The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 27

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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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Min Chan-hyeok ran his hands through his hair roughly, revealing his complicated feelings completely. His pale face trembled with quivering lips.

“This is fucked.”

A sigh filled the studio.

Min Chan-hyeok shot up from his seat. He grabbed his phone and started making calls somewhere.

“Yes, Team Leader. You saw the article, right? It overlaps with Lamia. We’ll need to recheck everything – teasers, thumbnails, hashtags. Please find out Lamia’s schedule as much as possible in advance. I’m asking for a favor.”

He hung up and moved to the next call.

“They overlapped. Yes. But we still have to do it. What choice do we have.”

Then the next.

“We can spend more budget, right? Please pull through somehow. You know the company’s put everything on the line for this comeback.”

Then the next.

“Please pack Lee Ha-in’s schedule completely full with no gaps. If there are any variety shows or radio programs she can appear on, we’ll take them all for now.”

Only after making that round of calls could he finally catch his breath. Min Chan-hyeok looked like he’d aged 10 years in an instant.

“Hah. Things turned out like this. So unlucky. Of all times, they had to overlap perfectly.”

“I know, right.”

“Still, we have to do our best with what we can. You just focus on completing the song and don’t worry about other things unnecessarily.”

What happens next is now beyond my control. It’s also Min Chan-hyeok’s domain as a producer, not mine as a composer.

“Hey, cheer up~. It’s your debut and you’re worried it’ll fail?”

Min Chan-hyeok patted my shoulder with exaggerated gestures.

“That would be troublesome for us too. She’s V-Tunes’ poster star after all. She’ll appear on radio, music shows, variety shows – everything. We’ll do viral marketing as big as possible, so don’t worry.”

I’m not the only one desperate for success.

Min Chan-hyeok, who’s almost the overall project manager, Lee Ha-in making her comeback under her own name, and the agency that provided all the investment money – everyone will be desperate.

Knowing this, I had no intention of complaining, so I could only nod.

“Damn. I’m going to be working overtime for a while. You should head back before it gets too late. You’ll miss the last train.”

“I’ll help too.”

“Cut it out. What could you help with?”

“If I refine the song more…”

“Seol.”

Min Chan-hyeok called my name in a low, sunken voice.

“Go home.”

“…”

“You’ve helped enough.”

His tone was firm.

“Sleep, wake up, and work on it again with a clear mind. If you work on it while sleepy and tired like now, you’ll just have to redo it anyway.”

That’s also true. Music is delicate, so it can sound different depending on the listener’s condition.

This is especially true for work like mixing where you need to catch subtle differences.

“I’d like to drive you home since it’s late. But I have a meeting in 30 minutes, so that’ll be difficult.”

“I can go back alone. It’s okay.”

“Alright. Then get home safely.”

He lightly tapped my shoulder.

“Don’t worry.”

After a brief silence, Min Chan-hyeok added very quietly.

“No matter what anyone says, the song we made is the best. That’s enough.”

“…”

“People will recognize it eventually. Maybe not right away, but it could be reevaluated later or make a comeback. For that to happen, the song needs to be good first.”

Min Chan-hyeok grinned mischievously.

“It’s our song, so if we don’t believe in it, who will? Right?”

“That’s right.”

“O~kay. Then no more worrying. Go home and get some good rest.”

“Yes. I will.”

I bowed politely.

I was lost in thought the entire way home. When I opened the door and entered, I felt warm comfort cutting through the pitch-black darkness.

Meow-.

“You weren’t sleeping yet?”

Nuri came over and rubbed against my head. I wonder how long she’d been there. The area right in front of the shoe rack was warm with Nuri’s body heat.

“Sorry. I’m late.”

I sat down right there and hugged Nuri. Warm comfort spread in my arms, and purring vibrations traveled up my neck.

“Quest window.”

[ 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 TOP100 on music charts

> Reward :

1. Inspiration Acquisition (B+)

2. Connection Free Pass (A)

3. Ears that Read Trends (C+)

Choose 1

> Penalty : Hearing Impairment (50%)

The content hadn’t changed.

Our comeback overlapped with Lamia’s, so couldn’t the achievement condition be relaxed a bit?

I grumbled complaints to myself for no reason.

Above all, there was a part that bothered me.

‘Penalty. 50% hearing impairment.’

I touched my ears for no reason. I’ve completely adapted to this now. Go back to that silence again?

Even if it’s not complete hearing loss, if it weakens by half, it would obviously interfere with daily life.

Anxiety crept up.

My heartbeat pounded like drums. Having experienced it before made it even more frightening.

I know that hell.

I also know how desperate a person becomes.

Meow-.

Nuri burrowed into my arms. That small warmth seemed to barely support me.

***

“Yoon… …student.”

My head felt foggy.

‘The bass line seems to get a bit muddled. Couldn’t we bring out more detail?’

Filled with distracting thoughts, I couldn’t properly hear the sounds around me.

‘The drum highs are sharp. Not to the point of being grating. But to make it more pleasant to listen to, I should compress it more…’

That’s when it happened.

“Student Yoon Seol!”

I jerked my head up at the clear call.

“Ah.”

Only then did I come to my senses. Oh no. It seems like not sleeping properly had a big effect.

To be lost in other thoughts with the professor right in front of me.

“Is something wrong?”

Looking at Jeong Tae-seong’s worried face, I answered hastily.

“No. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Are there too many assignments?”

“…Yes.”

It wasn’t that I couldn’t sleep because of assignments, but it was true that there were many assignments, so I nodded for now.

“Oh my. I feel sorry since I seem to be the culprit.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“You keep bringing such interesting pieces, so I want to see more. Haha.”

Jeong Tae-seong said something cruel with a nonchalant expression.

“Right. The reason I called you to the professor’s office like this is…”

Swoosh.

He pulled out a thin brochure from his drawer and held it out to me. Along with the foundation logo, it read ‘NXT Holdings Cultural Foundation / Honors salon’ in elegant font.

“You know about it, right? The scholarship group at our school.”

“…Scholarship group?”

“That’s right. It’s a group that invites foundation sponsors to hold concerts and present works.”

I accepted the brochure. NXT Holdings was definitely where Jeong Do-hyun served as CEO.

“Other schools focus heavily on classical music, but we invest a lot in practical music too. The investors also prefer that side more.”

It was a famous story in the industry that Jeong Do-hyun wandered around looking for talented composers.

“It’s essentially the elite course for our department. If you make an impression on the sponsors, it’s convenient when building your career later. There are many benefits when you enter through professor recommendation.”

Jeong Tae-seong enthusiastically explained the advantages to me. From scholarships to priority booking rights for the practice room and even studio support. These were conditions anyone would be tempted by.

“The department selects exactly three people per semester. Through professor recommendation.”

The reason he’s telling me this is…

“I’m planning to recommend student Seol this time. How about it?”

As expected.

I carefully bit my lip. One of those ‘sponsors’ would definitely be Jeong Do-hyun.

He’s someone I’d prefer not to meet if possible.

Because it would remind me of my miserable state before regression. But at the same time, I thought it was a good opportunity.

If I was going to climb higher anyway, this ‘salon’ would definitely be a shortcut.

‘And that busy Jeong Do-hyun probably doesn’t frequent the school often anyway.’

My deliberation was brief.

I didn’t want to be held back by past events anymore.

I nodded.

“I’ll do it.”

At my answer, the corners of Jeong Tae-seong’s mouth curled up significantly.

“Good thinking.”

He lightly clapped his hands together and smiled.

As if he had been waiting for this answer from the beginning.

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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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