Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cha Seoha, who put down the pick, rubbed his fingers.

There were no calluses at all so it hurt a bit, but the performance itself didn’t seem bad.

Parts he couldn’t remember in the middle he roughly covered with improvisation, and it seemed to suit reasonably well.

Fortunately, the intro of that song was a one-chord progression.

In fact, at Heo Junseong’s words to prove it, old thoughts came to mind.

From the moment he became an idol trainee at a late age, he heard the words that he had to prove it until it stuck in his ears.

In a narrow range, starting from the same idol group members to company people, and in a wide range, even the public.

But the ones he truly wanted to prove to were the band members he had betrayed.

Since I abandoned you guys, I’m living well like this.

My music is still excellent.

He wanted to show that.

He knew it was self-satisfaction, but that was how it was.

Anyway, it was quite a decent practice.

Incidentally, it was a good opportunity to teach Heo Junseong expression methods too.

“It’s a bit regrettable, but better than you, right?”

“Regrettable? It was freaking awesome!”

“The speed didn’t come out. The beat was off a few times too. A member who loses the beat when doing a band is the worst.”

At Cha Seoha’s words, the excitement of Heo Junseong who had been in a fully excited state disappeared in an instant.

“Then what am I? Why did you tell me to play guitar? You’re way better.”

“Because I sing better.”

“You sing better...?”

“In the band, I’ll avoid playing guitar if possible. You can do this much sufficiently too.”

At Cha Seoha’s words, Heo Junseong’s eyes shook endlessly. He stood stock still like a person nailed in place and muttered.

“I can do it?”

“Yeah. You can do better than me.”

Sincerity was felt in the indifferent words.

Strangely, a premonition that it would really come true arose.

“Really?”

Cha Seoha looked at Heo Junseong’s blank face and thought.

‘You idiot. The one who first taught me guitar was you.’

What he learned professionally was after debuting as an idol, but all the basics and playing feel Cha Seoha had came from Heo Junseong.

* * *

Does fate exist?

Lee Doyoung was a person who believed it did, but he also thought he had never experienced it himself.

Fateful meetings, attraction.

Because he had never felt something like that.

But after academy class ended and he stopped by Nakwon Sangga, he had no choice but to stop his steps upon discovering the two familiar guys.

Heo Junseong and Cha Seoha.

Then, Heo Junseong started playing.

How good would the skill be?

It seemed like he might play very well, and also like he might play very poorly.

Not even knowing what he himself was thinking, Lee Doyoung listened to Heo Junseong’s performance and was quite impressed.

He plays better than I thought.

It seems to far exceed high school student level.

But that was only an appetizer.

Having witnessed the tremendous scene that followed, Lee Doyoung couldn’t close his mouth.

What did I just hear?

Heo Junseong played well too, but Cha Seoha’s performance was on a different dimension.

He had unusual depth and agility, but that wasn’t what was important.

The guy was like searching for what to say every moment and conversing with a friend.

It sounded like he was finding the appropriate notes at each moment and playing.

It really seemed like he was speaking with the instrument.

He was only covering an existing song, so how does he produce that kind of feel.

What on earth is this mood?

Thump-thump thump-thump.

The heart that had started beating rapidly without him knowing didn’t calm down even after the performance ended.

It had truly been a long time since his chest fluttered this much.

He had felt this kind of thrill before too.

From him...

From a real genius.

Lee Doyoung looked at his trembling hands and thought.

Can I join there?

The impulse to play together with Cha Seoha and Heo Junseong surged, but at the same time fear also rushed in.

If they heard his playing, they would obviously be disappointed. Because he wasn’t a genius.

As expected, refusing was the right thing.

That was the moment Lee Doyoung turned his heavy steps.

“Lee Doyoung!”

A familiar voice called his name.

With so many people, how did they recognize him so ghost-like. When he turned around, Heo Junseong running out was visible.

“...Hi.”

He stopped his steps abruptly and waved with an awkward face.

“You came to change strings too?”

His chest stung. Heo Junseong’s face with interest embedded overlapped with him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

A little later, he opened his mouth while trying to put out a voice no different from usual.

“No, I just came to look around... You played well.”

Heo Junseong who received the compliment scratched his head as if embarrassed. He didn’t seem like the type, but he was somehow weak to compliments.

“Since you must have heard Cha Seoha’s performance too, it’s embarrassing.”

“No. You did really well too.”

“Thanks. Lee Doyoung, don’t do that and let’s do the band together.”

Why is it? It was clearly the proposal he had expected. Strangely it felt heavy.

He had clearly intended to refuse.

But the words didn’t come out easily.

Then Cha Seoha, who had followed out at some point, looked straight at him and said.

“Why?”

From the calm eyes no different from usual, a resolute will of belief was felt.

“I don’t play that well. You’ll definitely be disappointed... You’ll think I’m a nuisance.”

“Is that the reason?”

“Huh?”

“If that’s the reason for refusing, it’s disappointing.”

“...”

“Even if you play a bit poorly today, if you play a bit better tomorrow, that’s fine. If a few years pass like that, you’ll be the best in Korea.”

It was ridiculous talk, but the dream buried deep in his heart long ago seemed to awaken again.

