WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ My Fired Uncle Is a Genius Guitarist? ◈
Chapter 14: Have You Ever Written Lyrics?
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I set the four measures to loop and listened to them over and over through my headphones.
The more I listened, the more certain I became. This was only the beginning. If these four measures were a door, the image waiting beyond it was already complete in my head.
Verse, pre-chorus, chorus. It did not take long to build the framework. The issue was not speed, but direction. Whenever my fingers tried to add flashy flourishes out of habit, I deliberately stopped the mouse.
‘This is a song those kids will play.’
Instead of using a keyboard, I clicked virtual instruments into place with the mouse and pictured the three of them one by one.
The foundation of the drum part came from the messy offbeats Yun Taerin had tapped out with drumsticks during break last week. I kept those offbeats almost exactly as they were and made them the song's backbone. A structure where the drums had an undeniable presence without needing flashy fills.
I deliberately left gaps in the bass line. If Bae Somi got scared and held back, the entire song would feel empty. I wrote it to leave Somi nowhere to hide musically, a line that forced her to project her sound forward.
Lastly, the vocals. I placed the melody where Cha Sion's vocal texture could carry most clearly. There was no need to forcefully test the limits of their high range. It was enough to give their voice a space where it could run free.
I clicked in the drum and bass notes one at a time, layered several guitar tracks, and hummed a low melody guide into the microphone. My old laptop stuttered a few times under the strain, but by the time dawn began to seep through the window, a three-minute demo was complete.
Only after transferring the file to my phone did I collapse onto the bed. Even after closing my eyes, the song would not stop playing in my ears.
‘The question is how to bring this out.’
My thoughts stopped there. Sleep won.
#
When I opened the practice room door, Yun Taerin, who was sitting on the drum stool, opened their eyes wide.
“Uncle, what happened to your face?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your under-eyes are dark. Did you stay up all night?”
As I set down the guitar case slung over my shoulder, I answered casually.
“I had something to do.”
“Work? But it's Saturday.”
“Not work.”
“Then what?”
“I'll tell you later.”
“What is it? Don't make me curious!”
Yun Taerin gave me a suspicious once-over. Bae Somi also asked carefully, looking worried.
“Uncle, your eyes are red...”
“I’m fine. Let’s set up first.”
As I sat in front of the amp and took out my guitar, Cha Sion passed by and tossed out a comment.
“Those dark circles make you look like a panda. It suits you.”
“...”
I brushed off their light teasing and took out my guitar. My fingertips had mostly graduated from needing tape now. Still, it was not time to bring up the original song yet.
“Okay, today we need to settle on one of the two covers.”
At my words, they stopped fooling around and adjusted their instruments.
We played the first song all the way through. Over the past week, we had started to click, and the sound was clearly tighter than it had been last week.
“Oh, we're doing pretty well today.”
“Don't get excited. Straight into the next song.”
We played the second song all the way through as well. When it ended, all three sets of eyes turned toward me.
“So? Which one?”
“Wait.”
I lined up the lingering impressions of the two songs in my head and weighed them. Though there was not much to weigh. The answer had already been clear before the run-through was over.
“Let’s go with the first one.”
“Really? That’s final?”
“Out of the two, this one’s better. The three of you sound more balanced in it.”
“Yes! I liked the drums in this one!”
“I, I liked this one better too.”
Yun Taerin happily struck the cymbal with a clang, while Bae Somi let out a small breath as if relieved. Only Cha Sion gave a slight nod without much reaction. The decision had been made, so now we only had to work on this song. That was what all of them seemed to believe.
‘...I said out of the two.’
I had not lied. Of the two, the first song was definitely better.
But.
‘No matter how much we refine this song, we won't be able to surpass them.’
Noise Line, the band we would face in the finals. The completeness of the sound they put out was not something we could contend with using one clumsy cover.
“Take ten minutes, then we’ll work out this song’s details.”
