Chapter 83 : A Designer, Not an Instinctive One
Chapter 83: A Designer, Not an Instinctive One
The reason Chairman Jeong Jaewook trusted data over intuition was simple.
It was a rational decision, born from bitter experience.
The moment he relied on instinct, he failed.
The moment he relied on numbers, he succeeded.
“Interesting.”
Ssshh—
Jeong Jaewook’s hand reached for the documents again.
No matter how many times he looked, they fascinated him.
Inside the file was everything about Taeyoon.
[ Overview ]
Affiliation: Freelancer (external staff)
Main genres: Future Bass, Synthpop, Alternative Rock
Notable works: <Ancora>, <Super Ride>, <You Said Time Wouldn’t Stop>, and more
Key strengths: Sound detail / Sensible chord progression
Risk factors: Lack of industry experience / Weak network / No proven capital management experience
[ Suggested Future Strategy ]
Short term: Expand experience through collaboration with in-house teams on projects
Mid term: Exclusive contract with Manny Entertainment, collaborations with key producers
Long term: Consider possibility of establishing an independent label
[ Conclusion ]
A designer-type composer, not instinct-driven
Clear differentiation from existing Manny Entertainment sound, with a strong, original musical color
However, adaptability within a large-scale system is the key variable
[ Internal Recommendation Grade: A ]
“Khhhhh.”
For once, the numbers and his intuition aligned perfectly.
It was the first time that had ever happened.
On the following pages, numbers filled the sheets.
Album sales of every project so far, music video views, streaming counts……
Everything that could be expressed in numbers was there.
What he liked most was, of course, the grade.
It might feel cruel to grade a person like livestock, but what else could he do?
There was no clearer way to mark someone’s current position than with ABCD.
“A, huh……”
At Manny Entertainment, external composers, lyricists, and producers were evaluated twice.
Once when they first began attracting attention.
And again at the point they confirmed a project with Manny.
But Taeyoon had been evaluated only once.
The fact that these two moments overlapped also piqued Jeong Jaewook’s curiosity.
He recalled past cases.
Busan Goblin, Music Ward, Brilliant Faces.
No, across all creators, there had never been a case where someone received an A grade so quickly.
‘But Stay pulled it off.’
That made him even more restless.
He had to recruit Stay as soon as possible!
Jeong Jaewook’s head was filled with nothing else.
He wasn’t about to spout vague promises.
Looking at it…… Taeyoon seemed similar to himself.
If he had that kind of personality, then it was certain. If confronted with hard numbers, he wouldn’t be able to refuse.
“Hmhm~ mmm~”
He even began to hum.
He glanced at the clock.
[ 13:01 ]
Time was crawling.
The meeting with Taeyoon was at 2 p.m.
A whole hour left.
Jeong Jaewook waited for Taeyoon with reverence.
It really felt…… as if he had become the Little Prince.
Since the happiness had begun from 1 o’clock, just because someone promised to come at 2.
Time passed like that.
Finally, Taeyoon arrived.
“Hello.”
He looked even sharper today.
Seeing his face made him even harder to resist.
If he hesitated even for a moment, someone might swoop in and snatch Taeyoon away.
“Ah, welcome, welcome. Did it take long? Have you eaten? Sit first, and let’s start with this……”
Jeong Jaewook immediately pushed the documents toward him.
Even before Taeyoon had fully sat down on the sofa.
Caught off guard, Taeyoon accepted the file, then frowned and pressed his head.
“Ugh, suddenly my head……”
“Eh? Your head? Why all of a sudden?”
“It’s just…… I’m not very interested in numbers.”
Thud—
The file he had been handed dropped onto the table.
But now, the one with the headache was Jeong Jaewook.
What? He had prepared this with more favorable treatment than for most composers!
Why? How?
Jeong Jaewook rubbed his temples hard.
Taeyoon, as if reading all his thoughts, smiled and answered.
“I know. I do. And I really appreciate you preparing all this data for me. But……”
Taeyoon’s eyes turned toward the wall.
A brief silence.
Naturally, Jeong Jaewook’s gaze followed.
Where Taeyoon’s eyes lingered, where his thoughts rested.
A black-and-white photo hanging on the wall.
It was Avicii.
The very first day Taeyoon had come up to the chairman’s office.
The words he himself had spoken that day.
What’s there to it? We’re just people walking the same path, sharing a bit of conversation.
That had been genuine.
His face flushed hot.
‘……Ah!’
As Jeong Jaewook sat there flustered,
Taeyoon gave a slightly awkward smile and said,
“I actually came today to talk about music, not numbers.”
“……”
Only then did Jeong Jaewook realize.
I…… made a mistake.
They said numbers never lied.
