Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 18

7. Lee Na-eun

‘This time, I’ll succeed.’

The guy who had reached the pinnacle of the music world started a new project: to elevate Black Tiger into a world-class band.

From the outside, this project might have seemed like it was just for his old colleagues.

But the reality was different.

“The guy who started facing his limits needed a breakthrough.”

New inspiration no longer sparked. Or rather, it sparked, but not in the way he wanted.

It was just mediocre, like self-replication.

Of course, even that would have been amazing to other musicians, but for him, it wasn’t welcome.

Considering how he had grown as if leveling up in a game, it’s not surprising that he even showed symptoms of depression.

The guy who ended up receiving psychiatric counseling looked back at his original intentions in the process.

“Right, my foundation was a rock band. Maybe this can help me grow.”

That’s how the Black Tiger project started.

But this project was never realized.

Because the terrible news of my younger sibling’s death was conveyed, and I collapsed from that point on.

And now, I’m trying to accomplish what that guy ultimately couldn’t.

Fortunately, perhaps because this is my first time doing proper band activities, my uncles’ enthusiasm is incredibly high.

They grumble as always, but apart from that, when they start handling their instruments, they become more passionate than anyone else.

Just like when they first touched a guitar.

My uncles purely enjoyed the music.

Maybe that’s why they exploded like this today.

On the surface, it looks like they’re angry at me, but in reality, they’re angry at themselves.

Now that they’ve finally realized this joy, they must hate the fact that they can’t properly enjoy it.

“At this rate, we might be able to get on stage before the year is out.”

Well, a full tour would be difficult, but it seemed like we could perform three or four songs together at Que Sera Sera.

It would still be a shame, but by that time, performing on stage would be essential as it’s a period to improve skills further.

If the first and second things are like this, the last third thing is supporting the contracted Sussia band.

These guys, called support bands, eventually submitted an application for the ‘Legend of Rock’ competition starting in October.

It became a hot topic, with over 10,000 applications, but those in the industry just give a bitter smile.

Because they know that only one in ten of these bands is actually doing band activities properly.

Even most of them are at the level of amateur clubs, so in reality, the 10,000 band teams were nothing more than promotional marketing.

But despite that, the reason I decided to properly support them in this competition was not for any other reason.

It was because I heard that some bands that even some ordinary people might have heard of would be participating in this competition.

There must be several reasons why they decided to participate, even though it could be something they could be criticized for.

The biggest reason is probably the production team’s recommendation.

Unlike the overseas rock market, which is still alive, the domestic market is barely breathing, so there was a high possibility that the competition could become a flashy but useless event.

So, they must have picked them while keeping the minimum line [minimum level of talent needed to attract viewers].

If they promote this well, it could become a big topic.

In addition, A Cable Broadcasting Station injected a huge amount of funds into ‘Legend of Rock’.

The total prize money is 700 million won [approximately $530,000 USD].

The winner receives 300 million won [approximately $226,000 USD], the runner-up receives 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD], and even those who make it into the top 10 receive prize money sequentially.

As they are pouring out a lot of advertisements, if they can properly continue the buzz, it would be only a matter of time before they become a nationwide band.

“Thanks to that, I had to ask for understanding from the school.”

It is to make time for special training.

Since it’s no longer possible to improve their skills drastically in a short time, the only way now was to aim for the music they would perform in the preliminaries.

If we select and arrange songs that can turn the disadvantage of experience into the advantage of being teenagers, we can make it to the top 10 as well as the finals.

‘If we’re a little lucky, we might even be able to win.’

That’s why I arranged the songs to be used in the preliminaries and finals, and then guided them to master those songs.

Still, perhaps because they had experience with special training during the summer vacation, they didn’t just complain.

Their stamina has improved as much as their skills, but even so, they were managing to keep up while juggling school life.

“Teenagers’ stamina is really a scam.”

No matter how hard the practice was, the fact that I see them with fresh faces the next day is really unbelievable.

I couldn’t help but look at them with envy, wondering if I had ever been like that.

Since it’s not about improving their skills dramatically, at some point, my guidance was no longer needed.

Recently, it has been enough to just watch the stage videos they occasionally send and point out the shortcomings.

Only then was I able to take a breather in my busy life.

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One day a week.

Youngchan went on stage at Que Sera Sera.

It was a Friday night that burned everything [a popular expression for a night of intense fun and excitement], and that day, many people came to see his performance.

Starting with The Old Don’t Die, which is being urged by the audience to release an album, he sang sincere version cover videos.

As a result, new cover songs were added every week, and the repertoire changed little by little.

But today’s stage was different.

