Damn Idol
Chapter 56
Why is he here?
I had heard from PD Gang Seok-u that Eddy was coming to Korea.
I had even sent him an arrangement version of Flowers Bloom for that purpose.
But the scheduled meeting was tomorrow. Even if he had arrived in Korea today, it would be strange for him to come to the waiting room.
Besides, if he came, he should at least greet me. Why is he just smiling?
“Hoo, hoo are you?”
Perhaps because of the responsibility he felt as the eldest hyung, the moment Lee Yi-on stepped forward.
PD Gang Seok-u burst into the waiting room together with the camera director, completely out of breath.
“Han Sion!”
“Yes?”
“Do you speak English?”
“Uh, yes.”
“How well?”
“Native speaker level, I think?”
“Really?”
“I had early education.”
It was a lie, but PD Gang Seok-u knew my parents were doctors, so he believed me easily.
“Do you know who this person is?”
“No.”
“It’s Chris Edward. The composer of Flowers Bloom.”
“What?!”
“The composer is Edward?!”
The explosive reaction came not from me, but from the members.
Come to think of it, I believe the members hadn’t been told yet that the composer of Flowers Bloom was Chris Edward or that he was coming to Korea.
But was Eddy famous in Korea?
Their reactions are heated.
In the meantime, Eddy extended his hand to me for a handshake.
“Hey, I really wanted to meet you. I’m your fan.”
This guy, he had a habit of not washing his hands after going to the bathroom…….
He probably hasn’t fixed it yet.
“When you meet someone for the first time in Korea, you greet them instead of shaking hands.”
“Greeting?”
“Like this.”
* * *
I left the art hall with Eddy and got into a taxi.
No staff. Just the two of us.
PD Gang Seok-u had asked with really sad eyes if we couldn’t talk here, but there was something I had to do somewhere without cameras.
We can just film the meeting scene tomorrow anyway, right?
Of course, it wasn’t me, a mere participant, making this demand to the main PD.
I had subtly asked Eddy.
“Hey, where are we going?”
“Home.”
“Your house?”
“Yeah. Anyway, what you’re curious about is at my house, isn’t it?”
“What am I curious about?”
“You came because you were curious about my music, right? I’ll show you.”
“Wow, that’s some serious confidence.”
After arriving at my house for the first time in a while, I discovered something absurd.
The front door was a mess. It looked like something my great-aunt’s husband had done.
Had he stopped by my house before chasing me to the filming set?
Or had he come here after being kicked out from the filming set?
Either way, it was a total mess.
“Are you already a star famous enough to be harassed by hooligans?”
“I’m not a star yet, but there is a middle-aged hooligan who follows me around.”
“Isn’t that more dangerous?”
I laughed and opened the door.
“Come in.”
“You live alone?”
“For now.”
I made Eddy wash his hands first, then brought out a cup of coffee.
“Chris, there’s something I need to do starting now, okay?”
“What is it?”
“I have some urgent work. How about we talk after it’s done?”
“What should I do in the meantime?”
“Just listen to the music I made. Wait a bit.”
I went to my room and brought out a spare MacBook and a USB.
Inside the USB was every song I had composed in this life.
“Hmm. I wanted to talk first.”
“It won’t take long, so bear with me.”
“Weird. It’s our first time meeting today, but you feel strangely familiar. Is it because you’re treating me so comfortably?”
That was probably it.
In the early days of my trip to America, when I knew nothing about Billboard, there was a time I lived with Eddy.
To be honest, the reason I didn’t look for Eddy in the latter half of my regression was because I wanted to keep only the good memories.
I had witnessed too many people who had been close to me in my previous life betraying and insulting me.
I’m only human; after seeing such sides of them, my affection for them faded.
Of course, I had never seen such a side of Eddy yet.
And I didn’t want to.
That was why I hadn’t sought him out.
But since fate had brought us together like this, it couldn’t be helped.
Come to think of it, it’s strange.
That Eddy is the one who made the Way from Flower debut song.
“But how did you end up writing a song for a K-pop girl group?”
“Are we talking first?”
“That’s not it. Wait for me.”
I left Eddy in the living room and went into my room.
The work I was about to do was mixing the song “Wa” for Drop Out and the song “Ui” for NOP.
Actually, the recording files had arrived while I was preparing for Seoul Town Punk, but I simply hadn’t had the time.
Besides, there wasn’t proper equipment at the dorm, either.
Even if there were, I couldn’t do it in front of the installed cameras.
I really didn’t want people to know I was active as a composer if I could help it.
In this life, I was really going to be active as a typical idol group.
An idol rookie composing the title track of a top-tier idol group isn’t normal, is it?
With that thought, I checked NOP’s files first.
Hmm. Not bad.
NOP had modified the vocal line from the guide I had set, but it suited their vocal tone well.
By absolute standards, the version I made was better, but limited to NOP’s version, this might be better.
As expected, the people working in the K-pop industry aren’t low-level.
If you look, there are some below the level, but the Billboard industry is the same.
That’s why world stars like LMC and Prime Time would be born three or four years later.
No matter how important marketing and promotion are for a singer’s success, they can’t succeed if the essence, the music, is no good.
Like that, I immersed myself in mixing NOP’s “Ui.”
I had promised mastering as well, but that was something I could only do after the artist gave the okay on the mixing.
My work speed was fast.
To the point that another mixing engineer would freak out if they saw.
Come to think of it, they wouldn’t just freak out; they would be suspicious.
