Chapter 21: Favoured with a song

Ji-ho's first song was called Sunflower in my dreams. Lee Tae-Hyun had, in a feverish state of inspiration, written it for her the very day he heard her rendition of wildflowers.

The lyrics were just as emotional as wildflowers had been. Since it was an inspirational work, the song retained the ballad style of wildflowers. Lee Tae-Hyun especially made the bridge very demanding to sing because he knew that Young-mi's vocals could handle it.

"This is so beautiful," Ji-ho said to the producer. She was holding a music sheet and singing the tune in her head. She couldn't believe that Tae-Hyun had written such a masterpiece with her in mind.

"It's thanks to you, Young-mi," he sincerely replied. "You're the inspiration and muse for this song. No one deserves to sing it more than you do."

"You have no idea how honored I feel, boss. I worry though that the other artists will be offended by my taking of this.. masterpiece." Seniority mattered in the pecking order of song distribution when it was written by Lee Tae-Hyun himself. He was the boss of the company but when it came to such matters, even he had to tread the waters with caution.

"Yes. But it's not like they can sing it, can they? F.O.X. is the only singer under my label who has the vocal range to take on such a song. But she doesn't have half the finesse that you do." Tae-Hyun studied Young-mi's face as he said something that Ji-ho had no answer for. "I wonder who was your music teacher, Young-mi. They taught you very well."

_______

Iris had heard through the grapevine that Sun Young-mi had received a song from Lee Tae-Hyun. She and several other artists were outraged by this development and they demanded that the newcomer be given a song from any of the other songwriters hired by the company. Why did such a highly contested resource have to go to a newly signed artist who hadn't even proved her worth to the company?

When Lee Tae-Hyun refused to let them have their way, a group of singers under S.S. began to raise a stink about the situation. The news about it spilt out to the public and it had fans rioting on social media.

~ Jessica seduced Lee Tae-Hyun! Why else would he show such blatant favouritism?! I'm so mad at him for falling for her charms!

~ I can't believe the bullshit that young artists are allowed to get away with because they have a pretty face. Sure, Jessica sings decently but F.O.X. unni is the star of S.S. Why wasn't she given preference over the annoying upstart?!

~ Some of you are losing your minds without questioning if your favourite artists can actually sing the genre of the song. Do you see F.O.X. rapping? Can Iris sing anything but pop? Does Eun-Ji sing ballads? At least find out what genre the song was written for before getting angry about it. I'm not saying that it's right for Sun Young-mi to receive Producer Lee's song without taking into account the feelings of other artists who have helped grow the company, but I hope that you'll all take other factors into consideration before you start a witch hunt.

~ I'm joining @DestroyJessica I hope you're happy Young-mi. Your greed has turned me into an anti-fan.

~ I am losing my respect for S.S. I understand that Jessica sings well but moral conduct is also important! She's got such a bad history and they still signed her. What was Lee Tae-Hyun thinking?!

Iris was happy, ecstatic even. The wave against Sun Young-mi had grown so large that social media was completely taken over by angry netizens and anti-fans.

It was during the moment of chaos that @DestroyJessica came out with another attack.

*Did you know that Jessica is a bully? In light of the current events surrounding S.S. and its artists, I have a story for you guys. Do you remember Aizee? She was the lead singer of the now-disbanded Genesis. Jessica and Aizee were best friends but someone ended up getting the other one in trouble. Here's some interesting gossip along with proof that this came from Aizee herself.*

A picture of the agreement signed by company Y for the severance of Aizee's contract was uploaded. Along with it was a screenshot of messages exchanged between Aizee and the handler of the hate account.

*See for yourselves. Aizee has confirmed that Jessica was a troublemaker. I know she's too mature to throw shade at Jessica so she's only vaguely confirmed a few things we've already been suspecting. Stay classy, Aizee.*

____

Ji-ho was handling the negative attention very well. She woke up with a balanced frame of mind, ignored the hate messages and went to work while allowing the press to get some pictures of her. She refused to answer any of their questions though they pestered her about the controversy surrounding Tae-Hyun's song.

"I've been waiting for your arrival, Young-mi," Lee Tae-Hyun told her as soon as she entered the building. "Follow me."

The duo headed straight to a music room where Lee Tae-Hyun's white Steinway & sons grand piano sat amongst a row of other musical instruments.

"I'm tweaking the song a bit," he told her as he handed his iPad to her. "I've raised it by an octave, added some changes to the bridge; nothing too difficult for you."

She read the music sheet and marvelled at Lee Tae-Hyun's audacity. "Boss, what is this monstrosity?" She asked him. "Do you hate me so much?"

Lee Tae-Hyun smiled at her. "This monstrosity will separate the grain from the chaff. Start practising because you'll be part of a live concert next week. Anyone who wants to record the song will be free to do so. And then there will be a live performance to eliminate the auto tuners and cheaters."

It was a brilliant idea but Ji-ho was still concerned. The song required perfect breathing technique and crystal clear octave jumping. If she wasn't in top form by next week, someone else would get the song and Jessica's reputation would be ruined even further by the anti-fans. She hadn't worked so hard to be defeated by the song that was written to catapult her singing career.

"I'll do it," she told Lee Tae-Hyun. Ji-ho was the competitive type. She didn't care much for FOX but if Iris wanted the song then she would have to pry it away from Jessica's cold dead hands.

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