Chapter 11. Never give up (3)
The next day.
Lee Hyun took a taxi to Nike Entertainment.
As they don't have a celebrity yet, Lee Hyun hadn't bothered to buy a car or a van.
They already have money problems.
So, buying a vehicle would be detrimental to them. That's why, despite being the President of an agency, Lee Hyun was taking a taxi.
'It's pretty big.'
Lee Hyun thought, standing outside Nike Entertainment.
Nike Entertainment was a mid sized agency but their office was pretty big. It was a six storey building that looked lavish from outside.
After taking a glance at it, Lee Hyun entered the building.
"Are you Mr. Lee Hyun?"
"Yes."
There was already someone waiting for him there. He looked like an assistant and Lee Hyun followed him to the fourth floor.
The fourth floor was where the director office was located.
Lee Hyun entered the director's office with a calm expression on his face. He didn't feel intimidated by someone with the position of a director.
He had dinners with CEOs and Chairmans before. A director was like a kid in front of them.
"So, you are Midas. It's nice to meet you."
"You can just call me Lee Hyun."
Midas!
That was the name Lee Hyun had decided on for his composer self. It looked like a classy name, but there was one reason Lee Hyun had decided on it.
'I want to get back the title of Midas of music.'
After giving flops for two years, Lee Hyun had lost the title of Midas of music in his past life .
This time, he wanted to get the title again. That's why he used Midas instead of his real name.
"Let's sit and talk."
The director offered him tea and both of them sat down on the sofa.
'He looks like a kind middle aged man.'
Lee Hyun observed the director's face after sitting down.
He looked like a next door neighbour that would greet you every time you came across him.
"You sure you are young. It seems like the younger generation is really more talented than us."
"No, it's nothing like that."
The director started the talk with a hearty laugh.
He was probably trying to ease the atmosphere. Lee Hyun understood it too and replied appropriately.
"I really liked the song Never give up and even Lee Hyerin liked it. She even pushed it to become the title song because of that."
"You flatter me."
Lee Hyun smiled as he talked.
He didn't try to be seen as someone too friendly. Although making connections was necessary, he didn't want to be seen as someone desperate.
Anyway, Nike Entertainment would itself try to befriend him if his song became a hit.
He just has to stay calm till then.
Knock! Knock!
As they were talking, there was a sudden knock on the door. A beautiful woman entered the office.
"Director, you called for me."
Both Lee Hyun and the director stood up after seeing that. It was because she was Lee Hyerin, the former idol who was trying to make a comeback.
'She looks better in person.'
Lee Hyun thought as he looked over her.
He had watched some of her former music videos last night and she has certainly changed.
In her music videos, she was shown as a sexy and young girl but the woman in front of him was more mature.
Her transformation was well apparent.
"Hyerin, meet the composer of Never give up, Midas."
The director introduced Lee Hyun to Lee Hyerin and a surprised expression covered her face as she looked at Lee Hyun.
"It looks like Miss Hyerin didn't expect me to look like this."
Lee Hyun smiled as he said that.
"No, yes, I mean, I am just a bit surprised because I thought you looked way more older."
"It's fine."
Lee Hyerin finally calmed down after hearing that.
'He's way younger than I thought.'
In her mind, she had thought that Lee Hyun was in his 30s, but he looked like someone who had just entered his 20s.
It was definitely a shock for her.
"I heard from the director that you pushed my song for the title track. Thank you for that."
Lee Hyun deliberately started talking about his song and Lee Hyerin also shook her head, and started talking about the song enthusiastically.
She just needed a topic that could interest them both.
"I really liked your song, especially the meaning behind the lyrics."
Lee Hyerin started praising the song with excitement. It looked like she was not faking it when she said that she liked the song.
They talked for more than ten minutes and the director left them alone.
It was necessary for both the composer and singer to get friendly, so that they can record the song better.
"It's the time for the meeting. Why don't we leave the talk for later."
The director suddenly tapped on his watch and Lee Hyun nodded his head.
He was here for the meeting to decide the title track of the album. It was not good to waste more time.
The three of them quickly went to the meeting room on the sixth floor.
'All the people are already here.'
When Lee Hyun entered the room, all of the gazes fell on him.
The meeting room was packed with planning team members, A&R department menders, managers and producers.
The whole crew was there and only Lee Hyun was a stranger here. He felt strange because of that.
"Let's first do a self introduction."
The director started the meeting and everyone did a self introduction.
When Lee Hyun introduced himself as the composer of the song 'Never give up', everyone whispered among themselves.
They have already guessed his identity but it was a different feeling hearing it from his own mouth.
Lee Hyun was way more younger than they had thought.
Many people already regarded him as a complete newbie after hearing that. It was also not false as this was his first song.
'It's not a good feeling being the centre of attention.'
Lee Hyun felt many gazes on him. Some were sharp while some were filled with curiosity.
The sharpest gaze he felt was from a chubby man who was wearing a cap and there were headphones around his neck.
'So, he is Producer Park.'
Lee Hyun had heard about him as both of them were technically music composers.
Producer Park was a well known name in the industry and he was known for his songs with a sexy theme.
He was also notorious for taking 'inspiration' from other famous songs and English songs.
Producer Park was glaring daggers at Lee Hyun, but he just ignored him and focused on the meeting.
"As you all know, this meeting is to decide which song would be used for the title track of Lee Hyerin's comeback album."
The director began the meeting.
"We have two songs to choose from. First one is 'Troublemaker' from Producer Park and the second one is 'Never give up' composed by Midas."
Both of the songs were played in the background.
Lee Hyun closed his eyes and focused on Producer Park's song. He wanted to know the level of the song he was competing with.
'It's groovy but the lyrics are too… sexual.'
The song has a groove to it, but Lee Hyun felt like a sexy song won't fit the current image of Lee Hyerin.
That was probably the reason why Lee Hyerin's comeback failed in his past life.
"Let's start with opinions. Give your honest opinion about both of the songs."
Everyone looked at each other when the director said that.
They waited for someone to speak and after a while, an employee who earlier introduced himself as a member of the A&R department opened her mouth.