Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 8

3. Bitcoin at Five Dollars?

‘What should I sing?’

The most obvious choice would be ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ but Youngchan didn’t particularly want to sing that song.

Since it was his first time on stage in a while, he thought it would be nice to sing a song that the audience wanted.

He asked Jiwon, a short-haired girl who was looking at him with particularly fervent eyes among the kids.

“Hey, you little one over there. Is there anything you want to hear?”

“Uh… anything is okay?”

“As long as I know the song, I can sing it.”

“…”

Jiwon swallowed hard at Youngchan’s words. Unlike his gentle tone, she felt intimidated by him on stage.

It was the authority that came with reaching the top in a certain field, but Jiwon, who couldn’t know that, found him both frightening and mysterious.

“Nothing? If not….”

“I, I want to hear Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’!”

“‘Stairway to Heaven,’ you’ve picked something interesting?”

“Ah, is it not okay?”

“It’s not that it’s not okay, but it’s a long song, so is it okay if I arrange it a bit?”

“Ah! Yes.”

“Okay. Good, let’s do that.”

‘Stairway to Heaven’ was a whopping 8 minutes and 2 seconds long. It was a song that didn’t fit in with the current era where songs were getting shorter.

But this song was one that Youngchan personally liked.

‘Stairway to Heaven’ is largely divided into three parts, each with increasing tempo and volume. It starts with a slow tempo with acoustic instruments before introducing electric instruments, and the guitar solo by Jimmy Page in the latter part is considered one of the best performances in history.

Naturally, as Youngchan mainly played the guitar among the various instruments he handled, he couldn’t help but like the song.

In other words, ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was a song that mediocre musicians dared not touch.

-Tada dadang. Ttang…-

After fiddling with the multi-effects processor for a moment, Youngchan began to play the acoustic sound using the electric guitar, which is the unique intro of ‘Stairway to Heaven.’

“Wow….”

At the same time, Jiwon couldn’t hide the exclamation that flowed out of her mouth.

She couldn’t believe that he could produce such a sound so quickly even though it wasn’t prepared in advance.

But what really impressed her was when Youngchan started singing the first verse.

“There’s a lady who’s sure All that glitters is gold And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.”

As with any great musician, especially in the case of bands, the color of the songs they sing is bound to be strong.

Yet, Youngchan’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was different.

Just like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ which shocked Jiwon and everyone else at the coin karaoke [a karaoke booth where you pay per song], Youngchan showed the same 모습 [Korean for ‘appearance’ or ‘presence’] this time.

If you didn’t know it was a Led Zeppelin song, you would believe it was originally his song. He erased Led Zeppelin’s color and revealed himself.

What’s amazing is the arrangement, which is as great as the vocals.

-Jijijijing!-

He moved on to the second part so naturally, and before she knew it, the guitar had changed to an electric sound.

The smooth arrangement that followed as if it were nothing makes you feel like the process was done so easily.

Originally, if what the other person does looks easy, it’s because that person is doing it insanely well, and that was the case this time.

Youngchan’s arrangement skills had reached an unbelievable level, so he was creating this strange illusion.

But the real deal was yet to come.

-Jajajajajang!-

Everyone held their breath during Jimmy Page’s long guitar solo that made ‘Stairway to Heaven’ famous.

Especially the shock of the guitarists was beyond imagination.

‘This is a miracle!’

Hyungwoon, who had lent Youngchan his guitar and had 준프로 [Korean slang for ‘semi-pro’]-level skills among them, was in shock as if his heart and head had exploded at the same time.

It was not so different from a mortal facing a god.

You might think it’s an exaggeration, but if you have an ear to recognize the true value of Youngchan’s guitar playing, you’ll know that it’s not an exaggeration at all.

Youngchan’s guitar playing was already on par with or even superior to Jimmy Page’s heyday.

-Deoldeoldeol!-

Eventually, Hyungwoon had to wipe his blurry eyes, shrugging his shoulders.

Although not as much as Hyungwoon, Jiwon was also immersed in a heart-pounding emotion.

When she applied ‘Stairway to Heaven’, she had never thought of a performance of this level.

After more than a minute of guitar solo, Youngchan slowly stopped playing and returned to the original atmosphere, and then recited a line of lyrics to finish the song.

“And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.”

Youngchan, who recited the last line and slowly took his mouth off the microphone, frowned slightly.

The members of Suseia seemed greatly moved, but unlike them, he himself didn’t like it.

‘Even though it’s a stage that I prepared in a hurry, I sang it while ignoring everything so much. Was I too excited?’

It wasn’t arrogance.

In fact, he had surpassed himself in that world, who had reached the top, and reached a new level.

As much as he looked down from such a high place, this stage was too lacking as it was a stage he had faced in a long time.

‘If my masters knew, they would have made fun of me a lot.’

His guitar master, who was nothing but straightforward, would have made fun of him, saying that the monster guy had finally gone crazy.

The other masters would have 비아냥거렸을 터 [Korean for ‘scorned’ or ‘mocked’], even if not to that extent, at least asking if he was sick.

Perhaps that’s why Youngchan’s ears were already turning red.

“Sniffle! Rock and roll!”

But even this regret was erased in an instant by Jiwon, who was greatly moved and cried out loud.

Seeing her, a young girl, being so honest with her emotions, made him feel that his worries were nothing.

“Hahaha.”

Youngchan smiled as he looked at Jiwon, who was sure to become his 진성 [Korean for ‘true’ or ‘genuine’] fan, and then turned his head to the other audience members.

There were band members who were 감격에 젖어든 [Korean for ‘immersed in emotion’], though not as much as Jiwon.

‘Oh, dear~. That guy doesn’t live up to his size.’

