Chapter 68 - Ask to Be Saved

“PD Seo-nim, what on earth is this person named Team Leader Baek Hyeon-woo?”

Seol Woo-myeong had Baek Hyeon-woo wait for a moment and spoke with PD Seo Dong-cheol on the phone.

“He's not a strange person, is he?”

“He is a strange person.”

Seo Dong-cheol's laughter was heard through the phone.

“He's a person who originally treated patients at a hospital. He has the skill to treat symptoms that others can't fix.”

“That others can't fix...?”

“He told me before. That while most patients get better even if they're all treated the same way at the hospital, some patients only get better if they receive a customized treatment that's a perfect fit for them.”

Hearing that, Seol Woo-myeong was reminded of taking the antidepressants he had been prescribed at the hospital.

When he asked if he really had to take such medicine when it didn't even seem like depression, he received the explanation that everyone gets treated that way.

“The reason that person was able to dramatically raise the potential of the idols is probably also because he implemented such a custom solution.”

“Huh?”

“Anyway.”

Seo Dong-cheol continued to speak.

“CEO Seol, try entrusting your body to that person once. Because he might be able to give you a custom treatment that's a perfect fit for you, CEO Seol.”

“Are you saying he'll be able to improve my physical condition?”

“He might be able to improve not just your physical condition, but everything.”

“……”

Isn't he speaking too grandly?

He doesn't seem to be a doctor, just a therapist who worked at a hospital.

A person like that has such an amazing ability?

“Woo-myeong-ah.”

“……!”

At that moment, Seo Dong-cheol's tone of voice changed.

Like back when Seol Woo-myeong was still an unknown composer, and Seo Dong-cheol was also a young and ambitious PD.

“I feel it's a great shame about you.”

“PD-nim…”

“It's a shame for you to remain stuck at the bottom like this.”

Hearing that, Seol Woo-myeong flared up.

“What about me is at the bottom. The amount of royalties coming in right now is...”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes?”

“If money keeps coming into your bank account and you have no worries about making a living, is that enough?”

“……”

To the speechless Seol Woo-myeong, Seo Dong-cheol continued to speak.

“A PD makes broadcasts, and a singer sings songs.”

“……”

“A composer must compose. Only then are they truly alive.”

Am I alive right now?

To Seol Woo-myeong, who was asking himself that, Seo Dong-cheol's relaxed voice was heard.

“Ask Assistant Manager Baek to save you.”

……

They moved from the first-floor office.

Seol Woo-myeong muttered as they moved to the second-floor soundproofed work studio.

“I don't normally let just anyone in here.”

“Thank you for making an exception.”

Baek Hyeon-woo followed Seol Woo-myeong into the work studio.

The work studio was full of various equipment and materials, but the first thing that caught his eye was a chair.

“It's a chair that reclines well.”

“Because I like that gaming chair style.”

Seol Woo-myeong shrugged.

“They say it's bad for your back, but I don't have any particular problems with my back.”

“I see. For now, let's have you sit in the chair. Please recline it as far back as possible and lock it.”

If he leans back with the chair's backrest reclined as far as possible, he can do the treatments that are done lying on a bed and sitting in a chair at the same time.

Right now, Baek Hyeon-woo was planning on focusing on the upper body, so there was no problem treating him like this.

“As you mentioned before, whenever I try to work, my head is always dazed and heavy.”

Seol Woo-myeong said as he sat in the chair.

“And my senses are so keen that I freak out even if I bump into something lightly.”

“Aren't you also sensitive to sunlight or noise?”

“Ah, I think I am.”

The blinds were drawn on all the windows.

It means he's in a state of being sensitive to stimuli like sunlight.

“CEO Seol, right now you are in a state where a hyperventilation pattern is appearing due to a problem with your upper body.”

“Hyperventilation?”

“Systemic symptoms are appearing due to a breathing pattern that is too fast.”

Baek Hyeon-woo explained in a calm voice.

“You've probably heard of hyperventilation. I hear you can often see it among celebrities too.”

“Ah, yes, I've heard of it.”

Hyperventilation is a state where one's breathing suddenly becomes rapid, and an excessive amount of carbon dioxide is expelled from the body.

