CHAPTER 27
Min Chan-hyuk ran his hands roughly through his hair, his complicated emotions written all over his face. His lips trembled against his pale skin.
“We’re screwed.”
His sigh filled the studio.
He jumped up from his seat, grabbed his phone, and started making calls.
“Yes, Team Leader. You saw the article, right? We’re overlapping with LAMIA. Let’s recheck the teaser, thumbnail, and hashtags. And please try to find out LAMIA’s detailed schedule in advance if possible. I’m counting on you.”
He hung up and immediately made another call.
“Yes. It overlaps. But we have to go ahead. What else can we do?”
Then another.
“We can increase the budget, right? Please push it as much as you can. You know the company is staking everything on this comeback.”
And another.
“Fill Lee Ha-in’s schedule completely. If there are any variety shows or radio programs available, we’ll take them all.”
Only after making several calls did he finally catch his breath. He looked like he had aged ten years in just a few minutes.
“Ha… of all the bad luck. Why did it have to overlap like this?”
“Yeah.”
“Still, we’ll do everything we can. You just focus on finishing the song. Don’t worry about the rest.”
The rest was no longer in my hands anyway. That was Min Chan-hyuk’s territory as a producer.
“Hey, relax your face. You’re worried your debut will flop?”
He exaggeratedly patted my shoulder.
“That would be a problem for us too. Lee Ha-in’s one of VTunes’ main artists. She’ll go on radio, music shows, variety shows—everything. We’ll push viral marketing as hard as we can, so don’t worry.”
I wasn’t the only one desperate for success.
Min Chan-hyuk, who was practically in charge of the whole project. Lee Ha-in, who was making her comeback under her own name. The company that invested all the money. All of them were just as desperate.
Knowing that, I could only nod.
“Ugh. Looks like I’ll be working overtime for a while. You should head back before it gets too late. You might miss the last train.”
“I’ll help.”
“Help with what?”
“Maybe refine the song a bit more—”
“Seol.”
He called my name in a low voice.
“Go home.”
“……”
“You’ve done enough.”
His tone was firm.
“Sleep, then come back with a clear head and work on it again. If you touch it now while you’re tired, you’ll just have to redo it anyway.”
He was right. Music is delicate. It can sound different depending on the listener’s condition.
Especially mixing, where tiny differences matter even more.
“I’d drive you home since it’s late, but I have a meeting in thirty minutes.”
“I can go by myself. It’s fine.”
“Alright. Then be careful.”
He lightly patted my shoulder.
“Don’t worry.”
After a short silence, he added quietly,
“No matter what anyone says, the song we made is the best. That’s enough.”
“……”
“People will recognize it eventually. Maybe not right away, but it could get reevaluated later or climb the charts over time. But for that to happen, the song has to be good first.”
He grinned playfully.
“If we don’t believe in our own song, who will? Right?”
“That’s true.”
“Okay. Then stop worrying. Go home and rest.”
“Yes. I will.”
I bowed and left.
Even after arriving home, I was still deep in thought. When I opened the door, warmth greeted me in the dark.
Meow.
“You’re still awake?”
Nuri rubbed against me. It must have been waiting by the shoe cabinet, because the floor was warm.
“Sorry. I’m late.”
I sat down and hugged Nuri. Warmth spread through my arms, and the soft purring vibrated against my neck.
“Quest window.”
[ SYSTEM – MAIN QUEST ]
Debut successfully!
Description: Your music is ready to go out into the world. But that’s not the end. Debut successfully and make your name widely known in the market.
Condition: Enter the Top 100 on the music charts
Reward (Choose 1):
- Inspiration Gain (B+)
- Relationship Free Pass (A)
- Trend-Sensing Ear (C+)
Penalty: Hearing Weakening (50%)
The content hadn’t changed.
Even though the comeback date overlapped with LAMIA’s, the condition didn’t become any easier.
I muttered complaints under my breath.
More than anything, one line bothered me.
‘Penalty: Hearing Weakening (50%).’
I unconsciously touched my ear.
I had finally adapted. Was I supposed to go back to that silence again?
Even if it wasn’t complete hearing loss, losing half my hearing would clearly affect daily life.
Anxiety slowly crept in.
My heart pounded like a drum. I had experienced that pain before, which made it even more terrifying.
I knew that hell.
I knew how desperate a person could become.
Meow.
Nuri burrowed deeper into my arms. Its small warmth barely held me together.
***
“Yoon… …student.”
My head felt foggy.
‘The bass line sounds a little muddy. Maybe I can make it more detailed.’
I was so lost in thought that I barely heard anything around me.
‘The drum hi-hat is a bit sharp. Not unbearable, but it could be smoother if I tone it down…’
Then—
“Yoon Seol!”
At the clear call of my name, I snapped my head up.
“Ah.”
I finally came back to my senses. I must not have slept properly.
Spacing out in front of the professor.
“There’s nothing wrong, right?”
Jung Tae-sung looked concerned.
“No. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Too much homework?”
“……Yes.”
It wasn’t because of homework, but there was a lot of it, so I nodded anyway.
“Oh dear. Now I feel like the villain.”
“It’s not that.”
“You bring such interesting pieces that I want to see more. Haha.”
He said something cruel with a completely casual face.
“Anyway. The reason I called you to my office.”
He pulled a thin brochure from his drawer and handed it to me. On it was a refined logo and the words:
‘NXT Holdings Cultural Foundation / Honors Salon.’
“You know about the scholarship gathering at our school, right?”
“…Scholarship gathering?”
“Yes. A group that hosts recitals and showcases for sponsors.”
I took the brochure. NXT Holdings—that meant Jung Do-hyun was the CEO.
“Other schools focus more on classical music, but we invest heavily in practical music too. The sponsors prefer that.”
It was well known in the industry that Jung Do-hyun searched for talented composers.
“It’s basically the elite track in our department. If you make a good impression on sponsors, it helps your career later. If you join through a professor’s recommendation, there are a lot of benefits.”
He enthusiastically explained the advantages. Scholarships, priority rehearsal room reservations, studio support—anyone would be tempted.
“We select exactly three students per semester. By professor recommendation.”
The reason he was telling me this was obvious.
“I’d like to recommend you this semester. What do you think?”
As expected.
I bit my lip slightly. One of those “sponsors” would definitely be Jung Do-hyun.
If possible, I didn’t want to meet him.
He reminded me of how miserable I had been before my regression.
But at the same time, it was clearly a good opportunity.
If I wanted to climb higher, this “Salon” would definitely be a shortcut.
‘And someone as busy as Jung Do-hyun probably doesn’t visit the school often.’
My hesitation didn’t last long.
I didn’t want to be held back by the past anymore.
I nodded.
“I’ll do it.”
At my answer, Jung Tae-sung’s lips curled into a wide smile.
“Good choice.”
He lightly clapped his hands together.
As if he had been waiting for that answer all along.
