Chapter 56 : Government Support Project (3)

The interior of the studio was all white.

White chairs, white furniture, white walls, and purple lighting.

It was a trendy interior design style.

The sound equipment was decent, but everything else was lacking.

There weren’t many chairs (because it would ruin the interior), there weren’t many amenities around, and the transportation wasn’t good.

There weren’t many instruments in the studio either.

That’s why, usually, only new bands who didn’t know about these conditions and Gyu-sik’s band used this studio.

But at times like this, it was quite popular.

Because it looked good.

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“Those people.

I shouldn’t have greeted them…”

“It’s natural to greet people when you see them.

Even if it makes things complicated, it’s the right thing to do.

Don’t worry too much about some jerk acting up.”

At Seo-ha’s apology, Su-yeon spoke as if she didn’t care.

Even though strange people had barged in and were watching them, Su-yeon accepted it casually.

‘Sometimes when I look at her, it feels like she’s really living her second life.’

It was a fairly accurate guess, but Seo-ha dismissed it as an absurd imagination.

Then, while preparing the equipment, she glanced at the entrance.

Three people were sitting on chairs and talking.

She had never liked them.

She had only interacted with them when she thought metal was the best music, but now they were just people she had a few drinks with at clubs.

But today, they had forced their way in and were sitting there with their arms crossed as if they were judging them.

It felt like they were clinging to them even more because they were participating in Band Pioneer.

‘Are they participating too?’

While she was thinking, Seo-ha had that thought.

When she thought about it a little more, it seemed quite plausible.

She didn’t know why they were upset, but would they insist on listening to another band’s music just because they were upset?

Of course, Seo-ha was also a woman, and she knew about ‘those things’.

So, in a way, she could understand why they were angry.

But what they were doing now was a completely different matter.

For a band with experience to rudely barge in like this, it seemed like they had a purpose.

“Who are those people?”

“Oh, some people I know.”

Seo-ha grabbed Lee-seo, who was about to go greet them, and shook her head.

Yi-seo looked at her, wondering why, and Hyun-ah looked at the strangers with caution.

“Are they going to stay?”

“Well, they said they’d listen to a few songs and leave.”

At Seo-ha’s words, Lee-seo scratched her head.

“We’re shooting our YouTube video right now.

Is it okay for them to be in it?”

Come to think of it, Yi-seo had said that.

Would it be okay?

Seo-ha thought for a moment and said, “Can’t we just edit them out?”

Would it be a big deal if they were in the video?

As long as they weren’t in the final product, it should be fine.

“Right?”

“Well, I guess that would work…”

And in the meantime, Su-yeon was calmly adjusting the equipment and preparing to record.

“Let’s warm up first.”

Su-yeon said that and picked up her guitar.

Gyu-sik watched the situation with his arms crossed.

The kids’ movements, which showed no sign of skill.

The bassist and keyboardist were busily moving around, and Seo-ha kept looking at them because she was uncomfortable.

The guitarist was just watching the kids prepare.

“It’s a mess.”

At Gyu-sik’s words, Hee-seong and Gyeong-yun nodded.

A completely disorganized scene.

To save money, you have to organize the studio or practice room as quickly as possible.

But the kids didn’t seem to care about that at all.

“I don’t think they’ll last long, do you, hyung?”

“Well, yeah.

I’ll watch for a bit and tell Seo-ha to come to our band when theirs breaks up.

Jun-seong sucks at drums and is always late.

If we kick him out and bring in Seo-ha, it’ll be perfect.”

“Yeah.

Wouldn’t it be great if Seo-ha joined?

Jun-seong is so gloomy and just not good.”

Even though Seo-ha hadn’t said she would, her future had already been decided.

Hee-seong thought it was pathetic and looked at the band that was ready to play.

‘Well, Gyu-sik is right.’

He didn’t know what kind of music they played.

But from what he had seen so far, it didn’t seem like they would be good at music.

It was obvious.

It might be Hee-seong’s prejudice, but…

If you were to pick the race that is the furthest from being in a band in the world, Korean high school girls would definitely be on the list.

Of course, Seo-ha was also a Korean high school girl, but she was an exception.

“Look at the posture of the guitarist and bassist.

They don’t have the basics.”

The guitarist was about to play with the strap as loose as possible, and the bassist seemed to be using a right-handed bass even though she was left-handed, as if she were Jimi Hendrix.

Gyu-sik and Gyeong-yun were nitpicking and grumbling about things that were trivial and could be overlooked.

Hee-seong had similar thoughts, but he wondered if they had to nitpick like that.

But their thoughts… changed 180 degrees as soon as the performance started.

No, they had no choice but to change.

The guitar’s performance, which started suddenly without any sign, with a light, hand-warming expression.

Unlike the hands that moved calmly as if floating on clouds, the sound that came out of the guitar and through the amp clearly revealed its presence.

At the unexpected performance, Hee-seong unconsciously looked at Gyu-sik.

He was curious how he, as a guitarist, would take that performance.

