Chapter 65: Cherry Blossom’s New Song (3)
Apparently, the fraudsters they had encountered before had claimed that one must register with an association and invest an initial sum before being able to debut as a composer. They also said Bang Seon-Woo had to buy all the necessary equipment for composing himself.
Kim Chun-Ja vented her frustration and confusion about that day. "Even though I'm uneducated, I know that's not how the world works. My son may be too naive and easily deceived, but not me."
Despite her rough manner, Kim Chun-Ja's deep maternal love was evident.
Lee Dong-Min and I reassured her repeatedly. "Don't worry, ma'am. We would never ask a composer to do such a thing! In fact, we pay the composers and provide them with equipment!"
Kim Chun-Ja's expression softened a bit as she looked at us. "Seeing how you speak, you don't seem like fraudsters. But I'll be watching you."
She finished speaking and slapped Bang Seon-Woo on the back.
Slap!
"What are you doing? You still haven’t offered our guests a drink?"
Bang Seon-Woo stretched his hand to his back and grumbled. "Ah, Mom! Stop hitting where I can't reach!"
Despite his complaints, Bang Seon-Woo brought some drinks from the fridge and then suggested we go upstairs, apologizing with an awkward expression. “I hope you understand our reaction. It’s only because I almost got deceived by bad people once."
"Don't worry. It's all right."
"Haha. Thank you for your understanding. Anyway, please come this way."
Bang Seon-Woo led us up the narrow stairs to the second floor. The first floor was a restaurant and the second was a family home encapsulating Kim Chun-Ja's lifetime of hard work.
As we stepped on the creaking stairs and headed upstairs, I could see the small rooms about three square meters each. Their house was clearly small.
Bang Seon-Woo scratched his head. "I’m sorry for the cramped space."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it."
Entering the room, I saw an old computer surrounded by used books and posters. The worn books, likely taken for free from a second-hand bookshop, were all music-related. Lee Dong-Min, who had been skeptical, now seemed somewhat reassured.
"Do you like Choi Tae-Sik?" Lee Dong-Min asked as he held an old magazine with Choi Tae-Sik's face on it.
At the mention of Choi Tae-Sik, Bang Seon-Woo's unconfident face lit up. "Choi Tae-Sik is the best. I can’t imagine how he could produce such albums twenty years ago. He's a genius. I am nothing compared to him..."
Twenty years ago, Choi Tae-Sik was a singer-songwriter who produced melodies that still wouldn't sound out of place today. He was popular in both indie and mainstream music scenes but preferred to stay out of the spotlight, so he wasn't widely known.
Lee Dong-Min nodded as if Bang Seon-Woo had passed some kind of test to check whether the man in front of him was genuine or not.
However, the most important thing, the music, was still to be heard. I secretly hoped that Bang Seon-Woo had at least ten songs ready.
"Can we listen to your music first?"
Bang Seon-Woo, who had been talking excitedly about Choi Tae-Sik, scratched his head. "Well, I did make some songs, but I haven't had formal training."
"We know you've been studying on your own."
Bang Seon-Woo blushed.
Lee Dong-Min stared at me intensely, but I ignored it and continued talking to Bang Seon-Woo. "Let's start with the songs you think are good and confident about."
"But um, I don't really know what's good. They all sound okay to me."
"Then please play them all for us."
"All? But there are about 50 songs."
"Wow, 50 songs?"
Bang Seon-Woo blushed, embarrassed to even call them songs. "Yes. B-but they are all still unfinished..."
"Let's just listen to them for now."
"Ah, okay."
Bang Seon-Woo tapped on his extremely slow and old MePad. Because it was a first-generation model, it took a while to respond to each press. After about 10 seconds, the first song composed by Bang Seon-Woo started playing from the MePad's speaker.
『Ding~Ding Ding? Ding?』
The song, seemingly one of his early works, had a simple melody line. The tempo fluctuated between slow and fast, creating a dynamic rhythm. Bang Seon-Woo's music made my heart flutter as it continuously gripped and then released it.
'Indeed, Epil K must have taken this person's songs!'
The melody line was exactly like Epil K's hit song ‘Doom Chit Do Doom Chit’ from my memory. Three minutes flew by in an instant.
Pleasantly surprised, Lee Dong-Min gasped and requested to hear all the songs. "C-could you play the next song, please?"
"Oh, yes. Of course."
Bang Seon-Woo nodded and set his MePad to continuous play. The symphony of music filling the small room made my heart race. One after another, each song captivated our hearts without fail.
‘This is incredible. There's nothing to omit. From simple ballads played only with an acoustic guitar to hip-hop, dance music, and even trot?’
Bang Seon-Woo’s songs were almost too good for the current Cherry Blossom. Though Bang Seon-Woo lacked professional arrangement techniques, that was something a producer could cover. The core emotions and expressiveness of the songs, which were the most important factors, seemed already complete.
My expertise was actually more in managing actors' filmographies than singers. But that didn't mean I was ignorant about music. After all, I had managed top singers and idols for a decade.
Relieved by Bang Seon-Woo's music, I turned to Lee Dong-Min beside me. His initially expressionless face, devoid of expectations, now displayed a blend of emotions. His face had turned from skepticism to sheer astonishment.
Meanwhile, Bang Seon-Woo's face across from us was flushed red, seemingly embarrassed to present such imperfect songs in front of people from a major entertainment company.
Time passed unnoticed, and before I knew it, the final notes of the last song faded away.
Lee Dong-Min spoke excitedly with an exhilarated expression. "Th-these songs are just... How long did it take you to make these? It must have taken an immense amount of time."
