The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 27

Sanghyun and Junhyung threw themselves into their music careers with a newfound passion.

They spent all their free time listening to music, writing lyrics, rapping, and sharing tips and tricks with each other, completely absorbed in their craft.

To fully commit, Junhyung first needed to have an honest conversation with his parents about his dream of becoming a rapper.

While Junhyung’s mother had a vague idea of his aspirations, it came as a complete shock to his father.

However, Junhyung stood his ground and argued his case with unwavering determination. Eventually, his father reluctantly gave his blessing, saying, ‘Fine, give it a shot! But if you’re going to do it, do it with the mindset that you’ll give it your all!’

‘Actually, the real reason I suddenly became so bold is because I was annoyed seeing you succeed out of nowhere, you annoying show-off,’ Junhyung later confessed to Sanghyun.

Junhyung’s mother provided crucial support, like a game-changing move, by convincing his homeroom teacher to excuse him from mandatory night self-study through a phone call.

As a result, Junhyung started visiting Sanghyun’s house every day to work on music together, and he also became closer to Sangmi, who was always around out of boredom.

Sanghyun and Junhyung were incredibly productive, sometimes writing two or three songs a day when they were feeling inspired. Of course, most of those lyrics ended up being scrapped.

“Wouldn’t this beat be perfect?”

“Nah, the beat sounds too amateurish.”

“Really? I think it’s pretty good.”

They also discovered a website where amateur composers from around the world uploaded their instrumental tracks and began using it extensively.

On the site, Sanghyun found the ID ‘DJ. STANDARD’ and decided to send an email, just on the off chance.

‘Could this be the DJ Standard from LA that I know?’

With the discovery of DJ Standard, Sanghyun tried to track down what happened to Korean rappers he liked in the past. He had a simple wish to meet his past idols before they became famous and form genuine connections with them.

However, aside from a few rappers who talked about their past in detail through their music, it was nearly impossible to find out what they were currently doing.

‘That’s a shame. I’d probably find quite a few if I went to Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its indie music scene], right?’

In 2005, Gwangju [a city in South Korea] felt like a musically isolated place.

“Wow, is this a home recording setup?”

“Hey, where are you putting your grubby hands? Go wash them.”

Sanghyun often stopped by Sejong Music Store in his spare time and asked Mr. Hong for a quote on home recording equipment.

Perhaps his harsh words from the other day were just an act of tough love, because Mr. Hong kindly selected affordable home recording equipment for him.

Sanghyun bought the equipment without a second thought.

“So, when can we start using it?”

Junhyung asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he looked at the equipment. Sanghyun nodded with a confident expression.

“I’m setting it up tonight. We’ll use it tomorrow.”

“Oh, should we record ‘Move’ as our first song?”

“Good idea.”

And then three days passed.

Sanghyun, who had majored in industrial engineering and founded an IT finance company, was surprisingly inept at handling hardware.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the home recording equipment to work properly.

“Hello, Mr. Hong.”

In the end, Sanghyun had to call Mr. Hong for help. After a lengthy explanation, Mr. Hong agreed to send Mijoo, a part-time worker, to Sanghyun’s house on a quiet weekday afternoon.

“Hello, come in.”

That’s why Mijoo was visiting Sanghyun’s house at 4 o’clock, after Sanghyun was done with school.

“Hi, are you here alone?”

“Yes, my sister isn’t home from school yet.”

“Your parents?”

“Uh… they’re not here.”

Sanghyun hesitated for a moment before answering, but Mijoo didn’t pay much attention to it.

“Aren’t you a humanities student? Did school end early?”

Mijoo paused at the door.

“It’s because I don’t have to do night study. But why are you standing in the doorway? Come in.”

“Okay.”

Mijoo entered the living room and stood awkwardly near the wall, causing Sanghyun to burst out laughing. She looked like a puppy that had been left alone in an unfamiliar place.

“Is this your first time in a guy’s house?”

“What are you talking about! Countless times…!”

“Oh? Countless times?”

“My grandmother’s house is old, so I have to fetch water with a bucket countless times…”

“…?”

Sanghyun, who was listening to Mijoo’s rambling, smiled and gestured for her to sit on the sofa.

“Sit down first. In dramas, they always ask, ‘Juice? Coffee?’ but I only have water. Oh, do you want *hwachae* [a traditional Korean fruit punch]?”

“No, gi-give me water.”

“Why are you stuttering so much?”

“Rather than fumbling with my body…”

“…?”

“…What did I say?”

Sanghyun brought Mijoo some water. She gulped it down.

‘That was a big serving.’

Mijoo, after drinking the water, started looking around the house, her eyes darting around.

“Are you a spy? Why are you looking around so secretly? Should I give you a tour of the house?”

“What tour…?”

I didn’t realize it because of her outgoing personality, but this girl is more innocent than I thought. She must have been so busy playing the piano that she didn’t have much experience outside of music.

“Oh? You’re not wearing the bracelet?”

“Oh? No, that’s…”

“I gave you the one I bought for my sister as a gift, but you’re not wearing it? Give it back.”

“No, that’s not…”

“I bought you something expensive when you were a poor high school student, but you’re ignoring my sincerity.”

“No, that’s…”

“If you didn’t like it, you should have told me?”

“It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s because it gets scratched when I’m working, so I didn’t wear it!”

Sanghyun laughed when Mijoo got angry.

“You’re back to normal.”

“Huh?”

“Stop acting like you’re forever alone and set up the equipment. Part-timer.”

“Part-timer? You cocky little high schooler.”

Mijoo grumbled.

In fact, this is my first time coming to a house where only a man lives. Since I was a child, I’ve only played the piano, so I don’t have much experience outside of music.

“But what is ‘forever alone’?”

“Ah… It’s nothing.”

Sanghyun realized that the term ‘forever alone’ wasn’t yet in common usage and was taken aback. This happens often.

“Please check the equipment.”

“Is the equipment in the room?”

“No. It’s in that ambiguous space past the room.”

“Ambiguous space?”

Sanghyun’s house was a one-story detached house. A typical four-person house with one large room, two small rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. There was also a well-decorated rooftop where Sangmi and I used to play when we were young.

The ambiguous space Sanghyun was talking about was between the first floor and the rooftop.

A space that you could see by going through a narrow staircase next to the window covered by the refrigerator.

It was too big to be called an attic, and the ceiling was too low to be called a duplex, but it was originally a warehouse for storing luggage.

“Is it an attic?”

“Similar.”

“Machines don’t like being in humid places. It doesn’t leak during the rainy season, does it?”

“Watch your head.”

The attic was good, but the entrance was too narrow.

Sanghyun went into the narrow entrance first. Mijoo thought it was a very small room just by looking at the entrance, but when she went inside, it was bigger than she thought.

And it was cool.

“Wow…”

An exclamation came out involuntarily.

What should I say? It was like being in the imaginary studio that any musician would want to have. What’s even cooler is that it’s not finished yet.

The fun of filling the space little by little.

“Cool.”

“Right?”

There was a window and a ventilator that were enough for ventilation, so there was no need to worry about humidity.

Opposite the window where the light came in, there was a wall-mounted air conditioner and a small refrigerator, and next to it was a computer with three monitors installed.

End

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