God of Music

Chapter 61. In?America

Translator: Synopsis

– Recruiting members for a band.

Recruiting members

– Drums

– Bass

– Guitar

– Synthesizer

And up to 5 other people. (I’m the vocalist.)

I have a song in mind. I’ll consult you when the members are decided.

Not restricted by genre.

* Seoul residents welcome! (It doesn’t matter where!)

* I hope that you can use an instrument and possibly own one too!

Please call 010-XXXX-XXXX for details~?

***

Lee HyunAh put up flyers by herself on the streets of Hongdae. Some people received the posters from herself. She approached and handed out those flyers to some of the performers on the street and those who had instruments on their backs. She did her best to recruit members for a band.

She handed out flyers from dawn till eve, but at the end of the day, her phone was silent.

Lee HyunAh sat down absent-mindedly on one of the streets. Since she had to walk around all day, she felt pretty tired. There were some that wanted her signature, but she felt disappointed because she couldn’t get them to react to the band recruitment.

When she was looking around the street performances, a burly man approached her.

“Excuse me, you’re the one that handed out these right?”

In his hand was one of the flyers.

“Yes, yes.”

“I play the bass. Can I have a listen to your song?”

“Of course!”

Lee HyunAh immediately stood up with energy and lead the man to a nearby café.

***

After over 10 hours of flight, KangYoon and the others finally arrived at LA international airport in America. Everyone seemed to be affected by the long hours of flight while they were going through the procedures for entry. Just as everyone left immigration, Ailee Jung saw someone and ran towards him.

“Papa!”

Before anyone could say to her, she was hugged by someone.

“Ailee!”

“Papa!”

The girls were surprised, but KangYoon knew who this man was. He was the father of Ailee Jung. He left the girls and approached the man to greet him. Following that, everyone introduced themselves and followed after him. From today onwards, everyone was going to stay at Ailee’s house.

KangYoon got onboard the car that Ailee’s father drove along with her. The other girls boarded a rental car.

“It should have been a difficult request…. Thanks for accepting it, Team leader.”

“Not at all. Rather, it’s us who’s thankful for reducing the budget.”

KangYoon declined his appreciation. The decisive reason they could come to America this time was due to this. Ailee Jung’s father paid for all residential fees, and the budget for the stay went down considerably.

“Papa, aren’t we using too much money?”

“It’s fine. It’s all to see Ailee once more.”

“Papa!”

“…….”

While a soap opera played out between the father and daughter, Jung MinAh was getting Han JooYeon’s heavy bag out.

‘Jung MinAh changed a lot.’

Before, she was someone who only tried to win against others, but now, she started being considerate to her colleagues. KangYoon felt proud of her.

The group arrived at Ailee’s house after many hours of driving. Her house was at the edge of LA. Although it was relatively small, it was large enough for them to all stay in, it also had a garden as well, and even a pool. Everyone was flabbergasted after seeing the scale of the house rarely seen in Korea.

After they unpacked their luggage and washed up, it was nighttime already. The girls were full of excitement since it was the first day of the travel, but they all fell asleep without being able to win against jetlag.

Second day.

KangYoon headed to the theme park where characters from various animations walked around. It was one of the most well-known theme parks in the world.

“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Kyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Having gotten on a roller coaster for the first time in his life, KangYoon screamed his life out. Jung MinAh was in a similar situation by his side.

“They’re practically the same.”

Below the roller coaster, Christie An was shaking her head.

“Wasn’t that great?”

“That was fun?”

After around 2 minutes on the roller coaster, KangYoon had to stagger his way out being supported by Jung MinAh. Not only the girls, even the managers giggled after seeing him.

Rides were the best things in theme parks. Everyone enjoyed their preferred rides and leisure time. KangYoon never approached any ride after that roller coaster. Jung MinAh grumbled, saying he was so weak despite being a man, but he didn’t care.

The day was passing by fast. When the energetic girls conquered almost all the rides, the sun was setting.

“Should we go back then?”

Everyone was disappointed, but the girls still followed him out.

Most of their schedule in America was leisure and travel. The girls were worried that they might have to study or perform, but there was nothing like that. Other than the fact that everyone had to be together, it was no different from touring. Everyone admired and enjoyed this life that was completely different from Korea.

One day before they had to go back to Korea.

KangYoon held out tickets to the girls.

“What are these?”

When Jung MinAh asked, it was instead Christie who answered for KangYoon.

“Duh, they’re tickets. Can’t you see?”

“Yes, I can’t see. Wanna fight?”

Jung MinAh and Christie An were about to quarrel again but KangYoon calmed them down with a smack on their heads.

