Chapter 91

Reckless Genius Composer's Regression - Chapter 91 (91/482)

The broadcast featuring the K-SingerStar 'Top 11 Death Match Round' stage was released, and for a while, the entertainment sections of portal sites were dominated by articles related to K-SingerStar.

[It's a rigged game; They said only 10 would advance, but they quietly let 11 through; ]

Swoosh, swoosh—

↳ Honestly, from the moment they brought back the visually stunning Kang Hajoon, it was just to create a dramatic narrative; The ratings went up right away, lol; Even without watching, it's obviously Kang Hajoon; Anyway, the winner is Kang Hajoon;

↳ But if you just look at yesterday's stage, none of the 11 deserved to be eliminated. Including Kang Hajoon, lol. There were many really good contestants among those who were eliminated. Haven't you seen the broadcast?

The online debates among netizens continued endlessly...

↳ Are all the armchair judges gathered here? Haha, whether it's rigged or not, as long as it's entertaining, isn't that all that matters? It's so stimulating, really;

So, what's the big deal?

↳ But how does Yun Jai keep getting better and better at singing and his voice keeps improving?;; I want to do everything with Jai, sob; Anyway, the winner is Jai, sob;

↳ Kang Hajoon is also amazing, but his looks overshadow everything; He's a cheat; With that face, that body, that voice, and that skill; He has it all,, now I just need to get him,,

Is all of this not stemming from the criticism and support born out of interest?

K-SingerStar's popularity grew day by day, and the ratings were breaking records.

Most importantly, Hyun Seung gained two benefits from appearing as a judge on 'K-SingerStar.'

Namely,

The number of instruments he wanted to play increased from one to two.

Yun Jai and Kang Hajoon.

As expected, they were not just good-sounding instruments but also became excellent through tuning.

Yes, just like the saying "one stone, two birds," he managed to get two interesting instruments in his hands through his bold decision to appear on the show.

'How should I play them?'

This was his biggest dilemma.

'Hmm.'

Yun Jai's first performance would be the final competition song, and Kang Hajoon would perform in the summer season of the ongoing seasonal project.

"Whatever."

With the performances of the two instruments ahead, Hyun Seung spent his days repeatedly revising the songs he had created.

Creak—

Manager Kim worried about such a Hyun Seung and visited the studio every morning as if punching in for work.

"Hyun Seung, Dad's here. Did you stay up all night again?"

"This one didn't satisfy me either."

"What didn't satisfy you this time?"

"A feeling like blue paint mixed with a little water?"

Hyun Seung's abstract answer made Manager Kim nod, understanding roughly. It was impossible for him to fully understand and accept everything a genius like him said.

However, he couldn't help but worry. Hyun Seung was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice the sun setting and rising again.

"Hyun Seung, it's good to work, but take care of your meals and rest."

"You take care of my meals, Manager."

There's an English proverb, "Whom the gods love die young." In Korean, it translates to "Those whom the gods love die young," which means "geniuses have short lives."

"Then what? No one can take your sleep for you."

"If you could, would you?"

"Should I make you faint right now? That way, you'll sleep."

"Of course, you used to be involved in the dark world..."

Manager Kim pretended to give him a light punch and then placed the things he had brought on the table.

"Here, all this is yours."

"Is this my daily bread for today?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Hyun Seung pointed to the numerous shopping bags with a nod.

"Then what are all these shopping bags for?"

"I walked to work today because I had some business."

"So you went shopping on the way?"

"No, the fans waiting in front of the building gave them to me."

He added, pretending to show how heavy they were by tapping his shoulder.

"I've been at LS Entertainment for over ten years, but this is the first time I've seen fans pay tribute to a composer."

Hyun Seung sighed softly, "Ah," and started rummaging through the shopping bags.

"Is there any food in there...?"

"Aren't you surprised?"

"What's there to be surprised about?"

"Still, it's the first time...?"

Actually, it wasn't the first time. In his previous life, it was a common occurrence. From clothes to shoes, headsets, food, and letters...

He even had a room dedicated to storing the gifts that poured in daily.

"Unlucky..."

Manager Kim, who had no idea about this, narrowed his eyes at the seemingly calm Hyun Seung.

Maybe, because he received gifts on his desk every day during his school days, this wasn't surprising to him?

Is this what life is like for someone who is overwhelmingly handsome? He thought, filled with envy.

"Hmm?"

Hyun Seung tilted his head as he looked into one of the shopping bags.

"What is it?"

"This is...?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

After a while,

Hyun Seung took out the contents of the shopping bag and looked at the gift with a bewildered expression.

It was a box filled with beautifully packaged cookies and macarons, apparently homemade...

"What is this?"

He frowned at the box, which had Kang Hajoon's photo on the surface.

He didn't want to look at a box with a man's face printed on it so early in the morning.

"There's a note here too?"

Manager Kim found a note attached to the side of the box and immediately handed it to Hyun Seung.

『To the great HS.

I enjoy listening to HS's music so much that my ears bleed. Could you please write a good song for Hajoon, as I have always done for him? Sob.

I would give all my part-time earnings, but I'm afraid it might cause problems for Hajoon or the composer, so I prepared some homemade snacks.

Please, composer, take Hajoon under your wing, sob.』

From the content of the note, it seemed that a young fan had prepared a tribute to ask for a song for Kang Hajoon.

"Wow, Hajoon is already so popular."

