Chapter 48
Chapter 48
The ranking announcement ceremony filming was at 6 PM, but we had to arrive at the studio much earlier.
It was now 12 o'clock. Too tight to stop by anywhere else.
'Still, I had to go.'
A stone that rolled in on its own. Whatever the reason they wanted to see me, it was only right to do as they asked.
Han Neuti had agreed to meet at the shop a bit later, and I headed to the company, dragging the carrier I'd packed the night before.
Of course, I dragged Kim Sanho along too. It was a critical moment—we might be adding one more to the household starting tomorrow.
"Guys!"
The manager, who had been waiting for us at the entrance, ran over excitedly.
"I'm with Do-won right now. Come in, come in."
Do-won was the President's name.
We'd headed toward the practice room out of habit, but the manager stopped us and redirected our course to the second floor.
"They're in the office?"
"Yeah, looking over the contract."
'A contract already?'
Anxiety crept up to my throat in an instant.
The President I'd seen so far was hapless, clueless, and his luck—well, his luck might actually exist.
"Oh, you're here."
The moment I stepped into the office, the first thing that caught my eye was a jet-black guitar case leaning against the wall.
Right after that, I spotted the back of a white-haired head sitting in front of the President.
'White hair?'
"Uh, yes, hello."
As I awkwardly greeted him, the back of the head slowly turned around.
"......."
"......."
'Whoa.'
It was the kind of face that got comments from foreigners telling them to stop with the whitewashing on no-edit fancam videos.
Meaning, ridiculously pale.
'He looked young. Middle schooler? High schooler?'
His sharply upturned eyes blinked. The large eyes gave a cute impression, yet somehow he seemed cold... ah, was it the hair color?
I stared at the guy's long straight hair that reached the nape of his neck, briefly wondering if school hair regulations had gotten this relaxed these days.
Scrape.
The guy pushed his chair back and stood up. Only then did I notice his short-sleeved printed t-shirt, which seemed a bit premature for early May.
'Something about his style is....'
I was about to check the guitar case one more time when the guy, who had somehow already walked up right in front of me, stared at me intently.
"Ah, hel—."
"The song."
"Huh?"
Was he going to say he enjoyed the song?
As I thought that, his mouth opened again.
"S......."
And again, he cut off mid-sentence.
I slowly waited for the rest of his words, but the guy just pressed his lips firmly shut again.
I had no choice but to guess the meaning on my own and ask.
"Ah, so... you want me to sing it?"
"No."
The denial came fast, at least.
While I hid my awkwardness, the guy's large eyes blinked a few more times.
The answer came a moment later.
"Please watch me sing."
* * *
We left the President and the manager—who said they had things to discuss—in the office, and the three of us went down to the practice room.
Kim Sanho, me, and that guy.
The guy, who had spoken so confidently, now asked quietly as if nervous.
"......Without accompaniment?"
"You can play the guitar you brought, or use the keyboard over there. Whatever you want."
At my words, he let out an "ah" and looked around for his guitar case. Apparently, he'd brought it just in case—Kim Sanho, who'd been holding the case in his arms, handed it over to him.
Soon the case opened. Given its size, I didn't think it would be an electric, and sure enough... no, it wasn't. Unexpectedly, a classical guitar appeared.
'But his style is metal?'
The guy plopped down and began tuning the guitar.
Without a tuner, turning the pegs by feel alone, he plucked the strings. Then, as if checking one last time, he played a very short part.
A rough, chilly melody came through—something that didn't match the soft, delicate tone people usually associate with classical guitar.
I knew the song well.
"Gyeokhwa?"
The guy's fingers stopped abruptly, and his head shot up.
"You know them?!"
"Yeah, of course I know them......?"
He was surprised. His voice had gotten so much brighter.
Was it really something to be that happy about? Someone aiming to be a singer not knowing Gyeokhwa would be more surprising, honestly.
'Wait. Now that I think about it.'
The band everyone thinks of at least once when you mention indie bands—Gyeokhwa.
Famous for their distinct sound and timeless, non-mainstream sensibilities, they were the ultimate 'band you want to keep to yourself' but in reality, a band that no one didn't know.
This song was from an album they released before their major debut.
The title was <NONAME09>... and as you could guess from the title, it didn't even have an official digital release—a song only those in the know would know, absolutely impossible for anyone but a serious fan to recognize.
And how did I know it?
"You like them too, hyung?"
"Huh? Ah, yeah. I do."
I knew it because Yoon Haejun liked the band.
He was an artist I truly respected, but separate from that, their music was a band far removed from my personal taste. I'd at least lightly listened to their recent albums, but everything released before that was all... a bit much.
What 'a bit much' meant—well, you'd understand once you heard it.
The guy stared at me intently again and gulped, then took a deep breath as if steeling himself.
And then the song began.
On the swing in younger days
Amidst the laughter
I saw a shattered dream
A caterpillar split in two
Flesh and hide weakly torn
A heart crushed to pieces
Ah.
On the swing in younger days
Having lost even the wind to push me
A branch lodged in my chest
Clutching the shattered dream
Still here
Still here even now
'Depressing.......'
The lyrics alone ran the extremes of melancholy, and with the addition of the classical guitar's unusual atmosphere—rarely used for accompaniment—the gloom got an entire upgrade.
It was the type of song I didn't really listen to. If I had to choose, I preferred noisy songs over quiet ones.
Anyway, the guy finished the song and muttered with his eyes cast downward.
"How was......."
Then he suddenly lifted his head and raised his voice.
"How was it?!"
Ah, so this, maybe.
He wanted feedback from me?
"Hmm."
I had plenty to say. To appear more sincere, I made a thoughtful sound for a moment.
