The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“This seems to be… the right place.”

I paused for a moment in front of the building.

Located in an alley off the main street, the five-story building had such a modest exterior that it was hard to believe it housed an entertainment agency.

But the neon sign on the outer wall clearly read ‘V-Tunes’.

‘Quest window.’

[ SYSTEM – SUB QUEST ]

> Prove your skills!

> Content: Producer Min Chan-hyeok wants to personally verify your abilities. You only get one chance. Prove your skills in the given opportunity and proudly get your name on the credits.

> Achievement condition: Obtain a ‘pass’ evaluation from Min Chan-hyeok

> Rewards:

1. New connection unlocked – V-Tunes Producer Min Chan-hyeok

2. Successful composer debut

> Penalty: All events related to V-Tunes blocked

This was the Quest window that appeared after receiving Min Chan-hyeok’s message yesterday.

After scanning through the content again, I chuckled.

‘This should be simple enough.’

It was now 10 minutes before the appointment time. Should I head in?

Just as I was about to open the door.

Swoosh.

An employee opened the door and came out. Our eyes met directly as I stood there awkwardly with my hand extended.

“Oh! I was waiting for you!”

Before I could say anything, the employee greeted me with a bright smile. They said they were waiting for me.

‘Ah, Min Chan-hyeok must have told them in advance.’

That made sense.

They wouldn’t just let me meet Min Chan-hyeok if I showed up out of nowhere.

“Please come in quickly. The CEO is waiting too.”

Even the CEO is waiting?

I hadn’t heard anything about that.

“Hurry!”

“Huh? No, wait, just a moment…!”

While I was flustered, the employee stepped forward and pulled me along.

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a place with ring lights on the ceiling and a simple backdrop set up on the wall.

I could see a camera lens fixed in my direction. A man who appeared to be a photographer spoke in a listless tone.

“Could you look here and smile once?”

“…Excuse me, do you usually take photos like this?”

At my question, the employee who had guided me tilted their head and replied.

“Didn’t you hear you were having a camera test today?”

“A camera test?”

“Yes. We’ll take profile photos, shoot a simple self-introduction video, then conduct dance and singing skill tests in front of the CEO.”

Something seemed wrong. I raised my hand once more.

“I’m someone who composes music. Do composers also need to take camera tests? I can understand singing, but dancing too?”

“…What?”

At that moment, silence fell over the room.

When the photographer looked at the employee, the employee looked bewildered. It seemed like they had no idea what I meant.

The employee cautiously asked back.

“…Are you perhaps trainee Lee Jin-ah?”

“I’m Yoon Seol.”

Everyone made an “ah” sound and averted their gazes.

The employee hurriedly pulled out their phone with a flustered expression.

“Hello? No, the person who was supposed to come today… Ah~! There’s a message saying the flight was delayed and they’ll be 3 hours late. Ha, haha…”

The employee’s awkward laughter was followed by heavy silence.

“Ahem. Cough. I’m sorry. There seems to have been some misunderstanding. Haha. These days SNS photos can look completely different from real life. Um, are you a trainee somewhere?”

“I’m just a college student.”

“Ah~. I see.”

When I indirectly expressed that I was quite old to become an idol, their interest cooled noticeably.

There seemed to have been some misunderstanding.

I swallowed a sigh and continued speaking.

“As I mentioned earlier, I’m a composer. I was supposed to meet with Producer Min Chan-hyeok today.”

The employee scratched their head with a troubled expression.

“Hmm. I’m not from the A&R team so I haven’t heard anything about it… I can’t let you meet him on my own authority. Let me check once. Could you wait a moment?”

Just as I was about to nod in agreement.

“What? Isn’t the camera test finished yet?”

Someone poked their head out and asked.

Neatly styled two-block hair, pale skin that looked like it hadn’t seen sunlight in ages.

He had quite handsome features, but the dark circles hanging under both eyes and the strong smell of cigarettes made all of that meaningless.

