Chapter 146
Gu Hae-man was an aspiring composer who came to Seoul dreaming of making it big.
He was confident in the songs he wrote.
Unfortunately, none of his songs ever reached the public.
Thousands of songs emerged every day in the industry.
Who would sing the songs of someone with no track record and no name?
Some acquaintances he'd made after coming to Seoul sang his songs, but they never caught on.
Then one day,
a famous composer named Go Yeong-jun came to see him.
You have a good sense.
But you lack proper technique.
So let's sign a contract.
Become my student and let me have a few of your songs, and I'll make you my successor someday.
It wasn't a bad offer.
Unlike him, who had nothing, Go Yeong-jun had so much.
One word from him could get countless people in the entertainment industry moving.
Gu Hae-man didn't want to give up his dream of becoming a composer, so in the end, he nodded.
Five years passed.
Over those five years, Gu Hae-man composed hundreds of songs.
Go Yeong-jun took the best of them, made slight changes to suit his tastes, and passed them on to singers.
Every one of those songs made the charts.
Even the one that did worst made it into the top thirty.
At first, he was happy.
But even that was growing harder and harder to bear.
"Sir, when will I be able to release a song under my own name?"
When he finally worked up the nerve to ask, Go Yeong-jun sneered.
"You're not good enough yet."
Do you think your songs would have been that popular if a great composer like me hadn't polished them?
Do you think any company would have even looked at your songs if they didn't bear my name?
Do you think any singers would have sung them?
His words were laced with scorn and contempt, but they weren't wrong.
He had no opportunities whatsoever.
All he did was make songs that served as a foundation for Go Yeong-jun.
The things Go Yeong-jun graciously taught him were all easy to learn by searching the internet.
He was simply being bled dry.
So he worked up a little courage and defied Go Yeong-jun.
He said he was done.
He wouldn't give him any more songs.
If Go Yeong-jun wouldn't let him go, he'd tell the reporters everything.
Go Yeong-jun sneered.
He told him to go ahead and try, then cut off even the salary he'd been paying him.
Though terrified, Gu Hae-man went to the press.
He told them the truth, but none of the reporters would write about it.
They were cowed by Go Yeong-jun's name.
A few brave reporters tried to take it up, but their editors—and Go Yeong-jun's connections—shut them down.
He realized that an obscure composer like him had no chance of beating Go Yeong-jun.
Go Yeong-jun approached him as he despaired.
Look.
This is the world. This is reality.
There's nothing someone like you can do.
Come work under me, and I'll at least make sure you get a salary.
That offer...
With no money to pay rent the next day, Gu Hae-man had no choice but to accept.
***
"...Huh. Is that really true?"
"Yes..."
I paid for Gu Hae-man's lunch.
The lunch special was only ten thousand won, so it wasn't a burden.
"I'd heard rumors like that."
Kim Seong-ju, who'd been listening with his arms crossed, sighed.
"I've heard there are scumbags among the famous composers who turn their students—no, talented people—into their own little entourage, steal their songs, and claim them as their own."
But it had never become a major public issue.
Apparently, the industry had been pretty stagnant to begin with.
"Really?"
"Yes. Everyone keeps quiet about it, but it's not a completely rotten industry. Things have been cleaning up lately."
With the growth of YouTube, it's not uncommon for people to rise from nothing.
So scumbags like that sometimes end up as relics of the old generation.
Even as he said this was just a transitional period, Kim Seong-ju looked bitter.
"Go Yeong-jun could be one of those cases."
Kim Seong-ju let out a heavy sigh.
"Actually, I got a few offers like that when I was unknown, too. They told me to work as a student under a famous composer, build up my name, and then make proper songs."
"Huh. President Ha, is it like this in the U.S. too?"
"Well, there are similar cases. But this kind of thing, where the rotten old guard in high places exploit fresh talent, isn't limited to this industry. I've heard it's even worse in art and writing."
"I see."
"Are you planning to bring Go Yeong-jun down?"
"Well, that's part of it, but..."
I glanced at Gu Hae-man.
"Frankly, this guy's talent can't be ignored."
After all, most of Go Yeong-jun's recent hit songs were based on Gu Hae-man's work.
"So why don't we bring him over to our side?"
If we left him as he was, Gu Hae-man would have countless more songs stolen from him.
A few of those songs would become so famous they'd even make the Billboard charts.
There was no reason to let that go to waste.
"If you say so, Teacher, then I suppose he really does have talent."
"Y-Yeah... H-Hyung. Is this really okay?"
"It's fine. And as for Go Yeong-jun... Well, I'll take care of that."
Go Yeong-jun might lodge a complaint with Twin Enter because we'd brought this guy over.
After all, his connections couldn't simply be ignored.
