Rockstar Again - Chapter 48



Only Noblemtl

Episode 48. Rapunzel (2)

difficult.

It’s an adult business.

When I see Tae-joo hyung say that someone who holds a knife to his throat and asks to talk is a good partner, I wonder if this is normal. I also think that I am still young and don’t know anything.

Actually, I did think about the need for an agency.

no.

It’s not that I didn’t think about it, I just thought it was necessary and it was in my head.

I’m a bit of a tic-tac-toe person, so I thought it would be okay if it was a company like producer Jo In-chang’s, who would accept that well.

And that guy kept trying to get me to join his company, so I was just waiting for the right moment to speak properly.

But he didn’t actually tell me to come.

So, when I went to Jo In-chang’s company to discuss the issue of producing Shining Girls, I asked him a question.

-Why don’t you tell me to come?

-what?

―You told me to come to your company, but now that you know I’m with the old members, you wash your mouth clean?

―I didn’t wash my mouth… … , huh… … To be honest, right now… … it’s hard. It would be nice if you came. Of course, it’s not a good thing, but it’s something that needs to be treated with the utmost care. The entire company is putting in all its effort to help those kids debut. If I bring you here just for my own good, I know I won’t be able to properly take care of you. That’s why I couldn’t say anything.

It’s still difficult.

The company I like doesn’t have the ability, but the lady I don’t like has the ability and will push me hard.

Suddenly, I remembered something and asked Taeju hyung.

“But when we debuted, we didn’t have any agency or anything like that, right?”

“No. Instead, my mother helped me without telling my father.”

……also.

The conglomerates are on a different scale.

I’m preparing for my debut with my mom’s help without my dad knowing.

I had a weak thought that I didn’t want to accept Tae-joo’s help for nothing… but I quickly erased it from my mind.

I picked up my cell phone, which I had thrown down carelessly, and it was shaking, so I checked it.

This is a message from Dongsik and Yeongpil.

I checked the message and got up from my seat.

“Everyone came to the basement practice room, so let’s go down too.”

“Yeah. The only way to avoid being treated like a burden is to practice.”

I whispered softly to Tae-joo, who was following me.

“Still, out of the three, my brother is the best.”

Tae-joo and Young-pil giggle at what I say.

“thanks.”

“Don’t be so proud. Okay?”

Haha.

I’m the guy who encourages the conglomerate leader.

That’s pretty cool.

As soon as I opened the door to the underground practice room.

All thoughts about the agency incident and that lady disappeared from my mind.

* * *

“That’s ridiculous.”

An ivory-bodied Gibson Les Paul neatly displayed on a stand.

My fake Gibson that looks just like Jimi Hendrix’s.

I recognized it at a glance.

“Juliet… … !”

Tae-joo and Young-pil burst into laughter at my words.

As time went by, I completely erased it from my mind. It wasn’t because it wasn’t precious. I thought it would have been broken since the accident was so big.

Besides that, there were so many things to worry about.

Anyway, thanks to that, I feel incredibly happy right now.

The joy of receiving an unexpected gift.

Even if they are the same item from the same brand, they may differ slightly depending on the time of production or the manufacturer.

Although it is a manufactured product, it is also a handmade product.

That’s why it’s more precious.

Because that guitar back then became an unobtainable item.

As I hold the guitar in my arms and caress it like a child, I hear Tae-joo hyung’s voice.

“Is the response good considering I received a fake Gibson?”

“Isn’t this a fake?”

I suddenly got that feeling.

I wonder why Tae-joo hyung, who is a conglomerate, would use a counterfeit product.

“It took me a long time to notice.”

“What happened?”

“The day we had our accident. You were gone, but the guitar was fine. So I just kept it.”

Youngpil speaks as if he is adding some exclamations.

“At first, I thought I should tell you when the time is right since you were fooled. But Tae-joo hyung told me not to tell you. He said it would be burdensome to you.”

“Then did you know that Taeju hyung was rich?”

“About? I have a car. I play a good guitar. Taejoo hyung takes care of the practice room too. It would be strange if he didn’t know.”

“Are you saying I was weird?”

“Rather than saying you were weird, you were young.”

“We’re not even that many years apart.”

The brothers keep laughing at what’s so funny.

Ha… … Back then, we weren’t that many years apart in age. But I guess he’s still my older brother.

It’s great to see you even consider such things.

