SMNTCERR, Chapter 74: <1001> #2.
“The studio that I mentioned before, they sent a sample for some parts. Is it okay if we try listening to it?”
“I already gave you rights to handle the sound, you can handle it.”
Jaeyoung researched a lot about music, looking for examples from various websites and asking acquaintances. The studio that was mentioned was a friend who had just formed a band and had not yet been certified, but everyone heard that they were all talented.
“Hello. Mister President, right? I really liked the sample you sent me yesterday, so I wanted to discuss the details with you. Is that okay? Oh, anytime is fine? If that’s the case, I’ll go out now. I’m not going alone. I’m going with my business partner. We’ll meet in about half an hour.”
Jaeyoung spoke his mind and said he would take Sangwoo with him. Although Sangwoo had a schedule planned in his mind, he closed his laptop and picked up his charger without saying anything. In fact, Jaeyoung could go alone, but he liked the way the other person called him. So, Sangwoo decided to go with him.
After finishing packing, Jaeyoung came closer and patted Sangwoo’s shoulder.
“Shall we go then?”
That word… Can you say it again?”
“What?”
“The word you called me when we talked on the phone.”
“What was it?”
“Golden fish brain… If you can’t remember, it’s okay.”
“What? I want to hear words like mine, darling, or something like that.”
‘This crazy guy.’
Jaeyoung glanced at Sangwoo’s face before jokingly saying that it was just a joke. However, the other person said it without realizing what it meant.
Sangwoo quickly walked down the stairs, still feeling embarrassed.
The studio was located in Yeonseokdong. Although it used to be a lively business district with many foreigners living there, there were still narrow alleys that were dark and unsafe. Jaeyoung spoke up, enduring the discomfort.
“Everything is great here, except for the difficult parking situation.”
“Why did you bring the car? Your eyesight isn’t very good.”
“
“I’m wearing contact lenses and it’s fine. If I want to go have dinner with you and go for a drive, I need a car.”
“The job is very clear.”
“If we’re not going on a trip, at least we should go for a drive together, right?
It’s about having the right attitude.”
Jaeyoung complained before calling the studio owner. After a few words, he hung up and it seemed like he heard the response to look for a spot on the side of the road and park wherever possible.
Jaeyoung took out a contact card from the console and placed it before getting out of the car. Sangwoo followed the other side up the stairs made of steel.
“Are you Jaeyoung?”
“Yes. Hello.”
“Oh, Seungyong said you were good-looking. You really are. And it must have been a difficult journey.”
When they opened the door, the thick-bearded man greeted Jaeyoung with a smile. He was a burly man, wearing a gold necklace around his neck. He shook hands with Jaeyoung before turning to find Sangwoo. Jaeyoung pointed his thumb towards Sangwoo and spoke.
“He’s the game developer.”
“The young man is talented. Please come in.”
Sangwoo emphasized that he was a business partner, not a young man. He didn’t say it to be funny, but Jaeyoung burst out laughing, and the bearded man smiled too.
The other side said that they weren’t experts in game music. There were posters of hip-hop singers and postcards designed as souvenirs on the walls, almost confirming the words of the owner. The interior of the building was well-decorated, unlike the dilapidated exterior. This made Sangwoo feel a little more confident, and they started the meeting in a room with three monitors and two synthesizers. The studio owner introduced his previous work on the game before playing a looped song that he thought would fit well with the action game.
“These days, it’s trendy to add variation [1]to the game music to avoid repetition. I tried to choose a song that would fit well with the action game.
What do you think?”
Jaeyoung sat quietly and looked at Sangwoo before he started to give his opinion.
“I like song number 2. Even though it uses short, repetitive chords that are different from the trend you mentioned, it’s often found in games from the past.
However, if you speed up the tempo by 1.3, it would be great.”
“Please follow my business partnership plan. And I want the atmosphere to be intense, like what you see in the plan. Our game concept is quite exciting.”
Jaeyoung hadn’t finished speaking yet when the studio owner played the original song again and immediately adjusted it in the program. Then he increased the tempo and lowered the tone to make it a completely different song, with a deep and haunting melody. Jaeyoung hugged his chest and laughed.
