Vincent tried to bring up the matter of the remake first.
He certainly did, but…
HS pulled a USB out of his pocket and waved it, jumping the gun.
“Then let us listen to my song first, shall we?”
“Huh? Wait, wait a second! What ‘my song’ all of a sudden?”
To make it worse, even the owner of this studio, Sarah Stewart, who felt like an uninvited presence to Vincent, butted in.
“Were we not only doing the remake work? Do not tell me you also decided to give this person a song?”
“Yeah, why?”
“No, you are just going to hand over a song that easily?”
Vincent had not even managed to get the first syllable of “re-make” out.
“Is this not way too easy and squishy-soft?”
He did not know why Sarah Stewart was interrogating him like that, but…
“Are you not leaving?”
HS only waved his hand in the air, telling her to be quiet.
“Why would I suddenly leave?”
“You need to go out.”
“This is my studio. Why?”
Then he shifted his gaze to the spread-out misutgaru on the table and continued.
“I paid the studio rental fee and yet I am not able to use it.”
“No, do your work. Who said you can’t?”
“I can do it, but I cannot share an unreleased song with you.”
At those words Sarah Stewart let out an “Ah…” and a sigh.
Soon after, something unbelievable happened.
“Then I will listen together just once and immediately give up my seat. I swear on my life I will never plagiarize.”
It was something the Sarah Stewart he knew would never do.
“Not that I could plagiarize even if I tried.”
Yes, she was clasping both hands together, pleading with that East Asian composer to let her listen to the song once.
“This makes no sense.”
Vincent doubted his ears and eyes. Her words from a moment ago, her expression, and her behavior were all from Sarah Stewart, right?
No.
It was true that the title track “Look at me,” which HS had made for her, was a song pleasant enough to hear.
But he was not sure it was something that would make Sarah Stewart fret and fidget so much that she would throw away her pride like this.
Ah, “Black angel,” that he acknowledged.
The variation that took place in the bridge section was shocking.
Of course, that was why he had come all the way here.
Then, HS pointed at Vincent with his chin and said,
“Ask that person.”
At that, Sarah Stewart clamped her mouth shut as if she would die before opening it and only glared with her eyes.
“I am fine with it, but the performing singer might not be.”
Then, closing both eyes tight, she spoke.
“Please.”
“Huh?”
“I am asking you, please.”
She was making all kinds of grimaces as if she hated this situation to death, but it was clear Sarah Stewart was asking him for a favor.
“I cannot hear you well.”
Swept up in an inexplicable sense of superiority, Vincent shrugged his shoulders as if he had not heard and put on airs.
“You heard me.”
“I really did not hear.”
“Ah, damn…”
“Speak louder. I cannot hear.”
“Let us listen together.”
He thought about teasing her one more time, but since it seemed laser beams might shoot out of Sarah Stewart’s eyes at any moment, he decided to leave it at that.
“Do as you like.”
Vincent nodded arrogantly and immediately turned his body toward HS to ask,
“I can decide whether to sing it or not after listening first, right?”
“What do you mean? Did you not promise to become an instrument?”
At that, Vincent grew flustered and checked Sarah Stewart’s reaction.
“That is…”
If Sarah Stewart learned that he had promised to become an instrument to get permission for a remake from an East Asian composer, how ridiculous would she find him?
[ I will become your instrument. I will become your instrument. I will become your instrument. I will become your instrument. I will become your instrument. I will become your instrum… ]
On top of that, if it came out that he had sent an MMS filled with that exact content, he would not be able to show his face from shame.
“Sigh…”
Shaking off the humiliation of that day, Vincent turned his head side to side.
“First, if I listen and it is really not it, then there is nothing I can do.”
Then he raised his voice for no reason and continued.
“I have a career. It has to be a song worthy of my reputation for me to sing it, does it not?”
A low sound came from HS’s throat for a moment.
“Do as you like.”
As if none of that mattered, he nodded slightly and asked again,
“Then can we listen now?”
Sarah Stewart answered on his behalf.
“Yeah, quickly!”
Soon after, a few clicks of the mouse and music flowed out through the speakers.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
A rhythmic bass solo signaled the beginning of the song.
Thump, thump.
The finely chopped melody that pounded the heart made it feel like listening to the performance of a skilled guitarist.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
He had just started to be drawn in by a performance that overwhelmed the space from the start when
“Hm?”
Turning his head, he saw HS’s hand shaped as if gripping a guitar.
And his fingers moved quickly as if plucking the strings. Watching, thinking he was only mimicking the shape, it lined up exquisitely with the accompaniment.
‘Can he play guitar?’
It is not surprising if a composer who makes songs can play instruments.
But if he can perform the same accompaniment they were hearing now, it was not just a matter of being able to play.
Right.
If that were really the case, it would not be wrong to call him a guitarist with a high level of skill.
Suddenly, a question arose.
Do not tell me he actually performed it himself and recorded it.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
Vincent decided to put off his growing curiosity until after the song ended and adjusted his posture.
