Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 36



Only Krnovel

Episode 36. Old Soldiers Don’t Die (1)

3rd floor practice room, recording studio in Jongro.

I go to the practice studio every day, and I spend most of my time here in the recording studio.

In other places, Tae-joo hyung has put a lot of money into soundproofing, so soundproofing is a given, but once you get inside the recording studio booth, the soundproofing is even better. It’s also convenient to improvise and listen to songs that come to mind.

Swaaaaaaahh …

I sat on the sofa outside the recording studio and watched the rain pouring down outside the window.

“Ha… … The weather is gloomy.”

“I know.”

It’s Taeju hyung.

Youngpil hyung hasn’t completely organized his broadcast schedule yet. Well, he makes excuses like he can’t go because the people who have been paying attention to him are calling him. In my opinion, he’s mostly with Taeju hyung because he’s making money and burning the last spark before starting the band in earnest.

It’s not like Youngpil hyung doesn’t practice, he just comes here every once in a while to practice. He says he comes whenever he has free time in his schedule.

As I stared out the window with a blank expression, Tae-ju opened his mouth with a grin.

“Are you feeling stuffy?”

“Hyung. Can’t you just help him out a little? Although I’m saying it, most of the problems adults have are about money. Even if Dong-sik doesn’t like it, wouldn’t he accept it if you give it to him? He’ll make money if he performs, debuts, and sells albums, right? So it’s not like I’m just helping him out, it’s like a cash advance.”

“If Dong-sik had shown his pride, he could have done that.”

“then?”

Taeju hyung laughed, ruffling my hair.

“If being stubborn when you’re young is a form of pride, then being stubborn when you get older is, well… … a kind of way of life.”

“Way of life?”

“Yes. A way of life. That’s not something you can touch. You can’t touch it.”

“after…….”

He let out a deep sigh and placed his clasped hands behind his neck.

really.

Adults know but don’t know.

Although I am now considered an adult, whether biologically or in terms of my future age, the criteria for being an adult are not necessarily determined by legal standards.

One second ago, he was a teenager, and the next second, he became an adult by law. It’s hard to call him an adult all of a sudden.

I feel the gap in time more in these aspects than in the way my brothers look older.

I’m impatient, but my brothers are somehow calm.

I’m hot and burn brightly in an instant, but my brothers are like flames that burn slowly and steadily.

Tae-joo hyung smiles again as he looks at me like that.

“Don’t worry. It’ll definitely come.”

“It’s been a month since you said that and I haven’t heard from you at all.”

“That’s why I’m coming.”

Just when I was about to mumble something.

The office door opened slowly.

no.

It felt more like someone was slowly pushing the door open than it was opening.

And a bear, soaking wet from the rain, stands outside the door, watching us.

“… … Is there still a drum spot?”

Dongsik is my older brother.

And I answered, trying my best to appear calm.

“Why are you so late, man?”

“I resigned from my job… … I sold my house and looked for a new house to move into… … I transferred the kids to a new school… … And before I knew it, a month had passed.”

“I guess you didn’t worry too much about it?”

“… … I did. Every day. I want to dream again. I want to fly with wings that I’ve never been able to grow. I want to challenge myself. I want to shine and shine… … . I worried about those thoughts every day.”

“however?”

“About a week has passed since that day… …? I came home from work and my wife said, ‘Stop crying.’”

Crying?

Dongshik hyung?

Of course, the day we met, my eyes were a little moist… … but I can’t imagine this guy shedding tears.

Dong-sik’s words continued like a monologue.

“I groaned and cried every night while I was sleeping. I think I cried while I was sleeping. For a whole week. So I confessed. So he spoke to me without even breathing. Do it. Do what you want and please don’t cry. I’ll wait exactly one year, so go do what you want and come back with some radish.”

“Sister-in-law, you’re cool.”

“That’s cool. Much better than me.”

I don’t know.

How much power money has.

I don’t know how much pain that causes people to live, or how happy it would be if there were a lot of it.

I know that money is important.

So I repeated it without realizing it.

“1 year… … .”

“Uh. One year.”

“Let’s try. I’ll have you dig up a field of radish and bring it to your sister-in-law within a year.”

Dong-sik Hyung enters the office by climbing over an invisible wall.

* * *

When Youngpil, who had finished filming, arrived at the office, the four of us finally opened the door to the basement practice room.

