#writing this made me realize there are a few vocal techniques i've been using for decades which I don't know the term for

[faery-snow]

Musical Observations about «Wo Men»

It's been two months since Xiao Zhan dropped Wo Men, and it's high time I post this! When I heard Zhanzhan would release a full album, I expected a high-quality but run-of-the-mill mandopop album. I would no doubt love it, but I would love it because it's his voice.

And then we got THIS.

These are things this vocalist has noticed during my obsessive re-listening. I've used XZ's official pinyin titles (I'm thrown off by the fanclub's English translations 😅).

1. Borrowed chords in the first song

The song Wo Men is in minor key, but uses borrowed chords, or chords which it shares with its relative major. This is what makes it sound so eerie. Modal interchange is used for tension; the haunting, unsettled feeling as your brain contends with overlapping patterns from 2 key signatures.

I think it also works particularly well with the song's theme, this crossroads between hope and despair, questions about whether cruelty is an inescapable state for humanity.

I also love that this is the first song. We start with unsettling questions and end the album with gratitude as the night ends. He ordered the songs very deliberately, and it makes so much sense that Zhanzhan would organize it this way, a journey toward hope.

2. Diverse vocal techniques

The songs of this album give him a variety of vocal contexts, to show different versions of himself. He is a singer who can take advantage of that, and he's shown it.

For instance, in Douyi Yang there are a lot of opportunities for embellishment that he didn't take, on purpose, and the execution is beautiful. He leans into more sustained straight tones instead of vibrato. Showing us that vocal control.

Lemme talk about pitch correction for a second. One of my roommates overheard me listening and joked "his voice sounds like Michael Bubble." I don't listen to much pop music, but I do know Michael Bubble has a reputation for being autotuned, so I was a little offended. 😅

But Xiao Zhan's vocal quality is smooth without synthetic help, and we know that for several reasons.

When his live performances are smooth, which is not a result of corrections because he has a tendency to start half a tone off. If they were correcting anything, this would be easy to do and the first thing to change.

(It's a common struggle to start half a step off when performing live. Singing is done both by ear and by feel; but your instrument feels different when you have a burst of adrenaline tightening your muscles and changing the length of your larynx, altering its resonance. Back before he knew how to adjust his in-ear correctly, he often took the left ear out so he could quickly fix his key. He still does this sometimes; it always makes me fond.)

So when you hear him singing smoothly in those songs? That's really him, he really can sound like that. He also has small vocal anomalies -- the natural blips of a voice -- everyone has these and it's the reason why skilled singers may still choose to autotune. (Personally, I think this is unnecessary, but that's a whole essay.) Those vocal anomalies show up in his previous songs and performances, and also in this album!

All that to say, his voice really is smooth.

Which isn't to say they didn't do any pitch correction. I could see it going either way:

Pitch correction is the current trend in music production after all

On the other hand, he hasn't used it anytime else

On the other other hand, he's never done a project where he had this much control

If there is pitch correction, it is minor. Douyi Yang is a potential candidate to me, not because of the straight tones, but because of how perfectly matched his harmony is in the chorus, where the timbre he's using could sound sharp if the harmonies were at odds. Either Zhanzhan absolutely nailed it (possible!), or they could use some pitch correction on the harmony line.

I really like the "realness" to Xiao Zhan's voice. In Yexingren Dezibai and Guiling, for example, you can hear small hiccups in the lower notes. They didn't pitch-correct those. I really appreciate that.

It lets his talent come through, because you know this isn't fake.

3. Syncopation

In Huan Yuan, he does a lot of releasing on the half-beat. Syncopation is a common technique, but doing it through an entire song is harder. Holding through every half-note, counter to the song's rhythm over and over, takes focus.

4. His own backup vocals!

I LOVE THAT HE DOES HIS OWN BACKUPS AND HARMONIES. You could tell in some songs right away. There were others like Piaoliu and Dengta where I wasn't sure, and then we got the 20min of bts footage which confirmed it.

