I Won’t Be Your Cage

“And, to be honest…….”

Taeha let his words trail off.
Hanbyeol, who had been looking down, lifted his head as if he was ready to hear any reason.

“It’s because I really don’t like that label Cha.N is supposedly creating.”
“……Huh?”

A coldness, different from usual, flickered in Taeha’s eyes.
But the moment they met Hanbyeol’s gaze, it disappeared, as if it had never been there.
All that remained was the usual kindness.

“I know the chances of success are high. With Yuseong hyung there, it’s definitely possible.”

Hanbyeol blinked at this unexpected revelation.

Taeha, sitting next to him, scratched his head.

“……Honestly, I sometimes don’t understand why Yuseong hyung became an idol instead of going into business or law.”

Hanbyeol thought so too.

Of course, the same could be said for Taeha, but Yuseong was even more extreme.

Yuseong was sociable, good at joking around when needed, and seemed cheerful.
But in reality, unless the situation called for it, he always maintained a cool-headed demeanor.

Usually, he was all smiles with Hanbyeol too.
But when Hanbyeol was preparing for the CSAT, he was strict about timing, wasn’t he?

Back then, Yuseong said that a little hardship now would lead to happy results in the future, so he should endure it.
It made him want to cry, but it was the truth, so Hanbyeol kept pushing through.

“But why don’t you like it?”

As Taeha judged, Yuseong was shrewd and calculating.
Whatever problems arose at the label Cha.N created, he would smoothly come up with countermeasures.

In fact, even the recent controversies were blocked by Cha.N’s members and the people working closely with them.
Those who had dedicated themselves to the agency had merely stood by and watched.

Especially since Cha.N had a history of turning the tables on what the agency did to them, they’d probably treat their junior groups well too.

“Hmm…… I admit they’d probably treat us well, but if I joined too, I think you’d really get tied down, Hanbyeol.”
“Huh?”
“It’s obvious. From what I see, you’re really good at this too.”

What is this guy talking about?

Sensing the confusion in Hanbyeol’s eyes, Taeha smiled and straightened up again.

“What did you mean by that? Tied down how?”
“Just what I said. If it were just Yuseong hyung at the label, maybe not, but that’s not the case…… More than anything, Hanbyeol, you say you’ll use your hyung as a stepping stone for success, but actually, you work incredibly hard, don’t you?”

Taeha, now sitting properly again, picked up the tongs.

Maybe the food had settled during their long conversation.
The dishes he thought he couldn’t eat earlier were slowly disappearing into his mouth.

Taeha picked up a nicely grilled piece of meat with the tongs and placed it on Hanbyeol’s plate.

“Waaah―.”
“Eat up. Listen while you eat.”

Taeha picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and brought it to Hanbyeol’s mouth.
Watching Hanbyeol open his mouth with a sulky face and chew the meat, Taeha looked pleased before finally speaking again.

“Hanbyeol, you’re really good. You love music a lot. I said the guide recording went well this time because I’m good, but that’s not it, in my opinion. If the song itself isn’t good, the recording can’t turn out well.”
“No, that’s―.”
“But if I join that label too, what do you think will happen to you? You could give songs to your hyung, the Cha.N members might do solo activities, and I’d be there too.”
“…….”

He would end up constantly making songs to feed that newly established label.
For the sake of his own success, he’d be doing work that was practically exclusive to one agency.

“Hanbyeol, you’re pretty soft when it comes to people around you, aren’t you?”

Hanbyeol liked seeing the people around him smile, maybe even more than his own success.

Just like back then, when he loved seeing Taeha’s shy smile on stage and vowed to make songs.
Just like when he saw his brother shining on the survival show, getting applause, and decided to work a little harder.
Hanbyeol had always been influenced by those around him.

“If I join that label and you get tied down too…… instead of working on the songs you want to make as a composer, songs the public will like, album title tracks, and your own personal pieces, you’ll end up only working on songs that suit me or Cha.N, songs that fit the label’s style.”
“Why do you think it has to be that way?”
“Because the production rights for that company belong to Cha.N.”

That was, in fact, the correct answer.

They could hire outside composers.
But if the name wasn’t properly credited, or if the song’s quality wasn’t good, it might not even get included.

If he started by making songs tailored to Cha.N and Taeha, they’d likely end up as b-side tracks, not title tracks.

‘A self-producing group.’

This title was a benefit for Cha.N, but a disadvantage for Hanbyeol.

