Unice Music Group.
A global distributor and one of the world’s “Big 3” labels, this place was usually abuzz with fresh headlines and new tracks, leaving no room for quiet, but today was unusually still.
Ah.
Rather than quiet, it would be more accurate to say the shock had brought on a hush.
“…”
The reason everyone seated in the executive conference room was gripped by shock was…
[ I’m going to sing HS’s song, so please send over the official contract. ]
…a single request that had just come in from Sarah Stewart.
[ And I’ll stay in Korea until the work is finished. ]
Andrew, unable to believe what he was seeing, kept closing and reopening the window to check it again and again.
He’d already been surprised when he first heard that Sarah was personally flying to Korea to meet a Korean composer.
But to suddenly say she’d sing a Korean composer’s song and ask them to send a contract…?
Indeed.
Among the conditions included in their reply to LS Entertainment’s official letter had been: “4. Please only do arrangement on my work. (Your name can be registered with the copyright association).”
Now she was abruptly saying she’d sing someone else’s song, how could they not be stunned?
How on earth did that composer persuade her?
More than anything, it was odd that she wanted to do the recording not at their own studio, whose facilities they prided themselves on as top-tier, but in Korea.
“Uh, no, this is…”
Andrew could only flap his lips; no words would come out.
And it wasn’t just him. No one else could find words either.
Judging by their vacant expressions, it was quite a shock.
Except for one person.
“What’s the matter with everyone?”
David Austin, the CEO.
“Just because she’s a singer-songwriter doesn’t mean she’s bound by law to sing only her own songs.”
Far from being shocked, Austin sounded positively pleased and delighted by the situation.
“Besides, knowing Sarah’s personality, she’s not going to just sit there and sing. We can simply frame it as her having participated in the arrangement.”
The other executives stared blankly after Austin finished.
They were stunned by how unfazed he seemed.
And no wonder.
Austin was the very person who, even when Sarah insisted on singing only the songs she herself had written, told her to do so and poured in all the support.
In short, Austin was the one who put wings on Sarah and let her run wild in the company.
So when Sarah asked them to prepare a contract to sing the song of a composer not signed to Unice, but to another country’s entertainment company, rather than being surprised, he looked pleased. How could they not be taken aback?
Of course. As Austin said, it wasn’t something impossible, but it sounded a bit unrealistic.
What’s more, Austin had notoriously picky ears. Even the hottest composers across the U.S. often failed to deliver a song that satisfied him.
Naturally, if they couldn’t satisfy him, releasing through the Unice distribution network was out of the question.
And yet without even checking what song Sarah was going to sing, he was giving an immediate OK…?
Does he rate HS’s ability that highly?
Andrew did know, having accompanied Austin to Korea, that he was interested in the Korean composer “HS.”
“Get everything ready as quickly as possible and send the contract to LS.”
He had never imagined Austin would approve, sight unseen, a song by someone he’d never even met.
Well, if it was a decision by Austin, the man who had grown Unice Music Group, then it likely wasn’t the wrong one.
Hmm…
Still, until Andrew actually heard the song Sarah intended to sing, this uneasy feeling wasn’t going to go away.
“And make sure to add that distribution will be through us.”
However things stood, carrying out the owner’s order was the director’s job.
“Yes, I’ll prepare it that way.”
With that, the moment of confusion settled for the time being.
Sarah jerked up at the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling.
Soon after, she remembered she’d decided to stay at the Korean composer’s place, and relieved, lay back down again.
Thump.
The bed, which showed no signs of use, had a mattress whose firmness she found quite to her liking.
“But what time is it?”
Seeing that it was still dim beyond the bedroom window, Sarah checked the time on her phone.
Korea time, it was still early dawn.
It seemed the unfamiliar setting had woken her early despite her fatigue.
Step, step.
Thirsty, Sarah carefully opened the door and stepped out. Emerging into the dark living room, she spotted a spacious kitchen set off to one side.
I can have some water, right?
It felt a bit wrong to open someone’s fridge without asking, but she had to get some liquid down her parched throat right away.
Fortunately, when she opened the fridge door, she found 500ml bottles of water.
Gulp, gulp.
She downed it like someone who hadn’t had a sip for days, when she heard a steady sound from somewhere.
Tak, tak, tak, tadadak.
Tiptoeing, Sarah followed the source of the noise, walking on her toes.
There?
Judging from the light leaking through a slightly open door, the sound was definitely coming from the innermost room.
And that sound was unmistakably one she knew very well. Yes, the sound you always hear when making music.
It was the sound of tapping in chord notes.
Creak.
When she eased open the door with the light shining through, she saw the back of a head in headphones bobbing slightly.
It was HS.
But what was he working on at this hour instead of sleeping?
Isn’t my song already finished?
Given how complete the track had sounded, all the way down to the guide chords, the track was clearly finished.
What the…
Was he working on a song for someone else while working with me?
Frowning, Sarah glared at the back of HS’s head for a moment, then turned to go back to her own room.
