The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 90

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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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[ Famous Composer S, Suspected of ‘Damage Compensation Business’ Against Newcomers ]

Swipe, as I scrolled down, key sentences caught my eye.

-Habitually and repeatedly demanding tens of millions of won in damage compensation citing contract deadline delays….

-Previously made similar monetary demands to various newcomers using the same method….

-It is suspected there are more victims….

-Voices calling for inspection of ‘contract practices targeting newcomers’ within the industry are growing….

Though it was only expressed as ‘Composer S’, all the key keywords were provided. A man in his 30s, who was active as a famous beatmaker in the hip-hop scene and recently appeared on a survival program.

The comments also easily inferred that the protagonist of the article was composer SLO.

→Composer S lol it’s so obvious who it is

→There were rumors before that he would grind up newcomers’ demos and just swap the names to his own;; Turns out those rumors weren’t for nothing

→These kinds of people are the worst scum, targeting kids who don’t know how the industry works

→I thought that guy was a rare, well-mannered young man on the broadcast lol but he was doing that behind the scenes? I’m really disappointed

‘This got bigger than I thought.’

Looking at the article reminded me of last week’s events. The large hand that blocked the flickering fluorescent light.

And even the reliable-looking Jeong Do-hyun.

The hand I briefly held was even warm.

Bang!

I slammed my forehead against the desk. Self-loathing washed over me.

‘Hand what? Warm? I’m crazy, really.’

Getting help so completely was already ridiculous, but still mulling over that scene until now was even more absurd.

‘Forget it, forget.’

I hurriedly tried to shift my thoughts to another topic. The cold sensation transmitted through the desk seemed to cool my head too.

As I quietly rested my forehead against it, the noisy chatter from around me began to reach my ears one by one.

“Ah-rin, today’s song was so good too!”

“The professor was full of praise too, right?”

“Your skills seem to keep getting better~.”

“What was that modulation? Going into 7/8 then dropping perfectly into regular time! How do you even think of stuff like that~.”

My gaze naturally turned.

Since it was before class started, students had gathered in small groups chattering away, and most were familiar faces.

Mun Ah-rin was at the center of the crowd of students.

Her cute face with slightly flushed cheeks felt endearing. She was smiling shyly as if the surrounding attention was burdensome.

“Oh come on, what did I do. It’s nothing special.”

“What are you talking about, nothing special! Lately whenever you submit assignment songs, yours gets picked as the demonstration piece. You went up front during Professor Jeong Tae-seong’s class today too.”

“Professor Baek Ga-hee had you do it in her class too!”

Mun Ah-rin waved both hands and grinned bashfully.

“They’re just being nice to me. What’s the big deal about that.”

“Wow~. Ah-rin! Do you know how hard it is to get an ‘okay’ from those picky professors?”

“Last time I revised mine five times and they still made me start over.”

“Sigh. I’m really jealous of you.”

“Honestly, if I had Ah-rin’s face and composition skills, I’d have nothing to envy. Right?”

Giggles erupted. One of the nearby friends linked arms with Mun Ah-rin and asked.

“But what’s your real secret? Tell us honestly~.”

“Right. At some point your potential just exploded, you know? Of course Ah-rin, you were always diligent. But since this semester started, it’s like you suddenly gained enlightenment.”

“Now I look forward to it most when you do the demonstration pieces.”

At the praise pouring from around her, Mun Ah-rin scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“There’s no real secret.”

Her shoulders trembled slightly, but the corners of her mouth were subtly raised.

“I just kept thinking about it. Listening to the sounds around me one by one, wondering if there wasn’t a way to utilize this too. Everyone does that. There’s nothing special about it.”

At her modest answer, admiration leaked out from around her again.

“Wow~. Geniuses really are different.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Totally amazing.”

Envious gazes surrounded Mun Ah-rin. Among them, Mun Ah-rin smiled brightly like a blooming flower.

“Oh come on. What kind of genius am I.”

Then she suddenly looked in my direction and blurted out.

“Seol is the real genius.”

At my name suddenly popping up, my eyes widened. Unlike Mun Ah-rin, the other students had their backs turned and seemed unaware I was there.

