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..."