“It’s always me….”

“We’re going to see Samuel Johnson’s concert today. I won’t ask you to write a report, but I will ask for your opinions. Okay?”

“Yeeees.”

Jung MinAh answered in a bland tone, but KangYoon simply ignored her. When she drew circles on the ground for being ignored, all the girls giggled.

‘That’s comical.’

Even while playing around with the girls, KangYoon was watching the relationships between each of them. From the soft Seo HanYu to the funny yet considerate Lee SamSoon to the nagging, but sturdy Ailee Jung – he was watching everyone.

The girls left the house with KangYoon and headed for the concert venue.

“Wow, there are soooooo many people…….”

Han JooYeon shivered slightly after seeing the crowd that filled the giant concert hall. No, it was more appropriate to say that she was overwhelmed. The concert venue centered around a stage and every inch were filled with people.

“It can apparently house 50 thousand people so yeah.”

“F, fifty thousand!?”

Even Seo HanYu, who wasn’t easily surprised, was shocked. When they looked around, they would see crowds upon crowds of people. She couldn’t believe that all of these people came to see just one singer.

Everyone grabbed their seats. The girls were staring at the entrances as there was an endless stream of people coming in. They found it curious that such an enormous hall was going to be filled.

“Team leader. What kind of singer are we going to watch today?”

Asked Jung MinAh, who sat next to KangYoon.

“Samuel Johnson. The greatest pop singer of the 80s. Of course, he’s still one of the greatest singers. Haven’t you heard about him?”

“Oh, I did. The lean dance and the moonwalk!” (T/N: We all know who this is now)

“Correct. The reason that he’s famous is because most singers at that time just danced according to the rhythm of the song while they sang. But Samuel Johnson was the first one to dance along with singing. He’s a pioneer, per se.”

“Oh, stages didn’t have dances until now?”

Jung MinAh perked her ears up after listening to something she hadn’t known before. KangYoon found that cute and continued.

“To be exact, dancing and singing were entirely separate. But with the appearance of Samuel Johnson, ‘performance’ properly came onto the stage along with singing. Other than that, the current stage devices, music videos and stuff like that, which affected the music history as a whole, also came from him. Now you see why he’s called the greatest singer right?”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Oh, the lights are going off.”

The stage was about to start and the lights went off. After that, numbers started appearing on the huge screen in front of the stage. It was decreasing from the number 10, and the audience all shouted out.

….

“Five!”

“Four!

….

The audience was very dynamic. The girls also shouted the countdown as well. The number soon became 1, then 0. And the cheers of the audience erupted along with a loud boom.

“Woooooow!”

Along with the cheers, the lights came on the stage. And on the stage….

‘Huh?’

No one was there. The audience that was cheering and the girls all looked around to see what was happening.

‘What’s happening?’

KangYoon wondered if there was an accident or something. Just as the 50,000 audience was about to fall into the same suspicion, a humanoid hologram appeared with a few beeps. It was the hologram of Samuel Johnson. The hologram extracted bits of the performances he had shown in the past and showed it to the audience. The music became faster and the mood was heightened, and the almost panic-stricken audience was instantly taken away by it.

The drum sounds became louder before the hologram vaporized into thin air. Just as the people were about to fall into panic again, pillars of fire rose from the surroundings before someone appeared from below the stage. Along with that figure, 2 more holograms of Samuel Johnson appeared.

“Wooooooooooooooooooooooooow! Samuel! Samuel!

The one from below was the real Samuel. As the two holograms and he joined into one, he started taking away the attention of all the people there.

***

“It’s quiet without KangYoon here.”

Chairman Won JinMoon was in KangYoon’s empty office. Behind him was President Lee HyunJi.

“Definitely, his bold attitude isn’t here.”

“Do you feel that way too?”

It had been 4 days since KangYoon took the girls to America. He felt bored without the results from KangYoon.

“How’s the concert team doing? I’m worried since he’s only focusing on the girl group right now.”

“Phew….”

Although she shouldn’t act like this in front of the chairman, President Lee HyunJi deeply sighed. Even though she wanted to take a big job, with KangYoon away, she couldn’t do anything.

“Please wait for a little. I’ll send him your way as soon as they debut.”

“Understood. But I think the end-of-year concert will be difficult.”

“Oh well. I’ll be considerate next time.”

President Lee HyunJi emphasized that the matters like what happened with JooAh last time must not happen again. He added while signing the document.

“But you know? Isn’t it a pity to just leave KangYoon in the concert team? I think he’ll do well in other things too.”

“He’s learning music theory as well.”

“That’s not enough.”