When this happens, the carbon dioxide concentration in the arterial blood drops rapidly, and symptoms like difficulty breathing or dizziness appear, and if severe, one can even lose consciousness.

“Right now, CEO Seol, you are in a state where that is appearing chronically.”

“Chronically…?”

“It's not severe to the point where you can't come to your senses, but it's a state where it's continuously persisting and lowering your condition.”

Baek Hyeon-woo looked at Seol Woo-myeong's face.

To be precise, he checked the status window displayed next to his face.

The status window was visible because Seol Woo-myeong had also released his own album.

————

[Seol Woo-myeong]

Vocal: B-

Dance: E-

Visual: E-

Potential: D

Body Condition: 40%

Mental Condition: 40%

– An electrolyte imbalance is occurring due to a lack of carbon dioxide.

– Pain is occurring due to problems with the scalene, levator scapulae, and trapezius muscles of the head and neck.

– Motor impairment is occurring due to a problem with the ribs of the trunk.

– Body Condition is greatly decreased.

– Mental Condition is greatly decreased.

– Minus corrections will be applied to Vocal, Dance, and Visual.

————

At a glance, it seems very complicated, but it is all connected.

“Originally, a person must breathe calmly. That's the only way the body's oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations can be maintained at a constant level.”

“Hmm…”

“However, if your upper body muscles are stiff and your ribs are raised, your breathing becomes inefficient. In the end, your breathing becomes faster, and too much carbon dioxide is expelled, leading to a lack of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood.”

Baek Hyeon-woo explained slowly.

“Then an electrolyte imbalance occurs. Blood doesn't circulate well in the head, and symptoms like abnormal sensations occur.”

“……!”

“If the condition had been severe, the hospital would have treated it as alkalosis. Because it was appearing in a mild state, proper treatment was not being carried out.”

Seol Woo-myeong's eyes widened.

For the first time, he understood why his physical condition had been so poor.

“These symptoms mainly occur due to two causes.”

Baek Hyeon-woo explained, holding up two fingers.

“First, excessive stress.”

“……!”

“You must have received a lot of stress while doing the creative activity of composing. That influence must be large.”

Saying that, Baek Hyeon-woo examined the work studio's environment.

To be precise, he examined the arrangement of the chair, desk, and work equipment.

“Second is a posture that puts a strain on your upper body.”

“P-Posture?”

“If you don't work with a proper posture normally, a strain is put on the musculoskeletal system. It's especially severe for people who work sitting in front of a desk.”

A composer, in the end, is also a person who works sitting in front of a desk.

If you work continuously, your upper body is bound to be strained.

“If the upper body muscles, including the scalene, become rigid and the ribs rise upwards, it affects the movement of the thorax and the efficiency of breathing drops. It proceeds into a hyperventilation pattern.”

Saying that, Baek Hyeon-woo checked Seol Woo-myeong's chair.

First, this gaming chair will have to be changed to a chair that helps with proper posture.

“If your breathing isn't done properly in that way, your condition deteriorates and you become susceptible to stress. When you get stressed, your neck and shoulders tense up, which interferes with breathing. Because that vicious cycle continues, it doesn't get better on its own.”

“Th-Then what should I do?”

“You must break the link of the vicious cycle.”

Baek Hyeon-woo placed his hands on Seol Woo-myeong's neck.

“I will loosen your neck and shoulder muscles. And I will push your first rib downwards.”

“Ribs… you're going to push my ribs?”

“Because they are in a state of being raised high up right now.”

The position of the ribs has a large effect on breathing.

Because the scalene muscle is attached to the first rib, if the scalene gets knotted due to causes like stress or posture, the rib comes up.

Therefore, if you loosen the scalene, the rib goes down, and breathing also becomes more comfortable.

“Then I will begin.”

“Ugh…!”

Baek Hyeon-woo's thumb palpated Seol Woo-myeong's first rib.

He gently applied pressure while being conscious of the scalene's attachment point.

It was a treatment to push the upwardly subluxated first rib back into its original position.

While correcting the rib downwards in time with his breathing, he also loosened the tense and shortened scalene muscle.

If the tension in the scalene is released, it will no longer pull the rib upwards.

