WFBCAD 10

Chapter 10

About an hour had passed since Kim Ju-hyun started working.

After immersing himself in his work, he didn’t do a single other thing. He just quietly focused on the job.

It was a common sight in Korea, but a rather unusual one in America.

One of the employees clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“Did you see how Kim moves?”

At those words, Joseph shook his head.

“Not at all. He’s completely immersed.”

“Good grief. If it were me, I’d get up every ten minutes to drink coffee. No, who even works this hard at the company in the first place…….”

At that, Joseph narrowed his eyes.

“Is that something an employee should say?”

 “Well, I mean…… come on. This is Hollywood. The schedule is relaxed.”

“That may be true, but……”

Trailing off, Joseph looked over at Kim Ju-hyun.

The task he was working on was creating a finished version based on the sample song’s reference. When you take care of all the details, it was practically the same as creating a brand new piece of music.

Furthermore.

‘Did he have quite a variety of instruments?’

Normally, a song includes various instruments besides drums, guitar, piano, and bass. If it’s just band music, the four sessions mentioned earlier are enough, but for electronic music, the number of instruments can exceed ten. And a composer had to understand and know how to play all of those instruments.

‘Knowing them all isn’t the end of it, either.’

How to blend those instruments into the song depended entirely on the composer’s capability. In other words, simply having a high understanding and knowing how to play them was a completely different thing from combining them to make a song.

It was just like playing billiards.

‘No matter how well-versed you are in the theory.’

It’s like how actually holding the cue stick and hitting the ball to the desired spot with the desired strength is difficult.

“What should we do now?”

The employee asked at that moment.

“Wait for now. It’ll probably take about a week for the song to be finished. Let’s organize everything together then.”

“Y-A week? I don’t think it’ll be done that fast.”

 “I shortened it seeing how focused he is. We can probably adjust the schedule from then on, too.”

When you commission a song in America, it usually takes a month or two. It was the same at MBLY. Once a business plan was set and a project started, it typically took a month or two.

He didn’t think it was particularly late. Because that was just standard practice.

‘I’m even wondering if a week is too short.’

He had deliberately moved the schedule up, considering Kim Ju-hyun’s work ethic.

‘Because not only the melody, but the rhythm, chords, and mood all have to match.’

A week was truly the bare minimum by Joseph’s standards. Cutting it down any further was simply unimaginable in his head.

Right then.

-Click.

Kim Ju-hyun, who had been deeply immersed in his work, took off his headphones. Then he looked around.

His eyes met straight with Joseph, who had been standing quietly and watching him.

Joseph smiled and said.

“Taking a break now?” “No, come and listen. I finished making the song.” “……Pardon?”

Joseph opened his eyes wide. What on earth was he saying right now?

“You made the song…… completely?” “Yes.”

Kim Ju-hyun nodded as if there was nothing strange about it.

At that, Joseph looked at him with an astonished expression. Understandably so.

‘Wait, even a week was short?’

Joseph was also a composer. And a veteran with over 10 years of experience at that. That was just his tenure at MBLY; if you counted from when he first started making music, it was well over 15 years.

Even for someone like him, making a single song properly took at least a week. Actually, even a week was hard to guarantee. Because it felt like he would have to completely sacrifice the quality.

And he wasn’t the only one.

“No…… I thought even a week was short.”

The employee muttered in dismay. He was also a veteran who had worked at MBLY for a solid 5 years. Even he needed a full month if told to make a song.

No, Hollywood’s concept was like that to begin with. 1M1W. Create for a month, get evaluated in a week. That was the unwritten rule deeply embedded in this industry.

‘Yet he made it in just an hour?’

Joseph walked over toward Kim Ju-hyun. Deep down, a single thought lingered in his mind.

‘There must be something lacking.’

It’s probably similar to the sample, or nothing has changed. The sample itself was already at a completed song level anyway, but still. Surely, there must be some issue with the quality. If not that…

‘I’d feel like my entire musical life is being denied.’

“Can I listen to it once?”

At those words, Kim Ju-hyun nodded.

