JTBC's 'Ssul Jeon' discussed songwriters on November 7, which naturally brought up Heechul's very own debut composition for Orange Caramel.

Heo Ji Woong said, "I really like Orange Caramel.  I heard that Heechul composed a song for Orange Caramel," referring to the song "Shanghai Romance."

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Heechul revealed, "I'm close with the chief of Orange Caramel's agency.  While we were drinking together, he made an offer.  I have a knack for this, as well."

He continued, "The royalties were quite good.  While in the army and when the song was doing well, I would receive over 3 million won (~ $2,800 USD) a month."

After reciting the lyrics of the song, Kim Gu Ra suggested they were immature: "You should have written something with depth--what is this?  You sure a kid just learning to write for the first time didn't write this?" 

Heechul said, "In the second verse, I wrote parts like that.  After the chief read 'I can only meet you if I rode a plane there, but as I have no money, I can neither go nor see you,' he said, 'It's a different way of thinking.  I can sympathize,' so I received the okay."

However, Heo Ji Woong said in surprise, "That's worth 3 million won (~ $2,800 USD) in a month?"

Heechul replied, "This is worth 30 billion won (~ $28 million USD).  This is not a joke--after writing this song, I got a few offers, but I couldn't do them out of public interest," making everyone laugh.