DLMS 46

chapter 46

Two performances had been confirmed.
I devoted myself to practice every single day.

Summer had finally arrived in earnest.
The rainy days were becoming more frequent, and the scorching sun repeatedly dried the wet ground.
The rising temperatures gradually increased people’s irritability.

But I, lost in happiness, forgot all annoyance and spent my time fully immersed.

How much time had passed that way?
By now, a few more songs had been uploaded to my Cloud Sound account.
Starting with Drive and Imagine, five more songs were added, making a total of seven tracks, all of which were performing quite well in terms of views.

All these songs had previously been arranged with help from Lee Jong-in.
Among them, the first uploaded track, Drive, boasted the highest view count.

Since Drive was so popular among the songs I uploaded, performing it live was difficult.
That’s why I spent a long time practicing the live version of Drive.
As a result, I had now gained the physical ability to sing it almost like the recording.

Of course, there were things I had to sacrifice for the time I invested.

“Ah, I’m screwed…”

[Hehe… want me to tell you the answer?]

“No, I’ll handle it myself.”

[Oh? Is that your last bit of pride?]

Today was the day of the final exam for the first semester of the second year.
Unlike usual, I struggled to write down my answers.

The devil asked if I wanted the answers, but it felt like cheating, so I refused.

“Ah… I think I failed…”

Indeed, balancing music and academics was harder than I had imagined.

“Vacation! Oh yeah!”

As soon as Taehun left the classroom after the exams, he shouted excitedly.

“Wow, isn’t he tired at all?”
“Taehun slept all night when we stayed up yesterday.”
“True…”
“Let’s go drink! Hehehe!”
“Impressive…”

I wondered if this was what being a true social butterfly meant, but I wasn’t particularly envious.

“Jaehui hyung, Seolhee! Wanna go grab a drink?”
“Hmm…”
“No, I have band practice, so next time. What about you, hyung?”
“I’ll drink. Exams are over, so I’ll have a drink and then go home to sleep.”
“Oh! Okay! Then Seolhee can sit this one out, and the two of us will hang out! Hehehe!”
“Sure, let’s do that.”

I hadn’t taken a single moment to relax, immersed in studying and music work.
Today was the end of exams and the start of vacation, so I gladly accepted Taehun’s suggestion.

“Then I’ll head in first.”
“Okay, take care!”
“Go on, Seolhee. I’ll contact you later.”
“Yes. Have fun.”

Seolhee, exhausted, headed toward Hongdae.
Taehun and I went to Yeonhui-dong, near school.
During the car ride, Taehun, as usual, took on the role of DJ from the passenger seat.

“What should we eat?”
“Wow! Hyung, I want yukhoe!”
“Oh? You like raw beef?”
“Of course! I love anything raw.”
“Really? I love raw fish too. Can’t get enough of it.”

I wasn’t particularly passionate about food, but I truly loved raw dishes.

“Wow, amazing. Hyung, want to come to my grandparents’ place sometime?”
“Grandparents’ place? Where?”
“In Wando, Jeollanam-do. My grandfather catches and prepares the fish himself.”

Hearing that, I felt like flooring the accelerator and heading straight to Wando instead of Yeonhui-dong.

“Hey, Kim Taehun…”
“Yes?”
“Let’s be good friends.”
“Oh, we already are, hyung!”
“Let’s be even closer. How can we resist raw fish?”
“Anyway, let’s go wreck some yukhoe!”
“Let’s go!”

Being with Taehun, I found myself matching his high energy.
He was my complete opposite: loved to play, didn’t study much, and had unstoppable energy.
But he was truly a grateful friend.
After the debut performance, he was the first to approach me.
Without him, I might still be living quietly as before.
An artist gains strength from audience reactions after performing.
Taehun was the friend who first gave me immense confidence and strength.

“Yay! Going to eat yukhoe!”

Of course, the always-bright Taehun seemed completely unaware of the feelings I had toward him.

After exams, Yu Jaehui headed to Yeonhui-dong with Kim Taehun to drink.
At the same time, Lee Jong-in met Kim Jongpil for a gathering after a long time.

“Hey, it’s been a while, huh?”

Although Lee Jong-in didn’t look favorably upon Kim Jongpil due to Yu Jaehui, they couldn’t ignore each other because they knew many mutual acquaintances.
There was no conflict between them.
After exchanging a drink or two, they chatted.

“You graduating now?”
“Yeah, semester just ended.”

Lee Jong-in was about to graduate after today’s exam.

“So, what will you do now?”
“Well, I’m still preparing for employment.”

