Chapter 21: Decided to Use a Cheat Code

Seo Dongyun looked seriously at his younger brother Taeyoon.

The only trouble Taeyoon had ever gotten into since birth was—

Getting attacked by a mother cat while watching kittens hiding behind a wall, blowing up the kitchen trying to deep-fry rice cakes raw because he wanted to make rice cake skewers, breaking Mom’s favorite flowerpot while trying to release a ladybug, breaking a porcelain vase pretending to be Harry Potter with Grandpa’s cane……

Those were the kind of small, harmless incidents Seo Dongyun remembered.

He was good at studying, and if you gave him a CD, he could play by himself for hours.

A kid who wouldn’t do anything if you told him not to.

That was Taeyoon.

Except when it came to music.

If he so much as secretly listened to a treasured album… he’d go berserk like a wild animal, older brother or not.

What about in high school?

He didn’t even participate in the school festival, yet he butted in on the band club’s song selection and ended up getting into a 10-to-1 fight.

Their mom had to be called into the school over it.

Even now, it was the same.

The DJ equipment in his room? You’d think it was some kind of sacred relic. Touch it and all hell would break loose.

But even that side of Taeyoon was just adorable in Dongyun’s eyes.

However—

‘He said with his own mouth that he caused trouble……’

That worried him a bit.

Still waters run deep.

Even though he was his younger brother, he couldn’t tell what was really going on in his head.

Just looking at the strange album jacket-like thing in his hands proved that.

“Trouble? Never mind that—what is this? Why does it say Seo Taeyoon?”

“Because it’s my name?”

“Taeyoon, don’t tell me……”

Seo Dongyun brushed his lips with his thumb.

This album—it was no joke.

No, more than that. With this level of quality, even ToMe Entertainment would’ve poured everything into the design.

He hadn’t spent his time in A&R for nothing.

He could tell at a glance.

Han Yujin’s 2nd single album.

There was a lot of anticipation in the industry. Why? Because her first album flopped completely, and her career depended on whether this second one succeeded or failed.

But what had this kid done with it?

He didn’t know how Taeyoon got his hands on this or how he managed to put his own name on it……

But this was a crime, a straight-up crime!

“So you liked this singer too. I get it. Han Yujin’s still popular. She’s pretty and sings well… but even so……”

Now wasn’t the time to push hard.

Better to coax him gently, with a soft tone.

Suppressing a sigh, he continued.

“You can’t just fabricate stuff.”

“……?”

“No matter how badly you want your name on this. Wait, how did you even make this? Seriously, this quality is insane.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Is this forgery? Or maybe just a fan-made parody? The fact that you made this jacket photo is already unbelievable. Unless… unless you actually wrote the song…? No way.”

Even as Seo Dongyun spoke, he started getting confused.

Wait, could it be real? No way, right?

He carefully studied Taeyoon’s expression.

The kid looked confident.

More than confident—he looked like he was about to ascend with pride.

And then, opening his mouth like it was nothing—

“I told you I caused trouble.”

“Seo Taeyoon?”

“If my song’s on Han Yujin’s title track, isn’t that trouble enough?”

“Wow, I have no idea what you're even saying. Seriously.”

“What’s up with our genius older brother all of a sudden? I mean it literally. Seo Taeyoon gave a song to Han Yujin, and she picked it for her title track, and now it’s about to be released. Simple, right?”

“This is insane. Am I supposed to believe this?”

Seo Dongyun grabbed his own hair and messed it up.

He’d felt it the moment he saw the album design.

Even if it came from a competitor, good work was good work.

You had to give credit where it was due.

And the song title was Super Ride.

Was it a thrilling rollercoaster-like track? He was already excited. And even more so… because his little brother made it.

The younger brother turned his head slightly and said,

“It just kind of happened.”

“What do you mean, ‘just kind of happened’? ToMe Entertainment accepts songs from rookies?”

