Raising a Neglected Singer-Songwriter - Chapter 7



Only Noblemtl

7. I never thought I would come back to this holy place again

“Hoooo.”

Cha Seong-jun exhales lightly.

His forehead was covered in sweat after a long day of fighting.

Cha Seong-jun sits on the floor and rests for a while.

To him like that.

“Are you tired? Drink this.”

Seol Hye-yoon hands over orange juice with ice cubes floating in it.

“thank you.”

Cha Seong-jun, who received the juice, looked up at Seol Hye-yoon.

It still feels refreshing to see him without his glasses.

I asked out of curiosity and he said that the glasses he wears at work are blue light protection glasses. He said that he takes them off at home because he doesn’t have any particular reason to wear them.

Cha Sung-jun, who had gulped down orange juice in a manly manner, opened his mouth.

“It’s definitely big. It must have been difficult to do it alone.”

“That’s right. Thanks to that, I was able to ‘assemble’ it safely.”

Seol Hye-yoon bangs on the bed mattress.

It was a brand new, brand new bed that had just been installed.

Why a bed all of a sudden?

This is what it all started like.

Seol Hye-yoon, who lives with her younger sister, recently moved into a two-room officetel near her company.

Since it was a new house, I wanted to bring in a new bed, so I ordered a single bed that I had been eyeing from Ilkea, a European furniture store.

But what the heck.

I found out later that Ilke’s store policy did not include assembly service.

I had no choice but to find an assembly agency, but the cost was more expensive than I thought.

However, if you try to assemble it by yourself, the frame is too big and heavy, so you feel worried and at a loss.

He was already worried because he came to Seoul from the countryside and had no family and few connections.

– Would you like to sing a duet?

It is said that at that moment, Cha Seong-jun’s request came to his mind.

Instead of playing the role of the black rose, let’s ask for help when we have the chance.

When I first heard about this situation through messenger, I was a little confused.

Since I have been living alone for a long time and have experience assembling beds a couple of times, I didn’t think it was a particularly difficult request.

Moreover.

– I’ll give you a case fee!

At first, he declined the offer of 100,000 won, saying it was okay, but Manager Seol, being an educated person, stubbornly insisted on repaying the favor.

So the compromise was to offer a meal.

So, I was invited to Seol Hye-yoon’s house, and after looking at the manual and fiddling around, I was able to complete the bed. That was the whole story.

This isn’t a date request!

“But I guess your younger sibling wasn’t with you today?”

“Yes, we live together, but he’s so busy with work that he can’t come home often.”

“Ah, I see.”

I wondered how much of a bossy workplace it was that made people not come home even on weekends, but I didn’t bother asking.

Because I wasn’t really interested anyway.

Rather, I was looking at Seol Hye-yoon’s room, which I had only just now come into view.

‘The girls’ room is definitely different.’

From the bed I assembled today to the interior decoration items like the dressing table and mood lights, even Cha Seong-jun, who is not an expert in this area, said they looked very stylish and cute. The color scheme with the wallpaper was also perfect.

It smelled different from the dreary one-room apartment of a regular guy.

Of course, Cha Sung-jun had no idea that Seol Hye-yoon had been cleaning the place for two hours before he arrived.

It was at that time that I was glancing around Seol Hye-yoon’s room.

“uh?”

Cha Seong-jun’s gaze is fixed somewhere.

A condenser microphone and headset were placed on a small desk. What was even more eye-catching was the small webcam installed on top of the laptop.

‘Webcam? Isn’t this what broadcasters use?’

Kang Seung-wook, who was a member of the band. The same equipment was set up in the room of the guy who streamed FPS games as a hobby.

I remember that thanks to his great speaking skills, he had quite a large number of viewers. I think he even sent a certification shot saying he had two thousand viewers.

I even thought about doing a duo game broadcast after hearing that the donations were quite good. Of course, I quickly gave up on that idea because my skills were so poor.