Anyway, holding my ivory-bodied guitar in my arms, I finally feel like I’m home…

The guitar I bought from Manseok is nice too.

This guy is a jerk.

So it was a good thing they named her Juliet.

“Let’s never part again, Juliet.”

After connecting to the amp, I took a pose.

And lightly scaled.

Jing— jing— jing— jing——.

I feel the resonance of the current.

The tension of the string in your hand is moderately firm.

It means that it is well managed.

In fact, I also learned scale from Taeju hyung.

It’s not that I didn’t know how to hit, but I didn’t know what the scale was.

The scale is nothing more than attaching the guitar to your hand.

If you hold a certain part of the fingerboard, press a certain part, and pluck a certain string, you will get a certain sound. If you connect these, it is A minor. If this is connected, it is harmony. If you dig deep into this, it is harmony.

In my case, I learned through my body first and then learned the theory later.

I put Juliet down and looked at Tae-joo hyung and said.

“You were going to give it to me right away? Were you trying to surprise me?”

“There is a bit of that. Even though I managed it well, the lines are sagging and there’s some dust. I left it to Manseok hyung to take care of it a bit.”

As I was fiddling with Juliet, the child suddenly came to my mind.

“Taeju hyung. By the way, on the day we had the accident, wasn’t there a kid riding behind us? The one you brought to our office for about ten days, a really small boy like this?”

He asked, spreading his palms out to about knee level.

I clearly remember riding in the same car, but when I asked Beomseok, he said that that kid wasn’t in the car.

So I just thought it was like that and started worrying about other things, but then I saw Juliet and it reminded me of her.

But my brothers’ reactions are a bit strange.

“Ah… … That guy who was Tae-joo hyung’s friend’s younger sibling?”

Youngpil is my older brother.

“But he’s a guy… … .”

Dong-sik rolled his eyes awkwardly as he continued talking. Tae-joo quickly intervened.

“I gave it to you before the accident happened. To your friend.”

“You still haven’t told me that you were with me when the accident happened?”

“!”

“Why does this sound like an excuse?”

Tae-joo hyung looks flustered for a split second, but quickly regains his poker face.

“I thought you’d be curious about that, of course.”

“really?”

“okay.”

“Are you saying he really got off before our accident?”

“Oh. Really.”

Something feels a little fishy… …but I don’t have any concrete evidence since I’m just relying on my memory.

But I don’t think it’s something to be taken for granted and keep asking questions about. There’s no way my brothers would have done anything to that kid.

“That little kid must be pretty grown up by now.”

“I guess so?”

“You said he was your friend’s younger sibling, but you don’t know about him?”

“Um… … After that accident, I was so busy with work that I lost contact with that friend.”

My eyes narrowed awkwardly.

“Is that kid your brother’s son? He’s the son you’ve been hiding from an accident. According to that old lady who’s called Gu Se-ryeong, all rich people are like that.”

“… … Is that what Serin is saying? Are all the conglomerates like that?”

“Oh. Then when I asked if he was my brother’s illegitimate child, he told me not to use the word illegitimate child. If he was a son, he was just a son. What kind of illegitimate child is he?”

“So Seol-yeong… said… …?”

Tae-ju, who had been speaking so quietly that it seemed as if he was asking me again or talking to himself, continued speaking with an expression that was completely unreadable.

“What’s certain is that he’s safe and probably doing well. He’s not my child, so open those eyes wide again.”

If Taeju hyung is like that, then it must be like that.

I clearly remember that we rode in the car together, and I don’t remember getting out, so I think we had an accident together, but I thought it was my imagination, so I patted Juliet.

All the distracting thoughts disappear again.

Perhaps this is how you would feel if you found an old love after many years?

I feel like I am one with Juliet again, regardless of what other people think.

As I started playing without any particular order, my brothers followed suit, one by one.

It didn’t matter that my brothers still hadn’t recovered even half of their former skills.

Because I have faith.

I believe that someday my brothers will be able to run like they used to.

* * *

The editor-in-chief’s office of Hidden Magazine.

A beggar-like old man came rushing in, kicking open the door as if he was going to break it down.

“No… … Crazy, what the hell is going on?”

And looking at the angry Ko Kyung-jae, editor-in-chief Noh Eon-gyeong held his nose.

“What? Oh my… … Hey, you go wash up. You’re going to get called a homeless person.”

