Chapter 11: Viral Melody, Scorched Sky

Description

I doubted my own eyes.

I closed and opened them again, even rubbed them.

But the reality in front of me did not change.

At the very top of the main page of the music community <Music Engine>, the title of the post I had written was displayed. In other words, my question post had taken the 1st place in views among all the posts uploaded to <Music Engine>.

“Daddy, why are you like thaaat?”

At that moment, Eunbyeol, who was sitting across from me, tilted her head and asked.

She even stopped inhaling the cheese sticks she had been munching on, so I must have looked really strange.

“You know, Eunbyeol. Daddy just said he uploaded the song you made to the internet, right?”

“Mm!”

“And that post is at the very top of the site?”

“Huh? Does that mean it’s number one?”

To Eunbyeol’s question, I kept nodding my head.

“Woooow, awesome! So does that mean Eunbyeol got first place?”

“Well, something like that.”

“Awesome! Eunbyeol got first place!”

Eunbyeol raised both hands high and shouted.

Haha, does she even know what this means and is still this happy?

Well, she’s cute, so it’s fine.

“Hmm…….”

While smiling at Eunbyeol’s cuteness, I turned serious again and stared at my phone.

What is going on?

Just what on earth is happening for this to be in first place?

‘Could it be getting bashed for plagiarism?’

The scary thought made my body shudder.

I could handle getting cursed at myself, but the idea of Eunbyeol being cursed at was absolutely unbearable.

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath and clicked on my question post that had risen to the top.

「Content: My daughter was humming this song into the phone, but I can’t remember it at all. Does anyone know the title of this song?」

Looking at the content, it was definitely the post I had uploaded.

But what was shocking was that there were a whopping 2,000 comments.

What the.

Just what is going on for there to be 2,000 comments?

They can’t all be cursing Eunbyeol, right?

My fingers trembling, I checked the comments.

ᄂWow, what is this melody? It’s really good!

└OMG, just listening to it feels like a spring breeze is gently blowing.

ᄂIs this an existing song? It’s my first time hearing it. I dig through pretty much every song, but this isn’t an existing melody.

└Closing my eyes and listening makes me feel sleepy. I have anxiety disorder, but my heart feels so at peace.

ᄂIt feels exactly like taking a walk while basking in warm sunlight. Ah, so drowsy and cozy.

‘Huh?’

I tilted my head.

Contrary to my expectation that it would be filled with all sorts of curses, the comment reactions were overwhelmingly positive.

Completely shocked, I blinked and continued checking the comments.

└I’m an active singer-songwriter, and the melody is really good.

ᄂOP, you made this song, right? You’re joking that you made it and your daughter hummed it, aren’t you?

ᄂ222 I think so too. How could a young daughter make this.

ᄂ333 Agree. Listening to the voice, she sounds like a kindergartener or elementary schooler; no way a little kid could make a melody like this. I’d bet on it.

ᄂI’m an 8th-year professional composer. This is a really good melody. It has definite mass appeal while the way the notes stack is fresh; truly talented. Personally, I’d love to teach your daughter.

ᄂAh, it’s so sweet. Feels like the title should be something like ‘Cotton Candy’ ᄏᄏᄏ

ᄂᄋᄌ Just listening to the song makes my body float.

ᄂWow, it’s just humming without accompaniment, but it’s really good. If polished properly, this could dominate the Melon chart.

ᄂDad, if your daughter really made this, take her to a gifted institute. Your daughter is a genius.

ᄂCan I personally save this? I love it so much I want to make it my phone ringtone.

ᄂThe melody is really good.

ᄂMy music spectrum is really wide; I even listen to third-world songs, but I’ve never heard a melody like this. I guarantee there’s no such melody.

ᄂExcuse me, OP. I sent you a PM; please check it.

ᄂI sent a PM too; please check. Or contact me once at the email below. I have a good proposal. Email address is……..

‘What is all this?’

I froze as if turned to ice.

It was because the comments were unbelievably positive.

‘So it really wasn’t an existing song?’

I had thought the song Eunbyeol recorded on the phone was some existing song.

A logo song from a TV commercial, a song playing from a store while walking, or a tune she heard at kindergarten.

But listening to the people on <Music Engine>, that absolutely wasn’t the case.

If it were any other site, maybe, but in this place where musicians gather, if no one mentioned the original, it was clearly not plagiarism.

‘Then they’re really saying Eunbyeol’s song is good……?’

Even though I reached that conclusion, the questions only grew bigger.

That the song Eunbyeol hummed was that good.

It wasn’t some humor community; it was receiving rave reviews on <Music Engine>, filled with active musicians.

I was utterly dumbfounded.

‘Hm, they said they sent PMs, right?’

Barely suppressing my shock, I decided to check the inbox first.

There were quite a few comments asking to check the PMs they had sent.

“Hmm…….”

I looked at the inbox.

There were 83 messages in the inbox.

Most of them wrote that they were amazed and wanted to collaborate.

Of course, there were also simple praises or requests for interviews from not-so-famous media outlets.

While nodding and scrolling down quickly, I—

Stopped.

I halted my thumb.

It wasn’t intentional.

My brain had forcibly ordered my thumb to stop after seeing the message.

‘…… Nam Seungha?’

At the beginning of the message and the sender’s name, it said Nam Seungha.

Nam Seungha.

If it wasn’t someone with the same name, this person was the greatest composer in Korean history.

Quite a famous celebrity as well.

‘As expected…….’

With a trembling heart, I clicked on the message.

「Hello. I am composer Nam Seungha from the A&R team at Daphne Entertainment. I was deeply impressed by your daughter’s composing skills. If it’s not too rude, would it be possible to meet in person and talk……..

“Good heavens!”

Reading the message, I couldn’t help but yell out loud.