Unless he was skilled enough to compete for the title track, if Taeha joined the label, Hanbyeol would likely become a composer confined to that label’s specific style.

“Korea has many entertainment agencies, and each wants different genres, styles, and beats. You said you wanted to make songs, Hanbyeol. I don’t want your limits to be skewed to just one side.”

Taeha’s thoughts were firm.

“I want to sing the songs you make, not be active in songs tailored to me. I’ll definitely have my limits, and you’ll have yours too. We should work to overcome them.”
“I told you, I like the songs you make.”

A hint of laughter remained in Taeha’s voice.
And those words were sweeter than Hanbyeol expected.

“What if I make a song with super high notes?”
“Then I’ll have to work hard to hit those notes.”
“What about a song with ridiculous aegyo?”
“Hmm…… I’m not particularly cute, but I’ll study so I can sing it.”
“What if I make a song that’s really, really sexy?”
“Then I’ll have to build my body more than now. And I’m pretty good at dancing, Hanbyeol-ah.”

Taeha was still Hanbyeol’s muse.
Seeing the determination in his eyes that he would master it all, the corners of Hanbyeol’s mouth kept twitching.

“More than anything, I want to go to a company that helps me do various things. That’s why I deliberately trained at a small place too.”
“Ah…….”
“The bigger the place, the more people will try to get involved with me. There will be many trying to push me around. If that happens, it’ll take years before I can sing your songs. I didn’t want that.”

Hanbyeol felt a strange heat rising to his cheeks.
It felt like he was intoxicated by Taeha’s words, promising to sing his songs.

“Taeha-ya. I’m really happy right now. Can I have some alcohol?”
“No.”
It’s bad for your health.

Taeha’s expression was still kind, but his voice was firm.

* * * *

Hanbyeol was sitting in front of his computer.
He took his hand off the mouse to rest for a bit.

How long had he been at this?
Just as he was about to check the time on his phone, the door opened and Danyeong peeked his head in.

“Hi!”
“Hello.”

He’d heard they were coming.
Of course, he wasn’t alone; Yuseong followed right behind.

“Hanbyeol-ah, the results came out, right?”
“Yes.”
“How is it? Did you get in?”

As Hanbyeol scratched his cheek, Danyeong hurried over and sat in the chair next to him.

Even though he had refused the agency’s trainee casting and his contract work had ended, he still met Danyeong quite often.

They exchanged opinions about university practical exams.
Sometimes, he also did arrangement homework that Danyeong and Yechan gave him.

Of course, they couldn’t meet at the company or the dorm.
So the only place left was the academy Hanbyeol attended.

The academy’s classes had ended along with Hanbyeol’s university entrance exams.
But as a student privilege, he could use the recording studio and equipment at a low price.
So Danyeong often came here with Yuseong to see Hanbyeol.

“Don’t you have schedules?”
“Only Sehyun has stuff today. We filmed everything before the comeback. We need a break too.”

Isn’t that too much TMI?

Anyway, Hanbyeol’s unofficial composition tutor seemed very curious about his university entrance results.

Good thing Danyeong didn’t go into the academy business.
Even now, he’s burning with the desire that since he taught Hanbyeol, he absolutely must pass.
Under a teacher like this, all the academy students would probably get stomach ulcers and collapse.

Yuseong, perhaps thinking Danyeong was too close to Hanbyeol, took a step forward and pulled the chair Danyeong was sitting on backward.

“Don’t get too close to my brother, hyung.”
“Ah, it’s because of his results! It’s understandable!”
“Still no.”

A cold snowstorm raged in Yuseong’s eyes.

“You really have a severe case of overprotectiveness.”

Danyeong grumbled but moved back.
Still, his gaze didn’t leave Hanbyeol.
His expression clearly demanded the results right away.

“Umm…… I didn’t get in.”
“What? Why!”
“…….”

I’m the one who should be sad about failing, why are you yelling?
As Hanbyeol’s gaze also turned cold, Danyeong belatedly shut his mouth.

“No, why? That was an improvisation test, right? The 24-bar one?”
“Yes.”

A practical test where you improvise a melody, either with an instrument or voice, based on given chords.
Danyeong, along with Yechan who worked on Cha.N’s songs with him, had put effort into Hanbyeol’s entrance exams.

Hanbyeol’s skills were good, so Danyeong and Yechan thought he would never fail.

But Hanbyeol failed?
Danyeong was more devastated than Hanbyeol, the one directly affected.