Bang Seon-Woo scratched his head. "W-well, my friend gave me this MePad a year ago and I actually started composing six months ago. Is that too slow?"
He looked deflated as he was expecting a critique after seeing our entranced faces while his music played.
However, his remark got us so dumbfounded that it was almost laughable.
"Oh, that's just unbelievable."
Lee Dong-Min's chuckle made Bang Seon-Woo misunderstand again. "So... it's inadequate."
Bang Seon-Woo hung his head low out of disappointment. He seemed to have lower self-esteem than I thought. I realized I needed to be more careful with my words around him.
Then, Lee Dong-Min suddenly extended his hand. "Inadequate? What absurdity! No, that's not what we meant at all. Mr. Seon-Woo, let's sign an exclusive contract with Hoop Entertainment right now!"
"I’m sorry?"
"We'll pay you properly for the songs. We'll offer you the best treatment for a rookie composer. But the condition is that you contract all the songs you've just played with us."
"B-but that's..."
"Oh, and we'll also provide you with a studio. Especially that 15th song—it's great. Do you happen to know about Cherry Blossom? They're from our Singer Division 2..."
Perhaps influenced by Lee Dong-Min's enthusiastic talk as he recognized the value of the songs, Bang Seon-Woo's expression started to change gradually. His once gloomy expression started to dissipate, unveiling a glimmer of hope.
"R-really? You're not... lying, are you?"
When Bang Seon-Woo asked again, Lee Dong-Min stood up. "Let's not waste time. Why don’t we go and sign the contract right now? Oh, and I'll buy you the latest MePad right away. Also, we need to back up the data on that MePad. How should we do this?"
Lee Dong-Min hopped around while looking at the old and shabby first-generation MePad in Bang Seon-Woo's hand as he worried about the potential data loss.
"I remember all the tunes I've recorded, so I can just transfer them without this. It'll only take a day to re-record them anyway."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. If it's the 15th song, it goes like this: Da-dada da! Da!'"
Watching Bang Seon-Woo accurately imitate his melody lines, Lee Dong-Min breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wow, a true genius does exist."
Lee Dong-Min and Bang Seon-Woo stood up excitedly, but I stopped them as they were about to leave the room.
"Um, Mr. Seon-Woo."
"Yes?"
"Please remove all the songs you have uploaded on the website right now. And once you’ve transferred the files from the MePad, delete them all. Of course, set a password on your new tablet, and we will replace all the equipment with ones having better security."
Bang Seon-Woo tilted his head out of curiosity at my specific instructions. "D-do I need to do that for the contract? I'm more comfortable using the old one."
Bang Seon-Woo fiddled with the first-generation MePad, looking troubled.
‘It must be a cherished item.’
However, I had to be firm as the incident about Bang Seon-Woo in my planner had not disappeared yet.
[Everyday V10]
[Date: July 1, 2022]
-01:00 PM Suwon St. Mary's Hospital Funeral Hall Room 8. Bang Seon-Woo's funeral service. Starts at 9 AM.
I was worried that the songs might leak if he lost his MePad. For this reason, I shared my concerns about plagiarism with Lee Dong-Min and Bang Seon-Woo.
Fortunately, Lee Dong-Min understood my intention and persuaded Bang Seon-Woo. "The boundary of plagiarism is so vague that there are many who just imitate the melody lines. As our assistant manager said, please take down the songs uploaded on the website, and let's be as careful as possible with security."
Bang Seon-Woo nodded. "I understand. I will do as you ask."
"You made the right decision. Plagiarism lawsuits can be really messy."
As we talked, Bang Seon-Woo also told us about the entertainment company that had visited him before us.
'Uncle Music?'
I had never heard of such a company before.
Bang Seon-Woo scratched his head as he mentioned he was unsure where he had put the business card they gave him. "I only played them two songs I posted on the amateur composer's website."
Lee Dong-Min seemed impatient. "Hm, is that so? Well, we’ll need to register the copyright for the songs as soon as we get back to the company."
"Can my songs be copyrighted? But they're still unfinished."
"That's good enough. We just need to decide on the titles for now. We can simply register them again once we actually release the album."
Bang Seon-Woo panickedly waved his hand. "I don't have any money to register my songs..."
"Mr. Bang, please don't worry about those costs. The company will cover them. All you need to do is just sign with us, and you don't have to worry about anything else."
Bang Seon-Woo's face lit up again. "I will do as instructed."
That was when I understood Kim Chun-Ja's worries. Being recognized for his talent, Bang Seon-Woo was ready to agree to anything with his face beaming like a child. His innocence was evident in every single action. He was truly a perfect target for scams.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
Only then did I realize that it had been over two hours since we entered the room.
"Who is it? Is it you, Mom?"
"How long are you going to make me wait, Gwi-Nam?"
"Ah, Mom. We're all done now. And it's Seon-Woo, not Gwi-Nam!"
When the annoyed Bang Seon-Woo opened the door, Kim Chun-Ja stood there with a stern expression.
"Sir, if you're done talking with my son, why don't you come down and continue your discussion with me over tea?"
'Sir?'
The level of respect in her address had risen from ‘you people' to 'sir.' However, her expression was still stern and skeptical.
As we went downstairs, I noticed that the restaurant was already closed. The shutter door was fully down, and the sign's light was off. Although the restaurant usually operated until 2 AM, it was closed by 9 PM today.
"Mom, why did you close the restaurant so early?"
"Running the restaurant isn’t our priority in this situation."
It seemed she had closed the restaurant early solely out of concern for her son. I couldn't help but find Kim Chun-Ja's rough speech endearing in its way.
Kim Chun-Ja set down four cups of tea and looked at us, then asked directly, "Do you really think my son's songs are good? For real?"
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