Episode 17
[Third-year student Bak Jahun. Please come to the teachers’ office.]
“Jahun, they’re calling for you?”
Right after class ended, during break time, Seonji looked at me in surprise.
“Ah, so it’s already come to that.”
Because I’d been so into composing lately, I’d lost track of time; that was all.
“…What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
I smiled at the worried Seonji and walked to the teachers’ office.
Gim Drum, as if he’d noticed, was watching me quietly with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
‘…To think that expression is on that frame of his.’
Suppressing something trying to well up from deep inside, I arrived at the teachers’ office.
“Student Bak Jahun.”
“You called for me, Teacher.”
As I entered, a familiar face welcomed me.
None other than Teacher Sim Yujin.
“Congratulations on passing the concert audition.”
“Thank you.”
“You said you’d do twice as much as everyone else… but it seems you’re doing even more than that, so it’s good to see.”
She probably hadn’t called me just to praise me; this was a cushion statement before moving on to the main point.
“It’s all thanks to the teachers teaching me well.”
When I returned the pleasantry appropriately, Sim Yujin smiled a rare smile.
“You’re a student who makes teaching worthwhile. Student Bak Jahun.”
She answered with a chuckle.
“Anyway, the reason I called you today is none other than because of that concert.”
“The concert?”
‘I’ve been waiting.’
“Currently, Student Bak Jahun, your session is piano… and you’re also planning to go on stage at the concert with rap, correct?”
“…Yes.”
‘Are you going to leave it as is?’
Swallowing my inner thoughts, I continued with an appropriate answer.
“So, if it’s alright with you, Student Bak Jahun, how about adding another session when you take the stage at the concert? Only, of course, if Student Bak Jahun wants it.”
Sim Yujin looked at me as if to say the choice was mine.
Actually, this happened from time to time. It wasn’t unheard of for teams to change while preparing for a concert.
‘What should I answer…?’
So that it wouldn’t show I’d been waiting.
However, I decided to scrap that thought.
“That sounds good. I can recruit the session players myself, right?”
The best session combination for the ‘Second Bound’ that I’d planned out in advance.
At the fact that I could actually perform it… my smile wouldn’t fade.
* * *
“I’ll follow you diligently, Hyung-nim!”
“That damn Hyung-nim….”
“If it’s burdensome, I understand. Boss.”
“…….”
Gim Drum fooling around after hearing the news.
‘Should I swap him out completely?’
“What’s with that expression? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of replacing the drummer with someone else? Huh?”
“Oh, you’re quick on the uptake. But why can’t you act like it?”
“…Were you for real? That’s crazy.”
“By the way….”
I stared at him for a moment before continuing.
“Will you be alright preparing your entrance exam piece?”
Needless to say, the concert was a good opportunity, but that was only true for rap or vocal majors.
‘In the case of performance pieces, melodic instruments get highlighted a lot too, but the song I’m doing is a pop song.’
Honestly, for the instrumentalists standing as session players, the concert didn’t offer much merit.
It was more advantageous to prepare your entrance exam piece and advance to your desired university.
“What, being all serious about it. If I didn’t have time to do sessions, I wouldn’t have participated from the start.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and you wouldn’t know since you’re a transfer student, but it’s not like there aren’t cases where people prepare entrance exam pieces starting from first year. Those guys only need to prepare the designated pieces, so it’s fine.”
He thumped his chest hollowly.
It was an expression of confidence that he could spare this much time.
“Then I won’t hold back and will run with it.”
“…You really are the Boss.”
“Let’s say leader.”
“But even if I’m fine, what about the other sessions? Do we have to find them from the second-years? Or do you know people?”
“I do have some.”
Drums and piano only in the current situation.
Actually, from here on out was the problem.
Because not all the other third-year instrumentalists would be as free as Gim Drum.
“Then should I ask around for you? You don’t know many instrumental kids. You must be agonizing over whether to reach out or not right about now.”
“…No?”
“Come on, other than me and Seonji, I’ve never seen you talk to anyone. This is truly undeniable. Admit it?”