I’m pissed…
Of course, it wasn’t as if HS couldn’t write songs for other people…
But having mustered both her pride and a sudden impulse to come to Korea, on top of deciding to set aside her conviction not to sing any song she didn’t write herself, she couldn’t help feeling contrary.
Step, step.
Sarah was passing through the living room, cheeks full of sulk, when a sudden presence startled her into a yelp.
“Yikes!”
The man standing in the dark looked fairly up in years.
And given the resemblance to HS, he was probably his father.
“H-hi.”
For some reason embarrassed, she gave a hasty nod of greeting and was about to move on when…
“Why are you screaming at this hour of the morning?”
Having heard the scream, HS rushed out and called her back.
“Oh, Father.”
Then he shifted his gaze to the man standing next to her and approached him.
—Dad, why are you up and about at this hour instead of sleeping?
—Came out for some water; looks like I startled the young lady for nothing.
—She’ll be staying a few days because of work, so it’ll be inconvenient, but please bear with us a little.
—Nonsense. Tell the young lady not to feel pressured and to make herself at home.
Sarah couldn’t understand what they were saying, but she could tell from their motions that they were using sign language.
So his father is deaf?
As Sarah looked between the two of them.
Tap tap.
HS’s father handed her something he was holding.
“Hm?”
She didn’t know what it was, but the gesture said, “Drink it.”
Holding the little drink pouch filled with a liquid, Sarah stared steadily at HS.
This is okay to drink, right?
Her eyes were asking.
Nod.
HS gave a short nod, and Sarah lifted it to her lips instead of the water.
Gulp, gulp.
Sarah’s eyes went round as she turned the pouch this way and that. What is this? Something nutty and a little sweet…
This is delicious.
Watching her, Hyunseung chuckled and spoke.
“It’s a Korean drink called misutgaru1.”
At that, Sarah squeezed the pouch to get the last drop and tossed it into her mouth.
—Dad, what about mine?
At his question, Dad quickly headed to the kitchen and came back with another pouch of misutgaru.
Gulp, gulp.
Hyunseung ignored Sarah’s covetous gaze and downed his misutgaru.
Tap tap.
His father patted Hyunseung on the shoulder.
—So… are you thinking of marrying this young lady or something?
Startled by his father’s out-of-the-blue question, Hyunseung involuntarily sprayed the misutgaru he was drinking.
Well, his father was an old-school man, and since this was the first time he’d ever brought a woman home, he must have assumed it was more than just a working relationship.
—Absolutely, absolutely not. So please don’t say things like that.
Making it crystal clear, Hyunseung snuck a sidelong glance at Sarah. Thankfully, it looked like she hadn’t understood.
“If you’re done sleeping, get ready and come out.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah. We’re just going to my studio.”
Then, after giving Sarah a nudge, he slipped into his room as well.
If Hyuna woke up on top of this, he could already feel the onslaught of wild speculation giving him a headache.
Ah. And not only because of that…
Early that morning, Hyunseung and Sarah headed to his personal studio.
Gulp, gulp.
Apparently taken with the “misutgaru” his father had given her, Sarah had brought several more pouches and kept sipping without a break.
At that rate you’d think it would get a bit cloying…
Anyway, why has she been shooting me dirty looks since earlier?
“Got something to say?”
With the pouch still at his lips, Hyunseung asked the Sarah who was sneaking sharp glances at him.
“No. Nothing.”
Even so, her eyes stayed sharp, her reply crackling like carbonation.
Hyunseung didn’t know women well, but given that look and tone, anyone who wasn’t totally oblivious could tell she had complaints.
However, he wasn’t the kind of man to sweat such trifles.
“We’ll run through a few practice passes together, then go straight into recording, okay?”
“Whatever.”
Sarah sucked the last of her misutgaru and answered flatly.
The reason was simple: the back of his head she’d seen at the house kept popping into her mind. It irked her that he was simultaneously working on something that wasn’t her project.
For Sarah, coming to Korea to meet a composer in person had been both impulsive and an act requiring great courage.
And yet to find that the composer wasn’t fully focused on her, but also had a foot in something else…
It was only natural to worry that, if the composer’s focus were divided, the completeness of her song might suffer too.
Even so, she couldn’t take back a decision already made, and pressing him on such a thing wouldn’t be professional either.
Right.
She, too, often worked on several of her own songs at once.
“Actually…”
Sarah tossed the empty pouch into the trash and said,
“I’ve already mapped out in my head more or less how I want to sing it, but let’s listen again.”
At that, Hyunseung muttered, “You’ll have to redraw it,” and started playback of the finished track file.
Tap.
With a crisp space-bar click, the melody she’d heard yesterday flowed from the speakers.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
Before long, Sarah’s expression twisted, ever so slightly.
“Huh…?”
Because the development had suddenly shifted into a melody she’d never heard before.
- Misugaru, also known as misutgaru, is a traditional multigrain powder made of crushed, roasted, steamed grains. Barley, oats, quinoa, sweet rice, brown rice, lentils, soybean, millet, adzuki beans, and other grains are pounded and combined to make this powder. ↩︎
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