WFBCAD 5

Chapter 5

Late at night, inside a high-rise office building in Hollywood.

An apartment as spacious and luxurious as a five-star hotel lobby belonged to only one person.

It was the home of Celie Bristol.

As the Vice President of MBLY Entertainment, she had just returned after finishing work and walked out to the terrace dressed in her suit.

-Plop.

Sitting down on a chair with a wine glass in one hand, she annoyance-filledly unbuttoned the front of her shirt.

Living an enviable life as the Vice President of a successful company, she had recently been suffering from continuous headaches.

And that was entirely because of company business.

“Haah……”

Letting out a deep sigh, she gulped down her wine.

Currently, she was in the middle of a successor battle over the position of MBLY Entertainment’s CEO.

Her opponent was none other than her own older brother, Jackson Bristol.

As one could tell from Celie’s condition, she was losing miserably.

The reason for that was…

-Ring ring!

Her phone placed next to the table vibrated frantically.

Checking the caller, Celie answered the phone, and a voice came through.

[Vice President, it seems like it won’t be easy after all. Even minor prostitution charges have come out.]

“Minor prostitution? Ha, it’s really gone to shit.”

[It seems it came out together when the illegal establishment’s ledger was exposed this time. How should we respond?]

“What do you mean how? For the guy we brought in for 230 billion won, we have to fold him up before he can even hold a single concert.”

[Does that mean……]

“Terminate the contract and file a claim for damages.”

[Understood.]

The call ended, and Celie wrapped her face in both hands.

After her father, MBLY Bristol, collapsed, she had actively engaged in recruiting star power ever since the successor battle began.

-MBLY, aggressively sweeping up top stars. -Planning to completely occupy Hollywood? MBLY signs 4 top stars alone. 1 trillion won investment.

There were prospects that the investment money could all be recovered within a year.

However.

-Drug controversy. Singer-songwriter Taylor completely halts activities. -Overwhelming slump. Ariel goes into seclusion at home. -Top star’s name appears in illegal establishment documents. Involved in minor prostitution.

Controversies of recruited stars broke out one after another.

With all of them halting activities, MBLY’s losses were severe.

‘Even if we can receive the contract deposit through a lawsuit somehow…….’

It would take several years until a legal verdict came out.

The 1 trillion won investment would remain entirely as a loss.

On the other hand, her competitor Jackson’s actor label was flying high.

“Haah……”

Celie let out a deep sigh once more.

Right then.

-!!!

The phone rang yet again.

“Why do they keep calling at this hour……”

Just as she was about to close her phone in annoyance, she paused and answered the call.

“What’s the matter?”

[You were still awake. It’s nothing else, but the composer you told us to recruit…]

“Ah, that Korean composer, right? If he says no, don’t hold onto him too much. Our funds aren’t that plentiful.”

[No, it’s not that. We plan to proceed with the contract right away. The problem is we got some information from our internal sources. Word says Macklin is planning to contact him as well.]

Macklin was an entertainment agency that served as MBLY’s rival.

Celie spoke as if it was unexpected.

“Those guys are eyeing that composer?”

[Yes, so it seems we need to raise the contract terms…….]

At Hannah’s words, Celie knitted her brows.

She already had no room to spare due to tight funds, and raising the contract terms on top of that…

“You know our situation isn’t good, right?”

Celie spoke with subtle annoyance in her tone.

Be that as it may, Hannah still expressed her opinion firmly.

“This composer is S-rank or above.”

“Didn’t he come out as A+ rank in internal evaluations?”

[Yes, but…… please listen to this once. You will definitely change your mind after listening to this song, Vice President.]

At those words, Celie snorted.

S-rank was a grade reserved strictly for irreplaceable, strategic weapon-class existences.

Although Composer Kim Ju-hyun was outstanding, that was strictly outstanding as an A-rank.

‘He’s not up to S-rank.’

In other words, it meant they couldn’t give money exceeding A+.

“Did you call me late at night just to say that?”

[Please give it a listen once. If you listen, your thoughts will really change.]

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense……”

Celie muttered bluntly.

Was it because she had just given the order to throw 230 billion won into the trash?

Her feeling was particularly sharper.

-Ring.

Right then, along with a notification, a file sent by Hannah arrived.

It was a music file.

‘I guess there’s no helping it.’

Though she wasn’t feeling inclined at all, since she was talking to that extent, there was no reason not to listen to it.

“Hold on a moment.”

Saying so, Celie turned on the music.

And then.

“…….”

Celie’s eyes momentarily went blurry.

As if intoxicated, she was sucked into the music in an instant.

The moment she realized that, the music had already ended.

‘W-What…….’

It was a tremendous sense of immersion.

Was something like this possible through music?

Even Michael Jackson’s songs that she had listened to before did not possess a sense of immersion this brilliant.

Perhaps only a harp performance by an angel in myth could produce a sense of immersion like this.

‘To think K-POP was actually a fetter.’