“You’re really good at this.”
“That’s great. It’s easy to understand. If so, the BGM should have this mood.
I’ll try to make a loop of eight or sixteen bars.”
While they were talking, the door suddenly opened and a tall, thin woman came in holding a tray with three cups of coffee. She then placed them in front of them, and the coffee still had steam rising from it. The studio owner leaned back in his chair with an incredulous look on his face.
Normally, we don’t have this kind of thing. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t ask the staff to do this.”
“If there are guests, we can welcome them. Hello, are you a singer from the
Rif project?”
The woman looked at the studio owner and smiled, then greeted Sangwoo and Jaeyoung. Sangwoo shook his head slightly, while Jaeyoung said, “Hello.”
“The action game development team I mentioned yesterday, they’re friends of Seungyong. This is Yoonhee, our songwriter.”
“Oh, that mobile game!”
The songwriter stood there stubbornly holding the tray, and the oppressive silence continued for a moment before the studio owner finally spoke up and asked her to sit down instead of standing like that. At that moment, Jaeyoung’s phone rang.
“I’m sorry. Excuse me for a moment…”
The other person on the phone answered a few words and then hung up.
Then he frowned.
“Some uncle I don’t know called to complain and asked me to take the car out.”
“He’s being difficult and not getting to the point. He usually doesn’t say anything, but he’s in a bad mood today. It might be a bit far, but turn right at the fourth intersection and there’s a paid parking lot. Let’s go park there.”
“Talk to the boss first… Sangwoo-ya.”
Jaeyoung got up and lightly patted Sangwoo’s shoulder before walking out. In the room, only Sangwoo, the owner of the studio, and the 3 songwriters remained. One of the songwriters immediately took Jaeyoung’s place and asked the studio owner,
“Who was that?”
“I already told you, he’s a friend of Seungyong’s.”
“What does he do, is he a model?”
“He’s a graphic design student, I heard.”
“A student, huh.”
The studio owner pulled his chair over to the computer and brought up the plan for “Veggie-Venturer” on the screen.
“Doesn’t look like the work of a student, does it?”
“Did he make this himself?”
Wow, it looks like a low-budget indie game.”
“That student is just all talk, his skills are at a pro level.”
Sangwoo pretended not to care, but in reality, he was listening to the entire conversation. Jaeyoung’s words filled him with pride because the designer he chose was not just anyone, but himself. And because he was a business partner who made the other party’s imagination come true.
The studio owner sipped his coffee and looked at the plan carefully before asking.
“Sangwoo, how many people are on your team?”
“Two people.”
They exchanged glances, making Sangwoo feel like showing off, wanting to announce that he was the planner and developer of “Veggie-Venturer” and worked with designer Jang Jaeyoung, who made this plan a reality.
“Students these days are really talented. When I was a student, all I did was drink.”
The studio owner laughed and returned to the reception desk. Suddenly, the songwriter who was staring at the monitor turned her attention to Sangwoo.
“Um… does that guy have a girlfriend?”
The studio owner chuckled and said, “Why are you asking me?”
The female songwriter’s eyes widened and she looked at Sangwoo. Although he didn’t want to answer anything, the woman still waited for an answer.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Really? I thought he must have one already! Oh, why did I dress so casually today? What should I do?”
“Whatever you do, invite him to have a meal with us.”
“But he’s younger than you! If he’s the same generation as Seungyong, how old is he? Twenty-six… or twenty-seven? Crazy… If I stand next to him, will I look old?”
“Why speak like that? It’s pointless.”
The studio owner laughed and seemed to be having fun. The red-faced songwriter held her cheeks and talked non-stop. They didn’t do anything wrong, but it made Sangwoo very upset. He thought about muting both of their voices.
“You’ve been sitting on the bridge all this time, why don’t you try inviting him to talk after the meeting? Say that you fell in love at first sight, who wouldn’t like that?”
“How can we do that? He might be uncomfortable.”
“Wait a minute. I didn’t know there was a corner like this. Normally, you’re very confident in yourself.”
The studio owner laughed and turned to Sangwoo.
