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Sender | Subject
Soundpie | Welcome to Soundpie
Soundpie | Notification of Terms of Use Revision…
Soundpie | Set Up Your Sponsorship Account…
..Kim Juyeon | Hello, this is Juyeon from MyTuber World^^
Choi Min | Can I use your music for my MyTube video?
Alexandra | Hi, Lee.do!
Niyamin | สวัสดีครับ
Jjeri-jjang | It’s Jjeri! I have a question!!
..Kim | This is Rapper Sprint.
There were a total of 29 unread emails that Dojae hadn’t checked yet.
Some were notification emails from the Soundpie site, but the rest were from people who had contacted him after seeing his work.
“I almost missed these.”
Most of them were inquiries from MyTube users asking if they could use Dojae’s work as background music.
Even though he had clearly stated that commercial use was not allowed, there were those who hadn’t read the notice properly, and some who offered to pay to use his music.
Nevertheless, it felt good that people liked his music and wanted to include it in their videos.
What was even more amazing was that not only Koreans but also foreigners had reached out to him.
The questions from foreigners were similar.
“This is almost like an interview request.”
One email that stood out was from an enthusiastic person named ‘Jjeri’.
Expressing how much they liked Dojae’s music, Jjeri asked detailed questions about the programs Dojae used, when he started making music, how old he was, and where he got his inspiration from.
The email was as detailed as a magazine interview.
At the end, Jjeri introduced themselves as a seventeen-year-old who had dropped out of high school to study music and hoped Dojae would respond.
“An enthusiastic kid. They can succeed in anything they do.”
Thinking this, Dojae decided he would respond when he had the time.
As he scrolled down the email list, he saw a familiar name.
Kijoon | I’d like to collaborate with you.
It was a contact email directly from Kijoon.
He introduced himself as a member and composer of the group MOST, suggesting they work together and asking for a reply if Dojae was interested.
[If you reply to this email, I will contact you officially through the company.]
The content was smooth, as if he had sent similar emails to other artists before.
“Kijoon is really diligent.”
With a proud smile, Dojae marked Kijoon’s email as important.
The email that puzzled Dojae was one that arrived three days ago.
‘Rapper Sprint?’
The name seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t recall clearly.
The tone was different, but the content was similar to Kijoon’s.
Sprint wanted to collaborate with Dojae and asked him to get in touch.
[P.S. This is a great opportunity to become famous, so don’t miss it.]
While the offer felt good, the postscript left Dojae a bit flustered.
“Of course, he probably said that thinking I’m an unknown artist… Such confidence.”
Dojae wasn’t lacking in confidence, but he felt overshadowed by Sprint.
In a society where modesty is a virtue, Sprint’s attitude might come off as arrogant.
“Hmm.”
Resting his chin on his hand, Dojae searched for ‘Rapper Sprint’.
“He is a debut rapper, it seems….”
There was only one studio album released a year ago.
Still, the results seemed good and many people shared his music, indicating popularity.
Dojae got up and went to the living room to find Kijoon and Heungmin.
Asking them would yield quicker and more accurate results than just searching online.
***
“From Sprint?!”
“What? Sprint?!”
A brief silence fell over the living room where the leg hair debate had fizzled out.
The other members looked at the three with curious eyes, not knowing what was going on.
“Really? Really! Sprint contacted you? He wants to collaborate?”
“Yes.”
Dojae decided to slightly revise his opinion about Sprint being arrogant.
Seeing Kijoon and Heungmin’s reactions, he realized there was merit behind Sprint’s confidence.
“He must be a great person.”
At Dojae’s words, both Kijoon and Heungmin nodded simultaneously.
It was the first time Dojae had seen them so in sync.
‘It’s not just my imagination.’
Typically, Kijoon would nag at Heungmin, and Heungmin would grumble back at Kijoon.
But it made sense since they both shared a deep interest in hip-hop and held the rapper position.
They had exchanged and shared many opinions, so it was natural their bond was stronger than it appeared.
“Yeah. Originally, he released two albums as part of a hip-hop team and made a significant mark in the hip-hop scene, but due to conflicts, he stopped activities for a while.”
“Oh! Is it that team? General Opinion?!”
Woocheol suddenly interjected.
Heungmin nodded.
Even if he didn’t know Sprint, Dojae remembered General Opinion.
One of their songs was among ‘Kang Dojae’s’ favorite tracks during his early trainee days.
It was famous and good enough that even someone with no interest in hip-hop like ‘Kang Dojae’ would seek it out.
“I remember their member names being funny. One Star, Two Star, Three Star.”
“Maybe that’s what caused their conflicts?”
Heungmin half-jokingly suggested, causing Woocheol to frown at the lame joke.
Heungmin glanced at Woocheol with an embarrassed look.
“Sprint deeply regretted his team activities and wanted a fresh start. He changed his rap name and came back stronger. His rapping is just insane now.”
Heungmin confidently claimed that Sprint was undoubtedly one of the top five rappers in Korea based on skill alone.
Kijoon agreed.
However, he mentioned that Sprint’s solo work lacked some elements compared to when he was part of a team.
“I’m not sure if it’s because I was originally producing at a three-star level, but all the songs on the album are pretty minor.”