Because he was affiliated with a Korean agency, he naturally made K-POP songs.

Songs with commercial, fast tempos.

That wasn’t to say it was bad.

It was certainly wonderful and impressive.

However, he couldn’t create a song capable of completely shaking the world—songs on the level of, say, The Beatles or Michael Jackson.

‘That’s why he was rated A+.’

A song that was clearly impressive, but had explicit limitations.

That was the judgment MBLY had made.

It was a complete misjudgment.

‘This song is completely different.’

The tempo was slow, and the chord progression was far from commercial appeal.

Yet, despite that, the sense of immersion was overwhelming.

It was clearly music, yet it felt like it was being visualized.

The moment she listened to the 3-minute music, a deep lingering emotion and touching impression remained as if she had watched a 2-hour movie.

Celie realized for the first time that this was possible through music.

“How do you plan to handle the upgraded terms?”

[Contract deposit of 6 billion won. We are thinking of proposing a 80 percent copyright fee ratio.]

“80 percent?”

They said Macklin was eyeing him.

Perhaps they had already noticed Kim Ju-hyun’s true value as well.

MBLY had to strike first before those bastards snatched him away.

‘Though it’s just one song, I felt it clearly.’

Kim Ju-hyun—he was definitely a genius that appears once every century.

Spending this much to get a song from such a genius?

‘It’s coming out cheap.’

“You said you’d propose 80 percent?”

[Yes, 80 percent.]

“Propose 100 percent instead. In exchange.”

Celie spoke in a cold voice.

“Make sure you succeed with the contract. Because we must not lose this composer.”

[Yes, understood.]

The call ended, and Celie put down her phone.

Inside her head, Kim Ju-hyun’s song that she listened to a moment ago was still playing.

Fascinatingly enough, her head, which had been throbbing insanely until a while ago, no longer hurt.

[Welcome to Los Angeles]

“Oh.”

Signs in English, unlike Korea.

People of various skin colors.

Kim Ju-hyun let out an exclamation of admiration, realizing that he had truly come overseas.

Right then.

“Kim Ju-hyun…… Executive Producer-nim?”

[Hello Kim Ju-hyun!]

A man holding a sign written in squiggly writing walked up in front of him.

Noticing without difficulty that he was an MBLY employee, Kim Ju-hyun bowed his head slightly in greeting.

“Hello. Are you the person in charge?”

“Ah, yes. I am the person in charge. It is an honor to serve you, Composer-nim.”

“There’s no need to go that far……”

“Shall we head straight to the car first? I will guide you to the house where you will be staying.”

“Of course. Let’s go right away.”

The two headed toward the car like that.

‘They even prepared a van.’

It was quite flashy for bringing a composer, but it didn’t feel bad.

Because it meant MBLY was paying that much attention to him.

That day at the cafe, Kim Ju-hyun signed the contract with MBLY right away.

All the conditions were written favorably for Kim Ju-hyun.

To the extent that it would be strange to reject it.

And while signing the contract, Kim Ju-hyun made a few additional proposals.

And that was precisely this.

-Vroom.

The car driving fast through downtown Los Angeles.

Kim Ju-hyun decided to work in America from now on.

“I was late in introducing myself. My name is Joseph Bernal. You can just call me Joseph comfortably.”

“You can just call me Kim.”

“OH, KIM. You speak English well?”

“When I was studying music, I memorized about a thousand pop songs entirely, so I naturally became good at it.”

“Jesus…… You memorized a thousand songs entirely?”

Joseph stuck out his tongue as if he couldn’t believe it.

“I could never do that.”

“It wasn’t easy for me either.”

As he shrugged his shoulders, Joseph burst into laughter.

Having a low threshold for laughter, he laughed for quite a while before suddenly pointing forward with his hand.

“It’s over there. Hollywood.”

“Oh……”

A mountain visible in the distance.

The spelling of HOLLYWOOD placed on top of it.

Seeing what he had only watched through movies in reality brought new emotions.

On the other hand, it felt real to the point where he realized he had come to America.

‘I’ve really come.’

The land flowing with milk and capital, the sacred ground of movies and music.

To Hollywood.

While Kim Ju-hyun was soaked in admiration, Joseph spoke.

“Are you okay with jet lag?”

“I slept on the plane, so I’m doing alright.”

“Ah, still, you need to adjust a bit. The General Manager told you to take a rest for about a week.”

“……About a week?”

Kim Ju-hyun was thinking of working starting tomorrow right away.

In the first place, if it were Korea, since they had brought him at a high cost, they would have tried to squeeze everything out of him somehow.

‘As expected of America.’

Perhaps because it was a bountiful land, their composure was exceptional as well.

Just as he was admiring anew, the car slowed down its speed.

“This is Kim’s house. We have rented it long-term, so feel free to use it comfortably. Ah, this is the key.”

-Jingle.

He held out a key.

Having to open a house with a key and enter…

‘Is this American style?’

