The Rap Star [EN]: Chapter 66

Verse 11. Hommie Vol.1 (Start of Paid Content)

In the silence, Sanghyun grabbed the microphone.

“Aigo, I’m so tired.”

Some laughter rippled through the crowd at Sanghyun’s playful grumble.

“Do you know what crew I belong to?”

“888 Crew!”

“Then you probably know where I’m from, right?”

“Gwangju—!”

“That’s right. The song ‘Gwangju Up’ is a song about Gwangju, which I love.”

Sanghyun looked around. There were so many people gathered. It was truly an incredible number.

“But most of you aren’t from Gwangju, are you?”

Sanghyun pointed to the phrase on his T-shirt.

The white T-shirt had the logo “888 X 888” printed on it, and within that phrase, the phrase “062 X RAP” was subtly hidden.

“Now, let’s check everyone’s affection for the region they represent.”

“Seoul—!”

Sanghyun shouted loudly, but the audience didn’t react.

“Huh? Aren’t there any native Seoulites here right now? Represent Seoul. No one?”

Sanghyun shouted again.

“Seoul—!”

A small “Up!” sound burst out belatedly.

“Huh? Not many? Is that it? Shall we move on to Gyeonggi Province?” [Gyeonggi Province surrounds Seoul]

Sanghyun tilted his head and shouted again.

“Seoul—!”

“Up!”

“Seoul—!”

“Up—!”

This time, a loud sound erupted that couldn’t be compared to the previous one. Sanghyun smiled and raised his thumb.

“Gyeonggi—!”

“Up—!”

Sanghyun sequentially shouted out all the cities he could remember, such as Daegu, Daejeon, Busan, Ulsan, and Incheon. The “Up!” sound was the loudest in Seoul.

“Now, instead of Gwangju, you’re going to shout out your own cities. Then the song ‘Gwangju UP’ will be changed into a song that respects your own cities.”

Again, a roar of cheers erupted.

When Sanghyun gestured, the DJ played the beat.

“Gwangju UP! Gwangju UP!”

“Light Gwang(光) Town Ju(州) Gwangju UP!” [Gwang(光) and Ju(州) are the Chinese characters that make up Gwangju’s name]

“Gwangju, the city of culture and art, UP!”

“Gwangju where we live, UP!”

A sound louder than Sanghyun’s shout of “Gwangju UP!” erupted from the audience.

Numerous cities were mentioned. Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, and even Jeju Island. Various sounds were mixed together, so it was hard to understand.

Then, no one knew who started it, but the sound of “Hommie UP” began to be heard.

Soon, the sound of “Hommie UP!” filled the club.

It was an unexpected situation, but it didn’t matter. Sanghyun also shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Hommie UP! Hommie UP!”

How long did “Hommie UP” continue? Finally, with the sound of a crashing drum, the Gwangju UP performance ended.

The performance hall was filled with cheers for a while.

It was as hot as the performance of any famous singer.

Sanghyun grabbed the microphone with a flushed face.

“Hello. I’m Lee Sanghyun from 888 Crew, and my rap name is FiveSix. I’m revealing my rap name for the first time today.”

Sanghyun turned around. Junhyung, who only showed his face, raised his thumb and soon made an OK sign.

A signal that preparations were complete.

“There are a total of eight members in 888 Crew.”

Lee Sanghyun, Shin Junhyung, Park Inhyuk, Kim Hwan, Woo Minho, Shin Hayeon, Oh Minji, and Lee Sangmi.

“And each and every one of them is a friend with great capabilities and their own swagger.”

At Sanghyun’s gesture, Junhyung and Hayeon came up. Thanks to Sanghyun’s stage presence, tremendous cheers poured out. In particular, the appearance of a rare female rapper drew a hot response from men.

Hayeon, who came on stage, started the chorus as soon as she grabbed the microphone, without saying a word.

So, Tight- You don’t know what i take flow

(It’s pretty cool, you don’t know what kind of rap I do)

So, Tight- my mommy, daddy is god

(It’s pretty cool, my mom and dad are gods)

So, Tight- Cause I’m new god flow

(It’s pretty cool, because I rap like a god)

So, Tight, Ti- Ti- Ti- Tight

The performance hall became quiet at Hayeon’s solid rap, which was as good as a man’s.

At that moment,

“Drop the Beat—!”

Suddenly, Junhyung shouted.

With a crashing sound, a cool West Side beat flowed out. At the same time, Junhyung began to throw the 888 Crew T-shirts he was holding in both hands.

-Waaaaaa!

-Over here! Here!

Those who were enthusiastic about the rap, those who waved their hands to grab the T-shirts, and those who nodded their heads to the beat.

The heat that seemed to explode the performance hall was뿜어져 out once again.

***

Oh Yeonju moved slightly to the left. It was because her hand kept brushing against the man standing on the right. Anyone could see it was intentional.

‘Does he really think women like this?’

Moving to the left didn’t mean there was no one there. Rather, she had to stick closer to the person on the left to avoid the man on the right.

However, there was a woman on the left, a stranger, and someone who had no interest in her.

‘It’s hot.’

The club was filled with abnormally hot heat. Yeonju felt a culture shock at the intense atmosphere she was experiencing for the first time. It was a strange experience that someone’s voice and actions could make people so enthusiastic.

