The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 21

< Verse 2. Gotta Move >

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Sanghyun had a meeting with his homeroom teacher every Monday during the first period instead of class. This was because the teacher believed that counseling was a natural responsibility for a teacher to a student who had lost their parents.

“Sanghyun, you must have been busy and had a hard time studying. You’ve worked hard. You’re exceeding my expectations.”

“Yes.”

“You might feel it’s a shame, but I think you’ve done well enough. Really.”

“I’ll keep trying.”

The homeroom teacher patted Sanghyun’s shoulder.

“Class will be over soon. Go in when the bell rings.”

Sanghyun bowed instead of answering and left the counseling room.

Although the homeroom teacher put it nicely, Sanghyun’s monthly exam scores had dropped dramatically. He was in the top 20% in the previous monthly exam, but now he barely escaped the bottom 30%.

Sanghyun waited for the bell to ring in the hallway, lost in thought.

In the past, he would have studied like crazy from this point on. After his parents passed away, he felt pressured that studying was the only way to succeed.

‘I decided to do music.’

He felt anxious because he had succeeded through studying in his previous life, but he forced himself to shake off the bad thoughts. ‘It’s okay,’ he told himself. ‘He knows he can succeed in music too.’

He seemed to have a talent for it.

He made a great stage without even doing music properly, and he had already received a love call [an offer or invitation] from a band. Maybe he had more talent for music than studying.

“What? Going to the cafeteria? Let’s go together.”

Just in time, the bell rang and Junhyung came out of the classroom. Sanghyun, who was standing in the hallway, headed to the cafeteria with Junhyung.

“Oh, right. Sanghyun, when are you free next week?”

“For what?”

“About forming the crew, it looks like we can finally meet next week because the schedules match. It would be nice if next week was a no-school Saturday, but this week is.”

Today was Friday, and tomorrow was Saturday, a day off from school.

“Anyway, how about after Saturday’s class next week, or just Sunday?”

“Um…….”

Sanghyun made a vague expression and asked.

“Do we really have to form a crew?”

“What? Of course. Are you and I going to do music alone?”

“No, it’s not that, but…….”

“Hey. We don’t know anything. Among the people who gathered to form a crew, there are students on leave from music college, and people who have been in bands elsewhere. We have to learn at least one thing from those people.”

“Isn’t it enough to be good at rapping?”

“It’s also important to package your skills well. And frankly, are we good at rapping? We’re trying to be good.”

Sanghyun was about to tell Junhyung about the band L&S, but stopped. In fact, when you think about it, he only received a love call, so there was no other connection.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of elation.

As they say, men are kids until they die.

“I’ll skip the next meeting. Go alone and meet them once.”

“Me alone? That’s a lot of pressure……. Why? Let’s go together.”

Sanghyun believed in Junhyung’s way of succeeding in music.

But right now, Junhyung is too early in the beginning stages and is a beginner. In Sanghyun’s opinion, it would be enough to learn from L&S, who knows music well.

‘Or do it alone.’

He was confident that he could do well enough on his own.

“Just because. Sangmi’s midterms are over next Friday, so I think I should hang out with her.”

“Hmm…… Then there’s no choice. Okay. Then I’ll meet them first. Let’s go together when we meet in earnest next time.”

“Okay.”

There were too many people at the cafeteria, so they just got a drink and had to go back.

“Oh, right. I’ll send you the lyrics by text during class.”

“What lyrics?”

“I wrote it yesterday. Take a look.”

“Okay.”

The bell rang and class started again.

Monday was a day with physical education and a lot of moving classes. Sanghyun received Junhyung’s lyrics in the middle, but he was too busy to see them properly. He roughly skimmed through them and only got the feeling that they were a bit childish.

Before he knew it, it was already 4 o’clock and Sanghyun’s school schedule was over. Sanghyun’s friends envied him as he packed his bag.

“Sanghyun, are you going home?”

Woocheol called Sanghyun as he entered the classroom.

“I have to go. I’m leaving first. Good luck.”

“Hey, wait a minute. Junhyung said he had to go near your neighborhood because of an errand for the homeroom teacher?”

“Now?”

“Yeah. Should I text him? I wonder if he’s still in the faculty room?”

“If you text him and the vibration goes off in the faculty room, I’ll kill you.”

“Then just wait a minute.”

“Okay.”

Anyway, Sangmi’s CA [Creative Activity] activity ends at 5:30, so there was no rush. After waiting for a while, Junhyung came into the classroom with a shopping bag.

“Oh, you weren’t gone. Let’s go together.”

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t know. Near the KEPCO [Korea Electric Power Corporation]. I’ll know when I get there.”

Then the bell rang to end the break. Sanghyun and Junhyung hurriedly left the school.

“Ah, it’s starting to get hot.”

“It’s okay yet?”

“Oh, right. Did you read the lyrics?”

“Huh? Ah…… I was too busy today with physical education and everything, so I didn’t see it properly, but I did see it.”

“Really? How is it?”

Junhyung asked expectantly.

He gave it to Sanghyun as if he had written it roughly, but in fact, he had revised it until dawn yesterday. If Sanghyun had looked closely, he would have known how much effort he had put in.

“It was so-so. There are some disappointing parts…….”

“Disappointing parts?”

“The parts where you match the rhyme with English words are a bit, um, should I say out of the blue?”

In fact, the choice of words seemed too childish, but he softened his words for Junhyung’s sake. Junhyung stared at Sanghyun for a moment and said.

“You didn’t see it properly.”

“Huh? No. I saw it.”

“These are the titles of our first album songs. The ones we’re going to make in the future.”

“Huh? What?”

Sanghyun was surprised to hear Junhyung’s words. And he opened his cell phone and checked the text with the lyrics again.

“Ah……!”

After Sanghyun and Junhyung promised to do music together, they had created the titles to be included in their first album in advance. They had their own ‘Set List’.

Although 20 years had passed in real time, Sanghyun clearly remembered the set list they had made.

Because that was the set list of Junhyung’s first album in the past.

He remembered being touched by Junhyung, who had not forgotten his memories with Sanghyun, who had given up on music.

“Ah…….”

Sanghyun was speechless for a moment. It’s too late to make excuses that it’s been 20 years, the meaning of the song list is too great.

As Sanghyun hesitated with a sense of guilt, a group of middle school girls suddenly approached.

“Oppa [term used by younger girls to address older brothers or male friends]! Hello!”

“Uh, uh? Who……?”

Sanghyun thought the middle school girls had mistaken him for someone else, but he somehow had a familiar face.

“We saw you at Sejong Music!”

“Ah……! In the front row?”

“Yes! Oppa, you were cool on stage, but why are you so clueless outside?”

The group of middle school girls spoke and then laughed boisterously among themselves.

Some of them weren’t at Sejong Music, so they asked their friends about Sanghyun, and the middle school girls who had seen the performance started telling the story with a lot of exaggeration.

“Oh, right! I heard from the L&S leader oppa that he was going to ask oppa to do the Jeonju Indie Music Festival together!”

“I see.”

“Haven’t you heard yet?”

Sanghyun was embarrassed. He was grateful that they recognized him, but the timing was not good at all.

Besides, the middle school girls didn’t seem to have any intention of letting them go. In the end, they took pictures together even though they didn’t want to, and they were able to break up only after receiving their phone numbers, saying that they would become fans in the future.

< Verse 2. Gotta Move > End

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