The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 33

< Verse 3. 888 Crew >

Junhyung was now gesturing wildly as he recounted the story of how he’d screwed over Lee Kyung-min, the bassist from Golden Finger.

“Oh, so you can rap a bit?”

“No, I can’t. Junhyung is exaggerating a bit. So, are you guys doing music while attending university? I heard Hwan and Minji are from Yonsei University?”

“That’s why we took a leave of absence. We wanted to dedicate ourselves to music before it got too late. Originally, we were going to rest at home for a bit and then head up to Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its indie music scene], but after seeing the post Junhyung put up on the community, we decided to hone our skills with you guys in Gwangju.”

Everyone except Park In-hyuk, a law student at Chonnam National University, dreamed of becoming a rapper. Of course, not as extremely as Sanghyun and Junhyung, who had bet their lives on it.

The sole exception, Park In-hyuk, uniquely aimed to be a ‘hip-hop producer and agency’.

“In pop, it’s like Brian Epstein of The Beatles, and in rap, Dr. Dre is my role model. Dr. Dre discovered and nurtured Eminem, who was ignored among black people for being white. I want to start a completely awesome hip-hop agency and dominate not only Korea and the United States but also Japan and Europe.”

After excitedly talking for a while, Park In-hyuk ended his story with the depressing fact that his successful lawyer and prosecutor parents would kill him if they found out.

Sanghyun felt like he understood Park In-hyuk’s feelings. Sanghyun also wanted to rap but chose a different path due to the pressures of reality.

“So, including the friend who hasn’t arrived yet, there are six of us. Is this the full membership? No more additions?”

“We should add more if we can. But we don’t want to just increase the numbers recklessly. Once the crew system is established, we need to carefully recruit people who won’t disrupt that system and the team chemistry.”

“What about a practice space?”

Junhyung nudged Sanghyun’s shoulder.

“This guy has an amazing practice space at his house. It’s like a huge attic, and the recording equipment is all set up, so we’ve been using it for a while now.”

“We can go too, right?”

“Of course. That’s why I spent so much money to create it, so we can all use it together.”

Kim Hwan was overjoyed at Sanghyun’s words.

The five of them, including Sanghyun, chatted excitedly as if they had known each other for years. When Oh Minji, a philosophy graduate from Yonsei University, habitually quoted Nietzsche and Kant, they all joined forces to tease her.

“Wow! So, can we visit the L&S band practice room too?”

“We’d have to get permission in advance, but our pushover Junhyung will turn into a heart-eyed emoji when he sees Minji, so he’ll definitely allow it! I’m sure of it!”

“Junhyung is good at social life. He’s a god of flattery?”

“Flattery? Hwan, if you want to shout ‘Akaraka’ [Yonsei University’s cheering slogan] with all your limbs intact, you should watch your words?”

Kim Hwan flinched at Oh Minji’s threat.

‘Akaraka’ was Yonsei University’s official cheering slogan.

“Hey, we’re alumni…….”

“I’m not the kind of person who cares about school ties.”

As they laughed and chatted for a while, the last member, who was said to be late, arrived.

The moment the high school girl, greeted warmly by everyone, opened the door and entered, Sanghyun had to doubt his eyes.

“Ah……!”

Distinctly oriental features.

A gentle, soft-spoken manner.

A clear and soft voice.

The person who urged Sanghyun’s choice with the music called Remission.

“Wow! Hayeon looks even prettier in casual clothes.”

“Minji unnie [older sister or female friend], how have you been?”

“I’ve been good. Come here, sit next to me.”

She was Shin Hayeon.

‘Shin Hayeon is a member of our crew?’

As Sanghyun stared blankly at Hayeon in this completely unexpected encounter, Park In-hyuk, who was observing the atmosphere, chuckled.

“Hey, look at Sanghyun. He’s totally smitten with Hayeon?”

“What? No, I’m not.”

Sanghyun belatedly regained his senses and denied it, but everyone smiled slyly.

“Ah, there was a time when I strolled through my alma mater’s campus with my girlfriend, wearing a crisp school uniform.”

