Chapter 19

019. Like a needle piercing through

The sound races upward.

The melody thus created darted around, colliding here and there as if running with eyes closed.

Scratched by branches and brushed by stones, dissonance.

In the midst of the melody, the boy was climbing a cliff.

The unstable dissonances gradually faded away, and the boy stood at the edge of the cliff. The music had finally reached its climax.

The melody that burst forth was not grand but rather tragic.

The wailing that pierced through it desperately sought someone who had left.

No matter how high he raised his head,

it could not reach the soul that had crossed over to the other side of the full moon.

And then, decrescendo (gradually softer).

In the end,

the melody scattered.

That was the end of the last of the four pieces I created.

...in my mind.

‘I guess it was pretty accurate.’

Feeling the lingering aftertaste, I straightened my posture.

Since I started learning the violin, I've noticed my musical sensitivity has improved significantly.

It's not just about matching the pitch of a sound, as is often referred to as perfect pitch, but I can more easily recall melodies in my mind.

To the point where I can easily imagine a string quartet.

What used to be possible only with piano sounds, I can now achieve satisfying results with most bowed string instruments!

‘I guess I’ll have to put off learning the programs for a while.’

Others use DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) like Pro Tools, Logic, and Cubase to layer tracks and compose, but I still play instruments and transcribe them onto sheet music.

If I didn’t have the ability to recall multiple instruments at once, I would have had to learn the programs.

Regardless of how impressive or efficient this ability is, I felt good.

After all, I completed it, and when I reviewed it, I thought it was quite excellent.

I was glad I started.

Film music, that is.

‘I can definitely see things from various perspectives now, rather than just creating based on inspiration.’

I can focus on a ‘story’ that I would never experience otherwise and create music.

This difference in perspective produces distinctly different results.

I can understand why medieval composers tried to create patrons, lovers, or other special personas. It was not just for gratitude or love but also to gain new perspectives and inspiration.

Mr. Ludwig once said something similar. He mentioned that dedicatory pieces have meanings beyond mere dedication.

Perhaps that’s why the mysterious ‘For Elise’ was born.

No one still knows who ‘Elise’ was.

‘It would have been nice to have more opportunities to talk with him...’

Thinking of him, with whom I could always communicate so well, I felt a bit regretful. Then, someone knocked on the studio door.

“Dad.”

Seeing the face peering through the crack in the door, my father scratched the back of his head and came in.

His movements were awkward, mixed with a strange shyness.

“What were you doing? You were just sitting in front of the piano, weren’t you?”

“Ah, I was listening to music.”

“Music...?”

Father’s eyes scanned the room for a moment but found nothing and returned to me, puzzled about what I was listening to.

I smiled and asked him.

“Oh, right. Your old classmates are here, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Some friends from college. They both had a day off, so they came by suddenly. Actually, I came here for that... They want to see you. Do you want to say hello?”

My lips curled up. I was already planning to grab a few canned drinks and sneak over.

The timing was perfect. I had just finished reviewing all four pieces.

I quickly got up and said,

“Of course.”

#

When I entered the recording studio, an unexpected welcome awaited me.

It was the first time I had seen me since I was a toddler. I wondered if I would be greeted so enthusiastically.

Smiling, I bowed repeatedly, and then my gaze was caught by a monitor next to them, which was displaying a complex program with numerous points scattered about.

‘Were they working on something recently?’

For a moment, I thought it was nothing and continued to bow, but then I noticed the sheet music stacked on the desk in front of me. My gaze was drawn to it, and Mr. Park Jae-hoon, who was among the old classmates, quickly said,

“The composer here was curious about the pieces you created and tried to play them with virtual instruments.”

That meant the points scattered like stars were the notes I had imagined.

‘That’s interesting.’

While staring at it, my heart was pounding.

I had come in with high expectations to meet musicians, but now that they had heard my pieces, I felt a sudden tension.

I still smiled and looked at my father’s old classmates. They were also looking at me intently, with faint smiles.

My throat tightened.

And only one question came to mind.

“How did it sound?”

Everyone laughed at my bold question.

The man in a suit spoke first, pointing at my sheet music with a smile.

“I once judged pieces created by students from our school’s composition department. I remember being surprised by how good some of them were, but today... compared to this, they were just toys.”

From his words, I understood his profession. He must be a teacher at Hwagwon Arts High School.

The bald man beside him continued,

“One common mistake amateurs make is trying to make the structure of a piece too dense, resulting in overly stacked harmonies. Your pieces had none of that. They were flawless. Of course, the main melody itself was excellent.”

This man must be a famous composer in the ballad genre.

Both of their comments were high praise.

One said the students at Hwagwon Arts High School, known for having the best young musicians in the country, were just toys in comparison.

The other praised the pieces as flawless even from a professional perspective.

My lips stretched into a wide smile.

When the bald man invited me to visit his studio, I quickly nodded, and the man in a suit made a similar offer.

“Come to our school sometime. Show those lazy kids who think they’re the best a thing or two, and you’ll benefit a lot too.”

