as we walk ; geto suguru

Halloween

content warnings: implied nsfw

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— SIREN'S SOUND LLC, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 13TH, 6:15 PM

Eugene examines the remaining seconds of the song that pump through the large, black headphones that engulf his ears, nodding his head along to the steady beat with closed eyes and a soft smile before he takes them off and gleams a smile, pressing pause on a laptop embedded with a green flash drive.

"The song's great! I think it'll pass through, especially with that beat drop towards the bridge," he compliments while giving a thumbs up, indicating his seal of approval to let the song go through for lyric writing. "We can maybe add a final harmony with a high note on the final chorus, how 'bout it, AJ?"

A freckled blonde plops himself down in the twin chair that's next to his partnering songwriter with a grin that holds a heating vape pen. They've just finalized the backing track for their hottest artist that's making her comeback anytime soon and he's relieved at the fact that they're finally done with her song instrumentals. Being a songwriter-producer for one of the most popular singers in the United States drains the life out of him at times, but as long as people enjoy the music he makes, even if they don't directly see his credit directly, he'll continue doing it even if he pushes his death line early. The amount of times he's spent in the recording studio doing either everything at once or nothing at all were ungodly and AJ has received a few complaints from other people on Seri Z's team saying he keep straining himself but if he doesn't feel a stretch on his mentality, it's not necessarily straining, is it?

"Don't mind that all, just make sure to send it for my final review before we send it out for her final album's list," he replies and puffs out a drag of the airy mist, fiddling with his little padlock on his chest that sits on a metal chain. "Should we have the song fade out gradually or just cut it off once it ends?"

"Flip a coin, do whatever you think might suit the song best," Eugene shrugs. "I trust you."

It's surprising how Eugene and AJ's relationship had smoothed over the past six years considering they both couldn't stand each other in AJ's beginning years in America after getting the special opportunity to debut as a solo artist under a different country before he transferred careers that still took his talents in hand. Now, Eugene is the only one that AJ goes to for actual help considering he doesn't trust Amira whatsoever despite her becoming AJ's partnering co-producer as of last year. He can't help but be thankful for growing up bilingual but he supposes that's where being born to an Australian father and Japanese mother would get him.

A screen is shoved into AJ's face enthusiastically. "Look, Inside Out's reached number three on the Billboard chart! Your song did amazing as always, hopefully it'll beat that one song that everyone's been singing." Eugene switches the internet tab to reveal a few critics' claims on the song that was released two weeks ago with their newest artist in the company.

"'Inside Out's sounds both elegant and crisp, the transitions to the verse's change in tone were smooth and beautiful. I felt like I was walking through a botanic garden with every beat." - Matthew Kisembo, Alternative Press.

"Charlene's vocals were fresh and it gave a good breath of air to all the electronic, autotuned voices that I find many producers using too much lately. Major props to the producer and Charlene's team and I wish her the best of luck for her career in music." - Sophia Lafleur, Rolling Stone

"While I do think there could've been an improved bridge, I will not deny that the poetic lyrics redeemed the song for me - they're simply stunning while telling the message of the song in a hushed way." - Ilhyun Baek, Billboard