My Fired Uncle Is a Genius Guitarist? - Chapter 35

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Potter

◈ My Fired Uncle Is a Genius Guitarist? ◈

Chapter 35: Do You Have More Songs Like This?

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OneDragon_01 began playing again from the living room speakers.

Over drums and bass that shook the floor, a sharp guitar riff surged forward without restraint.

Kang Taeo leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. The guide vocal he had laughed off earlier no longer bothered him on the second listen. The singing was still a mess, but the sound clearly conveyed where to sustain a breath and where to cut the phrase short.

The first chorus burst open.

The overwhelming sense of speed the song gave off struck his eardrums just as hard as it had the first time.

The instant the song ended, his fingers automatically pressed the next track.

OneDragon_02 filled the living room.

The only reason he could turn the volume up this high so late at night was because the living room had been soundproofed. He had poured money into it because being a vocalist meant he often needed to make noise at home, but he had never been so glad he had.

By the time the second song passed its midpoint, Kang Taeo had already sat forward on the sofa.

When the third song ended, he was pacing around the living room. When the fourth began, he found himself standing right in front of the speakers.

The final lingering note of the fifth song faded away, and silence settled over the room.

Kang Taeo reached across the table and picked up his phone. He scrolled back to the beginning of the lyric file. His eyes grew more animated as they raced down the text.

By the time he had listened through all the tracks once more, the clock on the living room wall pointed to midnight.

Kang Taeo opened his messaging app and texted his manager.

< Set up a meeting tomorrow morning. All the members.

< It’s about the demos.

The reply came quickly.

Manager> Yes, hyung. I’ll set it up.

After reading it, Kang Taeo put his phone down on the table. The speakers were off, but the songs still seemed to linger in the living room.

They were good. He wanted to sing every one of them.

That was the only thought filling Kang Taeo’s mind.

Monday morning.

The same faces as last time had gathered in Muri’s agency meeting room. The CEO sat at the head of the table, with Muri’s four members seated on either side. At the far end, the manager waited with a laptop and speakers set up.

“You said there were five songs? Play them.”

At the CEO’s indifferent order, the manager clicked the mouse.

The first track, “OneDragon_01,” began to play.

Drums and bass shook the meeting room floor as the guitar riff sliced through them. When the guide vocal began with the verse, Baek Gibeom snorted.

“Looks like the composer sang the guide himself.”

“Pfft. The composer’s quite talented.”

Jo Wonwoo laughed along with him.

But Kang Taeo did not laugh. With his arms folded, he simply stared at the speakers.

As the song moved past the verse and began to race ahead, the laughter in the room gradually died away. At some point, the tip of the CEO’s pen, which had been lightly tapping the table, stopped dead.

The first chorus exploded, and the song charged straight through to the end.

Even after the final chord landed and the sound cut off, no one spoke for a moment.

“The next one.”

At the CEO’s brief instruction, the manager played the second track.

The second song charged forward just as fiercely from the start. It had a slightly different feel from the first one, but the feeling running through the entire track was similar.

When it ended, the CEO opened his mouth.

“Between the first one and this one…”

He trailed off.

Unable to choose easily, the CEO furrowed his brow and merely tapped the table with his fingers.

As the manager reached for the third file, Kang Taeo flipped through the lyric file and spoke.

“The lyrics are a little middle-school edgy, but they fit the song perfectly.”

“They’re pretty similar to the kind you write.”

“Come on. What are you talking about? Mine aren’t this bad.”

The CEO let out a small laugh and gestured to the manager with his chin.

The third song began.

The moment it passed the verse and the instrumental break burst out, Jeong Wooseok, who had been listening with their arms folded, leaned sharply forward.

“Wait. Play that instrumental break again.”

The manager worked the mouse and replayed the section they had just passed. The guitar riff from the instrumental break filled the room again.

Jeong Wooseok closed their eyes and listened until the end before speaking.

“The person who wrote this knows how to play guitar.”

“He played guitar onstage too.”

Jo Wonwoo replied, but Jeong Wooseok shook their head.

“That’s not what I mean. During the verse, he lays down power chords underneath. Then when the vocal comes in, the guitar shifts to octaves. Everywhere it could overlap with the melody, he moves it out of the way. So the guitar keeps pushing forward without ever swallowing up the vocal. He arranged it knowing exactly where to come in and where to pull back.”

“I noticed that when I saw him onstage too. He played knowing his place.”

Kang Taeo added calmly.

Instead of answering, Jeong Wooseok leaned closer to the speakers. The song had passed the instrumental break and entered the solo.

Jeong Wooseok’s brow tightened.

“But this solo… even I’d have trouble playing this.”

“…”

The fourth song began.

It was faster than the first three. The drums drove the entire song from the opening, and before the verse had even ended, Baek Gibeom’s hand was tapping out the beat on the table.

“This one’s great too. The way it builds up right before the chorus is exactly my style.”

“You’re already thinking about playing it?”

Jeong Wooseok asked with a dumbfounded look.

Instead of answering, Baek Gibeom kept tapping the table.

“Anyway, I really like this one.”

He said it like a final conclusion once the song ended.

The mood in the meeting room had already changed.

At first, they had been listening to pick out usable songs. At some point, it had become a listening session to figure out which songs to discard.

And so far, not one had been discarded.

The fifth song was different from the previous four as well. The tempo dropped sharply, and the bass took center stage. During the instrumental break, all the other instruments dropped out, leaving only the bass.

Jo Wonwoo listened blankly before murmuring softly.

“…I think I like this one the best.”

All five songs had ended.

As the lingering sound faded, only a heavy silence remained in the meeting room. The CEO rubbed his face, then turned to Kang Taeo.

