Chapter 40 : Youtube

“Thank you! The YouTube video will be uploaded in a few days. Have a great day!”

“I hope you have a great day too.”

Waving both hands toward the camera, they waited for the sign that the broadcast had ended before lowering them. With that, the studio door opened. Lee Hyein briskly walked in and hugged Ha Su-yeon tightly.

“Isn’t my daughter’s performance just amazing?”

“I was genuinely so surprised.”

If an ordinary parent had said that, he might have thought something along the lines of, ‘Ugh, what kind of nonsense is this,’ while pretending to flatter them with something like, ‘Oh, yes, your daughter plays so well.’

But Ha Su-yeon skills, in Junhong opinion… Objectively speaking, even putting aside the title of ” Ha Su-yeon
student,” she was truly exceptional.

She was good enough to debut as a professional immediately.

No, beyond that, she could even appear on an audition show as a judge for guitar-related performances.

“Seriously, I don’t know when my daughter got this good at playing guitar.”

“Well, um…”

Junhong glanced at the affectionate conversation between the mother and daughter and then posed a question.

“Is Su-yeon a student of Teacher Ha Su-yeon ?”

“Uh… well…”

Ha Su-yeon hesitated, unable to answer decisively.

He acted as if he believed that if he let the moment pass, nothing significant would happen.

Just as in the beginning, remaining silent would likely inspire trust in Junhong instead.

“Hmm… I see.”

Whether Ha Su-yeon intent worked or not, Junhong seemed to convince himself and ended the conversation.

Lee Hye-in looked at Junhong curiously.

What was this man’s obsession with this “ Ha Su-yeon ” person? Sure, the guitar-playing was impressive, but was it really to that extent? Hmm…

“Anyway, I enjoyed filming today. I have a few things I’d like to discuss. Do you have a moment?”

Junhong said this. There were things to address for the sake of the young prodigy—no, the “final student of Teacher Ha Su-yeon.”

Ha Su-yeon looked at the video uploaded on Junhong’s YouTube channel.

The views on the live video weren’t that high, but the edited version? It was doing decently well—about fifty thousand views.

Considering it hadn’t been up for long, Myeong -Jeon thought it was quite an impressive number.

On Junhong’s channel, there weren’t many videos that exceeded a hundred thousand views.

While there were a couple of videos with over a million views, most of them only had a few tens of thousands.

But fifty thousand views already? It seemed like a solid performance.

“Top-tier guitarist.”
Ad

“Great rhythm, technique, and amazing playing skills—it’s so touching, no matter how many times I listen to it.”

“Wow~ Personally, I never liked electric guitars, but… I don’t know much about music, but this just flows so naturally, like water through a valley.”

“ㅠㅠ This piece is incredible, absolutely fantastic.”

The comments somehow leaned more toward ” Ha Su-yeon ” than “Ha Su-yeon,” but anyway, they were like that.

[White Room]
@whiteroomguitar
Subscribers: 13,843
Videos: 12

Ha Su-yeon glanced at his own channel.

Since the broadcast, his subscriber count had increased significantly.

Not long ago, he had just barely reached ten thousand, and after appearing on Junhong’s channel, three thousand more subscribers had joined.

“Is this why people talk about the importance of promotion?”

The YouTube views had also jumped significantly.

Where views previously trickled in at one or two hundred, they were now climbing by one or two thousand at a time.

The second original song, which had been featured on a playlist or something, had already reached two hundred thousand views.

However, what concerned him was the audience demographic.

According to the statistics, viewers in their forties and fifties were the largest group.

The comments left behind were similar to those on Junhong’s channel—polite, emotionally expressive, yet completely devoid of any youthful vibrance.

“Is this really the right direction?”

After reading those comments, Ha Su-yeon started to doubt his own intuition.

Until now, he’d thought he was running his channel quite well… but now, it seemed like maybe he wasn’t.

His viewers were polite but didn’t seem energized at all.

Like himself, most older people didn’t openly share their preferences.

They no longer believed that others would enjoy the same things they did.

But younger people assumed that what they liked would also appeal to others.

And whether or not it was true, they constantly tried to spread their interests.

That’s why building a fanbase among younger people was far more advantageous than relying on an older audience. According to that theory, Ha Su-yeon channel didn’t seem to have much growth potential.

“At this rate, unless some mysterious algorithm takes pity on me, things look pretty grim…”

Should he switch gears and start covering songs that appeal to the new generation? Maybe K-pop idols like BTS, NewJeans, or Blackpink, or online artists popular with young audiences, like Yoasobi or Kenshi Yonezu?

As he mulled over these thoughts, he mindlessly scrolled through YouTube.

A particular video caught his eye: [Emotional Performance by an Ordinary Guitarist].

Something about the thumbnail felt familiar, so he clicked on it.

It was a short video or something similar.