Dong-sik spent a long time fondling the Metallica poster on the wall of the stairs leading down to the basement, lost in his emotions.

I too was so moved by the sight of the open underground practice room that I trembled slightly.

But there was another reason why I was really shaking.

Drumroll, drumroll.

The sound of drums fills the practice room… … .

“This is serious.”

At my words, Dong-sik’s hand stopped.

“It’s been so long… … .”

“You never played a tambourine at a karaoke? Not even once?”

“… … .”

“Why is a deflated balloon waving drumsticks instead of Lars Ulrich?”

Rhythm… … At this point, it’s like a rusty gear, so I think it’ll be fine if I just give it some oil.

It’s not hard to understand, considering that it’s been a while since he’s been hitting the drum next to him instead of just fiddling around or hitting the drum he’s supposed to be hitting.

The most important thing is that the striking sensation is terrible.

A North Korean spy scratching his head with a drumstick… … No, Dong-sik, who had gained a bit of weight and now looked like a gang boss, looked down at him with cold eyes.

“Are you unemployed now?”

“Huh? Oh. Right… … I’m looking into opening a chicken restaurant with my wife’s retirement pay and savings.”

“Okay. If you want to repay your sister-in-law, come here every day and knock on her door. You’ve rested too much. Out of all the brothers, you’re the one who does it the best.”

“I get it.”

“Let’s get started.”

As I said that, I also picked up the guitar.

“Ha… … I hate Metallica, but I guess I’ll just have to play Metallica for a while.”

At my words, Tae-ju and Young-pil also take their seats.

Taeju hyung is sitting on a sofa that looks exactly like the one from 30 years ago.

Youngpil Hyung went to the synthesizer in the same spot as before, as if he had been waiting there the whole time.

And after many years I cried out.

“Master of Puppets. I won’t do vocals. I don’t like this song. I don’t understand it.”

Jeeeeeek! Jing! Jing jing!

Starting with the electric guitar sound from my hands, Dongsik hyung’s relaxed drum sound follows, making a chachachacha sound.

If you want to save the drummer, you have to start with Metallica, whether it’s food or death.

But… … Oh my.

These are really crappy drums.

That doesn’t mean I like Tae-joo or Young-pil’s skills.

It’s relative.

It’s because their instincts weren’t as dead as before, and they joined quickly and started practicing first, so they’re somewhat acceptable. If they wanted to recreate the old days, they’d have to lock all three of them up and make them practice while feeding them only dumplings.

However, the seriousness on Dong-sik’s face that I glanced at with a sidelong glance.

The gentle spark in Taeju hyung’s eyes.

The happy smile on Youngpil’s lips…

Why am I so good?

Why does this poor ensemble strike my heart so?

That’s why they say music resonates in the heart, not the ears.

Today I opened a new door to music.

* * *

Even Dongshik hyung.

It’s already been a week since everyone joined.

In the meantime, Youngpil hyung has reduced his activities considerably.

Other people are saying that they are sorry and asking why I am taking a break now, but is the broadcast important right now? What is important is making human beings out of immature middle-aged men in their fifties.

“Again. Again. Where are you going?”

At the sound of my cold voice, Youngpil and Dongsik were about to leave the practice room when they were startled and shrank their necks.

“Ugh… … It’s frustrating, isn’t it?”

Youngpil is my older brother.

Dongsik hyung has a gangster-like face and just keeps on checking things out…

“Are you feeling suffocated? I feel the most suffocated.”

“… … .”

“When I found the members again, they had all aged. Wrinkles and a belly. Huh? Can a rock star be this ugly? I can’t help but sigh.”

“We’re not rock stars yet… … Me?”

“Bam!”

I got angry and screamed.

“Ido was king from the moment he was born!”

“If there is a king in this island… … King Sejong… … Your Majesty?”

“yes!”

“He was a prince when he was born… wasn’t he? And King Sejong wasn’t even the eldest son?”

“Anyone who knows that still can’t quit smoking?”

Youngpil rolls his eyes at my incoherent story.

What can I do? It’s a sin to be old.

Smoking is a greater sin.

It’s not really a sin for a fully grown adult to smoke, but… … No, I’m thinking of taking these guys on a world tour.

Shouldn’t these guys live as long as possible to keep shitting on the wall?

Even a passing dog knows that smoking eats away at its life.

