Chapter 5

20-second composing genius, becoming a monster in 200,000 seconds - Chapter 5

Innate Talent (1)

There was no major problem getting back home.

I couldn't possibly forget the house where I had lived almost my entire life.

An apartment with a charm of its own, with a bicycle carelessly left in the hallway and a pile of old junk.

My home.

It had been a really long time.

It had been so long that it took me a while to open the front door.

I tried to open the door as naturally as possible, as if nothing had happened.

The first thing to greet me was the bubbling sound of boiling soup and the smell of doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and sesame oil.

Next, the dim and weak lighting from the fluorescent light, which was about to die, and the faded white floral wallpaper.

But what I missed the most was...

"Is my son back?"

Mom.

Mom, whom I never got to treat well even once in my life.

I couldn't help but turn my head back towards the front door when I saw her, looking younger and without a single white hair.

'They say even a 100-year-old man cries at the word "mom."'

Even though I had a long way to go before I turned 100 after my trip to hell, I don't think getting older would change anything.

"Are you okay, son? Did something happen at school?"

"Ah... Well, you see."

I had just returned from hell.

Even the calmest person in the world would react the same way if put in a similar situation.

I fainted for a moment due to the overwhelming joy but managed to wake up just in time before the teacher called an ambulance.

- "I didn't sleep well last night. I'm sorry."

And I also gave the most plausible excuse for a high school student.

Indeed, there are many. Students who stay up for days preparing for competitions and fall asleep during class.

"I didn't sleep well. I'm sorry."

So I repeated the excuse I had just given.

"Are you really okay?"

"I'm really fine."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Really, there isn't."

But my mother didn't easily believe my excuse.

Perhaps it was because of what happened in my first year.

'There were some kids who didn't like me.'

Kids who criticized me for practically attending school for free.

The teasing went on for quite a while and eventually reached my mother through the teacher.

At that time, my mother cried and apologized to me, even though the ones who should have apologized were different.

"I'm really fine. Let's eat!"

On the small dining table in the kitchen, a luxurious spread of doenjang stew, kimchi, and pork bulgogi was laid out.

It used to be our family's signature menu.

"Ah, bulgogi."

I especially love bulgogi.

My taste hasn't changed since I was ten. I used to buy a lot of frozen pork and hot pepper sauce, store them in the freezer, and have a steady supply of protein for a month.

"You never get tired of it, do you?"

"Of course not."

It was a familiar taste, but the seasoning was a bit lighter. My young mother seemed to have a better sense of saltiness.

"..."

"Why are you crying while eating? There must be something wrong!"

I barely managed to dry the tears in my eyes and forced the rice down my throat.

Then, my younger sister came back.

"Ah, bulgogi again? Why are you crying?"

Seo-yeon, my younger sister, who always spoke in a casual tone due to her teenage years. Without hesitation, I hit her snarling mouth with a spoon.

"Why did you hit me!"

"This is the root of all evil."

"Finish your side dishes! And don't look at me."

Seo-yeon immediately started changing out of her school uniform in the living room, as if shedding a layer of skin.

This was also a familiar scene. Our home only had one living room and one bedroom, which I used.

In other words, Seo-yeon doesn't have her own room. She would get her own space only when she moved into a dorm after turning twenty.

'I'm sorry.'

When I was young, I didn't feel anything. I thought it was natural to give up my room since I was a high school student.

But Seo-yeon probably wanted a quiet place to study and to chat with her friends late into the night after exams.

My sister also made sacrifices for me. I now understand this very well.

I shoved the remaining rice into my mouth with a bit of bulgogi.

"Wait a moment."

"...But I just washed my hands?"

"That's not what I mean. I'll get you your own room."

Seo-yeon's face looked as if she had been hit on the head with a spoon.

I continued with a serious expression.

"I'm not leaving home. We're moving. I'll earn money quickly."

"Son...?"

"Why are you acting like this all of a sudden...?"

"I'll do better from now on."

I will do even better. I will never regret anything.

The two of them looked at me with expressions that clearly showed they had no idea what was going on, but there was no need to explain it here. It was impossible to explain anyway.

"Then I'll go prepare for the competition tomorrow!"

"Ah... Are you going to stay up late again?"

"It's fine. I really slept well earlier."

Seeing my mother's expression, I felt tears welling up again, but I managed to hold them back.

I can cry later.

I returned to the only personal space I owned in our home.

* * *

The items in my room were quite luxurious compared to the rest of our home.