Lee Jong-in poured more alcohol into the empty glass in front of him.

“I want to work in entertainment, but it’s not easy.”
“Really? Entertainment has open recruitment too?”

Kim Jongpil still had no interest or knowledge about the arts.

“Most positions are open recruitment. But it’s tough.”

In their mid-twenties, it was a time to worry about careers.
This applied to both Lee Jong-in and Kim Jongpil.
They met just after exams but quickly moved into realistic topics.

“I applied here and there, but maybe it’s just not my time.”
“Maybe you lack information?”
“Yeah, I think that’s part of it…”

Lee Jong-in hesitated briefly.

“I asked Jaehui.”
“Oh? Ah… Jaehui, I see.”

At the mention of Yu Jaehui’s name, there was a brief silence.
But Lee Jong-in continued as if nothing happened.

“Jaehui worked in entertainment before. So I asked him.”
“Yeah, I heard he worked in music-related stuff.”

Kim Jongpil lowered his head, then spoke again.

“Uh… was the company Jaehui worked for a big one?”
“You didn’t know? It’s huge. Not just anyone can get in.”
“Oh, I see…”

There were three major entertainment companies producing famous idols: SN Entertainment, Crown Entertainment, and Big Star Entertainment.
Yu Jaehui worked at JH Entertainment, also a large company, but it wasn’t a singer-producing company.
Kim Jongpil, uninterested in music, didn’t know the company’s size or influence.
He assumed it was a small business, but it wasn’t.

“Jaehui, doing well in the club?”
“Yeah, amazing. The most popular now. Didn’t you see the surge after the Hongcha incident?”
“Yeah, saw it. Articles, social media buzz…”
“Jaehui’s doing great. Posting his own songs, getting popular.”
“Yeah.”
“….”
“Let’s have a drink.”
“Okay.”

Lee Jong-in didn’t bring up Jaehui’s name to be considerate.
Kim Jongpil was always sharp-tongued and often behaved poorly.
He was annoying, but also a long-time friend and junior from the military.
His annoying habits couldn’t be ignored.

“You used to bully Jaehui?”
“Huh? Who said that?”
“I know, man. Heard it from Jaehui.”

An awkwardness settled over the table.
Lee Jong-in had anticipated such an atmosphere.

“Do you talk to Jaehui now?”
“No, he told me not to act like we know each other. So I just act like he doesn’t exist.”
“Then why did you bully him…”
“I didn’t know any better as a kid. I regret it now.”

After their last meeting, Kim Jongpil met middle school friends and vented about Jaehui.
But his friends only told him to stop.
Kim Jongpil’s anger and insults were his way of easing guilt.
But nothing truly changed.

“Wanna come to the concert?”
“Huh?”
“We’re performing in early August. Jaehui will be there too, so go say hi.”
“Uh, that’s….”
“Aren’t you going to apologize?”
“….”

Lee Jong-in hoped Kim Jongpil would apologize and get his act together.

“I don’t know.”

In the past, Jaehui had been a toy at the bottom of society to Kim Jongpil.
Now, seeing Jaehui succeed, apologizing felt awkward and bruised his pride.
Apologies should have been made long ago.

“Sigh… headache…”

The conversation shifted to more general topics: post-graduation plans and job hunting.
Sharing typical mid-twenties worries, they slowly emptied their glasses.
Perhaps from drinking too much, their bodies felt heavy, and Kim Jongpil’s mind grew even heavier.

The end of university finals marked the start of vacation.

“Sigh… I failed.”

[Unlucky.]

About two weeks after vacation began, grades were released.
Most of my grades were A+ or A, and three subjects were B+.

“Even if I did badly, I usually get at least an A…”

[You’re really unlucky.]

“Hyung, stop whining already.”

Even Seolhee, who usually didn’t speak harshly to me, told me to stop.

“Okay… got it…”

I checked grades on mobile in Qrious’ practice room.
The results were already announced through Seolhee.
No one comforted me on my gloomy day.

“Is he always like this?”
“I don’t know. Today’s worse than usual. Not normally this unlucky…”

Qrious’ members asked Seolhee if I was naturally unlucky, but she didn’t defend me.

“Sigh… so what if I’m not good at studying! As long as I work hard at music! Let’s start practice!”
“Ugh… Yu Jaehui’s terrible.”
“So he really is unlucky…”

I came to practice today for the upcoming band performance.
On August 24, at the Crossline venue in Hongdae, a band performance would be held.
Two invited bands: Qrious and Demian.

“By the way, what kind of band is Demian?”