Chapter 11 : The Thicker Bank Account

Chapter 11: The Thicker Bank Account

I came back home with both hands full of groceries.

Now, it was really beginning.

The most important step remained.

The act of stamping the seal.

‘Hyung is an expert in this field.’

At the very least, I’d be able to pick up on how the industry worked.

As soon as I stepped inside, I peeled off my clothes like shedding skin and called out for Hyung.

“Hyuuuunnnng.”

“Why is this kid suddenly acting weird? What’s that? Oh, Shine Muscat?”

“You like this, don’t you?”

“What kind of favor is our Taeyoon trying to ask, coming here and calling me all sweet like that, even bringing this expensive stuff?”

He said that, but he seemed to like it.

He quickly washed the grapes and brought them back, picking them off one by one and placing them in front of me.

“Something good happen?”

“Is it obvious?”

“You’re walking around grinning. Did you win the lottery or something? Share the wealth.”

At his words, I rubbed my face with the back of my hand.

I thought I had been keeping a decent poker face, but maybe it showed more than I realized.

And lottery? This wasn’t the same as a lottery.

A lottery was just luck, but this—this was proof of my effort!

“No. Just… eat the grapes.”

I stuffed a grape into his mouth without warning.

“Hey, you try it too. Doesn’t it taste just like mango? It’s crazy...”

He was enjoying it. Was it really that good?

I grabbed a few grapes he had picked and tried them.

...They were good.

“Hyung, does your company ever pick up songs from rookies and release them?”

I had been munching on grapes with determination for a while when I finally spoke up.

Suddenly, Hyung wiped his hands and looked at me with a changed expression.

“What’s with the eyes? Seo Taeyoon looks serious. Are you actually trying to do music?”

“Just curious, that’s all.”

“Well, it happens, but rarely. It’s tough.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? There are tons of composers out there, so why bother?”

“But they were all rookies at some point too.”

“They’re not rookies now, are they?”

“Huh?”

I had done that very difficult thing.

Maybe it was thanks to my mysterious confidence.

Since we were on the topic, I decided to ask everything I was curious about.

This was going to be the first time I ever stamped a seal, so I needed to approach it carefully.

Mom had told us so many times that it rang in my ears.

‘Dongyoon, Taeyoon. Don’t go stamping things carelessly. You’ll end up like your dad…’

I engraved Mom’s words into my heart once more and asked.

“Even rookies get paid for songs, right?”

“It depends on the company, but most of them do pay.”

“What about yours?”

The company Hyung worked at, Tomorrow Entertainment, was considered one of the big three alongside ToMe Entertainment, where I was working.

They probably operated similarly, so I needed to get a general sense of the going rates.

“They pay.”

“How much?”

“It’s internal policy, so I can’t really say.”

Hyung was like this.

It always felt like he was telling me everything, but when it came to the important stuff, he clammed up.

“Fine, let’s say your company is off-limits. But there’s got to be an industry average.”

“Look at our Taeyoon, checking the market price before even writing a song.”

“Obviously. Isn’t profit the most important thing?”

“Well, it’s good to know in advance. It’s mostly market price.”

“What is this, flounder? What do you mean, market price.”

“You can think of it as roughly 3 million won.”

“For a title track?”

“If it’s picked as the title, it usually goes higher, but... that’s never happened with us, so who knows?”

Even Tomorrow Entertainment hadn’t done that before.

I had done the impossible, I’m telling you.

I was itching to spill, but barely held it in.

“What about lyrics?”

“You’re getting serious now? Don’t even. Lyric writing is even tougher. Writers like Oh Jisoo, Na Soyeong, and Song Seonyul take all the hit songs.”

Oh Jisoo… It felt good to hear a familiar name from Hyung’s mouth.

And she was the first one he mentioned. Why did my shoulders puff up?

“I see.”

“On top of that, lyricists usually get paid less than composers. Sometimes they don’t get paid at all.”

“How do you live if you don’t get paid for a song?”

“Royalties. That’s why competition is fierce. If one song hits, a few hundred thousand won is nothing. You’d be getting millions a month.”

“Oh, royalties…”

“Sometimes when the song goes to a famous singer, they’ll gaslight rookie composers, saying you’re not supposed to get paid. Just royalties.”

I was glad I asked.

It was far from what I expected, and the mention of millions in royalties made my ears perk up.

