Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 27



Only Krnovel

Episode 27. Papillon (2)

Time slip.

I also watched quite a few movies and dramas about time travel on TV.

The world has really become a better place.

Rather than simply accessing movies as weekend classics that air at a set time on TV stations or renting them from video rental stores, you can watch what you want with a few presses of the remote control.

And is 30 years really like that?

There was a lot to see.

anyway.

I thought about that while watching movies or dramas about time slip or time travel.

Maybe time is originally relative… … and so on.

For example, something like this.

In a place I don’t know, someone might be running backwards in time and going to the past.

Some people may become younger little by little without anyone noticing.

Also, I wonder if there is something like a time travel door somewhere, and if you go through it, you can go back and forth between the past and the present.

So time is something that changes depending on the observer’s standards.

To my brothers, it’s like I time-slipped and came to the future without aging.

If I were to be the observer, then one day my friend would suddenly turn into a bald old man, and Youngpil, who was always tall and thin, would suddenly turn into an adult with a moderate amount of age.

And now another person walks towards me through time.

“Brother Taeju… … .”

I ended up getting up from my seat.

A group of people in suits surround the coffee shop, and Tae-joo Hyung, dressed in a gray suit, approaches, guided by them.

It was definitely skinny, but it had a really nice body.

Did he hire a personal trainer to work out because he is the chairman of a conglomerate?

Her long hair was nowhere to be found, and her short hair was styled with pomade.

It’s definitely not the brother I knew, but it’s him.

“It’s been a while, Dong-ha.”

Youngpil hyung is also frozen.

It’s not that I showed up as a difficult person.

Since the two people lived in the same time zone and had never met before, the awkwardness must have been great.

Tae-joo smiled brightly at Young-pil.

“It’s been a while, Youngpil.”

“Uh… … , bro… … It’s been a while… … .”

“It’s been a while. I’m being awkward and formal.”

“How did you… … come here?”

When I say that, Tae-joo hyung hugs me tightly.

“Thank you for being alive.”

“Why… why is it like this? Are you all getting older and your female hormones have increased… … .”

“And thank you for finding it.”

“… … .”

I don’t know.

Is it because I just recently went through puberty?

Or maybe it’s because the time I went through to break up was insignificant compared to the members.

It’s awkward and embarrassing though.

I decided to just surrender to the flow of emotions without resisting them.

“You’ve aged gracefully, brother.”

“These days, even conglomerates manage things. With money.”

As I laugh, my brother continues.

“Still, I’m a lot older than you.”

“How did you find me?”

Taeju hyung released the hug, sat down, and continued speaking.

“I’ve been watching you ever since you appeared on TV.”

“How sinister. Huh? Then why didn’t you come to see me all this time?”

“I needed to confirm. If you were really me. After confirming that, I needed to prepare again. If it was right to meet you. For your sake and for mine.”

“What? So you came here to check and prepare everything?”

“What do you think?”

I opened my eyes half-heartedly and looked at Tae-ju hyung, wondering what he was talking about after coming all this way on his own. Was this what they call a honeymoon these days?

Youngpil is looking at us both in turns while sipping his iced Americano.

“I’m forming a rock band. Do you want to join? There’s a spot for the bassist.”

“… …Why do you speak like that?”

“Is it because I’ve been using the internet a lot lately because I’m bored with TV? Sometimes, things like this pop up.”

Taeju hyung burst into laughter.

“Are you really the same?”

“Is it all like that? Is it the same? No, but think about it. How much has it changed since last year? Isn’t it?”

“That’s true. Anyway, did you time-slip like I thought?”

“Right. As expected of someone who’s educated, the conversation is easy, easy.”

Tae-joo Hyung, with his smiling face down and a rather serious expression on his face, asked again.

“You know about me, right? I’m now one of the five richest people in South Korea and the head of a conglomerate. And you still want to be in a band with me?”

“Why can’t I, can’t I, can I, can I, come on, more… … Does that kind of scene come to mind?”

“… … .”

“You want to do it but you’re embarrassed, so you want me to hold on to you?”

“maybe?”

People are really funny.

Not in a bad way, but in a good way.

So I decided to tell my brother what he wanted to say.

