Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Office worker Kim Juhee was on the way home after finishing hard work.

Her house had to pass Banwol Park no matter what.

Unfailingly crossing Banwol Park she had been living lamenting her own situation with no appointment on Friday.

“Waaaa!”

“Kyaaaak!”

Until she came to know those guys that is.

About a month ago.

She happened to see the busking of a nameless band while passing Banwol Park.

At first she watched the performance as if captivated by the good-looking faces.

Gradually she fell for their music.

She didn’t know music well but the songs they sang were like sweet rain to Kim Juhee’s hard daily life.

Don’t know what it is but the music and energy they create. Youth looked good.

Kim Juhee who still vividly recalls the first viewing.

She couldn’t know exactly what degree the overall musical level of them was.

What was certain was that that vocal’s skill was almost pro level.

Kim Juhee too, other audience standing around all watched the performance as if their souls left.

From that day after familiar faces gathered at Banwol Park to see high level free performances.

That band introduced themselves saying they named ‘Oktap’ from a while ago.

A newborn high school band.

A setting that naturally made one make a mom smile.

“This song is a new song! It’s also a self-composed song.”

“Hul, new song!”

“The title is <​Rendez-vous>. Please listen fun!”

At the words new song and self-composed song the audience all let out expectation-filled exclamations.

“Have to film this too.”

Kim Juhee naturally held up the smartphone and started filming.

From a while ago she was filming most of Oktap’s performances and uploading to YouTube.

Views don’t come out much yet but she thought this would float someday.

If Oktap succeeds.

If later they become famous people the records left like this might record tremendous views.

Thinking that Kim Juhee today too aimed the lens toward Cha Seoha and friends.

* * *

That time when Oktap’s new song <​Rendez-vous> was pre-released at Banwol Park.

“Wow.”

“What...”

Yoo Yeongeun the vice student council president of Jeongun High was watching the performance together with one friend.

“Yeongeun. Those guys really do well...”

“Right. Is high school band originally like this?”

“No way. Those guys are special.”

Yoo Yeongeun was surprised at the word ‘special’ that came out of the friend’s mouth.

Because that kid who is her friend was a person who meets many special ones.

“Gayoung by your industry standard too?”

“Yeah. In my eyes it’s like that.”

Moon Gayoung.

Debuted as a child actor at 7 and an actor who continues active activities until now.

That was Yoo Yeongeun’s friend.

Most child actors have a floating time while growing from child to adult, but Moon Gayoung continued activities steadily without blank period even during growth.

It meant acting skill and star quality were recognized that much.

But such Moon Gayoung’s dream was actually singer.

Even band.

So Moon Gayoung had no choice but to watch the performance with soul left.

Oktap band playing instruments and singing on a slightly high platform.

No lighting and sound equipment was quite bad.

But somehow in Moon Gayoung’s eyes they sparkled and were flashy more than any singer in the world.

A strange feeling.

Envious too...

Greed arises too...

Wanting to move right now.

* * *

“Thank you!”

After finishing the performance we had time taking photos with fans flocking as usual.

We had steadily held performances until now, and Banwol Park’s busking had become one small culture.

So much so that other buskers also performed in the times before and after us.

In a word they also employed a strategy of relying on Oktap band’s recognition.

Busking starting with audience secured has advantages.

A bit strange is that such buskers quietly yield the place when we come.

In fact busking has no standard to do traffic control so if someone doesn’t yield the place there’s no way to handle.

Since it’s time we’ve been doing all along telling to yield is also nonsense.

Banwol Park isn’t ours right?

But it being amazing that such problems don’t occur at all today I threw a question to the buskers.

The answer was simple.

70% of the audience gathered here come to see Oktap.

And, he himself is also a fan of Oktap.

It was the answer of the busker doing beatbox with a chic impression.

Hearing such an answer and looking back, the thought came that there are particularly many familiar audience.

