The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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This life’s hit song is revenge.
82
“Oh, that? It’s not a direct commission—it’s an open contest. It could be a good opportunity, but we’re stretched too thin right now.”
From Han’s reaction, it seemed he’d already looked into it.
But one word stuck with Lee Jae-i.
“An open contest? Then it must have gone out to other companies too?”
“Since it’s a new product, it’s under wraps, but I’d say five or six major agencies have gotten wind of it.”
“Could I sit down and read through it?”
At her question, Han raised his eyebrows considerably.
“Well… I suppose so.”
There was hesitation in his voice, but Lee Jae-i beamed at him.
She pulled a chair over and sat; Han quietly claimed the adjacent seat.
When she clicked the cursor, a proposal filled the screen.
‘That’s the right product.’
A model she’d once coveted—she recognized the specs well enough that they were familiar to her eye.
The concept guidelines were crystal clear.
[•A highly addictive commercial song that intuitively showcases a specific function equipped with cutting-edge technology.]
Below that came the technical report.
‘Ah… so that’s why that song sounded that way.’
The previous commercial song seemed to emphasize waterproofing.
The performance was excellent, of course.
But seeing the proposal directly, a definite regret surfaced.
From this model onward, cell phone cameras began being used in professional shooting locations.
Wouldn’t it have been better to emphasize that more?
Her scrolling hand stopped at one point.
[•Priority negotiation rights for Commercial Film appearance granted exclusively to artists from the production company that created the selected commercial song.
•The composer of the selected song retains copyright (with special permission for permanent advertising use rights).
•Performance rights held by the production company (broadcast usage fees subject to separate settlement).]
Every time the song aired, she could collect royalties, and on top of that, priority Commercial Film appearance rights.
The terms were brazenly sweet.
On the proposal’s final page, Lee Jae-i’s eyelid twitched briefly.
‘Choi Du-o……?’
A planning participant’s name.
The Judge Choi Du-o she remembered had gone on to establish himself as a major concert director.
That’s why she’d wanted to keep the name in mind once more.
‘He’s involved in this too.’
Unexpected, but a good sign.
She knew precisely the style of direction he preferred.
And yet her thoughts did not lighten easily.
What were the odds YU would receive this proposal?
The commercial song that became a topic of conversation wasn’t produced by YU.
If it had been, that Yoo Young-jae wouldn’t have stayed quiet—so her memory wasn’t off.
But circumstances had changed.
Baek Song-ha, whose comeback was postponed, would want to appear on screen by any means, and Yoo Young-jae would need immediate visible results.
‘He’d be interested.’
When she moved back slightly from the monitor, one face rose before her.
If she participated in the contest, what would follow was predictable.
Her manager would transmit her every move in real time again.
The source of the voice production file had been settled as difficult to trace due to a system error.
So as not to let on that she’d noticed.
Only three people knew Park Seong-ho’s true nature.
‘Me, the CEO, and Park.’
Both the CEO and Park had suggested handing it over to the authorities, but Lee Jae-i had shaken her head.
The moment her manager received the voice production file from Yoo Young-jae was a blank.
Yoo Young-jae always slipped away from every scandal through cunning means.
As far as she could recall, the countless bribes he’d scattered had quite effectively buried things worthy of condemnation.
Was anything truly different now?
So she needed something undeniable and ironclad.
In that moment, something clicked into place in her mind.
‘Rather than finding evidence…’
What if she simply created it?
As that thought flashed across, all trace of amusement vanished from her face.
At that moment, Lee Jae-i’s gaze fell below the screen and did not return for some time.
Seeing her like that, Han’s anxious intuition turned toward her.
“Now that you’ve seen it, you understand the deadline isn’t generous.”
The submission deadline was two weeks away.
Plenty of time to create a one-minute audio track.
Han’s caution probably stemmed from his schedule, packed hour by hour.
Lee Jae-i gripped the monitor’s edge and spoke.
“Include this in the schedule. It’s too good to pass up.”
“To be honest… if you say you’ll do it, I’m all for it. But.”
