The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 163

***

The massive venue of Yongin AIMMF [an arts festival showcasing film and music] was a Neverland where two genres of art intertwined: film and music, as the event’s name suggested.

The first building one would see upon entering the AIMMF venue was a colossal movie theater capable of accommodating up to 2,000 people.

The main theater, known as Theater 1, screened films from Korea, China, and Japan that had achieved significant box office success from 1995 to 2005, 24 hours a day.

Around this main theater, independent film booths of various sizes were set up. Twenty booths, each accommodating a minimum of 30 to a maximum of 80 people, screened independent films tailored to their respective concepts, enticing tourists.

Behind the main theater was the main stage.

The massive main stage, capable of accommodating 4,000 standing spectators, was where various mainstream artists would showcase their music during the three-day event.

So, where were the independent musicians?

Independent musicians were not confined to a specific location.

Everywhere.

They were everywhere.

Of course, some independent musicians who had received invitations from AIMMF were scheduled to perform on the sub-stage. However, the number of uninvited underground musicians far exceeded those who were invited.

They set up shop and started busking all over the venue.

Benches, parking lots, next to independent film booths.

Musicians were present wherever the audience’s eyes could reach.

Some sang with just a guitar, while others showcased beatboxing with portable speakers. There were even those who performed intense breakdancing despite the cold weather.

This kind of busking was actively encouraged and supported by AIMMF. Power outlets that could be used for busking were placed throughout the venue, and if one applied for busking with the organizers, they could receive various forms of assistance, such as simple snacks or borrowed blankets and portable speakers for free.

AIMMF received much acclaim for its diverse attractions and entertainment, but the ‘Busking Project’ in particular was well-received. Critics applauded it as a perfect blend of mainstream and indie culture, and the AIMMF organizers could puff out their chests and boast.

However, an unforeseen variable occurred on the second day of the event.

“What? What are you talking about? 888 Crew dropped out of the lineup? Don’t tell me it’s because we put them on the sub-stage instead of the main stage?”

“That’s not it. It’s not a performance-related issue, but rather a conflict with the interview company, Show Business. Here’s a written statement of reasons for contract termination from 888 Crew.”

The AIMMF executive team leader frowned as he read the statement of reasons.

“888 Crew’s name is in the promotional material, right? Prominently?”

“Yes.”

“Then there might be some backlash. Sigh… this is troublesome.”

“Um, team leader, 888 Crew has applied for busking.”

“Busking? What are you talking about? They’re going to pay the penalty and still perform? Isn’t that just a face-saving measure for the fans?”

“It doesn’t seem like a face-saving measure. They’re even bringing in speakers from outside and preparing quite a large setup.”

“Hmm, then there’s no problem. They’re participating as buskers to uphold the underground spirit! It would be great if we could get an interview saying that… Anyway, do those 888 guys have any manners or loyalty?”

The team leader’s expression softened. If they didn’t perform at all after their name appeared in the promotional material, it could become a problem due to false advertising, but if they even did busking, it would be a different story.

“But team leader, there’s a bit of a problem.”

“A problem? What problem?”

“It seems like too many people are gathering.”

“It’s good if a lot of people gather.”

“Too many people are gathering.”

The team leader frowned.

“Why? Is there a risk of a safety accident? Then deploy safety personnel. Deputy Kang, do I have to instruct you on that?”

“Team leader, right now, 888 Crew is a walking sub-stage. If we deploy safety personnel, we’d have to deploy the entire staff assigned to the sub-stage.”

“What?”

The variable that AIMMF had not anticipated at all was that 888 Crew had jumped into the busking project.

***

The AIMMF main stage performance was scheduled to begin at 7 PM, and the sub-stage performance was scheduled to begin at 5 PM.

Therefore, the spectators who came to Yongin AIMMF to see today’s performance were remembering 5 PM and 7 PM. However, a new time, 6 PM, began to be etched into their minds.

This was because 888 Crew’s busking was scheduled to begin at 6 PM.

There was a man pulling a cart.

The man was sweating profusely as he pulled the heavy cart.

Even though it was midwinter, sweat began to drip down, and he was out of breath, but the man wasn’t tired. Because he always felt energized when he saw the eyes of his family who believed in him and followed him…

“Energized my ass! Let’s switch!”

“Ah, hyung [older brother/male friend], you’ve only been pushing for ten minutes! I pushed for thirty minutes!”

“This is too heavy!”

“Look at Minho hyung. He’s pushing silently without saying a word. How reliable is that?”

“He has muscles trained by the camera… Minho is a physical type, and I’m a brain type…”

Inhyuk grumbled but still pushed the cart diligently.

The fans who were following 888 Crew laughed and teased with their cameras at the sight that resembled a comedy act.

“Oppa [term used by females to address older male friends/brothers], you’re so handsome!”

“Sweating makes you so sexy!”

The identity of the cart that Inhyuk and Minho were pushing was today’s promotional tool, containing a total of four speakers, two on each cart.

Having gone to several out-of-town performances, Inhyuk, who had transformed from a best driver to a pretty decent ‘worst driver,’ had gone to Yongsan Electronics Market [a large electronics market in Seoul] with Minho because he was not satisfied with the output of the speakers that AIMMF was lending out.

That’s how Inhyuk came across something that caught his eye while bringing in four monster speakers with a rated output of 110W and eight wired and wireless microphones: a cart used at construction sites.

‘Minho, wouldn’t it be fun to load speakers on a cart and promote while moving around? Rapping while walking around.’

