CHAPTER 25
Our eyes met in midair.
At first glance, her expression looked empty. But I was the only one who could see what was really inside.
Ripples of emotion spread in her eyes. Surprise. Fear. And something like an unexplainable possessiveness.
We stared at each other for a long moment, as if only the two of us existed in this space.
The strange tension was broken by none other than Jung Tae-sung.
“Alright. Everyone, quiet for a moment!”
He clapped his hands loudly, and the murmuring slowly died down. Walking to the front, he continued.
“You all saw it, right? How ‘arrangement’ can turn out completely differently depending on the person.”
He asked the class, but no one answered.
Everyone’s faces looked like they were thinking, How are we supposed to do that?
“Both presentations just now clearly met my requirements, yet they were totally different. So let’s take a closer look at exactly how they were different.”
He stood in front of the board.
“Yoon-jae’s arrangement was very textbook. The voice leading was smooth, and the modulation points were predictable. That makes the piece clean and persuasive.”
He quickly sketched Jo Yoon-jae’s score on the board.
“It faithfully reproduced genre conventions. Literally ‘by the book.’ Perfect, without a single mistake.”
He paused briefly and glanced at me.
“On the other hand, some people intentionally use what seems like ‘mistakes.’ Dissonance naturally makes people tense. In other words, it increases focus.”
Even though he had only heard each piece once, he accurately recreated the score.
“The tension right before dissonance. The subtle push and pull of the rhythm. Even the use of space.”
His ears were impressive, but so was his memory.
Even though the pieces were short, there had been eight in total.
He reproduced every single note perfectly.
“There is no absolute right answer. Between ‘textbook’ and ‘instinct,’ where you choose to stand is up to you. It’s even better if you can handle both.”
Jung Tae-sung smiled brightly. In contrast, the students’ faces darkened further.
“Alright, Yoon Seol. Good work. You can go back to your seat.”
I bowed slightly and returned to my seat. The gazes pouring onto me felt unfamiliar.
When I sat down, the warmth lingering in my fingertips slowly faded.
The thrill of performing my own composition in front of everyone still lingered in my chest.
“You did great.”
Moon Ah-rin whispered beside me.
When I turned, she was wearing her usual gentle smile.
“You were amazing.”
Her bright smile revealed nothing. The complicated emotions I had seen earlier were gone, as if they had never existed.
Who could possibly imagine that expression from the look she had given me before?
She clearly knew our eyes had met, yet she acted as if nothing had happened. I looked at her for a moment before replying casually.
“It was nothing.”
The class continued naturally.
Jung Tae-sung used both Jo Yoon-jae’s and my pieces to explain how harmony could be applied in different ways.
Then he assigned even more homework for the next class, earning groans from the students.
“Alright, that’s it for today! Don’t forget to submit your assignments next week~.”
“Yes…”
The students answered weakly as they stood up.
“We’re doomed. I think he’s addicted to giving assignments.”
“I heard this was supposed to be an easy class. What a lie.”
“This is insane. When are we supposed to do all this?”
The more I heard them complain, the more guilty I felt. It seemed like he had gotten excited after seeing mine and Yoon-jae’s pieces and decided to give out extra work.
Feeling awkward, I quietly stood up.
As I prepared to leave, my vision suddenly darkened.
“…?”
A shadow had fallen over me.
When I slowly looked up, I saw a familiar face.
It was Jo Yoon-jae.
Up close, his face was even more striking. He looked like someone who should be in an entertainment agency rather than studying composition.
“……”
“……”
We stared at each other for a while.
He hadn’t come just to have a staring contest. He must have something to say, but he remained silent.
After a moment, he spoke first.
“I enjoyed listening.”
Despite his intense gaze, his tone was neat and polite. His words were courteous, but there was a sharp edge hidden between them.
“Thanks. Me too.”
When I answered briefly, the corner of his eyes curved slightly.
“You were impressive. I never even considered intentionally using dissonance in a harmony class assignment. It could have cost you points. But I learned that if your technique is good enough, it doesn’t have to.”
I couldn’t tell whether he was praising me or mocking me.
If it was praise, he had a talent for making it sound suspicious. If it was sarcasm, then his personality was pretty terrible.
“I just got lucky.”
I gave a safe answer.
“Yoon Seol, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Jo Yoon-jae. I think we’ll be seeing each other often. I figured I’d introduce myself in advance.”
Seeing each other often?
Sure, we were in the same department, so we’d share required courses. But I didn’t really hang around the department room or participate much in school activities. We probably wouldn’t run into each other that much.
“Don’t think so?”
It seemed my thoughts had shown on my face.
Jo Yoon-jae smiled as if amused and stepped closer.
“Let’s get along.”
“…Sure.”
I couldn’t hide my discomfort as I answered, which made him chuckle again.
Then he turned sharply and left first, quickly blending into the crowd.
I watched his back for a while.
It felt like I had just been enchanted by a fox.
***
“Hey. You look happier these days.”
At the random teasing from one of his crew members, Min Chan-hyuk grinned.
“Do I?”
“Yeah. Totally. What happened?”
Another crew member, who had been working, took off his headset and answered instead.
“This guy’s track is turning out insanely well.”
“Damn, I’m jealous.”
“You looked miserable for six months because you were stuck. Is it that good?”
Min Chan-hyuk smiled widely again.
“It’s incredible.”
“Ugh. Seeing you smile like that is annoying.”
“Kick him out.”
“Man, I wish inspiration would just strike me from the sky like that.”
They had been together since their unknown days, so they were practically like brothers now. Seeing Min Chan-hyuk looking relaxed, they teased and cursed at him freely.
Then someone casually said,
“Just leave him alone. He’s dating.”
“What?!”
“You’re dating?”
“What happened to the guy who said he’d never forget his ex and would carry her in his heart forever? Did he die?”
As the comments poured in, Min Chan-hyuk shouted in shock.
“What dating? Don’t talk nonsense. For me, there’s only Sujin!”
Immediately, someone shot back,
“Bullshit. I heard a woman’s been going in and out of your studio lately. I’ve got connections at VTunes too.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Traitor.”
“I said it’s not like that!”
He denied it strongly, but no one believed him.
“It’s not? Then who’s the woman coming and going? Tell us.”
“Is she a trainee? Or staff?”
“If you’re hiding it from us, you must have something to be guilty about.”
As they whistled teasingly, Min Chan-hyuk’s ears turned red.
“I told you, it’s not like that.”
“Then who is she? Go on, say it.”
“……”
“See? You can’t answer.”
Min Chan-hyuk pulled at his hair in frustration.
“It’s not—! Seriously!”
He couldn’t say anything because he knew Yoon Seol didn’t want her identity revealed. His mouth opened and closed uselessly, and laughter erupted around him.
“Hey, stop. You’ll make Chan-hyuk cry.”
“Sorry, sorry~.”
Min Chan-hyuk huffed and stood up abruptly.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“To the studio. Satisfied?!”
“Min Chan-hyuk! Are you sulking? Are you?!”
He didn’t bother replying and simply hurried toward the studio.
Click.
When he opened the door, he saw a familiar back.
The waveform on the monitor moved like waves. Yoon Seol took off her headset and turned slightly.
“Oh, you’re here?”
At that moment, all his frustration and embarrassment melted away.
Sure, people were misunderstanding him. But compared to this—
“Where are you at?”
“I was working on the chorus.”
“Let’s hear it.”
The satisfied grin on Min Chan-hyuk’s face refused to fade.
If he could, he wanted to shout to his friends:
‘You guys don’t have a genius composer in your studio, do you?!’