That was wrong. Numbers lied too.
They roughly explained the past, but they couldn’t predict the future.
No matter how advanced AI or big data became.
They couldn’t read human hearts.
Because, in the end, those numbers were made by people.
Made in the direction that the person wanted to see.
“Hm……”
The file showed what benefits I would gain if I signed with Manny, and what impact it would have on Manny Entertainment.
All of it expressed in numbers.
I only glanced, but there were way too many zeroes.
“My apologies. To push such confusing talk onto someone busy with producing… it’s shameful. Please, let’s pretend this never happened.”
Ssshh— Jeong Jaewook retrieved the file.
His tone grew neat, his voice heavier—he truly looked sorry.
I quickly waved my hand in reply.
“No, not at all. I’m simply grateful that you evaluated me so highly. However, I’m not ready yet. I ask for your understanding on that, Chairman.”
“I completely understand. Thank you for helping me realize this.”
Jeong Jaewook smiled faintly.
“I mean it.”
He turned the papers over.
Just one sheet, yet it felt unbearably heavy.
Statistics? Data? Sure, they were fine.
But in the end, they were only assumptions.
The probability that I might run away mid-project and leave Manny in trouble, the probability that Manny might go bankrupt and fail to pay me.
If numbers could predict even those things, then I’d acknowledge them.
But they couldn’t possibly account for every case in the world. So how could they judge anything with mere digits?
That’s why I……
“Once again, thank you for valuing me this highly. I’m truly honored. But.”
Simply put……
“I prefer something else over stiff numbers. Simple words like, ‘I trust you, let’s work hard.’ I like those better.”
Sincere talk felt better.
At least, that had been my experience.
The psychology of someone presenting such grand documents was simple.
It meant they lacked confidence.
They already knew I would reject their offer.
So they could only hand over such material, padding it with lengthy explanations.
Chairman Jeong Jaewook gave a bitter smile at my words and asked,
“Perhaps…… I made a mistake?”
I deliberately exaggerated my answer, even waving my hands.
“No, no. Not at all. I just thought we’d be talking about music, but suddenly I was staring at numbers, and it made me dizzy. I’m strong with notes, but terrible with numbers.”
This kind of scene, I’d seen it before.
Where was it? When was it?
Ah, I remembered.
I recalled a time from the past.
Thinking back, my parents began to grow distant when my dad tried persuading mom with sheets full of numbers.
“I’m telling you, it’s guaranteed. Look, see? These numbers prove it all.”
“Dongyoon’s dad, there’s nothing certain in this world.”
“Hah……”
I thought it was a letter.
On TV, men often confessed to the women they liked, holding a letter in their hands.
I thought it was something like that.
Back then, dad followed mom around for quite a while.
But mom never even glanced at him.
Later, my brother told me.
That paper had been dad’s version of a business plan.
He must have believed numbers could persuade people.
To him, it was a rosy future. To our family, it was the beginning of hardship.
Difficult words, fanciful visions, numbers stuffed with zeroes.
Maybe he thought mom would find that appealing.
But at the time, mom firmly said this:
“Dongyoon’s dad.”
“Yes?”
“I know why you made that document and tried to persuade me.”
“Well, of course……”
Dad hesitated briefly.
And mom declared,
“Well, of course—because you’re not confident.”
“You really……”
What words had dad tried to say?
Probably none at all.
Just like Jeong Jaewook now.
What expression had dad worn back then?
I tried to recall.
How could I describe it?
Not sad, not dumbfounded, not disappointed……
Ah, yes. That was it.
It was the look of someone hit right in the heart.
“How could you say something so hurtful.”
Mom snatched the paper out of dad’s hands as if she had decided something.
Of course, she didn’t read it.
Placing the paper face down on the dining table, with the numbers hidden, she looked straight into his eyes and said,
“Not this kind of material.”
“……?”
“I want to hear your heart.”
“Ah……”
Record production.
Investment.
Collateral.
Complicated words flew around.
To tell the end result, dad’s dream eventually failed. All it brought was the breakup of our family.
Through that, my parents divorced, and I lived with mom.
I never resented them for what happened, nor did I want to demand answers for why. That was adult business.
Thankfully, they still checked in on each other through me, asking how the other was doing.
In stories, divorced couples often hated each other like enemies.
But that never happened. At least, not yet.
I suppose…… it was just like Jeong Jaewook and Oh Jisoo.
I glanced at Jeong Jaewook’s expression.
He looked like he was chewing over my words from every angle.
Yes.
That was the very expression dad had worn back then.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
If dad had conveyed his heart instead of that document, would mom have happily allowed his business?
I didn’t think so.
Still, I laughed out of nowhere, and Jeong Jaewook tilted his head and asked,
“……Why are you laughing?”
