The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 7

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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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Thud.

Jeong Do-hyun set his coffee cup down on the edge of his desk and let out a short breath while staring at the monitor.

Had he been dealing with numbers and reports for too long? His eyes felt strained and his head was throbbing.

He pressed his fingertips firmly against his temples, but the pain wouldn’t easily subside.

‘This is troublesome. I need to get this organized by tomorrow…’

His mind felt like it had hit its limit.

The calculations that should have been running cold and precise kept getting interrupted. He had been feeling that his work was dragging since earlier.

As he leaned back against his chair, his gaze suddenly fell on an object on his desk.

A black USB.

‘Come to think of it…’

A sudden issue had erupted at the overseas branch, so he had rushed straight back to the company to handle work and had been swamped.

Thanks to that, he had completely forgotten about the USB he had put in his pocket to deliver to the professor’s office.

‘Did I bring it with me?’

Being too busy with work to pay attention, he had ended up bringing it all the way to his office.

There would be no reason to go back to Korea University, and he didn’t have time to return it either.

He picked up the USB and was about to throw it in the trash but stopped for a moment.

“Hmm.”

After briefly hesitating, he placed the USB back on his desk.

Since he was taking a break to clear his head anyway, he had about 3 minutes to spare for satisfying minor curiosity.

‘If I check the contents, I should be able to find out the student ID and name at least. Then it would be better to pass it on to the school.’

He turned on a sub-laptop that didn’t contain any particularly important data. After double-checking for potential security issues, he inserted the USB.

One folder appeared.

There was only one file.

File name: Mercury_guide.mp3

‘A composition student?’

That was all the information he could gather. There was no information like name, age, or student ID included.

He had a hunch that even if he returned the USB, finding its owner would be nearly impossible.

‘Would the professors be able to find them just by listening to the song?’

Jeong Do-hyun clicked on the file without much expectation.

Student-level music couldn’t possibly appeal to his ears.

-♩♪♬♪…

In an instant, the atmosphere changed.

‘The quality is higher than I thought.’

The melody created by the string instruments was quite sophisticated. It flowed like water, one could say. There was something delicate about it.

Humming was layered on top of it.

It was a method commonly used when there were no proper lyrics. A clear and pure voice completed the mood of the song.

Even though it was just humming, he could clearly picture what kind of song it was.

Jeong Do-hyun was already listening to the music with a serious expression. His eyes naturally closed.

The piano and bass intertwined as if having a conversation. It was clearly a simple melody, but the chord progression behind it was unfamiliar.

Moreover, the subtle rhythmic displacement made the song even more mysterious.

The harmony of snare and kick that seemed forcibly inserted.

True to its name 【Mercury】, the rhythm swayed mysteriously like mercury.

“Ha.”

Jeong Do-hyun couldn’t suppress the laughter that escaped him.

It wasn’t mockery but self-deprecation.

“They say it’s darkest under the lamp. That’s exactly what this is.”

Jeong Do-hyun could tell immediately. This was a product worth investing in.

A composer who could create such music was truly a goose that laid golden eggs, and Jeong Do-hyun had been unaware of their very existence until now.

He hastily examined the file, but as expected, there were no clues to deduce the composer’s identity.

Only one thing remained: the music.

Jeong Do-hyun slowly rose from his seat. He put the USB in his pocket, closed the laptop, and muttered.

“I need to find them.”

By any means necessary.

***

Scratch.

My ear felt itchy for no reason, so I rubbed it with my fingertips.

‘Someone must be talking about me.’

As I muttered to myself, Lee Hyun-ji didn’t miss the opportunity and jumped in.

“Seol! You’re not spacing out again, are you?”

“No. I’m listening carefully.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Of course, I had been distracted for a moment. But listening to basic theory lessons again was boring.

After that day when I helped with accompaniment for the ‘Composition Department Transfer Study Group’ at Lee Hyun-ji’s request.

When they learned that I was also aspiring to transfer departments, they happily accepted me as a study group member.

I had gathered early in the morning, expecting to prepare for something new.

‘But all we’re doing is studying basic theory that I already know.’

Thanks to that, I was rapidly losing interest.

“Seriously.”

Instead of letting it slide casually, Lee Hyun-ji crossed her arms and sighed.

