Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 1



Only Krnovel

[Cheonwoo (天雨)] Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter 1-166 (In progress)

1. Sometimes fate

Fate sometimes comes unexpectedly at the most unexpected moments.

Just like that night when I installed an unknown mobile game while drunk.

*

*

*

“Cheers!”

A pub located on Hongdae Street.

A lively drinking party is taking place at four or five long tables connected together.

A gathering of about thirty college students.

This is the after-party for the Seyun University Business Administration Department band, which just finished its regular performance.

“Ahhh~ Today was great! It was fun!”

“Good. It would have been better if your drums hadn’t sped up in the middle.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t help it because I was so excited. The original session was to be played on drums.”

He said he made more mistakes than when he played in an ensemble.

We prepare hard for over a month, but it’s a shame that the performance ends in just one day.

For the young people who clink glasses to celebrate and reflect, today’s performance will surely be a shining page of their youth.

“It’s a good time~”

Looking at them like that, someone muttered.

The edge of the table.

Unlike the young men with fresh faces, two men wearing shirts and suits are sitting across from each other.

The band’s founding members, Cha Sung-jun and Kim Ho-su.

The two people who were invited as special guests were also attending the after-party.

Of course, I sat in the back corner for the sake of Kkilkipappa.

“I’m jealous. We’re all grown up now.”

“I’ll be thirty next year. Time really flies.”

The two men, who were looking at their juniors, clinked their beer glasses with a light grumble.

It seems like only yesterday that we met and formed a band when we were freshmen in our twenties, but now we’re grown men in their thirties.

Meanwhile, drummer Kim Ho-su is getting married and is expecting a child soon.

“So, when is your due date, Sister-in-law?”

“Next month, December.”

“Did your daughter say that?”

“Yes. She is a princess.”

Kim Ho-su laughs and takes out his cell phone to show something. An ultrasound picture of his unborn child.

Wow, I’m already a doting daughter.

“Please, I wish I looked like your sister-in-law, not you.”

“That’s right. That’s why you’ve been going to dawn prayers these days.”

“Praying at dawn is not enough. Go to the temple at dawn.”

Kim Ho-su, who was laughing at Cha Seong-jun’s joke, playfully asks back.

“When is your due date?”

“This guy is crazy. He doesn’t even have a girlfriend.”

“Haha. So is there any other good news?”

“well.”

Good news.

Let me think about it for a moment.

‘···There is nothing in particular.’

This year, more than anything, has been a year of many bad things.

I don’t see any sign of winning even 5,000 won in the lottery I buy every week.

Earlier this year, my company also denied me a promotion to deputy manager. Even among my peers, I was the only one who got it!

Damn company. Honestly, I’m not even exaggerating, but isn’t the failure to promote to deputy manager crossing the line?

At the moment when sadness was starting to build up.

“You two were having a fun conversation, except for me~”

Someone gives Cha Seong-jun a shoulder pat.

A man with a red face, holding a beer mug in one hand.

Kang Seung-wook. He is the bassist of the band OB.

As expected from his usual sociable personality, he seemed to have gone around to the juniors’ tables and then came back.

Then, Kang Seung-wook, who had naturally taken the center seat, immediately shouted out loud to attract attention.

“Okay, everyone, pay attention! We’ll have a brief introduction time here! Juniors. Aside from Hosu and me, there’s an old man here that you don’t usually see, so I was wondering who he is, right?”

Curious gazes turn to Cha Seong-jun.

As it turned out, he had never attended an after-party before, unlike Kang Seung-wook or Kim Ho-su, so he had some doubts.

“Let me tell you about this person! He’s my senior, Sungjun Cha, who was the first vocalist in our band and was in the same grade as me! He may be like this now, but when he was in his 20s, he was still young and listened to the sound of the Blue Island from the business school. You know the idol band? Oh, maybe your generation doesn’t know. Anyway, he used to be an aspiring singer-”

“Hey, stop talking about the old days. Those were the days when we were all immature. Now, I’m just an ordinary office worker.”

Cha Seong-jun quickly stops Kang Seung-wook from making an awkward introduction.

Yeah, that’s all old news.

Cha Seong-jun is now an ordinary office worker who is tired of his daily life.

