God of Music Chapter 164

Chapter 164

G.o.d of Music Chapter 164 . Black Music Suits No One (2)

Before she went to s.h.i.+heung for her event, Seo HanYu visited the company to talk with KangYoon .

She finished the talk with KangYoon inside the studio, and just as she was about to leave, she met Park SoYoung who was just leaving White Moonlight’s practice room .

“Huh? Unni, h.e.l.lo . ”

“HanYu . ”

When Seo HanYu greeted her, Park SoYoung waved back . As she was still a little unsettled being inside World Entertainment, Seo HanYu was one of the nice people that approached her .

“HanYu, are you going to your next schedule?”

“Yes, what about you unni?”

“You know what kind of situation I’m in, I’m practicing . ”

The two people headed towards the rooftop . As World Entertainment didn’t have a proper resting venue, the rooftop was always used as the resting place .

The two sat down on a bench on the rooftop and started talking .

“Unni, is the song going well?”

“It’s not easy . Both HeeYoon and the president are amazing people… I need to reach their level quickly…”

Park SoYoung sighed slightly . When she did, Seo HanYu closed in on her and spoke softly .

“Among the songs on White Moonlight’s alb.u.m, I liked your song the best . Especially that last track, ‘I Want To Tell You’ . I even cried when the song said ‘Dreams don’t disappear even if the tears well up . ’”

“Thank you for telling me that, HanYu . ”

Park SoYoung was thankful to Seo HanYu, who acknowledged her work .

Muse, the exclusive composer for World Entertainment, always produced hit songs . Moreover, Kim JaeHoon and Lee HyunAh could write songs for themselves as well .

The only one to acknowledge her, a newbie to this industry, was Seo HanYu if you excluded KangYoon and Lee HyunAh .

“You should teach me too sometime . I’ve always wanted to learn music . ”

“Really? Okay then . Tell me again once your activity period is over . Well, I guess you’ll be teaching me how to dance then?”

“Should I? It will be fun to teach each other . ”

Seo HanYu and Park SoYoung got along very well with each other . Their rooftop talk became more active as time went on .

“How was it in Daecheon yesterday? I heard there were many muscular men at the beach nowadays, is it true?”

“There were a lot of people with good body figures . Yesterday, the event got delayed a little and we were waiting when…”

Unlike Park SoYoung’s excited att.i.tude, Seo HanYu was rather calm about it . She talked about how Ailee gave an autograph on the abs of some men as well as other stories that happened at the beach .

When she did, Park SoYoung looked at her with envious eyes .

“Wow, I’m so envious . I’ve never been to the beach this year . ”

“No way . I was at the beach, but I’ve never dipped myself . Do you know how frustrating it is to not be able to do anything when you’re actually there? I wanted to wear a bikini this year… I’ve never worn it once in my life . ”

“Really?”

Park SoYoung’s eyes widened . A pretty lady with a thin figure like Seo HanYu had never worn a bikini before… especially as a celebrity? This came as a shock to her .

“The other unnis have tried them on when they went traveling overseas, but MinAh-unni and I have never worn them . ”

“That’s such a pity . Both you and MinAh have such pretty figures?”

“I guess there’s no helping it . We are busy after all . Some day I’ll… huh? President . ”

When Seo HanYu was about to express her disappointment, the door to the rooftop opened and KangYoon came out .

He took out some cigarettes but immediately put them back in before he greeted them .

“HanYu . You haven’t gone yet?”

“Not yet . There was some time left so I was chatting with SoYoung-unni . I’m also waiting for manager-oppa . ”

“Mr . DaeHyun should be coming over from taking MinAh to her schedule? You are all quite busy . Did the director go to MinAh?”

“She probably did . I heard she had something to say to the staff over there . ”

They were talking when the door to the rooftop opened once again, and this time, a man, who was out of breath, came in . It was manager Kim DaeHyun, who had come to pick Seo hanYu up .

“*pant, pant* . HanYu, let’s go . ”

“Yes . Thank you for all your work, president, and you too unni . I’ll be off then . ”

Seo HanYu offered manager Kim DaeHyun some tissue paper before saying goodbye .

“Have a safe trip . ”

Park SoYoung waved her hand and greeted her out .

