The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 26

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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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Just before playing the song, Min Chan-hyeok suddenly brought up something else.

“Oh right. But you know what. Since we only have finishing work left anyway. It’d be better if you didn’t come to the studio for a while.”

“What? Why?”

What was this sudden nonsense? This was actually the most important time.

“Well, it’s just… people seem to be misunderstanding you and me in a strange way…”

“What kind of misunderstanding?”

“Right. Ugh, people really. They just start talking nonsense whenever unmarried men and women are together. What’s the age gap between you and me anyway.”

Ah.

I roughly understood what he was talking about.

The stories that people who love to gossip tell are obvious. I snorted and answered.

“So what? Let’s just leave them to misunderstand.”

“Huh?”

“That way it’s more convenient to come and go from the studio.”

Min Chan-hyeok jumped up and grabbed his head with both hands.

“Hey! You might be okay with it, but I’m not!”

“Shouldn’t I be the one who’s more upset about this?”

“Kid, my pure heart is at stake here! My tender feelings for Su-jin are being questioned because of you!”

“Ah. That ex-girlfriend of yours?”

I knew very well from hearing about it constantly while working. His muse or whatever.

“You said she cheated and you broke up. Do you still have lingering feelings?”

“Cheating?! She just… temporarily left my side! She’ll definitely come back…!”

A tragic pure love story that’s hard to watch without tears.

“Then just clarify that we’re not in that kind of relationship.”

“Who would believe that even if I said it!”

Min Chan-hyeok was practically rolling on the floor.

Tsk tsk.

I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

“Yes, well. Whether you reunite with that person or not is up to you. Anyway, I’ll keep coming to the studio, so handle the misunderstandings from people around you yourself.”

I didn’t need to worry about that too. At my indifferent reply, Min Chan-hyeok made a tearful face.

Then he grabbed my pant leg and started complaining like this.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?! Right, you’re from the Composition Department. Can’t you bring a boyfriend or male friend or someone, saying you’re showing them your friendly uncle’s studio? Then the rumors would die down too!”

“I don’t have a boyfriend. No male friends either.”

“Then just bring any friend! It’d be better than the two of us meeting alone!”

“…”

I kept my mouth shut and just stared at the monitor. Then Min Chan-hyeok suddenly raised his head.

“…No friends?”

I couldn’t give any answer.

My only friend was Mun Ah-rin, but now we were just staying close for revenge. We certainly weren’t close enough to openly discuss composer activities.

As I remained silent, Min Chan-hyeok quietly got up and sat in the chair next to me. He tidily adjusted his clothes, cleared his throat, and spoke to me in a mature manner.

“That can happen. There will be plenty of opportunities to make friends in the future, so don’t be too disheartened.”

“It’s fine.”

“Well, you know. If anyone bullies you, you must tell this uncle, okay?”

“I said it’s fine.”

“Right, right. I understand you want to overcome things alone, but sometimes you should know how to lean on adults…”

“No, the song is finished.”

I said, pointing at the monitor.

“Ah. Uh. Huh? Ah, I see~!”

Then Min Chan-hyeok jerked around like a broken robot.

“R-really? Shall we listen to it?”

When I pressed the spacebar, the song began to flow.

The rhythm pounded like a heartbeat, and the melodies layered on top danced beautifully.

Min Chan-hyeok gulped.

“This is… insane.”

Even to my ears, the song turned out quite well. Working with proper equipment made it sound much smoother to the ears.

“I think we just need to refine the mixing a bit more. Lee Ha-in’s vocals seem better than before, don’t they?”

“She completely sharpened her skills. It’s her comeback after 2 years. Do you know how much the fans have been waiting?”

That’s why they kept being unable to decide on a comeback song and things dragged on.

The longer the comeback delay, the higher fans’ expectations become, but they kept getting canceled because they seemed unlikely to meet those expectations.

“This song seems like it’ll be a huge hit.”

Min Chan-hyeok muttered as if talking to himself.

“That would be nice.”

I replied calmly.

