Blue Tiger, real name Lim Hyeonsu.
She was a musical prodigy who stayed on top of current trends while maintaining a solid foundation of skills. She recently delved into songwriting, and her reputation skyrocketed because of her clever lyrics.
She was a surefire bet for success, with her bank account overflowing with wealth…
“But why should that even matter?”
She wasn’t feeling well at the moment.
To add to her troubles, she was grappling with the challenge of creating the title track for the upcoming comeback of the renowned girl group White Cherry, who were making waves in Korea and even in the United States.
But she couldn’t find a satisfactory melody, which frustrated her to no end.
Lim Hyeonsu became extremely irritable whenever this happened, and the studio staff avoided her.
However, today, something was different.
“Hey, didn’t I tell you not to let outsiders in?”
An outsider was in the studio for crying out loud!
The staff trembled as they saw the man sitting in the studio lobby. He seemed to be in his early 20s and gave off an aura of someone not to be messed with.
He was handsome enough to be a celebrity, but the staff couldn’t recall ever seeing him on TV.
“Hello, I’m Seo Hoyun.”
“Who?”
“Seo Hoyun.”
The man smiled impudently and greeted her. The staff shuddered.
She’d never heard of him. Lim Hyeonsu gave him a cold look and turned her back to the staff.
“Get him out of here.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Can I have a word with you for a moment?”
Where were you going? I turned to Lim Hyeonsu and spoke to her, grabbing her attention. She looked at me irritably.
“Excuse me, I’m busy right now.”
“Yes, I understand. I won’t take up much of your time.”
“I don’t have time for that either.”
Lim Hyeonsu’s temper hadn’t changed. I looked at the system window hovering above her.
[Lim Hyeonsu
Musical genius
Sometimes she works as a lyricist as well.
Note: Her temper is very, very, very bad.]
I knew that. Didn’t you know I’ve worked with Lim Hyeonsu several times? I’d been cursed at by her on more than one occasion for making a mistake.
As she glanced at me from head to toe, shaking her head in disgust, it seemed she didn’t really remember. I realized again that I was really in a game. I held out the shopping bag I’d brought with me.
“What’s this?”
Lim Hyeonsu was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the shopping bag, but I seized the opportunity.
“Ms. Composer, I heard that you like this particular sake from Hokkaido, so I looked it up and brought it for you.”
“What? This is… hard to find in Korea.”
Lim Hyeonsu took the sake out of the shopping bag and examined it closely. I could tell from her expression that she was thoroughly enjoying it.
Yeah, that’s right. It was hard to find.
Despite being wary of me, Lim Hyeonsu accepted the gift without any resistance. It seemed she didn’t want it because she thought I was expecting something in return.
“Why are you giving me this?”
“Ms. Composer, I’m sorry for dropping in on you so suddenly… But it’s important to prepare even the smallest things.”
“Hmm.”
I chuckled quietly while smacking my lips. This was my typical sales approach. Perhaps my flattery had some effect because after contemplating for a moment, Hyeonsu glanced at the sake and took a seat in the lobby.
“You must have gone through a lot of trouble to get this, so it would be impolite to turn you away like this. I can spare you five minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Great, that’s half the battle won.
“So why did you come to see me? I mean…”
“I’m Seo Hoyun.”
“Okay, Seo Hoyun. What do you do?”
Yeah, I knew this question was coming.
“I’m an idol. We’re preparing for a comeback right now.”
Ha. Lim Hyeonsu laughed.
“Okay, an idol….”
The suspicious look directed towards me contained a hint of mockery, suggesting that someone like me wouldn’t appear alone out of nowhere.
Lim Hyeonsu was a surefire path to success, causing idols struggling to follow in her footsteps to become nervous and uneasy.
“Seo Hoyun? I’ve never heard of you before.”
“I’m from Daepaseong Entertainment, an actor management agency that still lacks a lot of push toward idols. I think it’s natural that even a composer hasn’t heard of me yet.”
“Well, you’ve been through a lot.”
She said so, but Lim Hyeonsu was already ignoring me. Lim Hyeonsu, who had crossed her legs slowly, looked at me.
“So, why did you come to me?”
Anyway, Lim Hyeonsu liked it when people got to the point.
I smiled.
“I’m here to ask for a song.”
“Hahaha!”
Lim Hyeonsu burst out laughing, which caught me off guard. I waited in silence until she eventually stopped.
“Wow, these days, idols are truly incredible. They come straight to us without even involving their managers or agencies…”
“That’s because your skills as a composer are so impressive.”
“Hey, Seo Hoyun. I understand the kind of delusions you have in your mind. Do you think you can achieve everything just by relying on one talent? You’re not the only one who approaches me in this manner.”
I simply listened attentively to her words. Lim Hyeonsu rose to her feet, flicking her nails as if she considered it a waste of time.
“You must have watched too many dramas. I’ll be leaving now.”
This was the response I expected. But what came next, even Lim Hyeonsu wasn’t able to predict.
“’Let’s have a drink?’”
“What? With me?”
“No, that’s the title of a song.”
I didn’t suddenly go crazy and asked Lim Hyeonsuto to have a drink.
“Let’s have a drink?” was a song that Lim Hyeonsu released a year ago that topped the charts. It was a safe beat and melody development for Lim Hyeonsu, but it still took first place. I heard people say once again that Lim Hyeonsu was a composing genius.
But it’s not true.
