novelraw Chapter 99 : You Have to Take Responsibility
Chapter 99 : You Have to Take Responsibility
Chapter 99 - You Have to Take Responsibility
“Oppa! Please come to your senses!”
“Why would you play that for the CEO!”
Sitting in the CEO's office, Baek Yeon-ah tilted her head at the loud commotion.
“What’s going on with them?”
A moment later, the office door burst open, and Baek Hyeon-woo entered.
Dragging Laura and Kanade, who were clinging to his pant legs.
“What are you doing? You're going to pull my pants down.”
“CEO, I have something to discuss with you.”
Baek Hyeon-woo said as he hiked up his pants.
“There is a song I'd like to use for the drama OST we discussed last time. I wanted you to listen to it.”
“Ah, really?”
It was already decided that they would include an insert song in the HBS drama ‘Unshakeable Dynasty’.
The problem was which song to use, but it seemed Baek Hyeon-woo had already secured one.
“Did you speak to the A&R team about this, too?”
“Just listen to it first.”
Baek Hyeon-woo played the music on his phone.
Kanade tried to stop him from the side, but Baek Hyeon-woo raised his arm high, causing her attempt to fail.
“……?”
A calm melody continuing sluggishly.
Listening to that song, Baek Yeon-ah tilted her head repeatedly.
“What do you think?”
“Hyeon-woo, what on earth are you playing for me?”
After listening to the whole song, Baek Yeon-ah sighed and spoke.
“I feel like my ears are rotting. Where did you get that crap?”
It wasn't just a matter of lacking detail or poor completeness.
It was a song that didn't even properly follow the basic elements of composition.
“Hyeon-woo, you didn't make this yourself, did you?”
“Kanade made it.”
“What? Kanade did?”
At the unexpected remark, Baek Yeon-ah looked at Kanade.
Kanade, who had entered clinging to Baek Hyeon-woo's pant legs earlier... was now slumped on the floor in despair.
“Right, I knew I had no talent. Who am I to dream of living off copyright royalties...”
“Ka-Kanade, it’s not like that...”
“Sob...!”
Unable to bear the hurt, Kanade ran out, and Laura urgently chased after her.
Eventually, only Baek Yeon-ah and Baek Hyeon-woo were left in the CEO's office.
“You should have been a bit gentler with your words.”
“N-No, I...”
She knew Kanade had a personality where she would lose confidence and spiral even at the slightest setback.
If she had known Kanade composed that song, she wouldn't have spoken like that.
“You don't like the song?”
“Yeah, honestly, it’s a bit...”
“But what can we do? I think we have to go with this song.”
“What?”
“It’s difficult to find a suitable song.”
Baek Hyeon-woo said with a nonchalant expression.
“HBS asked us to do it as quickly as possible... considering the recording schedule, time is very tight.”
“N-No, but how can we use a song like that just because of that?”
Baek Yeon-ah felt perplexed.
“Is this because we decided to include self-composed songs in the next album? Is that why you're trying to use Kanade's song?”
“That's part of it.”
“Did you inquire with other composers? What did CEO Seol Woo-myeong say?”
“His schedule doesn't seem to permit it.”
“Ah...”
It would be best if they could get another song from Seol Woo-myeong, who composed ‘After girl’.
Baek Yeon-ah felt regret.
“Honestly, it's partly my fault too.”
“What?”
“I expected too much.”
Baek Hyeon-woo wore a gloomy expression.
“I wanted a song that perfectly matches the drama's theme and plot, especially one that expresses the internal conflict of the role Wolhwa played by Kim So-yeong, preferably a song that highlights Kim So-yeong's voice, and at the same time, a song worthy of being included in Newstarz's next album... I hoped for too much.”
“It... is a lot.”
To meet those demands, one would need to binge-watch the main drama and understand the future storyline.
And they must be someone who fully understands Kim So-yeong and Newstarz.
Furthermore, they must have a fast working speed to create a song in a short period.
Who on earth could satisfy such requirements?
“It seems difficult to get the song I want, so I'm just going to go with Kanade's self-composed song.”
“Hyeon-woo, still, how can we use such an amateurish song...”
“It should be fine if we arrange it well.”
“This isn't at a level that can be solved by arranging...”
Baek Yeon-ah felt a headache coming on.
“In your view, Hyeon-woo... do you really think this song will be okay as a drama insert song?”
“I'm not 100% satisfied, but I think this kind of vibe would be good.”
