Inside the studio at TM Entertainment’s office.
In just a few days, ominous rumors had begun circling around that place.
“I heard anyone who goes in there comes back out half-dead after a few days. Did you know?”
“Yeah, I heard that too. But they’re all artists from LS Entertainment, aren’t they? Why would they be coming here?”
“That’s not the important part. The important part is, once someone goes in there, they don’t come back out.”
The employees passing by the studio door were too busy whispering and pointing at it.
To them, it probably looked something like a haunted house.
Of course, it was not quite a haunted house…
More like a devil’s studio.
That would have suited it perfectly.
“Hoo…”
The moment he finished his schedule, Ahn Jiho bought a load of coffee and headed for the studio.
This place was giving off so much heat that just standing in front of the door made it burdensome to go in…
“Oh, the coffee’s here?”
“My name isn’t Coffee, you know.”
It was the studio where Hyunseung had temporarily set up shop.
“That aside, you should really replace the equipment.”
He had asked to use TM Entertainment’s studio for a few days instead of the LS Entertainment studio he originally used, and the CEO had readily agreed.
Since they were already in a cooperative relationship to begin with, there had been no reason to refuse, and since he had promised to give The Moon a song, there was even less reason to refuse.
“As if we’ve got that kind of money. We barely managed to move offices, and even paying the staff salaries is tight.”
“Really? Then you should’ve hustled harder.”
“That’s too much to say to the person who brought coffee while busy.”
Though Ahn Jiho grumbled, he handed over the coffee without saying much more.
“Th-thank you.”
He also passed one to Kang Hajun, who came staggering out of the booth like a baby foal struggling on its legs.
He was…
the fifth instrument currently being sacrificed to the devil.
What number am I, then?
Thinking that, Ahn Jiho slowly looked over Kang Hajun’s face, no, the state of him.
That face had definitely once been pale and glowing…
But now his cheeks were gaunt compared to yesterday, and his skin had roughened, showing just how exhausting this recording had been.
This is really cruel.
Even in a situation like this, there was still one person who looked perfectly fine…
“I’m taking two.”
It was Jayble.
“Now then, this one is for Miss Michelle. You must be tired, so please drink this while having a little chat with me…”
As if he had bought it himself, he took the coffee, handed it to Michelle, Hyunseung’s secretary, and flirted with her.
He’s persistent.
That was all Ahn Jiho could think, that the man was persistent in every possible way.
And for good reason.
This was already Hyunseung’s seventh day working here.
Which meant…
It was also Ahn Jiho’s seventh day running coffee errands to this studio.
“How are you able to stay so composed and lofty like that?”
All this time, Jayble had been endlessly pining after the secretary’s affection. It was hard to tell whether he had come here to work or to flirt.
Ah.
Of course, the moment work began, he turned into someone who directed things so fiercely it looked like he was ready to clash head-on with Hyunseung…
So Ahn Jiho could not simply dismiss him as someone who had come only to fool around romantically.
Yes.
Just the fact that he was still staying here with HS already made him a man of persistence.
But just how long were they planning to keep this work going?
Not one or two people, but already the fifth one. At this point, even a tiger would probably faint.
Creeeak.
Ahn Jiho was looking at the back of Hyunseung’s head and thinking, He might not even be human, when that happened.
“My, did I come too early in my impatience?”
The door opened, and Moon Beomjae walked in with a gentle smile.
By now, even Moon Beomjae, the man now called a legend of rock, only looked like the sixth sacrifice to Ahn Jiho.
“Ah, you’re here.”
Unlike the attitude he had shown the others until now, Hyunseung rose from his seat and greeted him politely.
That alone was enough to make it clear once more just how great a singer Moon Beomjae was.
“We just finished Kang Hajun’s session, but would it be all right if we started your session after a short while?”
“Of course. You should take a break too.”
“It’s not that I’m trying to rest.”
Just as Hyunseung was about to add something.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was a sound from beyond the studio door.
“Right on time.”
Adding that they had come at just the right moment, Hyunseung swung the studio door open.
Then several men who looked, no matter how you looked at them, like delivery workers squeezed into the studio carrying huge cardboard boxes.
“What on earth is all this…”
Ahn Jiho muttered in confusion as he stared at the mysterious boxes filling up the studio.