Youngchan, watching Hyungwoon, who had lent him his guitar, quietly shedding tears and snot, unlike the noisy Jiwon, quietly sighed inwardly.

Although it was only one song, it was more than enough to convince him that Youngchan was the main character of the video.

No, it would have been difficult to believe if it had been the opposite.

Not only the song, but also the guitar playing and arrangement skills were on another level.

He drank iced coffee on the black sofa that the children had brought from somewhere, and looked at the children sitting there with nervous expressions.

In addition to Jiwon, who was a short-haired girl who seemed to be just over 150cm tall, there were two more people in front of him, including Hyungwoon, whose eyes and nose were red and swollen, carefully looking at him.

These are the mainstays of the current Suseia band and were also the subjects who recorded the video at the coin karaoke at the time.

When Youngchan really proved that he was a 갓 [Korean slang for ‘god-like’ or ‘amazing’] singer, they had to face him with an attitude of 을 [In Korean culture, this refers to being in a subordinate position].

It’s not just because they knew he was a great musician that they couldn’t even dare to look at.

The problem was the video that had gone viral too much, which they hadn’t thought of at the time.

Even if it was only 100,000 or even 1 million views, they wouldn’t have thought much of it.

The problem was that this video had exceeded 70 million views.

The profit was considerable. Even after deducting all taxes, it was over 70 million won [approximately $53,000 USD].

Usually, in this case, the profits go to the copyright holders, but this was a cover song, so it was a 5:5 split.

In addition, if you upload it without permission, you will have to divide the profits again, and in that respect, Youngchan and they had to share the profits.

‘I understand why they guessed I would contact them.’

Youngchan, who was able to take a considerable profit, 고민하다 [Korean for ‘pondered’ or ‘thought about it’] for a while and then made a decision.

“Let’s split it in half.”

He could have taken more if he had been 독하게 [Korean for ‘ruthless’ or ‘heartless’], but he didn’t.

He was grateful that they hadn’t uploaded a video that could have become a 흑역사 [Korean for ‘dark history’ or ’embarrassing memory’].

In addition, he needed the help of these children to increase the subscriptions to his YouTube channel.

The children’s expressions immediately brightened.

This is because more money than they had expected fell into their share. Above all, the biggest thing was that they were able to use the money that had been tied up in the thought that it might be a problem.

Since Seodong High School is not an arts high school, there was almost no budget for band activities.

“I can finally change the speakers.”

“I don’t have to worry about transportation costs, which were always a problem!”

“Let’s buy instruments together for the club department this time. There are more than one or two freshmen who don’t have their own proper instruments.”

“Good idea.”

“…”

Youngchan scratched his chin at the sight of the excited children.

He felt ashamed of the children’s attitude of showing a pure attitude rather than using it privately, even though they had a lot of money in their hands.

‘I’ve become too 세상에 찌들어지긴 [Korean for ‘jaded by the world’].’

He felt a pang of conscience for his 괜한 [Korean for ‘unnecessary’ or ‘groundless’] self-criticism, so he opened his mouth to the excited children.

“Since it’s money that I wouldn’t have gotten if it weren’t for you guys anyway. What do you want? Tell me if there’s anything you want.”

-gulp-

At Youngchan’s words, the children, who had been excited and 떠들던 [Korean for ‘chatting noisily’], suddenly closed their mouths.

Then, they looked at each other, and soon 영식 [Youngshik], who was in charge of the drums, opened his mouth.

“If it’s okay, can you 지도 [Korean for ‘guide’ or ‘mentor’] us?”

“Hooh?”

He, who was going to buy one of the speakers or instruments that the children had mentioned, looked at the children with 흥미어린 [Korean for ‘interested’] eyes at this request.

Apparently, they had been thinking about this request for a long time.

‘They’re lucky guys.’

Who was he?

He was a musician who had personally reached the top of the world, but he was also a producer who had raised 뛰어난 [Korean for ‘outstanding’ or ‘exceptional’] musicians.

It would be difficult to find someone like him as a teacher even if you searched the whole world.

Youngchan liked the children who made this request.

He 고민하다 [Korean for ‘pondered’] for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Master one song that you are confident in by next Saturday. I’ll decide after seeing that.”

“Wow~.”

Youngchan wondered if these children’s cheers would continue on that day.

He was the one who made even the world-class musicians who had sent him 러브콜 [Konglish for ‘love call,’ meaning an offer or invitation] be called 악마 [Korean for ‘devil’].

The sight of the children 하하 호호 [onomatopoeia for laughter] and 물러가는 [Korean for ‘retreating’ or ‘leaving’] without knowing that was truly sad, but Youngchan, who was watching them, was envious on the one hand.

‘It’s a good time.’

The 모습 [Korean for ‘appearance’ or ‘state’] of the children chasing only their dreams without any worries was something he had once wanted.

Youngchan thought that perhaps such a pure heart was the most necessary thing for him to start again.

Youngchan was finally able to leave the school after signing the distribution agreement that the school had prepared and finishing the work on promoting his 너튜브 [Korean slang for YouTube].

“How long are you going to follow me?”

“Hehe.”

However, as the children, centered on Jiwon, followed him like ducklings following their mother, he had no choice but to say a word.

The 모습 [Korean for ‘appearance’] of such children was so cute that Youngchan 피식 [onomatopoeia for a slight chuckle] smiled and said.

“You seem to have plenty of time. It’ll be hard to satisfy me in a week, you know?”

“허억 [Korean interjection expressing shock or surprise]!”

Only then did the children feel the burden and stopped following.

Youngchan, who lightly 놀린 [Korean for ‘teased’] the children, ended by 괜히 [Korean for ‘unnecessarily’] messing up the hair of Jiwon, who was the most worried, and then parted ways with the children.