Episode 8
"Oh, it's a Dayart song."
I had only called out the song name, yet people responded with pleasant enthusiasm.
It meant I had succeeded in piquing their interest.
'Of course.'
It wasn't simply because this song was famous among the public.
Before starting in earnest, I briefly checked the sounds coming from the other booths.
-!
From exciting rock and roll to jazz quietly settling over the stage.
Various genres of music were spreading across the field, but the commonality was clear.
Songs that were easy to listen to.
The kind commonly called easy listening.
Because each booth had to fill thirty minutes, they needed to have a beginning, development, climax, and ending to the stage.
Start by loosening the atmosphere, then gradually build up, that sort of thing.
I figured it was a strategic arrangement.
If this were a solo concert.
I smiled and gave a sign to Seonji.
-Nod.
Having received the signal, Seonji tapped the keyboard.
-!
The loop rhythm (the repeating melody) that formed the basis of the song reverberated.
The accompaniment was enough with just piano, yet it was a song where the tight rap stood out.
"Oh-"
People who had been standing with interest responded and nodded.
'I feel sorry for the kids who prepared hard, but is this a solo concert?'
No. It's a survival show.
If competitors bow their heads and start like that...
It was incredibly advantageous to strike out ahead.
What remained was to show skill that rewarded that interest.
For me now, it was far too easy.
- The world grows hazy without stopping -.
Depending on the day, I catch my breath--.
When I spat rap into the mic, people's pupils dilated.
That gaze captured me and Seonji's figures without gap.
"Wow...!"
"You're good!"
And as if planned, cheers burst out.
'I've seized the momentum.'
By the time the verse was ending, a crowd had formed around the booth.
It was the characteristic of this kind of busking-style performance.
People call people.
If they gather, others come thinking there must be something.
"Did you enjoy it?"
After finishing one song, I looked around and asked.
There were many people, but instead of answers, only applause was heard.
At first glance, the response might seem weak...
"Wasn't that a difficult rap just now?"
"It was difficult... and it really gave off a Dayart vibe too, which was killer."
Small conversations heard from among the audience.
'Of course in the beginning, they watch while chatting with the person next to them.'
This level of reaction was satisfying.
However, I couldn't be complacent. I hadn't made this decision just to get mediocre results.
'I need to keep the atmosphere going...'
It was when I tried to pick up the mic to sing the next song.
My body momentarily lost balance.
I immediately put strength into my legs, so I could avoid falling.
"Huh...?"
"...I just tripped for a second."
I forced a smile at Seonji, who was looking at me in surprise.
'To think that memory would suddenly surface.'
Perhaps because I had seen the crack, Baek Cheolho's words rose in my head.
- Ah... are you really going to use this for the performance?
The day I was preparing for my first performance secured through that guy's company.
- This won't do. Bring me the setlist for your performance this time.
And then Baek Cheolho, who had continued with a mess of directing.
Using his position as CEO, he ruined the performance I had prepared.
I learned later that he had done it intentionally to spotlight the singer he was pushing.
'How revolting must it have been, that just thinking about it makes me dizzy.'
I inhaled once. I needed to come to my senses.
Seonji, who hadn't been long since putting down the burden of performing, was trying that hard...
What good would it do if I wavered.
"I'll go straight into the next song."
The competition continued, and now with only two songs left.
It was time to drop something that would serve as the final nail.
I hesitated a bit.
I had urgently revised the setlist to draw interest, but as a result, I had nothing left for the highlight.
"Seonji, let's do that song."
"That song?"
"Yeah, let's show them now."
Objectively speaking, it wasn't famous, so its order had been pushed back, but to my ears this song was practically the highlight.
I decided to trust my ears that I had trained for ten years.
'If that teacher hears it, even better.'
Holding the mic, I looked forward.
"This time, I'll try a somewhat special song."
"What is it!"
"Until now I've been doing songs made by other musicians, but this time..."
After a brief pause, I continued. The audience's reaction of perking their ears at the word "special" was quite amusing.
"It's an original song."
After finishing speaking, the corners of my mouth went up without my knowing.
'Here he comes.'
Perhaps because the crowd had gathered, the teacher I was waiting for walked toward our booth.
'There was a rumor that he likes original songs.'
Of course, he was someone who valued sincerity the most.
Strength entered the hand holding the mic. I intended to convince the fortune teller of Seun Arts High School with my story.
"Original song, Rebound. I'll perform it for you."
My and Seonji's first original song that had been lost.
It shook off the dust of a long time and began playing before the audience.
* * *
The field where the Open Stage was in full swing.
The space was filled with booths showcasing their music and students walking between them.
It wasn't just student audiences who were moving busily.
'Everyone is working hard.'
Teachers who, along with voting, had to set the direction of future guidance.
Especially Gim Jeongsik's steps were busy.
With his shaggy beard swaying, he moved about, taking in the music from here and there.
'The regrettable thing is that everyone is too immersed in competition.'
