Episode 14
After the performance, in Seoun Hall.
The performers entered the empty audience seats.
"Phew…."
Students sat down nervously.
"Is the voting done?"
"…Then they'll announce it now."
The students looked at the stage where they had performed until moments ago.
Once a teacher stepped up onto it, the rankings would be announced.
'We have to place in the top 3.'
As I waited with slight tension, seated,
"Oh, Park Jahun. Why so nervous?"
Kim Drum sat beside me, looking at my expression.
"He got called away by the teachers, guess he was summoned."
"…Is that so?"
Kim Drum whispered Lee Hyeonsang's situation to me.
He seemed to think my bad expression was because of him.
'It's not because of that guy, but because of another guy.'
I didn't want to be too obsessed with rankings, but a Crack was on the line.
If I slipped up here, I'd end up meeting Finally Enter.
Of course, even if I met them again, I had no intention of taking it lying down like before, but…
'There's no need to waste time getting entangled with someone like that.'
While thinking that, a teacher finally came up on stage.
In hand was a cue sheet with the rankings written on it.
"Everyone! You really worked hard!"
The teacher tried to proceed energetically, but the students' expressions were dark.
"Today, I will only announce the names of the top three teams who will take the stage at the concert!"
For better or worse, their efforts would only mean something if they made it onto the concert stage.
"Now then, the long-awaited 3rd place! Team Swedish Refrigerator!"
Applause flowed out when the team name was called.
"Amazing…."
"Great job, guys."
Students whose advancement was confirmed shared their joy with teammates, looking deeply moved.
'…Well, that's nice to see.'
Before the regression, it was a trio team that had unfortunately been eliminated due to Lee Hyeonsang's sabotage.
This time, since there was no interference from him, they were able to secure a ranking.
"2nd place is…"
Without giving a long pause, the teacher continued the ranking announcement immediately.
"Team Park Yunseok!"
A team whose name itself showed trust in Park Yunseok.
Congratulations poured in from everywhere.
Recognition that went beyond envy or jealousy.
That was Park Yunseok's solid position at Seoun Arts High.
"But… then who's first?"
Someone raised the question.
If Park Yunseok was second, who on earth was the winner?
At those words, everyone looked toward the same place.
"Finally… the 1st place team is…!"
Finally, the name of the winner came from the teacher's mouth…
"Team Seonji & Jahun! Congratulations!"
Naturally, it was us.
"Wow, we really won."
"Two consecutive first places after transferring in…."
The murmuring voices of students could be heard.
Their gazes had been fixed on me since earlier.
And the same went for Park Yunseok, who had been receiving congratulations just moments ago.
"Hmm."
He stared at me like that for a while.
With a face similar to the expression he'd shown after the Open Stage last time.
'Does he have something to say?'
The chances were high that he didn't.
At this point in time, we hadn't even exchanged greetings.
I figured it was probably just curiosity.
"Good work, Jahun."
While that was happening, Seonji spoke to me from the side.
"Seonji, you too. You must have been nervous today, but you did great."
She wasn't used to performing yet, and hadn't it been a pressure-filled situation on top of that?
'I was the same, but compared to me, Seonji is still young.'
When she placed her hands on the piano on stage, her focused expression came to mind.
Perhaps the day might really come when I'd hear her sing while playing at her own concert.
"This is crazy, crazy. Park Jahun!"
In the meantime, Kim Drum excitedly shouted while smacking my arm.
"…It hurts."
"It can hurt a little today! We won! Agreed!?"
Seeing his expression asking me to play along, I had no choice but to pull out the era's trendy phrase.
"…Yeah, bogam."
How long has it been since I used that?
Kim Drum giggled and continued.
"Ah, I was really worried. I was afraid you'd be harmed for no reason because of that bastard."
"I told you. The teachers have ears too."
Seeing that Lee Hyeonsang had been called away mid-performance, I was certain.
'What excuse could he have made with such narrow insight?'
He had already fanned the flames of suspicion with his own mouth. He probably didn't have the ability to escape it either.
"Anyway, congratulations for real."
"Thanks."
'The fact that Kim Drum's team wasn't called means they're outside the rankings.'
Even though he himself had been eliminated, it wasn't easy to congratulate someone else first.
"Sigh, I guess I gotta go hard on my practical exam piece."
Kim Drum spoke as if nonchalant.
But he couldn't completely hide the bitterness showing through his smile.
"Good luck."
That was all I could say to him.
"Just in case, don't schedule too many ensemble practices."
"…Huh? Why?"
Instead of answering, I smirked and hit his shoulder.
—Thwack! Thwack!
'As expected of a drum major, your forearms are solid.'
I was satisfied. He was exactly the right guy to work as my session musician.
Seeing that, several students gathered around us.
"Congrats on winning! The song was great!"
"Park Jahun! Oh, Seonji! You guys were great!"
"Especially you, Park Jahun… how did you improve so fast?"
"…Haha."
Students congratulated us and even asked for know-how.
Among them were students saying they became fans, asking to add me on Favebook.
'I think this is the first time I've received this kind of treatment during my school days.'
It was an atmosphere I'd only felt when Red Martini succeeded.
Acknowledgment.
Breaking the prejudice of being a transfer student, I was receiving it from the students.
The corners of my mouth slowly rose.
Part of it was hearing the continuous praise, but more than anything, it was because there was great news.
[Cubase — Crack No. 2 removed.]
Contents — The 2nd Crack in the life of 'Park Jahun' existing from playback time 18:30:56 to 18:80:20 has been removed.
