CHAPTER 17
“So if you place the harmony here like this, the whole mood changes, right? And then if you tweak this part up to here…”
Easy explanations.
Intuitive examples.
It was obvious why Jung Tae-sung’s classes were popular. Even boring theory became engaging when he mixed in metaphors and jokes.
When he played just a couple of measures to demonstrate difficult harmonic progressions, it became much easier to focus.
‘The problem is.’
While explaining, Jung Tae-sung’s eyes met mine. He grinned and even gave me a wink.
‘…What is he doing?’
I had no idea why, but it was uncomfortable.
Next to me, Moon Ah-rin tapped my shoulder. Then she leaned close and whispered,
“The professor keeps looking at me. He really likes me.”
“……”
I just nodded vaguely.
Anyone is free to be mistaken.
Jung Tae-sung returned to the podium and leaned back casually.
“Alright. Since it’s the first day, should we end class here?”
“Yes!”
“Wow!”
Cheers erupted from around the room.
Everyone had been restless since he’d actually started real lessons on the very first day.
“But!”
He placed sheet music on the desk and continued,
“I’m assigning homework.”
“Aww…”
“On the first day?”
“Homework already?”
A few students who were close with him openly complained, but he showed no sign of backing down.
“It’s simple! I’ll give you a basic melody. Add harmonies to it and create four different versions with completely different moods. Easy, right?”
He said it lightly, but no one’s face relaxed.
“Oh come on~ Don’t exaggerate. You guys can finish this in no time! I’ll pass the sheets around from the front.”
“Boo.”
“If you keep whining, I’ll add one more assignment.”
At his joking threat, the students immediately went quiet.
“Alright then. Submit it next week!”
With that, Jung Tae-sung left briskly.
“Homework on the first day. That’s harsh.”
“Seriously.”
“But it might be better this way for Seol. She needs to catch up, right?”
Ah-rin casually put me down.
As if I, having transferred in, was behind and needed to catch up to everyone else.
‘Here we go again.’
In the past, that might have shaken me.
Not anymore.
The sheet music was passed from the front row backward. Soon, mine reached me.
‘Looks like everyone’s version is slightly different.’
Mine and Ah-rin’s were similar but had small differences.
As soon as I checked the score, a quest window appeared.
[ SYSTEM – SUB QUEST ]
Complete your first assignment successfully!
Description: This is your first assignment after transferring. Finish it well and leave a good first impression.
Condition: Achieve an A or higher.
Reward: Reputation increase – “Better than expected?” (Professors and classmates will view you more favorably.)
Penalty: Reputation decrease – “As expected, transfer students lack fundamentals.” (Trust from professors and classmates decreases.)
I was almost used to this by now. I skimmed it and closed the window.
“Seol, how does it look?”
“Hmm. The base melody is easy to build on. It shouldn’t be too hard.”
Ah-rin studied my expression for a moment, then smiled and gently pushed her own sheet toward me.
“So, Seol.”
Her sweet smile filled my vision.
“Why don’t you do this one too? It’ll be good practice for you.”
Wow.
Would you look at that.
“You want me to do your assignment?”
“It’s not like that. Like I said earlier, we’ve done this kind of thing countless times since freshman year. But you haven’t. So I thought it’d be good for you to get more experience.”
Her words flowed smoothly.
“Of course, you could practice alone. But if you submit it as homework, you’ll get the professor’s feedback too.”
She smiled casually as she continued.
“I’m just thinking about what would help you. I’ll support you so you can do well!”
“How will you support me?”
I asked calmly, curious how far she would go.
“I’ll help with ideas, find reference songs for you. It’ll be much easier, right?”
In other words, I’d be doing all the work.
She tapped the sheet music with her finger again.
“Sounds good, right? If you keep practicing like this, your skills will improve fast. I’m saying this because I really care about you.”
Hearing that reminded me of something.
Back when I had taken a leave of absence and was studying composition under her guidance.
—Seol, I’ll teach you based on what I learned at school and give you assignments. You’ll improve quickly!
She had really given me assignments back then.
I had been grateful and apologetic, thinking she was like a private tutor helping me. Even when the workload kept increasing, I never complained.
Looking back…
Had she been passing off her school assignments to me from the beginning?
‘Maybe she tested me with one or two at first. When she saw it worked, she made me handle everything.’
The memory left a cold chill in my chest.
With those assignments, Ah-rin had earned scholarships.
Through those connections, she grew close to Jung Do-hyun and stepped onto a bigger stage.
I had been nothing more than a silent shadow working behind the scenes.
Back then, I thought she was amazing.
Now, thinking she had stolen my songs to build that success—
It made me sick.
‘You think it’ll go your way again?’
Something cold and solid rang in my chest.
This time is different.
My songs won’t be stolen.
And I won’t be used the same way again.
Slowly, I raised my head and looked at Ah-rin.
Then I answered gently, even adding a soft smile.
“Okay. Sure. I’ll do it.”
“Mm!”
Ah-rin smiled brightly, as if she had expected that answer.
I smiled back.
But inside, flames of anger were rising.
***
“Damn it. I even left a comment. Why hasn’t he responded yet?”
Min Chan-hyuk muttered, biting his nails.
He refreshed SoundPlace repeatedly, but there was no reply.
‘He didn’t already sign with another producer, did he? Please don’t let that be it.’
The continued silence made him increasingly anxious.
Click.
He refreshed again out of habit.
A notification flashed in the corner of the screen.
“Finallyyyyy!”
He jumped up from his seat and shouted.
With trembling hands, he clicked the notification.
A message had arrived from the composer “YULE.”
“Gasp!”
He quickly opened it and read.
The excitement in his breathing slowly settled.
“…Huh?”
He blinked.
The response was completely different from what he expected.
Until now, he had imagined only two possibilities.
‘Option one: Sure. I’ll sell it.
Option two: No. I won’t.’
That was it.
But YULE had chosen a third option.
[ Hello, this is composer YULE.
I saw your comment and am contacting you accordingly. First, thank you for evaluating my track so highly.
I am willing to provide the source, but I have one condition.
I do not wish to remain merely a source provider.
I would like to participate directly in the overall composition process and create the music together.
I understand that this may be an unreasonable request from a newcomer, but since you seem to recognize the value of this piece, I wanted to be honest.
If you are willing to accept this condition, I would gladly collaborate.
Thank you for reading. ]
Min Chan-hyuk raised his eyebrows.
“This is ridiculous.”
Most rookies were satisfied with a one-time buyout.
Usually, they were just thrilled their song was being sold.
Participating in the entire composition process meant that YULE’s name would go on the credits as a composer.
Getting credit was a privilege reserved for those with experience and proven results.
And yet, YULE was demanding to break through that wall.
“This is absurd.”
Under normal circumstances, Min Chan-hyuk would have laughed and rejected it.
But—
The most frustrating part was that he couldn’t easily turn it down.
The track had that much value.
was worth it.
‘It’s like he knows exactly how valuable it is. He doesn’t feel like a rookie at all.’
Min Chan-hyuk narrowed his eyes and muttered,
“Just who are you?”
