Chapter 42: Lately, Work Has Been Busy

I did say I would be involved in Seolhwa’s album, but objectively speaking, I was practically a beginner.

I listened to a lot of music, but that didn’t necessarily translate into musical skill.

Because of that, I felt a bit uneasy about creating beats however I wanted.

Still, I quickly set those worries aside.

If she wanted something professional, she would have gone to someone else.

What Seolhwa wanted from me was instinctive sensibility.

If she didn’t want me to create music based on instinct, she wouldn’t have asked me in the first place.

“Since it’s the 1960s…”

The overall composition of the album would be filled with a band sound, but it was important to make sure Seolhwa’s voice didn’t get buried.

To do that, I needed to use the band sound appropriately.

Ding.

As I tested the guitar sounds, I kept checking which parts would be best to introduce instruments.

Since I was sending this to Seolhwa, I wanted to do it properly.

Doom.

I started alternating between guitar and bass sounds, gradually building the beat. It took quite a bit of time.

‘…It might be better to add more variety to the sound here.’

The more I worked on the beat, the greedier I got.

Should I call it a desire to make the music even more perfect?

I had a total of seven beats to create.

Since Seolhwa had mentioned she wouldn’t be working with anyone else while producing this album, I just needed to complete those seven.

I wasn’t sure when the release date was, but I figured it’d be best to send them as soon as possible.

With that in mind, I kept working on the beats.

The next day.

“Haa… It’s cold.”

I muttered to myself as I walked outside, shivering from the cold.

To be exact, I was on my way to find a restaurant.

Still, the weather was freezing.

I thought winter was about to end, but it suddenly got this cold again.

‘I just want to go home…’

Since I was the type to prefer staying indoors, going out like this wasn’t exactly enjoyable.

If anything, it was exhausting.

“Hoo…”

I wondered how far I had walked as I exhaled into the cold air.

“Do you have a reservation?”

“No, my friend arrived first.”

“Ah, I see.”

I had finally arrived at the meeting place.

“Jaehun, you’re here?”

“Yep. By the way, hasn’t Arim arrived yet?”

“She went to the restroom.”

“Ah, got it.”

The place I arrived at was a family restaurant—the kind usually visited by families.

I normally wouldn’t come to a place like this, but we had a reason for gathering here today.

“By the way, congrats, noona. I didn’t expect you to sign a webtoon contract.”

“Come on, it’s Yunha we’re talking about. She’s ridiculously talented.”

“Hmm… Well, that’s true.”

If someone else had said that, I would’ve brushed it off, but Seo Yunha was an exception.

Her artwork was truly on another level.

And now she had even signed a webtoon contract.

“So, have you already decided on the storyline?”

“Yeah, I have. The basic premise is a zombie apocalypse.”

“Oh…”

“There’s more to it, but I’ll explain once Arim gets back.”

As we continued chatting,

“I’m back.”

Ryu Arim returned, her hands slightly damp from washing them.

“Now that Arim’s here, I’ll explain again.”

“Explain what?”

“Oh, I signed a webtoon contract. I wanted to check if there were any weak points in the setting.”

“Ah, got it!”

And so, we delved into a deep discussion about Seo Yunha’s new webtoon.

“Hmm… Then I think it’d be best to distribute the key points effectively.”

“Right? But… ugh, I’m not sure how to do that effectively. I can’t quite predict what will catch the readers’ attention.”

“I heard that kind of thing is always tricky. The author knows the protagonist’s full backstory, but the readers don’t.”

“That’s true.”

A deep discussion followed.

“Hmm… In that case, killing off the male character here might be the best choice.”

“Hiss… I’d have to disagree with that.”

I didn’t usually argue with Seo Yunha’s decisions, but this was an important issue.

I had to speak up.

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

“Well, I personally don’t mind, but… if you kill off a character that was built up so much, won’t it shock the readers and make them lose interest? Especially since there was even a romantic subplot between him and the protagonist for several chapters.”

“…You think so?”