#
As I drank some water, Yun Taerin fiddled with their phone before suddenly speaking up.
“By the way, Uncle, you saw Noise Line’s video, right?”
“I did.”
“Honestly, what did you think? Things are completely crazy at school. Even kids from the next class have come over asking whether we’re competing against that team.”
“What did you think?”
“Me? Well... they are good. But if we finish this song, I think we can do it too.”
Yun Taerin shrugged. Bae Somi only gave an uncertain smile, while Cha Sion had no particular reaction.
“Really? Then watch it again.”
“Now? Why?”
“While the sound we just played is still in your ears. Watch it again like that.”
Looking as though it was no big deal, Yun Taerin played the video. Bae Somi and Cha Sion gathered around the phone too. Rather than the screen, I decided to watch their faces.
The moment the first note burst out, Yun Taerin grinned.
“See? They are good, but...”
Thirty seconds passed.
“...”
Their words trailed off, then their mouth closed. The head that had been bobbing along had stopped before they knew it. The sound they had just played with their own hands and the sound from the screen must have been getting compared side by side in their ears. Bae Somi could not take their eyes off the bassist on the screen, their fingers unconsciously feeling for invisible strings in the air.
The video ended. No one spoke first.
Only Cha Sion continued staring down at the phone for a moment after the screen went dark.
“...They’re good.”
Yun Taerin finally said it as though surrendering. I added,
“Much better than us.”
“Do you have to put it like that?”
“I do. They’re the team we’ll face in the finals.”
“Haah... I was feeling good until just now.”
“It'd be nice if good feelings could win.”
“Uncle, you really know how to rain on someone’s parade.”
Yun Taerin put down their sticks and slumped over the drum stool. The atmosphere in the practice room noticeably sank. The excitement from deciding on a song moments ago had vanished without a trace.
I did not offer them any clumsy comfort or encouragement. If it was a wall they would face onstage, it was better to realize it early. Instead, I silently readjusted my guitar and gripped my pick.
Zing.
A heavy riff cut through the sunken air. This was not the clumsy sound of loosening up or checking tuning. It was the opening of a complete song, with a meticulously calculated structure and clear intent.
Yun Taerin, who had been slumped over gloomily, snapped their head up.
“...What was that?”
Bae Somi’s eyes went wide as they looked at me too. Instead of answering, I played the four-measure riff once more.
Cha Sion, frozen with a water bottle in hand, slowly approached.
“Does it have more after that?”
“It does.”
“More? More what? Uncle, what is that riff?”
Without a word, I took out my phone and played the demo file. The phone speaker was crude, but the tightly packed band sound instantly drove away the gloomy air in the practice room and filled the room.
The three of them held their breath as though by prior agreement. Without anyone moving, they focused every ounce of attention on the sound flowing from the speaker.
Before long, the song ended. The moment the final resonance vanished, Yun Taerin urgently asked,
“Uncle... what is this? Whose song is it?”
“I made it last night.”
“Made it? You? You wrote a song?”
“Yeah.”
“This is why you stayed up all night?”
“Yeah.”
Yun Taerin’s voice cracked. As I ran a hand down the guitar neck, I continued.
“The three of you were the beginning.”
“Us?”
“Those messy offbeats Taerin was banging out during break last week. The plain open strings Somi was plucking. And Sion’s humming, like it just slipped out. I built the song around those.”
The three looked at one another. They seemed to be searching their memories, but they could not possibly remember sounds they had casually made and let pass.
As expected, Yun Taerin was the first to explode.
“Then we should use this! An original song! They said we'd get extra points too!”
“What about the song we picked earlier?”
“Uh... th-that...”
When Yun Taerin was left speechless, Bae Somi carefully raised a hand instead.
“Um, Uncle. A new song... starting now? The finals are right around the corner...”
“That’s why we start today.”
My original calculation had been that it would take at least two weeks to get a new song into a band. There was no time to spare. Even so, it was a hundred times better to face them head-on with a song that did not exist in the world than to cling to that cover and chase behind Noise Line.
