**Chapter 17 – Live Questioning: Question 9**
**LIVE BROADCAST – "Behind the Gold: AUREUS Unfiltered" – Episode 1 (Continued)**
**Current Viewership: 26.2 million**
The lights of the studio shimmer again, casting soft golden hues as host Jeon Mira sets aside her cards and leans in, her voice dipping into something more reverent.
**Jeon Mira (smiling):**
"Alright, AUREUS… Question nine. This one's for the heart."
*A pause.*
**"Which song means the most to you—and why?"**
**LIVE CHAT – TRANSLATED IN REAL TIME**
@aureus4lifex: OH this is gonna HURT
@behindthemelody: *weeping already and no one's spoken yet*
@lyricslikeloveletters: bet Sori cries or makes US cry
@hauntedbyjaeheon: I'm scared of his answer ngl
The camera shifts to Minjae, who's already grinning nervously.
---
**Minjae (softly):**
"'Moonchild's Playground.' It was our first album, and I wrote it on a hotel balcony during trainee days. I was homesick, broke, and a little delirious. But somehow… I poured all my joy and loneliness into that one."
**Hyunwoo (nodding):**
"It was one of the first songs where we really heard *your* voice, you know?"
---
**Taeyang:**
"'Falling Up.' It reminds me of the time we couldn't tell if we were crashing or flying. I wrote it when we didn't know if we'd debut. That uncertainty… made me brave."
**Rin:**
"I remember you scribbled the first chorus on a napkin. You almost cried when it got produced."
**Taeyang (laughing):**
"Shhh! Don't expose me."
---
**Hyunwoo (composed):**
"'Echo Chamber.' I wrote it about feeling surrounded by noise, but never heard. It's… personal. I didn't think anyone would relate. But fans still send letters about that song. It's humbling."
**Sori:**
"They heard you."
---
**Sori (quietly):**
"'Weightless.' I didn't write it. But when I recorded it, I'd just lost someone close. I was drowning in silence, and that song—*it let me grieve out loud* without saying a word."
**LIVE CHAT**
@weightlesssavedme: sobbing rn
@aureusxo_sori: the emotion in his bridge?? unmatched
---
**Rin (tilts head, eyes shining):**
"'Sound of Shadows.' That one's mine. Because it's about hiding… and still hoping someone sees you. I guess I've always felt a little invisible outside the music."
**Minjae (gently):**
"We saw you, hyung. Every line."
---
**Jisung (timidly):**
"'Sunlight Over Seoul.' It was the first one I co-wrote. I never thought anyone would let me. But that was the first time I felt… like an artist, not just an idol."
**Taeyang (smiling):**
"You've *always* been an artist."
---
The camera lingers now on **Jaeheon**, seated silently at the center. His posture hasn't changed. Arms relaxed. Legs crossed. Gaze lowered.
**Host Jeon Mira (softly):**
"And you, Jaeheon? Which song means the most to you?"
A long beat.
Then:
**Jaeheon (low voice):**
"There's a piece… it was never meant to be released."
The studio quiets. Members turn toward him. The audience stills.
**Jaeheon:**
"It's called '*Her Silence is Louder Than Heaven.*' I wrote it one winter at three a.m., after a show. My hands were shaking, but the melody wouldn't stop."
**Jeon Mira:**
"Why does it mean the most?"
**Jaeheon (slowly):**
"Because… it's not about grief, or joy, or even me. It's her. Every note is hers. Every pause between notes is hers too."
**He pauses. Then continues.**
**Jaeheon (calm, distant):**
"I've written over a hundred songs for her. This was the first one I didn't want anyone else to hear. Because it was never mine to share. It's… hers. Just hers."
**LIVE CHAT — MOMENTARY SILENCE**
@hundredsongs: ONE HUNDRED SONGS?
@who_is_she: I CAN'T DO THIS
@thishurtsmoresomehow: 'every pause between notes is hers too' ?? how do we survive this man
**Sori (under breath):**
"You really meant it when you said you'd burn them all."
**Jaeheon (without looking at him):**
"I still will."
---
**[BACKSTAGE – PRODUCER ROOM]**
"He just said he's written *a hundred songs for her.* We're trending in 67 countries right now. This episode's gonna be studied in media classes."
---
**[MEDIA BUZZ – ARTICLE EXCERPT]**
**Headline:** *Jaeheon of AUREUS: "Every Pause Between Notes is Hers" — A Ballad of Unspoken Obsession*
**Excerpt:**
In another moment of quiet devastation, AUREUS' coldest member shares that he's written over a hundred songs for an unnamed woman—none of which he intends to release. Fans are left breathless, once again.
---
**[FAN POV – @silverlinedshadows]**
"I don't care who she is. But I know this: she lives in every chord he writes. She breathes in his silence. Jaeheon doesn't sing about love—he *becomes* it. And we'll never know her name."
---
**[IN-STUDIO – HOST WRAPS QUESTION 9]**
**Jeon Mira (whispers):**
"Ninety-nine songs we'll never hear. And one that broke the silence."
She exhales and looks around the studio.
**Jeon Mira (softly):**
"Just one more question to go…"