They're beautiful: he's good at harmonizing after all! (I love videos where he makes harmony up on the fly, SUCH a choir kid thing!) Another way for him to show his vocal chops. It also makes this album all about him, I don't mean in an arrogant way, but rather this is him showing what he wants to show.

5. Lyricism

He's credited for partnering on lyrics for Wo Men, Piaoliu, and Buyao Huitou, and it's possible he worked on other songs to a lesser extent. Which makes sense: of course he would do his own lyrics for a passionate project like this.

(Translation credit to @izanyizhan, ty so much for your hard work!)

Wo Men: This is not the song I expected from him! Which is so cool. There is SO MUCH about this album where he defied our expectations.

Piaoliu: This is an extremely vulnerable song, wow. A brave song, going against expectations and against social niceties and standing up for what you really want. Xiao Zhan is a polite person and it's cool to get a song from him that's so bold.

Buyao Huitou: "I'll take my stubbornness and go towards the center of the light" - Enough said. The lyrics of this song are so determined and hopeful. And the vocals crescendo so beautifully. It's my favorite song.* I love that he said it's written to himself.

*(Look, I have 3 favorites, 6 second-favorites, and 2 that I "only" love. This album is everything I ever wanted musically. Not lying, my 10 most-listened-to songs of 2024 were Ruyuan + this album, even though it came out in Nov. 😅)

(And of course those of us with turtle minds got caught on, "As long as there's a single glance waiting for me to start the show." That hit me hard. The feeling of having my S.O. in the audience, when there's that one person I'm excited to perform for. Wow. I imagine when you're a superstar with millions of fans, this takes on even deeper meaning.)

6. Live orchestra

You can tell the difference and it is yet another thing elevating the quality of this album. (I feel like I have a personal stake in this because one of my parents is a professional musician haha! But also, it really does make a difference.)

Next time I want to (lovingly) complain about waiting a long time for things, I will remind myself that this album is incredible BECAUSE he spent 3 years on it and worked with such high-class people.

7. Vocal range

If I had to pick 2, Guiling and Buyao Huitou are my favorite songs, and it's because he effortlessly transitions across his range through chest voice, head voice, and falsetto.

I cannot express how much work over multiple years it took me to learn to do this, and you can get out of practice (although we know Xiao-laoshi is always singing on his sets!). Navigating those transitions is (in my not-professional opinion) one of the hardest skills for a vocalist; I'll back that up with the fact that plenty of professional vocalists (including Wang Yibo) struggle with it.

Another part of why it sounds so good is that Zhanzhan knows how to make the weaknesses of his voice work for him. Not only can he use vocal break as an effect, he is also aware of where his voice breaks naturally and uses that.

Take Piaoliu, where he uses the edges of each register to actually put more emotion in.

There are many great singers out there, and there are singers with more training than him, but he showed he has a solid foundation in a wide range of techniques.

8. Storyline

I won't talk too much about this because I would just be reiterating what Xiao Zhan wrote about each song for the release. But I appreciate that it tells a thematic story, and of course it's a story characteristic of him, contemplating the human condition, on a hopeful trajectory.

I might also be interpreting this through my decade in western publishing for my day job. Storytelling looks different across times and cultures, but I noticed that the album follows the three-act structure typical of modern English-language fiction -- he even released it like that. It could easily be coincidence, though.

(Western publishing likes to hold up things like three-act structure as "universals," but, like. With no actual evidence. 😂)

9. Composition

There are some things in this album which would be unusual for "run-of-the-mill mandopop," such as the intro/outro, the discordant strings in Wan'an (which I have mixed feelings about personally lol!), etc. He didn't play it safe; at points, it feels almost avant-garde.

Considering this is his first album, I think more outside the norm is better, especially if he wants to be taken seriously as an artist. Meaningful art involves risk and breaking expectations! (Therefore, I forgive the discordance. 😂) ((I would anyway because we got 10 full songs of his voice!!!!))

There are a lot of good reasons that «Wo Men» is rating so highly. I'm not the only person who expected him to release something more commonplace. And then he gave us ART instead.