“I felt the equipment was a little lacking for working with Teacher.”
‘That sounds suspiciously like something you said for my benefit…’
“I’m going to replace the equipment first, so why don’t you go have a meal with me in the meantime?”
As though elaborating on his muttered thoughts, Hyunseung answered while looking at Moon Beomjae.
But he had just been scolding them about replacing the equipment, and now he was going and swapping everything out for the newest gear…
A sharp ache suddenly rose in the bridge of Ahn Jiho’s nose, and he quickly turned away. Fortunately, Hyunseung was looking at Moon Beomjae and did not see it.
If he had, he surely would have mocked him for at least another month.
“What?”
The person who reacted faster than anyone else was Kang Hajun.
“W-wait a second!”
The man who had looked like a candle flame trembling in the wind just moments ago, ready to go out at any second, suddenly leapt up and shouted.
“Th-then please rerecord mine too with the replaced equipment!”
At that sight, goosebumps ran over Ahn Jiho, and the tears vanished right out of his eyes.
Maybe…
Kang Hajun was not human either.
The next day.
The A&R department inside the LS Entertainment building was in a full-blown emergency.
“This is freaking insane…!”
Because out of nowhere, Hyunseung had sent over no fewer than five audio files.
And not just rough files, either. The recording was already completely finished, with only the mastering work left.
Of course.
Not long ago, they had seen through the news that Hyunseung had entered Korea.
Still, since he had not separately come by the building, they had assumed he must have come for personal business or maybe for work with the group 4WAY.
The result of that easygoing assumption was that the engineering room now looked as though a bomb had gone off.
“Hey, are your hands idle right now?”
The moment one engineer saw his junior, Gi Yeonseon, sitting there blankly with headphones on, his voice turned sharp.
This was a situation where every second counted.
With not one song but five arriving at once, it was no different from a state of emergency.
He had already contacted his wife to tell her he might not be able to come home for a few days.
And yet, in the middle of all this, the guy was just sitting there in a daze?
“H-hey, no, it’s just…”
Gi Yeonseon trailed off while clutching the headphones tightly with both hands, like a child afraid someone was about to snatch away his toy.
It did not look like he was afraid of getting scolded.
Really.
He just looked blank, as though his mind had been sucked off somewhere else.
“What’s wrong with you?”
The engineer suddenly worried that Gi Yeonseon had gone mad from the excessive workload and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“S-senior, this, this…”
“This what?”
“These are the same tracks that came in last time, right?”
What Gi Yeonseon finally managed to say was such a ridiculous question that it left him baffled.
‘What on earth was he talking about?’
The engineer had not yet listened to the newly arrived tracks, so he could not understand what he meant.
If that was the case, then there was only one thing to do.
“Give me that.”
The engineer swiftly snatched away the headphones Gi Yeonseon was wearing, put them on, and replayed the track in question.
♬ ♬ ♬
Huh? Wait a second…
♬ ♬ ♬
Sensing that something was odd, the engineer played another one of the tracks that had come in.
♬ ♬ ♬
As if possessed, the engineer groped with trembling hands and kept checking one incoming track after another.
♬ ♬ ♬
And the more he did, the more his eyes, like Gi Yeonseon’s just moments earlier, grew hazy and vacant.
♬ ♬ ♬
Before long, the engineer met Gi Yeonseon’s gaze in midair.
Neither of them said a word, but they were exchanging the same thought and emotion.
‘These are on a completely different level from the tracks he sent last time, aren’t they?’
They were songs that seemed similar to the audio files he had sent over the other day, and yet were unmistakably running on a completely different axis.
Simply adding vocals could not explain why they felt that way.
But then one question remained.
Was this even possible in such a short amount of time?
It seemed difficult enough even if you only focused on this one project.
“Haa….”
Taking off the headphones, the engineer let out the breath he had been holding.
Yes, he had forgotten for a moment.
That for Hyunseung, this was easy enough that it was not even worth discussing whether it was possible or impossible.
At this rate, it looked all but certain that Korea would be thrown into another uproar again before long.
Sitting in the back seat of the car that should have been the most comfortable place of all, Jeon Namil kept adjusting his tie, as though something was bothering him.
“Ahem!”
Before long, the feeling that something was caught in his throat grew strong enough that he even started clearing it.
