Devil’s Music

"Who wears sunglasses indoors, thinking they won't be recognized? Take them off, it's just my nephew inside, it's fine."

Upon Yongtae's words, Geon took off his sunglasses and hat, taking a sip of the coffee Eunpyo had brought him. Yongtae looked at Geon drinking his coffee with a pleased expression and said,

"Wow, it's funny how people connect. What if In-tae hadn't introduced you to me back then? You would have become a star anyway because of your talent, but it's almost like that connection got you started in music, right? You were in humanities before that, weren't you?"

"Yeah, hyung. Before that, I was just a student who liked to sing. I didn't even know how to play the guitar, haha."

"Right, you hadn't even properly touched a guitar before you got into Juilliard's guitar department. It's quite a miraculous connection. Are you still in touch with Producer Young-seok?"

"Of course, he moved to another broadcaster and is now a CP."

"Oh, really? I knew he moved, but to become a CP, that's great. He was a capable PD, so I thought he'd be successful."

"Yeah, the song about the Himalayas was for Producer Young-seok's program, wasn't it?"

"Ah, right. I was going to ask about that. That documentary felt so real, you could even act in it."

"That wasn't acting. It was made with footage of journalists working and ambulance dashcam videos. I only made the music."

"Really? That was all real?"

"Yeah, hyung. I was so exhausted, I asked for a favor before I passed out and fell asleep, and they just filmed that."

Yongtae, In-tae, and Eun-pyo were at a loss for words, realizing that the video was all about Geon's experiences, not knowing what to say because of the unimaginable sadness.

Seeing their expressions, Geon smiled and said,

"It's okay now, you don't have to look at me like that."

Yongtae tried to lighten the slightly awkward atmosphere by clearing his throat and saying,

"Well, I'm glad you're okay. Ah, look at me. My niece is a huge fan of yours, say hello to her."

Yongtae turned off the background music playing inside the studio and spoke into the microphone,

"Ji-yi, we have a guest, could you come out to greet them?"

Ji-yi took off her headphones, looking annoyed as she opened the studio door abruptly,

"Ah, I only have an hour left, uncle! Who did you call me out for...... Oh!"

Ji-yi's eyes caught the sight of a stunningly beautiful young man sitting comfortably on the sofa.

A young man with slightly long hair covering his forehead, sharp yet gentle eyes, looking at her with a smile. Ji-yi, trembling, raised her hand and said,

"K...Kay?"

Yongtae, seeing Ji-yi's reaction, chuckled.

"See, you didn't believe me when I said I knew him well, now you owe him an apology?"

Ji-yi, seemingly not hearing Yongtae's words, just stared at Geon with her mouth agape. Yongtae shook his head at Ji-yi's reaction and told Geon,

"Give her an autograph before you leave."

Geon smiled and said,

"Okay, hyung."

Geon looked at Ji-yi, who was still staring at him in disbelief, thinking,

"Doesn't recognize me? Haha, this is turning out to be fun."

After a small laugh, Geon asked Yongtae,

"Hyung, you were working on game music, right?"

"Yeah, just a freelance job. An airplane shooting game."

"Did you make the music?"

"Yeah, I did, but it got rejected once. They only paid three hundred thousand won for the freelance work but expected such high quality. If they wanted that level of quality, they should've paid more. But these days, it's hard to make ends meet, so I just accepted it."

"Can I take a look?"

"Sure, you want to?"

Geon pulled up a chair next to Yongtae, and Yongtae showed him the PC screen,

"You've done hip-hop, so you know how to use CUBASE, right? This was made with that program, you should be able to recognize it. Take a look. I'll go out for a smoke with In-tae."

"Okay, hyung."

As In-tae and Yongtae stepped out, Eunpyo, seizing the opportunity, pointed his phone camera at Geon,

"Mr. Geon, please look here, just one picture!"

Geon, smiling, posed for a few pictures with Eunpyo, who then leaned in for a selfie with a familiar ease and snapped several photos, displaying a satisfied smile.

