This was what Vincent’s reply said:
Exactly three days.
Yes, that in three days, he would deliver the promised song.
Three days…
Up until now there had not been a single word from him, and now he was saying he could finish everything and hand over the work in just three days…
“Hmm.”
Alberto let out a low sound, as though sinking into thought.
It was true that he had been looking forward to it, but because there were also a few things that worried him, the promise to deliver the song in three days kept catching on him.
Composer HS.
In the documentary, Daniel had said that meeting him had made him feel as though he had become a true singer.
A composer acknowledged by Daniel, a man respected by anyone working in any field related to music, a singer of that caliber.
When someone like that said he would work on the song, there was no way not to have expectations.
Still.
There was one thing Alberto had learned while looking into the person called HS that kept bothering him…
He had produced OSTs before, but all of them had been either K-dramas, or children’s music like Animal Island or Pinkfong.
A cute, delicate sensibility.
Yes, none of the Worlds theme songs released so far had ever carried that kind of sensibility.
Every single one had been the kind of song that soared, pushed forward, and made the heart burn hot.
It’ll certainly generate buzz, but…
Could composer HS really make that kind of song?
Alberto could not brush aside the worry that had suddenly come over him.
“Three days? That’s easy for him to say.”
Sebastian let out an irritated snort and left his seat on the spot.
“Uh, wh-what should I send back?”
Adam, who had been watching the room nervously from the side, asked carefully.
“Haa…”
Alberto let out a small sigh, then shortly after said in a firm tone,
“Tell him that since they were given so much time, we prepared a song on our end as well, so we’ll need to compare them and decide.”
With that, he turned and started walking in the direction Sebastian had gone.
From early in the morning, Hyuna busily packed a bag.
Like the saying about giving even one more rice cake to the one you dislike, she intended to pack up her annoying brother’s things and bring them to him.
“Ugh, he could at least go out after changing his clothes.”
Contrary to the spiteful words coming out of her mouth, Hyuna neatly folded Hyunseung’s clothes into the large bag one by one.
A change of clothes, underwear, socks.
And then, even some simple snacks he could eat on the go.
She knew there was a cafeteria and a café inside the building, but she could not help feeling worried.
Min Hyunseung…
Because to Hyuna’s eyes, after Daniel left, Hyunseung seemed to be throwing himself into work even more.
As if he were struggling desperately to forget someone.
Couldn’t she tell just from the way he had left the original DVD of the documentary untouched on the desk without even unwrapping it?
Right now, her brother was avoiding it. He had chosen work in order to avoid the pain, the hurt, and the grief.
Because she could see that with her own eyes, it bothered her. Even knowing he would find it annoying, she kept hounding him and pressuring him to come home.
“Heave-ho.”
Because she wanted to be even a little help to her precarious brother, Hyuna decided that she herself would go.
“Dad, I’m going to go check on oppa.”
Soon after, Hyuna left the house with the heavy bag slung over her shoulder.
.
.
.
After quite a ride in a taxi, the VINCIS building she arrived at looked both like a quiet private mansion and like a museum.
Step, step.
After passing through the neatly kept grounds and arriving at the main entrance, she rang the bell, and before long a woman opened the door courteously and greeted her.
“Please come in.”
It was a face she had never seen before, but just from the way she was dressed, the image of a career woman or secretary came to mind.
“The CEO is currently in a meeting in the office. Shall I let him know you’ve arrived?”
The woman asked naturally, like someone who had been expecting her visit.
“Um, do you happen to know who I am?”
“I’ve seen a family photo on the CEO’s desk. You’re his younger sister, aren’t you?”
At the answer that came back, Hyuna let out a little gasp.
Part of it was surprise at the woman’s perceptiveness, and part of it was because she was somewhat surprised by the fact that her brother had put a family photo on his desk.
“Ah, that’s right…”
“Yes. The CEO once instructed us that if his family came, we were to always open the door.”
Looking at the woman standing perfectly straight as she added that, without even the slightest wavering, Hyuna smiled faintly, thinking that if one were to describe a person with the word secretary, it would be exactly this sort of figure.
“I’d like to hand this to him myself, so could you guide me to the office?”
“Yes, please follow me.”
Feeling reassured by the fact that her brother had such a capable secretary, she followed behind the woman.
“Hello!”
The employees they passed on the way all greeted her brightly, every last one of them smiling.
She did not know whether they knew who she was, but not a single one of them lacked liveliness.
Ah…
Seeing that the employees at her brother’s company were bright and full of energy made her feel strange all over again.
When he said he was starting a company, a man who could barely take care of himself, let alone others, she had thought it was impressive, but she had also been worried.
Yes.
Ordinarily, a CEO should be someone capable of completely commanding a room with their presence.
But at the same time, she thought a CEO should also be someone who could embrace all the employees and guide them well…
And those were not qualities she could expect from her brother.
But…
The company looked peaceful, like the wide garden spread throughout the grounds, and it overflowed with life and vitality.
It seemed she had worried for nothing.
“So you really called me here because of the Worlds theme song?”