Min Chan-hyeok.

The producer I was supposed to meet today.

“Is this the trainee?”

“Oh, no. The thing is…”

The employee looked troubled. I couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped forward.

“I’m not a trainee, I’m a composer.”

Min Chan-hyeok’s eyes widened.

“I’m composer YULE.”

“You’re…”

Min Chan-hyeok looked me up and down, then scratched the back of his neck.

“You’re younger than I thought. Hmm. Follow me for now.”

Then he strode forward. I immediately followed behind him.

When we arrived at the studio, a familiar scene unfolded.

‘…I miss this.’

My fingertips naturally itched.

Although I had tried to put together what I could, the equipment in my apartment was far inferior to this. Seeing proper equipment made my heart race without me realizing it.

If only I could sit here, look at the monitor, and build tracks one by one.

That thought dominated my mind.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 21.”

“Wow. Good times.”

He immediately switched to informal speech. He himself looked to be at most in his mid-thirties.

“Sit here.”

Min Chan-hyeok habitually reached for a cigarette but stopped. He glanced at me, then pushed the cigarette pack aside.

“Ahem. I listened to 【Fracture】. It’s a good song. It’s not easy to handle unstable dissonance that well.”

Praise followed, but his next words were cold.

“But that alone doesn’t make you a good composer.”

Let me hear what he has to say.

“Composing doesn’t end with just arranging melodies prettily. Planning, arrangement, coordination with singers, directing, feedback with agencies… all of that is part of composing.”

Min Chan-hyeok leaned back in his chair and tapped the desk with his fingers.

“Realistically speaking. Getting your name on the credits isn’t that simple. It’s the livelihood of staff working in this industry, and projects where enormous amounts of money change hands.”

His tone was like someone trying to intimidate a child.

“It’s still too early for a newcomer. Maybe after gaining more experience by learning from the sidelines.”

He subtly showed a spark of hope for the future while adding to his story in a gentle voice.

“This time, I’ll take this 【Fracture】 and refine it to match the singer and market. If we work like this a few times, you’ll start to see how the industry operates. And eventually, you’ll get your own projects.”

I silently stared at him.

“This is how people naturally start in this industry. There are tons of kids begging to learn the work even without pay. What do you think?”

He whispered in a sweet tone as if this were a reasonable choice, but his true intentions were obvious.

‘Buy out 【Fracture】 and remove my name from it this time.’

Min Chan-hyeok’s words did have some merit.

A clueless rookie awkwardly butting in would likely ruin the song.

Like starting with dishwashing before becoming a sous chef. Every industry has a kind of ‘apprenticeship period’ that people go through.

If someone suddenly appeared and tried to skip all those processes to start as a sous chef, it would be natural to discourage them, saying it was ridiculous.

Of course.

That’s only true in ‘normal’ cases.

For me, having traveled back ten years in time, it didn’t apply at all.

I exhaled briefly, then slowly raised my eyes. The relaxed look I’d had until now began to sharpen.

“You said you came here to directly verify my skills. This conversation is going in a different direction.”

Min Chan-hyeok cleared his throat slightly.

“Ahem. Well, that was because I thought maybe a composer I knew had changed their name. I wondered if you’d been active somewhere before. But since you’re a face I’ve never seen…”

Ah. So you called me thinking I might be a mid-career newcomer. But now that you’ve seen me, you think I’m a complete amateur and changed your mind?

“Anyway! It would be cleaner for both of us to make a buyout contract. You know there are quite a few composers who make a living just as source providers, right? If I introduce you to people around here as a decent source maker…”

“Let’s do this.”

Cutting off Min Chan-hyeok’s words, I curled up the corners of my mouth.

“Give me a skills test, and if I pass, let me participate in the composition as I said. On the other hand, if I don’t pass.”

I continued speaking clearly.

“I’ll give you 【Fracture】 for free.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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