“Of course. I’ll play it right away. Ah, would you like to listen with headphones?” “No. We’re a team…… let’s all listen together.”

At Joseph’s words, the people gathered one by one. Kim Ju-hyun waited until all of them were gathered before playing the song.

Soon, the music flowed out through the speakers.

At the same time, Joseph shuddered once again.

‘T-This is…….’

The intro was surprisingly ordinary. It used the off-beat house style commonly enjoyed in K-POP. But while only the beat was familiar, the contents were completely different.

‘At this timing…… these chords?’

The beat was definitely K-POP. But the melody. The chords composing the melody were subtly misaligned. And understandably so, because this melody…

‘It feels like Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons……!’

The moment he realized it, he let out a breathless gasp.

Mixing classical chords into a K-POP beat. Didn’t it sound difficult just by hearing it? Yet the man right before his eyes had pulled it off effortlessly.

And not just that?

‘What kind of immersion is this…….’

Joseph closed his eyes. Then he quietly listened to the music.

Good music pours a story into its melody. The listener feels it and sympathizes. But Kim Ju-hyun’s song went a step further. It was as if driving a video straight into your head; the moment you heard the music, it immersed you right into the story the music held.

‘Oh my god…….’

Inside Joseph’s closed eyes, a green meadow appeared. A refreshing meadow where a gentle breeze blew. Joseph was dancing there, leisurely and happily.

“Hah.”

Joseph opened his eyes. The song had already ended.

The strange thing was.

“Hulp.” “Whoa……”

The composers began opening their eyes one by one. You could tell without needing to speak. Everyone had experienced the exact same thing.

‘The sample was already at a completion level.’

He had wondered if it could possibly develop any further from there, but there was another sky above the sky. Furthermore, he created a song like this in a mere hour.

“Just what…… on earth is your identity?”

Joseph asked. At that, Kim Ju-hyun made a bewildered expression.

“Pardon? Ah, was I a bit late? I suppose it was because I was paying attention to the quality.”

If it were Korea, where references were already provided, he might have gotten an earful for taking a full hour. At Kim Ju-hyun’s words, Joseph waved his hands frantically.

“No, it’s not that. Whew…… never mind. The song was really great. This is the main track, right?” “Yes, that’s right. The concept of this song is freshness. Since summer is coming soon anyway. It will go well with Angelina’s voice.” “I agree. It was truly wonderful. The moment I heard it, it felt like pine needles were right in front of my nose. Anyway, it was a fascinating experience.”

Joseph gave a big thumbs up. Seeing him like that, Kim Ju-hyun said.

“Ah, and did you get a reply about the sample sent to Angelina?”

At Kim Ju-hyun’s words, Joseph let out a wry smile.

“You probably shouldn’t expect much from that.” “What do you mean?” “As you know, Angelina is in a slump. I’ve faithfully sent her sample songs for nearly a year, but she has never once sent a reply.”

Since Joseph was the one writing the emails, he remembered it well. Angelina definitely saw the samples, but she didn’t show any reaction. She just stayed locked away in her home.

‘It’s not like we’re running a business digging into the dirt.’

Joseph had half-given up on Angelina. To be honest, he was even a bit skeptical right now. Especially after seeing Kim Ju-hyun’s skills.

‘She doesn’t even react when she sees the samples anyway.’

It didn’t seem like she would sing again. Should he waste Kim Ju-hyun’s time on a person like that? The time of such a brilliant composer?

‘Just what on earth is the Vice President thinking, entrusting Angelina to us…….’

She was a star brought in for hundreds of billions of won, but her light had already completely faded away. Shouldn’t they have used Kim Ju-hyun’s power in a more productive place?

Of course.

“The song has been made now, so I’ll somehow persuade her and bring her in. However, until then, Angelina probably won’t show any reaction.” “I see.” “So please don’t be too discouraged. The song is truly excellent. Really.”

Having said that, Joseph looked at Kim Ju-hyun.

Kim Ju-hyun was smiling.

‘Why?’

