The sister I know, Ryu Se-ah, who is technically my older sister, is very stubborn in a good way.
In other words, once she sets her mind on something or has a goal, she must accomplish it before she feels satisfied.
“Hey, is that composition really unfinished?”
“What would you do if it wasn’t?”
“In that case, I’ll sing it.”
“Huh?”
But the good qualities of my sister aren’t really beneficial to me at this moment.
For some reason, ever since the day she first heard the accompaniment of <Cantabile>, she’s been acting this way.
It’s… quite different from how she reacted the first time I played <Cantabile> in my previous life.
Back then, she only said it wasn’t bad for something I had made and then we just moved on.
That’s why I couldn’t really understand why my sister was being so stubborn now, and I had no choice but to ask why.
“Why do you want to sing <Cantabile>?”
“How important is having a reason? But looking at your reaction now, it seems like it’s already completed.”
…
Our conversation isn’t getting anywhere.
I couldn’t help but sigh.
It feels like I’ve gone back in time and things are going wrong from the very start.
First of all, <Cantabile> was the first song I composed after getting serious about musical instruments, and it was also a piece that was never officially released.
The reason is simple.
It wasn’t created for purely commercial purposes. Plus, I couldn’t find a singer who truly matched the song.
In any case, I don’t currently have any intention of releasing this song to the public.
Of course, even if I said that, it would fall on deaf ears with the person right in front of me.
Thus, I decided to try approaching the situation as logically as possible.
“Anyway, can you sing well?”
I don’t really have much exposure to my sister’s singing beyond what I heard when we were young.
While I admit she has a decent voice, that doesn’t necessarily mean she has good singing ability.
But for some reason, my sister smirked confidently in response to my question.
“Hey, I used to play music.”
What…?
Does playing the piano have anything to do with singing?
Of course, it might help with things like pitch and rhythm, but ultimately, what’s most important for a singer is vocal control, resonance, and vocal range.
“They’re completely different things. Are you just wanting to sing, or is there some other purpose?”
“Hmm…”
For the first time, my sister was at a loss for words after my question.
And after a moment of thought…
“Alright. Let’s suspend this conversation for just a moment.”
“Huh?”
“Mom!”
Without warning, my sister rushed off to the living room where Mom was.
After that, my sister never brought up <Cantabile> again.
… Well, at least now I can focus entirely on what I need to do. It’s a relief.
But…
I couldn’t have predicted how this conversation would lead to some incident later on.
The first thing I did after declaring my intention to pursue music was quitting the academy I was attending. And the money I used to pay for that academy now went entirely to purchasing a laptop and a music composition program.
Out of gratitude for my parents, who generously supported my dream once again, I opened the composition program.
Of course, having an electronic keyboard would have been helpful, but I didn’t want to ask for more support than was necessary, given I’d already gotten more than enough in my past life…
Still, as a composer, I managed to succeed, and made a fair amount of money, so I feel like I’ve somewhat atoned for my sins.
With that bittersweet thought in mind, I began composing.
To be honest, what I’m about to do now feels more like copying rather than composing.
I’m recreating songs I composed in my previous life.
Among those, the first song that comes to mind is definitely <Rewind>.
Not only because it received some good attention and positive feedback externally, but because it’s a song I created with Baek Ye-rin in mind, so it’s one I have a particular attachment to.
In truth, <Rewind> might still be an unfinished song.
I often thought about this while composing it before the regression.
What if Baek Ye-rin sang this song?
Though I’m sorry for Seo Yoo-hwa, who willingly sang <Rewind> for me, I often imagined how it might have been done by Ye-rin.
It was quite a happy thought for me.
Unfortunately…
That thought always ended with deeper regret.
But now, things are different.
Baek Ye-rin is alive.
Just this fact alone provides me with immense motivation.
“Phew… but how am I going to record this?”
As expected, using the program to compose the songs wasn’t much of a problem.
Since it felt like I was doing the exact same thing just a few days ago.
The issue was with the recording side.
Even if I have the complete melody and lyrics ready, if the song isn’t properly recorded, there’s a good chance it won’t resonate with “that person.”
It’s also impossible for me, given my current situation, to hire a guide vocalist by spending extra money.
Should I rent a recording studio and record it myself?
This probably is the most realistic option.
In fact, when I first started composing, I attempted recording a few times out of fun, so it’s not that difficult.
Though, the quality will surely be lacking.
Objectively, my singing ability is average. But since I’m familiar with the song, if I put in the time, I think I can create a decent demo.
Wait, but why am I working so hard to create a demo?
Isn’t it necessary to confirm the quality of my songs at this point?
Back in my previous life…
“You songs are all straightforward.”
“Um… am I talentless?”