Like that, Park SoYoung and KangYoon were the only ones left on the rooftop . KangYoon had a look at his watch before speaking .

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yes . Are we going there now?”

“Let’s go in 10 minutes . Shall we see at the entrance?”

“Okay . ”

In the afternoon, they had an appointment with professor Choi ChanYang . KangYoon asked him if it was okay to bring Park SoYoung along, and he was given approval . He was taking her just in case Park SoYoung could learn anything from their exchange .

KangYoon asked Park SoYoung carefully as she stood there blankly .

“Uhm, SoYoung . You must go down and get ready, no?”

“Huh? Oh, I don’t have anything to take with me . ”

“R, really?”

KangYoon was a little fl.u.s.tered . He was fiddling around with a cigarette in his pocket .

Seeing that, Park SoYoung spoke carefully .

“HeeYoon told me to watch over you because you need to quit smoking . ”

“……”

Hearing those words, KangYoon had to leave the rooftop .

***

As the students were on holiday, Hallyeo Arts University was rather empty .

The hills that would usually be crowded with couples were empty, while only some students could be seen doing club activities .

Professor Choi ChanYang was looking at the campus through the window in his office .

“ChanYang . What are you looking at?”

Someone spoke to him from behind as he watched the scenery outside . It was Park TaeSung, a popular ballad composer as well as a professor at the same university .

Professor Choi ChanYang finally turned around and sat down .

“I was looking at the students . The romantic couple over there is quite cute . ”

“Really? All I see is the boy having a hard time matching the girl . ”

“Hahaha…”

Professor Choi ChanYang laughed awkwardly when Park TaeSung voiced his rather pessimistic opinion .

Not minding him, Park TaeSung sipped his coffee while crossing his legs . Although his thick, short legs weren’t easy to be crossed, he ended up doing it anyway .

Professor Choi ChanYang tilted his head while looking at the score that the other had brought him .

‘I think he’s trying something new here… but I think G will be better after C . I mean, F is okay, but why did he put a B flat here? It feels rather unnatural . ’

Professor Choi ChanYang tilted his head . This could be considered to be a trial of something new that ended awkwardly .

When he stopped talking, composer Park TaeSung urged him to speak out of curiosity .

“How is it? Do you think it’s strange as well?”

“…I think you tried a lot of new things here . ”

“Oh, I knew it . You do get it . You’re right . I felt like I was. .h.i.tting a wall so I tried out a new style this time . Isn’t it good?”

Park TaeSung, as a composer, had a lot of obstinacies . His pride seemed to have taken a hit after his song was rejected by Sedy, and he wanted to listen to some acknowledgments .

‘What am I supposed to say?’

If he spoke his honest opinion, it might touch upon the other’s pride, and to just overlook this, it looked like this would become a problem . He was in a dilemma .

At that moment, there was a knock on his door . Soon, the door opened and two people came in . It was KangYoon and Park SoYoung .

“Come on in, Mr . KangYoon . SoYoung . It’s been a long time . ”

“h.e.l.lo, professor . Oh! Professor Park!”

Park SoYoung seemed to be in close terms with composer Park TaeSung as well as she greeted him rather cheerfully . Park TaeSung also had a nice expression on his face .

“Oh my, SoYoung . It’s been a long time . How have you been doing?”

“I’ve been doing okay . You’re as handsome as ever, professor . ”

“Hahaha . ”

Park SoYoung at college was quite a cheerful girl . She looked very cheerful to have met someone she knew here .

She greeted professor Park TaeSung while professor Choi ChanYang introduced him to KangYoon .

“Oho! World Entertainment! That’s where HyunAh is, huh? I’m watching rather closely as well . It’s an honor to meet you . I’m Park TaeSung . ”

“I’m Lee KangYoon . It’s an honor for me to meet a famous composer as well . ”

The two shook hands .

Lee HyunAh of White Moonlight was from Hallyeo Arts University as well . Moreover, World Entertainment also possessed superstars like Kim JaeHoon and Eddios . There was also the rising star Kim JiMin as well . World Entertainment was a hot issue amongst the professors and students of Hallyeo Arts University .

KangYoon’s eyes also shone when he saw someone unexpected here .