“This kind of vibe is good...”
Until now, Baek Hyeon-woo has shown exceptional sense.
Despite being a novice with no industry experience, he solved everything splendidly with incredibly sharp intuition.
It can be said that Newstarz, who had been stuck in a mediocre position for nearly three years, grew to where they are now entirely thanks to Baek Hyeon-woo's achievements.
So Baek Yeon-ah also trusted Baek Hyeon-woo and entrusted him with many tasks.
Baek Hyeon-woo was also supposed to take charge of the song to be included in the drama.
‘Since Hyeon-woo says this vibe is the best, I should trust his words, but...’
However, no matter how much she thought about it, this song wasn't it.
No matter how much they tweaked it, this song could not be used.
This was truly a song terrible enough to make one's ears rot; how could they broadcast this on a terrestrial drama and let millions of people hear it?
Is there any good way?
Baek Yeon-ah fell into contemplation.
“Hyeon-woo...”
Let's recall Baek Hyeon-woo's requirements once more.
I wanted a song that perfectly matches the drama's theme and plot.
I wanted a song that expresses the internal conflict of the role Wolhwa played by Kim So-yeong.
I wanted a song that highlights Kim So-yeong's voice.
I wanted a song worthy of being included in Newstarz's next album.
There was exactly one person who could satisfy those requirements.
“Then...”
After deep consideration, Baek Yeon-ah spoke.
“I’ll try making a song myself, so would you give it a listen?”
……
“The CEO agreed to make the song?!”
Team Leader Kim Seon-hee of Haram Entertainment’s A&R Team wore a surprised expression.
It was because Baek Hyeon-woo had brought such surprising news.
“The CEO decided she wouldn't do that kind of work anymore...”
“Yes, she did.”
Baek Yeon-ah had worked as a producer for a long time.
She personally produced Newstarz's debut album and participated in the composition and arrangement of the tracks.
However, when the debut album's results were poor, Baek Yeon-ah lost confidence and washed her hands of that work.
“Team Leader Baek, what on earth did you do?”
“I provoked the CEO's sense of responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
“If she doesn't step up herself, a real disaster might occur... I made her think that way.”
That’s right.
Everything was Baek Hyeon-woo’s strategy.
Baek Hyeon-woo also knew that Kanade's self-composed song was substandard.
Kanade herself thought so, and above all, the music information window indicated it was at a terrible level.
So Baek Hyeon-woo played that song for Baek Yeon-ah.
Because he believed that Baek Yeon-ah, with her exceptional musical talent, would judge that the song must absolutely not be used as the drama OST.
And since Baek Yeon-ah is a person with a strong sense of responsibility... he expected her to take action to prevent such a catastrophe.
“This drama OST... the person who can make it the best is our CEO.”
“That’s...”
“She watches the drama religiously every week, and she knows Kim So-yeong and Newstarz better than anyone else.”
A song that perfectly matches the drama's theme and plot.
A song that expresses the internal conflict of the role Wolhwa played by Kim So-yeong.
A song that highlights Kim So-yeong's voice.
A song worthy of being included in Newstarz's next album.
There was only one person in this world, Baek Yeon-ah, who could create a song satisfying all those conditions in a short period.
“The CEO has been thinking that Newstarz's debut performance was poor because of her lack of skill.”
“Yeah, that's right...”
“But that is the CEO's misconception. The debut album failed because of the absence of a main vocal due to Joo Ga-hee's departure and the internal chaos.”
Baek Yeon-ah is a competent producer.
It was Baek Yeon-ah who gathered the talented kids for Newstarz, and it was Baek Yeon-ah who created good songs like Gravity.
She is by no means an unskilled producer.
“So, she must take this opportunity to try again.”
“Try again?”
“She needs to showcase her skills once more and return as a producer.”
Through this OST work, Baek Yeon-ah will regain her confidence.
And she would return as a producer to produce Newstarz's new album.
Baek Hyeon-woo had already made up his mind to lure his aunt in like that.
“But Team Leader Baek, if the CEO's new song receives harsh criticism from the public...”
“That won't happen.”
“How do you know? I'm not doubting the CEO's skills, but there's no such thing as 100% in this world...”
“You don't need to worry.”
There is no such thing as 100% in this world.
No matter how outstanding a producer or composer may be, if they make 100 songs, a few will turn out terrible.
But... Baek Yeon-ah has Baek Hyeon-woo.
