Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Invincible's Reunion
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Yoo Jaehyuk was known for never having been in a band except for a brief three-month stint as a guest vocalist for Korea's legendary rock group Han River.
But back when he was active as an indie band in Daehak-ro and Hongdae, he did have a band.
It was called Invincible.
A band with a naming so simplistic it bordered on childish, but at the time, they already reigned as the top band in places like Daehak-ro and Hongdae.
They put on such incredible shows that even established singers and nobodies alike acknowledged them as the best. Among them, Yoo Jaehyuk—who freely wielded notes above a third-octave sol—earned rumors of a monster lurking in the college scene, even among active singers and indie band vocalists.
But nowadays, no one knew about Invincible.
Those who did remembered it hazily as ancient history, recalling only Yoo Jaehyuk himself.
And even those who remembered them clearly avoided bringing up Invincible.
It was because of Park Kangjun, the guitarist who had led Invincible alongside Yoo Jaehyuk.
As the leader, he had died in an accident while working part-time jobs to support the band members starving on their meager earnings and to make ends meet himself.
With the team's pillar gone, the group fell apart in an instant.
Invincible disbanded just like that, and only Yoo Jaehyuk carried on Park Kangjun's legacy, becoming a singer and eventually the emperor of rock ballads.
Having achieved massive success, Yoo Jaehyuk wanted to gather the scattered members and reform Invincible.
But when his voice gave out and he vanished from the scene, that dream crumbled once more.
And now.
"Put down the frying pan and pick up the sticks again."
"......"
He was trying to chase that dream once more.
"Hey, I haven't touched drums in a million years, you bastard."
"Don't lie. I already asked your wife. She told me you keep that drum set in the basement storage and practice every day."
"Damn it, why'd that wife of mine spill that?"
Park Suhyuk, Invincible's former drummer, scratched his head.
"Hey, I'm not the same as before anymore."
"My voice is wrecked, but I'm still going for it."
"Ugh......"
Park Suhyuk had nothing to say.
Unlike the other members, he was an old friend who'd known Park Kangjun and Yoo Jaehyuk since middle school.
He was the only one who'd stayed in touch with Yoo Jaehyuk even during his disappearance, so he knew just how miraculous his comeback was.
After a moment's thought, he spoke up.
"Fine, screw it...... We're not saying we're gonna dominate the stage like old times. Just making one album? Let's do it. Hell, what else is there in life?"
Yoo Jaehyuk silently patted Park Suhyuk's shoulder.
"Hey, but that Yuin kid is seriously no joke. She's making Invincible's new song too, right? Boy or girl?"
"Ah, well......"
Yoo Jaehyuk struggled with how to introduce Yuin.
* * *
"So a band is when people play guitar and drums and stuff all together at the same time, right?"
"That's right."
Having gathered as many members as possible, Yoo Jaehyuk formally told Yeonwoo they were forming a band, and Yeonwoo showed interest.
To Yeonwoo, bands were just something he'd seen in YouTube videos.
"That sounds fun!"
Yeonwoo's eyes sparkled.
Seeing him like that, Yoo Jaehyuk asked with a hint of worry.
"But you...... you okay with a rock band?"
At that, Yeonwoo tilted his head.
"I might not know rock bands, but I know the instruments they use. Guitar, drums, that stuff. Keyboards too, right?"
"Sure, but...... knowing instruments well and knowing bands well are two different things."
In a band, individual skill mattered, but the most important thing was harmony.
From vocals to the sections, everyone had to become one to carry the song and the stage.
And atop that lay something ineffable.
That feeling of being connected to each other—and when it expanded, linking the band on stage with the audience into one mystical whole.
You had to grasp that to understand bands, but what did this kid know?
"Still, we need to practice the song, so bring everyone over."
"Hm. Problem is, we haven't found a guitarist yet."
"Aren't guitarists the most important?"
In Invincible, the guitarist had been Park Kangjun. Finding someone to replace him wasn't as easy as thought.
Of course, he knew Korea's top guitarists, but since he'd cut ties with them during his hiatus, reaching out again felt awkward.
Seeing Yoo Jaehyuk hesitate, Yeonwoo said.
"Then I'll find the guitarist!"
"You?"
"Yeah, I know someone who plays guitar really well."
Yeonwoo had connections like that?
What kind of network could a kid whose identity hadn't even leaked have?
"You really know someone?"
"I'll bring them tomorrow! No, I need a little time, so have Uncle's friends come the day after!"
"Hmm."
Yoo Jaehyuk was skeptical but agreed anyway—after all, he'd already received the song from Yeonwoo and entrusted him with producing—and headed out.
* * *
And two days later.
"This is the office of that hotshot SSHIN everyone's talking about these days?"
"All those articles made me think they had a fancy building in Gangnam, not some strip mall in a regular apartment complex outside Seoul."
Hearing Park Suhyuk, bassist Kim Taehyun, and keyboardist An Sanggil peering behind him, Yoo Jaehyuk said gravely.
"I'm saying this again: don't freak out."
"What do you mean don't freak out, you punk? Spit it out properly. What's Yuin? A girl? If she's a girl, so what—as long as she gives us good songs!"