Because of this, the album is already considered a masterpiece in the hip-hop world, but Dojae and the other members didn’t seem to know about it.
“Anyway, Sprint contacting you… that’s surprising.”
When Kijoon muttered, Heungmin raised a suspicion.
“Could it be an impersonation?”
“I thought so too, so I checked the email address. It doesn’t seem to be an impersonation. It was a company email.”
“Typical Dojae. So thorough.”
Heungmin gave a thumbs up.
When the other members learned that Dojae had been uploading songs to SoundPie, they shook their heads, saying it was like he had two bodies.
Whether they ended up working together or not, getting contacted by such a prominent artist was undoubtedly meaningful.
Dojae, after discussing with the members, replied to Sprint, who had contacted him without knowing who he was.
***
While waiting for a reply from Sprint, Dojae and the members accelerated their preparations for their follow-up song activities.
They didn’t have much time to dwell on the fact that a reply wasn’t coming immediately.
That’s because many challenges awaited in the preparation for the follow-up song, which they thought would go smoothly.
“Ah, hyung!”
“Hold on tight.”
“I’m holding on. Don’t drop me!”
“If you hold on well, you won’t fall.”
Woochul wrapped his arms tightly around Kijoon’s neck.
Annoyed, Kijoon, who was being choked, spoke again irritably.
“…I told you to hold on, not to choke me.”
Woochul reluctantly loosened his arms.
“I didn’t want to be piggybacking either, you know.”
“I know.”
Kijoon simply answered, trying to manage his expression.
Having to smile while carrying Woochul like this.
The face of Kijoon reflected in the mirror was terrifying.
“You guys, do it right!”
Yangmal, who had been watching, shouted.
Kijoon had no choice but to use his strength to lift Woochul’s body, which kept sliding down.
Squish. The unpleasant sensation of touching somewhere wrong was felt by Kijoon too.
“Ack! Hyung! Why are you touching my butt!”
Woochul immediately made a fuss.
In the end, Kijoon’s arms weakened, and Woochul rolled on the floor, crying out.
“My precious butt!”
Kijoon looked at his empty hand and clenched his fist tightly.
All this fuss was because of the choreography for “Don’t Mess Around.”
After barely overcoming the awkwardness of the shorts costume and taking various concept photos for the repackaged album, an embarrassing choreography awaited Kijoon.
He expected a lively atmosphere for the cheerful and light song, but not to this extent.
Overall, the simple choreography was good.
However, it included pair routines like carrying, hugging, or drawing hearts together.
Kijoon had to piggyback Woochul, which was fine in itself.
But he had to move his head to make eye contact and smile like children pretending to be a ‘little groom.’
“Hyung, isn’t this better than that?”
Heungmin, holding back laughter, pointed to Dojae and Louis.
If he had burst out laughing as usual, it would have been less annoying.
Kijoon glared at the innocent Heungmin.
Heungmin just had to draw a heart with Kyuseong at the beginning of the song.
That was childish too, but at least they didn’t have to make eye contact.
It also saved energy.
Of course, the one who used the most energy was Dojae.
He was chosen because he was the strongest, but Dojae had to lift Louis and spin around.
“Ehehe! Ehehehe!”
Unlike Kijoon and Woochul’s pairing that resulted in groans, Louis’s laughter echoed loudly from Dojae and Louis’s pairing.
Louis, who was being carried in the so-called ‘princess carry,’ laughed out loud as Dojae spun around.
“It feels like I’m on a ride!”
Dojae looked down silently at the excited Louis.
No matter how strong Dojae was and how light Louis was…
Sweat beaded on Dojae’s forehead as he tried to spin without shaking.
“Louis.”
“Sorry. Hyung is having a hard time…”
Realizing he had been enjoying himself too much while Dojae was struggling, Louis hurriedly apologized.
But Dojae wasn’t angry.
He was just worried.
“If you laugh so carelessly on stage…”
“Careless? Careless!”
Louis, realizing the meaning of ‘careless’ belatedly, flared up.
But honestly, his laugh was careless for a fresh, youthful boy.
“I laughed because it was fun at first! Never on stage!”
“Yeah. Just smile.”
When Dojae spoke in Louis’s style, Louis pouted but nodded.
When Dojae spun again, Louis smiled slightly, as Dojae wanted, without making a sound.
Louis was a pro too.
Of course, Kijoon and Woochul, who were also pros but lacked immunity in this area, were a real problem.
Most parts were bearable, but making eye contact while piggybacking was extremely awkward.
It wasn’t just Kijoon; even Woochul, who was expected to be fine, felt awkward, which made it worse.
Seeing the two not improving over time, Yangmal shook his head.
“Let’s wrap up for today. Practice roughly until tomorrow.”
“Today was the first time… It’ll be better tomorrow.”
Kijoon answered with an embarrassed face.
But it didn’t seem like he would suddenly get used to doing the ‘little groom’ act with Woochul by tomorrow.
‘Asking to change the choreography for this is too…’
His pride wouldn’t allow it.
As Kijoon frowned, Dojae, who had finished his pair routine with Louis and had been watching Kijoon and Woochul, approached.
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