Chapter 50 : Memorial (3)

1. “Hello.

The weather has gotten a lot warmer, hasn’t it?

It’ll be summer before we know it.

It seems like the world and the weather are changing a lot.

When I was young, spring was definitely spring, and fall was definitely fall.

It’s been quite a long time since I met Ha Su-yeon.

I heard rumors that her health was not good, but one day I couldn’t reach her, and when I inquired, I was told that she had passed away.

It was a bolt from the blue.

After going through the grief, here we are.

Anyway, I would like to welcome you to the suddenly organized memorial concert for Ha Su-yeon.

Many musicians have sent video messages to commemorate Ha Su-yeon , who left her mark on Korean music…”

The concert began, and one of the people Ha Su-yeon remembered started talking on the MC.

Most of the people who sent video letters were famous musicians she had recorded sessions for or seen in passing.

Some of the famous musicians she was close to came in person.

It was a little touching to see everyone gathered to commemorate her, even though no one was paying them.

It’s a bit grateful that they gathered to remember her like this, even though no one is paying them.

‘The problem is, it’s a bit strange to see people saying I’m dead when I’m actually alive here.’

 Ha Su-yeon twisted her hair and entered the waiting room.

The concert was scheduled to last about 3-4 hours, so there were many people in the waiting room.

The sound of people talking reminded her of a kind of funeral home.

Old men drinking soju with shrimp crackers at a table.

Young musicians who were somehow dragged here and sat there without knowing what was going on.

People rushing around to run the concert.

There were people who paid attention to Ha Su-yeon , but after a few times of acting like a ‘typical high school girl these days’ – just saying yes and showing disinterest – most of them were just doing their own thing.

” Ha Su-yeon?”

It was the concert staff who stopped Ha Su-yeon.

The staff held up a piece of paper with a few song titles written on it.

“Are you playing these songs today?”

“Yes.

And there are one or two more…”

“More?

Do you have the sheet music?

We need the sheet music now if possible.”

“No, I’ll play a guitar solo.”

The staff disappeared with a troubled expression.

 Ha Su-yeon sat down on a chair and took out his guitar.

‘Should I practice a little…?’

She strummed the guitar inaudibly in the noisy waiting room.

The faint sound of the guitar made her feel like she was playing guitar alone in a square in a big city.

‘Is this what they call sensibility?’

“Why are you doing such a cumbersome thing?”

she had said, and Yi-seo had shouted, “Sensibility is important!!”

And Da-in had said, “If possible, isn’t it better if it’s pretty?”

The original ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘ would not have understood it at all, but perhaps the months spent with high school girls had an effect, and she felt like she was gradually realizing something about that ‘sensibility’.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

While she was mindlessly strumming the songs he was going to play today, a slightly high-pitched voice suddenly came from somewhere in the corner of the waiting room.

The voice continued even as people’s attention followed.

“I acknowledge that Ha Su-yeon was a great guitarist.”

“Then why don’t you just admit it?

Why are you adding things?”

 Ha Su-yeon peeked her head out to check the owner of the voice.

A junior guitarist who she didn’t get along with.

They had a big fight about ten years ago and haven’t seen each other since.

She came here?

She must have been drinking quite a bit, her face looked unpleasant.

“She was a great guitarist, not a great musician.

Let’s be honest.

Her guitar technique was great, but nothing else was great, like his songwriting skills.

Honestly, her songs just s*cked.”

“Hey!”

Someone raised their voice at those words, followed by voices of restraint.

“Did I say something wrong?”

they said.

‘It’s not wrong.’

 Ha Su-yeon twisted her hair a little and focused on playing the guitar.

She thought it was a bit of a cheap shot, but anyway, after today, ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘s reputation will improve a little…

“Hello.

You’re the band called Group Sound, right?”

“Hello~ Yes, that’s right!”

They were usually not recognized at all.

Even at school, only close friends would say things like, “Yi-seo, you’re in a band~ Cool~” or “Hyun-ah, if you’re in a band, is it okay for your art college entrance exam?”

When they went outside, people just thought, ‘Oh, there are three high school girls~’

But here, more than ten people already recognized them and greeted them.

Someone even asked for an autograph, so Yi-seo had a headache trying to come up with an autograph she had never done before.

“A lot of people recognize us.”

“I know…”

“I guess the performance at Paradox had an effect.”

“Well, people who come to places like this are interested in music.

Besides, that day’s performance was famous for being ‘a band formed by Ha Su-yeon, 

Seo-ha added an explanation, and the other two nodded.

Even in the midst of this, there were people who came up to them and said, “Can I have your autograph?”

“But there are over a thousand people here, so isn’t it a very low percentage if it’s only a few dozen out of a thousand?

We still have a long way to go.”

“That’s true…”

Yi-seo looked at the stage.

It was a short break now… but they played songs that ‘ Ha Su-yeon’ supposedly wrote, which they had never heard before, songs she played as a session musician, and songs she liked.

