Genius Composer Who's a Dedicated Fan - Chapter 4

The famous singer-songwriter and CEO of RT Entertainment, Kang Beom-joon.

He was like a benefactor who greatly helped me to work as a professional composer.

In that sense, I still remember clearly.

“CEO.”

“Hm? What?”

“Why did you accept me into the company back then?”

“Ah, that?”

For some reason, Kang Beom-joon’s face grinned at my question.

He answered my question like this:

“These days, it’s not common to find an aspiring composer who visits agencies in person and asks them to listen to their songs, right? I felt some kind of desperation there.”

“It was certainly a bit of an old-fashioned method. But is that really all?”

“Hey, of course not. What did I say about your songs when I first evaluated them?”

“Um… I think you said they were all honest.”

“Right, honest. That was actually meant as quite a good thing.”

“…?”

However, I never got to hear from him about the meaning of ‘honest’.

Should I just think that I had quite a talent for composing, so he picked me up before others could?

And.

“But putting everything else aside, you have something that today’s kids don’t have. In that sense, your goal hasn’t changed, right?”

I nodded immediately to Kang Beom-joon’s question without even thinking.

My goal, or my dream, as a composer.

That is to have Baek Yerin sing my song.

When Kang Beom-joon first heard this, he laughed so loudly that I was rather surprised.

“Haha. Having some romance, whatever it may be, is really good. Honestly, I’m curious to see how your romance will end.”

Of course, I could feel that there was no mockery at all in that laughter.

Well… In the end, I showed him just an ordinary story, unlike his expectations.

An artist I liked so much that it turned my life upside down and wanted to work with.

That artist suddenly passed away, and the song I made missing her became a big hit.

It was quite an unremarkable story…

So I’m planning to change that unremarkable story from now on.

It was about 5 days after I started sending emails to Kang Beom-joon every morning asking for an evaluation of my self-composed songs.

[This is my phone number. Please contact me. As quickly as possible!]

Suddenly, a reply with his phone number came flying in.

Considering that it’s a busy time preparing for their first audition or something, I think the reply came quite quickly.

In the first place, it’s because it was Kang Beom-joon that I even got a proper reply like this.

Anyway.

Seeing his reply, it seems I’ve safely passed the first hurdle.

Anyone can see that this is the tone of someone who wants to see my face right now.

But what does it mean to see me in person here?

Actually, this applies in most situations.

Looking at just talent and ability, I’m a talent they want to snatch up right now… but they still want to know what kind of person I am before deciding on future actions.

Conversely, if there’s no problem after meeting in person, it means a fast-track recruitment offer will come.

Oh, by the way, that will absolutely not happen to me. Even if it’s the good-natured Kang Beom-joon.

“Hello! I’m Ryu Won who contacted you.”

Clatter-!

As soon as my energetic greeting ended, the man standing in front of me dropped his phone.

Hmm… It looks like a new model phone, I hope the screen didn’t crack?

Along with the worry that naturally arises in humans, the face of the man standing in front of me.

More precisely, the face of Kang Beom-joon, who seemed to have received a big shock, came into view.

I had roughly anticipated this situation from the moment I contacted him saying I would visit the headquarters in the afternoon, and received a reply that he would come out to greet me at the appointed time.

He’s probably denying reality right now, isn’t he?

The fact that I’m a student…

And a fresh-faced middle school student at that.

Then I can roughly guess the next reaction that will follow.

He’ll probably try to confirm if I’m the real ‘Ryu Won’ who sent the emails, just in case.

“Y-You’re Ryu Won? Then can you tell me what was the title of the song you sent me today?”

Hmm… As expected.

He’s such a transparent person, now as before.

“It’s <You Are Cherry Blossom>. On the first day, it was <Rewind>. Should I tell you the rest too?”

“Haha… Okay. At least it doesn’t seem to be a lie.”

I followed Kang Beom-joon and entered the headquarters building of RT Entertainment after a long time.

Maybe because it was just built, the interior of the building was a bit different from what I remembered.

But even that unfamiliar appearance wasn’t so bad.

Because it seemed to signal a new beginning.

* * *

“We only have Americano and instant coffee to drink.”

“Then I’ll have instant coffee please. I don’t really like things that are too bitter. But really, what taste do people drink Americano for?”

“You might change your mind a bit when you become an adult?”

Hmm… Not at all.

Unfortunately, my future taste buds won’t change much from now.

It was then.

“Apart from your composing skills, your taste buds are definitely that of a middle schooler.”

Kang Beom-joon said that as he sat on the sofa opposite me.

Unlike before, he seems to be treating me quite comfortably since entering the room.

He must have sorted out his thoughts to some extent.

By the way, there was a word in his speech just now that caught my attention quite a bit.

Actually, I was a bit curious too.

How my songs would sound to a professional’s ears at this point in time.

In that sense, let me probe a little.

“I was honestly a bit surprised when you said you wanted to meet me. Is it because of the songs I sent by email?”

“Hmm… I wonder if he really doesn’t know. Or is he pretending not to know on purpose.”

“Pardon?”

“First, let’s clarify one thing. What do you think about the songs you composed?”

Somehow, I suddenly found myself in the position of being questioned in reverse.

In my personal feeling, Kang Beom-joon is like a friendly neighborhood older brother. But when it comes to work matters, he becomes a somewhat different person.

Like now, when he’s looking at me with quite a serious expression.

By the way, I’m a bit worried about how to answer that question.