Thinking that now didn’t seem like the time to smile, he looked around. The surrounding composers were all staring somewhere with their jaws dropped wide open.

None other than right behind Joseph.

“What on earth is wrong with you guys……”

Joseph said that and turned his head.

Then, just like the other employees, his jaw dropped open.

Understandably so. Standing right in front of the door was someone who absolutely should not be here.

“Ca-, Caroline?”

Caroline was Angelina’s last name.

Angelina. Angelina, who wouldn’t come out of her room no matter what method was mobilized, had now shown her face at the company.

Her appearance was quite different from her peak days. She had lost weight and looked emaciated, and her hair was a mess. Judging by her outfit of sweatpants as if she had rushed over hurriedly, she seemed to have come in the exact clothes she wore at home.

However, that wasn’t what mattered.

Why on earth had she sought out the company after holing herself up for a whole year?

“Ah.”

Soon, Joseph was able to realize the reason.

Since a moment ago, Angelina had been staring at a single man without a single flicker of distraction.

None other than Kim Ju-hyun.

-Tap, tap.

Angelina took a step forward and said.

“You’re…… the one, right? The video of you playing the guitar.” “Guitar?”

Kim Ju-hyun let out an “Ah” sigh.

“Come to think of it, I think I participated in a YouTuber’s live broadcast once.”

To think someone actually saw that. Kim Ju-hyun nodded.

“If it’s a video taken recently, it must be me.” “Ah…… then as expected, the sample too.” “Yes, I made it.”

When Kim Ju-hyun said that, Angelina approached him like someone possessed by something.

Angelina stood right in front of him. Though she had grown emaciated, her appearance was still dazzling.

With her face crumpling suddenly, Angelina stood before Kim Ju-hyun and choked out.

“It was truly wonderful…… That song, the sample. The emotions I had forgotten…… that song awakened them again.”

A sob broke out. Tears burst from the corners of her eyes.

“Thank you so much…… Sob! That song…… Sob! Saved me!”

Bursting into heavy sobs, she showed just how much she had struggled all this time.

For Kim Ju-hyun, it was a bit bewildering. He had simply made a song, but somehow it turned out he had saved a person’s life. The people around them were staring at Kim Ju-hyun with utterly awestruck eyes.

‘Well, good things are good, I suppose.’

One way or another, Kim Ju-hyun didn’t feel particularly bad about it either. What composer would hate hearing that their song changed someone’s heart? Especially when that person was Angelina, one of the most famous singers in the world.

After crying for a long time, Angelina finally stopped.

“It’s not clean, though.”

Kim Ju-hyun handed her a handkerchief. He used to carry it around to wipe his guitar strings, but it ended up being used in a completely unexpected place.

“Sob, thank you.”

Angelina took Kim Ju-hyun’s handkerchief. Then she gently dabbed at the tears in the corners of her eyes.

Only after finishing tidying up did Angelina look straight into Kim Ju-hyun’s eyes.

“I’m sorry…… I made an ugly scene, didn’t I?” “No. I’m fine.” “I’ll wash this handkerchief and return it to you.” “You can keep it. I have a lot at home.” “……”

Angelina raised her head. Star-like, transparent blue eyes contrasting with her dry blonde hair fixedly stared at Kim Ju-hyun.

‘Western kids’ eyes are really pretty.’

As Kim Ju-hyun was belatedly admiring them, Angelina spoke.

“Thanks to you, I could be…… honest with my own emotions. Thank you so much.”

“Yeah, well. There’s no need to be too honest, let’s just be half honest. Being too honest is exhausting.”

Kim Ju-hyun gave an awkward smile. Offering words of comfort was terribly awkward for him. So he just said whatever came to mind, but Angelina’s reaction was strange.

Her cheeks blushed faintly, and then she spoke as if she had made up her mind.

“Then…… I’ll be half honest.”

She stepped closer.

“By any chance, may I hug you?” “Hmm.”

Is this the American style? But if this is just half, what does being completely honest look like?

While Kim Ju-hyun fell into thought, the surrounding area was plunged into astonishment by Angelina’s unexpected remark.