Chapter 49 : Memorial (2)

[Notice of Memorial Concert for Guitarist Ha Su-yeon]

As a member of Mule, I regret to inform you that it has been quite some time since the passing of guitarist Ha Su-yeon

We were unable to hold a proper time of mourning, so we would like to take this opportunity to honor Ha Su-yeon
through music, even though it is late.

Location: ~~

Time: ~~

Admission: Free

Lineup

As a human being and a guitarist, Ha Su-yeon left his mark on the history of Korean session music.

We ask for your interest in the memorial concert for Ha Su-yeon .

Thank you.

[Best]

I remember grumbling a lot to myself because she was a little unfriendly when I asked him for a session.

She was a little grumpy that day.

It felt like he was saying, “Isn’t this how you want me to play?”

‘I mean, is it okay to be like that just because you play guitar well?

You should be a decent human being, you f*cker~~!’

My friend who was in charge of direction and I were talking outside the recording studio, and then she started recording, and wow~~!

It was so good that all my anger just melted away.

Moreover, she recorded more tracks for us, saying that we might need them, which we hadn’t even thought of.

I was very impressed.

When I drink with my direction friend, I sometimes get drunk and say, “Hey, remember that time~!”

But now that this has happened, I think I’ll be drinking a lot today. ᅲ.ᅲ

[Comment]

 Ha Su-yeon passed away??

No way…

Oh my.

May he rest in peace.

Another big star has fallen…

-[Best Comment]

-I’m a little dumbfounded  I was thinking of asking Ha Su-yeon for a session at the end of last year, but then I suddenly heard the new

I should let my acquaintances know.

Oh my.

-I heard from Suit hyung’s broadcast that he has a disciple.

Will that friend come out?

ᄂIs there such a person?

ᄂHe was using Ha Su-yeon hyung’s ID ^^;

ᄂShe’s famous as the ‘Hongdae Legend Busking High School Girl’.

Look her up on YouTube~ She performed with Mule members.

ᄂ Yes, I know for sure that she exists.

She’s really good at guitar~ I saw her on a YouTube live.

I hope we can see her that day.

 Ha Su-yeon leaned back on the cafe sofa and slurped his coffee.

The iced cappuccino made a loud noise as it was sucked up through the straw, along with the sound of air being sucked in.

“Are you hungry?

Have some more coffee.”

“No, it’s okay.”

The first regular band meeting since the performance.

The meeting was held at the usual cafe, and there were no major issues… but Ha Su-yeon couldn’t concentrate at all.

All his attention was focused on one thing.

“Is something wrong?”

“There is something…”

At Hyun-ah’s question, Ha Su-yeon gave a vague answer and ran his hand through his hair.

How on earth should he explain this?

There was no way to convey the story without sounding absurd: ‘My past self died and there’s a memorial concert, which has nothing to do with my current self, but it still bothers me anyway.’

“I know why she’s feeling down.”

“Why?”

“Her guitar teacher’s memorial concert is coming up.

Right?”

At those words, Ha Su-yeon spat out the ice he had been crunching on.

The ice scattered on the table with a ‘Pfft!’ sound, and the high school girls squealed, “Ah, that’s gross!”

Wiping his mouth with a tissue handed to him by Hyun-ah, Ha Su-yeon wondered how Lee Seo had found out about it.

“I mean, if you look up our band, all you see is Ha Su-yeon’s story, and if you look further, all you see is ‘ Ha Su-yeon
disciple!’

How could you not know?”

“Geez…”

 Ha Su-yeon sighed.

And while Ha Su-yeon was still sighing, Hyun-ah asked Seo-ha, “Who is Ha Su-yeon ?

Is she famous?”

“She’s famous as a session guitarist.

Anyone who plays guitar and is a bit older, or anyone who wants to go pro and release an album, most of them know him.

I knew him too.”

“I should have heard of him then…”

“He’s a session guitarist.

I can’t say much because there’s someone here who’s related to him.”

Seo-ha glanced at Myeong-jeon.

Ha Su-yeon waved his hand dismissively.

“I don’t really care.”

At those words, Seo-ha began to explain to Hyun-ah in a low voice.

Session guitarist, Ha Su-yeon .

A guitarist who started playing guitar in his teens and was known for his unparalleled technique in Korea.

However, it is generally said that his composing skills were not on par with his technique, and most of the songs that were well-received were either written by someone else or were cover songs.

“He was a guitarist famous for his incredible technique.

For example, Guthrie Govan, Jason Richardson, Shawn Lane.

People who have actually met him say that he was a guitarist with that level of technique.”

 Ha Su-yeon pretended not to be interested but secretly listened to their conversation.

After all, who would dislike hearing praise?

It wasn’t his fault that he felt good.

“The only problem is, those guitarists have completed their own unique style beyond their technical aspects, and they proved it through their original songs or performances… but Ha Su-yeon couldn’t do that.

She might have been successful as a guitarist, but he was a bit lacking as a musician.”

“Was it that bad…”

But that good feeling immediately crashed.

