Devil’s Music

The recording with Yoonjeong and Jinyeon finished in ten days. Geon, who never compromised on music, spoke with a warm tone and a smile, but there were only a few memories of Geon’s voice that remained in Yoonjeong and Jinyeon’s minds.

"Again."

"Once more."

"Let's go one more time."

"Make that part a bit stronger?"

"Let's try one last time."

"This is really the last one, hang in there."

"Good, that was very good. One more time would be perfect."

"Yeah! That’s it! Let’s capture that emotion one more time!"

Although it seemed like positive reinforcement, what Geon always wanted was "just one more time."

Even at the end, Geon, who never knew when to stop, wasn’t even tired after recording for more than ten hours each day.

On the tenth day, when Geon cheerfully announced “Recording over,” the girls should have been jumping for joy, but instead, they just collapsed on the floor.

Geon approached the two sisters, who had fallen not on a couch but on the floor, and patted their shoulders as if to say well done, his warm laughter seeming like a devil’s laugh to them.

After lying on the floor for a while, exhausted, they only turned their heads toward the sound of the automatic door opening to see Lynn and Dr. Breg entering and quickly got up.

Seeing the girls sprawled on the floor and Geon laughing while sitting on the windowsill drinking a beverage, Dr. Breg realized recording had ended and joyfully exclaimed,

"Ooh!! It’s finally over? Congratulations, Yoonjeong, Jinyeon."

They wanted to chatter away, but Yoonjeong and Jinyeon, noticing Lynn’s presence, just nodded slightly. Lynn, seeing the girls, sat down on the couch and asked Geon,

"How’s the Song of the Earth coming along?"

Geon, who was sitting on the windowsill, quickly lifted Lucy into his arms and approached the couch.

"Thanks to Eminem's understanding, we proceeded with the recording at night and finished in two days."

Dr. Breg whistled and laughed softly,

"Keke, Snap took three days, looks like it’s going to be a long fight again, this time Eminem wins. Keke."

Lynn nodded and looked at the two girls standing politely next to the couch,

"Don’t just stand, sit down."

Perhaps because Lynn was still young, the two girls chose to sit next to Geon, who had tormented them for eleven days, rather than Lynn. Lynn spoke again after observing the girls, Ṟ

"What’s left to prepare now?"

Geon looked at Dr. Breg and smiled,

"It’s just mine and Dr. Breg’s work left, I haven’t recorded my part in the vocal line yet, and Dr. Breg will be overseeing the production during the recording."

Lynn asked again after Dr. Breg gave a thumbs up,

"How’s the Song of Fire going?"

"Except for the vocal line, everything else is done; we finished that first."

"When is Mr. Hodgson, ah no, Arthur coming back from the U.S.?"

"We’ve finished the recording, so he’ll first head back to tend to his business, and he’ll adjust his schedule depending on the album release activities."

"That’s good. When is the album work completely finished?"

Geon pondered for a moment with his lips pursed then replied,

"Within the next week."

Lynn checked the calendar on a tablet PC and nodded,

"That’s good, we can prepare by the end of November. Are you planning to release the album offline first again and then open it on streaming sites after a month?"

"Um… I’ll leave that to Director Lynn."

"Hoho, you would oppose if I say to open it online right away, right?"

"Hehe… That’s true."

"Alright, I’ll place the production order right after the album work is done."

Dr. Breg, aware that Fury of Montana had so far sold over seven hundred thousand copies, asked,

"How many should we produce? Are you thinking of about a million for the initial batch?"

Lynn paused for a moment then looked at the four people watching her and said,

"Ten million."

The shocked Dr. Breg was at a loss for words, prompting Yoonjeong to exclaim,

"What?? Ten million, Director?"

Geon wasn’t too surprised, trusting in Lynn. Sensing Geon’s trusting gaze, Lynn replied with a tender expression,

"Dr. Larry from Downtown New York Hospital announced the effects of the Song of Water at a medical seminar. We’ve already received a pre-order of a million copies from the medical community, and music stores worldwide are continuously making pre-order inquiries. This decision is based on an analysis by the Fantagio analytics team."

The mesmerized Dr

. Breg muttered,

"It’s not even the 20th century anymore… Can album sales still exceed ten million?"

"We need to plan carefully."

"Do you have a good plan?"

Lynn nodded,

"Starting tomorrow, Yoonjeong and Jinyeon will begin dance practice under a choreographer. We will produce music videos for all songs except the Song of Water, starting with the Song of the Wind, the Song of the Earth, and finally the Song of Fire, and open them sequentially."

Geon, seemingly unprepared for this, asked,

"All three songs?"

"Yes, all of them will be produced. Yoonjeong and Jinyeon need practice time, so please start with the Song of Fire and stick to the schedule you mentioned earlier. I’ll get the staff ready. I will personally oversee the music video concepts and planning, and the performances will be planned by Director Lee Byung-jun, so please be aware of that."

"Performances?"

