Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 18



Only Krnovel

18. Application completed

For a moment, Choi Max-heon doubted his ears.

Did I mishear that now?

Really we···

“···You got scammed?”

“huh.”

I can’t believe it.

Although it’s a bit self-indulgent, MXM Entertainment is a popular trend these days.

Who would turn down an exclusive offer from such a big entertainment company?

Even rookie YouTubers!

“Why? The contract terms don’t match? Did we offer too much? Or-”

“It’s just personal reasons. Maybe he doesn’t want to belong anywhere.”

“Ugh…”

Choi Max-heon let out a sigh as he pushed back his upper body.

I thought I had the jewel in my hand, but I didn’t know it would slip through my fingers like this…

As my expectations were high, so was my sense of loss, and I felt like I was losing all my strength.

“Still, we decided to sign a cover song contract. The legal team will send us an electronic contract tomorrow.”

“I see···.”

“I’m going to set up a meeting this week, so you should come and attend, hyung.”

“Me too…? I’m the representative of this place too…”

“So. You know what? If the MXM representative comes in person and shows interest, maybe they’ll start to feel interested again.”

“Ohhhh?!”

Life returns to Choi Max-heon’s eyes, which used to look like dead fish.

Baek-seok shook his head slightly upon seeing that sight.

That guy too… He’s as distracting as a bear in size, but sometimes he’s as mentally fragile as a rabbit.

Why do Yuna and Choi Dae-heon have so many hands?

“Okay, let me know as soon as the meeting date is set, Director Baek! I’ll adjust my schedule! Hahahahaha!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wow, the night air in Seoul is really nice!”

Choi Ma-heon, who had regained his energy, rolled down the window and took a deep breath.

Then, hearty laughter filled the streets of the night.

*

*

*

At the same time,

In a basement practice room in Yeokchon-dong, a brilliant red light was spreading out.

[SR grade stat [Association] acquired.]

“Associative power···?”

Cha Seong-jun’s head tilts.

This is because stats that seem to have nothing to do with music have appeared.

[Ends the drawing tutorial.]

The lottery machine disappeared from before my eyes, leaving me with a question.

Cha Seong-jun was lost in thought for a moment.

The thought was, of course, about [associative power].

‘How do I use this…?’

Wow, SR grade.

It can’t be a meaningless stat.

There must be an appropriate use for it.

at that time.

‘perhaps···!’

Association means bringing about one idea through another.

For example, the word ‘train’ makes us think of ‘travel’.

And associative power is the power of such progressive thinking.

What if you applied that to composing and writing lyrics?

From one note to the next, from one melody to another.

Couldn’t it be possible to create a single line of lyrics from a single word and eventually create a song?

A beggar that acts as a lubricant or catalyst to assist ‘inspiration’.

Of course, for now, this is just a plausible brain teaser.

So, I have no choice but to try it.

As it turns out, there is a suitable method.

“Let’s make a vocal song for an audition. Everything from the lyrics to the melody.”

Then it will become certain.

I ran the composition program and looked at the recruitment notice again in detail.

But then something embarrassing happened.

“What, the deadline is midnight today?!”

As it turns out, the deadline was today.

It is said that the application for participants has been open for a whole month···

Since I wasn’t usually interested, there’s no way I would know.

I was about to blame them for not showing an advertisement on YouTube when they were auditioning for a large corporation, but then I suddenly remembered that I was a premium subscriber and didn’t see any advertisements.

Anyway, the bottom line is that I absolutely have to create and submit a vocal song today.

“It’s eight o’clock now…”

The goal is to complete the song within the remaining four hours.

But I decided not to be too impatient.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

First, let’s decide on the theme of the song.

What do I want to say to the listener?

“Singer-songwriters tend to deal mainly with stories about people’s lives.”

A singer who sings about everyday life that everyone can relate to.

That’s a singer-songwriter.

So, it must be written in the recruitment notice.

The first document screening will be conducted with a focus on [originality] and [empathy].

So, first of all, I decided to think of the three things my coworkers said most often at work today.

Let’s see.

“The most common one was ‘F*ck’… Next was CB and the concert….”