On stages filled with thoughts of having to do well, he couldn't help but feel skeptical.
Unlike Sim Yujin, who viewed competition positively, he thought musicians themselves had to enjoy it.
The reason he liked sincere music was the same.
Every year countless people jumped into the music market, but only a tiny few survived.
He wished for his student to be among that few.
"Hey, there are really a lot of people."
"Let's go take a look too."
While walking around for a while, he saw students flocking toward a booth.
Since it was a booth he hadn't properly listened to yet, Gim Jeongsik followed them.
"They said it's an original song?"
"Oh-. Do kids from the Practical Music Department all compose?"
He heard students murmuring.
'If it's an original song, shall I focus and listen?'
He stopped with a light heart.
On stage, he never thought he would stay even after the student's rap ended.
- Dreams borrowed with youth as collateral -.
Came back as a miserable reality demanding twice as much--.
The story of Bak Jahun, the protagonist of the stage, was delivered to the audience as lyrics.
It wasn't a story or melody he had known before, but...
"I can hear all the lyrics."
"Right."
The audience accepted the song without difficulty.
Gim Jeongsik felt a strange emotion as he stared intently at the student.
He was clearly still just a student.
But the story in the lyrics didn't sound like empty bluff.
- A world that rises again -.
Rebound--. Rebound--.
The moment the song entered the hook like that.
The melody wrapped around his ears.
Small exclamations burst from the surrounding students.
'...Good.'
Gim Jeongsik nodded.
Nothing made a musician's heart race as much as the hook that hits after a polished rap.
By the time the second verse came, the thought of going to another booth had already disappeared from his head.
He was simply curious what story the student would tell next.
- When darkness lifts and a new day comes--.
I realized I was still exactly the same despite believing I was an adult--.
As if rewarding the wait, the moment lyrics poured from Bak Jahun's mouth.
- ...Flash.
From between the audience seats where there had been no great response besides small exclamations, someone raised a hand.
'...What.'
It was a movement Gim Jeongsik made to cheer, immersed in the music...
-Flash.
Like a wave, the hands of other audience members followed and stretched up.
Then they began waving those arms up and down in time with the performer's flow.
It was the highest praise the audience could send for a good rap stage.
Because it was created due to him, he felt a bit embarrassed and quietly lowered his hand.
'...That friend will be fine.'
How long had it been since a stage made his body react first like this?
Gim Jeongsik nodded at the story Bak Jahun had written down and his unique delivery.
He looked forward to seeing him perform before a larger crowd.
Watching the stage nearing its end, he recalled several rappers he knew in his head.
If that student advanced to the concert...
'I'll have to send concert tickets to CEO Bak.'
He wanted to let him meet the best rapper he knew in Korea.
* * *
'It's over.'
The point when all booths finished their stages.
Following the guidance of the teacher in charge, the audience began voting.
Perhaps because the viewing had been satisfactory, most had bright faces.
'But it's different for the performers.'
I turned my head and looked around the field.
Unlike the student audience, the performers' expressions weren't good.
Of course.
Because these weren't performances just for fun.
They were probably recalling parts where they had made mistakes or things they hadn't thought of.
I looked at the central booth.
Compared to other performers, the team members' expressions were bright.
Faces that looked closer to relief than worry.
Looking closely, I could immediately tell why that team looked good.
'It's Bak Yunseok's team.'
The booth where many people had come to watch even before the start.
And Bak Yunseok's stage must have amplified that flow.
Since the audience response was good, they couldn't help but look bright.
'But why...'
Why is Bak Yunseok looking at me?
I stopped organizing the amp and exchanged glances with the guy staring at me.
It was a bit unexpected.
Even though it's said we're rivals, that's a story for later.
In fact, at school I'd never even properly spoken with Bak Yunseok.
'He's someone who wouldn't even look at students he wasn't interested in.'
Then a voice calling me from the side was heard.
"Good work, Jahun."
When I turned my head, the sight of Seonji organizing the piano came into view.
'There was this one too.'
Seonji's face looking just as refreshed as Bak Yunseok's team members.
She must be proud. The response was this good.
"You worked hard too."
"Yeah, I think we did really well. And..."
Seonji paused briefly before continuing.
"You were right."
"...About what?"
"The first song. People really started gathering at our booth from then."
Mentioning when we performed Dayart's song, Seonji smiled softly.
'She looks happy.'
Perhaps because I knew the fact that she hadn't performed in my previous life.
Seeing Seonji smile, saying the performance was good, I found myself in a good mood too.
"It's only the beginning."
I briefly recalled that hateful crack.
[Upon Failure - Inevitable contact with Baek Cheolho, CEO of Finally Entertainment.]
Though it was to avoid that guy...
'Since it's come to this, I need to squeeze out as much as possible. I might also be able to aim for contact with other big agencies.'
The path to the concert.
I intended to take everything I could gain there without missing a single thing.
Regressor on the Beat