“Are you broadcasting, sir?”

Seol Hye-yoon turns around in surprise at the casually thrown question.

Her eyes grew wide and her ears turned bright red like tomatoes.

“No, this is definitely not a broadcast!”

Seol Hye-yoon raised her voice and waved her hands, perhaps worried that there might be some strange misunderstanding, but after hesitating for a moment, she soon confessed.

“I just… upload cover songs on YouTube as a personal hobby.”

Oh, so.

Seol Hye-yoon’s one word resolved the previous doubts.

I am convinced by the surprising vocal skills that were showcased without fail in karaoke.

Well then, that’s right. After all, he wasn’t a beginner.

On the one hand.

‘It’s a cover song.’

At that time, Cha Seong-jun was also interested.

I worked hard to raise my vocal stats, so it was a shame to let them rot.

I thought it would be fun to sing the songs I’ve always wanted to sing and upload them to YouTube.

“If you tell me the channel, I will subscribe too.”

“no!”

I begged and begged, saying it was embarrassing, and I barely managed to find out the channel name.

Channel name [SHYine]

A name that combines Seol Hye-yoon’s English initials, ‘SHY’, and ‘shine’ from ‘Yoon’, which means to shine.

There were piles of videos of Seol Hye-yoon singing in comfortable attire, just like today, with only her nose and mouth exposed.

When you click on one of the videos with the most views, Seol Hye-yoon’s voice comes out.

It’s still a clear and refreshing voice.

I thought it would be pretty popular, so I checked my subscribers and, as expected, it was the same.

Subscribers… 100,000?

What, isn’t this too much to call a hobby?

“Wow… Sir, you have a lot of subscribers?”

Instead of answering, Seol Hye-yoon smiles awkwardly.

Looking at the comments, there were compliments in many languages ​​for her voice tone and beauty.

– Her voice is so SHYineeeeee!

– Your voice is crazy! Totally summer material!

– Just shine. Even with your face covered, you still shine.

– ポカリのようにさわやかな声です。 It’s a refreshing voice like Pocari. I’m healing today too.)

It turns out that the quiet General Affairs Team Manager Seol was actually a popular YouTuber.

I’ll have to ask for advice when I open a cover song channel later.

I’m so impressed by her double life.

“I… Seongjun? That… is a secret from the company.”

“I saw you bought me lunch today.”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Lobster?”

“Will that be delivered?”

“Just kidding. The day we bring in the furniture, it’s Jajangmyeon.”

I placed an order at a Chinese restaurant and the food arrived in less than 10 minutes.

Jjajangmyeon, jjambbong, and even yurin-gi.

“I’ve ordered from here often since I moved here, and this place makes really good yurin-gi. Best of all, there’s no delivery fee.”

Seol Hye-yoon takes off her chopsticks with a sly gesture and puts a piece of lettuce-topped yul-rin-gi in her mouth, smiling happily.

Following her, I took a bite of a thick piece of fried tofu, and the crunchy texture of the fried tofu was followed by the salty flavor of soy sauce.

Oh, this place is really delicious.

We chatted about various things while eating.

It turned out that the two were the same age. In addition, she also said that she recognized the team leader’s wig at a glance. Also, she usually enjoys karaoke, but the company dinner that day was a challenge.

As we discovered many things in common, I felt like our inner intimacy had grown significantly despite the short conversation.

Meanwhile, when I checked the time, it was already 2pm.

It’s about time to go out.

“Okay, sir. I’ll be going now.”

“Thank you for today.”

“When the next video comes up, I’ll like and comment, Pocari Voice Shine.”

“Mr. Sungjun. Have you ever been hit by a woman?”

It was a farewell that became somewhat more intimate as the distance between us grew closer.

*

After leaving Seol Hye-yoon’s officetel, I headed straight to Paradise Shopping Mall.

After exiting Jongno 3-ga Station Exit 5 and walking a bit, I soon came across a blue sign that said ‘Paradise Musical Instrument Shopping Mall’.

