Chapter 67

# Chapter 067

"Hello, Manager."

As soon as Jeong Ji-eum entered the building, she glanced around.

The building of Garo Entertainment was much better than she had expected.

It didn't match the image of a small to medium-sized company that she had in mind.

"This is Manager Han Goo-in. Manager Han, this is composer Jeong Ji-eum."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Han Goo-in and Jeong Ji-eum shook hands.

'Tall.'

Han Goo-in was 184 cm tall.

He rarely found himself shorter than others. Of course, he had met people taller than him, but this was the first time he met someone as overwhelmingly tall as Jeong Ji-eum.

He had never known that someone could be over 190 cm tall.

"Ah! Composer Jeong Ji-eum, big brother!"

Rika called out to Jeong Ji-eum with a strange title. She quickly ran up to him.

She was flustered.

When they met at the restaurant, he was always sitting, so she hadn't paid much attention to his height.

But now, face to face, he was incredibly tall.

"Giant...!"

Before Rika could say something rude, Seong Pil hit her neck.

"Ouch!"

"Either call him composer or big brother, not both."

"R-Right. Which one do you prefer, big brother or composer?"

Jeong Ji-eum hesitated.

He wanted to choose 'big brother,' but he thought it would reveal too much.

"Please call me composer."

"Got it! Manager Park, is this person going to be the music producer for Garo Entertainment?"

"Today, he's here to bring some songs."

"Hope they're good!"

After a brief chat with Jeong Ji-eum, Rika went to the practice room with Jo Ara, who had been waiting behind.

On the way, Jo Ara kept giggling.

"Ara, what's so funny?"

"Look over there."

Jo Ara pointed to Seong Pil and Jeong Ji-eum, who were standing face to face, talking.

"Manager Park and the composer, what's up with them?"

"The height difference is thrilling."

The height difference between the two was about 15 cm.

Rika understood Jo Ara's comment and burst out laughing.

"The trainees are so energetic."

"Too energetic sometimes, it can be overwhelming."

The three of them entered the office.

When Hong Gyu-hyun saw Jeong Ji-eum, he smiled in a way he never had before.

Jeong Ji-eum was the person Seong Pil had said should be treated as a person, not just a business partner. He wanted to show a better side than just a business smile.

"I'm Hong Gyu-hyun, CEO of Garo Entertainment."

"Hello, I'm Jeong Ji-eum."

Jeong Ji-eum hadn't expected the CEO of Garo Entertainment to be a woman.

Most agency representatives were men.

The four of them sat around a table.

Jeong Ji-eum took out his laptop from his bag with a serious expression. It was an old-looking laptop.

"Let me play them for you one by one."

Jeong Ji-eum connected his laptop to a Bluetooth speaker, looking unsure.

The first song started playing.

"Hmm."

There was no guide vocal.

With no money, Jeong Ji-eum couldn't afford it.

If he had a close friend who was a singer, he might have asked for a favor over a meal, but Jeong Ji-eum wasn't very social.

He wasn't the type to initiate conversations, so he hadn't made many friends since coming to Seoul.

In any case, the songs Jeong Ji-eum prepared were just the songs themselves.

"Well, how is it?"

After the first song ended, Jeong Ji-eum asked cautiously.

Hong Gyu-hyun smiled ambiguously and looked at Seong Pil.

Seong Pil didn't have much to say.

'There's a melody line, but it's hard to judge the completeness without vocals.'

Judging a song based on the instrumental alone is very difficult.

As a joke, even if a hit idol song's instrumental was used as a portfolio for a university composition course, it would still fail.

A song isn't complete without vocals, making it hard to judge its completeness.

Unless the feeling is very clear, it's hard to judge.

"Good. Did you only bring this one song?"

"No, I brought a few more."

Jeong Ji-eum played the next and the one after that.

None of them had guide vocals.

Even a humming melody line would have been better, but they were all instrumentals.

"Do you have any lyrics or vocal lines in mind? Even just humming along with the song would help."

"Yes, yes. I only... focused on the song."

This was Jeong Ji-eum's style.

When he composed, he didn't think about the vocals. But when vocals were added to the song, his true talent shone.

He intuitively grasped how to improve the song and then arranged it.

As a pure composer, this was a weakness. He had talent in composition but was stronger in arrangement.

"Really? You didn't think about the vocals at all while composing?"

Even Hong Gyu-hyun, who had been silent, seemed taken aback and asked.

Jeong Ji-eum nodded weakly.

"Ah..."

It was hard to say whether it was good or bad.

