The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 12

“Are you a student from Unsan High? Aren’t you skipping school?”

As Sanghyun opened the door and entered, a woman who looked to be in her early twenties spoke bluntly. She had a pretty face with a bright smile, but Sanghyun felt a surge of annoyance at being spoken to so casually by someone so young.

‘I have to be patient.’

But what could he do about feeling annoyed? He was a high school student, after all.

“Is the owner here?”

“Why?”

“I wanted to get a quote for some equipment.”

“You can ask me.”

When Sanghyun gave her a dubious look, the woman made a threatening face, saying, “Tsk!”

‘What an absurd woman. How could she treat someone she just met, especially a customer, so rudely?’

“You don’t have to pretend to be a customer and go upstairs. Today isn’t a ticketed event.”

“Pardon?”

“Weren’t you here to see the bands upstairs?”

“There’s a performance hall upstairs?”

Now that he mentioned it, he could hear the sound of an electric guitar tuning from afar. The building was quite soundproof.

However, Sanghyun shrugged.

“I’m interested, but I really came to get a quote.”

“Ah… sorry. Okay, for what?”

“Recording equipment.”

“Are you a friend who composes music? Do you need real sound?”

“No. I’m just going to record my voice.”

“You’re a vocalist?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

The part-timer started recommending various items.

Sanghyun’s knowledge of music was very biased.

Having been a heavy listener for over 20 years, he knew a lot about ‘rap’.

East Coast and West Coast.

Dirty South and hardcore hip hop.

LA sound, jazz hip hop, boom bap and trap, ratchet, and so on.

He had encountered and understood various types of hip hop. Whether he could execute it was another matter.

However, Sanghyun didn’t know much about music in general.

He couldn’t read sheet music, didn’t know any chords, and couldn’t play any instruments.

So, he didn’t understand any of the terms the Sejong Instrument Store employee was rattling off like a machine gun: mixers, preamps, phantom power [a method for powering microphones], mic gain, audio interfaces, condenser mics, dynamic mics, etc.

‘Zero sales skills. What kind of part-timer did the owner hire?’

However, Sanghyun’s dissatisfaction was only half right.

Usually, amateur musicians looking to buy equipment are strapped for cash, so it’s essential to do some research beforehand. If they buy the wrong thing, they can’t return it, and they don’t have enough money, so they search for cost-effective options online.

They find a lot of information online, search, search, and search again before visiting Sejong Instrument Store.

Sejong Instrument Store also treats musicians more like colleagues or advisors than salesmen. They help them choose the right combination from their pre-prepared wish lists, and they only tell them which equipment they need to add and which they can skip.

However, Sanghyun, with his owner mindset, expected a professional salesperson who could explain everything through a catalog, as he always had in the past when approaching any field.

‘If I pretend not to know, I’ll probably get ripped off? Should I just order online?’

That was Sanghyun’s thought.

‘No equipment. Just a student who came to see the performance and made up an excuse.’

That was Shin Miju, the part-timer at Sejong Instrument Store’s thought.

“Hmm…”

They both sighed at the same time and then laughed awkwardly. It felt like their thoughts had been exposed.

“Since you’re here, do you want to watch the band?”

“Should I? Is there a performance today?”

“Bands gather every Wednesday. It’s not really a performance, but more like a jam session in a free atmosphere. They also play requests from the audience.”

Sanghyun nodded at the new information, and Miju chuckled, thinking the cheeky guy was quite the actor.

“Follow me. Watch out for the cello over there.”

Miju led the way up a slightly narrow staircase, and Sanghyun followed.

The performance hall was on the 3rd floor.

No wonder the sound was faint on the 1st floor.

The rough guitar and cheerful drum sounds grew louder as they went up.

-Jeeeeeeng!

The moment they opened the door and entered the performance hall, an improvisational electric guitar sound rang in their ears.

A sharp but fluid sound.

The jam was starting.

Sanghyun was mesmerized by the jam. As someone who hadn’t been very interested in band sounds, it was a new sight for him.

Three bands were taking their places and exchanging sounds, but Sanghyun thought there were three bands because there were three drummers.

‘Cool.’

Band sounds had something completely different from the emotion he felt in hip hop.

Most of those who become addicted to band sounds are addicted to the ‘richness’. The richness, vividness, and three-dimensional feel of the sound that cannot be heard with earphones and MP3s.

The real sound jam, resonating in the small space, was showing the essence of band sound.

“I’m going in.”

“Me too.”

As the bass and second guitar joined in to complete the melody line, the vocalist, who had been playing around, grabbed the microphone and started humming.

A little over twenty audience members screamed.

The basic foundation of the band sound, consisting of vocals – drums – guitar – second guitar – bass, was completed in an instant.

The vocalist, who had been humming for a while, started singing with lyrics. It seemed like a song made on the spot, as he mumbled and missed beats, but it had a rough charm.

“I have nothing to say!”

The vocalist’s impromptu song, with strange lyrics and growling, came to an end. The guitar sound faded out, and the bass continued with a solo for a while before the jam ended.

-Clap clap clap

-Whoo!

There were sounds of applause and whistling. Sanghyun also clapped generously at the interesting sight. Looking closely, he recognized a few familiar faces.

It was the band of the vocalist with the cheesy shag cut who had performed at the hospital a while ago.

The vocalist wasn’t great, but the drums and bass were excellent.

The shag-cut vocalist was nowhere to be seen, but the members, including the bassist who had performed the great bass solo at the end, were there.

‘Is the female student named Shin Hayeon a professional musician? Will I be able to meet her if I do music?’

Suddenly, Shin Hayeon’s Remission came to mind.

The song that helped Sanghyun decide on music. Would she know that her song changed someone’s life?

“Cool, right?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes. It’s cool.”

Sanghyun, who had been thinking about Shin Hayeon for a moment, belatedly expressed his agreement, but it sounded curt to Miju.

‘Look at this guy?’

The most important thing to be wary of while doing music is arrogance.

There are many kinds of arrogance, but the most dangerous is not the arrogance of elevating oneself, but the arrogance of looking down on others. Once you start putting down other people’s music, you can’t learn music properly.

In fact, there are many amateur musicians like that around Miju.

‘I should give him a little initiation ceremony.’

A little revenge for making her explain things until her throat hurt while pretending to look for equipment.

A little hope that it would be musically helpful to the aspiring vocalist who skipped school.

A little desire to recommend him to her friend’s band, who is having a hard time finding a vocalist if he sings well.

Finally, a little curiosity about this guy’s musicality, whose unique voice seems quite charming.

Miju mixed various feelings and raised her hand.

“Over here!”

The vocalist, who was joking with the audience while preparing for the next jam, pointed to Miju.

“Yes, Shin Miju, a Sejong Instrument Store part-timer who is destined to have her hourly wage cut by the owner who heard the news that she came up to the performance hall instead of working! Do you have anything to say?”

The audience laughed at the vocalist’s storm of jokes. The vocalist and Miju were close.

“Do you take requests?”

“Um, if it’s a song we can play?”

“This friend here will request the song.”

“Pardon?”

Miju pushed Sanghyun forward a little. Sanghyun was flustered, but well, how difficult could it be to request a song?

Just as Sanghyun was thinking about a song that was popular in 2005, Miju continued.

“And this friend will sing the requested song!”

Me? Why?

End

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