The Final Lesson
Is this your last class today?
Jang Namhun nodded at Kang Seokho’s question.
Then please work hard today as well.
Yes.
Kang Seokho, the late-blooming student, had been the most diligent among the hundreds who had come to him promising to learn how to sing.
Watching him, Namhun could not help but recall his past self.
I used to practice like that too…
But that was all in the past now.
Namhun shook off the lingering regret about the song and focused on his real duty.
That said, Seokho… you’ve completely changed.
He had poured many efforts into teaching him, but without his own determination, even a miracle would have been impossible.
As Kang Seokho finished singing, Namhun opened his mouth with a smile.
Seokho first came to the academy exactly one year ago, didn’t he?
At the question, Seokho nodded with a dazed expression.
He was seeing that smiling face for the first time in a year.
Ah, yes. That’s right.
Your skills have improved a lot in the meantime.
Even though he was the instructor and the student, it was very rare for an adult man to hear such praise from another adult man.
Feeling embarrassed by the sudden compliment, Seokho lightly scratched his cheek.
Haha. Is that so? At the beginning I was tone-deaf and out of tune. Now I guess I’ve reached the point where people can tell I’m singing.
No, no. The saying that effort never betrays is exactly what I’d say about you, Seokho.
Haha…
Seokho smiled awkwardly, but Namhun did not stop the praise.
Among those who learn as a hobby, it’s rare to find someone who practices this diligently. You have a job and are busy, yet you’ve come to the studio every single day without missing a single one. Honestly, even among students preparing for exams, there are friends who practice less than you do, Seokho.
Aigoo, you don’t have to hype me up that much. I’ve been showing my face in the practice room every day, but there are still days when I only practice for an hour or two.
Seokho waved his hand, and Namhun smiled bitterly.
There are even those who don’t practice even that one or two hours. If I tell them to at least do scale practice, they don’t listen.
He was scolding his past self.
From a few years ago, when he started singing again, he realized how important steady practice really was.
Really?
Not practicing for a day doesn’t change anything much.
Seokho already knew that.
He was in the entertainment industry too.
Well, this world is ninety percent talent.
At those words, Namhun smiled bitterly.
No matter how talented you are, if you neglect practice, you won’t last long.
The proof was right here.
Kang Seokho stared at Namhun quietly and asked hesitantly.
Do you regret the past?
At the sudden question, Namhun looked up and met his eyes.
Yes?
The Evil Spirits days.
The word Evil Spirits made Namhun startled and asked back.
Eh… You know Evil Spirits? It’s completely disbanded…
Disbanded? The first album did well, and the second one had quite a buzz about it.
At those words, Namhun recalled his past memories.
It was like that?
That time had passed so quickly that he had no time to feel people’s reactions or anything.
Yes. If the idol market had been as established as it is now, the result might have been a little different. First, the songs were well received, right? They’re still in my playlist.
Looking at him with disbelief, Seokho smiled bitterly.
It’s not a lie. I listened to your songs back then as well, not just Evil Spirits.
Hearing the name Jang Namhun along with Evil Spirits, Namhun was shocked.
Ah… He said he was a camera director. Then maybe he’s someone who was connected to me?
Reaching that thought, Namhun was bewildered.
I never thought I’d meet someone who knew my past, the singer me.
The fact that he had revealed his current, shrunken appearance compared to the past made him feel suddenly embarrassed.
Seokho uttered the forbidden word anyway.
Celestial Voice, Elixer…
Please! Stop, stop!
Namhun, who recalled his forgotten dark history, covered his ears with both hands.
From Namhun’s bewildered face, Seokho could see the Elixer of his late teens.
I am the youngest member of Evil Spirits! Please take care of me! Please… make me look cool!
Hey, don’t make unreasonable requests. No matter how you shoot me, I’ll come out pretty.
No, not pretty! Cool!
When he first glimpsed the youngest member Elixer of Evil Spirits, Seokho had mistaken him for a girl group member.
Because of Elixer’s appearance, the rookie group Evil Spirits became quite a hot topic among girl fans right after their debut.
Because of that, Seokho was surprised to learn later that the ballad singer Namhun was the same person as Elixer.