Han’s true feelings spilled out, and his words cut short.
Then his eyes, which had darted sideways, quickly returned.
“I don’t know. Go talk it over with the CEO.”
Lee Jae-i rose from the chair toward Han.
“I’ll discuss it with him now. So we’re doing this, right? Yes?”
Han didn’t answer, but he nodded faintly.
Confirming it, Lee Jae-i headed straight upstairs with ease.
Upon entering the CEO’s Office, she cautiously settled onto the sofa.
The atmosphere was different from usual—awkward.
The CEO’s displeased expression calmly settled the air.
She opened her mouth first with a bright expression.
“Before I can say anything, why do I feel like you’re about to refuse?”
Kang Ki-baek didn’t answer immediately.
He stared at the edge of the table, then lifted his gaze.
“You’re the one who refused.”
“Pardon?”
At the unexpected response, Lee Jae-i’s eyes widened.
Then Kang drew his mouth into a line and clarified.
“Thinking it over, reporting to the police seems like the right order of operations.”
Ah. So that was it.
Lee Jae-i caught her breath and spoke directly.
“Did you know about the commercial song proposal that came in?”
The CEO’s chest visibly expanded.
He seemed to think she was changing the subject.
“Changing topics—you mean work talk?”
“No. This is the solution.”
Lee Jae-i pulled herself to the end of the sofa.
As her explanation unfolded steadily, the line between the CEO’s brows deepened.
The lower the mood sank, the more precise her explanation became.
“So I’m thinking—what if we embed ultrasonic watermarking in the production audio?”
At that, the CEO’s eyebrows wavered.
It was a conclusion she’d organized on her way up to the CEO’s Office.
A method imperceptible to both eye and ear.
If the audio file were used as-is, the probability of detection approached certainty.
Even if re-recorded and copied on another device, traces would remain.
His pupils remained fixed at one point, sinking deep.
As the silence stretched, her lips kept wanting to move, but Lee Jae-i waited.
After several seconds, the CEO’s gaze returned.
“So your conclusion is—you’re refusing me again?”
The answer didn’t come immediately; his grip on the sofa’s edge tightened.
In his hesitation, he drew a deep breath.
“Respecting an artist’s opinion as much as possible is one of my principles.
I haven’t done anything wrong—so why does this feel awkward?
As the CEO’s breath fell heavily, his halted words followed.
“But you’re the first person I’ve wanted to break that principle for.”
Without realizing, her lower lip pressed tight.
“You’ll… maintain it, won’t you?”
As her voice dwindled, the CEO shook his head softly.
At the negative gesture, Lee Jae-i glanced up slightly with just her eyes.
His eyebrows lifted briefly where their eyes met, then fell limply.
For several seconds, an awkward stillness swept across the table.
Only when Lee Jae-i’s lips began to curl inward did Kang finally speak.
“Hah… I’ll have to handle the recording work myself.”

YU Entertainment Break Room.
Yoo Young-jae, leaning back in a massage chair, opened his eyes narrowly at the vibration of his cell phone.
With a listless motion, he clicked the screen, and a message from Park Seong-ho appeared.
[Lee Jae-i. Says she’s creating a commercial song for the ‘Sungmoon Electronics’ open contest.]
His breath came out short through his nose.
‘There’s never anything ordinary about her.’
Yoo Young-jae accessed his work email and scanned the subject lines.
It was when his finger dragged down the screen once.
A subject matching the text in Park’s message caught his eye.
As his eyes moved from line to line, the massage machine swept satisfyingly from his shoulders down his back.
And he carved the points where his gaze stopped into his mind once more.
The rectangular screen reflected in Yoo Young-jae’s pupils, glinting.
“Something good just came up, actually.”
As the massage machine extended down to his toes, a drowsy chill covered his entire body.
Yoo Young-jae set his hand down slowly without locking the screen.
Beep.
A finish chime sounded from the massage chair.
But Yoo Young-jae didn’t rise immediately; instead, he sank deeper into the machine.
One corner of his mouth curled up with a faintly metallic edge.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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