It feels similar to what Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo have been doing to transition away from traffic stars to serious film actors. He's moved away from boy-group popstar to establish himself firmly as a serious singer.

10. Chongqing accent makes an appearance!

I grinned hearing his "wan an" with CQ nasalization in the eponymous song! I thought I was imagining it, but it still sounds that way to me after many listens. Xiao Zhan has good Standard Mandarin pronunciation which he uses in professional contexts, but it makes sense that something he's said all his life will have his home accent.

(I also really love the simple things in Wan'an which scream love: sharing food, saying goodnight, etc. And of course the line, "you xiangqi ta (她) huo shi ta (他)." 🌈✌🏽)

晚安

I really love that the «Wo Men» Outro ends with some spatial tuning as the strings fade out, then the footsteps, and then his voice is panned left, like you're passing one another on the road. Like the album's theme of passing others on life's journey. And it makes me think of every time he's said he's just a normal person like everyone else.

Plus Xiao Zhan saying goodnight to us gives us emotions. What a way to end the album.

(All images from Xiao Zhan and XZS Official Weibo accounts.)

[musicarenagh]

Meet Jaxyn Lethe: Your New Electro-Pop Obsession Join us as we have a chat with Jaxyn Lethe an upcoming star from Baltimore, making a buzz with her catchy electro-pop style. The latest hit single from her was “Techno Beats” which is the preview of upcoming EP ‘I am I don’t know’, to be released on February 4th. OK, what’s cool about Jaxyn is that she isn't just a regular musician. As a girl in her family where your father and aunt are practicing music, music is definately there inside the veins. It is therefore no surprise that she has found her calling in the industry. With Jaxyn's music she combines everything she likes, think new wave, shoegaze and a lot of feelings. Every track is filled with her soul, combining catchy tunes and reflective words that strike right in the heart. And get this: She is not all about the music. Jaxyn is all about networking and teamwork. She is preparing for a few live shows in Boston and has some great collabs coming up. Thus, if you are after soul-moving tracks, then Jaxyn Lethe has you sorted. Watch out for her EP and gear up yourselves to shake legs with some vibes that are marvelous. Listen to Techno Beats below https://open.spotify.com/track/370G4f6w0MptTGVaQWXSxH?si=459fb9af97b44f5f Follow Jaxyn Lethe on   Instagram Spotify Youtube Bandcamp Soundcloud What is your stage name Jaxyn Lethe Is there a story behind your stage name? Nope! My given birth name. Where do you find inspiration? I write and produce music at the same time, so often times I'll sit down wanting to try a new production technique, and I'll write a song about whatever I'm thinking about in that moment. A lot of emotional fuel for me though comes from different relationships I have in my life. What was the role of music in the early years of your life? My dad's a musician, and I've been playing piano since I can remember. Having a very vast musical background has given me a lot of tools to be able to express myself in a more precise way. Are you from a musical or artistic family? Yes! My dad is a Jazz pianist and Church music director, and my aunt fully sustains herself on her band the Billies. Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry? I don't think a specific person ever inspired me to want to do what I do, but rather being surrounded by people in different areas of the music industry made me feel like it was super accessible. I also never had a moment where I was like "aha now I'm going to be a musician" because I've always played, composed, or produced music in a large capacity. It made the most sense for me to continue doing so as an adult after High School because I'd never done anything else. How did you learn to sing/write/to play? My dad taught me how to play piano, and then I started piano lessons at 4. I never have had formal training in singing, and when I first started writing I wanted someone else to sing my songs. It wasn't until they never sent me the audio files that I begrugingly tracked the vocals myself. [caption id="attachment_53911" align="alignnone" width="720"] My dad taught me how to play piano, and then I started piano lessons at 4[/caption] Then I realized how much easier that was, so I just started doing it regularly. My first writing experience was in blues music, I was taking lessons with Erwin Helfer and he had me write lyrics to a 12 bar blues. What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform? I don't remember at all. Apparentlly I saw the Beastie Boys when I was 2, my parents took me to a lot of concerts as a kid. How could you describe your music? I always say Electronic Indie Pop. I'm heavily inspired by new wave, shoegaze, the Japanese House, STRFKR, and Phantogram. I take a lot of inspiration from varying places so I find it hard to place a genre. Describe your creative process. Sometimes I'll have a melody in mind, and I'll create a backing track to it, and then I'll think of lyrics. Those songs are usually pretty catchy. Sometimes I'll make a beat and then lyrics will come after.

