Re-Producing

"Sounds good." I said as I stretched while sitting down on my rotating chair.

It was almost 9AM and we were supposed to meet with Twice to discuss their roles and parts, and re-record the three songs that was featured during the survival show. Afterwards, we'll be working with their choreography. But somehow, they were running late.

I was waiting for them in Alpha's recording studio in JYP's main building. Since none of the members of Twice are producers, we'll be here a lot. In terms of their dance studio, they have their own which is being re-constructed because they were making it a bit bigger and are installing Twice's logo on it.

Our studio has our logo put up on the wall too. It's half a face of a wolf with a scar on its eye. The other half has a shadow-like letter A on it. One of our fans drew it for us and it kind of just stuck with us. That's why we decided to use it. With the artist's permission of course.

The door opened slightly and I turned to see who it was. Nayeon's face slightly peeked through the door with a wry smile on her face.

"You're late…" I said in a stern tone.

As soon as they heard me say that, they hurriedly went inside the room and started lining up. They deeply bowed and apologized.

"You guys can't be like this in your first day. I expected more from you. You guys aren't the only ones with schedules you know. You have to start acting like professionals even though you're still rookies. Understood?" they seem to be scared of me because they're just staying silent.

I sighed. "Understood?"

"Yes, PD-nim!" They chorused.

Satisfied with their response, I sat them down and handed them their roles, responsibilities, and the personalities that they need to embody whenever they are on camera or are promoting off camera.

Chaeyoung raised her hand. "PD-nim, our personalities are well-matched with what you've given us. It's even very detailed. It's as if you know us very well. How did you do it?"

"Research and interviews from your trainers and other trainees." I lied.

Of course it's based on the data that I know from the previous world. I usually get to know my clients first even if it's just a short collaboration between us. But I wrote a lot of Twice's songs, so I knew them very well. That's how I became close with HER in the first place.

After discussing their roles and what they needed to do, we started recording "I'm Gonna Be A Star" first. This was followed by "Truth" and "Do It Again". It took us quite a while to record. It was already 2PM.

"Let's have lunch first. Then we'll finish the rest of 'Do It Again'." As soon as I said that, they all groaned in complain.

"I'm willing to quit being your producer anytime if you continue with that attitude." I told them.

They stopped whining and they went out of the studio.

I rested my head for a while and before I knew it I fell asleep. When I woke up. I already had a blanket covering me.

Who did this for me?

When I looked around, TWICE was already here. I checked the time and saw that it was already quarter past three. I slept for more than an hour.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" I turn to ask them.

Jihyo decided to answer for them. "We did. But you wouldn't wake up."

I scratched the back of my head. "How long have you guys been here?"

"We just got here. Should we start?" Jihyo took the initiative to ask.

"Sure. But before that… who put this blanket over me?" I asked.

All of them just shrugged, and I just shook it off and told them to warm up.

We finished the song at around 5PM and all of them looked really tired.

"Okay. We're done for now. I'll meet you guys tomorrow at 7AM for the choreography. I'll personally be doing the choreography for most of your songs." I told them.

They seemed to be surprised. Some of them even told me that I should just stop being an idol and focus on being their producer and choreographer. Well, believe me. I already tried that. It sucks.

"For now, you head for your cover shoot. You'll be doing a photo shoot for your album cover. You're album title is, 'The Story Begins'. You'll also be shooting for your teaser for the MV for the title track called 'Like Ooh Ahh'." I told them.

They all sounded happy and cheered for it.

"You're schedule starting tomorrow will be fixed until next week. Choreography during the day and recording at night. After we're done with choreography and producing the song. We'll shoot the music video and then we'll start promoting for it. Any questions?" I basically bombarded them with announcements.

It's usually like this for everyone in the industry. That's why there are managers to fix everything in the schedule and make sure that the group gets everything done on time.

Dahyun raised her hand. "How about you PD-nim? How are you going to promote with your members?"

"Don't worry about me, I already taught the choreography to some of the trainers. They'll be teaching you on my behalf whenever I have a schedule. For now, we're just going to record for our Chinese and Japanese versions so we're not that busy." I replied.

Sana, Mina, Momo and Tzuyu got excited after I shared about our plans for the foreign version of our songs. I knew they'd react that way because I know they really like these songs too. Especially now that it's going to be sung in their mother tongue.

