WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Potter
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ My Fired Uncle Is a Genius Guitarist? ◈
Chapter 19: You Look Like the Star Today
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Last Wednesday. The truth behind Yun Taerin's secret outing lay somewhere unexpected.
- You need clothes if you're going onstage. Get your butts out here right now.
It began with a call from my younger older sister, Lee Suyeon.
Lee Suyeon was waiting for the girls at the mall. Instead of greeting them, she pointed toward the escalator.
“Starting on the second floor. We don't have time.”
“Auntie, are you really buying this for us?”
“Why else would I call you out?”
Yun Taerin cheered, while Cha Sion followed with an indifferent expression.
“I have clothes to wear.”
“Everyday clothes and stage clothes are different. You'll understand when you're standing under the lights.”
As they went through several stores, Lee Suyeon never hesitated. She scanned the racks, picked out only a few outfits, and rejected more than half the clothes Yun Taerin excitedly brought over.
“You'd be better off wearing your school uniform.”
“What about this?”
“You'll only show your top half while playing drums anyway. Make an impression with the top.”
Cha Sion changed outfits several times without a word. Her habit of pretending not to like something the more she liked it was the same with clothes.
“Well, it's not bad.”
“That means it's your favorite, right?”
“No, it doesn't.”
She said that, but she picked that outfit in the end.
The problem was Bae Somi.
Bae Somi came out wearing the clothes Lee Suyeon had chosen, then froze in front of the mirror.
A black short-sleeved T-shirt and a black skirt. Fishnet stockings on her legs, with a silver chain hanging at her waist. It was a bold outfit that the usual Bae Somi would not have even glanced at. A complete stranger stood in the mirror.
“...I don't think that looks like me.”
“It is you.”
Lee Suyeon took Bae Somi by the shoulders and turned her to face the mirror directly.
“A stage is a place where people look at you. If they're going to look, you should stand out.”
“...Still.”
“Trust Auntie.”
At that firm voice, Bae Somi stared down her reflection for a long time. Then, as though she had made up her mind, she gave a small nod. That settled the outfits.
When the three of them started digging their wallets out in front of the register, Lee Suyeon clicked her tongue and held out her card.
“Put those away. I told you I'd buy them.”
“Thank you, Auntie...”
“I bought makeup too, so I'll do it for you Saturday morning.”
As they left the store, Yun Taerin grinned mischievously.
“Don't tell Uncle, okay? We'll surprise him on the day.”
“I’m worried about Uncle's clothes.”
“Oh, right. Uncle's clothes... Well, I'm sure he'll figure something out.”
#
And this was the result of figuring it out myself.
In the waiting hall on the day of the Main Round, the three kids, dressed in black from head to toe, were looking me up and down while I stood there in a bright red lightweight puffer jacket.
“Uncle, why are you the only one wearing red again?”
“You need to stand out onstage if you want people to remember you.”
“You're the only one standing out in a weird way.”
It wasn't like I had nothing to say. Who would've known they would all show up dressed in black? I was just about to say it when a familiar voice cut in from behind them.
“Of course you would.”
Lee Suyeon stood there with shopping bags in both hands. I blinked.
“Why are you here?”
“I think I said that to you last time.”
My younger older sister set the bags down beside the kids, then gestured at the three of them in their all-black outfits. The ringleader behind Wednesday's secret outing was right here.
“Was this your work?”
“They need stage clothes, don't they?”
“What about me?”
“You should buy your own clothes. And besides.”
My younger older sister slowly looked me over. Black cap, black mask, and that eye-catching bright red puffer jacket. She let out a sigh.
“Even if you have no fashion sense, what is that? And what's with the mask? Are you sick?”
“...It's a stage concept.”
“What concept? You know it looks embarrassing, so you're hiding your face.”
“...Something like that.”
‘Did they make a group chat without me or something?’
I swallowed my complaint. I had picked this outfit myself, so I had nothing to say anyway.
“Send me the video as soon as it goes up. I need to see how you look on camera.”
“Okay.”
“Contact me when you're done. And you three, don't get nervous onstage.”
“Yes!”
Bae Somi answered much louder than usual. My younger older sister snickered, then disappeared as quickly as she had come. Since there would be no audience, only judges, she would not even be able to enter the venue.
As we finished organizing our things, Yun Taerin looked around the hall and lowered her voice.
“...They're all adults.”
“I'm an adult too.”
“Uncle doesn't count.”
“Why not?”
“Your mental age is too low.”
“...”
Her silly joke was ridiculous, but honestly, it was understandable that they felt intimidated. The hall was full of adults. Teams from practical music programs in matching college jackets, office-worker bands with years of experience behind them, and teams that clearly had the air of semipros who had spent plenty of time onstage. It could not be easy for three high school students to pretend they were not nervous among them.