And Gyu-sik’s reaction was exactly what Hee-seong expected.

He was shocked to hear a performance that he could never imagine coming from a high school girl.

His slightly open mouth and wide eyes showed the extent of his shock.

‘Is that even possible?’

Although he lived a dissolute life in many ways, Gyu-sik was also a guitarist in a fairly well-known band.

He had some talent, and he had been playing the guitar for a long time, so he was good enough to make a living from lessons and being in a band, and to think, ‘I’m pretty good at guitar’.

But the scene unfolding before his eyes denied Gyu-sik’s common sense.

A girl who showed a performance that was hard to believe from a high school girl, leading the melody with a flowing touch.

Gyu-sik felt overwhelmed as he watched her.

‘No, she might have just practiced that phrase.

I heard that many kids these days just practice phrases without any basic skills.’

Gyu-sik clenched his teeth, thinking that.

If he admitted that this young kid was better than him, the years he had built up so far would feel so futile.

And there was evidence to support that thought.

No one else was joining the performance.

Isn’t that proof that she practiced only her own phrase, without any consideration for the band members?

But that thought was shattered when the bass joined in at the right timing.

A textbook-like and clean bass performance from a flashy-makeup high school girl who seemed to have nothing to do with music.

Next, the keyboard, then the drums.

The instruments that came in sequentially had some parts that didn’t quite fit.

But instead of playing a dissonant chord, they adjusted to each other by lowering the volume or slowing down the tempo.

And the performance flowed like water under the direction of the guitar, which coordinated the whole process.

There was no direction, gesture, or speech…

But Gyu-sik was also a guitarist, so he could understand what the guitar was trying to do.

‘But the song itself is messy.

Except for the fact that it’s completely live, there’s nothing to see.’

Gyu-sik clenched his teeth.

If this is an original song, then her composing skills are not up to par.

What’s the point of being skilled?

In the end, the song is what matters.

They’re in the band scene, not the session scene.

With that thought, Gyu-sik was disparaging the high school girl band in front of him.

“We’re done jamming and warming up.

Let’s play a cover song and then start recording.”

But after the performance, when the guitarist said that, Gyu-sik heard something shatter in his heart.

‘That was a jam?’

‘The other kids were all led by the guitar, but the guitar played that as a jam?’

‘Is that possible?

She doesn’t look that old?

Did she start playing the guitar when she was very young?

Or is she incredibly talented?’

“What’s wrong?”

While he was agonizing, a question came from the front.

Gyu-sik realized that he had unconsciously stood up from his chair and moved forward.

“Uh…”

Gyu-sik stuttered.

What should he say?

He had many things he wanted to say.

Was it just hand-syncing over a recording?

Do you want to join our band?

You’re so good at guitar.

Do you have any interest in composing?

Do you have a boyfriend?

Etc.

But after going through Gyu-sik’s brain, there was only one thing he could say.

“How…

How long have you been playing the guitar?”

Gyu-sik thought that the question reeked of a base intention.

How long could she have been playing?

Surely it’s been more than five or ten years.

By comparing that period with his own, he could comfort himself by thinking that this kid was just a little more talented than him.

That they had similar talents, but developed them in different areas.

“Hmm…”

Hee-seong and Gyeong-yun looked at Gyu-sik with a mixture of confusion and understanding at his question…

Su-yeon answered the question with an ambiguous smile.

“About a year.

It hasn’t been that long.”

“Why did those people come?”

“I don’t know…”

Ha Su-Yeon smiled wryly.

Unlike Lee-seo, who didn’t understand their intentions until the end, and Hyun-ah, who only had a rough guess, Ha Su-Yeon could tell their intentions as soon as she saw them.

It was obvious they wanted to pick a fight.

There were people like that in the old days too.

People who couldn’t accept their own shortcomings and focused on belittling others.

‘It’s pathetic.’

Of course, Ha Su-Yeon also knew what talent was and the wall that it created.

She might be the person in Korea who had thought about talent the most.

‘But still, that’s not right…’

If you think about it normally…

They were just some pros who suddenly got upset and barged in on a band that was formed for fun.

They might not have thought so, but if you write it down and think about it, it’s just crazy behavior.

And Ha Su-Yeon was definitely not the type of person to calmly appease such people and send them away.

“Are they gone?”

“Yeah.

Sorry.”

Lee-seo asked Seo-ha, who opened the door and came in.

Seo-ha apologized as soon as she came in.

Ha Su-Yeon twisted her hair a little and spoke.

“Did they say anything to you?”

“Well…

Not really.

They just said they were sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Ha Su-Yeon thought.

What did Seo-ha do wrong?

If anything, she just chose the wrong people to be friends with.

Although, if you think about Seo-ha’s past, maybe she used to be like that too.

‘Come to think of it, maybe my discipline in the beginning was surprisingly effective.’

With that thought, Ha Su-Yeon picked up her guitar again.

They had already wasted a lot of time, so now it was time to record for the support project application…