The Guitar Seminar
In her past life, Suyun had quite a few hobbies. Singing, causing trouble at school, visiting dessert cafes, posting slightly revealing photos on Instagram, talking trash about others, and dying from a cracked skull after riding an electric kickboard while drunk. However, after performing the ultimate taboo at a funeral home—resurrection—Suyun had completely changed. It wasn't because a different soul had taken over. That other man's soul had already been hit by the high school girl's post-mortem nen, merging into a philosophical entity that was both different and yet the same. Therefore, the reason this "Ha Suyun," who was fundamentally the same yet deeply different, abandoned her past bizarre hobbies was simple: the mental age and memories she suddenly acquired upon waking up made her past actions incredibly embarrassing.
Because of this, the only things Suyun did in her spare time were her usual daily guitar practice and...
Her only real leisure activity was giving unsolicited advice on music forums. Originally, she had started this to share her knowledge, nurture the next generation, and maybe get a little ego boost in the process... but before she knew it, it had devolved into "beating down kids who showed no promise." At least she hadn't crossed the line yet.
Anyway, today was one of those days.
It hadn't been long since an interview was published detailing what Red Rock had done during the production of Kingdom.
"What kind of nonsense is..."
This was at Label Echo Sound, which had recently expanded by renting out another office on the adjacent floor. In the small private space set up just for Suyun.
Aside from giving "advice," she had recently found a new hobby: building her own analog pedals. On this particular day, she was staring at a comment on the Kingdom video, her brow furrowing deeply.
"Yes, hello. This is Ha Suyun of Group Sound."
"Ah, Ha-san. I know we didn't make an appointment, but I was wondering if we could meet up now. Are you free?"
And out of nowhere, Asano Shohei of Blue Moon Harmonics called to ask if they could meet.
"What brings you here?"
"Ah, nothing major. I was in the neighborhood, and I remembered you saying you're always at the office on weekdays."
"I see..."
Suyun twirled a strand of her hair. Why on earth had this man come all this way? It wasn't that she had anything to hide, but Asano Shohei harbored an incredibly strong, inexplicable fondness for her, which made her a bit uneasy. Having been on the receiving end of clueless older men's advances back in Korea a few times, she couldn't help but be wary.
"Ah, congratulations on Kingdom, by the way. It's a massive success."
"Thank you."
Of course, Asano's fondness wasn't that kind of interest. It was more of a... "kindred spirit" sort of affection. Having spent countless hours in practice rooms during his own youth, Asano felt a deep appreciation for Suyun, who had reminded his older self of his original passion.
"Please, have some coffee! Here, Mr. Asano, I brewed this Blue Mountain coffee especially for you!"
"Oh, you didn't have to go to such trouble. Thank you."
"We're a label that truly cares for our artists! So, how about it? Any interest in joining us...?"
"Haha. A small label is a bit..."
Asano smilingly delivered a verbal gut punch to Manager Jung's playful scouting attempt. Watching Manager Jung retreat after taking an undefended hit, Suyun sipped her coffee. The sweet coffee tasted wonderful.
"So, what really brings you here?"
"No, really, it's nothing. I just wanted to see your face."
"Is that so...?"
"You're a prominent artist whose YouTube views have surpassed fifteen million, and thirty million within the year seems highly likely. I have to make an impression early on."
"If the guitarist of Blue Moon Harmonics says that, Japanese guitarists won't believe it."
"Haha, it's just a name."
Seeing Asano bring up various casual topics, Suyun realized he hadn't come to ask for a favor or make a proposal; he really had just come to chat.
After that, the atmosphere relaxed. They talked about the analog pedals Suyun had been building lately, and discussed potential collaborations with veteran musicians.
"Like Liquid Tension Experiment, we're planning a project band with top-tier players to just release a single EP and disband. We're putting it together now."
"That sounds interesting."
"Actually, the idea came up because of you, Ha-san."
"Because of me?"
"The older guys were stimulated by seeing you. Even though you're so young, you don't lose focus and devote yourself entirely to the craft. So, the veterans couldn't just sit still... That's why I wanted to ask, would you like to join us?"
"Uh... I'll think about it."
"Let me know if you're interested. We're still looking for members."
Their conversation flowed smoothly until it paused at a certain point—when Suyun mentioned she would be visiting Korea soon for some business.
As it turned out, Asano also had a reason to visit Korea.
"What's your schedule like?"
"Uh... it's around this time."
Suyun pulled up her smartphone and showed her schedule to Asano. Asano scratched his head as he looked at the screen, then brought up something completely unexpected.
"Are you free around this time on this day? I'm scheduled to attend an event in Korea..."
How much was fifteen million views?
Of course, it wasn't the highest in the world. These days, top-class K-Pop idols easily surpass ten million views, and some world-class idols hit one hundred million views in a single month, with one hundred million views within twenty-four hours not being uncommon.
Compared to those cases, Kingdom wasn't particularly extraordinary.
