Rockstar Again - Chapter 87



Only Noblemtl

Episode 87. What men live by (4)

Move your mouse to check out some articles.

And then I looked through the comments below.

It’s become a routine that I use to start my day over the past week.

Reading entertainment industry articles and checking comments.

If it were my job, I wouldn’t have been this interested, but since he’s Youngpil’s older brother, I can’t ignore public opinion.

This doesn’t mean that I will act based on public opinion.

There’s just something… … that’s bothering me.

I’m also worried about how Hong Dae-yoon is doing.

“When I see things like this, people are really amazing.”

As I lift my head from the monitor and open my mouth, Tae-joo asks back as usual.

“What’s so strange?”

“The essence is the same, but you’re being too picky about the container. If you put water in a yogurt bottle, it becomes yogurt. If you put it in a cola bottle, it doesn’t become cola.”

“It’s not easy. You were like that too, back in the day when you called me a beggar.”

When I glance at him, he smiles.

I thought he was a beggar named Chunsam, but it turned out he was Yoon Taejoo, the third generation of a conglomerate.

“At that time, you didn’t look human at all. You were so skinny and skinny that you were nothing but bones. Was it because you couldn’t eat? Because you ran away from home?”

“No, it’s just a family history. My mother was skinny.”

“Gulkuman. Is this Talullah?”

“Talullah? What is that?”

“It’s okay if you don’t know. How can you, living in this life, know less than me, who time-slipped? You only knew how to make money, living like a complete fool.”

Feeling frustrated, I wanted to see Tae-joo hyung for a while, and then I checked on Dong-sik hyung through the CCTV installed in the basement.

“That guy practices all day long, whether his friends get robbed or not.”

“It’s just like Dong-sik. There’s no point in worrying about nothing.”

“That’s true.”

It seems like Youngpil is trying to reassure us instead.

I occasionally send photos taken from the same angle as the old men take selfies.

The reporters are camped out, they’re semi-locked in their houses, and they actually like it.

That I can be with my family.

I told him to practice instead of playing, but these days he takes pictures in front of a synthesizer.

I’m sure you’ll do well.

Piri Hyung is the type that his emotions are revealed through his facial expressions, so you can tell what his current state is by looking at his face.

For the past week, Youngpil has been the subject of criticism from various media outlets.

I pretended it didn’t happen, but my heart ached a little… What should I say…?

Um… … Youngpil hyung was like a monkey at the zoo?

Even if they are not stars, they are not treated as celebrities and become the center of attention.

It was because of articles like, “Why are you in a rock band at that age?” and “Is Cheong-A Entertainment doing charity work?”

I also heard that CheongA Entertainment is flooded with inquiries asking if this is fact and not a hidden camera.

The agency is working hard to create public opinion. The atmosphere has changed to the point where Hong Young-pil was originally a talented musician.

There is also a growing public opinion that older people should not take on challenges.

Actually, that’s right.

Age doesn’t mean anything.

Look at me.

My year of birth is 1976.

As of 2026, he’s twenty-one years old.

“Brother. Can I go out for a bit?”

After much thought, I finally said it out loud, but Tae-joo nodded his head very easily.

“Of course it will be.”

“Won’t something happen if I go out for no reason?”

“Could that be so?”

“… … The leader is this and that, responsible and such. Anyway, it’s no help. Are you really leaving?”

Tae-ju hyung is indifferent, but Suchan hyung, who was listening to our story, wiggles his butt.

Should I dry it or not?

Expressing that conflict with his whole body.

“I won’t get caught. I just have something on my mind. Otherwise, why don’t you go with me?”

“… … Is this a place I can go with you?”

“Okay. Let’s go. Let’s drive. This is better. I was worried about taking a bus or taxi.”

* * *

Is that what happens when you get older and have a family?

He doesn’t brag about his sister-in-law, but he brags about his kids a lot.

Thanks to that, I’ve memorized their names, faces, ages, and even the academy they go to.

“It’s starting to come out now.”

In front of the elementary school near Youngpil’s brother’s house.

I parked my car across the street and waited for quite some time.