“If I say you’re talentless, are you thinking of giving up your dream as a composer?”
“Of course not. If I lack talent, I’ll just have to work harder.”
“Is that so? Then, I’ll make sure you’re sticking to that somewhere here.”
My mentor who helped me succeed as a composer.
Lazaretto Tree Entertainment, a newly established entertainment agency.
Known simply as RT Entertainment, this agency is relatively unknown but its CEO is quite well-known.
Kang Beom-jun.
A singer-songwriter from a decade ago who revived the popularity of folk music when it was entering its decline phase, receiving immense love and popularity.
However, he decided to temporarily step aside from his singer-songwriter career and challenge something new.
That challenge was starting his own entertainment agency.
Kang Beom-jun smiled bitterly as he looked at the black nameplate on his desk engraved with his name.
With the clout of his name, establishing the agency went smoothly, but…
The real challenges begin now.
Over the past three months, he invested significant time in preparing funds and setting up systems, so it’s about time they started focusing on what it truly means to be an entertainment agency.
RT Entertainment’s primary objective is to discover and train new talents fromscratch, rather than managing existing celebrities.
In Kang Beom-jun’s perspective,
“The current entertainment industry is becoming a stagnant pool.”
Despite being part of that stagnation himself, right now, what’s needed is an incredible new star to rejuvenate the scene.
And the brighter that star shines, the bigger the impact it will create.
Of course, RT Entertainment isn’t the only company thinking this way.
Even now, hundreds of agencies are surely scrambling to discover the top talents.
The agency that finds the brightest star will influence the next 10 years in the industry.
RT has already announced its audition.
There are other methods too, like street casting or survival programs to create dramatic debut stories, but for the beginning, Kang Beom-jun prefers the cleanest method.
Not only that, instead of delegating the task, he plans to personally review and shortlist the applicants.
This clearly indicates Kang Beom-jun’s dedication to this audition.
Fortunately, thanks to his reputation, quite a few people have been applying so far.
Thus, Kang Beom-jun was able to check the emails with excitement each day.
Curious about who the young hopefuls dreaming of becoming celebrities were…
But his excitement disappeared the moment he read one particular email title.
“Hello, it’s me Ryu Won. I would like to request feedback on my original compositions again today.”
The same name has been sending emails over the past few days.
Kang Beom-jun wondered,
Was there a composer with such an odd name as ‘Ryu Won’?
Unfortunately, his memory didn’t contain any composer with such an unusual name.
Meaning it was likely from an unknown amateur composer.
So far, he hadn’t paid any attention to the emails from ‘Ryu Won’, given the busyness of managing RT Entertainment’s first audition.
Still, he thought it was about time to give some attention to it.
Even though he hadn’t replied, ‘Ryu Won’ continued sending emails every day without fail.
Ignorning such dedication didn’t feel right as a fellow musician and as a person.
In fact, listening to a few songs and providing feedback wasn’t that hard.
It should only take about 10 minutes, right?
With a light-hearted thought, Kang Beom-jun opened Ryu Won’s email.
After performing an antivirus check on the attached file, he began listening.
When he heard the bright guitar introduction…
“What is this? What song is this?”
Kang Beom-jun’s eyes widened.
He thought,
Does the person who sent this email really identify as an amateur composer?
Amateurs usually have some flaws or areas lacking due to inexperience.
With composing, even when someone has great talent, experience is necessary.
But in this composition, if his ears weren’t deceiving him, there was absolutely no trace of amateurishness or any areas in need of improvement.
From the beginning to the end, the harmony of the instruments and the construction of the song were rock-solid.
“Of course, the composer surely knows how good this song is…”
Driven by curiosity, Kang Beom-jun decided to listen to other pieces Ryu Won had sent.
Time passed…
10 minutes.
20 minutes.
30 minutes.
Before he knew it, he had gone through the five songs Ryu Won had sent.
And when he listened to the first composition Ryu Won sent, titled <Rewind>…
This is the phone number. Please contact me as soon as possible!
He couldn’t help but want to meet this unknown composer Ryu Won—no, this musical genius—as soon as possible.
*
Luckily, a reply came within an hour.
After exchanging numbers, Kang Beom-jun quickly sent a message wanting to meet.
But upon reading the reply, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
[Sorry, I’m in class right now. Could we meet later?]
…Class?
Is he a teacher?
Teaching as a side job isn’t easy, but it would be too much to waste such talent.
Maybe this person just wanted professional confirmation of his skills.
Then this should be easy.
I just need to persuade him to completely switch…
Of course, Kang Beom-jun soon realized a big mistake.
“Hello! This is Ryu Won who contacted you earlier.”
The moment a high school student in uniform confidently entered the company, everything clicked into place.