“Does that matter now? Why did the Lee Dong-ha dating rumor break out? More importantly, why didn’t you write a rebuttal article when I gave you the materials to do so as soon as I saw the article?”

“Sit down. No, the chair will stink. Don’t sit down. Don’t sit down!”

“Do you know I’m a rebel? If you keep doing that, I’ll have to lie down here. Don’t beat around the bush and answer right away.”

Ko Kyung-jae sat in the chair across from the editor’s desk, crossing her legs.

Urging for an explanation immediately.

After sighing while looking at the economy, Editor-in-Chief Noh Eon-gyeong gagged and retched, fumbled for a cigarette, lit it, and took a few quick puffs to fill his lungs with smoke before opening his mouth.

“News Night broke the news saying it was exclusive? I know that’s uncertain. I checked it with the information you sent me right after reading the article. Then I know. What? Oh, so they’re not really dating.”

“But why didn’t you post an article?”

“I already uploaded it.”

“You uploaded it late! You uploaded it after confirming that there was a groundless article posted somewhere else! How is that any different from Urakai?!”

There was a reason why the economy was angry.

I chased after him for well over a month.

That’s why I’m looking like a beggar.

My gaze briefly lingered on Joo Hyo-eun, who was squinting through the gap between the blinds in the editor’s office. What was she babbling about, looking so beggarly?

For the sake of such a junior, he had to be independent at least when it came to moving.

If not the sole one, at least the rebuttal article should have been number one.

But since I missed both of them, it was strange that the fever didn’t spread.

Editor-in-chief Noh Eun-gyeong answered while blowing smoke from his cigarette at Ko Kyung-je, who was still throwing tantrums.

“Okay, listen. First, I received and checked the information you gave me, but I decided that it would be difficult to overturn the dating rumors with just that. That’s how dating rumors are. You can start a dating rumor with just one picture of them together, but it takes a lot more effort to refute it. Meanwhile, their agency isn’t saying anything, so how can we put up a rebuttal article? If they really do date, we’ll be the only ones who get screwed. Right?”

“No… … Then. Even if it wasn’t an article refuting the dating rumors, you could have just posted the facts. That girl, Kim Mi-so. Our Hyoeun followed her around for two weeks. She also confirmed that Joo Hyoeun was a pervert. There was no… any! contact for two weeks. What kind of dating rumor is this? The youngest in the company went through all that trouble to find out. No, you already knew, so why didn’t you write an article about it? Aren’t you sorry to Hyoeun?”

“I’m sorry. I know you guys are having a hard time. I know that. Ah… … I know… … What should I say to you?”

As the small space in the editor’s office began to fill with cigarette smoke, Noh Eon-gyeong stubbed out his cigarette.

“It’s all because of you.”

“What? Why me?”

“The origin of the dating rumor is Cheong-a.”

“Cheong-ah? Savior?”

“Yes, the Savior. The woman you started dating.”

For a moment, a light flashes in Ko Kyung-jae’s eyes.

Regardless, Noh Eun-kyung, who thought that the words had already been said, continued speaking.

“Because of you, we got the image of fact news, but did you know that the advertising was ruined? Did you also practically ban our reporters from entering the entire Cheong-A Media Group?”

“That’s because they are narrow-minded!”

“But still, Imma. How much did you try to show off? If you were going to expose that and publish an article, you should have considered retaliation. Anyway. It’s not about right or wrong. We were so angry at that time, so shouldn’t we have folded at least once? Thanks to that, Cheong-A decided to lift the ban on reporting.”

“I’m going crazy. Sister, are you bragging about the deal you made on the condition that we not publish an article in Hidden Magazine? Are you asking me to dance because you like it?”

“This is an article we wouldn’t have been able to post first if the parties involved hadn’t refuted it anyway. I’m not saying not to post it, I’m just asking for some more time.”

Ko Kyung-je jumped up from his seat, and Noh Eon-gyeong asked behind Ko Kyung-je’s back.

“Where are you going?”

“What can a reporter do when he’s angry?”

“Economy. You are usually easygoing, but you are a bit scary when you work.”

“Don’t yell at my older sister. Don’t you know that I’m not a kid and that the company is running? At least I got some benefit from it. But I still get mad.”

“If possible, don’t touch that woman, Gu Se-ryung, again.”

“I know. What I’m going to do. And remember. Even if you’re my older sister, if I cut the article twice, I’ll leave the company right away.”

It’s such a shame to give up on moving now.

The target has changed.