Chapter 89
After the staff of the Music Copyright Association confirmed the complete recording file, they carefully reviewed the documents Kim Ji-ye had submitted. Usually, those registering for the first time were not well-prepared, but Ji-ye, a former public official, had prepared the documents perfectly.
"I suppose this isn't your first time doing something like this. What company are you from?" the employee asked, smiling.
Lee Chan-ho, who was next to Kim Ji-ye, praised Ji-ye with a gesture.
"We are not affiliated with any company, but with the Korea University Center for Musical Education for the Gifted."
"Really? How interesting. It's not common for a music school to register music."
"It's not the training center that's registering, it's an individual registration."
"I know from the documents. The professors probably came to help the students register. That's all for the documents. You can register on the streaming platform starting this afternoon. When you register, you must enter the composer's name, the lyricist, the singer, and the song title. Ah, since it's an instrumental piece, there won't be a singer. So, please write it down on this document."
When the employee handed him a piece of paper, Lee Chan-ho received it and said they would be back later, before accompanying Kim Ji-ye to the cafe where Soo-hyun was waiting.
Kim Ji-ye, who saw Soo-hyun and Chairman Park Ki-joon drinking tea together, ran up and said,
"Soo-hyun! It passed in one go!"
Soo-hyun smiled.
"As expected of Sister Ji-ye." "Haha, this older sister shouldn't be doing this kind of thing." "Sister, you're also a good cook." "Oh my! Really? Was it delicious?" "Yes, really delicious." "Haha, Soo-hyun, compliments are the best."
Chairman Park Ki-jun, who had been listening to the conversation, said as he gave up his seat to Professor Lee Chan-ho,
"Is it over?"
"This is the last one," the professor said, placing the documents on the table.
"Wow, that's quite complicated. I didn't realize so much paperwork had to be prepared."
"Copyright is money. Hey, Soo-hyun, come here."
When Soo-hyun sat down next to the professor, he, holding a pen, spoke.
"First, I have to write the title of a song. What should I write?"
Soo-hyun thought carefully. 'It's a sonata-like song, but Beethoven didn't give it a name.' Professor Lee Chan-ho, seeing him hesitate, smiled.
"How about this?"
He scribbled in a notebook. Soo-hyun muttered as he looked at it,
"Piano Sonata No. 1 in C-sharp minor, Op. 1?"
Ji-ye, who was looking at the notes, said with a smile,
"Wow, what a great achievement! Isn't that great, Professor?" "Haha, right? What do you think, Soo-hyun?"
Soo-hyun scratched his head. 'No. 1 means it was my first work. This is Beethoven's music, is that okay?'
"It seems a bit bland," Ji-ye said. "There's no composer's name, so I don't know whose song it is."
Chairman Park Ki-jun nodded in agreement.
"Bach used BWV, Mozart used K… what if we give Soo-hyun those initials too?"
The professor laughed and wrote Soo-hyun's initials.
"Well, then it would be NSH Piano Sonata No. 1 in C-sharp minor, Op. 1."
"Hey, professor, his last name should be the other way around. Maybe the day will come when foreigners find out."
The professor burst out laughing.
"I don't know if that day will ever come, but Ji-ye's words are correct. Well, then, what do you think, Soo-hyun?"
As Soo-hyun nodded helplessly, the professor asked,
"Aren't you going to give the song a separate name?"
"Yes, I don't have anything in mind."
"Once you register, it's over. You can't edit it. Do you want to think about it again?"
No matter how much he wracked his brain, nothing came to mind, and since he was already uploading the old man's songs under his own name, Soo-hyun shook his head. Lee Chan-ho moved on to the next question.
"Now it's time to decide on the name to be revealed. What do you want?"
"My name is Nam Soo-hyun."
"Of course," Ji-ye said. "If you look at singers, they don't use their own names, but names like Dragon or Rose."
'Why should I do that? It's the name my parents gave me.'
"Celebrities use these names to make them more recognizable," the professor said. "Classical musicians sometimes use a combination of their English and Korean names. Think of a cool name."