“If you’re the head of a conglomerate, all you’ll earn is money. Let’s form a band together. I’ll give you experiences that money can’t buy.”

“Okay. Thanks for coming.”

“I’m going to do it with my hyungs, but I can’t let my skills lag behind. I can’t do that. I can’t let other bands step on me. That’s why I have to practice a lot.”

The old man, who had been keeping a certain distance from me so that others could not come or hear my conversation, flinched at my words.

But he’s secretly teasing me.

Who cares?

Whether they are tycoons or celebrities, band members are equal.

You should be thankful that I, as the frontman, do not bully others and insist on equality.

The three of us at a round table in a coffee shop.

It’s quite an unusual combination.

Taeju hyung is 54 this year.

Youngpil hyung is 52 this year.

And I’m twenty.

Each person has a different job.

Chaebol leader.

A living celebrity.

Idol audition defector.

We are very different, but we have the same dream.

We started talking about our dreams, just like we did in the basement practice room back then.

He counted the wrinkles on both of their faces and said it as if throwing it out there.

“Brothers, you should work out hard from now on. Okay? Take care of your health. We should be together for a long time.”

“… …Is this encouragement or teasing?”

“Both? Honestly, Youngpil hyung needs to take care of himself. He looks older than Taejoo hyung now. No matter what, he’s a celebrity.”

“… … Do you think all celebrities live under management?”

“Stop pouting. Is that what happens when you get older? Ah… … I really don’t want to grow old. It’s scary, it’s scary.”

And then for a long time.

Roughly… … until the ice in my newly ordered iced Americano melted and disappeared.

“I will prepare the practice room.”

“If you need any equipment, let me know. I’ll prepare it for you.”

“I’ll find a dermatologist and a trainer for you both, so just give me a call.”

“I’ll think about the company a little more, but if possible, I’m thinking of starting one. If you have any other ideas, let me know. If there’s anyone in the industry you want to bring along, let me know.”

“Ah. If Youngpil needs a music teacher because he’s feeling down, let me know.”

Youngpil hyung is acting a bit awkward, but… Is it because I don’t have the feel for it yet, or is that just how I am?

It just feels like seeing a rich friend with a lot of money.

He’s a friend who’s a bit like Beomseok, but he makes a lot more money than Beomseok, that’s it?

“Oh. Chaebol.”

When I said that, Youngpil gave me a look as if telling me to take it easy, and Taeju kept smiling as if something was so good about it.

Then, as if Tae-ju hyung suddenly remembered something, he opened his mouth again.

“But there is a practical problem.”

“A realistic problem?”

“uh.”

“What is it?”

“The livelihood of 70,000 people depends on me alone.”

“… … ?”

“And many people own stocks in affiliates of our Jaemin Group.”

“however?”

to be honest.

I waited for my brother to say something next because I really didn’t know what that meant.

“Let’s say the owner neglects management and suddenly starts doing music. There will be a lot of problems, from stock price drops to owner risk.”

hmm…….

Is that so?

Before I met the members again, I couldn’t understand Beomseok’s words about realistic problems.

You could say I still have the childish mind of a nineteen or twenty year old.

I thought like this.

What significance do practical problems have when pursuing a dream?

But now that I hear this, it seems like what I said isn’t the only correct answer.

As Tae-ju said, if you throw away what you have right away, there will be people who will unintentionally get hurt, as Tae-ju said.

This is a different matter.

Thinking about it that way, I started to understand the feelings of Yeong-pil, who said he had made a big decision.

A contract amount in the hundreds of millions that is beyond my imagination and that I have not even touched yet.

Because I gave up the additional broadcasting revenue that would come with it and followed my dream.

Chasing your dreams.

Yet, we cannot take our eyes off realistic problems.

Being an adult is really difficult.

I was not just happy that I had inspired the members to pursue their dreams again, but I also felt a heavy sense of obligation to provide them with realistic direction.

We need to solve not only such deep and philosophical problems, but also immediate, practical problems.

I took out the sunglasses and mask that I had kept in my bag.

It’s Columbus’ egg.

And he took the Columbus egg out of his bag and handed it to Tae-ju.

“Try it.”

“?”

