Chapter 9: Band Practice part 1

Thud... Thud...

A long shadow walked weakly.

Geon, who had become a high school student, had a towering height of over 187 centimeters. His tall stature, slightly slender frame, jet-black hair, and an appearance far from human granted him unwavering support from classmates and junior female students. However, life in Seoul had a detrimental effect on Geon's family.

Taewoo, who always treated himself and Shihwa with love, had changed.

Taewoo had dreams when he moved to Seoul, but he hadn't learned anything and couldn't sustain the high cost of living in the city by doing business.

To make matters worse, his hopeful stock investments shattered, plunging him into severe financial crisis. With no job prospects due to his education, he spent most of his time at home.

Even though they were a loving couple, in a state of insecurity, fights were inevitable when facing each other every day, every hour. Yeongha and Taewoo had daily arguments, and when Taewoo was particularly angry with Yeongha, he would take it out on Geon.

Geon suffered from domestic violence, even when he hadn't done anything wrong.

What was somewhat fortunate was that Taewoo never laid a hand on Yeongha and Shihwa.

Geon was changing gradually.

Taewoo, always frowning and glaring at him whenever he came home. Yeongha, always in tears. Shihwa, never leaving her room. The once happy household was tilting, and Geon also began to dislike spending time with his family. The only one who still liked Geon, Shihwa, would secretly come to his room after he was hit by Taewoo, soothing him with ointment while crying.

"Hey, Brow! What, did you get a beating from the old man again?"

A seemingly ordinary kid, with a face full of acne but not unattractive, tapped Geon's shoulder. This was Geon's friend, Jooyong, now a sophomore in high school.

Since sixth grade, Jooyong had been friends with Geon. Upon entering high school, he joined the band club to learn guitar. He wanted Geon to join too, but feeling sorry for recommending it to Geon, who maintained top grades in the whole school, Jooyong couldn't bring himself to suggest it.

Geon smiled wryly at Jooyong. "Oh, it's just another day or two..."

Geon always felt grateful to Jooyong. When he first transferred to Seoul, he was embarrassed by the numerous questions from classmates speaking standard Korean while he used his dialect, and he couldn't say a word.

Jooyong, who approached Geon despite his inability to answer properly, was the first person to open the door to Geon's heart.

Jooyong patted Geon's shoulder and said, "Wow, Brow, you're so tall. It's heavy being your shoulder buddy."

Geon looked down at Jooyong and chuckled. "Where's the dwarf crawling up? Should I lend a hand?"

Wide-eyed, Jooyong pretended to punch Geon's chest with his fist. "Hey, you gonna ignore the Seoul newbie who's helping you adapt? I'm over 175, you know? You think you're big? Wanna see a one-two-three punch today? Psssh."

Geon glanced around as he watched Jooyong shadowbox. "Stop talking nonsense. By the way, is that a guitar on your back? Is it practice today?"

Proudly, Jooyong let the guitar bag slide off his shoulder. "Yep, we're practicing today. Hahaha, this, my friend, is the guitar I got with the money from working at Lotteria all summer vacation. Want to take a look?"

Without waiting for Geon's response, Jooyong unlocked the hard case. Nestled inside was a guitar with a simple appearance but gleaming with a radiant finish.

Geon exclaimed, "Wow... It looks really beautiful. A yellow guitar?"

Carefully, Jooyong took out the guitar. "It's a 1952 Fender Telecaster, officially named American Vintage '52 Telecaster. Ash body with a maple neck! I finally got my dream guitar. I did newspaper deliveries during winter vacation and made burgers in summer vacation to save up for it. Hahaha."

Geon, who had never learned to play the guitar, could only position himself to hold it with his left hand on the neck and his right hand supporting the guitar.

Seeing this, Jooyong exclaimed, "Wow, Brow! Your aura shines just by holding a guitar! If Guns N' Roses saw this, they'd go crazy, huh? Hahaha."

Guns N' Roses

Though a band that gained immense popularity in the late 1980s to the '90s, the Guns N' Roses mentioned here was Geon's fan club name. Initially named "Gun & Roses," simply meaning Geon and his admirers, the club changed its name because there seemed to be another band with the same name.

Starting from Gwangnam High School where Geon and Jooyong attended, extending to other schools where girls had seen Geon, the Guns N' Roses fan club had grown to over 300 members.

Handing the guitar back to Jooyong, Geon said, "Ugh... don't talk about them. Even if I don't answer the phone at home, it's always ringing non-stop. That's the trigger for Taewoo to hit me when I come home."

Taking the guitar, Jooyong furrowed his brow. "What? That's been happening? Dang... Alright, leave it to me. Such matters need to be discussed directly with the chairman. I'll talk to Hwang Ju-hee later."

Hwang Ju-hee

The chairwoman of Guns N' Roses was also from the same middle school as Geon and Jooyong.

Despite her cute and petite appearance, she had a charismatic presence, and no member of Guns N' Roses dared to defy her. For instance, when Geon, in his third year of middle school, had some girls camping outside his house calling themselves fans, she organized a squad to clear them out, resulting in the expulsion of those girls from Guns N' Roses.

As she was also in charge of the band's keyboard, she was on friendly terms with Jooyong.

Putting the guitar back in its hard case, Jooyong said, "Brow, what are you doing after school today? You might end up getting it from your dad if you go home. How about coming to watch our practice? If Ju-hee says you're coming, she'll approve anything."

Geon pondered quietly.

He had always been curious about the band, and thinking of Taewoo who would probably find excuses to hit him once he got home made him frown.

"Alright, I'll come see today. Let's go together later."

Jooyong slung the case over his shoulder and exclaimed, "Oh! Awesome! I'll ask Ju-hee to treat us to tteokbokki today. Haha."

The two laughed and headed to school.

Fourth period ended, and lunchtime arrived.

Geon liked walking quietly in the school garden during lunchtime. However, unlike Geon's calm walk

, his class 2-4 was noisy today. Rumors had spread that Geon was coming to the band club today.

"Oppa Jooyong! Is it true that Geon is coming to our band club practice today?"

Initially three, but now more than twenty girls surrounded Jooyong.

Shrugging in response to the sudden interest from the girls who usually didn't care about the band club, Jooyong said, "Hahaha, yeah, I'm the one who arranged Geon's visit to the band club. Bow down, my disciples! Haha."

The girls worshipped Jooyong, striking poses and screaming in excitement.

"Oh my gosh, what do I do?"

"Oh no, I forgot my perfume today... Jihye, can I borrow yours? And lip gloss!"

"Our Geon used and tossed tissues on the last school trip."

"Oh my gosh, how do I look today? Am I okay?"

The girls were ecstatic.

Jooyong, momentarily enjoying the attention, soon realized he was being indifferent again and shook his head.

"But, you guys. You do realize you need permission from Ju-hee to watch the band practice, right?"

For a moment, the girls fell silent.

Slightly frightened, they quickly turned melancholic. It was impossible to ask permission from Senior Ju-hee. While it might have been fine if it were a public place, going to the band club for practice would lead to a terrible scolding, and they couldn't risk that.