First, there's a MacBook. Not just that, there's also a 100,000 won speaker and a large open-type headphone.

And an 88-key master keyboard...

"Even combined, they don't cost 500,000 won."

During the winter break after passing the high school entrance exam, I earned 1,000,000 won by distributing flyers.

I gave 400,000 won to my mother and 100,000 won to my sister. With the remaining 500,000 won, I bought the necessary items from Kakaomarket.

The sellers were all middle-aged men, and I immediately started negotiating with them.

- Please... just a little discount, please!

The memory of my past, where I begged for discounts, flashed through my mind.

Fortunately, the middle-aged men's gazes on the seemingly poor high school student weren't bad, and I managed to get some discounts.

The items I obtained.

These luxurious items in our home were the result of my young efforts and the warm kindness of others.

I opened my MacBook and launched Logic Pro.

"Too slow!"

It's too slow.

No matter how much my past self was a god, I was about to die and had a professional record. Even with lag, it wasn't a device that would make me angry.

'Can't help it...'

It's foolish to expect too much from a laptop that costs less than 500,000 won.

I immediately took out the sheet music I had drawn from my bag and compared it with the monitor without listening to it.

It was terrible.

It was so bad that it was natural to fail in a school competition like the sports festival march song, which wasn't very competitive.

"The chord base is okay."

A simple structure that repeats Am - G - F - E power chords.

A progression commonly used in metal and hard rock, so there shouldn't be any problems.

The important thing was the harmony between the melody and the instruments.

"Why did I put so many strings in...?"

I understood. Insufficient equipment, limited knowledge, and a poor environment with mostly basic and free virtual instruments.

To overcome this, I added countless tracks to the song so that no single instrument stood out.

But now, looking back, it was a mistake.

Click, click-

I immediately started making revisions.

I removed the tracks that were lumped together and started with the chord sound.

The default electric guitar in Logic Pro, which I had criticized for being too sharp. I restored the mid-range and slightly reduced the high.

I added mutes and harmonics between the strokes, making it much more listenable.

"The drums, the bass, the melodic electric guitar, and the piano... Ha."

But there was still a lot to revise. It was 7 PM.

"...It will take at least three hours."

It will be 11 PM when I finish. The submission deadline for the competition is 12 PM, so I can just make it.

I took a deep breath and started my first project after returning from hell.

My heart, which had been dormant, started beating rapidly after a long time.

* * *

Yeonhwa High School on April 26th was as peaceful as usual.

The temperature and humidity were perfectly balanced, despite the slight overcast, making it a day that could make any anger disappear.

However, a man in a corner of the faculty office seemed busy suppressing the waves of emotion rising in his heart.

"...Ugh."

Kim Hak-seon, who teaches sight-singing, let out a low groan while looking at the 'Competition' tab on the school website.

The bulletin board page was filled with competition submission files uploaded by students, and he felt a sudden surge of emotion while listening to them in order.

Was he moved by how good it was?

Absolutely not.

"Who...?"

His low muttering caught the attention of the surrounding teachers.

And at the same time.

"Who is blatantly cheating...?"

His face and voice were filled with genuine anger. The attention on Kim Hak-seon spread not only to the surroundings but to the entire faculty office.

"Cheating?"

"The submission deadline for the sports festival competition was yesterday, right? I just checked... "

The school sports festival march song competition.

It was a regular school event. The school's founding principle was to 'supply music used in the school from within the school,' and even the school anthem was created by the founder.

Of course, the burden of submitting 'original compositions' meant that it was primarily a playground for students majoring in MIDI composition, classical composition, or instrument performance, but it was still one of the school's long-standing events.

Kim Hak-seon took a deep breath, as if in disbelief, and played one of the music files he had downloaded to his desktop.

Boom!

The smooth yet heavy sound of a precision bass resonated first.

At first, it seemed like a real instrument, but upon closer listening, it was clear that it was a virtual instrument with various techniques applied to make it as realistic as possible.

Ting!

Zang!

The chords and melody of the electric guitar and electric piano followed.

The structure was simple, but it wasn't awkward like something hastily created with a master keyboard. It was meticulous, almost like a professional producer had completed it and handed it over.

"...Someone must have been paid to do this."

"Sure... I can understand getting advice from private teachers, but this is way over the line."

"..."

"I won't let this slide."

The desecration of the competition and the anger as a musician slowly spread throughout the faculty office.

"Who submitted this?"

And in response to someone's question,

"Kim Do-il from 2-2..."

Everyone recalled the same face.

"I need to call him in right away."