Andrew took the tablet containing the audio file sent over from LS Entertainment and headed straight to the CEO’s office.
Knock, knock.
Even the gold-gleaming doorknob felt burdensome to grasp.
Before long, from inside the CEO’s office came the spaced-out reply, “Come in.”
Creak.
When he opened the door and entered, Austin was standing before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, face sunk in thought.
“Sir, if you’re busy, shall I come back later?”
Andrew asked cautiously as he looked at Austin’s back.
“No.”
Austin, stylishly dressed in a deep green suit that could easily look tacky on anyone else, straightened his lapels and added,
“If Andrew came looking for me, there must be something important.”
Andrew silently marveled inwardly—from Austin’s pomaded, neatly kept white hair down to his well-cared-for skin, and the fit of his clothes that could pass for a man in his twenties.
He wasn’t saying it because Austin was his CEO. The man was genuinely dashing.
“Ah, yes.”
Andrew’s inward exclamations lasted only a moment.
“The audio came in.”
He stated the reason he’d come to the office.
“Oh, you mean Sarah’s track?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Can I listen right away?”
Austin rubbed his hands together like an excited child, eyes sparkling. If there was one thing that set him apart from other label heads, it was exactly this.
More sincere about music than anyone, even after becoming CEO he personally listened to every track and then directed or handled revisions himself.
What’s more, though his schedule was packed with meetings and appointments, listening to music was the one task he never neglected.
Right. Perhaps it was precisely because the CEO was this unusually dedicated that Unice Music Group had been able to establish itself as a globally famous major distributor and label.
“Can you pair it over Bluetooth?”
At that moment, Austin took out his limited-edition, hard-to-get, ultra–high-quality wireless earphones.
“Y-you’re going to listen by yourself?”
Andrew asked, sounding a bit taken aback.
‘I haven’t even heard it yet…’
But Austin firmly put the earbuds in and replied,
“If I listen on the tablet, I might not catch the true flavor of the track. You can listen later, can’t you?”
At that, Andrew had no choice but to nod.
He was dying of curiosity, but since Austin was right, there was nothing to say.
Before long, Austin spritzed disinfectant on the head seat of the sofa, then leaned back to sit. He even gently closed his eyes as if he were about to enjoy some classical music.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
Soon Sarah Stewart’s song flowed through the earphones.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
The lashes that had softly lowered quivered for a moment.
“Hm?”
His eyes flew open, and a curious expression crossed Austin’s face.
‘What kind of track is it to make him react like that?’
Andrew could hear the faintest hint of sound, but not enough to tell what the track was, so he couldn’t predict anything from Austin’s reaction.
Meanwhile, regardless of Andrew’s curiosity, Austin was breaking the song down into tiny pieces in his head.
What chord construction is this?
With most songs, the sheet music more or less sketches itself in his head upon hearing them, but this one wouldn’t.
The melody was clean and prominent, so he assumed they must have used common money chords…
But as it went on, the chords formed in ways increasingly hard to grasp, and his head grew more and more crowded.
Apparently, he’d thought he’d rated HS highly, but even that had been an underestimate of his ability.
All the more, his curiosity and desire regarding “HS” boiled hotter.
“Hmmm….”
The song ended before Austin could find any points to revise or even complete a proper analysis.
Then, he removed the earbuds, and as always wiped the armrest down with his handkerchief, and spoke.
“By the way.”
Andrew, who had been waiting quietly for his impressions of the song, answered at once, “Yes.”
“Isn’t this really strange?”
What came out of Austin’s mouth was, itself, a very strange remark.
“Sir? What do you mean?”
“Why is there no pushback?”
“You mean from Sarah?”
“No,” Austin replied firmly, then sank back into thought.
Indeed.
They had sent LS Entertainment a completely unreasonable proposal. They had attached distribution terms so predatory you could call them worse than power-tripping, then sent over the contract…
So why did LS meekly send back only a signed agreement? Especially while handing over a track of this quality.
Sure…
Unice Music Group is a far mightier company than LS Entertainment, but from what he’d looked into, LS also wielded tremendous power domestically.
Not only do they have a dedicated distribution line, they’re stacked with in-house songwriters who can produce tracks and engineers of real ability.
Above all, they hold a hidden card like HS, so if not canceling the project outright, he expected them to push back harder.
Then, he’d been thinking he might negotiate around the songwriter HS.
Of course, he hadn’t planned to hold HS hostage while promising a friendly relationship with LS.
He merely wanted to show off Unice’s clout and capability, and if they so much as made a single pained noise, he was going to propose dramatic terms: waive all costs for HS alone and give him a dedicated distribution line.
Right.
He’d meant to open a channel to HS slowly that way and coax him over…
But for some reason, instead of any pained noises, everything was proceeding in a hushed, quiet flow.
