Chapter 37 : Youtube

Ha Su-yeon checked the email once again.

The subject line read: [Collaboration Proposal with YouTuber White Room].

The email began with, [Hello, White Room. My name is Lim Junhong, a session guitarist running the YouTube channel Guitar for Normal People.]

The content could be summarized as follows:

[It’s me. I noticed you’re pretty good at playing the guitar. I have over 100,000 subscribers. I can promote you. I get views; you get publicity. Isn’t this a win-win? Make a wise decision.]

Ha Su-yeon tilted his head slightly. Lim Junhong… That name sounded familiar.

Ah, it was the name of some kid he met in the early 2000s.

The one who bragged about graduating from some arts college.

Said he’d been introduced by someone and claimed to be a genius.

‘Now that I think about it, that guy visited me a few years ago.’

One day, out of the blue, he came by drunk, complaining about hitting a wall, saying he had no room for growth, and ranting in his drunken state.

At the time, Ha Su-yeon was living in the countryside, building a house and focusing solely on guitar.

Since he had some extra space, he let the guy stay for a few days and even taught him guitar.

After that, they exchanged letters occasionally but nothing more.

Ha Su-yeon repeatedly raised and lowered his hands over the keyboard.

He had already gotten approval from Lee Hye-in earlier when he asked, “Is it okay to go through with this?” All that was left was to reply.

He recalled some of the recent comments he’d received on his YouTube videos and community posts: [Seriously, why does this high school girl write like some old geezer? lolol], [Her voice is so sweet, but her writing feels like a schoolmaster’s.

‘Is it really that out of place?’

He casually typed out a reply.

[Hello.

The weather these days is very cold. I hope you’re taking care of your health.

I am currently running the White Room YouTube channel.

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank you for reaching out to me.

After deeply considering your proposal…]

‘Seems fine to me.’

No matter how much he read it over, he couldn’t pinpoint any issues.

What could possibly be wrong? Isn’t this how you’re supposed to write?

He stared at his screen for a while, then searched [How high school girls write these days] online… but of course, no such results came up.

He mulled it over for a moment and decided to think outside the box.

After all, ” Ha Su-yeon” was a high school girl herself, so wouldn’t her “friends” also be high school girls?

He tried mimicking the tone of one of his friends’ online posts while drafting a reply.

” Ha Su-yeon , what are you doing?”

“Oh, just writing an email reply.

For that proposal earlier.”

“Really? Sweetie, do you even know how to write a proper business email? Should I teach you?”

Lee Hye-in gently hugged Ha Su-yeon from behind and glanced at the screen.

The drafted email read:

[Whoa;;; Hi~~ This is YouTuber.white.room.

Thanks sooooo much for your proposal~ After thinking about it a lot;; I think it’s only right for me to accept it~.]

Lee Hye-in ’s mind momentarily blanked with confusion.

What was this? Random, puzzling characters scattered across the screen.

” Ha Su-yeon , this…”

“Does it feel more like a high school girl’s style?”

Ha Su-yeon turned to Lee Hye-in with a face full of expectation.

It was clear she genuinely thought she’d nailed the tone of a high school girl.

Seeing that look, Lee Hye-in couldn’t bring herself to—

Actually, she could. This was too much.

“Not at all.”

“What??”

“ Ha Su-yeon this doesn’t feel like a high school girl’s writing at all.

Besides, you can’t send a reply like this to a business proposal.”

Lee Hye-in began explaining the basics of a proper business email: starting with a polite greeting and clear language.

Ha Su-yeon felt quite wronged.

He was just trying to write something authentic for the target age group, so why was he getting scolded for it?

[“I’m still searching for you, the one I couldn’t meet on that day…”]

Wearing his AirPods Max, Ha Su-yeon listened to music.

It was a song he had composed, and the lyrics were written by Lee Seo.

The lyrics seemed decent enough, matching well with the rhythm he had created.

‘Come to think of it, Lee Seo isn’t bad at singing either.’

Up until now, Ha Su-yeon had been the band’s vocalist.

Not for any particular reason, but simply because he was the only one who could play an instrument and sing simultaneously.

Recently, however, Lee Seo’s skills had improved significantly.

And her voice wasn’t bad—unique, at the very least, distinctly different from ” Ha Su-yeon .”

She could probably handle being the lead vocalist.

While Ha Su-yeon could continue, he didn’t see a reason to.

He didn’t particularly enjoy singing anyway since it distracted him from focusing on the guitar.

‘Maybe I’ll start by making her the backup vocalist.’

With that thought, he reviewed the practice videos sent by the group.

Everyone seemed to be following the schedule and practicing diligently, leaving no cause for concern.

The band seemed on track to meet the planned timeline.

“So, how’s the band coming along?”

The question came from , Lee Hye-in who was watching him through the rearview mirror as he took off his headphones.

“Well, it’s going pretty well, I guess.”

Ha Su-yeon replied, eliciting a warm smile from “Mom.”

He thought it unnecessary for her to accompany him even to matters like this, but since ” Ha Su-yeon “was still a minor, he couldn’t exactly oppose Lee Hye-in ’s decision to tag along.

“If you need anything, let me know anytime.

I’ll support you fully.

You know your mom makes plenty of money, right? It’s all so you can do whatever you want to do.”

“You’ve already helped more than enough, Mom. Way too much.”