I'm very technically motivated, so new gear and production techniques really makes me feel creative the most. What is your main inspiration? I don't know. What musician do you admire most and why? I admire LCD Soundsystem, because he knew exactly what he wanted and he went for it. Despite being older, despite having people tell him that he shouldn't, he released something totally unique and it blew peoples' minds. Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career? Yes. I used to be less creative with my synth sounds and drum parts, since getting more experience producing and learning more in school, I feel like my music keeps getting more developed and complex. It's like I started off making good songs, like a grilled cheese and tomato soup. But the more I do it the more I can develop the idea to have more "flavors", like now I can make some michelin star meal with crazy depths of flavor. Who do you see as your main competitor? I don't have any. Honestly, I compete against my former self to release better stuff. Anyone that I'd feel intimidated by I like to push myself to work with them so we can join forces. I don't believe in rivalries when working together can yeild better results. What are your interests outside of music? I love cooking and taking walks. If it wasn't a music career, what would you be doing? Probably dying or going to horticulture school. What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music? I don't like networking that much, and I feel pretty shy in really social settings. I have to force myself to put myself out there and get fans. If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be? I would end the correlation between label backing and tik tok followers. https://open.spotify.com/track/370G4f6w0MptTGVaQWXSxH?si=459fb9af97b44f5f Why did you choose this as the title of this project? Honestly, when I made the song I started with a beat, and 'Techno Beats' was the trash name I made for the project file folder. When the song developed, the tag line got pretty complicated, and the one repeated line is "swallow us." I couldn't think of an alternate name to "Swallow Us," and I figured that would be a disaster, so I kept the file name. What are your plans for the coming months? Playing shows around Boston, and my EP release on Feb 2. Do you have any artistic collaboration plans I do, but nothing super solid yet. What message would you like to give to your fans? I love you!

[worldsover]

Dal Segno ft. Chuu

length ✦ 3570

genres ✧ music making; oral fixation; facefuck; subby!Chuu

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Composition is only fifty percent of the process, you've heard, but it's closer to ten for you. For the importance of a solid melody and chord progression with the right instruments and singer, a song becomes less than the sum of its parts with bad mixing because all that effort goes to waste when you can’t hear something, or when something is too loud, or when a certain je ne sais quoi is wrong. But you do know. You don't have to be a chef to be a food critic but it certainly helps. Avoid muddling the lows as it waters down the soup. Carve space in the highs to prevent too much salt from killing the taste buds. Have at most five sounds at a time or else the flavors clash. Focus on these basic techniques to guide you as repetition wears down your mind. Funny. Repetition legitimizes especially in music yet here you are fatigued by repetition as though you weren't down four cups of black coffee. Repetition legitimizes. “From the sign,” the translation reads. Notation, simply instructing a musician to return to a certain point in a piece. You recognize it as an intro song you wrote years ago.

Glass and foam separate the undersized room. Cheap ramen and dampness in the hot air contribute to the odor. You would keep the fan on, if it were worth the extra time filtering out faint noise from recordings. The only scent that keeps you sane is a slight strawberry flavor lingering in the room. Jiwoo. Your muse. A large clock holds both of its hands near one with the lack of natural light muddling whether it’s AM or PM. Studios were always underground man-caves whether they were discount rooms or the signature workspace of the biggest producers. Here you are in the former. Look down at the Macbook and all the wires, sliders, and knobs. Deep breath. “Take 63,” you say into the cheap control room microphone.

“Not good enough.”

“Again.”