Of course, he could comment on the skills and sounds used in the song, but how would that help?

"It's hard for us to give a proper response like this."

"Um, right. Should I come back with guide vocals?"

"Yes, that would be better. The songs were all good, they had a feel to them. We'll discuss it and get back to you."

"Thank you..."

Jeong Ji-eum slumped in his chair, clicking the mouse.

"Anything else?"

"...No, this is the end. Thank you for listening."

He closed his laptop.

At the same time, the meeting room door opened, and Son Hye-bin entered.

"Sorry, sorry. I was late. Huh? Is it over already?"

When Son Hye-bin saw Jeong Ji-eum, her eyes widened.

"S-S-S-S..."

"Yes, it's Son Hye-bin!"

"Why are you here..."

"I work here. Want a photo?"

They naturally took a photo together.

"How did it go?"

"Seems positive when I act cute."

"You acted cute?"

"No, I actually threatened him. We've known each other for years, and he couldn't even write a song for me."

The person Son Hye-bin met today was the famous composer Elik.

He had given her a song in the past, and they had maintained a friendship since then.

Jeong Ji-eum was surprised and asked.

"Elik?"

"You know him? Yes, you're Jeong Ji-eum, right?"

"Yes, that's me. I know Elik. Of course, I know him. I've heard many of his songs."

As he spoke, Jeong Ji-eum became more and more withdrawn.

Comparing his songs to Elik's was disheartening.

"But, Ji-eum."

"Yes, CEO."

"Have you ever been credited for a song you worked on?"

Seong Pil hadn't told Hong Gyu-hyun that Jeong Ji-eum had worked as a ghost composer.

He wanted to let him hear the songs without any preconceptions.

"No."

"Hmm..."

If he had any experience, it would have been a basic criterion for judgment, but he had none.

"So, no experience and...?"

"My name isn't credited, but I've worked on many songs."

"Really? How so if your name isn't credited?"

"Are you a ghost composer? Wow. Are there still people who do that?"

Son Hye-bin said, looking disgusted.

"Yes, until recently. But I came out after meeting Manager Park."

"Good for you. Being in such a place doesn't help your life at all. What songs did you work on?"

"I... "

Jeong Ji-eum listed the songs.

It wasn't just one or two; there were dozens.

After he finished listing them, everyone was skeptical but didn't say anything.

Among the songs Jeong Ji-eum mentioned were well-known hits.

Most of them were also well-known.

"R-Really?"

"Ji-eum's words are true."

Instead of letting Jeong Ji-eum defend himself, Seong Pil spoke up for him.

"No, who wouldn't believe it? I believe you."

Was that really the case?

Anyone would think Jeong Ji-eum was exaggerating.

Jeong Ji-eum felt wronged but what could he do?

It was his mistake for not leaving Kwon Soon-young earlier.

He had only been exploited for his talent.

He wanted to prove himself in front of them, but there was no way...

"Ji-eum, can you show us your skills?"

Seong Pil asked Jeong Ji-eum, who was lamenting the past and feeling wronged.

"Skills? How here...?"

"Can you do a cover of 'Me and Me'? You said you worked on it."

'Me and Me' was a hit song that reached number one on the music charts.

In his previous life, Jeong Ji-eum regretted the most not getting any copyright for 'Me and Me.'

He had practically created the framework for the song.

Hong Gyu-hyun interjected, finding it absurd.

"Hey, Manager Park. How can he do that here? It would be difficult for Ji-eum, too..."

"I'll do it."

Jeong Ji-eum opened his old laptop and launched a composition program.

Everyone was surprised.

They all knew how much time it took to create a song, even a cover.

Copying a song from memory alone was no small feat, and remembering all the details was something even the original composer might not be able to do...

"Unbelievable!"

Jeong Ji-eum copied the beginning of 'Me and Me' exactly as the original in just a few minutes. It was almost impossible, no matter how good his ears were.

Modern songs have many sounds mixed in, so unless the agency officially releases the instrumental version, it's impossible to know the song's components perfectly.

But Jeong Ji-eum did it.

Hong Gyu-hyun and Son Hye-bin stared at the laptop, mouths agape.

"It's exactly the same as the original."

Is he Mozart?

Jeong Ji-eum confidently shrugged his shoulders at their stunned looks.

Now, no one doubted his words.

But adopting his songs was a different matter.

After a few more words about the songs, the meeting with Jeong Ji-eum ended.

"We'll discuss it and get back to you."

"Thank you."

Seong Pil escorted him out of the building.