Although they tried to split the costs as much as possible, the expenses of running the band were still significant. Most of the money, however, came from Lee Hye-in wallet.

Ha Su-yeon , having some sense of responsibility, attempted to cover the band’s expenses by working himself, but Lee Hye-in wouldn’t allow it.

She insisted, saying it was her “duty as a parent” or something along those lines.

“So, what do you think?”

Lee Hye-in chuckled and turned her attention back to the front.

Ha Su-yeon silently wondered why on earth someone like , Ha Su-yeon had to endure such horrid treatment from others.

“Hello, I’m Lim Junhong. And you must be?”

“No, I’m this child’s mother. My name is Lee Hye-in .”

“Ah, you’re so youthful and beautiful! I almost mistook you for her sister.

Wow, that’s incredible! Hahaha.”

The typical exchange of pleasantries followed.

However, even Ha Su-yeon could tell that Junhong’s compliments were sincere.

Well, it wasn’t surprising; Lee Hye-in was undeniably stunning.

To an outsider, she could easily pass for someone in her late twenties.

“I’m Ha Su-yeon.”

With that, Ha Su-yeon extended his hand.

Junhong hesitated briefly before accepting the handshake.

‘He mentioned he was coming with his mother.

This does seem like a minor.’

The mother wore a navy-tinted black suit.

The daughter, on the other hand, had a unique black knit design paired with black slacks and carried a guitar on her back. Judging by their matching coats, it seemed like a coordinated effort.

Noticing that both were quite striking, Junhong thought the husband must be a fortunate man, as he guided them into his usual workspace—a rehearsal room, studio, workshop, recording room, filming area, or some other multipurpose space.

“Please have a seat over there.”

“Thank you.”

Once seated on the sofa, an editor brought over some coffee. Watching the two sip their drinks, Junhong spoke up.

“I didn’t elaborate much in the email, but here’s a little about me.”

Ha Su-yeon took the business card Junhong handed him. It read, “Session Guitarist | Lim Junhong.” Flipping it over, he noticed a list of what seemed to be notable works.

‘Did he record all of these? He’s done quite a lot. Wait, this one… wasn’t I offered to work on this piece? Turns out he did it instead.’

Ha Su-yeon glanced at Junhong’s face.

He had an expectant expression, but Ha Su-yeon didn’t particularly react to it.

“Wow, you recorded  Ha Su-yeon ’s To You?”

“Oh, yes! I helped out in a small way. Just played a bit of guitar… Haha!”

Instead, the response came from beside him.

Was it a song Lee Hye-in knew? Well, it was a pretty popular track.

Ha Su-yeon briefly twirled his hair before tucking the business card into his wallet.

While the two chatted about this and that, Junhong slid a few sheets of paper toward them.

“As for the revenue or content details related to the broadcast, there won’t be any changes from what we previously discussed. Here’s the script.”

Did a YouTube broadcast really need a script? Was he planning on directing it in that much detail? Curious, Ha Su-yeon examined the script.

It wasn’t overly detailed, just an outline of the live broadcast plan—what topics to cover at certain time marks, a general direction for the discussion, and specific points that needed to be mentioned.

“And one more thing. I’m an endorser for a certain brand, so I’d appreciate it if you could use this guitar at least once during the broadcast. Would that be possible?”

Junhong handed over a guitar.

It was a sleek, refined model from a well-known brand.

Ha Su-yeon examined it briefly.

The intonation was perfect, and there wasn’t a single flaw.

“Nice guitar.”

“Isn’t it? I’ve made some customizations, but the company itself produces excellent instruments.

Anyway, if it’s okay…”

“Sure, I don’t mind. I’m not picky about guitars.”

While Ha Su-yeon favored Fender, he wasn’t someone like Yngwie Malmsteen, who refused to play anything else.

After all, before his death, Ha Su-yeon ’s collection included high-end guitars like James Tyler, John Suhr, Tom Anderson, Don Grosh, and Michael Tuttle.

Session guitarists couldn’t afford to be choosy; the person paying the bill was always king.

“Well… then, could I take a look at the student’s guitar as well?”

“Of course.”

Ha Su-yeon opened the case and took out the guitar.

A radiant black Stratocaster emerged.

Junhong, who had appeared indifferent earlier, now seemed slightly intrigued.

“Oh… a Black Strat?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is this a famous guitar?”

Junhong asked as he took the guitar in his hands, and Lee Hye-in followed up with her own question.

“It’s quite famous.

If I say David Gilmour, you might not know who that is, but he’s a legendary guitarist.

This is a replica of the guitar he used, and it’s of very high quality.

But didn’t your mother buy it for you?”

“No, I didn’t specifically pick out this guitar.

He just asked for money to buy one, so I gave him about 2 million won, and one day he came home with this.”

Lee Hye-in response made Junhong raise an eyebrow.

“…2 million won? That wouldn’t be enough to buy this…”

Hearing Junhong mutter, Ha Su-yeon sensed that the atmosphere had taken a strange turn.

‘Why is this guy suddenly so fixated on the guitar? Well, it’s not stolen, so it doesn’t really matter, but…’

Ha Su-yeon glanced around nervously.

Junhong looked puzzled, while Lee Hye-in , oblivious to the situation, just smiled innocently.

Then Junhong stared at the guitar more intently before abruptly raising his head.

“This… this is Ha Su-yeon ’s guitar. How does a student have this…?”