Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 354

Five retakes.

During a short break, the video director asked Ryu Iden, who was sitting next to him.

“…I don’t know much, but why does it all sound the same?”

Ryu Iden simply smiled and replied.

“Me too. Honestly, I wouldn’t say I have a great musical talent.”

Of course, he did feel that the performance was gradually becoming more comfortable to listen to, but that was only up to the second time.

Now, he doesn’t really know where it has changed.

“It’s natural that we wouldn’t know.”

Lee Hyunjae sat down next to them, took a sip of coffee, and replied.

Ryu Iden asked as if a new and interesting question had come to mind.

“How do you feel seeing a fellow alumnus again?”

“I did learn from Ji Donghwa, but our fields are different, so it’s ambiguous to call him an alumnus, right?”

A brief silence followed. The director left at the call of another staff member, and Lee Hyunjae sighed deeply.

“That was originally the working title of my solo song, but I feel like it was taken away.”

“It was a completely different song. ‘Under the Snow.’”

“I know.”

Ji Donghwa was sitting next to Bongju’s piano, listening intently to the detailed story.

It seemed like he was giving feedback, but what he felt was.

“That’s probably an explanation session.”

“Huh?”

“Donghwa hyung [older brother or close male friend] won’t say anything.”

When he brought his lyrics, Ji Donghwa didn’t give any feedback. He just listened, understood his intention, and then revised the arrangement.

Watching that, Lee Hyunjae became impatient and revised the lyrics several times.

When producing, he often gave feedback, but when he wrote lyrics, he just accepted them as if saying, ‘I trust you with that.’

“Bongju is probably redoing it so many times for that reason too.”

He can’t break the teacher’s trust. With that one thought.

And soon he will realize. Ji Donghwa never asks others for work unless he has calculated that he can be satisfied with any outcome.

Once he realizes that, there is no answer. In the end, he has no choice but to pursue endless self-improvement, staying up for days and nights.

“It reminds me of the old days.”

How nostalgic. Even after all that, Donghwa hyung would wonder, ‘Why do these kids keep doubting themselves even though they are doing well?’ It’s all his fault.

Lee Hyunjae prided himself on having a Ph.D. in Ji Donghwa studies.

“I can’t believe you’re old enough to say that.”

Lee Hyunjae chuckled at Ryu Iden’s words.

It’s something that someone who has never been Donghwa hyung’s student wouldn’t understand, but Lee Hyunjae knows.

Too bad, our Bongju. He’ll probably just be re-shooting all day today.

* * *

After pressing the last key, Bongju took a deep breath.

Eleventh retake, Bongju realized.

He concentrated several times more than during the exam, focusing on every syllable of the teacher’s voice, so he felt dazed as if he were in a dream.

And when he came to his senses after pressing the last key, he thought, ‘No way, did I play this?’

When listening to music history class, Plato said that the Muse goddess sometimes possessed the musician’s body for a while, is this it?

Bongju raised his head and looked at the teacher.

The teacher was still standing firmly, looking at him with the meaning of ‘Is it okay this time?’

However, Bongju was just looking back with the meaning of ‘Confirmation, please.’ Maybe it was an eye that meant ‘Praise, please praise.’

The teacher looked into those eyes as if digging into the inside.

“Good job.”

A short compliment. But with just that, Bongju collapsed into the chair as if exhausted.

“Heuh.”

A strange sound came out of his mouth involuntarily. As if all the tension in his body was released, he finally felt strength in his arms.

When playing, giving strength to the joints rather hinders it, so he forcibly took it out, so his arms felt like they weren’t his own.

He did it, somehow.

When he applied for feedback, he just listened and changed the points he emphasized when singing along, and the fact that this was entirely his own work came like a tidal wave.

Was it thanks to that? His concentration increased, and he finally made a performance that could highlight his voice.

Wasn’t this what the teacher intended? To show how much he had grown alone through his performance…….

Thinking that way, he finally straightened his posture and sat down, looking around the set.

He knew that the filming wouldn’t end just because he was satisfied.

The sound director and the filming director, who had been introduced to him, also had a short conversation and nodded. It seems like an OK sign.

“Good job.”

The teacher already had a juice in one hand. It’s because he can’t drink caffeinated drinks at all.

Presumably, the reason is that the teacher often bought him juice whenever he drank coffee when he was young.

Since then, whenever he went to a cafe, he drank the juice that the teacher bought.

“Thank you…. I thought I was really going to die today.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Because the teacher sings so well, I didn’t like everything I had decided on how to play.”

Bongju opened his mouth as always.

When sitting side by side on the piano, he couldn’t help but open his mouth. It was just like a habit.

No matter how grown up he is, the influence of his childhood remains great.

Just as the first note of the sheet music determines so many things.

“I was playing the piano and thinking hard.”

“Yeah.”

“This song is about looking back on life, right?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a song you wrote for me.”

So? The teacher’s eyes answered without saying.

“I think I got the first note right.”

