Halo still didn't seem to understand, so Jang Jinsoo went over to the computer himself to demonstrate the capabilities of MIDI.

"What do you think?"

At first, Halo just stood with his arms crossed, expressionless. But his face changed dramatically in seconds. There was surprise, astonishment, shock - even understanding and joy coexisting.

'Come to think of it, this was the distant future.'

It was not just a simple sci-fi premise where people could communicate remotely. It really was an age where everything had changed and developed rapidly.

In an age where they could share and listen to each other's music anytime, of course, composing technologies wouldn't stay the same.

'But still, this...'

Sounds that couldn't have been made in the past without borrowing or purchasing instruments were created in an instant with just a click. What was once regarded as fantasy became reality. An age came where anyone could make music without any economic or other constraints holding them back.

"So this is how such an abundant world came to be."

"What are you talking about?"

A snide remark flew back at his cryptic words.

Halo paid it no mind, just stared intently at the computer screen.

'With this...'

Accepting Jang Jinsoo's provocation was just a whim.

As it happened, it solved the problem he had been struggling with too.

If he could make sounds with this, he wouldn’t have to rack his brains over recordings anymore.

"That's about all I know. Ask Jinyeong-hyung or Gonghak-hyung for the rest. I learned from them too."

When Halo asked a few more questions, Jang Jinsoo immediately frowned. Other than the basic beat Jang Jinsoo used in his song, he really didn't know much. Nothing could be done if he didn't know.

Halo decided to put off his desire to learn for now and make Jang Jinsoo's song first. He wasn’t rushing him but Jang Jinsoo looked anxious. Jang Jinsoo promptly moved aside from his seat.

Halo took a deep breath in front of the complex program. Then he grabbed the mouse and clicked - started moving.

Rap was still modern music and unfamiliar territory for him. But if he considered the rap he had heard from rappers he met based on Jang Jinsoo, speed was definitely not Jinsoo’s rap.

Of course, he agreed that rapping 17 syllables per second was cool.

But that was only impressive when the rap was fluent - if the skills were amateurish, making lyrics hard to grasp and listeners feel impatient, it was better left undone.

He needed to handle a beat he could properly manage.

He knew why Jang Jinsoo insisted on a fast beat - to stand out from the countless people applying for the audition.

But as he said, speed was not Jinsoo’s rap. So there was no need to cling to speed to stand out.

"Honestly, isn't your original song hard to keep up with?"

"...A bit."

"Just a bit?"

While scoffing at Jang Jinsoo's answer, Halo recalled the ridiculous rap that collapsed on its own without anyone poking at it.

“Hey No Haeil, do you really can compose it well? You don’t seem to listen to hip-hop much.”

“I haven't heard of it before.”

“Then how?”

To be honest, if it was just a beat-centric song, he might not have been confident even after completing it. It would’ve depended too much on the vocalist or rapper’s skills.

But on the subway ride here, Halo listened to the hip-hop songs from [Soyou]. It was a bit different from what the guys in Harlem did, but he liked it.

Because fusion with the ‘melody’ he was most confident in came together.

What Halo wanted to make was actually the melody that would follow the beat, commonly referred to as the ‘hook’. He was planning to just take the original shape from Jang Jinsoo’s beat and add some variations to it.

Although Jang Jinsoo still hadn’t heard anything and was grumbling, he would soon shut his mouth after hearing the completed MR.

It would be so outstanding compared to his original that it couldn't be compared.

"That--!"

As expected, Jang Jinsoo, who was trying to provoke him somehow, soon closed his mouth. No, his jaw dropped as he listened intently to the music. Silent until it finished. Of course, it had to be so.

Even though it was Halo’s first time trying this genre, it would’ve sounded smooth and nice since he made it well.

Halo took the song that took only minutes for him to make for granted. If it was his songs, he wouldn’t have been satisfied leaving it like this, but the goal for this song was an easy listening track.

‘Finally some quiet.’

Halo folded his arms.

Noisier than the Black Friday ladies that he got headaches from. If Jang Jinsoo didn’t shut his mouth voluntarily, Halo would’ve kicked his butt out the door.

#

“You made this?”

“Yeah. Just built on top of the basics.”

“If we’re talking about Jinsoo’s song, it’s completely different.”

Bae Gonghak bluntly admired the song while looking it over.

