Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Busan Summer Sea Festival (1)
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The next day, back at the dorm after practice.
While waiting for my turn in the shower and chilling in the living room with the members watching TV, Kim Kwang-myeong approached me.
"Ha Jae."
"What's up?"
"Oh, right. Jae hyung."
"Yeah?"
"I heard from the CEO. You wanna learn composing? Should've said something sooner."
"......What?"
Kim Kwang-myeong grinned at me. A sudden sense of dread washed over me.
No, CEO Oh. What the hell did you tell him?
"I...... never said anything like that."
"Doesn't matter. Point is, I'm gonna be teaching you from now on."
"......"
"Album tracks are pretty much done anyway. Starting tomorrow, come with me after practice."
"......Why? Where we going?"
"Studio, obviously. We do some work here, but it can't compare to the gear at the studio. If you're gonna learn, learn it right."
But one thing was crystal clear.
The fire burning in Kim Kwang-myeong's eyes as he looked at me.
'This is gonna be a grind.'
Haha. I just resigned myself to it.
Sure. Better learn while I can.
When else am I gonna get lessons from a showbiz No. 1 rapper-slash-producer (well, someday far off, but still)?
Think positive, think positive.
From that day on, I was stuck learning composing under Kim Kwang-myeong like a rat in a trap.
"First, master the tools properly. You gotta handle them like second nature before you can make music. Here."
"What's this?"
I took the stack of papers he handed me.
It listed all sorts of functions and shortcuts for the MIDI software.
"Key ones only. This is how I learned back in the day. I'll explain the stuff on there starting now. Memorize it all by tomorrow."
"All of this?"
"Obviously. What, can't do it? This is basics of the basics."
"Who said I can't?"
His snarky tone fired up my competitive streak.
In the end...... I cut back on sleep and knocked out his assignment.
"You really memorized it all?"
"Obviously. You think I'm some lightweight?"
"Good. Knew you had it in you. Next up."
"What's this?"
"A track I made. Listen and copy it perfectly by next week."
"What?"
"It's under a minute, so it's doable. You learn by trial and error. Ask if you're stuck."
"......"
Told you he wasn't teacher material.
I ended up chugging energy drinks like tiger essence to keep up with his pace.
Juggling practice and lessons was a bit much.
'Still, it's kinda fun.'
Solving his assignments one by one (though I bugged him a ton when I got stuck), I could feel my skills improving bit by bit.
Nothing's more fun than getting better at something.
Maybe I had a knack for composing after all.
Though I was still a total newbie who had no clue how to make my own songs.
Then, a schedule dropped to kick off our first break in style.
It was none other than......
"Busan Summer Sea Festival?"
"Yeah. Your first out-of-town gig."
Busan Summer Sea Festival.
Our first regional show.
* * *
Word of our first out-of-town schedule got everyone hyped, no hiding it.
"So we're going to Busan?"
"Gonna see the sea."
"Busan! I know where that is. Bottom right of Korea, right?"
"Ooh, Teddy. Not bad. Where'd you learn that?"
"Living Postbox. They said the sashimi's amazing!"
Teddy puffed up his chest, proud of his Korea knowledge.
Han Tae-hee ruffled his hair and asked,
"So, what's this festival about? I'm not too familiar with Busan stuff."
"It's literally the Busan Summer Sea Festival. Multi-day thing with local performances, surfing events, that kinda deal. Sounds pretty big."
"Wow. And they booked us for it?"
"Well......"
Manager hyung hesitated at Park Su-rim's question.
Like he was debating whether to say it or not.
But he finally spoke up.
"Some other singer was supposed to go but flaked. So you guys are filling in last minute."
Fancy talk for 'temp fill-in.'
He'd probably held back worrying it'd hurt our pride.
But the members took it in stride.
"Oh, fill-in?"
"Lucky us."
"Yeah. Not just anyone can fill in."
"Fill-in! Learned a new word. We're fill-ins!"
"Teddy, don't go saying that around."
They'd done enough music shows to be pros at all kinds of gigs.
A fill-in slot wasn't gonna scratch their confidence.
And hey, fill-in or not, didn't matter. Stage time was stage time.
Relieved by their reaction, manager hyung let out a sigh and continued.
"Anyway, it's a big stage right by the beach. Tons of people come watch. Should be great experience for you guys."
"When is it?"
"This Saturday. Leaving early Friday morning."
"Early start."
Lee Jae-oh noted, and manager hyung nodded.
"CEO gave us extra time to eat good, sightsee, all that."