Usually when doing busking the audience is about 70 people, but among them people seen more than twice seemed almost most.

‘Is this the indie scene?’

Honestly I who was a top star don’t know the indie scene well.

So unconsciously I think I thought audience below hundreds unit as just ‘small audience’.

Busking also had a strong feeling of performance practice rather than performance.

But the heart seems to be changing.

Banwol Park is our mother body.

This is Brutal’s Kaiser Keller, Youngblood’s Seattle Okay Hotel, Reloader’s LA Whiskey a Go Go.

“It was too cool!”

“Thank you for coming.”

“Of course have to come! I’ll come again next week too!”

“Really? Then next week I’ll have to do better.”

Answering while looking down at the fan who seems about middle school student together with a faint smile the face reddened.

“I’ll, I’ll wait at the very front!”

Then as the fan who covered the mouth disappeared, Heo Junseong poked the side.

“Hey, it’s a middle school student.”

“What?”

“No right?”

I understood belatedly.

“Are you crazy.”

This is only skillfulness coming from my 1214 ments trained at fan sign events.

Is there a fluttering point as effective as half honorifics on first meeting.

The narrowing distance sense makes the cohesion of fan and artist more solid.

Like that sending off the students we took the last photo we tried to organize the luggage.

“Doyoung!”

And then someone’s voice stopped Lee Doyoung.

That kid is Yoo Yeongeun.

I don’t know Yoo Yeongeun’s face, but I could recognize at a glance.

Because I recognized Moon Gayoung loitering wearing a large ball cap behind there.

Those two are real friends.

Friends from kindergarten, and even after Moon Gayoung became a top star throughout.

A little later, Lee Doyoung approached.

“Um, Seoha.”

“Yeah?”

“A friend says she has something to say?”

Something to say, good.

* * *

Other friends went home first, and Lee Doyoung and me, Yoo Yeongeun, and Moon Gayoung headed to a cafe.

Moon Gayoung has a solid position as a child actor, but not yet to the point of star.

Industry recognition and public fame are strictly different.

So perhaps because of that even Lee Doyoung meeting Moon Gayoung had no big reaction.

No?

Just because he’s seen throughout from 1st grade?

Well, the density of school life would have been different from me who was in the taekwondo club.

“Watched today’s performance too well.”

“Thanks, you’re a celebrity right?”

“Yeah, right. Actor.”

“What business does an actor have?”

“Not particularly but I heard the song called Rendez-vous you guys sang today is a self-composed song is that right?”

“Right. Seoha here made it.”

At Lee Doyoung’s words Moon Gayoung sent her gaze toward me.

“Is it a song made alone?”

“Technically I did it, inspiration I received from the members.”

“Perhaps can I sing that song? That is, the meaning that if you guys register the track I’ll do a slight remake matching my tone.”

It was exactly as expected.

Moon Gayoung is doing vigorous activities as an actor, but the original dream was singer.

As far as I know the reason she continued actor activities was also for a bridgehead as a singer.

Exactly around this time would have been when her passion was the hottest.

But Moon Gayoung’s agency considerably disliked her doing singer activities.

An child actor settling as a successful adult actor is not easy.

The opportunity of roles itself would be many, but if slightly wrong one receives treatment of an ambiguous actor of ambiguous recognition.

So the agency was worrying that after consuming image with singer activities for no reason, one might receive B-grade treatment that doesn’t suit serious drama.

In contrast Moon Gayoung from the first celebrity dream was singer.

In this situation the agency had no thought of supporting Moon Gayoung’s singer challenge, and was in a situation of only killing time with this and that excuses.

In the original history she directly commissioned a song to a composer...

‘Failed refreshingly.’

The agency’s worry becomes reality.

Probably now is exactly the period wandering looking for a composer.

So if making Moon Gayoung see our performance, that we can receive a composition commission is not that exaggerated a thought.

Originally she wanted to do a song of teenage school band sensibility.