Hmm…
Checking him through the rearview mirror, the driver tilted his head.
He had been serving him for over ten years, but the man looked strangely unsettled in a way that was unlike him.
“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
The driver carefully asked after watching him for a moment.
What if he really was feeling bad somewhere?
“No. Just hurry a little more.”
However, in the same flat tone he always used, Jeon Namil gave only a brief reply and turned his gaze toward the window.
‘Who is he going to meet, for him to be like this…’
The place they were heading to was Danaa, one of Seoul’s finest Korean traditional dining restaurants, where Jeon Namil usually went when entertaining close associates or important people.
Which meant… for Jeon Namil to look that tense meant he was not meeting a close associate, but someone extremely important.
Screeech.
Following his instructions, the driver sped through the clogged roads and finished parking in front of the restaurant.
‘Please wait just a mo…’
As always, he was about to open the driver’s door so he could get out and open the back for him.
Thunk!
But Jeon Namil had already gotten out of the car.
“Honestly, maybe the sun really will rise in the west tomorrow…”
The driver muttered as he looked at Jeon Namil’s hurrying back.
———-
The man sitting across from Jeon Namil felt incredibly difficult to deal with.
He was certainly someone Jeon Namil had never felt comfortable around, but he had never felt difficult around him either.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
Yes.
Because once, long ago, he had been a composer signed under his company.
Now, he had become the head of a label that was gradually beginning to earn recognition even on American soil.
“Ah.”
Only then did Jeon Namil realize that he had been staring blankly at Hyunseung seated across from him without even picking up his spoon.
“I’m not very hungry, so you can take your time eating.”
“Yes. Then I’ll gratefully eat at ease. It’s been a very long time since I last had a full Korean course meal.”
With that, as if determined to prove his own words, Hyunseung went on eating the endless stream of course dishes.
Clatter, clatter.
Only when Jeon Namil reached the point of wondering where on earth is all that food even going did Hyunseung’s hand finally stop.
“This place tastes good no matter when I come.”
Hyunseung leisurely took a sip of the cinnamon punch served after the meal and finally spoke.
“By the way, why did you want to see me? I doubt you called me here just to stuff a goose that’s already flown the nest.”
At those words, Jeon Namil narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Since you’ve spoken so directly first, I’ll be equally blunt.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I’d like to request that you revise the terms of the cooperation contract we signed before.”
“What term?”
“Not five songs a year. Ten songs a year.”
He revealed the reason for the meeting with a bluntness that was almost shameless.
And for good reason.
That very morning, Jeon Namil had received a report through the A&R department head that Hyunseung had sent over new audio files.
And those files all were said to be of such quality that the engineers were heaping praise on them.
Even if they had maintained a good relationship with Hyunseung, they were not the kind of people who would hesitate to say flatly that a track was no good if that was the case.
Especially.
Since the songs had been sent by someone who had already left, they had not expected much, yet even so, they were apparently flawless, and that was not something he could help coveting.
“Hm, this time I sent you six songs instead of five as a special case, and yet your greed is pretty excessive.”
“I know. But as you are aware, LS Entertainment has an enormous number of artists. We also have trainees overflowing.”
“I’d heard you also have a lot of exclusive composers.”
“I’m not asking for it for free. Naturally, there would have to be some additional condition attached in return.”
“Really?”
“If there is anything you want, just say it, and we’ll negotiate and adjust things between us.”
Jeon Namil spoke in the most relaxed, benevolent tone he could manage as he lifted his teacup.
No matter how plausible his words sounded, though, his throat was drying out like land in a drought.
The truth was, Hyunseung was not someone who had anything to regret losing right now.
A share in LS Entertainment, a high settlement ratio.
Those were merely tools to curry favor.
Jeon Namil knew all too well that they did not carry enough weight to move Hyunseung.
“Hmm…”
Hyunseung scratched his chin, looking as though he had sunk into deep thought.
And the more he did, the drier Jeon Namil’s throat became.
Gulp, gulp.
In the end, Jeon Namil had just finished draining his cinnamon punch in one go when,
“Tanghulu ASMR mukbang?”
At the words that came out of Hyunseung’s mouth, the cinnamon punch he had been holding in his mouth finally burst right back out.
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