That was when.
“Yes, so you’ll have to help me. We agreed we’d be collaborating, didn’t we?”
Just as they reached the door to the CEO’s office, voices drifted out through the slightly open door.
“One moment.”
Hyuna stopped the secretary just as she was about to knock.
Because it sounded as though something important was being discussed, and she did not want to interrupt.
Sliiide.
As Hyuna quietly tiptoed closer to the door and peered inside.
“More than that, since they gave us a generous deadline, they’re saying they want to compare it with the song they prepared on their side before deciding.”
Vincent, the man known everywhere as the “Emperor of Billboard,” spoke.
“Compare? They’re going out of their way to do something useless.”
And Jayble, who had firmly held onto the top composer position until her brother appeared, muttered that in a mocking tone.
“Exactly. Which means we need to make a song within three days that won’t even be comparable, so I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
“What are you planning to threaten me with this time if I don’t?”
“When have I ever threatened you? Since you’re here, let’s play the 1968 guitar and call up some old memories.”
She could not tell exactly what kind of conversation they were having, but one thing was certain.
Her brother was smiling.
Vincent and Jayble both had rough tones, but there was a quiet smile spread across their faces too.
At that moment she realized it.
Just as her brother had experienced loss, there would also be relationships that remained, and new meetings yet to come.
And that her brother was forgetting the pain through those connections.
“They’re in the middle of an important discussion, so I’ll just go now. Could you pass this on to him for me?”
Hyuna carefully turned around and handed the bag to the secretary, asking her.
“But since you’ve come all this way, at least see his face…”
“No. Instead, please take good care of my oppa, no, your CEO.”
Then she added with a light bow of her head,
“And please scold him sometimes and tell him to go home.”
At that, the secretary froze very slightly for just a moment, then took the bag and replied,
“Yes, understood.”
A faint smile rested at the corners of the woman’s lips as well.
Now that it had been decided they would work on the project together.
“…”
Hyunseung and Jayble sat side by side in the control room, locked in a quiet battle of nerves.
“…”
The reason was simple. Neither of them could give up the job of making the central beat for the Worlds theme song.
“You’re the one who asked me to come all the way here to help, so you should yield.”
Jayble broke the silence first.
“I asked you to help, not to make it for me.”
Hyunseung refused firmly.
“But no matter who listens, the beat I made is far more complete. And isn’t the situation urgent right now?”
Jayble asked as though he had no intention of giving up.
Of course.
He could easily have just taken a supporting role, but he could not do that.
He could not say it out loud, but…
Jayble, too, was one of the players who liked the game called LoL.
Perhaps age could not be deceived.
His reactions were slow, so he was not exactly good at it, but he was confident that no one could beat the affection and time he had poured into the game.
Because of that, he had always thought about it.
If I ever get the chance to make the Worlds theme song…?
So whenever he had free time, he made theme songs on his own.
Songs of dedication offered to each season’s winning team.
So even if they had both made beats in the same amount of time, there was no choice but for his to be of higher quality than HS’s.
It was a little too embarrassing, at his age, to spell all that out in detail, so he intended to persuade HS by bringing up the tight schedule if he had to.
“So the beat should be the one I made…”
“No, there’s plenty of time.”
“What do you mean, plenty? You said you’d give it to them in three days.”
But Hyunseung only cut him off firmly.
“Yeah, so there’s plenty.”
He showed no sign whatsoever of backing down.
“If we finish composing in one day, record in one day, and do the mastering in one day before handing it over, then that’s all there is to it, isn’t it?”
At that, Jayble flared up, sharply lifting his eyes as he looked at Hyunseung.
“That’s easy to say. Aren’t you taking it too lightly just because it’s a game OST?”
Jayble had longed for the day he would get to make the Worlds theme song, and he had put more work into making practice versions of it than some of his actual jobs.
That was how deep his love for the game was, and because he knew the power a song like that carried, he could not make even a practice version carelessly.
“I’ve never taken it lightly.”
But Hyunseung was the same.
Even if not in this life, then in his previous one, he had been obsessed with LoL.
He had even supported the team and players he rooted for.
And that was not all.
He had once even managed to seize the chance to make the Worlds theme song.
And he had also once lost that chance.
So this time, he absolutely could not miss it.
“I’m simply confident that I can make a song more fitting for Worlds than anyone else.”
“Really? I’m confident too.”
“Then how about we each finish one within a day, listen to both, and decide?”
At those words, a fire of competitiveness flared up in Jayble for the first time in a long while.
Yes.
This feeling was something he could never possibly experience in Korea after HS left.
“Fine. We both have ears good enough to judge objectively whose song is better.”
“There are more than enough studios, so you may use whichever one you like.”
The two looked each other in the eye and smiled boldly.
Even though neither of them had started working yet, the room had already grown hot as though filled with blazing heat.
Before long Jayble boldly got up from his seat.
“Uh, by the way…”
He asked while fiddling with his reddened ears.
“Should I get Michelle to show me to a studio?”
It was not because his ears had grown hot from the heat in the room.
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