"Hehehe, can I post this on social media? My friends won't believe me when I tell them I met Mr. Geon."

"Sure, go ahead. Haha."

Ji-yi, observing Eunpyo and Geon, approached cautiously and said,

"Um... oppa, I'm also a fan, could I take a picture with you?"

Geon smiled warmly and responded,

"Sure, why not?"

As Geon naturally used informal language, Ji-yi took it as a sign of friendliness and smiled broadly, snapping several photos with her phone.

After taking the photos, Geon turned his attention back to the PC screen. Ji-yi, sitting on the sofa and looking at the photos she had taken with Geon, sent them to her friends' group chat. Soon, her phone started buzzing like crazy.

Jin-kyung: OMG!!!!!! It's Kay!

Mi-young: What, what! Ji-yi, are you with Kay right now? Where did you meet him? Are you in Nepal?

Moon-sun: OMG...... This is huge!

Sang-mi: Did Kay come to Korea? I see 'Emergency Exit' written in Korean in the background?

Yeon-ju: Wow, he's so handsome. I'm so jealous. Could you get his autograph for me, my love Ji-yi~?

Ji-yi began replying with the speed characteristic of a high school girl.

Ji-yi: I'm with Kay right now. He's so handsome. Like, seriously handsome. Mega handsome. It's crazy.

Moon-sun: What? Where are you?

Ji-yi: Cheongdam-dong

Yeon-ju: ?? Cheongdam-dong?

Sang-mi: Are you talking about your uncle's studio? So, your uncle really knows Kay, then?

Ji-yi's smile grew wider as she noticed her friends' explosive interest.

Ji-yi: I'm sitting right next to Kay, in a two-square-meter space.

Yeon-ju: What???? What????

Sang-mi: Hey, quickly call a group video chat. Hurry up, girl!

Moon-sun: I want to see too...... so jealous......

Ji-yi: I'm busy enjoying my date with Kay right now. I'll talk to you guys later tonight. Bye!

Mi-young: Hey!!! Ji-yi!! Girl!!!

Ji-yi switched her phone to silent mode and tucked it away in her pocket, her attention returning to Geon, who was focused on the PC screen.

'Wow, he really is handsome. I wish he was my brother... Kay is known for really caring about his sister, wouldn't it be great if I were Kay's sister?'

Regardless of Ji-yi's thoughts, Geon was deeply engrossed in adjusting the musical notes on the PC screen, leaning back in the computer chair and pondering,

'For a flight shooting game, the basic sounds that come with shooting actions could interfere with the BGM. Removing the beat and focusing on the sound recording might be better.'

Geon proceeded to remove the basic beat that indicated rhythm in the CUBASE program.

'To maintain excitement, the score should not just provoke tension but also have weight. It seems they wanted to give it a majestic feel, but that doesn't suit the casual nature of the game.'

Geon looked at the game graphics running as an APK file on one side of the PC screen. The mechanics were well-represented in the graphics, but the game focused more on dodging an onslaught of missiles rather than shooting at targets, making it closer to a bullet hell game. Geon began modifying the notes accordingly.

Ji-yi, watching Geon become instantly absorbed in his work, thought,

'So this is what a genius looks like. Look at him concentrate. They say men look their best when they're focused, and it's true. Wow, he's so cool.'

In-tae and Yongtae returned from smoking, having had a chat, and Yongtae saw Geon working on the PC alone while Eunpyo was engrossed in his phone, chuckling at Eunpyo before landing a playful hit on his head.

"This guy. You should pay more attention here, he's our breadwinner. Look how diligently he's working."

Eunpyo, holding his head in pain, protested,

"Ow! Stop hitting my head, hyung!"

Geon, having finished his focus, let out a sigh. Yongtae, noticing Geon's work on the PC screen, was intrigued and said,

"Hyung, I made some adjustments to the music you had. I saved your original separately. Since it's a shooting game, I thought the beat might be distracting, so I removed it and went for a more urgent feel instead.

>

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