Picking Up the Pace (1)

The collaboration between Harang and Saebyeok was setting various online communities ablaze.

Choi Seola, who had been monitoring the web all day since morning, smiled to herself.

"Fufu... He only sang Kim Seung-won's song for me."

Then she suddenly grabbed her hair.

"But I didn't get to clip it either!"

It was his first song, so she had been too distracted.

She tried to soothe her regret by playing the songs Saebyeok sang today on repeat.

Even with audio equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in total, she felt something was lacking. She decided to ask her rich benefactor sister.

She pressed speed dial number 2 and anxiously tapped her foot.

"Yes, baby sister," Seunga's voice came through the receiver.

"Unni! What speakers, headphones, earphones, and amps are good?"

"*Sigh*... You call me for the first time in two weeks, and this is what you ask?"

"Hehehe... I didn't want to bother you since you're busy."

"Hold on a moment."

"Okay!"

Her second sister, Choi Seunga, was the Head of AQ EMM.

It was a parent company that owned numerous entertainment businesses as subsidiaries.

Being able to ask such trivial questions to someone like her was the privilege of the youngest child.

Shaking her head at the call from her troublemaker sister, Seunga gestured to her secretary.

"Secretary Kim, it seems my sister needs some audio equipment. What level of gear did we set up for her before?"

"The equipment installed at the youngest young lady's place was all studio-grade, ma'am."

"So, roughly how much did it cost?"

"If I recall correctly, it was around three hundred thousand dollars."

"I see."

Choi Seunga picked up the phone again and spoke.

"Seola. They say the equipment you have is studio-grade. In my opinion, a three-hundred-thousand-dollar setup should be more than enough for someone who isn't even a professional."

"Mmm... No. It's lacking if I want to feel Saebyeok's voice even more."

"Saebyeok? Who is that?"

"Ah, ah! No, nothing, Unni! Anyway, can't you send me something better? Or should I buy it myself?"

"...Don't go causing a scene at Aunt's department store. Just wait. I'll have Secretary Kim send it over."

"I knew I could count on you, Unni! Thank youuu!"

The call disconnected with a click and a dial tone.

Choi Seunga stared at the disconnected phone and let out a hollow laugh.

"Who on earth made our baby sister's heart flutter like this?"

She called Secretary Kim back.

"Send Seola something even better so she won't complain again. And Saebyeok? He sounds like a singer. Have you heard of him?"

Secretary Kim thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Director, I am not familiar with him either. Shall I look into his channel?"

Choi Seunga tapped her desk with her index finger for a while, then paused.

"Didn't you say Seola was hanging out with those internet streamer types for a while?"

"Yes. They were low-life men. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened, and we wrapped things up cleanly."

"Tsk. Quietly find out who this one is."

"Yes, Director."

"Ugh! Why did I suddenly get a chill..."

Saebyeok shivered in the middle of eating brunch.

When would his terrible stamina improve?

Naturally, he concluded it was because of the stream, and his train of thought continued.

"Yesterday's stream left a lot to be desired..."

The response was better than expected, but Saebyeok keenly felt his technical shortcomings.

"Besides, I couldn't even show all the songs I prepared."

These weren't fans who just followed along like at a concert.

Since it was real-time, unexpected elements popped up constantly. If a fairly large donation came in, the script had to be modified on the spot.

"Hosting isn't something that improves overnight, so whatever. But the equipment is lacking..."

His gear acquisition syndrome was flaring up.

"The Fender amp has such weak damping. I don't have a TS-808, no DD-3, and no VOX wah pedal either!"

Actually, he had them all in digital multi-effects, but he was intentionally ignoring that.

Normally, unless you're crazy, you don't lust after a cabinet amp to put in your house or set up a flashy pedalboard.

But the problem was that he was a professional musician in his past life.

Saebyeok stared sullenly at his multi-effects processor.

Shouldn't any electric guitar player worth their salt own a proper stompbox pedalboard?

He also needed to prepare basic pedals for the bass, and the electronic drums he installed were, as expected, disappointing.

He needlessly tapped the hi-hat with his hand.

"No tactile feel. Tsk."

Once the urge to buy strikes, there's no stopping it.

His self-rationalization went out of control, and eventually, his hands began to tremble.

"Should I order online? But you have to see and hear effectors in person before buying, right? It's disrespectful to buy your soulmate on a whim."

Having already made up his mind, he searched for stores on the green portal.