I was confident that the song’s quality wouldn’t lose to anything out there. But a song’s success doesn’t always correlate with its level.

In the entertainment industry, skill matters, but luck is also one of the very important factors.

So all we could do was give our best to make a good song, and for what comes after, we could only pray and hope for the best.

“No. That’s not what I mean.”

Min Chan-hyeok let out another sigh-like breath.

“I really think it’s going to be a huge hit.”

Min Chan-hyeok saying this was staring at the monitor as if possessed by something.

His confident gaze somehow made me feel overwhelmed too.

Had his sensitive ‘ear’ heard something? The signal of a big hit?

At that moment, a small window blinked before my eyes.

[ SYSTEM – MAIN QUEST ]

> Successfully debut!

> Content: Your music is now ready to go out into the world. But that’s not the end. Successfully debut and make your name widely known in the market.

> Achievement condition: Enter TOP10 on music charts

> Reward:

1. Inspiration Acquisition (B+)

2. Relationship Free Pass (A)

3. Ear for Reading Trends (C+)

Choose 1

> Penalty: Hearing impairment (50%)

‘It’s a Main Quest.’

It was a Main Quest I hadn’t seen once since transferring to the Composition Department.

‘The rewards seem more numerous too. The penalty got stronger.’

I understood ‘Inspiration Acquisition’ since I’d gotten it before. But what were the other rewards?

I tried pressing with my finger, but no detailed explanation appeared.

‘Last time, Inspiration Acquisition was definitely B grade. But now it has a + attached.’

Even 【Fracture】 was amazing, but this was one level higher. I was already salivating wondering what kind of inspiration I could get.

Then…

‘I’m even more curious about what the A-grade Relationship Free Pass could be.’

Since there was no way to find out right now, I decided to be patient for now.

‘It won’t be long anyway.’

The results would come out soon when the song was released.

I decided to be confident since I could take pride in the song’s quality.

‘It’s a comeback after 2 years, so there’s plenty of buzz.’

Even though she’d lost some momentum due to the hiatus, Lee Ha-in was a solo singer with considerable public recognition.

Just the news of her comeback would definitely make people listen out of curiosity at least once.

That’s when it happened.

“Ah, yes. CEO.”

Min Chan-hyeok hurriedly answered the phone.

“The comeback date? There’s exactly 2 weeks left. We’ve finished all preparations and even uploaded the teaser. Yes. Yes? We’ve already completed all the date announcements. We can’t postpone the date at this point…”

Min Chan-hyeok’s face hardened.

“…Is that really true?”

The sound of V-Tunes’ CEO raging could be heard from the other end of the phone. The more he raged, the paler Min Chan-hyeok’s complexion became.

“I’ll check once more and contact you.”

Click, the call ended.

“What’s wrong?”

“An article came out.”

Min Chan-hyeok hurriedly accessed an internet portal site on his phone. There was an entertainment article visible at the very top.

[ Top Girl Group ‘LAMIA’, Spectacular Comeback After 2 Years… 3rd Full Album Teaser Released ]

It was a comeback article about LAMIA, the girl group under A&S Entertainment.

I read through the main text.

‘Art&Soul Entertainment officially announced the comeback of their flagship girl group LAMIA through their official SNS today. Despite being only 30 seconds long, the released teaser video contains glamorous visuals and powerful performances, receiving explosive reactions from fans.’

Their comeback date was…

I held my breath for a moment.

‘…It overlaps.’

The comeback dates overlapped perfectly!

Calculations raced through my mind. A major idol’s comeback literally devastates the charts. Especially with a full album, all the tracks would line up on the charts in a row.

Their massive fandom would stream endlessly, and the charts would be packed without a single gap.

The media would naturally only look their way. Female idols don’t stop there – they sweep up mainstream appeal and monopolize people’s attention.

Lee Ha-in was certainly a talented singer, but her recognition couldn’t compare to idols.

My heart raced.

‘…Is it possible?’

I looked at the Quest window.

> Penalty: Hearing Loss (50%)

This text seemed to stab at my heart.

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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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