Chapter 528: Being Woo-jin-like
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 528: Being Woo-jin-like
“Bravo! Perfect! I mean, what was that?! That soulful tone! That rock-solid high note! That incredible lung capacity! This is what you call a vocal! The flower of the band!”
Choi Jin-ah clapped in admiration.
Shaking her head like a celebrity judge on a variety show, she showered the bald man—who had just absolutely crushed his performance—with high praise.
“Haha, having a world-class violinist praise me like that... I don't know what to do with myself.”
“There’s no need to be humble at all. You were truly the best. These guys probably realize it now, too—just how sub-par their own songs are!”
Damn, she’s savage.
Since it involved music, Choi Jin-ah was being much sharper than usual.
“Why the hell did you even call the bald guy?”
Starting with a grumbling Chan-woo, the other idiots began to chime in one by one.
“Seriously, why is that old guy good at everything?”
“Isn’t it because he’s bald? I saw in a manga that if you lose all your hair, you become the strongest.”
“Then you go bald too.”
“You wanna die?”
While they were busy bickering, there was one thing they were overlooking.
“We can only bring in one outsider. The bald guy can’t join.”
We already had Pyo Jin-ho, after all.
When I pointed that out, Choi Jin-ah blinked and asked, “Huh? Then he can’t do it? Weren’t you all from the same university?”
When I pointed at Pyo Jin-ho, Choi Jin-ah tilted her head with a blank expression before answering.
“Let’s cut him.”
Is this the true 'Captain Choi'?
How many times has she made a split-second executive decision today? At this point, she’s addicted to making cuts.
“Wait, you’re cutting me?!”
A flustered Pyo Jin-ho looked at us. His eyes were full of injustice, silently asking if this was really happening, but we made our declaration firm.
“Safe travels.”
“Get lost.”
“What are you so upset about? Just go to your own school’s festival.”
“Phew, I didn’t like him anyway. This worked out great.”
Every single one of them cut ties with Pyo Jin-ho instantly.
But honestly, wasn't this perfectly rational?
You discard a drummer who can't even play the drums properly. It wouldn't be much different whether Kang Han-gang learned the drums or Pyo Jin-ho did.
“Sir, we look forward to working with you.”
I welcomed the man with a bright smile.
“Well, since he’s got the vocals down... But just so you know, I have a girlfriend.”
Jeong Chan-woo drew a line even as he welcomed the man.
“It does feel a lot more reassuring having him with us.”
“Ugh, finally someone reliable joined the group.”
Ahn Hyun-ho and Kang Han-gang agreed, and everyone welcomed the bald man together.
In our minds, Pyo-whatever-his-name-was had long been forgotten.
Wait, was there someone like that?
Weren't we always a group of four idiots, including the bald guy?
As we all nodded in agreement...
“The Gahyeon University festival? I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can make it.”
“What?!”
The news hit us like a bolt from the blue. Our new member was on the verge of leaving as soon as he’d joined.
“I have work, you see. Especially during festivals, it’s busy at night, so I work then without hiring part-timers.”
Right, the man ran an adult goods store.
My time working there had become a memory now.
“Pyo Jin-ho can go instead! It’s not even hard! Jin-ho, you go work as a part-timer for a day!”
“Yeah! Jin-ho Hyung, just go do it! Look at that, we all have a role to play now!”
We tried to hammer it down as a final decision—that Pyo Jin-ho would be the adult store part-timer—but...
“Now, now, that won’t do. The university festival is your stage, after all. An old man like me shouldn't be intruding.”
The man declined gently.
Since he put it that way, we couldn't really push him any further.
“Instead, I can help you if you need it. I’m fairly confident in my singing, you see.”
“Please, at least do that. I don’t have the confidence to teach these people on my own.”
The bald man nodded at Choi Jin-ah’s words.
But seriously, how did he get so good at singing?
It’s probably not just because he’s bald and therefore 'all-powerful.'
Considering his past as a gangster, he probably spent a lot of time beltng out tunes at karaokes back then. Even a guy like him wouldn't have started out as a gang boss from day one.
“...By the way, are you two close?”
Jeong Chan-woo asked, tilting his head.
He seemed puzzled that the bald man and Choi Jin-ah were acting so friendly. From any angle, they didn't seem to have anything in common.
In truth, their connection hadn't been established that long ago.
“Oh, he came over when I was watching the kids at Woo-jin’s place. He even bought presents for them.”
“They were very lovely children.”
“Hehe, you certainly know your stuff. Want me to send you some photos?”
Whenever someone praised the kids, Jin-ah’s face would immediately soften, and she’d start grinning like a fool.
She started unilaterally spamming the bald man with photos of our kids.
Seeing that, the other idiots immediately started complaining to me.
“Hey, why won’t you let us see your nephews?”
“Woo-jin, I’m hurt. Even when I contact Ah-rin, she just tells me to talk to you.”
“Even if we’re just college students, we can afford to buy the babies some presents.”
“As their uncles, we need to show them our reliable side.”
Ahn Hyun-ho, Jeong Chan-woo, Kang Han-gang, and Pyo Jin-ho.
Hearing them speak in order might have moved someone else, but in this awkward situation, I decided to be honest.