This was exactly the problem with artists and creators.

They always had this tendency to kill off the heroine.

Or at least, whatever they called that role in this world.

That’s precisely why I was stepping in now.

“…Still, I think killing him off would be better.”

“You could always save that for your next work. For a debut project, it’s important to leave a good impression on the readers first.”

“…Fair point. I’ll make a note of that.”

We kept discussing the webtoon for quite some time.

Then, out of nowhere.

“By the way, Arim, how’s your stream going these days?”

Seo Yunha suddenly asked.

That caught me off guard.

I thought I was the only one who knew Ryu Arim was streaming.

“Oh, I got caught writing a post on the broadcasting forum on my phone the other day. Hehe…”

“Be more careful. What if someone else finds out?”

“I will. I’ll be more cautious from now on.”

I couldn’t believe she got caught in such an unexpected way, but I still focused on what Ryu Arim was saying.

I was curious about how her stream was going these days.

“Honestly, it’s been going really well. If things keep up like this, I might not even have to work as hard on other stuff.”

“Wow, Arim, you must be making a lot.”

“Eh, I’m just earning a decent amount.”

“Hmmm, you say that, but you look pretty happy about it.”

Judging by the way Ryu Arim spoke, her stream must have been doing extremely well.

Otherwise, there’d be no reason for her to sound so cheerful.

“What’s your average viewer count these days?”

At my question, Ryu Arim paused for a moment to think before answering—

“Around 1,200 viewers lately.”

That was almost unbelievable.

I was at a loss for words.

I had always thought independent streaming was tough for newcomers, yet she had managed to grow her audience that much in such a short time.

“…That’s a lot of viewers.”

“Heh, I still need to grow more.”

The way Ryu Arim kept glancing at me made it obvious—she wanted to tell Yunha that I was streaming too.

I simply shook my head slightly in refusal.

‘What, do you think I’m crazy enough to tell them?’

I hadn’t even told Ryu Arim myself.

She only found out because of my unexpected involvement with Glim.

At this rate, I’d probably have to keep my streaming career a secret for as long as possible.

As I was lost in thought.

“So, Jaehun, are you working on anything these days?”

“Uh…”

To be honest, there was a lot.

I was handling character illustrations for a mobile game, composing music, and even managed to get onto the charts.

Not to mention, I was streaming too.

‘…It feels like bragging if I say all that.’

So, I decided to downplay my achievements.

“I’m just working on some small music projects.”

“What kind of music? Rap? Singing? I like R&B.”

Seo Yunha looked at me with great curiosity, bombarding me with questions.

Ryu Arim, sitting beside her, was the same.

“Senpai, what kind of music do you make? I’m really curious.”

Come to think of it, I had never told anyone around me about it.

So this time, I decided to be upfront about it.

“You know Rage, the one I designed the album cover for? We’ve been staying in touch, and recently, we’ve been making music together. I create the beats, and they do the vocals.”

“…That’s actually pretty incredible.”

“Seriously, senpai.”

Ryu Arim and Seo Yunha both looked slightly surprised.

It made sense—they had no idea I was involved in music.

On top of that, working with someone as talked-about as Rage must have been hard for them to believe.

Just as we were in the middle of that conversation.

“Your food is ready!”

The dishes started arriving.

So, it had probably been three days since I last streamed.

The reason for the break was simple.

I had streamed a lot all at once.

Balance was key.

That was the only way to maintain peak condition.

‘Anyway, it’s about time I start streaming again.’

It was time to go live once more.

[The stream has started!]

With the familiar notification, the broadcast went live.

And immediately, viewers began flooding in.

[+HurryAndLeave: haha]

[Finally, you’re streaming again, damn it.]

[You’re just NOW going live? Why now? Why now? Why now? Why now? Why now? Why now?]

[From now on, let’s NEVER play Reore again. For real.]

[Pepe: haha]

As I was scanning the chat.

[Heart Memorial has donated 300,000 KRW!]

Thank you as always!!!!

A donation had come in from an unexpected source.