The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 66

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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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A&S Headquarters Underground Studio. I silently read along with the text written on the wall.

 

‘B2, Song Camp Room.’

 

To think a place like this was prepared separately. It was a moment that made me truly feel the financial power of a major entertainment company.

 

Why am I suddenly standing here?

 

The reason is simple. The first meeting was scheduled offline.

 

‘A first meeting should be done face-to-face. Even if it’s while wearing a hat and mask.’

 

I took a breath in front of the door and held up the access card I had received in advance.

 

Beep-.

 

The door opened smoothly with a notification that recognition was complete.

 

Swoosh.

 

As I opened the door and entered, I heard a woman’s voice from inside.

 

“Come in, you’re YULE, right?”

 

I pressed down my hat brim once more and walked in with big steps.

 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Bella, the overall producer for this album.”

 

Her grinning face was much more intense than when I saw it on screen.

 

Her heavy eye makeup went well with her red-dyed hair, and the freckles on her nose bridge made her even more attractive.

 

Moreover, she was tall enough that I had to lift my head quite a bit.

 

At a glance, she looked over 175cm tall. Combined with her bronze skin and huge circular earrings, she felt exactly like a hot girl you’d see in California.

 

“Wow, it’s so nice to meet you in person! I heard a lot about you from Producer Min. I heard you worked together on Lee Ha-in’s new song. I listened to that song a lot too. My streaming counts are included in there, you know?”

 

“Thank you. I’ve also listened to a lot of your songs, Producer. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”

 

“No need to be so formal. I absolutely hate that stuff.”

 

Bella burst into hearty laughter.

 

“I can see you have a calm personality. That’s perfect. Today I just came to say a quick hello and introduce you two to each other. From now on, it’ll be just you two meeting like this.”

 

With that, Bella looked to the side and gestured.

 

Only then did I see a man leaning back leisurely on the sofa in one corner of the room.

 

Flashy pink hair, piercings sparkling brilliantly around his ears. His loosely worn t-shirt gave off a strong hip-hop vibe.

 

“Ian, you should say hello. You’ll be working on tracks with YULE starting today.”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

The man called Ian glanced over in this direction.

 

“Hello.”

 

That was it.

 

He completely left out any mention of which group he was from or who he was.

 

Of course, I knew from researching in advance. A&S’s representative male idol group, High-On, was the protagonist of this album.

 

Among them, the main vocal who also played the cute youngest member role was this person, Ian.

 

‘From what fans say, he’s supposed to be incredibly aegyo-filled and friendly like a puppy.’

 

But the Ian in front of me was nothing like a puppy – with his sullen expression looking this way, he resembled a cat more.

 

‘His pronunciation is a bit unclear. Come to think of it, wasn’t he a Korean-Canadian?’

 

I think he lived in Canada before coming here.

 

“You’re YULE?”

 

“Right. Ian really liked your work. He liked 【Shatter】 too.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Ian looked me over with indifferent eyes.

 

“You look too young. Are you really YULE?”

 

Bella burst into laughter at those words.

 

“Hahaha. Look at this guy. What a joke~.”

 

While pressing down on his head, it seemed like she was giving him a hint to ‘tone it down.’

 

“We can’t tell you the specific details, but freshness is the key! Not depressing, droopy songs, but something bright and exciting would be good.”

 

I nodded.

 

Freshness. It seemed like I could make good use of this keyword.

 

“Of course, since it’s a B-side track, showing various colors would be good too. But I tend to prefer consistency, and we have several other B-side candidates for heavier music.”

 

I nodded obediently.

 

It wasn’t a particularly difficult request.

 

“Anyway, we just need good songs to come out. You two talk it over well. We’ll check on the work again in two weeks, so let’s meet then.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

“Well, please take care of it. There’s nothing booked here after this, so feel free to use it comfortably before you go. I have a meeting later, so I’ll head out first.”

 

Bella’s phone had been vibrating constantly. As the person in overall charge, she seemed incredibly busy without a moment to breathe.

 

“Ian, I’m counting on you. Okay?”

