Peninsula's Life Begins in 2016

Chapter 5: 5 rejected alternative songs

Jiang Yan was stunned for a moment, then quickly waved his hand after realizing what he meant: "No, no, it's my sister. She's coming to Seoul to become a trainee. These are for her."

"Wow, what a great brother!" The auntie exclaimed as she quickly scanned the QR code. "It's rare to see a brother who dotes on his sister like this these days. He even thought of a nightlight. Your sister is so lucky."

Jiang Yan smiled and didn't say anything more. He swiped his finger across the payment interface on his phone screen and watched the balance jump to 2587000 Korean won. He felt nothing.

The landlord's five million deposit arrived on time yesterday morning. I transferred out two and a half million in rent and deposit, and spent more than one million two hundred thousand on these belongings. Now I only have this much money left.

The tuition fee of 3.8 million won per semester for the Department of Practical Music at Hongdae is due next month, and it seems that the department is indeed struggling to make ends meet.

But he wasn't flustered at all.

From the moment he moved out of the basement, he knew that those days of living on instant noodles and staying up all night revising songs for tens of thousands of won were gone forever.

When I returned to 601 with two large carts full of things, the sun was already high in the sky.

Without taking a break, Jiang Yan rolled up his sleeves and began assembling the furniture.

From wardrobes to desks, from bed frames to shelves, he moved with the skill of a professional installer. Back in the semi-basement, he used to fix everything himself when things broke, so this kind of work was no challenge for him at all.

After working until 2 p.m., Kim Minjung's room was finally set up.

The light pink puppy-patterned sheets were laid out neatly, and the thick latex mattress felt soft to the touch. The wardrobe was already divided into hanging and folding sections, and several storage boxes with bear patterns were neatly arranged on the bottom shelf, specifically for storing her dance shoes.

On the bedside table, the warm yellow star-shaped nightlight is already plugged in, and it will light up with a soft glow with a gentle touch.

Next to it were two boxes of chocolate pies and a large bag of shrimp chips.

Jiang Yan took two steps back, looked around the room filled with girlish charm, and unconsciously smiled.

He could almost picture Kim Minjung pushing open the door, her eyes sparkling as she jumped onto the bed and rolled around.

After doing all that, he went to the kitchen to cook himself a bowl of ramen for lunch.

Just as I started boiling water, my phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed "Park Jung-ho Yeonnam-dong Recording Studio".

Jiang Yan answered the phone, and before she could even speak, Park Jung-ho's excited voice, almost cracking with excitement, came through the line: "Teacher Jiang! Come quick! Something incredible has just fallen into our laps!"

Jiang Yan paused, holding his phone, and raised an eyebrow: "Brother Park, take your time. What's the rush?"

"Urgent! Of course it's urgent!" Park Jung-ho's voice trembled. "That girl group demo you helped me revise last time! SM Entertainment's song selection team has their eye on it! They just called me personally, saying they want to meet you, the arranger!"

"SM?" Jiang Yan's eyes flickered slightly.

"Yes! It's SM! SM Entertainment, one of the three major entertainment companies!" Park Jung-ho practically crawled over the phone line. "I'm telling you, Mr. Kang, we're really going to be a hit this time! Come over right now, I'm waiting for you in the recording studio, don't waste a minute!"

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yan stared at the bubbling water in the pot and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he turned off the gas, picked up his coat draped over the back of the chair, and quickly walked out of the house.

Park Jung-ho is 42 years old this year. He worked as a recording engineer at JYP for seven years before having a falling out with the company. He then opened this small recording studio of less than 20 square meters and is quite well-known in the Hongdae underground scene.

When Jiang Yan arrived at the recording studio, he saw Park Jung-ho pacing back and forth at the door, wringing his hands, like an ant on a hot plate.

Upon seeing Jiang Yan, his eyes lit up immediately. He rushed over in three strides, grabbed Jiang Yan's arm, and pulled him into the house: "You're finally here! Come in quickly! I'm telling you, this time we're really going to make it big!"

He got Jiang Yan an iced Americano, not the kind that cost 1,500 won in a can, but a freshly ground iced Americano from the coffee shop downstairs, which cost 7,800 won a cup.