Moments when he first held a bass with trembling hands naturally flashed before his eyes.

It was strange that he felt this way again just because of a same-age peer, not some genius famous musician.

Was it because the talent he showed was outstanding?

But it was different in quality from what you feel seeing someone with simply excellent skill.

A feeling like looking at something concrete.

He didn’t know what it was, but he also had a premonition that he would accomplish something tremendous.

He thought that together with Cha Seoha, he could do some fun music.

Finally resolved, Lee Doyoung opened his tightly closed mouth.

“Don’t regret it later.”

The three people looked at each other and smiled.

Aspiration, youth, challenge, dream, excitement...

It was a smile mixed with unknown emotions, and to others it was ‘friends.’

* * *

They had visited Nakwon Sangga as a duo band, and suddenly it became a trio.

Because it was a monumental thing, at Heo Junseong’s insistence that they had to do something, they all tried to eat together.

“But I came to change bass strings.”

At Lee Doyoung’s words, the three returned to ‘Hyun’s Resonance’ again.

There, Jang Deokcheol with a completely changed expression was waiting for them.

In fact, Jang Deokcheol was greatly surprised after hearing Cha Seoha’s performance.

If Heo Junseong’s performance was a level a high school student couldn’t easily show, Cha Seoha’s performance was a level that even decent Hongdae guitarists couldn’t easily show.

If he had shown off technique he might not have been this surprised, but he showed off expressiveness.

A high school student having that level of expressiveness is close to impossible.

Did he hold a pick even at his first birthday party?

Or did he receive tremendous hard training?

“Are you trainees affiliated with some agency?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“Just a band. A band that’s just starting.”

“What’s the band name?”

“We haven’t decided yet. We haven’t even gathered all the members yet.”

Hearing Cha Seoha’s answer, Jang Deokcheol felt a strange sense of exhilaration.

Perhaps he was watching the first page of a huge band, that kind of exhilaration.

He knew it was a leap, but Cha Seoha’s performance had a charm that made one have such expectations.

“Please use our store often from now on. Uncle will really make it cheap. No. Just if you need something, come and ask Uncle. If it’s something I can help with, I’ll help.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because you guys are too good. Trying to get close in advance before you become big.”

A smile flowed at the half-joke half-serious words.

“Then can we perhaps get an introduction to a recording studio?”

“Recording studio? Of course possible. What are your names? I’ll talk to the recording studio in advance.”

“I’m Cha Seoha, this is Heo Junseong, Lee Doyoung.”

“Uncle is Jang Deokcheol. But why the recording studio? Didn’t you say you haven’t gathered all the members yet?”

He asked because usually when bands use a recording studio it’s when making demo tapes or mix tapes.

“I’m going to do some composing.”

“Composing? You compose too?”

“Of course. I might be better at it than playing.”

“Vocals?”

“Vocals are a bit better than composing.”

At the conversation between Cha Seoha and Heo Junseong, Jang Deokcheol made a strange expression.

Cha Seoha’s guitar skill was real, but could he be that good at composing too?

A good performer and a good composer had as much distance as a good guitarist and a good bassist.

Not completely far, but not close either.

Since God is fair, it was hard to readily believe.

‘Because he’s a high school student.’

“Leave your phone number here and go. Uncle will have the recording studio contact you.”

“I can do it myself...”

“If I do it, it’ll be much cheaper.”

At Jang Deokcheol’s words, Cha Seoha deeply lowered his head.

Because the current Cha Seoha didn’t have much money.

Around then, the string replacement for Lee Doyoung’s bass was completed, and as they were about to leave the arcade, Jang Deokcheol caught Cha Seoha.

“What will you do when you gather all the members?”

He was asking about the plan.

Jang Deokcheol had many connections with small-scale performances held in the indie band scene.

If the student named Cha Seoha brought out answers like ‘performance,’ ‘busking,’ ‘practice,’ he could naturally connect them.

But the answer of the grinning Cha Seoha was unexpected.

“We’ll cause a stir.”

From that smile, the smell that came was not ambition or longing, but youth.

* * *

The next day, with the help of owner Jang Deokcheol, they headed to the reserved ST Studio.

The store gave off an old feeling from the exterior, but surprisingly the interior was well-managed and clean.

“Hello. I’m Cha Seoha who reserved for today.”

The staff checked the reservation details and guided them to the studio.

The equipment was better than expected.

It wasn’t that it was plastered with high-priced equipment, but a feeling that prioritized appropriateness over price.

There are combinations where certain guitars produce better sound when connected to certain amps.

Among guitarists of rock bands that remained in history, there were those who bought every amp in the world to find their own guitar tone.

So there are combinations that have been historically proven as ‘good combinations,’ and you can feel that the owner is sincere about music.

“Hmm. What should we start with.”

The easiest way to succeed again is to use the successful songs from before as is.

Even while doing idol activities he didn’t stop composing, and created and succeeded with numerous songs.

When he released a new song, lining up the charts was something too familiar to him.

But I’m not trying to repeat the past life.

I could sell the songs I’ve written to others, but I don’t want to force Cha Seoha’s sensibility onto our music.

I want to do music that all the band members can be satisfied with and enjoy.

Then as expected...

This song seems good for the first song.

<​Rendez-vous>.