“I’m telling you no.”
Honestly, it was true that I wasn’t particularly close with other instrumentalists, but it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t contact them.
“I’ve already asked them to do sessions. For the results, well, I have to wait.”
I stared blankly at the messages I’d sent in advance.
“What, they’re all third-years? They’ll probably say no because they’re busy….”
“Well….”
Gim Drum was right.
I was aware of that too.
But for the composition in my head, I thought this was the best selection.
…Was it a bit too much after all?
—Bzzt.
Then my phone’s vibration announced a message’s arrival.
It was a reply saying they would do the session I’d requested.
[Yun Bass - …Send me the song as soon as it comes out. If there’s no sheet music, I’ll transcribe it by ear.]
“Ah, this one’s in.”
Bass secured for now.
“What, Yun Jonghwan? They said he absolutely never does sessions because he’s busy… How on earth did you recruit him?”
Gim Drum blinked his eyes in disbelief.
I was a bit surprised too, since I hadn’t expected him to agree immediately.
But that was only the beginning.
—Bzzt.
As if planned, the phone vibrated continuously.
“…Almost all of them are saying yes?”
“What?”
[Yun Synth: I’ll listen to the song! Don’t get another synth!]
[Bak Elec: …When are we starting prep? I’ll try to finish up what I have going on now.]
[Gim Second Elec: Put me on the list first. I’ll do it.]
Following the bass, more students were confirming for the session.
“Holy moly…. Did you let them hear the song or something?”
“Uh? No, I was planning to show it to them if they refused, but….”
“…They rush in like this without even hearing the song? These guys?”
Gim Drum blinked in surprise.
I was bewildered too. I had assumed they’d decide after hearing the song.
“Wow…. But hey, Bak Jahun.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you save my name like this too?”
I’d wondered what he was looking at so intently; it seemed he’d been looking at the saved names.
“It’s easier to organize this way….”
“You really did it! What do you mean Gim Drum! Even if it’s a nickname, you should use a real name for messenger… Ugh.”
“…Sorry. Gim Byeonggwan.”
“Who the hell is Byeonggwan?”
“Really sorry, Gim Sangtae.”
“…Just use Gim Drum.”
“You gave permission.”
Seeing the frustrated guy, a snicker burst out of me.
Well, the day to save it properly would come eventually.
“But, one person still hasn’t replied?”
“Ah, Seong Yuri?”
Gim Drum said, looking at the messenger that still hadn’t replied.
“Isn’t she a classical major? Hmm…. I’ve never seen her perform on stage, though.”
“She’s a violin major.”
Honestly, she was the person I was most worried about.
“She really is skilled? She doesn’t get mentioned often in the classical circles.”
“Of course she’s skilled.”
With an expression asking how I knew that.
Actually, it wasn’t information I’d known during my school days.
Because I had come to know her a bit later.
“Well, if not, I’ll have to find someone else.”
There were substitutes available. I planned to think it over slowly.
Seong Yuri was merely the best combination I could think of.
“But why did you save her with her full name…?”
Grumbling behind me that I should have saved her as Seong Violin to be fair, I tapped my phone screen.
[Concert Group Chat.]
Me: We’re planning to coordinate soon, so tell me what times work for you all.
End of May. The preliminary rounds for the other grades had also wrapped up.
‘So it begins.’
It was time to prepare in earnest for going on stage at the concert.
* * *
“…I sent it after all.”
The practice room of Seoun Arts High School.
An Jonghwan, who had been practicing bass to the metronome, looked at his phone.
He had lost focus quite a while ago thanks to the message that had come in.
Ordinarily, he would have been annoyed that it interfered with his practice, but this time was different.
[Bak Jahun: I need a session for the concert this time, so could you accompany me?]
He read the first message he’d received once more.
‘To think this guy asked me to play with him.’
Bak Jahun. Definitely a student who hadn’t seemed particularly special at the beginning of the semester.
Because he came to school later than the other students, and basically, there had been nothing eye-catching about him.
If such a message had come to An Jonghwan back then, he would have ignored it without looking, pretending it was a mistake.
