DLMS 1

Chapter 1

The Devil Lives in That Top Star’s Music

JH Entertainment.

It wasn’t a company with top-tier celebrities, but when it came to producing, it was unmatched.

Behind Studio, JH Entertainment’s in-house producing team—that was the team I belonged to.

It was the team behind countless famous songs that everyone would recognize by name, and in the three years I worked there, I learned a lot.

As a result, the songs I composed were used by famous idols and solo singers, and some were even inserted into drama OSTs.

But the three syllables of my name, Yoo Jae-hee, were nowhere to be found in any credit list.

“Behind Studio.”

All of us contract composers, myself included, were lumped under that single name, receiving fixed monthly salaries instead of royalties.

Looking at it objectively, there was nothing unfair about it so far.

The contract terms were unusual, but the pay was decent, and there were other companies out there that ran this way.

Yes. Up until that point, I could accept the system.

But today, what CEO Kim Jung-hyuk told me crossed the line.

“Come on, sir, this isn’t right. You could’ve at least talked to me about it first.”

“What do you mean, talk? The company wants to use a song our composer made. And didn’t you make that track on the company computer?”

“……”

It was true I had used the company’s computer.

But it was a personal project, a weapon I had been polishing for the day I’d spread my wings and leave this place.

—Clench—

Yet before I knew it, that hope had been handed off to some idol group.

Not under the name Yoo Jae-hee, the composer, but under the name “Behind Studio.”

“That’s my song! You can’t just use it without telling me, that’s not right!”

“Not right? Read the contract. Paper doesn’t lie.”

I was boiling with rage, but the CEO looked indifferent.

His tone and expression made it sound like this wasn’t the first time.

A chill crept up the back of my neck.

“Wh-what do you think will happen if people find out about this unfairness?”

I blurted it out as a weak threat, but even I knew it wouldn’t hold any weight.

“People find out? Fine, then tell me—what’s your brilliant plan? How will you let them know, and if the public really does learn, what will you do after?”

Kim Jung-hyuk leaned back in his chair, relaxed, as if he was entertaining me.

“Take your time, tell me slowly.”

“……”

My whole body trembled, but there was no way to overcome the difference in power.

A rash, half-baked threat wasn’t going to work on him.

My dream was to make leading music, but as I worked here, I often wondered if I could ever really reach my goal.

And today, that doubt became certainty.

“I won’t renew my contract.”

—Bang!—

Blindsided by the filthy news, I stormed out of the CEO’s office without another word.

It was the worst winter of my life.

“—Dream a sweet dream! You and I, just the two of us, far away—!”

A few weeks later, in a one-room apartment in Sillim.

On the built-in TV, a music show was airing, and a boy group bursting with freshness was singing and dancing.

“You bastard!”

I cursed at CEO Kim Jung-hyuk through the air, but the only replies were the echo of “bastard” bouncing off the walls and the TV’s volume.

Honestly, I didn’t want to watch.

“That’s… my song…”

After they released my track, the idol group’s popularity skyrocketed.

The more they succeeded, the more it twisted my gut, but I couldn’t fight the curiosity. That’s why I turned on a music show I normally ignored.

“Damn it!”

One button press, and the TV went black. But that didn’t erase my song, nor the group’s popularity.

Since leaving JH Entertainment, I had sharpened my knife, plotting revenge. But my weapon was still dull.

I thought about suing them, but the odds of winning were close to zero.

Exposing them on social media? At best, my friends and acquaintances might listen—just one nameless composer whose name had never once appeared in credits.

‘No way out.’

The only path left was to become someone big enough, a celebrity powerful enough, to crush Kim Jung-hyuk.

The goal felt distant, but giving up without trying was unbearable.

“—Dream a sweet dream! You and I, just the two of us, far away—!”

Someone else was singing sweet dreams, heading for stardom.

And me? I was stuck in this cramped room, preparing to return to school.

Despair filled me, but one thing was clear.

‘I have to harden.’

If I was going to overcome this, I had to be tougher than I was now.

—Bzzz—

The music was replaced by the vibration of my smartphone.

“Hello?”

—Hey! Yoo Jae-hee! I heard you didn’t renew your contract, what happened?

The voice, jumping straight into the chorus without an intro, belonged to Im Tae-hyun, a friend I’d known since childhood.

“Ah… don’t ask. That’s just how it turned out.”

—Hey. Something happen?

“What?”

His words sounded strange.

Instead of, “Since you’re jobless, let’s grab a drink,” or, “Guess you’re going back to school,”…

Shouldn’t he be calmly asking how I’ve been, or what my plans were?

But it sounded like he already knew something had gone wrong.

“I’ll tell you later. Right now, I’m swamped with school prep.”

Still, I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. My chest still ached too much.

—Alright. Let’s meet up once things settle. Drinks are on me.

“Yeah, right.”