‘Oh? That’s not bad? A moving stage?’

‘Wow, they say geniuses die young, what should I do?’

However, Inhyuk didn’t think that he would have to push that cart himself. It seemed he wasn’t a genius after all.

No matter how tired Inhyuk was, Junhyung and Sanghyun followed the cart at their own pace because they had filled their allotted time.

Of course, they weren’t just following along.

888- Busking-

6 PM- Booth 10-

They were promoting the performance by following the catchy bounce of ‘Chapssaltteok- Memilmuk-‘ [a children’s rhyme]. The four speakers with a rated output of 110W roared, spewing their voices all around.

The sight was quite amusing, or maybe it was just that people liked 888 Crew, but the fans who densely surrounded the cart quickly followed the promotional message.

888- Busking-

6 PM- Booth 10-

888 Crew was like the Pied Piper, leading people around. Passersby saw the huge crowd swarming around and joined in, wondering what was going on.

Sanghyun stopped the cart whenever the surroundings were completely obscured because there were too many people following.

“Excuse me!”

Sanghyun, who came out pushing through the crowd, discovered buskers looking at them with expressions that said, ‘What’s going on?’ It was a team consisting of one man and one woman, and unusually, the woman was playing the djembe [a type of drum].

“Hello.”

“Uh… uh…”

The female musician playing the djembe was startled by Sanghyun’s sudden appearance and stuttered in surprise. It was inevitable that she would be like that, as a musician she had seen on TV, and a musician she liked so much, suddenly greeted her first.

In fact, 888 Crew’s mobile stage was causing a nuisance to the buskers who were performing if they didn’t pay attention.

What if a huge crowd of people, too many to count, suddenly passed by while they were performing hard? There was no way anyone could concentrate on the performance.

Therefore, Sanghyun carefully observed the surroundings and led the buskers to the cart whenever he saw them.

When he returned to the cart with the buskers, pushing through the crowd, two carts were already facing each other, forming a stage-like shape. On each side of the cart, two speakers were placed diagonally.

“Wow…”

The small stage on the street that had been created in an instant welcomed the buskers. Any musician couldn’t help but feel their heart flutter.

“You should perform, right?”

“Yes?!”

He connected an acoustic guitar to one speaker and a wired microphone to capture the sound of the djembe to another speaker.

Then, two microphone stands were set up in front of the two musicians.

“Ah, hello. We are a duet musician Printer, based in Suwon.”

The audience cheered at the interesting name Printer.

The two members of Printer had moved expressions. It had been over three years since they started their music career, but this was the first time they had received so much attention and attention.

Printer sang three short songs of two minutes each.

Printer’s stage was okay. The completeness of the music was a bit disappointing, but the vocal tones of the two musicians were unique, making it enjoyable to listen to. Woominho, who was listening quietly, said that they were like Song Changsik [a famous Korean folk singer] and Gummy [a famous Korean R&B singer].

The audience also gave generous applause and cheers to the promising musicians.

“Thank you so much! Thank you so much!”

“To 888 Crew seniors, no, juniors, no, uh… who gave us this opportunity…”

Inhyuk shouted loudly ‘Friends!’ to Printer, who was flustered by the title.

“I would also like to express my gratitude to my friends!”

The audience laughed and applauded at the strange title of friends. That’s how Printer got off the cart, and now it was 888 Crew’s turn.

As soon as Sanghyun got on the stage, no, the cart, he opened his mouth.

“We’re just going to do it roughly here. We’re not going to do a lot of songs, we’re only going to do two songs. Do you know why?”

888- Busking-

6 PM- Booth 10-

The audience who had been following 888 Crew from the beginning shouted Sanghyun’s promotional message. Sanghyun smiled.

“That’s right. From 6 PM, busking will be held on the stand behind independent film booth number 10. The playing time is not fixed. We’re just going to play until we can play. Will you come?”

The answer of yes! echoed like a reverberation.

Before they knew it, more people had gathered around. As he went up on the cart, he could roughly guess how many people there were.

“It seems like I’m promoting harder than when I did a guerrilla concert at Hip Hop the Vibe [a Korean hip hop event].”

Minho sent a signal to Sanghyun. The two speakers with USBs were ready to spit out the beat.

“We’re only going to do two songs! We’re going to do it roughly, so just play roughly!”

As soon as Sanghyun finished speaking, a cheerful synthesizer sound of ppam ppam ppam! began to be heard.

At that time, Inhyuk came up to the cart and grabbed the microphone. Inhyuk’s expression was quite serious.

“Sanghyun. Hyung, I can’t perform right now.”

“Yes? Why?”

“It’s not a situation where we can perform right now.”

“What are you talking about? Can’t you see the audience is waiting?”

As a scene that he had seen somewhere was being produced, the audience who had noticed the performance song shouted with anticipation.

The song that had become an issue in various ways at Hip Hop the Vibe.

“It’s not a situation where we can do that!”

“Why?”

“I can’t say.”

“Hyung, is that all you are? What’s the reason!”

“I…! I…!”

The audience felt embarrassed as they anticipated Inhyuk’s next line. The feeling of wanting to hide somewhere when the protagonists in dramas are in embarrassing situations.

However, as always, Inhyuk’s acting was uninhibited.

“I was so moved by Printer’s song that I shat myself!”

As soon as Inhyuk finished speaking, the audience screamed.

-Kyaaaaaaak!

-It’s the locker room!

At the same time, the beat got louder and the chorus began.

People who had encountered the locker room through Hip Hop the Vibe began to sing along loudly.

End

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