However, that image had completely changed during the concert preliminary round.
‘…His rap improved a lot.’
He recalled the stage Bak Jahun had shown at the preliminaries.
The unstable vocalization had now changed so much that it didn’t even draw concern anymore.
Based on that stability, the composition of the rap he showed was so dense that even An Jonghwan, who handled rhythm instruments, was surprised.
—Why does this guy compose music so well?
He recalled what the composition major students listening nearby had said.
‘They said it was an original song, and that it was quite good too.’
An original song that had a perfect sense of composition with just a single piano.
And now, the fact that he was asking him to be a session for him meant….
‘That this time it’s a band sound song, right?’
If there was one thing lacking in his songs, it was that, for hip-hop, there were few sessions.
But now he was saying he was going to write songs reinforcing the instrument composition for the concert.
He hadn’t heard the song yet, but….
‘Well, I’m a sure thing, right?’
He had absolutely no intention of letting anyone else take it.
Uncharacteristically, he kept checking his calendar.
He wanted to hurry up and play the song that Bak Jahun would bring.
* * *
Time flew by, and before they knew it, the first practice day had arrived.
‘Let’s see, Gim Drum and the bassist are here, so… Everyone’s here.’
Seeing the sessions who had come at my request, I felt a surge of emotion.
Because they were gathering in exactly the composition I had first thought of.
‘Except one person still hasn’t been confirmed….’
As I was thinking that, a bickering sound was heard from the side.
“You sure you transcribed the sheet music properly?”
“Man, who do you take me for? You think I’m the same as someone whose sheet music is nothing but drum notation?”
“What…?”
None other than Gim Drum and Yun Jonghwan.
I’d heard they were usually like cats and dogs, but… I hadn’t known it was to this extent.
“Tch. You’re nothing but the guy who gets asked ‘What kind of guitar is that instrument next to the electric guitar?’!”
“Ha! You’re the guy people don’t even recognize because you’re hidden behind the drums!”
A conversation continued where they poked at each other’s major hardships.
“…They’re not going to fight, are they?”
Seonji, who was checking the sheet music, looked over with concern.
“I heard even graduated seniors had their sessions changed because they fought….”
“Well, they’re not that bad.”
Honestly, the fact that they bickered to that extent over trivial matters meant they had a lot of interest in each other.
And if that led to music, it would eventually create the synergy I wanted.
Thinking that, even watching them fight made the corners of my mouth rise for no reason.
“It looks like everyone’s here; can we start?”
Then, Gim Drum checked the time and asked me.
“Well…. Let’s wait just a little more.”
I answered and stared intently at my phone.
‘The read receipt is on, but…’
[Me: Yuri. We’re having our first practice later, so if you’re participating in the session, come to practice room 302.]
It was the chat with Seong Yuri, whose joining still hadn’t been confirmed.
It definitely showed as read, but strangely, there was no reply.
“It’s not like it absolutely has to be her. We can find the strings later and practice then.”
“Well, for something Gim Drum says, it’s not wrong.”
Gim Drum and Bass were united in the same opinion.
Even though it wasn’t time to start yet, why was everyone so passionate?
“We agreed to start exactly at thirty past, so let’s wait until then.”
Helplessly, I nodded.
‘A bit of a shame.’
With that feeling, I stared blankly at the clock.
—28.
The second hand busily advancing.
After listening to the ticking sound for a while, finally….
—30.
The promised time had come.
“Time’s up; let’s start.”
It was a shame, but if the person didn’t want to come, what could be done?
—Nod.
At my words, Gim Drum sat in his chair and counted the beat.
—Tak, tak, tak….
At his signal, just as the music was about to begin.
“Sorry, am I late?”
A female student with fair skin and long, straight hair.
Carrying her violin case, Seong Yuri entered the practice room.
“No, you came right on time.”
A smile formed on my lips without me realizing it.
‘With this, everything is complete.’
It was the moment when all the performers of ‘Second Bound,’ who would lead the music that had existed only in my head straight into reality, had gathered.
Regressor on the Beat