The song playing was a band piece he had performed on Junhong’s broadcast.

And the view count? Over five hundred thousand.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Ha Su-yeon suddenly felt his blood pressure rising.

He finally understood the concept of content ID after Lee Seo painstakingly explained it to him.

Essentially, if he uploaded his own video, even if thieves re-uploaded it to their channels, the revenue would still go to him.

But this? Since he hadn’t uploaded the video to his channel yet, no action could be taken. Besides, the video didn’t contain the full song.

It only included parts, such as the climax and solo.

The part where Ha Su-yeon introduced his band was also cut out.

Fuming, Ha Su-yeon angrily opened the comments.

He was curious to see what kind of nonsense the people who liked this stolen content had written.

Can’t wait for the full version, please!”

“I’m listening to this in the morning, and it feels so calming. Love it, love it!”

“I was completely exhausted after studying, but this popped up first in the algorithm. Thanks to this, I feel recharged. Thank you!”

“The low, murmured part at the end is absolutely amazing. Does anyone know who that guitarist is?”

“This seems to be taken straight from another channel’s performance.”

“Wow, unbelievable.”

“I heard this genre is called blues.  I always thought blues was for older people, but this is so moving.”

“I found out the name of that woman’s band is ‘Group Sound’! I’ll link their YouTube channel and performance videos. Please check them out!”
http://you~

“Whoa.”

“Pin this comment, please!

Ha Su-yeon read the comments and tilted his head slightly.

Really? Young people like songs like this?

It seems my sense is still relevant.

Making a judgment that was wrong in so many ways, Ha Su-yeon wiped the corners of his eyes.

Getting older makes even little things like this bring tears to my eyes.

This was the first time he felt grateful for the support of the younger generation.

But I still need to report the copyright violation.

Ha Su-yeon firmly pressed the [Report] button.

“Wow, this practice room is amazing.”

“Isn’t it?”

Iseo and Jung Hyunah  sprawled on the sofa in the practice room as they spoke.

The rehearsal studio they used to frequent… it wasn’t missing anything, but it didn’t really have anything special either.

A few chairs, a drum set, and a keyboard—that was all.

A bare-bones basement rehearsal space that offered the best value for the price.

But this practice room Ha Su-yeon had secured? It was heaven itself.

It had a sofa, a coffee machine, various snacks, and more.

In their old rehearsal studio, they always had to go outside to sit during breaks.

Now, they didn’t have to do that anymore! It was truly paradise.

“For snacks and coffee, we’ll need to replenish what we consume. I’d like to collect membership dues for this—do you all agree?”

As Ha Su-yeon entered with Seoha, Iseo quickly agreed and bit into a Choco Chip cookie.

The violent sweetness of the chocolate chips melted deliciously in her mouth.

“How did you find this place?”

“Remember the YouTube channel I mentioned? They connected me with this place, saying they wanted to support promising bands.”

Ha Su-yeon said this as she fiddled with a hand grip that was lying around.

It was quite surprising that Junhong and Seoha knew each other.

“Seoha is a drummer I’ve been keeping an eye on, so I’m glad she ended up forming a band with Ha Su-yeon .”

Had he said something like that? Regardless of what their relationship was, it was clear they were acquainted.

Well, with talent like hers, it would be stranger if she didn’t attract attention in the band scene.

“Let’s go over a few things.”

Ha Su-yeon called the rest of the band members over to the table.

They reluctantly gathered after lounging on the sofa.

“The second song is now complete. Iseo worked hard on the lyrics, and the two of you put in effort for the arrangement.”

Iseo flashed a victory sign. Ha Su-yeon chuckled briefly before continuing.

“And we need to organize the credits for our songs. Since royalties will be involved.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“It’s better to be thorough. If you’re just dabbling in music for a while, maybe it doesn’t matter. But if you’re planning to continue, you absolutely need to sort this out. Otherwise, it’ll lead to disputes.”

Ha Su-yeon thought of bands that had fallen apart due to issues with credits.

Many had disbanded over financial disagreements.

If they had been thorough from the start, they could have avoided it, but they let emotions and attachments get in the way… Looking back, it had been such a naive era.

“And about the open mic. You all know it’s coming up soon, right? It’s really not far away, so let’s push a little harder. We can’t afford to fail at something as basic as a club audition.”

As he said this, Ha Su-yeon scanned the members’ faces.

They didn’t look resolute; instead, they looked as if the intense practice had left them thinking the real event might actually be easier.

“Once this government support project ends, we can rest a bit, right?”

“Well… maybe?”

Of course, Ha Su-yeon thought otherwise.

After the open mic and the support project, there was the band audition program. Their schedule was already packed to the brim.

‘No need to tell them that now.’

After all, they say hardships in youth are worth experiencing.

Only by going through a busy period can you appreciate the value of a more relaxed time.