A useless daydream rose up inside me, thinking I might become that person.

This was an interesting industry in many ways.

“There’s just one thing you need to be careful of. Some contracts sneak in clauses that mess with the copyright. But that’s a talk for when you’re actually signing. For now, just focus on writing.”

Okay, got it.

Copyright, copyright…

Hyung shared a few more things before getting up.

“Our little Seo Taeyoon is asking all the right questions now. If you just take care of your copyright, you’ve done your part as a rookie. Hurry up and make lots of money. So Hyung can eat Shine Muscat all the time.”

As if a bunch of grapes were anything special.

I smiled confidently and replied with pride.

“Screw that, I’ll buy you live apple mangoes.”

Contract.

A heavy but somewhat exciting word.

Today, I finally entered ToMe Entertainment to sign what you’d call a contract.

It felt different from when I signed the club part-time contract.

I was reciting the code of conduct my hyung told me and waiting.

I had to make sure not to make any mistakes.

“Wow, you came early today too. The writers usually stay up all night and their eyes look dull, but yours are bright and clear. Right, Manager Kim?”

“Uh…? Team Leader, why are you here? Do you handle contracts personally too?”

It was Team Leader Park Minseok.

You show up even when signing contracts, seriously…

How many bodies do you have anyway?

“Wouldn’t I do anything? Why not. At this rate, I might even learn how to paint nails. Anyway. This is the HR team manager, say hello.”

We exchanged quick greetings.

Still, an HR team manager came along for the contract.

It was obvious at a glance from his face that he was from HR.

His attire felt somewhat out of place for an entertainment company.

His suit was so tight it looked painted on, making eye contact awkward.

Team Leader Park calmly spoke first.

“This is a standard contract, so nothing to worry about too much. If you have questions after reading it, ask Manager Kim. Excuse me for a moment… ah, this damn phone really… Oh, Writer Hwang, hello…”

Just as he stepped out to take the call,

Manager Kim leaned his face in.

So close it was almost intimidating.

“Excuse me, Writer Seo Taeyoon.”

“Yes?”

“Do you happen to know our CEO?”

“I’ve met him a few times…”

“Hmm… doesn’t seem like it... Are you relatives, college juniors, from the same military unit, hometown juniors, something like that? Really?”

If that were the case, would I be sitting here all nervous?

I had no idea what was going on and question marks floated above my head.

“It’s odd. Is this amount correct? I looked at it quite a bit. I thought there was a typo in the contract.”

Even a chameleon would be calmer than this.

Why did he have so much to say?

Manager Kim kept flipping through the contract pages and muttering as he spoke.

“If not… the song fee doesn’t make sense. I sign contracts with all freelance writers. Usually for rookies the amount is… wait.”

What is this? There’s nothing more frustrating than stopping mid-sentence.

“Is there something I should check?”

“There isn’t, but there is something you should know.”

“Yes?”

“That you’re the company’s expected rookie?”

“Ah…”

That's so embarrassing, doing this to someone.

Not wanting to respond, I just sipped my coffee.

Team Leader Park really has a good memory.

Today he had the sense to prepare a sweet coffee.

“Don’t you know Team Leader Park said Americano is absolutely no good and ordered you to bring a macchiato?”

“I can’t drink what I wrote.”

“He’s not that detail-oriented.”

Manager Kim continued babbling for quite a while.

This situation felt unfamiliar.

“You’re quite young, very impressive. You wrote lyrics, composed, and arranged yourself, right? Sometimes a comet-like rookie appears.”

So unfamiliar…

“This wasn’t our company until now. I went to a fortune teller earlier this year and they said things would go very well this year. Somehow it matched well. They seemed like a quack at first.”

A weird silence would have been better.

Did he have a disease that killed him if he didn’t talk even for a moment?

Feeling I had to say something, I answered.

“Congratulations.”

“…Yes?”

“If things go well, that’s a good thing.”

“Well… no. You’re truly as unexpected as they say.”

Are all entertainment industry people like this?

Apparently everything you say comes out unexpected.

Fortunately, salvation appeared soon.

Team Leader Park burst back in out of breath.

“Sorry. How far did we get?”

“We haven’t talked at all yet.”

“Oh… have you read the contract yet?”

“I’m about to.”

“Manager Kim must’ve been talking on his own that a new face appeared. Just look. You’ll be surprised?”

Seeing the crisp stack of papers made it all real.