"Oh yeah… please be informal with me." I told them.

They all hesitated at first, but Mina took the initiative to break the ice. "So… JayB-oppa… right?"

I blushed a little after she called me that. "R-Right."

"JayB-ya, what do we get if ever we do well in our first album?" Nayeon asked.

"Hmm… I'll treat you to barbecue, tteokboki, kimbap and for Momo… Jokbal…" I told them.

Momo excitedly pumped her fist upwards. "Yes! That's a promise then!"

They seem pretty much excited with their reward rather than their promotions.

Throughout the week I multi tasked between doing the choreography with Twice and recording with them, while also managing my time with the Alpha members. Some of them even visited us while we practiced.

This was a good time for Jiwoo because he was meeting Tzuyu a lot. I could see that the two groups were starting to get close too. It was a good thing for us. Sometimes, the other groups would visit us. In the end, Alpha's studio became a hangout zone for the idol groups in the company.

It was really a fun week.

___________

"Eh? What are you doing here oppa?" Momo asked as soon as she saw me come through their dressing room's door.

"We just finished recording our songs so I have some free time. I also wanted to see how you guys are doing before you'll be on your first TV show." I replied.

The girls were excited to see me when I came to see them. For some reason, they were like that everytime I came to visit them in any occasion.

Chaeyoung approached me. "Didn't you just start recording yesterday?"

I smiled at her. She really is very cute up close. "Yes. We did."

Sana's jaw dropped. "Then… weren't there 8 songs to record?"

"Yes. Why?" I replied which made them look at each other in surprise.

Did I say something wrong?

Mina turned to me. "You guys are monsters."

"Eh?" I made a weird sound when she said that.

"Monsters indeed." Jeongyeon also added.

I turn to them in confusion. "Eh? What are you talking about?"

Jihyo sighed. "What's worse is you're completely clueless about it."

"Hey… Stop with the riddles." I tried to stop them.

"Nevermind, JayB-ya. What's the plan? Any advice on what to do once we start shooting?" Nayeon decided to change the topic.

I chuckled. "Fine. Just enjoy yourselves. Let yourselves go and have fun. But protect each other at all cost especially when there are secrets involved. Got it? Don't say unnecessary things about personal matters. You guys are professionals now. I know you can do it."

They all nodded and did their huddle. Afterwards, they went back to doing their retouch and warm-ups.

"Oh Nayeon-ssi. May I ask for your number?" I asked.

Everyone in the room including the stylists and the make-up artists turned to me and started Oohing. They even started teasing her.

"You're very straightforward, JayB-ya." She said as she blushed.

I chuckled. "It's not what you think. You're born on 1995, right? I'm planning to add you up in our group chat so you can meet with the other 95 liners as well. You're a celebrity now, remember?"

"Whatever you say oppa." Jeongyeon teased.

I shook my head. "A lot of people are actually part of this. There's Wheein from Mamamoo for example. There's also Minhyun from Nu'est. So I really hope you'd meet them soon."

When the members heard their names, they all wanted to be part of the group chat. Unfortunately, only people born under 1995 are allowed in the group.

"This is so unfair." Tzuyu finally spoke up. She has been quiet for some time.

"You can ask Jiwoo if you want to join the other liners." I told her. The other members started teasing her but she just rolled her eyes.

One of the show runners for Weekly Idol knocked and went inside the dressing room. "We're going to start in 10 minutes. Please be on the set in 5 minutes."

"That's your cue. Enjoy everyone. Fighting!" I cheered them on as they exited the dressing room.

My phone suddenly starts ringing. "Hey. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Alright. Break time's almost over. Hope you're on your way. PD-nim is also here." Jeong Do said.

"I'm already on my way." I lied as I ran towards the parking lot.

Jeong Do just chuckled. "You're so dead."

__________

"That was so funny!" Zee was on the floor laughing at me.

"HA HA… Go ahead laugh." I sarcastically said.

We were inside the studio and just finished recording for the last song. Yeah. I lied to Twice about finishing our recording. Technically, we were done, but PD-nim just wanted some changes and I was already on my way to see Twice by the time the members called. So I told the members of Alpha to tell PD-nim that we were on break and that I'd be late.