“……It’s an important thing.”

The teacher didn’t really like being called a teacher. It was as if his piano skills were now better, so how could that be possible.

No matter how Bongju looked at it, it seemed like he was pretending not to know.

He always knew everything but acted like that. The title of ‘teacher’ had long since become something outside of the piano.

It meant that he respected him as a human being and was always grateful.

He was still pretending not to know. He limited the meaning of his words to the performance with a strange answer.

The meaning was clearly ‘I think I lived well thanks to meeting the teacher.’

Bongju, who has grown old, is now at his most intelligent. He even has a teacher who graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Korea University. That’s why he was able to figure out why he was doing that.

You’re embarrassed. Well, who wouldn’t be flattered by the word respect? He’s always used to praising others, but he’s always like that when listening.

Bongju was a little excited and naturally put his hand on the piano keys.

He has many songs prepared to play when he meets him again, but now he just wants to play a cheerful song.

“Can I play?”

“Yeah.”

So Bongju changed the most cheerful song Ji Donghwa composed, ‘Heung,’ to the piano.

He had never practiced it, but improvisation has its own charm.

Bongju was so focused on the performance that he didn’t know.

The filming director and the sound director listened to the flow of the conversation and realized that they had not finished filming. The camera was rolling, and the voice was still being recorded.

When the staff applauded after finishing a song, he reminded himself that the people working here were trying to film a good video for the teacher.

Bongju only had a good performance as a way to express his gratitude in his own way, so he made a medley on the spot.

He subtly connected the last note to the performance that seemed to be over and moved on to the teacher’s debut song. A small exclamation of ‘…hmm.’ burst out from the side, making him feel proud.

Remembering the notes is so easy.

The teacher’s songs always have notes arranged with clear reasons and logic. Sometimes it felt like a philosophy book. A philosophy book that is fun to read.

When the performance finally ended, Bongju left the piano with a relieved heart.

Ah, a pleasant day. He politely greeted the directors and was about to leave.

“Excuse me, Mr. Bongju.”

A staff member approached.

“Yes?”

“Can we use this video?”

“……Isn’t it obvious?”

“Ah, no. The medley you played. This wasn’t in the contract, so we need to make an additional contract.”

“Ah…….”

Well, it wasn’t a performance that was too bad to listen to, and videos of him being filmed were often taken when he went to competitions. He was used to it being uploaded somewhere. There was no need to get more money because he had already received more than his ability.

“You can just use it.”

As he answered that, the teacher grabbed his shoulder.

“No, Bongju.”

A categorical imperative falling [a moral obligation or command that is unconditional and absolute].

“Unless it’s volunteering, labor requires compensation.”

“…Yes!”

Perhaps, the teacher wanted to give him a big allowance on this occasion.

He had such doubts, but if he followed the teacher’s words, he would be blessed enough to dream of pianos even while sleeping.

* * *

After having dinner with three celebrities, really handsome people, and having his father review the new contract at home, Bongju’s life flowed by without much change.

An album will be released and a performance will be held, and it seems like there is about a month left until the album is released.

“Okay, let’s press this.”

Bongju sat in front of the piano at the welfare center as usual.

Next to him, a small child was pressing the keys according to Bongju’s words.

Ding. Bongju almost frowned for a moment.

This piano is so bad.

It was so bad that he wanted to cover the child’s ears because it was a bad sound.

However, the child exclaimed, ‘Oh!’ when the sound rang out. Bongju also came to his senses.

As planned yesterday, for a small child playing the piano for the first time.

“…This is Do [pronounced ‘Doh’, the first note in the musical scale].”

Bongju bit his lip for a moment. Does he deserve to say these words?

Does he really deserve to hear the sound of teacher?

But he decided to put those worries aside.

This is this child’s first encounter with the piano, and the fact that he applied for this education program means he was interested.

Just like himself when he was young.

Let’s imitate it. Still, he is a piano major.

First encounter with the piano, he doesn’t know if this child will like it or not, but at least he hopes that he won’t dislike it because of him.

With that in mind, he taught the child one by one, and when he showed him what songs he could play if he practiced hard.

Bongju’s cell phone, which was set to silent mode, rang and a message in English arrived on it saying, ‘Hey, what are you doing.’

After that, messages with similar content came in one after another (Korean contacts also continued in between), and even phone calls came.

However, all of those things were left unattended in Bongju’s thorough indifference, and he did not receive any replies.

Finally, when Bongju stretched in the small room while waiting for one child to leave and another child to come, Bongju did not check his cell phone.

How could he have time to play with such electronic devices when there is a piano in front of him?

No matter how bad it is, a piano is a piano.

If you desperately search for the sound you want, you will be able to reach its limit.

While the teachers walking down the hallway of the welfare center stopped and listened for a while, or rather sat in front of it and shared coffee, Bongju just smiled and played the piano.

“No, how can the sound be so beautiful? Was our piano this good?”

Without hearing the welfare center staff talking outside, ignoring all contact.