“I never thought I would come back to this holy place.”

It’s been 9 years since I came back to buy an electric guitar, saying I was going to start a band when I was 20 years old.

It’s a new experience, but I feel a different kind of emotion.

I climbed up the stairs and entered the second floor of the building.

The moment I saw the stores lined up in a row.

Hwaaaaak-

A wave-like pressure covers my whole body.

I feel overwhelmed by the grandeur of the numerous instruments displayed like a treasure mountain beyond the glass.

That makes sense.

Paradise Shopping Mall was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having over 300 musical instrument stores in the 80s. Moreover, Paradise of today has developed much more than when I first visited nine years ago.

“and···.”

I walked forward with a soft exclamation of admiration.

I looked through cafes and blogs to decide on a recommended store, but since I was already here, I decided to take a closer look at the other stores as well.

But I don’t plan on being ripped off.

‘This is Paradise Dungeon, a place where you come to buy guitar strings and end up buying a guitar.’

Although it is said that seeing is like seeing something, I was confident that I could control myself since I had already written down all the models and price ranges that I wanted to purchase.

They say that these days, unlike in the past, there is no need to put a lid on things.

“So, let’s take a look with peace of mind.”

I walked around here and there, following the direction in which I heard the sound of a piano being tuned and an electric guitar being demonstrated.

At first, all the stores seemed the same, but upon closer inspection, each store had its own unique characteristics, such as the instruments, amplifiers, and accessories they mainly sold.

The staff’s response styles also vary greatly, from shy, reserved, enthusiastic, to indifferent.

As I was looking at all those different instruments in a state of fascination, time flew by before I knew it.

By this point, we had explored enough, so we turned around and went back to our original destination.

“Have you looked around everything now?”

The store employee with the ponytail, whom I was seeing for the third time today, asked without a hint of fatigue.

I already checked the stock and prices of the brands of musical instruments I needed during my first visit.

Let us know if you would like to purchase this product.

“please wait for a moment.”

He nodded and headed to the third floor warehouse to look for new products.

Cha Seong-jun, leaning against the counter, waits for the employee.

Now, it would be a perfect schedule to stop by the 2,000 won noodle restaurant next to the building that is now a famous landmark of Paradise Shopping Mall and then go home.

Oh my. My mouth is watering already.

It was at this moment that he, who had just finished tasting the food, was about to check his wallet for cash.

“Eww!”

Suddenly, a scream mixed with shouts echoed through the store.

As I followed the noise, I saw someone lying on the piano with a hat on and a man looking around next to him.

From the very beginning, when I first entered the store, there was a group of people playing the piano. Were those people still there?

“(Hey hey. What are you doing!)”

As attention focused on him, the man with a puzzled expression whispered.

The figure who had been lying face down at the man’s urging slowly got up with the sound of a key being pressed.

“Don’t come out. It just won’t come out!”

The one who had been mumbling incomprehensible cried out again, clutching his head.

The face could not be seen because the black hat was pulled down so low, but the voice was clearly a woman’s.

‘Hmm… is it a real deal?’

Half of the visitors to Paradise Shopping Mall are musicians.

And among the people who originally make music, there are quite a few who are unique… to be honest, quirky.

That woman must definitely be one of those types.

It was fortunate that this happened while the store employee was looking for a product. If I had been there, it was obvious that I would have been kicked out immediately.

Anyway, it is best not to get involved in the truth, so I was about to turn my gaze away.

Tiring-

A system message suddenly appeared before my eyes.

‘What is it, at this timing?’

Cha Seong-jun’s eyebrows, which were scanning the message, moved up and down quickly before stopping.

And then suddenly.

Thud thud.

Cha Seong-jun moved his legs without hesitation somewhere.

Soon he stopped in front of the piano.

“hey.”

He tapped the shoulder of a woman who was mumbling something with her head down and asked with an awkward smile.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to help you.”

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