Halo thought this guy was better than the others because he wasn't being dramatic, but the others knew.

That Bae Gonghak was actually very surprised.

He was not an emotionally expressive person by nature, and it was rare to see such a reaction.

"Hyung, do you think this one is better?"

Jang Jinsoo, who had been fixing the lyrics, suddenly raised his head. His face was already brightened. There was no sign of anxiety about the submission deadline. He declared it as his own song as soon as he heard it.

"Much better."

"It's not just me, right?"

Jang Jinsoo seemed to have already erased his own song from his memory.

"How about you, Jinyeong-hyung?"

"It's good."

"Really?"

The studio fell silent.

Jang Jinsoo didn't seem to catch on and lowered his head, but those who knew Han Jinyeong well couldn't help but pat his back.

Han Jinyeong tried not to show it, but his face looked complicated.

"Aren’t you going to smoke?"

"Let's go out."

Halo was going to ask about the MIDI, but the timing was a bit off.

'I'll mention it later.'

While waiting for Jang Jinsoo to fix the lyrics, Halo played the guitar he brought from home.

Dun dun dun.

These were the four songs for the first album, "Struggle."

Starting in a dark tone, gradually getting stronger and more cheerful, like the songs of the people who led the French Revolution. However, this wasn't a song for the revolution of the masses but rather a more personal struggle.

Back when he made this album in his teens, he was angrier and wanted to fight against the oppressive society. Therefore, "Struggle" was filled with the emotions he had at that time.

In some ways, it was so packed that it felt out of place.

Jang Jinsoo stomped his feet to the lively melody, raised his head, discovered a serious expression, and then buried his head in the paper again.

What critics said about "Struggle" back then...

Was it considered typical 16th-century music?

Or they said it was a song that incites model students?

There were even comments like, "A guy who knows nothing about composing or music lucked into the top spot with luck and the album cover."

Back then, he mocked the critics who praised him as "just a cheap propaganda putting a handsome male model on the album cover," but now, looking back, he felt a sense of regret.

The structure and composition of the song started to show.

'I don't plan to change it.'

His hands moved on their own.

In a slightly better direction.

Leaving the freshness of that time but adding only the maturity of an adult.

'Maybe I can remake it like this if I have time later.'

Not planning to change meant that the past remained in the music as it was. His teenage years were like that.

The awkward past was not embarrassing. Instead, he felt proud because that time had made him who he was now.

"Could it be that you composed that too?"

Have you fixed all the lyrics?

Jang Jinsoo put down his pencil altogether.

Looking at the lyrics, Halo nodded.

At that moment, Jang Jinsoo stood up from his seat.

"Really?"

Shouting.

"No, did you really write a song like that? You?"

"Yeah."

"H-how?"

Halo didn't know what the guy wanted to say.

Jang Jinsoo, with a foolish expression, reached out and stroked his arm.

"What are you?"

"Have you fixed all the lyrics?"

At the mention of the lyrics, Jang Jinsoo stopped being pretentious with a single word and dropped his head. Judging from his expression, he probably fixed it roughly, but he didn't seem confident.

Halo didn't know why the guy who confidently presented a trashy song suddenly lost confidence, but he didn't want to know. He was worried about whether he could digest it properly.

"If you're done, sing it once."

"Without MR?"

"I'll play it for you first."

Even though it seemed like everything was done after making the song, what Jang Jinsoo was doing didn't seem entirely satisfying. It seemed better to address each issue rather than leave it alone.

'I can't believe I have to babysit too.'

Halo grumbled and pressed the spacebar with a click.

#

"Again."

Having smoked a cigarette longer than usual, Bae Gonghak noticed the displeased Halo and Jang Jinsoo crouching in front of him.

Although he knew them to be the same age and friends, from this scene alone, it seemed more like a producer and a trainee he cared for than just friends.

'If it were other kids, I would have just found them cute.'

If Bae Gonghak didn't know these kids, he might have thought they were just playing producer and singer. However, because Bae Gonghak knew the kids well, he couldn't think that way.

'Especially that one.'

Bae Gonghak looked at No Haeil, who was pointing out each issue with a clenched fist. He clearly looked like an ordinary middle school student, a bit slow to grow, just an average kid.

