Chapter 4

Reckless Genius Composer Returns - Chapter 4 (4/482)

"Wow, what the heck? What's this? Where did this chicken come from?"

Hyun-a, who found the chicken box in her hand, made a fuss.

"I bought it."

Hyun-a then muttered, "Wow," and urgently signed to her father.

- Dad! Amazing! Hyun-seung bought chicken!

Her father also widened his eyes and signed back.

- Hyun-seung, where did you get the money to buy chicken?

Hyun-seung replied in sign language.

- Do you think I only bought chicken? I also bought gifts.

After finishing his sentence, Hyun-seung placed the latest model laptop he was holding on the dining table and said,

"Here, I bought this for you to study hard."

"It's a MacBook!"

"Yeah, it's the best model, so you can use it for a long time."

Hyun-seung added, almost as if giving a stern warning.

"Don't drop it and break it."

Then he handed over a shopping bag to his father.

- This is a jacket I bought for you.

- A jacket? It looks expensive...

- I thought you didn't have a proper jacket.

It was a premium brand product that he had decided to buy.

- It is expensive, but please wear it comfortably without worrying.

However, the two people reacted differently from what Hyun-seung had expected.

"Where did you get the money to buy such things, Hyun-seung?"

His father also showed a similar reaction.

- Hyun-seung, are you doing something bad?

They were not just surprised but even frightened, as if they were suspicious of where the money came from.

Their eyes were filled with doubt, and they even looked worried.

"Are you worried I stole it?"

"Where did you get so much money?"

"It's nothing, I won the lottery."

"Hyun-seung! Don't joke around..."

Hyun-seung sighed and replied.

"I'll explain, so calm down first."

It seemed that explaining the whole story was the priority.

'The chicken will get cold.'

Indeed, Hyun-seung's explanation continued until the chicken he bought was completely cold.

...

"Hyun-seung, you said you sold a song to a major agency?"

"That's right."

"How much did you get for a song you made in just one day?"

"Three million won."

Hyun-a gasped and asked in disbelief.

"Are you expecting me to believe that?"

"You have to believe it."

Hyun-seung showed her the deposit statement and added,

"If it's not true, what do you want me to do?"

"Wow, it's really LS Entertainment..."

"If you don't believe me, do you want to see the contract?"

At that moment, his father, who couldn't hide his shock, asked urgently.

- Hyun-seung, is this true?

Hyun-seung sighed and replied.

- Just wait a moment.

He then went to his room and brought out the contract he received by mail from LS Entertainment.

"Here, both of you read it."

It was a detailed contract for the current song sale.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of the pages turning echoed for a moment.

"Did you see it?"

Hyun-seung, with a confident tone, opened the cold chicken box and continued in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Contrary to your concerns, I have a natural and genius talent for composing, and thanks to that, it's only a matter of time before our family of three sits on a pile of money. From now on, we'll worry more about how to spend it than how to earn it."

He then picked up a chicken leg and offered it to his father.

"Anyone have any objections?"

Hyun-a gasped in amazement and asked.

"Hyun-seung, are you going to work as a composer at LS now?"

Hyun-seung handed the remaining chicken leg to Hyun-a.

"Just sold the song this time. I don't know where I'll sign an exclusive contract yet."

"Wow, what's going on..."

"If there's a good place that pays well, I'll sign a contract anywhere."

Although he didn't particularly enjoy having to explain everything, if he put himself in their shoes, he wouldn't have believed it either.

'A kid who used to just play games in his room suddenly has a lot of money, so it's natural for them to be scared.'

Hyun-seung picked up a piece of chicken and added softly.

"Hyun-a, you just focus on your studies."

Then, after taking a bite of the chicken, he put it back down and signed to his father.

- Dad, you don't have to worry about money anymore.

- But...

- I've already taken care of all the overdue bills.

- Hyun-seung...!

Hyun-seung smiled and added in sign language.

- Just eat the chicken first.

Then he muttered to himself.

"Ah, it's cold."

* * *

A man in a suit standing in front of the elevator frowned and gently rubbed his chest.

"Ugh, I feel so sick..."

The man, who was suffering from a hangover, was Kim Woo-hyun, the 'director' of LS Entertainment.

He had personally discovered and brought to stardom over a dozen singers and actors since joining the company, earning recognition for his outstanding abilities and becoming the youngest director ever.

Perhaps due to the previous night's heavy drinking, he had a splitting headache and an upset stomach after drinking with a PD from a broadcasting station until dawn.

He was waiting for the elevator doors to open, still dazed.

"Director, good morning."

Two engineers from the A&R team approached him, sipping coffee.

"Hey, yeah."

One of them tilted his head and asked.

"Director, are you feeling unwell? You don't look good..."

Kim Woo-hyun waved his hand and replied.

"No, it's just the hangover."

Just then, the elevator doors opened.

"Phew."

Kim Woo-hyun took a deep breath, adjusted his tie, and stepped into the elevator.

"Hey, did you listen to that composer's demo yesterday?"

"Yep."

"Isn't it a hit?"

Kim Woo-hyun started listening to their conversation.

'Composer? Demo?'

It seemed a talented composer had appeared.

"How can someone produce such a song using only free sources?"

"Is he deliberately using only free sources?"

"Probably. From what I see, he's just a music freak."

One of the engineers sipped his coffee and added.

"Would a composer of that caliber not have the money to buy paid sources?"

"True."