A Crack removal notification window appeared before my eyes.
[Due to successful Crack removal, the 'New Remix' file is being encoded.]
That I wouldn't have to meet Baek Cheolho, that son of a bitch.
I felt as refreshed as if I could fly.
'…This is the second one.'
The sound quality of my life's remix was becoming one layer clearer.
* * *
—Vroom.
The phone kept ringing.
'Ha, I should just turn it off.'
Lee Hyeonsang, who had entered his room, turned off his phone irritably.
[12 missed calls.]
The screen notified him of the accumulated calls before shutting down, but he didn't care.
It was obvious his teammates had called to confront him anyway.
'At times like this, holding out is the best move.'
He knew it wasn't exactly a desirable solution, but there was nothing else he could do.
—…If you continue to be stubborn, there's nothing we can do. There is also the option of a forced transfer.
Right after the performance. The words he'd heard in Sim Yujin's office, where he'd been called, came to mind.
'To think I'd end up transferring because of some weird guy.'
He was already in a situation where he'd been marked by the teachers as much as possible.
Even if students came to dislike him more, what would change?
—I just… I was only trying to endure it a little.
Turning off the room lights and lying on bed, his own answer to Sim Yujin came to mind.
The situation was this.
At first, thinking it was because of the plagiarism suspicion, he went, but Park Jahun wasn't there—only he had been summoned.
At first he stuck to excuses, but when talk of transferring came up, he changed his approach.
He decided to appeal to emotions.
However, Sim Yujin answered without the slightest change in expression.
—I understand. You may leave now.
'As if she'd known everything from the start….'
Frustration welled up in Lee Hyeonsang's chest.
From Park Jahun to the teachers.
How could they understand that after hearing it just once?
—Sorry, but this is derived from a classic chord progression.
Park Jahun's last words came to mind.
In a tone as if he'd touched something he couldn't handle.
'Ha, seriously. What a bluff.'
He tried to dismiss it as showing off, but frustration flooded in from within.
'So it's a classic chord progression, jazz sampling… what the hell are those?'
Because he truly couldn't understand them.
It was a moment where he viscerally realized his own lacking abilities.
* * *
The hallway of the Seoun Arts High practice building.
"Wow… but isn't this like a real drama?"
"Right? Honestly, I didn't know we'd win."
Students passing in groups exclaimed.
"…Isn't Park Jahun a genius?"
The subject of the story was none other than Park Jahun, the winner of the preliminaries.
"Hmm…."
The students fell into thought.
It was to recall the first time they'd seen Park Jahun at school.
"But the rap he showed at first was too sloppy, you know? Agreed?"
"…Agreed."
It wasn't just because he was a transfer student that the students had looked down on him.
However, this was a school where students who'd devoted their high school lives to music gathered.
An atmosphere of judging people by skill was inevitable here.
"To the point of not messing up the beat much. He was at the level of kids who say they rap a bit at karaoke, right?"
That was exactly Park Jahun's first impression.
Meaning he wasn't someone students preparing for entrance exams would approach.
"I think he trained intensely over break. During lessons, he did well, like he'd caught up on the backlog in advance."
A student who took the same group lessons said with a serious expression.
Occasionally, there were students who'd been ignored and then came back improved after break.
"But can that happen in just two months…?"
"Then, that's it. A guy with both effort and talent."
"Wow, that means he would've been even better if he'd started earlier, right?"
The students clapped as if they'd found the correct answer.
"Hearing that reminds me of Park Yunseok?"
Summing up Park Yunseok's image, it could be expressed in two words.
Genius. And practice freak.
So the students had thought there was no rapper at Seoun Arts High who could surpass him, but….
"…If Park Jahun had been here since first year, who do you think would've been better?"
"Doesn't the fact that he's the preliminary winner mean Park Jahun is on another level?"
"Wow, thinking about it that way, Park Jahun is insane."
Then one student made a shushing gesture with his hand, signaling them.
"Hey, this is the practice room Park Yunseok mainly uses."
"Huh?"
Having been walking while talking, the students' faces turned red at the realization.
They thought that if he'd heard them, it might sound like they were making fun of him for getting second place.
"That's why I told you not to compare people."
"Wow, you were the most excited one doing it."
"Huh? You were going all out assigning ability scores, ready to make a serious Park vs. Park showdown."
"…How'd you know?"
"Was it for real?"
The student smiled awkwardly and continued.
"Well, either way, both are great. It's like School Rapper; wouldn't it be fun if they appeared together?"
"Is that getting a season 2?"
"Season 1 did well. Of course it'll come out."
The students moved on to another topic and exited the building.
Meanwhile, inside the practice room they were conscious of.
One student was lost in thought.
It was Park Yunseok, glaring at sheet music with a serious expression.
'…It keeps coming to mind.'
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have stopped practicing, but he paused to recall something.
It was the melody and chords Park Jahun had shown in today's preliminary round.
'He used a classic chord progression, different from last time.'
When Park Jahun and Lee Hyeonsang were arguing, Park Yunseok hadn't been in the waiting room.
Simply by listening to the music, he had been analyzing Park Jahun's song.
'How can such music….'
Curiosity wouldn't leave his head.
—Slide.
In the end, he opened the practice room door.
'I should go find him.'
Park Yunseok, who had believed there was no student at Seoun Arts High worth learning from.
Breaking that long-held thought, he decided to seek someone out directly for the first time.
In his head, the sound of First Manity that Park Jahun had sung today was playing clearly.
The Regressor on the Beat