Today, of all days, the conversation was completely immersed in the team leader’s concert throwing incident.

Hmm… What should I do? Should I write a song to vent my anger at the world’s problems?

Or maybe a song that’s exciting like a concert? Or maybe-

“Coffee break… Coffee time… A cup of coffee to spare…?”

Is it because the power of association has been exerted?

Suddenly a lightbulb goes off in my head.

Coffee is something that is enjoyed by people of all ages, from students to office workers.

Isn’t this a topic that everyone can relate to?

“Okay, it’s decided.”

I immediately activated the emotional buff and picked up the guitar.

Although my skill level in playing the piano was higher, I somehow thought that playing the acoustic guitar and coffee would go well together.

First of all, they are both brown and have a kind of subtle ring to them.

Anyway, overall, I’m thinking of creating the feeling of an early afternoon cafe where people are drinking coffee in a relaxed atmosphere.

In a calm, bright and peaceful tone.

Why is it always such a peaceful atmosphere?

“I’m going to try using this.”

I opened the items window and clicked on the green henna sticker.

[I used disposable henna stickers – green.]

A sticker floating along with a message gently landed on the back of my right hand.

Next, a green tattoo in the shape of a 16th note was inked on the back of his hand.

Below the 60-minute emotional buff timer, another 60-minute timer has appeared.

“Is this it?”

Cha Seong-jun turns the back of his hand over and examines it as if it is curious.

Then, I aimed my phone camera at the back of my hand to take a picture.

“What, why can’t I see it?”

There was no henna visible on the screen.

It was the same when I looked in the desk mirror just in case.

“Is this only visible to my eyes?”

It’s actually better if you don’t stand out.

Now I won’t be mistaken for a guy who walks around with colorful henna stickers on the back of his hand.

Anyway, I played around with the guitar and decided on a chord before putting my hands on the master keyboard.

Perhaps because I received both the emotional buff and the henna buff at the same time, I was able to quickly become immersed and quickly master the instrument.

One thing that was unusual was-

“Why was the inspiration I felt this time so green?”

The solid lines flowing across the staff were in the shape of ivy vines, and the fairies’ musical note hats were all green. And how peaceful their expressions were.

Perhaps it was the influence of henna.

Anyway, the rough composition of the instrumental song is finished, but the vocal song is really just beginning.

There’s still melody and lyrics left.

“Then should I make the melody first and then write the lyrics, or should I write the lyrics first and then write the melody?”

Usually the melody takes priority, but there is no right answer.

Because each singer-songwriter has their own style.

In Cha Sung-jun’s case, it was easier to come up with a melody.

Because when I feel inspired, melodies also come to mind.

“Hmm~ ahem~”

With the instrument as background music, I freely hum along to my inspiration.

Then, if there is a line that sticks, repeat the saving process.

By connecting the sections I had saved in that way, I got a rough outline, and then made some small modifications, until finally the song took on a decent form.

“Well, that sounds good, doesn’t it?”

A melody line that follows familiar codes, but isn’t too obvious.

It flows naturally like water, but you can feel the points here and there.

It took about an hour to get here.

When the time comes, the buff ends.

Fortunately, the melody was also well-chosen, so the role was fully fulfilled.

Next, I was thinking about recording the guide vocal first, but I decided that I didn’t need to do that and just recorded the lyrics all at once.

So I opened a notepad and wrote down the lyrics that came to mind without thinking.

“A cup of coffee to spare… How about a cup of coffee? I’ll buy it, tell me what you want. Iced Americano, Caffe Latte, Vanilla Latte, Frappuccino…”

Only the names of different types of coffee are written down on a white notepad.

It’s not like the barista is memorizing the menu or anything.

Since then, there have been many awkward lyrics.

For example,

– Even if you go, wouldn’t it be okay to have a cup of coffee?

Or something like that.

– If you drink this coffee… you’re dating me.

same.

And also,

– I have morning coffee in the morning, dessert after lunch, and hold back in the evening. I can’t sleep.

That kind of… Anyway, it was a mess.

“Whew, that wasn’t easy.”

I sighed softly as I pressed the backspace bar to delete all the lyrics.

