Chapter 145: SHINE

I am soooo sorry I took so long to post this. I just realised the first version of Sierra's solo 'Crazy' was so sloppy. So I took a longer time to jazz up 'Crazy (Version II)' for her duet with T.O.P. Hopefully it sounds better this time :P

I'll be writing songs again for the next few chapters. So I hope you're looking forward to them. There will be at least 3-4 new songs written for Sierra's solo ^_^

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Shoei and I stared at Skye, boggled.

“Waegeurae?” I asked him.

“You never stop with the self-depreciating. You know damn well you can do it, and yet you keep whining about how you can’t,” he said.

“Oh sure… I can do it,” I said. “But how successful will I be?”

“The producers will do everything to make sure you’re successful. Whoever’s idea this was… his ass will be on the line if your album is a flop,” Skye said. “You need to buck up and make sure you don’t screw up.”

This was one of the very rare occasions Skye had ever exploded. I guess I’d been a little too vocal with my concerns of my own ability. But this was my solo debut. Everything was on the line.

“Skye’s right,” Shoei said. “And you know that no matter what happens, you have us to fall back on. It’s better than you going solo only after we’ve disbanded.”

I blinked at the both of them. This was them giving me their moral support, just as Jae Joong had, not too long ago. I felt the world weighing on my shoulders, and yet the men in my life are making sure that I know that I could shoulder this burden and that they were not far behind when things get too tough.

“Mian…” I smiled at them both. “I’ll stop with the complaints from now.”

“Good,” Shoei smiled. “Supper anyone?”

“What? Didn’t you come back from dinner with your new wife,” Skye teased.

“Yea… she pulled a 180 on me during dinner,” he said. “I was a little afraid of eating her cooking by then.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“She couldn’t cook. From yesterday, till breakfast today,” he said. “And finally tonight… her food suddenly became edible.”

“Huh?” Skye said.

“Damn right,” he laughed. “I think she was pretending not to know how to cook.”

“Why would she do that?” I asked him.

“I don’t know. And I intend to find out. She’s a sweet girl… but there’s definitely something going on.”

“Something going on?” Skye said.

“Yea…” Shoei said, and took another sip of his tea.

“I’ll get supper,” I said as I got up and went to the kitchen.

[Su Bin’s POV]

I waited patiently for Darren oppa to arrive. He said he’d pick me up after my filming of We Got Married. I had to walk a safe distance from the apartment Shoei and I shared and called him to tell him where I was. He arrived 15 minutes later.

“Hey there,” he smiled as I got into the car.

I leant over to kiss him on the cheek, and he kissed me back.

“So? How’s the plan coming?” he asked me.

I’d dreaded the entire day because I wasn’t ready to tell him that the plan was failing.

“Oppa… uri keumanhaja?” I said.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“He’s a nice guy,” I said.

“Nice guy?”

“Everything I did to him, he just took it in and smile,” I explained. “There’s no way I could get him to misbehave.”

“Did you do what I told you to?”

“I couldn’t do everything you asked me to. I have my own reputation to worry about,” I said.

“Then what did you manage to do?”

“I screwed up every meal I cooked, and I brought up some uncomfortable subjects, hoping he would slip up when responding to me.”

“And he still behaved like an angel?” Darren oppa asked.

“He was a little distant throughout the whole shoot, but otherwise, he was perfect.”

“These SM kids sure know how to put on a good show,” he muttered.

“I can’t do anything to him without hurting myself, oppa. I can’t do this anymore,” I explained.

“You can’t or you won’t,” he asked.

“I want to help you, oppa. But you have to think of my career too,” I said.

“Araso…” he conceded. “Then we’ll just have to find another way then,” he said, grimly. “Let’s get you home, then.”

I watched as he put the car into gear and drove onto the road. The wheels in his head were turning… and I was afraid of what he was planning next.

[Sierra’s POV]

I’m going crazy…

I’ve been running all over Seoul just to meet my schedules this week. The management had arranged for some of my ‘Girls on Top’ scenes to be brought forward so that we could make a little room for the recording sessions with T.O.P and G-Dragon that will today. They’ve wrapped up the recording for S-Cube’s 4th album, which was simply titled ‘S3 - 4eva’.

I rushed into the recording studios where everyone was already waiting for me.

“Sierra…” the producer said, disapprovingly.

“Mian..” I said. “I just got off filming the drama.”

“This is G-Dragon, and T.O.P,” he introduced, ignoring my excuse.

I turned to find the 2 famed Big Bang members sitting right in front of me. I’d been so concerned about getting in on time that I hadn’t noticed them.

“Hi,” G-Dragon stood up and extended his hand. “You can call me Ji Yong.”

“And you can call me Seung Hyun,” T.O.P said, extending his hand as well.

“Pangapseumnida,” I said as I shook both their hands. “You can call me Sierra.”

They laughed at my lame attempt at a joke, but oddly enough, I’m already beginning to feel at ease with them.

