Chapter 12

Reckless Genius Composer Returns - Chapter 12 (12/482)

On the release day, the sun set and night fell.

Were the haters fans, too?

Due to the haters of Seojin streaming the song, it unintentionally entered the top 100 of the music charts.

↳ What the hell happened?

↳ It’s just because he met a good composer;

↳ The song is good, but isn’t it also due to his ability to handle it?

↳ Yeah, we should acknowledge what we need to.

However, unfortunately, that was as far as it went.

After that, there was almost no change in the rankings.

One day, two days, four days, five days….

About five days passed, and it wasn’t until just before the stage performance.

↳ Now we have to admit it. Seojin sings well.

↳ Honestly, I didn’t know he could sing this well until now.

↳ Isn’t the atmosphere and singing style much different?

↳ Yeah, I think so too. It seems he met a good song.

↳ No, except for his debut, his songs were always just okay, but this is a hit, really.

↳ After watching this performance, my image of Seojin has changed.

↳ It was a perfect, legendary stage in every sense.

With the comeback stage on Music Bank leading the way, the community was quite bustling after the performances on the three major terrestrial music shows.

At the same time, the title track "gorgeous" achieved the remarkable feat of entering the top 50 on domestic music platforms.

‘This is a good result given the harsh conditions…’

If this good momentum continues and leads to events during the upcoming university festival period, the break-even point will be easily surpassed.

“Hmm.”

Manager Kim looked at Hyunsung, who was staring at the game console with a blank expression in front of him.

‘This kid might be a bit disappointing…’

From the company’s perspective, this result might be more than satisfactory….

But from the composer’s perspective, who produced and distributed the song for the first time, it might be a disappointing result, right?

“You don’t know much since it’s your first time, but this is a good start,”

Manager Kim patted Hyunsung’s back lightly and added.

“How can you be full after the first spoon? Don’t worry too much.”

Hyunsung shrugged with a puzzled look and replied.

“I know, I don’t need to worry.”

“Eh…?”

“I told you, the rest is up to the company.”

Every time I try to gauge him, he’s just as unpredictable.

“If this song ends here, it means your distribution skills are only this much.”

“Hmm…?”

“Well, it’s a bit disappointing, but since we’re in the same boat, I understand.”

Hyunsung was like the sea.

Deep, dark, and calm.

He always seemed relaxed and at ease.

Still, he’s a rookie composer in his early twenties, right?

Even if he doesn’t show it, he must be concerned about the results.

I imagine he has a small stone in his heart.

But it turned out to be an unnecessary worry.

“No, I thought your expression was bad.”

“I’m just not feeling the farming game.”

He seems to live in his personal studio, but when does he go farming?

‘Perhaps his calmness is due to his hard work…’

Just as Manager Kim’s misunderstanding deepened, Hyunsung continued.

“The dice have already been rolled. We just have to wait for the results.”

He put down the game console and added softly.

“So, just relax and wait like me while farming.”

To really have that kind of calm, do I need to start ‘farming’?

Before long.

Manager Kim started to ponder about retiring to the countryside without realizing it.

* * *

“Phew, my head….”

A woman sat in a corner of a bustling café, clutching her head.

She is Kim Hee-yeon, who works at one of the top three large advertising agencies in Korea, Daehyuk Planning.

“Is there any decent song?”

Dark shadows under her eyes.

Today, as always, numerous songs are pouring out through various music platforms.

From pop to classical, CCM….

There are many genres, but finding the perfect one is truly difficult.

However.

Finding such a song was her task for today.

“Sigh….”

She sighed deeply.

In fact, the most challenging part of planning a storyboard is selecting the advertisement insert song.

‘If it doesn’t work out, I might have to discuss making a logo song.’

She listened to the songs until she heard a ringing in her ears, but eventually, she slammed her laptop shut.

‘I can’t listen anymore…’

It was her first time handling an advertisement for a lodging platform, and she had come up with a non-cliché, excellent storyboard.

‘There’s nothing that fits…’

To select a song that matches the storyboard, her ears had to be even more picky.

Sip, sip—

Lost in thought, she sipped her coffee, and before she knew it, the cup was empty.

Determined to finish today, she ordered more coffee and returned to her seat.

“Huh?”

A song was softly playing inside the café.

‘Who is it?’

A familiar yet unfamiliar female voice.

The woman’s voice, leading the song, was rough yet warm and comforting.

She took out her wireless earphones and listened carefully to the café’s not-so-good speakers.

‘The song is good…’

A hope rose that this might be the song she was looking for.

Buzz—

Just then, her phone vibrated, and she went to the counter to get her coffee.

“Excuse me, …”

She wanted to ask the title of the song playing, but the part-time worker seemed to have no time for that.

Returning to her seat without any results, she tried to find the song using a music search app, but due to the surrounding noise, the app only showed “Song not found.”

‘Damn, the first verse is almost over…’

Just as she raised her phone towards the speaker,

“This singer is her, her.”

A voice from the next table piqued her curiosity.

“Oh! Seojin, right. It’s Seojin’s new song.”