When he first saw him, he thought it was unusual for him to be comfortably hanging out in someone else's studio. Well, he seemed like any other middle school student, but sometimes, there were moments when a clever little snake wearing a middle school student's disguise appeared.

While not entirely oblivious, his continuous light teasing of Han Jinyeong's pride, occasional arrogance, and confidence weren't something an ordinary middle schooler would have.

So, Bae Gonghak thought it was just unusual.

'But it wasn't just unusual; it was special.'

'Unusual' and 'special' had just one syllable of difference, and even in terms of definition, they were quite similar. However, people tend to unconsciously assign different meanings. (TLN: 특이함: Unusual. 특별함: Special.)

For example, something unusual was just different from the norm.

Something special was exceptional compared to the norm.

Yeah, Bae Gonghak realized it now.

No Haeil, that middle school kid, wasn't just peculiar; he was extraordinary.

And perhaps, exceptionally outstanding.

Even so, Bae Gonghak didn't feel sudden jealousy towards No Haeil.

He wasn’t very emotive or nonchalant by nature, plus he wasn’t the type who got duller with age either. If it was a peer, perhaps jealousy might’ve sprouted, but No Haeil was just a middle schooler. Bae Gonghak didn’t doubt his own life and talents enough to be jealous of a middle school kid.

That was just Bae Gonghak’s case though.

It looked a bit different for Han Jinyeong.

“A middle schooler can do that?”

Although Han Jinyeong knew Jang Jinsoo’s song was clumsy and had parts that couldn’t be largely fixed, he was shaken after hearing the song No Haeil made for him.

“Could it be that I’m mistaken because it’s music I’ve heard before? Why could that be possible?”

“Well, that’s possible. We can compare with the program later to check. But why are you so serious about it?”

“How could I not be? A middle schooler made a better song than mine. Haha.”

Han Jinyeong laughed as he spoke, but Bae Gonghak and Kim Deoksoo noticed the inferiority complex inside. Han Jinyeong also knew about his own state and laughed bitterly.

“Am I a bit off right now?”

“A bit?”

“A lot.”

At Bae Gonghak’s words, Han Jinyeong nodded.

“Sorry. I just suddenly got paranoid. But let me fix it again just once. So the kids don’t catch on.”

“Smoke moderately and drink this.”

“Thanks.”

Han Jinyeong let out a breath.

The grey exhalation seemed to reflect his chaotic mind.

“Bae Gonghak, do you not have any thoughts about this?”

“Oh, just that he’s young but formidable. That’s about it?”

“Sounds like you.”

Gonghak mulled over Han Jinyeong’s question a bit more.

“And--”

“Huh?”

“I am curious. He seems awkward with MIDI. How much could he do if someone taught him?”

“I feel like I’d get an inferiority complex if he shows more.”

“Well, that's possible too. But it could make you feel proud instead.”

“How?”

“Like you taught him well.”

“I feel like he’d do well even with mediocre teaching.”

“We don’t know that. You know how most famous musicians had excellent mentors, right? Even Mozart’s father was a musician. Well, he might’ve still done as well without mentors, but probably not like now. There are guys who ruin their lives meeting weird people.”

“Are you talking about something like Salieri?”

“Hey!”

At Han Jinyeong’s question, Kim Deoksoo suddenly shouted.

“I know what you’re trying to say, but that's incorrect. Our Salieri never tormented Mozart! That was just the movie Amadeus. He was so perfect and great that Mozart respected him too! If only he had descendants that could sue for defamation of character! The only flaw of our Sensei is that she doesn’t have relatives to do that!”

“Why is this guy suddenly like this?”

“Looks like Salieri showed up in the comic he’s reading.”

“Oh. But aren’t the cartoons he watches just girl characters?”

“Do you guys not know how pitiful our Antonia Salieri Sensei was?!”

“Anto‘nia’?”

“She really should’ve had descendants.”

At Bae Gonghak’s monotonous words, Han Jinyeong burst out laughing.

Although Kim Deoksoo’s remarks were confusing, they lightened the unpleasant mood. After laughing for a while, Han Jinyeong put out his cigarette and said,

“You teach him. I can’t do it.”

“You teach way better than me.”

“I said I can’t.”

Bae Gonghak patted Han Jinyeong on the shoulder.

“Just do it like how you taught Jinsoo.”