…Did you know from the very beginning and come looking for me?
I don’t know how shocked I was. I never imagined that the Namhun who sang here as a vocal trainer lived near my house.
When I first heard about it from her, I was doubtful, but I never thought that the retired Namhun from long ago would be working as a trainer in a neighborhood academy.
The reason Seokho had not pretended to know Namhun for the past year was for a reason.
What is the scariest thing in human relationships?
It’s gratitude.
Now that the one-year class had ended, it was time to reveal the purpose he had been hiding.
Ah, that was due to vocal nodules, right?
Evil Spirits, a mid-tier group slowly gaining recognition, disbanded after the second album.
The other members quit singing, and only the youngest Elixer made a comeback as a ballad singer.
Under the name Namhun.
The response to the first album’s title song had not been bad, but he had suddenly disappeared during his activities.
There were many reasons, but what the public knew was vocal nodules.
You’re fine now, right?
After watching Namhun closely for a year, Seokho could tell his condition was fine.
No, rather, he could clearly feel his skills had improved even more than during his active days.
Yes. I’m fine now. It’s been eight years since then.
The word eight years made many thoughts flash through Namhun’s mind.
Eight years…
Looking back, those eight years had felt like eight minutes, so quickly had they passed.
That’s good. So… could I ask you for one favor?
A favor?
Do you remember why I came to learn singing?
Yes. To sing a song for my future bride.
A serenade for the bride!
One of the common reasons adult men come to vocal academies, but he was the first person preparing for a year.
But the moment he heard Seokho’s song, Namhun understood the reason.
He had been a serious tone-deaf person.
I’d have given up sooner or later.
The progress had been slow, but Seokho had not given up.
That’s why Namhun had no choice but to work harder.
Turning a tone-deaf person into someone human-like was a very difficult process, but it had actually helped Namhun.
It was an opportunity to research the basics a bit deeper.
Actually, there is one more reason I chose you as my teacher, Namhun.
In his Elixer days, Namhun had greatly changed the young Seokho’s life.
Even though Namhun did not remember it.
So Seokho wanted to thank this man, Jang Namhun.
Ah. You had that kind of thing with someone.
So…
It sounds fun, doesn’t it? If it goes well, it might help that person too. The situation right now isn’t great, after all.
Right?
The director is really amazing. He even uses his own wedding for something like that.
And if he could get even a little help from Namhun, it would be perfect.
If he had put down the camera back then, Seokho would not exist now.
If it’s not a bother… could you sing the congratulations at my wedding?
A wedding?
Please. It’s my lifelong wish.
At those words, Namhun’s expression stiffened.
You want me to sing in front of people?
His heart was pounding.
At the same time… he felt fear.
Kid! Hurry to the hospital!
* * *
Jang Namhun’s entertainment life, full of ups and downs, ended with his parents’ accident.
His parents had come up to Seoul to celebrate his first concert and died in a truck accident after drinking.
Leaving only his three young siblings.
How can a young man raise three kids alone?
Kid, think again. You have two newborn babies.
The relatives were right.
It was almost impossible for a man who had just reached adulthood to raise three children alone.
But Namhun decided not to let go of his three siblings.
It was not because it was great in the eyes of others.
He did not have the strength to survive the world alone.
He simply used his three young siblings as his support.
Several years passed…
Only after his siblings grew up a bit did Namhun regain a little freedom.
He had started singing again and become a vocal academy trainer only a year ago.
* * *
6 AM.
Zing—
The vibration alarm on his phone rang once, and Namhun shot up from his seat.
It was not a sound alarm, and waking up just to the vibration was not easy, but he had to turn the sound on or the three siblings would wake up too.
Carefully getting up, Namhun checked if his siblings were still asleep and left the room.
He woke up early for the same reason every day: to prepare the lunch box.
‘Elementary school students had school lunches, so I was lucky.’
He had not expected the second child Yuyeon’s middle school to have a problem with the cafeteria.
Thanks to that, Namhun had been able to buy lunch boxes cheaply, not having planned for them.
Not roughly, but properly.
