Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 8



Only Krnovel

Episode 8. The Musical Instrument of the Famous Family (2)

Park Min-jae is a second-year high school student.

However, I live a life that is somewhat different from that of the tough high school students in South Korea.

dream.

hope.

Since college no longer guarantees success in this day and age, Park Min-jae decided on his career path early.

“Mom, I’m going to be a YouTuber.”

-……do you want to die?

“If I get a million subscribers, I’ll make more money than a doctor. And honestly, it’s too much to expect that from me, Mom.”

-get out.

“If I want to become a doctor or a lawyer, my mother will have to support me for another 10 years, but I can’t stand that. I’m the most filial son in Paradise District.”

-Get out! You’re the best filial son and a total idiot! Get out!

I would take refuge at my uncle’s store on weekends because of my mother’s terrifying shouting.

Of course, the dream of 1 million subscribers is still far away.

Subscribers, um.

We are now filling up to 3,000 people.

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so don’t be impatient.

“This… … F*ck… … Fucking… … .”

Park Min-jae sat at the counter of Myeongga Musical Instruments and trembled.

We lost one more subscriber.

[This is so fucking boring.]

“You son of a bitch… If it’s not fun, don’t watch it, Mr. Lee.”

no.

The truth is, I’m impatient.

It’s so annoying even if I squeeze it.

Age eighteen.

The friends I used to hang out with started digging into the problem sets one by one. The one friend who didn’t prepare for the CSAT with me until the end started going to a private academy specializing in physical education entrance exams not long ago.

Park Min-jae is left alone after being betrayed by a friend he trusted.

“It’s all a joke… … Damn it.”

The rumor that YouTubers are making a lot of money is false. No, I’m sure someone is still making a lot of money.

But now, YouTube has also become a red ocean for a long time.

Latecomers without proper content will have to suck their thumbs.

Fortunately, Park Min-jae had one piece of content.

My uncle’s store. And all the customers who come to buy things are content. It’s maniacal, so the number of subscribers is increasing very slowly, but compared to the past when I used to upload forced molka content, this is quite a growth.

[Thanks for the good information.]

[Electric guitars come in a wide range of prices.]

[Next time, please also upload the price difference between bass guitars.]

This is different from the past when there were no comments or only swear words.

That’s why the demonstration just now was so disappointing that it brought tears to my eyes.

“Ah… … crazy… … I thought it was a joke, but it was God.”

My uncle’s store was near my house, so I used to visit there often when I was little. Thanks to that, even though I couldn’t touch an instrument, my ear developed.

Just now, you could tell that the performance of that long-haired man was top-notch, even among professionals.

In fact, it was so good that I could tell even if my hearing wasn’t that good.

It’s been three years since I started working at my uncle’s store to earn some pocket money.

It’s my first time hearing a performance at that level.

“I should have taken a picture… … Ah… … .”

It’s no use feeling sorry.

There is no way to undo the passage of time.

But as if he had noticed my regret, the man walked back over and connected his beige guitar to the amplifier.

And then he looks at his uncle and says this.

“It’s a premiere. The title is Beginning, Ilgusa.”

oh!

“Gimbal, gimbal!”

I quickly connected my phone to the 99,000 won gimbal that I had bought with great determination. I also plugged in the 49,000 won microphone.

“okay…….”

The screen is clean.

At this level, it’s almost like one space, so there won’t be any sound getting buried.

Fortunately, the man’s hands don’t go up to the guitar strings until everything is ready.

-Whinning.

He continues to play the guitar, strumming lightly.

They say that if a dog studies at a private school for three years, it will be able to recite poetry. I know that a man’s job is to set things up.

After holding the note a few times, he took a moment to catch his breath.

It starts suddenly.

“uh?”

This is the first time I’ve heard this song.

It’s familiar, but… … it’s definitely not a song I know. Again, it’s because Park Min-jae’s ears were already trained.

The performance started softly and quickly rose in pitch and began to gallop.