“Ah, no. Sorry. I just suddenly thought of my parents. Where were we?”
At that, color returned to Jeong Jaewook’s face.
“Ah, perhaps…… is there someone in your family who does music?”
“Rather than music……”
I didn’t want to bring up that my older brother worked at another company’s A&R.
Even less that my father had once worked at an entertainment company.
So I just brushed it off.
“My whole family liked music. My parents, and my brother too.”
Jeong Jaewook smiled in satisfaction.
As if he had naturally finished his background check.
“Your parents must be very proud. It’s not easy to achieve success on your own at such a young age these days.”
“Ah, I haven’t told them yet.”
“Oh, so you became independent early.”
“Rather than independent…… my parents divorced, so I live separately from my brother.”
Ah, maybe I didn’t need to say that.
Why was he looking at me with that expression?
“Oh my, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
Whenever I mentioned being from a divorced family.
Why did people act all restless, as if bringing up my parents was some kind of crime?
I didn’t get it.
Families came in all different forms.
“No, it’s fine. Every household has its own circumstances.”
Gulp.
I downed the apple juice in front of me.
Now I understood why he kept drinking this stuff.
I might get addicted too.
I stopped halfway through.
Both Teacher Oh Jisoo and Han Yujin had told me.
Not to consume too much high fructose syrup.
I only moistened my throat and spoke again.
“Regarding the pitching, and also the producing. I heard you gave me a lot of consideration.”
“Oh no, not at all. It was simply because the songs were so good. It feels odd for someone who just pushed numbers at you to say this out of the blue, but they were really good. All of them.”
This time, Jeong Jaewook grabbed an apple juice bottle.
Soon another empty bottle appeared.
Three empties now sat on the table.
Maybe Teacher Oh Jisoo was right, maybe he really was addicted to high fructose syrup. She had worried quite a bit.
I asked, concerned.
“Um…… isn’t there a lot of high fructose syrup in apple juice?”
“Hahaha. That’s random. You’re worried about me, aren’t you?”
“Well. It’s juice, after all?”
“Don’t worry. This is 100% apple. Fruit should be fine, right?”
“Huh?”
That wasn’t what I knew.
Oh well. If it tasted good, that was enough.
I downed the rest of the apple juice and spoke again.
“Anyway, thank you for the wonderful offer. But for now, I’d like to work with various places while remaining unaffiliated.”
That should have made things clear.
Why did people in the entertainment industry always push for exclusive contracts after only a few meetings?
It wasn’t as if we couldn’t work together without exclusivity.
“Yes. Once again, I understand. Thank you for your honesty.”
Chairman Jeong Jaewook gave a broad smile as he spoke.
But why did his face look so pitiful?
Tch, I was going to give it to him on my way out.
But looking at that expression, I just couldn’t hold back.
Alright, as I said earlier, let’s talk about music, music!
That should lighten the mood.
I rummaged through my bag and asked.
“Chairman, do you still listen to CDs these days?”
After asking, I looked him in the eye.
The stiffness from earlier was completely gone.
Suddenly, his eyes looked like those of a child.
Instead of answering, he gestured with his chin toward the bookshelf behind his desk.
At the center of the shelf,
“Ah……!”
Alongside albums of Manny Entertainment artists, sat a small mini component system.
I felt a rush of joy.
It was familiar.
“Oh, that’s the Aiwa XR……. what was it.”
“XR-M99. Whoa, what? You know this?”
I did. My dad had one, which my brother inherited.
It was the same model.
If you touched it, it was a big deal.
I had secretly played it and fiddled with it before my brother got home from school—that was my little secret.
The problem was, the one at our house was broken.
Only the radio function barely worked.
“Yes, do you still use it?”
“Sometimes. It’s a masterpiece. This is my treasure.”
I found it odd.
For the chairman of a company this size, he could easily fill his office with grand speakers.
I figured there must be a story and only nodded.
“Lyricist Oh Jisoo gave it to me as a gift.”
Ah, this man.
Completely unpredictable.
Should I call that foolishness, or sincerity?
Ahem.
I pretended not to notice and pulled out the gift I had prepared.
“I thought our tastes might be similar, so I wanted to give you this. It’s not a famous album, but……”
A small CD was in my hand.
On the jacket photo, only the back of a man was printed.
At the bottom, a rather tacky artist name, JU:K, was stamped.
Jeong Jaewook stared at it for a long moment.
What was that? Was I imagining things?
He looked as if he had seen a ghost.
He muttered,
“How do you know this album?”
Oh—so it wasn’t my imagination.
He sounded genuinely shocked.
“What?”
This time, I was the one surprised.
Someone actually recognized this record?