He knew all too well that even a strong parent’s scolding was stronger in the arts department.
He himself had graduated from middle school and high school.
‘I can’t let Yuyeon be pointed at as an orphan.’
Having lost both parents in an accident, he had to become a superhero so his siblings would not feel the void.
Hey, Jang Nam! Take care of your own body. You’re going to collapse!
Even with his old friend’s concern, Namhun kept pushing himself.
Maybe it was some kind of debt.
While he had grown up in a comfortable environment receiving his parents’ love, his three siblings had had to grow up in a lack of it.
Of course, today was Sunday.
No need to pack lunch today.
Still, waking up early as usual was because today was D-day.
It was Kang Seokho’s wedding.
They would come home late in the afternoon, so he had to prepare breakfast and lunch for the kids.
‘I need to loosen up my throat by leaving early.’
Performing on stage made him remember his parents’ death.
But he had said time was on his side?
Namhun had overcome his fear and accepted Seokho’s proposal.
Perhaps it was an opportunity to end his singer career, which had been interrupted unintentionally.
‘Yeah. Maybe this could be my last stage.’
With that thought, he had put special effort into managing his condition for the past month.
He had cut his night logistics center part-time work to every other day, and he had completely stopped the manual labor he had done every weekend, worried he might get hurt.
Instead, he had focused entirely on singing practice during that time.
His income had decreased a bit in the tight situation, but it was only for about a month.
He could tighten his belt a little more.
Namhun took out the suit he had stored in the corner of the warehouse and put it on, then checked his reflection in the mirror.
‘A suit after so long feels strange.’
The custom suit he had bought during his ballad singer Namhun days was still fine after eight years.
‘Thankfully, my figure hasn’t changed much.’
Maybe it was because he had kept doing physical work?
It seemed to fit better than before.
Hmm. Not bad.
As Namhun was recalling how to tie his tie while looking in the mirror, the door burst open.
Yuyeon, the second child, appeared rubbing her eyes.
…Oppa, where are you going from morning?
Go back to sleep. Why are you up already?
I just woke up.
Actually, Yuyeon had been suspicious of Namhun’s behavior lately.
He had kept working non-stop even though she had told him to cut his work.
But suddenly he was resting, and today, a Sunday, he was dressed in a suit.
Suspicious?
Maybe he had a girl.
I told you. I have somewhere to go today.
You haven’t even gone to sleep yet. Where?
At Yuyeon’s narrowed eyes, Namhun answered casually.
Wedding.
Wedding? Even getting married in the morning?
The ceremony is in the afternoon. I’m preparing to do the congratulations song.
At those words, Yuyeon’s eyes widened.
Congratulations song? What song are you singing, Oppa?
Hearing such words straight from his brother made Namhun’s pride sting a little.
But he was still a singer who had topped music programs.
But it was natural.
When Yuyeon was in kindergarten, she had just been a kindergarten student.
Before that, during the Evil Spirits days, she was only about four or five years old.
Because of that, Yuyeon did not even know that her brother was a singer.
The end of his singer life had come with his parents’ accident, so Namhun had not revealed his past.
Didn’t Sera hear about it? Oppa used to sing classical music.
Classical? I’ve never heard of it.
What? You say you’ve never heard it?
A person who can’t sing like that sang classical? Your morning joke is so strange, I’m wide awake.
Yuyeon laughed at her brother’s dumbfounded expression and went back to her room.
Watching that blankly, Namhun muttered with a helpless look.
…This is ridiculous.
But thinking about it, maybe his sister had that kind of misunderstanding.
When Yuyeon was growing up, his throat condition had been the worst.
Aiba~ Sing a shark song~
Don’t… don’t sing…
Lullabies were higher in pitch than thought, so hard to sing.
Thinking about it, he seemed not to have sung in front of Yuyeon since then.
He had recovered his throat relatively recently.
But still. Sera taught Yuyeon violin for over five years… and she never told her that?
The head of the house and the crumpled pride of a man had turned to resentment and headed toward his old friend.
Ah, not now.
Checking the time, Namhun hurriedly took off his suit and put it in the suit case.
He would have to start cooking soon to make it on time.