Volume 1 / Chapter 42
TL: LightNovelCafe
“Music is thought.”
Yoon Jung Su saw Jun Hyuk in a different light when he responded without hesitation. Amateurs tended to think that music was sacred. Usually, the answers to a question like this was that it was their dream, life, or challenge. That was after much contemplation as well.
“Thought? Why?”
“People have all kinds of thoughts all day without a second to spare. It’s because I have music instead of those thoughts.”
“There’s constantly music in your head?”
“Sometimes it’s music and sometimes they’re sounds since sounds are also music. No… is music sounds? It’s confusing.”
Yoon Jung Su thought that fireworks had gone off in his head. Could he have been born with the God-given talent that is said to be lucky to appear once a century?
There is a saying in art and sports: There’s only one way a person who tries hard can beat a person born with talent. He can win if the person born with talent quits.
The first people who recognize a gift are parents. Even today, there are countless children who are led to the doors of famous musicians or artists by their parents. They all say the same words,
“We have no doubt that our child is a genius.”
However, the reply is also always the same,
“No, he has some talent but he is not a genius. He’s simply a little more advanced than the average child. That difference is very insignificant as well.”
The parents leaving all say,
“He can’t even recognize a genius!”
The former world record for the 100m race for 23 years was 0.16 seconds. But the monster Usain Bolt shortened it to 0.14 seconds in a year while beating his own record.
Usain Bolt’s spine is curved due to a congenital disease scoliosis.
As such, there are also people who are born with a talent that others cannot attain with hard work. There is an innate ranking in gifts one is born with.
Yoon Jung Su was curious about the ranking of Jun Hyuk’s talent when he said that he constantly heard music,
“Then do you want to become a star through your music?”
“They said that I don’t need to make an effort to be a star. They said that I would become a star no matter what because I was born a genius.”
“Who said that?”
“My boss.”
“Your boss? Oh, the owner of the cafe you work at?”
“Yes.”
Could it be that a cafe owner who does not know anything is mistaken in believing that Jun Hyuk’s insignificant talent was something incredible? Was this case like with other parents who were under the illusion that their children were geniuses? Is this why Jun Hyuk had such an arrogant personality?
“Why does your boss think that?”
“I never forget a song I hear once and he said that every sound in the world becomes music in my head. All I have to do is get out the music that’s in my head. What did he say that was….?”
“Absolute pitch?”
“Yes, that’s right. Absolute pitch. He said that only a few people are born with this talent and of them, I’m top quality.”
“Remembering music after hearing it once could just mean that you have a really good memory. And getting the music in your head out doesn’t mean that you’re a genius. That music has to be good.”
“Is that right?”
Writing the entire music scores of all instruments in an hour long symphony was impossible with a good memory. This is what the cafe owner said, but music expert Yoon Jung Su was saying something different. Jun Hyuk tilted his head slightly.
Jun Hyuk tried to speak, but was cut off when Yoon Jung Su continued to talk,
“And you’ve only shown us your arrangements until now. You’ve never made your own music. Of course the arranging skills you’ve shown us are outstanding. However, in music you need to have a fundamental creative base. I want to see if you’ve got creative potential.”
At that moment, Jun Hyuk’s eyes sparkled,
“I want to do my music as well, but they keep saying stuff about mission songs and won’t let me do my own.”
“What? Ha ha ha. There is that. Hey, Producer Kim! This is your fault.”
Yoon Jung Su yelled to Producer Kim Ki Sik who was filming the interview from a distance. The fast-thinking VJ filmed this scene including Producer Kim Ki Sik who was laughing in shock.
“Then do you have an original song prepared?”
“I have a lot. I can make a few in a day if I put my mind to it.”
“What? A few songs in one day? Hah.”
The people who created the most songs in the shortest time were children. They made music while constantly humming, but none of the songs were fit to be used.
Teenagers wrote songs by scratching out the guitar chords they are used to hearing. They may not know it themselves, but it was plagiarism. With songs like this, it was possible to make dozens in a day.
“Then should we hear it? What do you think? How about the song you like most out of all the songs you’ve made so far?”
Jun Hyuk thought for a bit and spoke,
“The song I like most is difficult to play right now. It’s a symphony so I need an orchestra.”
“What symphony?”
“Yes. Oh… right. There’s something I made not too long ago. During the 2nd mission with Nam Seung Hee, I made a song that would be perfect for her tone. I’ll play that for you.”
Yoon Jung Su was taken aback by the two words, symphony and orchestra, that Jun Hyuk had just said. What did he mean, symphony?
The only famous Korean composer was Yoon Yi Sang. From Kyeongnam, Tongyong, he performed in Germany and was proudly chosen to be in New York Metropolitan Museum’s 20 contemporary musicians.
No other composer came to mind. Of course there was a decrease in the number of people composing symphonies these days, but this was an issue of basic skills.
How could a teenager he had thought of as immature talk about symphonies?
Yoon Jung Su wanted to hang on to Jun Hyuk and ask him, but he was already sitting at a piano,
“Teacher, I’ll start now.”
Jun Hyuk smiled brightly as he started playing the piano. That smile did not disappear until the music ended.
Yoon Jung Su pictured a Pocari Sweat commercial from Jun Hyuk’s song. Warm sunlight, a beautiful blue sea. Greece’s Santorini with walls as white as a swan.
The piano melody was smooth, beautiful, and clear.
“What do you think? Teacher? Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s good. Really.”
There was nothing else to say. It was good. Really good. It could be played for at least 20 years.
“You said you made this two days ago? During the 2nd mission?”
“Yes. Nam Seung Hee sang the Finkl song as a jazz song then. But it seemed like ballads are perfect for that girl.”
“So you just made a ballad song on the spot?”
“Yes.”
“How about the lyrics? What is it about? Did you write them?”
“Oh, I can’t write lyrics.”
“You haven’t written them?”
“No, I’m saying I can’t write lyrics. It hasn’t been long since I learned hangul… and I’m not very good at expressing emotions with words.”
He could not believe that it had not been long since Jun Hyuk learned hangul, but he remembered Jun Hyuk’s past and shut his mouth. Expressing emotions. Expression itself is spoken or in writing. Expressing with speech and writing is literature.
Jun Hyuk had learned too little to express himself in words. When Yoon Jung Su did not speak, Jun Hyuk said something unexpected,
“Could you perhaps write the lyrics?”
“What? Me?”
“Yes, you write songs well.”
“I don’t know. You made the song. You have to write the lyrics according to your emotions. Isn’t it weird if I write them?”
“No… I took my emotions and made the song, so couldn’t you write the lyrics according to the emotions you felt by listening to it?”
Jun Hyuk’s potential had already been confirmed after hearing the song he made for Nam Seung Hee. There was also a reason why he did not sing and was persistent on playing instrumentals. His intention was to give everyone listening to his music the freedom to feel and interpret it.
Yoon Jung Su realized that Jun Hyuk had the capacity to become an impressive musician instead of being just another singer.
Kim Ki Sik who had been filming this entire interview smiled widely as he thought that he had killed two birds with one stone. A song created for one girl. Yoon Jung Su confirmed Jun Hyuk’s musicality with this song and the camera had filmed his feelings for Nam Seung Hee.
All that was left was what viewers called the devil’s edit.
