Chapter 278 : James Linden (1)
Chapter 278: James Linden (1)
James Linden.
A renowned singer-songwriter who made a spectacular debut through an American music audition program, then went on to build an album career that had never once declined.
A singer who had entered the Billboard charts countless times and made his presence known at every year-end awards ceremony.
A living legend who was still actively promoting to this day.
Seo Ian, who had been a longtime fan of James Linden, muttered blankly,
"I even used one of his songs for my year-end evaluation back when I was a trainee...."
Cha Seongbin was no less excited.
Patting Jin Sehyun on the shoulder, he spoke in an animated voice.
"Hey, Sehyun. I don't think that dream you had was just a stupid dream after all."
"Huh?"
"They say dreams mean the opposite, don't they? Like dreaming about ghosts means you'll hit the jackpot or something."
"...Then does that mean Do Seohan is a ghost?"
Exactly...!
I hid my surprise at their sharp exchange and kept my mouth firmly shut.
"As for whether Seohan's a ghost, I don't know. But if I had to say, he's more like a gho...."
"......"
"...Ghostly adorable hamster!"
"Ian-hyung, that pause was way too obvious. You just couldn't bring yourself to admit it, could you?"
At Jin Sehyun's teasing, Seo Ian scratched his head with a faint smile.
I seized the opportunity to steer the conversation away as naturally as possible.
"So it wasn't a stupid dream after all—it was a lucky dream~."
"Seohan, don't think you can casually blend into the conversation like that!"
"...Huh?"
Mr. James Linden.
Anyway, perfect timing.
I don't know where you are right now, but please accept my deepest thanks.
"Mm. This is an incredible opportunity."
Slurp.
Kim Woochan took a sip of his chocolate smoothie as he spoke.
I stared expressionlessly at him as he idly stirred the drink with his paper straw.
And for good reason.
This scene...
It was far too familiar.
Swallowing dryly, I spoke with complete seriousness.
"Wouldn't it be better if you just... transferred to our company?"
Seriously, wasn't he showing up way too often?
Not long ago, he'd appeared at the café on the first floor of Doubles.
And today, just as always, he was sitting in the exact same café on the first floor of Doubles, working on music.
At this point, it wouldn't even be strange to think this was his own company....
Still, since he was my senior, I couldn't exactly say anything too harsh.
"A sudden job offer? I'm kind of flattered."
"Haha...."
"If it's a big company like Doubles, I really might transfer someday~. Though it's difficult right now since I'm temporarily in slave status."
Kim Woochan casually shrugged before noisily finishing the rest of his chocolate smoothie.
Judging by the way he spoke, he really intended to keep coming and going from this company until his next contract period.
Anyway, he must've come here because he had something important to say.
With a small smile, I sat down across from him.
"So why did you come today?"
"Well... has anything happened recently?"
One thing immediately came to mind.
I nodded and answered calmly.
"Sehyun-hyung remembered something from his previous life."
"So something did happen!"
Kim Woochan unconsciously raised his voice before awkwardly letting out a laugh.
Lowering his voice again, he cautiously continued.
"As it happens, a new status entry appeared, and I was going to tell you about it.... This is just my guess, but I think it might be related to everything that's happening right now."
With a serious expression, Kim Woochan reached out into the empty air.
He made several solemn gestures as though hurriedly searching for something.
However....
"I can't see any of it."
"Ah. O-Oh, right."
Once again, I realized just how cruel the fate of protagonists who permanently lived with a Status Window really was.
At least I didn't wave my hands around in empty air out in public.
Kim Woochan smiled awkwardly before swallowing dryly.
"It's the Synchronization entry. To show it visually... just a moment."
Taking a pen from his pocket, Kim Woochan quickly scribbled a sentence into his notebook.
It was a recreation of exactly what appeared in the Status Window.
[[Warning] The current world and Universe No. 1517 are synchronized at 31%.]
"When it first appeared, it was only at 12%. I'm not completely certain, but the higher that percentage gets, the worse the effect seems to be on this universe."
Just the fact that it had [Warning] written beside it made it obvious that something had gone terribly wrong.
Synchronization....
The word itself was somewhat vague, but I understood the general idea.
"So it's basically a type of collision?"
"Yes."
A collision of data.
It was something Kim Woochan had mentioned before.
