Chapter 47

### Chapter 47: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

“Mr. Yang, do you have a moment?”

Yang Taehoon, who was working in his office, tilted his head in confusion at Park Mihye's sudden visit.

“Ah, yes. What brings you here?”

They were not only seniors and juniors at the same university but also shared a common interest in music philosophy, so they had a certain level of familiarity.

“I have something I want to show you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Take a look at this.”

Yang Taehoon took the thick sheet of music that Park Mihye handed him.

“Is this an orchestral piece? Did you write it?”

“No, I didn't write it... Anyway, just take a look.”

Her face was filled with excitement, but he couldn't understand why.

He spread the sheet of music on both sides and carefully examined it page by page.

“Hmm—”

“It's not just good; it's really excellent. It's the best orchestral score I've seen recently.”

Yang Taehoon imagined a virtual orchestra in his mind.

The violins, violas, cellos, and double basses played according to the sheet music.

The instruments of the orchestra harmonized and played the notes.

He became the conductor, slowly waving the baton.

If he were a professional, he would have already made a decision by now.

“—This piece is really excellent, isn't it?”

“Isn't it? It's good, right?”

“It's not just good; it's really excellent. It's the best orchestral score I've seen recently.”

Yang Taehoon was teaching conducting to students.

He had been a conductor himself and was still occasionally invited to conduct orchestras. If he, who had such experience, vouched for it, then this piece was indeed outstanding.

“If you didn't write it, who did?”

The composition and the distribution of the measures for each part were excellently done.

There was nothing that felt off.

This level of skill suggested someone with a long history of composing.

However—

“Our student.”

An unbelievable answer came from Park Mihye.

For a moment, Yang Taehoon thought he had heard wrong and asked in a dazed voice.

“Eh?”

“A student from our school wrote it.”

Yang Taehoon burst out laughing.

“You have a good sense of humor.”

“I'm not joking. Why would I joke about something like this?”

“—?”

Only then did Yang Taehoon's eyes widen.

“R-really? A student wrote this?”

“Yes.”

“A high school student?”

“Yes, I've told you several times.”

“No, but—”

Was this what it meant to be speechless?

Yang Taehoon felt as if he had been hit on the head with a blunt object.

Could this really be the work of a high school student?

Of course, there was no rule that high school students couldn't write orchestral pieces, but—

“This looks like it was written by a professional.”

This sheet of music was too advanced for a beginner to write.

Just as there are techniques in sports, there are techniques in composition.

The level of technique displayed here suggested a lot of experience in composition.

“I know. The completion is too high.”

“Exactly. No one would believe a high school student wrote this.”

Even if the student was called a prodigy, it was hard to expect this level of skill.

That's why it was difficult to believe at first.

“So, how did this happen?”

Park Mihye explained the events that had transpired.

“So, you mean the piece that the student improvised in your class was turned into this sheet of music?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. It still doesn't make sense. It's hard to believe a student could do this alone. The sheet of music is too—”

Then, it must mean that Jung Yunseong received help from someone to complete this sheet of music.

“That's what the student claimed. He doesn't like others touching his work... It doesn't seem like he's lying.”

Yang Taehoon wanted to scold her for believing so naively, but—

‘Jung Yunseong, huh.’

It just so happened that the student in question was Jung Yunseong.

He had received a lot of attention from the beginning of the audition and continued to receive praise from the judges, eventually passing with the highest score.

Yang Taehoon didn't know exactly what the judges saw that day since he didn't attend the audition.

However, he knew that the judges, who were usually stingy with praise, had lavished praise on Jung Yunseong.

And what was even more shocking—

“Jung Yunseong's talent is real. I've taught many students, but I've never seen one like him.”

The change in Park Mihye was significant.

She, who believed that praise could hinder a person's development and that discipline was the key to guidance, was now only praising Jung Yunseong.

This made Yang Taehoon curious.

What was so special about Jung Yunseong?

He knew that Jung Yunseong had gained a lot of attention on NewTube, but he had never watched the videos himself.

He wasn't particularly interested, but the sheet of music had piqued his interest.

“Then, how about this, teacher?”

“Hm?”

“Let's perform this piece with a real orchestra. We can put Jung Yunseong as the conductor.”

Yang Taehoon still didn't believe that Jung Yunseong had written this sheet of music.

He wanted to prove it himself.

To see who was right and who was wrong.

* * *

“Yuna, you did really well this time.”

“Wow, really?”

Yuna, who had just finished the duet, raised her arms high.

“Yes, let's try it one more time.”

“...”

Yuna, who had been about to leave the recording studio, stopped and slumped back in front of the microphone.

I patted her shoulder.

“Are you tired?”

“Yeah, it's tiring, but it's all for us, right?”