“’Let’s go to the moon.’”
“That, that’s why are you…”
“’Between you and me,’ ‘Let’s stop this,’ ‘Be the Monster,’ etc….”
I kept murmuring to myself, and those who heard me for the first time might wonder what it all meant. And unless it was Lim Hyeonsu or me, they wouldn’t be able to understand the words.
But Lim Hyeonsu’s complexion was getting paler and paler.
“These songs have three things in common. First, they’re all Blue Tiger, Lim Hyeonsu’s compositions. Second, they all topped the charts up to the fifth place.”
And I raised my third finger.
“And lastly, they have all been manipulated to attain high rankings.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
Oh no, Lim Hyeonsu was trying to deny it.
But I didn’t overlook it.
“Oh, come on, suddenly coming here and talking nonsense…”
I took out my tablet, and, fortunately, some data remained, which was separate from my lost save file. With a smile, I showed it to her.
“These are records of bank transactions between the singer or the affiliated management agency and the music broker. Oh, there are even some cases where they traded directly with the composer.”
Lim Hyeonsu accepted it with trembling hands. And soon after, she gnashed her teeth.
“How did you get this?”
Lim Hyeonsu asked in a soft tone, displaying a hint of acknowledgment.
“Oh, does that matter?”
“Haha, are you a genius? Do you have any journalists in your family or something?”
Lim Hyeonsu raised one corner of her mouth while frowning. She still seemed unfazed. She stared at me for a while.
“Why did you manipulate the ranks? You’re talented.”
“… So what?”
I shrugged.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“…”
“I just had bad luck.”
“Oh, it’s coming out stronger than I thought.”
I raised my chin and looked at her.
“I’ll admit that you’re amazing for doing it alone. I don’t know how you found out, but… manipulation? I don’t even know how to do it, and even if it’s true, it’s not that big of a blow to me.”
She shamelessly raised her chin.
“So many singers today are shamelessly engaging in manipulation. Do you think it’ll be a problem?”
That was true. Lim Hyeonsu looked around to see if I was recording. When she realized I wasn’t, she waved her hand.
“Just leave. Don’t act like you’re tired.”
“What should I do? I want to act more tired.”
“What?”
Let’s hear it for Korean.
“Did I bring only one thing with me?”
Lim Hyeonsu paused and froze at my words.
“Flip the tablet screen.”
“….”
“Hurry up.”
I gestured to her with a friendly smile. Lim Hyeonsu hesitated but couldn’t resist her curiosity and flipped the tablet. A piece of music began to play.
It was a song from a male idol that topped the charts last year. A Blue Tiger composition.
“This song was really well done.”
I just said that, but Lim Hyeonsu slammed the tablet on the desk. It looked like it was thrown away like a piece of junk that had been used for about ten years. She didn’t know the value of money.
“My tablet.”
“You, F-fuck… How did you…?”
Lim Hyeonsu’s face turned pale. I looked at her happily.
“How did you get this?!”
The song on the tablet earlier was not a Blue Tiger composition.
“It was composed by an unknown indie band guitarist.”
That’s right.
Lim Hyeonsu plagiarized it.
“You, you…!”
“How many times did you meet the guitarist at a drinking party? Was it at Hapjeong? You met two or three times at the izakaya over there and even received a USB from him.”
As I spoke fluently, as if I had been present there, Lim Hyeonsu trembled as if she had seen a ghost.
“Music manipulation, right… It may pass by as if it’s nothing or the truth has been distorted.”
“…”
“But what about plagiarism? As soon as this goes out into the world, people will know it’s not an original unless they’re completely clueless. Then everyone will speak up.”
“Stop it.”
I clapped my hands.
“Ah, Blue Tiger plagiarized!”
Lim Hyeonsu glared at me as if she could strangle me at any moment.
Ah, I feel so satisfied.
I didn’t know that my investigative program would come back so rewarding. Fortunately, I was in charge of assisting with producing a program about music manipulation. And it was also fortunate that Lim Hyeonsu was still alive in my reality!
[Are you trash?]
Don’t ruin the mood.
This was a chance given to me by God to threaten Lim Hyeonsu, who still trembled cluelessly.
[Excuse me, did you plagiarize anyone else?]
I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry.
I lowered my eyebrows as if I was really sorry. I carefully chose only words that would provoke Lim Hyeonsu.
“What about our composer? You’re working on a White Cherry song right now, and you’re also working on several ballads… You’ll have to pay a lot of penalty fees if there’s a plagiarism controversy.”
Now, what kind of reaction would she show?
Would she shout at me to leave immediately? Or would she be defiant and dare me to try? Or will she strangle me?
Either way, it doesn’t matter. But the last one was a bit scary, so let’s call the police if that happens.
No, I knew Lim Hyeonsu well.
I spoke gently and even imitated her by flicking my nails as she had done earlier.
“You suddenly became quiet….”
Three.
“Should I go now?”
Two.
“You must be very busy.”
One.
I was about to stand up when Hyeonsu grabbed my arm.
“Just a moment.”
“Yes?”
“What do you want?”
Ah, this is why I liked Hyeonsu.
She adapted quickly to reality. I chuckled.
“Oh, Ms. Composer, you’re trying to take advantage of me. Do I have to spoon-feed you the answer?”
“…”
You should think for yourself, right?
Ding!
[Seo Hoyun, are you the devil?]
I was pissed off because my tablet was broken, so I hit it once.
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