“We’ll keep practicing the song we picked earlier. It’s our insurance. As for this song... first, we’ll see if it works.”
“And if it does?”
“Then we’ll talk again.”
Yun Taerin pouted but did not press further. Instead, they grabbed the phone as though snatching it and started the demo again from the beginning.
“...It’s good.”
Standing beside them, Cha Sion asked,
“Mister.”
“What?”
“You really made this in one day?”
“Not one day. From last night until this morning.”
“...”
“What, you don’t believe me?”
“No.”
Leaving only that, Cha Sion turned their gaze back to the phone screen. It was not the face of someone who did not believe me. If anything, it was closer to the opposite, an expression measuring something.
Yun Taerin was already listening to the demo for the third time, swinging drumsticks through the air whenever the drum part came on.
“Uncle, these drums feel familiar somehow. This is totally my style.”
“I tailored them to you.”
“I knew it! No wonder my hands have been itching since earlier!”
Then, at the chorus, Yun Taerin’s expression twisted strangely.
“Wait. This humming... don’t tell me that’s you, Uncle?”
“It’s a guide. It just marks the melody’s place, so let it go.”
“Pfft. Uncle, your voice is all mumble mumble... you sound like you’re talking in your sleep.”
“Was I supposed to belt in a studio apartment at dawn?”
“Just sing loudly once! Please?”
“Shut up.”
Yun Taerin giggled and replayed that part twice more. Even Bae Somi beside them was covering their mouth to hold back laughter.
Around the time the laughter died down, Bae Somi hesitated before carefully speaking.
“Um... Uncle. I think the bass is too loud in this song...”
“I arranged it that way on purpose. If you don’t play, the song can’t move on to the next measure.”
“Me...?”
Expectation and fear crossed Bae Somi’s face in equal measure. Beside them, Cha Sion had been silently staring at the phone screen for a while. The melody guide was playing.
Then Bae Somi looked at the screen for a moment and asked in a tiny voice.
“But... what about lyrics?”
Silence fell.
“...”
“Uncle?”
“...”
Yun Taerin stared hard at my face, then grinned as though sensing something.
“Uncle, don’t tell me.”
“What?”
“You can’t write lyrics?”
“Is there some law saying the person who writes the music has to write the lyrics too?”
“Wow, you really can’t!”
Yun Taerin cackled teasingly. It was unfair, but it was true, so I had nothing to say back. I could come up with a hundred melodies in a night, but I could not get past two lines of lyrics. That had always been the case.
“Don’t laugh. Come up with an alternative, then. Will you write them?”
“How could I? I couldn’t even write a diary entry when I had vacation homework!”
“That’s not something to brag about.”
Still giggling, Yun Taerin suddenly opened their eyes wide as though something had occurred to them. Then they pointed beside them.
“Uncle! Sion writes poetry!”
Cha Sion’s shoulders jerked.
“Hey! Don’t talk nonsense!”
“No, it’s true! I saw you! You were writing a bunch of stuff in a notebook at school!”
“That was just doodling!”
“Doodling? Last time you said it was homework!”
“Th-then it was homework where you doodle!”
“Say something that makes sense!”
The sound of the two bickering filled the practice room. Bae Somi helplessly waved their hands between them.
“Um, you two... don’t fight...”
“Somi, you saw it too, right? They hold onto that notebook every break! Ah, maybe you didn’t?”
“Huh? Well? I’m not really sure...”
“Bae Somi. Stay out of it.”
“Yes...”
The attempt at mediation failed in three seconds.
Amid that commotion, I quietly looked at Cha Sion.
Cha Sion, whose ears had turned red as they snarled as though ready to grab Yun Taerin by the collar, flinched upon noticing my gaze and turned their head.
“...Wh-why are you looking at me?”
Looking directly into Cha Sion’s eyes, I asked,
“Have you ever written lyrics?”
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