“One more.”

Look up. Jiwoo sucks on a grape lollipop. You stare. Watching her fixated on getting all flavor out of the purple sweet derails your flow state. See, work had a rhythm. Listen, volume up, hotkey to copy this clip, volume down. The obvious innuendo sends you offbeat. That perky butt bending over to get a notebook filled with lyrics entrenches the folds of your brain. She didn’t have to wear that skirt. You’ve seen that skirt already and you wish she weren’t wearing it. Oh, you really wish she weren’t wearing that skirt. Guilt sets in. You’re a trusted coworker, she, a naive girl. It takes a while to find your groove again. Your stare has yet to cease until she finally returns the eye contact with candy still in mouth. Her pink tongue laps to secure all the sugar and red pillows engulf the ever-shrinking circle. Pop. Anyone else and it would be calculated action.

“Oppa." Her voice resounds in your monitor headphones. "I don’t know if these harmonies really make sense. Why did you write the second voice to cross down below the main line? Plus it goes so low."

“To be fair, you wrote both of those melodies and you said you wanted them in the same song. Tell me anywhere else they’d work.”

“Ugh, let’s figure this out later. Next song.“

Dozens of takes later and Jiwoo’s frustration causes her to make mistakes. Sometimes she even tries to start singing with the sucker in her mouth. For the character she plays, you know she’s a professional and that she can be better. Yet hours later, she still could not get the vocal runs right. Incomplete songs bloat your project folder: "Jiwoo - Mania", "Jiwoo - Look Closer", "Jiwoo - Untitled Idea 21". Just a small side project that the company approved during another ample period of break time between comebacks. That’s why the director didn’t even let you use the company’s facilities, instead opting to rent out this cheap closet of a studio. At least no one would be mad about the amount of time you spent recording together.

You shift seats from the leather office chair to the white lovechair, the only two pieces of furniture that fit comfortably in the room. Jiwoo follows suit and leaves the recording booth, really more of a phone booth in square footage, while she huffs and puffs on her candy.

“I’m tired, oppa,” she says.

“Me too, Jiwoo. May I remind you that I’m not getting paid extra for this. Are you gonna focus or what?” your voice just a few cents down, just a bit harsher.

“I, I’m sorry.” A lick anyway. Her meek tone disappears, “Ya! You know how good your royalties are gonna be. Sole producer and all that. Plus, here you are still doing all this work for me." Why were you working so hard on this? "You know, if you just taught me how to use Ableton-”

“Then I’d be out of a job.”

Jiwoo frowns, “Wow, selfish much? You could’ve joined me as a trainee.”

“Nah, no way. Fish dance better.”

“Shut up, oppa. You would’ve easily made it with your, um, musical talent.” She clamps down on the lollipop with her mouth.

“You good? What was that?”

“Let’s," she stands promptly, "get back to recording.”

Crack. Jiwoo bites down on the lollipop and throws the stick in the trash. In ten minutes, she nails the verse she spent hours trying to get right. It'd be really nice to know what catalyzed that rally. You'd ask but driving Jiwoo back to her dorm is quiet as usual.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Make a good impression on someone, anyone, on your first day as a mixing engineer. That’s why you returned to the Blockberry Creative building with an extra bar of Melona in hand. A simple bribery. Light beamed down between two skyscrapers on a short girl with long hair and strands of bangs adorning her forehead. She stood outside the lobby, introducing herself to every passerby. You had to pinch her cheeks, the intrusive thought screamed.

She scurried up to you. “Hi! I’m Kim Jiwoo and I’m going to become an idol!”

Ah, a trainee. You already knew she was destined to become one. Well, not literally, you weren’t in charge of that. But her overflowing charm was impossible to ignore. You had to tease her though, “Are you sure?”

“Hey! What would you know about that, mister?” she said.

You bit down on your mango. “Mister? First of all, I’m only a high school senior,” her lips rounded in surprise, “And second, I’m your new audio guy, and I know for a fact they’re debuting you girls in order of talent.”