“The CEO's new song will surely succeed. So I ask that the A&R team support her as much as possible.”
“……!”
Who on earth is this guy?
Kim Seon-hee looked at Baek Hyeon-woo with eyes that seemed to want to say just that.
……
“Phew...”
Late at night.
Having finished her shower at home, Baek Yeon-ah sat alone on the sofa.
“I feel like I've been played by Hyeon-woo.”
Looking back on it now, it occurred to her that Baek Hyeon-woo might have backed her into a corner and threatened her.
If you don't want to ruin everything by using Kanade's self-composed song, please make the song yourself, Aunt... Wasn't it a threat with that kind of meaning?
“That guy Baek Hyeon-woo... is truly a scary fellow.”
She sighed and turned on the TV with the remote control.
Just then, a rerun of ‘Unshakeable Dynasty’ was playing on a cable channel.
“…….”
Baek Yeon-ah watched the drama in silence.
As she continued watching, the scene appeared where Wolhwa experienced internal conflict for the first time while clashing with the protagonist's group.
‘Right, this is where Wolhwa starts to struggle...’
Wolhwa had wielded her sword for Goryeo all this time.
But that was strictly just following the orders of Choi Young, who had raised her.
She had merely obeyed orders; she had never acted of her own will.
While retreating after losing her subordinates in a fight with the protagonists, Wolhwa encounters starving and sick commoners.
However, Wolhwa, the head of the secret organization, passes them by without helping.
It was to uphold the principle that one must not make unnecessary contact with others.
And later... Wolhwa comes to realize that the protagonist's group saved the people she had ignored, and she suffers deep anguish.
“What I can do, what I must do, what I want to do...”
Wolhwa, played by Kim So-yeong, agonized on the TV screen.
“For them, these three things coincided. But for me...”
Just as Wolhwa muttered on the TV, those three things coincided for the protagonists.
Wolhwa begins to agonize over the fact that those three things do not coincide.
Eventually, to find a path where the three can coincide, Wolhwa betrays Choi Young and walks a new path.
‘What about me?’
Baek Yeon-ah applied it to her own situation.
What is it that I can do?
What is it that I must do?
What is it that I want to do?
Can I make them coincide?
“…….”
Lost in such thoughts, a story suddenly came to mind.
However, it wasn't a story with a plot like those of novelists or drama writers.
Usually, that story would have vanished like bubbles inside Baek Yeon-ah’s head.
But today, Baek Yeon-ah pulled that story right out of her head.
Its form was a hum.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm...”
Humming like that, Baek Yeon-ah rose from the sofa.
And she stepped into her private studio, where dust had been piling up for three years.
“Hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm-hmm...”
A person who expresses stories with rhythm, melody, and harmony, rather than sentences, is called a musician.
If one systematizes the story that comes to mind in the form of rhythm, melody, and harmony, that becomes music.
Because it doesn't explain everything in tedious detail through dialogue, understanding music is not easy.
Since a long story that should unfold over several hours or tens of hours is expressed in a short time of just a few minutes in music.
However, because there is no such concrete expression, music can broadly stimulate the emotions of more people.
This song can be Baek Yeon-ah’s story while also being Wolhwa’s story. It can also be the story of some nameless person somewhere in this world.
Music is what makes a certain individual’s story into a universal story for many people.
To create music possessing such power... Baek Yeon-ah sat in her studio for the first time in three years.
‘Hyeon-woo, if this goes wrong, you have to take responsibility.’
Thinking that, Baek Yeon-ah began working.
It was time for composition.
……
“For some reason, I feel like I’m the only one who took a loss.”
“It’s probably just your mood.”
A few days later.
When Baek Hyeon-woo was eating snacks with Kanade in the company break room, Baek Yeon-ah came to find them personally.
“Hyeon-woo, do you have a moment?”
“Yes, CEO-nim.”
Since Kanade was there, he answered with a businesslike attitude at first.
But seeing Baek Yeon-ah’s complexion, he immediately spoke in a worried voice.
“Are you very tired?”
Even in the status window, her Body Condition was showing as under 50%.
However, her Mental Condition was on the good side.
“You said to do it quickly.”
“Pardon?”
“Since I did everything just as you wanted, Hyeon-woo.”
After smiling with a face that had dark circles, Baek Yeon-ah took out her phone.
“Give it a listen.”
In front of Baek Hyeon-woo and Kanade, whose eyes were wide open, Baek Yeon-ah played the music.
It was her first new song in three years.