It’s been so long since I went to elementary school that I didn’t know what time school ended.

Kids rushing out.

All kinds of school buses and even school teachers to welcome those kids.

There are quite a few parents who came to pick their children up in person.

In the midst of such a bustling crowd of people, my eyes caught a glimpse of a child like a ghost.

It’s so nice to meet you.

Come to think of it, didn’t we meet when cicadas were singing?

I muttered to myself, hoping that people would understand my uncle, who I could only watch from afar.

“Pilju… … How are you?”

Suchan, who had been dozing off in the driver’s seat, came to his senses and asked.

“Who is Pilju?”

“It’s not Pilju, it’s Pilju. It’s Hong Youngpil Junior and Hong Daeyoon.”

“ah…….”

“But didn’t your sister-in-law come to pick up our Pil-ju? She was like that before, but she’s secretly raising him to be strong.”

“Really? I don’t know.”

“But luckily, reporters don’t come all the way to school?”

“Ah. Oh, the company threatened to move the legal department at the head office as soon as they touched my family. But that won’t happen.”

“aha.”

While I was keeping my gaze fixed on Hong Dae-yoon, the problem children I had seen before started to surround him.

As I rolled down the car window a little, I heard the voices of Hong Dae-yoon and the children approaching across the street.

“Dae-yoon’s dad is cool.”

“thank you.”

“With great power comes great responsibility. If you have talent, there are bound to be people who are jealous.”

“Let’s go to my house. Mom will take you there for a long time. She said she’ll buy you something delicious.”

“We? Let’s go together.”

I watched in my side mirror until it finally passed our car completely and drove away.

Kids are kids.

It looks like you’re doing well as if nothing happened after being teased in the summer.

I felt it even then, but Hong Dae-yoon surprisingly has a good mentality.

Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, but you seem to have grown a bit.

The good thing was that the tinting was so dark that you couldn’t see inside the car at all?

“Brother Schan.”

“huh?”

“Do you have a girlfriend, hyung?”

“Huh? Oh, there it is.”

“I see… … That’s why the tinting is dark.”

“… … It’s not necessarily that kind of profit.”

“Okay. I’ll pretend I don’t know.”

I tried to joke around a bit, but then I brought up the topic that was on my mind.

“Public opinion. It won’t change overnight, right?”

“Um… … This is my first time experiencing something like this, so I don’t know what to say.”

“… … .”

“But the company is moving very hard. I’ve worked for many companies, but I’ve never seen a place that takes care of its employees like this. They even moved the headquarters and removed all the advertisements that were in Hidden Magazine.”

“is it so?”

“That’s right. So trust and wait. When the company is not doing well, waiting is hard work, but when things are going well, it is a virtue for an artist to know how to wait.”

hmm…….

The company is doing what the company is supposed to do.

Certainly, public opinion has changed to some extent.

He said that a talented musician gave up on his music career because he met the wrong timing. He said that age is not important when it comes to taking on challenges.

But is that enough?

Will people completely shake off their prejudices just because they shout out that Youngpil is talented through media play?

I’m not trying to criticize the company.

The beggar who is the saddest of positions.

One of the reasons bands break up is because they inevitably end up in positions where they don’t get much attention.

This is especially true for keyboardists like Youngpil.

Unless someone puts up a grand piano and shows off some showmanship, it’s hard for people to easily tell how good their skills are.

In this case, people have experienced the skills of our band, but the problem is that they don’t know exactly how much of Youngpil’s contribution it is.

Because things like vocals, drumming, and flashy guitar sounds catch your ear first.

I lay back in my seat in a daze and the car slowly started moving.

“Oh. I know this place.”

“Is this a place you’ve been to?”

“yes.”

I see a coffee shop on the street.

The tasteless coffee shop of that day last summer when cicadas were chirping.

I picked up my phone and sent a message to Piri.

[Open your mouth.]

* * *

Hong Young-pil stared blankly at his cell phone.

[Lee Dong Ha: Open your mouth.]

“You pretend to be strong, but you have many… … .”