In addition to the cover songs that will be uploaded this week, he added a new original song.

The song he added was brilliant struggle, which raised him to the top guitarist.

brilliant struggle was played by a project band called Genesis (γένεσις meaning origin in Greek), which was created for a cancer patient donation concert, and he collaborated with several legends in this project.

Here, he was in charge of sub vocals and guitar.

And he gained popularity to the point where he established himself as a top guitarist through the guitar solo of brilliant struggle, as well as the vocals that usually get the most attention.

It was a song that he couldn’t help but have a deep affection for, and naturally, the arrangement of brilliant struggle was done to a minimum, just to match Youngchan’s key.

“Wow!”

“What, what is this! This is my first time listening to it!”

“It’s an original song! Oh my god! A new original song has been uploaded!”

“It’s comparable to The Old Don’t Die! Oh my god!”

“Crazy! This is a really crazy song!”

The Old Don’t Die became a hot topic because it was an original song written by Youngchan, so people did not doubt that the new song was also his original song.

brilliant struggle, which gives a magnificent feeling, is a song that stands out the most when it is a band, but the arranged brilliant struggle gave that feeling with just one guitar.

“I thought I’d start over…”

When Youngchan’s vocals were added to it, the audience clenched their fists without exception.

Starting over in a terrible reality that you want to give up is really not easy.

In that respect, cancer patients who are fiercely fighting against death are all great beings.

Even though they have already experienced it several times and know what terrible pain they will have in the future, they do not stop fighting for survival.

In the pain that seems to break their bodies, they are holding hope in their arms and carrying out a brilliant struggle.

brilliant struggle was a dedication song made for them, and that’s why it was more magnificent and desperate than any of his songs.

Especially in the guitar solo part, the audience shed tears without exception.

That’s because his brilliant and emotional guitar melody felt like it was caressing himself, who was collapsing in a difficult reality.

Thanks to that, there were more sobs than cheers even after brilliant struggle ended.

“It was an original song called brilliant struggle. I hope it was a little comfort.”

-Wow!

Only then did Youngchan, who had finished introducing the song, receive enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

-Trickle!

Youngchan drank fresh fruit juice, revealing his tired expression.

There are 10 songs, but the time of the old cover songs is long, so it exceeded an average of 5 minutes.

Considering that you have to set up in the middle, it means that he practically filled the stage alone for about 90 minutes.

Even though the air conditioner was turned on, the heat of over 1,000 spectators was enough to overwhelm him.

It feels cooler outside.

When you’re on stage, endorphins circulate, so you might not feel tired, but rather, it consumes more energy, which leads to the current state.

“I need to increase my workout time again…”

Someone approached Youngchan, who was regretting neglecting exercise due to his recent busy schedule.

“Excuse me, are you God Singer?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The person who came was an employee working at the cafe he found.

She looked like an adult, but she looked younger than her age because of her big horn-rimmed glasses and hair reminiscent of chocolate mushrooms.

“Kyaa! It’s real! I’m really a fan!”

The employee jumped up and down like the heroine of a pure comic book, and Youngchan had to feel a strange sense of déjà vu in that appearance.

It was definitely a face I saw for the first time, but the current situation and this employee felt unfamiliar.

“C, can you sign it?”

“Yes. I’ll do it for you.”

He received the autograph paper that the employee gave him and asked while habitually signing.

“What’s your name?”

“Na-eun. Lee Na-eun.”

“….!”

Youngchan was surprised by the name Lee Na-eun. At the same time, he was able to know the identity of the déjà vu he felt.

“Thank you.”

Youngchan asked her, who was so happy that she received the autograph.

“Na-eun, I think you’re doing music too, right?”

“…How did you know? Actually, I’m doing it as a hobby.”

Youngchan had to laugh inwardly at her saying that she was doing it as a hobby.

‘Haha. It can’t be just a hobby level.’

Yes, it couldn’t be just a hobby level.

If you were to pick the nation’s top female singer, Lee Na-eun was always the first to be picked.

She was a singer who had been in the top spot for over 7 years as far as he knew.

She failed miserably with her first album, but after YC Entertainment invested in Na-eun’s agency, she was able to release her next single album.

After that, she gradually gained recognition and hit the jackpot as a national younger sister [a term for a beloved, innocent, and popular young female celebrity].

It was like a large singer came out from an entertainment company that invested to expand domestic support before entering overseas.

“Ha…yes, it has to be different…”

Youngchan, who was looking at her welcoming the customers who flocked in during lunch time, unknowingly sighed.

She was shining with sparkling talent even in his arrogant eyes, so the regret was bound to be great.

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