T.O.P or Seung Hyun, as I now know him as, was tall, serious and exuded masculinity. But beneath that exterior was someone who seemed to enjoy whatever it is he did. G-Dragon or Ji Yong, was small and slim, probably slimmer than me, and he was flamboyant and adorable. It was obvious how much he loved producing as much as he loved singing. Both were talented and professional. I felt that I had a long way to go in terms of becoming on par with them.

“Ready to roll?” Seung Hyun asked me.

“Yea,” I smiled.

“Here…” he said, handing me a sheet of the new lyrics that had his lines in them now.

“I can never get over how good your English is,” I said to him.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You can sing and rap without a hint of Korean accent,” I said.

“You should see the number of hours we put into fixing the accent,” he laughed.

“Yes… especially when you’ve never lived abroad,” I smiled as we both got up and went into the recording booth.

“If it makes you feel better… I’m at awe of your command in English and other languages. How many do you speak? 5?” he asked.

“You read up on me?” I asked, a little shocked.

“I never had, but when I found out that I was going to work with you, I thought I should at least know a thing or two about you,” he laughed.

“Oh… you mean you were never interested in knowing about me till now,” I said, pretending to be a little offended.

“Of course I like your work, if that’s what you’re getting at,” he laughed. “I listen to your songs, but that doesn’t mean I have to memorize your biography.”

“Right,” I smiled. “But you’re a little off the mark.”

“Ne?”

“I speak 7 languages,” I grinned.

“7?” he exclaimed.

“English, Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Korean and German.”

“You’re scaring me,” he laughed as we put on our headphones.

“Are we ready?” the producer interrupted us.

“Ne,” the both of us answered.

“Crazy…” Ji Yong drawled into the talkback microphone, “take 1.”

The music played, and it was a different beat from my solo version. This time, there was a more Hip Hop vibe, to complement Seung Hyung’s rap input.

-Start Dialogue-
T.O.P: Hey baby…
Sierra: Hey T.O.P…
T.O.P: You look so fine today
Sierra: Do I?
T.O.P: You’re driving me crazy, y’know
Sierra: Guess what?
T.O.P: Wut?
Sierra: So are you…
-End Dialogue-

T.O.P: Yo so wicked girl
Girl you look so fine
There ain’t ever been a female so divine
I could go on all day, if I had my way
But I’d much rather listen to that sexy voice
So, holler at me lady…

Sierra: Let me look in your eyes
Let me see through your mind~
Won’t you hold my hand
Make me feel alright~

It’s just not gonna work
If you’re not gonna tell me~
It’s just not gonna work
If you can’t be a man about it~

T.O.P: You’re asking me to be a man
I’m telling you, baby, I am that man
But you don’t seem to be listening girl
What I gotta do to get some attention girl
Seems like we’re going round in circles
But you know that we’re so good together
Close your eyes now and gimme your hand
I’ll make you go, go crazy again…

Sierra: Baby, baby, it’s the words that you say
They just kill me, kill me, kill me… oh yeah
Baby, baby, it’s that smile on your face
You drive me crazy…
Crazy…

T.O.P: Crazy…

Sierra: Let me open your eyes
Let me open your mind, mind~
T.O.P: My mind it’s going wild, so wild,
And my heart, it’s beating like, beating like…
Sierra: I have your hand in mine
Don’t you feel alright, alright~
T.O.P: I just gotta ask you something...
Is this what heaven feels like

Sierra: This has got to work
And you’re so gonna tell me, tell me~
T.O.P: I’ll tell you one thing, baby girl, so listen up
Sierra: This is so gonna work
Baby now that you love me, love me~
T.O.P: I love you foxy lady, you’re my one and only
Sierra: Now that you love me!

T.O.P: So now you’re listening to my every word
We’ve come so far now, it’s getting good
You’re into me, I’m into you
Don’t ever leave me baby, whatever you do
I’m feeling so hot, just thinking of you
You’re taking me apart with that look of yours
You’re mine, you’re fine, yeah, so sublime
I’m going crazy, Sierra… baby…

Sierra: Baby, baby, it’s the words that you say
They just kill me, kill me, kill me… oh yeah
Baby, baby, it’s that smile on your face
You drive me crazy…
Crazy…

Sierra: Yeah… forevermore
As corny as it may sound
T.O.P: What corny? Never heard of it
Sierra: Yeah… there’ll be no other
As long as you’re around
T.O.P: I’ll always be around…
Sierra: Oh yeah… baby

Sierra: Baby, baby, it’s the words that you say
They just kill me, kill me, kill me… oh yeah
Baby, baby, it’s that smile on your face
You drive me crazy…
Crazy…
T.O.P: Crazy, baby…

As soon as the song ended, everyone in the recording booth started clapping. Seung Hyung and I bowed to them and gave each other a quick hug.

“Good job for a first take,” the producer said as we walked into the control room.

“I think they have good chemistry,” Ji Yong said. “That’s always the case when the first take is good.”

“Or it could’ve been the fact that we both spent hours practicing with the demo?” Seung Hyung said.

“I’ll say both,” I laughed.

“This is a good start,” the producer said as they started playing back the recording.

I sounded decent, Seung Hyun sounded awesome. Is this really going to be a moneymaker for SM, and a start of a new career for me?