"He can produce something like this with just free sources, so that's probably it."

Kim Woo-hyun looked at them and asked.

"Is there a new composer we've signed?"

One of the engineers replied.

"Ah, you haven't been briefed yet? The A&R team was in an uproar over that composer yesterday..."

"An uproar?"

"A composer using a pseudonym suddenly offered to sell songs and sent demo tracks."

It was indeed an interesting story.

"There were three songs produced using only the free sources provided by the program, and they were better than what most composers would produce with effort."

"So what happened?"

"Initially, he wanted to sell each song for 3 million won on a per-song basis. I heard the team leader contacted him immediately and proceeded with the contract."

LS Entertainment's A&R team was one of the best in the industry.

If they all agreed that the songs were that good, the composer must be truly talented.

'He must be skilled...'

Kim Woo-hyun narrowed his eyes and muttered.

"Probably a current composer..."

One of the engineers agreed with Kim Woo-hyun's theory.

"Probably. Our team leader also suspects that he might be under an exclusive contract with another company and is selling songs on a per-song basis because he needs money urgently."

Kim Woo-hyun thought the same.

'Who could it be...'

If it was a composer with a solid reputation in the industry, he was almost an old acquaintance.

Kim Woo-hyun, lost in thought, recalled composers who were under exclusive contracts with other companies...

His animalistic intuition, which had earned him the title of youngest director, whispered several possibilities in his ear.

'He must be a current composer...'

Kim Woo-hyun was certain that the composer who sent the email was a current composer.

Otherwise, the A&R team engineers wouldn't have been satisfied with the songs.

'Is he having a conflict with his current company over settlement?'

Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to sell songs to LS Entertainment instead of his contracted company.

'Selling songs on a per-song basis, where the composer gives up future royalties after selling the song at a fixed price, is the type of contract composers usually avoid.'

'He might be considering terminating his contract.'

If so, he might be open to a new contract...

'If we can persuade him, we might be able to bring him over.'

For a management company, a talented composer was like a goose that lays golden eggs.

If we could help him with legal battles during the termination process and offer better terms than his current contract, we could recruit him to LS Entertainment.

"What's the composer's name?"

Kim Woo-hyun asked, and the engineer replied.

"Probably 'HS'."

Kim Woo-hyun repeated the name several times.

To him, it felt like a 'performance' that would reflect well on his performance review.

Ding!

The elevator stopped at the 4th floor, where the A&R team's office was located.

"Maybe I'll take a look at the A&R team's office for a change."

Kim Woo-hyun walked down the long corridor with the engineers.

"Director?"

Han In-gyu, the A&R team leader, saw Kim Woo-hyun and asked with wide eyes.

"What brings you to our humble abode, sir?"

Kim Woo-hyun shrugged and replied.

"I heard an interesting story."

Then he asked directly.

"You bought three songs on a per-song basis yesterday, right?"

Han In-gyu, surprised, asked.

"Did the news reach you already?"

"Yeah, even my uncle in Jeju knows about it."

Han In-gyu chuckled and explained.

"As you might have heard, a composer using a pseudonym sent three songs, offering to sell them for 3 million won each on a per-song basis, sending only 30-second samples."

Kim Woo-hyun nodded slowly.

"At first, I thought he was just another overconfident composer, but when I listened to the samples, they were truly exceptional."

Han In-gyu then asked.

"Shouldn't we have proposed an exclusive contract instead of just buying the songs?"

"It seems like he might be under an exclusive contract with another management company..."

Han In-gyu crossed his arms and continued seriously.

"I was planning to observe for a while, just in case. The contract period might still be long, and proposing an exclusive contract might make him feel pressured..."

He added,

"Most importantly, there's no guarantee he can consistently produce songs of this quality, so I was planning to take it slow with the exclusive contract proposal."

It was a cautious approach, but it didn't align with Kim Woo-hyun's style.

"I'll meet him."

"Excuse me?"

"Meeting him will tell us more."

Kim Woo-hyun asked nonchalantly.

"Do we really need to wait and observe?"

He then asked Han In-gyu directly.

"Can you give me the composer's contact information and personal details?"

Han In-gyu, after a brief "Ah, yes, one moment," fiddled with his smartphone...

"I've sent you the contact information via text."

"Name? Only a pseudonym?"

"The account holder's name is Min Hyun-seung, but I'm not sure if it's him."

Kim Woo-hyun nodded.

"Min Hyun-seung, Min Hyun-seung, Min Hyun-seung..."

He smiled, hoping this unfamiliar name would help his performance review.

"Director, are you going to contact him right away?"

Han In-gyu asked, and Kim Woo-hyun replied, "Why not," and immediately started making a call...

Ring, ring

As the dial tone sounded, everyone in the room watched Kim Woo-hyun with tense expressions.

- The customer is currently unavailable to take your call...

The automated message for a missed call played.

"What? Is he busy?"

Kim Woo-hyun immediately sent a text message.

After a while,

Ding!

A reply came.

"Director, what does it say?"

Han In-gyu, tense, swallowed hard.

"What does it say..."

Kim Woo-hyun muttered, and Han In-gyu asked again.

"Why? What does it say?"

He then looked closely at the screen of Kim Woo-hyun's smartphone.

"Huh?"

Han In-gyu checked the content of the text message several times.

Suddenly, 'mu' was stolen?

'What is this? Is he farming as a hobby?'

Everyone in the room was filled with great confusion.