But conversely, it meant Kingdom could even be compared to such giants.
In terms of sheer view count, they were at a level where they could be compared to K-Pop idols at their peak or world-class artists.
And this fact had a massive impact on Japan, where Group Sound was currently active.
If Suyun hadn't looked at posts like "Japanese Variety Show Compilation.jpg" and insisted, "Let's stick to our policy of not appearing on any shows other than music programs," they would have appeared on terrestrial television much sooner.
But the place where the impact was felt even more intensely was... Group Sound's homeland, South Korea.
Nationalistic clickbait channels were running rampant.
[If you're Korean, please listen to Kingdom and support Group Sound]
Koreans were drinking deep from the cup of national pride.
Everyone—singers, former idols, bands, and whoever else—was uploading cover videos to ride the wave of views.
And this phenomenon wasn't limited to online communities. It exerted its influence over a much broader spectrum.
Just as the price of AKG K701 headphones skyrocketed when the anime K-On! was popular, and the black Pacifica, white Precision, and 1004J became scarce when Bocchi the Rock! took off.
Black Strats and black Precisions became scarce in the Korean market.
The number of people who claimed to have started playing guitar or bass surged, only to disappear just as quickly.
The new and used markets flourished, Nakwon Instrument Arcade screamed under the sudden boom, and Fender importers even filed petitions to block direct imports of Fender guitars.
And as the number of people picking up instruments like the guitar and bass as a hobby grew...
Related events began to pop up more frequently.
'Ah, I hope it's not too crowded today.'
He was one of those people.
A newbie who had been playing guitar for barely a year, on his way to attend a seminar for a new instrument that Yamaha had recently released with great confidence in the Korean market.
He had picked up the guitar on a whim, swept up in the band instrument craze sparked by Group Sound, but now he had become dead serious about it, occasionally even thinking, 'Should I prepare for music college admissions again?'
"Hello! Are you here to attend today's event?"
"Yes. I made a reservation. My name is..."
At a fairly large concert hall with several hundred seats near Seoul.
He gave his name to the staff member standing at the entrance. After finding his name on the densely packed list, the staff checked it off and spoke.
"Yes, confirmed. Thank you! We have a gift for today's attendees, so please take one!"
"Ah, thank you."
A bottle of water, some light refreshments, and a gift that seemed to have been prepared directly by Yamaha.
He gathered them up, sat down in a corner seat, and opened the gift. Along with some cheap accessories, the pick inside didn't look cheap at all.
'They're even giving out gifts like this. Amazing.'
With that thought, he scanned the people entering. Although it was a large concert hall, looking at the rate people were filling in, it didn't seem like there would be many empty seats left.
Surprisingly, the gender ratio was even slightly skewed toward women, exceeding 5:5.
'Group Sound's influence really is huge.'
Since he himself had started playing guitar after seeing Group Sound and Ha Suyun, he knew exactly how they felt.
Wasn't she someone to admire?
He wished that one day he could attend a seminar taught by Ha Suyun, but wondered if that day would ever come anytime soon...
'If I could get lessons from guitarist Ha Suyun... but they say geniuses aren't very good at teaching others.'
"Hello! I'm your host for today..."
Wouldn't his self-esteem be completely crushed if he learned from a genius like her?
While he was indulging in such useless thoughts.
It seemed it was time, as the doors to the concert hall closed. A staff member walked onto the stage to speak.
"As you all know, today we have the legendary Japanese band! Guitarist Asano Shohei of Blue Moon Harmonics here for a seminar. Please give him a warm round of applause!!"
With thunderous applause, the guitarist walked in confidently and took the microphone. With a staff member standing beside him to translate, Asano Shohei spoke.
"I am truly delighted to hold this seminar in front of everyone in Korea. Actually, I didn't come to Korea just for this seminar, but Yamaha gave me a wonderful opportunity, asking if I'd like to meet some band novices in Korea. I'm very glad to meet you all."
After saying that, Asano Shohei plugged his cable into the amp and laid out the pedalboard he had brought.
A brief moment of downtime.
But for some reason, there was a commotion backstage, and another chair was brought in along with a pedalboard.
'A guest?'
There was no mention of a guest.
Could it be a fellow band member?
He scratched his head, wondering.
"E-everyone... we apologize, but guitarist Asano Shohei has brought a special guest. Would it be alright if they joined us?"
The audience responded to the staff's question. Well, the more the merrier. But he hoped it would be someone who could talk about guitars. If it was a different instrument, it would mean less time for guitars...
Just as he was thinking that, his eyes widened at the person walking in.
"Ah, here they come."
"E-everyone! Please welcome her with a big round of applause! Guitarist Ha Suyun of Group Sound!!"
The figure walking in with long black hair and the black guitar now famous on the Korean internet was the most famous guitarist in Korea right now.
The very person who had inspired countless people to pick up the guitar...
Ha Suyun.