RAP STAR

Chapter 25 [verse 3, 888 crew]

Sanghyun and Junhyung embarked on their music activities in earnest. Whenever they had free time, they immersed themselves in music, writing lyrics, rapping, and sharing their knowledge with each other.

To do this, Junhyung's first step was to honestly confess his dream of becoming a rapper to his parents. While Junhyung's mother vaguely sensed his dream, his father found it utterly absurd. However, Junhyung persistently pushed his opinion and eventually his father reluctantly granted permission, saying, "Give it a try! If you're going to do it, be prepared to go all in!"

"Actually, the reason I suddenly became so bold is because you're unexpectedly good. Can't stand being overshadowed by you, you arrogant kid," Junhyung later told Sanghyun.

Junhyung's mother provided strong support by arranging for him to skip his night-time self-study sessions through a conversation with his homeroom teacher. As a result, Junhyung came to Sanghyun's house every day to discuss music with him, gradually becoming closer to Sangmi, who was wandering around out of boredom.

On days when they were in good condition, Sanghyun and Junhyung showed passion by writing 2-3 songs a day. However, most of these lyrics were discarded. Additionally, they began to make effective use of foreign instrumental sites where amateur composers uploaded their work.

Sanghyun had discovered an ID called 'DJ. STANDARD' on one of these sites and had already sent an email, wondering if it was the DJ STANDARD he knew from Los Angeles. Taking the discovery of DJ STANDARD as an opportunity, Sanghyun traced the current status of Korean rappers he used to admire. His modest hope was to meet and sincerely become friends with them before they became famous idols.

However, except for a few rappers who vividly depicted their past through music, it was nearly impossible to track their current whereabouts. "Too bad. I guess I could find quite a few if I went to Hongdae, right?"

In 2005, Gwangju felt like a secluded island in terms of music.

"Wow, is this the home recording equipment?"

"Oh, where are you putting your dirty hands? Go wash up and come back."

During his spare time, Sanghyun often visited Sejong Musical Instruments to ask Mr. Hong for a quote on home recording equipment.

The harsh words from a few days ago seemed to have been just an act, as Mr. Hong kindly recommended affordable home recording equipment.

Without hesitation, Sanghyun promptly purchased the equipment.

"So when can we start using it?"

To Junhyung, who was eyeing the equipment with sparkling eyes, Sanghyun responded with a smug expression, "I'm planning to set it up tonight. Let's try it out tomorrow."

"Oh, should we record 'Movin' it' as our first song?"

"What a great idea!"

And already, three days had passed.

Sanghyun, an industrial engineering graduate and founder of an IT finance company, embarrassingly lacked skills in handling hardware. No matter how hard he tried, the home recording equipment just wouldn't work properly.

"Hello, Mr. Hong."

In the end, Sanghyun had to send out an SOS to Mr. Hong, who, after explaining for a while, decided to send his part-time employee, Miju, on a quiet weekday afternoon.

"Hello. Come in."

That's why Miju visited Sanghyun's house at 4 p.m. after school.

"Hey. Are you alone?"