Because of that, not only Eunbyeol, who was nibbling on her hamburger across from me, but everyone in the hamburger shop turned to look at me.

“Ah, sorry. Really sorry…….”

Feeling like I had caused a nuisance, I kept bowing my head in apology.

And when I sat back down, Eunbyeol asked.

“Daddy, why againnn?”

“Huh? Ah, Eunbyeol. Do you know the composer Nam Seungha?”

“Hm? I think I’ve heard the name somewhere.

“We watched that audition program together last time, remember? He was one of the judges.”

“Ah! I remember! The white-haired uncle?!”

Eunbyeol said, eyes widening as if she recalled.

It made sense.

Nam Seungha was a composer who appeared on TV quite often.

“Y-Yeah.”

“But why that uncle?”

“He contacted me? He says he wants to meet Eunbyeol.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. He said he was deeply moved after hearing the song Eunbyeol made and wants to meet once. The song must be really good.”

“Wooooooow! Hurrayyy!”

Eunbyeol raised both hands and cheered.

She didn’t yell loud enough to cause a nuisance like I did, but still, Eunbyeol was overjoyed.

‘What is all this really?’

I smiled warmly watching Eunbyeol doing a little joy dance(?).

How should I put it.

It felt like life was finally going smoothly.

***

From somewhere, beep-beep alarm sounds rang out.

There was a smell of alcohol, and the shaaaa sound of a humidifier spraying could also be heard.

Consciousness slowly returning.

Deputy Team Leader Noh Youngjin slowly opened his eyes.

“……?”

He lay still and looked up at the ceiling.

A pure white ceiling.

Where was this unfamiliar place?

Noh Youngjin tried hard to figure out what was going on, feeling as if his body ached all over.

“Are you awake?”

At that moment, a familiar voice reached him.

Turning his head slightly while still lying down, someone was approaching.

“D-Deputy, Team Leader.”

At the appearance of Gaon Team Leader Ju Namgyu, Noh Youngjin half-rose and sat up.

“W-Where is this?”

“It’s the Hunter Hospital.”

“Hunter Hospital?”

“Don’t you remember? Getting wrecked after going to the Killer Bee gate?”

“Killer Bee?”

Noh Youngjin blinked with a blank expression.

First of all, this pure white space was indeed a hospital.

By the way, Killer Bee?

Killer Bee gate?

“Ah.”

Only then did Noh Youngjin recall most of his memories.

Going out to the Killer Bee gate.

And how he had poked the hive there, causing 100 Killer Bees to swarm out.

Even how he had frantically run away from those monsters, tripped, and gotten swarmed.

“You seem to remember now.”

“Haa, yes. That happened. Damn it. Those fucking wasp bastards…”

Noh Youngjin looked down at his body.

The parts exposed outside the patient gown were wrapped tightly in bandages.

By feel, the inside of the gown was probably the same.

It couldn’t be helped.

He had been utterly wrecked by a number of Killer Bees enough to blacken the sky.

Ju Namgyu spoke.

“So, how’s the body now?”

“Ah, yes. It’s fine.”

“You’ve recovered a lot?”

“Yes. Now I’m completely……”

Slap!

Noh Youngjin’s face whipped to the side.

It was because Ju Namgyu had suddenly slapped him hard.

“T-Team Leader. What suddenly……”

Noh Youngjin, his right cheek turning red, spoke to Ju Namgyu with a shocked face.

He wondered if this guy had suddenly gone crazy.

But Ju Namgyu still shouted with an enraged face.

“You stupid bastard! And you call yourself a deputy team leader?”

“Y-Yes……?”

“I told you to leave the hive alone and go! But you touched it? I said don’t touch it and just go, yet you absolutely had to touch it and make the Killer Bees come out!”

“Team Leader……”

“You bastard!”

“You crazy bastard! Because of your stupid mistake, our team members almost died! You know that? You idiot!”

Noh Youngjin moved his lips.

In truth, even if he had ten mouths, he had nothing to say.

In reality, because of over 100 Killer Bees, not only him but the whole team had nearly been wiped out.

“Noh Youngjin! And you call yourself a deputy team leader? The guy who’s supposed to control the team members acts impulsively? Do you have a brain or not, you bastard!”

Ju Namgyu roared, face red.

“Is this a joke? A guy who’s a deputy team leader still can’t distinguish right from wrong? Don’t you care what happens to the team as long as you stand out?!”

“If Seo Juwon hadn’t been active there, what would you have done? Because of your stupid actions, what if me and the team members had all died, you crazy bastard!”

Seo Juwon.

At that name, Noh Youngjin recalled the Killer Bee gate.

Seo Juwon, left alone on the battlefield.

The scene where he caused a bone explosion with skeleton soldiers and turned over 100 Killer Bees into powder.

“A bastard like you isn’t even a deputy team leader. So once treatment is done, just look for another guild. Whether it’s Myth Guild or Gaon Team, we don’t need trash like you!”

Ju Namgyu yelled loudly and then stormed out of the hospital room.

The door slammed shut, and the room became quiet again.

There, Noh Youngjin trembled.

“You fucking……”

Noh Youngjin gritted his teeth.

He was already in a shitty mood from being hospitalized, and getting scolded by Ju Namgyu made it the worst.

Damn it.

Why did things turn out like this?

Noh Youngjin punched the innocent hospital bed thud-thud in anger.

“Seo Juwon, you son of a bitch……”

Noh Youngjin’s boiling anger flowed toward Seo Juwon.

If not for Seo Juwon.

If not for that bastard Seo Juwon, none of this would have happened.

“This arrogant parachute bastard, I will definitely get revenge on you……

After getting thoroughly scolded by the team leader, Noh Youngjin made up his mind.

Seo Juwon, he would definitely take revenge on that annoying necromancer.