Asking if I was doing it properly.
But well, I’ve been doing this for over a hundred years; shouldn’t I be at least this good?
Finishing NOP’s work in an instant like that, I moved on to Drop Out this time.
“Oh…….”
Drop Out’s work was better than NOP’s.
Drop Out hadn’t touched the vocal line I set at all and only attached Korean lyrics, and this was really proper.
The feeling in my ears was good, and even the lyrics were good.
But more than that, what I liked was the rawness that Drop Out showed.
The song called “Selfish” itself depicted the moment a man who had lived selfishly in love his whole life fell into desperate love for the first time.
Because of this, fundamentally, confusion and self-denial of “Why on earth am I acting like this?” had to seep out together with rawness.
Drop Out’s expression was perfect.
Not a top-tier idol for nothing.
I did have a critical view of the average level of the 2017 idol industry.
Honestly, some songs I’d heard while monitoring the music charts were downright terrible.
But as expected, the top tier is different.
Well, they are the best-selling singers in a nation; there’s no way they could lack the essential musical skill.
Proceeding with the mixing in a fairly satisfied mood, a sudden question came to mind.
‘What would happen if our group sang this?’
Among the Sedalbaegil members, would there be anyone who could express this feeling?
Gu Tae-hwan looked like he might, but I wasn’t sure, and appearance wasn’t important anyway.
Musical expression and appearance don’t necessarily match.
“Hmm.”
After thinking for a moment, perhaps Lee Yi-on could do well if he practiced, unexpectedly.
However, his voice was raspy, so giving a sense of unity would be…….
Huh?
At that moment, an idea flashed through my head.
While preparing the stage as a time traveler this time, I had realized the concept didn’t necessarily have to end as just a fun element.
For example, if it weren’t for the time travel concept, I wouldn’t have thought to use traditional instruments in this song.
So, something that could turn Lee Yi-on’s raspy tone from a disadvantage into an advantage…….
My train of thought was cut off.
Bam!
Because Eddy burst in through the door, opening it roughly with an excited face.
“Th-this, did you really record all of this yourself? Is it true?”
“Then who else would have recorded it?”
“My goodness……. Then what about the session? Who played the session parts?”
“I did.”
“You personally played all the melodies and riffs here?”
Since they were all made in LB Studio, I nodded my head.
“Ah, right. The drums are virtual instruments. I can’t play drums.”
“Wh-what’s the sampling ratio?”
“None.”
“……
Don’t talk nonsense.”
“You don’t have to believe it.”
“My goodness! No wonder I didn’t recognize a single line!”
I understood Eddy’s surprise.
Lee Hyun-seok and Jo Gi-jeong had also been surprised by my music, but they couldn’t compare to what Eddy was feeling.
Eddy was a composer who had hit number one on Billboard, a first-class composer.
Although he was currently wandering in a slump, his skill itself was beyond doubt.
He was someone who would become a top-tier composer when he overcame his slump and returned.
That’s why he clearly grasped what level the music I had recorded was at.
“How is this possible? Wasn’t God supposed to be fair?”
“He probably is?”
“No, no. This is unfair. If you were around seventy, I wouldn’t know, but you’re only twenty years old?”
It wasn’t an answer worth replying to, so I just shrugged my shoulders.
It took a little time before the babbling Eddy came to his senses.
“Sorry. I was just so surprised……. I wasn’t trying to deny your talent.”
“I understand.”
Even I would scream if someone who wasn’t a regressor brought a whole batch of music like this.
Then Eddy opened his mouth, armed with a desperate gaze.
“Sion, let’s go to Billboard together. Don’t waste your time on some reality show. Your talent is beyond doubt.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to become a singer in Korea.”
“Is a K-pop boy group your dream?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what about composing? Your composing activities could aim for Billboard!”
I could, but it was meaningless.
When the right moment came, I would regress again.
This life isn’t a chapter where I draw a grand picture and look far ahead.
Besides, Billboard was too familiar a place to me; there was no need to acquire information through Eddy’s help.
Unless it was after debuting in an idol group and aiming for the Billboard market.
“Sorry, but I’m not really interested.”
“How can you be like this?”
“What?”
“How can you be so indifferent!”
“I’m not indifferent. I want to succeed in Korea.”
“Then you shouldn’t have let me hear them!”
What’s with him?
For some reason, CEO Lee Hyun-seok’s face seemed to overlap with Eddy’s.
He had now completely given up, but he had constantly tried to change my career path.
“Fine. Then arrange my music.”
“Your music?”
“Yeah. I need to hear what you save from my music and what you change.”
“I’m a bit busy, though.”
“…….”
“W-well, if you wait three months, I might be able to try once……?”
I hadn’t planned on doing this either, but Eddy’s face was so terrifying that I compromised.
One song would be quick anyway.
Eddy’s face flooded with despair at my answer, but it couldn’t be helped.
However, Eddy suddenly recovered his expression and began to smile meaningfully.
“Good. Then there’s a way.”
“A way?”
“Just wait and see.”
What way could there be when I said I wouldn’t?
But.
Surprisingly, Eddy really came up with an incredible method.
I found out about it a few days later.
“I am Chris Edward, the special judge for this mission.”
Uh…….
“Please welcome him with a big round of applause.”
Umm…….
“The third mission is a mission to arrange Chris Edward’s hit song.”
Crazy bastard…….
Eddy had changed the third mission in exchange for appearing on Coming Up Next.