“This is Seojin’s song?”

“Yes, the atmosphere is completely different, isn’t it?”

“Seojin sings this well?”

“I was surprised too. He’s never sung a song like this before.”

The two young women were talking excitedly, and the surrounding people started to murmur.

“Did you hear that? It’s Seojin’s song.”

“Search it, what’s the title?”

“I also thought this song was good.”

Hearing this, Kim Hee-yeon immediately searched for “Seojin.” There were three recently released singles.

The first song, “Spring Passed”

The second song, “Gorgeous”

And the last one, “Let’s Walk Together”

She plugged in her earphones and played them in order.

From the first song to the last….

Throughout, a smile spread across Kim Hee-yeon’s face.

She started tapping her feet and humming along to the familiar chorus.

The conclusion was that all the songs were good.

A warm spring day came to mind, and a passionate summer day flashed by.

And in the last song, she felt a deep, overwhelming emotion and a sense of peace.

Among them, the last track, “Let’s Walk Together,” which played in the café, had everything she was looking for.

The atmosphere, tempo, lines, voice, and breath—everything.

Putting aside the deep emotion, she opened her laptop again and typed.

After filling in a blank in the unfinished storyboard, she picked up her phone and made a call.

“Yes, this is Kim Hee-yeon. I’ve found the song to use as the insert.”

She had a strong feeling that this was the best storyboard she had ever worked on.

* * *

Manager Kim and Hyunsung each picked up their trays in the company cafeteria.

“Hey, isn’t the cafeteria menu good today?”

“Yeah.”

“The bibimbap looks good, and the omelet looks nice too.”

“Seems so.”

“Are you just going to answer?”

“Yeah?”

“Min Hyunsung, you’re a fool, a dog, a sea cucumber, a jellyfish.”

“I agree.”

Manager Kim pounded his chest and sighed.

“By the way, why did you call me?”

Hyunsung asked as he put down his tray.

“Well, I called you to celebrate Seojin’s album surpassing the break-even point.”

“A celebration? But why bring me to the cafeteria?”

He added, as if scolding.

“We should go somewhere better than the cafeteria.”

Manager Kim, stirring his bibimbap, laughed awkwardly and replied.

“Where else is as good as the cafeteria? It’s hard to find a place that offers this quality at this price.”

He took a large spoonful and added.

“So, let’s celebrate in the cafeteria from now on.”

Hyunsung shook his head and replied.

“I’ll just order delivery to my personal studio.”

Manager Kim muttered, “No respect, no respect….”

Just then.

A team leader from the A&R department entered the cafeteria quickly.

“Manager! You’re here!”

“What’s the fuss about now?”

He looked like he had been running all over the company to find Manager Kim, with sweat on his forehead.

“Fortunately, the composer is here too.”

The team leader took a deep breath and continued.

“Manager, do you know Daehyuk Planning?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“They just called.”

For a moment, Manager Kim’s eyes sparkled.

“From Daehyuk Planning? They must be inquiring about an insert song.”

“Yes, but….”

“Hmm, if it’s a new song, it must be for Hyoju’s song….”

Just as Manager Kim was about to continue,

“No.”

The team leader licked his lower lip and replied.

“They want to use Seojin’s ‘Let’s Walk Together.’”

His words were a significant shock to Manager Kim.

“What? Use what?”

LS Entertainment has countless songs tied up with copyrights.

Some are nationally famous.

And there are many recent megahits.

But Seojin’s song…?

Especially ‘Let’s Walk Together,’ which hasn’t even been on a music show and hasn’t entered the charts.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that a song used in an advertisement will become popular.

But Daehyuk Planning is a prestigious advertising agency that even large corporate clients line up to work with.

It’s known for creating high-quality, impactful advertisements.

So, if ‘Let’s Walk Together’ is used as an insert song, it has a high chance of benefiting from the advertisement.

“The production is urgent, so they asked for a quick response….”

Thanks to the team leader’s urging, Manager Kim snapped out of his thoughts and spoke.

“Did the contract come? Let’s go review it right away.”

He stood up and added to Hyunsung.

“Hyunsung, I’m sorry, but I have to eat alone today.”

“What’s there to be sorry about when you’re doing your job?”

Manager Kim nodded and left the cafeteria with the team leader.

Hyunsung watched Manager Kim’s back with a calm face and a smile.

‘He looks incredibly excited.’

This CM song proposal is definitely a good opportunity for Seojin.

If things go well, he could enjoy significant benefits.

To the company staff, this opportunity might seem huge.

‘Well…’

Hyunsung is the type who believes in the saying “a needle in a haystack will eventually be found.”

A good song will inevitably become popular.

Even if this opportunity hadn’t come, Seojin’s song would have….

‘It’s bound to become popular anyway.’

Unexpectedly, Seojin’s album seemed to be riding a wave of success.

He remembered.

The entertainment industry is a place where the rise and fall of people is determined by unpredictable variables.

“Hmm.”

Hyunsung took a spoonful of bibimbap, chewed it, and muttered softly.

“The cafeteria food is actually quite good.”