Rockstar Again - Chapter 80



Only Noblemtl

Episode 80. Dong-ha, the stage, and the whales (1)

Ahead of the second main stage of , we gathered again in the waiting room.

“I think Tae-joo hyung did a good job of it.”

“okay?”

“Of course. Look at this.”

While I was banging on the armrest of the sofa. Hey… … Different. Good.

I have a deep connection with TVK.

As it turned out, my broadcast debut was as an individual, not as a band.

That broadcast was my pick.

Of course, it was TVK and Ahn Chi-seop’s work.

“I’m talking about you. Do you know how much trouble I went through when I was broadcasting alone, surrounded by those kids? It’s because I didn’t say anything.”

“You already said it all. Many times.”

Whoosh— my head turned towards my brothers.

“Who coughed?”

“Cough… …but you didn’t make a sound?”

“Then who talked back to the leader?”

When I yell, my brothers giggle.

“Oh my! How dare you!”

I yelled a few more times, but my brothers’ reaction was… … All they did was laugh, as if they were watching their nephew’s tricks.

Actually, I know that too.

I’m not being serious when I’m yelling at you guys right now, I’m just joking.

I feel like I’m calming down when I’m with my older brothers, so I’m also chatting and joking around a lot.

Anyway.

We are armed with masks and sunglasses from the moment we get out of the car, in case there are any unexpected intruders or staff members barging in.

So that you don’t get flustered whenever someone suddenly comes in.

Clink.

They say even a tiger comes when called, and someone opened the door and came in.

“Dongha-ya!”

A man who calls my name with a voice that is clear and bright without any trace.

All of our eyes in the waiting room were focused on the man who came in through the entrance.

This is Mr. Jang Pil-seong.

Oh, this guy keeps bothering people, so I’ve been avoiding him.

He’s been very friendly since the day I picked him.

It felt similar to Inchang hyung… … but Inchang hyung was also more clingy to me.

Since I spent a lot of time with Inchang hyung to learn how to use the song production program from him, I felt really sorry and gave myself up to Inchang hyung.

Thinking back now, I think it was a difference in urgency.

While the star producer who had lost his touch desperately wanted to catch me, Jang Pil-sung was a vocalist and the team already had a guitarist, so he just met a good musician, right?

Anyway, even so, this guy was really annoying.

Don’t you think you should rock? I’m better than most pros.

It’s such a waste to label me an idol. But if I tell them to do rock music, the reality is too bleak, so they just tell me to be an idol. While doing this and that on my own, they gave me some doraji juice and I ate it sparingly.

I gestured to Suchan, who was next to me, and whispered in his ear.

Suchan, who entered my order, opens his mouth.

“Hey… Mr. Pilseong.”

“Huh? Ah… … ! That! That… … who was that before? Was it the girl idol group Dive? Weren’t you in charge of them? Nice to meet you, really!”

“Dice… … . Oh, nice to meet you too. You remember that. Anyway, that’s not the problem… … Excuse me. We have to prepare for the stage… … so we need to stay by ourselves for a while… … .”

“Do you prepare for the stage in a waiting room? Haha. Dong-ha, did you finish drinking that doraji juice? I’ll give you some more. I brought it for you.”

Then, he receives a large talking can from his manager who was waiting outside the door and approaches me.

While making a fuss.

If you look at it, you’d think all rock musicians are sick.

It’s fortunate that we have Dong-sik Hyung on our team, who breaks everyone’s prejudices.

“Why is it like this?”

“Huh?! Dong-ha, do you have a cold? Why is your voice like that?”

“… … .”

Is it because you don’t have any clue or because you don’t notice?

If you’re going so far as to fake your voice while talking, please pretend you don’t know…

“Hey, Imma! You said that, right? Practice is important, but management is more important. Especially for people like you and me who use high notes, you really need to take good care of your vocal cords! Once you get a nodule, it’s uncontrollable!”

“… … Aren’t you Dong-ha?”