He felt like properly focusing on the song.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
Since the guide had been put down with chords, the many flashy beats and instrumental lines captured the ear.
If he was not careful, he might think this was a concerto recorded by a gathering of world-class players.
In short, it exceeded his expectations. More than anything, it was more flashy, more intense, and more addictive than Sarah Stewart’s “Look at me.”
This is enough.
As the song neared its end, a faint smile spread at the corner of Vincent’s mouth.
─ ♬ ♬ ♬
Just then, as the melody was gradually dying away,
Clap, clap, clap.
At the sudden sound of applause, everyone turned their heads.
“Gasp, sorry, sumima… so, sorry…”
There was the young girl who had followed HS, clapping before she knew it and smiling sheepishly.
“Why is that tacky country mouse like that?”
HS, standing next to him, sighed and muttered something, but since it was in Korean, he could not understand.
At that moment, Sarah Stewart, who had been quiet since the song began, sprang to her feet, eyes bloodshot as if she would burst into tears immediately, and said,
“Why did you not let me hear this when you had a song like this while working with me?”
“Because I made it after that.”
“Then can I sing this? I am confident I can sing it better than that person.”
At those words, Vincent narrowed his eyes and cut in.
“What? You can sing better than me?”
“Yeah, I can do better.”
“How can you be sure?”
“You know the moment you hear it. Do you still not even have a sense of that?”
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
HS let out a deep sigh at the childish scene that felt like watching a fight between young siblings.
“Enough.”
Then, stepping between the two, he scolded Sarah Stewart.
“Did you not clearly say you would give up your seat right away?”
“I will go. I will.”
“If you do not keep your promise, I will take back all the misutgaru.”
“Ah, I got it.”
In the end, their quarrel seemed to wrap up with Sarah Stewart tucking in her tail first.
“Always threatening me with misutgaru.”
She pouted and grumbled for a moment.
“I should not have blabbed. I should not have told him.”
She came to blame herself for revealing the identity of the arranger of “Black angel.”
Right.
If she had not spoken about that fact, she would not have had to hand over such a song to someone like Vincent.
However, at the time she could not bear it. Vincent had been subtly belittling HS with talk like he was a strange person and telling her to change the title track in a subtly condescending tone, so she had snapped and said it.
Of course, he is strange…
“Damn.”
Just then, while Sarah Stewart ground her teeth at Vincent, who was smirking arrogantly at her,
“That aside.”
HS turned to Vincent, who had slipped into a sense of victory, and asked,
“Are you going to be my instrument or not?”
Vincent frowned at the question. It was a word he could not get used to no matter how many times he heard it. Calling a singer an instrument…
Moreover, calling a superstar like him an instrument would be something only that man would do in this whole world.
“Could you refrain from using the expression instrument?”
Vincent asked calmly, as if holding back his rising irritation.
“To me, instrument is the highest compliment.”
As if wondering what the problem was, HS shrugged. Then, with a displeased grimace, he let out a low hiss for a moment.
“Tsk.”
As if something amusing had come to mind, he curled the corner of his lips and added,
“If you shout I am an instrument three times, I will let you sing this song.”
For an instant, the room filled with stillness. No, perhaps it was better described as falling into shock.
Out of nowhere, a demand for three cheers of “I am an instrument”…
Raising his eyebrow, Vincent asked, “What?”
But HS immediately appended another proposal.
“As a bonus I will also work together on the remake of Black angel.”
At that, Vincent bit down hard on his lower lip. When the most tempting proposal is added at the end, you are left with nothing to say.
However, he had his face to consider. How could he do three cheers of “I am an instrument” in front of Sarah Stewart, who was much more junior than him?
Not to mention, HS’s troop, presumed to be his family, was also watching him in this situation.
There was no way they did not know who he was.
Except for the elderly or preschool children, in any country where the internet is active, it would be difficult not to know him.
“Do I really have to do that?”
“Otherwise I will just give it to Sarah Stewart. Well, she said she could sing it better.”
“What? Hold on.”
“And the remake will also be canceled.”
Vincent chewed his lower lip so hard that beads of blood could form. Normally, he could just flip the table and say fine, forget it.
“Ha, damn…”
But seeing Sarah Stewart off to the side, eyes gleaming like a hyena, waiting for him to say he would not sing it, he could not bring himself to say no. More than anything, he really wanted to try singing it once.
Right. He became curious what it would be like to lay his voice over that dazzling instrumental he had just heard.
Ah. And he did not want to miss “Black angel” either.
Clench.
Then, as if deciding, Vincent curled his fist and barely opened his lips.
“I… I am… an… instrument…”
“Too quiet. I cannot hear you.”
“I… I am an instrument…”
“I cannot tell what you are saying.”
Somehow it felt like getting back exactly what he had done to Sarah Stewart earlier.
So this is why people say live kindly.
At last, covering his eyes with both hands, Vincent shouted in a fit.
“I am an instrument! I am an instrument! I am an instrument!”
It was the birth of a moment that would go down as one of the darkest chapters of his life.
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