Chapter 21: YouTube

“Alright. At this pace, we should be able to perform at the festival without any issues.”

After yet another round of practice, Myeong-jeon  nodded in satisfaction as he spoke.

Thankfully, the keyboardist had regained their composure quickly.

If things had continued the way they were, they might have faced quite a troublesome situation.

Seoha smiled, while Jeong Hyun-ah, the cause of the earlier commotion, wore an awkward expression.

Meanwhile, Iseo casually threw out a comment.

“That’s a relief~ So, can we finally perform properly now?”

“Well… There are still areas that need improvement, especially the bass.”

“Ugh.”

Iseo exaggerated a pained expression as if Myeong-jeon had struck a sore spot. However, Myeong-jeon continued speaking, unfazed.

“All the pieces you brought in are challenging for the bass.

Especially the third one. Honestly, it looks too difficult for your current level to pull off live.”

“I can do it!”

“Sure, you might be able to do it.

But being able to play at home and being able to perform on stage are two completely different things.”

Myeong-jeon ran a hand through his hair.

He knew Iseo was trying hard. Recently, he had instructed Iseo to practice for two hours every evening and had been monitoring the progress remotely.

While Iseo had been diligently following his instructions, effort alone wasn’t enough.

“I know you’re working hard.

If you keep up this pace, you’ll probably be good enough for the performance. The others might even think, ‘Oh, that sounds decent.’”

“Q…”

“But performers can’t settle for just ‘decent.’”

The audience might not give it much thought.

Some might notice the bass was off, while others might not even know what the bass is. They might think the bass was okay or even think it was great.

But what about the performer? The performer knows their own level.

And if that level isn’t up to par, they should feel embarrassed and push themselves to improve.

“Whatever you might think, I don’t think you’re ready for the stage yet.

Practice more, sync your rhythm better. Work to a point where you can play without looking at tabs, with your eyes closed, and without a metronome.”

“Alright.”

Iseo nodded at Ha Su-yeon’s words.

She was well aware of her shortcomings. Recently, she had been thinking, ‘Isn’t this good enough?’ But the stern advice had helped her refocus.

‘Ha Su-yeon’s guitar skills are truly beyond my imagination.’

From the first time she heard Ha Su-yeon play, she thought they were good.

But Ha Su-yeon’s skills had become increasingly unbelievable over time. It was almost as if the spirit of a guitar god had possessed her.

‘And someone like that trusted me and joined the band. I have to repay that trust.’

“And Jeong Hyun-ah, about that third song… I’m thinking of adjusting the arrangement a bit. Could you try something like this?”

While Iseo resolved herself with determination, Myeong-jeon had already shifted his attention to Jeong Hyun-ah
and was discussing plans with her.

Myeong-jeon glanced at his newly revamped YouTube channel.

After receiving various consultations, he had spent several days rebuilding it from scratch.

[White Room]

The name came from one of his favorite songs.

He had considered something more straightforward, like ‘Learn Guitar,’ but it felt too plain.

‘There was a lot of talk about how it was a total mess…’

His first channel, [HSY’s Guitar Heaven], had been a disaster.

No matter how much effort he put into creating and editing videos, there was no traffic.

Subscribers didn’t grow, revenue was nonexistent, and views remained stagnant.

Frustrated, he tried every trending topic he could think of.

When that didn’t work, he scoured the internet for advice and asked in any YouTube-related community he could find.

“I’m running a YouTube channel, but I feel like something’s not working. Could you help?”

(Attached: Screenshot of view trends.)

“Why do you think this is happening?”

-“Just quit lol, this is bad.”
-“What even are you uploading?”
-“Never give up; keep going.”
-“What’s ‘never give up’?”
-“It’s not dentures, right?”
-“Wow, seriously, what a mess lol.”

Most people just left cryptic or irrelevant comments without offering any real help. Then, someone finally reached out to him.

“You seem pretty serious. Send me your channel link, and I’ll take a look.”

-“(Deleted link)”
-“I’m not an old guy, though.”
-“Lol what even is this?”

After a moment of bewilderment, the person regained focus and provided a detailed critique of his channel.

“First of all, change that crappy channel name.”
-“I liked it, though.”
-“It’s crap. Pick something else.”

“Why are your video titles like that?”
-“They summarize the content clearly.”
-“No, lol. And why are your tags a mess?”
-“Isn’t that how it’s done?”
-“Wow, this is chaotic.”

“If you’re sticking with guitar content, define your concept.

Your channel has random guitar videos, pointless home clips, slime-making videos, and faceless vlogs all mixed in.

How do you expect to show up in searches? The algorithm isn’t that magical.”

“Oh, and if you’re a woman playing instruments on YouTube, that alone gives you an edge.

You don’t even need to show your face—just below the neck is enough.”

-“I don’t want to.”

-“Then just quit. Why are you even on YouTube? To make money? Do you think it’s easy?”

Despite the harsh tone, the critique was thorough.

To thank them, Myeong-jeon sent a chicken gift card and spent several days revamping the channel.

The result was [White Room].

@whiteroomguitar
Subscribers: 1,082 | Videos: 5

Compared to the final subscriber count of 4 on [HSY’s Guitar Heaven] (one of whom was Myeong-jeon himself), this was nearly 250 times the size.

Even more astonishingly, the channel continued to grow daily.

Watching the subscriber count climb by 100 to 200 each day gave Myeong-jeon a thrill unlike any he had felt with music.

[Cream – White Room Tab Vocal & Guitar Cover | Easy Play Tips]
Views: 10,900 | 7 days ago

This was the first video he uploaded after revamping the channel.

It was meant to establish the channel’s identity and explain the reasoning behind its name.

The content includes a vocal and guitar cover of White Room, along with the tablature (guitar sheet music).

Lastly, it provides advice on how to play the song effectively and how to practice the techniques featured in it.

[“Hello, this is White Room. This song is one of my all-time favorites.

Not only are the lyrics and melody fantastic, but the guitar solo in the latter half is absolutely top-notch.

There are various versions of the guitar solo, from the album version to numerous live versions. In this video, I’m going to focus on the album version and the 24 Nights version.

First, I’ll show you the performances, and then I’ll explain how to play them and what aspects to pay attention to.”]

When the video was initially uploaded, expectations were low.

Even though it was based on consultation, the advice came from an anonymous individual whose main skill seemed to be throwing around insults.

The mindset was simply, “Let’s try it and see how it goes.”

However, a few days later, something surprising happened.

Subscriber numbers and video views surged unexpectedly.

[“Hello, could you provide an email address where I can send a message? :)”,

“I’m a fan! Please give me an autograph! I love you, unnie!”,

“Great camera angles ^^ Thank you ^^”,

“Slowhand is here”,

“This is some insane guitar talent. Please post videos more often!”,

“Is that guitar skill even real?”,

“The best White Room cover”,

“Thank you for teaching how to play the solo. I am an American and very grateful to be able to practice this.”]

The video, with its rapidly climbing views and numerous enthusiastic comments, felt surreal.

While far from the 3 million views garnered by a certain video she had been featured in, the jump from zero views on past uploads to over 10,000 views now was deeply gratifying.

“And now…?”

Myeong-jeon took a deep breath.

The video she planned to upload today was of a completely different nature. Initially, she hesitated to post it here but ultimately decided to go ahead.

This was her first original composition since becoming “Ha Su-yeon.”

It was an instrumental guitar track without vocals, where other instruments had been roughly programmed using MIDI to serve as a backdrop.

A pure guitar performance expressing her personal emotions.

It was a piece born from her current reality—a life spent burying decades of history, now lived in a new body with newfound talent, severed from any connections to her past.