The only concerts she had ever experienced were a few classical concerts. However, even that was not of her own free will, but a place where she had to attend with the chairman’s family.

Yeonju was reassigned to Ohkyung ENT, which deals with content, but she still had little familiarity with the performance culture.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Hong Kyungsoo, the man on the right who had no tact, whispered in her ear.

She was dying of the heat, and she didn’t like him sticking so close to her. However, there was nothing she could do because it was an environment where words could not be conveyed at all unless she whispered.

“It is.”

Yeonju nodded with an ambiguous smile.

‘It’s amazing.’

In fact, it was fun. She didn’t know anything about rap, but it had a feeling of captivating people. It was much better than the dating courses of men dragging her to art galleries or museums for no reason.

The problem is that she doesn’t like the man very much.

‘If I had come alone, I could have jumped around too.’

The women on the left were screaming at the top of their lungs. They raised their hands above their heads and shook them like crazy. The sight looked liberating.

Yeonju tried to follow along once, but she only wiggled her hands because her clothes weren’t the kind to allow for such movement. If she had been told in advance that she was coming to the performance hall, she would not have worn high heels and a semi-formal suit.

“I think the hip-hop scene will grow very large within five years. We can’t just ignore it.”

“I see.”

“It’s also my personal favorite genre.”

Hong Kyungsoo slowly approached Oh Yeonju. Again, their hands brushed slightly. However, since he didn’t take any more specific actions, she didn’t know if it was a trick or a sign of affection.

‘Is he naive or just dense?’

Well, that’s probably why he’s been stuck in a fast-paced place like Ohkyung ENT for several years.

Hong Kyungsoo and Oh Yeonju belonged to Ohkyung ENT’s ‘Media Content Division’. A place that is in charge of media-related content in general, such as movies, animations, entertainment, music, and performances.

Production, import, export, distribution, promotion, etc. There was nothing missing in the field of media content. That’s why it was a large field that was rumored to be spun off into Ohkyung Media soon.

The important thing is that the media content sector is responsible for more than 60% of Ohkyung ENT’s cash flow. There is a lot of money going into movie production, but the glory is great when it succeeds. A typical high-risk, high-return venture.

Due to these characteristics, the media content sector is also a place where large results can be achieved in a short period of time compared to other affiliates.

For this reason, Ohkyung ENT’s media content division was coveted by collateral relatives who wanted to accumulate achievements in a short period of time and be incorporated into the mainstream affiliates.

Of course, even if you do that, the money you earn is a drop in the bucket compared to the construction, finance, and electronics sectors.

Hong Kyungsoo was a person who had been working at Ohkyung ENT for a very long time. If you have to count the relationship, he is about twelve cousins removed from Oh Yeonju.

Hong Kyungsoo’s unique points were that he truly liked the media content field and that he fell in love with Oh Yeonju at first sight.

‘Is it even possible to fall in love at first sight?’

Oh Yeonju thought that falling in love at first sight was just a story that meant the appearance was to her taste.

Yeonju, who had parents who were highly motivated in their work, or, to put it badly, were workaholics, had difficulty in relationships with others since she was young. For this reason, she had a habit of putting reason before emotion in meeting others, and that soon led to a habit of analyzing the other person.

Yeonju had the ability to easily judge the other person’s inner thoughts. So far, no one has deviated from Yeonju’s judgment.

‘No, there was.’

Lee Sanghyun, whom I met in connection with Director Ko’s work.

He was a high school student, but he had many unknown aspects.

“The next team to come out is my favorite team.”

“What’s the name?”

“It’s Playline, a duo team consisting of rappers Dumaine and Pulse.”

“I see. That sounds fun.”

Compared to Lee Sanghyun, Hong Kyungsoo’s inner thoughts were too easy to read. Hong Kyungsoo probably saw her as a person who had been left behind in internal politics like him. Transferred to Ohkyung ENT.

That’s why he’s making such obvious advances on her, who is a direct descendant.

‘I almost feel sorry for him.’

Yeonju needed someone on her side because she was reassigned. This was the reason she accepted Hong Kyungsoo’s date invitation. She felt uncomfortable because she felt like she was taking advantage of Hong Kyungsoo’s favor.

But Hong Kyungsoo probably knows that much.

There was only one thing Hong Kyungsoo didn’t know.

‘I wasn’t demoted to Ohkyung ENT.’

Rather, the reason she was reassigned to Ohkyung ENT was to reap the rewards of victory. The rewards obtained by revealing Director Ko’s corruption.

Because Ohkyung ENT’s media content division will soon be spun off into Ohkyung MEDIA.

Yeonju was promised the position of director of Ohkyung MEDIA. By that time, Hong Kyungsoo would probably be her subordinate. Even far below.

-Play Line!

-Waaaa!

Play Line’s performance was fun. Especially in the last song, Yeonju even sang along to the chorus a little.

Hong Kyungsoo’s gaze, which looked at the scene with satisfaction, was not very pleasing, but there was no difficulty in enjoying the performance.

A slight silence followed while the performers changed. In the meantime, Yeonju replied to a few text messages that had arrived on her phone.

-Jijijijijik!