The hotly heated atmosphere turned cold the moment my name appeared.

“Seol? Yeah, right. She’s good too.”

“A transfer student who became a scholarship recipient right after entering. That’s impressive.”

“I wonder if the professors had already decided on her beforehand. But isn’t this the first time someone became a scholarship recipient right after transferring?”

Subtle nuances mixed in that were ambiguous to call praise.

“That scholarship was originally supposed to go to Ah-rin.”

When someone opened the topic, others chimed in one by one.

“Gasp, really? So she stole Ah-rin’s spot?”

“Didn’t they say they were friends?”

“Right. They even went to the same high school!”

As the atmosphere heated up, Mun Ah-rin waved her hands as if troubled.

“Stole it! It’s not like that. Seol did better than me, so that’s probably why.”

But public opinion didn’t change.

“The professors are too much too. Watching Ah-rin all through freshman year. Then just handing that position over to a transfer student who’s only been here a month.”

“Aren’t her parents famous people? You know~. There’s already precedent.”

“Ah, Mr. Cho?”

Snicker snicker.

Mocking conversation went back and forth.

“If you look closely, parental influence is hereditary. He should have been a pianist, not a composer.”

“Hey hey. His family donates tons of money to our school. Who’s going to say anything when he wants his money back.”

“What creative economy~.”

Now they started giggling while pointing at Cho Yun-je.

Mun Ah-rin had a troubled expression, but didn’t seem to have any intention of directly stopping them.

At most she would weakly say things like ‘why are you like this’ or ‘stop it’ once in a while.

‘I can’t listen to this anymore.’

Dragging Cho Yun-je into it to badmouth him was pathetic.

Screech.

When I pulled my chair back and stood up, the students turned around at the sudden noise.

“Oh.”

“Ah….”

I could roughly guess their feelings from the brief exclamations. There was embarrassment mixed in like ‘you were here?’

When I started staring at them intently, they avoided my gaze one by one.

So these were words they couldn’t say to my face. Yet they had been chattering away like they were being righteous.

“Ah-rin.”

“Yeah.”

“Class will start soon. Let’s sit down.”

Mun Ah-rin seemed to hesitate for a moment, then came to sit next to me.

She whispered to me with a clearly apologetic expression.

“Sorry. You felt bad, right. I kept trying to stop them but they kept….”

“No. Never mind.”

Could you even call that stopping her?

It only looked like she was subtly encouraging it. But I didn’t want to argue further with Mun Ah-rin, who was looking up at me with those round, innocent eyes.

“Don’t worry too much about it. After the professors praised me a few times in class, they suddenly came over acting all friendly.”

Mun Ah-rin acted as if she were comforting a sulking friend.

Even though that wasn’t why I was upset. Mun Ah-rin’s nonchalant attitude was so convincing that even I almost believed it for a moment.

“You’re my only friend, Seol.”

“…I know.”

“Good thing you know.”

Mun Ah-rin smiled brightly.

Recently, Mun Ah-rin had been on a winning streak. She had captured the professors’ attention and received plenty of open praise.

Now I, Cho Yun-je, and Mun Ah-rin were considered exceptional, unlike the other students.

The more this happened, the more uncomfortable I felt.

-I don’t really mind. Even if it’s not under my name, as long as someone enjoys listening to it, that’s enough for me.

It was probably because of Park Hee-jae, who said that with such an innocent smile.

The brighter Mun Ah-rin shone, the deeper her shadow became. Thinking that Park Hee-jae was hiding in that shadow made me feel suffocated for no reason.

“But Seol.”

Mun Ah-rin tilted her head and came closer.

“I think I’m starting to understand how you feel now.”

“How I feel?”

“Yeah. People constantly staring, having expectations, and all that. The professor keeps calling on me during class too. Honestly, it’s incredibly burdensome.”

Even as she said this, Mun Ah-rin’s eyes were sparkling.

“You must have found this kind of thing difficult all this time too. Right?”

Mun Ah-rin’s hand was placed over mine.

“Sorry for realizing so late.”

Her gentle patting touch was very warm.

“Let’s work hard together from now on, ‘us.'”

There was a strange emphasis on the word ‘us.’

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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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