“It’s really strange.”
Austin was murmuring, lost in thought, when—
“Sir, Sarah has arrived.”
Andrew checked his smartwatch and spoke.
“Have her come straight to my office.”
Austin answered, face brightening.
“Yes.”
Andrew moved to the office door and waited for the knock.
Before long, from beyond the door came a rough “Bang, bang.”
Creak—
When the door opened, Sarah was standing there wearing a thoroughly peeved expression.
“You look like you’ve put on a bit of weight?”
Andrew asked, looking at her.
“No way.”
Sarah shot back sharply and sauntered into the office.
Right.
While in Korea, she’d barely had a proper meal thanks to the relentless work.
More than anything, she wasn’t the type to gain weight, and she hadn’t eaten enough to anyway, so she figured Andrew was just picking a fight.
Ah.
The misutgaru had been delicious. Of course, because it all got confiscated and disposed of, she hadn’t gotten to taste any on the way back.
‘Thinking about it just makes me mad again.’
As misutgaru that had slipped from her hands came to mind, strength naturally entered her steps.
Thud, thud.
Footfalls radiating obvious anger.
Thump.
Watching Sarah drop heavily into the sofa like a tough guy, Andrew and Austin exchanged a look.
As if to ask each other,
Why is she in her hysterics mode again?
“So, how was the work?”
Feigning nonchalance, Austin calmly asked as he looked at Sarah.
“Aren’t we the ones doing distribution?”
“Mm, that’s right.”
“Then I assume you’ve already listened?”
From her own listening, the result was impeccable, but why were they bristling like porcupines?
Did something happen while working with HS?
“Hmmm….”
Austin had no way of knowing that Sarah was thoroughly sulking over the misutgaru disposal incident and could only feel frustrated.
“Oh, right.”
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her, Sarah clapped her hands and continued.
“Do you remember that East Asian guy I said once adjusted my sheet music?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“That person was the songwriter HS.”
“Really? How curious. How did it come to connect like that?”
Austin was genuinely impressed. HS, who was like an oasis that kept slipping just out of reach, had been circling around them all along.
As if this entire situation was a series of coincidences leading him to become part of Unice.
No… at this point, destiny?
Truly, it only made him want HS more.
“So we’re going to release that with his name on the arrangement credit, please prepare an additional contract.”
Sarah, of course, had no idea what was going on in Austin’s head.
“This time we’re going to sweep the Billboard charts again.”
She simply announced her ambition with confidence.
“I’m very excited.”
From her being that self-assured, it seemed the work with HS had gone quite well.
He had worried since Sarah had never done a co-write before and her social skills were rock bottom…
Maybe they got along better than expected?
Wait a second.
We have to send over a contract again?
“Sarah.”
“What?”
Austin carefully posed a question.
“Did HS say anything about the distribution contract? Any complaints about the terms, or anything like that…?”
“He didn’t say anything. Why?”
Truly looking oblivious, Sarah cocked her head and pressed him.
“What were the terms like?”
Austin stroked the freshly disinfected armrest and began slowly.
“We set the condition at a 30% distribution fee plus a flat fee for track registration for release.”
Sarah went pale and sprang to her feet.
“What? Why would you attach such ridiculous terms? I went and saw for myself—LS Entertainment isn’t some neighborhood tinpot outfit.”
“I only meant to test HS a little, but they accepted outright.”
“No matter what, that’s not right. Unice has a reputation to uphold. This time you pulled something awfully childish—very unlike you, sir.”
Sarah pressed her lips together, briefly conjuring Hyunseung’s face in her mind.
“And that guy won’t fall for cheap tricks like that anyway.”
“That guy?”
“I mean HS.”
Austin, realizing he’d overlooked the most important thing, asked in a slightly heated tone.
“So then, what kind of person is HS? His tastes, his temperament?”
At that, Sarah muttered, “What kind of person?” then rolled her eyes as if sketching HS’s face above her head, and after a moment—
“Just a weirdo.”
She gave a curt answer.
“In any case, from what I saw, he’s not someone who would fuss over terms like that. Don’t waste your energy. Revise the terms properly, right now.”
Then, with a scolding murmur, she stood up.
“For a CEO, acting childish like that… honestly.”
With that, Sarah said she was tired and should go and left the office.
“This really is strange.”
Andrew stared blankly at the door Sarah had exited and spoke.
“Sarah isn’t exactly in a position to be calling anyone a weirdo. Just how weird must he be….”
But Austin wore a profound expression, as if sunk in thought.
“Sir? Is something the matter?”
Then, Austin slapped the armrest, stood, and opened his tightly closed mouth.
“Prepare the contract. This time, nothing childish. Let’s prepare it properly.”
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