Receiving the key, Kim Ju-hyun got off the car.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. If you need anything in the future, you can contact me at my number.”

“Yes, I will.”

“Well then.”

-Vroom.

The van rapidly pulling away.

Kim Ju-hyun leisurely watched the van distance itself.

Currently, the time given to him was one week.

He was already fully adapted to America’s abundance and leisure.

‘Shall I check out the house now?’

Turning around, Kim Ju-hyun let out a small exclamation.

‘It’s ridiculously huge?’

Fitting for an area where many celebrities lived, walls were put up so that the inside could not be easily peeked into from the outside.

Yet even so, it was to the extent that one could feel how big the house was.

‘They’re renting a house like this for me?’

Entering the house while admiring the scale of America.

A spacious yard and a swimming pool.

As he went inside, marble floors and a massive living room that looked to be about 60 pyeong welcomed him.

“Ha.”

To think he would live in a house like this alone.

The very first thought that came to mind was naturally that it would be hard to clean.

‘Just how expensive is this house?’

Looking around the house here and there, Kim Ju-hyun suddenly became curious and searched for the prices of houses in this vicinity.

And then.

‘In-Insane.’

He almost lost his mind at the endless parade of zeros.

What was certain was that MBLY was truly, definitely treating Kim Ju-hyun to a burdensome degree.

‘For now, let’s enjoy it.’

Kim Ju-hyun headed straight for the refrigerator.

Naturally, the refrigerator was completely empty.

The moment he saw that, Kim Ju-hyun’s next schedule was decided.

‘Today is shopping.’

The 60 billion won had not come in yet.

Instead, they sent 100 million won separately to help him settle down.

Settlement support funds of 100 million won.

His heart felt grand at the scale worthy of America.

At any rate.

-Clatter.

Leaving the house, Kim Ju-hyun headed straight for the supermarket.

Perhaps because it was Hollywood after all?

There were no massive supermarkets that one typically thought of when thinking of America.

Of course, it was still big, but it couldn’t be helped that he felt somewhat disappointed.

-Beep beep beep!

He purchased kimchi and ramen at the Korean corner, and also packed a ton of insanely cheap beef.

Was it because he had 100 million won in his bank account?

Even if he spent money like water, he wasn’t worried at all.

‘Let’s enjoy it like this for the time being.’

How long had it been since he had this kind of leisure?

Furthermore, having gone through a tough time…

Kim Ju-hyun undeniably had a slight tendency to overspend on purpose.

“See you.”

Greeting the clerk and coming out, Kim Ju-hyun moved his steps.

When coming, he took a taxi, but when going back, he intended to walk.

Just to take a look around as well.

However.

-Muttering.

People were gathered far off in the distance.

‘Is it a celebrity?’

Since it was Hollywood after all, there was only one reason why people would gather.

Kim Ju-hyun moved his steps with an excited heart.

However.

‘What?’

It was not a celebrity.

Instead, several men holding cameras were holding guitars and shouting this and that.

Listening in…

“Please play any song!”

It seemed they were running content where they handed a guitar to passersby to listen to their performance.

Just when he thought it was trending in Korea too, perhaps this place was the origin.

Having barely squeezed through the crowd of people, feeling completely deflated by the fact that it was a YouTuber shooting rather than a celebrity, Kim Ju-hyun turned around.

However.

“WAIT! Please wait!”

Someone grabbed Kim Ju-hyun.

Turning his head at that…

“Could I ask you for one song?”

A Black YouTuber was holding out a guitar to Kim Ju-hyun with a slick face.

In a split second, Kim Ju-hyun felt a sense of unpleasantness from his face.

America, the land of freedom.

In reality, the YouTuber’s intention was malicious.

An Asian man who looked like a tourist at a glance.

Holding onto him with the thought that he obviously couldn’t play the guitar, intending to make him a laughingstock.

Kim Ju-hyun, who felt that like a ghost, spoke.

“No…… I have a lot of luggage in my hands.”

“I’ll carry the luggage for you. Come on, hurry!”

As if afraid Kim Ju-hyun would run away, he snatchingly took away the plastic bag held in his hand and handed over the electric guitar.

It was a swift movement without even time to react.

At the same time.

“Whew!” “Show us!”

Cheers bursting out from here and there.

‘No, I had no intention of doing it.’

However, people were already standing in a crowd centered around Kim Ju-hyun.

‘There’s no backing out of this either.’

Having no choice, Kim Ju-hyun walked toward the center.

Then a barrage of shouts poured down.

Is this American sensibility?

It was certainly more passionate than Korea.

‘I should get used to it.’

Sitting on the chair prepared by the YouTuber, Kim Ju-hyun pulled out the pick tucked between the strings.

And then.

!!!!!!!!

He started playing right away.

A rake technique playing as if scraping high-difficulty strings.

[???????????]

[?????????]

 [oh shit.]

[it’s beautiful]

Unlike what was expected, at his skillful playing, the YouTuber’s chat window began to burn up.