Chapter 78 (2/2)

Jun Hyuk did not hide his admiration and spoke.

“Why do you think that?”

“I thought about what it could be switched with while I was listening, but I couldn’t think of anything.”

He had tried to remember a sound effect in the sound library that he had listened to in Yoon Jung Su’s studio, but was unable to think of anything.

If Jun Hyuk had realized even a little that the human voice could not be replaced with any instrument, Kim Jong Suk had reached today’s goal.

‘Should I slowly lower the bait?’

Kim Jong Suk handed over a CD. A title was written on the CD in marker.

“Jun Hyuk, do you know this song?”

“No.”

It said, ‘Must Erase You in this Sadness’ on the CD.

“It’s a song that was in Lee Hyun Woo’s first album from 1991… It wasn’t paid too much attention to back then, but became popular once Lee So Ra sang it on I am a Singer.”

Lee Hyun Woo’s 1st album was a hit with the revolutionary dance song ‘Dream’.

“I recommend that you remake Lee So Ra’s version. Her version only has a piano accompaniment. Lee So Ra is… she has the best voice so… I was thinking what if you express Lee So Ra’s voice with a classic guitar. Is it possible?”

[TN: This is the actual performance – LINK]

“Then I’ll listen to the song first.”

“No. This is better to watch as a video. I asked the broadcast station for it. Watch it.”

Jun Hyuk put the CD in the computer and started to watch the 4-minute video.

The video was from the special Australian concert of ‘I Am a Singer’. She came out into the amphitheater with a shaved head and black clothing like a priest and sang quietly.

It was a song that Lee So Ra had to sing while reading off of a score because they had changed her song 4 hours before the performance, and she did not have the time to memorize them. She had been in 7th place at the time but with this song, she rose to 1st place with 48% of the viewer votes.

The only accompaniment was a sweet electric piano that was not elaborate or grand.

Jun Hyuk just stared blankly at the screen. As he had only listened to her early albums, he was shocked by how thin she had gotten and by her shaved head. She also must not have been feeling well on the day of the recording, because she looked sickly. She looked like a woman who had just gone through a breakup…..

Lee So Ra’s voice came as more of a shock than her weak appearance did. Strictly speaking, the lyrics she sang touched Jun Hyuk’s heart.

As it was the first time he was crying while listening to pop music, he did not even have the thought to wipe his tears. It seemed he had even forgotten that Kim Jong Suk was next to him.

Kim Jong Suk watched Jun Hyuk and quietly went outside. He needed to leave him for at least an hour for him to wipe his tears and calm down. Teenage boys going through puberty did not like to show other people their tears. As soon as he came outside, Kim Jong Suk clenched both of his fists.

It was a success.

He was not crying because the music is good or because is impressed by Lee So Ra’s voice since he said that he had already listened to many of her songs before. There was no doubt that he was crying because of the video’s somber atmosphere and lyrics.

This was enough. The key now was to see if the emotions that Jun Hyuk was feeling could be expressed with instruments. If they could be expressed with instruments, he would fail in his objective. But if it could not…he would be able to make Jun Hyuk sing. Jackpot.