"You know Girls' Generation's Tiffany's first solo album, right?" Boss Park lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "SM's number one project for the first half of this year! All the songs were finalized, but the title track 'I Just Wanna Dance' went through over a dozen revisions. Tiffany herself wasn't satisfied, and neither was Lee Soo-man. The entire production department is practically going crazy!"

Jiang Yan took the coffee, his fingertips tracing the familiar pink Girls' Generation logo on the iPad screen, lost in thought.

In 2016, Girls' Generation celebrated their ninth anniversary since their debut, and were still at the height of their popularity.

Tiffany, one of the lead vocalists in the group, has gained considerable popularity thanks to her highly recognizable Western voice and sweet appearance.

Her first solo album is being watched closely by the entire Korean Peninsula entertainment industry.

"We originally approached big-name producers like Kenzie and Yoo Young-jin, but the results were either too much like Girls' Generation or too Western; we couldn't find the right balance." Boss Park swiped the iPad to the next page. "I pulled a lot of strings to get that demo you revised last time to Chief Ahn. After he looked at it, he said, 'Let you come and give it a try.'"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the recording studio was pushed open.

A man in his thirties, dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, walked in. His hair was neatly combed, and his eyes were sharp as knives. Behind him was an assistant carrying a black folder.

He is Ahn Jung-hwan, the head of SM's music division. He is known in the industry as a stern and ruthless man who is extremely demanding of his work, even rejecting demos from top artists dozens of times without batting an eye.

Boss Park immediately bowed and scraped as he greeted him, "Chief Ahn, you've arrived! Please have a seat!"

An Zhenghuan ignored him, his gaze sweeping around the recording studio before finally settling on Jiang Yan, his brows furrowing instantly.

"Is it him?" He looked at Boss Park, his tone filled with undisguised skepticism. "Are you kidding me? He looks like he's not even an adult yet."

"Chief An, don't let Mr. Jiang's young age fool you, his talent is undeniable! That demo from last time..."

"Last time was last time." Ahn Jung-hwan raised his hand to interrupt him, took a USB drive from his assistant and threw it on the table. "This time it's a solo performance by a member of Girls' Generation, not some rookie girl group. Do you think a college student can handle it?"

He leaned back on the sofa with his arms crossed, a condescending smile on his lips: "But since you've recommended it so highly, I'll give you a chance. Here are five rejected songs. Within an hour, find the core problem with each song and provide specific solutions. If you can do that, I'll let you try for the title track. If you can't, then pretend I was never here today."

The moment those words were spoken, the air in the recording studio froze.

Boss Park was so anxious that he kept giving Jiang Yan meaningful glances, and his palms were sweating.

Jiang Yan remained calm, nodded politely, and plugged the USB drive into the computer.

The first track is a retro disco-style dance track with a catchy melody and a strong rhythm; to the average listener, it's already a very well-made piece.

But in Jiang Yan's eyes, it was a completely different story.

A dense array of audio tracks exploded before his eyes: the drum track was a harsh orange-red, the bass track was a dull deep purple, the vocal track was a bright gold, and the synthesizer track was a thin cyan.

They should have been intertwined harmoniously, but instead, there was a sense of disharmony everywhere.

The drumbeats are from old samples from the 1980s, sounding stiff as if they were directly cut from an old record.

The synthesizer sound is too thin, and the chorus can't create any atmosphere at all.

Most critically, the vocal track and all the instrument tracks are completely out of phase, making it sound like Tiffany is singing in another room.

He dragged the progress bar and clicked on the second song.

The lyrical R&B has a beautiful melody, but the piano arrangement is too heavy. The off-white piano sound and the deep purple bass are intertwined, completely drowning out the golden vocals.

The third track is a fast-paced pop dance track at 128 BPM, which doesn't match Tiffany's deep, Western-style vocals at all. Her golden vocals are fragmented and broken by the dense drumbeats.

The fourth one...

The fifth song...

Jiang Yan flipped through the audio project files page by page, his brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing.

The recording studio was so quiet that only the hum of the air conditioner could be heard.

Ahn Jung-hwan leaned back on the sofa, tapping the armrest with his fingers, his smile growing wider.

In his view, this hothead could not possibly see the problem in such a short time, let alone provide a specific solution.

Just as the clock struck fifty, Jiang Yan suddenly took off his headphones.