Even though I gained the ability to associate, since it was my first time writing lyrics, I still lost my way.

Somehow, my head feels blocked up.

At times like this, I need caffeine…

“Oh, that’s right!”

Cha Seong-jun suddenly gets up from his seat.

Since ancient times, the best breakup lyrics come right after a breakup.

Sweet lyrics come when you’re in love.

But the guy who said he was going to do a coffee-themed project was coming up with ideas without even drinking coffee.

That’s why the lyrics are like that.

“Let’s go buy some coffee!”

I went out of the studio to refresh myself and headed to the convenience store in the building across the street.

When I reached the display case, there were many different types of coffee lined up. There were many more than I had written down in my notepad.

The name ‘coffee’ is the same, but how can the tastes be so different?

I was in the middle of thinking for a moment about which flavor to drink among so many.

“Oh, Mom. I’m fine, so don’t worry. Yeah, I love you too.”

A soft voice is heard from somewhere.

When I turned my head, the part-time worker at the counter was on the phone.

She was a beauty with a young face and distinct, yet plain features.

At that moment.

‘Coffee. Love. Beauty. Ohhh?!’

Three keywords come together in my head.

Just as there are many flavors of coffee, there are many flavors of love.

If you want, I can give you all those flavors.

So you just have to drink me like coffee.

“Drink me like Coffee.”

The theme of the song comes to mind in an instant.

At the same time, the working principle of the associative power stat was also figured out.

Weaving together different materials and inspirations to create a new value.

It was as expected.

Anyway, thanks to the power of association, the main lyrics came out, and along with that, ideas that had been blocked up started to spring up like a fountain.

If this trend continues, I’m confident that the lyrics will be finished within 30 minutes.

‘Let’s go and record quickly before we forget!’

I bought a sweet caramel macchiato and walked out of the convenience store to find it raining.

I searched the weather in the green window and it said it was raining.

It will stop after an hour or two.

“There’s nothing I can do.”

It wasn’t a heavy rain, but it was a pretty heavy rain.

But I didn’t want to buy an umbrella in the pouring rain, so I ran to the studio with my head roughly covered.

With the expectation that the raindrops falling on my head will remind me of other lyrics.

And at midnight that night.

[Reception has been completed.]

The last applicant for the singer-songwriter audition show ‘Who’s the King’ has just barely finished submitting his application.

*

*

*

The next day, at work.

I received two emails from MXM Enter.

One is an electronic contract from the legal team.

Another one was an email about a meeting.

First, I carefully checked that there were no differences in the terms of the electronic contract from the one I had sent last time, then signed it. Next, I checked the meeting schedule.

The location, as expected, is MXM Entertainment headquarters.

The time was 1:00 PM on Saturday, two days later.

There was no need to check the schedule.

Because nothing will happen anyway!

I sent a reply saying I understood, and soon I received a reply as if they had been waiting for it, saying they would see me that day.

How come these people always reply with a knife? Aren’t they very busy?

Meanwhile, after I finished fixing the date for the meeting and signing the contract, it started to feel more and more real that my first career as a musician had begun.

In that sense, I was thinking that I should buy some Castella cake to show my gratitude for this meeting.

– Seongjun! Awesome!

Suddenly, a messenger arrived from Seol Hye-yoon.

– What’s going on, sir?

– What’s going on?! Seongjun should know better! What, when did the contract start?! Surely it was from the last time you showed it to me?

He seems to be pouring out a lot of things as if he is excited, but for the time being I have no idea what he is saying.

Wait, but this is a contract…?

– Sir, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.

– Wow, you’re still being sarcastic? And that’s a contract condition? Anyway, the MXM video was just uploaded on YouTube!

– YouTube? Sir, do you watch YouTube while you’re working?

– Uh, that’s not important right now! How did this happen!

Then a YouTube link arrived.

When I clicked on the link, a video appeared.

It was a short 15-second video.

As I secretly put on my wireless earphones and played the video, I heard a very familiar voice.

Singing Yuna’s 26 cover songs,

‘Oh my god, this is crazy…?!’

It was his own voice.

────────────────────────────────────

────────────────────────────────────