How do I know such detailed facts?

Because when I debuted solo and was doing acting for a while we became close while filming the same drama.

I knew we were alumni, but exchanging private conversation was the first time then.

And surprisingly she also knew of Oktap’s existence, and was a person who thought the songs were pretty good.

Not the current Oktap, the Oktap of the previous life.

Seeing us upgraded several dimensions my judgment was that she couldn’t just pass by.

But well.

Can’t give Rendez-vous.

“That’s troublesome.”

“Huh? What?”

Surprised were Lee Doyoung and Yoo Yeongeun.

An celebrity saying she would sing a nameless band’s song was a tremendous opportunity.

“Why?”

“There are many reasons, more than that you don’t suit Rendez-vous anyway. That’s a song made assuming male vocal from the start.”

“If arranging a bit...”

“Even if arranging it doesn’t work. This is a problem of sensibility. Male high school student and female high school student’s sensibility is clearly different right?”

In fact well, can’t say 100% no.

If there’s a good arrangement it might be possible.

But what I wanted was separate.

“How about this? It’s a song I made for female vocal.”

A little later one song flowed from the phone.

It was the song called <​Diving> worked on a while ago.

Lee Doyoung widened his eyes and looked at me.

With an expression of is it right to give that.

I answered with an eye signal that it’s fine.

“Sssip...”

And Moon Gayoung concentrated on the song.

Like that after some time passed Moon Gayoung lowered her head as if flopping on the table and let out a deep sigh.

“You... are a genius?”

“Not to that degree.”

“Is the guide vocal you?”

“Yeah.”

“It is a genius.”

Well, it is a good song.

Because it was a song made receiving a commission when the leader of a famous girl group debuted solo.

Diving stood 1st on all music broadcasts for 2 weeks, and was a song that also raised its name inside the top 20 of the annual chart.

“Is this something Oktap doesn’t sing?”

“For now because I assumed female vocal.”

“I’ll buy it. How much?”

Perhaps because it’s before failing refreshingly as a singer.

Action power is tremendous.

The song seemed to be very liked too.

“Shall we do other talk first rather than money?”

“Other talk?”

“Where are you going to use that song?”

“I want to release. And I’ll perform too.”

“Performance? What performance?”

“First our school festival is soon right? I want to sing there.”

Yeah, well.

Moon Gayoung going to the school festival would be an invariant value.

Because...

“Are you filming a variety on the school festival day?”

“How did you know that?”

Moon Gayoung who had been calm throughout was startled.

“I happened to hear while stopping by the teachers’ office. The filming team seemed to be seeking permission?”

“Ah, was that so. I didn’t know. Right I have ‘Star Observation Cam’ filming that day.”

Star Observation Cam.

A observation variety that films one celebrity’s daily life usually organized as one plan of 3 to 4 weeks amount.

In the past it was a variety that was quite popular but I remember popularity gradually cooled from around this time.

“Then your performing will be filmed too?”

“Right.”

“Then let’s sell us in a bit.”

“Huh?”

“You have something you’re good at. Acting.”

I think rolling in Hongdae for a few years, and succeeding by the slow orthodox route would also be fun in its own way.

But one thing bothers.

Exactly, our age.

18 years old.

Still guaranteed appropriate freedom, but if only 1 year passes we become exam students.

Me and Heo Junseong, Kang Min don’t matter.

Because originally put down studying, or dropped out.

But Kim Jihu and Lee Doyoung are not.

Especially Lee Doyoung is the problem.

Kim Jihu has the initiative of action, but Lee Doyoung was a guy swayed according to parents’ words.

That’s not bad but...

Lee Doyoung’s parents were people who had a reason to fervently oppose Lee Doyoung’s music.

So at least before next year I was thinking of making the whole nation hear our name once.

That start was a variety program of 14% viewership.

“Sell in? Exactly what do you want?”

“How about this kind of scenario?”