How do I think about my own songs… is it?

The question itself is difficult to begin with, and it’s a topic I’ve never thought about so seriously in my life.

But looking at Kang Beom-joon sitting in front of me, an answer suddenly flashed in my mind.

“Wouldn’t it be an honest feeling?”

Although I, who gave the answer, don’t know the exact meaning, wouldn’t it resonate differently with Kang Beom-joon, who gave this evaluation when he first heard my songs?

And as if my expectation was correct.

“Hahaha! You know too well!”

Kang Beom-joon laughed loudly.

That appearance was clearly one of having heard a satisfactory answer.

* * *

What exactly is an honest song?

This was the highest praise Kang Beom-joon, who makes music his profession, could give.

First, to define this, we need to think about where the rhythm and melody that keep making us create come from.

Kang Beom-joon thinks it comes from life itself.

And every life has its own story, and there are not just common and obvious stories, but stories that are pent up.

Such stories that can give a song-like resonance for a moment, even if not everyone can become an artist.

Inside them, there might be joy and sadness, anger and regret that the speaker themselves felt, pressed tightly.

It might be a story that must be told, that absolutely needs to be conveyed.

And such honestly revealed stories shake people’s hearts violently. It means they can sometimes make people cry, laugh, and be moved.

Then what if such pent-up stories were unraveled in the form of a song?

‘It would surely have to be a good song.’

That’s the kind of song Kang Beom-joon thinks of as an honest song.

It casually shakes people’s hearts and emotions. Like digging into the weakness of humans, who are animals of empathy, without resistance.

Of course, making such a song is not as easy as it sounds.

Generally, touching songs are obvious. Similar-sounding lyrics, similar-mood melodies, even the high-pitched parts shouted to give impact.

But the touching songs of those who make honest songs are fundamentally different in some way.

Most people can’t make such songs because they can’t define what that something is, and Kang Beom-joon thinks that is the realm of true talent.

In that sense, the boy sitting in front of him now was a ‘genius’. A genius who properly recognizes his own talent at that.

And if you think that he’s only 15 years old, a middle school student…

‘Scary.’

Kang Beom-joon, a well-known singer-songwriter in Korea and CEO of a new agency, swallowed hard.

He couldn’t help it.

A brilliant talent that he was ashamed to even compare to himself.

The songs this child sent were at a level that could cause a big ripple in the music market right now. Especially the last one, <Rewind>.

Kang Beom-joon was so excited to see what story this shining talent would bloom.

At the same time, he wanted to watch that story unfold right by his side.

In a way, hadn’t he been chosen by this child from the moment he was asked for an evaluation?

He was also curious about why he specifically asked him for an evaluation, but that was an issue to find out gradually…

“I really enjoyed listening to the songs you sent. No lie, I liked them all. The harmony and composition of the instruments, the overall completeness of the songs, there was nothing to fault anywhere.”

“Oh, really?”

“So, Ryu Won. Would you like to try composing professionally under me?”

First, he wanted to hold onto the boy in front of him.

If that was possible, he was willing to change all the plans he had made.

RT Entertainment’s historic first audition? Discovering and nurturing trainees with outstanding talent?

Yeah. That’s all good.

It’s all good, but let’s just put it on the back burner for a moment, just a moment.

“First, I’m planning to support you as much as possible with my name on it. Of course, I’ll help you release the songs you sent me as digital singles.”

“Hmm… Thank you for the good offer. But it’s true that I’m a bit hesitant.”

The boy began to seriously consider his proposal.

In a way, it’s natural.

After all, regardless of his outstanding talent, isn’t he still a teenager who doesn’t know much about the world?

Especially since it was a proposal that was no different from asking him to decide his career path outright, it’s understandable that he would hesitate.

At times like this, it’s right to give enough time to think.

But.

“You said earlier that you would help release my songs as digital singles, right?”

“Uh… that’s right?”

“Then can I choose the person who will record them myself?”

Hearing the question that came back, he had a feeling it might be quite simple.

Well, who sings the song you’ve composed with effort is a very important issue for a composer.

Especially at that age, he would want to entrust his song to a singer he likes even more.

Depending on who it is, the difficulty might vary a bit, but it wasn’t a particularly difficult request for Kang Beom-joon.

In the first place, the singer that child wants will not be able to refuse the offer once they hear that child’s song.

Because the songs that child makes have that kind of power.

“Okay. I’ll try my best to cast them within possible limits. As long as it’s not someone too unreasonable…”

“You really mean that?”

Suddenly, the boy’s… no, Ryu Won’s eyes changed.

If earlier they were literally the eyes of an innocent boy, now aren’t they like the eyes of a predator eyeing its prey?

“Alright. I’ll try composing under you, CEO. I’ll take care of getting my parents’ permission too.”

And he started to increase the pace frighteningly.

Feeling a chill somewhere at Ryu Won’s suddenly changed appearance, Kang Beom-joon hurriedly asked.

“W-Wait a moment. Who on earth do you want to entrust your song to?”

“Don’t worry too much. If you try a little, you should be able to cast them easily, CEO. Or would you like to go see together with me?”

“Go see together…?”

Kang Beom-joon wore a puzzled expression.

But it didn’t take long for his expression to change from puzzlement to bewilderment.

Because.

“We just need to go to Haneul Middle School. There happens to be that person’s festival performance scheduled in two days.”

The person Ryu Won wanted was a much more unreasonable figure than Kang Beom-joon had imagined…