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], did you go to a co-ed school?”

“No, in a dating sim [dating simulation game].”

“…….”

Sanghyun, Junhyung, and Hwan paused for a moment of silence at Park In-hyuk’s smile, which looked somehow sad despite his bright smile.

“What’s a dating sim?”

Oh Minji tilted her head and asked. Junhyung was embarrassed by Oh Minji’s question.

“Noona [older sister or female friend], that’s a difficult question to answer.”

“Why? Tell me. I’m curious.”

“Hmm……. Then I’ll say it quickly just once. Listen carefully.”

Junhyung took a moment to catch his breath and began to speak like a machine gun. A speed he couldn’t even achieve if he were told to memorize it!

“A dating sim is an abbreviation for ‘pretty girl dating simulation,’ a nickname for computer games featuring attractive women, especially pretty girls. Because the protagonist is male and the romantic interest is set as a pretty girl, it’s called a pretty girl dating simulation.”

Park In-hyuk, who was listening to Junhyung’s words, continued even faster than Junhyung.

“But in Korea, the term ‘dating sim’ is being misused. This is because the term is often used for pretty girl games in other genres, such as adventure games or visual novels, not just dating simulations.”

Junhyung and In-hyuk stared into each other’s eyes.

Soon, they deeply, soulfully acknowledged each other.

“To add to In-hyuk hyung’s words, parameters such as the increasing stats of nurturing the protagonist or the level of affection indicating the relationship with the pretty girl are important in simulation games. That becomes a condition for the success of the romance with that pretty girl.”

Kim Hwan, who had been listening very quietly, added last.

“A very important point is that the manufacturers of games called dating sims clearly mark their game genre as romance adventure.”

Flash!

Spark!

Sanghyun could only express the gazes of Junhyung and In-hyuk looking at Kim Hwan with onomatopoeia. It was a gaze difficult to express in human language.

Should it be called a meeting of true enthusiasts?

In-hyuk, observing Kim Hwan’s calm expression, asked quietly.

“Which manufacturer do you prefer?”

“Leaf. But I acknowledge Key as well.”

“Ah, I see. You’re the same age as me…….”

In-hyuk sat down without hesitation. This time, Junhyung, who had been silent, asked.

“What’s your favorite work……?”

“Tears to Tiara.”

“……!”

Junhyung’s eyes widened.

“No way…… Tears to Tiara hasn’t even been released in Korea as a pirated version yet…….”

“April 28, 2005. I went to Japan to coincide with the release date.”

“……!”

When Kim Hwan finished speaking, Junhyung sat down silently, and Kim Hwan also sat down following them.

But the difference from before was that the three of them sat side by side, with Kim Hwan sitting in the middle and Junhyung and In-hyuk sitting on either side. As if attending to him.

Park In-hyuk drank coffee repeatedly as if he was thirsty, then cautiously opened his mouth.

“Did Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei feel like this when they took the oath of the peach garden [a reference to the Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms]?”

“Was the relationship between Athos, Porthos, and Aramis in Dumas’ novel The Three Musketeers like this?”

“Was this the feeling when Darryl McDaniels, Jam Master Jay, and Joseph Simmons first created Run DMC?”

The three of them soon snickered and shared stories that Sanghyun could never know and didn’t want to know. Three otaku [a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, particularly in anime and manga] gathered and became fifteen otaku.

Looking at them, Sanghyun vowed,

‘I will never open the practice room computer.’

In contrast, Minji understood,

‘A dating sim is a field of IT studies with a worldview as vast as the world of Immanuel Kant (German philosopher, the father of Western philosophy).’

Lastly, Shin Hayeon listened attentively to their stories and kept twitching as if she wanted to say something.

In conclusion, the incident of Sanghyun staring blankly at Shin Hayeon was naturally forgotten. It was very fortunate for Sanghyun.

The gathering soon split into the ‘Shin Junhyung, Park In-hyuk, Kim Hwan’ group and the ‘Sanghyun, Oh Minji, Shin Hayeon’ group, and the conversation began to progress.