‘I did know that composer Park TaeSung worked at Hallyeo Arts University but I didn’t expect to see him here . I wonder what happened to the song that he gave to JunYeol?’

He remembered back to the time when Lee JunYeol became angry .

The four people spoke about World Entertainment . Park TaeSung seemed to have a lot of interest in World Entertainment as he asked KangYoon various things .

“Recently, a lot of students are interested in World Entertainment . You’ve produced 4 artists in the last year and they were all hugely successful . From existing singers to new ones… They are all wondering how you managed to make Eddios and Kim JaeHoon come back to the industry . I’ve always wanted to meet you . ”

Hearing his words, KangYoon smiled sheepishly and shrugged .

“Not at all . It was largely due to luck . Both JaeHoon and Eddios have put a lot of effort in too . I only supported them from the side . ”

“You are even humble as well . Well, I did hear about you from professor Choi here, but I have to say . You’re exactly as he says . ”

“You overpraise me . ”

KangYoon was rather wary when he was flattered so much . In society, being praised so much sometimes had hidden intentions . Though, there didn’t seem to be one yet .

They finished talking about World Entertainment and KangYoon turned his eyes to the score on the table . It was the same one as the one he received from Lee JunYeol .

“Is this score yours, composer?”

When he asked, the composer smiled and nodded his head .

“It is . Oh, now that I think about it . Don’t you have your way with composing as well, president?”

“It’s a minor parlor trick . ”

“Oh no, you can’t say that . You’re one half of Muse . If it’s alright with you, can you have a look at my song?”

In other situations, he would have accepted it readily, but KangYoon hesitated this time . He didn’t want to listen to a black-colored song again . He didn’t want to drink poison knowing it was toxic .

However, composer Park TaeSung looked so desperate so he couldn’t refuse either .

“I may be lacking in skills, but… SoYoung . Why don’t we have a look at this together?”

“Yes . ”

Park SoYoung, who had stayed quiet all this time, also stood up and headed to the synthesizer with KangYoon .

‘Phew… . ’

KangYoon sighed . The score didn’t seem to have any changes from the one he got from Lee JunYeol .

‘Should I play this, or not?’

He didn’t even want to put his hands on the keyboard . The black-colored music just gave him that much pressure . It affected his emotions and physical condition .

At that time, Park SoYoung found that KangYoon’s hands were shaking . She found that strange and quietly whispered to him .

‘President, shall I do it?’

‘Huh?’

‘I’ll play it, so you can see it . I think that will be for the better . ’

KangYoon was very glad to see her be so considerate .

‘Can you please?’

‘Of course . ’

KangYoon let Park SoYoung play and returned to his seat before closing his eyes . This was in order to not see the light .

Park TaeSung thought that this was just a habit of KangYoon’s and did not say much about it .

Soon, Park SoYoung started playing .

‘Fuu… . . ’

The notes combined to create black light . It wasn’t that different from when Lee JunYeol made him listen .

As he closed his eyes, he didn’t see the black light . Fortunately, he was able to avoid his emotions being negatively influenced, but the sticky feeling couldn’t be avoided .

The 3-minute long music ended quite soon .

“How is it?”

After the song, Park TaeSung asked for his opinion with his eyes s.h.i.+ning .

‘I had my doubts but as I expected…’

KangYoon sighed slightly while looking at the score .

The awkwardness of transitioning from C to F to B flat did not change at all . With the intro being awkward, everything else went astray as well . In the end, KangYoon had to shake his head .

Seeing his reaction, Park TaeSung’s expression turned dark .

“Haa… I wanted to try something new… but it was bad after all . Both you and professor Choi… . ”

Park TaeSung looked down .

With the singer, a composer like him, and even KangYoon having a bad opinion, he couldn’t get angry anymore . The damage to his pride was one thing, but the bigger problem was that he couldn’t get a grasp on composing right now .

Seeing Park TaeSung dejected, KangYoon carefully spoke .

“I don’t know more music than you do, composer, but… may I say something?”

“…Please do . ”

Park TaeSung raised his head . His powerless smile could be seen by everyone present .

KangYoon calmly spoke about his opinion .