“Even though we learn harmony and basic theory for entrance exams, piano and composition are different. You know the written exam carries quite a bit of weight too, right?”

“Leave her alone.”

This time, Choi Dong-hyeok, who was sitting nearby, joined in with a smile. He grinned and raised one eyebrow.

“If you get a perfect score on the practical exam, you can pass even with a zero on the written exam.”

“Oppa!”

Despite Lee Hyun-ji’s scolding, Choi Dong-hyeok just shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m serious though? You saw Seol’s arrangement skills. The professors will immediately shout ‘Super Pass!’ I guarantee it.”

At those words, even Lee Hyun-ji couldn’t argue back and just opened and closed her mouth.

Then Han So-yeon added a comment.

“I agree too~.”

“Even unnie…!”

“But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to prepare anything.”

Han So-yeon added with a playful expression.

“Seol, you don’t think that arrangement test is the only practical exam for the transfer, do you?”

“…Isn’t it?”

What other exam would the Composition Department have besides composition?

When I asked back, Yu Da-yeon clapped her hands and asked in an exaggerated tone.

“Oh my. You really didn’t know?”

“See? She’s so carefree because she doesn’t know.”

I looked toward Lee Hyun-ji and tilted my head. Then Lee Hyun-ji let out a deep sigh and began explaining.

“The basics are sight-singing and ear training.”

Sight-singing is singing from sheet music without the help of instruments, while ear training is the opposite – listening to music and transcribing it into sheet music.

These were the most basic of basic classes that any music student would know.

“The Composition Department is famous for requiring a very demanding level of sight-singing and ear training.”

I see. I nodded.

“Second is harmony. They give you a chord progression on the spot, and you have to write the appropriate voice leading by hand.”

“The time constraints are tight too, so it’s not easy.”

Yu Da-yeon nodded enthusiastically as if she agreed.

“There’s also a third part.”

Choi Dong-hyeok added even more.

“Improvisation. The professor throws out a rhythm or motif, and you have to create about 16 measures of music on the spot. It would be easy for you though.”

“Lastly, original composition.”

Lee Hyun-ji delivered the finishing blow.

“It’s not like we’ve been building up compositions since freshman year like the Composition Department kids. If you want to transfer, this is actually the hardest part. No matter how good you are at arranging, if you don’t have your own original pieces, you’ll definitely fail.”

Then she crossed her arms and glared at me threateningly.

“So if you don’t prepare properly, no matter how good you are at arranging, it won’t work. You’ll lose points in the other areas.”

After hearing all the explanations, it became clear. The transfer exam required abilities across a very wide range of fields.

‘Definitely.’

I muttered to myself and slowly stood up from my seat.

“How about it. Now do you feel the necessity of the Study Group a little… Huh? What are you doing?”

When I started gathering my things, Lee Hyun-ji looked puzzled.

“I’m going home.”

“What? Now?”

“Yeah.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

I spoke honestly.

“I don’t think I need to do the Study Group.”

Everyone’s eyes widened in an instant. Then they all added their comments one by one.

“Seol. No matter how well you play piano and how good your arranging sense is, that alone isn’t enough, you know?”

“Right. And how hard it is to prepare alone without a Study Group.”

“Our school is especially famous for having difficult transfer exams.”

But only Choi Dong-hyeok chuckled and muttered.

“Well, there’s probably no point in trying to stop her now. Look at her eyes. She’s already made up her mind.”

“Even so, that’s going too far. Preparing for transfer without a Study Group…”

Han So-yeon shook her head while holding her forehead.

“If you fail the transfer, I don’t want to hear about it. You know there are kids at our school who retake the transfer exam two or three times, right?”

Even with that threat, I was unfazed. I replied calmly.

“It’s okay.”

Everyone looked at me as if they couldn’t believe it. I put my bag on my back and bowed politely.

“Then I’ll be going first.”

As I turned around, I heard muttering meant for me to hear.

“What should we do. Is it okay to just let her go?”

“What if she fails and regrets it.”

Voices mixed with worry and subtle criticism continued, but I didn’t respond.

Because.

As soon as I heard about the transfer exam content, I was certain.

‘I have no confidence.’

I grinned as I left the Practice Room.

‘No confidence that I’ll fail.’

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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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