Chapter 38

The sudden popularity of "Crescendo" was like a comet's appearance, winning the hearts of countless young men and women in just three days with its cheerful music, simple dance, and relatable lyrics. This sparked many campus BBS and fan groups to share the song widely.

The video, which was first released on N Station, had already reached 2.5 million views, a remarkable achievement compared to the 2.5 million views in a week when it was first released on three platforms. Not everyone watched the video on N Station, either.

Due to its continuous dominance of the real-time search rankings for three days, many media outlets and music critics also reported on it, with both positive and negative reviews.

A well-known music critic, Mr. Jiang Ming (also known as Longtao Shi), published a relatively brief and fair evaluation titled "Not So Bad for a Rookie."

"Recently, a rookie creator named 'Happy Musician' has emerged on the internet, along with his rookie friends, attracting considerable attention. After being recommended by netizens, I watched their video, and my impression was... they are really rookies. Their performances are as green as rookies, their playing techniques are stiff, their singing skills are average, and their video production is amateurish... they are really rookies.

However, these rookies are not that bad. If 'Don't Cross Your Legs' is a fun and interesting song, then the second song, 'Crescendo,' is a meaningful one. The biggest feature of both songs is their unique musical style.

Especially 'Crescendo,' which maintains its uniqueness while blending well with the masses. The arrangement is not complicated, but it is particularly cheerful, making people want to move to the rhythm involuntarily.

As musicians, these guys (please allow me to call them guys, as I'm not sure if the creator is an individual or a team) are indeed rookies, but as creators, they have a distinct personal style, making them the freshest and most unique new generation of creators in Korea in recent years.

Compared to producers who are increasingly obsessed with electronic music, I prefer this kind of music.

Now, I'm even more curious about the message the Happy Musician posted at the end of the video, announcing their next creation that will fit the mainstream music market... I'm really curious, but it would be better if they can maintain their current characteristics."

...

On February 24th, in a music production room on the third floor of a building in Dongdaemun District, an angry voice echoed.

"Get your damn characteristics out of here, get your damn features out of here, Kim Ae-nam, Kim Ae-seok!!! I'm only saying this once, the last time, don't play any damn hardcore rap. I don't understand it, and this is the last warning. Otherwise... I won't be nice!"

Lee Hwan-jo, wearing a gray hoodie with dark circles under his eyes, sat on a chair outside the recording booth and shouted into the microphone on the table.

"Lee Hwan-jo, don't get angry, YOYOYOYO, what the heck!"

"YO your sister, start over!"

Behind him, Jeon Bo-ra and Lee Ji-hye tried to hold back their laughter, finding the scene in front of them quite amusing.

Inside the recording booth, two men with the same pineapple hairstyles, wearing loose hip-hop clothing, and looking rather disheveled, were Lee Hwan-jo's good friends who helped with the arrangement. The arrangement for "Crescendo" was done by them, and they also helped with the recording of "Do Your Best First" which started two days ago. Lee Hwan-jo also participated to learn and familiarize himself with the studio.

Both were born in 1986 and were high school classmates. After graduation, they worked as underground singers for a period before opening a recording studio. They loved music and also earned a living by recording for others.

In fact, they were very talented and capable, but their favorite music style was HIPHOP, specifically hardcore rap, and their idol was Eminem.

Eastern and Western countries are different. Hardcore rap is a more powerful form of Hip-Hop, breaking the traditional rap and dance music formats, with stronger destructive and inciting power. The background is always accompanied by weakening drum beats, and the lyrics often reflect thoughts that go against society or differ from the general public.

Such music cannot become mainstream in most Eastern countries. Regardless of the brothers' abilities, they have always lived according to their own consciousness, refusing to change even when offered contracts by agencies.

However, they were not always so self-conscious. It was during their high school days in the Peace Guardians group that they developed this uncompromising character.

If anyone could make them compromise, it would probably only be their parents and a few close friends like Lee Hwan-jo.

In fact, Lee Hwan-jo, sitting outside, envied the two. He really envied them. No matter how they lived, they always stuck to their own path. Although they didn't make a fortune, running a studio like this wouldn't starve them. They simply loved music and continued to play with their friends, occasionally going wild, living a very free life.

Two years had changed him more than anyone else.

But now, Lee Hwan-jo was gradually recovering. His tone and manner had changed significantly. He was determined and would not compromise on what he believed in, and no one could shake his will and goals.

Seeing Lee Hwan-jo's suddenly cold gaze, Kim Ae-nam and Kim Ae-seok involuntarily shivered, and all their objections were swallowed back.

"Leader Hwan-jo, it was actually my brother's idea, I had nothing to do with it. Singing K-POP rap, I don't discriminate at all. Music styles vary by region. Although it's different from the mainstream in Europe and America, this is Korea, and I fully support you!" Kim Ae-seok, wearing a white hoodie with a pineapple hairstyle and a headband, with less stubble on his face, though somewhat disheveled but still good-looking, suddenly said sincerely.

"Damn!" Kim Ae-nam cursed inwardly, looking at his unrighteous brother, and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Damn, you who is ten seconds older than me, how dare you hit me!"

"I'm your brother, so what if I hit you!"

"I am a Peace Guardian and will never yield!!"

"Bang, slap!"

"Ah!!"

Lee Hwan-jo, somewhat dejected, slumped on the table. He had no way to deal with the two fighting inside. The song had been recorded for two days, and although Lee Hwan-jo's initial plan was to record for 10 days, mainly because he decided to try his hand at being a producer, focusing on recording, and still needed to learn post-production, with the help of the Kim brothers, there was no problem.

So he needed a lot of time to prepare for this recording. As a rookie musician, Lee Hwan-jo had also improved with everyone's help.

But damn... everyone... everyone... everyone is so unreliable.

Looking back, the teenager with dark circles under his eyes, lying on the sofa, the silly brothers fighting in the recording room, and the two girls staring at him... well, these two didn't cause trouble, but this time, it needed to be a real recording, not just a casual attempt.

Once can be a casual attempt, twice can be a casual attempt, but if it happens a third time, it could be seen as a pattern. But if this time there's a big turnaround, the situation would be different.

"You guys~!!!!!!!"

".a.call.baby.baby, call now

.a.call.baby.baby, waiting for you every day..."

Lee Hwan-jo's furious voice was interrupted by the sudden ringing of his phone. The music playing was Davichi's upcoming mini-album lead single "8282," which would be released on the 27th. Since the source would be revealed today, Jiang Min-kyung had sent a text message, asking Lee Hwan-jo to support it, so he changed his ringtone.

The five people, startled by Lee Hwan-jo's furious voice, watched as he took out his phone with a serious face, paused for a moment, and then walked out of the recording room.

...

PS: Kim Ae-seok (played by Shi Shi) Kim Ae-nam (played by Xiao Ai)

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