"Where were you by the way?" Jiwoo asked.

I smiled. "I went to see your girlfriend and her members to check up on them."

He chuckled. "How are they doing by the way?"

"They're fine. They're probably almost done with their shoot right about now." I replied.

Dominic then hugged me from behind. "You're not leaving us behind for a bunch of girls?"

He was trying to joke around as he gave me those puppy dog eyes.

Eww…

"Get off me! Of course I'd prioritize you guys any day." I told them as I tried to shake off Dominic who was clinging to me like a koala.

Of course they were just joking around and asking me all this. I know that they were just trying to mess with me. They were really happy with where we are right now.

"Are you getting off or not?" I asked Dominic.

"Nope." He replied emphasizing the popping sound of the letter P.

I then started tickling him. "Fine! Have it your way!"

We were wrestling on the floor trying to tickle each other while the rest of the members were cheering for their champion. Yo Chul-hyung even started taking bets. The door suddenly opens and bunch of people started peeking through.

"Are we disturbing you guys?" A voice called out from the door. It was Tzuyu.

We immediately stood up and straightened ourselves.

"Not at all. Come in guys. Boys, make some room." I tried to change the topic.

Zee then started a conversation to ease the awkward atmosphere. "You're done early. I thought you guys had a shoot or something?"

"We did. It was fun actually. But we're done now and we're here to meet JayB-oppa for our recording." Chaeyoung said.

"JayB-oppa?" The members all said it at the same time as they all looked at me pretending to have a horrified expression on their faces.

The girls started laughing.

Dominic then approached me and patted my shoulder. "I guess this is one of your fantasies. To be called an oppa by cute girls."

I lightly punched his rib. "Stop it. I'm just their producer."

"Who doesn't want to be called a producer but instead 'oppa'?" Yo Chul-hyung questioned.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. You know what I mean."

The girls couldn't stop laughing as we continued to joke around with them. They finally were able to be comfortable around us.

"Alright. Clear the room boys. We're going to start now. Matt-hyung, lead them to warming up and review the steps for Growl and Wolf so you guys can start rehearsing the dance while singing to the new version of the songs." I instructed.

They all pretended to be tired. They started whining and groaning.

"I'll treat you to barbecue later tonight after rehearsals if you do well." The moment they hear that, they started running to the studio.

Jeongyeon then bumped my shoulder with her elbow. "You guys are pretty close, huh oppa?"

I nodded. "You have no idea."

We started to record 'Like Ooh Ahh' and it really took us a while because they were starting to show signs of vocal fatigue and stress. It was getting harder to record because of the pitches that were off and voices that were cracking a lot.

"Alright, let's call it a day for now." I told Dahyun over her headphones in the recording booth.

When the rest of the members heard that, they weren't too happy about it. They knew how meticulous I was to producing songs. Ending it early usually means that I wasn't happy with the results.

Jihyo was brave enough to ask. "Is there something wrong, oppa?"

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. You've been stressed out from the constant schedules and performances. You barely have enough sleep that is why your vocal chords are showing signs of fatigue. It would be a bad idea to continue recording. So I'll give you the night off."

Even though they were ending early, they weren't too happy about it. Delaying the schedule usually means more work in the next few days.

"Don't look so down. Tell you what, I'll call the boys over so we could have barbecue together. Call?" I tried cheering them up.

"And tteokboki?" Nayeon asked.

I nodded.

"And cheesy kimbap?" Sana asked as she smiled at me.

"And cheesy kimbap." I replied.

Momo approached me and formed a circle with her hand and asked. "And Jokbal too?"

I chuckled. "And that too."

They started cheering up and celebrated. It's fun to watch them be happy over the little things. I instructed them to wait over the building's entrance because I was going to call over Alpha.

Just as I exited the studio, I saw Sana leaning on the wall outside the hall.

"Sana? Didn't I tell you to wait by the entrance?" I called out to her.

She then approached me. "You did but I wanted to ask you something."

Really?

What could it be that it couldn't even wait?

"Okay… ask away." I told her nervously.

She took a deep breath and asked, "I saw you looking at one of my members differently. And I know that look anywhere."

"What do you mean?" I asked ambiguously.

"I mean… do you like her?" She asked which made my eyes grow wide in surprise.

_________