Soo-hyun began to worry. It was very difficult to give a direct answer to a question he had never thought about. Chairman Park Ki-jun, who was watching quietly, couldn't stop thinking about the third movement of Soo-hyun's song. Movement 3. It was a song called Rondo vivace.
'A Haydn-style piece full of charm. The answer to what should come after the quietest and most meditative moments of the music. The whole movement was a lyrical piece that flowed beautifully and quickly, and ended with a song full of joy. The young Beethoven. He's right. The whole piece is imbued with the essence of Beethoven. Especially in the third movement, there was a response, full of Beethoven's characteristic humor and wit. How should I interpret this? The insurmountable gap between Soo-hyun, who is bewildered because he can't find the answer to a simple question, and Beethoven, who is revered as the greatest musician of all time, confuses him.'
Soo-hyun, who was in a tight spot, finally passed the work on to Ji-ye.
"I don't know, can't you just let my older sister do it for me?"
Ji-ye was Soo-hyun's guardian. Lee Chan-ho nodded. Ji-ye answered quickly,
"How about just Soo-hyun without the last name?"
The professor was intrigued. It was a rather bland name. But Ji-ye's next words moved his heart.
"I don't know what Soo-hyun's parents had in mind when they named him, but I saw that the Chinese characters for 'Soo-hyun' had an unusual meaning."
Soo-hyun also looked curious.
"What does my name mean?"
"All names in the world have a meaning," Ji-ye said with a smile. "For example, Liszt's name, Franz, means 'Frank' or 'French' in Latin. And Chopin's, Frederick, means 'peaceful ruler'."
"Wow, that's cool. Mr. Chopin's name is really cool," Soo-hyun said, interested. "What about me?"
Ji-ye wrote the Chinese characters in Lee Chan-ho's notebook.
"Soo-hyun's name means 'hand' and 'string'. So, he's someone who plays strings with his hands."
Soo-hyun's expression turned suspicious.
'A person who plays the string with his hand? What a strange name!'
"The piano is classified as a keyboard instrument," the professor said, "but if we look inside, the keys move the mechanism, and the force of that mechanism makes the hammers strike the strings. In other words, the piano can also be a string instrument. What Ji-ye means is that your name can be a word that indicates you are a pianist."
Soo-hyun's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yes, it could be interpreted that way."
'Mom and Dad, what were you thinking? Was it just a coincidence or a plan from God?'
Soo-hyun, who had been thinking, smiled and nodded.
"Then I'll do it."
"Good! That's it! Are we going to release it like this? I'll use the image that was released for free for the album cover."
"But, Professor. Doesn't this mean I have to get on the charts and be on TV or something?"
The professor stood up and patted Soo-hyun's shoulder.
"Don't worry. Classical music never makes it to the charts, and these days, music that doesn't cost money to market isn't popular. Think of it as a souvenir or a record."
Professor Lee Chan-ho went to register the final documents with Kim Ji-ye. Park Ki-jun, who was looking at Soo-hyun with complicated eyes, and Soo-hyun, who was rolling his eyes anxiously, also directed their gazes towards their backs.
The next day, at the US broadcasting station HUO. The drama 'The Emperor's Game', which was produced up to season 8 and became a worldwide hit. They announced that they would no longer produce the series, but they were secretly producing season 9. The director was sitting in a conference room, staring at his laptop screen.
He had headphones on. He frowned, took them off, and looked at the crowd.
"What is this music? Contact Ramin again and ask him to remake the soundtrack."
The writer, who had been hesitating, said,
"It would cost too much to remake the soundtrack, director. And the broadcast schedule is not flexible either."
The director stood up.
"I'll take care of securing the schedule. I'll work on the soundtrack again, and if it doesn't work out, I'll look for some songs that I can insert and bring them to you."
"Ha, but the inserted song has a copyright…"
The drama was distributed on various platforms, such as DVD and Blu-ray, so the copyright had to be paid on each one. Therefore, they produced their own soundtracks whenever possible. The director shook his head.
"But that won't work. The emotions conveyed by the screen and the music don't match. If that doesn't work, bring me some classical music with cheap copyrights. I don't know if there's anything that fits."
The writer was in tears. The other staff members also seemed to be struggling. The director sighed.
"Okay, let's look for something together that can be used as an insert song."