“Woooow. Well, I’ll have you know, I have a great voice!” She certainly spoke lyrically.  “Wait a minute, I didn’t know they hired people that young.” You pointed at her. “Okay, I’m in high school too. But that’s different, idols start this age.”

“I guess. I’ve been making music ever since I was a kid, and they liked what I had,” you said and Jiwoo nodded in understanding.

She fluttered her eyebrows. “Sooo, is that mango ice cream for me? Oppa?” A little surprised she already called you that, but it sounded right.

“No, I have this unopened strawberry-” Jiwoo snatched the half-eaten cold treat from your hand, and started licking it. Trouble she would be.

You spent many recording sessions together, alone after all the other members left. She cozied up to you because her little musical snippets had to become full-fledged tracks and you helped her out every time.

Something changed over the years however. Your interactions became colder. It felt like you were the only one who she would respond to in a deeper voice. Jiwoo wouldn't pepper you with silly acts or mess around. Maybe she took you more seriously which is how you managed to make more songs together regardless. Then, you stood idly by and watched her debut. Who didn't love her? But when she was with you, you missed the playfulness, the ice cream and her riffing over your playful guitar strums. It turned less of a hobby and more of a job though you never regretted any second with Jiwoo regardless.

Under the Earth's largest natural satellite, you shared a simple meal in black bean noodles. She was still in her hippie outfit from the comeback, and you handed her your jacket since it was cold. You realized, there was something else there that you were too inexperienced to notice. Your bodies' radiation replace the chill in the air, a bubble with just the two of you eating on the grass in a park near your dorm. A cliche slurping on one noodle and Jiwoo pulled away. In embarrassment, like a damn anime character, she hiccuped. Good thing you didn't close your eyes when you leaned in.

“Wanna make an album together?” Jiwoo says.

“Sure.”

You threw away the noodles’ package and escorted her home. That was all you expected anyway. Fine.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

“That’s enough!”

Three goddamn weeks. It's been three goddamn weeks and you've barely made any progress.

Barge into the booth, slam the door shut and raise your tone, just below a shout, “I've had it up to here! You know how many of my songs have been mashed together in some unholy quest for your perfection? Just one unknown something is missing and either you start complaining or we move on to the next."

She backs up from the mic to the insulated wall but you continue, paying no heed to her, as you spout your piece to the artificially cold air, "You know how much time I’ve spent outside working on these songs? These are songs I’ve saved up over years. And you trash them like they’re nothing. How do you even manage to record LOONA tracks?”

Regret sinks in. This was your passion project as much as hers. Was it frustration from the recordings? Weeks of the same routine and it took until now for you to give in to your temper.

"It wouldn't even be that bad! If you could just one time, you could be cute or cheerful again with me, or,” Fuck. So stupid. You don’t have to take your friendships for granted like this. You’re lucky enough she treats you as much. “Hold on. Wait, I'm-"

Examine her face. It’s not sour and she hasn’t stormed out or even slapped you.

“No, no. You don’t have to say it. I’m. I’m sorry oppa.” She looks down. “I'm the one messing up after all." Her heartbeat a harsh snare drum. "And you. You're. Different. Looking at you always made me feel some, something funny. Not funny but? Ugh. I wish I could explain it.”

You hold in your confusion.

She blabbers on, “Like, are. Are you mad? I promise you, I,” A nervous breath, ”I like you. Okay?"

Your confusion grows like the length of your silence.

"I’m just acting how I really am with you. Do you want to maybe, I don't know, like," her voice decrescendos, "Um. Punish me?”

Your heart, your brain are deprived of blood as it all rushes down. Did you hear that right? Not an apology, not retribution, but a call to punishment? Misinterpreting her, the consequences would be dire but that damned demure tone for such an erotic request. Was Jiwoo the exact type of slut constructed in your mind? The one that made you feel sinful for even imagining. No, no, there's no way.