While he had protected Jeong Ji-eum's dignity, it would be difficult for his songs to be adopted.

They might soon receive songs from the famous composer Elik, and Son Hye-bin had also expressed reservations about Jeong Ji-eum's songs.

"I liked your songs, Ji-eum."

"Thank you."

"I mean it. Your use of sound is exceptional. It's fresh and innovative."

Modern composition is a competition of how new and surprising sounds can be created.

In that sense, Jeong Ji-eum's handling of sound was definitely not ordinary.

"Um, right? I don't skimp on sound. I buy new ones as soon as they come out, including samples."

Even though he couldn't afford proper meals, he didn't skimp on music.

"CEO's reaction wasn't great, was it? He's the type who shows his feelings clearly."

"No, it was my fault. I should have brought guide vocals..."

Honestly, Seong Pil was satisfied with the songs he brought.

Seong Pil's ears, having experienced the future, were accustomed to future sounds.

Current songs often sounded outdated to him.

But Jeong Ji-eum's songs felt 2-3 years ahead of their time.

"But for guide vocals... lyrics and feeling are needed. I don't have talent in that area. Should I hand it over to a lyricist? It's just a demo, after all."

"Why go that far? Just hum the vocal line you have in mind."

In fact, composers sometimes ask current singers to do guide vocals to stand out.

It's a form of competitiveness.

But even with a famous singer's guide, songs can still be rejected.

"If I record it myself, it might sound too rough..."

'This person has no confidence at all.'

Rika also thought Jeong Ji-eum was overly discouraged when she first met him. If she felt that way, it must have been severe.

He was still slumped in his shoulders.

"Kwon Soon-young must have treated you badly. If you had focused solely on composing, you would have written more songs."

"Actually, I had one more prepared, but the atmosphere wasn't good. Also, it might sound less sincere than the ones I played for you."

"You had more?"

Seong Pil thought for a moment and asked to hear it.

They sat on the stairs outside the building, and Seong Pil put on headphones to listen to the song.

"Hehe, a bit complex, right?"

In fact, this was the song Jeong Ji-eum was least confident about.

Not that he lacked confidence, but he thought others might not understand it.

But.

"This..."

"Yes?"

"This is it. This one works."

"This one?"

"Can I borrow your laptop? This needs to be heard by the world!"

"Really?!"

Seong Pil rushed into the company with Jeong Ji-eum's laptop.

The four members were pressed against the glass wall, watching Jeong Ji-eum.

They quickly scattered when Seong Pil entered, as if they had been caught stealing.

"Manager stole the composer's laptop!"

Jeong Ji-eum, whose laptop was taken, was banging on the locked building door.

"Rika, open the door!"

Seong Pil rushed into the meeting room.

"Hey, Manager Park. I thought about it, and teaching Ji-eum composition might be..."

"Before that, listen to this! This is the one Ji-eum wanted to play but didn't. It's amazing!"

Hong Gyu-hyun was annoyed by the interruption but sensed this wasn't an ordinary song when he saw Seong Pil so excited.

"Alright, play it."

The song played through the speakers.

It was 3 minutes and 10 seconds long. No one spoke during that time.

When the song ended, Seong Pil asked excitedly.

"What do you think? Amazing, right?"

"Manager Park."

"Yes!"

"What is this? What kind of song is this?"

The song had only bass and drum sounds, and occasional synth sounds.

"How can you sing with such accompaniment?"

Creak.

The slightly open door made a eerie sound.

The members were peeking through the crack.

"We... "

Surprisingly, the members and Baek Seol-ha didn't back away.

Even though they had a good reason to be scolded for eavesdropping, they bravely decided to give their opinions.

Baek Seol-ha, looking shocked, finally spoke.

"Are we a hip-hop concept group...?"

It was a reasonable misunderstanding.

The members, Hong Gyu-hyun, and Son Hye-bin didn't react positively to the song.

Seong Pil sighed in frustration.

"Don't you get it? What value this song has?"

"Are you serious? If this was an unfinished song, I could understand, but if this is a finished song, I can't understand at all. Are you thinking of it as a hip-hop song, like Baek Seol-ha said?"

"No! This is...!"

At that moment, Jeong Ji-eum, guided by Rika, arrived.

He pushed through the members, entered the meeting room, and panted as he looked for his laptop.

"Why did you suddenly take my laptop, Manager!"

"This song is timeless!"

Seong Pil's confident declaration echoed in the meeting room.

"What?"

Naturally, no one was convinced.

Only Seong Pil, who had experienced almost 10 years of the future, understood the value of this song.