NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
Chapter 1
[Lee Moon-seok, a master of the music industry, reveals that he hopes to collaborate with genius composer and producer Min Hyun-seung on his upcoming album….]
[Genius composer and producer Min Hyun-seung has decided to appear as a judge on the major audition program K-Voice…]
[Billboard chart 1st place for 8 consecutive weeks, boy group BYU’s ‘Tomorrow’ acceptance speech includes the statement, ‘It’s thanks to producer Min Hyun-seung,’ causing a stir.]
Every song he released topped the music charts.
Moreover, he had never properly learned composition.
A nice house, a nice car, and steadily accumulating music revenue….
When he thinks about it.
Min Hyun-seung lived with the feeling that the whole world was at his feet.
“I’ll try to raise as much money as possible, so please, just give me a song….”
“Composer, I really have a great friend…”
“I’m begging on my knees like this, so please give me just one chance…”
Everyone was groveling to receive a song.
His songs were a guaranteed ticket to success.
It seems that it was the same on that day as well.
“It’s 2 billion won. It’s money made from selling my house, my car, using bank loans, and even borrowing from loan sharks. The kids have bet everything on this album…”
The head of a small entertainment company came to him with a briefcase of money.
The point was simple.
It was a request for a song for an artist working for their company.
“I don’t want to?”
Why did he decline at that time?
“Please….”
Is it because the amount of money isn’t enough to move him?
“I said I don’t want to, and yet you keep pushing.”
It wasn’t because the amount offered was particularly low.
He’s given away songs for less.
Heck, sometimes he’s given a song for absolutely nothing.
Maybe.
It seems he just wasn’t in the mood to give away a song.
“… I’ll die.”
Should he have given the song back then?
“…If you don’t give me the song, I’ll die.”
It was the expression of a man pushed to the precipice.
Yet, despite that.
He turned around and said casually.
“Then go ahead and die.”
With those words, his life began to crumble.
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[CS Entertainment CEO Kim Moon-seok commits suicide at home! Bereaved family claims it was because of composer A]
The foundation of his life began to crack wide open.
[The suicide note and a recorded tape of the late CEO Kim Moon-seok have been found, prompting an urgent investigation into composer A…]
The head of the small entertainment company, who said they would die if he didn’t give him a song, actually committed suicide.
If Hyun-seung could, he wanted to shout, ‘If you have the courage to die, then you should somehow save your company.’
“Shit….”
The problem was that the blame for CEO Kim’s suicide was being directed at him.
The ‘composer A’ mentioned in the articles was clearly referring to him.
People were convinced that ‘Composer A’ was him and kept pointing fingers.
[Composer A is definitely Min Hyun-seung. He was always known for having a nasty personality, right?]
↳ [Among insiders, he was notorious for power tripping. Plus, there were widespread rumors about his messy relationships with women.]
↳ [I heard there are many singers who retired after working with him.]
[But the song is good, right?]
↳ [I’ll be boycotting it.]
↳ [ Yeah, he’s a murderer. ]
[A post has appeared claiming that a former classmate was a victim of bullying by Min Hyun-seung. Coordinates included. ]
↳ [Shouldn’t we fact-check it first?]
↳ [Fact-checking? Just looking at it, it looks like something a bully would do.]
↳ [Yes, Yes, Seems like he must have had a terrible temper since he was young.]¹
Starting with that suicide, speculative rumor articles grew larger and multiplied endlessly.
Collective insanity.
While it’s true that he was sensitive during work and did exhibit power-tripping behavior with insiders…
Stories about bullying or frequenting nightlife establishments as if they were his own home were all false.
[Wow, the great Min Hyun-seung has fallen into ruin. Kekeke]
↳ [ I guess he can’t continue his career now? ]
↳ [Serves him right, he looks creepy. ]
The agency only advised him to be cautious and then there was no news after that.
‘Forget it….’
People were mocking me as if he had lost everything.
For a second.
Although he thought the same, he still had something most important left.
Talent.
Yes, Min Hyun-seung thought that if he released a new song under a new name, it would be enough.
Because there would definitely be people lining up to buy the songs and those who wanted to sing them.
Since he had reached this point with just his talent, he thought, it wouldn’t matter.
‘Everything will be fine.’
*Ring* *Ring*
At that moment, a phone call suddenly came in.
[ Hyun-ah ]
Hyun-seung frowned as he checked the caller ID.
A younger sister with whom he wasn’t on speaking terms.
It was because he was receiving a call from Hyun-ah.
– Brother, come to the hospital right now.
He recognized the urgency in her voice.
To their father who is in the hospital…
Something must have happened.
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Does it happen when good things happen and bad things follow?
“What on earth…”
His father, whom he hadn’t seen in months, was not only so thin that he could hardly recognize them, but also had patches of jaundice on his face.
Hearing-impaired.