—Okay then, later, little bro.

After hanging up, I collapsed onto the bed.

“Haa…”

How had things gone so wrong?

My mind flipped through the pages of my past.

My father, who played piano as a hobby when I was little.

The spark of musical interest that grew into an artist’s dream.

My proud school days, when I shut down my parents’ opposition by becoming top of my class.

The friendships that weren’t always smooth.

In high school, I even thought about going into applied music.

I ended up majoring in Korean literature, but I wasn’t unhappy about it.

That way, I could get my parents’ support for my music on the side.

Whatever my major, wherever I was, music was always going to be with me.

I filled my first report card with A’s, then enlisted in the military.

One day as a corporal, I got the news of my parents’ accident. Alone, I spent day after day in tears.

After discharge, I returned to school, and six months later, I signed with JH Entertainment.

Where had it gone wrong?

I had only ever worked hard.

Skipping meals, sacrificing sleep, studying and writing music.

But all I got in return was the loss of my parents and scars from the music industry.

Now, all I had left was the money I’d saved and this small apartment.

A wave of despair crashed over me, tempting me to give up.

But I couldn’t.

I’d worked too hard to throw it all away.

“First, let’s go back to school.”

After the contract ended, I began making plans.

They started with a single, desperate truth:

I wanted to make music.

Spinoza once said that even if the world ended tomorrow, he’d still plant an apple tree.

Me? Even if the world split in half tomorrow, I’d still write a song.

So my first step was returning to school.

At Yesung University, there was a famous music club called Groovy Nation.

Other schools had music clubs that were really just hobbies, but ours was different.

Every year, casting calls came in from agencies, and many alumni were already active in the entertainment industry.

Sure, I had more experience than most. I could’ve reached out to other agencies.

But I couldn’t bring myself to trust agencies again—not with wounds still raw.

So the club was my goal.

Tomorrow, March 2nd, was the day I’d return to campus after a long time. I decided to sleep early.

As my brain, exhausted from endless thoughts, began to shut down…

[I think it’s about time…]

‘Am I that tired? I’m even hearing voices…’

Since becoming jobless, my days and nights were reversed. Waking up early was hard.

“Ugh… don’t wanna go…”

Even at twenty-six, no one wants to go to school.

[Still, you have to. No choice in the matter.]

“Wha—what the hell!”

I was alone, yet a voice rang clear. I cursed in shock.

Goosebumps covered my body. Frozen in place, I couldn’t move.

Only my eyes darted around.

No sign of anyone.

“D-did I just… hear wrong…?”

[Are you deaf? Does that sound like a mistake to you?]

“Shi—!”

Startled again by the voice, I slipped on my sock and—

—Thud!—

Slammed my head against the floor. I blacked out.

Who knows how much time passed.

When I opened my eyes, the sun was high.

One thought hit me.

‘Crap. I’m late.’

And another.

“Gasp!”

I sprang up, scanning the room.

That voice I’d heard before collapsing.

Come to think of it, I’d faintly heard it the night before, just before falling asleep.

I checked under the bed, in the closet, the bathroom, the veranda—nothing.

Terrified, I whispered into the air.

“Wh-who’s… there…”

My trembling voice was answered.

[Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you faint. Didn’t think you’d scare that easy…]

“Wh-what… it’s like I can hear it inside my head…”

[Correct. Nice to meet you. Humans call me a ‘demon.’ Some call me a ghost, Westerners say ‘spirit’… call me whatever you want.]

“Wow… I really must be losing it. Even my hallucinations have this much detail?”

[…]

It didn’t feel real.

[Anyway, you just collapsed like Paganini. I thought you’d cry all day like Mozart instead.]

“Wh-why are Mozart and Paganini suddenly coming up?”

[What do you mean ‘Mochart,’ you ignorant fool?]

It was too vivid to be a hallucination, yet too unreal to be a real demon.

Confusion and fear refused to fade.

[The beginning is always the hardest. Humans never believe me at first.]

“W-wait. Are you really a demon? Or a ghost? Or… something?”

[Yes. And you don’t even need to say it out loud—I can read your thoughts.]

‘L-like this?’

[Exactly.]

“Whoa… unreal…”

Before I could process the situation, the so-called demon pressed on, determined to make me accept its existence.

[I’ve seen a lot like you. You don’t believe me, don’t know if this is real or just voices in your head.]

‘Y-yeah…’

[Fine. I’ll give you perfect pitch first. That always works best.]

“Wait, give me what—?”

Before I got an answer, a strange sensation washed over me.

A refreshing clarity spread through my brain, filling the chaos with something new.

Something I’d never felt before.

[Well?]

At the same time, birds chirped outside the window.

I slowly turned my head toward the sound.

—Chirp chirp chirp—

“From F# to G… no, this time it drops somewhere between Bb and A…”

[Well? Pretty killer ability, right?]