But...
my connections were stronger.
"The only places he can pull strings are a few broadcasters and a handful of entertainment companies. Oh, and Sekyung."
"Sekyung? You mean that Sekyung? The huge corporation that makes car batteries?"
"Yes."
"Why is Sekyung backing Go Yeong-jun?"
"I don't know."
All I had seen was Gu Hae-man's past and future.
When Gu Hae-man went to Go Yeong-jun's studio, he'd once seen him talking with the vice chairman of the Sekyung Group—the man he'd seen online before.
"You know, right? Go Yeong-jun was chumming around with their vice chairman, calling each other hyung and dongsaeng and talking about wining and dining."
"Yes... I saw it, but only once. Still, I'm sure Sekyung is backing Go Yeong-jun. One of the reporters I met said Sekyung would make a huge fuss if he tried to expose him."
President Ha and Composer Kim fell silent.
They seemed uneasy about how big the matter was getting.
"But what does a composer have to wine and dine people for?"
"Uh. Well. Maybe he's using his fame to get unknown idols or idol trainees..."
I didn't need to hear any more.
"What a fucking piece of shit."
I picked up my phone.
"The Sekyung Group is only ranked eighty-third among Korean conglomerates."
"Even at eighty-third, isn't it still huge?"
"Hahaha..."
Well, it was big, but what could they do?
I laughed and shook my head.
"I'll handle that part, so don't worry about it. In any case, just focus on what you all need to do."
"If you say so, Teacher... All right. Mr. Gu Hae-man, do you have any songs you've written? Let's have a look."
"Y-Yes!!"
Gu Hae-man hurriedly showed us the laptop he'd brought.
Did it have a song on it?
A moment later, music began to play.
Is this... good?
"It's good. The foundation is very solid. You're a little lacking in technique, but you can learn that from me."
"R-Really? Composer Kim Seong-ju, you're going to teach me?!"
"Yes. And it's none other than Teacher Kang who recommended you. If you have talent, wouldn't it be fun to help it bloom?"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Gu Hae-man's future changed.
Into a future where he composed countless masterpieces as a full-time composer for Twin Enter.
Good. That's settled.
.
.
.
Gu Hae-man, who'd eventually broken down sobbing, finally calmed down around the time we were about to start judging auditions.
President Ha Yujeong told him they should get him moved first.
"We need to make sure Go Yeong-jun can't find you. He's a parasite who's been leeching off your talent. We can't swat him just yet, so we should at least put up a mosquito net."
One way to put up that net was to get Gu Hae-man away from Go Yeong-jun.
The place Gu Hae-man was staying was a home Go Yeong-jun had arranged for him.
So the first thing was to get him out of there.
"Is there anything you need to bring with you?"
"Everything important is on this laptop..."
"Good. Then you can move out right away. We have company housing, so go stay there. It's furnished with most of what you need. If there's anything else, use this to buy it."
As she said that, President Ha Yujeong handed him a card.
"Y-Yes! Yes!"
"And from now on, let's have you work on your songs here. As it happens, we needed a few songs, so this works out perfectly."
"Heh heh. We're not like that piece of trash, Go Yeong-jun. We'll credit your songs to you properly, so don't worry."
"Thank you!!"
As Gu Hae-man stood there, overjoyed and unsure what to do, Kim Seong-ju showed him to the studio.
After they left, President Ha Yujeong sighed.
"There sure are a lot of scumbags in this world."
"Hahaha. Not everyone is like that, though. Come on, President. Let's get going."
"Yes."
We headed to the audition room.
Quite a few young men and women were already gathered in the hallway.
Every one of them was handsome or beautiful.
They'd definitely have the visuals covered.
Inside, I saw several people seated to judge the auditions.
"Welcome!"
"Teacher Kang! I've heard so much about you! You're one of our investors, right...!!"
No one seemed to have any objections to my taking a seat at the judges' table.
And from a quick look, nobody seemed to have any problems in their past or future.
Good.
"Please call in the first applicant."
At President Ha Yujeong's words, an employee waiting nearby went outside.
The person who entered was a pretty young woman with strikingly long black hair.
"Hello! I'm Seo Miyeon, from Sokcho, Gangwon Province!"
"All right. Let's begin. The song you've prepared is..."
Before I could say anything to start judging,
I raised my hand first.
Then I shuffled the cards and held one out.
"Would you mind turning this over first?"
At my words, Seo Miyeon's expression stiffened.
She had some nerve.
How could someone nicknamed the "Sokcho Cigarette-Burner" for giving ten of her classmates cigarette burns even think of entering an idol audition?
I found myself agreeing a little with what President Ha Yujeong had said earlier about there being a lot of scumbags in this world.