Jin Seryeon's Debut Busking Show
Sera and Namhun were heading toward the stage. Jin Seryeon stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted two women loitering near the performance area.
“Who are those people?”
“Huh?”
“The two women touching the drums.”
Namhun smiled as soon as he noticed them.
This was his cue for a surprise event.
“Oh, my friends. I’d better introduce you.”
“Are the people Oppa brought friends?”
“Yeah. They said they’ve never done trot busking before and wanted to see it, so I brought them along.”
Jin Seryeon’s face hardened the moment she realized they were with Namhun.
‘Not one… but two?’
Her eyes narrowed.
And both of them were quite pretty.
Their style was good too.
But it wasn’t anything special.
After all, women had always gathered oddly around Namhun before.
What had changed was that Seryeon was no longer number one in his eyes.
Because there was a real sibling—Yuyeon, who existed in the world.
“Introduce yourself. This is Boksun.”
Namhun gestured toward Sera. Jin Seryeon nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Oppa!”
She had gone into full battle mode, yet hearing the old name drained every ounce of strength from her.
It wasn’t only her who was startled.
“What? She’s Boksun?”
Sera sauntered over and began eyeing Jin Seryeon up and down, flashing a bright smile.
“It’s really you! You’re Boksun?”
“…Yes?”
“I never expected this. Jin Seryeon was Boksun? You used to eat snacks at our house and sleep over all the time!”
Sera’s bold attitude made Jin Seryeon back away in shock.
“M-me?”
“You don’t remember? Sera-ya, it’s Yoo Sera.”
The name hit Jin Seryeon like a bolt from the blue.
‘Sera unnie… why here?’
Before Yuyeon was born, Jin Seryeon had been the adorable little sister Namhun treated like his own.
Of course his childhood friend Yoo Sera knew her too.
Even back when they were elementary-school kids.
“How long has it been? Nearly twenty years!”
“A-ah, yes. Yes.”
“The little thing grew up so much? Now I have to look up at you? How beautifully you’ve grown!”
Sera kept poking and prodding Jin Seryeon with obvious delight.
Jin Seryeon felt overwhelmed by the friendliness and gave an awkward smile, glancing at Namhun for help.
But he was staring straight ahead, ignoring both women.
“Seo-jin-ah. What are you doing?”
“Ah, I was just playing with the drums.”
“The equipment is already set up by the company. Is there anything else you need to touch?”
Keyboards, mics, amps, and lights could be loaded into the car. Drums could not, so they had rented from a specialist service.
After all, the place originally didn’t even have a drum set.
“There’s nothing wrong with it. I was just tweaking it to fit the environment a little.”
“Really?”
“This isn’t exactly a stage… it’s just an empty lot. Moving the setup slightly toward the left would probably be better. I’ve done a movie project based on a band’s story…”
Namhun glanced at Ju Seo-jin.
‘Did she see it?’
He had barely glanced at TV, let alone watched a movie.
“…I learned a few things back then. Can you adjust this a bit?”
“Sure.”
“Let me do a quick test.”
“You can play the drums?”
“Of course. Not pro-level, but enough to handle sound mixing. I’ve learned the basics.”
Ju Seo-jin gripped the sticks and began striking the drums.
Even Namhun, who couldn’t play, could tell her skill wasn’t average.
“Hmm… Not bad. You’re clearly better than before.”
Ju Seo-jin grinned cheerfully at the sound.
Namhun fell into thought.
He felt bad about Won-hyung, but having Ju Seo-jin sit in for the drums seemed far more fitting.
A female drummer alone drew everyone’s gaze anyway.
Still, this was right in front of a restroom building at a rest stop.
Asking a Hollywood professional to play drums here felt like an imposition.
‘What now? Busking is supposed to attract attention—maybe I should lean into that.’
As Namhun debated, a vision suddenly flashed before his eyes.
div style="text-align:centerborder:3px solid #fbbf24padding:25pxbox-shadow:0 0 25px rgba(251,191,36,0.6),inset 0 0 25px rgba(251,191,36,0.1)background:linear-gradient(135deg,#1a0f00 0%,#000 50%,#1a0f00 100%)border-radius:8pxmargin-bottom:20px">
External Effect - Drum Replacement
Visual +10
Concept +10
Namhun blinked, thinking he had imagined it.
This vision was different from the others—fainter, murkier.
His gaze naturally lifted toward the top, as if guided by the title of the performance.
Was this a new function added to the system?
‘Drum replacement?’
And the plus signs.
‘If replacing Won-hyung with Seo-jin gives the external effect a bonus…’
Namhun recalled the time he had worn the elixir outfit and shot the Topbelly ad.
That was when the external effect bonus points had appeared.
“External Effect - Bright 17-year-old idol smile”
“Makeup 92”
“Outfit 90”
“Stage 89”
“Concept 95”
“Overall Score 91.5”
‘That was the scoreboard back then.’