"Um, before I say anything, just a second. What's your name?"
"Jeong Sowol."
"Okay, So-wol-ssi......."
"Speak casually. I'm seventeen, you know?"
So he was seventeen.
His speech was running through a stormy adolescence, but the eyes looking up at me were trembling slightly.
I nodded, accepting the casual speech arrangement. Then I spoke.
"Right. Looks like you're a big fan of Hwang Jin-seo-ssi."
"......."
Hwang Jin-seo.
The frontman and vocalist of the band 'Gyeokhwa', known for a technique where his voice sounded muffled as if being swallowed inward.
And.......
"You're imitating him too much. Technical shortcomings aside, it seems like you don't understand how to use your own voice at all right now."
He was also famous as a vocalist you should never, under any circumstances, try to imitate unless you had reached that level of mastery.
Even the original was divisive in terms of taste, so amateurs who recklessly copied him were easily slammed with labels like 'Hwang Jin-seo knockoff' or 'derivative'.
No, if someone got called derivative, that meant they had talent. Usually, they got hit with just this one line: 'Unpleasant to listen to'.
But.
"Still, it's not unpleasant to listen to. You've never learned to sing before, right?"
"No."
That seemed about right.
Judging purely by current skill, he was obviously below Choi Jun-bin, and he even slightly fell short of Ahn Jiwon's vocals, who was a dance position.
But considering he'd never been taught, his talent might surpass theirs. Even more than twelve-year-old me.
'If someone like this came to us, of course I'd welcome him with open arms.'
Except for one thing that bothered me.
"So, you do actually want to become an idol, right?"
A hint of something—like he was looking at a boomer—started to flicker in Jeong Sowol's slightly sullen eyes.
I quickly added.
"If you want to become like Hwang Jin-seo-ssi, this place won't suit you."
There was a running joke among band fans that a band only reached completion once the announcement dropped saying, 'After much discussion, we have decided to walk our separate paths.'
Bands were places that valued each individual's musical ego that much, but for idols, even the slightest emergence of ego was ten times out of ten met with orders to stop trying to do what they wanted.
'Commonly known as artist disease.'
So let's make this clear now.
It'd be a problem if he suddenly ran off in the middle of active promotions saying he wanted to do the music he wanted.
"Huh?"
Jeong Sowol's eyes went round at my question.
"I came here because I want to be like you, hyung?"
"Whoa."
Kim Sanho marveled.
I shot Kim Sanho a pointless glare, cleared my throat, and asked again.
"So that means you came after watching the broadcast, right?"
"Yeah."
"Did you originally have plans to become an idol?"
"Originally?"
Jeong Sowol furrowed his brow. He was trying to figure out the meaning.
"Ah, originally. Originally, I came up after getting a business card."
"A business card? ......From our company?"
Jeong Sowol shook his head from side to side, then rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a rectangular something.
"This."
It was a business card.
With a familiar name written on it.
"......."
I rolled my eyes from the card to look at Jeong Sowol.
"You got this card, so how did you end up coming here? Did you get lost?"
"......? No? I came because of you, hyung?"
"No, I'm having trouble understanding... Where did you get the card?"
"Goheung."
"Goheung....... Jeollanam-do?"
"Yeah."
Ah.
I finally succeeded in piecing together the puzzle of this seventeen-year-old's chaotic way of talking.
"You got a business card from Mary in Goheung, came up to Seoul, happened to see the broadcast on your way to the audition, and that's why you came here?"
Jeong Sowol nodded.
I pressed the card from the Mary Shingae Team staff member back into his hand and spoke.
"So-wol-ya."
"Yeah."
"Don't decide on your own. Discuss it thoroughly with your parents again."
80% of an idol's success or failure was determined by the agency.
And he was ditching Mary for Sorasum?
That was the kind of choice you could only make during a period of pure, overflowing audacity.......
"If you're seventeen, you're at an age where you can train more and still debut in the group after next without issue. For aspiring idols, just having been under Mary is a credential in itself. Even if you can't join the debut team, they'll connect you with other agencies."
I added that in case he was prematurely scared off by Mary's notoriously fierce competition system, but I guaranteed it.
Mary wouldn't let this kid slip away. As long as he didn't suddenly smash his guitar down on stage in some performance.
"Of course we'd welcome you if you came, but think it over carefully until the end......."
"Chaegyeom-ah!"
Just then, the manager opened the door and came in.
"Start getting ready. Time to head out."
"Ah, okay."
I looked at Jeong Sowol one last time and asked.
"Got it?"
Instead of nodding, Jeong Sowol answered with a question.
"When are you coming? Back?"
"......Probably a week from now?"
Only then did Jeong Sowol nod.
I took the manager's car keys and headed outside, while Jeong Sowol followed the manager up to the second floor.
Kim Sanho got in the car after me and said.
"That's unexpected. I thought you'd snap him up right away."
"......."
To be honest.......
The regret had started flooding in the moment I got into the car.
'The more vocal positions on the team, the better.'
The only reason we couldn't have that was because the company couldn't find talent. I had just turned away that precious talent.
Right as the thought of what a waste it was hit me, the manager got into the car.
"Nothing's been finalized yet, but he'll be staying with us for the time being. The kid said he didn't have anywhere to stay right now. Came all the way up to Seoul......."
'A guesthouse, huh.'
Anyway, I was going to be locked up for over a week, so it had nothing to do with me.
I was about to tell Kim Sanho to get along well with him, but before I could, Kim Sanho sighed first.
"Why? Don't like it?"
"No......."
Uncharacteristically, Kim Sanho's face was full of worry.
"I don't know how to treat a younger sibling."
"Just treat him like I treat you."
"I think he'll run away......."