Park Min-jae is clearly not an expert, but for a moment, this thought occurred to him.

A supersonic fighter jet that takes off in an instant from a very short runway.

A performance that reminds me of a scene from the movie Top Gun Maverick that I watched a while ago and cried.

Once a pitch is up, it has no intention of coming down.

Passionate and flashy performances can seem like showing off. I can do this too, this is performance.

The reason why it was good and not embarrassing is simple. There is skill left over from showing off.

They say it’s often said to be a joke.

Even Park Min-jae, who only had ears but no skills in playing, could see it.

When the flight that lasted for no more than a few minutes ended, Park Min-jae forgot to press the end button on the video and only had one thought in his mind.

Wow… … ?

no.

I don’t know about that.

Because I’m not in the mood these days.

Okay.

I have to admit that it’s not just good, it’s freaking good.

But who plays rock these days?

That too, a full-fledged song.

just.

‘What will people say if I post this?’

Only then did I think, “Oh no,” and press the end button on the video.

I prepared the upload quickly.

I didn’t think about editing it or anything. I’d rather upload it as is. That works well.

There was another reason I wanted a quick upload.

Curiosity.

Does anyone know the identity of the guitarist with long hair who looks like a student or at first glance a woman?

Does anyone know the title of this song?

Of course, I told my uncle at the beginning that it was the premiere, but I wonder if it was really pure creation.

If that’s true, how will people react?

What should I say about that song?

Such endless curiosity.

“uh……?”

Park Min-jae stopped his hand from uploading and looked up with a blank expression at the place where the man had been.

Today, I regret the strong sunlight shining inside the store.

* * *

Buy a guitar.

-Call my address. I’ll deliver it to you directly.

Thanks to Manseok’s kindness, I still have a light body.

The Gibson SG is on the lighter side of electric guitars, but since I didn’t buy just the guitar, it’s better for me to have it delivered.

-What about the amplifier?

-Choose as you see fit.

-For practice? Or for performance?

-For practice.

-Then I will choose the speaker myself?

-yes.

It’s kind of funny when I think about it, hyung.

He didn’t ask me anything else.

Whether it’s the person I know, whether I’m moving or not.

Still, it seems like he’s guessing since he’s stopped using that weird grandfatherly tone and is just blurting things out.

It doesn’t really matter.

As we go through life, there will be people we have to reveal our identities to, and there will also be situations where we cannot.

There may be situations like now where people recognize each other but don’t really say anything.

I just plan to deal with it as the situation demands.

“Euuuu… … !”

As I stretch and look around, many things catch my eye.

Tall building.

A stylish car.

The way people dress.

The air is quite stuffy, but the air feels refreshing because the amount of cigarette smoke that people are exhaling here and there has decreased.

It is the world of 2025.

I leaned against the wall for a moment and took out a notebook and pen from the bag I had brought.

And then write down a few lines of your impressions.

This could be a poem or a verse as it is.

If you sing this to a song, it becomes lyrics.

I am learning to surrender to fate while also resisting it.

What did the time slip into the future take away from me?

Not much.

So many that it’s hard to list them all.

Nevertheless, people must overcome fate and move forward.

I can’t imagine the grief of others, but just like Beomseok lost his son and gained strength in his own way.

Fate is a thing that takes one away and always gives one back.

‘Was I this emotional…?’

When I look at the lyrics I wrote myself, I feel a sensitivity and ability to convey that I couldn’t have imagined a year ago.

-You don’t know much about the world.

That’s what Taeju hyung said.

A year ago I didn’t know what that meant.

-Being cheeky is your charm. That’s what I like about it, but that’s why you’re limited.

You said you were good at it?

I just let it go because he treated me too well to think I was jealous.

Dismissing it as nonsense.

―Whether you’re a singer or playing the guitar, real depth doesn’t come from the technical aspects.

I asked him outright because he kept saying things like that.

So where does real depth come from?