“Not just a rookie—maybe a super ultra-mega rookie?”

“Don’t mess around.”

“I’m serious. I’m not doing anything shady. Why would I slap my name on someone else’s album for no reason?”

Seo Dongyun was speechless.

His brother’s expression was dead serious.

And he wasn’t the kind of guy to spout nonsense.

Besides, there had been rumors. That Han Yujin was working with a rookie composer.

Sometimes, those community rumors turned out to be true.

So now he was curious.

Super Ride, Super Ride…

Some songs grab you with just the title alone. This one was like that.

He was curious.

What kind of song his brother wrote, what Han Yujin’s next album concept would be.

But he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

“Taeyoon.”

“Yeah?”

“Never mind. You’re not someone who says weird things.”

“Aren’t you curious? It’s seriously amazing. Soon your company will be like, ‘Find out who this Seo Taeyoon is and bring him in!’”

“I’m sure.”

He swallowed the words, “if the song is good…”

After all, Han Yujin had worked with a rookie composer for her first single and failed miserably.

Even though she’d written the song herself, externally it was credited to a rookie, so Dongyun didn’t know.

‘Taeyoon does have good instincts. Is he really causing a stir this time?’

He was dying to know, but he didn’t show it.

Even in this industry, there was such a thing as professional courtesy.

No matter how close, even with family, you couldn’t ask to hear an unreleased teaser from a rival company.

That was the rule, and he wasn’t going to break it.

That was how Seo Dongyun approached his work.

And just in case—just in case it didn’t live up to the hype.

Rather than build up false hope, it was better to stay calm and watch how things unfolded.

He cared about his brother, so he decided to be as considerate as possible.

So he—

“You little punk!”

Seo Dongyun suddenly grabbed Taeyoon’s hand and shook it up and down.

He decided to approach this honestly, straight from the heart.

Like when they were kids. No overthinking.

“Ugh, what are you doing? Gross! Are you crazy, hyung?”

Even as Taeyoon tried to squirm away, his brother’s grip was stronger.

The younger one struggled, the older one tightened his hold.

If Mom had seen them, she’d have smacked their backs yelling, “You two at it again?”

Watching his flailing brother, Seo Dongyun muttered under his breath.

“Dear genius little brother, please get famous and start your own company. No, even a small label is fine. If you give me a job there, I swear eternal loyalty. If you want me to call you hyung, I’ll do it.”

“……Are you praying right now?”

“Just let Taeyoon succeed. Let me go to his company instead of Tomorrow Entertainment.”

“I really hope that happens.”

“Dear God, Buddha, Allah……”

“Aren’t you supposed to pray to just one? If it were me, I’d be too offended to answer.”

“Tsk tsk. A guy in music doesn’t know how the world works. You gotta cast your net wide. One of them might bite.”

“……Huh?”

“When our team was about to release an album? All the team members held hands and……”

Unlike the doubtful Taeyoon.

Seo Dongyun's expression was actually quite serious.

And so, I had to listen to an hour-long story about a bizarre ritual disguised as a good-luck wish for success.

Of course, it was take-it-or-leave-it.

Tap—

I shut the door and flopped onto my bed.

The room had become impossibly clean.

I should’ve tidied it up earlier.

Then hyung wouldn’t have discovered Han Yujin’s album jacket.

“Ugh……”

I sat up with a jolt.

All kinds of thoughts flooded my head. What was this feeling?

It was something I’d never felt toward hyung before.

“Why didn’t he ask to hear it?!”

That’s right. It was disappointment.

I’d made a song.

And it was even a title track for a famous singer.

So why hadn’t hyung said a single word about wanting to hear it?

Fine, maybe he was just being by-the-book not to listen. But he could’ve at least asked.

How did this happen? How did I write the song? When did I start writing?

‘Does he just not expect anything?’

I felt dejected.

I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it first.

My plan was to go, ta-da! and explain everything once hyung asked.

Talking music with him was so much fun.