‘Since I didn’t intend to have deep musical discussions from the first meeting anyway. It’s good to get to know each other even in this way.’

Sanghyun glanced at Shin Hayeon, amazed that she was in front of him.

Was it because his first memory of her was on stage, and he deeply sympathized with her music, lyrics, and message?

It felt like meeting a celebrity he liked.

At first, Sanghyun was going to tell Hayeon that he had seen her performance. But when he thought about it, mentioning the stage at the hospital would inevitably reveal that he knew about Hayeon’s mother’s death.

Sanghyun had hidden the reason for not participating in the Jeonju World Wide Indie Music Festival from the L&S members because Sangmi didn’t want to be called an orphan. Hayeon wouldn’t want to tell the crew members about her mother’s death either.

In the end, Sanghyun remained silent and acted as if he was seeing Shin Hayeon for the first time.

“So, you’re 18 years old, right?”

“No! You have to go by school year.”

“Anyway, you were born in ’88, right?”

“Hey, watch your mouth!”

Hayeon was born early in the year, and Sanghyun boldly dropped honorifics with her. Even though he had adapted to being 18 years old, he couldn’t call someone born early in the year hyung or noona!

In the end, Sanghyun and Hayeon dropped honorifics, and the three of them began to chat. It turned out that Hayeon and Minji had met once more on a weekday since the last gathering.

Another thing he learned was that Sanghyun and Hayeon lived quite close to each other.

“So, Hayeon, you want to become a singer, right?”

“If we divide the distinction between singer and rapper by underground and mainstream, then I want to become a singer. The fact that the roots of my music are in black music remains unchanged.”

“Why do you want to become a singer?”

Hayeon smiled bitterly at Minji’s question and answered.

“If I appear on TV a lot, the people who love me can see me a lot.”

Sanghyun understood Hayeon’s heart at that moment.

Suddenly, the theme of a song he wanted to create with Hayeon came to mind.

‘Channel Heaven.’

Can you guys watch TV in heaven too?

If he became close to Hayeon and they could share their sorrows, it was a theme he definitely wanted to explore together.

Suddenly, Hayeon’s Remission lyrics came to mind.

Mom said nothing is impossible

But she wasn’t logical

What doctors do

What God does

My mother said her heart hurts,

And she had a hard time explaining it.

He imagined Hayeon watching her mother lying in the hospital room. He also remembered Sangmi’s crying as she grabbed onto him. The tears of two small, pretty girls.

Sanghyun suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

Channel Heaven.

The channel of heaven.

He wanted to create a song that comforted not only Hayeon and Sangmi but also the countless people who had sent their loved ones to heaven first.

Sanghyun looked at Hayeon and gave her a warm smile.

“Yeah. Hayeon, you’re pretty, so you’ll definitely be able to appear on TV.”

Hayeon was startled by Sanghyun’s sudden words and blushed.

At that moment, Park In-hyuk, who had gone to the bathroom, chimed in.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“What? We’re just talking about this and that. Have those three finished talking about the vast world of mania?”

“There’s no way that’s possible! The three of them decided to meet once next week.”

“But hyung, we gathered for the purpose of music …….”

Park In-hyuk shook his index finger.

“How can a person live on just rice? It’s natural that our main course is music, so don’t worry.”

“Oppa [older brother or male friend], now that we’ve gathered like this, let’s have dinner together before we leave.”

“Ah, isn’t that obvious.”

Junhyung quickly imitated Park In-hyuk, who seemed to overuse ‘ah’ as a habit.

Thus, the six members of 888Crew far exceeded the originally planned meeting time of 3 hours and even had dinner together before parting ways.

In-hyuk, who had a prior engagement, canceled it, and Kim Hwan, who had to leave due to work, went to Maegok-dong, took care of his business, and even took a taxi back.

They liked each other so much that it was hard to believe it was their first meeting.

July 9, 2005.

It was the day 888Crew officially revealed itself.

< Verse 3. 888 Crew > End

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