Visual hadn’t been an item then either.
“External Effect Bonus - +1.5”
Either way, the overall score had gained a 1.5-point boost.
He had understood afterward that scores above 90 added to the performance score.
‘There are only four external effect items. Dividing +10 by four means each point adds about 2.5 to the total external effect score.’
The bonus was applied directly to the final score.
So a final 2.5-point addition.
From experience, difficulty rose once scores exceeded 90.
But could absolute bonus points be added?
If this were a real stage, he would have knelt and begged to swap in Ju Seo-jin.
Still, in this situation—where she was ready to play—did he really need to?
The thought made Namhun startle.
‘What was I just thinking?’
He quietly scanned his surroundings.
Weekends drew crowds to the rest stop.
Even if far fewer than the total number.
Only about ten people were near the stage.
Namhun had sung in front of audiences for over ten years but had never performed for one.
When he had first tried b-boying, the applause and cheers from the practice dance still echoed vividly.
Perhaps that was why he had accepted Won-hyung’s idol suggestion.
When asked if he wanted to try trot singing, he had grabbed the hand without hesitation.
‘Yeah. This is a stage too.’
Had good luck momentarily clouded his original resolve?
The idea of not giving his best on stage felt shameful.
‘I should at least ask. If Seo-jin refuses, I’ll have no choice.’
Even knowing a better stage was possible, not trying at all seemed wrong.
Namhun steeled himself and asked Ju Seo-jin.
“Seo-jin-ah. Sorry… could you play the drums?”
“Huh? Won-hyung Oppa doesn’t play drums?”
“Your skill seems better. Won-hyung actually can’t play that well.”
“Really? That’s a pretty expensive drum set.”
“Maybe he was trying to compensate with equipment.”
Had Won-hyung heard Kang Seongdae’s conversation, foam would have frothed from his mouth.
“Hmm…”
Ju Seo-jin watched Namhun carefully, then asked with a playful smile.
“It’s sudden, but if I do one favor, I won’t say no, okay?”
“A favor?”
“Yes. Nothing impossible.”
He had thought it impossible, but if one favor would do, it was a blessing.
“Deal.”
div style="text-align:centerpadding:30pxmargin:20px 0">
[New Trot Singer Jin Seryeon Performance]
Three people sat under a banner hanging from the building wall.
Jin Seryeon stood at the stand mic, Namhun at the keyboard, and Ju Seo-jin gripped the drumsticks instead of Won-hyung.
At first he had worried no one would come.
Surprisingly, many people gathered.
Weather was good and no equipment trouble.
The busking could proceed smoothly.
“Hello. I’m new trot singer Jin Seryeon.”
“Who is Jin Seryeon?”
Jin Seryeon trembled before anyone could finish speaking.
‘Oh no…’
Namhun closed his eyes tight and recalled young Jin Boksun.
The girl who had sung at her first audition with a voice that kept cracking, finally bursting into tears.
That exact trembling was the sign.
Jin Seryeon, already sensitive, looked devastated by the words in front of her.
Namhun himself felt it.
Seryeon’s mental state had weakened from constant failure.
‘So that’s why Kang Composer arranged a busking show…’
Kang could have booked a small event on the spot.
Why deliberately promote with a busking where effects would be minimal?
It looked like a mix of Spartan training.
Jin Seryeon had debuted as a girl group Crepas and performed many stages, but trot’s audience was far closer to the performers than idol stages.
That’s probably why the set was kept short—thirty minutes to an hour.
Seeing Kang watching from the side, Namhun confirmed his guess.
‘Kang wouldn’t miss something I know. This is definitely worth trying.’
Jin Seryeon was no longer a child.
Even if she trembled like this, she wouldn’t ruin the stage completely like before.
A big problem during Funny Music Show rehearsal, but that was because of trauma.
On the scoreboard, her busking score had a high chance of landing in the 80s.
If it were a paid event, it would be a problem.
They wouldn’t rehire if she couldn’t pay.
Veterans might blame bad condition, but newcomers got no mercy.
Overcoming that prejudice would take enormous effort.
But as a free show, it wouldn’t become a major issue.
“Seryeon’s singing is so-so.”
At best, a comment would appear on the internet.
With her real ability, the situation could still be turned around.
‘But…’
As a singer, she naturally wanted to sing a good song for the listeners.
Seeing how much effort she had put in, Namhun hoped she would finish this stage well.
But how?
Jin Seryeon was frozen, unable to speak. Should he introduce her himself?
‘No, that’s not right.’
The main star of this spot was Jin Seryeon.
Namhun already knew the answer from past experience.
He just had to help her relax.
Just a little push, and she could walk forward.
‘Hmm… lots of kids.’
Many families had come out for weekend outings.
Namhun surveyed the audience and made up his mind.
He would break character a little.
‘That should help Seryeon relax too.’
It had worked before.