A hamster wheel life where I work 9 to 6 every day at the office and spend my time on Flexnet and YouTube after work.

However, regardless of that, Kang Seung-wook’s drunken rampage could not be stopped.

“Sungjun’s military story is also funny. Hehe.”

Kang Seung-wook makes a sinister expression towards Cha Seong-jun.

I can already tell what you’re going to say.

That repertoire again.

“I have a friend who was in the same unit as this kid. One day, while watching a year-end music festival on TV, he suddenly started crying.”

“why?”

“Are you curious? I asked because I was curious too. So what my younger brother said was that Sungjun was mumbling something to himself and staring at the TV like crazy.”

As the juniors’ attention focused on him, Kang Seung-wook cleared his throat and imitated it with his eyebrows furrowed and his voice lowered.

“I should have been there…”

“The juniors must have thought he was some kind of crazy guy. There are so many crazy people in the military.”

The tiki-taka between Kang Seung-wook and Kim Ho-su causes laughter here and there.

Of course, Cha Sung-jun also giggled.

I didn’t feel bad or anything.

It’s just an old memory from the past.

*

After drinking a little more like that, I left the pub.

Cha Seong-jun’s body staggers in a dazed state.

These days, unlike before, I get drunk easily even if I drink just a little bit. I’ve become a real old man.

Anyway, I came out onto the road with the thought that I had to get home quickly.

I was fiddling with my phone trying to call a taxi.

Kotok is here-♪

At that moment, a message appears in the group chat.

This is Kim Ho-su, who broke up with me a little while ago.

[Everyone worked hard on the performance today!

Didn’t you forget that the office workers decided to have a blast after the party?

Let’s settle the account!

– 1st Blue Chicken 800,000 won

– 2nd Future Hope 600,000 won

– Total 1.4 million won

– OB 7 people > 200,000 won each

Please send it to the account below~

Kim Ho-su Daehan Bank XXXXXX-XXXXXX]

2, 200,000 won?! I thought it would be around 100,000 won at most···.

The last of the side dishes that were left behind without even eating much are still vivid in my mind.

That’s why I told you not to make them do too much from the beginning. What did that senior Gao say?

It’s frustrating, but it’s not like I can’t pay.

[Sent it right away~]

Cha Seong-jun let out a small sigh after finishing the remittance.

“Whew. 200,000 won at once…”

I don’t know about other people, but 200,000 won is a lot of money to Cha Sung-jun.

Still, the reason I readily threw it away was because I thought that this might be my last time here.

We’re all in our 30s now. It’s a time when life gets busier.

However, we decided to give up on the taxi because the cost was twice as high as expected.

“What time is it?”

Cha Seong-jun took out his cell phone and checked the time.

Twelve thirty.

It’s still a bit early for the subway to run.

I hurried down the station stairs.

As soon as you pass through the ticket gate and enter the station, check the LED display board on the ceiling.

A blank scoreboard.

The moment I started feeling anxious, wondering if I had missed the last train.

“Oh.”

A subway-shaped icon peeked out from the right end of the scoreboard.

“If it’s Ahyeon Station…”

Three stops before.

It will arrive in about 10 minutes.

This train will probably really be the last one.

“Phew.”

Cha Seong-jun sighed in relief and sat down on the chair.

A drunken man is reflected in the transparent screen door in front of you.

As I blankly stare at the sight, the words that Kang Seung-wook had joked about a little while ago while drinking suddenly flashed through my mind.

– Seongjun used to be an aspiring singer.

‘I wanted to be a singer.’

Just like everyone dreams of becoming a singer or actor at least once during their school days, young Cha Sung-jun also had aspirations of becoming a singer at one point. He even enrolled in a vocal academy to become one.

And after a year.

‘Seongjun-ah. The teacher thought about it, but instead of vocals, how about studying composition or songwriting? You went to a good school and you’re smart.’

What the vocal teacher said was that since it seemed like there was no hope of making a living through singing, he was indirectly saying that if you wanted to continue doing music, you should try a different field.

It was heartfelt advice, but at the same time, it was like a bolt from the blue for Cha Sung-jun, who had only dreamed of becoming a singer.