Too late. Jiwoo must have noticed the absurd bulge now. It had to be these Adidas pants today. Fuck it. Life can’t be lived fully without risk. Hopefully, the same switch turned in her mind. You remove all ire from your face and say in earnest, “Do you like games?"

She lights up a little. You sigh relieved.

"Let’s try…”, you say, ”Strip recording.” She lights up a little more, so you go on, ”If I mess up anything, the mix, the composition, the arrangement, I’ll take off a piece of clothing. Your choice. And every time you mess up-”

Jiwoo unbuttons her denim shorts and brings them down her tight legs.

“D- did I say now?”

However, with her resolve steeled, she continues pulling them. "So what? I did mess up, right?" she says coquettish. Deliberate the turn she makes when she bows down to remove the shorts from her legs, Jiwoo reveals a hint of her innie pussy on that same little ass that ran through your mind earlier. A small trace of her thighs glistens, the only thing reflecting the single lightbulb’s glow in the microphone’s abode. She turns back to face you. "Please. Punish me."

Step closer until Jiwoo backs up to the soundproofing. She’s an eighth note away from your face, flashing her beady eyes and a coy smile, ”Where's your underwear?" A little drop spills out onto the floor, "And why are you so wet, Jiwoo-ah?”

Red on her cheeks, like she only now realized her dishevelment in front of you. “You just… Something about you snapping at me. I don’t get it either. I knew you'd do it, some day, I wanted you to," she mumbles in her best efforts to answer you.

“Have you ever worn underwear to the recordings?”

Those efforts continue to fail.

"Oh, Kim Jiwoo. What do I do with you?" One of your hands grabs her cheek. The other crawls down her back to grab her cheek.

“Oppa�� Do I have to say it?”

“I want to hear every." Smack. "Word." Smack. She slips a moan.

“Can you," she says, "can you use my mouth?”

You disguise your long pause as thought, teasing the bare skin of her ass with your exploratory fingers to bide time, but it's an expression of your shock. The interruption helps you come up with a more suitable punishment however.

“How about this then. Every time you mess up, you have to give me a blowjob. Call?”

“Call!” Once more, unprompted, she kneels down in front of you and claws away your track pants. You roll with the punches.

"Oppaa," with an pronounced pop and in a sing-songy rhythm, "I've always wanted to know, if your dick-" It certainly didn't need Jiwoo's dainty hands pulling on your boxers, as it would've sprang out on its own with how like diamond your cock is getting.

"Fuuuck," the first profanity you ever hear her utter, she lilts. "Please. Oppa. Fuck my face?"

After all she said, she could still surprise you. Bring your hips forward and just as you would've her pussy, tease Jiwoo’s lips with the head of your dick. She parts them open, starved, anxious.

Hold her by the chin. "Wait."

She freezes at the command. Again, like foreplay, rub her lips with that head making them turn redder and more plump. You sweep aside her bangs to see her begging eyes. More importantly, slide your dick up to her nude forehead to slap as a first act of retribution. “A-ah!” Jiwoo stutters as you slap her face with your manhood again and again. Bring your cock back down and she's already a mess without you even having entered her mouth. A little drool from her shut lips gently massages your balls while a bit of precum drools from your slit to meet those lips.

Jiwoo mumbles as best as she can with you holding her jaw shut and your dick on her lips, "Please. Please. Shove your dick in me. I need you in my mouth."

You squint your rough eyes to command her.

Muffled still, "Oppa. Please. I. I need to taste you. You just, you're so thick and you're so long and cock is perfect and please I just-"  Loosen the grip on her chin to let her envelop the entire tip with her warm lips. "Mmmmm..." the moan resonates a saw wave and your stern resolve fades away on your first entrance into her face but it returns as her teeth rub against you. She quickly readjusts her jaw but it takes multiple attempts of you pulling out and her sucking you back until only silken lips hold your cock's head. Finally. A focused glint in her eyes. She endeavours to keep your tip in her mouth as long as possible.

You were mad at her earlier, weren't you?