And what do you want me to do? Just as Sangwoo was about to respond sharply, a loud ringing sound came from the entrance door of the studio. A young, energetic songwriter stood up and quickly spoke to the owner of the studio.
“I’m too excited to stay still. I’ll excuse myself first.”
The girl then left the room, and not long after, Jaeyoung came back and sat down next to Sangwoo.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, I just had a question about the game.”
“Chu Sangwoo, explain it clearly.”
“Oh, of course. We can solve the problem because of you, Sangwoo.”
‘Liar.’
While Sangwoo was staring at the studio owner, the meeting continued for about fifteen minutes. They talked about the song, delivery schedules, and fees, and even copyright issues, but Sangwoo didn’t feel excited at all.
The thick clouds that were difficult to understand covered Sangwoo’s sky, so he couldn’t meditate. He tried to remember the face of the songwriter, but it wasn’t easy. Was she pretty? If she invited Jaeyoung to have a meal, how would he react? She might be able to become Jaeyoung’s ‘new girlfriend’ because the man is currently single. ‘I feel bad.’
His heart was beating fast, but at the same time, he felt dissatisfied. Jaeyoung used his elbow to nudge him and asked for his opinion on something, but Sangwoo didn’t listen, so he didn’t know what to say.
“It’s strange, why are you so quiet?”
“Normally, Sangwoo isn’t a quiet person, right?”
“Don’t speak. Normally, he’s very fidgety, but it seems like he’s satisfied with all of your conditions, President. “
Jaeyoung patted Sangwoo’s shoulder and lightly tapped his back, causing Sangwoo to feel uncomfortable and grab his arm.
Both of them let go of Sangwoo like that and agreed to discuss the price before exchanging contracts. Jaeyoung signed his name with a signature like a worm and handed the paper and pen to Sangwoo. Sangwoo wrote his name in block letters under Jaeyoung’s name without reading any of the content.
“Don’t come complain later that I handled it alone.”
Jaeyoung looked at Sangwoo slightly while speaking. It was surprising that at that time, Sangwoo didn’t care about the contract documents at all, his mind was only focused on the fact that the meeting had ended, and the studio owner kept one copy of the contract in an envelope and handed it to Jaeyoung.
“Veggie-Venturer, it should be a fun job.”
“As long as the quality comes out like our examples, we’re satisfied, but if we hear that it’s going to be even better, we don’t want anything else. “
“We’ll have to wait and see. Is the game still in development?”
“The big framework is done, but there are still some development issues.
Anyway, please take care of it, President.”
“Yes. If there are any changes, please call me. Goodbye.”
Jaeyoung stood up from his seat. While Sangwoo was still looking anxiously at the mirror on the door, he couldn’t see clearly outside.
“What are you doing? Get up.”
Sangwoo got up firmly and walked out through the door that Jaeyoung had left open. The area with the table and sofa had no trace of the songwriter, and they had to hurry out of here before she came out. Sangwoo walked ahead quickly.
“Not that way.”
Jaeyoung grabbed Sangwoo’s shoulder, who was about to twist the doorknob in the wrong direction, and turned him towards the opposite direction. As he was about to open the studio door and leave, the studio owner stopped them.
“Wait, Jaeyoung.”
“Yes?”
‘This is actually a somewhat personal matter…’
The other party smiled shyly and then pointed their finger towards the back and continued.
“My employee just told me that he likes you, Jaeyoung. It seems like you don’t have a girlfriend yet. If that’s the case, why don’t you come have dinner with us? You’re someone who’s easy to get along with.”
“What? That’s not really my business.”
Sangwoo glared at the owner of the studio with a fierce expression. The other party didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, but he suddenly became angry. Jaeyoung clearly stated that he would have dinner with Sangwoo, but it was just an empty promise. He wondered how much the other party who liked to do things on his own terms could be bound.
“Please apologize to her, but I’m already chatting with someone right now.”
However, Jaeyoung unexpectedly responded to Sangwoo’s question with a nonchalant attitude. Then he turned his gaze back to Sangwoo.
____________________________________.
[1] Variation. The part that deviates from the main melody.
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