Well, Ha Su-yeon thought that such a story was bound to come out.

It couldn’t be helped.

It was the truth.

“Oh, there’s even a Namuwiki page.”

While Seo-ha and Hyun-ah were talking, Lee Seo said, looking at her phone screen.

Namuwiki?

Hmm… is that the site that often comes up when you search the internet?

“It’s written here.

[A figure who is considered one of the best session guitarists in Korea.

It is said that he is somewhat inferior to a certain number of acoustic players(…), but he is known to show unrivaled skill in the electric field.]

…

[However, his composing skills are not on par with her guitar skills, and most of his albums have received poor reviews.]”

“…

Most of them?”

 Ha Su-yeon had no interest in improving his dead self’s reputation.

What could she do now that he was already dead?

And in fact, it was true that ‘many’ of the albums he had somehow managed to release had received poor reviews.

But in his opinion, it was ‘many’ albums that received bad reviews, not ‘most’ of them.

A few of them were said to be pretty good.

“But that’s what it says here?

It says, [There were criticisms from critics that many of his performances were mediocre compared to his reputation, or that he excessively followed the styles of later guitarists.]”

“No…!”

“Su-yeon.

I know you’re upset because there are bad things written about your guitar teacher…”

At Lee Seo’s words to calm down, Ha Su-yeon almost yelled at Lee Seo for the first time since being born in this body.

Isn’t this complete slander?

Even though Ha Su-yeon lacked creativity, he still thought that… it was not as good as his guitar skills, but it was still at a normal level.

‘Just look at the 3rd album…!’

 Ha Su-yeon ‘s 3rd album was an album that received pretty good reviews from critics.

[An album that would have received good reviews if it were by any other guitarist than Myeong-jeon] means that it’s a good album objectively, right?

“I can’t help it.”

“What do you mean you can’t help it?”

 Ha Su-yeon resolutely got up from the sofa and took out his phone.

Originally, he was going to decide not to attend, but… she couldn’t just stand by after hearing such slander.

“You guys come to the concert too.”

“What concert?”

” Ha Su-yeon ‘s memorial concert.”

“They’re even having a memorial concert??”

Leaving the three wide-eyed girls behind, Ha Su-yeon sent a text to Jun-hong.

[I’ll participate in the concert.]

[That’s a good decision~ I’m sure others will be happy too ^^~]

As a disciple of ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘, I will show you what ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘s music is with all my heart.

Of course, there may be some ‘creation’ or ‘exaggeration’ in the process.

 Ha Su-yeon entered the concert hall, which was in the midst of preparations, with a guitar slung over his shoulder.

It was a hall known for its good sound and equipment.

‘It must have cost a lot of money to rent this place…’

Rather than being impressed by that fact, Ha Su-yeon wondered what the hell they were doing.

It’s not like setting a lavish table for an ancestral rite after death.

Why are they doing this?

‘No, it’s pointless to think like this.’

Everyone has their own way of mourning.

It’s just that Ha Su-yeon is the deceased, so she feels a little wronged.

It’s not like the people who are organizing this did anything wrong.

With that thought, Ha Su-yeon sighed and headed backstage.

“Oh, you’re here?”

It was Jun-hong who greeted Myeong-jeon.

As he shook hands with Jun-hong, who approached him with a welcoming gesture, some people started to approach him…

‘I know all these faces.’

Contrary to Myeong-jeon’s expectations, there were quite a lot of people who came to perform.

Park Seong-ho, Son Young-cheol, Jeong Yi-soo, Lee Sang-hoon.

There were people he had some interactions with, people he had lost contact with, and people he had been in contact with until the end.

“Is this young lady Myeong-jeon’s disciple?”

“Yes, that’s right.

But Lee  Sang-hoon, you can’t call her a young lady these days.

You’ll get arrested.

There’s some strange law.”

“Hey!

You can say that to me, but if you said that to Myeong-jeon, you’d get slapped right away.”

‘That’s not true at all.’

Looking at the people who were spreading baseless rumors, Ha Su-yeon thought it was ridiculous.

Even if the person in question is not here, isn’t this fabrication too much?

“Anyway, I’m glad you came.

I’m grateful that you had the courage to come even though you must be feeling uneasy.”

“Well, yeah…”

People shook hands in turn.

Some people gave words of encouragement, and some old men were acting inappropriately.

 Ha Su-yeon showed those old men a look of contempt.

“How much did you learn from Myeong-jeon?”

“Can you show us your guitar?

Your teacher’s guitar.”

Amidst such questions, someone asked a question that caught everyone’s attention.

“By any chance, are there any songs that Ha Su-yeon left behind?

Unreleased songs, or songs he recorded in his later years.”

In the slightly quiet atmosphere, someone muttered, “I wonder if there are any…”

“Well… there are some.”

But Ha Su-yeon smiled slightly and nodded, and in response, there were exclamations of “Ooh~”.

Amidst the conversations mixed with anticipation, ‘Ha Su – yeon’ thought that she had never lied.