“I unintentionally became known, so I wear sunglasses and a mask to avoid people’s eyes. I wonder if people really don’t recognize me when I wear this to hide my face, but when I actually wear it, they don’t recognize me? There are people who approach me and say, “Is that person a celebrity?” but they’re not sure.”

Tae-joo burst into laughter as if he found my words ridiculous and slowly reached for his sunglasses and mask.

and.

“Look at this. We don’t know either. But does your head get bigger as you get older? I should get a bigger sunglasses frame. That would look really cool.”

The expressionless man in a suit standing next to our table flinches again.

what?

why?

Can’t you tell a conglomerate chairman that he has a big head?

Of course, it’s not that big, but back in the old days, there were really only bones.

So the comparison is clear.

I picked up my phone, snapped a picture, and showed it to Tae-joo.

“Isn’t it simple?”

“Hide your identity… … and do it?”

“For now?”

Tae-joo, who had been looking at his phone for a while, smiles.

“That sounds fun.”

“Right? Solving practical problems.”

Even if you just cover this much, people won’t even guess.

The chairman of a conglomerate is in a band?

And not just a hobby, but a full-fledged professional band?

It’s unimaginable.

An idea came to me to solve Tae-joo’s problem in a very easy and creative way.

“Just a moment. Youngpil, let me try it too.”

After taking off the sunglasses from Tae-joo hyung, I put them on Young-pil hyung’s face.

And just like in the dramas I saw on TV, I raised my palm and covered Youngpil’s lower body.

All you have to do is put on a mask, but why go that far?

Youngpil is babbling while wearing sunglasses.

“… …What are you doing?”

“Big feature.”

“?”

I opened my mouth as I looked back and forth between Yeongpil, who was looking bewildered, and Taejoo, who was looking at me with a curious face and a smile on his lips.

“Once we debut, let’s do activities like this for a while.”

of course.

I don’t know how long I can keep doing this.

Wearing a mask and sunglasses.

I said that people wouldn’t recognize me, but I don’t know how long I can keep fooling them even if I cover it up like that.

But sometimes, solving problems one by one, even if it means peeing on your feet, is the right answer.

“Youngpil hyung also works with his face covered.”

“… …Why me?”

“If you want to hide an apple, hide it in an apple tree. If Taejoo hyung is the only one wearing sunglasses and a mask, it would look weird. But if all the members wear masks, it would make you think that it’s just a concept.”

“hmm…….”

“And not just to hide Tae-ju hyung, but also for Phil hyung.”

Youngpil, who had been lost in thought for a moment after hearing my words, answers.

“Are you talking about prejudice… … ?”

“huh.”

Surprisingly, this thing called prejudice is scary.

There is an anecdote that says that when a master’s artwork was displayed at a street stall, no one bought it.

There was even a story about a famous Japanese manga writer who, after time-slip, specialized in gags and hid himself when writing mystery stories.

There are countless anecdotes about prejudice.

Even knowing that, people still treat others with prejudice.

Ironically, we can’t blame them.

The image of Youngpil hyung that I got to know through meeting him on a broadcast and getting to know him separately is that he came from a band that had been in a one-hit wonderland after doing nightclub sessions. He has shown his showmanship in playing multiple instruments a few times, but rather than musicality, he has been… … poor and miserable. He has long been a comedic character who makes people laugh by getting hurt.

As it turns out, that’s why I became a judge for Nae-Pwa-Dol.

I was a little worried that Youngpil might get hurt, but the mentality of an old man in his fifties is stronger than I thought.

“I understand. That makes sense. … … For me. For the team.”

“But you’re going to stand on stage with your face covered too?”

Tae-joo hyung intervened at the right time.

“uh.”

“Why? Is it because of your prejudice?”

“That’s right. I did it to meet my hyungs, but now I have the label of being an idol audition contestant. But then, an idol audition contestant voluntarily leaves and suddenly starts a rock band? There are definitely people who look at me with colored glasses.”

I have already confirmed this sufficiently through comments on my articles and videos reported on YouTube and in the media.

I’m confident that I can overcome it quickly with my skills, but if I hide my hyungs’ faces while I’m at it…

“Don’t you think it’ll be fun?”

When I smile, my two older brothers burst into laughter, just like they did 30 years ago.

Well… … the real story isn’t just about fun.