"N-Arcade? They say this place and Yong-Dungeon are the two giants? What's Yong-Dungeon?"

Oh.

Apparently, they are gangsters who rip off newbies.

Is it like a ghetto?

They were highway robbers in all but name.

Well, those kinds of people exist everywhere.

"There's a shop in Hongdae too. They say it's the holy land of the Korean indie scene. Should I go check it out while I'm at it?"

His mind was already elsewhere, so he opened his closet next.

Men's changing speed is obvious.

He threw on a simple white t-shirt and jeans.

He looked in the mirror—he had bought a full-length mirror recently—and smirked.

"Oh! Not bad. Keep up the good work!"

After throwing some nonsense at himself, he grabbed a cap.

Now all he had to do was slip on some canvas shoes and head out.

But an unexpected obstacle remained.

"Which guitar should I bring...? I need to check the compatibility."

On one side, the Fender was calling, and on the other, the Gibson was asserting itself.

"Gibson is definitely better for effectors, but... no, no. As Saebyeok, I'll mostly do bluesy stuff, so it has to be the Fender, right?"

He reached for the Fender, then paused.

"Wait! Ed's songs have a lot of heavy stuff, so maybe the Gibson Les Paul..."

To anyone else, he would have looked like a madman.

"Favoritism is bad, right? I'll just bring both!"

He packed both guitars into their cases and slung them over his left and right shoulders.

Great!

Now all he had to do was put on his shoes...

"Oh, fuck..."

He didn't have a car.

He didn't even have a driver's license.

Taking a taxi with two guitars would be awkward, and if he took the subway, he might collapse from exhaustion.

Suddenly, he turned around, put the two guitars back down, and came up with a miraculous rationalization.

"Future me will handle it! I'll just buy a new guitar there! It's perfect since I don't have an SG-type anyway!"

Humming a tune, he left the house.

[ Hongdae Entrance Station ]

"Whew... Korean summers are definitely hot."

How long had it been since he last rode a subway? At least it was cleaner than the ones in America, which he liked.

He was only wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt and jeans, but people were staring, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Is it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a relief that no women are openly asking for my number?"

In his common sense, if someone was attracted to you, regardless of gender, they would muster up the courage to ask. But in this gender-reversed world, it was different.

There was even content of women getting slapped for trying to pick up men, which said it all.

If a man screamed that he was being harassed...

Here, rather than understanding, people would wonder why on earth a man was screaming.

He had become a two-eyed man dropped into a world of one-eyed people.

Even though it was a weekday afternoon, there were quite a few people walking around.

He followed the map on his phone, which required him to pass by Sangsangmadang, a hot spot in the area.

As expected of a hipster mecca, the fashion was quite free-spirited.

People with hair dyed in all colors of the rainbow, people with excessive piercings, and musicians carrying instruments walked among them.

Was there a performance?

Perhaps because it was one of the trendiest areas, men could be seen here and there.

Thanks to that, he was able to pass through the streets without attracting too much attention.

As he entered the central area, music could be heard along with various noises.

He stopped to watch a girl singing passionately, relying only on a small amp, surrounded by a small crowd.

She chose a song that's way too high for her vocal range.

Looking at the veins bulging in her neck, it looked like it was about to burst. It was unfortunate, but you can't sing every song you like well.

Since she was busking, she must be somewhat serious about music. He walked past, hoping she would find clothes that fit her body.

Most were combinations of acoustic guitars and small amps, and there were also dance teams.

The space filled with lively music brought back old memories.

"I used to do surprise gigs in Times Square too. That was fun... Huh?"

Murmurs arose.

Quite a few people were looking disappointed.

What was going on?

As he drew closer, he saw a female busker with her hat pulled down low, flustered, moving back and forth between her amp and guitar.

Audio mishaps are very common in outdoor performances.

It was a pity.

Getting attention from a crowd like this wasn't a common occurrence, and above all, audiences could be colder than anyone. They wouldn't wait forever.

He stepped closer to check and realized it seemed to be a problem with the effector pedal.

It was highly coincidental, considering he had come to buy effectors.

In times like that, she should try swapping the cable positions or just plug directly into the amp.

She seemed to have little performance experience; she was just fussing around without solving the problem at all.

Should I help her out a bit?

Whether it was because of old memories or just because he couldn't look away, who knows.

Saebyeok walked through the crowd, stood in front of her, and spoke.

"Need some help?"