"Awesome. Thanks, CEO!"
Everyone cheered, faces lighting up.
I couldn't help but smile to myself.
Come to think of it, hadn't been to Busan in forever.
Last time was as a kid with Mom and sis on the KTX.
Felt like decades......
Then Park Su-rim elbowed Lee Jae-oh and asked,
"But Jae-oh, isn't Busan your hometown?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Ooh! So we're going to Jae-oh hyung's house?"
"Teddy, it's hometown, not house, in this case."
"Aha."
Teddy mumbled "hometown, hometown" to himself.
His trick to remember new words.
"So Jae-oh's our guide?"
"If you want. But it's been ages for me too, so things might've changed."
"How long, hyung?"
"First time since trainee days...... 2 years? 3? Round it to 3."
Hometown after 3 years.
Maybe Jae-oh was the most excited of us all.
Though his stoic type, so it didn't show.
'He's talking a bit more than usual?'
Nah, maybe not.
A few days later, we toughed out practice counting down to Friday.
And Friday arrived.
"Everyone got their bags? Load 'em in the trunk quick."
"Not much to pack. It's just one night, two days."
"True."
We got up early, tossed bags in the trunk, hopped in the van.
I snagged the back window seat fast.
Best spot for long drives—scenery included.
As Park Su-rim climbed in last, he asked Go Eun-young,
"Camera set?"
"Yup. One up front, one middle, one back. Right?"
"Yeah. Good job."
The cameras were for our vlog.
Filming what we do on the drive to Busan.
Adjusting the one in front of me, manager hyung settled into the driver's seat.
"Everyone got motion sickness pills?"
"Yup."
"Yeah!"
"Nothing forgotten?"
"Nope."
"Okay. Let's roll."
Vroom. Engine on, van pulled out.
Teddy, in the seat ahead, yelled excitedly.
"Let's go, Busan!"
"That pumped, Teddy? You're buzzing."
"Yeah! First time going anywhere else since coming to Korea."
"True. You've been stuck at the company."
"Right. Saw a bit of Seoul, but nowhere else."
Teddy mumbled glumly.
Park Su-rim flashed a bright smile to cheer him up.
"It's cool, Teddy. We'll be traveling loads from now on!"
"Really, Su-rim hyung?"
"Obviously. Someday we'll hit other countries too."
"Other countries sound fun. Where do you wanna go, Su-rim hyung?"
Park Su-rim pondered, then said,
"Me? Hong Kong! Wanna hit those movie sets. Strolling in a khaki trench coat—total dream."
"Ooh, Hong Kong. Nice. I wanna do New York. Manhattan! Empire State! Statue of Liberty! Wall Street!"
Spot-on picks for those two.
"New York's cool. Those flashing billboards. Night view's gotta be epic, right?"
"Totally! Su-rim hyung knows his stuff."
"Since we're on it, where y'all wanna go abroad?"
Park Su-rim asked, and Go Eun-young, who'd been listening, jumped in first.
"Brazil for me. Never been. Rio's supposed to be insane. Christ the Redeemer with arms out......"
"Italy. ......No real reason, just wanna do the leaning tower hand-hold pic. Pizza's killer too."
"France for me. Michelin three-star course in Paris, then Eiffel Tower night view with a glass of wine. Ugh...... drooling already."
"France for me too."
"Why, Jae-oh?"
Han Tae-hee asked, but Lee Jae-oh mumbled "Just 'cause" and dodged. Why? Seemed harmless.
While I wondered, Park Su-rim nodded at me.
"What about you, Jae?"
"Me......"
Hmm. Overseas travel...... No place jumping out.
Couldn't fake it, so I said straight.
"No particular country. Just...... hope the hotel's nice wherever. Bad sleep on the road wrecks you."
"Jae's a hotelcation type."
"Guess so."
Hotel vacations rule.
Two years before becoming Ha Jae, I won an event once—spent a night in a nice hotel.
'Heaven.'
Food, room service, comfort—all top-notch.
Had the cash, I'd live there.
With activities coming, suddenly wished for good hotels.
Chatting away about this and that.
Overseas trips, dream foods, movies—topics flowed nonstop.
As movie talk wound down, manager hyung asked us.
"Kids. Since movies came up, wanna watch one? Got a DVD."
"Ooh, sure. What's it?"
"Evil Teacher. Zombie flick...... not super famous."
"Awesome!"
"Zombie movies rock. Play it."
Everyone on board, so he popped the DVD into the van's player and hit play.
The movie started on the decent-sized screen.