But Bae Somi was a little different today.
Another adult team passed by, glancing over at them. In the past, Bae Somi would have flinched and stepped half a pace behind Yun Taerin. Today, she met their gaze for a moment. She soon looked away, but the fact that she had met it at all mattered.
‘Do clothes make the person?’
I did not add any unnecessary comments. The moment I asked if they were nervous, they would start getting truly nervous. At times like this, my usual nagging was the best calming medicine.
“Cha Sion, did you warm up your voice?”
“I did earlier.”
“Do it again. Drink water a little at a time.”
“...Okay. You should warm up your hands, Mister.”
“My hands are always ready. Yun Taerin, you brought your sticks, right?”
“Of course.”
“Bae Somi.”
“Y-yes?”
“Give me the bass. Let me check the tuning again.”
“Yes. Thank you...”
While I checked the tuning, Yun Taerin spun a drumstick and asked,
“Uncle, aren't you nervous?”
“What is there to be nervous about?”
“True. Even if you lose, you can still go to work.”
“I'll still go to work if we win. And if you lose, are you not going to school?”
“Oh, right.”
While we traded flat jokes, their faces relaxed noticeably.
That was when it happened.
“Hello. You're Black Rabbit, right?”
Four male students approached us. More precisely, one approached us, and the other three followed behind.
The one in front was neat. A crisply pressed shirt and glasses. He looked more suited to a math competition than a band stage. Behind him were two who appeared to play bass and drums, and at the very back stood one wearing a faded band T-shirt, hands in his pockets, leaning at an angle.
The boy with glasses bowed first.
“I'm Kwon Jaemin from Noise Line. I watched your Preliminary Round video.”
“Oh, uh. I know you guys too. You were really good. No, I'm not even exaggerating. Oh, I'm Yun Taerin.”
“Thanks. You're a second-year, right?”
“Yeah.”
“We're the same age, so I'll speak casually.”
As the two exchanged greetings, the other two behind him gave light nods as well. Park Taegeon did not greet us. He only stood half a step apart, wearing the expression of someone who could not even be bothered to be here.
Kwon Jaemin's gaze stopped on me.
“And this is...”
After hesitating for a moment, he carefully asked Yun Taerin,
“Is he your father?”
“...”
“...He's our uncle.”
“Oh, I'm sorry.”
“It's fine.”
Kwon Jaemin gave me a deep bow. His apology was polite, and I accepted it with a smile. With only my eyes, since the mask hid the rest.
‘After Il-yong, now I'm a father?’
Well, it was an understandable mistake. A potbellied middle-aged man in a cap, a mask, and a glaring red puffer jacket was mixed in with a group of high schoolers. Still, wasn't father a little harsh? I looked young for my age, in my own way.
“I heard a session musician would play guitar. I guess that's him.”
“He's not a session musician. He's our member.”
Yun Taerin snapped on my behalf. Kwon Jaemin gave an awkward smile, then turned and stared intently at Cha Sion. It was an openly appraising look. Finally losing patience, Cha Sion furrowed her brow and bluntly said,
“What are you looking at?”
“Ah, sorry if that bothered you. It's stranger seeing you in person than in the video.”
“What's strange?”
“I can't figure that out.”
“...What are you even talking about?”
Cha Sion turned away with an incredulous look. Kwon Jaemin seemed to consider something else for a moment, then changed the subject.
“Oh, and what are you playing in the Main Round? That song from the preliminaries?”
“It's a secret.”
Yun Taerin pouted. Kwon Jaemin did not ask further and stepped back with a smile.
“Anyway, good luck onstage. See you.”
Noise Line walked away. Park Taegeon did not say a word until the end. Just before leaving, though, he gave the guitar case at my feet a slow look from top to bottom. An old case, an older session musician. His eyes said he had already sized me up.
It did not matter. Misjudging us would only be their loss.
“So they're Noise Line...”
Yun Taerin muttered.
“They look even better in person.”
“You can tell how good they are by looking at them?”
“No, there's something like that. An aura?”
Then Yun Taerin suddenly whipped her head toward Cha Sion.
“But why did the glasses guy keep looking only at you?”
“How would I know?”
“Do you know him?”
“I met him for the first time today.”
“That's suspicious...”
“What's suspicious about it?”
Cha Sion stopped talking after that. Bae Somi silently watched Noise Line's backs as they left. She did not look withdrawn like before.
#
The rules for the first Main Round match were simple. As the team before them finished performing, the next two teams would move in advance to the standby area beside the stage.
And by chance, Noise Line was directly before Black Rabbit.