So I’m trying to force him to quit smoking, but he just won’t listen.

“Dongha-ya.”

“Oh my.”

“I’ll just… … smoke one and then really quit. Okay?”

“Piri piri piri, hyung.”

“huh?”

I could feel a subtle anticipation rising on Youngpil’s face at the sound of my warm voice.

It’s annoying… … . No matter how much I think about it, it’s annoying.

In this case, the correct method is the answer.

It is better for the person being hit to hit quickly, differently, and with a heavy punch than to get hit multiple times.

So, I said calmly.

“Do you want to get back that quickly?”

“……no…….”

“Then go and drink some water and practice. I can record it by touching it with a machine, but you’re not going to broadcast it? You’re not going to perform it?”

“……okay.”

Youngpil Hyung heads towards the synthesizer.

“Even the meals are back to their original location.”

“I was going to go.”

Dong-sik also returns to his seat later.

Looking at that honest, stone-faced guy who can’t quit smoking, it’s clear that smoking is really scary.

Metallica’s Master of Puppets, which I didn’t like because I didn’t understand it until a week ago, is starting to make sense.

That song is about drug addiction, and seeing how even cigarettes, which are less addictive than drugs, are in that state, I can kind of imagine.

“Oh my. How painful is creation, and I can’t help but… … Ah!”

While I was nagging, a song came to mind.

These days, it’s common to write lyrics and compose music separately when creating a song, but I’m an old-school person by birth.

In most cases, writing lyrics and composing music come together.

It’s kind of like… … stories are pouring out.

When a story comes to mind, the lyrics naturally develop, and the mood of the song that matches the lyrics is drawn in my head.

The form in which the direction of the song is finally determined.

I tend to write down as many melodies as possible, so once I have a sense of the direction of the song, I put the melody in my head and start composing.

anyway.

When I see my brothers fidgeting, I feel inspired.

“walking in the smoke.”

I quickly moved my hand over the notes to match the title and concept.

It’s a song about addicts who are heading into darkness on their own. Songs about drugs are as easy to find in rock music as love songs.

There are so many creators and artists who are addicted to drugs, and even a world-renowned CEO who became successful without my knowledge and then passed away is said to have smoked marijuana frequently to get inspiration.

In some ways, drugs could be seen as one of the sources of inspiration.

“Never. Absolutely not.”

I wrote the lyrics with my brows furrowed and talking to myself.

I absolutely do not think so.

I just borrowed and used my natural inspiration.

Beans and red beans don’t grow in a field where there is nothing.

‘Drugs are fucking dangerous. Look at the state they’re in when they’re not allowed to smoke.’

Yeongpil paused with his pen and looked at his brother.

My legs are shaking.

Instead of playing with the drumsticks, Dongsik bites his fingers.

Look at this.

Even just smoking is this bad, so drugs?

You don’t have to take a picture of the poop to know.

After roughly figuring out the flow of the song, I called Mr. Kwak Moon-ki, who was in the practice room even though Tae-joo hyung wasn’t there.

“mister.”

“Please speak.”

“Why… why are you being so uncomfortably polite?”

“Because they are the chairman’s friends.”

“You’re a man, right? When we’re not around, you don’t charge your phone at an outlet or anything, do you?”

“… … .”

really.

The person has no wit.

I spoke to Mr. Kwak Moon-ki, who resembled RoboCop and did not respond.

“I have to go up to the recording studio, so please keep a close eye on me. Please. If he tries to smoke, just stab him with a knife.”

“Are you really going to stab me?”

“yes.”

Then he answers with a calm face. Like this.

“All right.”

“But you can’t die, so stab me in the side. Here. You know? It’s in the drama. If you stab me here, you won’t die. Got it?”

“I will take care of it.”

He’s like Robocop… … He’s so dependable in times like this.

The eyes of Youngpil and Dongsik, who were listening to our conversation, trembled.

“practice!”

He screamed again.

Because my brothers let go of my hand and focused on our conversation.

I see Dong-sik hyung, startled by my sound, waving his drumsticks around incoherently, and Young-pil hyung, banging on the keyboard, trying not to be outdone.

anyway…….

I can’t leave the practice room anymore because I’m trying to get my hyungs to quit smoking.

Wheeing―

The phone is shaking violently.

[Strange Auntie]

Ah… … I forgot to block it.