"Right. Or what, some old grandpa? Or an active singer?"
"Let's just go in."
Yoo Jaehyuk led the way into the SSHIN studio.
And he froze.
The members following peeked around him into the studio.
There sat an old man.
A hulking old man with a long scar across his forehead.
"What the—doesn't he look like a gangster?"
"No joke. Feels like we'd lose in a fight."
"Even 4-on-1, I bet we'd get wrecked."
As they whispered about the intimidating old man on the sofa, Yoo Jaehyuk panicked, wondering if he'd come to the wrong place.
Then the door opened, and someone entered.
"Jaehyuk sunbae, you're here?"
"......Yeah. Oh, these guys here are SSHIN's CEO, Shin Jiyeong. And behind her are our band's sections."
After Shin Jiyeong and Yoo Jaehyuk's band sections exchanged greetings and names, Yoo Jaehyuk cautiously asked her.
"Who's the old guy?"
"Oh, didn't Yeonwoo tell you? You don't have a guitarist."
"He did...... no way?"
"Yep. The guitarist Yeonwoo brought."
Yoo Jaehyuk eyed the old man with a complicated expression.
A guitarist grandpa.
Sure, there were guitarists that age, and some still active.
But band stages were tough even for them in their late 40s to early 50s—could that old man pull off the role?
Though looking at those muscles and sturdy build, maybe he should worry about his bandmates instead.
"If he's the guitarist, then who's the Yuin composer? You, Shin Jiyeong—no, President? Your side alt?"
At Park Suhyuk's question, Jiyeong shook her head.
"You haven't revealed the identity yet?"
"We gotta do contracts first."
"Oh, right. One sec."
Shin Jiyeong hurriedly passed out the prepared NDAs to the members.
They wondered why even this, but did as told.
And shortly after.
"We're back."
In walked a grandmother who exuded elegance and insane charisma, alongside a little kid.
The kid's clothes and hairstyle screamed boy, but he was so pretty it was hard to tell at a glance.
"Him?"
"No, next to her."
The members gave Yoo Jaehyuk incredulous looks.
"That's Yuin? You're kidding."
"Whoa, this hikikomori's been holed up, but his sense of humor leveled up? Pick up a comedy book or something?"
"Hands down the funniest thing I've ever heard Yoo Jaehyuk say."
"It's true."
Seeing Yoo Jaehyuk unflinching, the members turned to Yeonwoo.
Noticing the stares, Yeonwoo bowed from the waist.
"Hello. I'm Shin Yeonwoo."
"Uh, yeah, hi."
"Haha, how old are you, our Yeonwoo?"
"Seven. Oh, I'm starting elementary school soon."
"Younger than my kid."
The members couldn't believe it.
They weren't as cut off from the world as Yoo Jaehyuk— they knew the music scene these days.
In an industry where composers rarely stepped into the spotlight, word of mouth had spread about this genius composer Yuin, even reaching the general public.
And that genius was younger than the kids of the married members?
But they couldn't deny it.
Everyone else in the studio—minus the members—looked at it as the most natural thing.
"Can that guy actually play guitar?"
Amid that, Yoo Jaehyuk doubted the old man's skills.
"Don't worry about it."
As Yeonwoo spoke confidently, Heo Ok—who'd gone to the kids' cafe with him—addressed the old man in Japanese.
"Japanese?"
"Yeah."
At the mention of Japanese, the members' eyes turned to the old man, Shunji Tatemura.
"Huh? I think I've seen that guy somewhere."
As bassist Kim Taehyun stared at Shunji Tatemura, the man stood.
He pulled his guitar from its case nearby.
It looked expensive at a glance, but had large, mysterious scratches here and there—a unique instrument.
As he picked it up and said something, Heo Ok translated.
"He says he'll show you his playing."
Shunji entered the booth and plugged in the guitar.
Watching from across, Shunji soon began to play.
A powerful sound filled the studio.
Followed by speed picking unbelievable for an old man's hands.
It was the song Yeonwoo planned to give Jaehyuk.
Yoo Jaehyuk's eyes widened as Shunji played it with speedy ad-libs.
He could tell just from listening.
That yakuza-looking geezer had insane mastery.
Was there even anyone in Korea who could play like that?
"Ahh...... Sh-Shunji, right? Aka Shunji of Kurenai......!"
"Ahh, Kurenai?"
"No way, why would someone like that......?"
In Korea, only X Japan was popularly known, but Japan had embraced rock since the '50s and gained some world renown by the '80s.
Kurenai was a legendary band that made history as a metal frontrunner in Japan's '80s rock golden age, despite only two short years of activity.
Heo Ok said Shunji had betrayed jazz, but in truth, he'd started with rock (or more precisely, the bat who ditched rock for jazz then returned).
Shunji Tatemura burst into laughter seeing Yoo Jaehyuk and the members recognize him.
Confirming Shunji, Yeonwoo asked Yoo Jaehyuk.
"This good enough for a guitarist?"
"No, it's......"
Yoo Jaehyuk couldn't bring himself to say it was more than enough and fell silent.