“That’s not true. Even if you fool everyone else, you can’t fool me, Emma. I don’t know what tricks you used, but the one overseas is fake, and this is you. A singer doesn’t prove it with his face. He proves it with his voice.”

I tried to scream once more, but I sighed deeply as I saw Jang Pil-seong only saying what he wanted to say.

“I’m sorry, Dongchan, but could you please close the door?”

Let’s give up everything and speak with my voice, says Mr. Jang Pil-seong, smiling brightly.

After making sure the door was closed, I took off my mask and sunglasses.

I thought there was no point in trying to deceive someone who already knew everything and came to me.

He’s not the type of person who would harm me.

“Yeah! I told you it was you? Oh, everyone said it wasn’t you, and I couldn’t lend an ear, so I thought I was going to die from frustration, dude.”

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been doing well. I’ve made a lot of money. Hey… … You’d be shocked if you knew how much money I’ve made since I started broadcasting.”

“… … Please sit down.”

There’s no surprise about money.

There is one member in Korea who is not lacking in money.

There are two men who are close to the South Korean standard, though.

At my words, Jang Pil-seong put down his mouth and sat down on one side of the sofa.

“What did you bring? Gasoline? Were you planning on pouring it and setting it on fire if I persisted until the end?”

“I felt it back then, but you really have a rock spirit? And hey, even so, would you bring gasoline to the junior I love, when you’re not even a car?”

I knew that Mr. Jang Pil-seong was in his mid-thirties or so, and when he made a joke that only old men would make, one of our members burst out laughing.

“Pfft!”

To be exact, I was trying to hold back my laughter, but it just came out.

Because it was such a fleeting moment, we failed to identify the culprit.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

While my brothers, each claiming their innocence, were receiving my gaze… …my eyes turned back to Mr. Jang Pil-seong.

“Is it okay for judges to come like this?”

“Isn’t it strange that you don’t come? Last week, and the week before last. We all looked for you. Your team was the only one who didn’t, and the PD was trying so hard not to let you go, so it was really hard to come secretly.”

“… … If you were going to come like this, why didn’t you at least pretend not to know? You keep saying things like “Dong-ha, Dong-ha” without even realizing it.”

“I did it because I was happy to see you. Aren’t you happy to see me, hyung? Rock Dongjin?”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m just not tactful.”

Even though I was grumbling, Mr. Jang Pil-seong just smiled.

I get it.

That’s what my older brother said to me the most during my pick-up days.

―I want to tell you to do rock. I wonder if someone like you can do rock. It’s not because you’re lacking, but because rock is lacking for you. I’m sorry. I should have done better. So that I could confidently tell you to do rock.

Because I’m a person who is serious about rock.

That’s why he’s a man who never performed on a major stage and only lived his life listening to the sound of being called the emperor of indie rock.

People who do hip-hop often use the word ‘respect’, but in fact, when you do the same genre, you become emotionally attracted to each other.

Especially if the genre is minor, like rock.

That’s why I respect Jang Pil-sung. If this guy had done ballads with his vocals, he would have been much more successful, but he didn’t give up on rock.

There is also a genre called rock ballad, but this type is a traditional rock. Of course, he recently sang a rock ballad because he felt the sweetness of capitalism.

“This isn’t gasoline, it’s dandelion juice. I thought I gave you too little last time. And since you’re spitting without sparing your breath, I thought I should give you more. If it’s not enough, tell me again.”

“Is your house a doraji farm?”

“How did you know? My house is making doraji?”

“… … I was just saying. How would you know? Now that I’ve seen your face, is that okay? You can go now. I’ll contact you.”

“Are you a little disappointed? You brought a bribe, and you won’t even introduce me to your members?”

Jang Pil-seong, who said that, looks at our members, whose faces are covered by sunglasses and masks, with eyes that are ready to devour them.

I just told them to go, but I saw a sunken car.

But if I were to introduce myself… … I can’t do that.

While they were having a conflict, Jang Pil-seong suddenly stood up from his seat and tapped Tae-ju hyung on the shoulder.