He had integrity too.

Even if he heard it from me, he wouldn’t go blabbing to the company.

I wanted to tell him everything—from meeting Han Yujin to working part-time at the club……

‘Well, I guess it makes sense. Because of what happened with Han Yujin’s first album, and in his eyes, I’m always the dumb loser little brother.’

So I decided to just understand it that way.

‘……Come to think of it, I never actually told him I was composing. I just asked about contracts and the A&R team and stuff.’

I started to think that maybe I’d also made hyung feel left out.

……Yeah. Getting upset doesn’t help anyone.

I checked the calendar.

There was still some time before the album release.

About three months left.

If I steadily worked through everything I’d planned—

Then I could show it off with a bang!

Show how special my song was, and how I’d unleashed all the skills I’d built up with hyung since we were kids.

With Han Yujin’s album, once.

And then……

‘Ah! I need to finish that topline.’

I didn’t know who would end up owning it, but it was the song inspired by CEO Kim Minsoo.

So that would be the second one.

Then maybe hyung would see me in a new light.

And then maybe, acting like I had no choice, I could try working with hyung’s company too? “I’m Seo Dongyun’s younger brother!” Wouldn’t that make him super proud?

Just imagining it made me happy.

I’d met plenty of agency CEOs, singers, engineers……

But to me, hyung was the best musical partner.

Which meant I had no time to waste.

Click.

I locked the door and pulled my headphones on. Focus, focus.

But the more I tried to concentrate……

I kept seeing the equipment from CEO Kim Minsoo’s studio flash through my mind.

Shoo, shoo.

I waved my hands like chasing away birds.

Almost like meditating.

I steadied my breathing and dove back into focus.

Kim Minsoo’s face came to mind.

I pictured Kim Minsoo in an elegant suit walking into the dim club Sierra.

“Oh, let’s try this.”

Thud, thud.

The rough sound of footsteps layered into the background.

Then I added acoustic piano over it. A contrast to the powerful synths.

Elegance and intensity.

It portrayed the dual life of Kim Minsoo.

“Stronger here……”

The essence of this song was restraint that exploded.

It started in a high key, then dropped pitch gradually…… only to soar again like nothing had happened.

Like a journey of escaping the pressure of a chaebol family to find freedom.

“And now the killing part……”

All of this was the backdrop for “Angkora.”

A lyric suddenly came to me: Angkora.

It would be the keyword running through this song.

“Angkora” was a musical term meaning “again, once more.”

But I thought of the Italian word ancora.

An anchor.

When I looked at Kim Minsoo, I thought of a heavy anchor.

It brought stability in unstable situations, became a weight that tied him down, and in hard times, it could be the last thing he held onto.

It could also be a turning point in life.

I hoped meeting him would become the moment the anchor lifted in his life.

Human emotions were deep and complex.

I captured that image with the word “anchor.”

“Hope that comes across.”

I finally reached the deep bridge.

All the instruments went silent, and only the synth sound for Kim Minsoo quietly played.

Then, moments later, the music exploded with every instrument at once.

Smiling in satisfaction, I pressed the record button.

The process wasn’t difficult.

Kim Minsoo’s dual life, his struggle, his passion……

It all somehow felt like it mirrored my own.

DJ Blackhole or composer Seo Taeyoon.

It was time to raise the anchor for a new journey.

……What the?

My lips were wet.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked out the window.

It was bright. The sun was high in the sky.

I’d fallen asleep at my PC again.

On the monitor was the unfinished file from last night.

The melody was perfect.

“But the lyrics are seriously hard……”

I just couldn’t think of lyrics that rolled off the tongue.

That’s how thoughts worked sometimes.

Spending time didn’t always mean solving the problem.

So I—

‘Maybe I should just ask?’

Decided to use a cheat code.

I picked up my phone and made a call.

[Lyricist Oh Jisoo, Teacher]

She had told me to call whenever I needed.

That time was now.

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