“Taeo. Which one do you like best?”

“All five.”

There was not even a second of hesitation.

The CEO’s eyebrows twitched.

“All five?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t use all five. Then more than half the next album would be filled with that person’s songs.”

“The songs are good, so what does it matter? It’s not like we’re a team that doesn’t take outside songs, and we’re short on songs right now anyway.”

The CEO fell into thought at Kang Taeo’s rebuttal.

Filling over half an album with one composer’s songs was a gamble, but the demos they had just heard were more than worthwhile enough to take one.

The CEO looked over each member’s face. No one looked opposed.

“But why are you so sure?”

“…For some reason, they all just feel right in my mouth. I don’t know why.”

“Feel right in your mouth…”

The CEO did not press further. Instead, he turned toward the manager.

“Set up a meeting with the composer. Five songs aren’t something to discuss over the phone. Do we have contact information?”

“Only an email address.”

“Then email him. Tell him we want to meet as soon as possible.”

The CEO wrapped things up neatly.

“Everyone, get back to work. Taeo, stay. Let’s go over the terms together.”

After lunch, I was swamped with afternoon work and completely forgot about the demos.

The person who made me remember was Assistant Manager Kim at the next desk.

“Manager. Still no response from them? You said you sent it Friday night.”

Assistant Manager Kim kept their eyes on the monitor and lowered their voice.

“Who works on a Monday morning?”

“True. We’re not people on Monday mornings either.”

Assistant Manager Kim nodded obediently and tapped away at the keyboard.

Then, as though that conversation had been a signal, the phone in my pocket rang a few minutes later. It was a personal email notification.

The sender was Muri’s agency.

It was not the company I had belonged to in my previous life. It looked like Muri in this world had changed agencies at some point.

[We listened to the demos you sent.

We would like to request a meeting to discuss song selection and contract terms.

Please reply with a number where we can reach you, and we will coordinate a schedule.]

There was not a single specific word about the songs.

Not which tracks they had chosen, nor whether they had even liked them.

‘What did they choose? I hope it’s “Under the Black Sun.”’

Track 01, “Under the Black Sun,” was my favorite among the five I had sent.

In that other world, it had been released as one of the double title tracks on Muri’s fourth full-length album. It had held the number one spot on the Watermelon Chart for two months. It was also the song that first put Muri’s name on the Billboard chart.

I sent a brief reply with only my number.

Less than five minutes after I hit send, a call came from an unfamiliar number. Phone in hand, I got up from my desk and headed to the emergency stairwell at the end of the hall.

“Hello?”

“Hello. I’m Kang Taeo from Muri’s manager. Am I speaking with One Dragon?”

“Yes, this is One Dragon.”

“We listened to the demos you sent. Our CEO would like to meet with you and discuss them personally. Would you happen to have time this evening?”

“Today?”

“I know it’s sudden, but we want to meet you as soon as possible. Our office is in Gangnam, and I’ll send you the address by text.”

“I’ll be there by seven.”

“Thank you. Please contact me from the first floor when you arrive.”

When I returned to my desk after ending the call, Assistant Manager Kim was waiting with their chair turned halfway around.

“Who was that?”

“A client.”

“A music client?”

“…You’ve gotten sharp lately.”

“I’ve always been sharp.”

Assistant Manager Kim turned back to the monitor with a satisfied expression.

I put my phone in my pocket and hurried through the rest of my work.

As quitting time neared, sharp-eyed Assistant Manager Kim glanced toward the department head first.

“Manager, you should head out first. The department head is on the phone right now, so he won’t notice if you slip out.”

“…Thanks.”

“Have a good trip. I won’t ask where you’re going.”

It was obvious they knew everything, but I did not bother to call them out on it. I packed my bag and slipped out of the office a little before closing time, taking advantage of the department head’s voice rising beyond the partitions.

I arrived at Muri’s agency about ten minutes before the appointment.

When I called the number I had spoken with earlier that day, the manager came down to the lobby shortly afterward.

“Thank you for coming. I’ll show you upstairs.”

The CEO and Kang Taeo were already seated in the meeting room the manager led me to.

“Welcome. I’m Hwang Insoo, the CEO.”

“I’m One Dragon.”

I placed the business card I had been handed on the table and took a seat. Kang Taeo across from me gave a light nod.

‘It feels strange sitting across from that face in another agency’s meeting room.’

Before I could dwell on the thought for long, the CEO got straight to the point.

“I know you’re busy, so I’ll be brief. We want to use all five songs you sent.”

“…All five?”

“Yes. All of them.”

It was unexpected.

‘I thought I would be lucky if they picked one or two.’

I had sent five songs only to give them plenty to choose from. Yet instead of choosing, they wanted to take the entire set.

“We listened to them with the members, and we concluded there wasn’t a song we could throw away.”

Kang Taeo added from beside him.

The CEO turned a page in the documents and continued.

“These are the terms we have in mind. Ten million won per song, so fifty million won for all five. Of course, the composition and lyric copyrights will remain with you, Mr. One Dragon.”

Fifty million won.

The negative twenty-six million won balance in my account vanished from my head in an instant.

‘…My overdraft line will turn positive in one go?’

Careful not to let my expression show, I took a sip from my teacup.

“I have one thing to confirm. This contract has nothing to do with songs I write for other bands, correct?”

“Of course. This contract applies only to these five songs.”

A clean answer.

I nodded and accepted the documents.

Then Kang Taeo leaned slightly over the table and spoke.

“But Mr. Lee Han Yong, do you have more songs like these?”

“Songs like these…?”

“Songs that are a perfect fit for Muri.”