“You? The base? You can tell the difference by body type.”

“… … .”

While Tae-ju hyung is frozen like ice, Jang Pil-seong continues to move his mouth.

“You hit a lot? You do get a little cold here and there. I guess that’s because it’s your first time on TV… … How old are you?”

“… … .”

“Twenty? Twenty-one?”

“… … .”

“Ah… …! Are you still a minor? That would be too shocking. Kids these days are crazy… … .”

Taeju hyung didn’t even answer, but I made the decision on my own.

And Jang Pil-seong, whose mouth moves without stopping.

“That’s right… … Well, if Dong-ha is the leader. Usually, wouldn’t the team members be younger than Dong-ha? Anyway, it’s surprising. Man… … I wonder what I was doing when I was your age.”

But the good thing is that there was no problem in not responding to Jang Pil-seong.

Even if you don’t answer, you’re still asking and answering questions on your own, and you’re making progress.

This time, Dong-sik starts touching Hyung’s arm. And eventually, he starts touching all over the place.

“Did you work out? Wow… … What is this? Drummers have to have a tough side. Hey… … Are you in really good shape?”

“… … Ah … … Yes.”

Perhaps because he felt embarrassed to stay still, Dong-sik used his wit to answer by changing his voice to sound like a mosquito.

“You haven’t even changed your voice yet? Wow… … Crazy. South Korean rock isn’t dead either… … .”

I looked at Dong-sik hyung from behind Jang Pil-seong and frowned.

It means don’t open your mouth anymore.

Who is Jang Pil-seong?

If you say more than two words, you have an ear that can guess a person’s age.

The human voice ages too.

anyway.

It seemed that he really wanted to give some words of encouragement to our Blue Porcelain, who call themselves descendants of rock, and he approached the last member, Youngpil, and patted him on the back.

“You’re tall even when you’re sitting? Hey… … As soon as I saw you on stage, I thought of an older brother I know. He’s Youngpil hyung. He’s such a kind hyung. He plays the keyboard like you. Do tall people have an advantage when playing the keyboard?”

“… … .”

“Oh my. Everyone is having a hard time maintaining their concept. They don’t let us say a word. But at least they let us take our clothes off in the waiting room… … The company really is going too far.”

As he said that, Jang Pil-seong secretly glared at Suchan.

At first glance, he seems like the tallest person in this waiting room, so he thinks of Suchan as our team’s controller and watchdog.

Anyway, Jang Pil-sung got up from his seat after finishing encouraging his rock juniors, which he seemed to have wanted to do so much.

I believe that even at the very end, the words of wisdom were a kind of bonus.

“Practice consistently. Everyone did better on their second broadcast than on their first. It’s definitely because they’re young, but they’ve improved a lot. Keep up the good work, everyone.”

I opened my mouth to speak on behalf of my brothers who still couldn’t even answer.

“Go ahead. I’ll contact you.”

“Okay. You definitely have to contact me this time, okay? If you have a good song, give me one too.”

“I don’t know if he’ll accept it. He’s someone who finds the world of music very difficult.”

“That’s true, but I compromise these days, too? I released a rock ballad a while ago. Money is good. You guys make a lot of money too. No, you guys are definitely going to make a lot of money! Fighting!”

Jang Pil-seong raises one arm and strikes a fighting pose while saying so.

We awkwardly raised our hands and followed suit.

I thought I could send it quickly that way.

Judging by the fact that all four of them followed the pose without saying a word, it seems like they all had the same thoughts.

It must have been incredibly difficult for the older brothers to sit there without saying a word.

Jang Pil-seong leaves with a satisfied expression.

Turning around, leaving the closed door… … .

Clink.

The door opens again with a creaking sound.

“Ah… … Really. What kind of man talks so much?”

As I said that, I turned around.

It’s not Jang Pil-seong.

“Uh… … Uh… … Uh… … .”

The other person’s face froze, as if he was just as surprised as I was.