We were actually going to stamp.

I took out my seal from my bag. I received it as a high school graduation present and had never inked it.

“A seal… how novel.”

“Aren’t contracts sealed?”

Manager Kim and Team Leader Park laughed at each other.

Oh, why again. A seal, why.

“It’s fresh when a young person prepares their own seal.”

They were praising freshness even for a seal.

What kind of place is this anyway.

“I’ll read it first.”

“Take your time. A contract is important. And the seal absolutely…”

“Shouldn’t be stamped recklessly, right?”

“Exactly.”

I continued reading diligently.

My information, the company’s info, contract term and scope of work were all stated.

No copyright issues that I worried about.

Everything seemed good, except…

“The song fee… is this correct?”

“Why, is it too little? Ah, we can’t lose Writer Seo. Should I rush up to the CEO’s office and demand more money?”

It was a lot.

More than expected.

“Ten million won for composition, five million won for lyrics…”

“A total of fifteen million won.”

“Wow…”

I just blinked.

Putting amount aside, this meant they acknowledged my song.

In a capitalist society, money is a measure of recognition.

My spine tingled.

I was especially given a generous amount.

Because it means there are high expectations.

And it’s also the title track.

“Uh…”

“Well, it’d be great if you work with us on the next song too. It’d also be nice to have Yujin work on a B‑side track. Not sure if the timing works out. Anyway… please carry this through until the end.”

I had heard sometimes entertainment companies give special treatment to promising composers.

But that they’d do it for me? Really?

I tried to keep a poker face.

But my oblivious lips kept dancing on their own.

“Writer Seo’s expression can change too, huh.”

“That’s good. Really…”

“The CEO has high hopes. Yujin will transform her style very naturally. The final recording is set for three days from now, so don’t forget the date. Okay?”

No need for many words.

“Thank you for choosing my song. I’ll make sure you have no regrets.”

“Did you stamp it?”

“Yes, I did.”

Team Leader Park shook the contract.

The stack of paper fluttered nicely.

“You’re happy, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re at the age when you really appreciate money. By the way, did you talk about exclusive contract yet?”

“No.”

“Ah, how could you forget that? Once they see the money, they’ll get shaken. Should’ve grabbed you firmly right then.”

CEO Kwak Youngho showed a hint of regret.

Composers are as numerous as stars in the sky.

Yet fresh composers are rare.

Seo Taeyoon’s skill in making beats stood out.

If composition is an art of sensibility, then beat is the domain of technique—until I heard Taeyoon’s work.

The one who makes the most, makes best.

Understanding instruments, structure, build‑up…

This isn’t something done overnight.

But Taeyoon structured beats with intuition.

I was convinced that with proper cultivation, he could become a flagship composer.

Not with Han Yujin then, maybe for a top idol song.

My heart pounded at the thought of having caught a big fish.

No, I hadn’t caught it—it wriggled in and jumped into my net.

I can’t let go.

But why was Team Leader Park so calm?

“CEO, rushing will lead to indigestion. We should give Writer Seo time to adapt gradually.”

“You already adapted?”

“Relax. After the album release and seeing the response, it won’t be too late to decide. Our CEO again rushing like someone with impatient syndrome.”

“Was I being too hasty?”

“Yes. We might be under group hypnosis right now. We need to see the situation objectively.”

“That makes sense.”

Still, even saying that I found it hard to drop my expectations.

Kwak Youngho asked with a beaming face.

“When’s the recording again?”

“Next Wednesday at 2 p.m.… why, will you attend?”

“It’s the day our Yujin wears her new clothes—how could I miss it?”

Ding.

That afternoon.

The song fee, after 3.3% withholding tax, was deposited exactly.

Their processing was fast.

Seeing my fuller bank balance made work go better.

So relaxation really comes from the account balance?

‘Stop useless thoughts…’

I mentally sketched the direction for the production.

Even if a producer joins later, I’m the one who made the song.

The direction was clear.

Keep confidence from becoming arrogance.

Bridge in a whisper-like tone.

English lyrics clear and crisp.

Yujin being herself as Yujin.

‘This should do, right?’

I calmly organized my ideas and wrote them down.

I liked it.

Now it was just for Yujin to express it perfectly.

I flopped onto the bed and played again.

“Hehe…”

A laugh slipped out without me realizing.

At that moment, I still believed I could convey every direction I envisioned.