"That's right."

After sorting through the other shopping bags, he found that there were three more gifts from Kang Hajoon's fans.

"If I don't give Hajoon a song, I might get a hitman."

"Come on, that's unlikely..."

"Anyway, I was going to give it to him, but why are they so extreme?"

"Huh? You were going to give it to him?"

Hyun Seung nodded while picking out the food.

"Yes, I decided to give the summer season song to Kang Hajoon. Didn't I tell you?"

"I thought you'd tell me when it was finished."

"Sorry, but I decided to give it to him because it fits him best for this summer season, even though we're in different teams."

Manager Kim waved his hands, strongly denying.

"No, there's nothing to be sorry about. It's your song, so you should give it to whoever you want."

"Still, LS Entertainment has some internal conflicts over performance."

"Of course, but thanks to you, Team 2 exceeded last year's performance by two times."

It wasn't just empty words. Thanks to Hyun Seung, Team 2 achieved record-breaking performance since its establishment.

'That's right, it's all thanks to that guy...'

Seo Jin's comeback and Jung Arin's debut brought significant profits.

Additionally, the songs Hyun Seung sold to LS Entertainment on a per-song basis also performed well.

Moreover, his personal album and the OST album for "Island of Animals" were huge hits.

It would be unfair to prevent the person who brought such results from giving a song to someone.

"It's really fine, so don't worry. Whether it's Team 1 or Team 2, we're all part of the same company."

"Thanks to your understanding, I can try to create a world-famous hit song."

"What? If you're going to create a song of that caliber, I take back what I said."

Most importantly, Hyun Seung would give countless golden eggs to Team 2 in the future, so there was no need to be petty over one song.

Even if...

If someone from Team 2 said something to Hyun Seung, he would handle it all.

After a moment of deep thought,

"Manager."

"Huh?"

Hyun Seung softly called him, waking him up.

"Then we should aim for three times the performance target this year."

"Three times? Then you'll be carried around the cafeteria!"

"If that happens, will you get a promotion, Manager?"

"If that happens, I'll bow to you next year!"

"Hey? I'm recording this. You have to keep your word."

He resolved to keep his word as well.

* * *

One day, just before the first round of the Top 11.

Kang Hajoon, as usual, stopped by a café terrace on his way to the practice room.

Ding!

A text message arrived from Executive Park.

Kang Hajoon immediately checked the article on a portal site linked in the text.

Swoosh, swoosh—

↳ It's fine even if it's rigged. I'm ready to be a fool.

↳ I've been waiting for you faithfully, without looking at anyone else.

↳ When the viewer voting starts, I'll support Hajoon.

↳ The only thing the perfect Kang Hajoon lacks is me.

↳ Now, you have to take responsibility for this.

↳ How did you get even more handsome?; You look like a prince;

↳ He really sings well, sob. Why isn't he mentioned?

↳ He does sing well, but his face overshadows everything,,,

There were also comments suggesting he had lobbied and re-entered, but overall, the reactions were positive.

Swoosh, swoosh—

When he went back, he saw a main article about Yun Jai above his own.

Swoosh, swoosh—

↳ Seriously, Yun Jai's voice should be designated as a cultural heritage and protected; I've never heard such a voice in my life;

↳ When he starts singing, his eyes light up, which is the killer point, sob. This person should be a singer!

↳ This stage was amazing, I cried so much, sob. Yun Jai's voice doesn't just touch your heart, it hits you hard, sob.

↳ At first, I didn't like him much, but I'm getting more and more fond of him. He's a complete rookie with potential, Yunbly,,♡

↳ I think Yoo Joo doesn't like Yun Jai much, but now that they both passed, she must be upset.

Kang Hajoon's expression stiffened as he read through all the comments on Yun Jai's article.

Indeed.

Unlike himself, whose articles and comments were mostly about his appearance, Yun Jai's were mostly about his voice and skills, which he envied.

Moreover, this Death Match stage was designed to highlight vocals more than looks.

"It's not going as I hoped..."

For some, it might be an unlucky dilemma, but currently, Kang Hajoon was thirsty for evaluations related to his skills.

"This isn't the time for that..."

He was busy practicing and had no time to waste on such trivial thoughts.

At that moment,

Another text message arrived from Executive Park.

Kang Hajoon briefly smiled after checking the text.

Ding!

He immediately clamped his mouth shut at the next text message that arrived.

It was a message from the long-awaited HS.

Thump.

His heart felt like it dropped to his feet.

'But... why the fans?'

He couldn't fully understand the meaning of the message, but that wasn't important.

Ding!

The next text message contained the long-awaited audio file.

I don't know why he keeps saying he's being criticized by his fans...

He knew he wouldn't get an answer if he asked, so he sent a brief reply.

"Should I listen to it right away?"

He put on his AirPods and immediately played the audio file.

─ ♬♬♬

"Ah..."

At that moment, he instinctively knew.

"Ha..."

If he were at home instead of the café terrace, he would have shouted.

"Insane..."

He bit his lower lip and muttered a curse that only he could hear.

Squish, squish—

As he listened to the song, a strange excitement and tension made his mouth dry.

Squish, squish—

The coffee he had ordered not long ago was quickly finished.

Eventually,

He left the café terrace without refilling his coffee or returning the empty cup.

'I need to go to a place with proper sound equipment... '

This single thought dominated his mind.

'I want to listen to it again.'