Originally born deaf, their father had been battling pancreatic cancer for quite a long time.
“Why didn’t you say anything until it got to this point?!”
It was clear that their condition had worsened significantly since the last time.
“Min Hyun-ah, why didn’t you…!”
At that moment, their father waved his hand in the air, separating the two siblings, and spoke.
– What are you two fighting about?
Hyun-seung raised his voice, even though their father, speaking slowly in sign language, couldn’t hear it.
“Why didn’t you say anything until it got this bad?!”
Hyun-ah interrupted those words.
“Has Brother stopped by our house even once in all these months?”
“What?”
“You think you can just send us money and that’s it?”
He just thought that everything was going smoothly.
Things were always going well…
Hyun-seung thought his father’s condition would gradually improve.
He lived on that assumption.
Using being busy as an excuse to ignore everything.
All alone.
It was clear that he had taken things for granted.
“That’s-.”
It was just at the moment he was about to make an excuse.
*BAM!*
Hyun-ah immediately left the hospital room.
– Hyun-seung, don’t fight with your sister. After Dad is gone, you two are the only family left.
Hyun-seung soon responded in sign language.
– Don’t say that. Dad, don’t worry about the hospital bills. Just get all the surgery and treatment you need and focus on getting better.
It was just as his Father was replying with a feeble gesture, ‘Of course.’
“Huh?”
There was sheet music laid out on the bedside table in his hospital bed.
“This is….”
It was the sheet music for a song he had composed.
– I had asked Hyun-ah to get it for me.
– Why would Dad need sheet music….
Why would a hearing-impaired father need sheet music?
– Just.
Hyun-seung brushed it off as unimportant and nodded and replied.
– Just wait a moment.
Thinking that he should first have a conversation with his sister Hyun-ah, he left the hospital room.
“Min Hyun-ah.”
As he left the hospital room, he saw Hyun-ah sitting on a chair at the end of the hallway.
“I need to talk to you for a minute.”
“I don’t have anything to say.”
“Dad’s condition is….”
Hyun-ah replied in a troubled tone.
“They said Dad doesn’t have much time left.”
Hyun-ah’s eyes quickly became wet with tears.
“What…?”
It was like a bolt out of the blue.
“The cells have already metastasized and there’s nothing they can do….”
That was then.
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, the world seemed to spin out of focus.
Vertigo.
Along with it, an unbearable ringing in his ears.
“U… U… Uh…”
Hyun-ah shook his shoulder.
“Bro, what’s up with you all of a sudden?”
Only then did everything return to normal.
“…It’s nothing.”
Finishing those words, he immediately stood up and left.
“Bro, at least say goodbye to Dad before you leave!”
Hyun-ah shouted anxiously behind him as he hurriedly rushed out of the hospital….
It was only when he fled through the hospital like that he realized something.
“Huff, Huff….”
For a moment, he had forgotten how to breathe.
He was sure of it.
It was clear that something was wrong with him.
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How long had it been since then?
「Narci」
That was his second name as a music producer.
A name inspired by narcissism…
Min Hyun-seung thought it was a stage name that suited him well, living for his own egotistical ways.
Songs released under the new name were released.
“I knew this would happen.”
Just as expected, every song released under the new name ranked high on the music charts.
Controversy aside….
He believed it was a natural outcome since musical talent and skill don’t just disappear.
“Yeah, I knew this would happen…”
The public wasn’t that sophisticated.
They easily flare up and easily fade away.
Min Hyun-seung was already a forgotten name.
Whether it was causing a death while driving under the influence, scandals about promiscuous behavior, exposure of criminal activities, or even drug use, the public would quickly forget as long as the person took a brief period of time away from the spotlight.
‘I was just….’
He thought that his sins were trivial.
Wasn’t it an action not done of their own free will?
‘Yeah, just for a while.’
He thought it would be enough to live like this for a while.
While staying in seclusion like this…
He would be able to work under his real name again someday.
But.
It was shortly after that.
[The shocking identity of the genius rookie composer Narci.]
[Exclusive report, Narci’s identity is Min Hyun-seung?]
[Min Hyun-seung revealed to have been working under a new name…. ]
His name once again plastered the front pages of news and entertainment.
A whistleblower’s report?
People threw stones at him as if they had been waiting for this moment.
[Hey, this guy kills people and then comes crawling out to make money? Is he even human?]
↳ [What’s the point of having a pretty face and good skills if you’re a trash person?;;;]
↳ [A real person should have some level of shame. What the hell is he thinking? ]
↳ [What do you think they felt seeing their new name rise to the top of the music charts? Kekeke ]
Since then, forgetting how to breathe dozens of times a day became a routine for him. It was due to the worsening panic disorder.
Taking medication would make things a little better for a short time, but he had to spend the rest of the day in a haze.
– Well, as you know, the situation doesn’t allow us to maintain the contract. How about taking this opportunity to rest for a while…?