I knew that hard work and skill were not proportional in the arts, but did you really mean that I didn’t have that much talent?

An ordinary person who is only a little good at singing.

That was the moment I realized that it was nothing more, nothing less.

After that, Cha Seong-jun quit the academy.

I gave up my dream of becoming a singer and studied like everyone else to get a job.

‘Looking back, those were words of gratitude.’

Thanks to that, I was able to stop pinning my hopes on my mediocre talents and at least get a job.

For years, I convinced myself and became numb.

But, on days like today when I drink or feel sentimental, I sometimes suddenly think about it.

‘If only. If only I had talent···.’

By now, I’m not such a petty office worker.

Was I singing on stage like the singers I admired?

At that time, I was lost in thought for a long time.

Kotok is here-♪

The phone vibrated again.

Contrary to my expectations, this time it would be an OB group chat.

[The chance to turn your life around! Nurture a singer-songwriter who has been neglected! Become the superstar you have been dreaming of right now!]

The source of the vibration was a game advertisement I had never seen before.

“Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter?”

Cha Seong-jun tilts his head.

Raising a child is a very famous game.

There was a time when I used to console the loss of having given up music by playing games, and I enjoyed games of a similar genre.

Well, now most people consider it an outdated game.

however.

Raising a ‘singer-songwriter’…

It’s a game I wouldn’t normally even look at.

Maybe it was because I remembered my old dreams of becoming a singer, but I felt strangely drawn to it.

As if possessed, I clicked on the link attached to the Kotok and the screen went to the Google Store.

A simple icon with an eighth note (♪) shape appeared.

‘What kind of game is this?’

Cha Seong-jun checks the app information.

The developer is Orpheus Group.

The game’s introduction contains the exact same text as the advertisement just mentioned.

But there’s something a little strange.

‘What? Why are there no reviews?’

Oddly enough, the reviews and ratings section is blank.

The number of downloads was also 0.

Is this an indie game? Is it because it was released recently?

Even so, is that possible for a game that even has advertisements?

A moment of doubt crosses my mind.

It is common sense to avoid such suspicious games.

Because the world is extremely dangerous with personal information leaks, hacking of ‘that country’, and so on.

however.

– Installation is complete.

Cha Seong-jun’s hand, which had lost its self-control due to intoxication, had already pressed the install button.

Well, nothing much will happen. I’ll just kill time by taking a bite while waiting for the subway.

Let’s run the installed game.

A title screen appeared with black letters floating on a pure white background that read, ‘Raising an Abandoned Singer-Songwriter’.

‘Something feels sloppy···.’

The design looks like it was roughly written in a notepad… maybe it’s because of my mood. I guess this is the original minimalist concept of the game.

When I lightly touched the screen, a new [Create Character] button appeared at the bottom.

“They started by creating a character right away without even introducing the world.”

Cha Seong-jun pressed the button repeatedly as if he had been waiting.

At that moment.

Click-

“uh?!”

The sound of a camera shutter clicking was heard, and a blank face was captured on the phone screen.

What the heck, this is a unique technique.

Did they automatically link the selfie to the character creation?

Then, without any time to be surprised.

[Starting synchronization for character creation.]

[0%]

[1%]

[2%]

…

The percentage started to rise rapidly with the phrase:

I don’t know what the synchronization is.

Indeed, the internet speed on the Korean Peninsula, which is serious about speed, was different.

In just a few seconds, the synchronization rate exceeded 90%.

The moment we reach [99%].

“?”

The white screen suddenly turns completely black.

I quickly tapped the screen, but there was no response.

This is···

“Ah… battery.”

Cha Seong-jun scratches his head.

Because it was an old cell phone, it would often suddenly discharge like this.

I remember being embarrassed last time when my phone battery suddenly died during an important company call.

Just when I was thinking that maybe it was really time to change my phone.

Tiddididi tiddididi tiddididding-

Tiddididi tiddididi tiddididding.

The subway finally arrived with a pleasant notification sound.

Cha Seong-jun stuffed his turned-off cell phone into his pocket and boarded the subway.

As I lay down on the seat, I began to feel drowsy due to the intoxication.

Soon his head began to nod.

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