It doesn't matter if you've watched the show! It was one of the latest shows I watched and it aired six years ago. You're not the only late for it. But this chapter will give you a back ground so don't feel too worried. But keep reviewing!
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Jaye stared at the disc that had plagued her for the last few days. She had pulled it out of her bag when she was cleaning it out. She had completely forgotten about it until that moment. Now staring at it, she couldn't decide what to do.
This was someone else's work. Someone had put the time and energy in to make this CD. Though it was titled "Random Song" she knew whoever it was, was going to be missing it. Unfortunately there was no name on it for her to begin to trace the owner.
She kicked her feet to get the duvet to cover her chilled toes as she held the case over her head. She was still in bed. Today was her day off. All she had planned was put music to her lyrics but since she had found this track, she wasn't sure she was going to be able to do it without hearing what was on this disc. She had always been nosy, but when it came to music, she was even worse.
Finally deciding that not knowing was going to kill her, she rolled over and hit the open button on the disc player. Inserting the disc, she closed the lid and hit play. There was white noise at first but then a haunting piano melody came through the speakers. She could hear the pain the musician was feeling; pain and loneliness. Whoever had written this piece was feeling left out.
"How can I tell you how I feel when you don't give me the time of day," she muttered. She scrambled for a notebook on the desk across from her then scribbled the lyrics in English. She would translate it later if she had to. "When I come close, you just pull away…"
After the first few lines, she was completely stumped. Usually she could churn out a couple of songs a day. All she needed was a hook or a chorus, but this song was completely different. There was so much pain in it, so much longing. She had never experienced those before so she had no idea how to write them, but she knew someone who did.
Tossing the covers off her, she lunged for her phone. Grabbing it, she fell ungracefully on the floor. It didn't bother her as she searched through her contacts. Finding the one she wanted, she sent a quick text then got up to get dressed. She knew she wouldn't be denied so she threw on anything that was clean and less wrinkled. He was going to yell at her, but she could always yell back at him.
She was just pulling on pants when the reply came in. Smiling, she pulled the disc out of the player and put it back in its case before shoving it in her bag and grabbing her guitar. She slung her arms through the straps as she grabbed breakfast to go and shoved her feet into her shoes.
On her way to the company, she stopped by the coffee shop and ordered the exact coffee that was going to keep the ire from rising. He was nasty when he was angry. She ran with experience to the building and up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She was in excellent shape and in showed when she reached the third floor and still had enough breath.
Tae Kyung wrenched open the practice room door when she knocked. She smiled up at him then handed him the coffee. He raised that offending eyebrow then took it and motioned her in. She wasted no time.
"I found his on the street the other day," she said as she tossed the disc on his keyboard. "I've already listened to it but I've never felt the emotions being represented here so I can't write to it."
That eyebrow was back. "Since when have you not been able to write lyrics to music?"
"Just listen to it."
He was always the one she turned to when she needed help with music. Even when they had been separated by thousands of miles, they had always emailed each other about music because the other would give his or her honest opinion. She guessed it was because they knew so much about each other that it was just second nature.
Something in his expression told her he had heard this song before. It could have been in the slight way he lifted his eyebrows or the way his mouth twitched. She wasn't certain which, but he grabbed the case the disc had come in.
"Where did you get this?" he asked.
"I found it after I bumped into someone on the street the night of your dinner. I found it again when I was cleaning out my bag a couple of days ago. I just listened to it this morning. Why?" She was certain he had heard it before.
"This is Shin Woo's handwriting. I'm sure this is his disc." She pressed her lips together as he stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "Where did you find it?" She glared at him. "Did you really pick it up off the street, Jaye?"
"Would I lie?"
Apparently he found that convincing because he shut off the music on his computer and picked up his phone. He dialed someone but she wasn't paying any attention because she was engulfed in the coffee that was slowly making her human. She was coming back to reality when the door to the practice room opened.
Slowly, she turned her head to glare at Tae Kyung once again. He ignored her, which was what she expected him to do, and talked to Shin Woo. She noted that Shin Woo didn't seem too concerned about his missing CD, but he did perk up at the mention of lyrics.
Their eyes met as Tae Kyung continued talking. She read instantly that Shin Woo didn't believe that she could come up with lyrics after listening to the song once. She didn't believe he didn't believe her.
"And I think it's best if the two of you worked together on this song until it's completely finished. By completely finished I mean I want acoustic guitar added to it and acoustic bass. I don't care if you have to come here to work on it. Get it done," Tae Kyung ordered.
Jaye held up her hand. "Hold up. I'm not a member of A.N. Jell. What makes you think you can boss me around?"
"Other than myself, you're the only person I trust to write acceptable lyrics for this band. Shin Woo can't."
She made a face then looked at Shin Woo. "You're so much better than I am. I would have already slapped him for calling me incompetent."
Shin Woo shrugged. "He's not that bad, and he's a musical genius. So far all of our songs have made it to Number 1."
"You're going to need more than number one if you want to make it big all over the world."
"And that's why you're in charge of writing these lyrics," Tae Kyung said. Before she could say anything to him, he turned his attention to his band mate. "Don't bother coming home until this is finished. If we need you here at the studio, I'll call you."