Oh, I didn’t really want to attend Hwagwon Arts High School, but I was secretly curious.

It was a welcome suggestion.

I would be happy to visit any place where music is made.

Smiling broadly, I turned my gaze back to the monitor.

“Can I listen to it?”

“Now that you mention it, you said you can’t use the programs. So, this is probably the first time you’re hearing it properly.”

The music started, and I listened quietly. All four pieces, each about two minutes long, didn’t take long to finish.

When the digital versions of my pieces stopped, the man in a suit, who had been watching with folded arms, smiled at me.

“See that smile. How was it?”

How was it?

I smiled contentedly.

“Just as I imagined.”

“Huh?”

Their faces were stunned.

Beyond them, I saw Mr. Park Jae-hoon nodding and my father smiling.

I was relieved that it matched what I had imagined.

Of course, the sound, details, nuances, and techniques were not fully expressed in the digital version, but these would be resolved with a proper recording.

For a rough demo, this was excellent.

Satisfied, I nodded, and my father checked the time, finishing the last of his coffee.

“It’s already 6 PM. You guys should go. I have work to do.”

“Then you go. We’ll talk more with Seoho.”

“Yeah, you work. How long has the CEO been slacking off?”

My father chuckled and got up.

“It’s Seoho’s work. We need to decide what to do with the pieces and hand them over to the film company.”

In the end, the two left the company with a sigh.

My father quickly exported my pieces as audio files and transferred them to his laptop, and Mr. Park Jae-hoon gathered the employees.

The meeting began.

I ended up joining the meeting, but I didn’t have much to do.

I listened to the music with the video and felt flattered by the employees’ praise.

And.

At the end of the meeting, my father, who had gone to call the music director of ‘The Boy Who Became a Wolf,’ returned after a while.

“No need to submit more pieces. The music director will use this. Absolutely.”

#

Not only the music director but also the chief director clapped, praising all four pieces for fitting the video perfectly.

With the client’s high praise, the project progressed smoothly.

From then on, I started moving in and out of the conference room, which had been my only other space besides the break room and the studio.

I felt like a real freelancer. Receiving work, creating music, and being involved in the process and decisions.

“Now we need to arrange the sessions. What should we do?”

In the conference room again, my father looked at me when Ms. Kim Yun-ju asked.

I answered without much hesitation.

“I’d like the people who recorded with me last time to handle it.”

It wasn’t because we had built a friendship through group chats.

I approached it purely from a musical perspective.

They were highly skilled, and I knew their sounds well. I could visualize their performances and trust them.

Given the tight schedule, it was impossible to meet with the registered musicians one by one.

‘But, I do want to try that someday.’

I wanted to hear their performances, get to know them, and hear their stories.

How they started music and what they think about it now...

It wasn’t strange.

I used to be like that in my previous life.

Among them, I was most curious about Shin Soo-ah’s music and life, which always seemed frozen. It was a bit... scary.

Thinking of her cold demeanor, which seemed incapable of sincere conversation, I rubbed my arm, and Ms. Kim Yun-ju asked me,

“Should I contact the kids?”

“Sure.”

I answered enthusiastically and thought,

Their performances would bring my pieces to the best condition.

#

...And so, the gathered people.

Looking into the recording booth, I stood awkwardly.

Inside, as usual, the musicians were carefully checking their instruments.

It was really awkward. Last time, I was inside playing, but today I’m outside.

Kang Jun-seo grinned and waved. Then the other musicians noticed me and tried to greet me in their own ways. Only Shin Soo-ah, who was focused on loosening her bow, didn’t react.

“Say something as the composer.”

My father pressed the talkback button with a playful smile.

So, pressing it would make my voice go inside. Sure. But, what should I say?

Staring blankly at the musicians, I finally spoke.

“Y-You’ve probably heard, but these are the pieces I composed.”

Then everyone started fussing.

“Whew~. I’m proud of you, my student!”

“Masterpiece, composer. Hehehe.”

“Really amazing. I can’t wait to see how it feels with the video~.”

“Haha. Thank you.”

Kang Jun-seo, who had already called me his student, gave Shin Soo-ah a nudge.

“Hey, Shin Soo-ah. Say something.”

She, who had been about to scold Kang Jun-seo, suddenly turned to me and said,

“Good. The piece. Easy to practice.”

Her voice, like an old radio, was choppy, and I smiled and nodded.

“Thank you.”

The greetings ended there.

We immediately started the recording.

The engineer checked the sound, and my father took charge of the production.

On the monitor above, a scene from the movie was playing intensely, and the performance began, drawing intense waveforms into the microphones.

Sitting next to Mr. Park Jae-hoon, who had come to observe, I listened to the music with the video, and suddenly something caught my ear.

I quickly looked down at the sheet music.

It was the part Shin Soo-ah had just played.

She hadn’t played it wrong. I just had a better idea.

I subtly raised my hand.

Seeing this, my father stopped the recording.

“What’s wrong?”

“It was all good, but this part. The 42nd and 43rd measures played by Senior Soo-ah.”

“What about it?”

“Um...”

I pointed to the sheet music but couldn’t find the