Chairman Won JinMoon wasn’t satisfied. He fidgeted with his pen for a moment before clapping as though he had come to a realization.

“The word ‘concert team’ sounds fine, but I think it will be better for him to do various work about music and not just concerts. We’ll raise KangYoon in the process, and it’ll profit the company in the long run too. Isn’t that two birds with one stone?”

“Are you referring to a general business team related to music?”

“Something like that. We’ll create a team with professional members, too. I knew I could count on you.”

“I’ll look into it.”

Replied President Lee HyunJi with confidence.

She judged that this had potential after evaluating KangYoon’s sense in music as well as his ability to gather people’s opinions together.

***

Samuel’s stage kept going.

Even Jung MinAh and Lee SamSoon, who were clueless about English, started being absorbed by the performances that contained a story. Samuel’s stage contained extremes of magnificence, but also, each song had their stories as well. Not just his lyrics, his performance, and his light were portraying those stories.

Seeing numerous musical notes combining into one blinding white light, KangYoon couldn’t hide his exclamation. The scene of that light seeping into the audience was a spectacle. The machine-like precision of 30 people dancing and the harmony was a beautiful scene that he may not be able to see again.

“…….”

Jung MinAh was already captivated. It didn’t matter if she spoke a different language. She couldn’t forget the 30-people dancing completely in sync. 30 people of both genders doing one action was a piece of art.

[This, will be the final song.]

Samuel Johnson wiped the sweat on his forehead. Everyone expressed their disappointment, but he only made his soft smile unique to him.

[I wish everyone could be with me on this one.]

He calmed himself down and took off the headset. Then, he grabbed the microphone that the staff gave him. Behind the stage, a house band music flossed out and a children’s choir humming started emphasizing the instruments.

– Make – our world – a better place –

And it harmonized with Samuel Johnson’s unique voice. The audience, who was cheering until now, reacted by waving their hands in midair this time. KangYoon and the girls also did the same.

Samuel Johnson closed his eyes and fell into the music. The song was sung comfortably as though telling a story. The bold melody quietly flowed out, but there was the amazing message of ‘you are one that heals the world’.

Perhaps due to that message, an amazing scene started unfolding in KangYoon’s vision.

‘Gold light!?’

The musical notes from the instruments and the choir were emitting white light, and with Samuel’s voice added into it, it started turning into gold. At first, the white light was tinged with gold, but by now, no white could be seen. Unlike white light which seeped into people, gold light poured into people. Unlike the calm atmosphere of the song, its power was tremendous.

‘What’s all this!? The greatest singing is at such a level!?’

He felt like he had seen a new world. Performance and staging were both alright. But to bring out such an influence with just songs…. KangYoon was shocked at the world’s greatest singer’s grandeur. The girls were already absorbed into his song while they waved their hands.

Not only that, there was a video of suffering people, whether it was due to war, or other causes. That was the icing on the cake. The golden light went to its climax. The song was calm until the very end, but the people were violently shaken. There were even people who were crying or were making a resolve. It was even affecting their emotions.

– Heal –

The light also dimmed along with his fading voice. While the music faded out, Samuel’s figure disappeared into the darkness.

“Woooooooooooooooow!

The song completely ended, and when darkness pervaded, the cheers of the people decorated the stage one last time.

***

“…Awesome. It’s the first time I’ve been to such a concert.”

“Me too. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”

Like what Han JooYeon and Seo HanYu were saying, the concert today left a deep impression on them. They even put some money into charity for African children on their way out. That was the level of influence of the song.

Everyone got on the car. While the girls were busily talking about the concert, KangYoon was also thinking about the concert on the window seat.

‘If I could bring the greatest singer to such a stage….’

A parade of golden light.

The concert that colored everyone with smiles and tears was unforgettable for KangYoon.

‘So, this is the world.’

The world contained people that did such concerts. If he didn’t know that, he might have rotten away as a frog in a well. Although he was doing well until now with the knowledge of his previous life, the world was vast. KangYoon was happy to have found an objective.

“Ahjussi! She keeps hitting me!”

“…What!? It was you who hit me first.”

Jung MinAh sat next to KangYoon and pointed to Christie An. Thanks to that, KangYoon had to exit his thoughts. Christie An was fuming at the back. KangYoon silently gave a smack to both of them.

“Ouch!”

“Ack!”

“Who told you to run around in the vehicle.”

“It’s always me….”

When Jung MinAh grumbled, KangYoon wordlessly gripped his fist. Jung MinAh quickly fled next to Christie’s side in surprise and all the others giggled at her.

The peaceful days passed on like that.

***