-Life. And reflection.

I thought that was pretty cool, but I didn’t understand it one bit.

But as I time-slip, I start to understand things one by one.

You can play sad songs and sing sad songs without knowing sadness.

You can play and sing about love without ever being in love.

You can express your pain without ever sending someone away.

If you do well, you will be praised.

Because I’m good at it.

If you play well and shout high notes with a song designed for you, you may hear cheers and applause.

But I think I know.

That’s not real.

The truth is that even if you lack high notes and technical skills, you can still touch people’s hearts.

That’s something that a fake who imitates something cannot do.

“Up to here.”

I turned the page of the notebook after writing a period at the end of the lyrics and today’s date.

I don’t intend to dig into a cave just because I realized my own shortcomings.

You said music is a record.

Record keeping is definitely something that can only be done at that time.

Lack of experience and reflection?

That’s something you can fill in as you live.

The reason Taejoo hyung trusted me and confirmed my songs even though he said I was still limited is because I had the strengths that outweighed my weaknesses.

High self-esteem.

A feeling of endless shame about oneself.

A balance must be struck between the two.

I turned my gaze back to the note in my hand.

There are four names written on the passed note.

[Yoon Tae-joo]

[Kim Dong-sik]

[Hong Young-pil]

[uncle]

at that time.

-Bang!

Wow, that’s a surprise.

When I raise my head, there is a car parked there.

I’ve seen that car before.

I’ve tried it before.

The windows of a black SUV roll down and a light flashes.

“Wow. It’s dazzling.”

Beomseok, who had leaned out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger seat, opened his mouth.

“You crazy bastard. If you make fun of a bald person, you will be punished by heaven.”

“What kind of punishment?”

“Shut up and get on. You shouldn’t be standing for too long.”

hmm.

I wanted to tease him some more, so I opened the passenger door and got in.

Then, as if he had been waiting, the kid snaps.

“You crazy kid. How much do you spend in a day?”

“I didn’t spend much time on it?”

“You still have no sense of money?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay it all back.”

“Ugh… … I don’t know what kind of riches and honor I brought you here to enjoy.”

The car starts off with a roar.

It’s not like the car is making a gurgling sound, but it’s more like a tiger. So what, does it matter?

“hungry.”

When I said that, a subtle joy appeared on Beomseok’s face.

“… … What do you want to eat?”

“Um… I lost a lot of weight, didn’t I?”

“You call that talking? There is no such thing as a sick person.”

“Let’s eat meat. Then.”

“Okay. Let’s go to a beef restaurant I know well.”

“But how did I find it?”

“Your phone.”

“Phone? Smartphone?”

“Yes. If you install an app and connect it, the location will appear with pinpoint accuracy.”

Certainly, the world is not what I knew it to be.

As that thought occurred to me, I looked to the side blankly.

A wrinkled old balding man, Lee Beom-seok, holding the steering wheel.

What proves that we are friends?

Why is it that we don’t care at all about an age gap of over thirty?

Beomseok felt my gaze and raised his neck, glancing sideways.

“What are you looking at?”

“Your old face and shiny hair.”

“You son of a bitch… … Do you think you’ll always be young?”

“Can a doctor curse like that?”

“Do I look like a doctor to you?”

“no.”

“… … You want to get off again? I’ll take your card?”

“hungry…….”

As I was crouching down for no reason, Beomseok let out a sound from deep within his chest.

“Oh… … !”

“Oh. That was sincere.”

Squeak-

The car stopped roughly.

You can see a sign that says “Ilpumjeong.”

Beomseok, who had turned off the engine, looked at me with a warning expression.

“Be careful how you act around people. Always be respectful to me, and call me ‘Father…’”

“… … I guess it’s not really necessary to use honorifics?”

“You don’t like it? Are you going to listen to me call you a traitor?”

“… … .”

under.

He’s my friend’s son… … I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.

It can’t be helped that my pride gets scratched.