Recall this anger and press yourself into her with all your hips' strength, working against the force of her lip's airtight suction. Saliva leaks to betray the seal. Jiwoo's prying tongue explores the underside of your cock but you reach an impasse while she's not even halfway down the shaft. You shove your dick deeper but to no avail and tears roll down her eyes joining the fluids coating her lips. Thus you exit back out. And back in you go to repeat and repeat and slowly increase your rate, becoming rough sex with her diligent mouth. All the positions you’ve imagined fucking her little pussy, you picture using her throat instead. Even in this compact studio, the couch, chair and desk would provide ample support for you to use her in many ways. The dirty thoughts inspire your speed right now. She slurps and gulps at every quick plunge but you realize her moans and rumbles aren't just incoherent reactions. You decelerate.

“Ah, ahhh, ahhhhhh… Ah’ve ahways- Hmph.” She slurs as she tries her hardest to communicate while her airway is blocked.

She slides up your cock to catch some air, “Thought about it- Mmm.”

“Your dick in my mouth and it’s just so pew, fect- Ahhh.” Jiwoo's lips let go gently then her tongue sticks out to lick up your cock and she shows off a trail of spit leading to your tip. A less patient man would’ve jerked himself off right there to grant her eyes and open mouth's unison request to feed on your cum.

Instead you retort, “You think you’ve earned it? Not even halfway down. Going nowhere, just like our recording sessions, huh?”

“Shut up!”

“Oof.” You’re already weak in the knees so Jiwoo's one handed shove sends your tailbone to the floor. Since you’re still dazed by her confounding strength, she takes initiative and kowtows her head into your lap to crawl down your cock with her tiny lips. Fondling your balls, Jiwoo starts from the furthest point she could muster on your shaft up to your cock head. Her tongue follows back and she starts playing under your tip to swirl that tongue around the most sensitive parts until it explores your slit. You buckle and groan. Jiwoo sucks and spits and sucks while she circles only the most minimal twisting motion of her lips on your head. This is the Jiwoo you know. Relentless. Only now your load is her magnus opus.

Her right hand strays downwards and her face on your dick blocks a full view but you can tell that hand is working as intensely as her mouth. As she strokes herself with more vigor, she starts humming a satisfied melody on your tip. In kind, your subtle grunts turn into full-bodied moans. You're a single measure away from your coda so you reach down and pull her off your cock by grabbing her neck.

You glare into her. “Desperate little girl, aren't you?”

Her breath is stilted and she's nearly shaking. “Please…” she sobs, ”You, you want it as bad as I do right?” Of course. “Won't you just cum for me?” Not now. Not when you have putty in your hands.

“You're making a mess. You can't take me all the way down. And I see that it’s not just your saliva coating the floor.” Point to the spot where she kneels, her drool joins a stain growing ever larger with a strand of juice from her pussy flowing as you continue to berate her. Then you point to her hand. Ha. “Were you playing with yourself using my pencil?”

“No… Wait!”

You back off. “Your top’s a mess too. Anyone can tell I just fucked your face.” You take off your black hoodie and give it to her. “I’ll see you tomorrow for our next session.”

“Wait, we didn’t book tomorrow, did we? Also, you can’t just leave me like this! Oppa!”

"I said, I'll see you tomorrow. I have to go,“ you remind her, ”Ha Rin’s picking you up. And give me back that pencil.”

She hands it to you, unable to meet your eyes despite hers lusting over your cock. You'll definitely use the alluring musk on it for later to save you from your self-induced blue balls. Exit the booth. Of course she barely waits to use your hoodie the same way since she doesn’t notice you lingering in the room. Instead of hiding the grey long sleeve that soaks her neck, your used sweatshirt covers Jiwoo’s face as her fingers make the mess on the floor larger.

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AFF, AO3

Swear to god I’m not just writing the cutest idols to write for. I mean maybe I am but also this answer from @nsfwtwicecatcher​ and all the subsequent pictures that I found of Chuu pouting inspired me. Also, this was a longer piece but I kept spinning my tires on it and decided to split it up, so look out for more.

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Fermata, the aforementioned sequel