“The kids’ moms told me not to bring you guys over.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“They said they don't think you'll be a good influence, no matter how much they think about it. And honestly, they just don't want to see your faces.”
The guys shut their mouths.
If they had any grounds to argue, they would have done it instantly. The fact that they were silent meant they were well aware of their own reputations.
*
“...So you’re doing a band?”
Choi I-seo stared at me with bewildered eyes. I was slightly startled, thinking she might drop her chopsticks mid-meal.
Seeing how the other girls were just as stunned as I-seo, it was clear I had said something I would normally never do.
“Woo-jini in a band?”
“Do you even know how to play an instrument?”
They asked with anticipation, perhaps hoping they’d discovered a hidden talent of Kim Woo-jin, but unfortunately, I shook my head.
“No, not at all. I decided to play the bass, so I have to start learning now.”
“I figured.”
Yoo Ah-rin nodded in a way that was slightly offensive. However, she wore a relaxed smile.
“If I’d heard you actually knew how to play, I would’ve felt a wall between us.”
“Woo-jini is only Woo-jini when he’s being himself.”
“Agreed.”
Listening to Yoo Ah-rin and Seo Ye-rin, I felt a bit wronged.
“And what exactly is 'being like Kim Woo-jin'?”
“You’ll be hurt if you hear it.”
“...Then don't tell me.”
Couples shouldn't go around hurting each other's feelings.
Choi I-seo adjusted her chopsticks and asked again.
“So, Woo-jin, you’re going to be in the festival? With your friends? On bass?”
“Yeah. I didn't plan on it, but Jin-ah decided to help. She has all the instruments at her place anyway.”
“What is that place? Some kind of 'Jin-ah’s Animal Crossing'?”
Well, people certainly do gather there in droves. But since I realized today that I’m the one who drags them all there, I didn't say anything more.
“Woo-jini on bass. That sounds like it’d be cool.”
Seo Ye-rin took it quite positively. Maybe it was because she was used to being on stage herself.
“Hey, come to think of it, didn't Seo Ye-rin and Choi I-seo participate in the festival back in freshman year?”
“Hmm?”
“...”
Seo Ye-rin asked back with food still in her mouth, while Choi I-seo went completely silent.
Now that I thought about it, they did.
“That’s right! You guys already performed at a festival!”
Back in our first year.
Didn't they go out and sing?
If I recall correctly, the four of them, including Kang Han-gang and Ahn Hyun-ho, did a duet.
I remember Choi I-seo telling people the guy making the spicy stir-fried pork was good and inviting them to come have some.
“Wow, I really didn't know things would turn out like this back then.”
“Are you starting that again?”
Choi I-seo cut me off as I tried to reminisce. I restrained myself but continued the conversation.
“Ah, right. That’s why Kang Han-gang was so obsessed with the festival. He got hit on by so many girls after standing on that stage once.”
The pieces were starting to fit together.
Now I knew why Kang Han-gang wanted to be on stage so badly. Since he’d already experienced the perks of that event once, he wanted to get the same results again.
Just then, two people walked into the house.
“Ah! Woo-jin! Why did you come home first?! I told you we should go together!”
“What’s on the menu today? Oh, Galbitang!”
It was Choi Jin-ah and Oh Yun-ji.
“Jin-ah, you have a car. That’s why I came separately.”
“Ju-hee Unni is so mean too! I can’t believe she left me behind.”
“You guys aren't done eating, right? There’s leftovers?”
The two of them joined us and started eating.
Eating together like this at home had become natural now. I’d invited Senior Ju-hee as well, but she said she was working and would eat later.
As she took a bowl of Galbitang, Oh Yun-ji immediately questioned me.
“I heard you’re doing a band for the festival? You still haven't let go of that lingering regret?”
“What regret? I’m only doing it because those idiots kept bitching about it.”
As I let out a sigh, the other girls looked on with curiosity.
“Regret? Did Woo-jini want to be in a band?”
“Now this is interesting.”
Seo Ye-rin and Yoo Ah-rin grinned. Choi I-seo kept her mouth shut, but her eyes were fixed on Oh Yun-ji.
Sensing their gaze, Oh Yun-ji tilted her head.
“Huh? Didn't I tell you guys before? In the first semester of freshman year, Kim Woo-jin joined a band club saying he was going to sing me a love song.”
“Ah, damn it.”
A dark past I didn't want to hear.
I’d heard it several times already, but it was embarrassing every single time.
“But all the members of that band club were girls. So I got really angry back then.”
“And then?”
Yoo Ah-rin urged her on, clearly intrigued.
Oh Yun-ji smirked and finished the explanation.
“But it turns out, it wasn't actually a band club. It was an anime club, and they were just cosplaying as characters from a band anime.”
“Pfft.”
“Oh...”
“Good grief.”
Groans and sighs erupted from all around. But that wasn't the end of it.
“And remember how I said there were only girls? Turns out, it was a gathering of people with... very specific tastes. You know, the kind who ship guys together.”
It was a nightmare. I didn't even know if they were still active.
“So they thought Woo-jin was gay, and they kept following him around asking what his 'type' was, and whether he was a top or a bottom.”
While some laughed, some pitied me, and others nodded as if it were a fun story...
The reaction that hurt my heart the most was Choi I-seo’s comment.
“That’s so Woo-jin.”