"Yes, we are planning a tour early next year."

"Hmm… That sounds busy."

"Yes, let’s start the work right away, I need to prepare so I’ll be going now."

"Yes, Director. Please take care."

"Hoho, leave it to me."

As Lynn left, Geon gestured to Dr. Breg,

"Dr. Breg, shall we wrap up the Song of the Wind then?"

Dr. Breg, with an exaggerated gesture, laughed,

"Hey, I’m the producer. Don’t think about lecturing me, I’ve heard all about it from Eminem and Snap."

"Haha, understood. I’m looking forward to working with you, Producer."

Yoonjeong and Jinyeon, who stayed to watch Geon record, were astounded by Dr. Breg's casual OK sign after singing the Song of the Wind’s vocal line just once.

However, they couldn’t say anything against Geon’s perfect vocals, and Yoonjeong bowed her head deeply,

"What’s with that guy…"

Jinyeon couldn’t take her eyes off Geon singing in the booth and said,

"A week? He’d finish all three songs in a day…"

Although Dr. Breg gave the OK sign, Geon, unsatisfied with something in the booth, ended up recording the Song of the Wind late into the night.

As the clock struck 11 PM, the two girls, who had fallen asleep on the couch, were only able to return to their accommodations after being woken by Geon past 2 AM.

A few days later, as staff from Fantagio busily prepared something in front of the office, journalists captured the scene, and the world buzzed with excitement that Geon’s regular album release was imminent.

Hourly, paparazzi photos of staff entering and leaving Fantagio’s office surfaced online.

And when news broke that Fantagio had placed an order for ten million initial copies at the album production factory, the world was caught in a frenzy of enthusiasm.

Although there was still about a month left until late November, when Fantagio’s website announced mid-November pre-orders for the album, calls from album retailers started pouring in.

Lynn, foreseeing this situation from past experiences, contracted a customer service outsourcing company to handle the calls, and by early November, pre-orders from album retailers had already exceeded five million.

As the album work concluded and only Dr. Breg’s final mastering remained, Geon, greeted daily with good news, smiled lightly and dove into the final stages with Dr. Breg.

Despite the nightly mastering sessions being exhausting, Geon, releasing his first regular album, was too engrossed in the work to feel tired.

Yoonjeong and Jinyeon fervently practiced daily with the choreography instructor, and during breaks, they visited Geon on K Floor to spend time together.

As the album release countdown began, visits to Geon’s office by Shizuka and Kevin, who had been caught up drinking late with Snap the previous night, became frequent. On this day, Shizuka, Yoonjeong, and Jinyeon sat on the couch in Geon’s office, chatting away.

Shizuka poured a cup of warm tea from a thermos her mother had sent from Japan, offering it to Geon.

"Try this, it’s Houjicha. My mom sent it from Japan."

With the chilly morning and evening winds, Geon, craving a warm cup of tea, gratefully accepted and blew gently before sipping, while Shizuka poured tea for Yoonjeong and Jinyeon with a satisfied expression.

Realizing that the two girls saw Geon not merely as a man but as a respected senior and musician, Shizuka didn’t see them as rivals, allowing the three to quickly become friends.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

As the four chatted away about recent events in the cozy office, the sound of the elevator arriving was heard.

K Floor was designed so that the sound of an elevator stopping at other floors

wouldn’t be heard, meaning someone had gotten off at K Floor, so they all paid attention to the footsteps in the hallway.

The sound wasn’t that of a man’s steps but rather the distinctive sound of high heels, making Geon think it was Klara.

"Is there any tea left? Let’s offer a cup to Klara."

"Yes, there’s still some."

As Shizuka was about to serve the steaming tea, she frowned upon seeing who was at the door.

Shizuka’s hands trembled slightly as she turned slowly to Geon, who had a stunned expression on his face.

"Ki…ska?"

Before Geon stood a tall beauty, over 170 cm tall, her long blonde hair draped to one side, appearing even taller due to her high heels. She was dressed in skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and a gray long cardigan.

After glancing at the three women sitting on Geon’s office couch, she spoke in a soft voice,

"Has it… grown again?"

Geon stood up, spreading his arms wide as he shouted,

"Kiska! What’s going on, you didn’t mention this when we talked yesterday!"

Expecting Kiska to rush into his arms, Kiska stared at him with cold eyes and then coldly looked at Yoonjeong and Jinyeon.

"Who are you?"

Despite her beautiful appearance, Kiska’s chilly demeanor and charisma overwhelmed Jinyeon, who replied in a meek voice,

"Uh, we are musicians with Fantagio…"

Seeing the situation, Geon, realizing Kiska was misunderstanding something, broke into a cold sweat as he approached,

"No, Kiska, it’s not what you think, these girls are featuring on this album. They are our company’s musicians."

Kiska, who still had to look up to Geon despite having grown a lot, peered at Shizuka holding the teacup,

"Shizuka is also a company musician."

Under her cold gaze, Geon kept sweating.

>

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