“Noise Line, please move to the stage. Black Rabbit, please come to the standby area.”
We gathered our things and moved behind the dark curtain beside the stage. Noise Line, who had greeted us just moments ago, were finishing setting up onstage.
“Noise Line, you're performing Arctic Monkeys' ‘Brianstorm,’ correct?”
“Yes.”
Kwon Jaemin answered the staff member's final confirmation briefly. At that moment, Yun Taerin beside me gasped.
“They're covering that? The drums in that song are insane.”
She was right. It was not a song high school students should take on. It was full-speed from start to finish. The drums pounded without a moment to rest, the guitar riff never stopped, and the vocalist had to fire out the lyrics like a machine gun over it all.
The original was famous, so anyone who knew it would notice if they fell even half a beat behind. They could have played it safe with an easier song, but these guys had chosen to take it head-on.
“Okay, Noise Line. We'll begin shortly. Stand by.”
The staff member gave a hand signal, and lights poured down on the center of the stage.
That was when it happened. Kwon Jaemin, standing before the microphone, removed his glasses and shoved them into his pocket. As he roughly swept back his bangs and lifted his head, the polite model student from the waiting hall vanished without a trace.
Fierce eyes. An alien air, like a starving beast, seized the stage in an instant.
“Uncle, is that really the glasses guy from earlier?”
“It is.”
“What? He looks completely different.”
Yun Taerin rubbed her eyes.
‘That must be his real self too.’
Still, it was different from Cha Sion. Kwon Jaemin was the kind of person who flipped his own switch before stepping onstage. He went through each step, taking off his glasses, sweeping back his hair, changing his expression. Cha Sion, on the other hand, lit up before she even realized it.
Was that why he had stared at Cha Sion so intently earlier?
I could not be sure. But one thing was clear. He, too, was someone different onstage and off.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-
From the first beat, the drums charged forward like they had gone berserk, and Park Taegeon's riff followed on top of them. The song was at full speed the moment it began.
I had already heard this team dozens of times through video. There were plenty of teams whose live performances did not live up to their videos, but few sounded exactly the same. These guys did. They had the perfectly aligned sound unique to a team where all four members saw the same picture and ran toward it together from the start.
I saw Park Taegeon's playing in person too. It was exactly as I had judged from the video. No, it was even better.
‘If we faced them head-on in a battle of playing, we would lose as we are now.’
That judgment still held true today. I did not like it, but it was a fact.
But it did not matter.
They were a finished team playing a finished song exactly as it should be played. We were bringing out a song that had never existed in this world for the first time today. I had never intended to fight with technique from the beginning.
‘We'll win with the song.’
The expressions of the kids watching the stage were all different.
Yun Taerin was stiff, her mouth slightly open. Cha Sion was glaring at the stage with her chin raised, trying hard to act unaffected.
And Bae Somi.
She did not avoid the stage. Looking straight ahead, she spoke quietly.
“...They're good.”
Her voice was not swallowed by fear. It simply acknowledged the fact before her. But the knuckles of the hand gripping her bass neck had turned white.
“...How are we supposed to beat that?”
Yun Taerin muttered under her breath. Cha Sion cut off that monologue.
“They do their thing.”
Her eyes remained on the stage.
“We just have to do ours.”
“...Right. Our song is good.”
“It is.”
It was a perfect answer. So perfect that I had nothing to add.
Noise Line's performance ended. Brief applause from the judges came from the silent, audience-free seats. But we could not see their expressions.
Noise Line came down from the stage and passed us. Sweat-soaked, Kwon Jaemin glanced our way, but there were no further greetings.
“Next, Black Rabbit. Please move to the stage.”
Yun Taerin was the first to stand, pulling out her drumsticks.
“Let's go.”
The stage was wider than I expected, and quieter than I expected.
The audience seats were empty and dark. Only the judges' table in the front row was brightly lit like an island. Three people lifted their heads from their documents to look at us. The lights overhead were hot, and camera lenses stood aimed at the stage instead of an audience.
We scattered to our places. Yun Taerin adjusted the height of her drum stool, and Cha Sion took hold of the microphone stand. I started toward the amp, then stopped beside Bae Somi.
The fingertips gripping her bass neck were trembling faintly, but she did not seem to realize it herself. Her gaze was fixed forward. Her back was straight, and her head was not bowed. Only her fingertips were honest.
“Bae Somi.”
“Y-yes?”
“You look like the star today. You know that, right?”
Her round eyes looked up at me. For a moment, I saw a light come on in them.
I did not wait for an answer. I walked straight to the amp and plugged in my guitar. I adjusted the gain, placed my hand on the volume knob, and glanced back.
Bae Somi's fingertips were no longer trembling.
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