He’s the kind of guy who moves.

Tick ​​tock, saying whatever I want to say without any hesitation.

Not only that, but there are humans who think that the universe revolves around them.

But to define a human being as moving like that is to judge him only by looking at his surface.

A very affectionate and gentle child.

When something good happens, he’s the first to congratulate them, and when his hyungs don’t look happy, he’s the guy who worries and wonders what’s wrong.

‘Sympathy?… … .’

I had that thought, but I quickly shook my head and shook it off.

So what if I feel sorry for you?

There is only one thing that is important to Hong Young-pil right now.

Become a father and husband who shines and is praised by people without having to take it out and brag.

At an age that has surpassed the age of enlightenment, you may wonder what other people’s opinions are really like.

“I may be a great man, but my son is not.”

Even Hong Yeong-pil, who is a man of great wisdom, still does not know the will of heaven.

He may be proud of his father, but how much conflict and pain must a ten-year-old have gone through to become like that?

Hong Young-pil slowly typed out the message.

It’s just a static touch on the machine, but it’s a testament to the power.

[Thank you. I won’t let you down.]

A room where the sun shines for a long time even though it is winter.

Among the instruments without a speck of dust, Hong Yeong-pil lightly cleared his throat.

“Ah. Ah, ah.”

You said it pretty well, but can you do it well?

“ah……!”

This was not a cry of relief.

It was a final groan that came out as something I had forgotten suddenly came to mind.

“Cover your face… … and call me, okay?”

Even though I have passed the age of 100.

Still not free from people’s gaze.

Hong Young-pil consoled himself by saying that it was not because of any lack, but because the average life expectancy of modern people had increased.

* * *

It’s been a week since Hong Young-pil’s identity was revealed.

Na Moon-hee, the head of the public relations team, responded to the media with passion and sincerity.

The media that Na Moon-hee is talking about here includes not only credible media outlets but also trivial comments from the public and community opinions.

Na Moon-hee went around encouraging her employees.

“How did the comment work go?”

“I got the best comment.”

“I told them to adjust the recommendation fee so that it doesn’t get mixed up with the gender.”

“yes.”

There are companies that specialize in creating best comments.

It’s not a method I particularly like, but in a pinch, what can’t you do?

This is an era where if you just let public opinion flow, you can’t even guess where it will go.

Especially when a negative issue breaks out, it is important to change the direction of public opinion early on.

“Did the experts interview Kisan go out?”

“Yes. We aired it all through our media. TVK is also airing a special program with the debate. Is it because it’s their broadcast? But don’t you think they’re pushing it too hard?”

“It would be nice if you could help me. Why are you thinking so deeply about that? Okay.”

“Well… … I guess that’s true.”

The reason the employees have questions is simple.

TVK doesn’t like Cheong-ah.

Among the cable channels, the music channel owned by Cheong-A is ranked first, and TVK is always ranked second.

Cheong-ah doesn’t care, but it’s a well-known story in the industry that TVK is burning with rivalry.

Although is a program broadcast on TVK, simply participating and supporting it are completely different stories.

I think it’s because it’s gaining popularity and viewership thanks to Blue Porcelain… … but the response TVK is showing now is too much.

Namunhee Nam, who was vaguely dim, smiled secretly.

‘My mouth is itching, but I can’t speak and it’s frustrating. Hong Yeong-pil’s identity is revealed and it’s a mess. What would happen if his identity were revealed… I can’t even imagine.’

As the head of the public relations team, it was something that Na Moon-hee could imagine because she found out the identity of the Blue Porcelain members.

‘If you think about it that way, Lee Dong-ha is really not ordinary.’

I’m not talking about your skills as a musician.

Na Moon-hee is the head of the public relations team, she doesn’t do music.

Now that things have blown up, it’s clear what kind of picture Lee Dong-ha drew.

That’s the reason why the plan to change public opinion with a somewhat childish name, Beauty and the Beast, is being carried out.

Because I showed my ‘skill’ first.

The only thing that’s disappointing is that they only showed their capabilities as a band, not Hong Young-pil’s individual skills?