 

Bella gave Ian a final warning comment, then laughed awkwardly when our eyes met.

 

“Well, you two really talk comfortably. Fighting!”

 

After Bella left, only the sound of the door closing remained hollow.

 

Ian and I were left alone together. A brief silence flowed through the studio.

 

I should get to work for now.

 

“Let me introduce myself again. I’m YULE, and we’ll be working together. Since Ian’s opinions will be heavily reflected in this B-side track, I’d like to confirm what kind of feeling you want.”

 

I had confirmed the keyword Bella wanted.

 

So what kind of feeling did Ian, the other client, want?

 

“…Can I speak honestly?”

 

“Yes. Please speak comfortably.”

 

Ian immediately opened his mouth.

 

“I’d prefer if it wasn’t too fresh.”

 

“…?”

 

One side asking for freshness, the other side hoping it wouldn’t be too fresh.

 

What kind of ‘remove half the carbonation from the soda’ request is this?

 

“Honestly, it’s a bit childish? So immature. I don’t think this is right. I’m already twenty-three years old.”

 

You’re still quite young though.

 

Of course, this is from the perspective of someone who regressed ten years. From an idol’s standpoint, having built up quite a bit of experience, he might want to stop doing childish concepts now.

 

“Of course I understand the reason. It’s about showing our early days again, right? Our initial intentions? Fans also like seeing us in school uniforms.”

 

Ian let out a deep sigh.

 

“So they want to do a fresh concept one more time. I’m not sure about it.”

 

What to do about this.

 

‘Quest completion conditions… it was definitely about satisfying both sides, right?’

 

The overall producer asking for freshness,

 

The idol who dislikes fresh concepts.

 

Finding the delicate balance between these two seemed to be the core of this Quest.

 

‘This is driving me crazy.’

 

While maintaining a smiling face, I muttered to myself internally.

 

***

 

And so we return to the present.

 

I brought several demos, but the only response I got back was ‘This isn’t the feeling I want.’

 

Even when I prepared something that wasn’t too fresh, it was the same. No, what exactly is freshness in the first place?

 

At this point, my head was getting confused.

 

Just composing with the single-minded intention of making good music without any other thoughts is easy.

 

But matching the client’s requirements was a much more demanding task.

 

“Unnie.”

 

“Uh, yeah?”

 

Shin Ha-yeon turned to look at me from beside me at my call.

 

“Say I ordered a warm iced americano. What do you think you’d do?”

 

“…What are you talking about?”

 

“I mean.”

 

Shin Ha-yeon tilted her head at the sudden topic.

 

“Is, is your assignment not going well?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

It’s not an assignment, but.

 

Anyway, it’s true that things aren’t going well.

 

After exchanging numbers, we often met at cafes like this to work on assignments together.

 

Both the Composition Department and Creative Writing Department had professors who frequently bombarded students with assignments.

 

Shin Ha-yeon hesitated for a moment at my words, then carefully began to speak.

 

“Hmm. I’m not sure if this will help. When getting feedback from professors, they sometimes say contradictory things. Sometimes they say one thing, then when you bring it back next time, they say something completely different.”

 

“That happens.”

 

“I used to get confused a lot in those situations too. Wondering what on earth they were trying to say. But surprisingly, the answer was simple.”

 

“What was it?”

 

Curious, I stared intently at Shin Ha-yeon.

 

Then Shin Ha-yeon smiled softly and answered like this.

 

“It seems like the professors themselves don’t really know what they want either.”

 

“….”

 

“That’s why they only give such vague feedback. Once I realized that, I felt much more at ease.”

 

Listening to Shin Ha-yeon’s words, I wondered what Ian really wanted.

 

-Honestly, we have our years of experience too. Going back to a fresh concept doesn’t seem right. I’m already twenty-three years old.

 

“Ah!”

 

I shot up from my seat.

 

“Did you get an idea?”

 

“Yeah. Completely.”

 

I think I understood.

 

What Ian truly wanted, even though he hadn’t said it out loud…!

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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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