The universe had recognized regression as a variable.
If all the altered data caused by regression became mixed together and collided...
There was no question what kind of chaotic world would result.
The next step was obvious.
"If this synchronization is being caused by the variable known as Mr. Seohan, then it'll probably try to eliminate that variable even faster than before...."
"So I could end up in danger...?"
"Yes. That's what I think."
It was a reasonable assumption.
Synchronization had already progressed enough to influence the subconscious minds of three different people.
At this rate, I'd end up getting assassinated by the universe before I could even complete my next achievement.
"Hoo...."
There wasn't an easy solution.
But I couldn't simply sit back and do nothing either.
My gaze toward Kim Woochan grew resolute.
"You said we needed to attract an audience of one million across more than ten countries, right?"
Then we'd just have to make that happen somehow.
As quickly as possible.
Every summer
Every summer
I fly away across the horizon
Though it's a little far away, I can still reach it
"Mm, mm."
James Linden hummed along to a verse from <Every summer>.
No matter how many times he listened to it, it was an exceptionally well-made song.
Smiling with satisfaction, he quietly muttered,
"This is so Telmore."
Elson Telmore's debut song.
Although it was still a time when his skill in handling compositions was somewhat rough around the edges, his genius had already been shining through even then.
He was a man born with an instinctive sense for creating musical ideas.
James Linden personally held his talent in extremely high regard.
The genius composer who had entered the Billboard charts with his debut song <Every summer> had gone on to work on albums for one famous singer after another, enjoying uninterrupted success.
One of those artists was James Linden himself.
Although James usually filled nearly all of his albums with songs he'd written himself, he occasionally collaborated with a variety of artists to bring a fresh atmosphere to certain albums.
He had worked with Elson Telmore on his sixth mini album, and it was there that he'd first learned about Stardust.
The reason he'd become interested in those singers from a country he knew nothing about—other than that they were the K-pop artists who had sung <Every summer>—was because of Elson Telmore's overwhelming praise.
James Linden remembered Telmore showering Stardust with compliments at machine-gun speed the very first day they worked together, the moment <Every summer> came up in conversation.
'Stardust? It was an honor working with them. They're talented across the board, and more importantly, they've got an incredible eye for songs.'
'They were the people who recognized my very first debut song. I wasn't some pearl buried in the dirt—I was just an empty seashell.'
'We made a promise that we'd work together again someday. I'm sorting through songs as hard as I can right now, but I still haven't found one I'm completely confident in! Ah, I really have to hit No. 1 on Billboard!'
To be honest, none of the other compliments mattered.
A singer he wanted to work with.
Wasn't that enough?
From that day on, whenever he had free time, James Linden began listening to Stardust's music.
He watched the Tikdog Challenge videos for <Every summer>.
He watched live clips from the variety shows Stardust had appeared on.
Eventually, the algorithm even led him to a live clip of their fan song <Your Dust>.
'...One of the members wrote this?'
Idols weren't singer-songwriters.
James Linden had never looked down on idols because of that.
He simply believed they focused on different areas within the same art form.
But precisely because of that, he'd always been convinced that their songwriting abilities would inevitably lag far behind.
After all, very few artists who also focused on performance could produce truly exceptional songs.
However...
This song was different.
'It has a distinct color....'
A clean, well-crafted three-minute and seventeen-second song that clearly reflected the artist's own identity.
Judging by how that same musical color flowed organically through their other songs as well, the composer had to be the same person.
James Linden fixed the composer's name firmly in his mind.
'This is exactly my taste.'
That much was undeniable.
Thinking that he'd definitely like to have a proper conversation with that composer someday if the opportunity arose, he stood from his seat.
Just then—
Footsteps echoed from outside the studio.
Even from a distance, it was obvious that a group had arrived.
Checking the clock, he saw they had come exactly on time.
James Linden smiled and got to his feet.
Creak—.
The door opened, and seven youthful boys poured into the studio.
The spacious studio, which had always felt so large when he used it alone, suddenly became packed with people.
And then—
The leader's booming greeting followed.
"Shine bright! Hello, we're Stardust!"
"Hello, we're Stardust!!"
"Uh... u-um... hello."
It was a very K-pop idol-style greeting...
One that James Linden found rather difficult to adjust to.