Amidst everyone throwing stones at him, the agency notified him of the contract termination.
At the height of his panic disorder, a phone call came from his sister.
– Big Brother….
The call was from Hyun-ah.
“What’s going on…?”
When he rushed to the hospital in desperation, he found his father lying in the intensive care unit.
Hyun-ah’s eyes were swollen from crying all night, and she seemed to have no more tears left to shed.
“Isn’t there an urgent need for surgery?”
Hyun-ah shook her head.
“They said they can’t do it because his liver readings are too low, and the cancer has already spread to his liver….”
Hyun-ah continued with difficulty.
“They said I should better prepare myself.”
It suddenly occurred to him.
From here….
Is there any place lower to fall?
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Their father was a frugal person.
Just one box.
The belongings sorted were all contained in just one box.
Half of the box was filled with his music scores.
‘Sheet music….’
His father had definitely been looking at the music scores even while in the hospital.
– I had asked Hyun-ah to get it for me.
Why did his deaf father have the sheet music for each of his songs?
Suddenly, a trivial question crossed his mind. He approached Hyun-ah, who was cleaning the living room, and spoke to her
“Hyun-ah, I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“There was a sheet of music in Dad’s hospital room.”
Hyun-ah nodded at the words.
“Father asked me to.”
“Someone whose ears don’t work.”
Hyun-seung asked again after a brief pause.
“What’s with the sheet music?”
Soon, Hyun-ah answered softly.
“He’s curious.”
A moment of silence followed.”
“He said he was so curious about the song you made that he wanted to at least imagine it by looking at the sheet music. Reluctantly, I brought it to him, and now he’s been staring at the sheet music all day…”
Their father, who had been looking at his sheet music.
“I was so upset that tears came to my eyes.”
*Drip* *Drip*.
What kind of feelings must he have had?
At that time.
Hyun-ah lowered her head.
“Min Hyun-seung.”
And then, in a low, subdued voice, she got to the point.
“Let’s live as if we’re strangers now.”
“Hyun-ah, you…”
“I’m fed up with it all.”
The relationship was too rotten to be summed up simply as ‘family.’
Where did things go wrong?
Once the connection of a Father was gone, the two of them became strangers.
“Hyun-ah…” Min-seung muttered.
Perhaps it’s just a natural progression.
“Goodbye.”
Hyun-ah, who was about to leave the house, stopped in front of the door and added.
“You’re just getting everything back.”
“Hyun-ah…”
“Keep living selfishly from now on.”
Hyun-ah added.
“Make sure to live better than others if possible.”
“Min Hyun-ah!”
“You’re living alone, with no family, nothing.”
She emphasized her final words with strength.
“Make sure to live better than others.”
With those words, Hyun-ah left the house.
*BAM!*
The front door was slammed shut.
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Before long, he found the river where he had scattered their father’s ashes alone.
“Father, I brought this to take with you as well.”
Hyun-seung muttered as he set down the thick bundle of sheet music bound with string.
“You should see how old these are.”
Sitting precariously on the seawall, he held the sheet music in his hand.
*Fwoosh*
He lit it with his lighter, and the pages burned brightly.
‘If there’s a next life, I’ll make sure you hear it then.’
He thought he had no tears left to cry.
Trying to send his father off alone…
Tears endlessly trickled down to his chin.
Hundreds of pages.
Only after burning the hundreds of pages of sheet music did he dust off of his butt and stood up.
“Huh?”
At that moment, as he brushed off the burnt paper fragments from his hands.
“Why, again….”
Once again, a buzzing noise echoed in his head.
It was painful.
He couldn’t breathe, and cold sweat streamed down his face.
The damn panic attack had struck again.
As always, he forgot how to breathe and gasped for air.
He sank to the floor and groaned.
It was worse than usual, and he couldn’t do anything about it.
“Aaarghh….”
He struggled to take out his cellphone, but his hand trembled so much that he dropped it into the water with an audible splash.
‘Please….’
His vision quickly went dark.
And then.
Absolute silence and darkness enveloped him.
‘Was Hyun-ah right?’
‘Is everything really my karma?’
He doesn’t know.
However, if given a chance.
‘I want to live differently…’
A different life where all this bad fortune can’t be called karma.
‘Father….’
Only at the threshold of death did I want to write a song for him.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. ㅇㅇ, 어릴 때부터 성질 더러웠을 것 같음.
“ㅇㅇ” or “ㅇ” is a shorthand for the word “응” (eung), which means “yes” or “that’s right.” Koreans often use these abbreviations when texting or chatting online to save time and effort.
It’s an informal way of saying “yes,” and it sounds friendlier than the more proper “네” (ne) for the same meaning. So, in the sentence you provided, it indicates agreement or affirmation. For example, if someone asks, “Did you enjoy the movie?” you could reply with “ㅇㅇ” to mean “Yes” or “I did.”