“Right.”

“We have to do our best.”

I don't know how many times we've recorded this now.

The two of us have been working in the studio to create a proper audio source.

After school, we come straight here to record.

The music started again,

And we sang the same song.

But when the song ended—

“Yuna, let's try it one more time.”

I was still not satisfied.

However, the momentum wasn't bad. I had a strong belief that if we just kept going, we would produce a better song.

“Yunseong, Yuna, aren't you pushing too hard?”

The PD outside the recording studio couldn't bear to see us and tried to stop us.

But before I could say anything, Yuna spoke first.

“It's okay. I'll try one more time.”

She looked exhausted, but it seemed she felt the same way I did.

“I think if we keep going, the song will turn out well, brother.”

We looked at each other and sang along with the MR that was playing.

This was one of the songs I had chosen from the ones I had composed for this audio release.

The title is "New Life."

It was a song I wrote thinking about my current self, living a new life.

How many times did we repeat the song?

“Wait, are Yunseong and Yuna still here?”

“Ah, Mr. President, you're here?”

Outside, Yuna saw her father and waved her hands high.

Her father smiled awkwardly and entered the recording studio.

“Oh, kids. What time is it? Your mother was so worried when you didn't answer your phones.”

“Oh! Right. My phone is outside.”

“I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was this late.”

We must have been so focused on singing.

It was already past 11 PM.

“What are you doing that takes so long?”

“I told you before, Dad. We're releasing an audio source.”

“I know that. But are you trying to do everything in one day? Just do one song a day.”

The PD, who was standing nearby, spoke up.

“Mr. President, Yunseong and Yuna have been working on one song for several days.”

“What? Why is it taking so long?”

“It's because Yunseong doesn't give the okay. So, we keep repeating the recording.”

“...?”

Her father looked at me with a strange expression.

“Isn't the song already complete? With your skills, you should be able to finish a song in less than an hour.”

“I've said that a few times, but he won't listen.”

“... Well, I understand. Everyone, get ready to go home. Wait in the parking lot. I'll go and get ready too.”

“Okay!”

Although I felt a bit disappointed, I thought we could finish the rest tomorrow.

I packed up with Yuna and headed to the parking lot.

* * *

After sending the kids off, Jung Young-hoon said,

“PD Kim.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Why did it take so long for the kids to record?”

Something was off.

From what he had seen on NewTube, the sound was good enough to be released as an audio source immediately.

Moreover, since Jung Yunseong had composed many songs, there shouldn't have been any issues with originality.

Why were they repeating the recording, especially this late at night?

“Sigh, don't even ask, Mr. President. Jung Yunseong, who doesn't seem like it, is really meticulous.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He's a complete perfectionist. If something doesn't feel right, he stops the recording and starts over from the beginning. He repeats this dozens, even hundreds of times until he's satisfied.”

This was the type of person producers definitely didn't want to work with.

“Also, he changed some of the existing songs.”

“Wait, what?”

“Changed the existing songs? The ones on NewTube?”

“Yes. We tried to stop him, but he's usually not like this. When it comes to music, he doesn't compromise at all. He's really stubborn.”

That good-natured son being stubborn.

It was a completely different side of him that was hard to imagine.

“Still, you should have stopped him. Those original songs were so good.”

“We thought the same thing.”

“What do you mean, 'thought'? Are you saying you don't think that way now?”

“Well, it's just...”

PD Kim scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.

“When we heard the songs after he changed them, they were really good.”

“That's not easy to do.”

“Yes, but he did it. They say there's no remake better than the original, but he completely shattered that notion.”

Seeing is believing.

PD Kim handed the headphones to Jung Young-hoon.

“I think it's better if you just listen, Mr. President.”

With a puzzled look, Jung Young-hoon took the headphones from PD Kim.

“This is 'New Life.' We've finished the recording. We just need to polish it.”

“Okay, play it.”

The song "New Life," which followed "Chicken Craving," was a precious song with a lively charm, just like the first original song.

But he had completely rewritten it?

‘Even if he did, it's hard to believe it could be better than the original.’

He was worried that his son was pushing too hard to release a good album.

The song started playing through the headphones.

“...!”

The introduction felt similar, but the content was completely different.

As soon as he heard the introduction, Jung Young-hoon understood why the PDs couldn't say a word to Jung Yunseong.

‘Why... This is better.’

From the introduction to the chorus and the ending.

This song proved that the original, which already seemed perfect, could be upgraded by several levels.

All the doubts he had just moments ago disappeared, leaving only amazement.

When the song ended, Jung Young-hoon said,

“...Play it one more time.”

“Sure, Mr. President.”

He had completely forgotten that the kids were waiting in the parking lot and kept the headphones on for a long time.