 Su-yeon’s teacher, Yi-seo wanted to look at it positively… but ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘s original compositions were not as good as the other two groups.

There was less applause and reaction.

‘By the way, why isn’t she performing with us?’

Honestly, she had some expectations.

If you perform at a place like this, isn’t it a way to increase your recognition?

But Su-yeon never asked for their opinions.

She was just silently preparing something.

Feeling a little disappointed, Yi-seo focused on the stage again.

It was Su-yeon’s turn now.

“The next stage might not be the right age group compared to the previous stages.

But she is the most suitable person for this place.

She is Ha Su-yeon Seo’s disciple, the guitarist of the band ‘Group Sound’, 

Please give her a big round of applause!”

Amidst the pouring applause, Ha Su-yeon took the stage with her guitar.

Perhaps because a high school girl was standing on a stage where mostly old or middle-aged people stood, the applause seemed bigger than for the famous musicians who came out before.

“Hello.

Nice to meet you.”

 Ha Su-yeon took the microphone and said a few words along with a greeting.

She made up some memories of  ‘Ha Su-yeon’, and said that she taught her a lot about guitar.

The audience applauded as she rambled on.

“Then the first song…”

 Ha Su-yeon said so and looked around the audience.

Yi-seo, Hyun-ah, and Seo-ha waved their hands when they made eye contact with her.

She waved her hand back and continued.

“Let’s start with a song that Ha Su-yeon liked.

Please listen.

Eric Clapton – Tearing Us Apart!”

With the sound of drumsticks hitting each other, the rhythm guitar with a cheerful melody begins.

 Ha Su-yeon scratched once and played the lead guitar vigorously.

As a late Eric Clapton song, it has a lot of pop sound.

You know the sun is shining

it’s raining in my heart

I don’t know what to do

since we’ve been apart

Since the song is divided into female and male vocals, Ha Su-yeon decided not to sing the main part.

 Ha Su-yeon ‘s junior, who was in charge of the bass, sang while constantly clearing her throat to imitate Clapton.

You know I can’t go on

feeling this old way

You know my heart is burning

it’s burning everyday

Next is Ha Su-yeon part.

 Ha Su-yeon sang cheerfully, constantly hitting high notes that she hadn’t used much in previous performances.

And the bass solo that follows.

 Ha Su-yeon encouraged the audience to applaud and looked at Yi-seo.

Nathan East usually plays bass at Eric Clapton’s live performances.

Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Elton John…

A legendary bassist who has participated in albums of stars you would know just by hearing their names.

She wasn’t here in person, but Ha Su-yeon wanted Yi-seo to be stimulated by listening to someone else’s interpretation of a master’s performance, rather than playing it herself.

‘Of course, that’s not the only reason I didn’t put them on stage.’

 Ha Su-yeon thought while playing the guitar solo that followed the bass solo.

The more fundamental reason is, if I practice with those kids to perform with them…

‘I can’t lie.’

It would be difficult to carry out Ha Su-yeon ‘s  Reputation Improvement Project’, so Ha Su-yeon did not invite the band members to the performance.

That was the only reason.

After the fourth song, thunderous applause poured down.

Thanks to Su-yeon’s sincere efforts to elicit a response from the audience, there was a continuous stream of cheers and applause mixed with emotion, unlike before.

“The next song is the last song Ha Su-yeon left behind.”

As the cheers subsided, Ha Su-yeon held the microphone.

The audience fell silent at her words.

There was a slight stir among the staff behind her and the musicians who had finished performing and were watching from the front row.

“I will play one of those songs.

It’s an acoustic song, and it’s called [Untitled 12].

That’s what she named it, and I didn’t give it a separate name.”

As if the audience’s agitation had nothing to do with her, Su-yeon received an acoustic guitar from the staff and sat down on a chair.

The performance begins in a slightly embarrassed atmosphere.

Amidst the silence, the sound of the steel strings of the acoustic guitar being played little by little.

The shimmering sound brought back old memories to the audience.

The sound, the melody, and the emotions it evoked were all from a long time ago.

The audience looked back at the person on stage without realizing it.

A large, quite old, white-haired… a stubborn-looking guitarist.

The person playing the guitar on stage should be that person.

But it’s not.

Sitting in a chair on stage is a girl with long hair… playing a slightly oversized acoustic guitar with great care.

And little by little, the atmosphere changes.

Old blues and rock from the 60s and 70s.

Uncritical acceptance of the music of that time.

Therefore, ‘ Ha Su-yeon ‘s music, which was very familiar and would have been criticized as ordinary.

Like a trot tape sold at a highway rest stop, the music that was repeating and repeating only the ‘good old days’.

That music…

…was gradually changing its color, as if going back in time.

Like an old man who was trapped in his own world and only watched television, breaking his stubbornness and learning to use a smartphone.