He got up and left the two staring after him. Jaye had a look of slight confusion as she stood up. Shin Woo looked at her as she stared out the door.
"He's such a jerk," she mumbled. He laughed as she grabbed her guitar. "You might as well come with me. I know for a fact you don't have anything on the schedule today because this," she smacked the schedule on the wall, "is blank. Let's get this out of the way."
Shin Woo couldn't deny what she said. He didn't have anything on the schedule for that day. He wasn't supposed to work for another day and a half. He had time to actually pick someone else's brain about his song. Tae Kyung wasn't going to give him the time of day, so why not use the person who knew the infamous leader inside and out?
He followed her down the street, so close she could probably feel his breath on her neck. It was broad daylight and he could be noticed at any moment, but she kept on walking without any regard to him. She must be so used to Tae Kyung that she didn't even bother when it came to anyone else.
She stepped into a grocery store and headed straight for the produce aisle. She grabbed apples then skirted to the spices where she picked up cinnamon and flour. The cold items such as eggs and butter were next. He marveled at her quickness in shopping as soon as they were at the checkout. Of course the cashier was a young girl and she recognized him immediately, but Jaye was quick witted and commented that he was showing her around the city. She even used broken Korean to accent it. But it wasn't hard. Jaye had strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes that no pure blood Korean would have.
She was quiet as they took a right and continued down the street. She didn't seem to have a care in the world. A couple of kids screamed her name as she passed by. Kindly she waved to them, asking them how they were before continuing on. He realized she was just kind in general, but how had she met the beast of their band?
They came to a small apartment building and he looked up. Wasn't she rich, or at least well off? If she was, why wasn't she living in a bigger place? This building had only one of two rooms. If she lived alone, she was in a single room dwelling, or what would be considered a loft in her home country.
She led him to the third and highest floor, and then walked down to the end of the hallway. She punched in the key code then turned to him.
"I'm going to give you the pass code because there may be times when I won't be home when you get off work. I work two jobs and the schedules are pretty fixed. I know when I will and won't be home. You can come and go as you please. I usually keep food in the fridge so if you want to shop for whatever you want feel free," she said as she kicked off her shoes and stepped into the house.
Shin Woo got a good look around. He had been right when he had been out on the street. It was a one room house but she had decorated it tastefully. Her bed was against the far wall paralleled to the window. It was a mess but he figured she had escaped it just before meeting him at the studio. Over in the adjacent corner were a piano and various guitars plus the one on her back. The rest of the place was a normal apartment.
"How long have you known Tae Kyung?" he asked as she deposited the contents on the counter.
"I told you nearly twenty years. He's a bit of a brat, but that comes from growing up with your parents being busy. He calls me lucky because my family's housekeeper was there when my dad had to go work," she replied as she put her case in the music corner and went back to the kitchen. "How has he been with Mi Nyu?"
"They've been dating almost a year after she pretended to be her brother." He caught her frown. "Mi Nam went to New York to recover after a procedure. He was supposed to sign with AN Entertainment but was unavailable. His manager convinced his twin sister to pose as him. Mi Nyu cut her hair and dressed in boys' clothes to be her brother, but we all found out. I think it was at that moment that Tae Kyung fell for her. We all did."
Jaye watched his face. "Jeremy too?" Shin Woo nodded and she realized how deeply he felt towards his friends. "If she can beat him up and match him word for word, she's a good match for him."
"She's getting better at it." He watched her hands move deftly in flour covered dough. "What are you making?"
"Apple pie. My housekeeper used to make it for me when I was sad or mad or upset in any way."
Shin Woo watched as she destroyed her counter top, but he didn't stop her. "Why did you want to work here?"
"There are too many people at your house and the studio. Plus there are media all over the place. I don't want to be in the limelight, which is why I refused Tae Kyung when he offered to buy me a bigger place. I don't want to be seen as the secret girlfriend. Tae Kyung and I have way too much history that could be dug up if they needed ammunition."
"He would do his best to keep you away from it all."
"You see how well that worked with Mi Nam and Mi Nyu. Now there are paparazzi no matter where they go. I don't like pictures and I have a short temper. I'd be brought up on charges of abuse."
He felt that this topic was going to annoy her so he changed it. "What did you feel when you heard the song?"
She stopped what she was doing and stared off into space as she thought. He could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.
"Sadness, loneliness, wondering, and discontent. The melody was melancholy and very emotional. I kind of felt like I was staring into the soul of someone who had never known love."
He couldn't stop his mouth from falling open. She didn't recognize it but he really didn't want her to. She had just nailed everything he had been feeling at the time he first heard the melody. Everyone had someone in his house except him.
She finished what she was doing, popped the pie in the oven then went back to the music corner. She grabbed one of the standing guitars and a notebook from her bag before settling on the couch. Shin sat beside her and read over her shoulder. She didn't have much written down but he could see she had already mapped out the music notes.
"I've only listened to it twice. Once for the notes and the second time this morning. If you add a little more depth to it with an acoustic guitar and maybe a Cajon, you could probably move people to tears," she explained.
For hours they sat on the couch talking about the song and how to add to it. Shin Woo realized that Jaye was more comfortable getting the music situated before working on lyrics. He enjoyed her pie and coffee that she made, and that made him feel very comfortable with her.