“In my opinion, I think you tried to show too many things here and that may have lead to problems . ”

“Tried to show many things? Do you mean to ask why I used a strange chord progression and melodies when I could just use the normal ones?”

“Not quite . This is just a personal opinion, but I think it will be okay to use simple chords and melodies rather than fancy and complex ones . Ones that bring out the best of a singer . ”

“Simple ones?”

When Park TaeSung asked back, KangYoon nodded his head and spoke .

“Indeed . If it were up to me . I would have gone C to G then Am – G – F – Em – Dm then G again . That will solve both the stability and the technique . I think it will be better even while considering the variations at the back . ”

“……”

Composer Park TaeSung became quiet . Although it was him seeking advice, it wasn’t easy to accept musical advice from someone as he himself was one of the top-tier ones in the industry .

However, he was someone with a wide heart .

“…It looks like I was too greedy . ”

He sighed and emptied the mug of coffee .

“Simple, huh… You’re right, president . I’ve tried many things to overcome my block during the past year . That’s what led me to try something absurd like this . Haha, but the answer actually lay in simplicity…”

“……”

“Simplicity . The fundamentals, the basics, huh…”

Park TaeSung reminded himself of those words several times . It was as though he was trying to never forget those words .

KangYoon waited until he finished clearing his mind .

‘That’s what composers are . They are beings that are evaluated both by the singers and the public . They always have to find new things so they should be very stressed out . They will be left behind if they can’t follow the trend, and in order to keep up with the trend, they always have to think up new things . This block should be a result of that . ’

KangYoon understood what Park TaeSung felt like .

Eventually, he smiled in understanding .

“Hahaha . That’s very refres.h.i.+ng . It reminds me of the old days as well . In the end, it’s all about the basics . Haha, I feel like I’ve taken a hit . I’ve heard something precious today . I will never forget what you’ve given me today . ”

Park TaeSung stood up and bowed to KangYoon . KangYoon abruptly stood up due to the sudden turn of events .

“Please don’t do this . I only spoke about my personal opinion . ”

“Not at all . This was something necessary for me . Thank you very much . Professor Choi never stopped praising you when we talked… and now I get why . ”

Professor Choi ChanYang, embarra.s.sed, smiled when he heard that .

Park TaeSung smiled brightly as though a weight was lifted off his shoulders . He took his score and stood up .

“I don’t think I should be staying here . I’ll fix it immediately and take it to Sedy . I feel good this time . I think I can make something that will satisfy him . ”

“I hope you do well . ”

KangYoon and Park TaeSung shook hands .

‘Wow… . ’

Seeing that KangYoon was at the same level as some of the highest-level people in the industry, Park SoYoung’s eyes gleamed .

***

After a dinner with professor Choi ChanYang, KangYoon and Park SoYoung walked towards the subway station .

“SoYoung . How was it today?”

KangYoon asked as they pa.s.sed under a streetlight and Park SoYoung replied with a flushed expression .

“It was very fun . The composition is the scenario, the rearrangement is the production, and setting the stage for the main character that is the singer . The stage can be a string, wind, and other sounds as well . Also…”

(T/N: I’m 100% sure I don’t understand what she’s saying, so don’t expect a correct translation of that…)

She listed the things that KangYoon and professor Choi ChanYang talked about . She knew very well that each of those points was things that she would not forget .

KangYoon replied with a satisfied expression on his face .

“Good . Remember that when we’re working for the company . Let’s do this . ”

“Yes . ”

“And also…”

KangYoon had a strong emphasis in his voice . Park SoYoung also stopped walking as she realized that he was about to say something important .

“It’s not that you are less skilled than HeeYoon is . ”

“Ah… . ”

“You may lack some theoretical knowledge compared to her, but I don’t think that’s the deciding factor in music composition . You and HeeYoon have completely different personalities . I believe that you can make a song that HeeYoon can’t . ”

“……”

Park SoYoung gulped .

The reason KangYoon decided to bring her here was to say this . She believed that she was temporarily hired because she was a little talented and knew about White Moonlight’s songs well .

However, KangYoon actually had more faith in her than she did in herself . She knew that KangYoon wasn’t someone to say empty words .

‘Yes!”

She resolved herself to return his faith with achievements .