“I will also loosen the trapezius and levator scapulae muscles that are tensing the thorax.”

“Ugh…!”

The human body possesses the property of trying to return to its normal state.

Even if the body suddenly becomes unwell, it tries to solve it on its own.

For that reason, even without bothering to go to the hospital, most symptoms improve on their own.

However, occasionally this system breaks down.

The vicious cycle continues, and the body cannot recover, and the poor condition is continuously maintained.

At times like this, someone has to interrupt that vicious cycle.

Right now, Baek Hyeon-woo was in the middle of trying to break the vicious cycle by resolving the imbalance of his muscles and skeleton.

“Aack…!”

Baek Hyeon-woo's hands continued their work, and a groan flowed from Seol Woo-myeong's lips.

Right now, Seol Woo-myeong was feeling considerable pain.

Honestly, it hurt to the point of tears.

However, he couldn't ask him to stop the treatment.

Because after a storm of dull pain swept over him, a refreshing pleasure would immediately rush in.

Breathing is gradually becoming more comfortable.

He could feel that in real time.

“PD Seo Dong-cheol-nim told me in detail about you, CEO.”

To Seol Woo-myeong, who was dazed by the refreshing sensation, Baek Hyeon-woo's voice was heard.

“That in this current era, where many people collaborate to mass-produce songs like manufactured goods to share the risk, you are a rare composer who tries to create songs with a soul in them.”

“Ah…”

Tears welled up in his eyes.

His acquaintances and juniors who work in the music industry did not understand that conviction of Seol Woo-myeong's.

That's why they said things like asking him to come to a song camp.

However, PD Seo Dong-cheol had properly remembered what kind of composer Seol Woo-myeong was.

Even though he was a broadcasting station PD who had thoroughly pursued commercialism.

“After hearing that, I thought that it would be great if I could receive a song from you, CEO.”

And, the idol manager named Baek Hyeon-woo, who is here right now.

Was also properly understanding Seol Woo-myeong's essence.

“I don't want to compromise with a mediocre song. I want to bring the best song that's a perfect fit for the idols I'm in charge of.”

Baek Hyeon-woo, who performs the best treatment for Seol Woo-myeong alone, with his uncompromising hands.

Every time his hands touched him, he felt as if every single cell that had been dead until now was waking up.

“I've brought a USB containing the files of the group I'm in charge of. I would appreciate it if you could review it.”

Feeling as if his soul as a composer, which had been dead until now, was coming back to life.

Seol Woo-myeong silently nodded his head.

……

A few days later.

Baek Hyeon-woo received a call from Seol Woo-myeong and visited Paper Music again.

As he followed the employee's guidance and headed to the second floor, the scenery of the work studio had changed from before.

“You've changed to a standing desk.”

Just as Baek Hyeon-woo had recommended, a desk that moves up and down had been installed.

It was a desk that you could also work at while standing up straight, to prevent sitting all day long.

“And you changed your chair.”

“I did as you recommended, Team Leader Baek.”

The gaming chair was also nowhere to be seen now.

It had been replaced with an office chair that supports the curve of the spine and properly supports the nape of the neck.

“Since that day, I've done as you told me, Team Leader Baek. I've tried to breathe slowly while doing diaphragmatic breathing, and I've also corrected my diet.”

Seol Woo-myeong's face was much brighter than last time.

“I definitely changed. My head also cleared up, my sensitivity disappeared, and I was able to sleep soundly.”

“That's a relief.”

“I really feel like I've been born again.”

Seol Woo-myeong reached out his hand.

“So I made a song for the first time in a long while, would you like to listen?”

Doo-doong.

A song flowed out from the speakers.

A unique song where a bold beat and a sweet melody harmonized.

A song that contained something difficult to express with words, something that ticklishly stimulates a person's heart.

Baek Hyeon-woo closed his eyes and savored Seol Woo-myeong's new song.

What would happen if Newstarz's voices were laid on top of this.

He listened to the song while imagining that.

“What do you think?”

Receiving Seol Woo-myeong's question, Baek Hyeon-woo opened his eyes.

A piece of music created by the composer, who had regained his life, by pouring out his soul.

An information window that could evaluate it more accurately than anyone else in this world appeared.